so this cycling lark then ...
Discussion
paul_y3k said:
hmm thanks guys, interesting about the warming up as I do find it difficult to pace myself and go charging up through the gears ....
based in Swindon, but trails etc are for when we get a lot more confident ! Can't see myself ever plunging down a downhill circuit (never mastered bunny hopping as a kid )
happy to be aiming for the 30 miles at the moment
Firstly, well done on getting out the door, that's the biggest hurdle in itself....build up gradually and in no time the distance will increase, as will your motivation to push further.based in Swindon, but trails etc are for when we get a lot more confident ! Can't see myself ever plunging down a downhill circuit (never mastered bunny hopping as a kid )
happy to be aiming for the 30 miles at the moment
Regarding the downhill comment, this was me the weekend before last in Morzine on £7ks worth of Santa Cruz, so anything is possible!
Thanks for all the advice and information, has helped to keep me motivated.
Off out tonight for an 8 miler - so will try and keep to the lower gears.
We do the same route each time at the moment, the idea being we'll notice the fitness kicking in as the same route gets easier. I have a marker where my legs generally go (under a bridge) and so logically as I get fitter, the marker should move out from there
Not buying any kit tho, that looks a dangerous path !
Off out tonight for an 8 miler - so will try and keep to the lower gears.
We do the same route each time at the moment, the idea being we'll notice the fitness kicking in as the same route gets easier. I have a marker where my legs generally go (under a bridge) and so logically as I get fitter, the marker should move out from there
Not buying any kit tho, that looks a dangerous path !
I couldn't spot what sort of riding you're doing. If you are on the road then get some road tyres - the knobbly tyres you get with many MTB-style bikes cause a lot of drag which will make life harder. Also, make sure your tyres are well pumped up - I see loads of people cycling around with near flat tyres which also makes life harder.
Good luck!
Good luck!
paul_y3k said:
We do the same route each time at the moment, the idea being we'll notice the fitness kicking in as the same route gets easier.
It never gets easier, you just get faster. 
(The above is a much quoted "rule", and whilst these rules should be taken reasonably lightly, there is an element of truth in many of them. This is one of them.)
louiebaby said:
It never gets easier, you just get faster. (The above is a much quoted "rule", and whilst these rules should be taken reasonably lightly, there is an element of truth in many of them. This is one of them.)
Now (still on an MTB mind) I'm up to 15 miles and I'm still as knackered after that hour.
ok .. so the 8 miler was delayed by an evening due to my son having a car accident (all ok now though), which meant that we did it last night.
So checked saddle height, and it was pretty spot on, pumped tyres back up to 'rock hard' and off we went.
Rather than do my usual, changing up through the gears till my usual gear of 16 (24 spd bike) I took the advice and kept the gears lower - only by a few, 14th but enough to start noticing that I needed to peddle faster to keep going, rather than changing up.
Not sure if it was in the mind, but my legs didn't go out as soon as on prev rides - and I was a lot more blowy than before. This morning, my legs feel a lot more used as well. Strava also shows that the ride was slower by comparison.
Wife has now ordered two cycle jerseys for herself (in pink !), a bum bag for her essentials and a new water bottle - there is talk of cycling glasses as well as she's fed up of the fly's !
from an expenses point of view I'm quite happy with the small spend ! We've also got a guy coming out tonight to service both bikes.
fun fun fun !
So checked saddle height, and it was pretty spot on, pumped tyres back up to 'rock hard' and off we went.
Rather than do my usual, changing up through the gears till my usual gear of 16 (24 spd bike) I took the advice and kept the gears lower - only by a few, 14th but enough to start noticing that I needed to peddle faster to keep going, rather than changing up.
Not sure if it was in the mind, but my legs didn't go out as soon as on prev rides - and I was a lot more blowy than before. This morning, my legs feel a lot more used as well. Strava also shows that the ride was slower by comparison.
Wife has now ordered two cycle jerseys for herself (in pink !), a bum bag for her essentials and a new water bottle - there is talk of cycling glasses as well as she's fed up of the fly's !
from an expenses point of view I'm quite happy with the small spend ! We've also got a guy coming out tonight to service both bikes.
fun fun fun !
