beginner cyclist

[PaulSecteur]

Just to add...

With regard to clothing on the cheap I used these (and still do)

http://www.sportsdirect.com/karrimor-padded-cycling-shorts-mens-636124

There is a sports direct in most towns, or you might have a decathlon that will do a simillar thing. Be carefull if you but them from sports direct as they often have the padded and unpadded ones on the same rail.


Depending on where you live and the facilities around you, and the time available you might want to try putting your bike in the car and heading off to some quite roads. I have done a similar thing when I wanted to improve my climbing. For you, you might want to take it somewhere flat-ish and use you car to mark out a distance of a mile and ride that back and forth to get your miles in, it will probably feel better than being on a trainer.

 

[fungus]

Yeh! Sports direct have some decent karrimor stuff going cheap & look out for aldi cycling offers too.

Here's a link to British cycling if you ever want to find a local club http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/clubfinder

 

[PoweredByVeg]

Hi Kaiser

I just joined CC and happened upon your topic.

You sound like me 2 years ago! I'd bought a MTB and thought doing 5 miles was amazing, then onto 10, 20 finally doing 50 in one go and thinking I think I need a proper road bike.

After doing up an ebay special, last year I did the Norwich 50 and finally finished the year with a 105, get in!

Sounds like you're making a good start and getting some good advice on CC, defo with the proper shorts, cycle computer, plan some nice local routes and just get out on the bike

 

[Ajay]

Hi Kaiser,
don't be put off using your turbo. Don't beat yourself up if the idea of going out in the cold/wet/dark isn't turning you on, a blast on the turbo is a far better than sitting in front of the telly. I would't get hung up on times and distances either, just see it as good exercise, similar to a gym session on treadmill/crosstrainer etc, you'll improve your fitness and it'll make rides more enjoyable when you do go on the road.
Anyway, spring's almost here, blue sky and lambs in the fields for my ride today, so it'll be easier to get out, whether it's a 5 or 100miler, enjoy your cycling, that's important thing.
(I'm 6'1" and 16st9lb, so you're a lightweight)

 

[Dan B]

Hi Kaiser,
don't be put off using your turbo. Don't beat yourself up if the idea of going out in the cold/wet/dark isn't turning you on, a blast on the turbo is a far better than sitting in front of the telly.

+1 this, do whatever works for you. I often do the turbo thing if it looks dark and wet out, because dark + wet + traffic is not a fun ride for me. The turbo's not exactly "fun" either, but at least it has less chance that a moment's inattention plus a taxi driver's moment's inattention will see me sliding along tarmac.

 

[Norm]

I think clothing and "too cold" are very personal measures.

I ride in temperatures below freezing with just a long sleeved t-shirt and a hi-viz unlined jacket on the top, thin polycotton walking trousers, short-fingered gloves and trainers, with a buff under the (optional) helmet when it's more than a few degrees below freezing. I know that many need to wear more than that, though, so I'd try a 3-mile road ride in "normal" clothes before you spend anything.

On the subject of distance, turn it down a bit if you want to go further. Usain Bolt gets pretty tired in only 9.5 seconds to cover 100m, he'd go a little slower if he wanted to match the 2 hours 15 mins that Paula Radcliffe takes to do 26 miles. I can be shattered 1km into my commute but feeling ok 40 minutes and 10 miles later.

 

[reacher]

i'v done all my training on a crappy spin bike in a gym , nothing like a real bike , but its not as bad as people make out , it has a lot of benifets in that if your like me i have to train most times at ten at night , who wants to be mowed down by a truck in the pitch black when you can train with some music , warm envirement , safe , and do as much or as little as you want without getting frozen solid ,
and used properly it can be a hell of a work out ,

 

[Norm]

Which just shows how different we all are. Riding at 10pm is great fun, one of the best times to ride, IMO.

 

[alci4]

Welcome m8

I am no expert by far but i think getting out on the bike will help you up your distance

if u are on your trainer and you hit 5 miles you feel the need to stop you just stop

if u are on the road and you hit five miles and you need to stop you dont have the choice cause you got another 5 to get home

and that ride home aint as bad or scary as it sounds and it's a lot more satisfying when you get there

i Dont have a trainer but have tried excersise bikes and hated them they bored me whitless which is why i would never have thought i would enjoy cycling as much as i do

nothing better than getting out and seeing things and places on your doorstep you never knew existed

i'm 5'11 and 16st9lb and doing 50 mile rides up from 5 mile rides 9 months ago

enjoy ur bike and i hope you get out of it what i do

 

[brokenbetty]

sorry if these seem like stupid questions, i'd rather ask on here than look a fool in my local cycle shop..

