Just starting out...
 

Hi gang,
I joined a little while ago and have been lurking for the most part for the last month. I ended up getting the bug for mountain biking and riding bikes as a family as well as to loose weight. Also as something to help with making me realize why I needed to quit smoking. I am 34 and was a smoker for 20+ years with the last 10 being probably 2 packs a day. I haven't smoked now for the last month and don't really have the thoughts of it any more so I think I will be able to kick the habit for good.

I bought my first bike about 3 weeks ago and have put on about 120 mile so far between riding to work three times and riding with the wife and kids to the park. I know I am getting some of this out of order to where it won't be easy to follow so please forgive me. I am 5'-10" - 5'-11" and 232 lbs. I would like to get down to 175 and I know it will take a while. Our rides right now with having three kids is usually 4 - 6 miles along with playing a little tennis lately. When we go for rides to the park as a family we have one of those two wheeled carts that I pull behind my bike with our 4 year old and she is 47 lbs along with a cooler with drinks and the tennis racquets. When I ride to work like I did today it is 6.4 mile one way and today is only the third time I have rode to work which I want to do more often.

I don't see how you all do the really long rides. I know when I do 5 miles with the cart and the little one I am tired. The first ride to work I did it took me about 35 minutes and I probably averaged 13 mph and used mainly the middle ring. I noticed on the ride in today I was cruising along only shifting with the rear der. and about 3 miles in the ride had a small descent and went to shift to the big ring and realized I was already there and I continued the entire ride in the big ring. I guess it is making a difference but it seems like my legs start burning fairly easy and I haven't lost any weight yet. I have been doing better with drinking water which I used to never do and trying to cut back on my sugar in my coffee and tea.

I also forgot to ad that right now I have a cannondale f7 mt bike and we are looking for a good one for the wife but I would also like to get us nice road bikes when the budget allows. I need to put slicks on the bike for the commutes which I have a set but I hate using them on the crushed limestone trail when we go with the kids.

I guess that wraps up my introduction and dilemma LOL.

Welcome to BF.
It takes some time to get in shape on the bike.
500 miles will make a difference.
Ride slow and safe for a while.
You will get in better shape riding, but you will have to eat less to loose weight.

What bike are you riding?

Welcome, and congratulations on quitting smoking! I wasn't as heavy a smoker...or for as long as you, but I quick almost two years ago and it was one of the best things I've ever done! I feel so much better and I don't miss it at all!

Anyway, as you ride more, you'll be able to ride longer. Keep it up and you'll start to notice that certain hills aren't quite as hard. Seeing that progress is great motivation!

I edited my first post but right now I have a cannondale f7 and I also have an old gary fisher kai tai. We are going to upgrade to new mtn bikes here soon. I would like to stay in the $1,000 range or less for each of them. Then next spring I would like to see about getting road bikes.

Same boat, pretty much a lurker. As far as speed, I would have to guess the mountain bike tires aren't helping. Get some slicks if you aren't going offroad. I am approaching 500 miles since July and am still winded after 17 miles. My longest has been 24 to date. Keep it up and congrats on the smoking thing. Has to be one of the best things I have ever done for myself.

Hi and Welcome!

Start slowly and the miles will build up. When I first got going back in July, I thought 4 miles would nearly kill me. Kept doing it and increasing a bit and it gets easier fairly quickly. As a newbie myself, don't push too hard too soon. I found my seat too low (don't know how it moved, but it did..probably transporting to the bike shop) and my knees were killing me. I had to lay off for a week and rest the knees after I readjusted the seat. Labor day I tried to set a mileage record for myself and did something to the nerves in my right hand for being on the bike for 2.5 hours. Now another lay-off to see if I can get that better. If I would not have pushed so hard, I probably would have been able to do more in the same amount of time (turtle v. rabbit).

So, keep on pedaling, just build slowly. Did you get a bike fitting when you got the Cannodale? I feel the proper saddle height is very important, maybe especially for newbies, as too low or too high can cause knee injuries.

Good luck!
CB

I bought the cannondale used, it's a 2008. I had done a lot of reading and lurking to see what the proper placement of the body and stand over on the frame. The frame on the cannondale is a large with a 17" seat tube length and it seems to be perfect. I have my seat set so if I have my heel on the pedal and at the furthest stretch my leg is straight and then with the ball of my foot on the pedal my leg has a slight bend at furthest reach. It seems to be set alright. I know it would help to have slicks for the commute which I did get a pair but I don't want to have to keep swapping them when we go on the trails. Once I get the wife a nice bike I am going to see about getting a vintage road bike for the commute and reserve the mountain bike for it's intended purpose.

Welcome NUTDUN! I see you're from my nick of the woods as well.

Take things slow, my first ride I could hardly make a three mile loop around the neighborhood. Four months later I did my first metric century (67ish miles with forum poster "The Historian"), one year and two months from starting I did a full Imperial followed by an 80 mile ride the next day. Point is, distance will come. In a month you will be amazed at how far you've come (if you stick with it). If you would like to ride some time send me a message. The Harrisburg Bike Club has weekly group rides starting in Harrisburg, Hershey, Mechanicsburg, and Carlisle. It might be worth your time to check them out. Yes I'm a member so pardon my shill.

