Advice for a beginner "perfectionist"

[PscyclePath]

Any advice on how to just jump on the bike and start pedaling? Obviously, I need a helmet and probably gloves, but what should I wear and how long should I shoot for? Should I just continue with the gym stationary until I'm in better shape or get on the Raleigh and hit the road? A lot of riders cycle in our state park where there is excellent flat parts but also some challenging hills. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I just read Every Woman's Guide to Cycling by Selene Yeager and that really got me fired up to cycle.

If you're looking to get into the cycling/fitness lifestyle, I would strongly suggest a book called Cycling Past 50, by Joe Friel. Good, simple advice for getting yourself into decent shape and working to improve from there.

I've looked at a number of training books, from the Chris Carmichael series to the RoadBikeRider.com newsletters, but the one I keep coming back to as the basis for a training and general fitness program is the one Friel lays out in this book. Here's the heart of the program:

If you are training for a cycling event, then cycling is the way to practice for it. The best way to get better at riding your bike is to ride your bike.

...

It appears from scientific studies that the minimum number of rides in a week should be three. Less than that and aerobic capacity, an important measure of endurance fitness, doesn't improve. The critical frequency, however, seems to be four workouts a week. In fact, one study found that by increasing weekly workouts from three to four, there was nearly a tripling of the average increase in fitness. That's an important lesson to remember when time is short.

Beyond four workouts a week, the improvement rate of aerobic capacity decreases. Note that this is the rate of improvement and not the absolute level of attainment. In other words, aerobic capacity continues to rise at five, six, or seven weekly workouts, but not as fast as it did when going from three to four rides a week.

Other studies have shown that when initially establishing fitness levels, as just starting to ride a bike, it's best to work out five or six times a week to speed the process. It will take 10 to 12 weeks to get aerobic capacity up to decent levels at this frequency.

How long should a ride last if you have limited time to train? If you use the time judiciously, you can accomplish a lot of fitness in 30 to 45 minutes. That allows time for a 10-minute warm-up, 15 to 30 minutes of focused riding (explained shortly), and 5 minutes to cool down.

Don't forget, however, that cycling is primarily an endurance sport. It doesn't matter how fast you are when redlined and breathing heavy if you don't have the endurance to finish the ride. Somehow, you've got to get in longer rides to build this endurance. Ninety minutes is about the minimum for long rides, and longer is better, depending on the length of the event for which you're training. Early in the year, these should be weekly rides. Once you establish aerobic endurance, you can maintain it with an every-other-week pattern.

The difficulty of the ride is the most critical aspect of training for the rider with limited time. Riding at intensities greater than 90 percent of aerobic capacity, which means just starting to breathe hard, brings substantial increases in fitness. Training at this level is typical of intervals, hill climbing, and sprint workouts.

It's possible to ride at these high intensities too frequently for too long, causing injury, overtraining, or burnout. Accumulating 30 to 60 minutes a week of riding with the heart rate near or higher than lactate threshold is about all the high-intensity time you need for good fitness.

So, if you ride long once a week, probably on the weekend, and do three high-effort rides during the week, including some with 10 to 20 minutes of high heart rates and heavy breathing, your fitness will stay high or even improve despite limited time. It's probably best to ride intensely only twice a week and make every third week a period of reduced effort to break the routine.

...

No matter what you want from riding, there are three rules you must obey. Breaking any of these means, at best, limited improvement, and, at worst, overtraining and loss of fitness.

The Cardinal Rules of Training are as follows:

• Rule 1. Ride consistently.
• Rule 2. Ride moderately.
• Rule 3. Rest frequently.

These may seem overly simple. Sometimes, however, the most important things in life are the simplest. Such is the case with training.

Rule 1 is based on the premise that nothing does more to limit or reduce fitness than missed rides. The human body thrives on regular patterns of living. When cycling routinely and uniformly progressing for weeks, months, and years, fitness steadily improves. Interruptions from injury, burnout, illness, and overtraining cause setbacks. Each setback means a substantial loss of cycling fitness and time reestablishing a level previously attained. Inconsistent riding is like pushing a boulder up a hill only to see it roll back down before reaching the top — frustrating.

Riders who violate the first rule of training are usually frustrated. The solution
to their problem is simple: Train consistently. "Okay," they say, "but how do I do that?" Good question, and that leads to the other Cardinal Rules.

The second Rule, ride moderately, is the first step in becoming more consistent. This one usually scares highly motivated, hard-charging cyclists. They can see themselves noodling around the block in slow motion and not even working up a sweat. However, that's not what moderate means.

Moderate riding is that level of training to which your body is already adapted, plus about 10 percent. For example, if the longest recent ride is 40 miles, then a reasonable increase is to 45 miles next week. That's moderate. A 60-mile ride would not be moderate and could lead to something bad, such as an injury or overtraining that forces several days off the bike and a lapse in consistency. Another moderate change is steadily progressing from riding flat terrain to rolling hills, to riding longer hills, to riding steep and long hills. Going from riding on the flats to steep, long hills is not moderate.

Consistent riding also requires frequent resting. That means planning rest at the right times, such as after challenging rides or hard weeks. Rest taken in adequate doses and at appropriate times produces consistent training and increased fitness.

