Normal beginner's fatigue or dodgy bike?

[Penny4]

Hi Amykins,
Congrats on your weight loss success and your new bike. This forum is very helpful for new riders!
I am not familiar with Apollo bikes, but it looks to be very nice! I think locking the front suspension for paved paths/roads will definitely improve your ride. Your bike looks very similar to the first hybrid I started on (although I didn't have the option to lock the suspension). My bike was very heavy and made climbing hills pretty tough.
When I first started riding, I fatigued very easily. Seemingly gentle hills turned in Mt Everest for me. That definitely improved over time as I grew stronger and also learned to ride the bike properly (I tended to shift gears at the wrong time, used the wrong gear,etc)
Low carb diets are tricky with exercise. You need energy to get through exercise. Perhaps you should chat with your dr. or nutrionist on how best to fuel up for a ride while sticking to your current program. Be sure to drink lots of fluids too while you ride....it is easy to dehyrdate quickly and that is no fun.
Enjoy your riding, and don't worry, you will improve with each ride!

[zoom-zoom]

Ooh, the low carb thing...I am a HUGE fan of low-carb, as I lost a lot of weight that way. I struggle with wanting to drop 20-30#s (regained when I reverted to bad eating habits years ago) and knowing that I could do it with relative ease if I went low carb, again...but I also know that if I drop my net carbs much lower than 100-150 grams/day that bonking is imminent for workouts of much more than 30 minutes. I've BTDT. It's a tricky balance, for sure.

It's definitely a YMMV thing, but if you are doing 60 minute workouts I would try doing 100 net grams and see how that works. That should help regulate erratic blood sugar to control cravings, but still allow you fuel for your rides.

[OakLeaf]

Another vote for fueling, and IME you don't have to bonk to be having trouble with it. I experience inadequate fueling as muscle fatigue, not as hunger. It actually took me a whole season to figure it out, and when I did, it was by accident, when I noticed how much stronger I rode when I'd had a big meal of brown rice an hour before the ride.

Climbing hills takes a little technique, too - learning when and how to shift and where your most efficient cadence (RPM) is on various grades.

The steering thing - hard to tell without looking at the bike and at you on it. It might just be the bike has more responsive geometry than bikes you've ridden in the past. If that's the case, you'll get used to it. But it might be a fit thing, and it might be mechanical, too. If you have a friend who knows a thing or two about bikes, you might could get their opinion.

Anyway, welcome to TE!

[tealtreak]

Another vote for fueling, and IME you don't have to bonk to be having trouble with it. I experience inadequate fueling as muscle fatigue, not as hunger. It actually took me a whole season to figure it out, and when I did, it was by accident, when I noticed how much stronger I rode when I'd had a big meal of brown rice an hour before the ride.

Climbing hills takes a little technique, too - learning when and how to shift and where your most efficient cadence (RPM) is on various grades.

The steering thing - hard to tell without looking at the bike and at you on it. It might just be the bike has more responsive geometry than bikes you've ridden in the past. If that's the case, you'll get used to it. But it might be a fit thing, and it might be mechanical, too. If you have a friend who knows a thing or two about bikes, you might could get their opinion.

Anyway, welcome to TE!

echo oakleaf on the hills- I still have trouble hitting that "sweet spot"- when to downshift- especially if it is extra steep or technical.............

[kcmpls]

Another tip for beginners is to make sure you have enough air in your tires. Flat tires make for really hard riding. Believe me, I learned the hard way.

[Dogmama]

I saw that you have front suspension & trouble steering - I'd try turning it off & seeing if that helps.

Your fatigue could be low carb and beginner's fatigue. Try having a bowl of oatmeal or other slow digesting carb before you go out & see how you do. I've ridden on empty and fueled & I much prefer fueled. Studies are saying that weight loss happens better when you are fueled because you can go harder & longer. I also believe that it makes riding more enjoyable = you'll do it more often.

Welcome!

[Trek420]

Another tip for beginners is to make sure you have enough air in your tires. Flat tires make for really hard riding. Believe me, I learned the hard way.

+1 on the air. And is there another bike shop in your region? The one you went to is beyond bad.

Changing subjects when you ask questions refusing a test ride and then saying you can bring it back for a fit in 8 weeks??? 8 weeks??

If I bought a bike or had work done in any of my favorite shops and had issues I could bring it in or at least get an appointment for them to take a look that day.

You might end up loving the bike but find another shop.

Also if you feel twitchy on the bike relax, d@mn it!! especially your hands and arms. Having a death grip actually makes it harder to control your bike.

[Wahine]

So a few things that I want to echo here. Pretty much all of them have already been said but I ould say they are really key.

1) Air up your tires before every ride.
2) Lock out your front suspension for now
3) You should be eating a good meal about 4 to 5 hours before you ride and take another hit of about 100 calories a half hour to 45 min before you ride. You want that last hit in an easily digestible form like energy chews or gels.
4) After you finish riding, take in about 180 to 200 calories within 20 min of being done. Ideally you're shooting for about 30 g of carbs and 10 grams of protein - reduced fat chocolate milk is great for this. What this does is store glycogen in your muscles where it will be readily available as fuel for your next ride, making you recover faster. Then you can go low carb the rest of the day and let your heightened metabolic activity burn off the fat.

About the low carb/blood sugar thing. Like someone else mentioned, you don't necessarily get hunger when your blood sugar drops. When I am mountain biking, I almost never want to eat. But I know when I have to because I start falling on technical things that I would normally be able to do no problem. My coordination gets very sketchy. So it could very well be part of your problem.