Yet another newbie

[Roadrunner]

Just taken up cycling, I have been using a mountain bike but have ordered a road bike as I mainly seem to be doing road work.Today I went 16.53 miles (mostly uphill) it took 1:55.00. Is that good or is it rubbish? I'm hoping to get fitter, slimmer and of course faster. (L.A has a lot to answer for) I averaged 8.6 miles an hour but some of the gradients were 1:6. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Margaret::

[jobob]

Originally posted by Margaret
Today I went 16.53 miles (mostly uphill) it took 1:55.00. Is that good or is it rubbish? That's very, very good! Don't sell yourself short, 16 miles is a lot. Especially uphill
I'm hoping to get fitter you will.
slimmer you will.
and of course faster you most certainly will!
Any advice would be appreciated. Just keep doing what you're doing. But don't kill yourself. A very general rule of thumb is to not exceed your weekly mileage by more than 10% each week to prevent injury. At least, that's what they say (I've been known to ignore that :D) - but it does take time to build up your strength and endurance, don't rush it. And the speed will come too.

- Jo.

[Roadrunner]

Thanks that's very encouraging.
Meant to mention the bike I've ordered is a Claud Butler-San Remo. Is it a good bike. (a bit late now to ask though I guess!!)

[jobob]

Hi Margaret -

I personally tend to shy away from open-ended questions like "which bike should I buy" or "is this a good bike" - there are so many bikes out there, almost as many brands and styles of bikes as there are types of people :D

Not to sound facetious, but I'd say a good bike is one that you enjoy riding, that doesn't cause you any undue aches or pains (beyond those minor aches that you inevitably experience when you start using those previously-dormant muscle groups!), and that won't fall apart on you.

As you progress in your strength & ability, you might find that your abilities exceed your current bike, which is fine - if you like to go fast, you might someday want a lighter weight, racier bike; if you want to do touring, you might someday want a sturdy touring bike with wide gearing and the ability to schlep your stuff hither & yon.

But you'll figure that out as you go along, and you'll find out what works for you. We love to yap about our bikes here, and what works for us, so you can get some ideas here. But in the end it's your decision, based on the type of rider you are and what you like to get out of it.

Oh, and I'm not familiar w. the bike you mentioned - but I hope you enjoy it, that's the important thing!

Hope this helps, - Jo.

[Roadrunner]

Thanks again. I'm really looking forward to my bike arriving on Thursday. It'll be hitting the tarmac as quick as I can get the peddals attached and I'll be off.
I'll let you know how it goes.
For anyone who hasn't heard of this bike I'm including a link so you can view it over.

http://www.bikecare.co.uk/cb/cyclepages/sanremo.html

:D
Margaret

[Adventure Girl]

Originally posted by Margaret
For anyone who hasn't heard of this bike I'm including a link so you can view it over.Will your bike be coming with those specifications? The one thing that jumped out to me is that it has a 52/42 double. Are you going to be doing lots of climbing? IMHO, I would think that a beginning rider who will be riding hills a lot would get a triple.

[Roadrunner]

I don't intend to do much uphill. Not at the moment anyway, Sunday was just a bit of a longer run with hubbie. I usually do a 6 mile route that has some inclines to it. I'm using a mountain bike at the moment. I was pleased today because I managed 29 minutes at an average speed of 12.3 (up from best so far 11.9).
I've only been riding a few weeks, so I'm looking forward to improving. I only had a certain budget for a bike and this seemed the best I could find for the price (not too knowledgable on that front)
Thanks.
I appreciate all the advice you guys can give me.
Margaret:D

[Adventure Girl]

Margaret

Did you buy the bike from a bike shop? Did you get to take a test ride? Did they ask what kind of riding you will be doing and your biking experience? Road bikes come with either a "double" or a "triple" chain ring (meaning either two or three gear rings in the front). Most beginners and most people who do much climbing (except the pros, of course) use a triple.

Try using the search function of this board. The double & triple have been discussed before. There were even discussions of people who bought bikes with a double and asked about changing to a triple (pretty expensive to do). A bike with a double may be geared pretty high for a novice.

Good luck!

[Roadrunner]

Got the bike over the internet. (Guess I've a lot to learn)
As I said I'm not doing much in the way of climbing. That was just an extra outing with my husband. The route I do day to day is fairly normal roads with some incline but nothing much to talk about.
I'll have a look through the other discussion topics as you suggest though.I'm sure they'll be helpfull.
Thanks
Margaret:D

[Roadrunner]

[QUOTE Did you get to take a test ride]

Been asking around a bit and no-one here has heard of being able to take a test ride. :confused: I guess bike shops must be bore trusting on your side of the water.

