Randy, I agree, don't be bothered by the ignorant members and let them get you down. Main thing to concentrate on right now is just to relax, don't over do it if you start to feel like you're going to bonk and to pay attention to the humidity/weather.

I've tried to start seriously watching what I eat before rides and to bring plenty of different fluids...you can't be too careful in these warmer months IMO.

12mph is a fine starting pace...get plenty of seat time, along w/ rest days and pretty soon you will be ahead of the pack! :)

I never said riding uphills. Im talking on flat roads 21 mph for 2-3 hours is hardly impressive. I did a loop around lake washington 60 miles in under 3 hours. Im ignorant because i claim to be able to ride 21 mph for 3 hours, and that 12mph is slow? I think you are ignorant because you are making a statement about me when you dont know me. What kind of statement is that? You dont think i know how to how to program a speedometer on my bike? Yeah, they really should boot me out of the chemical engineering department because im so ignorant. You dont have to know every bike part, component, what to drink, specs, or trivial bike knowledge to be a decent bike rider, ALL you need is a bike and the legs to pedal.

Another thing i want to point out. I dont want to be rude, but why ask a question what you already know the answer to, or a question that nobody else can give an answer that you dont already know? You say you are bonked after riding for one hour, doing 12 mph. Is it the bike? No. That you are drinking the wrong gatorade/water? NO. That you are climbing the pyrenees? NO. That its too hot? Probably Not. It is clear that the only thing thats left is that you are completely out of shape. Im 21, my 40 year old 230 pound co-worker who is competely overweight, starts going on diet (crappy atkins) and bike riding, is now now doing 16-17 mph after only a few weeks.

I mean, do you find it astonishing that you are bonked after riding while out of shape? I havent worked out my upper body since i been bike riding so much lately. SO when i go hit the gym, and start benching, am I going to freak out the next day just because im extremely sore and hop on to weightlifting.com and make a post about why im sore?

ke422azn,

What is your problem?

And why does every engineering student feel the need to point out that he's an engineering student? What does that have to do with this guy's question?

No, but apparently you'll come to bikeforums.net and give us the lowdown on your cirriculum.

If you don't like your 40 year-old, 230 pound co-worker, then direct your angst at him. Otherwise, get bent.

You’re showing your ignorance again. Many people here, myself included, were riding centuries when you were little more than a stain on your parents’ sheets. We don’t give a hoot how fast you or your friends can ride; it has nothing to do with the discussion here.

The symptoms described (light headed and cold) do not point to being out of shape. I’ve bonked, had heat exhaustion and ridden beyond my condition at the time. I’ve had chills and light headedness and I was in great shape at the time. The symptoms definitely point to heat exhaustion IMHO. Trying to ride through these symptoms can be downright dangerous!

It would be appreciated by everyone here if you kept your insults to yourself.

-murray

Trolls... ignore them, they will go away. Joins the forum, and within two days feels the need to try and get a reaction from anyone. I'm sure he/she is a much better rider and much too smart to hang around with us slow dumb people who actually try to help with constructive answers ;)

Hey buddy, come to my gym with that mentality and il treat you to a boxing lesson.

On the feeling 'lightheaded' part of your post: Are you breathing heavily through your mouth while exerting yourself, and not exhaling properly?
If that is the case, every couple of breaths exhale forcibly, push that stale air out of the lungs. Have seen folks turn very red in the face and falling off the bike because they were so busy sucking air into the lungs and not really exhaling properly. That is called hyperventilating.
Good luck!
Rudy and Kay/Zona tandem

i pointed out that im an engineer, because one person claims that i must have misprogramed my speedomter....because 21 is so unacheivable? LOL?

i dont dislike or like my coworker, i just used him to point out that the original poster had to have been really out of shape. And no, its not heat exhaustion, he hadnt been out all day, he just been on for two hours, going 12 mph, and later he stated he had improved to 14 mph which again proves hes out of shape. Look, the TdF are out there in 100 degree weather climbing for 5 hours, and yet dont get heat stroke. This guy goes 12 mph hour for less than 2 hours get heat stroke. Well if you get heat stroke THAT frequently, ur out of shape??!? To much blubber leads to decrease in heat tranfer. 12 mph on flat road is insanely slow, dont believe me? Try going to work at 12 mph, and do not go over 12mph, and see how impatient you will get.


and no, i dont need to hear that you biked your whole life. There is no direct corelation between your biking skills or skills in anything with how many years you been donig it. Yeah, i admit, i had a bike for 3 months. And i been riding 90 miles a day for almost everyday for the past 2 months(summer no school). Wow, my 3 months >> Your lifetime of biking? Hmm.....


No thanks I dont like boxing, I have taken 6 years of martial arts, you are welcome to try tho :)

:rolleyes:

Bed-time for Bozos ...

Stick with engineering. Don't choose an occupation that requires people skills.
Also, doesn't martial arts teach discipline, respect, and humility? It is a noble art form and there is much more to be learned than doing a tornado roundhouse.

thanks for the advice i believe this is a bike forum. And not an occupational career forum. Please dont deviate on a tangent. The original post was about the original poster being out of shape and asking questions that he already knows. Me learning martial arts was only directed to the guy who was trying to show off his boxing. Hey, yeah im cocky, but so is Lance Armstrong. I dont care who you are, if you get tired doing 12mph on flat road, you are out of shape. On my second job, i work at summer conferences, and during the weekend for the seattle to portland bike ride, i checked in a lady who was 5'4 weighed 220 (drivers liscense) She has left her bike in our back room for the night. I happend to check her speedometer, and guess what? it was 13.3 MPH.

So if you going to argue with me
1) prove that 12mph is not slow
2) prove to me that he is truely in shape
3) prove to me that he doesnt already know the answer he was looking for.

