My first ride

[Sainty]

Well, I finally did it, my first ride. I woke up early and decided to take the opportunity to get out whilst the roads were quiet, so all kitted up I set off for a quick blast.


One of the reasons that i have turned to cycling was because my recent attempts at running have left me with a sore Achilles. So as the bike is new to me, and I wasn't sure of my fitness I took the approach of going out for a few miles then turning round and coming straight back - nice and simple! I also was keen to see how achievable my commute of 10 miles is going to be.

So I managed 7.24 miles at an average speed of13.3 miles an hour. I did suffer a bit from getting all excited and going off too fast. The out leg was all about getting used to the bike, changing gears up/down the correct way (how many times did I get it wrong!!), finding a comfortable place on the road etc and took 18mins. The return leg was much easier, being more comfortable both on the bike and the road and took about 15 mins.

I'm not really stats crazy, but it's interesting to see how things improved. I might return to this route in a couple of months to see how it changes.

I'm going to have a couple more trips out before i try to do my commute but I'm hoping to be able to do the 10miles in about 45 minutes.

All good fun thought innit!

 

[Margy]

Hi Sainty,

I started out running at first. But it never felt as natural as riding a bike for me. I also injured myself through running. Cycling is so much more fun, plus it gets you to where you want to be faster.

 

[freecyclist]

I tried running but prefer cycling , more fun and easier to incorporate into the daily routine. Also easier than running.

 

[Sainty]

I guess it's as easy as you make it!

I do prefer the thought of actually getting more than a couple of miles away from home, which was all I could achieve when running.

 

[Sainty]

Well I managed to cycle the route home form work tonght, 9.5 miles in 38 mins - about 15mph. Didn't feel too bad from a fitness point of view, but felt great to be on the roads and riding. I'm doing the return route in the morning with a couple of (mini) climbs.

 

[chewy]

Think your being quiet sensible about your training, so just enjoy and push ever so slightly and its surprising how well you'll do.

Most of all enjoy!

 

[edindave]

Great to read this. You will progress really quickly on a bike with previous running fitness.
Are you on a road bike, mountain bike, what? 15mph is a very respectable commute speed.
I was amazed at how well my better half took to a bike - she has marathon runner's legs and they are serious machines. They take a lot easier to a bike than a cyclist takes to running anyway!

Anyway it's a great way of keeping up your fitness while your achilles recovers. Just beware you might get the bug for cycling!

 

[Tyke]

Sounds like you are at the start of the slippery slope to being a biker, it can be easier on the body than running but just (if not more addictive). Start logging the rides and you will soon start to see the small improvements that will give you the motive to go on.

 

[citybabe]

It's all about enjoying yourself that's the main thing.

The more you get out the easier it becomes without you realising it and you don't have to be going out far each time either

 

[Sainty]

Thanks for the comments. I'm definitely enjoying it.

I did the return trip to work this morning - which was harder. I'm blaming a couple of things, firstly that I'm just not used to being on the bike, so doing two trips in two days didn't give me time to recover. Secondly, my work is located about 90m above my home, so it was always going to be slower, add to that the the longest/hardest hills are close to work made it worse. Anyway, I did it in 45mins rather than 38 which was still just under 13mph. Hopefully this will improve when I get into it a bit.

I have to say that this forum has been a great resource. Being slightly anal about these things, I had bought and fitted a computer to the bike, based on what I had read here I tried to keep my cadence at about 75 -85, which seemed to work out well and was comfortable. Also I felt comfortable with my gears, as soon as I hit the hills, the chain went onto either the big or small cog at the front (depending on up or down hill). On the down hill I made the bike work and got the most from them as I could.

Anyway, thanks again.

 

[Mr Molby]

Hi there,

I've been cycling for 4 weeks now, i'm 40 years old, an Ex footballer...It's fair to say, i was completely unfit when i started..

I cycle Friday, Sat & Sunday, and have got out once during each of the 4 weeks...

On the 1st weekend - i managed to cycle 5 miles, each of the three days - my average speed was 13.2 - 13.4mph..

I've steadily improved my distance over the 4 weeks, this weekend i completed 13.5, 14.8 & 19.6 miles - but, my average speed continues to average around the 13 - 13.5 mark?

Maybe i'm being a little impatient, but i had sorta hoped i could've managed to increase my average speed? Is there anything you lads could suggest so i can improve my average speed?

The terrain i cycle on is a micture of flat and hills (nothing to steep) - I live in rural Northern Ireland..

It's fair to say, i've totally caught the cycle bug, i don't see myself rivalling Mark Cavendish anytime soon, but i want to keep improving and testing myself to the best i can be..

BTW - i've got a Trek 1.1

Your help and advice would be greatly appreciated..

Thanks

 

[Nebulous]

4 weeks is very early - and I would say you are doing the right thing by trying to get endurance / base fitness up first. You cannot really compare doing 5 miles at 13mph with doing nearly 20. A better measure of progress would be to go back to your 5 and do it as fast as you can - that will show your improvement, assuming similar wind, traffic conditions.

However to go faster you need to push harder - and learn to'feel' what going fast feels like. We tend to find a comfort zone and get used to it, but to get faster you have to determine to operate outside it. Start with doing a small bit of your ride as fast as you can, then build on it. Later on you can add in interval sessions.


I'm relatively new myself, but I have a bit of a speed obsession and one of my main goals is to be fast.

 

[Mr Molby]

Thanks for taking the time to answer me Nebulous

I'm going to have a go at my 5 mile circuit tomorrow evening ( light permitting !) and see how i get on...

Cheers