Keep it up. I started last year at 50 a fat bloke in a thin body, smoked and drank for Britain.I got breathless walking up hills. When I started cycling I would come home and collapse on the bed after 5 miles. I now cycle 30 miles ,a few days a week. My legs and lungs still burst on what others would call slopes but I'm improving.
Excellent work, keep at it. Sounds like you're both really getting into it; wish my Mrs wanted to come out on the bike with me! Glad your boy's okay.
Sounds like the pacing was good - perhaps you can go longer next time out? You shouldn't need to worry about fuel until your rides last over an hour - up to this point your body will be running on pre-stored glycogen and at the very least you'll have around 1500 calories worth. No disrespect intended, but the previous suggestions from other posters that your 6 mile lull was down to fueling were misinformed.
The feeling "more blowy" is due to you shifting some strain off your legs and onto your cardiovascular system as previously mentioned. Long term this is what's going to make you fitter, and as a result allow you to ride faster for longer. There's only so much work your legs can do on their own!
I remember when I started cycling again almost two years ago, I bought a hybrid as a starter bike. At the time, I remember thinking that I'd know when my fitness/strength was starting to improve because I'd naturally start wanting to use bigger gears to increase speed on the flats.
2 years on, now a triathlete and occasional racer, I sometimes jump back on the old hybrid if I need to nip to the shop or something. I use exactly the same gear as I did when I was starting off, it's just that now I spin it at 95rpm, as opposed to 60.
Sounds like the pacing was good - perhaps you can go longer next time out? You shouldn't need to worry about fuel until your rides last over an hour - up to this point your body will be running on pre-stored glycogen and at the very least you'll have around 1500 calories worth. No disrespect intended, but the previous suggestions from other posters that your 6 mile lull was down to fueling were misinformed.
The feeling "more blowy" is due to you shifting some strain off your legs and onto your cardiovascular system as previously mentioned. Long term this is what's going to make you fitter, and as a result allow you to ride faster for longer. There's only so much work your legs can do on their own!
I remember when I started cycling again almost two years ago, I bought a hybrid as a starter bike. At the time, I remember thinking that I'd know when my fitness/strength was starting to improve because I'd naturally start wanting to use bigger gears to increase speed on the flats.
2 years on, now a triathlete and occasional racer, I sometimes jump back on the old hybrid if I need to nip to the shop or something. I use exactly the same gear as I did when I was starting off, it's just that now I spin it at 95rpm, as opposed to 60.
How do you people cool down? Unfortunately I live at the top of a hill and don't have a turbo.
I did about 40 miles yesterday and my legs are still like jelly, 30 hours later.
Age is also against me, and I tend to dehydrate quickly, even with regular drink stops, it was 30degC yesterday.
I did about 40 miles yesterday and my legs are still like jelly, 30 hours later.
Age is also against me, and I tend to dehydrate quickly, even with regular drink stops, it was 30degC yesterday.
rdjohn said:
How do you people cool down? Unfortunately I live at the top of a hill and don't have a turbo.
I did about 40 miles yesterday and my legs are still like jelly, 30 hours later.
Age is also against me, and I tend to dehydrate quickly, even with regular drink stops, it was 30degC yesterday.
Make sure you have a recovery drink when you get back. You have a couple of options for this - you could buy something hideously expensive from Wiggle or a health food store, or (and this is my option) you could have a pint of Nesquik with semi-skimmed milk. I tend to put a pinch of salt in as well because I sweat like a 1970s TV personality receiving an unexpected late-night knock at the door.I did about 40 miles yesterday and my legs are still like jelly, 30 hours later.
Age is also against me, and I tend to dehydrate quickly, even with regular drink stops, it was 30degC yesterday.
Good work OP, starting out and getting it into your routine is the hardest bit! I've found that getting out and exploring the local area on my bike is much better than staring at a TV screen at the gym. The routes that I was considering a big ride out when I first got my bike a few years ago are now my regular "easy" routes and I sail straight past all the places I used to stop for a breather.
For hydration, I find the little and often approch works well, so drink on the move.
rdjohn said:
How do you people cool down? Unfortunately I live at the top of a hill and don't have a turbo.
