Yipee!! First ride!

[aly]

I am absolutely riding high on endorphins right now and must, must, must tell you all about my very first ride. I am a new rider (had bikes when I was younger, but never with gears). I've spent the last few weeks learning shopping, and stressing over which bike to get. Yesterday I finally brought my new Lemond Tourmalet home (pics soon). And, today, I went on my first ride!!!

I'm in socal, so my boyfriend and I went to the Malibu canyons. We did a 12 mile loop with some climbs that about killed me. I averaged 11mph and tried to keep my cadence decent, but it was generally lower than I've read it should be. I switched out the bontrager saddle before I even started (thanks to advice I read here). The specialized saddle I put on felt fine. The only real pain I felt was pressure between my thumbs and index fingers, a little soreness in my neck and shoulders and the burn in my legs. However none of it was unbearable. I'm proud to say that I only rested twice for about a minute and a drink. And, despite threating to, I never actually walked the bike up any of the hills.

Shifting was difficult, especially since I had no idea what I was doing. However, by the end I felt that I was getting the hang of it. Thanks to you all and Sheldon Brown's article. It also helped that my boyfriend would occasionally yell out for me to shift if he saw that my chain was too angled.

Clipping was intimidating, but not as bad as I thought it would be. I did topple once. I made the mistake of resting in the middle of a long, somewhat steep hill and then trying to clip back in while going uphill. I just sort of wavered then fell. It gave my boyfriend a good hard laugh.

Riding with my boyfriend was good. He seems to enjoy teaching me and was very helpful. He's stronger than I am, but I don't think I held him up too much. The funny thing is, after we finished, he was raring to do more. I had to remind him that we shouldn't get too crazy on our first ride. Now he's passed out on the couch and I'm full of energy

Now for a couple of questions. Could the hand pain be from having to reach too far to shift and brake? Can I get something for my shimano 105's to shorten the reach? Or, does it mean that I've got my weight distributed wrong? I assume a little shoulder and neck pain is normal at this point, am I right? The bike shop has a slightly longer stem on order for me- is that likely to help or hurt? Also, would you recommend doing the same ride again tomorrow, or switching it up?

By the way, I just want to say thank you again to everyone posting here. The information and advice here is priceless. After riding today, I have a whole new appreciation for you ladies.

[VeloVT]

Yay on your new bike!!! I'm also super impressed that you rode (mostly without incident, it sounds!) with clipless pedals on your first time out.

You might want to consider going back to your bike shop and getting a comprehensive fit. Why are they ordering a longer stem, out of curiosity? That could increase pressure on your hands, as well as requiring more from your neck & shoulders, but that all depends on how your bike fits to begin with.

One thing you might want to look at -- how relaxed are your hands/arms when you ride? If you tend to really grip the bar (which is pretty common when people first start out), that can lead to hand pain/numbness, and even shoulder/neck fatigue. If you notice your grip tightening try to "play piano" on the bars a bit to loosen up and relax. And it can be useful to periodically do shoulder rolls or shake your arms out, to make sure you're relaxed...

Have fun with your new bike!!!!

[Aquila]

Congrats on your new bike!!!

I think Liza's got good advice about getting fit; have them check handlebar width, too, maybe? (Folks here suggested I look into narrower handlebars, and it's made a world of difference to me.)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

It is normal to feel sore in a lot of places for a week or two when you just begin to ride.
I recommend that you don't make many changes to your bike until the initial soreness has had a chance to subside and your your body has had a chance to adapt to the new odd positions you are asking of it. When you do make changes to your bike, do just one little change at a time and then ride for a week or two to see if it really makes a difference. Your body is going to be changing and making new muscles to suit your needs.

12 hilly miles is pretty big for a first ride- don't expect too much from yourself at first. Work your strength up gradually, and don't let anyone push you too hard if you are not ready to do more. Above all, ride safe. :)
It's good that you have an experienced rider helping you.
Congratulations! :p

[Kuota Rider]

Hooray for you and your new bike and your first ride. I was too intimidated on my "first ride clipped in". I stayed on the neighborhood trails close to home.
I can tell you, I have been riding off and on, (right now I am on) for about 3 years. I still am not always comfortable with my hands. I have tried several pairs of gloves. Different brands, different pads, different thicknesses. Most of my problem, is that thumb, index finger thing you describe. It is like the webbing and muscles between the two fingers cramps up. For me it seems to be because as the hands receive pressure from riding, they tend to slide slightly forward in the glove causing the seam between the thumb and index finger to "cut into" that webbing. I actually rode without gloves for a while. Not safe, I know. I even went as far as to buy a $300. handlebar which is ergonomically correct (and it is really pretty too). Even that didnt really help. It seems to be about the gloves and getting one that is soft enough at that web point so it doesnt press into that part of your hand. I have actually gone back to the cheapest pair of gloves I own. I got them from Performance Bike (www.performancebike.com). They are terry on the back and don't have a whole lot of pressure point padding on them. The bigger the pads, the more it seems to hurt my hands. Maybe I just have sissy hands. :rolleyes: Good luck with your search and remember that some of that discomfort goes away with regular riding and conditioning.
BTW: an 11mph average is great for your first ride. And just remember, hills will be a B**** for a while. Eventually I am going to purchase the "Hill Slug" jersey that is on this site.
Hey! Did you ever decide on a shoe?

[Kano]

Your "pain points" sound very much like mine as I've been getting used to the bike this year! It's a weird body position when you're not used to it, and there's pressure on your hands that they're not used to, even if you're not riding with a death grip. We also seem to lock our elbows and do something with our shoulders -- I found that thinking shoulders down to myself every now and then has them feeling ever so much better!

I DID get some shims added to my 105 brake/shifter levers earlier this season, which has made it a bit easier to be in the drops -- I can reach those levers better now!

