Newbie weekly achievement thread

[KatzPajamas]

tbl35...way off topic, but your little cat in your avatar looks just like our cat Howie! CUTE!

[ShubieGA]

Have been back on my bike for the 1st time in 2 years (med stuff) during the last 3 weeks. Back upto 15 miles. 20 next!

[Dr.Doo]

WooHoo ShubieGA...happy pedaling now that you're back in the saddle.

[MojoGrrl]

This weekend I rode the entire loop around Lake Tahoe (almost 75 miles!!), longest ride so far! I also had the new experiences of dealing with a lot of bad car traffic (sharing narrow roads with stop and go traffic, most of whom were not paying attention to the cyclists), horrible road conditions (caught my front wheel in a rut and almost ate s***), lots of terrible, steep, and endless hills that I wanted to give up on, and some scary descents including the freeway (down Hwy 50, 40 mph with traffic whizzing by me). But I DID IT!

I also learned that the saddle on my new bike (Fizik Antares) is NOT a good fit for my lady parts and I am saddle shopping today for something better...too bad because it is a very nice (and expensive) brand new saddle. Guess I will have to sell it.

[Juliegoddess]

Congratulations! I am SO far from doing this, but I can do lots of stuff with my left hand off the bars, less with my right hand. Currently I am ok with that

That's where I'm at, too! I just can't seem to get the guts to really let go with both hands. I usually keep my right hand on the bike, and do as much as I can with my left. I think that's why my shirt is always hiked up on my right side and not on my left!

[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*

[hebe]

Welcom Jiten, and enjoy riding! I'm coming up to a year now and it's the best thing I ever did. I still mess up occasionally but I don't worry so much about that any more.

I can take one hand at a time off, to indicate or wipe my nose. My local discounter has unicycles in last week, and I was mildly interested until I realised that they had no handlebars.

No riding here since holiday Weather grim and too much to do. I really want to do a 10 mile ride before my ride-i-versary in a couple of weeks too.

[Jiten]

Welcom Jiten, and enjoy riding! I'm coming up to a year now and it's the best thing I ever did. I still mess up occasionally but I don't worry so much about that any more.

I can take one hand at a time off, to indicate or wipe my nose. My local discounter has unicycles in last week, and I was mildly interested until I realised that they had no handlebars.

No riding here since holiday Weather grim and too much to do. I really want to do a 10 mile ride before my ride-i-versary in a couple of weeks too.

Thanks for the welcome, hebe. I hope you find the time and good weather to get in your 10-miler.

[Rockyroad]

Hey gals Well, I'm almost complete with my fixie build. It's going to be awesome. I'm eager to surpass my current biking stamina.

[hebe]

Hey gals Well, I'm almost complete with my fixie build. It's going to be awesome. I'm eager to surpass my current biking stamina.

woo hoo! And welcome

[Owlie]

Welcome to TE, Rocky Road!

Congratulations! I am SO far from doing this, but I can do lots of stuff with my left hand off the bars, less with my right hand. Currently I am ok with that

I think proper fit and saddle makes so much difference where this is concerned - as comfy as my LHT is, there are things I can do on my Gunnar that I just wouldn't do with my cushy tank.

Poor cushy tank, she hasn't been ridden in so long.... sniff... Plum Blossom is just so much more comfortable than Ms. Explorer - and that is saying a great deal as the LHT is quite comfy.

Oh, it's only one at a time (I'm far too chicken to ride no-hands on my roadie...I was too chicken to try it on the bike I had as a kid!), and I can really only do it while coasting within certain speeds, but I can do it long enough to shake my wrists out and signal. I'm still working on brushing strands of hair out of my face and the like.

You should take your LHT out for a bit so she doesn't get jealous.

[blue_angel]

Hey gals Well, I'm almost complete with my fixie build. It's going to be awesome. I'm eager to surpass my current biking stamina.

Don't forget to post pictures and a description in the Fixed Gear Gallery!

[Bike Writer]

About the handed thing...last year when I got back into riding I did not think I would ever be taking my hands off the bars, not even one. A friend I rode with would remove her water bottle, drink and put it back, all while riding and pedaling along and I was in awe.

This year, no problem. I prefer keeping my left hand on the bar and am stronger with that one one but in a pinch, either will do. No hands Not yet. As a kid and teenager I rode no handed all the time and recall once riding for over a mile no handed just because I wanted to see if I could do it. No problem. Young = invincible, older = scaredy cat. About some stuff anyway...

[hansbrea]

Hello, ladies. I am so glad to find this forum, too. I have tried a few others and there was a lot of bashing on them and didn't seem to be many woman. Plus, they were all super competitive. Since I am a newbie and just starting again this particular thread seems to fit me so well. I do see there is a mix of long range riders in here, too. I'm guessing you started out as a newbie?

I started riding again 2 weeks ago. I wanted to ride races when I was a teenager but never got any support from my parents so I didn't do it. To ride in a bike race is on my bucket list before I die. A SIL is starting triathalons and somehow I got in the mood to try a race, too. My first race, and only this year probably, is next weekend. Yup, three weeks after I start. I would like to do one later but there isn't one so this is it. This one is perfect as it is a fun ride for a cause so not too stressful.

The ride I am doing is 15 miles and so far the farthest I have gone is 10 miles. I did that last night and came home and felt like I could easily go do more except it was dark. Obviously I'm not pushing myself hard enough? The first one I did two weeks ago of 6 miles was killer so I find it odd that I can already do 10 fine.

My goal is to lose weight and have fun. We're toying with adding to our family again so I'm not going to get too serious right now even though I'd like to. I'm hoping all the exercise will get me in better shape for babycakes. Tomorrow I am hoping I can go a longer ride since it is DH's day off.

Thanks for reading my yappy post and I'm looking forward to visiting with other lady cyclers.