New Clyde from St. Louis, MO
#26
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From one new person to another, here's what helped me the most (others have said this already):
Pedal fast in an easy gear. You'll last MUCH longer.
Make sure your bike is comfortable. All the generalizations for calculating fit are estimates. Listen to your body to tell you what's comfortable.
Pedal in circles instead of just pushing down. You'll use more/different muscles instead of taxing just your quads.
Take hills slow, and don't burn yourself out. Pam, another member here, gave me the excellent advice to use the hills for resting. OMG she was right. For steep ones, it is totally OK to ride at the pace of a walk.
Pedal fast in an easy gear. You'll last MUCH longer.
Make sure your bike is comfortable. All the generalizations for calculating fit are estimates. Listen to your body to tell you what's comfortable.
Pedal in circles instead of just pushing down. You'll use more/different muscles instead of taxing just your quads.
Take hills slow, and don't burn yourself out. Pam, another member here, gave me the excellent advice to use the hills for resting. OMG she was right. For steep ones, it is totally OK to ride at the pace of a walk.
#27
Bike Cop
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: St. Louis, MO
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Bikes: Specialized Sirrus Elite
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I hear ya zoxe, I am used to eating plain crap. So the switch is dramatic. But I do it day by day. I find that I love the healty food, its just a pain to prepare. Can't microwave it. Makes it harder to have a healthy warm fresh meal at work. But I am working it out.
#28
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Nice bike Zach. I am close to buying the same model. You mentioned you are 5'10, is that a large frame? How is the standover height for you? I am 6'1 with a 31 in. inseam and was thinking that large size might work for me. Did the dealer give you any idea on who would fit for that size?
#29
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Nice bike! Looks like a higher-end version of my Sirrus.
+1. Spinning instead of pushing a too-high gear will make your knees last longer too.
I no longer use clipless pedals, so I can't pedal in full circles, but the toe clips and straps I use allow me to pull up, which helps a lot too.
Yup, there's plenty of road climbs that will cause 3 mph speeds. I've been down to 2 mph in the past, and on last Saturday's sufferfest climb I was down as low as 2.5 mph with a heart rate of 200. I was just glad to make it up without having to walk.
+1. Spinning instead of pushing a too-high gear will make your knees last longer too.
#30
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Nice bike Zach. I am close to buying the same model. You mentioned you are 5'10, is that a large frame? How is the standover height for you? I am 6'1 with a 31 in. inseam and was thinking that large size might work for me. Did the dealer give you any idea on who would fit for that size?
Zachary
#31
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welcome,
cool to see some others from the StL area. i spent the best part of my youth in St. Peters and hung out mostly in St. Louis (but that was the 80s, i'm sure it's changed a bit).
make sure you enjoy the ride, unless you really like to punish yourself on workouts <--- some people really like to push themselves and get enjoyment from that.
cool to see some others from the StL area. i spent the best part of my youth in St. Peters and hung out mostly in St. Louis (but that was the 80s, i'm sure it's changed a bit).
make sure you enjoy the ride, unless you really like to punish yourself on workouts <--- some people really like to push themselves and get enjoyment from that.
#32
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I went on my first ride today, Grants Trail. I rode 5.61 Miles at a pace of 12.61 MPH. It was fun, and difficult. I am going to do it again tomorrow. I posted about it on my blog, the address is in my sig!
#34
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I went to Grant's farm last summer with the family and met some bike riders that would stop on that trail at Grant's farm and drink a free beer. No entrance fee, just a fee to park your car. Bikes were free. Nice bike and just ride for the fun of it.
#35
Bike Cop
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I got my new pedals today!!!! Shimano PD-A530's !!!! I am excited to try them out tomorrow. So far so good, I have been playing with the tension on the clips and feel pretty good about them. I will have a ride report with photos tomorrow, on the blog.
#36
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Great to have you with us!
The best habit you can get in right now is riding every day......all the "good techniques" and riding style improvements will come with time! It's a great feeling to get to know your body better and weight loss is extremely gratifying!
Keep us posted on how it's going!
The best habit you can get in right now is riding every day......all the "good techniques" and riding style improvements will come with time! It's a great feeling to get to know your body better and weight loss is extremely gratifying!
Keep us posted on how it's going!
#37
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Well I rode today with the clipless pedals, not bad. I felt a new muscle in my foot. I hope that the pain will get better as I get used to them.