Noob and then some

[esmerelda]

Hi all -- I'm completely new to cycling and registered with this forum in hopes of learning more while I do the trial and error thing on my own.

The thing of it is that everyone here is speaking a foreign language! So frustrating. I thought I'd be able to read through the forum to learn, but I'm finding that your discussions and bike speak are (mostly) over my head.

I'm not interested in joining a club right now. I've been unsuccessful in finding other online educational resources that are geared to the complete novice who'd like to learn the basics. (I did read up on purchasing a bike -- and got one that I LOVE.)

Right now, I don't even know the questions to ask (other than this one). Any recommendations? I truly appreciate any words of wisdom. E.

[bike4ever]

Hello. Welcome to the forum. Do you have a bike right now? If you do, where to you like to ride? How often - how far?

[Popoki_Nui]

Welcome! :) Maybe you could let us know what bike/cycling terms/phrases/bikespeak etc you're finding difficult? We're always happy to explain things, and no one is going to look down on you. We always enjoy welcoming a new cyclist to the fold!

Take care.

~Sherry.

[Zen]

I think you will find this site helpful:

www.sheldonbrown.com/glossary.html

Also, try about.com and type "bicycling" in the search field.

[F8th637]

When the biking bug hit me I went to my local library and checked out as many books that I can read in 3 weeks about cycling. I felt like you did at first with the whole new vocabulary and didn't get the first few books right away. After awhile I started picking up on things. I found it really helped. Maybe it will work for you too.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

If you Google terms like "bicycling +beginners" or "beginner +cyclist" or "beginner biking tips", etc....you'll find some good sites that expalin some of the basics.

[silver]

check out this dictionary of "Roadie" slang.

http://kba.tripod.com/slang.htm

Some of it may still not make sense. but it will all come to you eventually.

a "roadie" is someone who prodominately rides on roads.

Tell us about your bike and where you like to ride. things we like to know about a bike are brand, model, what type (road, mountain, hybrid), what is it made of, what type of components (derailers, etc), size, any modifications to the original.

I'm a roadie. I ride a road bike on the roads.

I have two bikes.

#1 is a '05 trek 1000. I wrecked it and then got it repaired. It's a bit beat up but still a decent bike. It's aluminum with a carbon fork and seat post. It's a 58 cm.

#2 is a '07 Trek Madone 5.0. It's full carbon and full ultegra components. He's nice!

I mostly ride on rural county roads.

welcome!!!

[Grog]

Right this way:
http://www.teamestrogen.com/beginnerCyclist.asp
And other contents from the "community" section (see at the top)

[uforgot]

This is the 3rd post that I have noticed is a little weird. One post, crazy question. It's the two college guys at the computer thing. I'm sure there are more. Read these, also:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=15033

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=14998

[mimitabby]

Esmerelda, what is your native language? Your english is really good! So don't be shy, tell us about yourself and where you like to ride.


uforgot, you could be right, but what's the point? and then they never post again!!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Mimi, she didn't mean we really REALLY speaking a foreign languange, only that it SEEMED that way because she doesn't understand all the biking terms we use.

Uforgot, those posts don't strike me as weird at all. In fact, I have women come up to me in town almost daily saying exactly the same stuff to me because they really don't know much about biking yet at all.
It was not that long ago that I had no clue what a hybrid bike or a mountain bike was, or a "top tube", or a crank, or even what the heck derailleurs were!
It's normal, just as it's normal for your butt to be really really sore for your first few rides.

It's OK, everyone. It's ok to not know much yet, and it's OK to ask really newbie biking questions on this forum! :) Ask away, there is always someone here willing to explain stuff in simple terms. There is nothing to be embarrassed about. Lack of knowledge is not an embarrassment, the only embarrassment is when people don't WANT to learn new stuff, or when other people WITH knowledge don't want to help others learn. :)

[uforgot]

You don't think those posts seem a lot alike? Same tone to them and then we don't hear from them again?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

You don't think those posts seem a lot alike? Same tone to them and then we don't hear from them again?

No, it's exactly like a lot of women who come up to me in the street, asking about biking, all sounding similar with identical newbie questions, same tone, I give them my number and encourage them to contact me for more help with getting started, and then I never hear from them again. Sometimes I see them later and they sheepishly say they still haven't dusted off their bike yet. Just the way it is. Some people get suddenly inspired and just as suddenly lose interest. Hopefully many stick with it through the beginner phase and become happy bikers.
The red flag is when they ask ODD questions, often concerning personal subjects. It's often easy to spot immature males masquerading as women- they talk funny when they try to sound like "ladies"! :cool:

[uforgot]

I've taught teenagers for 27 years and believe me, you are seriously underestimating their intelligence and creativity. I teach the college bound ones, and those kids I have in AP Calculus could (and WOULD) pull this off. My gut instinct tells me this is bogus, and it has served me well over the years. I've received a couple of PMs from others who agree. Someone even wondered if the ip addresses would turn out the same?!?!?!

