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!