Road Cycling - Goals for rookies

I just started riding this past Monday. I live in South Florida (very flat, but hot). I'm a male, 32 yo, 185lbs and I'm riding Trek 5200 with 10sp Campy Record. Was athletic in my younger days, but middle age has come out of nowhere and slapped me in the face.

My rides so far have been 6-7 miles and I have been completing them in about 25-35 mins. My average speed is just about 15 mph. What do most people average when they first start riding (speed and distance)? Should I try and ride longer, and not worry about my speed or should I try to finish my set distance as quickly as possible. My ultimate goal is a century....I know I have a long way to go, but you have to start somewhere. Any feedback would be appreciated.

I just started riding this past Monday. I live in South Florida (very flat, but hot). I'm a male, 32 yo, 185lbs and I'm riding Trek 5200 with 10sp Campy Record. Was athletic in my younger days, but middle age has come out of nowhere and slapped me in the face.

My rides so far have been 6-7 miles and I have been completing them in about 25-35 mins. My average speed is just about 15 mph. What do most people average when they first start riding (speed and distance)? Should I try and ride longer, and not worry about my speed or should I try to finish my set distance as quickly as possible. My ultimate goal is a century....I know I have a long way to go, but you have to start somewhere. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Your speed and distances are probably about right for just starting out. You don't want to go for speed to begin with, you want to aim for endurance (and even if you're not pushing yourself very hard, you'll still see gains in your speed) so just gradually increase your miles every week or two until you've built up some good base miles, then you can start working on speed.

i'd like to come out of nowhere and slap you in the face for having a way way way better bike than me in your first week of riding, not to mention calling yourself middle aged while being a year younger than me! +)

but seriously, while folks here have a lot more experience than me, i'm gonna say that it really doesn't matter what you do so long as you ride regularly, recover fully, and have fun.

folks will work sprints and hill training into their rides to built up their strength, stamina and overall conditioning, but for somebody starting out i think so long as you're riding more than once or twice a week you'll see great results in short order.

for me nothing beats a bike commute as part of your routine. there's no easier way to get your miles up and before you know it you can be riding almost every day.

also, as somebody who's suffered from some overuse injuries i'd recommend not jumping to distances of double what you're used to. in the early days it probably doesn't matter so much, but when you're doing twenty and thirty mile rides try to get a few forty milers in and don't just jump right to sixty. lots of younger folks can manage stuff like that fine, but it's the sort of thing to cause annoying problems with your feet or knees or something and you can reduce your risk by working up gradually.

i'm also a big fan of stretching - i think it's the closest thing to giving yourself a massage as far as loosening up and recovering well.

congrats and good luck - oh, and post a pic of your bike!

i'd like to come out of nowhere and slap you in the face for having a way way way better bike than me in your first week of riding, not to mention calling yourself middle aged while being a year younger than me! +)

but seriously, while folks here have a lot more experience than me, i'm gonna say that it really doesn't matter what you do so long as you ride regularly, recover fully, and have fun.

folks will work sprints and hill training into their rides to built up their strength, stamina and overall conditioning, but for somebody starting out i think so long as you're riding more than once or twice a week you'll see great results in short order.

for me nothing beats a bike commute as part of your routine. there's no easier way to get your miles up and before you know it you can be riding almost every day.

also, as somebody who's suffered from some overuse injuries i'd recommend not jumping to distances of double what you're used to. in the early days it probably doesn't matter so much, but when you're doing twenty and thirty mile rides try to get a few forty milers in and don't just jump right to sixty. lots of younger folks can manage stuff like that fine, but it's the sort of thing to cause annoying problems with your feet or knees or something and you can reduce your risk by working up gradually.

i'm also a big fan of stretching - i think it's the closest thing to giving yourself a massage as far as loosening up and recovering well.

congrats and good luck - oh, and post a pic of your bike!

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Here is the bike.....

hah! it still says shimano on it... :rolleyes:

G'day,

The 3 best things you can do to improve your cycling are: 1/ ride your bike. 2/ ride your bike. 3/ Ride your bike. You really need to get some 'base' miles into your legs. increase your distance on a regular basis, don't worry too much about the speed at this stage. You shouldn't be using the 'big ring' at all at this stage, spin a cadence of around 90-95...fitness & form will follow. good luck,

cheers,

Hitchy

hah! it still says shimano on it... :rolleyes:
I know, I know. It adds mystery to my riding prowess. Ha ha.

