How do you train

[Dogmama]

Hey Donna,

Your high cadence might be different that somebody else's. You may have more fast twitch muscles which translates into lower cadence but more powerful strokes. You don't want to blow out your knees by barely turning the crank but a lower cadence might work better for you. RoadRaven is a pretty seasoned rider, and she's doing 80-85. Do you have a cadence monitor on your cyclometer?

Regarding high energy snacks, be a little more specific. Do you mean during rides or just during the day? Big difference in type of carbs & protein.

[DDH]

I mean snacks right before or during a ride. I try not to snack to much at the house.

I don't have a cadance monitor. Just the distance, avg speed, time and such. Until I got on here and started learning all this stuff, I didn't even know that would be a good thing to have. I don't have a HR monitor either which is something I guess I should get.

[Dogmama]

Before and during a ride you need fast carbs. Caveat - if you're trying to lose weight, you will want to monitor these. A ride less than one hour should not need refueling during the ride, unless you're really hammering. Before the ride, I like something liquid, with little to no fat, a little protein and easily absorbed. So, I go with cytomax and protein powder. If you can eat before a ride, a small bowl of cereal might be good (not fruit loops!), and/or a banana.

All of the above assumes you're riding in the morning before breakfast. If you're riding during the day and your ride is less than an hour, you may not need a pre-ride snack, depending on the last time you ate and the content of the meal.

And get that shoulder looked at. Numbness is not good.

[esther231]

Don't envy you having to start out on hills.

I always thought you shouldn't eat before you exercise. I have no clue where that came from but that's what I thought. But it makese sense to put fuel in my body before I try to ride like the wind.

(I'd settle for being a gentle breeze at this point. )

I only tried it once. Maybe I just got lucky on Wednesday. But it seemed to help enough that I'm gonna try again.

Have a great ride!! Good luck with the doc.

[mimitabby]

about your shoulder:
while not on your bike, pull your shoulders way back. WAY back and stick out your chest like you are hot stuff (which you are).
try to touch your shoulderblades together.
do that a lot.

sometimes that pain is because your shoulders (like almost everyone who sits in front of the computer) are rotated forward and they ARE pinching a nerve.

why it's happening on your bike instead of at home i don't know, but you can also focus on softening your shoulders while you are riding.
good luck.

[FreshNewbie]

Hi,

I think you answered your own question regarding your legs and foot problems. I am not sure what kind of pedals you are using, I am assuming either cages or flats? If you are using flats that would definately make you tired very fast, because you are working only one type of muscles (quads) and not taking advantage of you full pedal rotation. I remember when I started riding last year, for fist 2 months I rode on flats and I could barely ride not feeling rubberish in my legs.
Regarding your shoulder, mimi is right, if you are sitting in front of pc that would trigger this problem, I am saying this because i have this same problem right now in my left shoulder. And I do know it's because of my position in front of pc. I am sitting straight and have to look to my right because my pc is in the right corner of my desk, don't ask it's just how it is. It never hurts when I am hope. Yoga helps me a lot though, try do some if you can. Hope this helps.

FN

[Cassandra_Cain]

DDH - please hang in there. I think the old saying of patience is a virtue comes to mind.

About the terrain where you live - hills 24/7 - believe me there is a big silver lining to this. I just got back into riding about 6 weeks ago after a 6+ year absence. Where I live we have lots of mountains and hills. So while at times you may feel slow here's the caveat. I have made it a point to absolutely love hill climbing and do it every ride - in those 6 weeks guess what?

I am easily stronger than I was after 6 months of riding way back when I used to live in florida. The hill climbing may make you feel slow but it will build your ability faster IMO, than just cruising the flats.

I find much of what makes climbing doable is all in your head - pace yourself, relax, enjoy the scenery, think of all the calories you are burning. You'll get there

About cadence - I like what Roadraven said. You don't need to be cranking 100 rpm to be effective. Every body is built differently and yours will have unique needs. It may be you perform better at a lower cadence - which is perfectly fine. Granted you don't want to be pushing an enormous gear at say 35 rpm.

If you are serious about turning the pedals faster than try spinning in an easy gear. Even better, do so on a downhill and get your cadence way way up while trying to not bounce in your seat. Finally, if you have clipless pedals, do some short, easy stints with just one leg - that will improve your technique.

[DDH]

I have flat form pedals with toe clips. I am constantly having to move my foot around in the straps to try to keep the tingling down. I am looking into getting some biking shoes, but it just takes time to get everything you need to make things more comfortable.
We rode this morning and DH took off an left me again. Then he got behind me later and said I stop peddling to much. I don't keep my peddling up so that I can keep my speed up. I told him I don't know how to keep going and going, my legs get to tired and fatigued and I have to stop, even if it is only for 10 seconds I have to let them rest on occasion. I just cannot seem to keep that constant peddling up.
I have an appt this afternoon for my shoulder. I was getting so freaking irritable on my ride I was actually cursing and I don't curse. That shoulder is really bothering me. It bothers me at home too. The only time it doesn't bother me is while I am laying in the bed asleep. LOL
When I first wake up it doesn't hurt, but once I get up and have that arm hanging it starts again, so I definitly have to get this taken care of. It's not painful, just very, uh, achey, like dull ache that is making my whole arm fell numb and like achey dead weight. If that makes any sense.
Other than that though we had a great ride.