Cycling, bikes, indoor, outdoor etc.

Ardael

Hi smsquash.

A few tips for a fellow shorty

- regarding dismounting your bike, try stopping near a curb, flat stone, brick, tree stump, etc. If you have places than you know you will stop and there is no such thing bring your own one day and set up stops for yourself.
- Your saddle was set up at a shop probably for max efficiency/ speed. At your level you want to get the legs going so maybe drop the saddle a bit and as you get fitter and slimmer you can raise it again to its original height. Don't hesitate to make a notch on the seat pen. My saddle has come up half an inch since the beginning of my weight loss.

- for your knees, spinning is what you need. As mentioned above consult your bike shop and ask for the "Granny Gears" I had them for 4 years on my bike and even though people sometimes laughed at me I'm totally injury free. Cycling can be very hard on the knees if you push too hard à gear. As a commissaire ( a competitive cycling referee ) part of my job is too insure that underage riders have the right gears for their age groups for races. Most juniors and young elite riders i know have had knee surgeries because they pushed monstrous gears training.

I agree with pretty much anything else that was said.

Mind yourself and it will happen naturally !

awinner_au

@smsquash what gearing do you have on your bike? With steep terrain you certainly should look at having the gears to enable you to get up the hills.

You dont need to stay seated when coming to a stop, i can barely touch the ground while seated. I always stand when come to a stop.

Riding in the rain is a personal thing, i ride because i like riding, however not in the rain. If its raining i go back to bed, if im out riding and it rains ill keep riding but ill take it easy. Generally it is easier to stick with things you enjoy, manage your riding so you keep rolling.

aokoye

smsquash wrote: »

I live in the mountains in Vermont, and all of the roads are extremely hilly, and dirt/gravel. My house is on the side of a mountain on a dirt road.

It’s been much tougher than I expected starting out. I come out of my driveway directly into a long, tough climb. I still have to walk most of the way up the first hill (it’s a mountain, really), because it is so long and steep. At the top of the hill, there is a flat spot where I get on and start riding, but there are still hills, constant up and down hills, in every direction. Nowhere near me has much flat ground. Closest gym is at least 45 minutes away, and I hate working out indoors anyway.

I started out with a goal of just doing the same loop as I usually walk, which is 3 miles of up and down hills on dirt roads. Everyone I’ve read or talked to is starting with 5, 10, 15 mile rides to start? I’ve been working on completing this same 3-mile ride without having to stop, get off and walk up the steep hills for a month now, and realistically it’s going to be at least another month before I can do it without walking. And I’m not even counting coming out of my driveway and having to climb to the top of the mountain. I’m just assuming I’m going to have to get a lot stronger before I do that.

My questions:

Is it normal to take this long to be able to do a simple, three mile ride? I feel like I’m doing something wrong because I’ve been out there, every other day without cheating, and although I’m making very small improvements, I’m nowhere near able to cycle this three mile loop yet (it’s been 5 weeks of riding it every other day)? I just keep shifting down until there is nowhere else to go, and then I push hard until I just get so slow I come to a standstill, and then I have to get off and walk to the top of the next hill. I do upshift so that I continue to cycle and build momentum on the downhills but I’m physically unable to maintain revolutions on the steep hills.

I live at the base of an extinct volcano so I get the whole, "I can't ride my bike anywhere without hills" thing. My general thought is don't be so hard on yourself. I normally drive myself and my bike to somewhere flatter (and with roads are more bike friendly infrastructure wise) when I want to ride my bike. That said when I do ride by my house there are two hills that I flat out can't get up without stopping. I say this as someone who is in fairly good shape cardio wise and regularly rides well over 40 miles.

Also - I’ve been reading a lot that hills are hard on your knees? Am I not giving my knees as much of a break as I think I am by adopting a no impact activity? I really enjoy cycling - it’s so beautiful here and I love getting out under the open sky - but I’m now a little scared of the potential impact on my knees. I really really can’t afford another injury. I did get a basic bike fitting when I bought my bike, and I also brought the recommendations from my neurosurgeon and I think he set it up based on those recommendations.

Peddling hard at low cadences can likely be hard on your knees but otherwise cycling isn't particularly hard on your knees. I highly suggest getting gearing that is appropriate for the terrarian you have to deal with (hills).

I am only 5’1”, I already feel like the bike is way too tall and scary to get on, I can barely reach the ground on one tiptoe when I’m on the seat (and only on one side, my other foot doesn’t reach at all.) With my weak ankles and messed up balance, this is really scary, especially when it comes time to stop. My legs are already weak, and then they’re shaky and exhausted from trying to push so hard to get up all of the hills... I do sometimes lose my balance upon stopping and have to let my bike kind of fall out from under me so I can steady my foot on the ground.

