Today I attempted my first bike ride in years!

[Melalvai]

I love hearing new riders' stories. I had so much fun as a beginner, with something new to learn every day. I love bicycling and I always will, but I am a little nostalgic for when it was all new and shiny. (I still have much to learn, just not every day.)

Does your bike have gears? Use the lower gears. Many beginners like to "mash" the pedals, which wears you out quickly and is hard on your knees. Try to be a "spinner", where you turn the pedals easily & quickly, using your lowest gears.

If your bike has coaster brakes, it might be a single speed without gears (single speeds & coaster brakes often go together). Is your town flat or hilly? If your 5 mile commute is hilly, you might be more comfortable on a bike with gears.

I prefer to around speed bumps. But if I have to go over, I lift my butt off the seat.

Check your helmet for visible damage. It's best to just replace it after it's taken a hit, but definitely if there's visible cracks.

TE is such a great resource. No question is stupid on TE. We've all been there & we love to share our experience overwhelmingly.

Have fun, and good luck!

[marni]

when I first started riding my bike 7 years ago after not having ridden since I was a child it killed me to ride a mile. I was also extremely over weight. However the third or fourth time I rode that one mile it didn't seem so hard, in fact it was almost fun so I decided to double the distance, which of course killed me but soon became fun.I continued doubling my distances until I got to 30 miles and then dropped back to increasing by 10-20% on each ride until now it seems almost not worth he prep time to kit out for a ride of less than 40 miles which is my current average training ride.

I was riding a trek hybrid comfort bike and used to mash the gears but then figured out the spinning approach. I also got a real road bike which made me understnad spinning vs mashing and how to use the gears to my advantage. Within two years I rode my first extended road trip with a group tour. The longest day on that trip was 82 miles.

Since then I have lost 1/3 of former self and done several cross country rides.

It continues to be and adventure and a delight.

Welcome to the journey.

You go girl!

[KittiPaws]

Thanks for the great welcome and advice, everyone! I didn't realize helmets weren't made to take more than one blow. That's good to know. Safety first. (Although hopefully there won't be any more crashes or spills!) I've decided to go around the speed bumps until I'm more sure of myself.

My bike is a single-speed. My town is fairly flat. However, even gentle inclines in my apartment complex parking lot have me huffing and puffing. Today I ventured onto the street for the first time and biked to the store, which is about a mile away. I had to stop periodically and walk the bike. I do a lot of walking around at work, so I think I should have been able to ride a mile on fairly flat road without stopping. Not sure if it's me or the bike. Since I don't know how long it sat at the big box store before I bought it, or if the good folks who put it together knew what they were doing, I picked up some dry teflon bike lube and will apply it to the chain tonight.

If lubing the chain doesn't help, then I'll just have to make do with the bike I have until I either gain strength, or until I'm able to upgrade to a bike with gears. Whichever comes first!

[Bike Writer]

Welcome KittiPaws! Congratulations on taking your first steps toward better health and fitness. It's not your bike, it's the re-entry into fitness. You said you have pretty flat land so you should be fine. In time you may want to upgrade if you find you love the sport and what it does for your body, and want to ride miles and miles on end. Until that time just keep up your good work so far. A couple of blocks turns into a mile and one mile turns into 2,3,4,5 and so forth.

The huffing and puffing will stop and you will amaze yourself with your abilities. I love falling in love with bicycling. Enjoy your re-entry into biking and have fun out there!