Just plain green...

[DancenMacabre]

I'm a newbie here and to any kind of real bicycle riding also. As such, please share your advice.

All I've done so far is basically ride my bike to & from work several times a week since last month. Mind you, it is all of a mere 2 miles away so I bet it hardly counts as training. In fact the longest I have ridden might be a whopping 5 miles. Sad but true

My little commute aside, I see all these people riding up the nearby mountains and hills with their colorful gear and neat bikes. I would love to be able to do that without killing and/or hurting myself. Plus I know someone who did a 100 mile ride and that's another thing I want to do. Again, with style and speed rather than struggling and limping to the finish. By the way I am not just on some diet or trying to lose weight instead I want to be super fit.

I have got a road bike and have done much, much reading. I found this power training book on a friends shelf and think it sounds like a great way to train. Unfortunately the training plans in this book, even the newbie ones, seem geared for people who have trained for at least a fair while.

Locally someone is selling a unit called a 'powertap pro'already on a wheel for a very good price. I plan to buy this wheel and use it on my new road bicycle.

Can you all share your advice to me on what I should do to get started? I know in some other sports that the usual recommendation is to do lots and lots of slow, steady miles. Some people call that base training or the like I think.

Is this true in road cycling also? Is it better for me to just forget the power meter and ride slowly for distance for several months? Or would I be better off getting the power unit and formulating a training plan immediately?

For the record, technical details ( if explained in detail and with patience ) do not intimidate me.

 

[daveryanwyoming]

First and foremost, start doing some longer bike rides to get used to being on your bike, to explore the best nearby riding roads and to find out how much you like bike riding.

Make sure you're well prepared in terms of patch kit and how to use it, water bottles, some extra food, some cash to buy food along the way and these days perhaps a cell phone for the bailout call if you just can't figure out how to change a roadside flat. Think about getting some padded bike shorts as they really help keep things comfortable for longer rides and jerseys with pockets to hold extra food, your wallet, maybe a rain jacket, etc. is really useful.

The PowerTap wheel is great, and I'm a big advocate for training with power but just start by riding a lot, pick cool places to go to and get on line or ask around for cycling route maps to figure out which routes are safer and more scenic.

I don't really believe in forcing someone to ride a lot of slow miles for base. But I also don't think someone should jump right into structured interval training. Ride a bunch, go quick when it's fun to do so, enjoy the scenery or ride with friends when that sounds like fun. Find a local cycling club if you can to find the best routes and to learn from experienced folks about bike handling, traffic safety on a bike and such. Basically learn to enjoy going places on the bike at first.

A lot of fitness will come from just riding regularly but if you're the competitive type (seems likely from your initial post) you'll eventually hit a plateau when you don't feel you're improving fast enough. That's when structured training and tools like a powermeter really become useful. The power data will be interesting all along, but at first I'd just let it fall where it may and plan to use it later as a baseline reference to see how much you've improved. You don't need to go out and chase any kind of records at the start, improvement will come fast enough just by riding a lot.

Anyway, good luck and welcome to a great and very addictive sport.
-Dave

 

[DancenMacabre]

So embarrassing to say this in a group full of experienced bike riders, but I have never changed a flat!

They did a demo at the bike shop sure, though I learn much more by doing than seeing.

Yeah that makes sense what you say. I should get on the bike and ride for longer and more often. I bet just doing that will get me in better shape. Plus more comfortable on the bicycle.

Thanks for answering my question. I know I am probably like a lot of people at this time of year who see the cool bike race and think they want to do that. For sure it takes lots of work but I do want to get there.

 

[swampy1970]

Deals on equipment are always too be found... Don't jump at it because it seems cool but power measuring equipment is useful and probably one of the better buys.

Like Dave said, go out, have fun. When you're starting out it doesn't have to be all about structured training, watching what you eat yada yada yada. Find some fun looking roads and go ride them as hard as you want.

If you don't know how to fix a flat the carry two spare innertubes and a set or tire levers (and a pump) but remember to locate the bit of glass/thorn in the tire that caused the puncture in the first place before you put the new tube in. When you get home you can learn how to patch the tube.

 

[DancenMacabre]

Yeah, those are good tips for me on what to carry.

The rides are so short now that I can easily walk if I had a problem. Says something about my lack of fitness but lets not get into that now

I practiced changing a flat, well it really wasn't flat but you get the idea. I actually did it which is the good news.

The bad news is it took several tries for the tube and wheel to actually sit in the right place. How the 20 minutes or so went by I have no idea!

Practice makes perfect....

 

[velomanct]

To the OP, forget the powertap.

Just ride. There' nothing else you need to do or know right now. I can't believe people are suggesting you get the powertap wheel when you haven't even ridden 6 miles yet.

Go get 2-3,000 miles in your legs then think about how you want to train.

Ride hard and ride long, whatever you do, keep it fun and away from these damn numbers.

 

[swampy1970]

The bad news is it took several tries for the tube and wheel to actually sit in the right place. How the 20 minutes or so went by I have no idea!

Practice makes perfect....

Inflate the innertube just enough to make it "round" but not enough to cause it to expand in size before you install it. I find it easier if I have it inflated like that to just put the valve stem through the hole in the rim and then just lay the inner tube just inside the tire before I push it all the way in and then hook the tire on. Doing it that way allows you to get the tube positioned so the valve stem isn't out of whack and/or twisted inside the tire.

 

[DancenMacabre]

Inflate the innertube just enough to make it "round" but not enough to cause it to expand in size before you install it. I find it easier if I have it inflated like that to just put the valve stem through the hole in the rim and then just lay the inner tube just inside the tire before I push it all the way in and then hook the tire on. Doing it that way allows you to get the tube positioned so the valve stem isn't out of whack and/or twisted inside the tire.

I can vouch for this being a good tip. Somewhere around the 17th minute of the process or so, I stumbled onto it and then things moved faster