1K start to 100K goal ~ hilly~ ???

[Kano]

Hi Jayjay!

I'm in year three of "recovery" from about a 25 year slump, as you call it. (about 100 pounds overweight when I started my road back to health) I turned 50 last November, and finished the riding season with a 50 mile ride to celebrate it. (still 50 pounds overweight at the time) A couple of things I've learned...

FIRST -- you mentioned that you're sore today after your ride, and that you have this feeling you're going to be making close friends with the ibuprofen bottle this next year. Don't count on it! My experience starting out was that it HELPED to ride again the next day those first few weeks. Not long, hard rides, just a short, easy ride to loosen up the muscles. Add dressing a little extra warmly -- again, keep muscles warmer, they stay looser.

It sounds like you have no choice but to ride on hills if you're riding out from home. In my area, it's pretty flat the couple of miles around the house, so my rides tended to be a bit longer than you're describing, but I think you're going to be surprised by how quickly they can get longer and faster, even though they're the hard kind of riding.

I can't say I've had any sort of "training regimen" -- I just ride. At first, it was trail around behind DH, struggling to keep up. Now, I'm more likely to be the one setting the pace. And yes, I go out on my own too, but he needs it, so I get him out on the roads with me whenever possible. Hills, I find that it's helpful to ride a while first, have my body loosened up before tackling them. I usually take the long way to the first climb, if I can, since a couple of extra miles first makes it lots easier than if I took the direct route. (This may be harder for you than it is for me) We have some pretty serious ones around here, between the flat spots! I learned to gear down -- I have found that STARTING a climb in the granny gear made it possible for me to actually accomplish it, rather than starting with bigger gears until I just can't use them anymore. In fact, starting out, those low gears were my salvation on any surface!

(and have you got clipless pedals/shoes? so much more efficient!)

Karen in Boise

[jayjay]

MimiTabby ~ I will never sit down and watch tv... maybe just email and write on forums Sheesh, I'll agree about how much work it is after 45 especially. I am a firm believer though, it's all from the mind , that our physical bodies manifest their health, or lack of it.

Starfish~ yes, I want to do the least impact sports at this point ... no running! My daily hikes keeps me sore enough. Adding the road cycling is what I've struggled getting back into (because it doesn't include my dog), but it's just what I'm going to have to do to drop this weight I believe, and without impact injuries. Oy, my feet get a rest!

Kano ~ I think you and I see eye to eye a lot because we have the perspective of fitness and fatness as we've been to the bottom (I'm still near there... just crawling out). New to this middle aged ball and chain, but I know I can drop the dead weight and make tracks away and grow old in prime fitness, I just know it, even if I live at the top of the steepest hill on the West Side of the Valley, I can do this because I lived here before and did it!

The 20ish mile loop from my house is probably the most popular riding loop inthe county, it's simply crawling with cyclists, everday. I was one of them before, and now I just drive past.

and ps. I *do* have pedals and shoes, everything but a working cyclometer, which I need to purchase, as my old one has stopped working.

[Starfish]

Just another thought...what kind of gearing does your bike have? You said it is a touring bike, so I hope nice low gears? If it doesn't have a serious granny gear, consider adding a cassette (and maybe mountain DR) to the back that has more teeth on the big rings. Or, consider chainrings that are even smaller than a normal 30 tooth granny ring.

I live in GOBS of hills, too. I swapped out for some really small granny gears, and it made a huge difference in how long, and how often, I could ride outside (with all the de facto climbing rides). I find that now, I don't use the granny gears as much as I used to...but I still use them. Who knows...one day I might transition out of them. Or, I might just keep doing longer and longer rides, and still want them!

[jayjay]

Just another thought...what kind of gearing does your bike have? You said it is a touring bike, so I hope nice low gears?

With out going out and actually counting the teeth, I'll say I'm set up for low gears... on all 4 of my bikes... tripple rings and plenty of cogs! Thanks

[tulip]

You might want to join Bike Journal (www.bikejournal.com) to keep track of your mileage. It's a motivator for me. You can be on the Team Estrogen team and contribute to our team mileage goal!

[tulip]

At the beginning, consistency is more important than distance. Get yourself out that door and on the bike on a regular basis (MORE than once a week!!). Just get out and ride for 15-30 minutes if that's all the time you have t spare. If you feel like doing more, then by all means go for it. Once a week is not going to do it though, IMO.

congratulations on making this important life change.

