First ride over 5 miles...I'm skeered!

[schnitzle]

I know, what a baby! It's just a casual ride with a couple of friends who don't ride that often, so I keep telling myself that it's no big deal. I'm the biggest most out of shape person though, and that's what worries me.

The ride is 8 miles there and back and is relatively flat, but I know from experience that sometimes there are small hills that kind of wind me. Soooo I have my partner ready to pick me up at the end in case I can't make it back.
Trying to drink a lot of water before hand and taking some snacks to keep me going. Getting thirsty from breathing so hard is my worst problem though.

Wish me luck!

(to make things more exciting I was putting a baby bird back in it's nest a few minutes ago and fell off the ladder. Landed on my *** and tweaked my ankle a bit. Yippee! hahaha :rolleyes:)

[KnottedYet]

Good luck!
You'll do fine. Coast and take breaks when you need them.

We gotta do a TE coffee cruise on the B-G before the summer is over.

(8 miles, hot dog! Do you remember when you were worrying about 1 or 2 miles? You rock!) :D

[Zen]

Relax.You'll be laughing about this later.

[schnitzle]

Thanks so much Knotted and Zen! I hope it will just be another "notch on my belt" :D I wrote it wrong, it's 8 miles each way. We shall see what happens! hehe

I'd love to do a coffee cruise some time, now that we're getting some good weather!

Ok, fingers crossed!

[KnottedYet]

Next Saturday is the Fat Tire Brewing Company bicycling extravaganza at Gasworks Park.

Will you be there? It is a lot of fun.

http://www.newbelgium.com/tour-de-fat

[trista]

Good luck, you'll do great! I used to marvel at my dh's ability to so easily ride 20 miles. One morning I had a 16-mile ride mapped - my furthest at the time. I got lost and ended up going 20 miles. I truly enjoyed it and I felt so empowered. Now I do it all the time (and don't marvel at dh anymore, lol).

Have fun!

[Selkie]

You are not a baby.

As the others have said, you will do great. Just be patient with yourself, take it slow, and enjoy. With time in the saddle, you will get more confident and able to go further.

[tctrek]

We're cheering for you! Let us know how you do!

[sarahspins]

Wanna know a secret? Even 20 miles is not all that different from 5 :) The main difference is that it takes longer... if you are comfortable for 5, anything longer should be a piece of cake.

I remember how long it took me to get up the mental courage to DO a longer ride (for me, the mental block was the 20 mile #), then I did, and I was like "what, that's it?" - I expected it to be much harder, and it wasn't.

Take extra water with you if you think you'll need it.

[Zen]

let us know what happened.
We've all been there.

[Trek420]

schnitzle, Congrats on a personal best. Let us know how it goes. Enjoy the ride and hope you have fun.

[channlluv]

Yep. There will come a time when 8 miles will hardly be worth getting your bike out of the car.

I rode my mom's Earth Cruiser this morning for 6 miles from the rental car drop off back to her house. I had one insulated bottle of iced tea and only finished about half of it. It took me 34 minutes. It was hot and muggy and I worked up a good sweat and my muscles feel thoroughly warmed up, if not fully worked out.

You'll do just fine. No worries. Take a water bottle and a snack if you think you'll really need one, but you probably won't if you eat decently before hand.

Have fun!

Roxy

[zoom-zoom]

Did you do it yet? If so, how was it? If not...don't let the ankle tweak get you down. I sprained mine badly 6 weeks ago (while trail running) and after a week of doing pretty much nothing I found that biking didn't bother it much at all (hitting bumps kinda made the tendon painfully vibrate, if that makes any sense), but other than that the pedaling motion didn't hurt. It actually felt good to get blood flow and movement to the injured area. I credit biking with my good healing (especially since I did everything wrong in that first 24 hours after the initial sprain and could have really delayed the healing).

[Catrin]

You will do just fine, and congratulations! Like someone else said, if you can do 5 miles then you can do 16 - just keep pedaling :) Be sure to let us know how it goes! As a new rider myself it is fun to go longer than you did before, just do it at your own pace.

[Lesley_x]

I'm a new cyclist and I was like you. I found the barrier to longer rides was largely psychological, and once I passed that 'I can't do it!' phase, I felt like I could cycle forever.

Just ensure you fuel and hydrate your body appropriately and you'll be good to go :) Oh, and listen to your body. If you need a break, take one.

[schnitzle]

And I lived to tell the tale! hahaha:D I made it about 10 miles.

It went pretty well! We rode from Matthews Beach to Blyth park near Bothell Landing. Then going back I started to feel like I just couldn't get the strength back in my legs if that makes sense? I think it was those under the intersection tunnels that really did me in going back. Going through the last one I didn't shift right and barely made it to the top of the hill on the other side. I had to take a break for a few minutes there, then when we started going again my legs were immediately burning and I felt like I couldn't coast to rest. Sooo we went a bit farther, and stopped as planned a at Tully's coffee.

