I Finished My First 15-Mile Ride Today!



SierraSlim

Active Member
Oct 4, 2010
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[COLOR= #0000ff]Hey, y'all![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I just did my first 15-mile ride, and I'm pretty excited about it -- partially because it wasn't that hard![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Somebody smart on here had told me that the mileage from 10 to 20 miles a day would be easier to progress in than it had been doing the 0 to 10 miles a day as I started out -- and I think they were right. (Sorry I don't know which one of you buddies said it -- but at least I remembered the statement, lol.) [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I was worried before I started, because we've had so much rain for so long that I'm worried about losing any muscle I had built up. But evidently the lay-off was good for me, because my legs felt great (even better than before the lay-off), and I could have gone even further but for my butt, which wanted off that seat BAD after the 13th mile. I also still need to get different handlebars, I think, and will make a trip to the LBS soon to check that. [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Now that I've done my 15-miler, I can plan on keeping that distance up once daily, and begin adding another ride in later in the day until I can do two 15-mile trips a day without any problems. At that point I should fairly well prepared for my tour in June. I'm going to go back and re-read the posts with training suggestions y'all have given me, and try to do it 4 days a week, but differently on each day, I think. And on the off days I'll either do an exercise CD or work on Dear Hubby's Total Gym thingie. [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]We're leaving Monday for Phoenix for a couple weeks, so will be looking for beginner bike trails in that area. He helpfully points out that there are bike trails over the mountains there.... but since I've never done anything but flat terrain, I doubt that I'm ready for that yet. I need to find some 'molehills' here in this area to practice on, lol.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]It's supposed to actually be sunny for several days in a row, now, so I can't wait to get back on her![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Have a good one, y'all.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Sierra[/COLOR]
 
I did twelve in 38` weather yesterday and now I can barely walk, knees are gone!

Congrats, yes the progression gets easier, from twenty, fifty ain't that far away.

Our weather sucks so I have been riding the exercise bike every day, twenty
miles or so..
 
[COLOR= #0000ff]Man, Brad....[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]In 38 degrees, I'm not doing anything but putting more logs in the fireplace, lol. But kudos to YOU for getting on the darned exercise bike! I'm not nearly as good at making myself do that as I am in going on outdoor rides.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Have a good one![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Sierra[/COLOR]
 
congrats Sierra!!!

And good luck with your training while you are in Phoenix. Two weeks off can mean the loss of some fitness and trying to get workouts in while away from your usual routine is often a challenge, but with your determination, I am sure you will be able to face that challenge head on. Do post about it!

-Cat
 
Originally Posted by SierraSlim .

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Man, Brad....[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]In 38 degrees, I'm not doing anything but putting more logs in the fireplace, lol. But kudos to YOU for getting on the darned exercise bike! I'm not nearly as good at making myself do that as I am in going on outdoor rides.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Have a good one![/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Sierra[/COLOR]
All for throwing logs on the fire, but ours uses a remote, just push a
button and the fire comes on, another push and it gets bigger. The
wonders of modern technology. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif

The exercise bike has a TV and headphones!!
 
Good for you Slim I am jealous that you can ride outside right now. My last outdoor ride was on the 7th. As you have been struggling with the rain we have been battling the snow. Since the 12/26 we have had two blizzards and snow storms at a rate of every three days. I have been working out on my trainer and elliptical machine along with snow removal. I use the trainer on the weekends watching football games. I ride for at least one half of the game doing light pedaling during the action and higher intensity during the commercials.
It is true that the mileage increases will be easier as you go along. You are getting close to where you should be to do your credit card tour. The weight is coming off the mileage is picking up and your attitude is good. Once you complete your tour the the biggest reward will be when you hop back on your bike and go out for your daily ride and begin dreaming about your next adventure.

OH yea and Brad I also get some exercise splitting Wood!!!
 
[COLOR= #0000ff]Hey, y'all![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Thanks for the attagirls. This is the best forum on the planet for helping you stay encouraged![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Cat, you have a lot more faith in me than I do about keeping up training when I'm away from home, lol. Hubby has already vetoed taking the bikes, darn him, so I'll either have to rent one or find a gym somewhere. Yuck. At least I'll be doing a lot of walking, because we're going to be looking at houses and apartments and really checking the area out to see where we want to live. (Where I WANT to live is in Hawaii, lol, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards.) [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Brad, one of the things I hope to have in the house we buy is a fireplace -- and a gas one would be even better!, since getting Retired Hubby to mess with firewood wouldn't be worth the hassle. I've seen the kind you have, and they're nice, they're nice!![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Dave, I was so excited about seeing the sun yesterday I almost took a picture of it, lol. I'm not looking forward to living in Phoenix, since I love lush green landscape and Phoenix is the Land of the Brown and Dying, but the one thing I AM excited about there is the 340 days of sunshine a year! If I had known Sacramento was gray and rainy for months on end, I may not have ever come here. I do remember the blizzards from when we lived in South Dakota, though, and as Dear Hubby says, as least you don't have to shovel rain! Your training reminds me of my pre-biking days, when I would get on the treadmill during The Price Is Right every morning, and go at one speed during the show, but go as fast as I could go during the commercials. Isn't it funny how little things like that become part of the routine. [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Oh -- Delicate Hubby just came in and said we were postponing our trip to Phoenix because he's catching a cold... so I guess I'll still be training here this week instead of in Phoenix. Hopefully we'll get a few more days of sunshine!![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Have a good one, y'all. We'll all see sunshine and summer eventually.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Sierra[/COLOR]
 
