Road Cycling - Just learned a WHOLE bunch on first real ride..

I just got back from my first real ride today, most of the time i had been messing around with my brother he was showing me a few things but today was my first solo mission. Ahh what did i learn..
1. My butt doesnt hurt as bad as i thought it would
2. But ohhh nelly do my hands hurt and i was wearing gel gloves
3. Headwinds suck and you cant hear anything
4. Didnt fall and im not scared of the pedals anymore
5. Maybe cars really DO like me
6. Hills suck (my whole neighborhood is just hills)
7. Gotta drink water
8. Almost threw up
9. that was more strenuos than running for an hour and a half (i rode for 30mins)
10. I dunno how you guys ride for hours and hours
11. My legs are super strong from squats and deadlifts but the bike, road, wind and hills dont give a flyin rats a$$
12. the Tour riders are gods
13. My wedge pack needs to be bigger
14. its very as cold as it seems
15. last but not least, This is the most grueling "sport" i have ever done and i love it!!

the reason your butt doesnt hurt but your hands do might be due to your positioning. if you have the handlebars really low, you will put the weigh on your hands, not your butt, and so they will take more strain.

1. :D

2. Check that your saddle is level and that your handlebars aren't too low. Either of these could put undue pressure on your hands.

3. Start your ride into the wind and get blown home. Tailwinds rock!

4. One day you will fall. It happens to all of us. Your pedals are nothing to fear.

5. 99% of the cars you meet are polite and well-behaved. Watch out for the other 1%. They are the enemy.

6. Hills are your friends. They make you strong.

7. Yup.

8. Close doesn't count.

9. It may have been more strenuous, but you covered more ground, travelled faster, and did your joints less damage.

10. You train up to it. There is nothing I would rather do than ride my bicycle for hours and hours.

11. Strong legs are good. Strong lungs and heart are better.

12. Yup.

13. Or you need to carry less stuff.

14. A little speed causes a lot of windchill. There is a learning curve to dressing right for the conditions.

15. See #1.

Glad you had fun your first time out. As with any sport the more you do it the easier it becomes and more fun. Right now 30 min seems like forever. In a few months after you logged some miles in the saddle 2-3 hours seems to fly right by.

You may not believe it, but hills are your best friend. Hills get you in shape fast, and you will become the envy of others.

Congratulations on your first REAL ride.

I was able to get out for a nice 21 mile ride today - temp was up to 50F, and the riding was great!

Won't be long before those miles just whiz by!

SO should i take my bike into the LBS to get the handlebars raised or should i just lower the seat a little bit?

SO should i take my bike into the LBS to get the handlebars raised or should i just lower the seat a little bit?

Don't lower the saddle. That would change the extension of your leg when you pedal.

Taking the bike to the LBS to have them raise the handlebars is not a bad idea. They could check out your posiition on the bike. If the bike is new, they will probably make the adjustment free of charge.

If your Brava has the same adjustable stem as the '03 model, raising the handlebars yourself should be a fairly easy job. You would just loosen the allen bolt at the hinge on the stem, angle the stem upward, and snug that bolt down again. You might have to level the bars again. That's just a matter of loosening the bolt on the front of the stem, moving the bars and tightening the bolt up. If you feel confident you could try it yourself.

Do check that your saddle is level, too. If the nose is pointing downward, even slightly, it can throw your weight forward onto your hands.

if the seat is at the correct height, with your leg almost straight at the bottom of the pedal stroke, don't lower it.

visit your bike shop and they can either put some spacers in your headset to raise it up a little, or sell you a new stem with more rise.

Congratulations! :beer:


You may not believe it, but hills are your best friend. Hills get you in shape fast, and you will become the envy of others.
Dnvr is right. I toughed it out last summer and rode a lot more hills than in past years and managed to drop almost 20 pounds.

Your hands and upper arms will get used to the riding position and won't hurt after a few good rides.


Rules for cycling:
1. Drink before you're thirsty.
2. Eat before you're hungry.

At thirty minutes, your just getting warmed up. Speaking of which, start your ride at an easy pace until you do warm up. It will be alot easier on your muscles. Use a heart rate monitor, learn your zones and you will never throw up . Hydrate early and often. Hills are your friend. Train on them and you'll be ripping peoples legs off before you know it. Mix training, group and solo rides and also the routes. This will keep things interesting and keep you on the bike. Join your local bike club.

peace

Jim

At thirty minutes, your just getting warmed up. Speaking of which, start your ride at an easy pace until you do warm up. It will be alot easier on your muscles. Use a heart rate monitor, learn your zones and you will never throw up . Hydrate early and often. Hills are your friend. Train on them and you'll be ripping peoples legs off before you know it. Mix training, group and solo rides and also the routes. This will keep things interesting and keep you on the bike. Join your local bike club.

peace

Jim
Dont worry about that stuff.Make sure you get what needs to be adjusted and ride.Watewr and ride,thats it for a few months.Heart rate,cadence,hills,training,BS,just ride for now.

Cycling Is A Friendly Sport To The Knees, But You Can Hurt
Yourself If You Try To Push To Hard To Early.one Rule Our Team Always Had Was Not To Use The Large Ring , On Your Crank Until We Had 500 Miles Under Our Belt At The Start Of A New Season.it Gives Your Tendons And Everything Else A Chance To Toughen Up. Good Luck.

Are you riding on the brake hoods, or down on the drops? Drops are for occasional use, into severe headwinds and big descents.
Use your gears. Its better to spin in a low gear than thrash in a high one.
You get "fit" a lot quicker than you get "conditioned". It takes about 3 months for your body to get used to the stresses of riding. Dont push yourself too hard to start with.

In cool winter weather, for 30min rides, you dont need to go overboard on the hydration thing. That is mostly for riding long distances, in very hot weather.

The way to set a bike position is
1. pedals to saddle, and
2. saddle to bars. Dont rejig the saddle to fit the bars.
Expect to spend a few months tuning your riding position, it will change over time.

I find riding in the drops is more comfortable on my hands, back and just body in general...I rode yesterday and i felt ten times better..i think i was gripping the bar to tight and i just loosend up my death grip and my hands didnt hurt after a 45min ride.. Thanks guys

If you're new to the bike, take it to a shop and have it fitted.

You can wing it with the positions until you find something comfortable but why waste good riding time with something that doesn't work? Besides, you'll get to spend quality time with somebody who knows how to ride and that is worth the trip alone.

I rode Sunday in 35 degree weather and I didn't mind the uphills, I just froze on the downhills. Point being that hills are a matter of perspective. With a handle like "Hammerthehills" you need to spend a lot of time on them though so as to avoid being branded a poser.

Enjoy.

Dave

I agree with what the others have said regarding taking your bike to the shop to get them to do a proper fitting and adjustment. I would also like to add that if you do intend to do the adjustments yourself, be careful about raising or lowering your bars too much since it might affect your shifting. Most likely you won't be doing that drastic an adjustment however.

Concentrate on holding up your torso with your back and abs more. Dont fully rest on your hands. Your hands are to steer, not to support your entire upper body. :)

I always tell myself, that nothing is free. Every hill I blast down, I have to grind back up. I make the hills the enemy. Each hill is a new battle. It makes reaching the top more fun. Sometimes I even talk trash to the hill at the top. :D