Bought my first road bike yesterday :)
08-28-08, 07:48 AM
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Bought my first road bike yesterday :)
2008 LeMond Reno...I took it for a 25 mile ride as soon as I got home and I absolutely love the thing. I feel like I got a pretty decent deal on it, too ($785). I don't think I've ever gone as fast as I did yesterday on something that is propelled by only my legs. I think I know what I'll be doing with all my spare time until winter! 
Anyone have one, and if so, anything you think I should know as a newbie to the bike and the sport?
Anyone have one, and if so, anything you think I should know as a newbie to the bike and the sport?
08-28-08, 08:00 AM
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I started riding about a year ago and this is what I've learned and in no particular order...
1. Don't let your "goods" go to sleep on your saddle. It may be very important for you to search for the best saddle for your anatomy and riding style.
2. Get some really good shorts or bibs with a nice pad.
3. Get a jersey. I rode most of my first year in a tee shirt. Jerseys keep you fresher and dry and have great storage pockets for food, cell phone, water bottles, tubes, etc.
4. Speaking of water bottles, you MUST hydrate. It's really important to keeping focused on the bike and not feeling like crap after a long, hot ride.
5. Have fun. Change up your routes a lot. Enjoy the bike and if you don't feel like riding, don't.
6. Be careful. You can't ride if your injured or dead. I try to do most of my riding in low traffic areas.
7. You will flat. Carry a tube, some tire levers, a pump and/or CO2 with inflator. Again, you will flat.
8. There is a lot of BS on this forum. But there is also some folks who have some really good information. It will not take you long to distinguish between the two.
9. You will get faster. Just stay after it and ride.
Hope this helps!!!
1. Don't let your "goods" go to sleep on your saddle. It may be very important for you to search for the best saddle for your anatomy and riding style.
2. Get some really good shorts or bibs with a nice pad.
3. Get a jersey. I rode most of my first year in a tee shirt. Jerseys keep you fresher and dry and have great storage pockets for food, cell phone, water bottles, tubes, etc.
4. Speaking of water bottles, you MUST hydrate. It's really important to keeping focused on the bike and not feeling like crap after a long, hot ride.
5. Have fun. Change up your routes a lot. Enjoy the bike and if you don't feel like riding, don't.
6. Be careful. You can't ride if your injured or dead. I try to do most of my riding in low traffic areas.
7. You will flat. Carry a tube, some tire levers, a pump and/or CO2 with inflator. Again, you will flat.
8. There is a lot of BS on this forum. But there is also some folks who have some really good information. It will not take you long to distinguish between the two.
9. You will get faster. Just stay after it and ride.
Hope this helps!!!
08-28-08, 08:10 AM
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In my short road riding experience, I've found that it's probably a good idea to stay off city streets as much as you can until you get stronger and faster. Almost all of my riding to date has been on rural roads and secondary highways, especially the latter when they have wide shoulders.
Bottom line, IMO, you need strength and speed to navigate city streets safely, in part because many of them don't have shoulders, so you're mingling with the car traffic. And it's probably not a bad idea to get your other skills honed as well. Not much margin for error when mixing with SUVs.
Even when city streets have a shoulder, it's often taken up with parked cars. swerving out into the traffic stream to avoid a parked car is something you want to do at or near the speed of the traffic you're merging into.
Bottom line, IMO, you need strength and speed to navigate city streets safely, in part because many of them don't have shoulders, so you're mingling with the car traffic. And it's probably not a bad idea to get your other skills honed as well. Not much margin for error when mixing with SUVs.
Even when city streets have a shoulder, it's often taken up with parked cars. swerving out into the traffic stream to avoid a parked car is something you want to do at or near the speed of the traffic you're merging into.
Last edited by Daytrip; 08-28-08 at 08:14 AM.
08-28-08, 11:29 AM
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In my short road riding experience, I've found that it's probably a good idea to stay off city streets as much as you can until you get stronger and faster. Almost all of my riding to date has been on rural roads and secondary highways, especially the latter when they have wide shoulders.
Bottom line, IMO, you need strength and speed to navigate city streets safely, in part because many of them don't have shoulders, so you're mingling with the car traffic. And it's probably not a bad idea to get your other skills honed as well. Not much margin for error when mixing with SUVs.
Even when city streets have a shoulder, it's often taken up with parked cars. swerving out into the traffic stream to avoid a parked car is something you want to do at or near the speed of the traffic you're merging into.
Bottom line, IMO, you need strength and speed to navigate city streets safely, in part because many of them don't have shoulders, so you're mingling with the car traffic. And it's probably not a bad idea to get your other skills honed as well. Not much margin for error when mixing with SUVs.
Even when city streets have a shoulder, it's often taken up with parked cars. swerving out into the traffic stream to avoid a parked car is something you want to do at or near the speed of the traffic you're merging into.
I learned how to pedal quickly pretty fast!
Caymem - I will definitely heed your advice. I learned in 80+ degree weather yesterday that perhaps a second water bottle cage is in store! And as for the "goods," I think I learned a thing or two about that this morning when I woke up.
I might have to switch saddles.Thanks for the advice, guys! I definitely could use some words from the wise after yesterday, haha. But even with a few close calls, and now today having to deal with walking like a cowboy who's about to draw a gun, I had such a blast. What a beautiful and fun ride.
Last edited by jdamaso84; 08-28-08 at 11:34 AM.
08-28-08, 11:56 AM
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On second thought, maybe the best approach is to toss yourself into the lake and learn to swim. I imagine you'd get pretty fast pretty quick if the alternative was getting run over by a car, truck or bus.
