protecting my hands

Marian Rosenberg <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Followup -

Despite owning a pair, I have yet to try bicycle gloves. They aren't part of my morning grab the
keys and camera bag ritual ... yet. So, this morning and yesterday morning I was halfway to
breakfast when I realized I had forgotten the gloves.

I find I get really sore hands if I don't use the gloves, with the gloves things are great.

Quoted message said:

I am following the instructions about relaxing a bit more and loosening the grip. Just from that
slight behavior modification the pain reduction has been extreme.

Great!

Quoted message said:

I'm also trying a new way of bicyling in rush hour. I pick a bicyclist that is going a reasonable
speed and I follow him as he weaves through traffic. Every so often the bicyclist will do
something that I'm not yet confident enough to try and I will have to slow down to the ambient
speed until I find someone else to follow. This keeps me in the middle of the bike lanes and away
from the worst of the bumps.

While not a bad idea to learn from following more experienced cyclists, the person you are following
could also be making dangerous moves which you don't necessarily want to copy. Remember the keys are
to be visible, predictable (weaving in and out is often not predictable) and to behave like you
would if you were driving a motor vehicle. But do try to find the smoothest pavement to ride on. Are
the bike lanes there physically separated from vehicle lanes, or is it just a white stripe? If it is
striped to pass a slower cyclist, signal your intent to pass them, shoulder check and move into the
road lane to go around them. Never try to pass another cyclist on the curb side. (right in NA) If a
bump is unavoidable I find it reduces the shock to stand off the seat a little bit as I go over.
This is made easier by getting clips for your pedals (assuming they aren't the clipless kind)

Tanya

"Marian Rosenberg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Followup -

Despite owning a pair, I have yet to try bicycle gloves. They aren't part of my morning grab the
keys and camera bag ritual ... yet.

They will be, right after you hit the pavement. Roadrash on the hands is really painful. In my
experiance gloves are more important than a helmet. Len

Tanya Quinn said:

Marian Rosenberg <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Followup -

Despite owning a pair, I have yet to try bicycle gloves. They aren't part of my morning grab the
keys and camera bag ritual ... yet. So, this morning and yesterday morning I was halfway to
breakfast when I realized I had forgotten the gloves.

I find I get really sore hands if I don't use the gloves, with the gloves things are great.

I wore them on this morning's breakfast ride. The sadly abused gloves were wonderful. Will look for
an unabused pair to replace them with.

(Apparently one of the places I travelled the summer I was wheelchair bound, I used the same luggage
I ended up taking with me to China. So, my brakes - read: bicycle gloves - ended up following me to
China. As bike gloves they are in pretty sorry condition.)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'm also trying a new way of bicyling in rush hour. I pick a bicyclist that is going a reasonable
speed and I follow him as he weaves through traffic. Every so often the bicyclist will do
something that I'm not yet confident enough to try and I will have to slow down to the ambient
speed until I find someone else to follow. This keeps me in the middle of the bike lanes and away
from the worst of the bumps.

Quoted message said:

While not a bad idea to learn from following more experienced cyclists, the person you are
following could also be making dangerous moves which you don't necessarily want to copy. Remember
the keys are to be visible, predictable (weaving in and out is often not predictable) and to
behave like you would if you were driving a motor vehicle.

Ah, that would mean ring my bell a lot at the slow people and, if I had lights, flashing them? This
is Asia after all 🙂 Here, they don't have traffic laws so much as strongly worded suggestions.

Quoted message said:

But do try to find the smoothest pavement to ride on. Are the bike lanes there physically
separated from vehicle lanes, or is it just a white stripe? If it is striped to pass a slower
cyclist, signal your intent to pass them, shoulder check and move into the road lane to go around
them. Never try to pass another cyclist on the curb side. (right in NA) If a bump is unavoidable I
find it reduces the shock to stand off the seat a little bit as I go over. This is made easier by
getting clips for your pedals (assuming they aren't the clipless kind)

On the major streets the bike lanes are physically seperated from the car lanes by barriers. These
range from moveable metal and concrete barriers to shrubs and even trees. We get enough space on
Zhongshan Road, for example, that two cars could drive abreast in the bicycle lane and there would
still be room for a few bicycles.

On the minor streets there often isn't even a line. The cars come up behind you and honk until the
bicycles move over.

-M

Marian Rosenberg said:

I did not notice this happening at all on my last bicycle.

Of course, as my last bicycle was a substantially cheaper bike I wasn't quite as likely to ride
fast and furious. (for local values of fast and furious, usually I am going between 15 and 20 kph)

My new bike is a Giant Athena. Don't try looking on their website, unless you read Chinese, you
won't find any specs on it.

When I find myself crashing through a pothole or going over railroad tracks the banging and
thudding the handlebars do end up making my hands sore. They aren't showing bruises but they are
definitely feeling tender.

Other than slowing down, and avoiding bumps in the road, is there anything I can do to protect
my hands?

At the store where I got my new bike all of the bikes I saw with shocks weren't Giant or Emelle or
any other recognizable international brand. After a year on a Chinese-made bike I wanted something
a little sturdier.

-M

Another thing to consider is to check to see if the tires you have are the widest that will fit on
your bike. Ask at the local bike shop. Wide tires will absorb more shock then thin ones. Also, it is
OK to change just the front one if $ is an issue. Air pressure in the tires is another
consideration. Just enough to avoid pinch flats. If your tires are fairly wide...say 35mm then try
50 or 60 psi (3.5 to 4 Kg/cm square) in the front with a little more in the rear is a good starting
place. If tires are wider, use lower pressure, if narrower, use higher.

Steve Shapiro [email hidden]