New rider here...Hello!

[CyborgQueen]

So, Team Estrogen dot com suckered another newbie. I couldn't resist joining after seeing numerous threads on iPod dos/don't and Diva Cups and misc TMI that's more than I need to know about women in cycling. How little did I know.

Anyways - I'm pretty much new to this whole cycling thing and I'm already digging it. So what I don't have a spanky new bike to show off (but it's coming! If I can get the miles in, I'll get one!) I started off by getting myself new bike shorts (oh boy, who knew going commando opens a whole new perspective), and a new jersey.

Yes I'm overweight, yes I'm a bit inactive, and yes I'm short but damn it, I'm proud of it (except the weight thing...that is what I can do without).

I was inspired to get into cycling over a year ago, and started to do a lot of cycling in the gym, but I had two cochlear implant surgeries and I was moving out of state. So, I had to put any cycling on hold. Now I'm ready to ride.


My first question to ask everyone is this:
For INACTIVE people - how long did it take you to do 35 miles from start of training (without previous experiences)? I'm just getting a bit of a baseline here. I know each person is different with different commitments, so I do expect some variations. I do expect that the more experienced riders would say 35 miles isn't too bad.

The reason why I asked is this - I have set myself a goal to do the RTC Viva Las Vegas ride - the 35 miler. I would LOVE to do the metric and the century, but I rather put that on hold for a while (that's my LONG term goal). The other charity race is less than 32 miles that's a week later, and it's for Breast Cancer Foundation which I could do over the RTC Viva Las Vegas since it's a smaller course. Both of these are charity rides, so it's more fun and getting across the finish line that matters not racing.

Is it doable to train from scratch until October to do the 35 miler? I'm really determined to reach my goal, plus having free training sessions at my local REI probably would help a lot.

Thanks for any tips!

[Lakerider]

Welcome CyborgQueen!
I started riding a year ago. The first day after I bought my bike I rode 1 mile. Within a few months I was riding 20-50 miles a day whenever I could. In the past year I've ridden almost 1600 miles. (I have a few more days to get in the last few miles to make it 1600 miles.) One day I rode 101 miles in a day. I said all that to say this - If you love riding as much as I do, keep on riding and getting stronger and
You can do it!

[mudmucker]

Go out as far as you can go on rides similar to the terrain you expect to encounter. As a general guide, then from there increase your mileage by 10-15% or so weekly but don't overdo it if you've been inactive for a while. Calculate that out to the event day and see what you have. You want to be able to ride at least 75% of your distance. Do some stretching and core work for good overall general maintenance.

[Tri Girl]

Welcome to TE!!
Some good advice has been given so far. I think 35 miles is MORE than doable by October!!

Here's a training schedule I found on the Susan G. Komen Ride for the Cure website:
http://www.komenaspen.org/ride/alder_train.html

Depending on how you feel as your training progresses, I can imagine you could do the metric century by October- that's plenty of time for training.

Here's Komen's century training schedule:
http://www.komenaspen.org/ride/sched.html

If you do the two training programs back to back, that's 18 weeks of training leading up to a century in October. See what's doable for you.

Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress.

[HappyTexasMom]

I'm a newbie, too, just wanted to say welcome!

[papaver]

Hi welcome, and yes you can do it! Just start with little tours and see how it goes. Just make sure you have lot's of fun. That's the most important thing of all!