Sunday 31 July 2011

New Riders

Class has started, you've established your cadence, added enough resistance to simulate the road under your bike and you're in the middle of describing what's in store for the next 60 minutes.
In walks not one but two brand new riders.  Cute young women, maybe 17 or 18.  They quietly hop on a bike hoping to blend in. The easiest thing to do is just carry on as if they weren't there.  The hardest thing to do is get off your bike, ask their names (make a mental note to remember) set them up, explain the brake, explain the dial, explain the effort, describe what's expected, emphasize "listening to their body", give them permission to leave at any time, show them how to take saddle breaks, explain that perineal soreness is normal, hop back on your bike and resume the ride.
Which do you do?