Hi! I'm new here and thrilled to chat with other FEMALE cyclists!!

[bikerchick68]

I have been riding for a year but have no women to ride with or talk to about cycling. My best friend decided last weekend to finally start riding, but only has a mtn bike... so she put skinnies on it and I did a 10 mile ride with her...

I am gaining confidence in my strength and abilities with every ride. Last year I put 500 miles on my bike... I thought not bad for the first year... this year I already have 217!!! I set a new years resolution to ride 200 miles a month minimum... so far so good!

I really want to get stronger and faster... trying to keep up with my husband My longest ride so far is 53 miles... I hope to do my first century this year...

I have begun seeing climbing as a challenge rather than a pain in the butt... and look forward to hills now. Shhhh... don't tell my husband

Can't wait to "meet" everyone here... and if there are any females from San Diego... I would love to hook up for a ride!

[Dogmama]

Welcome here. This is a great group of ladies. Be sure to practice your form while you're doing your 200 miles/month. Muscle memory is important.

[bikerchic]

welcome from the other bikerchic!

I love reading newbies (okay so simi-newbie) stories it give me back my zeal and love for cycling. Thanks!

Don't ever forget hills make you stronger, but nothing can build up more endurance than putting in the miles, lots of base miles with all kinds of riding challenges thrown in to make you stronger.

Keep it simple, keep riding, keep challenging yourself to do more, but don't over-do, rest is needed to build muscle too so always include rest days in your schedule.

Have fun and keep the rubberside down!

Kate

[spokes]

welcome!!

myself, when i was a shiny, brand-spanking new, new-car-smell newbie, found this a wonderful resource of the 'no question is too trivial or too stupid' variety. very helpful. (now, as an occasional-silly-question newbie, it's still very helpful and very supportive)

i am the same way with hills. when i was still struggling with endurance/lung capacity/etc i hated hills. HATED. with a passion. (...did i mention i hated hills?) now i see them as a challenge, a better workout than i'm already getting, and a way to measure my progress. there is nothing better than kicking the crap out of a hill that almost killed me a couple months before!!

speaking of silly questions...

Be sure to practice your form while you're doing your 200 miles/month. Muscle memory is important.

expound on this please. i'm confused. like 'don't be sloppy when you're just messing around because it becomes a habit?' maybe i'm less confused than i thought.

[Dogmama]

Form = pedal in circles, don't just mash down each pedal. Pretend you're scraping gum off of your shoe at the bottom stroke, pull back (uses your hamstrings) crest the top, push forward, scrape gum, pull back..rinse & repeat.

Know that your power comes from your trunk. Envision your stroke originating from your hip, not the knee or ankle.

Keep your upper body loose. Don't grip the handlebars tightly, unless you need to hang on over rough terrain - and even then - watch that death grip. Keep a nice bend in your elbows - practice keeping your elbows soft. You don't need to expend extra energy in tensing up your upper body.

Suck in those abs to protect that lower back.

Do not (repeat) do not push big gears in the beginning. Keep your cadence between 90 -110 strokes per minute. Even going uphill and in the wind - use those shifters! Your tendons & ligaments do not develop as quickly as your quad muscles & hamstrings. You don't want knee problems from the start. A cadence feature on your cyclometer is a very nice thing to have.

[grannydea]

Thank-you Dogmama,
As a fairly new rider I have heard alot about form ect. but never really asked what that was exactly. Didn't want to look or sound stupid in asking just exactly what good form was. Now I know.
This is what I like about talking to women about riding. They dont make you feel quit as stupid as men can.

Thank-you all!
Dea

[bikerchick68]

thank you all for the welcome! I have definitely been working on form... especially on pulling and on keeping my back flat... not slouching... I tend to find my back humped as I get tired but have found that if I can look down at my shadow on the ground I can tell how my form is... almost as good as a mirror! Thanks for the reminder about keeping my arms loose... gotta keep that in mind as well...

I'll be doing another 50 miler in April (the Rosarito to Ensanada Fun Ride) and can hardly wait for the time change so I can start getting some real time on the saddle... I hope to begin commuting to work twice a week this summer... 21 miles each way... and also to increase my distance with regularity in anticipation of completing a century...

[caligurl]

Originally posted by Dogmama
Form = pedal in circles, don't just mash down each pedal. Pretend you're scraping gum off of your shoe at the bottom stroke, pull back (uses your hamstrings) crest the top, push forward, scrape gum, pull back..rinse & repeat.

Know that your power comes from your trunk. Envision your stroke originating from your hip, not the knee or ankle.

Keep your upper body loose. Don't grip the handlebars tightly, unless you need to hang on over rough terrain - and even then - watch that death grip. Keep a nice bend in your elbows - practice keeping your elbows soft. You don't need to expend extra energy in tensing up your upper body.

Suck in those abs to protect that lower back.

Do not (repeat) do not push big gears in the beginning. Keep your cadence between 90 -110 strokes per minute. Even going uphill and in the wind - use those shifters! Your tendons & ligaments do not develop as quickly as your quad muscles & hamstrings. You don't want knee problems from the start. A cadence feature on your cyclometer is a very nice thing to have.

thank you!

my hubby keeps telling me "circles" but this explains it better!

WOW! 90-110 is gonna be hard.. we just got the cadence adapter yesterday and i was only averaging 70 someting.. i'll be working on that!

[cathleen]

thanks, dogmama!

those are all helpful things to work on.