Bike Love NY
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • BFold
  • Zen Bikes

Couples Counseling

8/12/2018

1 Comment

 
Let’s face it: New York is just not a great place to be if you’re trying to get over your ex, and your ex is the bike. In Chelsea, the first protected crosstown lanes are going in right now. The boroughs are verdant with bike activism and new lanes. Prospect Park and Central Park are now car free.

vimeo.com/282870647

And the L-train shutdown will easily double the riding in Manhattan.
 
Every time I pass my folding bike, Lucille and my road bike Lola in the hallway, my heart is tugged. I can’t bear to part with them, but at this point I’m terrified to ride. I've suffered 2 nasty tire-slips which came seemingly out of the blue, and my trust is broken.
 
If you believe Dorothy Parker's adage that that the quickest way to get over one man is to get under another, my attempts at shifting my focus should have worked by now. I’ve tried: walking with podcasts, Pilates, tap dancing, a rigorous daily workout routine (meh), jazzercise. I've reminded myself how lucky I am to be able to walk on two legs and hook up my bra. But nothing has replaced my yearning for the bike.
 
Nobody considers couples counseling until they have exhausted every other resource (I know this from personal experience). It’s a painful process fraught with disappointment, largely because two parties go into it allegedly to stay together but underneath, each secretly hopes the other one will change. 
 
To be honest, I don’t have high expectations of Lola changing: she’s always been a narcissist. Her 16lb weight and compact crank leave other bikes in the dust; and the impatient sound of her chain coming up on other cyclists causes them instinctively to move over and make way; she doesn’t seem to care that even without a bell, she’s louder than an ambulance on the Greenway. So I’m almost not surprised that the one thing I ask her to do she refuses: put on nubbier tires. Her sleek frame will not accommodate them. The best I can do is these. 

Picture
                                                    (Specialized All Condition Armadillo Elite Tire)
Good for gripping the road in the rain (not that I’m considering it). I opt for them anyway. I don’t know what else to do; The bulk of the work it seems, will be up to me.
 
As I look at my own responsibility, the one thing my two tire-slip falls had in common was - forgetting the curb, the sand or other convenient excuses - I was turning left and fell right. I even had a fellow rider in Central Park warn me about my lopsided riding...


http://www.bikeloveny.com/blog/a-good-friend

But I never anticipated what a game changer it would be.
 
As I wait for Lola’s tires to be replaced, I ask my bike tech Marc if there is such a thing as a bike coach? Someone who could observe my riding and point out where I might be off? (Gawd, could I be any more like my mother? Truly, this feels like a new low). Marc is not put off by my question though. In fact, he says with a twinkle in his eye, there’s something better. He recommends these:


Picture
Bike Rollers.
 
Most people says Marc, maintain their balance with forward momentum and never think about side balance. Most people don’t have to. I am not one of them. Bike rollers, he says, will change this. With bike rollers - round tires gliding over round rollers – side balance is everything. If you have any holes in your technique they will reveal it fast. Until you ride properly, you simply won’t stay up. And then he says something unexpected: once you learn how to ride rollers, you don’t actually need to keep using them. They will permanently change your riding. I am hopeful but dubious. Could bike rollers really be the answer to my problem?
 
My first Googling attempts yield a multitude of hairy wipeouts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJcxtTxqFHQ


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igtWGRheTcc
 
But then I look for instructional videos and see that it actually can be done. Hint: look straight ahead, keep a fast steady pace, set up in a narrow place where you can’t fall over.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n5b5mhvKA0

I throw myself on the mercy of Amazon and wait with some trepidation for my tough-love therapist to arrive.
 
After a quick set up, I spend the 1st week riding in a too-wide hallway, hanging onto the nearby bannister for dear life, and trying to balance. I get nowhere. I spend the 2nd week like that. And the 3rd - but I can’t seem to get any further. If this is doable, I’d like to know how.
 
As I look back, I can see how deeply ingrained my habits were. Desperate to move forward, I call Marc. I’ve found a narrower bathroom doorway that would work, but I’m scared to try this alone. He volunteers to come over just in case.
 
