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I've heard there's a special saddle you can get to help with that
I think I heard about those saddles somewhere!
Now now you two
Learning...
- Thread starter swampyseifer
- Start date
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Now now you two
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swampyseifer
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Milton Keynes. UK
Indeed! Thats why I havent worried about things like "padded pants" as my wife refers to the shorts that were mentioned in this thread...or lights,a helmet, mudguards et al
My main concern at the moment is to get the balance-control...I only messed with the gears a little bit because the effort required to cycle means I'm stopping every 20-30 seconds (tho typically that caused a whole heap of bother!) and it felt like it was holding me back from getting lots of practise in
Hatties
New Member
- Location
- New Barnet
Stupidly I bought a second pair of lights, a windproof jacket and winter cycling gloves even before my bike was delivered. I won't be needing them until I can actually start commuting on my bike. I was too optimistic. I should've seen the reality before buying anything extra.
At least other stuff I bought, such as a helmet and a hi-vis vest aren't wasted. I use them on my practice ride.
It's been so frustrating. I want to practice at least 3 days a week but my work and my low fitness level dictate me that I can do it only once in a week. The biggest obstacle is really the fitness level. I get tired easily and get aches everywhere... shoulders, arms and legs. I'm not even doing it vigorously. It's just gentle leisurely cycling (round and round in circles) in the flat area for 40 - 50 mins with having a break every 10 mins. Just to cycle is such a struggle for me.
I was inspired by the Danes as they look so effortless in cycling. I thought they were like the ordinary city folkes like you and me. I thought I could enjoy cycling in my daily life just like them (errr.. except for the fact that we have no proper cycle lanes, bicycle intolerant drivers and hills). But they must be making an effort to maintain a good fitness level then. This makes me realise that how much I'm incapable of doing anything active. I thought my lifestyle wasn't too bad but in fact it was. It kinda scares me.
Hatties - don't be scared, treat it as a wake-up call and make sure you change it.
I've had a huge journey in the past year and really feel the benefits but it has meant a lot of hard work. The thing about both of you in this thread though, is that compared with most people you have both determined to make a change, which is a good starting point.
I've had a huge journey in the past year and really feel the benefits but it has meant a lot of hard work. The thing about both of you in this thread though, is that compared with most people you have both determined to make a change, which is a good starting point.
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swampyseifer
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Milton Keynes. UK
Sounds like you're waaaay fitter than me when it comes to cycling...40-50mins? I can barely manage a minute if I really push myself, so I wouldnt worry too much, you just need to keep at it and the fitness will come.
Hattie & Swampyseifer.
Keep at it guys. The fitness will come in time and time is what it takes.
A lot of us here on the forum have been through similar situations, myself included.
I used to ride with clubs up to the age of 24. Gave up on bikes and decided to return to them at the age of 40. Bought a run of the mill hybrid, jumped on thinking hey cycling was easy. I bought the bike to cycle to the station and back to commute. It was only a mile and half, how easy is that? Well on the way to the station was easy enough as it was mostly downhill, on the way back however, blimey, it took 10 minutes to get home but half an hour to recover. My wife thought I was going to have a heart attack. I was the colour of beetroot and my heart felt like it was trying to escape from my chest. This was going to be a tough journey I told myself. I was never going to get fit just cycling to the station and back so I decided to do half mile loops of where I live. After work and every weekend I would spend doing these loops, round and round, building the distance, stamina and speed up over time.. It wasn't too long that I could manage 10 miles in 40 minutes. I then started looking for cycling groups and started going out with my local LCC group The Bromley Cyclists. An informal group of cyclists that did about 40-50 miles at a nice slower pace and building up my mileage with those guys. Fast forward 6 years, I am now 4 stone lighter and probrably more fitter then I have ever been. I do a 35 mile round commute and as you can see from my ticker below my target was 10,000 miles for the year which I will reach today.
So stick with it guys, it becomes easier, it becomes fun and it becomes more expensive as you will want all new shiny bike stuff as you get more into cycling
. You will lose weight, you will get fitter and you will meet fellow people/cyclists that are in the same situation with you.
Keep us all informed of your progress, as the Cycle Chatters are behind you all the way with the support you need.
Keep at it guys. The fitness will come in time and time is what it takes.
A lot of us here on the forum have been through similar situations, myself included.
