What have I gotten myself into?!

[Veronica]

Everyone starts somewhere. Just keep swimming... errr pedaling!

V.

[mimitabby]

Hey Amyelice, sounds like you need to learn how to shift those gears. When you get that figured out, it gets a lot easier. And sometimes, when a hill is too steep, you just have to walk! Sometimes, if you're in too high of a gear and you approach a hill, you just CAN'T get the wheels moving fast enough> that's when you need to get off and walk.

Welcome to TE

[Kano]

Hi Amyelice! Welcome!

Like Mimi said, learning to work with those gears will help a lot. DH is FINALLY getting the idea that working in as hard a gear as he can stand is the way to go -- keep pedaling pretty easy, without being too easy. You'll soon see what I mean by that! There's easy pedaling, and then there's that one gear lighter that's like, crazy pedaling!

I have one of those nemesis hills this summer, and some days I can do it, but some days I can't. Yesterday was the latter, darn it! I persevered -- stop and rest if you need to, then tackle a few more feet. Check out Jiffer's thread on the evil hill climb in the "Open Topic" forum. I was SO glad to see her pictures, cuz that's exactly what I look like when I ride up my most evil hills! Eventually, you'll be able to do the whole thing. Something else that I've found helps me with hills -- better if I don't go up them "cold," but instead have a few miles under my shorts already.

If your bike has been sitting around a while, it might be worth taking it to a bike shop to be serviced -- make sure all the moving parts are moving the way they should, and are well lubricated. The bike shop where I have since purchased three bikes (one for DH) was happy to do this for me (for a fee, of course) cuz I'm sure it helped get me hooked on this happy hobby!

Karen in Boise

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hey Amy- you're 34, girl.....you haven't had enough TIME to get out of shape yet! Try being 53 like I was last year and never having exercised in my life and hadn't been on a bike in 37 years!!!!! Shucks, you'll be zooming up those hills in NO TIME FLAT!

[Zen]

Oh to be 34 again.
Keep climbing that hill. One day you'll laugh at how easy it is.

[tangentgirl]

When I got about five or six miles into one of my first serious grownup bike rides, I stopped and threw up. Yep, you read right, I puked, right in front of a bunch of other people riding with me. And it was flat. And I was 26. Should I admit all this?

I did the AIDS Ride later that year, from San Francisco to LA.

Keep riding, it gets easier! It's fun, too.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

When I got about five or six miles into one of my first serious grownup bike rides, I stopped and threw up. Yep, you read right, I puked, right in front of a bunch of other people riding with me. And it was flat. And I was 26. Should I admit all this?

That's cool, thanks for admitting it! We like all the gory details here on TE!
My husband rode his first century yesterday. Made it home, collapsed, and promptly puked his guts up. Then he took a shower, had an hours' lie down, and we went out to dinner and he was fine.

once while riding I had such an upset stomach and felt so weak and ill I had to put my bike in the bushes and lie down in a field. The ground was wet and cold, but it felt so good. After 20 minutes I felt better and continued my ride.