Any road bikers?

arwsgirl
arwsgirl Posts: 75 Member
edited September 23 in Fitness and Exercise
I'm getting my new road bike today - well, ordering it at the shop - and am curious if there are any other roadies out there. I'd love to expand my friends list with some others with this common interest. It's going to be a challenge to find winter biking clothes in a plus size but I will persevere! I plan to bike to the gym and home as often as possible (10ish miles total) until I get my bum accustomed to the seat again. Then it's on to longer and longer rides. I can't wait.
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Replies

  • meanness67
    meanness67 Posts: 366 Member
    I got my road bike last year and was riding about 30 miles each time I went out. Can't wait for the snow and ice to go away so i can get back out there. If you're not used to cycling, the best advice I can give is get the best bike shorts/pants you can afford...you get what you pay for.
  • tmcowan
    tmcowan Posts: 322 Member
    That's exciting!!!! Spring will be here soon and we'll be able to get outside on the bike, in the meantime spin class and the trainer. You may want to try www.terrybicycles.com for clothing, they have plus sizes. Also, if you sign up to receive their emails they have "Pro Deal Mondays" where they offer a certain item or two for half price. Their clothing is made for women.
  • emchamberlain
    emchamberlain Posts: 133 Member
    I am not, but one of my New Year's resolutions is to relearn how to ride a bike! I have a road bike, but it's going to be a few months before enough snow is gone to ride.
  • nordens
    nordens Posts: 28 Member
    I got my road bike last summer, I cycled across the UK last August and I'm in training to ride from London - Paris in August of this year!
  • EZGruv
    EZGruv Posts: 215 Member
    I ride! I have 3 bicycles in my stable right now.
    I commuted to work (30 miles daily) for about 10 years. Love it!
  • mlsmathias
    mlsmathias Posts: 21
    Hello, Roadie here! I have been riding for many years. I had to take this past year off the bike as life had other plans for myself and my family. In Dec I started back riding and I will say starting over sucks but I love being on the bike. It is my outlet, and inlet. I let go of the bad and in comes the good me...LOL
    http://www.terrybicycles.com/ Is rather pricey but she had plus sized clothing.
    Is there a bike club near you that you can ride with to help keep you motivated?

    Lisa :happy:
  • backinthenines
    backinthenines Posts: 1,083 Member
    I did my first road ride of this year last Sunday (only an hour, nothing major) and boy was it cold outside!!!! :frown:

    I think I better try to find my overshoes if the temperatures stay like this.
  • khskr1
    khskr1 Posts: 392
    Love love love my road bike! We are fair weather bikers though, but hopefully it will start to warm up by the middle of march and we can ride. Make sure you look up the biking laws in your state. They can vary. And get a Road ID!!! Just in case! I wear mine when I run, bike, ski...you name it!

    Yea for bikes!! :)
  • arwsgirl
    arwsgirl Posts: 75 Member
    I have a pair of capri bike pants that are awesome but I need some cold weather pants. I'm in Tennessee so "cold" is relative. I don't have to deal with snow/ice much but the wind is pretty cold.
  • arwsgirl
    arwsgirl Posts: 75 Member
    That's exciting!!!! Spring will be here soon and we'll be able to get outside on the bike, in the meantime spin class and the trainer. You may want to try www.terrybicycles.com for clothing, they have plus sizes. Also, if you sign up to receive their emails they have "Pro Deal Mondays" where they offer a certain item or two for half price. Their clothing is made for women.

    Thanks for the tip! I'll check them out for sure. This is one of the few times I'm glad I don't live in the north. The biking "season" is pretty much year round if you have the right (windproof) clothing.
  • arwsgirl
    arwsgirl Posts: 75 Member
    I got my road bike last summer, I cycled across the UK last August and I'm in training to ride from London - Paris in August of this year!

    The ride from London to Paris - which ferry do you take across? How far is the ride? I'd love to bike across the UK. Was it an event or just something you decided to do?
  • arwsgirl
    arwsgirl Posts: 75 Member
    Hello, Roadie here! I have been riding for many years. I had to take this past year off the bike as life had other plans for myself and my family. In Dec I started back riding and I will say starting over sucks but I love being on the bike. It is my outlet, and inlet. I let go of the bad and in comes the good me...LOL
    http://www.terrybicycles.com/ Is rather pricey but she had plus sized clothing.
    Is there a bike club near you that you can ride with to help keep you motivated?

