46 miles on a hybrid

[suzieqtwa]

I did my first Charity ride yesterday (with Darcy) who I met through TE. Anyway, it ranked up there with the Marathon I ran last year. I didn't realize it would be so hard. Hill, after hill (actually I think we went up the side of a mountain)..At one point we were so high the clouds were below me. I was on my Gary Fisher hybrid ,and poor Darcy was on a Comfort bike.The weather was Ok ,but it started to rain as I finished. I don't know how I did compared to other riders ,as we all left at different times.
I started to hurt towards the end....crotch ,butt ,my fingers were tingling ,and my wrist hurt,but when I finished I was happy ,and ready to try a Century (when I get my road bike in March.) The group of bikers I was with were so nice.
This is only the 3erd month I've ridden. I'm hooked. I'm thinking about getting a Trek pilot 2.1. Does anyone have one ,and do they like them.
Suzie

[mimitabby]

I started to hurt towards the end....crotch ,butt ,my fingers were tingling ,and my wrist hurt,but when I finished I was happy ,and ready to try a Century (when I get my road bike in March.) The group of bikers I was with were so nice.
This is only the 3erd month I've ridden. I'm hooked. I'm thinking about getting a Trek pilot 2.1. Does anyone have one ,and do they like them.
Suzie

about your wrist and your fingers, what you need to do on a long ride is move your hands around. if you keep them in exactly the same place for 50 miles, they are going to hurt.
something i like to do on a long straightaway, i take one hand and grab the back of my saddle. Then i put it back on the handlebars and reverse, put the other hand on the back of the saddle. it's a good stretch.

keep it up, you're doing great

[Tali]

That's soo great! Congrats on the ride. I don't have any info on the bike. Just wanted to applaud your ride.:D

[BeeLady]

Congrats Darci - you got the works with the rain and the hills. Any headwinds?

I just finished 25 miles this morning on my "hybrid" - actually an old cheap mountain bike with slicker tires, and my hands, too, are such an issue. I did my first charity ride last week (36.5 miles) on this beater and swore I wouldnt ride it again for any distance without some endo bars. The guy at my LBS showed me some cool ones that he has on order. They are very rubbery and "T" shaped with the top of the T perpindicular to the bars. The long part of the "T" goes into the handle bar end. Easy to get LOTS of hand positions. Want to get some even tho my new bike should be here tomorrow (a Bianchi Volpe) and it has drop bars.

Woulda loved some drop bars on the descents today -- tough headwind kept 'em from being very helpful getting up the next hills.

Good luck too on your bike search. That's part of the fun. Once I get good on my Volpe maybe I'll get a true, dedicated road bike.


OOOPS - that should be Suzie ! Sorry!

[Bad JuJu]

I don't have a Trek, but I've ridden with a woman who has a Pilot (don't know what the number is) and she loves it.

When you get your road bike, you'll find there are lots more options for hand positions--take advantage of all of them, and that should help with your hand/finger/wrist discomfort.

[tygab]

This is only the 3erd month I've ridden. I'm hooked. I'm thinking about getting a Trek pilot 2.1. Does anyone have one ,and do they like them.
Suzie

I love my pilot 2.1. Got it in March 06 and it has proven very durable. So far it has 2 trans continental flights, one Acadia Park loop, one Pan Mass Challenge, and three metric centuries to its list of interesting stories. I am very happy with it. But it's important to get a good fit so you'll want to spend some time at the shop and hopefully on a test ride.

Good luck, ask me if you have more specific questions.

[esther231]

I have the Pilot 1.2 WSD and love it. It fits me beautifully and that's the best starting point for any bike you buy.

Just test ride as many different bikes as you can to get a feel for what fits your body. If the Pilots fits, it's a great bike.

[mary9761]

the pilot 1.2 WSD is my dream bike right now, but I am here to tell you... Centuries are possible on even a "Comfort Bike"! I have a total of 21 metric centuries (rides over 62.137 miles) since 1 January and 7 of those are Imperial centuries, the longest being 118 miles! Hang in there. Show us pics when you get your new bike!

[Trek420]

Susieq,

congrats on your ride! Sounds like you did well and enjoyed it, which is most important.

And you climbed above the clouds, that's fabulous. :D

When my sister got it into her head that she wanted to do the Cinderella, since her bike was not here (it lives in Norway) she got another bike: a Giant Sedona. :eek: What was she thinking? :cool:

When I saw it my jaw just dropped, when i tried to lift it to the roof rack I almost dropped. Even with slicks that was one heavy bike.

Nevertheless she completed 47 miles of the brutal-epic-Cinderella century.

In my mind she, and you have done your first century, it counts for one.

She's now got another bike, kinda a flat bar road bike, details of the shopping experience are somewhere here. (Trek stops here to pet the dog who has just joined me) anyway you will fly on your new bike :)

[Bikingmomof3]

Congratulations!!!!!

As for bikes, we are a Trek family, so I am biased. :)

[Duck on Wheels]

Næh, I didn't do 47. I did 42. SuzieQ has already got me beat by 4 miles. :p
Waytago Q! My new bike is a Trek 7.6, and compared to the Sedona it's like riding a jet-powered feather. :D

[eclectic]

Way to GO! ! ! so glad to hear another one is hooked! you will LOVE a road bike

[Geonz]

Awesome ride - on a hybrid, with hills! Tough woman!

One specific thing to look at is how you're angling your wrists on the handlebars. The more relaxed & straight they are, the better. I have done centuries and double metrics on hybrids (the double on a nice aluminum mountain bike with skinny tires), and my secret is hand position that my piano & typing teachers would be proud of.

Get a bike that **feels good.** It's very individualized. Test drive all of 'em :) :) :) Welcome to the addiction!

[Kano]

the pilot 1.2 WSD is my dream bike right now, but I am here to tell you... Centuries are possible on even a "Comfort Bike"! I have a total of 21 metric centuries (rides over 62.137 miles) since 1 January and 7 of those are Imperial centuries, the longest being 118 miles! Hang in there. Show us pics when you get your new bike!


SHUSH!!!! Good GRIEF! Don't SAY that!

I know this is a women's forum, but guys CAN read it, and that means that DH CAN see it!

Actually went into a bike shop today, with him, I looked at the bikes, he looked at the price tags on the bikes. The ONLY thing he came away with was "the cheapest one cost more than our two bikes put together. Ride your Expedition and be happy with it.

You would think he could at LEAST be willing to find out WHY they cost more! But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooo he says, well, how about we go over to Ken's and see what they've got? OK, that sounds good to me (even though they're FAR more MTB oriented), maybe he's coming around here, maybe? and then he just looks at all the price tags and says ride your Expedition.....

What the heck am I going to do with this man???? Taking up bike riding was his idea, and darn it, he doesn't get it yet!

Karen in Boise