I used to ride with clubs up to the age of 24. Gave up on bikes and decided to return to them at the age of 40. Bought a run of the mill hybrid, jumped on thinking hey cycling was easy. I bought the bike to cycle to the station and back to commute. It was only a mile and half, how easy is that? Well on the way to the station was easy enough as it was mostly downhill, on the way back however, blimey, it took 10 minutes to get home but half an hour to recover. My wife thought I was going to have a heart attack. I was the colour of beetroot and my heart felt like it was trying to escape from my chest. This was going to be a tough journey I told myself. I was never going to get fit just cycling to the station and back so I decided to do half mile loops of where I live. After work and every weekend I would spend doing these loops, round and round, building the distance, stamina and speed up over time.. It wasn't too long that I could manage 10 miles in 40 minutes. I then started looking for cycling groups and started going out with my local LCC group The Bromley Cyclists. An informal group of cyclists that did about 40-50 miles at a nice slower pace and building up my mileage with those guys. Fast forward 6 years, I am now 4 stone lighter and probrably more fitter then I have ever been. I do a 35 mile round commute and as you can see from my ticker below my target was 10,000 miles for the year which I will reach today.
So stick with it guys, it becomes easier, it becomes fun and it becomes more expensive as you will want all new shiny bike stuff as you get more into cycling
. You will lose weight, you will get fitter and you will meet fellow people/cyclists that are in the same situation with you.Keep us all informed of your progress, as the Cycle Chatters are behind you all the way with the support you need.
This thread has coaxed me out of lurking. Well done Swampy and Hatties!
I learned as an adult last year, with a schools bikeability instructor who also did private sessions. My daughter was 2 and I really wanted to be part of her learning to ride, not just watching from the sidelines. I learned by riding on the housing estate where I live, and I'm planning to do bikeability 3 in the new year, as I need to ride some busier roads now for the nursery run and forthcoming school run (I tow my daughter in a trailer too).
Anyway, hang in there, and ride whenever you can. Even if it's just 3 minutes around the block in the cold. The more you do, the easier it gets. It's not exactly interesting reading, but Cyclecraft is great for learning roadskills, it helped me to get better at safe and assertive riding. Happy riding!
I learned as an adult last year, with a schools bikeability instructor who also did private sessions. My daughter was 2 and I really wanted to be part of her learning to ride, not just watching from the sidelines. I learned by riding on the housing estate where I live, and I'm planning to do bikeability 3 in the new year, as I need to ride some busier roads now for the nursery run and forthcoming school run (I tow my daughter in a trailer too).
Anyway, hang in there, and ride whenever you can. Even if it's just 3 minutes around the block in the cold. The more you do, the easier it gets. It's not exactly interesting reading, but Cyclecraft is great for learning roadskills, it helped me to get better at safe and assertive riding. Happy riding!
Hatties
New Member
- Location
- New Barnet
Nebulous, ianrauk and Hebe, thanks for encouragement. It means a lot to me, particularly at this stage where my confidence level is sooo low.
It may sound impressive as a beginner but 40-50 mins actually include the breaktime. The real cycling time maybe about 30 mins. Mind you I still can't balance properly at slow speed. So I'm not doing a great distance. It's probably a little over 1 mile. I do 10 mins at the start. I get a break for about a minute, then cycle another 5-10 mins. The cycling time gets shorter and shorter between the break until my legs start killing me. I usually push my bike back home after I finish my practice. Once I'm home, I collapse on my bed and die. Muscle aches starts on the following day and I need 2 days to recover.
Perhaps I should make it even shorter to avoid getting completely exhausted. I'm currently doing just one practice ride a week on Sat. Perhaps I should shorten it to 20 mins and do both Sat and Sat...
It may sound impressive as a beginner but 40-50 mins actually include the breaktime. The real cycling time maybe about 30 mins. Mind you I still can't balance properly at slow speed. So I'm not doing a great distance. It's probably a little over 1 mile. I do 10 mins at the start. I get a break for about a minute, then cycle another 5-10 mins. The cycling time gets shorter and shorter between the break until my legs start killing me. I usually push my bike back home after I finish my practice. Once I'm home, I collapse on my bed and die. Muscle aches starts on the following day and I need 2 days to recover.
