Encouragement for new riders

[MattL]

This isn't much to brag about for some but if there are any new riders reading this then take heart.

This is my first year of "serious" riding and when I started I was doing a small 1-mile trip (uphill) from my car to the office. By the time I got to the office on my first day, I thought I was going to have a coronary; my heart was pounding, I had a face redder than Hugh Grant's after a trip down Hollywood Boulevard, my chest was tight, I was coughing and I was sweating buckets.

Despite this, I stuck at it and yesterday I rode home from the office, a trip of 20 miles through the North Downs, in one go and arrived home in decent condition.

If you are struggling, then stick it out. Don't give in. The rewards are there for the effort you put in.

 

[Monsieur]

Reassuring!
I can do 5 miles okay-ish but would really like to ride to a local town some 15 miles sway - hope to be able to do this sometime during autumn!
Glad to hear its not just me who struggled on nthe first few rides?
Can I ask how old you are and what physical shape you're in?
Just out of interest and to compare to me!

 

[ianrauk]

A lot of us on here have been in the same situation. Myself, I took up cycling again at 40 after a 20+ year break. 1and Half mile to the station. Was fine on the way there but all uphill on the way back. Took me 7 minutes to get home and 20 minutes to recover. 5 years later I now do a 32 mile round commute, have lost near 4 stone of weight and have a average monthly mileage total of 800 miles.

Keep at it and it does get easier....(but the wallet takes a pounding

)

 

[MattL]

Reassuring!
I can do 5 miles okay-ish but would really like to ride to a local town some 15 miles sway - hope to be able to do this sometime during autumn!
Glad to hear its not just me who struggled on nthe first few rides?
Can I ask how old you are and what physical shape you're in?
Just out of interest and to compare to me!

I'm 33, 5' 11" and 16st 5. No, not the greatest shape but when you consider I've lost just under a stone in weight, 2-3" off of my waist and increased my overall fitness exponentially then on the whole it's a good result for a few months.

The fact I'm even considering an 80-mile ride is a leap forward!

 

[2PedalsTez]

A lot of us on here have been in the same situation. Myself, I took up cycling again at 40 after a 20+ year break. 1and Half mile to the station. Was fine on the way there but all uphill on the way back. Took me 7 minutes to get home and 20 minutes to recover. 5 years later I now do a 32 mile round commute, have lost near 4 stone of weight and have a average monthly mileage total of 800 miles.

Keep at it and it does get easier....(but the wallet takes a pounding

)

+1

I used to cycle everywhere from a young kid through to about 24, I then stopped for about 10 years.. my first ride was about 3 miles and on getting home my wife thought I was going to faint!

Don't get too hung up over distances (unless it is for your own personal challenge).. just enjoy the ride, whatever that may be.
Cycling is bloody good fun and makes you feel good

 

[Twigman]

I am new back to this game.

I am 46 having last ridden in my teens.

I smoke (although I'm trying to quit - it's tough to do and I know all you non-smokers will poo poo it but it is really tough)

I am 46, 13 1/2st , 5ft 9" and my waist has grown to a 34"+ from its former 30-32" of about 10 years ago....

I have turned to cycling to incentivise me to quit the fags, get back to 12st and back into my old jeans....oh and now my marriage is over I'm hoping a leaner me will get laid more easily.



Thanks for your encouragement.

 

[Little yellow Brompton]

Keep at it and it does get easier

Are you sure? I just seem to get a bit faster and less keen at dodging hills!

 

[Globalti]

My first ride on returning to cycling 23 years ago was seven miles. It nearly killed me and I didn't touch the bike for several weeks after that. Now I think nothing of 30 to 40 miles and have done my 100 miler.

 

[Rob3rt]

Maybe I'm a freak of nature but I had no such issues, I bought my bike on the Saturday and then rode it 26 miles comfortably on the Sunday. Then about about 60-80 cumulative miles in the week following.

But I agree regardless, stick it out, you will get better.

 

[BrumJim]

I'm 33, 5' 11" and 16st 5. No, not the greatest shape but when you consider I've lost just under a stone in weight, 2-3" off of my waist and increased my overall fitness exponentially then on the whole it's a good result for a few months.

The fact I'm even considering an 80-mile ride is a leap forward!

Real feel-good story there. Congratulations on keeping at it, and enjoy your new body!

 

[derrick]

Am new to road bikes always rode when i was young, the last few years have been commuting on a mtb about a five mile round trip, and rides through Epping forest twice a month, bought the road bike three weeks ago owing to the rough weather we had i did not ride it till the following weekend, started with a ten mile ride, done that for three nights then went on to 20 miles a night, i found it pretty hard but have seen my average speed go up to 16mph for a twenty mile ride, that involves a few hills, this saturday just gone done 28 miles on the road and six miles in the forest, this saturday i have planned a trip to Harlow distance about forty mile round trip am really looking forward to it, am 59 years young and smoke as well, but i will stop at some point, weight eleven stone, really happy with what i am doing at the moment, i like a drink but i ain't a drunk, lol
Cheers Del.

 

[Hip Priest]

I'm new too. Bought a bike for my 9 mile round commute back in April. The journey was hard work (at first) but with time it's become easy. I'm overweight but no longer obese and my performances at 5-a-side have improved immeasurably! I also spend an inordinate amount of time looking at road bikes and trying not to buy them until I can afford it.

 

[Mikeoupe]

I still feel relatively new to cycling (as an adult) but in reality its been 3 or 4 years since really getting back into it. I picked it up again in my late thirties, I'm now 41 soon to be 42.

I was in my 8th or 9th year of working from home and had truly slipped into the most sedentary of lifestyles, some weeks I barely left the house! I knew I wasn't in good shape, I was doing too much relaxing with alcohol / savoury snacks and I was a couple of stone overweight.

I distinctly remember my first ride at the end of which I was exhausted! I remember my heart thumping hard enough in my chest to genuinely worry me and I'd only cycled two miles.

Looking back it is almost inconceivable that I was in such bad shape. Cycling (both road & MTB) is now a fundamental part of my life, I've lost weight (now 68kg (5' 10")) become stronger and this year in particular my stamina seems to have massively improved. I feel fitter now than I did a decade ago, albeit with a few more wrinkles and less hair

As with the sentiment of the OP cycling is something worth sticking at; sometimes it hurts, the weather, your motivation, life & time aren't always in your favour but the physical and mental rewards for your commitment are (IMHO) well worth it!

 

[fossyant]

Bloody brilliant to anyone starting out -stick at it. You will soon see folk looking at you in a funny way - er how.... happens it's easy just practice.

Go for it.

I believe a large number of my colleagues did the Manchester to Blackpool - I wasn't even notified they had tried - (I'm on another site) but if I had of known, I'd have ridden up and down the route to support them.... I am my department's loony cyclist.. by a long way.

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

Me too. 18 months ago, I thought 10 miles was a bike ride. Last month, I did the Manchester-Blackpool (62 miles) and felt like I could cycle back again. A couple of weeks ago I cycled 33 miles with 2,500ft of climbing (a lot of climbing for me), including one 850ft climb in 2 miles, without getting off and walking once. I'm not a natural hill climber, so a ride with 25% and even 30% hills was pushing it. It feels great!