[jayjay]

I RODE TWELVE MILES ! I know this is a drop in the bucket compared to what I use to do, and what I will do again, but I have passed my first month's goal by 2miles and that is progress . Sore, but very, very Happy.

Tulip ~ I just wanted to take the first two or three weeks really no-threat, so I didn't burn out right away. But I'm psyched now, to go as often as I can. YAY !

[Geonz]

Many drops turn the mill Keep those drops a-comin'!

[kelownagirl]

Hi Jayjay, I haven't read the responses but I wanted to chime in with my own experience. I did increase by more than 10% on some weeks because I felt great. Take a look at my 2006 bikejournal if you want to see how I built up from being an absolute newbie to 100km in about 3 months (and that was on my mountain bike at the time.). Then I bought a road bike in July and rode even more! Now everyone is different so our miles may vary, and I was only 20 lbs overweight at the time so that could make a difference as well. BUT I was a complete couch potato who had done very little physical activity before I started.

Bikejournal for 2006

Good luck!

[Kano]

Sheesh, I'll agree about how much work it is after 45 especially. I am a firm believer though, it's all from the mind , that our physical bodies manifest their health, or lack of it.

I'll agree too -- and I grew up with fitness being a relatively low priority in our family, so I'm not sure I've ever really been! (maybe that's better? I never lost it?)

Starfish~ yes, I want to do the least impact sports at this point ... no running! My daily hikes keeps me sore enough. Adding the road cycling is what I've struggled getting back into (because it doesn't include my dog), but it's just what I'm going to have to do to drop this weight I believe, and without impact injuries. Oy, my feet get a rest!

Dog does make a good motivator, since he'll pester you to go. You mention being plenty sore -- I found myself overwhelmed by soreness the first couple of weeks, and feel like I was pretty fortunate to be able to just "wallow in it." I don't think I did much of ANYTHING else beyond the exercise those first days while I adjusted to what was a HUGE change in the sort of activities I was doing!

So anyhow, ENJOY the aches! It's delightful to know that you're hurting because you're doing good things for yourself. Not like a sore butt from bouncing on the hardpack snow too hard while skiing! My immediate thought was "that's going to be colorful!" and my butt wishes "butt helmets" existed.

(on the other hand, I was doing something good for myself when it happened, so that's better than hurting from sitting on it too much like used to be the case!)

Kano ~ I think you and I see eye to eye a lot because we have the perspective of fitness and fatness as we've been to the bottom (I'm still near there... just crawling out). New to this middle aged ball and chain, but I know I can drop the dead weight and make tracks away and grow old in prime fitness, I just know it, even if I live at the top of the steepest hill on the West Side of the Valley, I can do this because I lived here before and did it!

Your posts strike a very familar chord with me too.

This middle aged crap sure sneaks up on us, doesn't it? The worst part is that it really isn't new -- we just seem to sudeenly realize it's here!

I think I was your age when I decided I really HAD to do something, especially since my family history includes long lives -- I figured it would be better if it's as healthy as possible! Maybe that's a 45-thing, kind of like the 13-thing that happensn to kids? Something about that birthday, and looking at ourselves and saying, what the HEY have I done to myself! It was over a year before I actually started doing anything beyond half-hearted dieting. Then came riding, and now this past eight months or so is when I have actually tackled the weight issue properly. I think you've got a jump on me there!

The 20ish mile loop fro+m my house is probably the most popular riding loop inthe county, it's simply crawling with cyclists, everday. I was one of them before, and now I just drive past.

That's okay! I still do more driving past than I should, and of course have plenty of excuses for that. I had a major hissy about the price of gas at the bottom of our hill yesterday -- 12 cents in one afternoon! I just know they didn't get fresh stuff, but marked up the stuff in their tanks. Work is only about three miles away this afternoon, and I'm going to be wearing my new bike shorts and shoes to work. If I can get by without the car this year, I'm going to make more effort to do that! (and eew, I'll have to be a sidewalk rider -- that particular road is NOT bike friendly!)

and ps. I *do* have pedals and shoes, everything but a working cyclometer, which I need to purchase, as my old one has stopped working.

I've got two bikes with the flat pedals, and I'm going to get a couple more pair -- so I can use those too. I just can't stand riding those pedals anymore! It was so funny when I started out with DH one evening, and wanted to pull up on them and my feet just left, y'know? We took off, and I just hollered AARGH! He asked what the problem was, and I said, pedals! He hadn't noticed either how much you really DO start using the upstroke until I said that!

Karen in Boise