Introductions - New, Macon - GA

Hello, I'm new here and have just recently got back into cycling about a week ago. I Have been riding daily pretty much. I'm only 16 and can only ride on this 1-mile stretch of rode in our neighborhood but it gets the job done. Thursday I rode 12 miles in 40 minutes and today I rode 10 miles (not sure the time.) I started cycling again to get in shape for motocross, when I get another dirt-bike. But I am starting to really enjoy cycling. I have a Trek 4300 but kind of wish I had a road bike.

Hi Tha Breeze, my husband has a Trek 4300 and loves it! More than he like his 1980 Schwinn LeTour, even. I like riding my mountain bike, but I have a lot of road bikes :D .

Welcome to BF!

East Hill

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t162/dminorwa/pinkstar.jpg

Welcome to BF. We have a few members in the Macon/Warner Robins area.
I see you've already found the the Southeast Regional subforum. :beer:

Thanks guys. Heres some new gear I picked up yesterday:
http://i26.tinypic.com/slpwrk.jpg
http://i32.tinypic.com/34ipzdd.jpg
http://i26.tinypic.com/11sgq3o.jpg
http://i26.tinypic.com/2zxuvr4.jpg
http://i31.tinypic.com/20i8i6w.jpg
http://i27.tinypic.com/oitcwm.jpg
Already put ten miles(ran out of daylight) on the stuff and the new helmet and shorts are awesome! I can't get the tire pump to work and it won't mount on my bike either. The headset/earphones is great. I can listen to music and when my Mom or Dad calls I don't have to take my phone out of my CamelBak.
And here's a picture of my bike:
http://i29.tinypic.com/2qv5bf5.jpg

Excellent! You are off to a good start. Do be cautious when using a headset whilst riding, though. You might want to add a mirror to the helmet, too.

East Hill

Thanks. I usually keep a look out for cars pretty well but will probably consider it in the near future. Do you have any recommendations for how many miles and how long I should ride? I think later today I'm gonna shoot for 14 or 16 miles. It will probably take me an hour given that 12 miles took me 40 minutes.

Fourteen to sixteen miles would be a good start. Pretty soon you will start thinking that this is a pretty short distance!

East Hill

Ok, one more quick question. Should I go through the effort of pumping up both tires to 60psi(max) The front one is probably at about 40-45 and The back one is between 30-40 -let some out trying to get the tire pump to work.

Thanks.

Well, since you've got a mountain bike, the lower pressure will make for a softer ride, but slower. If you're going to ride this on a paved surface, you should probably try to get it up to around the 60psi.

East Hill

Ok, Thanks!

1. Please don't ride in the road while listening to music. The sounds of the wind, birds, barking dogs, and traffic :( will be enough to keep you moving.

2. If the pressure indicated on the tire sidewall is 60 max, keep your tires pumped up to close to that. If you let them get too soft you'll run the risk of a pinch flat (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_p.html#pinchflat). Also here (http://mountainbike.about.com/od/mountainbikeglossary/g/Pinch_Flat.htm).

Well I did 14 miles in 55 minutes with a "put the chain back on" stop, "manually put the chain back on the first sprocket stop since it wouldn't change" stop, a water break, then another water break and a phone-call.

And the sounds of my old crappy bike -must need a tune-up- is very annoying. So I much prefer listening to music. I can only imagine how nice it would be to ride on a road bike.

Well I did 14 miles in 55 minutes with a "put the chain back on" stop, "manually put the chain back on the first sprocket stop since it wouldn't change" stop, a water break, then another water break and a phone-call.

And the sounds of my old crappy bike -must need a tune-up- is very annoying. So I much prefer listening to music. I can only imagine how nice it would be to ride on a road bike.


A road bike is lovely...trust me :) .

East Hill

How is my performance for a beginner? Also, should I get one of those heart-rate things to help me keep my heart-rate because I want to stay constant and not slack off or do too much. I basically want to improve as fast as I can.

Too hard to me to tell...I'm more of a recreationally paced rider myself.

Check with the Training & Nutrition forum folks--they will be able to help answer those questions better than I can.

http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php?f=148

East Hill

Ok, man you're a lot of help!