Perhaps I should make it even shorter to avoid getting completely exhausted. I'm currently doing just one practice ride a week on Sat. Perhaps I should shorten it to 20 mins and do both Sat and Sat...
Mugshot
Cracking a solo.
Hi Hatties, lack of fitness and conditioning aside, if you're feeling that exhausted following a ride are you using the right gear for the terrain and without getting too complicated, is your bike set up properly for you, handlebar and seat height?
You may be making things much harder than they need to be.
You may be making things much harder than they need to be.
Hatties
New Member
- Location
- New Barnet
I think I've got the right saddle height. I've searched all over the internet to find out what it should be. The height of the handlebar can't be adjusted cos my bike's Brompton. It's M Type and supposed to give upright position. But I'm a very small person so my posture on the bike gets slightly leaning forward. I use the lightest gear (I don't know the technical word for this...) at the start. If the street I'm in is long or wide enough to do 10mph, I switch to the second gear when the speed reaches to the comfortable level for me to balance properly. But then I use the lightest gear all the time when my legs starts to feel. I've never used the heaviest gear. It's just too heavy and my legs can't manage it for now. There are only 3 levels on the gear. I hope I'm doing it right though.
I've got a feeling that Brompton may not be an ideal bicycle to practice though.
SavageHoutkop
Veteran
- Location
- South Manchester-ish
I learnt to ride as a kid but never rode far at all. I then bought a Brompton 4 years back. You will get the hang of it don't worry
The Brompton is a lot more twitchy than other bikes so it is probably harder to learn on so you are doing BRILLIANT at the moment and keep it up!!(my first cycle was in to work on the test bike from the bike shop, I almost died halfway in, then I realised I'd got the way the gears work all mucked up in my head and I think I was cycling in top gear all the way
)
SavageHoutkop
Veteran
- Location
- South Manchester-ish
The ideal saddle height on the Brompton is pretty much so you have an almost straight leg on the down stroke; but if you are worried about falling off you'll probably start with it lower than that so it will be harder to pedal. You are using the gears perfectly. We saw someone in Brussels who was on a bike tour of the city on a Brompton (hired) who had the saddle so far down that the bike couldn't fold as she wanted to be able to put her feet down flat easily...
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swampyseifer
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Milton Keynes. UK
The most important thing Hattie is that youre getting out there and having a go...keep at it and you'll get there!
Speaking of getting out there...I went out today! As usual, my cycling days are full of progress and problems!
Considering the wet weather and the fact that I'm finding it so hard to cycle, I thought it was time to try tarmac. Thankfully there is a carpark thing near where I live thats dead quiet, probably 300-400 meters long and 10 meters across, perfect for being able to just run up and down without too much panic of veering off and not having the time to correct it before smacking into a wall.
Typically as I was affixing the front wheel and pumping up the tyres (something I do before each ride)...it started poring with rain...and blowing a gale! But I thought "sod it!" I'm a big boy, I can take a bit of wind and rain! Silly me, really! I should also point out I'm full of cold...got runny nose, headaches and a nasty chesty cough...but I *wanted* to get out there!
Anyway, pushed off and barely went anywhere before coming off. But I know that i've barely got the hang of it, so I expect it to take a few runs each time I get on. But on the 2nd go I was off...cycling down this long carpark. Really prefer the tarmac, I had the gears in front2 and rear4...it was silky smooth and so much easier to pedal.
Anyway, unsuprisingly after 10 seconds or so my glasses were getting hard to see through! I risked lifting one hand to wipe them...course I near enough instantly spun the bike off at a sharp angle, so I snapped my hand back down to the handlebars to correct. Which then spun round!!! Not the whole stem and the wheel, the actual horizontal bar turned round so all the controls where on the other side. Obviously this nearly threw me off as I nearly lost complete hold of the handlebar!
