So long

[esther231]

I read many posts about going 50 miles, 100 miles, more. Mind boggling to me, the truth.

My goal is to go 25 miles. If I can get there, I'll be proud of myself. I only started biking again 1 month ago. The first rides were 2 - 3 miles. Then I made it to 5. I can go 10 now but I'm worn out by 10 miles. Well, at least today I am. We went on "C" terrain and, for me, we were trucking. That means about 13 - 14 miles on flats. I did get up to 20 on a downhill. Woowoooo!!!! lol

For those who were ever in my boat - starting again in their mid 50s - how long did it take? Why is it taking me so long? Am I being impatient? My thought was if I did this slowly, I'd have less of a chance of hurting myself. And I wanted to keep it fun. I'm just surprised that I still have to work to get through 10 miles. And I do. My breathing is okay but my muscles are tired after 10 miles. Is this normal? Should I be pushing harder? Or just keep adding a mile a week on my daily loop till I get to where I want to go?

[Crankin]

Esther, if your breathing is OK and your muscles are screaming, you might want to add in some strength training and stretching on your off days. Nothing major, even things you can do at home if you don't belong to a gym. Look on line or check out some books for some ideas. Were you doing some other type of fitness activity before? If not, it sounds like you are doing OK for someone who has only been riding for a month. You could try to add in another mile a week, or stick to your schedule and then try to do a longer ride on the weekend. Make sure you are resting and eating/drinking enough before and after you ride!

[Geonz]

One month???

It's not taking you that long. You're doing fine. You're going FIVE TIMES as far as you started with.

Some people jump in and take off - and usually when I talk to 'em, oh, by the way, they had been in spinning classes or they jogged 20 miles a week or they had been clinically hyperactive all their lives....

Do you feel stronger? Then it doesn't matter how fast you're going, it's worth it.

[Trek420]

esther, you are doing well! regardless of age you say you're only gotten back into cycling a month ago and you're doing 10 miles at a good clip?

keep it up, most important keep it fun, don't neglect the whole rest, recovery & nutrition thang. You'll do your 25 and more if you want.

Cycling is a multi-year sport building up a base and endless cycles of training and rest.

So keep it fun! I'm 50, started back in about 10 years ago and this year plan to do my 3rd 585 mile (in 7 days, not one day ) CA AIDS ride.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Wow, I can relate to all you said!
I used to ride bike as a kid, but then didn't get on one for 37 years!! Now I'm 52 years old.
I guess about 10 weeks ago I started riding again, on a loaner bike, and about a month ago I got my own bike. (woo-HOOO!)
Anyway... a year ago I was very out of shape (and had accumulated 30 pounds excess weight). I started walking, and over 10 months I lost 20 pounds and got a few muscles going. Then switched to biking these last 2 months and have been pushing myself quite a bit more. I've lost another 4 pounds (only about 6 more to go!) and am gaining more strength.
I bike maybe 3-8 miles a day on weekdays, and then about twice a week I'll go maybe 12 hilly miles in addition to that.
I get out of breath going up hills, I get sore and my muscles are really straining. But I do notice that each week there IS a small difference in my abilities to get up the steeper hills. A month ago there was a ride that really whipped me- and now it doesn't seem as bad. My butt doesnt hurt anymore in my saddle. I walked up a very steep hill today that I used to ALWAYS be out of breath on...and it didn't make me out of breath much at ALL this time!

So, after 10 weeks or so, my longest ride record is 23 miles so far. I'm proud of that, and I worked hard to get to that point! I also know that if I keep at it 25 miles will seem easy one day. Remember, it's the journey, not the destination. I feel so much more healthy and strong than I did months ago, and I really love my rides- and isn't that what really counts?

[Nanci]

Esther, I started road biking at 47. I started out at a higher mileage than you, 37 miles (and it killed me) but about a year and a half later was able to ride a still-mind-boggling-to-me 375 miles. Actually, when I was able to ride 124 miles (200k) 375 was still mind boggling. (And I am not some skinny little person, either- FAR from it!)

But- fitness/mileage seems to increase exponentially. The higher your mileage gets, the bigger steps you can take! It used to kill me to add on even five more miles in distance, and if a Century was even two miles further than 100 miles, I'd feel like I couldn't do it.

So yes, just add a mile to your loop once a week- make sure you read up about nutrition/electrolytes/hydration so you are prepared when you start going longer than an hour- and you'll get there!

13-14 on flats is the speed I ride a lot of the time. When I do a very long ride, that is my average. it's not too slow!!

Nanci

[Kathi]

I've been riding for years but maybe my recent experience will help.

I tore my ACL and MCL in Jan. My right leg was in a brace for 6 weeks to protect the MCL and help it heal. I rode my bike on the trainer 45-60 min. 5-6 days a week and did pt. After 6 weeks I had surgery to replace the ACL. I lost all the strength I had built up before surgery. My quad shunk to nothing, I had minimal strength but I was back on the trainer 9 days after surgery and riding outdoors 4 1/2 weeks after surgery.

However, I felt like a beginner again. At first, I couldn't ride more than an hour. I couldn't climb hills and had to drive to the park to ride (1.2 miles) because I couldn't walk or ride back up the hill near my house. I felt strong but if I pushed myself to much I be so worn out that I'd go home and take a nap. In early June I thought I was doing well so I did a 20 mile ride around a lake near Leadville, Co. There was a 3 mile climb and a 5 mile climb. I was able to climb easily but I was so tired at the end of the ride. The next day we did a 20 miler around Lake Dillion. I came home so tired that I couldn't get on the bike for 3 days. My PT said I had the cardio and strength for the climbing but not the muscle endurance.

