SKILLS AND DRILLS

This Spring has gotten off to a great start in meeting a bunch of new women riders and I've had the pleasure of helping with several clinics for beginner riders and cyclists looking to refresh their skills as we head outside and start riding with friends and new groups. I was with the Gears Girls this past Saturday and they did great! They rode through cones, practiced signaling, shoulder checking, and drinking from their bottles while riding. What impressed me most was how well they did in trying to pick up a water bottle that was on the grass while riding their bikes; job well done! As I headed home from the skills session I started questioning the last time I went through these drills and realized that it's been awhile. I have been riding for some 15 years and believe that it is always good to go back to basics, so if you are like me and haven't practiced weaving around water bottles, riding along a painted line with only one hand on the bars while riding in a straight line, riding no hands, picking up water bottles, holding hands with a partner, touching your partners shoulder etc. then I suggest you head out to a quiet residential street and practice, and if you plan to race then practice touching your partners wheel while staying erect. What have you got to lose? It will only help make you a more solid rider, more comfortable, for confident, and when you see me out on the road it means you can wave hello while riding in a solid straight line! See you on the road, Petrina.