Ready to start!

[vickster]

I really appreciate everyone’s advice and am taking everything into account.
For me - any distance/time for my initial cycle is a bonus at this point. I’m very apprehensive about getting on a bike and felt like bambi on ice when I had a little cycle the other day.
I can walk 2 miles quite easily haha.
I think for my first ride, I’m going to cycle to what feels comfortable and have fun. Get used to being on two wheels and get used to the fancy gears on this bike. I’ve never used a bike with 2 clickers on each handle to go through the gears. And also - not fall off!
After that - I’ll start training seriously and take it from there.
ive already cut back on calories to create a deficit for weight loss and am drinking plenty of water to hydrate myself. I’ve also upped my protein for muscle mass and to get those much needed gains! If anyone can offer any more advice with regards to nutrition I’d be very greatful!
Finally, I have committed to the velo now. Signed up and registered to take part to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society last night. So, that’s that!
Never done anything close to this before so the challenge itself is daunting! But game on!

ive always been a high achiever!
God bless my hips, thighs and knees!

Make sure your saddle height and position is ok and your knees, hips and thighs will thank you

good luck

 

[Reynard]

I really appreciate everyone’s advice and am taking everything into account.
For me - any distance/time for my initial cycle is a bonus at this point. I’m very apprehensive about getting on a bike and felt like bambi on ice when I had a little cycle the other day.
I can walk 2 miles quite easily haha.
I think for my first ride, I’m going to cycle to what feels comfortable and have fun. Get used to being on two wheels and get used to the fancy gears on this bike. I’ve never used a bike with 2 clickers on each handle to go through the gears. And also - not fall off!
After that - I’ll start training seriously and take it from there.
ive already cut back on calories to create a deficit for weight loss and am drinking plenty of water to hydrate myself. I’ve also upped my protein for muscle mass and to get those much needed gains! If anyone can offer any more advice with regards to nutrition I’d be very greatful!
Finally, I have committed to the velo now. Signed up and registered to take part to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society last night. So, that’s that!
Never done anything close to this before so the challenge itself is daunting! But game on!

ive always been a high achiever!
God bless my hips, thighs and knees!

Just eat sensibly. Fads are just that, fads, and don't cut back *too* much on the calories as you don't want to be "riding on empty".

Porridge is a good breakfast if you ride out in the morning though, as it keeps you going for ages. Likewise, things like jacket spuds and beans, avocado on toast or even the good old pork pie. Swap white bread, pasta & rice for wholegrain. Bulgur wheat is wholegrain too.

Once you start going out on the bike for longer, pack a banana and some haribo. Flapjacks are good, so are salty things like mini cheddars. Everyone is different as to how long they can ride before they need to take fuel on board - If I'm going to be riding 20 miles or more, then I've always got something stashed in my bar bag.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I’m going to cycle ...... and have fun.

If you do this everything else will fall into place easier.

If I have it right you've got your bike, your clothing and now your goal. Give your mind a rest for a while and just enjoy your cycling.

Concentrate on finding nice places to cycle to, maybe nice people to cycle with. Discover the wonderful things cycling can deliver to you.
Personally, I wouldn't be worried about special nutrition. Just eat as healthy as you can.
At the end of the day I'd rather be enjoying my cycling with a spare tyre than being lean & fit with a smile nowhere to be seen.
If you can do both, more power to you!

Practical tip: https://cycle.travel/ is great for planning rides on quiet roads.

Best of luck.

 

[Racing roadkill]

I really appreciate everyone’s advice and am taking everything into account.
For me - any distance/time for my initial cycle is a bonus at this point. I’m very apprehensive about getting on a bike and felt like bambi on ice when I had a little cycle the other day.
I can walk 2 miles quite easily haha.
I think for my first ride, I’m going to cycle to what feels comfortable and have fun. Get used to being on two wheels and get used to the fancy gears on this bike. I’ve never used a bike with 2 clickers on each handle to go through the gears. And also - not fall off!
After that - I’ll start training seriously and take it from there.
ive already cut back on calories to create a deficit for weight loss and am drinking plenty of water to hydrate myself. I’ve also upped my protein for muscle mass and to get those much needed gains! If anyone can offer any more advice with regards to nutrition I’d be very greatful!
Finally, I have committed to the velo now. Signed up and registered to take part to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society last night. So, that’s that!
Never done anything close to this before so the challenge itself is daunting! But game on!

ive always been a high achiever!
God bless my hips, thighs and knees!

Good on you it sounds like you’re doing the right things, good luck with it. The most important thing is that you are enjoying it.

 

[Racing roadkill]

an ex professional coach who tells someone ,who hasn't been on a bike for 14 years and by their own admission is overweight and unfit , that anything less than 5 miles is a waste of time.
have a look at the numerous posts from members of this forum that have admitted when they took up/returned to cycling couldnt manage anything like 5 miles.
anyhow this isnt helping the op so my last post on the matter.

Yes, but we are dealing with someone who has a goal to achieve, and a finite amount of time to do it, that’s a really key difference here. It’s not just someone who has restarted riding, with no particular plan of attack / specific goal in mind.

 

[CXRAndy]

Practical tip: https://cycle.travel/ is great for planning rides on quiet roads.

Once you can cycle upto 10-20miles. Id used to like to search for a nice cafe/pub and plot a route how to get there choosing quiet roads.

Cycle.travel. is a good choice. So is Strava route plotter(it uses most common routes riders choose). Also Google maps cycle mode works very well, quickly showing the elevation, so no surprises.

