Today I attempted my first bike ride in years!

[KittiPaws]

I'm 53 and overweight. The idea of cycling began to excite me a few weeks ago as a fun way to work more activity into my lifestyle. I haven't done any bike riding since I was a kid, so between the fear and the uncooperative cold, rainy spring we've been having, the bike I bought over a month ago has just been waiting in my spare room. (I did practice getting on and off the bike, which I'm glad I did.)

Today I finally gathered up my courage and did it. I put on my new helmet and gloves and wheeled the bike out to the parking lot of my apartment complex. We have a multi-vehicle carport, which was handy to use for support while I struggled along for the first few tries. When I made my first serious attempt at pushing off and pedaling, I didn't have enough momentum and ended up crashing into one of the wooden carport posts (better than the pavement!). If it weren't for my helmet, I'd have a big lump on my forehead.

I wanted to give up after that, but I made myself try again. After a few more tries, I was riding my bike around the apartment complex, executing simple turns, and using the brakes - another thing that terrified me at first. They're coaster brakes, not hand-operated brakes. It was such an awesome feeling and so much fun! I wanted to leave the "nest" of the parking lot and do some exploring in the neighborhood, but I was shocked at how quickly I became tired. I rode the length of a few of the buildings in my complex and I was so winded, I had to go back. Oh, well. Hopefully my fitness level will build up fairly quickly if I go a little further every day.

For now, I've got an inexpensive ladies' cruiser - a Schwinn Legacy - to tide me over until I have a chance to get to know what kind of bikes are out there and what will fit my needs. At this point a cruiser seems fine for what I plan to do - exercise, save on gas by riding to work (10 miles round trip) and to the store, etc. I'm thinking about an Electra Townie.

I'm excited to see where this will take me, and excited to be here!

I do have a question. There are speed bumps in the parking lot here at the apartment complex. I see young kids fly over them with their bikes, but I'm not so keen on trying it myself. I went around the speed bump that was in my path. Is it safe to try to go over them at my weight and inexperience? Do you need a faster momentum? Or should I just avoid it altogether? I don't want to go flying over the handlebars.

[ny biker]

Welcome aboard! Glad you're having fun.

Most of the speed bumps in my area are pretty flat and wide, and it's no trouble riding over them on a bike (in fact you can drive over them at 25 mph). For the ones that are higher and require you to slow way down in a car, you can still ride over them but if you're uncertain and still getting used to bike, it's fine to go around them too. You probably would want to lift your butt a bit off the saddle when you ride over them for comfort.

Also I hate to send you back to the store but if your new helmet hit the post or the ground when you crashed, you should replace it. Helmets are designed to only take one impact and after that it's safest to replace them.

Good luck!!

[murielalex]

Excellent! Keep it up. I have speed bumps coming into my neighborhood. I go over them slowly.

[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!