That's when I called my partner (we live about 5 miles away) and asked her to come get me :( Going the other 6 miles back to Matthews beach just seemed impossible. Also I felt like we had been going downhill a lot going into the Lake Forest Park area, so I psyched myself out thinking that there was going to be a lot of inclines going back :P Stupid! I think that coupled with the fact that I knew I could get a ride did me in. I felt really good though and thoroughly enjoyed myself! The Burke-Gilman trail is so nice (well except for that hot flat part in Kenmore/Bothell!) and even though it was a sunny Saturday I felt like the traffic level was reasonable and I never was scared. I may have been that new cyclist that you warn other cyclists about though!! hahaha

AND I didn't fall down! That's the one thing I ask before I ride. Please don't let me fall down for some stupid reason. So far so good!

Thanks a million for all the encouragement and well wishes! You guys are the best <3 The women I rode with were also really understanding and helped me keep going. They also told me I had nothing to worry about regarding the ride back to the beach, so I'm determined to go the whole distance next time!

[zoom-zoom]

They also told me I had nothing to worry about regarding the ride back to the beach, so I'm determined to go the whole distance next time!

You'll totally get there! :)

[schnitzle]

I'm a new cyclist and I was like you. I found the barrier to longer rides was largely psychological, and once I passed that 'I can't do it!' phase, I felt like I could cycle forever.


How right you are!! If I had been by myself I would have tried to make it back (I could have called for a pick up anywhere) but I felt bad for the people riding with me who possibly would have had to take breaks with me. I did tell them a couple of times not to worry if I dropped back because I was just going slow and they were totally fine with it. It was just me.

[KnottedYet]

Congratulations! 10 miles is awesome! :D

That's TEN TIMES what you started at!

That's fabulous!

[jdubble]

way to go! that's an awesome achievement! :)

[Catrin]

This is fabulous! Your very first 10 miles is awesome - and I remember well what that felt like not so long ago. Next time you will be even more comfortable, you are right for doing this at the pace that feels right to you :D

[Trek420]

Congratulations! A PB. :D

[schnitzle]

Thanks again!!

It was a good learning lesson with my bike too. I found that the um...crotch pain was pretty intense. Gotta get those padded bike shorts! Also had some numb feelings in my wrists since I kept leaning on them so hard. I need to work on my core strength for sure!

I'm so glad I found this community! You all are so inspirational and supportive!!

I'll post some photos soon. I didn't get any of myself, so hopefully one of the other women will forward their photos around and I can snag some :)

[Melalvai]

It was a good learning lesson with my bike too. I found that the um...crotch pain was pretty intense. Gotta get those padded bike shorts! Also had some numb feelings in my wrists since I kept leaning on them so hard. I need to work on my core strength for sure!
Congrats on the ride. This sounds like a bike fit issue more than core strength, to me. Tilt the nose of your saddle down for the crotch pain. Numb wrists might be from handlebar height relative to saddle height, and/or the type of handlebar. I think there are threads discussing these, and talk to your bike shop.

[sgtiger]

Great job, Schnitzle!

[Trek420]

Numb wrists could also be tense hands. Next ride you'll be thinking "no biggie, I've done this before". See if you're more relaxed. :)

[Zen]

Breathe. Relax. Find a mantra.

[PamNY]

Excellent, Schnitzle. I have a hunch you will progress really fast. It takes time to sort out what to do about various discomforts. I've solved all of mine with advice given here.

[NbyNW]

Great job! Sounds like you had a lovely day!

[runningcyclist]

Hi Schnitzle. Congratulations on your first long ride. A few tweaks to the bike and it'll be 30 mile rides before you know it. Well done!

[schnitzle]

Next Saturday is the Fat Tire Brewing Company bicycling extravaganza at Gasworks Park.

Will you be there? It is a lot of fun.

http://www.newbelgium.com/tour-de-fat

It looks like a lot of fun! I've never been before, but I love Gasworks and beer so it sounds perfect ;) What goes on there?



And I love your avatar. Doggies benefit so much from running beside bicycles. That shows a lot of dog and bike skill right there!

Oh, regarding water. Maybe get a Camelpak. There is one reviewed on here somewhere that just goes around the waist and leaves the back unobstructed. And cooler. Or maybe just a regular type.

Thanks so much! hehe My black dog, Mojo loooves to run, and this is one way I can get him the exercise he needs. It helps that he's only 10 lbs, so if he decides to go the wrong way he can't pull me over :p I will have to try taking him around a neighborhood someday like that.

I thought of a camelbak too! Good suggestion.

I wish I could reply to all the great advice and comments. I'm reading and appreciating them all!

[Bike Chick]

Great job, Schnitzle! We've all been there and relive it with your post. I think I was more proud of my first 10 miles than I was with my first 50! It's quite an accomplishment and something you should be very proud of. Congratulations!

[schnitzle]

Great job, Schnitzle! We've all been there and relive it with your post. I think I was more proud of my first 10 miles than I was with my first 50! It's quite an accomplishment and something you should be very proud of. Congratulations!

Thanks Bike Chick :D I am looking at roads differently now, trying to decide what I can tackle. It's been an eye opener.

[azfiddle]

Another "way to go"!

One year ago, I was barely riding about 10 miles. Now I can do 50+, and ride up a mountain. :D

I would check more than shorts for your pain though- could be how you fit on your bike, saddle position etc. Don't resign yourself to being uncomfortable. That said, bike shorts are well worth it.