Not much to add except to say...

ask all the stupid questions you want, but please don't waste time worrying about what the cycle shop guy thinks of you.

The good ones will be happy to help any beginner, and the bad ones won't be any help no matter how good you are so sod 'em!

 

[downfader]

Welcome!!!!

My routine for going past 5 miles was like this:

-carry a bottle of drink (cycle bottles and holders are great for this reason). Hydration is important. If I'm doing a 10-20 mile blast I will carry about 500ml of drink. I prefer orange juice and water at 50:50 as it tastes better than dedicated sports drinks.

-being outdoors definetly helps inspire you. Nice scenery, hearing the birds sing, fresh air.

-sports clothing has helped. It stops me getting sore in the nether regions. You dont need to spend a fortune, wiggle and chain reaction do cheap deals (DHB cycling bib shorts are great for the summer, only about £35 iirc)

-ALWAYS start with a warm up. Aim for 15-30 minutes of gentle riding, depending on the distance and how hilly it might be. After that you can start to crank it up a bit..

-try to predict what gears you'll be needing before you actually have to use them. So if a hill is coming up, spin the pedals a little more and drop it in to an easier ring as you hit it, rather than struggling half way up. Its also better for your knees imo.

-turbos are great, especially if you dont have all the kit, or have confidence issues with bad weather, ice. One thing I will say however is to check your rear tyre for undue wear. If you're only going to use the turbo you can get special tyres that wear less, but these cant be used on the roads

Cycle clubs can definately be a great boost to getting fit. If you join a local club, campaign or CTC they will all often do beginners and gentler 10 mile rides. You can even sometimes get on the spot advice such as "change gear here", or "move out right here for visibility" at bends in roads. The other benefit is that you can ask them about their kit, see lights working, how they fit, etc.

+1 on cycle shops. A good shop will help you out as much as they can, its good for future business. They're also used to it, with many people picking up bikes to save money on petrol/deisel, get fit etc lately.

 

[Shrim]

Just to add...

With regard to clothing on the cheap I used these (and still do)

http://www.sportsdir...rts-mens-636124

There is a sports direct in most towns, or you might have a decathlon that will do a simillar thing. Be carefull if you but them from sports direct as they often have the padded and unpadded ones on the same rail.

Thanks Paulkraken for the recommendation, been out today and bought these tights. Good quality and great value.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

There's lots of excellent advice here.

One other thing that you might find is that once you get out on the streets with your bike the whole rhythm of road cycling is quite unlike a turbo trainer or an exercise bike. You stop, you start, you cycle at different speeds, you struggle up hills but once you get to the top you can use the downhill to recuperate, you find you spend your time concentrating on traffic and general roadcraft and this will move your attention away from the purely physical effort involved. All these changes of rhythm and speed and road conditions add a great deal of variety and stimulation, and bit by bit, you learn to ''rest'' - or at least conserve energy - while you're still making forward progress. You might push yourself from one set of lights to get up to speed and then relax a little, going for a sustainable rate of effort. And the more you can relax in the saddle, the longer you'll want to ride, and the distances will gradually increase.

If you can give yourself one hour out on the bike, I'd be very surprised if you can't do more than 5 miles. Sure, your average speed will be lower but you don't have to deal with headwinds or red lights on a turbo.

After a long lay off followed by a health problem, I returned to cycling a couple of years ago. Unused to being back in the saddle, I was able to tire myself out on an 8-mile hill-free there-and-back commute. Today I did 50 miles - no world record times, of course - but I couldn't have done that without really suffering even 1 year ago. It does come, slowly and steadily - actually that's not true, it really doesn't come steadily - it sometimes comes in leaps and bounds and sometimes it just seems to stall.

I'm convinced that the happier and more comfortable you are in the saddle, the further you'll go.

 

[teletext45]

i struggled like mad at first, but keep at it, i started doing 2 miles which killed me and now i do 30/40 miles and feel mint!

 

[Cringles]

Hey Kaiser. I'm from N. Ireland to myself. I've only taken up cycling over the last 4-5 weeks. I was also doing 5-6 miles on a exercise bike for a while. I then moved to cycling around the local park, which is about 3 miles. But now I'm doing 15-20 miles on a regular bases. I still haven't the confidence to cycle in busy areas. I keep to country roads, and small towns. Slowly building miles and confidence. I've managed 100 miles in the last 26 days, which isn't bad i say!