I'm new to cycling (at age 40 years old and 205 pounds). I have been riding for about three weeks and up to about 30 miles. I am interested in riding for fitness and to lose some weight. One problem I am having is that my legs tend to burn a great deal at the beginning of a ride even when I have eaten well the night before and an hour or so before the ride. Should I be warming up before the ride to get the best effect. The burning went away after about 20 minutes, and I felt pretty good the rest of the ride, but shouldn't the beginning be the easiest? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

P.S. rides are pretty hilly here in upstate New York (I know not like some places, but nonetheless). Here is an example of my ride a couple of days ago... had to stop a couple of times on the steeper sections: 30-mile loop

Thanks much for getting an aging neophyte straightened out...

I imagine a lot of the burning is just because this is relatively new for you. I always go real easy for about 15 minutes, gradually warming up. I always feel much better when after the 15 minutes I get off the bike and do some stretching. Make sure to always stretch when you are done too.

Go easy for the first 500 miles.
Spin more, not mashing.
I never stretch, warm up by riding real slow.

Yeah, just warm up slowly and remember to keep your cadence up, too. Keep at it and eventually you will figure out what works for you. Give the knees time to adapt and don't push too hard at first.

Welcome to the BF!

This used to happen to me when I first got back into cycling after 10+ years off. It will pass, and don't let it discourage you. BiggSlic is correct, at least from what I experienced...

This is encouraging, thanks. Should I be trying to maintain a certain pedal RPM going up and down hills?

The beginning is not the easiest. You'd be astonished at how strenuously time-triallists warm up before their events, for example. You'd think they'd be exhausted, but actually they need to have gone pretty hard before they are in condition to put out their big effort. Just take it easy for the first 15 minutes until your muscles have warmed up.

EDIT. As far as RPM is concerned, pedalling faster - within reason - is better than pedalling slower. When putting out a lot of power, a cadence of between 80 and 95 is reckoned to be most efficient. But don't worry about the numbers to start with. Ride in a gear that feels comfortable and lets you maintain your momentum without putting huge pressure on the pedals (and therefore your knees). A good rule of thumb is to ride in a gear that is one lower than you feel you could manage. That should keep your cadence up to a respectable level and avoid knee problems.

If you can find a gear that lets you spin at 90-100 up a hill, do that for sure.

Don't worry if you have to get out of the saddle or mash it at a low cadence though. You'll get stronger as you ride more and able to spin up stuff that brought you to a halt before...

Are you pedaling fast enough. One thing I had to work on when I first started riding was to keep my cadence above 80.

Also a good warm up is essential. If I don't get a warm up I feel crummy until about mile 10 to 15. By mile 20 to 25 I feel my best.

I've also returned to the bike after a multi-decade layoff. You will find that as you get in better shape, it will take less time for your legs to stretch out and not burn right away. Try standing on the hills in a smaller gear. Keep up the good work.