 

[mjr]

Get used to being on two wheels and get used to the fancy gears on this bike. I’ve never used a bike with 2 clickers on each handle to go through the gears.

Don't worry if not. I've been riding 40 years and still sound like I'm playing the flipping castanets when I get on a bike like that. Which lever goes which way to tighten again? And which gear was I in to start with? Oh not that one. Oops.

My most ridden bikes have one lever by the right brake. The fast one has two levers either side of the down tube. I don't see much attraction in wobbly brake levers for non-racers... but if you've got 'em, learn 'em for now, at least well enough for this ride. Not enough time for an exploration of radically different bike controls as well as getting fit!

 

[mjr]

Once you can cycle upto 10-20miles. Id used to like to search for a nice cafe/pub and plot a route how to get there choosing quiet roads.

Cycle.travel. is a good choice. So is Strava route plotter(it uses most common routes riders choose). Also Google maps cycle mode works very well, quickly showing the elevation, so no surprises.

Nice people don't tell beginners to follow Google's cycle directions. They are truly awful in many places. Cycle.travel will show elevation quickly enough and really not send you up busy dual carriageways for no reason.

 

[icowden]

Don't know if this helps, but regarding the list of scary things earlier in the post, I have a couple of very simple techniques for dealing with the vehicular ones that seems to work well. For large vehicles It's the philosophy of "chillax and let the big scary thing go first / finish reversing". The other is to take control where there isn't safe room for someone to pass you. This involves cycling in "prime" or the middle of your side of the carriageway rather than trying to be humble and cycle in the gutter.

Round here the most dangerous obstacle in day to day cycling is potholius nonfixus, especially after rain. Oh and metal drain covers they can be surprisingly slippy.

 

[CXRAndy]

Nice people don't tell beginners to follow Google's cycle directions. They are truly awful in many places. Cycle.travel will show elevation quickly enough and really not send you up busy dual carriageways for no reason.

I use all three of the above, Google is a quick way of assessing distance, elevation and rest, food stop facilities.

You don't have to use it if the route looks unsuitable. You can pull the route like the others to give better guidance.

 

[icowden]

You can also streetview your route in advance which is nice.

 

[Reynard]

I’ve never used a bike with 2 clickers on each handle to go through the gears.

Ah, trigger shifters. Really instinctive once you get the hang of them. Have them on my hybrid.

The way I remember how to use them is this way:

Right hand is for back gears i.e. cassette.

Left hand is for front gears i.e. chainrings

Push with your thumb to select a bigger cog, pull with your index finger to select a smaller one.

But what you have to remember is that with your right hand shift, selecting a bigger cog gives you a lower gear (easier to ride or you go slower) and with the left hand shift, selecting a bigger chainring gives you a higher gear (harder to ride or you go faster). Sounds a bit weird at first, but soon you won't even be thinking about it, you'll just "do" it.

 

[nickAKA]

ive already cut back on calories to create a deficit for weight loss and am drinking plenty of water to hydrate myself. I’ve also upped my protein for muscle mass and to get those much needed gains! If anyone can offer any more advice with regards to nutrition I’d be very greatful!
Finally, I have committed to the velo now. Signed up and registered to take part to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society last night. So, that’s that!
Never done anything close to this before so the challenge itself is daunting! But game on!

ive always been a high achiever!
God bless my hips, thighs and knees!

If you're getting out and doing (for instance) an hours reasonably strenuous excercise - ie doing enough to get a sweat on and become out of breath - you'll be using up a considerable amount of calories; maintaining your current diet should see you 'turn the corner' and start to lose some weight gradually, assuming you're not massively overeating and your diet is pretty well balanced. We could all improve our diets of course, but aiming for weight loss goals whatever the cost is the hair shirt method which generally results in added pressure, eventual failure & self-loathing.
I can only go from my personal experience here and repeat, DON'T obsess on your weight right now - concentrate on getting your stamina & fitness to a level where being on the bike for 6 hours + won't mess you up for a week afterwards You will lose weight as a consequence of these efforts over time if you carry on exercising and eat sensibly - you don't need to torture yourself. Once you're fit enough to be blase about riding 20, 30, 40 + miles the rest will take care of itself.
Slow & steady is the best way, you're young and have time on your side!

 

[RoadRider400]

Also, try and go to one of those basic bike maintenance courses that teach you how to deal with the most common technical issues you might encounter on the road.

Most local bicycle shops organise them regularly.

There's nothing worse than being away from home with a puncture you don't know how to fix.

Or just watch them on youtube for free without even leaving home. You can watch various different videos and get slightly different takes on the same issue. Personally I find the tutorials on the Global Cycling Network very good.

Speaking on the topic if flats. As OP is a newbie I would be inclined to suggest changing the inner rather than patching up at the side of the road.

 

[LibraRider]

Thanks so much for all of your advice so far, I’m feeling fairly confident in getting going now. Planning to have my first ride tomorrow and see how it goes.

I was wondering if you guys could help me with a few questions though.

I have a carrera vengeance flat bar hybrid bike. Managed to get it second hand from EBay for £140 so I thought that’s a pretty good deal just for my start out bike. Since being on here and browsing various other forums I’ve noticed that Carreras get a bit of stick. Is there any reason for this?

Also, this morning before setting out to work I was having a mess around with the preload on the front wheel. I read last night that if you are a heavier rider (which I am) it’s better to have the bike at a high preload, so I decided to turn it right the way up. Only now I’ve found that the front wheel jerks around. I didn’t have time to look at it properly this morning so will have another look when I get home - but any ideas why this might be?

Thanks again!