Still learning.

[Old Steve]

View attachment 134498 After not getting onto a bicycle for 35 years ( been riding motorcycles instead ) I decided to buy myself a leg powered bike for some exercise ( ended up buying three, trek excal and a trek FX for me and a specialized crosstrail for the missus ) and we have both been enjoying it.. The first time out on the FX I struggled and though what have I done, as after a two mile ride around the village I was worn out and could hardly breath and almost thought " is it worth it, when I can jump on one of my motorcycles with out any effort ) well it's now 5 weeks since I purchased the first bike ( trek FX ) and I have covered 375 miles and are now doing 20 plus mile rides I think it is worth he effort and I think I have learnt that it was well worth sticking with it. Aerodynamics that's another thing that I have learnt, the more aerodynamic you are the easier it gets ( especially with the wind against you) so the Trek fx has had the bars shortened, lowered and the stem reversed all which puts me a bit lower.. Tires another thing learned, I have changed them for gatorskins 700 28.. And that seems to help a bit more. Then there's the biggest plus that I have learnt, Lycra.... I started to find that my ordinary shorts and T shirts were getting a bit uncomfortable after riding for about an hour.. So my missus joked about Lycra, so whilst in the bike shop I though I would risk trying some on ( scary prospect as I am now in my mid fifties )and to my surprise it fitted ok, mind you I have got rid of two stone in the last few months and it is still coming off ( in fact can now wear leather motorcycle jeans that I purchased 12 years ago and they are now to big , can't believe how five weeks of riding bikes has helped) anyway have now tried the Lycra and it makes for a much more pleasant ride ..last thing, I have just fitted some shimano SPD peddles on my FX this afternoon and cleated shoes.... So I have a feeling I might learn something else when I go out tonight ( probably the hard way, how to fall over with feet fixed to peddles ) I have been using the cage/ strap things on my peddles but these look more tricky...

Thank for reading, Steve.

Attached is a picture of my trusty FX with a few gentle mods ( still showing old peddles now replaced with shimano SPD type )

 

[Doobiesis]

Well done. Yours is a story that most readers will relate too. My experiences are pretty similar in the journey of cycling. I'm four years on and I still learn new things, and challenge myself on every ride I do. I've mastered the cleats, after falling off five times and one bad one where I fractured my wrist.

I'm now about to teach myself the art drinking whilst cycling.

Good job so far though. And Lycra rocks!

 

[derrick]

Well done. Yours is a story that most readers will relate too. My experiences are pretty similar in the journey of cycling. I'm four years on and I still learn new things, and challenge myself on every ride I do. I've mastered the cleats, after falling off five times and one bad one where I fractured my wrist.

I'm now about to teach myself the art drinking whilst cycling.

Good job so far though. And Lycra rocks!

Start with something with a low alcohol % then work your way up to the proper stuff.

 

[mjr]

Just remember that there's more than one way to do it. I can't stand spandex and can't be bothered with clips any more... but it's hard to argue against being a bit more aero. Enjoy it

 

[Joeletaxi]

Keep going,, i thought i was fairly fit,,6ft and about 82kg and no belly, but i got my raleigh all steel MTB out of the shed and the first few times out i thought i was going to have a stroke ! At the moment i run the same 7.5 mile course so that i can gauge improvements. I have continuously shaved the time down and again this morning i shaved some more off the time. My resting pulse and bp are both down, i dont huff and puff any more and i can do the full 7.5 mile non stop . I was going to swap my MTB knobblies for road typres wbut i think i will just keep peddling and wear the knobbles off !

 

[Old Steve]

Well I have been out and done a couple of ten mile rides since fitting the SPD peddles, purposely though traffic lots of stops and starts, I must admit I made sure I thought about unclipping early before I really needed too and everything went ok ( still plenty of time to go over yet ) after a few minutes I kinda liked the felling of being connected to the bike..

 

[GuyBoden]

Well I have been out and done a couple of ten mile rides since fitting the SPD peddles, purposely though traffic lots of stops and starts, I must admit I made sure I thought about unclipping early before I really needed too and everything went ok ( still plenty of time to go over yet ) after a few minutes I kinda liked the felling of being connected to the bike..

I changed to SPD's a few months back from toe clips, never had any problems, good quality shoes are essential if you do a lot of miles/rides, my initial cheap shoes from Lidl disintegrated within two weeks.