First Ride
 

Ok from my introduction a while back, I have been an on and off rider for a long time but am really trying to get a routine. I am going for fitness goals. I am the ultimate clyde...not only am I 400 lbs but I am also 6'2" tall. I went on my first ride today with the intention of pushing myself a little but not over doing it. I know myself enough to know that I will get discouraged if I go to far too early.

So here is my experience:

First it was great to get on the bike and feel the wind in my face again. Got my helmet, gloves, water bottle, road id, glasses and turned on Stravia. Kids are all in school now so why not take a ride at lunch.. I work a whopping 10 days a month anyway so time to do it. So I am taking my ride and I am just going through my neighborhood. It has some fairly significant hills in it (I actually came close to getting off and walking up one of them). Stravia mapped the ride perfect. It says my ride was 4.4 miles, 28:30 time moving, 115ft elevation gain.

Concerns:

I rode in and out of cul-de-sac's and various neighborhood streets to create the distance. When turning my back tire felt.... I guess you could say "squishy". Now I will be honest, I did not do a pre-ride pressure check as I have been doing small family rides with my kids. I know I should have checked before hand but just by "feel" they couldn't have been but so far off. Should I over inflate them a little?

2nd concern. My brakes are making a grinding sound. Both front and back. The back doesn't grab so well and they are new pads installed by LBS about a year ago. No visible signs of wear. I don't have a problems stopping however it is like nails on a chalk board to me.


I am looking for any advice, comments etc... as I said, I want to make this a habit... I will venture to new ride locations when I am secure that my bikes main issues are sorted out ( other than my huge butt).

good for you!! don't quit!!
post mechanical questions in the mechanic forum or use you-tube - lots of great bike videos there!!
I think "Park Tool" has some videos on their web site too. They sell bike tools.

When I first started riding daily I would check pressures before every ride. After the first several weeks I discovered that my tubes held their pressure (+/- 2 psi) for at least 48 hours. Obviously the air temperature has some involvement but now I check pressures every other day, unless I'm going out for a group ride. Then I'll usually make sure everything is in tip top shape as not to have a problem and risk delaying (or losing) the group.

I've been training for a metric century and one thing I discovered recently is that after a 45+ mile ride I actually gained almost 3 psi in my front tube but the next morning I had lost almost 8 psi (from my targeted inflation number). There was no slow leak discovered.

TLDR: There's no harm in checking pressures before a ride, especially considering the time it takes is usually far less than a tube replacement on the side of the road.

Always check your tire pressure before you ride.

Your brake issue could be a number of things, like not toed in properly. Have an experienced cyclist or your LBS look at them.

Keep turning circles (i.e. riding).

Keep up the riding, firesfate!

I'm in the "inflate tires before every ride" camp. It's more necessary with skinny tires than mountain bike tires. There's no good reason to over-inflate, just adhere to the inflation specs on the sidewall of the tire.

What's Stravia? Is that the new Lithuanian radio station I've been hearing about? :lol: (I think you mean Strava)

I don't know how big your tires are but on skinny road tires, I ALWAYS inflate my tires to my desired pressure at the start of a ride. I'm not fond of fixing pinch flats. It's less critical with larger volume tires but again, in the interest of not fixing flats, I'd suggest inflating them. it's dead easy to do and takes about 30 seconds.

I try to top off the tires before each ride too, particularly on my commuter ... a lot of times I'll top them off the night before and roll out straight away in the morning.

As for the grinding .... I'd first wipe your rims clean with rubbing alcohol and check to make sure there isn't anything embedded in the brake pads. If they're squealing rather than grinding, you might need to adjust the pads or have them adjusted by your LBS.

I meant to say Strava. It is an app for the iPhone, Droid etc... that you track your bike rides and it shows you what others have done in the area. You can add friends, share on your favorite social network sites or with friends. Basic is free. Pretty neat app.

We're aware - there's a clyde and athena "club" on strava - come on over and join us.

http://www.strava.com/clubs/clydesda...bikeforums-net

Thank you ref the rubbing alcohol. Will give that a try. I am comfortable adjusting brakes...just never heard anything like this. It is a horrid sound.

Yeah I noticed, should have read the rest of the post hahhahaa. I just joined the group on strava as well.