I also got a shorter stem on my bike recently, which has made a HUGE difference for me. I still might put narrower handlebars on, which I've seen suggested a lot.

We get eager to make everything about the bike "perfect" right away, and wonder what about IT to change when we have a bit of discomfort. When we're new to this sport, though, we have to realize that there are things about us that we have to consider too. My LBS guy sent me home with instructions to ride for a couple of weeks, then come back. I go in every now and again, and we make like one change at a time, based on my body's response to the last one or two changes. Meanwhile, my body is making lots of changes that seem to make bike changes less and less necessary!

(A recent addition to my repertoire of skills that changed how my hands and shoulders feel yet again -- watching the "boys" on the Tour the other day, I noticed that they put their hands farther out on the hoods than I was doing, so like, the heel of my hand is actually on that hood thing, rather than heel on the bar, thumb/forefinger area on hood. That proved to be HUGELY comfortable, and an impossible-to-lock-my-elbows position too!)

Karen in Boise

[Starfish]

Some good advice here already. Congrats on your great ride! YAY! :)

1) I used to get sore between my thumb and index finger, and for the first couple of years I took to lubing the area with neosporin before putting on my gloves. Made all the difference, and now I never need it anymore. I guess I just out-grew the problem, or got a callus, or whatever.

2) You can get shims to make your 105 brakes easier to reach. In fact, mine are double-shimmed. That is not ideal for me, and when I get a new bike, I will get short reach shifters and a woman's bar. But, for now, for this bike, for my budget, it works OK.

[KnottedYet]

Hooray!

[Torrilin]

Good job :). That's a good bit longer than I can ride right now.

[short cut sally]

Aly, great job on your first ride, pretty impressive too I might add for a first time out. And, I thought 3 miles my first time out was like a miraculous ride and that was like farther than any person in the world had ever gone..boy was I nieve.:rolleyes: . Glad you like your sidi shoes..

[RoadRaven]

Aly... way to go, girl

And what a fabulous place to begin your affair with cycling...

I don't know alot about mountain biking, so can offer no advice re set-up/position on your bike... but wow... just had to say - what a great start!

:D

[indigoiis]

Congrats on the new bike!

[aly]

Thank you all for your support! It looks like we're heading out now for ride number two. I really appreciate all the tips. I think a lot of my problems stemmed from stress. My front brake wasn't working right, and I never used the drop bars. It also didn't help that I didn't know how to shift properly and that I was completely unfamiliar with the roads. Today, I plan to try to relax (and we tweaked the front brake). I'm also going to put some cream between me thumb and index finger. I think I'll probably ride for a couple of weeks before I change anything on the bike. Hopefully, by then, I'll be able to distinguish between new rider pains and bike problems. We're going to try the same route this evening. The roads are quiet and twisty and run through the Santa Monica mountains. Some of it gets pretty steep, but now that I know what to expect, it should be easier... I hope. It's very pretty out there, and there are a good number of other people on road bikes and not too many cars. The only thing I really don't like is that it is also very popular with the crazy motorcycle guys (that's how my boyfriend first got familiar with the roads). They're scary.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

...I think I'll probably ride for a couple of weeks before I change anything on the bike. Hopefully, by then, I'll be able to distinguish between new rider pains and bike problems..... We're going to try the same route this evening....Some of it gets pretty steep, but now that I know what to expect, it should be easier... I hope.

For me, it took about 6 to 8 months of riding to be able to distinguish accurately between new rider pains and bike problems. ;)

You say your front brake was not working right but that you "tweaked" it...please don't ride down any steep hills until you make SURE that brake is working PERFECTLY. The front brake is the one with the most stopping power and is very important for your safety.

Have fun!!!!! :) :)

[aly]

There was some definite improvement in the second ride. I used a bunch of the tips I got here and found myself much more comfortable this time. My speed increased to just under 12mph and I shifted almost like a normal person. My hands were much better since I started riding in the drops downhill and now that the brake is a little better.

However, I now have more questions- How will I know if I need a longer stem or more narrow handle bars? And, I can reach the brakes easily from the drops, but it's a slight reach from the hoods. Is this normal or should they be easier to reach from the hoods?

Lisa- thanks for worrying about my safety. I was a little nervous, so I took it easy. Although my boyfriend is decent with fixing things on the bike, we're going to go to the LBS I really trust to get it fixed properly. We bought the bike from a store that we were very happy with, but we don't have the same confidence in them as we do another nearby store. My brake wasn't connecting all the way and his chain was funky, so we most definitely need to get them looked at.

So far, so good!

[VeloVT]

If this is the first time you've really ridden a bike as an adult/ridden a road bike -- I would suggest giving it a good month or two before thinking about the stem at all. You will adjust to the position and probably stretch out a little (or possibly realize that you're already too stretched out, but you probably need to put some more time in to tell the difference, as others have pointed out, between bike issues and new rider issues).

As for handlebars -- I think most women (though someone will certainly contradict me here, so definitely not all women) need smaller handlebars than are spec'd on the bike. You might go into your bike shop and have them measure your shoulders, and get their opinion. You could probably also go in and "hold" different sizes of handlebar. It's not on your bike, but it gives you some idea. (Not all bike shops stock bars in sizes smaller than 40 though).

My bike came stock with 42cm (c-c) handlebars -- this always felt awkward to me and I had some hand pain issues. I switched to a 38cm bar (my shoulders measure 38cm), and it's drastically more natural feeling and comfortable. Though now, having ridden with the new bar for a few months, I occaisionally wonder if I might want a slightly bigger bar (but still smaller than the original) for greater leverage... my point is that some aspects of fit can be a work in progress, since as you ride more and more your riding style will change and you will want different things from your bike.

Hope this isn't too rambling to be helpful :o . Good luck!