We set up in the doorway, and I try to hold on with one hand as I did before, but there is no hand-hold in this space. There is nothing for it but to let go and ride. I brace myself – and tip over right away. Not far; the doorway keeps me from actually going anywhere. I try it again. And again. There isn’t much Marc can do. Holding the handlebars will only throw me off. He encourages me to engage my core and keep up my speed - and eventually to my astonishment I experience 10 seconds of perfect riding – really riding. Marc is cheering me on.  “You got it!” he exclaims.
 
I feel like Eliza Dolittle. My cycling transformation has begun!


vimeo.com/280824779/b7199f6713
 
The closest thing I can compare it to is flying. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever attempted physically, but the best. And I realize one of the reasons I feel so free on a bike, is the sense of balance. This is why I’ve always found exercise bikes - and even trainers - so dull. Without the sense of freedom balance gives you, what’s the point?
 
It is also instantaneously clear to me why I fell: I had been riding with most of my weight on the handlebars, definitely weighted more to the left. You can’t do this on a bike roller and stay up. You have to relax your shoulders – both shoulders - keep your weight centered on the saddle and balance with your core. Marc says the optimum ratio is maybe 70:30 saddle to handlebar weight, and that seems about right to me. Looking back, it’s a wonder I didn’t fall sooner.
 
There are some other things about bike rollers that are different. For one, there’s no real resistance (though you can find some rollers that have it for a price), even if you change gears. And unlike trainers, they will not help you build power. But sweating is off the charts (I still haven’t figured out why). And breathing – one of the best things about a real bike - is great.
 
Most of my cycling friends have never heard of bike rollers. Used mostly by racers and track bikers, this technology long preceded trainers and exercise bikes. “Are you crazy?” asks one of the best cyclists I know. “Those things are terrifying!” This by someone who would probably master them in 2 minutes – ‘cause how else could she be such a fearsome rider?
 
But it doesn’t matter. I was the one who needed them. I am the one who uses them. And I am the one who loves them; they are healing my relationship with the bike, something I thought could never happen. There is no price on this.
 
To be honest, it will still take some time to get my confidence back - I’ve said this before and because of that, I’m not putting a time limit on it. For all I know, I may never take Lola out on the road again (though she is itching to go – she is a road bike after all). But I have taken my Brompton Lucille – the twitchier of my two bikes – out for a couple of rides. And my riding is indeed different. Steering from the handlebars is light and optional – most of my steering comes from my core now. At this point, I’m still very conscious of technique, and ride very deliberately. But I can tell my riding is different because I can now signal effortlessly with my either hand. This was impossible before; I could only signal with my right.
 
What a revelation! I’m thinking I can ride this way anytime I want – be safe and never leave the house! I picture a future of doing just that: me, Lola and bike rollers riding into the sunset when, with a sense of  dismay, I realize I have been taken in by the oldest trick in the book: transference. I think I have fallen back in love with riding; I have actually just fallen in love with the therapist. It’s a great training exercise, but it remains to be seen whether Lola and I will be able to rebuild our relationship without the safety of our therapist (or that handy doorway): out on the road.
 
There are all kinds of couples and all kinds of relationships. What would work for some people seems totally out of place for others. Still, they say willingness is the most important thing.
 
You have to start somewhere.




1 Comment
Fred DuBose
8/24/2018 08:49:10 am

Go glad FeedBlitz is back! And this writer loves the 'Couples Counseling' installment to death (and not just because it's letter perfect). It even has a bit of cliffhanger: Will Lola's tires be hitting the road again? Keep up both the ridin' and writin', dear friend...

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Enter your Email:
    Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz

    Author

    Melodie Bryant is a resident of NYC and avid cycler of a folding Brompton bike named Lucille and a Scott road bike, Lola.

