Cycling newbie HELP ME!!!

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Hey,

I have just started cycling after agreeing to do the London to Brighton (54 miles) cycle in June and also London to Cambridge (50 miles) in July.

As I have started the feat of getting fit and being able to cycle that type of distance, I have started a blog to chart my successes and failures in this venture, the address of my blog is http://breatnac.blogspot.com/ if you have any tips or tricks on the training that I need to know, please let me know.

I am learning at the moment by reading other peoples blogs and making my own mistakes. I would prefer to learn by other people's experiences rather than making the same mistakes. If you can give me any advice, please reply or view my blog to understand more about my challenge.

Thanks
Breatnac

Get some quality bike shorts, and learn to eat and drink regularly while riding. Start small, ride frequently, and build slowly.

You can do it. :)

I am getting a Ridgeback Element, which is the best I can currently afford. It has got good reviews though. I have already begun to realise how important a pair of padded cycling shorts, a waterproof jacket and gloves in this weather.

If you have any more tips, they would be greatfully received.

Thanks

One of the nice things about cycling is the way that you can get reasonably fit in quite a short space of time (starting from a fairly sedentry lifestyle). At the start of last year I started cycling fairly simular distances as you are now, just 10 miles a couple of times a week.

As the spring and summer came I started going out a bit furthur and building up my distances, there was a village with a lovely church about 10 miles away and it was my target to get out there one day and see it. Well this came rather quicker than I expected and within a month of setting myself this target I acchived it and felt really great, this gave the the motivation to get out more and explore all the little villages and roads I had never seen before.

A couple of months ago I joined my local cycling club and now go out at the weekend and will quite happily do 40 or 50 miles at quite a pace, and I am certainly still improving. The little village with the lovely church seems like a silly little distance now but that just shows you how quick it comes if you stick at it for a while.

So after all of that I would say, set yourself some intermediate targets - Something like, when it gets lighter in a couple of weeks to cycle to work twice a week, also just stick with it, keep building up slowly and it will come.

Thanks for that, it is nice to know that what I am doing is not impossible, or beyond my reach, it is also nice to hear words of encouragement. This week I intend to ride to work and back twice which is 6.5 miles each way. At the weekend I am going to try to reach the town 11.5 miles away. Spend a bit of time there and then cycle back.

I have been buying books of cycle routes in my area and also plottting my own so that I will not get bored and each route will come with its own challenges e.g. hills or rough ground etc.

I believe my local cycle club being cambridge go out every saturday morning for at least 40 milles, it would be nice to join this when I am able to do the distance, maybe after July.

I also have another challenge, there is a cycle ride that passes though many villages and spends time in each one. The whole route takes 12 hours and is 50 miles. With about 5-6 hours of that being riding time, the rest being going to events in the local villages.

This is a great event for me to do as I should be able to cover 50 miles by then, it is on May bank holiday, one month before I have to do 50 miles as quickly as I can without many breaks.

Thanks