I Just Finished My First 10-Mile Ride!



SierraSlim

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

[COLOR= #0000ff]I just finished my first 10-mile ride! I'm pretty excited about it because that's been a goal for a couple months now. But every time I got up to 8 or 9 miles, I had surgery and was off for 3 weeks, or went to Hawaii and got sick and was off for a month, and I thought it was never gonna happen. But it was sunny today -- thank gawwwwwwwd -- and I felt pretty good, so I just went for it.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]The first 8 miles were easy, because that's what I've been doing this month. The last half of the 9th mile was a little harder... and I thought that 10th mile was gonna kill me, lol. But I did it, so now I can start working toward 12.... and then 15.... and then 20. [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]It took me exactly an hour, which I know isn't setting any speed records. But I'm not in it for racing, I'm in it to get healthy, and I'm just trying to get used to being in the saddle longer. [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I'll have to try to do it again tomorrow, because after that it's supposed to rain for the next 10 days.... /img/vbsmilies/smilies/hissyfit.gif[/COLOR].... and I won't be able to get out.

[COLOR= #0000ff]Anyway, distance goal #1 accomplished. [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Now I gotta go collapse, lol.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Have a good one.[/COLOR]
 
Good for you Slim. You matched me today I did 10 miles in 35 minutes in 18 degree heat. Had to cut it short today we have loads of holiday chores that need to be completed. On the positive side we have not had any snow yet so I am hoping it stays away as long as possible. As soon as we get our first snow I will be changing over to my winter bike and slowing the pace down considerably.
 
Before you know it you will be riding 20+ miles and and thinking how easy a 10 mile ride would be.
 
Hey!!! Good for you. Weather here has been really warm, today it was 81 degrees, however the wind was blowing at 28mph with gusts to 36, We haven't had any rain in 71 days now. I've ridden hills and their tough enough but this wind seems to never quit, not sure which is worse. Whatever, it still is a great way to lose weight and increase your fitness. Read Jill Outdoors and I think we all will feel like big wimps. See Ya, Dean
 
[COLOR= #0000ff]Thanks, Guys![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Dave, you did it in HALF my time, holy cow!! I can't imagine doing it twice as fast, but of course that's WHY I'm doing it, to get in better shape so that doesn't seem so impossible, lol. I would be doing better, I'm sure, if we lived somewhere where I could go out more often, but we've had so much rain the past 2 months I'm lucky to get out twice a week. If I could see without my glasses, I'd try to make myself go in the rain anyway, but I'm so blind that doing either that or riding with wet glasses would be really dangerous. I also can't imagine biking in the snow.... and I'm just glad I'm not gonna live where I have to do that! [/COLOR]
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[COLOR= #0000ff]MMMHills, 20 miles is a huge goal for me, so it's nice to think that someday these 10 that nearly did me in will seem easy. Of course, the first time I did 3 miles I was really excited, and now I don't consider myself even warmed up for 3 miles, so I can see that it's all relative. When I can do 20 miles in the morning and 10-20 in the afternoon daily, I'll be happy with that, I think, for staying healthy. Unless I get really fast, I'll simply run out of time to do many more than that. But it sure is fun wondering exactly where I WILL end up saying that's enough![/COLOR]
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[COLOR= #0000ff]Dean, have I told you yet how much I'm enjoying Jill Outdoors and Fat Cyclist? (I think it was you who suggested them.) Well, I am, so thanks for the links. I'll be really glad when it gets sunny and warmer here again, but in the meantime I'm trying to hang in there. I didn't realize it was windy today and was struggling to go my normal route, and wondering why it seemed harder -- until I turned a corner and had the wind at my back ,and suddenly it was sooooooo much easier, lol. I've recovered for about an hour now, and can tell I did more than I usually do -- my legs are really complaining, lol. Someday.... Sierra will ride a bike and not collapse in her recliner afterward! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif[/COLOR]
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[COLOR= #0000ff]Thanks for the encouragment, guys.[/COLOR]
 
[COLOR= #0000ff]Well, I was supposed to try another 10-mile ride today....[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]but it's raining... again.... in spite of the fact that they had said sunshine today. And it's supposed to rain for the next 10 days.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I hate this place in winter. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/hissyfit.gif[/COLOR]
 
Originally Posted by SierraSlim .