Not that I'm horrified by it, I really am slightly amused, but I won't be giving them any heartfelt advice. Maybe we should just see if we ever hear from esmerelda and lunita again.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I've taught teenagers for 27 years and believe me, you are seriously underestimating their intelligence and creativity. I teach the college bound ones, and those kids I have in AP Calculus could (and WOULD) pull this off. My gut instinct tells me this is bogus, and it has served me well over the years. I've received a couple of PMs from others who agree. Someone even wondered if the ip addresses would turn out the same?!?!?!

Not that I'm horrified by it, I really am slightly amused, but I won't be giving them any heartfelt advice. Maybe we should just see if we ever hear from esmerelda and lunita again.

Anyone is allowed to join the forum. Not a problem unless they are obnoxious or offensive in some way. If there is an offensive post or insulting from anyone (regardless of sex), use the little triangle button under your avatar/name to report it to the forum administrators, and they will take care of it. If posts are not offensive, no need to worry about it. :cool:

[esmerelda]

Holy cow! I logged in to thank all of you for the helpful information you shared over the weekend. I was taking the time to read the links you supplied as well as do some other sources I found. And yes -- I have been riding.

I wasn't expecting an entire conversation on how flakey newbies are. As you can see I didn't ask for your time and then disappear. We're not all alike and I only posted 3 days ago. This is why I was hestitant to ask questions in the first place. But many of you were welcoming, so I'm just going to let it go.

Sooo... on to the happy stuff. I LOVE my bike. It's a Trek 7500 multitrack. I chose a hybrid because, while I'll be primarily on roads, they're are not always in great shape; and I have 2 sons, so I'll do some rougher trails from time-to-time.

I road Sat and Sun and my saddle is being kind to me so far. ;)

But oh man -- I am in decent shape and have always had strong legs. Or I THOUGHT I had strong legs. That's what's bothering me the most -- leg fatigue. I'm not sore afterward, however. I'm confident that my cadence is good. I have no idea what my RPMs are, but it feels nice and easy. I'm getting the hang of shifting smoothly, frequently and at the appropriate time.

I work from home, so my plan for now is to hop on my bike when I need a break and take a quick 30 min ride. Where I live is very hilly and the roads are busy, so I don't stray too far. On weekends I can take my bike to rail trails, which is where I feel most comfortable right now. I don't like sharing the road with cars. We don't have wide shoulders here.

I have no idea about the techinical questions you asked about my bike! How impt is it to know those things right now?

I also find that I shift my hand position a bit as discomfort sets in. Is that a bad habit? I just picked up a pair of gloves so we'll so how that goes.

How did ya'll start out training? I'd love to hear about your early days! Again, many thanks for the welcome and support. E.

[polliwog88]

Hi and welcome! I'm new here too.

I am an avid pro cycling fan and you wouldn't believe how much I have learned from watching the broadcasts of procycling races.

The godfathers of cycling commentating are: Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwinn and you can hear them on VS. (a cable channel) every Sunday in the early evening, usually around 6 pm eastern time.

Also you can go to cycling.tv. A great internet site that shows a wide range of the big cycling races. They even have a free channel where you can watch at a low bandwidth. The guys on there are interesting to listen too. They also have shows that are full of the latest gear, etc.

I learned through osmosis about the different terms, gear and technique. My only problem is I want to go out and ride just like the pros do. Oh well it is always good to have something to aspire to.

Hope this helps!

[missymaya]