Ride more often. Increase distance gradually. Do speed training once a week . . . go flat out as long as you can (but remember, you still have to come back , but at a more leisurely pace). Ride with a local bike club, the camaraderie is great and you can learn quite a bit by observing the other riders.
32? Heck I'm more than twice your age and still a-pedalin'!
Good luck . . . and yes you can ride a centry by next spring!

32? Middle Age? Man you ain't middle age yet. You should be able to shed a few pounds and up the riding miles in no time. Just don't forget to enjoy it. It shouldn't be just work.

Shimano...can you get a red circle with the line through it to put over that decal? (Just kidding Shimano fans.)

Gees... Calling yourself middle aged at the age of 32! :) You've got a long way to go to get to what I consider middle age!

Anyway, I'm 50 and started road riding two summers ago, and got my first road bike last summer (almost a year ago to the day). This week I've ridden over 100 miles in three outings (M, T, Th). That's become typical for me during the summer -- three to five rides a week, usually from 25-50 miles at a time. I've done three centuries (one last summer, and two this year), and you can too. Just give yourself some time to build up the endurance and strength. You are in a much better situation than I am for getting into good biking shape because you can ride outside year-round where you live.

From my experience I'd say you just need to ride regularly, but not too fast at first. Get a bike computer and watch your cadence rather than your speed. Try to spin around 90-100 rpm. Keep track of your riding time, rather than distance, at first. Later, after you have some miles in your legs (and to give yourself something to shoot for), find some repeatable routes and make note of your time or average speed. Ride those same routes every couple of weeks to see how you're doing, using them as a sort of benchmark. If you can, find some riding partners (or recruit some) of similary ability and interest. One thing that helped me a lot was to hook up with a couple of more experience, stronger riders and go out with them sometimes on their 'easy' training days. I learned a lot that way. All in all, I am surprised how quickly riding became enjoyable and less of a struggle physically. I hope to be doing this for at least another 25 years!

You are not doing badly. 10-15 mph is about what new cyclists do on a bike and the distance is about right too.

The thing to work on first, I would think would be mileage. Try increasing your mileage by 10-15% per week. Try going for longer rides and longer times. Also, be patient. It takes time to improve and if you stick with it, you will improve. You might hook up with a local cycling club, one that has rides for the slower paces. New riders like you are where clubs get new members. Many people in the slow rides are all too happy to give out pointers and suggestions.

So Florida here also

Just started riding again and the lack of hills is a problem

I never think about competing with anyone else at this point

Prefer to get some endurance into my bod first

The big prob for me was adjusting to traffic on the streets here and feeling like an ant

in the path of the autos but that soon passed

But after a week I rode from FT L to Boca and back with no prob

Then I did it to Palm Beach and back. same day

The heat never has bothered me much

Off to Europe on Monday with my new TREK, (cheaper model, but fun none the less)

2 months and go where and when I please

When I return maybe I can call myself an "oldtimer"

SF to the Baja next I hope

My cousin just rode from SoCal to Boston in 31 days with America By Bicycle. His trip got me inspired and hooked on biking. As I said, I got the bike used (at a very good price). I could have never justified the cost of a new one without even being on true road bike. Let's just say I got it for less than I could have got an aluminum frame bike with 105 at the LBS. Just timing and luck for me.

Thanks to everyone for the feed back. I have been keeping an Excel spreadsheet with all of my dates, times, distances and routes. I do have a few pre-determined routes that I have paced off in the car since I don't have a cycling computer yet. I plan on hooking up with a bike club within the month, but I wanted to get comfortable on the bike and understand how it works before I went out on a group ride. Great ideas from all!

but middle age has come out of nowhere



Man - I am 64 and have yet to hit "middle age"

When I first read your post and saw 32, I thought - hey a young guy - and then I read "Middle age," and almost fell out of my rocking chair!

(Just keep riding and build up your base. Challenge yourself for longer and faster, but always rest when your body demands it. I took a rest day Wednesday - 1st in several weeks - and then did 35 miles yesterday.)

Something I learned when I first started riding and goes really without saying is to stay hydrated. When I frist started riding, I would dehydrate really quick and it took quite a toll. Otherwise, keep it up, your about where I was when I started a couple months ago. My first week I rode each morning a nice 6 mile route and it took me about 25 minutes, I then jumped up to 8 miles and then 10 and so on. Now I ride 25 and 35 miles without much problem. My speed has gone from about 14/15 mph to 20mph. So, just keep at it and you'll eventually get there.

those 5200s are great looking

With that bike you should be able to up the speed and distance pretty quickly, but middle age???? Keep up the riding and you'll never see middle age.