    Follow @bikeloveny

    RSS Feed

    Maintenance (for cyclists only)

    Archives

    April 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    August 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014

    December 2015
    Hollylights Ride 2015 (Part 1)
    Hollylights Ride 2015 (Part 2)
    A Vision For Staten Island
    January 2018
    Unrequited Love
    Painkillers
    November 2017
    What I Didn't Know (Part 1)
    January 2016
    California Dreamin (mostly photos)
    Activist in a Strange Land
    Northvale
    Appointment in Samarra
    Disasters (and near disasters)
    March 2016
    Chopped Liver
    May 2016
    Uber
    June 2016
    City of Hope
    I Disobey
    The Ratched Effect
    Rehab
    July 2016
    Discoveries
    Naked Bike Ride
    August 2016
    Summer Streets 2016
    The Politics of Joy
    September 2016
    We Ride Together
    A Good Friend
    Blind Spots
    August 2015
    Ireland
       Day One (no biking)
       Day Two (some history)
       Day Three (meet the bikes)
       Day Four (The Burren)
       Day Five (The Hill)
       Day Five and Three Quarters
       Riding the High Road
       Day Seven (our luck runs out)
       Day Six (Inishmore)
       Day Eight (Kylemore Abbey)
       Day Eight (The Dancing Irish)
       Day Nine (last day)
    July 2015
    You 'n Yer Fancy Bike
    Guilty Glass (quick tip for all cyclists)
    June 2015
    Yorktown Heights
    Maintenance (for cyclists only)
    Coney Island Fireworks
    The Katy Trail
       Meeting Katy
       Show Me
       Art and History
    May 2015
    The Blessings Of The Bikes
    The Five Boro Bike Tour
    Montauk (The Ride)
    Montauk (The Afterglow)
    Change
    April 2015
    Back in the Saddle
    Bad Behavior
    City Island (Travelogue)
    No Ordinary Rides
    Frustration
    January 2015
    LA Wheelmen Pt 1
    LA Wheelmen Pt II
    First Bike
    Simplify
    Red Light
    The Bleak Mid Winter
    February 2015
    Staten Island
    Reaching The Limits
    Healing
    The Heartbreak of Winter
    A Slippery Slope
    May 2014
    A Folding Bike
    First Ride
    Second Ride
    My Big Fat Bike Adventure
    Central Park II
    In Which All Is Not As It Seems
    A Tale of Three Islands
    Introducing Lucille
    Brooklyn!
    Minneapolis Biking!
    One World Trade
    June 2014
    Spring in New York
    Breakdown!
    Loss
    Jamaica Bay!
    Hoboken
    Lucille Goes Shopping
    Moonlight Ride!
    Bike Love
    City Grit
    Stormy Weather
    Friday the 13th
    Joining 'Em
    Riverdale!
    Bells and Whistles
    The Rockaways
    Red Hook!
    July 2014
    Governors Island!
    July Fourth!
    The Loire Valley
       A Bumpy Landing
       Loire - First Day
       Loire - Second Day
       Loire - Third Day
       Loire - Fourth Day
    August 2014
    First Rides Home
    A New York Day
    The Madness - And Sadness - 
           Of Fashion Week
    September 2014
    Park Alarm
    Rosh Hashanah
    Flaternalia
    A Cool Ride Up The East Side
    October 2014
    Confessions of a Cheater
    50 Miles in Annandale
    Theft
    Marathon!
    Bike Weight
    A Change of Seasons
    November 2014
    George Washington Bridge
    George Washington Bridge/
       Alternate Route
    The Palisades
    Why I Wear A Helmet Camera
    Nyack
    Return from Nyack
    Lola
    December 2014
    A Bike for Life
    Weather Permitting
    A Wintery Ride
    Some Christmas Doggerel
            (Duckerel?)
    Christmas Lights in Dyker Heights!
    BikeloveLA/First Ride
    BikeloveLA/Cheviot Hills
    BikeloveLA/A Wash
    Videos
    Queens Velodrome
    Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan
    Williamsburg Bridge to Brooklyn
    A Cool Ride Up The East Side
            (time lapse)
    Biking the loop in Central Park
            (time lapse)
    Navigating the Battery
           (time lapse)
    Bronx River Parkway
           (time lapse)
    Cool Ride to Roosevelt Island
    Via Queensboro (Ed Koch) Bridge
           (time lapse)
    Cheviot Hills
    Patricia Avenue
Proudly powered by Weebly
Proudly powered by Weebly