Tips for Beginners

[kenyonchris]

Hey,
...., however like I said it's mostly uphill and wading through highway traffic and that just kills my thighs...I guess I just have to get used to it and the following pain in my thigh...is it normal for your thighs to sort of spaz right after?...hope my thighs don't start to swell or something..

o

By thighs you mean your quads? What sort of shape are you in now? If your saddle is too low, your quads are going to be stressed, particularly going uphill. By spaz you mean be weak or cramp? If you mean weak, yeah, you will have a jelly feeling in your legs until they get going. But they shouldn't cramp (quads don't tend to cramp like calves do)...if they do, you need to look at your nutrition/hydration/exertion. I also suspect your saddle is probably too low, most new riders have that problem.

Even a new rider on a basic hybrid bike would benefit with a basic bike fit. Ask the advice of your LBS, they can make some minor adjustments to your bike that might make a big difference to you.

And, no worries, your thighs should not swell.

[New.to.biking]

ok, will go to the nearest bike-shop and ask them to help me adjust the saddle, oh and I guess it's my quads then, and they do feel like jelly right after and kind of you know..spasm (not cramp but more like involuntarily shake continuously for a minute or two) then they kind of set in and everything's fine again...

as for my shape, well, I'm short (around 5'5 ft or 167cm) and I weigh 55 kgs (121 pounds) I jog regularly but to be completely honest before 2 weeks ago I haven't ridden a bike for around 6-7 years so these days I do feel like my thighs are really week most of the time and in the beginning it was actually harder to bike the next day (especially uphill) as opposed to it getting a tiny bit easier or just feel the same..but then again that feeling might have just been psychological

BUT it's still a wonderful experience especially as I bike back home at night...it's really great just for thinking about the day and I guess the fresh air just helps to soothe