I'm not too sure that anyone is really arguing with you per se. I get the distinct impression that we're all merely pointing out that you're a bit of a tool. :)

Feel free to bleat on some more, I doubt it'll get much play from here on ...

No you're not. Cocky people aren't lame enough to pick on people on just getting started. Just like tough guys aren't pathetic enough to beat up little children.

And it's obvious that you're a newbie too, because anyone who's been riding for more than a few months knows you can't compare your mph to someone else's mph without knowing the course.

A lot of the best riders in cycling averaged around 12-13 mph today in the Tour de France.

I just came to the realization that you're going to be an engineer by profession some day.

Time is the ultimate (justice|level|payback). I was cocky like you about my fitness when I was 21. Ten years later, I'm a wheelsucker. Twelve to fourteen hours days months on end in a programming gig will do that.

If you can be as cocky about your fitness when you're 31 as you are now, then kudos. But you're in for it in a few years, I promise you. If nothing else, you'll know what it means to work for it.

By the same measure, McD can use this to his advantage. With time and discipline, I suspect the bonking problem will desist. Life has one finish line but no time checkpoints. People bloom and wilt at various stages. Keep after it and your fitness will improve.

mac, lol. nice post :p

sd

You've got a lot to learn, son :D No correlation between skills and experience, eh? Keep that in mind when you go interview for a job and tell them you deserve the same pay as an engineer with 20 years experience...I’m sure you’ll get the job :lol: :lol:

So keep throwing jabs at weaker riders to pump yourself up. The fact is you’re 3 months of riding aren’t enough to know anything about cycling. With any luck, you’ll keep on biking and understand what we’re talking about in 10 years.

-murray

um saying you have a whole lifetime of biking experience is pretty vague, that could mean, you ride once a week? once a month? Who knows. Also, it doesnt say how far or hard you train each time. 20 years of engineering experience is obviously different than someone just out with a bachelors degree, because hes actually been on the job for 20 years. meaning 40 hours a week, for 20 years. Where as a biker, doesnt have to ride years to be good, part of it is genetics, and part is how hard you train.

And the person who told me that i might be out of shape 10 years from now is again irrelevant. I might be, but probably not. However, ur still pretty much agreeing with me that the original poster is out of shape (that was my original arguement). Yeah, the TdF guys going 13 mph lol that up extremely steep climbs. Again..... the original poster was going over FLAT ROAD. Stop giving irrelevant examples.

RandyMcD,

As you've probably gathered, ke422azn is an arrogant, condescending, infantile
jack-ass. The others who have tried to give you constructive feedback are
the ones whose answers worth reading. Now you know that if you see ke422azn as
a poster, you can just skip the mindless dribble that he writes, whether it
be in this discussion group or any others here.

His attitude's gonna get him real far in life.
The guy's an idiot.
Just ignore him --- I'm sure there's quite a few here who will too.



FWIW, this comes from WebMD.com
http://my.webmd.com/content/pages/2/1675_50506.htm?lastselectedguid={5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348}

What should I include in my program?

Every exercise session should include a warm-up, conditioning phase and a cool-down.
[snip]
Over time, you can work on increasing the length of time you exercise during one session.

The cool-down phase is the last phase of your exercise session. It allows your body to
gradually recover from the conditioning phase. Your heart rate and blood pressure will
return to near resting values. Cool-down does not mean to sit down! In fact, do not sit,
stand still or lie down right after exercise. This may cause you to feel dizzy or
lightheaded or have heart palpitations (fluttering in your chest).

The best cool-down is to slowly decrease the intensity of your activity. You may also do
some of the same stretching activities you did in the warm-up phase.


Did you cool down properly after your ride?
Best.

FWIW, I’ve got over 50k miles in the last 15 years plus another 10 years of riding before that. As for effort, I’ve done plenty of races, but I prefer to do group rides with the Cat 3’s I know that tend to be harder than most of the races I've done.


So why wasn’t Lance winning TdF’s 10 years ago? Wasn’t he training hard enough? Cyclists peak in their late 20’s because cycling is a lot more than pushing pedals around. It takes years and thousands of miles for your muscles to develop cycling technique and efficiency. Certainly, hard training makes you better, but years of experience will tell you how to get more out of your training.

Back to the original question, have you ever experienced chills and light headedness on a bike? What, besides your extensive 3 months of cycling experience :lol:, qualifies you to suggest riding through it? Perhaps your genetics or hard training :lol: :lol: That sort of advice could be downright dangerous.

Being a fast rider doesn't make you knowledgeable or give you the right to insult other riders trying to get better.

-murray

because lance lost one of his testicles, he was considerably bigger. He was over 190. And obvioulsy didnt have the body structure to compete in TdF.

Murrays: im not claiming im a better biker than you, im saying that simply saying " i have been biking for years" doesnt really get a clear message across. 50k miles is pretty good, id have to say you are an experienced rider.

im not insulting anybody, i simply stated that the orignal poster was out of shape, and the only answer is to ride more.


to cyclefreaks: you call me an arrogant , condescending, ignorant jackass. Its funny you dont call yourself a hypocrite. I dont consort to calling names and profanity. Yes, me claiming 12 mph as being slow IS a SUBJECTIVE comment (altho with fairly good reason to call it slow). You on the other hand, calling me an ignorant dumbass who wont get far in life even though you dont know me. Hmm... is that what you do when you lose an arguement to someone? ... To call them an ignorant dumbass? Im sure ill get farther than you in life with my bike, and as well as in my career. Dont think so? come to seattle, and we'll race.

Ok. Thread is done. Cooked. Ruined. Someone lock it ...

Amen.

That was the point, Einstein. He never said it was a flat road. You have no clue what course he was riding. Understand?

ask him, it is flat road.