shyonelung

Don't give up.

When you start this thing and it feels like you'll never be able to climb a decent hill or make it five feet with clipless pedals or learn how to ride when it's almost too cold or way too hot, don't give up.

I'm here to tell you that if you keep at it, you'll figure it out. If you work at it a little bit and take your lessons, and lumps, you'll get better. I was overweight, out of shape, with one lung and zero balance. And now I'm a decent rider to the point where I won't embarrass myself with stronger cyclists, even if they have to wait at the top of the hill for me to get there. I do things now that I thought I'd never figure out. Hills that used to scare me are no big deal. I'm climbing instead of surviving. I can almost actually track stand (almost :-D). And I love every minute of it. So get out there and get to it. Trust me, you'll find your groove.

BoSoxYacht

I love to see posts like this^^

rms13

+1

There is one hill I ride several days a week. When I started riding road about two years ago it was a struggle. I remember stopping half way up and then stopping for 10 minutes at the top to catch my breath. Now I do repeats on that same hill. 3-4 times up and down in a row and laugh at in it's face!!!

Still can't even come close to track standing but getting a little stronger every day

BoSoxYacht

This past February 26th I had a bad wreck with a truck(hit from behind), spent 5 weeks in the hospital, and was off the bike for 2 months. When I got back on the bike it was like starting over. 10-15 mile rides were tough, and riding on busy streets was a little nerveracking.

8 months later I'm as fit as before the wreck, and my strength isn't far off. I started to feel good on the bike in August, just hit over 8000 miles for the year, and should finish this month with 1600 miles.

Getting into shape again wasn't easy, but once you get fit, the feeling is worth the work.

coolcamaro12

I love this. I started out as very unhealthy and overweight. Even though I'm still a little heavy 5 years later it is amazing how much joy and inspiration cycling has brought me.

Sullalto

Yeah, when I bought a bike at the beginning of the year, I remember struggling up them at 6mph and being grateful for the red lights at the top. I went that same route last night and went up at 16mph, and celebrated the green light so I could sprint on the flat immediately. Felt gooooooood. Amazing what a difference 10 months of daily rides and 60-100lbs(I stopped looking at the scale, don't know how big I got) lost make.

Man, I thought I rode a lot with 600-1000 miles monthly.

OldsCOOL

Bravo!

BoSoxYacht

600-1000 miles is very good, and more than many people have the time to do. I started feeling good last month, and just wanted to have a really big month. 1600 miles is my biggest month since I started keeping track of my mileage in 2007. Normal for me is about 1200 monthly.

mcours2006

Congratulations. Doing something that others are unable/unwilling to do strengthens your own resolve. Makes you feel like there's nothing you can't accomplish, don't it?

bruce19

Happens to me every Spring. Well, except for the clip-less pedals.

indyfabz

I feel like breaking into "Don't Stop Thinkin' About Tomorrow."

spoiledrotten

Thanks for starting this thread. I have a question regarding this.... I've been riding roughly a month, maybe a very little more, after years of not cycling. The wife and I have been doing mediocre hills and limiting our rides to around 12 - 20 miles at a time. This past weekend, we took our bikes to the Natchez Trace and rode until we ran out of bike trail in one direction. There were hills that many of you would shrug your shoulders at, but for us, it was HARD WORK. Anyway, we were very sore in the thigh area that afternoon and the day or two afterward (still sore).

When you go through a tough workout at whatever level you're at, do you give your body a day or so to rest and heal, or do you work the pain out with more exercise?

jerrycan42

Join the brotherhood. All you have to give is your all.

robbyville

I used to give myself a day or so off, but then this past year I started to learn the importance of recovery rides vs. taking a full day off. A simply spin for an hour at good cadence on flat ground pays huge dividends to stretch out those muscles vs. taking the day off and tightening up.

Good thread, thanks for starting...

While I would never have considered myself a newbie (I rode and toured as a teen in the mid 80's, was a bike mechanic and wheel builder in the late 80's and raced a little mtn bike, plus road up until 1993).

BUT, as with many things in life I spent over a decade aging, getting out of shape, marriage, child, etc. Then a couple of years ago, found myself taking cholesterol medicine and while only 5'7 weighed in at 192lbs. Doctor asked me if I was going to stay on the meds or do something about it since I've previously been very active.

Picked up the bike again in September 2011, my first ride I could barely do 6 miles and short rollers, so depressing since I still remembered the days of 75+miles and loving life. Kept at it, until my cardio started to come back, went from 6 miles to 15, rode the wind trainer all winter, watched my diet, came off the meds and dropped the first 25 lbs within a few months. Rode my first 2 centuries that summer.

