Show us your.......newbie progress! [4 Sep 2012 - 4 Oct 2014]

[Phoenix Lincs]

Climbing always knocks the speed back a bit Nigel. Seems pretty good to me.

At least you got out unlike me! Seems much darker this morning. Not sure if it's about to pour again or if it's just the mornings getting darker. Kind of lost my mojo a bit. Will go out but don't think I'll go all that far. I've lost the desire to do big distances at the moment for some reason.

Still, even between an hour and two hours decent exercise is still far more than most of the population do I suppose.

Although I'm really looking forward to Sunday, and I've trained hard, I'm quite looking forward to being able to say "just going out for a ride" and not worrying about distances or speed. My original point of taking up cycling was fitness, not really huge distances, so I'm not planning of turning into an ultra distance cyclist.

Your mojo will return Mo (just realised what I said then) and you'll soon get fired up again. We all need a change every now and then

 

[stevey]

A ticking over ride last night http://app.strava.com/activities/71475502

One thing i would like to change though is getting some clipless pedals and shoes Currently using my MTB pedals at the moment and they really are begining to hurt my feet.

Maybe somthing like these http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-pd-r540-spd-sl-sport-pedals/

And these http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-m10-mountain-bike-cycling-shoe/

 

[Phoenix Lincs]

I had a couple of issues clipping IN on my last couple of rides, weird as I've not had this happen before - must look at my pedals and maybe give them a tweak today!

 

[stevey]

I had a couple of issues clipping IN on my last couple of rides, weird as I've not had this happen before - must look at my pedals and maybe give them a tweak today!

But overall @Phoenix Lincs you are happy with them?

 

[philinmerthyr]

This time tomorrow I'll be in the car travelling to London to ride 100 miles on Sunday. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone and the progress I have made.

I still do not look like a cyclist and the surprised looks I've had when asking some people for sponsorship have been amusing.

Look out for me on the TV on Sunday. I will be hard to miss in my bright red Beating Bowel Cancer shirt with the white target on my chest.

If anyone not riding wants to help I'd be grateful for any cash you can spare. I'm confident that I will get to my £1,000 target and every penny helps. http://www.justgiving.com/Phil-Lewis-London100

I've ridden close to 3,000 miles over the last 10 months. I still consider myself to be a newbie and am grateful for all of the advice I've had from this thread. I am now a cyclist and even though the challenge I've been working towards will be over on Monday, I know I will continue cycling for years to come. I'll need to find my next challenge.

Sunday will be a great day that I'm looking forward to. If there are any new riders struggling with riding a few miles reading this, you will progress quickly. Last October 10 miles was a struggle for me, last weekend I described a 50 mile ride as a short trip and even though I did it in 3:25 it felt easy. Keep at it, it does get easier and you will be so glad you did it.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Sunday will be a great day that I'm looking forward to. If there are any new riders struggling with riding a few miles reading this, you will progress quickly. Last October 10 miles was a struggle for me, last weekend I described a 50 mile ride as a short trip and even though I did it in 3:25 it felt easy. Keep at it, it does get easier and you will be so glad you did it.

Not the way I feel this morning Phil, have a great ride Sunday.
@Mo1959 I know it does, I suppose what I should have said as well is that it didn't feel like much climbing, the climbs were a breeze for the most part. Like I have said before to you Mo take a few days off, you will feel totally different when you ride.

 

[Mo1959]

Not the way I feel this morning Phil, have a great ride Sunday.
@Mo1959 I know it does, I suppose what I should have said as well is that it didn't feel like much climbing, the climbs were a breeze for the most part. Like I have said before to you Mo take a few days off, you will feel totally different when you ride.

Well, I went out and wasn't feeling brilliant to start with but it got a bit better once I got going. Since I knew I wasn't going to go that far and it was getting very dark, like it was going to be a downpour or thunder, I worked really hard and ended up quite pleased with my speed, so maybe having yesterday off helped.........or maybe I just didn't want soaked!

 

[Nigelnaturist]

@Mo1959 It does help, if ever your thighs ache wait till they stop aching then go out, and you should see an improvement, but never more than 4 or 5 days. Well thats what I have found, see you arn't slow when you do a ride much the same as us mire mortals.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

@Mo1959 I just put that route in rwgps, and it gives it 1116 ft of elevation

 

[MaxInc]

One thing i would like to change though is getting some clipless pedals and shoes Currently using my MTB pedals at the moment and they really are begining to hurt my feet.

Maybe somthing like these http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-pd-r540-spd-sl-sport-pedals/
And these http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-m10-mountain-bike-cycling-shoe/

@stevey The pedals are not compatible with those shoes. There are 2 types that Shimano does, the SPD ones designed for mountain bikes but preferred by a lot of road users, and the SPD-SL type which are designed for road bikes only. The later are more difficult to walk into when off the bike. The pedals you need for those shoes are these: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-pd-m520-pedals/. They come with uni directional release cleats but if you want the safer option you need to get to multi release cleats SM-SH56 from here: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-spd-mtb-cleats/

 

[RWright]

A ticking over ride last night http://app.strava.com/activities/71475502

One thing i would like to change though is getting some clipless pedals and shoes Currently using my MTB pedals at the moment and they really are begining to hurt my feet.

Maybe somthing like these http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-pd-r540-spd-sl-sport-pedals/

And these http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-m10-mountain-bike-cycling-shoe/

I am not positive but just glancing at them both quickly, I don't think those work together. Shoes say two bolt, SPD SL pedals use 3. I have been using SPD SL from the start of my clipless journey. I have been using them a while now and I would look for a very stiff sole. Road shoes are a little more flashy looking to me but I got used to it. In my climate I look for airflow and stiff soles. I use toe covers or overshoes in winter. I have some Shimano RO87 shoes that I started with and they served me well but as I progressed I wanted stiffer lighter shoes. I got a pair of these http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_541920_-1___202527 and got tired of my feet getting wet because my shoes had not dried out and went ahead bought a pair of these too http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product2_10053_10052_544469_-1 I got a pair of each for 99 dollars/pair, that took a little luck and some goodwill on the part of Nashbar but they will get it back eventually anyway. These are both not current generation shoes but they are current enough for me. You hear people always mention stiff soles, there is a reason for it. I don't know exactly what is available in the UK now but I am sure there are some nice road shoes you can find a good deal on.

 

[Mo1959]

@Mo1959 I just put that route in rwgps, and it gives it 1116 ft of elevation

Which? Mine? This elevation thing does my head in.

It wasn't a particularly hilly route mind you.....just the lump in the middle. The rest was just nicely undulating.

I am starting to enjoy doing shorter distances and trying to go a bit faster rather than slogging away for 40 or 50 miles.

 

[sleaver]

After not getting out midweek last week I managed to get out last night for a short ride as I was quite tired. The aim being to have another go at the segment I got 6th on and then keeping up a high speed over a flat course.

The segment is after just under 3k so I was still fresh and went for it, until a car pulled out in front of me (quite a way ahead), but they didn't speed up to faster than what I was doing. So I was stuck behind this car just keeping up with it and I thought my chances were over. Got home and once uploaded to Strava I got 4th, 1 second off 2nd Looking at the ride, there were slower sections due to the car but I don't know if that cost me the 1 second, it was all through my efforts or if it was due to drafting the car a bit although I was about 5 or 10 meters back.

Managed to average 26.8 km/h which I though was good although Strava reckons I was at threshold for 90% of the time though.

 

[Kies]

I doubt you got much drafting by being so far back from the car. Good effort though

 

[sleaver]

That's what I though so that's good to know. The reason why I thought the car was helping was because my legs weren't complaining so that's a positive as well.