Extreme Newbie from Chorley

[Bird]

Hi

I live in Chorley, Lancashire, and I'm very new to cycling, well I rode as a child obviously but haven't ridden properly since I was about 12 (I'm 28 now). The main reason I've bought a bike is to go riding with my son, he's 9 and I was tired of him riding off into the distance whilst I tried to jog to keep up. Also, my bum decreasing in size wouldn't be such a bad thing either, so would be good to increase my fitness/lose weight.

I won't be commuting on it, or doing any great distances I don't think...I've been unable to even leave my estate until today as I just couldn't get up the hills in the wind So I'd turn the bike round and just cycle in laps around my house, I felt a little trapped...but today I broke free Think I did about 10 miles, up from about two. Go me.

The main problem I'm having is I literally don't know anything...what do I wear? Which gear should I be in? What should I be carrying with me? Should my bum hurt this much? Which gear is easier, the bigger cog or the smaller one? Am I supposed to be freewheeling down hills? How can I go faster without the fear of me coming off and having terrible gravel rash? Where do I cycle? What happens if I get a puncture? Should I be braking this much?

etc etc...I'm in cycling turmoil!

Hopefully with time I can find the answers to some of these questions, think I should buy a beginner's guide or something (do they sell them for people as dumb as me??)

I ride a motorbike as well, and I'm used to having a lot of leather, armour and a full-face helmet protecting me, I feel very vulnerable with bare skin showing (gravel rash, eeep), and the midges in my face/eyes very annoying

Speak to some of you soon hopefully

Bird

 

[Hacienda71]

Hello

Don't worry we all start somewhere. There are lots of threads on the site re clothing types to wear etc. In the first instance just wear some sports clothing that you feel comfortable in you can upgrade when you know what type of riding you like. There are different types for different types of cycling.
Yes your behind is likely to hurt if you are not used to riding but it will get used to it soon.
Basic tips:
Wear eye protection to keep midges and the like out of your eyes.
Take a drink with you especially if it is hot.
Take a spare inner tube tyre levers and a pump just in case if you are a few miles from home.
Take a phone with you.

Ask questions on here if you are unsure about anything

 

[funnymummy]

Hello Bird

Ask questions on here if you are unsure about anything

You 'll get some good advice on here - And remeber there is no such thing as a stupid question, we were all uncertain newbies once upon a time

 

[Bird]

Hello

Don't worry we all start somewhere. There are lots of threads on the site re clothing types to wear etc. In the first instance just wear some sports clothing that you feel comfortable in you can upgrade when you know what type of riding you like. There are different types for different types of cycling.
Yes your behind is likely to hurt if you are not used to riding but it will get used to it soon.
Basic tips:
Wear eye protection to keep midges and the like out of your eyes.
Take a drink with you especially if it is hot.
Take a spare inner tube tyre levers and a pump just in case if you are a few miles from home.
Take a phone with you.

Ask questions on here if you are unsure about anything

Thanks for your reply Yeah, I've just been wearing gym clothes but I noticed my trouser leg was flapping around a bit, perilously close to the...cogs attached to the pedals (? I have no idea lol) and I was going to tuck my pant leg into my sock, but thought it would look a bit chavvy. Need to get some leggings or something!

I wear glasses, but they weren't keeping the midges out. Don't really want to go without prescription lenses...shame my prescription swimming goggles are broken

I've been taking a ruck sack with a drink, phone, money, lock and pump with me, so not too bad but don't have inner tubes or levers - only problem is I wouldn't know what to do with these even if I carried them, but could use my feminine whiles I guess if I get stuck

 

[Bird]

Hello Bird


You 'll get some good advice on here - And remeber there is no such thing as a stupid question, we were all uncertain newbies once upon a time

I know, and I'm fairly new to motorbiking as well, and I remember how that felt when I was starting out! People can't understand why I feel more nervous about being on a bicycle over a motorbike, but it's just because it's all new, and I don't feel very well protected, plus I can't call for recovery if I get stuck somewhere so it's a bit frightening!