[Roadrunner]

Will your bike be coming with those specifications?
:( Been looking at other bikes today. They all seem to have only two chanrings!
I found some in a brochure with three chainrings but they were out of my price-range (They were Lemond bikes)

[Adventure Girl]

Originally posted by Margaret
Been looking at other bikes today. They all seem to have only two chanrings! I don't know what is available in Scotland, but that sounds rather strange... Triples are VERY common (in almost all price ranges)! Are you able to shop at a bike shop? I think that will be your best bet. Different shops will carry different lines (brands) so look around. Ask questions. Talk to them about fit! And talk to them about features like a triple chain ring.

[Roadrunner]

The bikes I looked at today were in bike shops (one only sold mtbs!!. The brochure was given to me at one of the shops I was in. The man was very helpful there. (That was the shop that sold only Lemond and Dawes bikes. The cheapest was out of our price range though):(
I've got the internet ordered bike arriving tomorrow sometime.
I guess I'll have to make do. I've got my mountain bike if I want to do the hillier routes anyway. (If I'm lucky I'll soon go like L.A) and two rings will be enough (ha. ha):D

[Roadrunner]

Well the new bike arrived yesterday. I left my son in charge of accepting the delivery as I was in Edinburgh visiting my sister (long story). I ended going to one of the lbs and buying a usps shirt (sad aren’t I) (Don't answer that:D)
Took the new baby for a run this morning and shaved five minutes of my usual time!! Even better I was a minute faster than my DH when he did the same route on his bike yesterday. I guess it'll be the old"Ahh but you've got a better/lighter bike than me, mine is old now. If I had one like yours...blah blah blah" excuse:D
Anyway I love the bike.

[maryellen]

Tell Hubby he has to wait for a new bike!

I'm jealous. I plan to get a new bike next year--need to move up from a hybrid to a road bike. I didn't expect to ride this much, but when you get the bug . . . .well, you grrlls know . . . . Anyhow, I figure that by the end of this season, I'll have a better sense of what I want (ha!) / need.

[jobob]

Margaret, that is super!

Aren't new bikes FUN? :D
Now of course you must name it. No rush, these things take time, but sooner or later the right name will come to you. We had a thread about that some time ago, if you type name your bike in the search screen you'll probably come across it.
Eh, here's the link - http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1152

Yes, we're a strange lot :cool:

Do you happen to live near the North Sea Cycle route?
http://www.northsea-cycle.com/lande_index.html
Based on my extremely limited knowlege of Scotland geography my guess would be yes. Hubby and I hope to cycle that route before we're too old to do so, so maybe we'll be in your neighborhood sometime in, oh, the next decade :rolleyes:

Have fun with your new baby!
- Jo.

[Roadrunner]

Do you happen to live near the North Sea Cycle route?
Just had a look see and yes it does seem to come quite close to where we are, although we are a little bit more inland (not too far though).
How long do you think a run like that would take? I'm thinking months (at least for me anyway):eek:

[Roadrunner]

Do you happen to live near the North Sea Cycle route?

Had a closer look at some local runs and one of them is on part of the North sea cycle route. So we're pretty close to it.:D

[jobob]

Originally posted by Margaret
How long do you think a run like that would take? I'm thinking months (at least for me anyway):eek: [/B] Oh I would definitely want to take my time on it - I'd probably want to ride around 50-60 miles (roughtly 80-100 K) a day, maybe a bit more or less depending on the terrain, and take at least a day off each week for sightseeing or lazing about. At that rate it would take more than 10 weeks to do the entire 6000 K so either we'd do only part of the route or wait until we're retired :D

- Jo, world cycletourist wannabe

[Roadrunner]

I'm quite pleased with myself this morning.
Yesterday I managed to cycle twenty miles and don't feel any effects, other than the fact that I want to jump on my bike and get out again (I'm going mad) My fastest speed on the flat was 26.5 m.p.h. I'm quite pleased with that I must admit D.H. couldn't keep up with me. He now wants a new road bike. I kind of knew it would happen it's the "your bike's half the weight and has four gears more than mine. That's how you went faster" routine.
;) I did the distance in 46.14 (It's quite hilly in bits) I really love this bike.

[snapdragen]

Originally posted by Margaret
My fastest speed on the flat was 26.5 m.p.h. I'm quite pleased with that

Whoa! You go Margaret! I'm happy when I hit 15-16 mph! ;)