32 middle aged? I think not.
I'm 38 and absolutely delighted to see that there are a couple of riders in the TdF that were born in the same year as me!

Maybe middle age was the wrong term. The wife and I just had twins and haven't exercised in years. Maybe I just think I feel middle aged. Regardless, thanks to everyone for their feedback. I'm going out riding today....just as soon as the heat index drops below 99 degrees.

Dang, I wish I were 32 again (now 46). Age got nuttin' to do wit it. Period.

I'm with you on this one, trying to work up. Havent actively ridden since the early '80s and would click off a 20mi in less than an hour (you can do the math on that one).

When I ride the little Garmin Gecko goes with. Those things are cool little encouragers. Last nite my legs said NO but the heart said yes....ended up doing 11.5mi, an increase of 3.5 from the nite previous. Just push yourself on the miles and forget the speed for now. I favor 16-17mph avg right now.



Olds

Just have FUN - that's the best way to keep you cycling. I would suggest staying out of the mid-day sun too.

Hey. I am just curious, why do you have such a nice bike if you are new to the sport? That thing must have been like 5 grand. I am not trying to be mean or anything, I am just wondering.

As for your current rides, don't focus on speed as much as time. Time is the most important factor in a ride. Tell yourself, "I am going to go out and ride for 30 minutes." Try not to focus on your speed and distance. Good luck man.

Hey. I am just curious, why do you have such a nice bike if you are new to the sport? That thing must have been like 5 grand. I am not trying to be mean or anything, I am just wondering.

As for your current rides, don't focus on speed as much as time. Time is the most important factor in a ride. Tell yourself, "I am going to go out and ride for 30 minutes." Try not to focus on your speed and distance. Good luck man.

I kinda lucked into the bike. I had asked in a previous post about buying a bike that was involved in a minor car v. bike MVA. I didn't get a very positive response, but I decided to get it anyway. Boy was I glad I went with my gut. Got the bike for $750 and spent about another $250 on a tune up and minor repairs, cycling shoes and cleats, H2O bottles, wedge, lube, etc. I've put about 80 miles on the bike and no problems at all.

A couple of links you may want to check out.

http://www.floridacycling.com - Has tons of information on cycling in Fl, both racing and "touring", plus lots of links to other places.

A couple of clubs in the area, I don't know anything about them, never ridden with them, etc. But worth a look-see.
http://www.delraybeachbicycleclub.com/
http://www.geocities.com/johnkwas40/index.html

Andrew

Keep a turnin' them pedals!
Why do you want to ride across Belgium? More hills there than Florida!
Oh, yeh, I was born in Belgium . . . 1932. Do not consider myself an 'old guy' yet!

Keep a turnin' them pedals!
Why do you want to ride across Belgium? More hills there than Florida!
Oh, yeh, I was born in Belgium . . . 1932. Do not consider myself an 'old guy' yet!

It's a relatively small country....just a little humor.

If I ever decide to ride across the country, I'm picking Belgium!

How about Luxemborg? :D

Thanks for writing this thread. I was fixing to write one similar to it. Im 32 years old and have not been athletic since I was about 20. I just got my first bike last week it is a Trek 1500.The first time I rode it I could only go 2 and a half miles and averaged 12.5 miles an hour.It was very hot and humid.It was about 3:00pm in Fortworth,Tx.
The Next day I rode I averaged 14 miles an hour and went 4.5 miles.It was about 11am and very hot and humid.The third time I went 6 miles and averaged 15.4 miles an hour.It was about 1pm.I'll let you know how I progress.My ideal weight is about 175 and Im 192. Here is My Trek 1500.

Good luck from FortWorth,Texas.

Higdon
That's about the same boat I'm in as far as current v. target weight. I've found that waking up early in the morning (6:15am) has helped me a lot. I have a lot less traffic to contend with and the temp is a lot cooler. I can crank out about 6-8 miles and be back in time to get ready for work. I could ride to work, but I don't think my co-workers would tolerate my stentch.

I just did 22 miles on Saturday, so I'm really growing my base miles. Keep it up and let us know how you do.