Good for you Sierra! I got back into riding 15 months ago after having only ridden periodically for 20+ years. Once you get your base the additional miles happen pretty easy. Once I hit the 15 mile ride mark, adding extra miles to the ride was most certainly easier than getting to 15! My rides are all in the 25-30 range now with my longest being 72 last fall. Bike style will dictate your miles too, as a comfort bike isn't as comfortable on higher mile rides as some other bike styles are (at least for most).

Weather can be an obstacle. For me, wind and rain are the ones. I can deal with the cold midwest winters, with rides down to about 25 degrees. Snow on the roads here is what keeps me on the trainer more often than I want.

Its a great sport, hobby, lifestyle. & is one where we can change equipment pretty inexpensively as our needs change. Keep it up!
 
Hi SS!

You're well on your way now - the miles are melting away. Your dedication and enthusiasm is infectious, keep it up!!

Once you're comfortable with 15, you probably have 30-50 in you for a max daily tour without too much discomfort. Kind of a generic training guideline when planning for an extended ride - 2x to 3x comfort range. Not sure when your tour is, but you should be well on your way with the training progress you're making this early in the year. Toughen hubby up, send out for chicken noodle soup, and then look for a break in the clouds.

p.s. Hawaii, Phoenix .... one in the same, right? Just a state of mind. :wink: Good luck with house hunting/relo. Phoenix will be a fun place to live.
 
Way to go, Sierra! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

You know......maybe you should be taking pictures and writing a journal/diary or something during this whole bicycling/weight loss experience?

I'm thinking of how that guy that ate nothing but Subway sandwiches got famous with his weight loss, and made a lot of money doing commercials for them. And there's been other people that not only have made money, but helped others by "telling how they did it".

Just a thought....

Keep up the good work! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/icon14.gif
 
[COLOR= #0000ff]Hi, guys![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Rawhite, congratulations on your 72 mile ride! I can't even imagine going that far in one day, but then 6 months ago I couldn't imagine going 5 miles, either, and now that's no ride at all for me. It IS interesting to me that the miles get easier as time goes on. I had thought that it would be the opposite, that the longer the ride, the harder it would be. But my first 3 months or so of riding, with what I now consider really short mileage, were all so much harder than adding an extra mile or two in each week now. I love it![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Sitzmark, I'm glad you like my enthusiasm. I don't know how anybody can NOT be enthusiastic about cycling, when it's so easy and so available and so good for you! But I wouldn't call me dedicated, not after I read about the ones on here who go out in 10 degree weather and in rain and all kinds of nasty weather. I'm definitely a fair-weather cyclist, lol. My tour is in June, so I still have time to do a lot more preparation. I want to be so ready and so confident that I can do it that there aren't any nerves at all, just excitement. The longest day is the last one at 54 miles. Of course, there's a shorter route that day too, so if I just can't do that, I could always take the shorter route. But my dream is to do it all. If it weren't the last day, it wouldn't be quite so worrisome; right now, I'm just afraid I'll be so pooped from the previous 4 days that the 54 will seem insurmountable. But as I said, there's a lot more time to train, and the miles are getting easier, so I'm working on just expecting to do every single mile -- for bragging rights, if nothing else, lol. Ummm.... Phoenix and Hawaii are one and the same? Only if Hell and Heaven are, too, lol. But I'll get used to Phoenix, and will make my back yard such an oasis it won't matter that the rest of the city is brown. Frugal Hubby will just have to pay that water bill! [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Paramount, I love the idea of a journal with photos -- should have been doing that already! Not that I would expect to get it published or anything (or maybe even might not WANT to publish it, with all my fat photos in it), but it would be encouraging to me to look back on it. Hubby and I were looking at a slide show of last year's trip to Hawaii, and we were both stunned at the difference in me between then and now! Taciturn Hubby is NOT the kind to come out with compliments, ever, but he looked at the old photos, looked back and me and said, 'You were a LOT bigger, then. You're lookin' goooood!" Made my day, lol. [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Thanks for the encouragement, y'all. You ROCK! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Sierra[/COLOR]
 
[COLOR= #0000ff]Thanks, Scott![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]When I first started, that seemed like an awfully long corner, lol... but now it doesn't seem quite so huge, and I'm ready to tackle it as soon as I can get a few days of sunshine!![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Have a good one.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Sierra[/COLOR]
 
If you can't ride your bike in Phoenix, get up early (like before dawn), go to Echo Canyon and hike Cmaelback Moutnain. That will take care of your fitness needs. In spades. 
 