Hey there esmerelda,
You'll learn the terms as they came along. If anything, just ask what it means or look it up online.That's what I do and I've been riding for over 2 years (I still have plenty to learn;) ). If I were you, I would learn the important basics first, like changing your tires and recognizing when there's a problem like if your gears aren't changing right, you shouldn't brush it off.
As for hand positions, I'm actually having the same issue on my road bike, where I'm shifting my hands and wrists. Here's what I think: Your position changes a little when riding levels increase, like going from comfort riding to actual work riding, picking up speed and heart rate. Your body might feel more comfortable after shifting around. Or, it could be the equipment, such as the handlars might be wrong for you or your position on the bike. How long does it take for the discomfort to set in? That's what I think and I haven't seen you ride so keep that as suggestions:rolleyes:
I actually started riding to work and school on an old walmart bike and I ended up burning the bottom bracket out, the crank bearings, and killing the rear hub:eek: I decided that I needed a new bike that could handle the wrath that is me. I also loved riding the road, so I went into road riding and started piling up miles. I am now upgrading again because this bike can no longer handle my wrath. I still have my old warlmart frame for a few reasons: this bike has been to the major universities in florida, UF, FSU, and UCF (not miami but there's still time:rolleyes: ) and that's pretty cool. I also would like to keep it, just to see where I came from and rememer the klunker days:p

Congrats on the new bike, show pics!!! Hope you and your new bike will have lots of good miles and time together.

[IFjane]

Welcome, Esmerelda! When I started cycling (mountain biking first) I THOUGHT I had strong legs, too. I was very fit - worked out at the gym 5x week, ran for miles (on the treadmill - I hate running!), stair-climber, etc. etc.... but I got on the bike for the first time and noooooo.....those legs weren't strong at all - at least not in the right places. I think what you are feeling is completely normal. You are using different muscles and muscles in different ways. It will all come together eventually (though you may not notice for a while). Keep riding and enjoy every minute of it!

missymaya - Have you ever thought about painting a section of your W-M frame the colors of each school it has attended? :D It could be your own rolling scrapbook!

[missymaya]

No I havent but that's a good suggestion. Blue and orange, garnet and gold and black and gold. Thanks IFJane, got me thinking.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hi again Esmeralda, and welcome to other newbies as well! :) :)

Don't worry too much about learning everything all at once. Just ride safely and read up and it will all fall into place.
You are lucky your bike is suited to you and your saddle isn't hurting!- lots of people have pain in the beginning due to ill fitting equipment.
Ride and have fun! Read about defensive safe riding habits in traffic though- that should be most important as you start.
Yes, I remember I had fitness walked 3 miles per day for 8 months before biking...I thought i was in great shape.... but NO! Man was I sore when I started biking! ;) :p
It's all GOOD. Enjoy feeling like a kid again, and keep us posted on your progress. We want bike pictures too! :p

[LadyinWhite]

I've taught teenagers for 27 years and believe me, you are seriously underestimating their intelligence and creativity. I teach the college bound ones, and those kids I have in AP Calculus could (and WOULD) pull this off. My gut instinct tells me this is bogus, and it has served me well over the years. I've received a couple of PMs from others who agree. Someone even wondered if the ip addresses would turn out the same?!?!?!

Not that I'm horrified by it, I really am slightly amused, but I won't be giving them any heartfelt advice. Maybe we should just see if we ever hear from esmerelda and lunita again.


I'm a newbie - only been riding for a year. I'm a newbie to TE, only been posting here for a few months. I know esmerelda personally - hell I'm the one who told her about TE. I was a little embarressed when I talked to her today. I sent her here and she got this snarky response just because she didn't sit poised by her laptop ready to respond to every post?

Hopefully - this experience will keep each of us from jumping to conclusions and posting snarky responses until we have more cause for alarm. All I kept thinking was If I was esmerelda, would I come back to a board who responded like this?

Thank heavens the majority of TE'rs here welcomed her with the same gracious welcome that I've grown accustomed to seeing since I started posting here myself. To each of you I say thank you - truly - for welcoming my dear friend to the world of cycling. I was so proud to say "check out teamestrogen! It's a great site and there is so much super information there!"


T.

ps: I've also been teaching since 1991 - and these kids that you refer to that are so smart - they would know better than to have it track back to the same IP.

[Zen]

Gee, I didn't think anyone was "snarky", probably just a bit jaded and suspicious from being around teenagers too long.

Even if it had been a prank someone would have found the responses helpful.

It's all good.

[silver]

Sooo... on to the happy stuff. I LOVE my bike. It's a Trek 7500 multitrack. I chose a hybrid because, while I'll be primarily on roads, they're are not always in great shape; and I have 2 sons, so I'll do some rougher trails from time-to-time.
I have no idea about the techinical questions you asked about my bike! How impt is it to know those things right now?

How did ya'll start out training? I'd love to hear about your early days! Again, many thanks for the welcome and support. E.

