I celebrated my 44th birthday today with a 20-mile ride.

[channlluv]

Hello, ladies,

I'm brand new here. Brand new to cycling as a sport/exercise (as opposed to tooling around the park). I started riding about four weeks ago and had a horrible crash on the very first day, which had me off the bike for a little over a week, but I got back on, and in the two and a half weeks since, I've gone from one lap around the five-mile path at the lake near my house to four laps today. 20 miles.

I should also mention here that I'm 110 pounds overweight and looking to lose it by my 45th birthday. (5'4", 248 lbs last Sunday) My life is pretty sedentary. I've never been able to maintain any sort of weight loss thing before - I'm lousy at dieting, counting calories and all that. I am a member of a gym, but I rarely go. I even hired a personal trainer earlier this year, but we didn't click, and after ten (expensive) sessions, I didn't sign up with him again.

I work part-time as an elementary school librarian and I teach two composition classes each week at a local career college. I also do some freelance writing. None of it is particularly active. I sit a lot.

Cycling, though, has opened a new door for me. I feel strong when I'm riding around the lake. It's a really pretty setting, very peaceful and calm, which I need right now (D*H has asked for a divorce - it's been coming a long time), and I can go at my own pace and by myself, so I am not holding any of my fit friends back from getting their own workouts, something that has prevented me from going out with them when they've gone walking/running/blading, and so on.

I know I can't keep up. I tried working out once with one of them - she's tall and thin and a black belt, uber-fit goddess type - anyway, I was huffing and puffing along at the fastest jog I could manage as she's loping along beside me and she says, "I never realized that running this slow was such a good workout." Yeah, I wanted to smack her at the time, but we laugh about it now. We don't work out together, though. It wouldn't be fair to her and I'm afraid it would only be demoralizing for me.

With cycling, though, because of the gearing, I can maintain a steady 12 - 15 mph pace, and as I said, I can go at my own pace and stop if I want to, or just keep moving as fast as I can go.

I feel stronger than I did a month ago. I feel better about myself, too, because I'm doing something I wouldn't have thought possible six months ago.

And D*H helped me. He's an avid cyclist and helped me get my bike in shape for long rides, taught me how to change a tire, set me up with tools, tubes, and showed me how to adjust my seat, and all that. I actually had to adjust the seat by myself the other day, and I was able to do it.

Small victories.

Now if I can only get the weight to start melting off with the miles, I'll be good.

I look forward to being part of this community and learning from all of you. I hope I'm able to give back, too.

Thank you all for being here.

channlluv

[Biciclista]

well, 20 miles is a very good beginning of your cycling career. It took me a long time before i felt strong enough to ride that far. All I can say is keep riding!

and Welcome to TE

[channlluv]

Thank you for the welcome.

I think I'm kind of driven because of so many life changes heading my way. I want to up my confidence level as much as possible before the divorce stuff really gets underway (he hasn't filed yet, and I don't want to, so this could be a while). I know I need to exercise to get this weight off, for starters. My diet's actually not that bad. I eat a lot of organic fruits and veggies, no fast food, limited red meat, lots of fish and whole grains, and so on, so I think I just need to up the calorie burn to see some results.

I just spent some time with my mother over the summer, too, and saw first hand all the health issues she's dealing with. Diabetes, high blood pressure, migraines, shortness of breath, and so on. She's also very overweight, although she's lost thirty pounds over the summer just walking around her neighborhood.

She's scheduled to have lapband surgery this month - she's got a couple more doctor evaluations to go through, and then she's having it done. She offered to pay for mine.

I opted to get on the bike instead.

If I can avoid injuries or infections, I think I'll be able to do this. I like riding. I like being outside, and I live in Southern California, so I'm blessed weather-wise.

Am I going too fast? Is 20 miles too much too soon?

Thanks again for the welcome. I've already learned so much reading these boards the last few days.

CL

[sgtiger]

Welcome and congrats on your first twenty mile ride, channlluv! I'm sorry to hear about the dissolution of your marriage. Whether it was a long time coming or not, it's never an easy thing. I'm glad that you've decided to channel that energy into something positive like cycling. I hope that it will help you through any of the rough patches that may be coming. I'm, also, very happy for you that you are taking steps towards a healthier you.