[COLOR= #0000ff]Well, I was supposed to try another 10-mile ride today....[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]but it's raining... again.... in spite of the fact that they had said sunshine today. And it's supposed to rain for the next 10 days.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I hate this place in winter. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/hissyfit.gif[/COLOR]

Well, the rain is a bummer, but congrats on your first 10 mile ride! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/icon14.gif

When the weather improves and you can start riding more regularly again, I'm thinking you'll start seeing your ride mileage increase at a much faster rate.

That seems to be the way it works for a lot of new riders anyway. Just be careful not to over do it. I think some of the folks on here will say not to increase your mileage more than 10% each ride.

Keep up the good work!
 
Originally Posted by SierraSlim .

[COLOR= #0000ff]Well, I was supposed to try another 10-mile ride today....[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]but it's raining... again.... in spite of the fact that they had said sunshine today. And it's supposed to rain for the next 10 days.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I hate this place in winter. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/hissyfit.gif[/COLOR]
I wish that we had rain like that this time of the year. We are in one of our two "dry seasons". In Florida, except on rare occasions, you can see the rain cells coming and either ride around them, or pick a great place for "snackies" and wait it out.

But congratulations on your first ten mile ride. You know, it is a lot easier if you don't really know the distance that you have traveled and simply compute it later. Knowing mile nine or mile ten are coming up can create a mental wall in front of you. Keep it up.
 
Hey Sierra, Congratulations on your ride! I know that rain puts a damper (!) on riding, but it snowed here today, 1.5 inches. Anyway, enjoy your new bike, I'm glad you're liking it. Take care, Steve
 
What is your age? If you cant ride ten miles even at 75 years of age your in bad shape. Try 21000' and 200 miles at 54
 
[COLOR= #0000ff]Hi, Sat1955.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Since you're new to the forum, I"ll cut you a little slack because you haven't read my posts from early on. You said, "If you cant ride ten miles even at 75 years of age your in bad shape." That's true. But then, I never claimed to be in good shape, lol. In fact, I've been very upfront here, regardless of how embarrassing it was, that when I started cycling in August at the age of 59, I weighed nearly 300 pounds and had been the most sedentary couch potato you've probably ever known for the past 50 years. Before that, I hadn't been on a bicycle since I had a single-speed at the age of 9 or 10. Nor had I done any other type of exercise, other than working 2 jobs daily, in 40 years. So the first day I rode the bike in August, I managed about a mile before I had to stop, and could barely walk when I got back. That's how bad a shape I'm in. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/redface.gif[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]The thing is, I'm working on it! I started watching what I eat in July, not fad dieting but trying to eat healthily, and began cycling in August, and I've lost 47 pounds so far, lowered my blood pressure considerably, and feel better than I have in years. But I'm still in horrible shape, compared to you guy who have been cycling and active for years, so the upshot is that reaching that 10-mile goal, while it may be sneeringly laughable for you, is a big accomplishment for me. Fortunately, I find that 99% of the guys I've met on here are VERY encouraging and helpful to newbies, which is important for out-of-shape ones like me in terms of helping us continue (and important for newbies in good shape, as well). [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I don't cycle to enter any races or prove what an athlete I am, so your record of 21000' and 200 miles is in no danger from me, lol. I bike because I want to lose weight and get healthy and for the sheer joy of it. And, except when the occasional snob who makes fun of my lack of ability here, there's a lot of joy to be had. Even at my level. [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Welcome to the forums. I hope you'll join the other 99% who try to upbuild and encourage others here; everybody can use a pat on the back now and then. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/icon14.gif[/COLOR]
 
