MFP Cycling Club

If you have a cell phone that you can download apps for, you can download a biking app. My husband uses one for our rides, and it works really great.

Morning everyone, just checking in. I went to my spinning class yesterday morning and whilst I felt pretty good during the class, my legs were like lead this morning. I cycled in to work and it was the single hardest journey ever! My legs were so achey that despite being on a level road and cycling with the lowest gear, it felt like I was going uphill the entire way. It's only 9.20 am here and I am already dreading the cycle home just a little bit! The good thing is that I have to get home somehow as I can't just leave my bike at work

RAGBRAI sounds amazing - I have always wanted to try the London to Brighton bike ride (85 km) or the London to Paris bike ride (500 km over 5 days) but at the moment I am just waaaay too chicken!

RebelRenny - Good luck - a 40km round trip commute sounds mean, but your heart will love you for it!

Clioandboy - 15 km doesn't say nothing to me, it's something I'm working towards so you should definitely be chuffed. Hope the downhill part was fun

I hadn't thought of using an app but I think I will give it a go.

Nice to see a cycling thread. I've been training with my team for Pedal to the Point in August. I try and do
about 150 miles a week, which depends on whether I commute or not. I'm not to crazy about riding my
bike at 10 o'clock at night, but still try at least one or two times a week.

BTW, if anyone wants to donate for Pedal to the Point, which goes toward the fight for Multiple Schlerosis,
here's the link...

https://secure3.convio.net/nmss/site/Donation2?idb=1116196728&df_id=27879&FR_ID=13681&PROXY_ID=7745866&PROXY_TYPE=20&27879.donation=form1&JServSessionIdr004=dt6yiktpv1.app326b

The minimum donation is only $5.

This past weekend I did 80 miles by myself and at least another 25 tonite with my team.

Doug

And for the rest of you who are commuting to work, I'm jealous. Since I work out of my house most of the time, that won't work for me.

You can go biking in the morning and then call yourself commuting lol. I would have to leave 3 hours in order to get to work, but the kids would not like me coming in hot and sweaty. Now way to shower, plus, I have 3 kids to deliver to various other school drops. :laugh:

Thunderstorm chance scared me into not riding this morning. :frown: Will have to make up the difference over the next couple of days.

I live in a non third world country, yet, the USA is about the only country left still using the customary measurement system. I teach metric, but I am not good at visualizing miles to KM and vice versa. So when everyone is talking about km distance i have to revert back to my trip to canada . We drove 60 mph and the speed limit sign said 100 KMP. One you think I should be better, my goal for the future, to watch my car speedometer and think distance and speed in km. Trival: did you know that Benjamin Franklin tried to present the idea for our country, just forming, to use the metric system. Then we would not have to deal with all that fraction stuff. 1 inch 9/16. :grumble:

Anyways, I am proud to say I went to MapMyRide.com. I liked looking at the diifferent map types, and the elevation feature is cool. Cool, someday, I may just past a fellow cyclist. I found saved routes for cyclist in my area too. And who knows, I may even enter an event....maybe...

I managed my first bike ride this week [it's been a family visiting overload for the past two weeks !!] and boy, it felt good. I don't know the exact mileage, as my odometer bit the dust months ago, but I keep track of how long I bike and subtract an estimate for stops [ drink of water, traffic lights]

So, this AM, my friend and I rode about 80 solid minutes. I learned a lesson last week when I biked early on an empty stomach and felt the dreaded fade. Not today... I ate a piece of Ezekiel toast with a tbsp of peanut butter and a handful of fresh cherries, which are at their season peak right now. Of course, I also drank a big glass of water. This was just enough... complex carbs and some protein. I managed the hills [ok, ok,... bridge overpasses] just fine.

It's a hot and very humid summer here in FL, and I believe other parts of the country are experiencing major heat too. I can only bike early in the morning and early evening yet still come home drenched... we southern ladies supposedly don't sweat, of course ... we merely "glisten". :blushing: Well, I glisten to the point of being completely drenched and dripping! Drinking plenty of water is absolutely essential when exercising, but in this climate, more so than ever. I go through about 12 oz before setting out, 22 oz during and another big glass before heading home, if possible.

I was reading that in heat, drinking a slush type frozen drink can keep athletes performing longer than just cold water. I wonder if that applies to a frozen margarita? Probably not. :laugh:

BC1

Can anyone suggest something that will help me track how far I go on my bike? I have looked at bike computers, but most are really expensive... is there something smaller and similar to a pedometer that a runner wears that would work??? And hopefully affordable.... Thanks

There are some inexpensive odometers out there. Cateye makes models that range from $30-50.00. That's what I use for now. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of some of the Garmin models, but it keeps track of my miles, which is all I'm really looking for right now. Maybe I'll put a Garmin on my Christmas list :happy:

Thanks a bunch, I will look into that. Right now I am just tracking time, but that can vary so much depending on my energy level, and pretty much everyone else aims for a distance.... What would be a good over-all goal for the summer, distance-wise? I am a beginner and not sure what I should make my goal for the summer (in miles).