    Lisa :happy:

    You're right on about it being an outlet. It's like flying away from my stress. I'm a stay-at-home-mom and being able to ride is such a helpful stress outlet. There are probably bike clubs around but the bike shop I'm using has a weekly ride every Thursday that I'll try to go on.
  • backinthenines
    backinthenines Posts: 1,083 Member
    I got my road bike last summer, I cycled across the UK last August and I'm in training to ride from London - Paris in August of this year!

    Why don't you do the Arch 2 Arc? :wink:

    http://www.enduroman.com/archtoarc.html

    You run from Marble Arch to Dover, swim the channel to the French Coast and then cycle from Calais to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

    You'd be in a rather small elite group of 8 who can say they've done it. :laugh:
  • nordens
    nordens Posts: 28 Member
    We cycle to Dover and then take the short ferry across to Calais. Should be fun! Re: the cross UK ride, we cycled the 'Coast to Coast' route which is a popular cycle route from Whitehaven to Tynemouth. We had a organised back up vehicle which was great. We also managed to raise £25,000 for charity, between 5 of us in the process which was great!
  • HayesSanborn
    HayesSanborn Posts: 34 Member
    Race cyclocross and triathlon. Do a lot of my training on my road bike. First Race of 2011 is in March! Hard to imagine with 18" of snow on the ground right now.
  • nlewis22
    nlewis22 Posts: 107 Member
    My Husband is a rodie and I'm slowly but surely getting there! We did the 2009 GOBA ( Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure) and it was a blast even though I didn't have the right kind of bike or gear, I was sore and exhausted by the end of it. I'm planning on going with him again this year, so I too would like to find some plus sized gals who are into it for more motivation and just to share road warrior stories with!
  • arwsgirl
    arwsgirl Posts: 75 Member
    Love love love my road bike! We are fair weather bikers though, but hopefully it will start to warm up by the middle of march and we can ride. Make sure you look up the biking laws in your state. They can vary. And get a Road ID!!! Just in case! I wear mine when I run, bike, ski...you name it!

    Yea for bikes!! :)

    Just got back from the bike shop where I ordered my bike. Can't wait till Thursday! Also ordered a Road ID. Never heard of them but what a terrific idea! Thanks for the tip!
  • arwsgirl
    arwsgirl Posts: 75 Member
    We cycle to Dover and then take the short ferry across to Calais. Should be fun! Re: the cross UK ride, we cycled the 'Coast to Coast' route which is a popular cycle route from Whitehaven to Tynemouth. We had a organised back up vehicle which was great. We also managed to raise £25,000 for charity, between 5 of us in the process which was great!

    That's awesome - on both accounts. I was in the UK about 7 years ago (can't believe it was that long ago) and did the ferry to Calais. Nice little ride. I'd love to do the Coast to Coast route. I wonder how much it would cost to fly my bike to the UK with me. Talk about a dream vacation.
  • arwsgirl
    arwsgirl Posts: 75 Member
    My Husband is a rodie and I'm slowly but surely getting there! We did the 2009 GOBA ( Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure) and it was a blast even though I didn't have the right kind of bike or gear, I was sore and exhausted by the end of it. I'm planning on going with him again this year, so I too would like to find some plus sized gals who are into it for more motivation and just to share road warrior stories with!

