Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - 45 Miles on a Navigator

I went on my fourth group ride yesterday. Still the only one in the bicycle club not riding a road bike. My bicycle club has been really encouraging and supportive and we are trying to build up C class rides for new riders and/or people who prefer a little slower pace. When I got home I had done 45 miles (4 weeks ago I had never done 25) at 13.7 mph. Not too shabby for a Trek Navigator 2. Couldn't help but thinking the biggest compliment I received came from an older rider who got dropped by the faster group. Apparently he hadn't been riding much lately. He stayed in the leading most of the day and when I fell in beside him toward the end of the ride, he looked over at my bike, shook his head and said "damn! You ride that thing anywhere you want to, don't you." I thought I would move up to a lighter, faster hybrid but I think I'll start looking at road bikes.:D

Great. One more newbie whippersnapper who's kicking my ass. :(




Great job, though!

Great. One more newbie whippersnapper who's kicking my ass. :(




Great job, though!

And he's doing it on a Trek Navigator as well.

I love my Navigator but I've yet to do more than 20 miles on it.

I've ridden my Worksman cruiser in charity rides before. On those rides, you wind up pretty quickly riding with other people at your own speed, and most of them will be on road bikes. It can be kind of deceptive because it seems like you're keeping up with "the pack" when in fact, 80% of the riders may be miles in front of you, but it's still a neat feeling. Anyhow, it's more about how much you ride and desire than the bike at that point. Yesterday morning, I came in at 14.2 mph average on my odometer at about 43 miles or so, on a fairly flat course. And on the Hotter-n-Hell 100, I think my odometer showed 13.2 mph or so. Those were both with multiple stops that are not factored in.

I went on my fourth group ride yesterday. Still the only one in the bicycle club not riding a road bike. My bicycle club has been really encouraging and supportive and we are trying to build up C class rides for new riders and/or people who prefer a little slower pace. When I got home I had done 45 miles (4 weeks ago I had never done 25) at 13.7 mph. Not too shabby for a Trek Navigator 2. Couldn't help but thinking the biggest compliment I received came from an older rider who got dropped by the faster group. Apparently he hadn't been riding much lately. He stayed in the leading most of the day and when I fell in beside him toward the end of the ride, he looked over at my bike, shook his head and said "damn! You ride that thing anywhere you want to, don't you." I thought I would move up to a lighter, faster hybrid but I think I'll start looking at road bikes.:D

Sounds very similar to my early experiences. I started with a Trek Navigator (3). After about a year I was starting to do 40+ mile rides and it was starting to be a little painful. Guy at the bikeshop said I was probably outliving the usefulness of a comfort bike and should think about a road bike. I bought a touring road bike that Christmas and it has worked quite well for the last 2 years.

I love my Navigator but I've yet to do more than 20 miles on it.


Have you done any group rides yet? Riding with others forces me to pick up the pace and stretch my limits. BTW my son and grandchildren live in Jacksonville and we're going up in a couple of weeks. Where do you ride? Have you ridden the trail near 95 and 295?

Damn that is impressive sir.

Have you done any group rides yet? Riding with others forces me to pick up the pace and stretch my limits. BTW my son and grandchildren live in Jacksonville and we're going up in a couple of weeks. Where do you ride? Have you ridden the trail near 95 and 295?

No I have not done any group rides yet, normally I just ride around my neighborhood for 10 or 15 miles a day. My neighborhood is very bike friendly so I mostly stay along the beach.
In a couple weeks I'll be moving up to Virginia Beach for a new job, that is part of the reason why I have not sought out a group to ride with.