Show us your.......newbie progress! [4 Sep 2012 - 4 Oct 2014]

[RWright]

Today didn't quite go as planned, set out for a ride, plan was 8 miles out, 8 back then to try a few hills around town to get in my first 20 miles ride.
Outward leg went well feeling really good, then on the return leg I hit a root going down a small slope, ended up going over the bars and doing something to my left foot I carry on home for about 4 miles and decide the hills are not a great idea.
Currently sitting here with a bag of ice on my foot and can't walk on it at all, is a bugger as the ride was going really well and i felt look i could have made the 20 miles easy

Sorry to hear about your foot, I hope it heals quickly and painlessly for you, with all this 20 plus mile talk I am out to go do 20 myself...if I don't have a flat tire

 

[flatflr]

Sorry to hear about your foot, I hope it heals quickly and painlessly for you, with all this 20 plus mile talk I am out to go do 20 myself...if I don't have a flat tire

Thanks for the good wishes from you and Nigel, sure it's nothing serious, just annoyed with myself more than anything. Good luck on your first 20 mile ride

 

[paulw1969]

Good thread!,
Stopped smoking in January ordered new bike two weeks after and was riding by mid March. First ride for over twenty years was a ten miler which i think i averaged 10mph.....i needed to lie down in a dark room afterwood....it about did me in. Starting overweight and totally unfit....... i am a little fitter, but i have put weight on!
To date i have done over 1400 miles mostly 15 mile commutes with extra rides when i can fit them in, longest so far 37 miles (fair sized hill in the middle) at average 16.5mpg....on the flat i tend to hold between 17 and 19 mph....hills i'm crap at but i'm working on them!! I have recently bought a sweat/coronary inducing turbo for doing intervals to see if i can improve my overall strength for distance and hill climbing. Apart from one outing with a colleague i have done all my rides alone. My main aim now is to get to point where I feel comfortable going out on club rides.

well done to everyone who has started/started up again!

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Good thread!,
Stopped smoking in January ordered new bike two weeks after and was riding by mid March. First ride for over twenty years was a ten miler which i think i averaged 10mph.....i needed to lie down in a dark room afterwood....it about did me in. Starting overweight and totally unfit....... i am a little fitter, but i have put weight on!
To date i have done over 1400 miles mostly 15 mile commutes with extra rides when i can fit them in, longest so far 37 miles (fair sized hill in the middle) at average 16.5mpg....on the flat i tend to hold between 17 and 19 mph....hills i'm crap at but i'm working on them!! I have recently bought a sweat/coronary inducing turbo for doing intervals to see if i can improve my overall strength for distance and hill climbing. Apart from one outing with a colleague i have done all my rides alone. My main aim now is to get to point where I feel comfortable going out on club rides.

well done to everyone who has started/started up again!

Almost the same as me, though your a little quicker, I once did 30 mile @ 16 mph but that was flat.
But because of my condition I wont be joining any clubs, have a job on getting to the photo group.

 

[paulw1969]

Almost the same as me, though your a little quicker, I once did 30 mile @ 16 mph but that was flat.
But because of my condition I wont be joining any clubs, have a job on getting to the photo group.

i have had a few minor injuries which have hindered me but to be honest i do have bad days where i feel like i'm riding with the brakes on.....the 37 miler was a last minute decision....it was only supposed to be a 30.......in other words i have only increased my distance on days where i am feeling good in the saddle.....if i dont i stick with the plan for the day.
I think all us newbies need to remind ourselves occasionally 16mph is a good average speed

 

[Nigelnaturist]

i have had a few minor injuries which have hindered me but to be honest i do have bad days where i feel like i'm riding with the brakes on.....the 37 miler was a last minute decision....it was only supposed to be a 30.......in other words i have only increased my distance on days where i am feeling good in the saddle.....if i dont i stick with the plan for the day.
I think all us newbies need to remind ourselves occasionally 16mph is a good average speed

There is one section I do, and this guy always overtook me, and I was doing I dont know maybe 85-90 cadence, and he just cruised by me, mind that was a while back, and like you I still struggle on hills (though this evening was better).
well sort of 15-16 was always my aim, I just need the core fitness to do it most days, as I want to carry my camera gear, and whilst not extremely heavy. its not light either, along with the tripod unless, I get a smaller one, i suppose I wont need something that reaches up to 6ft most of the time whilst out.

 

[Reece]

Yesterday's first longer ride for me app.strava.com/rides/21987308

Very pleased with my efforts and results. Surprised to say the least.