The technical stuff is not important to know now. I just asked because that's stuff that we talk about sometimes and....because I'm a technical stuff geek. It's Probably some of the stuff that sounds "foreign" to you. We generally talk about that stuff in terms of how it is functioning for us.

the most important thing is to have fun and ride safe (hope you're wearing a helmet ;) my personal soapbox cause one saved my life)

I started out thinking that 5 miles was a long way, worked up to 13, thought that was terribly long, then 30, etc. I find it very addicting. ;) My DH has just started riding and has experienced some pain from doing too much to soon, so there's no hurry to add miles. Taking your time will help your muscles, tendons and ligaments develop to handle the work.

Is this your bike?



http://www2.trekbikes.com/bikes/bike.php?bikeid=1340600&f=27

Cool bike!!!! Just FYI, your bike is made of aluminum and mostly shimano Deore components

Welcome!!!

[uforgot]

Okay, okay, I was wrong about esmerelda. Welcome to you! You'll get a lot of good information here.

Snarky??? I wasn't nagging, I didn't even complain, I even said I was amused. I was being serious when I said today's teens are creative and intelligent. Gee, how many of us have pulled stuff like that in the past? (My hand goes up) Jaded? I prefer to think that I'm always ready for the unexpected, on my toes. I just thought maybe people should think about their posts and how anyone can get on here. We don't really know who a lot of people are, and their intent. End of safety lecture.

My apologies esmerelda. Have a good time on your bike!

[cricket]

Any advice for an absolute beginner who has big plans to do a metric century in October? Biking is a new sport to me - I usually do martial arts, but I don't currently have a school to train at, so I'm trying something new. I need some training tips - should I be working on the eliptical machine or is there something else I should be focusing on?

[Zen]

Do you have a bike now? If so, get out and ride. Maybe get simple cycling computer that will track mileage. Set a time frame and see how far you can go in that time. Then do the same ride and try to improve your time.
Vary your routes
Learn to love hills
Find a riding partner.
Throw in a couple spin classes until you get comfortable on the bike, they'll improve your aerobic, build muscles, and you might meet some fellow road riders in there.

You've got Plenty of time.

[Mr. Bloom]

Any advice for an absolute beginner who has big plans to do a metric century in October? Biking is a new sport to me - I usually do martial arts, but I don't currently have a school to train at, so I'm trying something new. I need some training tips - should I be working on the eliptical machine or is there something else I should be focusing on?

Disclaimer: I'm a man. I'm not historically athletic. I'm also a newbie.

I started with ellipticals, but I always used constant RPM settings. Big Mistake! Using intervals really helped me in conditioning for cycling.

Four months into it, I've had one week where I did two 30 milers, two 50 milers and one 70.

You'll be able to do the metric...I bet you'll be able to exceed your wildest expectations! Stick with it and don't get discouraged!

Some of my evolution in the following posts:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=12475&highlight=Silver+kill

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=12616&highlight=Silver+kill

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=13982&highlight=Silver+cyclist

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=14389

This is a great forum and the ladies are very protective of the special environment that it represents...even with a token male or two as members.

[esmerelda]

Morning all! I so appreciate the advice from all of you. In fact there are too many of you to thank individually. (Yep, Silver, that's my bike. Thanks for telling me what I got. LOL)

Two terms I'm not getting -- IDC? Metric? And okay, a third, DH (da husband? maybe I don't get it because I don't have one).

And most importantly, thank you to my dear friend, Lady in White. You know I love you dearly and that you're my inspiration for becoming healthier through fitness. I've seen the difference cycling has made in your life -- positively transforming. You're my role model. (But don't get too full of yourself. We can bring you down. heheh)

Have a wonderful day, all. S.

[LadyinWhite]

**group hug!!**

:D

[SouthernBelle]

Metric = Metric Century = 100 km, about 62 miles.

DH = Dear or Damn Husband

IDC, not sure.

[cricket]

Thanks for the tips and encouragement. I'm really enjoying reading everyones posts, and picking up a lot of good info along the way! I've been hesitant to take a spinning class since I've never done it before and those folks look pretty serious, but I may just have to suck it up and do it.

[teigyr]

Cricket, spin classes are a blast! You can also work your backside off and not have to worry about not being able to make it back to your car/house :rolleyes:

Seriously, I did spin classes during the winter and while they didn't help me with things like getting used to the saddle (again!) or other sitting on the bike things, they helped so much with my legs. Plus if you get an instructor with fun music, it makes it all the better!

My favorite result of spin class? I was on a hill on monday and I have NOT been training hills. I just dug into it and kept singing "Mr. Roboto" in my head because we use that song in spin class for hills/sprints :D It took my mind off of my misery and really made a difference. Instructors are great with new people and other people in the class all understand what it's like to be new.

Good luck!