Was every one as bad at the beginning?

[spacecat]

As others have said keep at it, being cycle fit is different from fitness doing other activities. You will be using muscles that you may not have really used before.

I have been cycling and commuting by bike for years, the other month I went for a 7ish mile walk with the mrs and ended up with shin splints ffs!

Spin the pedals faster than you think you should be

 

[ColinJ]

The passing of time had dulled the memory of what it felt like at the start of my adult cycling era but I am now getting a forceful reminder. I have been doing a mere 10-15 minutes a day at an easy resistance on my gym bike but I certainly feel the effort in my unfit legs! I will give it a week or two and then go out and do a 5-6 mile ride and I'll tell you how I feel afterwards.

The thing is though, I know how to pace myself. If you are trying to keep up with traffic when not fit enough to do so, then you are effectively doing a short time trial and isn't surprising that it is tiring you out. Try going at 2/3 of the speed and you will find it much easier.

 

[betty swollocks]

Things to remember:-

• get your saddle height right. It's more efficient and comfortable when you do.

• get your cadence (revs per minute) right. If you're grinding those pedals round slowly: don't! Try an easier gear and pedal faster.

Have fun and happy cycling

 

[Eribiste]

I can remember when 4 miles was an epic journey too! Keep doing little journeys, don't worry about average speeds for now. You'll find that eventually ( and this can take some considerable time) you'll get not just fit, but cycle fit. In my case, I didn't get any faster for a couple of years, but I could go further and further. Now, I'm not tackling really long rides, but I've noticed my average speed trend is going up (with one or two set backs!) very slowly.
Enjoy your rides, take your time and don't beat yourself up!

 

[Bill Soens]

OK, let's get this subject dealt with. First of all the thing you are discovering is that bike-riding is not easy at first. Cycling can be the most demanding competitive sport in the World. Having said that, riding along at your own pace on a decent bike on a nice day is actually easier than walking.

Couple of things listed above and I take exception at some-one describing earlier bikes as being made with gas-pipe ! Racing bikes made with 531, 753 etc were very sophisticated for their era and also very lightweight. Frames that I built fifty years ago (Eddie Soens Cycles) with 531 weighed only a few pounds - say 2 kilos, were stiff and responsive. Not just mine but virtually all specialist builders.

Saddle position has been mentioned a couple of times and this really should be determined by a good coach - there are, however, a lot of charlatans out there who, as my late father used to say, "couldn't coach a frog to jump!". So try the following; it is not perfect but a very good compromise:-

1.Set the pedal at the bottom of the stroke and set the saddle height so that your leg is almost straight with your HEEL on the pedal. Make sure that the saddle is horizontal and not running up or down.

2.Set a pedal at 3 o'clock forward and sitting on the saddle with your foot in the normal position ascertain that the angle at your knee is roughly 90 deg. If not, then move the saddle laterally so that this is achieved. This may well then alter the height. so you may need to go thru' item 1 again.

3. Handlebar height and distance. Very difficult this one since some people have abnormal arm lengths but for Mr. Average you will find that you need to ascertain that your arms are slightly bent when riding on the brake levers. If you are reaching too far or if your hands are almost underneath you, then you might have to change the handlebar stem for a longer or shorter one - a very easy thing to do.

Now this isn't perfect since people of differ tremendously in height and shoe size but, as I have said, it is a very good compromise and it may work out perfectly for you.

One thing I often advise people is to get their bike off a former racing cyclist dealer if possible. Even if you have no intention of racing, their expertise can be very valuable. If you buy from a multi-national, be bold and ask the sales-person what qualifications and experience he/she has in giving advice. The question won't be welcomed I would imagine but it's your money and your legs.

Finally, aches, pains and sheer exhaustion at the beginning. Some of this will be caused by your saddle not being correctly set but generally you are beginning to use muscles that you didn't know you had and they are complaining. Someone complained about his backside aching - ah, diddums ! It happens at first but as you get stronger and more used to riding it'll go away.

I remember about sixty years ago (I know, I know !!!) one of the greatest riders of all time, Fausto Coppi, was asked about his immense success and what he did:-

Ride a bike, ride a bike and then ride a bike ! was his advice. Little has altered in between. Just ride at your own pace, choose a sensible gear that matches the terrain and wind and enjoy yourself. Eventually it will all come right for you and things will get so much easier. Cheers. Bill

 

[MarkF]

Yes, I didn't even get back from my first ride, I rang my good lady to come & collect me. Embarrassingly, it was a run to the post office........... about 1.5 miles away............pretty flat too.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

If it's any help my 5th metatarsal was still very much broken when I started cycling. 3miles hurt for days, 6 miles hurt for a week + before all of the muscle atrophy is accounted for as my right leg was pretty much bone.