[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 10pt]Hey, y'all![/COLOR][/SIZE]
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[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 10pt]Paramount[/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE= 10pt][COLOR= blue], you're right, I think my mileage will increase faster when I can ride more than once or twice every couple weeks. It would have improved faster, anyway, if I hadn't had surgery in September and been off the bike for 3 weeks, and then gone to Hawaii in November and been off the bike for 3 weeks, and then got a new bike it took me a while to learn to ride, lol. I feel like the tortoise in the tortoise-and-hare fable, just plodding along. Hopefully at some point I can go from plodding to trotting, at least, lol. [/COLOR][/SIZE]
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[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 10pt]Daddo, I would HAPPILY send you some of our rain!! We've had way more than usual this year; in fact, they're opening the floodgates on one of the dams to release water because it's getting so full. If I didn't wear glasses I would make myself ride anyway, but riding blind isn't my idea of fun, lol. Your theory that it's easier to go farther if you don't know your mileage is interesting. I thought knowing was helpful because I get excited as I get closer, but I may have to try that. For my beginner's tour next June, they say not to worry about how many miles a day I do, anyway, but to concentrate on being able to get hours in the saddle instead, so I'm watching that too. But one reason I watch distances is to try to figure out how many calories I'm burning. I love knowing that!
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[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 10pt]Hey, Steve! Love your pun on rain putting a 'damper' on things, lol. I always forget that you live where it snows; for some reason, with your woody wagon, I think of you being in Florida on the beaches. I actually love snow -- as long as I don't have to be out IN it. In Flagstaff we got plenty every year, and it was so lovely. But after I broke vertebrae in my back right above the tailbone when I slipped on the ice and fell, I wanted more to enjoy it from in front of the fireplace, sipping cocoa and watching it come down, lol. [/COLOR][/SIZE]
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[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 10pt]Thanks for the encouragement, guys. Onward and upward![/COLOR][/SIZE]
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[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 10pt]Sierra[/COLOR][/SIZE]
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Originally Posted by SierraSlim .

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]-- my legs are really complaining, lol. Someday.... Sierra will ride a bike and not collapse in her recliner afterward! [/COLOR]
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:)

No you won't, you'll just ride faster/harder/longer before the recliner swallows you up! . . . . 90% of he time I post on this forum, is because my legs are too shot to let me stand up (right now is not an exception).

Congrats on meeting your mileage goal. Many happy rides to you.
 
[COLOR= #0000ff]Hey, Calico! Hi, Brad![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Thanks for the boosts. I don't expect standing O's, but a "good for you for trying" goes a long way when the legs and butt are hurting. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/rolleyes.gif[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #000000]No you won't, you'll just ride faster/harder/longer before the recliner swallows you up! [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Calico -- I was soooooo hoping that that wasn't true, lol. I guess exercise by necessity has to continue being difficult to be effective, but still.... I was hoping it could consist of being short of breath and sweaty without feeling like my legs were absolutely going to cave out from under me. My sister broke her arm last month after she overdid it; she walked 11 miles prepping for a half-marathon, then went directly onto her bike -- almost -- because her knees were so wobbly she fell off the bike as she tried to swing her leg over the seat. When I finished my 10th mile, as I was heading up the driveway I was thinking about her 'dismount,' and afraid I was going to do the same. I came close to matching it, lol, but managed to stay upright. Barely. Since I'm so new to this, I'm not sure when to push hard and when to back off a little, so maybe I'll post a question in the training forum or somewhere. (I can never figure out where to post things on here, lol.)[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Thanks, y'all![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Sierra[/COLOR]
 
Sierra, you have earned an attagirl award ... many more to come I suspect! Nicely done. ....

Have fun out there!
 
Originally Posted by SierraSlim .
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]I was hoping it could consist of being short of breath and sweaty without feeling like my legs were absolutely going to cave out from under me. My sister broke her arm last month after she overdid it; she walked 11 miles prepping for a half-marathon, then went directly onto her bike -- almost -- because her knees were so wobbly she fell off the bike as she tried to swing her leg over the seat. When I finished my 10th mile, as I was heading up the driveway I was thinking about her 'dismount,' and afraid I was going to do the same. I came close to matching it, lol, but managed to stay upright. Barely. Since I'm so new to this, I'm not sure when to push hard and when to back off a little, so maybe I'll post a question in the training forum or somewhere. (I can never figure out where to post things on here, lol.)[/COLOR]

Don't get me wrong, I don't shatter myself every time I get on the bike. Some days, I just ride easy. The body needs to recover from hard efforts in order to make physiological gains. So, if you did a long ride yesterday, don't do another long ride today. Either ride a couple miles easy, or just lay off the bike. Walk instead. Since you live in the bay and have reasonably decent weather most of the year, you can get outside for some "active recovery" on your easy/off days. Take advantage of that, it is good for the mind and the body. Then, on your hard days, you are ready to work hard. But after your hard ride, your legs should be hurting! and you will be tired and not wanting to move! That's OK. I have never fallen over after a hard effort, but I have come close, and yes, I know that feeling where swinging my leg over the bike to get off feels like the last effort I had in me! But that is when I know I worked hard enough ( . . . or possibly wasn't taking in enough fuel, but that is a topic for another day . . .)
 
