Beginner question
 

Getting new bike in a couple of weeks. What is a good beginning plan for Athena's to use to build up to longer distances?

It's actually pretty easy. Start small and work up. Ride what's fun and you can tolerate. If you make it work, you won't keep it up. Set a series of achievable mileages and when the first goal is easier, then jack it up to the next and so on.

What are you getting to ride, anyway?:D

By the way, would you like to join the Spinner Saturday Group? You'll be welcome and it's free! It's a good motivator. We have people riding from anywhere around 7 miles a week to 269 miles in a week. The invite is open!

When I started I went up in 5 mile increments (5-10-15-20-25). Although I could go more, 25 miles a day is about all I have time for.

Good luck and have fun!

Hard to see since it will be different for every person given lots of variables, but I would recommend frequent, short rides at first to get your body use to the bike and the bicycling position. Then you have more opportunities to tweak the bike, gear and clothes to make yourself most comfortable which is really important to your overall success, IMHO.

Whatever you do do not get a Mongoose. I have a fully suspended Mongoose and it has been one of my worse nightmares. It squeaks!!! It makes me feel self-conscious about riding because people hear me coming. Fortunately, it is one of four bikes. I use it as a winter bike and I keep it at the office in case of an emergency stress ride. Get an old bike that you feel comfortable with and try some steps. You will feel good about yourself.


Gas, the price of a can of beans

what it is
 

The yellow cruiser i posted the pic of. will actually be on layaway until 15th

Saturday Spinner
 

Sure I'll join the club, what is it? :)

Spinner miles -2007 thread:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=257976

This is where I post the miles and reminders. The ride week is Sunday through Saturday, and reports weekly.

I post the Tables and graphs here on BF as well as my blog at http://theamazingshrinkingman.blogspot.com .

I also have an email reminder list as well as alternate reporting method at this address
tom(dot)stormcrowe(at)gmail(dot)com

Pardon the strange writing method of the address. Substitute the appropriate punctuation for the parenthesized words. It makes it so the Webspider bots can't harvest my email address and sell it to spammers.

+1

Love your name and sig line!

Keith

You have mail!;)

[QUOTE=urban rider]Whatever you do do not get a Mongoose. I have a fully suspended Mongoose and it has been one of my worse nightmares. It squeaks!!! It makes me feel self-conscious about riding because people hear me coming.

I feel your pain. That has been my experience too. BUT, I still crank it out b/c I know it's just a metter of time until I upgrade. One things I've done that seems to help is tighten the suspension. Just crank that rear dial all the way out.

-T

When I had one of those pieces of junk, I took the spring out of the shock and replaced it with a length of pipe, effectively making it a hard tail.

That is a GREAT idea...because after you've dropped enough lbs, one could put the spring back on...hmmm Brilliant! But yeah, no real Clyde has any real business on dual suspension.

I've seen lightweights on the Mongoose bikes, and they are crap. I saw a 160lb guy in reasonable shape on one, he tried to come on a group ride with us. He had a hell of a time maintaining anything above 10mph, the thing squeaking like crazy the whole time.

He got so fed up after three miles that he walked home, and I think threw the thing away.

Another guy I know was riding the.. Next?.. version of the Mongoose bike. Similar deal. One ride and he was done. It really is too bad :(

Just ride with a smile......

As Greg Lemond said, it never gets easier, you just go faster :-) Find a club if you can (we have the Southern Bicycle League here in Atlanta), have fun, remeber being a kid on a bike.

I got my new bike! a trek 7100 ladies cruiser! this first week.......1 mi a day.

Cool beans! Now all you have to do is get pics up!:D Good first goal, by the way and I think you'll be surprised as to how fast it goes toward longer distances!

Remember, wear bright colors and ride safe! Have a blast!:D

Post pics of the bike! Also, the best way to build your mileage is to use your bike as transportation. If you go out w/ a set amount of mileage in mind, you may find it too easy or you'll push yourself hard to get it. Plus you'll probably be all over the place heart-rate-wise. If you use it as transportation to run errands, go to work and to just ride around the neighborhood, you'll move a little slower and find it easier. Good luck!

You do want to take it easy at first. There may be issues with the saddle not fitting properly at first, and if you try to go ten miles out the first day you may really regret it the next day! Ouch!!! So, build up slowly. Also, are you using cycling specific clothing? A chamois can be your best friend, and no, you don't wear anything underneath cycling shorts. Underwear will have seams that can really irritate your skin, and rub you raw. We want you to keep up on the momentum just as much as you do, and a bad experience like that will cause you to lose interest very quickly :( .

East Hill

thanks guys! i will post pics soon ............ until then, peddling my little feet off! Tom, i'll think about the before and after pics :)

Here she is!!!!!

Cool, if you want to it's fine and if you don't it's also fine!:D