I did about 40 miles yesterday and my legs are still like jelly, 30 hours later.
Age is also against me, and I tend to dehydrate quickly, even with regular drink stops, it was 30degC yesterday.
Most of my routes finish with the same bit of trail, which is about 1/2 a mile from my house, so after that trail I push an easy gear to get home, then stretch, then have a recovery drink, usually some chocolate milk, rather than anything expensive.I did about 40 miles yesterday and my legs are still like jelly, 30 hours later.
Age is also against me, and I tend to dehydrate quickly, even with regular drink stops, it was 30degC yesterday.
For hydration, I find the little and often approch works well, so drink on the move.
rdjohn said:
How do you people cool down? Unfortunately I live at the top of a hill and don't have a turbo.
I did about 40 miles yesterday and my legs are still like jelly, 30 hours later.
Age is also against me, and I tend to dehydrate quickly, even with regular drink stops, it was 30degC yesterday.
That just comes with fitness. I too live at the top of a bit of hill (I've the option of 1 mile at 4% or ½ mile at 9% depending on which way I go into the village) and I used to round the corner into my drive absolutely knackered and sweating whether I'd done 5 miles or 50.I did about 40 miles yesterday and my legs are still like jelly, 30 hours later.
Age is also against me, and I tend to dehydrate quickly, even with regular drink stops, it was 30degC yesterday.
Now I can roll in after any length of ride and not be hot or exhausted. I rarely cane it back to the house (unless I'm due to be shouted at for being out too long
) and my legs may be a bit weary if it's been 70+ miles, but cooling down isn't a problem.richardxjr said:
rdjohn said:
Age is also against me
Doesn't apply to bike riding unless you're 80+OK, if you're a late starter you'll take longer to shorten your recovery times, but that's fitness as above.
loudlashadjuster said:
richardxjr said:
rdjohn said:
Age is also against me
Doesn't apply to bike riding unless you're 80+OK, if you're a late starter you'll take longer to shorten your recovery times, but that's fitness as above.
...Although undoing years of not doing exercise does take time!
rdjohn said:
How do you people cool down? Unfortunately I live at the top of a hill and don't have a turbo.
I did about 40 miles yesterday and my legs are still like jelly, 30 hours later.
Age is also against me, and I tend to dehydrate quickly, even with regular drink stops, it was 30degC yesterday.
So I did the same ride yesterday. It was 10 degC cooler, I kept spinning as suggested, had isodrink and high protein meal when I got home.I did about 40 miles yesterday and my legs are still like jelly, 30 hours later.
Age is also against me, and I tend to dehydrate quickly, even with regular drink stops, it was 30degC yesterday.
Legs feel fine today, but I think dehydration was the real problem last week.
Rodger, I was in Breze on Sunday for the walk, moutain bike and road bike rando, didn't know you were there or a cyclist.
Do you participate?
I find that cycling here in France it's important to hydrate, I use High 5 tablets and find that 2/3 litres of water no problem, plain water just lays in my stomach after a while. Post ride I have a Recovery shake which is high in protein and legs feel better quicker for it. As for cooling off its a shower or jump in the pool. I've just ordered a base layer which is supposed to help with moisture transfer to make you feel more comfortable, I'll see if it works.
Next time I'm in Breze I'll look out for you, next Sunday's ride is just south of Tours we don't mind an hours drive to different areas it's all interesting. Took us 45 mins to Breze from Le Lude, Sunday morning traffic.
Do you participate?
I find that cycling here in France it's important to hydrate, I use High 5 tablets and find that 2/3 litres of water no problem, plain water just lays in my stomach after a while. Post ride I have a Recovery shake which is high in protein and legs feel better quicker for it. As for cooling off its a shower or jump in the pool. I've just ordered a base layer which is supposed to help with moisture transfer to make you feel more comfortable, I'll see if it works.
Next time I'm in Breze I'll look out for you, next Sunday's ride is just south of Tours we don't mind an hours drive to different areas it's all interesting. Took us 45 mins to Breze from Le Lude, Sunday morning traffic.
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