 

[skudupnorth]

Another Northerner ! Welcome to the site Chorley is a good base for some good rides.....Rivington,cough ! You are not too far from the canal which is nice and flat and can get you down our way or towards Preston.If i'm in a rush i blat past yours on the A6 which can be a bit lary but if you keeps your wits about you then all is good.
Ask away,we will help you out.
My clothes choice is pretty casual,i don't do padded lycra,just shorts,t-shirt and fingerless gloves in summer and grown up cycle trousers and warm gloves,cycle jacket and seal skinz socks in winter.....oh and a helmet when doing battle on the commute but let my hair down on pleasure rides and go head naked !

 

[Bird]

Another Northerner ! Welcome to the site Chorley is a good base for some good rides.....Rivington,cough ! You are not too far from the canal which is nice and flat and can get you down our way or towards Preston.If i'm in a rush i blat past yours on the A6 which can be a bit lary but if you keeps your wits about you then all is good.
Ask away,we will help you out.
My clothes choice is pretty casual,i don't do padded lycra,just shorts,t-shirt and fingerless gloves in summer and grown up cycle trousers and warm gloves,cycle jacket and seal skinz socks in winter.....oh and a helmet when doing battle on the commute but let my hair down on pleasure rides and go head naked !

Ey up I would go round Rivington on the motorbike, but I can't even handle a 0.5% incline at the moment so that's just a pipe dream Also, riding on the road frightens me! I'm sticking to dedicated cycle paths (on pavements) and Cuerden Valley, but I ventured on the A6 today (because I had to) and it was horrible! Feel so vulnerable, and no wing mirrors?? So how can you see behind you, I feel blind! I stopped behind a van that was blocking the cycle path as I didn't dare just overtake it in case a car ran me over I'm really lucky that I live on a new housing estate with dedicated cycle paths (pavement ones, do they have a name??) so I don't have to go on the road much unless I venture further out.

My son had a bad off on his bike last weekend, was partly my fault as I shouted "Get some speed up, son!" when we were on a straight and he ended up losing control and went flying He was OK but his helmet was scuffed and it's put the frighteners up me now so I won't go out without a helmet now! Would rather go the whole hog and put my full-face one on, but think I would overheat

 

[skudupnorth]

Rivi can hurt if you have not been on a bike (pedal powered version) but fitness will come in time.Hope your son has not been put off from riding after the accident,my little darlings have had a few dings but they get on with it !
You will proberly know as well as any that motorists are a tad un-forgiving from your motorcycling but don't let the bar-stewards get you down !
Hope we can all be of help

 

[rusty bearing]

'I'm really lucky that I live on a new housing estate with dedicated cycle paths (pavement ones, do they have a name??) so I don't have to go on the road much unless I venture further out.'

You must live on Buckshaw then? There's a fairly decent cafe at Delph Dive Center on the far side of Eccleston, mostly on quiet lanes apart from through Euxton itself. If you join your cycle paths up with the canal you can get to Adlington Marina where there's, yes, another good cafe.

Just persevere and everything works itself out, confidence in traffic is something that builds slowly, Mrs Bearing for example still hates busy roads and she's cycled for many years. I usually entice her with visions of cake and mugs of tea which is why we know all the quiet roads and cafes round Chorley.

 

[Andy_R]

Have a look on the CTC website for local National Standards Instructors who will hopefully give you coping skills for on-road cycling designed around what you want.

http://www.ctc-maps.org.uk/training/

Like any other type of road vehicle, as a cyclist it's always useful to get some sort of training/mentoring, be it from NS Instructors or seasoned road riders. As a biker, a lot of what you already know about road positioning and visibility applies as a cyclist. (Especially at junctions!)

btw if your son's helmet has been in an "incident" then replace it....they're "one time only" items.