Panda that is a good question.

The answer depends on a lot of things, but I'd say the simple answer is to not worry about an overall goal, just try to improve every week. It would also depend on where you live, if you live in a very flat place, with lots of good space for bicycles you can put on a lot of nice steady miles, but if you live in a really hilly place you will work a lot harder for those miles.

My advice for you is to get a map, or even google maps and try to figure out a route. I imagine you know your own area well, after all you live there, so avoid the congested areas with lots of traffic and peds, try to map out a route that skirts these areas.

I think that 10 mph is a decent pace to aim for to start, so how much time do you want to spend, if the answer is an hour, then I'd map out an 8 mile route, that way with traffic lights etc, you should be able to complete your route in an hour. Don't go at it like it is a race, it is not, try to be consistent, remember what gear you are in, if the route goes up hill, be in the right gear to tackle the hill.

Take your time, figure it out.

Now some generic cycling tips.

People driving cars cannot see you, you are the invisible cyclist to them. I've been hit 4 times in my life while riding my bicycle, thankfully nothing more than stitches, but each time the first thing out of the cager's mouth was "I did not see him" :explode:

Ride like everyone in a cage is out to kill you, to run you over and then back up and make sure they did the job :bigsmile:

I know it sounds extreeme but you have to watch your own (ever decreasing in size) *kitten* out there.

Wear a helmet, and wear it correctly

I don't know if I can post a pic here......



or

http://www.bicycleapparel.com/images/helmets/helmetfit2.jpg

but there is a good and bad way to wear a helmet.

Wear gloves, if you do take a tumble, even a small one, your hands will take a beating, gloves help with hand pain too. I have never liked the gel filled ones, good old leather for me thank you.

Make sure your bike is in good shape, check the tires for cracks etc and make sure they are pumped up to the right pressure, this will make flat tires less likely and the bike will roll along much faster and easier, making the ride more fun, which will make you ride more.

If you ride at night or even dusk, get a light for both the front and back of your bike, the new LED flashing lights are great, they are cheap, the batteries really last and they can be seen from a very long ways away.

Equip your bike with a bell, and use it, nothing freaks out peds more than a bike wizzing by them from behind, ring your bell as you approach and then as you get closer, if they move over, say "Thanks" and smile, this is good etiquette for cyclists. Watch out for peds with their iPods on or texting, they are dead to the world, they have to be treated like blind deaf 3 year olds with impulse problems :noway: :bigsmile: give them a wide berth.

I may be going a bit over kill here, but if you are prepared and you are aware, you can avoid most trouble and really enjoy your cycling while getting fit.

PS when I say "Ped" I mean "Pedestrian" I'm not saying it in a derogatory manner, it is just short hand, same for "Cagers" I get this from years of cycling and motorcycling, we call those stuck in their cars while we ride Cagers, because they are stuck in their cages :laugh:

I'm also aware that may call motorcycles "Donorcycle"

Enjoy your cycling!

Stu

Still taking the week off from cycling as we brought the dog with us for this trip. Doing a lot of walking (about 5 miles a day) and killed 2 pair of athletic shoes. (I think they died more of old age than hard use - the timing was just humorous.) Stopped posting my exercise and nutrition as well due to time contraints with a slow wi-fi but I'm NOT veering from my hard won eating habits.

We are staying in Ludington, MI and the area is really bike friendly. The bike shops are utilitarian and don't carry kits and socks or do-rags. The terrain is a lot nicer than the map shows. Most of the bikes used are of the "fat tire" variety and I would definitely consider one if you are going to vary your route a lot. Really wish we would see more helmet use but these are not racers running pace lines so danger is minimalized.

Will let you know when I'm "back in the saddle again".

P.S. I have been religiously reading the posts and all of you are doing impressive work.

Hi I'm new from Australia, so metric all the way for me.
I am a serious recreational cyclist, so usually get up early 2-3 times a week (5.30 or 6.00) to go for a 30 km ride with friends, and then longer rides on Saturday.
Last Saturday was the longest ride for me for a long time - 94 kms, but after a really horrible week weather wise, it was mild weather and little wind, unfortunately it started to rain just at the end, but that is OK.
My advice for newbies: get your bike checked out for safety, and get a basic kit and some training on how to change a tire, you'll be glad you did. Oh and bike shorts are definitely worth the money.

Also for the person on an earlier page saying that she needs to get gloves because her hands are sore - might be worth asking a bike shop if your set-up is OK, as on short rides your hands shouldn't get sore, you might have too much weight resting on them.

Looking forward to reading some more great bike stories.

GG

My bike with the skinny slick tires on it

I hope the pic worked!