A Plan For Getting Started?

Hi from a total beginner!

I am just getting started riding my road bike. There are a lot of places here to ride, but I am struggling just riding here in the neighborhood. I know this is going to be something of a steep curve at first and I am wondering if anyone has any advice for a completely out of shape beginner? I try to ride in the mornings (I just got back from what amounts to a down the street and back to the house short distance- a whopping half mile) right now, but I would like to expand that soon to a short morning ride and a longer evening ride.

At 5'7" and 160 lbs I am not too terribly overweight, but I would like to lose 20-25 lbs. I have altered my eating habits, but I know the key to looking and feeling better is the bike (and using it, lol).

I am pleased to have found this forum and I am grateful to you ladies for making it a supportive place where I can ask these sorts of questions!

Wendy

Hi Wendy,

I'm quite new to this myself but I'll throw in my 2 cents worth. I started commuting to work about 3 weeks ago and it really helped that a co-worker of mine lives close to me and also bikes into work. If you have a friend or significant other that can go on little rides with you, it really helps.

I don't know how fast you are spinning, but if you have your bike in too high of a gear you are going to wear yourself out faster because you are pushing your legs so hard. Try a lower gear. It may feel like you are working harder because you are spinning faster, but it is easier on the legs. Experiment with the gears. Also make sure that your seat is at the proper height.

You are doing great. Your fitness will improve and you will be driving everywhere in no time!

Maggie

I wouldn't suggest you push yourself farther than you can go, but I think it's probably a psychological thing about why you're only going to the end of the block and back.

A couple of things I struggled with when I first started riding again (about 2-1/2 years ago--and I was a very casual rider then) were:

*I felt uncomfortable being so visible to my neighbors doing something new. In other words, performance anxiety. (Or in my case, I didn't want to confirm to my neighbors that I am, in fact, the neighborhood goofball, just by doing one more thing out of the ordinary.)

*I wasn't sure about the bike, was afraid of falling, wasn't sure I was doing it right, was afraid I wouldn't watch for traffic or someone in a car would hit me.

*I had in my head that riding was "hard". That my body couldn't do it after so much time being lazy.

The solutions to my problems were simply to ride MORE. The part about the neighbors...I just left the block. It was easy for me to ignore any neighbors that didn't live on my street. Who cares what they think? They were only going to see me for mere seconds anyway.

Then enventually I didn't care what anyone thought because I was comfortable on the bike, because I had ridden MORE.

The part about thinking it was "hard" was illustrated very nicely for me yesterday. I had some errands to do around town, pay the dentist bill, for instance. So on my town ride I stopped in the dentist's office with my gear on and all that. Of course, I'm quite a spectacle in this small Southern town...fat lady with bifocals and bike helmet perched on her head, funny- looking fingerless gloves, and sweating a lot. The ladies at the dentist's office made comments..."So you're riding a bike today?" "yep, just running errands...and 12 more miles to go."

"TWELVE MORE MILES!?" they said in unison.

Now around this forum 12 miles is nothing. But to the general public--that's a long way even in a car at $3/gallon. Non-riders, they don't get it. They think it's like walking. It's not "hard". It's easy. Even if you stop moving your legs, you still have a breeze in your face.

Welcome to the forum.

Karen

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tuckervill

I wouldn't suggest you push yourself farther than you can go, but I think it's probably a psychological thing about why you're only going to the end of the block and back.

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I suspect that's a big part of it- it's all rather new and I am sure I could push myself harder/farther. There's loads of traffic here in Northern Virginia so I feel safest going out in the early morning- there are few people out and about then as well :) I am going to try the local Washington-Old Dominion Trail this weekend; I don't think it has the abrupt elevation changes my neighborhood has.

Thank you for the welcome!

Wendy

I would get to know the bike path really well - I think that's the one I rode on visiting my brother in Reston. Get comfortable with what you're supposed to do when (where it crosses roads, etc) and maybe use the clock as your guide... go *out* for fifteen minutes and then turn around and go back.
And, don't feel intimidated by more expert riders going by you. You should try to be sure to ride a straight, consistent path (and when you pass somebody, let 'em know with a "hello!" or "On your left!"). Know what's going on in front of and behidn you (I swear by my helmet mirror) and figure that people will think at first, "Newbie! Wonder how quickly she'll give up on that!" and PROVE THEM WRONG so that in a few weeks they're thinking "Oh, it's that lady! Boy, has she gotten stronger and more confident!"
Oh, and log your miles or minutes, even the half miles and half minutes :-) Stick 'em on a wall calendar, or on a computer file, or over at www.bikejournal.com - but there's nothing like visible progress to motivate.

Wendy,

Congratulations on joining the fun!!

