Mr23779

I go out on brisk neighborhood rides with the little woman on this for an hour or more in the evenings:



...then we get back home and I grab this for some go-fast action for another 20-30 minutes:


...and it kicks my butt! Wow...

I can REALLY feel it in my legs. I'm just getting back into bike riding after quite some time away and it shows. I need LOTS more time in the saddle.

jpdesjar

yep

idiq

Congrats?

Mr23779

I figure it will take some time before I develop those leg muscles. In the meantime, I'm going to keep enjoying the pain. At least it lets me know I'm still alive!

Dostoy

The thing is, the pain never really goes away because you just keep going faster.

idiq

Drink water and be sure to eat foods that have a decent amount of protein. I try to stay around a 50-25-25 diet and it works pretty well. If you don't eat meat very much or at all, tofu, soymilk, and most morningstar products have a pretty high amount of protein. I believe chocolate soymilk is 7-8g per 8oz serving.

The muscles you use on your fixed are always in motion, in repetition, which develops them much faster than in a road application. Not all of the muscle groups worked are the same either. Especially since you haven't been riding in a while, give yourself and muscles a day to rebuild or so.

jpdesjar

ride the fixed bike more and you will get stronger...

Mr23779

idig - Thanks for the nutrition tips! I'm definitely a meat-eater and will up my protein and water intake.

aMull

Not true. If you keep pushing and pushing to infinity, sure, but after some time you get to a point where you can't do more or faster and your legs never hurt.

jpdesjar

i am a fruitarian and my legs don't hurt

tjayk

seriously? i am interested in hearing more... just fruit? no soymilk or yogurt or anything (aka protein)?

idiq

You certainly are.

roadfix

I am super.

jpdesjar

sorry, just making fun
i think fruitarians only eat fruit and nuts...and only if they have just fallen from a tree

jpdesjar

you may be right

tjayk

a road bike does this too. any serious road biker also pedals constantly (including downhill) and gears probably help you get a better work as you have options of what kind of workout you would like due to gearing options. mashing up a hill in too big of a gear is more like a weight lifting workout - not my usual goal.

idiq

While this may be true: If you are a serious road biker, then you pedal constantly.
On a fixed-gear: If you are a fixed-gear biker, then you pedal constantly.

Your statement involves a caveat, namely, that you must be serious. On a fixed-gear, you will get this work-out whether or not you are serious. Also, pedaling constantly on a road-bike vs. a fixed-gear is strongly not a viable analogy, so your first premise is clearly questionable. Since it's questionable, you cannot offer it in support of another premise.

I have no doubt riding my fixed-gear has made me a faster, stronger, road-bike rider, as well as develop a high cadence. I still stand by my statement, and I believe that riding a fixed-gear vs. a road bike, ceteris paribus, the fixed-gear will develop the leg muscles shared by both riding styles faster.

Mr23779

For those who know more about the complexities of the body...would it be beneficial for me to follow the pattern of riding my Pista one day and laying off a day?

idig, I think you suggested that method in an earlier post.

jpdesjar

i switch to my singlspeed that coasts from time to time but i don't like to switch too frequently...i commute on my fixed gear everyday

idiq

First, when riding be sure to allow for a proper cool-down - don't ride for an hour then abrubtly stop. When you work out, and essentially build muscle, you tear it apart at first. Since the muscle tears before it mends itself and gets bigger, you have to allow for a proper recovery.

I suggested waiting at least a day if your legs are really sore to let them recover. I said this because you mentioned that you haven't ridden in quite some time. As you ride more and more, you won't necessarily need a day to recover - I try to go out and ride for an hour or so a night. You have to work your way up to it though, you can't wake up one morning and just hammer your bike day in and day out without a decent recovery period, as you just keep tearing muscle (well I suppose you could, but you'd hate yourself).

RichPugh

Pretend you dont have a front brake and then tell us how your legs feel

Mr23779

I gotcha! Sounds like a plan. Thanks. I'll continue to take it easy and work my way up. I definitely don't want to overdo it or damage something. Brisk rides with the honey in the evenings are one thing but strapping on the Pista and hammering away around the 'hood is something else!

Mr23779

bigbris1

I got back on my fix after 10 years & did 15 miles yesterday (no front brake, plenty of hills & NYC traffic) My legs feel bionic.

I rest a day after hard riding until I get used to it again.

bike manhattan

i never really rode a bike until i got a good single speed, i would ride like 5 miles on my crappy mountain bike and want to call it quits, now i cruise around for 3-4 hours without stopping and sort of have to convince myself to go home and do other things. when i had a ****ty bike it was like point a to point b. plus everyday i ride my legs get stronger and biking just become totally easy on my singlespeed, effortless almost at a point. when i first got my bike i rode everyday for maybe 2 weeks, than it rained so i did not ride for two days, my legs rested up and some more muscle was build and my fist day back on i felt like i had all this stored up power. biking is too fun (especially in cities).