I recently purchased a Specialized Dolce because I discovered that in order to save my hips I have to quit running and biking seemed like the perfect option. I'm 47 years old; I'm in the gym 4 days/week doing Crossfit and consider myself moderately fit. I've ridden my bike twice, the first ride I did 4 miles and the 2nd ride I did 10 miles. A nice run for me was 3-4 miles 3-4 times/week in addition to gym time. Since I'm brand new to biking and my interest lies in riding for fun and added fitness I'm trying to figure out how far I should be riding in order to keep from injuring myself since my body isn't used to being on a bike. So far everything I'm reading focuses more on training for endurance rides or racing. I wasn't really worn out at all after my 10 mile ride but my hips were pretty tender and my left knee was down right sore. I'm adjusting my saddle to address the knee issue and assume the hips were tender because they just aren't used to riding any distance. Any advice would be much appreciated!
Beginner ride distance
- Thread starter sbayhylle
- Start date
Sbayhylle, first off - Welcome!!
It is not so much how far you ride, but how you ride that makes the most difference. I recommend starting off using low gears and a higher cadence (how fast you move your feet around the crank) in order to build up the muscles that are most used in cycling. With your level of endurance (based on runs of 3-4mi 3x/wk) I would say that rides of 10-15 miles should be good to start with. If that turns out to lack challenge, add 5 miles to the ride. As an alternative, you can add hills (if available). I do not recommend adding both at the same time until you are more confident of your capabilities. As an athlete, you are likely already very aware of your bodily limits, and what your body is saying to you. Listen to that most of all. As I build all my own bikes, I had to look up the Dolce. Nice ride! So get out there and enjoy it!
It is not so much how far you ride, but how you ride that makes the most difference. I recommend starting off using low gears and a higher cadence (how fast you move your feet around the crank) in order to build up the muscles that are most used in cycling. With your level of endurance (based on runs of 3-4mi 3x/wk) I would say that rides of 10-15 miles should be good to start with. If that turns out to lack challenge, add 5 miles to the ride. As an alternative, you can add hills (if available). I do not recommend adding both at the same time until you are more confident of your capabilities. As an athlete, you are likely already very aware of your bodily limits, and what your body is saying to you. Listen to that most of all. As I build all my own bikes, I had to look up the Dolce. Nice ride! So get out there and enjoy it!
Thanks! I'm assuming I should aim for a cadence of 80. I've got a nice 4 mile loop around my house in a quiet neighborhood so I'm gonna use that for awhile to get used to being clipped in and work on cadence then I'll start upping miles from there once I'm more confident in my capabilities. Where I live I can't get around climbing hills but it hasn't been too challenging yet.Sbayhylle, first off - Welcome!!
It is not so much how far you ride, but how you ride that makes the most difference. I recommend starting off using low gears and a higher cadence (how fast you move your feet around the crank) in order to build up the muscles that are most used in cycling. With your level of endurance (based on runs of 3-4mi 3x/wk) I would say that rides of 10-15 miles should be good to start with. If that turns out to lack challenge, add 5 miles to the ride. As an alternative, you can add hills (if available). I do not recommend adding both at the same time until you are more confident of your capabilities. As an athlete, you are likely already very aware of your bodily limits, and what your body is saying to you. Listen to that most of all. As I build all my own bikes, I had to look up the Dolce. Nice ride! So get out there and enjoy it!
No, Bayhylle is actually my last name.
I live in NE Oklahoma in what is considered as the foothills of the Ozark Mountains.
Well Oklahoma is OK too!
Beautiful country there. The best way to tell if you are over doing it is what your body tells you the next day. .. try for a cadence of 80-90 rpm. That will keep your heart rate up, and send oxygen to the muscles that you are looking to build up. Do you have a HRM? Is there an app you used when running? I use Endomondo myself. If you have an app you are already using, it will help you a lot to track your rides.
Beautiful country there. The best way to tell if you are over doing it is what your body tells you the next day. .. try for a cadence of 80-90 rpm. That will keep your heart rate up, and send oxygen to the muscles that you are looking to build up. Do you have a HRM? Is there an app you used when running? I use Endomondo myself. If you have an app you are already using, it will help you a lot to track your rides.
OK too...that made me LOL! It really is beautiful here and other than being land locked it's great! I live 4 miles from the river and 30 miles from two different lakes so it's not horrible, but its not the ocean. Currently I use the iWatch and Map My Run, but I'm actually looking into getting a cyclocomputer so that I can work on cadence. I know I can count cadence but I feel that I would have a tendency to speed it up while I'm counting and then slack off when I'm not. It'd just be nice to be able to casually glance down and see what I'm actually doing. I think I've found a decent one for around $55 on sale that will do for my training purposes. I'm going to check out Endomondo and see what it's all about. Being a complete newbie to this I find it all very interesting and occasionally overwhelming!Well Oklahoma is OK too!
Beautiful country there. The best way to tell if you are over doing it is what your body tells you the next day. .. try for a cadence of 80-90 rpm. That will keep your heart rate up, and send oxygen to the muscles that you are looking to build up. Do you have a HRM? Is there an app you used when running? I use Endomondo myself. If you have an app you are already using, it will help you a lot to track your rides.
Endomondo is actually geared towards running, which is why I thought you might be using it (or something like it ). My phone is ANT+ capable, so I just got a speed and cadence sender, and I use the phone as a computer. This way I get my HR, cadence, speed, and GPS mapping of my ride. It also will post the ride information on social media, if you want.
I am a leisure rider so my rule of thumb is to enjoy the ride. When I have been riding for a longer time, my body would let me know that I am somewhat abusing it so I have to stop, take a rest maybe or simply just go home. But there are times that my body would seem to cooperate for I couldn't feel any fatigue nor muscle pain so I would continue riding. I notice this stamina when I am riding with a group.
Instead of jumping directly into a 10 miles ride a day, I suggest to progressively increase your threshold total mile ride by 1 every week until you eventually manage to ride the 10 miles or more.
For the fitness of your legs 18 to 26 miles over the same sort of terrain is indicated. However - it will require some getting used to riding in a saddle. If after a month of really trying you still get sore you have the wrong shaped saddle for your body.
In general terms, the back of the saddle should support your "sit" bones while the front of the saddle should be narrow enough that it doesn't rub on the inside of your thighs. Normally these are saddles that appear narrower and harder than you would think.
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