I'm about 6 months ahead of you. When I first started riding, I found it helpful to focus on time on the bike instead of miles - half an hour at first, then a bit more and a bit more. I'm just now starting to focus back on miles, and even with that, my goals are pretty modest. I'll never be a 25 mile a day person, and that's fine with me.

Going out on the bike paths is a great idea. I still do most of my riding on bike paths because it's much less stressful for me not having to worry about cars (and because of the hills near my house). I second the suggestion of using any and all gears necessary to keep yourself going. Lower gears are a newbie's best friends!!

Have a great time.

Cathy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tuckervill

*I felt uncomfortable being so visible to my neighbors doing something new. In other words, performance anxiety. (Or in my case, I didn't want to confirm to my neighbors that I am, in fact, the neighborhood goofball, just by doing one more thing out of the ordinary.)

*I wasn't sure about the bike, was afraid of falling, wasn't sure I was doing it right, was afraid I wouldn't watch for traffic or someone in a car would hit me.

*I had in my head that riding was "hard". That my body couldn't do it after so much time being lazy.

The part about thinking it was "hard" was illustrated very nicely for me yesterday. I had some errands to do around town, pay the dentist bill, for instance. So on my town ride I stopped in the dentist's office with my gear on and all that. Of course, I'm quite a spectacle in this small Southern town...fat lady with bifocals and bike helmet perched on her head, funny- looking fingerless gloves, and sweating a lot. The ladies at the dentist's office made comments..."So you're riding a bike today?" "yep, just running errands...and 12 more miles to go."

"TWELVE MORE MILES!?" they said in unison.

Now around this forum 12 miles is nothing. But to the general public--that's a long way even in a car at $3/gallon. Non-riders, they don't get it. They think it's like walking. It's not "hard". It's easy. Even if you stop moving your legs, you still have a breeze in your face. Karen

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Karen, I enjoyed what you wrote. It's so interesting how different we all are. I've only been riding for about a year but riding on the road has never concerned me in the least. I lived on a bike into my late teens. I didn't have my own car so I road my bike to the pool, stores...everywhere. So I guess I've always been used to riding around traffic. When it comes to what others think, I was self conscious about how I looked at first because I've got 20-30 pounds to lose. But I've always been the type to see someone doing something and saying I wish I could do that. Then I usually try it somewhere down the line. I always thought it was "cool" to see cyclists in all their gear. As for hard...yeah it was a little hard at first...but only because I was trying to ride like those who have been riding for years. Once I figured out it was okay for me to only ride 6 miles at a time it didn't take long for those 6 to turn into 12 and 12 to turn into 20+. I still don't do big miles but I rarely return home with less than 20 miles under my belt. I can easily picture those women in the dentist's office...but I bet they all thought it was pretty cool what you were doing. It's amazing what our concept of hard is after awhile. I think it's way cool of anyone to jump on a bike and ride - no matter how many blocks or miles you go! Keep on riding!!

Hi Wendy,:D :D

Just saying hello from a fellow newbie too! Welcome to the forum. Everyone is very friendly and you will find loads of help and information on these pages.

The advice I have found quite helpful is about spinning in a lower gear and not taxing your legs too much. It does work.
Make sure you have your rest days and are properly hydrated too.
I tend to ride in the mornings - like you, I live in a high traffic area and am nervous about riding in the midst of too many cars. There is a cycle path about a mile away which I have used, but I am also a bit nervous about riding along a path which is generally quiet! Can't win really!!!

Just keep getting out there on your bike and reading the forum - can't go too far wrong there!

Jen x

*I felt uncomfortable being so visible to my neighbors doing something new. In other words, performance anxiety. (Or in my case, I didn't want to confirm to my neighbors that I am, in fact, the neighborhood goofball, just by doing one more thing out of the ordinary.)

I thought I was the only neighborhood goofball~(hence the avitar) I still feel just as you did but as I ride more I feel better.

The biggest thing I think a beginner like me should do is just ride and have fun. Also everytime I ride I try to work on some tip I read somewhere like here. I play with the gears and I laugh at how goofy I must look.

Well, I am happy to say that this is working out. I have learned that Shimano pedals have a tension adjustment, and that makes getting out of them much faster and easier. I went out today (took the day off) and followed Sue's advice- out for for 15 min then back. The riding on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail was easier than in my neighborhood (I live on the side of a largish hill) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My bike is rather new; I was having trouble getting it to shift to the small chainring and a guy stopped and helped me out, which I really appreciated. I'll go out again in the morning, and see if I can add just a little more time and distance.

Thank you all so much for your encouragement and advice!

