Anyone else feel this way?

[Denise223]

Hi Ladies!

WHAT A FUN, FUN RIDE WE HAD TODAY & YESTERDAY !!

Yesterday was 15 miles & this afternoon was 20 miles . And, we have both been doing so much better with hills, shifting, etc.... Ben is a LOT better on hills than I am, but that's okay. Without question, I am getting stronger.

I feel TOTALLY much different when riding NOW, than I felt when I first started out 2 months ago. Things just seem to be "clicking".....almost feels as if I've been doing this for years.
Ben is having an awesome time, too, with everything !

We are enjoying our time out on our bikes TOGETHER, sooooo much!! Really, it is so enjoyable!!

We enjoy riding out on beautiful country roads !! I cannot express in words what it's like..... Such peace

We love being able to go "at our pace"..... stop & look at things we find beautiful, that we wouldn't ordinarily see if we were in our car. Riding past farms with cows, sheep, llamas, horses.......listening to the sounds of nature.

Incredibly blissful !

Originally posted by Cassandra_Cain: I'll skip the long rant, but simply put, we don't have buy into this media and societal crap about having to look like air-brushed models! We are real people, real women, and our bodies should be a source of pride. After all, at least we are out there, working and using our bodies for healthy and fun pursuits like riding

Well put, and I'm in total agreement !!

Cassandra.....the blue sky in the photo WAS beautiful, wasn't it???
Out here in MA, we've had so much icky weather of late, that it really was a treat to be riding around on such a pretty day. Has the sun where you live come out of hiding yet?? (fingers crossed ).

Originally posted by wanttoride: Denise, I want to say you've been quite the inspiration to me. I seem to run into your threads which motivates me to get on my bike.

Hi there ! I'm really touched to hear you say that. Believe me, when I bought my bike (4 summers ago), I was scared to death more than anything to ride it, never mind riding "on the open road"!
My husband bought a bike so I thought it would be good to get one too; it would be something we could do together.......

So, as my earlier posts say, I only rode around in empty parking lots for 3 summers!
I have no idea why it took me 3 summers to find a bikeway close to home, but.....that's where Ben and I took our first "real ride" together on June 5th, 2006.

You're right -- the women here on this board are fantastic!! Everyone is SOOOOOO SUPPORTIVE !

Feel free to post as often as you'd like to -- and, if you want to PM me, please do that as well.

Bikingmomof3 & Lisa S.H. Thanks about the photo. I'm not real photogenic, so I was pretty happy with it too. And, that area is really pretty .

It's amazing, if you go West out of Boston for 10 miles, you are then transported into towns that are just like those that you'd find in Vermont & New Hampshire. Very, very picturesque!

Lisa S.H. I personally don't care for makeup, myself. I haven't worn it in years. I hate taking it off. Perhaps some mascara would "bring out" my eyes -- maybe on a special occasion.

I definitely will put on sunblock -- No way I'll forget that !

beebs Thanks for the info on the DVD's. One thing IS for sure -- you'll lost that 20 pounds with cycling.
I'm still huffing & puffing while going up hills, BUT.....it really has gotten SO MUCH EASIER, with time!

When we were at around mile 15 today, a car on my left was slowing down, and I could "feel eyes" watching me. The woman in the passenger seat said, "what kind of bike is that? That's the exact bike that I want -- I really, really want one with a straight bar."
I told her what kind I had and that I recently saw my exact bike at a shop, and gave her the name of the shop.
She happened to be very overweight, too. I came to a stop so that we could converse for a bit.

She was very excited about it all, and her husband seemed very happy as well.

Who knows?? Maybe there will be another biker on the road soon .

Have a peaceful evening everyone!!

Denise

[beebs]

Yesterday I went for my first proper ride in ages ,sporting my black lycras and a proper cycling top I took to the road ..... and yes there was some huffing and puffing and the only white bit left on my face was the massive grin as I sped at my modest top speed down a hill and past a farm. The smell of cow poo hung in the air as passers by looked on in bemusement at the crazy loon chuckling to herself on her bike!!! Yes, that loon was me and I don't care because I am hooked, I am going to take my bike everywhere now ,when I would have used the car to quickly nip out I will use my bike! Isn't riding great!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

YAY! YAY to all of us!!!!

[Denise223]

Hi Everyone!

Beebs: It sounds like you had a great time last Sunday . Have you been out since then?

Ben and I enjoyed a 20 mile ride yesterday afternoon..... But, the first 5 miles were the toughest for me - my legs hurt/they felt very weak, my breathing was a bit of a problem (but, SOOOOOO much better than before, definitely!).

Ben asked if I wanted to turn around, but, I really didn't want to do that. The first few miles have always been the most difficult for me.

The road we started on was a bit hilly -- I stopped about 8 times in 45 minutes, whether it was to catch my breath, have a drink, blow my nose. They were "necessary stops" too -- I didn't feel as if I could've pushed myself.

After 5 miles, I felt perfectly fine and was really enjoying myself and, at the end of 20, felt I could go another 7 - 10 miles.

So, perhaps this has to do with "not warming up"??

If my problem is what this sounds like, what exercises do you suggest for a good warm up?

Thanks for your help!

Have a great day.

Denise

[kelownagirl]

For me, I warm up by riding a few mph slower than my avg for about 20-30 minutes and avoid hills during that time. It usually means we ride on the flats for about a 1/2 hour and I gradually build up speed till I feel good enough to cruise and climb.

[Kano]

What Kelownagirl says -- my first few miles are usually the hardest too, legs protest, nose says "I donwannabreathe today" and my brain says "I'm not so sure this was such a good idea," and so I have learned to use those as my "warm up" time -- I don't worry about speed, try to avoid hills, just pedal and breathe until my body "opens up" as it were. You probably know the feeling! Once I get there, it's suddenly all good, I can push myself a bit, tackle those hills that I refuse to hate climbing (chanting: "I do NOT hate hills" the whole way!) and ride on for however long.

My new "endurance trick" is trail mix. A bite or two of nuts/dried fruit at stops keeps me going happily much longer than no bites!

Karen in Boise

[Dogmama]

My experience has been that as you get more miles under your belt, your warm ups will be less arduous. I don't know if they become easier or if we just become accustomed to the protests of our legs