Newbie weekly achievement thread

[Bike Writer]

Ok, I had a rather embarrassing day yesterday...

I bought my first roadbike in February, and yesterday was the first day I got to ride it outside with my partner (experienced road cyclist & racer).

So we get kitted up, and I'm SO excited, and we get downstairs and outside, and I just can't do it. I have no idea what happened, but I freaked out and started crying. I've never done that before, and I'm just not normally that kind of person. Rock climbing? No problem. New adventures? Bring it on. So it was a really new and odd experience for me.

We went back inside, and end result was we put me on the trainer for 40 minutes and did some drills. I got used to my new position, how to shift gears, and even tried the brakes a couple of times.

I think I just had too many new-to-me things going on:

• starting/stopping when my feet don't touch the ground
• brakes that don't give the same 'feedback' as MTB brakes, so I feel like they don't really work
• new (more aggressive) position
• new bike
• clipless pedals (I had them for 3 rides on my MTB last summer)
• traffic!

So now, I'm feeling good that I'll be able to get outside on my bike this week, but I don't want a repeat of yesterday. My partner already feels that he pressured me into buying a bike that's too much for me. Ack! He's been nothing but supportive, and it was totally and completely me that pushed to get me a road bike!

Any suggestions? Hugs? Words of advice or stories of how you were just brave and conquered your fears?

Thanks for the help. I know I can do this, and already did another 20 min on the trainer this morning. I just need a little positive reinforcement.

As others have said, that is a whole lotta stuff to bite off in one sitting!

I give you tremendous credit for attempting it. Hugs, empathy and mucho support coming your way! There should be no shame in trying all those things at once it's only a lesson that you can take advantage of. The advice so far is good and should be followed.

1. ditch the clipless pedals
2. lower the seat
3. practice in a "safe environment", not traffic
4. have fun
5. you bought a bike to have fun
6. fun should be the primary objective
7. other goals will follow if this is fun; if it isn't fun you won't have the ambition to try new things.

and welcome to the forums at TE!

[linzq]

Oh my goodness, thank you so much Lavigne, Catrin, jelee1311, rubysoho, Bethany1, tbl35, and Bike Writer for your replies!!!

I told my partner about you lovely ladies, and I'm so happy I have extra support from you all!

I've now been on the trainer a couple of times, and have sorted out shifting (phew!) and have convinced myself that these brakes work even though I don't feel them gripping as-tight-as-death.

I've got the 1/2-1/2 pedals with SPDs on one side and flat on the other, so I'll try them out flat, with my lowered saddle.

And I've convinced the boyfriend that our next ride out will be a tour de parking lot. He's happy, I'm happy, it's all good.

Can't wait to update you all on my success and FUN!

[Roadtrip]

Great to hear from everyone and their accomplishments!! Got out for a 15-18 mile ride (computer glitch, not sure exactly how ar it was, tho according to trail maps closer to 18) ride this morning... Stopped at LBS on the way home and bought a new pair of bike shorts on clearance.

All in all-- a good day!!

Shannon

[rubysoho]

biked the entire George Washington Memorial Parktrail yesterday. Definitely had some bigger hills than what I normally face but after 36.5 miles my legs could have gone further! Yay! Though today I am a bit tired, however I think that is a combination of the entire weekend (rehearsal dinner/open bar Friday night, friends' wedding/open bar Saturday night, no sleep either night because of frat boys staying at the same hotel as me, woke up at 5:30am Sunday to get back home for the bike ride by 11/noon).

[jessmarimba]

I know we're not supposed to brag about such things, but I caught (and stuck with! But not on her wheel) a roadie today on my commute home

Actually I wouldn't have really cared, except that I was stopped at a red light at a particularly dangerous intersection, and I was pretty irritated that she came up beside me on the right and kind of wandered through the light, so she was through the intersection before it turned. I caught her on the other side and probably could've passed if I'd pushed, but I didn't want to keep leapfrogging a light runner.

I also GPS-ed my ride home for the first time today and we were riding 20+mph for that chunk (2:40ish a mile) and I had no idea I could go that fast when it wasn't downhill. Especially on a 30 pound bike!

[Roadtrip]

20+mph for that chunk (2:40ish a mile) and I had no idea I could go that fast when it wasn't downhill. Especially on a 30 pound bike!

Goooooo you!

[Velocivixen]

I have a 2011 Trek FX 7.3, so I decided to order the MKS "lambda" pedals (aka Rivendell "Grip King" pedals-they designed them), received them today and put them on my bike! I posted a couple of days ago that I bought a long handled pedal wrench and some grease and it took me standing on that wrench to get my pedals loose. I just wanted to make sure I knew how to get them off in advance of actually having to swap them out when the Lambdas arrived. The pedals came off nicely (original Welgo pedals) and I put them into the boxes that the Lambda pedals came in and labeled them as my original pedals. So....that's my newby accomplishment.

