Update
 

It's been a while since I posted and I figured you all might want to see how I've done this past month.

My first real week I thought I was going to die. My calves/Achilles tendons screamed at me, my thighs burnt, after a ride I'd come home eat anything that got in my way and take a nap. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do this at all.

After 30 days I've lost about 6 pounds, and according to my Cateye, I've put 75 miles on the new bike. I can hear some of you chuckle because I know you do that in a day, but for a beginner I feel pretty good about it. ;) We are doing about 3-5 miles a day together, on days that it don't rain. I'm not that hard core....yet.

I find myself occasionally going out after the wife gets tired and riding some more.

I'm really close to breaking 10 miles on a single ride. I figured out my hand numbness but now my toes seem to get numb after about an hour. Wrong shoes? I'm wearing walking sport shoes (New Balance sneakers)

When the wife and I ride, we tool along around 7-9 mph, but when i solo, I'm pushing 12-14 and feeling pretty decent about it. We've found out the hard way going into a head wind is like going up hill. It definitely makes you work for it and still wears us out pretty quickly.

Overall we are having a really good time.

Sneaking in rides without the wife...oh boy:rolleyes: Sounds like you are indeed enjoying the joys of biking! Congrats on your achivements and keep at it.
Wish I could help with the shoe thing though, maybe too tight? dunno

I think Its great you and your lady are bikeing and best to you both.///but if she falters or goes at a different Pace ///Get so you stay with her till shes done her rideing then go on your self or bike another day with her as your support My Linda Lee never rode but she was my support [yard saleing was her bag and she got me wonderful things[guitar,/chainsaw,/bicycle,exc exc. time well spent all over the State of Maine and Canada/Kenneth

One month and you are feeling guilty and feeling the pain.:thumb:

At least you are still in pain but much more and you won't have the wife:innocent:

I have forgotten the pain that came when I first started riding- but I was fairly fit at the time. I know it came and I know it hurt.

So whatever you may be doing wrong- keep at it -as 6lbs weight loss can't be that bad. But on the shoes- Get a set of footwear with a rigid sole. Doesn't necessarily need to be cycling shoes but a cheap pair of cycling specific mountain bike SPD's with a sole you can walk in might be a good investment.

Glad to see you are still riding and believe me when I say it will get better.

Sounds like you are out to a great start. You are lucky your wife rides with you. Mine does sometimes and I always make sure and let her set the pace. I can always burn up the road when I am by myself :roflmao2:.
As for the numb toes, I am not sure as it never happened to me. Are your shoes big enough? Are you pedaling with the balls of your feet on the pedals. You might want to buy a set of toe clips. You can fasten them to your existing pedals and they will help you keep your feet where they should be on the pedals. You could also go to you LBS (Local Bike Shop) and tell them about your toes and see if they offer any helpful advice.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

This may be over the top for you, but my friend was having numb-feet issues. Tried everything. Finally went to a chiropractor. Turned out to be a some sort of spine/nerve thing. Hope that's not it.

Congratulations on the milestones. The fever is about to get you.

Congratulations!

In my experience, toe numbness is likely caused by shoelaces too tight.

Give it a try - it is a cheap fix if it works.

First, thanks for the responses and support all.

I always make an effort to get the wife to go with me, after all we got into this together. It's just a difference in levels of fitness between us. We always stay together, she simply gets tired before I do. I don't try to push her...much. We've been married for 22 years, I pretty well know what I can get away with and when I should stay quiet. ;)

She is a very understanding lady and also knows I have different limits than she does and is totally ok with that.

I do pedal with the ball of my foot, that is where I am most comfortable. I never really thought that my shoe laces could be too tight, so I'll try that. It'd be a cheap fix. It's not really my feet that get numb; just my toes. I started wiggling my toes once in a while during the ride and it seemed to help last night.

I did something very similar to that to solve my hand numbness. Just let go of the handlebars with one hand and relax, wiggle the fingers, flex the wrist, flex the elbow and rotate the shoulder, then do the other hand.

It reminds me of what they taught us about standing at attention in the military, keep your knees slightly bent and don't lock them and wiggle your toes occasionally to keep the blood flowing. It keeps you from passing out...Of course we always had a few who didn't listen or practice it.

I definitely like my Trek. It likes to go and it wants to go fast. It's definitely been fun.

Losing 6 pounds in 75 miles is a huge achievement! I have 400 miles on my new bike and haven't lost an ounce :(

Hey, way to go! I remember doing my first 10 mile ride with the wife (ok, technically, it was 5 miles, then lunch and wander around, then 5 miles home), and at the time I thought that was a heck of a long way to ride. And when you're just getting started, it IS a long way. But sooner than you think, 10 miles will be your warmup :)

Hey DnvrFox, thanks for the tip. My shoes being too tight was the problem with my toes getting numb.

Thanks Paravia and nmitchell, I know at some point these hills I'm meeting, I'm going to look back at some point and chuckle to my self and say "Those were hard?"

We 69+r's are smarter then some folks give us credit for. :D

I am so glad it helped.