Am I going too fast? Is 20 miles too much too soon?
CL

That all depends on how you feel. If your muscles are a bit sore and tired, well, that's to be expected. Take plenty of fluids and either take a short, slow ride or a walk tomorrow to help flush out your achy muscles. If you feel completely wiped out for the next few days and have almost flu-like symptoms then you may have overdone it and may want to back off a wee bit. If that happens then movement is necessary even though every cell in your body may scream at you not to. Just take it slow-as slow as you need to but keep moving a little bit throughout the day and remember to drink plenty of water.

At least that is what I did the times I over did it. I really noticed a difference on how quickly my body would recover from those times if I FORCED myself to take a walk or even do some light exercises. I find Tai-Chi to be an excellent exercise to help flush out lactic acid and well I couldn't move very fast if I wanted to anyway. YMMV

BTW, I think 12-15 mph starting out is very good. I started out doing 8 mph and had to work up to doing a 10 mile ride my first month. 'Course I didn't ride everyday like you.

The best of luck,

Soo
aka sg"pokey"tiger

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

BTW, I think 12-15 mph starting out is very good. I started out doing 8 mph and had to work up to doing a 10 mile my first month. 'Course I didn't ride everyday like you.

Hey you got nothin' on ME!- I started out at 8mph average and it's taken me TWO YEARS to get to a 10mph average!
I'm just happy to be alive and riding my bike- I'm so lucky!

Chanlluv- like you I have a very supportive bike-savvy husband who has been with me all the way on this. We love nothing better than to ride our bikes together. (he's perfectly happy to go a bit slower when riding with me)
How much better can it get?

[lph]

Welcome channluv! We know all about the stress relief that biking brings, it really helps when you're having a hard time. Well done on the 20 miles! Milestones are great

Btw, you may be new but I note you're already thinking like a true cyclist - being kept "off bike". Cool

[RoadRaven]

I went for a ride on my 43rd! About the same number of kms all up - prob just short of 20 miles.

Welcome to the board, Channluv. Lots of us here started or re-started cycling in our 40s as a way to regain fitness and health.

I agree with Tiger, do the distances that feel good for you. Listen to what your body says you can cope with.

You want to lose 110pounds in 2 years. Achievable goal, well done. On a bike its easy to do lots of time on a bike and not seem to shift weight... so remember that 3-4 of your rides should lift your heart rate. You should still be able to talk, but it should be a consistent effort for your legs. This is "aerobic" and this is where we burn fat.

If you tootle along and your heart rate doesn't get much more than walking, then, although still good for you, you wont be shedding the pounds as effectively.

If you push yourself so hard you are puffing and your heart rate feels very high or fast, you are getting into an anaerobic zone and this means essentially that your body stops burning the fat.

Take it easy and steady. In my first year of cycling I lost no weight on the scales but dropped two dress sizes. I have been biking for over two years and have dropped 16kgs, not alot in terms of your goal I suppose, but the key for me is that it is staying off and I have had to change my eating habits very little.

The more I have biked, the more I have found that the weight/shape of me is not so important. Its my increased fitness, decreased stress and overall sense of wellbeing that thrills me the most.

You'll find lots of support here in your goals and achievments on the bike and for yourself. We know you can do it, cause you got back on the bike despite the crashing start Trust you stick around. Its a great little forum.

[Zen]

You know that next year you have to ride 45 miles, don't you?

[ny biker]

You know that next year you have to ride 45 miles, don't you?

I know a guy who does a ride on his birthday every year, but he rides (100 miles - his age), so the distance gets shorter as he grows older.

[Zen]

I know a guy who does a ride on his birthday every year, but he rides (100 miles - his age), so the distance gets shorter as he grows older.

Smart guy.
I like that math.

[channlluv]

You know that next year you have to ride 45 miles, don't you?

Ai-yai-yai. I actually had a little friend of my daughter's ask me if I was going to ride 45 next year when I told her what I'd done on Friday. Seems logical enough. I told her, "Sure!"

My knees are hurting me a bit, so I only went ten miles today, and we had my daughter's friend and her mom with us, so I never did really get up any kind of speed. The girl is a novice rider and crashed hard (down a 12-foot rocky embankment into some bushes) just inside the one-mile mark of the five-mile trail.