[Jiten]

Hi gals. I just signed up. I've just discovered this forum and have been reading many posts for two days. I just finished reading every post on this thread, and I knew I had to join this community. The moral support here is fantastic!

I'm a relatively inexperienced cyclist, although quite experienced in falling off my bike, haha. Like many in this forum, I never learned how to ride a bike when I was a child and had to teach myself, through sheer persistence, how to ride one as an adult. I've had many falls, and I still remember each of those falls, but I also learned from each mistake I made which caused me to fall (for example, I learned that a street post won't move out of the way just because you're a newbie cyclist). One of my falls was really bad--I flew over the bike handles and landed hard on my helmet. I'm pretty sure my helmet saved me from having a broken skull. Before I discovered this forum, I thought I was the only one who learned how to bike as an adult, and the only one who falls off bikes, haha. Man, it's so good to learn I'm not the only one. I should have known about this forum several years ago when I first taught myself how to ride a bike.

Reading the posts here has inspired me even more to dust off my mountain bike, do the basic checks and adjustments, and to start riding again. I'm also contemplating getting myself a Bike Friday. I'll record those here as my weekly achievement as a "newbie".

[Dr.Doo]

By the Goddess! I'm so stoked. I rode even further yesterday. Lady H and me managed just over 25 miles, 15 of them really uncomfortable miles on a bad saddle and into a head wind on the return journey. The saddle I'm using is filched my housemates cheapie hybrid - the one I've been riding for a year - and it's so darned uncomfortable I've been looking for a new saddle that I can actually afford. I won the bidding last night on a Bontrager Evoke R WSD at a price that means if it's not the saddle for me I can give it away to someone who it might suit.

Anyhoo, I've managed (approx figures worked out from google maps) a 20miler, a 25miler, a couple of 10milers and a couple of 5milers this week and I'm so proud of myself, especially as lot of those miles were into head winds which is one of my asthma/Copd triggers. Yesterday all my miles were on the road with traffic which is something I usually try to avoid due to the lung disease thang and after I'd stopped at my bro and sis-in-laws for a mug of tea I could really tell I'd been breathing in car fumes despite the roads not being overly busy, I don't cough often since I gave up smoking last year but oh boy I was coughing yesterday.

[Nick]

Yesterday was a really good biking day for me. I did my usual loop in the state park with the additional challenge tracks, twice. Most importantly for me, I conquered the dangerous, rocky descent that terrifies me, working my way down at a controlled pace. Still wobbly, but I made it down - twice. Getting back up that hill is another story. It's very rocky with lots of grooves, and I have a hard time getting a good, lasting grip. Still working on that.
I also took the difficult incline with a couple of curves at a slow, steady pace. This was the first time I wasn't deeply focused on trying to make it up the hill, but enjoying myself along the way. Slowly but surely I'm building those mtb skills...

[Bike Writer]

Hi gals. I just signed up. I've just discovered this forum and have been reading many posts for two days. I just finished reading every post on this thread, and I knew I had to join this community. The moral support here is fantastic!

I'm a relatively inexperienced cyclist, although quite experienced in falling off my bike, haha. Like many in this forum, I never learned how to ride a bike when I was a child and had to teach myself, through sheer persistence, how to ride one as an adult. I've had many falls, and I still remember each of those falls, but I also learned from each mistake I made which caused me to fall (for example, I learned that a street post won't move out of the way just because you're a newbie cyclist). One of my falls was really bad--I flew over the bike handles and landed hard on my helmet. I'm pretty sure my helmet saved me from having a broken skull. Before I discovered this forum, I thought I was the only one who learned how to bike as an adult, and the only one who falls off bikes, haha. Man, it's so good to learn I'm not the only one. I should have known about this forum several years ago when I first taught myself how to ride a bike.

Reading the posts here has inspired me even more to dust off my mountain bike, do the basic checks and adjustments, and to start riding again. I'm also contemplating getting myself a Bike Friday. I'll record those here as my weekly achievement as a "newbie".

Welcome Jiten!

I hope that your falls become a thing of the past for you soon. Practice does wonders for balance and confidence. I rode as a kid and just got back into biking again last year after a long absence. I had a lot of falls in the begining. Congratulations on having the courage to get back on after a fall and keep going. Try to have someone from a bike shop watch you on your bike and check your saddle and handlebar height for proper fit.

[Jiten]

Welcome Jiten!

I hope that your falls become a thing of the past for you soon. Practice does wonders for balance and confidence. I rode as a kid and just got back into biking again last year after a long absence. I had a lot of falls in the begining. Congratulations on having the courage to get back on after a fall and keep going. Try to have someone from a bike shop watch you on your bike and check your saddle and handlebar height for proper fit.

Thank you for the welcome, Bike Writer! I think I will always find something inspiring to read on these forums. BTW, I've been reading your blog, too, and consider me a regular reader now. I saw pictures of your nice bike! *drools*