Looking behind you

[Wobbly bob]

I have recently started cycling and have had no problems getting into it really enjoying it in fact. I am riding a Boardman hybrid comp however when I need to look over my shoulder to turn right I tend to get a serious wobble on is there a technique to looking over your shoulder? any hints or tips would be very much appreicated

 

[gaz]

practise makes perfect.. find an empty road or a car park and just keep trying.

Many track cyclists can ride a whole lap looking behind them and not deviate off course. Victoria P being one of those.

 

[accountantpete]

It's usually because,as you move your neck you automatically move your body and arms to enable this.

The trick is to practice looking behind without moving the rest of your body and keeping a firm grip of the bars.

 

[Scruffmonster]

Why do you need to look back, you've already been there...

I don't do anything beyond slightly loosening the grip in my right hand before i turn as generally my neck/shoulder will pull my right arm slightly as i twist.

 

[lukesdad]

If I need to look behind I look under my right arm.

 

[Banjo]

It comes naturally after a while.

When I started riding just over a year ago everytime i looked behind I would start moving out into the road while looking backwards,ok if nothing coming .

Without conciously doing anything to correct it now it doesnt seem to happen.

On my commuterr bike I have a mirror which helps in traffic.

 

[Moodyman]

If I need to look behind I look under my right arm.

How do you deal with the smell?

 

[Simba]

I have 3 types of looking back.

1. The glance
2. The "normal" lookback
3. A good proper look.

Its all about trying to keep your body straight as others have said.

 

[addictfreak]

It comes with practice. I was used to riding my MTB and when I took up road cycling I was all over the place.

Steady as a rock now

 

[slowmotion]

I started again on a bike about ten months ago, and had real problems with looking backwards. I'm still a very long way off perfect, but loads of practice seems to have helped.

Good luck.

 

[kewb]

track riders can do this for an age ,
its all about points of reference , if you look behind by turning your head focus on say a road marking or something parallel to your current road position that might mean relying on peripheral vision a bit , practice this and your confidence will build and your balance with it .

wouldnt go cycling along a busy road facing the wrong way though , just enough to get a look behind you should do it and practice on quiet roads or cycle paths to be on the safe side .

looking behind indefinitely is possible using this method , assuming of course the roads clear and there's no pot holes .

 

[lukesdad]

If I need to look behind I look under my right arm.

How do you deal with the smell?

 

[killiekosmos]

As others say, practice will halp. You can also try taking your right arm of the bars and dropping it down, this lets your neck turn more for a better rear view.

It's good to look back regularly in town.

 

[arallsopp]

Don't rule out bar end mirrors. I swear by mine (and sometimes at them).

They also provide a "cat's whiskers" gauge for close overtakes.

Echo what's been said before though. Start in a car park and practice for a few minutes. It comes pretty quick when you're not worried about being blatted by cars/buses/roadsigns, etc.

 

[psmiffy]

If you are like me and a bit stiff in the upper body tilt your head a bit when you turn so that you are looking past the line of your shoulder (the line of the eyes is almost vertical rather than horizontal) - prevents the shoulders turning the body so much which gives rise to the wobble

(Goes back to practicing correct shoulder turn for golf swing)