Starting out

[Lesley_x]

Hi guys! Today was my first day on my Giant Roam 2 W. I am not brave enough for a road bike yet!

I have found that I am very unfit and covered only five miles (with breaks!!) at a modest mph. However, I have taken the first step!

What's a good starting regime, and any beginners tips/things I should know? And is there any particular aspects of diet that would help?

Thanks

[momsquared]

I have also recently started out. I think the key (regardless of speed or length of ride) is to just try and get out and ride regularly. There are a lot of great books that actually include training programs if you wanted to follow a specific schedule.

I think hydration (when biking and not) is key in the warm weather. I also think that 6 small meals is better than 3 large ones...or one large one and a bunch of random snacks....or whatever.

[Melalvai]

I read an article once, sorry I don't remember where, that sounded like good advice: Increase your mileage at a rate of no more than 1 mile per day or 5 miles per week, starting with a ride of 4 or 5 miles (which you did).

I've been riding my hybrid for 5 years and I rode a road bike exactly once. I hated it. I suppose I should give it another chance, but I haven't gotten around to it. Why would I? I love my bike so much!

[PamNY]

Lesley, five miles is a perfectly good start. My advice is simple: just ride. I started with roughly the same distance as you (I think it was seven miles), and now (about two years later) I can easily do 50 miles if I take all day and go fairly slow (which I prefer).

I never thought I'd ride that far -- I was 58 years old when I bought my bike, and hadn't ridden in years. Now I'm seriously considering a metric century next year.

My experience is that if you are enjoying your bike, you will keep riding and build strength naturally. I did have to work at hills, because there aren't many where I live, but otherwise I just enjoy myself. I also work at core strength because that matters more than I realized.

[ny biker]

The most important thing is to have fun.

[indysteel]

I read an article once, sorry I don't remember where, that sounded like good advice: Increase your mileage at a rate of no more than 1 mile per day or 5 miles per week, starting with a ride of 4 or 5 miles (which you did).

I've been riding my hybrid for 5 years and I rode a road bike exactly once. I hated it. I suppose I should give it another chance, but I haven't gotten around to it. Why would I? I love my bike so much!

I think that's good advice. I do think you get to a point--for me it was at about the 50-mile mark--that I could start adding miles more aggressively, but before that, I ramped up at about that pace.

FWIW, my first ride was 6 miles. A about 13 months later, I did a one-day ride of 160 miles! Crazy, huh? You never know where these bodies of ours will take us.

As for diet, just stick to a balanced diet with lean proteins, complex carbs and fruits and veggies. Drink plenty of fluids. As your rides get longer than say, 90 minutes, you'll have to start eating while you ride. I try to add some extra salt, potassium and calcium in if I'm riding in the heat a lot.

[malkin]

Ride your bike and have fun.
Don't forget to eat and drink, and go ahead and be merry while you're at it.

[Catrin]

You are doing great! I just learned how to ride in December, and it took a couple of rides for me to go as far as 5 miles The others have given great advice, just remember to have fun and enjoy as you ride as much - and as often - as you can!

[Bike Chick]

My first ride was 6 miles. DH and I had just bought hybrids and took them out for a spin. When we got 3 miles from the house, I was in a panic because I didn't think I could make it back home so we turned around and went back. When we got home, we collapsed exhausted on the couch and thought we had really accomplished something--and we had. A month later we were riding 30 miles on our hybrids and bought road bikes; five months later we did the MS150 (75 miles 2 days in a row); a month after that we did our first century. You can progress pretty fast on the bike.

Just enjoy yourself and ride your bike. PamNY gave you some good advice. Don't forget to hydrate properly and eat--especially if the weather is hot and you are stretching out your miles. There are many threads on TE about hydration and nutrition.

Have fun!

[Lesley_x]

You guys are really helpful!

The area where I live in Scotland is really quite hilly, so I felt intimidated by that. There are very few flat straights. But already I'm getting to know how to use my gears and take my speed into the hill and I even feel like I've made improvements from yesterday - at least in confidence!

Today I managed 3.13 miles in the one go

And you're right, the most important thing is definitely to have fun! I think I'm addicted already I even appear to be working up a little suntan!

[annielynn]

Have a great time!! I think that you have gotten some great advice so far. I am going to stick with what everyone else has said.

Hills are intimidating. I have been riding since August and I hate the hills. But I have just recently gotten a Coach and I training for one the most awful hilly rides around here. Take it one step at a time.

[Owlie]

My first ride was 2.3 miles...I wasn't used to the bike and the stock saddle tried to kill me, I swear.
I have a love-hate relationship with hills. I love the feeling of getting to the top of one, but the climb up is a different story.

[ny biker]

I used to hate hills, until I did a few long rides that were totally flat and decided I hated that more. I'm still very slow going uphill but I don't mind them anymore. At least I get a break on the downhill side.

[Catrin]

I used to hate hills, until I did a few long rides that were totally flat and decided I hated that more. I'm still very slow going uphill but I don't mind them anymore. At least I get a break on the downhill side.

Yep... 25 mph on the down-hill side more than makes up for the 8 mph on the uphill... also great for the legs

[ny biker]

Yep... 25 mph on the down-hill side more than makes up for the 8 mph on the uphill... also great for the legs

8 mph! I hit 3.5 mph sometimes.