If you think the bike is too big I would probably think about seeing if you can return your bike and get a smaller one. I realize with your hight that's a somewhat hard ask, but it's an easier ask than if you were wanting to find a road bike (see Emma Pooley).

Also, when I bike in the rain, it is much, much more difficult. The roads liquify and get squelchy, and trying to go uphill through mud is really exhausting. The downhills are slippery and scary. I’m extra scared because of the seriousness a fall could mean because of my previous surgery. I had bones removed from my spinal column and now a hard fall or jar could re-injure my spine more easily.

You don't have to ride in the rain if you don't want to and if you don't feel safe then don't do it. While I have no issues with riding in the rain (I live in Portland...), I am very cautious on steep desents because of my various injuries and surgeries. I can't really afford to have another surgery within the next 12 months.

Am I wasting my time altogether by doing such short rides? I feel ridiculous doing a two-mile ride and calling it exercise, but up a mountain in the mud, it’s exhausting for me still. I come home, my legs are shaky and weak, sometimes I feel dizzy and like I’m going to vomit, and the next day I’m stiff and sore.

To me that points to you starting with too much too soon. Feeling dizzy and like you're going to vomit isn't a good thing and to do that every other day doesn't seem healthy (though I am not an exercise physiologist nor am I a doctor).

Thanks for any advice, I’ve looked all over for answers in cycling forums and such and haven’t come across much on starting out as a raw beginner on tougher terrain. Vermont is all mountains, so it’s a long drive to anywhere that could be considered flat or easy cycling. At least a couple of hours drive probably.

Have you started a thread on bikeforums.net? They are a wealth of information and some of us are there as well (not always with the same username, myself being one of those). My general thought is a. do that and b. find rolling hills. It doesn't need to be flat but if you can find somewhere that is flatter than you are now that would be ideal. They have a clyde/athena forum but to me it seems like the issue is your fitness and potentially your balance and ankle strength, not your weight (though that does obviously come into play on hills).

mjbnj0001

I thought about you and my earlier answer yesterday, @smsquash, as I rode one of our local county park rail-trails (see picture below). These types of trails are typically flat or low-incline, arrow-straight or lightly curved (they are former railways). Seems perfect for reducing some of the impediments (i.e., terrain) that are keeping you from fulfilling your cycling goals.

I just re-read your post above. You don't say exactly where in Vermont you are located so I can't be more specific. However, I did just consult traillink.com for a list of Vermont trails, and it reported 37. Maybe some are within reachable distance to your home, and can accommodate your needs.

Rather than focusing on your immediate locality, which is challenging for you, it may be better to pack up your bike and take it somewhere else reasonably close to develop your riding. After, at some point, your home locality might not be so impenetrable. This trail I was on yesterday is relatively boring, but offered a great way to knock out about 10miles after doing my Saturday chores/errands. I am fortunate in that there are a variety of off-road trails (paved and/or compacted fine gravel, not just mountain/gravel bike trails) within a short drive of my home, some quite scenic or at least interesting. While I'm on the local roads also (about 30% of my riding to date), I'm still not as comfortable with them as I was 30 yrs ago (due to both my own issues and the traffic conditions). One humbling aspect of these trails is that I had no clear idea of how many were around until I started using them this year.

Best of luck in your efforts!

smsquash

Hi there. I wanted to stop back here to thank all of you who took the time to read through my post, and offer your experience, suggestions and help.

I also wanted to say that today I was feeling kind of down about it all. I had decided to skip my ride, but wanted to do something with my 8-year-old daughter, and she wanted to do a bike ride. So we decided to do the loop. Wasn’t enthused, but I went anyway.....and managed to make the entire loop, without needing to stop or walk at all! I’m still in shock!

I thought it would be at least another month, but it was like today something clicked and I just did it. I only stopped once, and that was because my daughter asked to stop to catch her breath!

I will readily admit that I cried a little bit, especially because a big reason I’m trying to get more fit is to keep up with, and stick around for, my family.

Thank you again to everyone who took the time to respond. I appreciate you all sharing so many amazing insights and great advice with me. I’ll definitely be going through all of them carefully and implementing many of your suggestions. Except maybe not riding in the rain - I love being outdoors, regardless of the weather. And now I feel equipped with a lot of great advice and the knowledge that if I stick with it, I can handle it, if not today, then soon.

awinner_au

I wasnt saying dont ride in the rain, just ride when you enjoy it, some people dont like to ride when its hot either but i much prefer that.

The sun finally came out for me today

awinner_au

I had a bike fit done recently, the fitter said i wasnt using my glutes at all and gave me some exercises to do off the bike to 'activate' my glutes. What, if anything do people do on the bike to engage their glutes?