General Cycling Discussion - So who else HATES the first couple of miles?

So I just reentered cycling this past spring after 15+ years of not riding. I've built up my distance to where I am doing about 100 miles a week. I really love it ... most of the time.

A strange thing happens when I first hop on the bike a ride out of the driveway, I literally HATE it, I have this nagging voice in my head asking myself "Why are you doing this again?" It's worse as the weather gets cooler and damper. It only bothered me for a few hundred feet at first, now it takes about 2 miles and I'm back into the swing of things and loving it, my knees loosen up and I hit my pace. Sunday morning I nearly turned back twice but kept telling myself I NEEDED to do this. 32 miles later I was back in the driveway wondering where the time had gone to.

Does anyone else have these fleeting feelings of despair and simply want to turn back and go lay on the couch?

I know what youre talking about- I live on the local lake, nowhere to go up from my house but up. Makes for a tough start.

Once I'm moving though, I'm ready to rock.

You've gone from zero to 100/week in a handful of months. You mention your knees loosening up. Maybe back off for a bit and find some folks to ride with.

I get the same thing - before a ride, I'm thinking "do I really want to do this?" but my period of doubt only lasts until the end of my apartment's parking lot. It's strange. It might have to do with knees limbering up. Or, it might be that you need a break.

I just don't worry about speed at all in the first few miles. Just push the pedals around nice & easy. Before I know it, I'm up to a decent pace. One thing that helps is I don't use a speedometer.

Smetimes I do.

Don't force it. Just do what your legs say they want to. When I start a solo ride, I just go whatever speed my legs want to carry me at and I don't push it any. Heading out of the driveway and down the street I am only going 8-10 mph. By the main road, I am doing 11-12. My speed continues to pick up on it's own as my muscles warm up.

Dear OP, Haha no. I might feelt hat way when I wake up on a saturday and start my coffee and breakfast thinking about prepping myself and the bike and clothing for the ride. But by time I'm actually on the bike, I'm psyched. However my 1st mile does include some on bike routines such as hoping my wjheels don't fall off, rememebring how to shift, hoping I don't get hit by a car as I doddge the potholes nearest my house, trying to grab my water bottle and establish that I can get it and get it back in the holder, testing my brakes and upshifting into high gear for the initial downhill and burst of andrenaline. Yes, I do check my fron and rear quick releases, wheel trueness and braking with a spin fron and rearr while holding the bike up and spin the pedals to be sure the chain is engaged.The 1st mile or two I am working on my breathing cadence and being sure my knees are aligned before I start hitting it hard.

I tend to dislike the last 1/2 mile because it is an uphill to my home and the left across 2 lanes of traffic is tricky.

I quite often feel the same way...I totally hear ya. I ride 5 times a week (min) for 15-20 miles per ride; usually between miles 1-5 I am thinking to myself "today sucks, just go home blah blah blah" but keep on trucking and usually AFTER the ride I am thinking "damn; I should have kept going!"

It's human nature to resist anything that will subject your body to any sort of stress. It is your discipline that enables you to go through the necessary.

So don't fret, unless you start giving in to the easy way out, you are experiencing a normal feeling.

I might have some doubts about doing a ride when I'm still sitting on the sofa. And if the day isn't ideal in terms of weather, I may delay getting out there. But once I'm dressed and on the bicycle ... I might as well go for a ride.

The first 10 feet out the door are the hardest. Takes me about a mile or two to get into the ride. When I come home, I vow to do this every day.

No not really. Once I'm rolling it's all good.

My threshold for cold is about 50 deg F. Once the weather gets below that I stop commuting to work. It's just to hard to get out of a warm cozy bed in the morning to get geared up for the commute to work. I'll occasionally HTFU and gear up for a ride when it's between 40-50 degrees F. If god intended us to ride in cold weather, he'd make us hairy beasts. LOL

Only when it's below freezing outside. The rest of the time I can't wait to get on the bike.

Nope, but then again, I do so much utility cycling that hopping on the bike is no more special than walking around. I'm always riding, but the only time I go on long rides is because I want to. The short rides are filled with thoughts like should I go to the post office or the bank first.

