- Balance isn't really something
that many of us look to work on,
not since we started to learn how to ride our bikes.
But, practicing your balance
can really pay dividends with your confidence,
like riding in traffic or around other people.
So, here's a few hints and tips to practice.
- You alright there, mate? Did that help?
- Yeah that's really really helpful, that.
I think I'm getting there, mate.
Thanks, - You are, yeah,
I really appreciate it. - Brilliant effort!
Brilliant effort!
- Am I looking good?
- Aw yeah!
- Cheers, mate.
(cheery techno music)
- Now your first point is to tear your eyes
away from your front wheel,
and it's actually a lot harder to do
than you might think.
But there are many many different reasons
why you need to try,
one of them, of course, being balance.
- Yeah, and if I'm honest,
I don't really know why.
I think it has something to do with concentration.
So let's face it, if you're concentrating
on trying to keep your balance,
you're probably already on the back foot.
So keep your gaze up ahead on a fixed
yet moving point to help orientate yourself.
(cheery techno music)
Now a seemingly simple task
which is remarkably difficult to do is to ride
in a straight line whilst at the same time
looking behind you.
Now, even the most experienced riders
can often get this wrong, veer offline,
and get a bit of a wobble.
But, unfortunately, it's vitally important
that you learn to do this.
- Yeah, particularly for when riding
in close proximity to other bike riders,
or indeed just other traffic.
Now, the secret is to actually
just not turn all that far.
So it might not give you a complete picture
of what's going on behind you,
but it does allow you to keep your torso
pointing straight forward,
and keep your steering straight as well.
If you do need to see further around,
then you need to take one hand off the bars,
making sure there's enough space in front of you to do it,
and that's gonna allow you to open up your body
and turn whilst still going in the right direction.
(cheery techno music)
This one will really help
to improve your balance on the bike.
It's a little bit like the cycling equivalent
of walking a tight rope.
Because riding really slowly means
that when you do need to turn the handlebars
in order to keep your balance,
the corrections that you make
have much less of an effect,
which leads to those really exaggerated movements
and that characteristic wobble.
- Stay to your own side, you nearly had me off.
- Sorry, mate.
- Now, practicing riding slowly
will get your body used to balancing
without resorting too much to steering.
Now at first, you may find it pretty hard,
as it is a bit difficult,
but if you've got a few spare minutes
it's really worth the investment to practice.
(cheery techno music)
- As well as practicing on the bike,
a simple way of improving your balance could be
to actually look at the way your bike is set up,
and in particular, your position on it.
Because you'll find that if you have
to stretch too far to the controls,
so the brakes and the gears,
then actually you may well find
that those fine movements needed for control
are actually much harder to carry out.
In fact, if you try and do anything at arms reach
it becomes an awful lot harder to do so,
and the same is definitely true of riding a bike.
- Yeah, so a shorter, more upright position
will definitely help if you're looking
to improve your balance,
even if there may be trade-offs in other areas.
- It's a miracle you stay upright on that thing, mate.
- Yeah, come to think of it,
I might get a shorter stem.
(cheery techno music)
- Away from the bike entirely,
there are actually a number of skills
that you can practice
that will help you improve your balance, generally,
that would then pay dividends on the bike as well.
Because it might be that you actually need
to improve your core strength,
in which case doing some light gym work
or a regular Pilates class would do the job.
- Or, you could just stand on one leg
in the comfort of your own home,
and even try it with your eyes shut.
- Okay, hang on.
(both laughing)
As Matt said at the start,
balance might not be something that you've actually
ever given all that much thought to,
but it is definitely worth practicing some of these skills,
because you will feel the benefit.
Now, do make sure as well as practicing your balance,
that you have subscribed to GCN,
that's a great way to improve your confidence on the bike.
To do that just click on the globe.
- Now, for looking in particular
at how to improve your confidence on the bike
we've got a video on that,
and you can find that by clicking just down here.
- Yeah, or for five essential cycling skills,
that one's just down there.
Actually, there's quite a bit of homework.
- Yeah! There is! Lot's to learn!
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