Even though the Cardinal Rules of Training are basic, if you follow them, fitness will improve regardless of what else you do on the bike. They are deceptively simple to read about; incorporating them into training is a different matter. At first, it may be difficult to ride moderately and rest frequently. Keep working at it. Old habits are hard to break. When you initially train this way, it's better to err on the side of being conservative with moderation and rest if you're a rider who has frequent breakdowns and missed workouts. With experience you'll become better at determining what is right for you.

The best bike to ride right now is probably the bike you've got... provided that it's properly fitted to you, and comfortable. You don't need fancy gear to be a cyclist, though you do need some basics:

1.) A properly fitted helmet. Wear it on every ride -- it's just like fastening your seat belt when you get in a car. 80% of cycling injuries occur from folks simply falling off their bikes; and this is exactly the kind of situation where a helmet is most effective in protecting your noggin. Your brain can't heal if you hurt it.
2.) Glasses. This is the one piece of gear that can actually prevent you from having a crash -- getting blinded by a flying insect or a piece of rock or other debris in your eye is another sure way to get taken down in a crash.
3.) Gloves. Every cyclist falls from time to time. Every cyclist. The natural instinct is to try and catch yourself with your hands, and your gloves prevent the pavement from sanding all the hide off your palms. They also have a secondary advantage of cushioning your hands from the road vibrations coming up through the fork and the handlebars.

As you ride more, you'll figure out for yourself what you like best, and so what sort of bike and cycling-specific gear works best for you. Cycling shorts are a good early purchase -- as you'll soon find out, most of the padding is in the seat of your britches, not on your saddle ;-) It's hard to train on a bike if your hiney hurts all the time.

But yeah... the best thing is to go ride your bike, and things will start to work themselves out from there...

Tom

[Geonz]

And you might just sneak over to www.bikejournal.com and sign up (on Team Estrogen, of course!) ... and get a speedometer and log your rides and miles. On "calendar view" you'll be able to *see* when you're riding You can also record indoor miles from the bikes at the gym... so that p'raps in a month you can show that to hubby and say "time for shopping?"

[vinbek]

Cycling is a stress release for me and I can tend to be compulsive. The key for me is to not make it a chore or something I have to check off the list. You should enjoy it and look forward to it. Go at your own pace and have fun. I would ride the bike you have unless its uncomfortable. You can shop for bikes and the more you are out on the road, the better you will be able to determine what kind of bike you want. I hope you enjoy it, its a wonderful journey!!

[Tabby]

Hey EmptyNestor

How's your new pursuit coming along? I started mtb in April, love it, love the dirt, love the obstacles, love all of it. Even when I ride w/the guys, I've learned to ride my own ride.

Now, met a new guy, also new to mtb, but a major and very intense roadie at heart. He things I'd love road riding if I'd give it a try and is willing and ready to teach me everything there is to know about road riding. I'm excited to learn and have borrowed an awesome bike from a friend. He's passionate and aggressive about biking and has a penchent for perfection, so I don't want to feel intimated from his level of excitement (did that make sense)? Any tips on how to learn from a passionate, perfectionist guy?

Tabby

[sundial]

Hi Emptynester!

Sounds like Santa needs to bring you some good cycling stuff for Christmas. Ok, let's start with the bike. Riding a good bike that fits you is worth it's weight in gold. Trying to fit a bike to you that is not your size will only frustrate you in the end and could squelch your desire to ride. So get measured at your local bike shop and test ride bikes, or see if you actually fit the hand me down bike.

Next, find a nice flat area with little traffic to ride. Personally, I like state parks. Traffic is very light, the roads and trails are excellent, and it's generally not crowded. Take a spin out there until you build your confidence on the bike. Don't let the hills intimidate you. If you can't make it up the hill, walk. We've all done that. I still do it on occasion.

Gear--get a good pair of tights and/or bike shorts, shoes and gloves. A helmet can be purchased for about $30 or so at Target or Wally world and have the same safety rating as the higher priced helmet. You can get by with regular wicking tees and jackets until you know you are definitely hooked on cycling. Then call Susan Otcenas here at Team Estrogen store and chat with her. She is so very helpful in recommending clothing.

And finally, don't put so much pressure on yourself to get it right the first time. It took me about 3 months to get into the groove of cycling.

[Tabby]

OK, it's been a month, thought I'd share my personal update on new to road riding adventure from new perfectionist BF. I have had so much fun!! He has been so patient and encouraging!! Life is good!

The bike I borrowed didn't need much adjustment to fit me, thank goodness for girlfriends who are the same size as me. Fortunately, she was also fine for me to make the small adjustments. Between Nov 16 - Nov 29 he's taken me on 4 rides, totallying 122 miles. He took me shopping for the basics in cold weather gear, we started in 35-45 degree weather, and surprisingly enough, if you dress right, it is very comfortable. However, I think 35 degrees is my lower limit. I'm still in sneakers, the neoprene toe covers help keep the toes warm.

I'm hooked, BF has selected a bike he thinks would be good for me, Giant Avail 1 ... now sure hope work $$ bonus will cover the bike.

So much fun....life is so good!