I have been riding for years but mostly on freeways, as my bike was my only transportation for work. But I, too, have a fear of a particular left turn onto a steep incline to another left turn at the apex to a two-way street with crosswalk and I am terrified that I will have to stop mid-turn at the apex (pedestrian). This article helps a bit in my thinking but with short legs I have conquered this problem.

Bunnie Jatkowski
Los Angeles, CA
Thursday, December 7, 2017

I enjoyed this article. I am a new rider, 59 years old. To get from my house to the main paved road, I have to travel 9/10ths of a mile on a dirt road, usually washboarded. At the end, there is a fairly steep incline in the dirt. So I need to stop on this incline, in the dirt, and then accelerate up onto the paved road.

The first time I did this I laid the bike down. Then after righting it (which is hard in dirt and having no traction), I over-throttled and zipped across the pavement, off the road on the other side and slid the bike and me along on the ground until the front tire hit a big rock and I stopped. With help, again, I got the bike upright and rode a total of 12 or 14 miles and back home with no more issues.

So that is where I'm at today. I must master this starting out from an incline issue and quickly as I have no other way to get to the paved road. I'll try the tips provided in this article.

Mona Jensen
AZ
Tuesday, May 16, 2017