Oh! My aching legs!

[Jeffrey4670]

Been around 6 weeks of biking and recently found this forum very useful. Since last week after adjusting the seat, I have have noticed an improvement in my performance. Getting my head around the cadence and tend to stick around 10 mph, but I am now able to get up the hills I previously had to walk up. I have a 6 mile evening circuit I do to keep in with it and this includes a nasty hill nearby. Today I managed to climb it without getting off, which is a first!

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Sounds like you are doing just fine jeff
I started riding three years ago at the same age as you are now when i got "roped" in to do the london to southend bike ride with some fellows from work.since then i have'nt looked back and i do about 75 to 100 miles a week.
The only thing i did was to swap my hybrid for a road bike.

 

[DCLane]

@Jeffrey4670 - you're doing well. When I started back on the bike in 2011 I had a 6-mile route with a big hill. After 6 weeks I could get round without stopping, including the hill.

Having done that I found an 11-mile route, then a hilly 12-mile with the promise of a small ice cream if I did 19. Now I'll regularly do 65-80 miles on a Saturday morning.

 

[Jeffrey4670]

Would like to ask the forum some advice regarding the height of my saddle. I have adjusted the saddle as mentioned above and have found it a great help. I am still able to put my toe to the ground, but lower myself down, which is ok. My saddle is lower than my handle bars, but looking at most of the images on the Internet, it's level. Is this still ok for my riding position?

 

[jim55]

hiya and welcome
I am 44 (45 shortly )and my average is about the same on my commute ,I do 7 miles each way and my normal time is around 28-30 min ,so around 14-15 mph avg,on a btr route without lights and stuff its a bit faster (I done a wee loop last week that was 14.3 ml and I done it in 45 min but I didn't stop or slow down a lot so id say ur doing pretty well , the route plays a part as well ,
and as far as cadence goes its whatever u feel comfortable with ,my cadence is rubbish ,if I spin I feel that im going nowhere and prefer pushing a bigger gear on the flat if im pressing on (relatively),but uphills I find spinning better (again relatively),I find if I spin a lot I get really goosed and the lactate in the legs kills me ,do whatever feels right

 

[DCLane]

@Jeffrey4670 - it depends on the bike, but most saddles are level or higher than the handlebars. Mine are higher but that depends on the bike.

 

[Nomadski]

Would like to ask the forum some advice regarding the height of my saddle. I have adjusted the saddle as mentioned above and have found it a great help. I am still able to put my toe to the ground, but lower myself down, which is ok. My saddle is lower than my handle bars, but looking at most of the images on the Internet, it's level. Is this still ok for my riding position?

Most saddles on road bikes are level or higher than the handlebars. It might be you have a bad sized frame for your height, or the handlebars are too high?