While I don't hate it I do notice a loss of performance for the first mile or so.Then again at 4am my body doesn't want to kick into high gear quickly. It soon passes.

The first mile out of my house is a quick descent, then climbing or a couple of miles.

That first climb does not feel too good. Once I crest that hill, however, all is good and right with the world.

While I don't hate it I do notice a loss of performance for the first mile or so.Then again at 4am my body doesn't want to kick into high gear quickly. It soon passes.

I never push hard when starting. My body knows when it is ready and naturally raises its pace.

I had that feeling when I commuted each morning before 5am. Not so much anymore.
It is more like GOGOGOGOGOGOGO! Weeeeeeee!

I don't like the first 5 miles as the trail isn't as well kept up in relation to the latter 16 miles it offers. Also,my body isn't warmed up, so riding at a 17 mph pace for 5 miles isn't... fun; I don't feel good.

Only after 7/8 miles or so will the juices start flowing and I'll start feeling great; then everything just clicks and I hear only the rubber hitting the pavement.

I wouldn't say that I hate it or dread it mentally at all...I'm always happy to go for a ride, but I'm notorious for being a very slow warmer upper. I tend to drag for the first 3-5 miles. My stupid knee has to pop several times before it gives up and agrees to participate for the day. I guess that's what happens when you start cycling after a 3rd knee surgery on the same knee. Oh well, I eventually get it together and I'm good to go.

I used to run a lot - 60 miles a week. I told people starting out that complained that the first mile is the hardest and it never got easier. It's just you need to get the HR up, blood flowing to muscles, and all those tissues loose and flexible before it feels better.

When I hitch up the trailer to go get a heavy load I start thinking about who I could call to help me out. I never do it though, I always go and do what needs doing. After I'm loaded I make diesel truck noises for motivation. :D :roflmao2: When it's the road bike with just my messenger bag I get pretty pumped. I haul ass on that thing, about 9 miles an hour or so. It's fun to go fast. Hey, it's fast for me ok? :o The downhills on my road bike are a blast. The downhills with a loaded trailer are more like "oh **** oh **** oh damn what the **** was I thinking why won't the ****ing brakes work how bad is it going to ****ing hurt when I crash this ****ing thing". At the end of the day though it's good to get on the bike, even when morale and motivation are a bit low.

When that feeling strikes me I stop and wait it out, have a cigarette, and wait for my motivation to return. I think everyone should do this as it invigorates and recharges.

When my butt hits the saddle, I'm happy to be there. I feel good when I start pedaling, and I feel good when I'm done my ride. I don't hate anything at all about cycling for even one second, and that is the truth.

We're all different, though. C'est la vie.

When that feeling strikes me I stop and wait it out, have a cigarette, and wait for my motivation to return. I think everyone should do this as it invigorates and recharges.

I second this.

I second this.

Hooah!

I have a good 20 - 30 minute "warm up" before I really feel good. During that time, it just doesn't feel good. Not so much w/ the muscles and joints, but just my breathing, lungs, heart .... even though the heart rate is not excessively high, it just feels that way for my heart and lungs. 30 minutes or so, it just goes away and I feel great. If I'm riding with others during that time, I find I really struggle to keep up with people, but after the warm up period, I am easily as strong or stronger than them.

I've known this about myself for several years now. It's much worse when skiing or running - I really feel awful when I start, but if I soldier through 30 minutes, I feel great.

With skiing or running, the awful feeling occurs even if I'm going by myself and can go at whatever pace I want to. On the bike, if I'm by my self or with slower riders, I don't feel it very much; it only occurs if I try to keep up with people (again, don't have a problem keeping up after 30 minutes or so, as long as theydon't drop me before I get my wind).

When I was younger I ran quite a bit and had the same feeling you described when starting out, and 15 or so minutes into the run it felt great. However I do believe that on my bike, it feels good right out of the door.

I think it is related to endorphins. When I started it took very little time to get them flowing. Now that my fitness has improved, it takes longer and longer, and a higher level of exertion to get the endorphins flowing. I usually take an aspirin with my preride banana, it helps with getting loose. My back, knees and hips are a lot better, but when it gets cold getting them limber takes more. The first few miles suck.

Rod