 

[coffeejo]

Hello and

Fitness and confidence come with time. The more you do, the quicker it'll happen. Just focus on enjoying yourself and let the rest take care of itself.

I don't do particularly long rides (20-25 max) and I'm certainly not the fastest thing on two wheels, so can mainly be seen in a regular tshirt and cut off denim shorts, but I have come to realise that a pair of proper shorts will be required should I up the mileage.

As for gears - experiment and see what works best for you. And keep experimenting as your fitness increases as your riding style will change. Which is what I was told when I started in January, poo-pooed and lo and behold, five months later and it has!

As for downhills, my preferred method is to take my feet off the pedals, stick 'em out sideways and shout WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE as I coast down the hill

 

[fimm]

The main problem I'm having is I literally don't know anything...what do I wear?

As has already been said, any sort of sports gear is fine. Narrow leggings won't flap and get near the chain.
I think your bum should start hurting less as you get used to cycling.

Which gear is easier, the bigger cog or the smaller one?

On the front (ie where the pedals are) the smaller cog is easier. On the back wheel, it gets easier as the cogs get bigger. Don't ask me to explain why...
Choose the gear that suits you at the time... which depends on a bunch of stuff, including whether you are going up of down hill, or, for example, stopping and starting in traffic. There's a technical term, "cadence", which just means the rate at which your pedals are going round. You want to aim for what is probably a higher cadence than you think - your legs want to move faster than they do when you walk. This usually means that you should drop into an easier gear than you think
Freewheeling down hills means you get a rest and some free speed. Some people pedal downhill if they want to go really fast. The most annoying thing is when the wind is blowing up the hill and you have to pedal to keep moving!
Keep cycling, go at a speed you are comfortable with, and you will get more confident. To start with when I got my road bike I was really nervous, and now I can quite happily hoof it down a hill at 30mph+

Where do I cycle?

Road or cycle path. Please don't cycle on a pavement which isn't a shared use cycle path - it annoys pedestrians and gives all of us cyclists a bad name.

What happens if I get a puncture?

Get a spare inner tube or two and some tyre levers and learn how to replace the inner tube. I would guess that there will be videos on YouTube! Take the wheel off your bike and have a go sometime - it is worth having practised before you have to do it in anger (when it will be raining and you will be late for something...)

Should I be braking this much?

Possibly not - I think the idea is to go along at a steady speed and just ease off the pedals to start with if there's something to be aware of. Again this will come with practice.

Hopefully with time I can find the answers to some of these questions, think I should buy a beginner's guide or something (do they sell them for people as dumb as me??)

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Cyclecraft yet.

 

[fimm]

Oh, and I forgot to say Welcome to Cyclechat!

 

[mcshroom]

Hi Bird and

Well done on breaking free, getting up a hill for the first time is always satisfying and 10 miles is no small distance
It's not a race, just ride along at a pace you feel happy with, stop if you need to and push the bike up the hills if you can't ride up them. There's very few on here who never have to push up hills. If you have a hill that you ride a lot and it keeps defeating you then try to set targets, say the next driveway or lamp post, and each time try and get a little further than the time before.

What to wear is basically what you feel comfortable in. I've found that those slap-wrap things work well on flappy trousers for keep them out of the chain rings.

There's a good bit about riding in traffic in Jonny Jeez's Guide for new commuters - link

I'll also add, the normal way to watch cars is to look over your shoulder, in the same way as you do before a manoeuvre on the motorbike. This takes a little practice to feel comfortable, so it may be worth trying it in a park or car park where it's quiet, riding along and balancing while looking over your shoulder.

Basically though just go out and have fun on the bike, and you'll be surprised how quickly you improve

 

[Adam Riding]

Hello fellow Chorley...ean! I'm pretty new to cycling too so all I can do is wish you luck and advise you to cycle round Anglezarke and Rivinton as I'm sure you know its beautiful!