Cycling, huh?

[Brittany]

Thought I'd finally sign up on a forum for cycling. It seems frequently that I have an issue that I need to discuss with others, but don't seem to get around to doing. So I'll start here and make my introduction.

Hi!

My name is Brittany. I'm a 19 year old student from the South of England. I ride pretty much everywhere, normally covering 30-40 miles per week on my bike.

I love cycling, and I'm in good shape from all the cycling I've done in the last year. Most of the time, I'm a bit more speedy than the majority of road cyclists I see, but my uphill technique is absolutely awful. (This is exemplary when I follow somebody who is clearly experienced, as I'm normally able to keep close til they head uphill.) I'd love to learn to train this.

I'm inexperienced as a road user in general, so I occasionally make mistakes. And of course, I am often the subject of 'mistakes' fellow road users make. I also struggle with eyesight issues when it comes to colour. Generally, this is of no issue at all, until ambulances pass, at which point I am practically blind as to their signals. I'd love to figure out a bit more about keeping myself away from harm through my own actions and preempting those of others.

Among my plans are a two day cycle to cover 150 miles in December and an eventual marathon once I have trained enough. My routes are undecided.

Nice to meet you all. Hope you're all having a nice day.

 

[skudupnorth]

Welcome to the site Brittany,i am sure you will get all the help you need off the gang on here so do not feel shy to ask questions,we are all friendly and some are even sane

 

[snorri]

Hi Brittany, welcome, 'fraid I can't offer advice on hill climbing, something I strive to avoid, but regarding "inexperieced as a roaduser", you might find this book helpful http://www.cyclecraft.co.uk/
Friendly tip, keep clear of helmet discussion threads on CC until you get into the swing , these can be a bit robust at times.

 

[Shaun]

Welcome Brittany.

 

[ianjmcd]

welcome to the forum brittany if you google "uphill training techniques" there is quite a bit of info out there

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Hello! I struggled for hills for a long time, then I realised that here in Suffolk we don't have many hills, I'm just really unfit!

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Not suggesting you're unfit of course

 

[paul04]

Welcome to the website Brittany

 

[Pat "5mph"]

to cycle chat, Brittany, you will find a lot of great cycling tips here!

 

[Eribiste]

Hello Brittany, welcome to the forum.
Your regular riding will pay dividends in cycle fitness, which is not the same as general fitness. In my experience, and at my older age, the gains take a while to show though, especially on hills, so you'll need some patience. Have you got a more experienced chum that could ride with and watch your technique on the climbs? One of the many bits of discipline in good technique is to try to maintain a 'quiet' upper body. When I watch some folks riding uphills, they're working really hard to go fairly slowly, and you can see they're working hard because head, shoulders, upper torso are all moving from side to side, which is sapping the energy that should be being directed to the legs.
On the other hand, when the lycra louts come barrelling past me on uphills, it all looks calm and unhurried, but damned difficult to keep up with!

You stick with it, you'll get better and better as the miles clock up. Enjoy yourself. Oh. and take fluids and make sure you have a banana or some other energy booster to keep you going too.

 

[Saluki]

Hi & Welcome to the forums.
I too am really pants at hills, so I moved home to Norfolk Best plan ever.

Hills do take a bit of practice though. You haven't said what sort of bike you have. Getting up hills a way easier on a road bike or a mountain bike compared to one of those gorgeous sit up and beg Dutch bikes.

 

[Dangermouse]

Brittany, I live in Lincs so not much to offer on hill climbing tecnique

 

[Brittany]

Hey everyone. Cheers for the friendly replies, much appreciated.

I had a few general questions so I'll give them a quick answer here:

I ride a basic road bike. A Mizani Aero Sprint. It's super cheap. I'm 174cm tall, but the bike with a 56cm frame might be a bit too much for me, I find myself leaning forward uncomfortably to hit the brakes so I sometimes neglect holding onto the brakes when I'm in familiar, safe settings. The cheap quality shows in the gear, brakes, and tires. I've already had one fall, nothing major, and one 'slip' in one month riding, but I'm going to put that more down to the tires not being great with a path that is full of students who are more interested in the phone in their hands than the cyclists constantly passing through, to avoid dabbling with the deadly 50mph road alternative. The gears are also pretty messed up. They like to make loud clicking noises when I go into a lower increment. A shame I suppose.

I'll definitely take a look at Cyclecraft. Hope it's full of good resources. I'm generally a relatively safe rider. I'm sure I could be better, but I'm not exactly so well equipped. I have my lights and I always use my helmet (I don't see why not.).

I keep my bike in good care. I give it a good clean once a month and spray the brake-lines, chain and gear with a lubricating and rust-proofing oil. It does the trick.

My old route for uphill was a 25-30deg road that lasted about 100 meters. Last year when I first started trying that, I got about 20% up (since the roads before are incredibly steep incline too). And by about 3 months in, doing that 5 times a week, I ended up making it all the way up, with my lungs screaming. I think with my new bike, and my general fitness, if I went back, I'd probably be able to do that road again. It's an absolutely insane road to do.

 

[mrandmrspoves]

Sounds like your gears just need a little adjustment.. easy to do and lots of guidance and advice for free here. To sort your gears..put gear lever into position of highest gear (smallest rear cog) and ensure chain moves to this cog. Now look at the cable and above the derailleur there will be a barrel adjuster. Screw this anti clockwise until it just starts to take the slack out of the inner gear cable.... that will probably be all it needs - before you ride it just check that the derailleur does not go too far towards the spokes when you move it to the lowest gear. No tools needed for the above. If this doesn't work, post a question in the how to section and more help will be forthcoming..... Oh BTW welcome!

 

[cyberknight]

Welcome to CC !
When you say leaning forward uncomfortably to hit the brakes do you mean the brake levers feel to far away ?
If so maybe you could get a shorter stem, is 174 cm about 5 foot 8 " ? i reckon if so the bike could be a bit big for you but its hard to tell without seeing a piccie of you on the bike .
This is a good site for bike fit ..
http://www.jimlangley.net/crank/bikefit.html
Have you got a good pump with a gauge? many people use a road bike and do not pump the tyres up enough , 90 -110 psi is an average depending on your tyres and you cant get that high with a mini pump.You really need a track pump at home to keep them topped up and carry a small pump as a get me home pump if you have a flat .
Carry a couple of inner tubes, tyre levers, pump, mini tool( or spanner as well if your wheels have nuts instead of quick release) as a minimum and practise changing an inner tube at home because you can put money on it happening on the road in less than perfect conditions and trying to repair a puncture is a lot less fun in the rain than at home .
If your planning to ride long distances there are plenty of "sportives" and sky rides throughout the year that have distances from 10 right up to 60 or even 100 miles .
Most of all enjoy it !!