On a good week(2 1/2years later) with time/weather on my side - I'd do 10-15mi easily as a warmup! Total weekly mileage easily hits 150mi+ not commuting

Stick at it

 

[steve52]

my add vice is slow down and take twice as long. enjoy being out on you bike .ps i have just returned from an 8 mile ride with a 7 yr old , we did stop for a drink and a climb, oh and to feed some ducks, and at the speedway track and.........well you get the idear, safe to say its the jorney not the distance

 

[Ladytrucker]

I've only been riding since January this year, and as you can guess not as many times as I'd like due to the inclement weather.

My first was 3 miles my last was 10+ all be it at 5mph. I have 2 very very steep hills which I must walk, I'm not ashamed as I'd need to be like Brad Wiggins to get up them. The rest are longer and I can now manage to come all the way back up without stopping. Two reasons for this, I've changed my tyres from knobbly mountain bike tyres to hybrid tyres and secondly I have made use of the granny gears they all talk about, it's no. 1 for me at the hard work inclines. I huff and I puff and I push myself on. I'm 46 and 2 stone overweight and can't believe I can now cycle all the way back without stopping to die at the side of the field. I used to pretend I'd stopped to have a look at the view, lol.

There are good days and there are bad days, some days I'm full of energy and can't wait to get going but after 10 mins I'm struggling, other days I don't expect to do as well as I have. I also make sure I have a rest day inbetween. From my running days it was important to let your body recover before going again.

You will be fine if you don't try too hard.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

No not as 'bad' as that - but it's all relative isn't it. One persons good is anothers bad and vice-versa.

It's not even that easy to cross over from other activities - my passion is the mountains and I make many journeys of 6-8 hours across the year and a number of 10-14 hour trips a few times a year. These are significant outings eg 20-24 miles linear with up to 12000' of ascent.

However, that level of fitness does not easily translate into my cycling activities as I am finding.

I am not being rude but what do you mean by reasonably fit? From what you say in your post you sound a mile away from reasonably fit to me. A ride of that distance should not leave a reasonably fit person wanting to sleep.

You will get fitter as time goes by but I would be inclined to think about a GP check up to see whether or not you have some debilitating ailment that is making you sleepy.

I say this as three years ago I couldn't stay awake in the evenings. this was accompanied by slight and then dramatic weight loss. You can imagine what I thought. Turned out to be an over-active Thyroid gland.

Good luck with your new passion!

 

[mrandmrspoves]

I answered no because I have been a keen cyclist since I was a boy and was cycling 15 - 20 miles from the age of about 14.
Although as a young adult I did not cycle as much as I have over the last few years I retained a certain degree of fitness and have never found under 15 miles a struggle.
BUT as most people have said, little by little bit by bit is the way. If you can only manage 6 miles now, keep doing it and within a few trips you will find you can stretch to 10 - then 15 and before you know it you will find you can do 15 -20- 25 and then you will want to do 40 or 50 and then you will reach a delusional state where you half think about doing LEJOG or JOGLE......and then you might actually decide that you really could do it! I managed to do 100 miles in a day when I was 21 and repeated this when I was 48 - at this stage I was seriously planning to do a Coast to Coast. (then my shoulders flared up and I couldn't ride my bike so got a recumbent - but at present my shoulders are so bad I cannot even ride that)
Keep at it, you will get there.

 

[boydj]

Lots of good advice there. Cycling on the road is an endurance sport (for those that take it seriously). For the rest of us it's about getting to where we're going without taking too much out of ourselves. So pick a relatively easy gear and cycle at a speed that you can manage comfortably. If you do that, you'll be surprised how far you can go.

 

[tyred]

It takes time and miles.

Take the advice above about saddle height etc, ride a gear that feels comfortable, never push yourself to breaking point and gradually increase mileage as it feels comfortable. Little and often is the key to begin with.

Gains will be seen relatively quickly but I believe it takes a few years of regular riding to really achieve genuine cycle fitness where you can ride at your preferred pace for hours on end.

 

[mark1974]

Firstly well done for making a effort and secondly cycling gets easier
My first ride was a mile and i was ready for the undertaker to take me to meet my maker
However i kept on trying each day all be it a mile or 2 and after the aches pains and tears i started to enjoy this horrible experiance
Now few months have passed and i now pull my 4 year old along on his tag-along
Dont be put off by distance or speed i started to get to paranoid regarding these
Now i just cycle and dont pay attention to how far and fast since i did this cycling became a lot more enjoyable

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Firstly well done for making a effort and secondly cycling gets easier
My first ride was a mile and i was ready for the undertaker to take me to meet my maker
However i kept on trying each day all be it a mile or 2 and after the aches pains and tears i started to enjoy this horrible experiance
Now few months have passed and i now pull my 4 year old along on his tag-along
Dont be put off by distance or speed i started to get to paranoid regarding these
Now i just cycle and dont pay attention to how far and fast since i did this cycling became a lot more enjoyable

I would like to know when.
It does, you just get faster ( all be it at a slower rate the more you do)