This evening I attended an event, hosted by the Pittsburgh Triathlon Club.  I was a spectator, as my wife attended a class intended to help the beginner cyclist.  This type of grass roots event, is critical to helping people begin in the sport I love.

I have ridden bicycles for a long time and there are many things that are second nature to me.  For a beginner however, many of these things can be quite intimidating. Addressing these ‘simple’ things, was the focus of tonight’s event.

The event started with the act of mounting your bike correctly and then how to clip into and out of the pedals.  I think clipping in, is one of the most challenging things for the beginner to learn. Locking your feet onto the bike, is not something that we did as kids, when we were learning to ride a bike.  It is therefore a skill ,that must be learned as an adult.

The next skill that was taught, was the ability to do a tight ‘U-turn’, within the width of a normal, single lane road.  Again, this is a skill that needs to be learned.  Managing speed and balance around the U-turn takes practice. It  is something is very much needed however, as many triathlon races have such turns as part of their course.

Finally, the group practiced cornering at speed, on a figure eight part of the facility we were using.  Learning to put weight on the outside foot and how to lean the bike into the corner is another skill that can save a lot of time while racing.

I am not a beginner cyclist, but just by watching this evening, I learned a thing or two.  My wife did really well. She came away, a much more confident cyclist, with just a hour of instruction.  Huge thanks to Pittsburgh Triathlon Club, for hosting the event.