    I would fit your requirements! ;0) Just ordered my bike and can't wait! Yea! I'm considering a charity ride in April. There are several brackets - just don't know if I'd be up for a Century ride in 2 months. Yikes! I might do one of the shorter brackets. Although, I would love to do the Bike Across Georgia sometime.
  • arwsgirl
    arwsgirl Posts: 75 Member
    Question: I just bought http://www.pearlizumi.com/publish/content/pi_2010/us/en/index/products/women/ride/footwear/road_footwear.-productCode-5775.html and am curious what some economical pedal/cleats are for them. I know almost nada about road biking gear so ... I'm a tad lost.
  • piccolarj
    piccolarj Posts: 488 Member
    Hi I'm a roadie too. Got a bike and started cycling last year and I am in love!! There is actually a cycling group on here called MFP Cycling club. A lot of them have been riding for years and can answer a lot of questions for ya. I would say I'm still fairly new to cycling too but I'm looking to do my first century this year!!
  • coronalime
    coronalime Posts: 583 Member
    Mine is hooked to a trainer right now. I dont brave the cold even thought I have all the gear :)
  • backinthenines
    backinthenines Posts: 1,083 Member
    Question: I just bought http://www.pearlizumi.com/publish/content/pi_2010/us/en/index/products/women/ride/footwear/road_footwear.-productCode-5775.html and am curious what some economical pedal/cleats are for them. I know almost nada about road biking gear so ... I'm a tad lost.

    It tells you what pedals/cleats they take. They've got a standard 3-bolt fitting for SPD & Look.

    SPD Road pedal: http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=NP07534
    and they come with standard SH11s which are nice cleats as they have a bit of float on them (about 6 degrees, nice for the knees)
    http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/product-images-large/shimano-sh11-spd-sl-cleats-with-6-degrees-of-float-28938.jpg

    The alternative are Looks: The classic KEOs are a nice inexpensive pedal
    http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/outland-look-keo-item146852.html
    which come with Delta cleats
    http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?PartnerID=79&ModelID=33932
    There are red ones (9 degrees float) and black ones (fixed)

    Those are the ones that don't cost the earth. As you can see when you google, you can spend a fortune on pedals, like over $250 if you go down the road of buying carbon etc but that's not necessary for a newbie at all.

    Then there are other makes for which you can get adapters to fit their cleats, like "Speedplay" pedals which are a bit more expensive but have double sided entry and are easy to unclip from.

    A lot of it is personal preference. Hope this helps.
  • daniellevietti
    daniellevietti Posts: 28 Member
    Welcome to the road! I got my first road bike last year a 2010 Cannondale Synapse 6 Feminine, true love right there! I haven't been riding much this winter (battling the weather, being sick and now a knee injury). It's an amazing feeling, I love that you can make your rides peaceful and serene or intense and aggressive.

    Good luck!
  • adwt2004
    adwt2004 Posts: 7
    I got myself a boardman road comp before christmas and I'm due to do a duathlon at the end of this month. I plan on eventually doing the half iron man competition in sunny sommerset, uk. I ride to and from work and the gym all the time so I probably cover 60 miles a week without doing specific training. It's great cos I get to eat the extra calore every day!! ;)

    I'll add you as a friend!
  • backinthenines
    backinthenines Posts: 1,083 Member
    If you're interested in a nice Half Ironman, Bala in North Wales is a great race. Very scenic.
  • Willstephens1
    Willstephens1 Posts: 45 Member
    I've been cycling for a couple of years now. I don’t have a road bike, i got a Hybrid on the cycle to work scheme, but I’m due to get a new bike any time now, so a road bike is definately on the cards.

    I cycle to work and back most days (17 mile round trip) and i try and do organised rides throughout the year. I did Manchester to Blackpool last year, 60 miles, that was a great ride.

    The weather in the UK has been ok for the past few weeks (if you don't mind riding in the wind/rain), so clothing isn't such a problem.
  • blondebiker
    blondebiker Posts: 19 Member
    I road and mountain bike! During the spring, summer and fall, I commute to work by bike (15 miles round trip) and I usually do two century (100 mile) rides a year.

    Love to meet fellow bikers!
  • cyclone4731
    cyclone4731 Posts: 13 Member
    Got my first road bike a couple years ago. Still have it, and still love it. Did my first metric mile last year at the Indianapolis Speedway in a ride to find the cure for diabetes. I agree with all the people that say buy the best pair of bike shorts you can afford. They feel weird at first, but you get used to them. And you are very thankful for them at the end of the ride.

    Where at in TN are you? I have ridden the Natchez Trace Parkway a couple times near Nashville. VERY hilly!
  • cloggsy71
    cloggsy71 Posts: 2,208 Member
    I intend to be road riding before too long (subject to Work signing up to the Cycle To Work Scheme...)

    I'll be then doing a 25 mile-a-day round trip to work and back each day - hopefully my weight will fly off???
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