To regain my endurance I rode 3 days a week for about 1 hr. and increased my time on Sat and Sun. I gradually increased the weekday ride to 2- 2 hr rides and 1-1 hr rides. My weekend rides increased to about 3 hours depending on how I felt.

About mid-July I no longer needed naps to recover and on longer rides I would feel tired but strong. I just finished a 400 mile tour, which I was very concerned about completing, and my longest day was 80 miles. I didn't dare attempt the century as I knew I wasn't ready for it. Because I trained carefully, listened to my body I was able to handle the long distances and most of the tough days in the wind.

My injury and recovery has taught me alot about myself, I went though a lot of frustration because I set my expectations to high. Muscle endurance was something I always took for granted and expected to be there and was surprised and frustrated when it wasn't. I learned that it takes patience, perservance and resisting the temptation to push yourself to hard to soon.

I'm still not completely recovered and won't be this season but I have 2 more tours planned, will ski and this winter and will be back on the bike in full form next year.

So my message is to give yourself time, ride frequently, if only for 1 hr at a time, stretch, nap if you need to. Challenge yourself with longer rides 1 day a week or so and you'll be amazed how your riding will progress.

Keep working and soon you will be bragging about your 1st century ride too!

[Kathi]

BTW, I'm 58, so age has little to do with it!

[Denise223]

Hi Esther!

It sounds to me like you are doing just fine!! Being able to ride 10 miles in only a month is fantastic ! And, 13 - 14 miles/hour on flats is great, too!
When you think of it, if you drive 10 miles, it really is pretty far, don't you think?

Everyone has given you some really good advice. I only started riding in June of this year so I'm new at this just like you.

I count miles, but I personally like to focus on 'how long I'm in the saddle & moving my legs'.

Do you bring a bottle or two of fluids with you? This is VERY important IMO.

You surely will get to your goal of 25 miles IF you keep riding ! Most of all, ENJOY!

Have a peaceful evening,

Denise

[Pedal Wench]

I've read that you should only increase your mileage by 10% a week. So, if you're riding 5 miles comfortably, the next week it increases by 1/2 a mile. However, that increases exponentially, so you'll really start to gain mileage quickly. Don't worry - it will happen.

[Fredwina]

I'll argree with everyone else here. give it time... you'll get there.

[bikerchic]

I think you are doing great. I remember like it was yesterday when I could actually ride 10 miles it was almost as exciting for me as finishing my first century ride.

You want to build a big base with miles and add to that base endurance by challenging yourself on hills and picking up your average speed by doing intervals. Well that's how I did it, years ago and I'm back at it after a couple of years off.

Now I'm doing good to do a 10 miler but the last one I did I felt pretty good after, not my usual tired self. It all takes time and mostly time ON the bike!

Hang in there you've gotten a lot of good advise and will do great I'm sure we'll be hearing stories about your first 100K soon!

[Bruno28]

Esther -
You're doing great!

Don't be discouraged - it's not taking you long. I'm 50 and have just started as well, having done really no exrecise prior to this. A few weeks ago I was struggling to do 4 miles but its amazing how quickly it builds up. I did 20 miles yesterday, pretty dead flat (nearly killed me!) but I'd never have thought I'd have made such big progress in a relatively short time. I'm going slower than you tho' - average 9mph. The important thing is to do what feels comfortable for you and enjoy it!
I was cycling along a canal towpath yesterday and when things were feeling grim I reminded myself to look at the scenery and relax - it's not a test!

There's some good advice on the thread 'Which gear?'. I was intially making it hard for my self by riding in too big a gear.

One of the most helpful peices of advice came from Geonz who said to get away from feeling like you are pedling up and down and think of it as peddling 'round and round'. This really helped me on my ride yesterday. It somehow makes it easier....not sure why.

[mimitabby]

Hey you did the hardest part, you got on the bike, and you continue to.

I have a couple suggestions for making your bike rides longer...
give yourself more time. If you've been giving yourself an hour, give yourself two!
or even a whole morning. You didn't say where you live, can you give yourself destinations?
Like you have to go to the library, or on a hot day; the Dairy Queen?
Ride your bike 4 miles to the park, get off, read a little while, watch the ducks,
after an hour, get back on, ride another 4 miles.. (or 10 and 10)

Your average on the flats is great, don't worry about it. I was going up a hill at less than 6mph
yesterday, so don't worry ab out your hill speed either.
And it took me more than 2 years to get to where i wanted to do more than a 5 mile ride
(i did longer ones, but they were miserable)
good luck

[Bad JuJu]

Ditto what everyone else said, and a question: are you spinning, I mean as much as possible, rather than trying to push hard gears? I only ask because you said your muscles get tired. If not, then try spinning lower gears and see how that feels. If you're already doing that, then, yes, just keep adding a mile or so whenever you ride and your distance will accumulate before you know it.

I think you're absolutely right about keeping it fun and do-able, so you'll continue to enjoy your rides and not injure yourself. Just keep at it--you're doing fine!

Try throwing in something fun--like Mimi's Dairy Queen ride idea--or even wacky once in a while. This morning my neighbor and I rode to the local Waffle House for breakfast--we wore our girly skorts and had a great time. Only 12 flat miles total, but fun fun fun!