beginning training

[ladiebug]

I am so psyched!!! :D I just got back from my first ride since deciding to build up my endurance. I had planned on starting at about 2 miles (I know, not setting my goals real high yet). Then just decided to pick a route that would loop around and bring me back home. It ended up being 3.2 miles. I did it in about 20 minutes. This route had a pretty steep hill that I ended up walking my bike up half of. So, I got a little bit of all grades. Up, down, flat. My muscles are not aching, so I figured that would be a good route for me to do daily until I feel like pressing forward. Maybe once I can get up that hill without having to get off my bike! :p Has anybody else here ever started at rock bottom the way I feel that I have? Some stories?

[nuthatch]

Congratulations! You'll be amazed at how quickly you'll progress. When I first got back on a bike, I actually wobbled down the block and fell off. I live in pretty flat Illinois, so I didn't have hill challenges, but 3/4 mile down the road that day I was going 7mph and wheezing so bad I thought I wouldn't make it back home. Gee, I haven't thought about that for a long time! Definitely not one of my glory moments. Isn't it so much fun to ride? No matter what your size, you feel free as a bird!

[mtnbikenmama]

I started riding 2 years ago and 30# heavier. I was having a tough time getting in shape after the last baby (who is now 7 ;) So I took up MTB riding. At first it was more like a hike a bike, but over time I have gained strength, endurance, and obviously lost a lot of weight. So keep it up, & keep it fun!

donna

[CorsairMac]

Congrats on your ride! Everybody either starts out slow - or pays the price. First time I ran, I thought that first block was gonna Kill me - now I run 5 days a week, 3 miles a day and bike commute to work. Just don't get discouraged and don't set your goals so high you get disappointed! As the great Lance Armstrong says.....it's not how fast or how far you ride....it's how often!

[LBTC]

Excellent ride, ladiebug!! You rock!! We all started there at some point. There's one mountain bike trail we all ride where I live, and it's a twisty climb through the trees. I'm pretty sure the first time I rode it I stopped 6 times before the 2nd switchback. It probably took an hour to get to the top of that climb....

Now I've timed it at somewhere around 12 minutes and I don't need to stop at all. It's such an amazing feeling! I actually can ride it faster than some of the guys I ride with. yahoo

My one piece of advice....(the other girls have covered some great ideas too)...at least some of the time, ride with somebody who is better at it than you are. Of course, make sure it's someone who won't just take off on you, then wait, then take off again as soon as you get there....if you can ride with somebody better, you'll learn a LOT in a short time, and you'll challenge yourself often. I hope you can find that someone! (I try to be that someone now, on my non-training rides. I alwasy have fun on the bike!)

Keep riding, girl!!

Namaste,
~T~

[SnappyPix]

Well done Ladiebug, that's fantastic - you must be feeling v.pleased with yourself, and rightly so! Give it a little time and you'll soon be pedalling up that hill. Congratulations! :)

[SadieKate]

Big congratulations! Doesn't it feel great to accomplish something? When I was in my early 20s I had 4 knee operations and did not have the best rehab but finally met the man of my dreams who got me on a bike. The 1st ride was like yours and I burst into tears. I was so happy! I was used to be very active but the knee operations ended my sports (volleyball, tennis and backpacking) so I was thrilled to find something I could do. The rest is history :D and a nice collection of fine velocipides.

[Surlygirl]

Good job ladiebug. With winter here in New England I pretty much start over every spring. I live on top of a hill and my goal last year was to be able to ride up the hill for home without having to stop and walk part of it. It took awhile but by the end of the season I could make it up everytime. :D Good luck and don't give up.

[psychavoc]

My house is a 30 minute walk from work and pretty much all uphill. I had trouble even walking that without being left breathless at the end when I first started walking hom. But now i'm planning on riding that someday. At the moment, I'm in the progress of gathering enough bits and pieces to build up my hardtail as a light-ish xc bike that I will be able to ride to and from work with. I stole all the bits off my HT frame last year to put onto my Santa Cruz Heckler, which is too heavy to push uphills, and I wouldn't want to leave that chained up around town aswell, as SC's aren't very common down here in NZ.

Sooo.. once the HT is built back up (i've got some Skarebs coming in the mail.. next stop: wheels..), then i'll have some horrible hillclimbing stories for you.

[Crankin]

I started riding about 4 and a half years ago, on a hard tail mtb that my husband adjusted for me. I thought i was very fit (aerobics, weight training, walking) but I almost died the first couple of times. My husband had to push me up a small hill with the back of his hand. This was in the fall. The next spring I started riding 10-15 miles at a time, at about 12 mph average. There are tons of hills where I live. After 2 years I got a road bike and this helped me improve a lot. Riding with my husband pushes me and riding with one of my friends helps me see that I am in pretty good shape for someone who is 51. We joined a group and I am consistently the fastest woman, unless there are people who race there. I feel like I may have hit my stride (15 mph average) unless i can get a little more fearless on the downhills. I would like to improve some technical skills, but beginners need to remember to keep riding for fun and fitness. Although I wasn't fat, the middle aged spread was creeping up, despite years of regular exercise. I lost about 15 pounds from riding and now weigh what i did in high school.

[ladiebug]

Today is day 5. I've ridden every day except yesterday. I was worn out from work (which is also physically demanding). I was feeling guilty for not riding, so I climbed on my health rider for a little while, just to keep up the exercise habit. Today I only rode 2.4 miles. Yesterday none. And the day before I only did 1.5 simply because my six-year-old son wished to join me. And it was raining. But, I've been told it only takes two weeks to make or break a habit. So I'm going to keep at it! Besides, it's so much fun. I've found a group that I'd like to join up with, and I have about two months to get prepared for the easy ride they say everyone is invited to. I'm trying to get my children involved also. Does anyone here know just how safe (health wise) it is for children ages 6, 8, and 9 to be into biking? Any experiences?