Hi. New Guy In Need of Road Bike Recommendation.

[huhenio]

The wind explains your average speed in my opinion.

Wait for a windless day and see a magical increment in average speed

 

[JTE83]

Well fellas,

I've been cycling consistently for three weeks now. I've put 40 miles on my bike.

For the first two weeks, I did 3.2 mile rides to become comfortable, and learn how to utilize the gears. For the last week, I've been doing 6.5 mile routes with an average speed of about 15.1 mph. I think a lot of my improvement can be attributed to using the gears intelligently though. I'm logging all my recordable data in a spreadsheet to view any improvement.

Anyway, the bottom line: cycling is awesome. I'm so glad that I took the risk of purchasing a decent road bike.

Well, what you really need now is a heart rate monitor like the Polar S720i. Then you can monitor your fitness / heart rate / speed improvements more accurately. You should eventually go for 40 mile weekend rides for a good workout. Probably 10 mile weekday after work rides.

When I started out I used to go for 9 to 23 mile rides, and I did 372 miles my first 6 months. Never improved much. Then I discovered the magic of doing 30+ mile rides and the accompanying weight loss. So my next year 2004 I did 2080 miles doing 38 to 54 mile workouts. This year as of 8/10/05 I've done 2278.4 miles.

 

[West Texas Jim]

I definitely need to work on my endurance most of all, because right now, it's not very good. I think this weekend, when my car rack comes in, I'll go ride a longer route in the safety of the park/country. I'm really looking forward to being away from the cars, because they're scary.

 

[Insight Driver]

Jim,

Enjoy riding. Take her out into the country on weekends. Find a club and ride with some other people. Ride solo if that floats your boat. Keep posting here because we will give you encouragement. You are doing well, man.

I've only put 1100 miles on my bike since March. Of course, now that's it's 100+ degrees every day lately, I can't put too many miles in now. The heat is a killer. That said, I'll ride even when it's that hot as long as I take it easy and drink plenty of water, plus snack on energy bars during the ride.

 

[amaddeus]

Of course, now that's it's 100+ degrees every day lately, I can't put too many miles in now. The heat is a killer. That said, I'll ride even when it's that hot as long as I take it easy and drink plenty of water, plus snack on energy bars during the ride.

I hear that, I'm in Phoenix. Last summer when I was commuting to work (11 miles each way) I was amazed that is was not a big deal riding in the heat. I remember it getting to 114 several times. And it is like you say, drink a lot of water, don't go all out, and eat an evergy bar on a long ride.

This summer, well, my job and I had a separation in May, but that has been great for my riding. I can go on 3.5 hour rides now in the morning before it heats up. I love it.

Oh, and I second the HRM. I have a Polar S725 and I love it. I can't hardly leave the house on my bike without it.