My 1st ride

[Jayjay11]

Hi all, I had my first bike ride to work yesterday. It was a 20mile round trip. The 10miles in was a downhill trip with a few hills, I completed this in 50mins. On my way back was a much more difficult task. It was uphill all the way with the hills of course, it took me longer to complete the 10miles an hour and 10mins to be exact.

Although I'm overweight I was hoping to do much better than that especially with all the spinning classes I've been doing.

What do you all suggestion I can do to improve??

Thanks in advance

 

[Xiorell]

cycle, cycle and then cycle some more.

Honestly my fittness and general proficiency on a bike has progressed way more than I would have expected in the 3months or so I've been "back in the saddle", I'm hammering it up hills and such now that might has well have been Everest when I first brought the bike.

 

[abo]

It'll come Can't offer you any specific advice, I'm new to this myself and I've a MTB so can't really compare...

 

[perplexed]

Well done!

Just keep at it, you'll soon get quicker.

My short commute home, slightly uphill, used to take about 18 minutes on average when I first started. Now it's about 11 minutes, though I've done it in 10.

I've just built up my mileage over a period of time.

 

[rjwilki3]

cant really add much more than what has been said already, but good on you for getting on the bike and having a go.

I started about 3 months ago and was 18 stone, im now down to about 16 and am feeling so much better for it all, its amazing just how quickly you build up the pace and stamina.

the best bit of advice that I can offer is go clipless as soon as you are feeling comfortable on the bike, probably the one thing you can do that will make the biggest difference especially on the hills. I managed to pick up my shoes and peddles off ebay for about 30 quid so the outlay does not need to be that big if you are willing to go second hand.

Most of all enjoy it

 

[Atyl1972]

id like to say well done to you too sir for having a go

cant really add much more than what has been said already, but good on you for getting on the bike and having a go.

I started about 3 months ago and was 18 stone, im now down to about 16 and am feeling so much better for it all, its amazing just how quickly you build up the pace and stamina.

the best bit of advice that I can offer is go clipless as soon as you are feeling comfortable on the bike, probably the one thing you can do that will make the biggest difference especially on the hills. I managed to pick up my shoes and peddles off ebay for about 30 quid so the outlay does not need to be that big if you are willing to go second hand.

Most of all enjoy it

 

[Cubist]

Patience! 10 miles is a good distance, and the time you did it in was right for you!!!!.

You'll improve on it over time, and in the meantime you'll grow the biggest calves and quads on the planet. Don't knock yourself out trying to compete against yourself every day, because the day you really want to be going fast you'll find every light against you and a headwind from hell. This only leads to disappointment and a wish that you were in a car or on the bus.

Try different little tricks to improve your speed, like standing up and sprinting the next two lamp posts, changing up a gear as you crest a hill or rise and continuing to suffer after a climb instead of coasting a hundred yards with a huge sigh of relief!

Above all enjoy your ride. If you spoil it too much you won't want to do it. Declare every other ride a "relaxed" ride. You'll be surprised how little time difference there will be compared with a ride you were determined to thrash.

 

[Cyclist33]

Cubist, I take slight issue with that, as when I had a 10/14 mile commute, I used to, admittedly, get pissed off if traffic/lights/weather screwed up record attempts, but that just made me keener... plus I rocked in the office those days!

Got to agree with the relaxed/thrashed differential tho... at best I was getting down from 17 to woooo! 16:30 minutes, but after a shower and a short bout of pre-work misery, there was no real difference!

Stu

 

[on the road]

Hi all, I had my first bike ride to work yesterday. It was a 20mile round trip. The 10miles in was a downhill trip with a few hills, I completed this in 50mins. On my way back was a much more difficult task. It was uphill all the way with the hills of course, it took me longer to complete the 10miles an hour and 10mins to be exact.

Although I'm overweight I was hoping to do much better than that especially with all the spinning classes I've been doing.

What do you all suggestion I can do to improve??

Thanks in advance

Just keep at it, you won't get fit by taking the bus/train or driving there. You won't get fit overnight but one day when you look back you'll realise how much fitter you are than when you first started out.

 

[Globalti]

It's amazing how hills seem to diminish in size as you get fitter.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Agree with everything everyone else has said. Keep it up and enjoy