Cycling

Just_Ceci

The more you ride, the more you will be able to ride. When I started 3 years ago, I couldn't make it a mile without feeling like I was going to die. Last April, I rode 150 miles in 2 days.

I think I sent you a FR on MapMyRide (and on here).

bwogilvie

Autumnfilly2005 wrote: »

Went for my third ride today. I brought my saddle way up, and adjusted the angle to make sure it was flat. I also tried to focus on my posture more, make sure I was resting on my sit bones. It felt a lot better. My legs are still tired, but at least the same felt uncomfortable instead of a torture device. Also, I went two laps down the street instead of one, and I went a little faster today.

Every ride I feel a little more stable when it comes to balance, pedaling, and being able to turn and stuff.

It sounds like you've done almost everything that I would have recommended — you got some good advice in this thread.

One thing that many beginners do is to pedal too slowly. Most experience bicyclists pedal at a cadence (number of pedal revolutions per minute) of 60-90. If you have a stopwatch, or a watch with a second hand, your right foot should make a full revolution in one second or less. Pedaling at a high cadence is much less fatiguing on your legs than pedaling at a low cadence. It can take a while to get that fast, and it might feel weird at first, but it's worth it. When I started, my cadence was usually in the 50s. Now it's usually between 80 and 90, except when I am going fast, in which case it's between 90 and 110. Competitive cyclists often pedal 120 rpm or more!

Autumnfilly2005

I went for my 6th ride today, and there were a lot of firsts in this ride. I once heard someone say that when you're trying something new, you need to try it at least 6 times before you make a decision about it. Today I feel like I reached some kind of threshold when it comes to cycling.

I added hills for the first time today. They were itty-bitty baby hills, but I could definitely feel a difference between uphill and downhill. I got a chance to practice my braking going downhill, and shifting gears up and down on the slopes.

I lost both my pedals for the first time today. I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow both my feet fumbled and fell off the pedals at the same time. Instead of panicking and falling over (like I used to as a kid), I kept calm and was able to get my feet back on the pedals.

I was able to pedal with only one hand on the handlebars today. My water bottle fell off the back of the bike, so I stopped to pick it up. It was totally broken, so I have to get a new bottle now, and this time I won't put it on the rack in the back. When I got back on the bike and started pedaling, my phone slipped out of my bra and started to fall. I caught it (one-handed) and managed to keep pedaling (one-handed) while I put it back in my bra.

My butt seemed less sore today. I was very tender when I first got on the bike, but after a bit, I seemed to get used to it (or I got numb). What I've been doing to relieve pressure on the butt is to transfer some of my weight to my legs when I was coasting, but I did that much less today.

Today was my longest ride yet, both time and distance-wise. I can't say I'm at all going fast, my average pace was 9.2 mph, but I feel good about it. I know that speed will come in time. Also, when I'm used to only walking/running at about a 3.0-3.5mph speed, being on a bike seems much faster!