A pedestrian was walking in the middle of the six-foot path, which is cut into a fairly steep cliff that descends through the rocks and bushes to a reedy lakeshore. It's beautiful, but a bit dangerous. Definitely not the bunny slope of bike paths, and if I had known what a novice the girl was, we wouldn't have gone that way starting out. My daughter, who was riding in front, passed the walker on the left, but when her friend went to pass, a blader was coming toward them, so she tried to pass on the right and the woman moved to the right to avoid the blader, pushing the 10-year-old off the road and over the side. She flipped the bike down the rocky embankment and landed, still astraddle the thing, under the bushes below.

Her mom was off her own bike in seconds and diving over the side after her daughter (this is a woman who is afraid of heights, mind) and I was right behind her. The girl was calling out that she was okay, but I don't know how she didn't come out of that flip and fall with nothing broken.

I was half-way down to them, slipping on the slick grass, when Biker Dude from Heaven is rushing past me, grabs the bike from Mom, who has pulled it off Daughter, and is now helping her up the hillside. I don't know where this guy came from, but he got the bike back up on the path and disappeared.

I helped the girl up, then her mom - it really was a steep embankment - and then followed them. We did an assessment of her injuries and other than some scratches, she was fine. We were floored.

The pedestrian did stay around to make sure the girl was okay, then she moved on. I didn't see her again. We didn't see Biker Dude, either. He was just some stranger in white who appeared out of nowhere to get the bike up the hill. If he hadn't been there, I don't think either of us adult women could have lifted it up without a struggle. (My shoulder is still injured from the crash three weeks ago and I can't lift anything too heavy with it.)

Daughter held up pretty well for another mile or so - she got back on the bike and went really slow, but there were so many avid cyclists and bladers speeding by her she got spooked, and she was afraid of going back over the edge, so my daughter and I rode out to get the first aid kit from our car while the two of them, mom and daughter, walked toward the end. The girl was still bleeding a bit and her cuts were stinging and she was pretty upset by the whole thing - I think she was a little shocky - and she was crying.

Now, my kid is pretty much fearless on her bike. Her dad trained her. She knew her friend was in trouble and in pain, and she rode fast. I could barely keep up with her. We got to the car and I got the first aid kit out of the compartment in the back and put it in a canvas bag we use for shopping because the kit doesn't have a handle. "I'll carry it!" she said. We tried it on the handlebar, but it hung down onto her wheel and I said that wasn't safe, so she slung the bag over her shoulder and yelled, "I'm not going to wait for you!" and off she went. Zoom.

I locked the car back up and got back on my bike and tried to catch up with her, but I couldn't do it. She was flying. She looked like one of those breakaway-from-the-peleton riders in the Tour.

A few minutes later I get there and she's already got the kit out and is handing it to her friend's mom.

After we got the antisceptic wipes out and had cleaned up her friend's scratches a bit, my daughter said softly, "I kind of went a little over the speed limit. 2.6 miles over the speed limit."

I barely heard her because she was focusing on her friend's injuries, then it occurred to me what she was confessing. "You went 17.6 mph?" She nodded. I was flooded with a mixture of awe, fear, and what-the-hell-were-you-thinking. She was on a rescue mission. She broke the speed limit rule.

I'm not going to punish her, but I did give her a talking to about putting her own safety and the safety of others at risk in a non-critical situation. I mean, it's not like her friend had a broken leg and she was summoning the paramedics. We're talking a few scratches, and yes, okay, one of them was pretty long and swollen a bit and will likely leave a scar, but it didn't need stitches or anything.

Still, my baby went 17.6 mph to help a friend in need. I love that about her.

We ended up walking out together the last two miles, the four of us together.

The girls were bonding - they've been friends since Kindergarten, but this was their first "playdate" (do they call them that in fifth grade?) and it had gotten off to a horrifying start. My friend and I, determined to point out the positive, decided that her daughter was incredibly brave and tough for not only getting up from that crash unhurt, but also for getting back on that bike, even for only a short distance, and my daughter was brave for racing to get her the first aid kit.

Our next bike ride together will be at Mission Bay, where there are no hills and no cliffs.

Oy, what a day.

CL