Anyway, I thought I'm nearing the end of the run, i'll just turn round, go back to the car and I can get the allen key out, loosen the bar, spin it round and tighten it again. So I was nearing the end of the carpark, which is walled all round, so I started to try and lean to turn the bike...but clearly the wind had other plans...I guess being at the end of a walled rectangle the wind was just spinning round and it was making it near impossible to go where I wanted! And the wall was getting closer and closer, but I thought I would ride it out, as I could just brake if I got too close....then the thought hit me...I COULDNT BRAKE! the brake handles where on the other side of the handle bar and I nearly went over just lifting a hand last time, never mind trying to pull on the brake. So anyway, the wall was only a foot or so away, so I slammed my right foot down to stop meself...this (if you can believe it, is where it actually goes bad)...somehow (I blame the wind) the front gear went up the inside of my trouser leg...it scraped across my ankle bone, finally snagged in my jeans...tearing them...and stopping the bike almost instantly! Momentum threw me forwards towards the wall...so I had to throw my hand up to stop myself which of course scrapped al the skin off - which REALLY hurts in the freezing cold!
Anyway, after much swearing I just walked back to the car...took the front wheel off, threw the bike in the back of the car and drove home!
Speaking of getting out there...I went out today! As usual, my cycling days are full of progress and problems!
Considering the wet weather and the fact that I'm finding it so hard to cycle, I thought it was time to try tarmac. Thankfully there is a carpark thing near where I live thats dead quiet, probably 300-400 meters long and 10 meters across, perfect for being able to just run up and down without too much panic of veering off and not having the time to correct it before smacking into a wall.
Typically as I was affixing the front wheel and pumping up the tyres (something I do before each ride)...it started poring with rain...and blowing a gale! But I thought "sod it!" I'm a big boy, I can take a bit of wind and rain! Silly me, really! I should also point out I'm full of cold...got runny nose, headaches and a nasty chesty cough...but I *wanted* to get out there!
Anyway, pushed off and barely went anywhere before coming off. But I know that i've barely got the hang of it, so I expect it to take a few runs each time I get on. But on the 2nd go I was off...cycling down this long carpark. Really prefer the tarmac, I had the gears in front2 and rear4...it was silky smooth and so much easier to pedal.
Anyway, unsuprisingly after 10 seconds or so my glasses were getting hard to see through! I risked lifting one hand to wipe them...course I near enough instantly spun the bike off at a sharp angle, so I snapped my hand back down to the handlebars to correct. Which then spun round!!! Not the whole stem and the wheel, the actual horizontal bar turned round so all the controls where on the other side. Obviously this nearly threw me off as I nearly lost complete hold of the handlebar!
Anyway, I thought I'm nearing the end of the run, i'll just turn round, go back to the car and I can get the allen key out, loosen the bar, spin it round and tighten it again. So I was nearing the end of the carpark, which is walled all round, so I started to try and lean to turn the bike...but clearly the wind had other plans...I guess being at the end of a walled rectangle the wind was just spinning round and it was making it near impossible to go where I wanted! And the wall was getting closer and closer, but I thought I would ride it out, as I could just brake if I got too close....then the thought hit me...I COULDNT BRAKE! the brake handles where on the other side of the handle bar and I nearly went over just lifting a hand last time, never mind trying to pull on the brake. So anyway, the wall was only a foot or so away, so I slammed my right foot down to stop meself...this (if you can believe it, is where it actually goes bad)...somehow (I blame the wind) the front gear went up the inside of my trouser leg...it scraped across my ankle bone, finally snagged in my jeans...tearing them...and stopping the bike almost instantly! Momentum threw me forwards towards the wall...so I had to throw my hand up to stop myself which of course scrapped al the skin off - which REALLY hurts in the freezing cold!
Anyway, after much swearing I just walked back to the car...took the front wheel off, threw the bike in the back of the car and drove home!
Hatties
New Member
- Location
- New Barnet
A ha... My suspicion was correct then. What I remember about riding a bike as a kid hardly applies to what I feel about riding my Brompton. I'm almost re-learning how to ride a bike. But I'm glad to know that I haven't forgotten how to ride a bike. I can blame my bike for the difficulty I'm experiencing. hehe...
I know what it's like!
It adds an extra step in folding/unfolding. The saddle pole on my Brompton is set so low that the pole sticks out from the tube on the bottom. It's because I'm a small person and my feet can't reach the pedal in the "normal" position. I could adjust it even lower to enable my feet reaching the ground easily. I might feel more comfortable cos I wouldn't fall off easily if I lose control. I'll try that next time.I should've done the same. I was due to do the practice today but I didn't. The weather was fine but I've been feeling poorly since yesterday due to a tooth infection. Getting muscle aches while having the toothache didn't appeal to me. But I feel guilty now.
