56 YO male in good shape, got back into riding a bike a few years ago after not riding since I was a kid. I primarily ride a hybrid and my usual after work jaunt has been ~ 30 miles. This year I bought a road bike off CL and other than a metric century 1 month ago (no problems), I have only rode it ~ 5 or 6 times. The reason is the terrain I ride on is kinda bumpy, I hate the clip in pedals (fell over a couple of times stopping and also not a fan of the riding posture compared to the hybrid.


Now that the summer heat is here and the local pool is open, I have been foregoing the bike rides more often in favor of swimming 2k meters/day. Normal week would now be 4 days swimming and 2 days riding. I wanted to take out the road bike today, but ran into some issues with my presta pump leaking, so I hunted out some hillier terrain today on the hybrid.


I am going out to Colorado in another month to ride in the Courage Classic, which will be 80 miles/day for 2 days at altitude. My brother has been into cycling for years and has done the ride a few times. I will meet him out there for the ride. I believe the swimming gets me in better overall shape, as I lose weight when I start swimming, However, I'm concerned that I will have problems with the different type of conditioning and also lack of familiarity with riding a road bike (hate the brake locations also).


What do you guys think?


Also looking for some longer casual weekend road rides in central NJ. The ones I am seeing are charity rides with entrance fees (ok with that) but also donations required and I'm already raising for the CO charity ride.

Find a local bike club and start riding with them. If you want to get into cycling shape, ride more and swim less.

If you want to get stronger cycling, you need to cycle more. Swimming may help from a cardiovascular standpoint, but it won't give you the needed leg conditioning and strength for longer, hillier rides.

Regarding getting used to the road bike and clipless pedals, you have to do the activity to build familiarity with it. Road bikes are going to be more twitchy compared to a wide flatbar hybrid and the flatter back takes time to get accustomed to. A road bike is going to be faster and more efficient for nearly any kind of riding, but if you are a month out from the sportif, I think you'd be better served riding your hybrid.

"This year I bought a road bike off CL and other than a metric century 1 month ago (no problems), I have only rode it ~ 5 or 6 times."

Imagine if you'd just taken up swimming since you were a kid who only dog paddled, and now you're trying to learn to swim for real in a pool, or even off the beach at Sandy Hook. And imagine you've decided to swim a mile in the sea in a month as part of a charity event, but you feel more comfortable dog paddling because you haven't learned to do the crawl well after your first couple of swimming lessons.

So you wonder if you could just ride your bike to help you get in shape for the event and switch to the crawl, which you don't like, after just dog paddling for the month.

Assuming the road bike fits well, give it more time but definitely ditch the clipless and go with a platform pedal.
The benefits of clipless are marginal at best and even for the serious recreational rider there have been studies showing no benefits.
My story is the exact same as yours and I now love my road bike. I re-started at 50.
Nice to see a fellow NJ rider here. I am in Morris County.
The Gran Fondo NJ is on 9/11 this year and is out of Morristown. Check it out online or go to Marty's Cycle for more info. Great shop in Morristown. They have a very active weekend ride schedule also

I can't add much here at all, other than to say you've gotten some sage advice thus far. I might reverse my training and do 4 days on the the bike, and 2 days in the pool. Add in some light core work too. A long day in the saddle will test your core strength, I know it does mine.

We have an 50+ forum here too with some helpful info as well for us older riders. (I'm 53.)

Looking forward, if you stick with a road bike, you might try out one that's got a more upright geometry, like a Specialized Roubaix, or Fuji Gran Fondo. There are a good number of those bikes out there now.

Thanks for all the great advice gang. I think I knew the answers to my questions, but just wanted to get a boot in the arse.


I am heading out shortly on my road bike, hoping the spot thunder showers are avoided. I really hate the clip in pedals and will check out platform pedals. Are those just regular pedals or something different? I will also check out the weekend rides at Marty's.

Just rode 31 miles with some hilly terrain on the road bike and really enjoyed it. I'm getting used to the clip in pedals, just keeping in mind that I have to clip out at every intersection or POTENTIAL stopping point. Also getting used to a much firmer seat. Amazing how much smoother the bike shifts and how much easier it is to ride faster and climb hills. I even wore my bike shorts and jersey like a real roadie

Thanks for the kick guys.


One other question. My seat is at the same level as the top of my handlebars. Shouldn't the seat be up a bit for a more downward posture?

Only if that's comfortable to you, ie, you have the flexibility for it. It 'shouldn't' be in any way, it's all about what works for each rider.

I just looked up your routes, since I'm sitting in the airport waiting for a flight home from a cycling trip to Colorado. I rode your first day's route, the Copper Triangle, and was planning on riding the 2nd day (Ute Pass) but bagged it in favor of riding in the Denver foothills with friends.

My comment is to not underestimate these rides, especially doing them on back to back days. The altitude affects different people differently, but figure these rides will be 20% harder on account of altitude. Copper Triangle heads over 3 mountain passes, two of which are an elevation of over 11k feet. The Ute pass ride is a little easier but still not easy.

I don't think too much of riding 100 miles with 8000 ft of climbing in a day, but I found Copper Triangle to be a pretty tough ride, especially climbing Vail pass at the end.

If you can arrive a few days in advance and spend some time in Denver, that will help you acclimatize to the altitude.

Since you only have 3 weeks until the event, I'd ride a lot and work out the logistics of the bike. Make sure you feel comfortable with it. Also be aware that there are some long descents and also riding down the Vail Pass on a narrow bike path with lots of people on it.

Beautiful epic riding, though!!!

Yes, I was skiing in aspen this past winter and really felt the thin air when hiking. Unfortunately I will be arriving the afternoon before the ride, so no time to acclimate to the altitude. And I will be renting a bike, a much better bike, at a local shop.

Well, take it slow up the hills and just take it easy early on. Save a little something for Vail Pass. Drink plenty and fuel consistently.

Tylenol helped my headache.

Cool thanks for the scoop.

Yeah, some people like clipless, but if you don't there's no "need" to use them. I've switched back to flats.

If you want to put money into getting to almost clipless, buy pedals with pins, and Five-Ten bike shoes. They're so sticky you have to lift up your foot to adjust positioning. But you aren't actually clipped in.

You don't have to go to all that trouble, it's really not a huge deal for speed or efficiency. The major benefit of clipless is keeping your feet firmly attached to the pedals if you're all out wildly sprinting or going uphill all out in a pack. It's something racers run into regularly, but other riders don't.

Biggest thing on a road bike (after that it won't fall apart of course) is getting the size and fit right. Might be worth it for the OP to pay for a basic bike fitting to get size right if they're having issues with the bike being uncomfortable and not liking the brake position.

Hang in there with the pedals- for any amount of speed/distance, the clipped in out number the flat/toe clips by a wide margin, for a reason.
Just going to a rented bike with different saddle could be an issue- bring yours if you like it, & also padded gloves, sunscreen, & drink a little more than normal.

Bars level with the saddle is fine- saddle height is important.

Seriously?
Clipless for any speed or distance?
My bad. I forgot that the 'better cycling thru accessories' riders outnumber everyone else on the forums.
Different when you are actually on the road but what does that matter right?

I checked out the Marty's web site and they have rides Saturday and Sunday this weekend that look appealing. I think I'll go Saturday and get a feeling for the 2 different rides on Sunday.


Thanks all-great info.

Nice.
I did some Sunday rides last year.
Good regular group. The B rides tended to be faster than posted and they did drop people on 'no drop' rides but I managed and enjoyed myself. Mainly because the rides were minimal hills.
One of these Sundays if my hockey game gets cancelled I may run into you.