Advice for a beginner "perfectionist"

[emptynester]

Help -- I recently sent my twins off to college and am now an empty nester looking for something to do for me. My husband is an avid cyclist and I have accompanied him to several charity rides and am tired of being a bystander. I want to become a cyclist myself. However, being a perfectionist, impatient and somewhat obsessive-compulsive, I'm having trouble figuring out how to get started. Adding to that intimidation of going to a bike shop as I added more pounds than I would like to admit to--okay might as well own it, I'm 5'7" and 205 lbs and turning 55 next month. My husband made the mistake of buying several bikes before buying his Specialized Roubaix so I don't want to make that mistake. However, he is reluctant to buy me a very nice bike before I can show that I'm serious about sticking with biking. I have my daughters hand-me-down Raleigh basic road bike that has good tires and gears. I have been going to the gym and riding the stationary bike for 30 minutes to build up my stamina and to try to get into shape for road biking.

Any advice on how to just jump on the bike and start pedaling? Obviously, I need a helmet and probably gloves, but what should I wear and how long should I shoot for? Should I just continue with the gym stationary until I'm in better shape or get on the Raleigh and hit the road? A lot of riders cycle in our state park where there is excellent flat parts but also some challenging hills. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I just read Every Woman's Guide to Cycling by Selene Yeager and that really got me fired up to cycle.

[Misandal]

Jump on the bike and hit the road! The park sounds like a good place to start. If you've been on a stationary, you'll LOVE being outside and the change of scenery. As for how long - do what you're comfortable with. Don't over-do or you'll probably not enjoy it as much.

But in addition to the helmet, you're going to want some cycling shorts. Check out Team Estrogen's site for a great selection in every configuration and price range.

And don't forget a water bottle! Hydration is really important.

The biggest thing - enjoy yourself!

[alpinerabbit]

And you can still go back to the gym in foul weather.

[arielmoon]

I second this advice! Hit the road girl!!

[OakLeaf]

+1 to what everyone else said.

And check out some of the saddle fitting threads on this board, too. There's some trial and error involved in saddles, but measuring where you can, can eliminate a lot of error.

Maybe your daughter's saddle fits you, maybe it doesn't - just because you're related doesn't mean you're shaped the same where your parts meet the saddle. (My sister - my same height, very similar build and nearly identical bike frame geometry - rides a saddle that I wouldn't last five miles on!) A poorly fitting saddle can make you pretty miserable.

Also, the saddle threads talk a bit about what kinds of discomfort will go away as you get more used to riding, and what kinds will only get worse and should be addressed right away.

Good luck! Have fun! And welcome!

ETA: How long should you shoot for? Whatever makes you happy and makes you feel strong! Duration wise, at first you probably won't last as long on the road as you do in the gym. If you want to make some goals for yourself, be sure to set both short-term, very attainable goals, and longer-term ones that can keep you looking ahead and working toward them. You'll have a better idea of where to set those marks after you've been for a few rides and gotten a feeling for it.

[Smilie]

How exciting for you! As for purchasing a bike, go test ride several different kinds to see which fits you the best. They will measure you, and set you up on a bike that fits your body. Be sure you ride several and you will see the differences. Have fun riding!

[aicabsolut]

How tall is your husband? I'd want to borrow his Roubaix instead (I LOVE my Roubaix ). I'm 5'7" and I ride the 54cm.

The regular stationary bikes at the gym are a bit of a different workout. Spin class bikes would be a little more like it. I'd say just get out on the road and pedal. Try the park. Start out getting used to things and warming up on the flat parts. The hills may be quite challenging, but get accustomed to the gears and give them a try. You don't have to fly up them. Make it your goal just to keep pedaling all the way up. Keep in mind that they will just get easier the more you ride, because you'll get stronger and you'll keep shedding the excess weight. Use the gym for weight training and when the weather is bad. If you're just doing 30min workouts now, then start out with some short rides, particularly if you do those hills. Keep in mind that you may not feel quite as bad outside as when you're sweating buckets stationary in a gym. You can also stop and take a breather whenever you want. Just go out and ride until you want to quit. Then look at how many miles you've gone (rather than at your time at first), and use that to guide you as you work to improve your fitness.

[kfergos]

I'd wait to buy a bike until you have a really good idea of everything you'll want in it. Trying out your daughter's and husband's bikes will give you an idea of what you like and don't like in a bike, so you don't end up trading your brand-new bike in 6 months later for something you like better. Also you'll find you may have other uses you want to put your bike to (I use the same bike for 200-mile charity rides and for my 13-mile each way commute) that you can't guess right at the outset, but which would seriously influence your choice of bikes.

When you're riding, I suggest that you pay special attention to gearing, as well as feel of the ride and handling, since that's something that is a hassle, at best, to change once you've bought a bike (It'll be expensive to switch from a double to a triple after the fact, for example).

