Ah, I see. Now that I look at it, those handlebars do seem to be at a bit of a steep angle in that picture. Just pretend that the handlebars on hers look more like mine.
Seconded. Although a “look ma, no hands!” picture of Gary going down a monster SF hill with that famous grin would be acceptable, too.
Grats Gary!
Not mentioned, if you ever plan on going more than ~10 miles, make sure you bring enough water and eat properly before you go.
You’ll definitely want at least one bottle holder (mounted to frame), and of course, one or two bottles. Drink often, and I mean OFTEN! Depending on your weight, you should consume an entire bottle of water in about an hour.
Another good tip, bring your cell phone. At some point you’ll need it.
I didn’t have a cellphone until some Australian dude scared me into getting one. “When you’re bleeding on the side of the road after you’ve been hit by a car on your bike, you’re going to friggin wish you had one.”
The easiest way is to stand on one side of the bike, grasp the handlebars with both hands, then swing one leg (choose the leg so that you’ll be facing forward when the operation is complete) over the seat.
Leave more advanced techniques, such as leaping from the top of a semi trailer onto an already-moving bike, or standing with legs spread while someone assembles the bike beneath you, until you’ve had a bit more experience.
Did The Whitta survive!?!?!
Ok, so now you need to start blasting Queen’s Biycycle Race as loud as you can!
I’ll play the devil’s advocate here and say that if someone is reasonably co-ordinated, they should be fine with clipless pedals. I started off with clipless and never fell, and the power and control advantages they give are enough that I hate whenever I’m not with them. As for special footwear, strapping them on with their purpose-driven nature just gets me in the mood.
Last week I went to a bicycle shop to get that anti puncture goo into my tires, and the guy told me that my bikes were too short for me. Apparently they have measures. So if anybody is gonna get a new bike take a look.