The Chainlink

I never rate myself as a great bicyclist, maybe a good one - perhaps even a "girl scout" of the biking world (all hand signals, all stops...), and not terribly fast, but when I saw a girl/young woman riding south bound on Orleans at Chicago Avenue, I did want to stop and show her how to ride.

Open letter to young woman:

When starting to cross an intersection from a complete stop, you must push off with one foot (foot on ground, using ball of foot to push backwards), using other foot on bike's pedal to bear-down.  Then, standing up on pedal(s) adds your weight to the pedal and makes it turn, moving chain and other gears.  Sitting on the saddle with both feet horizontal on the pedals, wiggling the handle bars back and forth will not project the bicycle across the said intersection.  The method used, might work for a scooter.  With skill, you might beable to move forward by standing on both pedals, first with knees locked, then pushing down on one pedal or another (in the style of a fixie rider).   

Please ride carefully.

NLF

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