Any cyclists out there?

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Esperanzahahaha
Esperanzahahaha Posts: 2 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've been cycling for fun for about 4 years now. I'm 20 y/o and have recently gained a bunch of weight that I had lost years ago. I was down 75 lbs but gained back about 40 of it. So I've been cycling more (maybe 50-70 miles a week) and slowly losing the weight again. My biggest issue is food, but I've conquered that before. Anyway, any cyclists wanna become friends and hold each other accountable?

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  • gearhead426hemi
    gearhead426hemi Posts: 919 Member
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    I ride a mountain bike my schedule allows. I did a 30 mile single track race last year and again this year. I plan on upgrading my bike and competing in the 60 mile race next year. Feel free to add me.
  • jondspen
    jondspen Posts: 253 Member
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    I'm new to cycling. OK...not new...had the cool Huffy with the banana seat and baseball card in the spoke as a kid, but haven't been into it until recently. I want to do a triathlon one day, and my time in the Marine Corps has me pretty strong in the swim and run portion of the sprint. This past weekend I went out on a wal-mart $120 POS, did 12+ miles for my first time out, and even with padded shorts and a gel cushion, it was hard to sit the next couple of days. :o:s:'( Would love some cycling friends to give me pointers on how not to do stupid stuff like that gong forward! :)
  • gearhead426hemi
    gearhead426hemi Posts: 919 Member
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    jondspen wrote: »
    I'm new to cycling. OK...not new...had the cool Huffy with the banana seat and baseball card in the spoke as a kid, but haven't been into it until recently. I want to do a triathlon one day, and my time in the Marine Corps has me pretty strong in the swim and run portion of the sprint. This past weekend I went out on a wal-mart $120 POS, did 12+ miles for my first time out, and even with padded shorts and a gel cushion, it was hard to sit the next couple of days. :o:s:'( Would love some cycling friends to give me pointers on how not to do stupid stuff like that gong forward! :)

    First thing I would suggest is getting a entry level hard tail and see how it goes from there. I am a huge Giant and Specialized fan. Once you get a true mountain bike with hydraulic disc brakes and better parts you will notice a HUGE difference in ride quality and bike performance. You dont have to spend thousands but spend 5-700 for a good hard tail.

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,038 Member
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    There is a group of cyclist here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10602580/october-2017-biking-cycling-bicycling-challenge#latest ... we log our rides (and sometimes other exercise) on a daily basis.

    My background ... been cycling for 44 years, but cycling avidly for the past 27 years. And I'm a long distance cyclist.
  • andysport1
    andysport1 Posts: 592 Member
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    Machka9 wrote: »
    There is a group of cyclist here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10602580/october-2017-biking-cycling-bicycling-challenge#latest ... we log our rides (and sometimes other exercise) on a daily basis.

    My background ... been cycling for 44 years, but cycling avidly for the past 27 years. And I'm a long distance cyclist.

    What’s long distance?
    I’m arranging a few rides for my mates and some of them are questioning the distances.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,038 Member
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    andysport1 wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    There is a group of cyclist here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10602580/october-2017-biking-cycling-bicycling-challenge#latest ... we log our rides (and sometimes other exercise) on a daily basis.

    My background ... been cycling for 44 years, but cycling avidly for the past 27 years. And I'm a long distance cyclist.

    What’s long distance?
    I’m arranging a few rides for my mates and some of them are questioning the distances.

    See this thread I started ... http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10366563/ultradistance-cycling#latest :)

    I've been into Randonneuring/Audax cycling since 2001 ... ultra long distances.

    I've done four 1200 km randonnees and one 1000 km randonnee, and a whole pile of Super Randonnees to qualify for those (that's 200 km, 300 km, 400 km and 600 km in one season). And many more shorter distances like centuries and stuff. I think I'm up to 184 or 185 centuries or longer distances.

    I did have a period of time somewhat more recently where I only did rides up to about 300 km, but in 2016 my husband and I successfully completed a 400 km (plus a couple 200 kms and a 300 km), and started a 600 km, but only made it to the 400 km point before I pulled the plug. In the 2 months between the successful 400 km and the 600 km attempt, I managed to catch measles and then the flu and really didn't do as much cycling as I would have liked. :(

    This year we've eased back a bit and have only done rides up to 300 km again, but we're hoping that next year we'll be able to do another SR series ... and we're eyeing the Paris-Brest-Paris in 2019. We'll see ... who knows ... we've both completed it once (that's where we met) and have had one DNF on it (very rainy year that year) ... and would like to have another go. :)


    So that's what I mean by long distance. :)
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited October 2017
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    andysport1 wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    There is a group of cyclist here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10602580/october-2017-biking-cycling-bicycling-challenge#latest ... we log our rides (and sometimes other exercise) on a daily basis.

    My background ... been cycling for 44 years, but cycling avidly for the past 27 years. And I'm a long distance cyclist.

    What’s long distance?
    I’m arranging a few rides for my mates and some of them are questioning the distances.

    @andysport1

    See you are in the UK too....

    Have a look at the Audax UK website http://www.aukweb.net/home/ , there's a whole load of organised events of varying distances and they tend to be really nice routes. You can also get copies of the permanent routes to complete by yourself.

    As for the distance question in Audax terms....