Welcome NUTNDUN. I started cycling again after a really long hiatus. Enjoy the journey and the rest will take care of itself.

When I started in May I barely made it around my block, let alone several miles. Now I cruise around and do 15+ miles without a thought about what kind of distance that is. It's the same with speed, when I started I felt like a kid just learning again all wobbly. 4 Months later I'll glance at the cycloputer and see myself truckng along at 15mph or better effortlessly.

Just enjoy what you do it will all work out and work you out too. Your body will let you know when enough is enough.

Till then enjoy the ride :)

I wanted to thank everyone for the warm welcomes.

It has been since I was 16 when I rode a bike last. Just in the last 3 weeks I can tell and see a big difference. Just like today riding in and home with it on the big ring with the knobbies on it. I took a different way home from work today which ended up with a few more hills and about a mile longer. So that would put me a little over 14 mile for the day so far and we plan on going to the park to play tennis with the kids so that will give me another 5 mile pulling the little girl behind me.

Anyone mind recommending a nice budget priced computer, the cannondale had a velo 5 on it when I got it but it crapped out on me the other day and I would like to have a nicer one with cadence and wireless but I want something that is going to last too.

Thanks again for the warm welcomes.

WELCOME! And congrats on not smoking... keep it up. You will be surprised how easy life comes at you without having a nasty cancer stick hanging from your mouth (was that to militant? :()

PA has so many beautiful rails to trails I am jealous. No excuse for getting out and riding. Just a FYI on buying a bike for your wife - let her pick it out. Just trust me on this. ;)

Congratulations on quitting smoking! I've been down that road myself and quit several times. My most recent effort has been over 13 years now, so I think I've finally gotten it. Hey, I'm curious, why are you thinking of upgrading to new Mountain bikes? The bikes you already have seem to be pretty good, please pardon my ignorance, but what is the advantage? Why not have your current bikes tuned up by the bike shop and then save your $$ towards the bike for your wife and a road bike for you?

I did originally think about upgrading both of the mountain bikes but I decided that I am happy with the cannondale. The gf kai tai is the one I don't care for. I never should have bought it. It is usable the way it is and I did tune it and replaced the front derailleur, the old one was bent. To make it like new again it needs all new chainrings and cassettte and a new rd. It isn't worth it to me to put that money into it although I guess it would become vintage being it is a '99. I think I am going to sell it once we get a nice mb for the wife.

We are hopefully going to be getting a feminine F7 2009 that I found for the wife. I think the majority of our riding will be on the road and I did put the slicks on my F7 for my commute to work. Hopefully we are able to get the other F7 for the wife and I will get a set of slicks for it too. We do want to do some mountain bike trails but I would like us to build up our endurance and stamina first. I don't think my wife would be able to ride a road bike because of her neck, her neck bothers her on longer rides on the mountain bike and I think with a road bike would amplify this. I definitely want to get a road bike. I will probably wait till income tax time and either get a real nice used one or a new one but the budget for it will be between 1,000 - 1,600.

For an update on my progress already I rode to work on friday and it is 14 mile round trip and a little later that evening my wife and I and our little one went for a ride and I had the little one in the trailer. It started out with exploring where different roads went and when we got back we had 10 mile in. I felt like I could have kept going but it was getting late. I didn't think that was too bad getting 24 mile in for the day and 10 of which pulling an extra 80 pounds. I think what helped was concentrating more on spinning.

We went for a ride on saturday then too down to the park to play tenning and had the trailer and the little one and after we left the tennis court we rode ove by the one lake so the little one could feed the ducks and then till we got back we had almost 10 mile in. I think it is amazing how it starts to seem like nothing to put more and more mileage on each ride. I also like riding with our little girl in the trailer because I feel it is only going to make me that much stronger when I am by myself.

Instead of making a new thread about it I wanted to see what you all thought on whether my new road bike is going to hold up for me. I am still at 230 lbs but I can tell the weight is starting to come off and my leg muscles are getting toned already. Not like I became super man overnight LOL but I can see a difference and it makes me want to work at it even more.

I did post about it in the roadie forum but I would like to get the clyde perspective as well. It is a 2003 Cannondale CAAD7 R2000 double. The thing looks like it is almost brand new and barely ridden. The guy has look pedals on it which I am going to take off and put platforms on it until I am ready for clipless. I think it would do alright for me. Maybe I would have to take it easy on it until I loose a little more weight maybe? I do like the idea that it is something that I can grow in to instead of having to buy another bike a year down the road because I want more and I think I should be able to sell it for what I paid or more. I am picking it up friday and will post pics when I get her home. Here is a link to her in the cannondale archives: http://www3.cannondale.com/bikes/03/...del-3RR2T.html