[TrekTheKaty]

Get out there! You need a helmet and gloves to start. You can buy bike shorts and adjust your saddle as your distance increases. Don't set any goals for the first ride except to scout everything out. That way if it doesn't go perfect, you won't be disappointed. Add small goals: ride a few extra miles, find bike shorts, learn to add air to your tires, learn how to change a tire, go farther up that hill. Only by trying a few different bikes, will you decide what you prefer. Like a stray cat, my road bike picked me

[wackyjacky1]

If you're not ready to rock the spandex look, big thumbs-up from me for Mt. Borah underliners -- cycling shorts designed to be worn under regular shorts.

My best advice would be to not expect too much as you start out. I work in a bakery, and it's a VERY physical job, so I thought I was in okay shape, even though I am overweight. I used to cycle A LOT...but that was 20 years ago. When I started up again this summer, I literally couldn't make it around the block -- I thought I was gonna die! Just the sight of a hill practically made me cry. I got really, really discouraged (somewhere on TE is my "poor me" thread). But I stuck with it, in large part due to the encouragement and advice I got here on TE.

Now I commute to work almost every day (distance-wise, it's fairly puny, but there are a couple of MAJOR hills), and try to get in a nice 10-mile ride on the weekend. Every day gets a little easier, which serves to motivate me even more.

Good luck!

[salsabike]

Does your daughter's bike fit you well--is it comfortable to ride? If not, you may well need to buy a bike that does fit well in order to enjoy riding.

[NbyNW]

Think of it as a process, not something you have to get perfect the first time. Just get on the bike and go!

So much of the learning is in the doing. You won't learn until you spend time on a bike: the type/size of bike that suits you; what kind of saddle you find comfortable; whether you want lots of chamois or very little; etc. etc.

Time on the bike will lead you to the questions that will be important to your enjoyment of the sport.

Start with the bare essentials and work from there: comfy clothes (can be from other sports), helmet, gloves, water, snack bar, emergency cash, ID, cell phone. Maybe some eye protection if you like. And don't sweat it if you leave something behind. If you miss something, you'll definitely remember it the next time.

Have fun!

[lph]

Yay - go for it! Jocelynif nailed it with the "process"-comment. Try riding other people's bikes and try to note down the differences - what do you like, what do you not like. Riding in an upright position will slow you down but let you watch the scenery more easily, riding too stretched out will give you neck and shoulder pain but can let you go fast. If the saddles you try are awful you can always spring for a good saddle already now, and transfer it onto your bike once you buy one. And remember that the bike you buy doesn't have to be perfect, you can do a lot of tweaking on a bike as long as it basically fits your needs. As long as you're comfortable and the bike is lubed, has good brakes and plenty of air - you're gonna have fun.

[PscyclePath]

Any advice on how to just jump on the bike and start pedaling? Obviously, I need a helmet and probably gloves, but what should I wear and how long should I shoot for? Should I just continue with the gym stationary until I'm in better shape or get on the Raleigh and hit the road? A lot of riders cycle in our state park where there is excellent flat parts but also some challenging hills. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I just read Every Woman's Guide to Cycling by Selene Yeager and that really got me fired up to cycle.

If you're looking to get into the cycling/fitness lifestyle, I would strongly suggest a book called Cycling Past 50, by Joe Friel. Good, simple advice for getting yourself into decent shape and working to improve from there.

I've looked at a number of training books, from the Chris Carmichael series to the RoadBikeRider.com newsletters, but the one I keep coming back to as the basis for a training and general fitness program is the one Friel lays out in this book. Here's the heart of the program:

If you are training for a cycling event, then cycling is the way to practice for it. The best way to get better at riding your bike is to ride your bike.

...

It appears from scientific studies that the minimum number of rides in a week should be three. Less than that and aerobic capacity, an important measure of endurance fitness, doesn't improve. The critical frequency, however, seems to be four workouts a week. In fact, one study found that by increasing weekly workouts from three to four, there was nearly a tripling of the average increase in fitness. That's an important lesson to remember when time is short.

Beyond four workouts a week, the improvement rate of aerobic capacity decreases. Note that this is the rate of improvement and not the absolute level of attainment. In other words, aerobic capacity continues to rise at five, six, or seven weekly workouts, but not as fast as it did when going from three to four rides a week.

Other studies have shown that when initially establishing fitness levels, as just starting to ride a bike, it's best to work out five or six times a week to speed the process. It will take 10 to 12 weeks to get aerobic capacity up to decent levels at this frequency.

How long should a ride last if you have limited time to train? If you use the time judiciously, you can accomplish a lot of fitness in 30 to 45 minutes. That allows time for a 10-minute warm-up, 15 to 30 minutes of focused riding (explained shortly), and 5 minutes to cool down.

Don't forget, however, that cycling is primarily an endurance sport. It doesn't matter how fast you are when redlined and breathing heavy if you don't have the endurance to finish the ride. Somehow, you've got to get in longer rides to build this endurance. Ninety minutes is about the minimum for long rides, and longer is better, depending on the length of the event for which you're training. Early in the year, these should be weekly rides. Once you establish aerobic endurance, you can maintain it with an every-other-week pattern.