    "How long is 'long-distance?
    The 'classic' distances for AUK events are 200km, 300km, 400km and 600km. (200km is approximately 125 miles - kilometres are used because of AUK's close links with other similar organisations throughout the world, and particularly in France.) Most AUK events are either 200km or 100km.
    However AUK aims to have something for everybody and events start from 50km (about 32 miles) and go all the way up to 1400km (about 875 miles), and even this is not the limit because there are set routes, known as 'Permanents', which span the length and breadth of the country and go up to 3200km."
  • Rincewind_1965
    Rincewind_1965 Posts: 639 Member
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    I'm a sports-cyclist doing middle-distances (80 - 180 km ~ 50 - 110 mi)
    A bit on the low end this year ( only 4.500 km ~ 2,800 mi) for having "Running" a bit more in the focus (preparing for Vienna Marathon in 2018).
    From October to March im mainly doing Cyclocross, the rest of the year I'm out on the roads.
  • wolfruhn
    wolfruhn Posts: 3,025 Member
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    andysport1 wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    There is a group of cyclist here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10602580/october-2017-biking-cycling-bicycling-challenge#latest ... we log our rides (and sometimes other exercise) on a daily basis.

    My background ... been cycling for 44 years, but cycling avidly for the past 27 years. And I'm a long distance cyclist.

    What’s long distance?
    I’m arranging a few rides for my mates and some of them are questioning the distances.

    Personally, I only tend to consider more than 75 miles as long distance and really more like 90-95 miles (around 150km).

    As far as difficulty goes in my experience anything up to 70 miles does not really present any particular problem for most regular cyclists. Of course in terms of effort expenditure it also depends on the terrain and the load carried on the bike. I'm sure that 50 miles on a loaded bike through a mountainous region would equate to a whole lot more distance in other circumstances!!
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
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    jondspen wrote: »
    I'm new to cycling. OK...not new...had the cool Huffy with the banana seat and baseball card in the spoke as a kid, but haven't been into it until recently. I want to do a triathlon one day, and my time in the Marine Corps has me pretty strong in the swim and run portion of the sprint. This past weekend I went out on a wal-mart $120 POS, did 12+ miles for my first time out, and even with padded shorts and a gel cushion, it was hard to sit the next couple of days. :o:s:'( Would love some cycling friends to give me pointers on how not to do stupid stuff like that gong forward! :)

    Sounds like you need some more time in the saddle and perhaps some core strengthening to reduce your discomfort. If you are going to participate in a short distance triathlon and your goal is simply to complete the distance, then you don't "need" to buy a new bike. If, however, you are considering a bike purchase and your goal is to complete a triathlon that includes a road based bike segment (as opposed to an Exterra type event) then I would suggest a road bike with a hard seat as opposed to a mountain bike.

    Given your swim and run background, it seems like a very logical step to build some cycling endurance and take the plunge into multisport events. Fair warning, though: Triathlons can be addicting. :)



  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
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    I take spin class three times a week and have done so for about 5 years now.
  • jamesha100
    jamesha100 Posts: 214 Member
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    Fellow UK audaxer here although this year I have only done 100 km events. Most of these have been pretty hilly though which makes a difference. I have a 150km a week on Saturday which will be a step up. I tend to eat whatever I want on days I do these rides as by Garmin HR monitor reckons I burn 4000+ calories on a 100 km ride. I kinda regret this the following day though as I normally gain a bit of weight. It is the only time I have pizza and beer though so I will live with it :)

    The best cycling for weight loss for me is 1-2 hour mountain biking in hilly terrain with very steep sections which cause my heart rate to spike - basically HIIT on a bike.
  • KateJohnson4
    KateJohnson4 Posts: 1 Member
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    jondspen wrote: »
    I'm new to cycling. OK...not new...had the cool Huffy with the banana seat and baseball card in the spoke as a kid, but haven't been into it until recently. I want to do a triathlon one day, and my time in the Marine Corps has me pretty strong in the swim and run portion of the sprint. This past weekend I went out on a wal-mart $120 POS, did 12+ miles for my first time out, and even with padded shorts and a gel cushion, it was hard to sit the next couple of days. :o:s:'( Would love some cycling friends to give me pointers on how not to do stupid stuff like that gong forward! :)

    First off, congrats on getting your first ride in...sorry it was so unpleasant.
    A few tips:
    1) Use chamois cream or something like coconut oil on your skin. The chamois cream can also be rubbed into the pad on your shorts to help.
    2) Ditch the gel cushion on the seat...that just makes things worse. A larger seat profile can actually cause more issues than a smaller one, so if you have a cover, take it off.
    3) Get a cheap bike fit with someone who can "eyeball" your seat position (height and fore/aft). I'll sound like a snob, but a Walmart bike isn't going to last very long, so if you're truly serious, go to a bike shop with someone who can help you find a bike that fits you properly. Well worth the extra money, for sure.
  • _mr_b
    _mr_b Posts: 302 Member
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    Fellow UK biker here. I ride both MTB and road, can usually be found riding the local trails by night and roads at the weekend with a bit of Zwifting in between.

    Tend not to do too many events, most challenging ride this year was 100 miles off-road in a day.

    Oh and if you find you get saddle sore then it’s either in the wrong position or the wrong saddle. I ended up with two new bikes this year, both became uncomfortable on long rides, one was the saddle and the other was position. Both are fine now and not an ounce of chamois cream has been used.
  • VegasFit
    VegasFit Posts: 1,232 Member
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    I'm new to cycling also. Going on about two months now. I only go out on the weekends because I like group rides and am not comfortable enough to venture out on my own just yet. I average about 50 to 60 miles on the weekends. Feel free to friend me if you want.

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