Wendy

I rarely shift in the front. Only for big hills do I use the smallest chainring, and I hardly ever use the biggest (I have a triple on my commuter bike). My road bike (double chainring) generally stays in the small front ring. Focus on getting comfortable with shifting the back derailleur. You should rarely need to change the front derailleur, except if you have alot of hills.

Tulip, I can see where the small chainring wouldn't really be often necessary on the W&OD. I'll be staying out of Shenandoah for a while yet :)

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Originally Posted by Sheherazade

Tulip, I can see where the small chainring wouldn't really be often necessary on the W&OD. I'll be staying out of Shenandoah for a while yet :)

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Actually, it's better to spin. On my road bike, which has two front chainrings, I generally keep it in the small (easier) chainring. On my commuting bike, which has three chainrings, I generally keep it in my middle chainring, which is probably close to the small one on my road bike (but I haven't counted the teeth).

Just think of it as the smaller front chainrings are easier to spin, and the larger back cogs (small chainrings, if you will) are easier to spin. They are opposite of each other. So the easiest is small front, bigger rear. Not to get too technical, but you don't really want to be in the extremes because it puts alot of stress on the chain because such gearings align the chain diagonally (small front-big rear / big front-small rear).

The point is that you should focus on staying shifting the back derailleur more often than the front. Small increment gear changes are easier on your knees and makes it easier to maintain a relatively constant pace.

Just ignore the part that's too techie. Some of us have been doing this for a long time, and it shows;)

I've been riding a little over a year - WELCOME! Biking is a great way to exercise, get around, and basically have fun! It's also helped me to lose weight and get fit!

When I first started riding, I couldn't make it up our driveway (1/4 mile). I eventually got to where I could ride that, plus another mile, but I'd walk up the hills. Then I could cycle up those hills and ride 5-7 miles, then.....well, you get the idea. In this amount of time, I've gone from riding 10-11 miles in August of last year (man, was I excited for "double digits") at 7 mph to riding 40-50+ miles at 16+ mph! If I can do it, ANYONE can!

Things that helped me:
a. A good bike. I started on an old Schwinn that weighed at least 100 pounds! I couldn't even lift it! I first bought a hybrid (we live on gravel) and recently bought a road bike. The bikes make a difference.

b. Good shirts. I hate to sweat, so having "wicking jerseys" helped me. I even have a few that are made like t-shirts - much easier to "face the world" in when first starting out.

c. Good bike shorts. Your backside will thank you for these. If you're not sure about wearing the shorts (it took me a while to get my nerve up), try a cycling skort - bike shorts underneath/attached to a wrap around skirt.

d. A biking buddy. I'm married to mine (he's the one who got me into it....after 18 years of marriage!!). My dear husband was very patient with me, would wait on hills, encourage me, etc. Having someone to "root you on" helps and you can help them at the same time.

e. Some fun stuff: bike computer to keep track of trip/yearly mileage total along with top speed, average speed, cadence, or whatever you like. I keep track of my rides in a notebook - where I went, how far, how long, etc. I started a new book/00 miles on the computer on January 1. Cool water bottles (I like pink ones), cool bike gloves, a biking magazine, cool biking socks, shoes, etc.

I love biking and I get excited when someone else starts biking! You will have SO MUCH FUN!

Welcome again to biking!

Lorie

Hi Wendy -

I live in Bethesda (right up the road :) ) and bought my bike about four months ago. DC is a GREAT place to get started because there are great trails (which it seems like you are already discovering). I was really nervous starting out for a lot of reasons - I thought I would fall over, didn't really know how to shift, thought I looked silly, but I couldn't be happier now. Since it was cold outside when I got my bike, one thing that helped me a lot was doing some workouts on the trainer. It helped me get more comfortable, even though I wasn't moving. But, now it's so nice to ride outside, I could see how it would be painful to ride on the trainer.

I've also learned to avoid using my smallest chain ring (I have 3) because it messes up SO much (no matter how tuned it is). I know you said that your neighborhood has some hills, but most of the bike trails in the DC area are flat, so I find I never have to use it anyway. Mainly the fear of the chain falling off and having to stop are enough to keep me pushing if I ever come to a hill.

I'm sure you've found this website by now, but it's really useful.
http://www.bikewashington.org/

If you're up for a short road trip, the Baltimore and Annapolis trail is really nice for beginners. I went a few weeks ago on a really nice day, and it was virtually empty. When I started, I had anxiety about being on a trail with a lot of people (Capital Crescent near my apt. is unbelievably packed all the time), and this would have been the perfect one to start on - really nice trail, flat, and not a lot of people so you can really get to know your bike. But then again, I haven't been on the Old Dominion trail, so I don't know how the traffic is.

If you have any ?'s about my experience with DC trails, stores, etc., let me know. Happy biking!! :)