Here we go!

I was very active/athletic in my younger years. Rode my bike everywhere. Then life as an adult interfered with me...for 20 years....so here I am and have been trying to get back to high levels of activity for several years. I kayak and hike and do crossfit in my gym but have been up and down. Now adding biking back in and got a specialized sirrius. Love the bike but am so out of form for shifting and found my clipping in and out to be as rusty as can be. Any tips for starting back on the bike for one with more than a few too many extra pounds?

Welcome back :)

It's good to increase your mileage slowly. For clipping in and out, I can't stress enough the importance of "confidence building" rides on a trail or in a large parking lot enough. My first real experience with clips was a bad fall and that's the advice I receive which "did it" for me. And if you don't really plan on going a lot of places or doing a lot of mileage and aren't too attached to the pedals right now, you can always swap them out for platforms and just get back into riding again before you put them back on.

For shifting, I find that when I move to a hillier place or get on a new bike, it's helpful to be "reminded" by the shifting of others of a similar fitness level. So, group riding has really taught me a lot about WHEN to shift. It calms me down because I am not thinking, "Sh*t, I need to shift NOW NOW NOW!", I just follow suit and do it. The other option is finding a very quiet road with hills so that you can get ready for it. Over time, you will get much better. It's just hard at first.

I don't mind clipping in at all. It is just that I seem to remember getting in and out easier than I did on my ride the other day. Thanks everyone. I am going to look into the things you suggest. I am riding on road mostly right now, BTW.

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Originally Posted by giftogab

I don't mind clipping in at all. It is just that I seem to remember getting in and out easier than I did on my ride the other day. Thanks everyone. I am going to look into the things you suggest. I am riding on road mostly right now, BTW.

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Pedals can be adjusted to make it easier/harder to clip in and out. Maybe yours can be adjusted to make it easier?

As for shifting, is it an issue with remembering to shift at the right time, remembering which shifter works which derailleur or developing the muscle memory so your hands just do what you want without having to think consciously about it? Or is it a physical problem such as the shifters requiring too much effort to change gears or the derailleurs not working smoothly enough?

+1 on adjusting your pedals. That was a part of my process of getting used to my pedals on my new roadie. I loosened mine up and prefer to keep them that way. The shop where you bought the bike should be able to help you with that aspect if you don't know how. The Shimanos I have require a simple thing that can be adjusted with a tiny allen wrench found on any simple multitool.

I just haven't learned how to determine the best time to shift and to what. I can control the shifting well enough now that I have had some adjustments to the bike, but sometimes think I shift early or late or not to the right gears.