Bikes, Bluetooth and Banter – Women’s World
By Myra McElhaney
As you may remember from a previous column, I’m still a new rider and I live and ride in the city. I know! Most people learn on the open road, way before taking their bike into a city with heavy traffic. Living in the city when I got my license and bought my bike made the reverse more logical. Especially when I could practice during the few times when the streets were almost empty, like early Saturday and Sunday mornings before the malls open and the church services start.
I’ve practiced enough riding in my familiar surroundings that I’ve even gotten comfortable in heavy, stop ‘n go traffic. The city is a great place to practice stops and turns. Maybe I became a little too comfortable riding solo in my own neighborhood. I longed to get out of my comfort zone and venture onto the open road.
This spring a guy I’d met on one of my few group rides reached out and invited me to ride with him. I was eager to go and glad he was patient enough to take on a beginning rider.
One of his first suggestions was that I purchase a Bluetooth headset for my helmet. Back when I rode as a passenger with my late husband, people often asked if we used headphones to talk with each other. We didn’t and I didn’t see the point. We enjoyed the sounds of the highway and didn’t talk much as we rode.
Still, I could see the benefit of having someone talk to me in real-time as I tried to get more comfortable riding and increase my skills.
Michael, my new riding friend and I went to a large church parking lot where he had me practice several maneuvers while he was ‘in my ear’ via Bluetooth giving me in-the-moment instructions and suggestions. A great teacher, he was able to quickly help me to correct some of the mistakes I was making and point out some bad habits I’d developed.
When we got back on the road he encouraged and guided me. A cheerful “Come on!” when I was lagging encouraged me to increase my speed. I’d gotten very comfortable riding at 25 to 35 miles per hour in the city. That wouldn’t work on the highway!
He knew I was having trouble knowing when to change gears, so he talked me through that a few times. All the classes and instruction I’d had previously was done on a training course or a parking lot. Having someone talk to me and guide me in real-time while going the speed limit was incredibly helpful in getting me to stretch my comfort zone. It also helped to follow someone who could tell me when a turn was coming up or there was a hazard to watch for.
Other than using the Bluetooth for GPS I didn’t figure I’d use it much after I became more comfortable riding. Why would I need to talk to anybody other than for directions?
And then he introduced me to the guys!
Riding with a couple of his guy friends we were all four connected via Bluetooth. Not only did I get encouragement, instruction, and someone to navigate, but I was included in their banter, heard comments about previous rides and laughed along with their jokes.
Riding with a small group through easy country roads, gentle curves and a few tighter twists reminded me what I loved about riding! It pushed my skill level enough to be exciting but not scary. It was the first time I felt like I was riding instead of learning to ride. I can’t wait to do it again!