Feels like slow painful progress

[Garry A]

You WILL get better, really and in not that much time. I used to think top gear on my old bike (it had smaller chainrings) was tough and only for when I was going really fast until I got my new bike with larger chainrings. After a short while on the new bike I could go the old one in top gear from a standing start with little effort.
Stick with it and enjoy

 

[sreten]

Hi,

You can't quadruple distance in 5 rides, it doesn't work like that.

FWIW starting off two bikes are better than one. One for the real rides
and the other a shopper to just ride as much as possible routinely.

My folder is is up to 15 miles and the road bike 10+.

Overal mileage (riding often) is the key to the most improvement.

And of course going faster, I'd suggest you have no idea yet
of how much faster you will / can go on shorter distances.

rgds, sreten.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

These were may first 5 rides and the total time was much more than the ride time

My aim was to get to an avg of 15mph so i could take my camera out ( didn't quite happen like that though)
That 29.76 mile ride I can easily do now in sub 2hrs without stopping, but like you when I started I thought the same how the heck do people do it, but as has been mentioned just ride as much as you can as often as you can, try not to worry about speed this really does come with practise and time as will distance, it took me the best part of a year but by then I could easily do 50-60 mile rides upto 16mph, the most important thing is to be comfortable on the bike.

 

[Fubar]

As everyone else has said it will get better - they don't call it marginal gains for nothing!

You have a target in June to work towards which is great, personally I find it easier to breakdown the time inbetween and set targets for where I want to be each month, i.e. 20 mile ride by the end of September, 30 mile ride by the end of October, etc or a total mileage for the month, 25, 50, 75, etc. towards your goal of June. You should have a rough idea of daily mileage required for the ride (I can't imagine it exceeds 100 miles a day), aim to get up to 75% in one ride of whatever distance they expect of you (or you expect of yourself) by the end of May next year - adrenalin will get you through the extra 25%!

Don't worry about speed at all at the moment, that will come with time (but no harm keeping a note ) - just get your positioning right and enjoy your time on the bike, as I said being goal-orientated works for me but it's not for everyone. In time you'll be amazed you ever went so slow or bothered going out for such a short ride!

Good luck and keep posting! Regards, Mark

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Heres something else i was quoted by someone, that with adequate rest you can ride in a day what you can ride in a week, so for example you get to riding 100+ miles in a week a 100 miles is doable, i was riding up to 300+ miles in a week in just over a year. and upwards of 200 most weeks.

 

[gurninman]

Aberdeen to Pompey ? That's a fair ride, that is
It's a 12 hour drive with stops in the car - how long will you be taking to do it ? a week ?
Fair play to you, having a goal like that to work towards - I'm not planning to do any massive rides, I'm on the bike for fitness, but once my arse has hardened up a bit and my legs get stronger I'll be looking to do the odd 20-30 miler

 

[Markymark]

Are you giving your legs a few days off between rides?

 

[Lemond]

Although I'm a complete newbie myself....

I'd say you're trying too far, too soon. I started to ride in July in preparation for a ride from London to Paris next year, and for the first two weeks I rode the same distance (a couple of miles) every other night, so that my body had time to recover. This also gave me time to get used to riding a bike again, and work a few things out (saddle height and so on). A few tweaks here and there can make a lot of difference, and it's easier to spot improvements when your familiar with a set route.

After two weeks I switched up to 5 miles, with a day's rest in-between...and then another couple of weeks later I was up to 10 miles, still with a day's rest in-between. Then came the new bike which made a massive difference in terms of comfort (along with the padded shorts), and two weeks ago I completed my first 20 mile ride.

My plan now is to keep increasing the distance steadily every month or so; so I'll attempt my first 30 miler at the end of September.

I can still remember coming home after my first two-mile ride in July and struggling to walk up the stairs. To think I could be doing 30 miles (and actually looking forward to it) after only 12 or so weeks is pretty amazing (to me, anyway).

Keep at it and good luck!

 

[MarkF]

my first ride when I got back on the bike after many years was for a mile and a half... I had to lie down for half an hour to recover.
It ain't easy when starting out but it get's easier the more you cycle.

I had to be collected from my first ride, from about a mile away.

 

[Joshua Plumtree]

I had to be collected from my first ride, from about a mile away.

Couldn't walk that distance?

 

[Globalti]

First bike I bought in 1988 was a Raleigh Maverick. I rode it five miles home and nearly died of exhaustion. Now I'm 26 years older but 100 miles isn't too much of a problem.

 

[MarkF]

Couldn't walk that distance?

No, I was fat and unfit. However, within 2 years I'd done a C2C, and a year later I'd ridden across France, Spain was now in my sights............... Re-starting cycling was the best thing I've ever done. I am now 52 and as fit as a butchers dog.

 

[Luked1980]

Thanks for replies sorry for the delay in getting back to everyone. Been on a golf day which hasn't helped the sore legs

I agree with the fact it is a long way and maybe cycling that far in a week is a crazy goal but its for charity and people won't donate if we just ride to the shops and back!

At the moment I am going out Tuesday and Thursdays with hopefully a ride thrown in at the weekend. So should have a bit of leg recovery time

I have a sportive 42 mile ride on 19th October as a slightly shorter term goal. Not sure how that will turn out!!

 

[Saluki]

Just keep riding. Make sure you have fluid and just keep on doing what you are doing. You have 5 weeks to prepare for the sportive so don't panic yourself. Just ride for a while, stop for a cuppa and then ride back again. Don't get hung up on huge distances for the first few weeks as cycle fitness kind of sneaks up on you. As for the sportive, worry not, as it's a whole lot easier to ride further with a bit of company.
Keep us all updated

 

[snorri]

I wouldn't be worrying about mileage at this stage, just get out on the bike as often as possible, two short trips* without pain in one day will be better than a longer trip which leaves you tired or aching.
*20 minutes each, or whatever you feel comfortable with.