immortal216

Hey everyone!

I am rather new and have been reading and learning as much as possible. I have what i would consider a decent "hybrid" bike. It's a Raleigh Route 4.0 I like it a lot. My pace is what i would consider slow Average 8MPH. I guess speed is not really the objective it's more of time spent on the bike.

I am trying to make the time and bike as much as i can. I work overnight shift 7pm-7am 3 days on then the next week 4 days. I guess my question is generally speaking my goal is to reach 15-20 miles in a single ride. as of right now the longest i have rode was 8.9 miles. I live in Cleveland, OH and my area of the city has a bunch of hills. I would like to increase my speed a little but mainly my mileage because i would like to bike with others currently my rides are solo. I am pretty out of shape and heavy at 265lbs. Any suggestions? also how do i find other n00bs such as myself so i don't always have to go it alone?

Thanks

DaveQ24

Well you are off to a good start. The most concise answer I can offer is "just keep pushing yourself." Try to go further and longer each day.

8mph is really slow - next thing to consider changing is tires. Narrower, less tread will allow you pick up a marginal amount of speed. Maybe 1-1.5 mph, depending on particulars.

The best thing you can do is integrate cycling into an overall fitness plan. Healthy diet, weight loss, attention to little details like vitamin and mineral levels. You can get all the cardio you can handle for now cycling - but you should strongly consider some strength/resistance training and stretching for flexibility.

dabac

A real common rookie mistake is to pedal too slowly. It's quite generally agreed that a good average pedal rpm is in the 80-100 range - which many rookie riders thinks feel "too fast" and "too light".


A bike computer with a cadence counter can be a good training aid.


Or ride while listening to music. One earbud doesn't detract too much from traffic awareness.
On Spotify for instance you can find playlists based on BPM(beats-per-minute).


Another thing is to think TIME and EFFORT instead of distance. One hour of sweat-inducing exercise is one hour of exercise, no matter how far it's taken you.
And still a good thing.


For riding buddies, facebook can be useful. Or ask at any local bike shop - not the "toys" or "sports" section of a department store.


For weight loss, remember that diet is a bigger success factor than exercise.
Exercise is good, no doubt about that, but calories are so much faster eaten than burnt off that it's close to impossible to lose weight through exercise alone.


You say you want to do 15-20 mile rides?
A regularly stated average ride speed for casual riding is 10 mph, so say 2 hours.
At casual riding, you might burn 450 cals/hour or thereabouts.
Which means each 2-hour ride is worth about two cupcakes in calories.


Not really enough to leave your excess pounds by the roadside in an obviously visible manner.

immortal216

All great points to take to heart. I am now getting serious about eating better aka leaving behind the sweets.......for the most part. I am looking into a cheap bike computer just for the cadence. I use the map my ride application for average speed and everything else. I know the calories burned is BS from the applications i would think i would burn a little more than the average person due to being heavier. I have a lot of muscle in my legs due to being a drummer i do plan to add more strength training into my exercise routine. The gym i go to is a 3 and a half mile ride form my house so it's a nice short ride there and back for some cardio.

It kinda sucks working the hours i do. i am just now about to get off work at 7AM. this kind of shift will keep you tired which is why the vitamins are extremely important.

Again thanks for the information.

mrodgers

I hear ya on the 7-7 shift. I use to work that years ago. I didn't ride back then, but it didn't leave much time for anything at all especially in the winter where you wouldn't see daylight for 3 or 4 days straight.

The good part was, with the setup of our rotation, we ended up with 7 days off in a row once a month. Had to suffer working 6 out of 7 once a month though.

Phil_gretz

Others have said it well ^. Diet and sufficient rest will be your allies in getting to a healthier you. My recommendation would be to search out and destroy all added sugars in your diet. Not in coffee, no sodas, no packaged goods made with sugars (especially HFCS), no cereals with sugar added, no snack foods with sugars added, no ice cream, etc. Try this for 60 days and see the result. You can substitute raw snack foods - hard cheeses, small amounts of nuts, fruit, carrot sticks, grapes.


Alcohol is another weight killer, so be very selective about when/where/with whom. A glass of wine with a nice meal is fine. A random beer or two daily is not. It'll be a change, but you'll see the weight melt off.


Cadence is another thing, and will assist you in redistributing the workload when you ride. It'll bring your cardiovascular system into play more, and large muscle activity/strain down, allowing you to ride longer with less fatigue. The music suggestion is a good one. Find a song that's about 90 beats per minute, and play it in one ear as you ride. Synchronize your crank motion to that song and memorize it. That's the sweet spot.


Finally - maybe some other activity, like walking/hiking or swimming once per week can add to balance to your training. I'd highly recommend stretching/yoga as well - there are probably videos for loan at your local library. Maybe co-workers or friends can recommend what routines they follow. The P90X3 program is short timewise, but explosive in its work on core and fitness.


Good luck. PG

dr_lha

For group rides I would ask at your local bike shop about any local clubs, and search online. My local club does what they call "slow and easy" group rides every week, for those in your speed range. I'm sure we're not the only club that does this! I'm sure you probably think of a cycling club as full of super-fit guys speeding down the road at 20mph, but the reality is that we have all shapes/sizes and abilities (including those 20mph guys, admittedly), and the people are really friendly and helpful to new riders.

One issue however is that we're nearing the end of the season at this latitude, the evenings are drawing in, so clubs might not have any activities past September.

Leebo

Couple of thoughts? Got smooth tires on the hybrid? If not, that would be a good place to start. And with proper air pressure? Psi used? Do bike errands like go to the store. Can you commute to work by bike?

immortal216

The tires are not smooth the are 700x36 i believe. I run them at 70PSI. I wouldn't be able to commute to work I believe it would be a few hour ride and by the end of my shift i don't think i would be able to make it home hahaha.

Leebo

So start with smooth tires, that will help. Probably 700 x 35, that's what I use. My 16 -17 miles commute takes 1.25 hours, or 15 minutes longer than by car. Not every day though. And you would need to work up to it. Many do a multi modal commute. Bus, train or car part way, then pedal the rest. Thoughts to ponder.

Nstoltzner

That is a tad slow...but keep at it! I am currently averaging 13.5 mph in the 290's in terms of weight so just keep at it. My biggest advice that I learned was CADENCE. I now keep around 90 revolutions a minute which increased my speed by a good 1.5 mph and I can go nearly twice as far as before with the same amount of fatigue. Welcome to cycling, it has truly changed my life!

immortal216

Awesome, I am going to get a bike computer or even a wahoo cadence measure so i can track and work on my cadence. I will also watch some videos on proper shifting/gearing which i am sure is important for proper cadence. Thanks for all the help guys!