Sierra,
Congratulations on all your progress. It is both exciting and encouraging to read about how successful you have been. I used to be a distance runner, even completed a couple half marathons. I was thinking about training for a full but then let work and other stuff get in the way and stopped training all together. I have put on about 40 pounds in the past 2 years and have decided it's time to lose it. I just started cycling again to lose the weight and hope I am as successful as you have been. Like I said, reading about your success encourages me to get on the bike and ride.

Keep riding and keep posting.
 
Congratulations SS. Keep up the good work!

I personally love riding in the cold, but I won't go but a hour or more....to long and I start to get cold...even with all the proper riding gear.
 
Congrats on your ride Sierra! Very encouraging, I read a few threads when you first started posting and seems like you have progressed very well. Can I ask what event you are training for, or the mileage/date?

I can't wait for the weather to turn here. There is far too much snow and ice on the ground here for me to get out, so the stationary bike is all I have. It's simply not the same. I go for a half hour and just simply get bored with it.
 
Congrats Sierra. Keep going and you'll do great in your bike tour.

For Tim and all of us other poor people in colder climates, check out www.expresso.net. I tried one of these at my girlfriend's gym on Monday and it was a blast. It is almost like a video game except it gives you a great workout. I was sweating like never before while playing and my legs muscles are a little sore today which never happens with my fluid trainer. Unfortunately one of these units costs about the same as a fully built up Cervelo R3, and who of us wouldn't rather have the bike rather than the trainer if we had that much cash to spend? I guess I'll just have to join her gym to get my Expresso fix.
 
SLIM - thats great !, keep up the good work.I guess you will have to get good at timing the storms and different weather patterns in nor cal . sometimes the storms come off the pacific and are fast moving , or maybe it could be a nevada low ( freeze a cheek ) , what ever the case , you will have to get good at this because sometimes the window of opportunity is small . I use to do this in Mammoth Lks when I lived there ( time the storms to get fresh powder , know the different wind patterns affiliated with the different storms ). Now it's our turn to do it for the sake of cycling .I hope the weather allows for you to get some consistency on your riding . good luck, ride safe , always be checking your mirror !
 
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Hey, y'all![/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Sorry for the delay in response. I've been in the car for a couple days, traveling, and just now got to a computer.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Jim, I will LOOK at Camelback Mountain now that I'm here, lol. Whether my knee and ankle will allow any hiking is iffy. But it's a great idea![/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]KSwiss, I am so excited to be able to encourage other people! This forum is my go-to place when I need encouragement or tips or a kick in the pants or just information, so it's lovely to know that I can help some of the others who come here also. I know how easy it is to put on the pounds, unfortunately. I also know how much cycling helps in taking it off, at least for me, and I'm sure it'll help you too. I'll look forward to your posts and cheering you on![/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Thanks, Brian! Even if I LIKED riding in the cold, my asthma prevents deep-breathing activities in cold weather, so I can't. I don't like it, though, so i[/COLOR][COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]t's nice to have an excuse, lol, but all it means in actuality is that I have to get on the trainer instead of do it outside. So I'm very ready for nice weather to make a reappearance.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Tim, my tour is in early June in Idaho. It's an all-women's Sag-supported tour on paved bike paths on flat terrain, which is just about my speed, lol. The longest day is 54 miles, but most of them are 25-35 miles. Like you, I get soooooo bored on the trainer, even in front of the TV. I'm currently looking for a video game or something to incorporate into it -- but I'd rather truly just be able to do it outdoors![/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]KD, thanks! I'll check out expresso.net, but doubt that it's in my budget, lol. If only I'd been born rich instead of so darned good-looking...[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Hi, Bubba, how's it going? You're right, I do have to learn to time it right. Most days this past week have had only 30-50 minutes of sunshine, so I have to keep an eye on it and move fast if I want to ride in the sun. Now that I've hit the 15-mile mark, consistency in 20 miles daily is the next goal, so will work on that.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Thanks again, guys, for the encouragement. I look forward to hearing from you all and cheering you on, as well![/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Sierra[/COLOR]
 

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