 

[DeepBurn]

Thanks
Very true, and as you get quicker you will cover more distance.
I don't work (mental health issues), so I have spare time in that respect, but having said that most has been in the evenings.
I have found cycling beneficial as much to my mental health as physical, because I does help you feel better about yourself.

The road I took back up to the house has two climbs, the first is the steeper one, I just ended up in the lowest gear, but the very last one I managed to get out of the saddle and well I wont say I sprinted but I could put some effort into it, I couldn't do that even two weeks ago, and that was after two months, so no matter how little you seem to be improving, just keep at it, I had some shocking avg speeds Thur & Fri compared with what I had been achieving so today gave me quite a buzz really.

I would go out in the evenings but as the nights draw in I haven't bought any lights yet!! Once I do it will open up the evenings to get out more.

I obviously don't know your mental problems but members of my family , including me, have experienced issues in the past. So I so sincerely hope you get through them eventually. In my experience getting active & out of the house does help an enormous amount.

 

[DeepBurn]

There is one section I do, and this guy always overtook me, and I was doing I dont know maybe 85-90 cadence, and he just cruised by me

That happened to me on one of my first rides. I was really battling against what can only be described as a mild gradient when this young kid in Lycra zoomed past!! It's a good motivational tool to do better though.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

I would go out in the evenings but as the nights draw in I haven't bought any lights yet!! Once I do it will open up the evenings to get out more.

I obviously don't know your mental problems but members of my family , including me, have experienced issues in the past. So I so sincerely hope you get through them eventually. In my experience getting active & out of the house does help an enormous amount.

Thanks, much appreciated.

That happened to me on one of my first rides. I was really battling against what can only be described as a mild gradient when this young kid in Lycra zoomed past!! It's a good motivational tool to do better though.

This was a guy older than me on a much heavier bike (well it looked heavier). Though as I have got fitter I have found I can use the higher gears longer at a reasonable cadence, so I do that for a while than use a lower gear for a while, still have to use my lowest gear sometimes (usually when I think I could be in a higher gear, though it will improve)

 

[Crosstrailer]

Up to 223 miles since Aug 28th (all non commuting),before Sep 28th rolls around I will have hit 300 miles no problem.

Still only been scalped by full on roadies in lycra as well

 

[Deleted member 20519]

In the past 5 weeks, I've cycled 166 177 miles. For the past 2 or 3 weeks I've been going out with a friend on a fairly fast paced 20-30 mile rides 2 or 3 times a week which starts with a one mile long steep climb. Could have never done that a few months ago.

 

[DeepBurn]

Feeling very pleased with myself today. I completed my regular 10mile loop & smashed my PB by 6minutes. 50 mins and 6seconds altogether to be exact

And the big hill (350ft rise in half a mile ish) that I usually stop on a couple of times I managed without stopping at all.

I kept pushing myself & telling myself "just get to that bit." And then when I got to that marker I set a new one & just kept going.

I only stopped once & that was to remove my waterproof jacket!

This was a course that the first time I attempted it took me over 1hr 15mins so my improvement has been significant!!

Next goal is to get under 50mins. And hopefully 45mins soon enough.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Feeling very pleased with myself today. I completed my regular 10mile loop & smashed my PB by 6minutes. 50 mins and 6seconds altogether to be exact

And the big hill (350ft rise in half a mile ish) that I usually stop on a couple of times I managed without stopping at all.

I kept pushing myself & telling myself "just get to that bit." And then when I got to that marker I set a new one & just kept going.

I only stopped once & that was to remove my waterproof jacket!

This was a course that the first time I attempted it took me over 1hr 15mins so my improvement has been significant!!

Next goal is to get under 50mins. And hopefully 45mins soon enough.

Well done. Not surprised your pleased. I have a loop thats 10 miles, first time I reckon it took me 1hr 20 with a couple of breaks. I can do it know it 40-45 mins without stopping. It wont be long before your doing 20+ miles and thinking what all the fuss was about.

 

[DeepBurn]

Well done. Not surprised your pleased. I have a loop thats 10 miles, first time I reckon it took me 1hr 20 with a couple of breaks. I can do it know it 40-45 mins without stopping. It wont be long before your doing 20+ miles and thinking what all the fuss was about.

To be honest I'm already feeling like my regular route is not long enough and I'll start adding miles on soon. Just delighted to have defeated that hill!!

Here is my latest blog post on yesterday's ride

http://deepburncycletours.wordpress.com/2012/09/22/a-new-record/