Newbie Help
 

Got my nd gear now I'm riding. My first ride was 30 miles with alot of gear shifting. Second ride 25 miles, avg speed 11 mph. Found a gear that would let me keep that speed whether on inclines or flats. Is that the correct way?? Need advice not smart comments.. Thanks in advance...

It depends on the terrain, but it's unusual not to shift some during a ride. In general, you probably want to keep your cadence (pedaling speed) about the same rate, so shift your gears accordingly. Don't try for an exact pace, but a range that feels good. It depends in part on your goals too. Are you riding just to enjoy the scenery and some exercise, or wanting to train for a specific goal?

Yup, I'm guessing your computer reads your cadence along with your speed.. work toward keeping that the consistent throughout the ride like SSIndy said.
Though, if you don't like shifting much that isn't really a problem. Most of my rides are vary by 2 or 3 gears at most.

Good job for getting out in the cold, I haven't really since early December. :)

Definitely will depend on where you are riding. ;)

I live in central FL. It is pretty flat around here. I have seen flatter places like Miami. I do a bunch more shifting than you do. Headwinds cause downshifts. Acceleration up to high speed causes multiple up shifts. Shifting is not a bad thing.

Goals
 

I want to ride a century and for fun, heath. Also would like to do some touring in the future.

The uphill climbs are better with lower gears and higher spinning rates. The thing to watch for is knee injuries if you don't down shift. The injuries won't appear immediately, but if you keep stressing it, the pain will show up.

Therefore one gear won't do it all. Some inclines are short and some are long with switchbacks and lasting for miles. Also to take the pressure off your cardio system and legs, you can try to traverse the uphills, especially the longer ones. Obviously with a narrow bike path, a rider cannot really traverse (zig zag) up a hill very well. But on those lonely country roads, its possible. By traverse, I mean like downhill skiing, but only going uphill on the bike.

There's an ebb and flow of energy when you ride long distances or at high output. Going uphill just makes it more noticeable. Sometimes when I just want to give up and stop for a rest, I will resort to traversing to "cheat" my way up.