MFP Biking Group July 28

Thanks for starting this week's thread! I was out riding and didn't get to it before I left.

I got in 50 miles today--really really really wanted to get closer to 60 but the humidity is just disgusting. I started feeling sick, and I mean not good at all, so got to 50 and called hubby for SAG pick-up

Humidity is the worst. When we do our long rides we start out really early and even then it is too hot by the time we get home!!

I left the house at 5:45am hoping to get home before it got bad but no such luck. Ugggh.

Can't wait for fall!

My plan for this week is:

Tuesday : ----20 (at least)
Wednesday : 80
Thursday: ----depends how I feel
Saturday:

---

40 if I am not too tired after work

Since I am already almost there I am thinking about trying the full century in August already instead of October. Which would mean I will not go to the Seagull shore .

I did not meet my goal of 73 last week, so I'm making that my goal this week. I did 40 yesterday.

Got a short ride to the local library down the old railroad trail tonight with the family (child and a stack of books in the trailer).

Tuesday: 5.25 miles

Saved about $1.25 on gas ... who hoo!!! I can buy a bottle of pop tomorrow!! :laugh:

Hi! I'm new to the biking group. I bike to and from school almost everyday or at least 1 way if it's raining (I live in Miami) (round trip 22 miles). I just got a brand new road bike (Jamis-Ventura sport) and I road it for the first time today. What an amazing difference between a hybrid/mountain bike and an actual road bike!! If you don't have a road bike, I HIGHLY recommend it! I managed to find a 2007 Jamis model on super sale. Otherwise it would've cost around $750-$800 (and that's cheap!). I'm still amazed at all of the "fancy" bicyclists that zoom past me on Key Biscayne with their $6,000 carbon fiber bikes. Incredible. Anyway, this morning, my chain fell off when I was testing out the different gears. Is there some kind of "Road Biking for Dummies" manual? I obviously have no idea what gears are appropriate for road biking. So far everyone has told me that I should be using the "top" gear unless I'm doing some really fast riding. I'm managing about 14-17 MPH on flat road and 30-32 MPH downhill, 11-13 MPH uphill (the ONLY hill we have in Miami is a manmade bridge known as the Rickenbacker Causeway). Anyway, any help on gear shifting or biking/ riding expertise is much appreciated.
THANKS!! You guys are logging some serious miles!

Hi! I'm new to the biking group. I bike to and from school almost everyday or at least 1 way if it's raining (I live in Miami) (round trip 22 miles). I just got a brand new road bike (Jamis-Ventura sport) and I road it for the first time today. What an amazing difference between a hybrid/mountain bike and an actual road bike!! If you don't have a road bike, I HIGHLY recommend it! I managed to find a 2007 Jamis model on super sale. Otherwise it would've cost around $750-$800 (and that's cheap!). I'm still amazed at all of the "fancy" bicyclists that zoom past me on Key Biscayne with their $6,000 carbon fiber bikes. Incredible. Anyway, this morning, my chain fell off when I was testing out the different gears. Is there some kind of "Road Biking for Dummies" manual? I obviously have no idea what gears are appropriate for road biking. So far everyone has told me that I should be using the "top" gear unless I'm doing some really fast riding. I'm managing about 14-17 MPH on flat road and 30-32 MPH downhill, 11-13 MPH uphill (the ONLY hill we have in Miami is a manmade bridge known as the Rickenbacker Causeway). Anyway, any help on gear shifting or biking/ riding expertise is much appreciated.
THANKS!! You guys are logging some serious miles!

Glad you can join our biking group!

I've always heard that it's better to pedal faster in a lower gear than to "mash" a higher gear--that's it is typically a mistake new riders make. I know I did! I thought "the higher gear the better" but that's not the case. Pick a gear you feel comfortable pushing and just pedal a faster cadence (pace).

sounds like you're getting good speeds, too.

the most important thing about riding is to have fun--go as far as it is fun for you. Once it stops being fun, you'll not want to do it anymore, so keep it fun!

Also, some of us have goals of doing Metric Centuries (64 miles), Centuries (100 miles), and further, so that's why we're logging big miles--trying to train for those upcoming rides.

Don't feel left out or discouraged if you don't get in a lot of miles. Even 30-60 minutes a day riding is great exercise!

Be careful in Miami! I know the traffic there is nuts!

I was at about mile 19 last night when I got a flat :grumble: Luckily someone else out riding that late came past and had a patch kit and got me all patched up. Couldnt get enough air (only had a hand pump) to do any more serious riding so i hadta head home.

I got in 20 miles this morning!

I have gone to two days of physical therapy and am feeling GREAT results. He adjusted some bones in my foot today and all ready I feel a lot less pain. He didn't tape me up due to my riding. I go back Friday and if it is still feeling good then no tape. If it gets worse then I am tape bound.


Monday - 17 miles
Tuesday - 7 miles
Weds - 20 miles

adjusted bones? That sounds lovely :sick:

Welcome to the biking group cpumpkins:flowerforyou:

As a general rule you should pedal as easy as you can without having the feeling that you spin out... i.e. it gets uncomfortable. Shift down early on that hill. As shorerider said usually beginners tend to pedal to hard, meaning they use muscle power and then get tired faster. Easy does it! You will after a few hundred miles get a pretty good feeling for what your comfort zone is. If you plan to ride a longer distance take it deliberately very VERY easy in the beginning, even easier than you usually do. Your first goal is to ride what ever number of miles you want to ride in one day. Then after that if you want to you can work on riding the same distance faster. That is already advanced "clases"

Tailwinds

Today my ride took me on a tour through Delaware and Maryland. After my "accidental" 70 mile ride last week I had to ride more than that and mapped a nice route on Mapmyride. I was really not as motivated as I usually am. It was foggy and humid and hot an just plain not nice at the start at 8 am. Even thought about cutting it short in the first 20 miles. At mile 60 I was so tired and exhausted I was seriously wondering how to make the rest. But after some food and a 15 minute break things were looking different and I rode the rest relatively easy. Not that fast anymore, coasting a lot, but I made it.

Total miles: 89:happy:

I did ride the pledged 20 on Tuesday too (27).

I think I take of for the rest of the week, 'cause my legs do feel a little sore.

Plan for next week is 100 miles, with a 2 hr break at mile 50 to visit friends at the beach.

WOW! Great job, Steff! Of course, you've got the 'bent, so it pretty much does all the work for you, right??

Got in 21 miles with my DH this morning so that gives me 87 for this week so far.

BUT, I hit 410 miles for this month!! That's my best monthly totals yet.

AND--get this--a total of 17,628 calories for the month of July!!!!!!!!!!!