[COLOR= #0000ff]Hey, you two.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Thanks! Sitzmark, an attagirl means a lot, especially when it comes from people whose opinions I respect, like yours and the others on here.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Calico, thanks for that explanation; I was thinking, omg, I have to kill myself every DAY??? Willing to do it, mind you, but afraid I might do some damage at some point, because I'm too darned stubborn to give in, lol. An easy ride the next day sounds a whole lot more doable, not to mention a lot of fun![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I live in Sacramento, and it has rained so much this Fall and Winter I'm barely able to get out twice a week -- and for a couple weeks, not at all! That part really worries me with the training, because I'm afraid I'm losing so much ground during the breaks that I'm going to go backwards instead of forward. If I didn't have my knee problems (putting off a replacement for as long as possible) I could go for walks in the rain with an umbrella, but wouldn't make it more than a couple blocks, which doesn't do a lot of good. I'm trying to talk Frugal Hubby into buying a trainer for my old bike, so I can put it in front of a television and at least go on that for a couple of hours on all these rainy days (like today, and according to the weather for the next 10 days, sigh....). [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Thanks again, y'all. I appreciate it. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif[/COLOR]
 
Originally Posted by SierraSlim .

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Hey, you two.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Thanks! Sitzmark, an attagirl means a lot, especially when it comes from people whose opinions I respect, like yours and the others on here.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Calico, thanks for that explanation; I was thinking, omg, I have to kill myself every DAY??? Willing to do it, mind you, but afraid I might do some damage at some point, because I'm too darned stubborn to give in, lol. An easy ride the next day sounds a whole lot more doable, not to mention a lot of fun![/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]I live in Sacramento, and it has rained so much this Fall and Winter I'm barely able to get out twice a week -- and for a couple weeks, not at all! That part really worries me with the training, because I'm afraid I'm losing so much ground during the breaks that I'm going to go backwards instead of forward. If I didn't have my knee problems (putting off a replacement for as long as possible) I could go for walks in the rain with an umbrella, but wouldn't make it more than a couple blocks, which doesn't do a lot of good. I'm trying to talk Frugal Hubby into buying a trainer for my old bike, so I can put it in front of a television and at least go on that for a couple of hours on all these rainy days (like today, and according to the weather for the next 10 days, sigh....). [/COLOR]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]Thanks again, y'all. I appreciate it. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif[/COLOR]
A trainer is a good idea for when the weather is bad. It is pretty much a necessity for anyone serious about training here in Chicago!!! You can also do some core/strength work on days you are off the bike. Maybe pop in a yoga or pilates DVD, or take a class at the gym. Strengthening the core is really important for cyclists and translates directly to on the bike performance.

Too bad about your knee, because walking would be good cross training for you otherwise. Do you swim/have access to a pool. That would be another good option for rainy day cross training.
 
[COLOR= #0000ff]Cat, [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I don't have access to a pool at this point other than the public ones, which I'm embarrassed to go in at my weight, even in the summer, and it's too cold now. Once I lose another 50 pounds or so, I might be able to make myself head in with the skinnies in their bikinis. The other problem is that I don't know how to swim, lol. I took lessons in a private pool just last year to try to learn, and I can now kind of tread water enough that I might be able to save my life in a pinch, but really can't swim strokes yet to do a lap for exercise. In Hawaii I wore a float belt and paddled around, but don't know how much good cardio I got in that way. I was moving pretty slow, but at least there was resistance from the water and the waves.[/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]The thing is, we're moving to Phoenix in a few months, and Hubby has said we can get a house with a pool if I can find one in our budget. I told him I won't GO to Phoenix unless we have one, so that's what we're shopping for. Once we have one, then I can take lessons again in my private pool, and hope to learn enough to be able to do laps for exercise in addition to cycling. [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Meanwhile, I am looking for a not-too-expensive trainer, and would love some suggestions on what to look for in one. Oooh -- I'll post that in Cycling Equipment or something! [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Thanks for the suggestions! I've never BEEN in good physical condition since my late 20s, and even then was just slender (not toned), so this is an interesting transition for me; it'll be a first when I finally get there! If I survive, lol.[/COLOR]

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

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