Rewarded myself with a new bike in February 2013, dropped another 20 lbs and the miles started to rack up. By the end of 2013 I had about 3000 miles and well over 200,000 ft of climbing (I live in a very hilly area). This year I'll have over 4000 miles, started to race again (just for fun) and over 260,000 ft of climbing. 4 Centuries and a new riding partner which is pretty rare for our area which is quite rural.

So thanks again for a thread to remind us of what can be accomplished. I'm sure I've added many years to my life!

cfcdjb

I'm 61, just started to ride last December. First ride was 6 miles and thought I was gonna die. Overweight, out of shape, lady that I bought my Trek off of said she rode 20 miles every day...........thought she was Wonder Woman! No where close to where I want to be but 1,400 miles later there is some light at the end of the tunnel. This bike thing really is consuming though and not cheap!!! But sure love it!

TexMac

8k and year isn't over? Beastmode and great job.

TexMac

keep up the good work.
I always cheer other cyclist esp overweight when i see them on bike trails.

Acquaspin

When I started biking a day or 2 would get the muscle/leg soreness away; after much reading the concept of the "recovery ride" came up. Day following a hard effort ride get an easy spin ride for a relatively short period of time. It worked for me. Keep in mind though that a common pitfall when beginning is making/considering "hard efforts" not hard enough and "recovery rides" too hard. Not all rides need a recovery ride. In my experience, the effectiveness of the recovery ride is directly proportional to the delta in effort between hard and recovery rides. I'd venture to say that a nice 30 min walk would have similar effect but since we're here to maximize riding time the recovery ride takes precedence.

As fitness improves the soreness is less apparent and or require much longer/harder rides to make itself noticeable.

In my case, time scheduling and other constraints got in the way of the "recovery ride", further reading led me to the massage rollers. I am not a physician so this is something just to keep in mind/try out and see if works for you. I use the rollers on my legs/lower back/shoulders after hard efforts (rides and runs) and it made me sleep better at night and the soreness the following day is just about non existent.

I am positive that taking the 1-2 day off between rides, specially when beginning, is beneficial. Even though a big part of the strain in the body is on the muscles, there are other body parts and organs that would benefit of the gradual approach (seat bones comes to mind for example).

When beginning, when/if time permitting, better to shoot for 4*10mile/week rides than 2*20mile/week rides. mileage the same but your mind and body will appreciate the first approach (numbers made up but i'm sure the idea is clear).

spoiledrotten

All great advice and much appreciated. We do have a hot tub, so after a long ride (to us), we do a little recovery time in the ole spa. It helps a great deal with the muscle aches, but the discomforting pain is still prevalent after a sitting in front of the television.

Then, hey, "no pain, no gain", right?

Still loving this forum. Lots of great people to tap knowledge from.

shyonelung

Thanks everybody. I posted this in part because I remember how hard it used to be for me to do stuff I now take for granted like drinking from my water bottle while moving and even pedaling. I have photos of myself in XXL tights at about 50 pounds heavier and with no definition and memories of my (soon to be ex husband) making fun of me. I remember the first time I couldn't clip out on a hill, fell over and bent my derailler. I rode home anyway (9 miles) because I didn't want my husband to know I had fallen so he could say "I told you so". I had just purchased a carbon road bike and the next day I took it back to my local bike shop in tears and told them I wanted to return it. But, thankfully, the owner talked me out of it, got me to calm down, and then accompanied me out on two training rides over the next week. The day I went with 5 friends who took me over what was my biggest climb to date was the day I told the ex we were done. Cycling saved me from a bad marriage. Yesterday, my blood pressure at the doc's office was 94/62. I have muscles where I used to have fat. I wear size 8 jeans and my favorite kit is a Rapha Team Sky in medium (severe racing cut so it's really a small). And I no longer use my lost right lung (Cancer 20-plus years ago) as an excuse for not getting out there. I've met the best people in this sport. Yesterday I went out on a cool, windy day (the kind that used to keep me at home) and didn't even think about the elements, only where I was headed, how it was a beautiful fall day and, when I got a glimpse of my reflection in a shop window, I thought "damn, girl you look good." I mean if I could get through all these stupid fears and hang ups and I have a few, anybody can.

shyonelung

Proof in the pictures. :-) obviously, the 'before' is on the second image. Taken June 2013. The one of left was taken last month.

spoiledrotten

Looking good, shyonelung. Congrats on all of your accomplishments.

snidely

It's truly amazing what cycling can give to us physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

Congrats, OP.

KenshiBiker

Very inspirational post. Congratulations Shy - After all you've been through, you deserve all of the successes.

Siu Blue Wind

Wow, awesome!! Looking GREAT! Thanks for the encouragement!