The difficulty of the ride is the most critical aspect of training for the rider with limited time. Riding at intensities greater than 90 percent of aerobic capacity, which means just starting to breathe hard, brings substantial increases in fitness. Training at this level is typical of intervals, hill climbing, and sprint workouts.

It's possible to ride at these high intensities too frequently for too long, causing injury, overtraining, or burnout. Accumulating 30 to 60 minutes a week of riding with the heart rate near or higher than lactate threshold is about all the high-intensity time you need for good fitness.

So, if you ride long once a week, probably on the weekend, and do three high-effort rides during the week, including some with 10 to 20 minutes of high heart rates and heavy breathing, your fitness will stay high or even improve despite limited time. It's probably best to ride intensely only twice a week and make every third week a period of reduced effort to break the routine.

...

No matter what you want from riding, there are three rules you must obey. Breaking any of these means, at best, limited improvement, and, at worst, overtraining and loss of fitness.

The Cardinal Rules of Training are as follows:

• Rule 1. Ride consistently.
• Rule 2. Ride moderately.
• Rule 3. Rest frequently.

These may seem overly simple. Sometimes, however, the most important things in life are the simplest. Such is the case with training.

Rule 1 is based on the premise that nothing does more to limit or reduce fitness than missed rides. The human body thrives on regular patterns of living. When cycling routinely and uniformly progressing for weeks, months, and years, fitness steadily improves. Interruptions from injury, burnout, illness, and overtraining cause setbacks. Each setback means a substantial loss of cycling fitness and time reestablishing a level previously attained. Inconsistent riding is like pushing a boulder up a hill only to see it roll back down before reaching the top — frustrating.

Riders who violate the first rule of training are usually frustrated. The solution
to their problem is simple: Train consistently. "Okay," they say, "but how do I do that?" Good question, and that leads to the other Cardinal Rules.

The second Rule, ride moderately, is the first step in becoming more consistent. This one usually scares highly motivated, hard-charging cyclists. They can see themselves noodling around the block in slow motion and not even working up a sweat. However, that's not what moderate means.

Moderate riding is that level of training to which your body is already adapted, plus about 10 percent. For example, if the longest recent ride is 40 miles, then a reasonable increase is to 45 miles next week. That's moderate. A 60-mile ride would not be moderate and could lead to something bad, such as an injury or overtraining that forces several days off the bike and a lapse in consistency. Another moderate change is steadily progressing from riding flat terrain to rolling hills, to riding longer hills, to riding steep and long hills. Going from riding on the flats to steep, long hills is not moderate.

Consistent riding also requires frequent resting. That means planning rest at the right times, such as after challenging rides or hard weeks. Rest taken in adequate doses and at appropriate times produces consistent training and increased fitness.

Even though the Cardinal Rules of Training are basic, if you follow them, fitness will improve regardless of what else you do on the bike. They are deceptively simple to read about; incorporating them into training is a different matter. At first, it may be difficult to ride moderately and rest frequently. Keep working at it. Old habits are hard to break. When you initially train this way, it's better to err on the side of being conservative with moderation and rest if you're a rider who has frequent breakdowns and missed workouts. With experience you'll become better at determining what is right for you.

The best bike to ride right now is probably the bike you've got... provided that it's properly fitted to you, and comfortable. You don't need fancy gear to be a cyclist, though you do need some basics:

1.) A properly fitted helmet. Wear it on every ride -- it's just like fastening your seat belt when you get in a car. 80% of cycling injuries occur from folks simply falling off their bikes; and this is exactly the kind of situation where a helmet is most effective in protecting your noggin. Your brain can't heal if you hurt it.
2.) Glasses. This is the one piece of gear that can actually prevent you from having a crash -- getting blinded by a flying insect or a piece of rock or other debris in your eye is another sure way to get taken down in a crash.
3.) Gloves. Every cyclist falls from time to time. Every cyclist. The natural instinct is to try and catch yourself with your hands, and your gloves prevent the pavement from sanding all the hide off your palms. They also have a secondary advantage of cushioning your hands from the road vibrations coming up through the fork and the handlebars.

As you ride more, you'll figure out for yourself what you like best, and so what sort of bike and cycling-specific gear works best for you. Cycling shorts are a good early purchase -- as you'll soon find out, most of the padding is in the seat of your britches, not on your saddle ;-) It's hard to train on a bike if your hiney hurts all the time.

But yeah... the best thing is to go ride your bike, and things will start to work themselves out from there...

Tom

[Geonz]

And you might just sneak over to www.bikejournal.com and sign up (on Team Estrogen, of course!) ... and get a speedometer and log your rides and miles. On "calendar view" you'll be able to *see* when you're riding You can also record indoor miles from the bikes at the gym... so that p'raps in a month you can show that to hubby and say "time for shopping?"