Just Starting Out - Any Tips?



BDoosey

New Member
Jul 26, 2009
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I am just starting my training to get into better shape for cycling. I currently use a hybrid bike, (Globe Vienna 2), and was wondering what, if any tips you guys may have for me to build up my leg muscles. This morning and last night, I basically road around my neighborhood for about forty five minutes, doing my best to keep a steady pace, and push myself up whatever hills New Jersey has, which is hardly any.

I've seen on other topics that people say what speed they go and how far they ride, but I do not have any accurate way of being able to calculate these things. Are there any pieces of equipment that are affordable for a teenager like me to get my hands on that could assist me with these areas?

Thanks for looking into this,
BDoosey
 
What you're doing is perfect. Get out and ride, try to ride for half an hour or more enjoy the time on the bike, go quick if it feels fun but don't feel the need to beat yourself up to get a good workout. That and try to get out on the bike several days a week working up to four or five days over time even if some of those are shorter rides. Consistency is more important than big mileage or hard riding, just get out and ride a lot and in the early stages fitness should come pretty fast.

You can buy inexpensive cycling computers which let you track, distance, speed, time, etc. You don't really need it, but it's fun to see how far or how fast you've gone and they can be useful for figuring out where you are on a ride (how many miles you've already traveled and how far you have to go on a certain route). Any local bike shop should have several inexpensive cycling computers to chose from or you can get them online at places like these:

Nashbar - Cyclocomputers - Category

Vetta RT550HDL Cyclocomputer w/ Heavy-Duty Mount

You don't need high end features like GPS or wireless, just get a basic cycling computer if you want to know things like speed, distance and time.

-Dave
 
BDoosey said:
I am just starting my training to get into better shape for cycling. I currently use a hybrid bike, (Globe Vienna 2), and was wondering what, if any tips you guys may have for me to build up my leg muscles. This morning and last night, I basically road around my neighborhood for about forty five minutes, doing my best to keep a steady pace, and push myself up whatever hills New Jersey has, which is hardly any.

I've seen on other topics that people say what speed they go and how far they ride, but I do not have any accurate way of being able to calculate these things. Are there any pieces of equipment that are affordable for a teenager like me to get my hands on that could assist me with these areas?

Thanks for looking into this,
BDoosey

You've started the correct way by getting on your bike and simply cycling.

The main thing that you have to remember is that whatever form of cycling you do ie. racing/touring/recreational, is that developing stamina takes time.
Therefore in order to build up your stamina, you need to get out on the bike and pedal at a rate that is comfortable for you.
As your body becomes accustomed to the workload, you cna then start to add to that workload by cycling further, for longer.
Any increase should be incremental - there is no point in jumping from say 5 mile ride up to 30 mile ride in one go.
You are far better off gradually increasing your distance/time on the bike.

As regards computers, dave's advice is spot on.
 
I remember when I first started that when I got my computer it helped a lot. Knowing how fast/far your going adds an element of fun to the rides =o)

There is a rule of 10% that is used for a lot of athletic training. Essentially you will increase the ammount of training you do by 10% each week. This is optimal to increase gains and reduce overuse injury.

Hope this helps!
 
I think what you are doing is great! Just get out and ride. As you progress, you will find that you will be able to sustain a better pace, feel better, and maybe even want to try more and more challenging things. The biggest thing (and I think everyone here is probably saying this) is: Get out and have fun! Don't let other peoples stories, appearances, equipment etc... keep you from getting out and enjoying your surroundings and the benefits to your health that cycling provides. My recommendations would be:
  • Make sure you are fitted to your bike properly. If you haven't done this your LBS can help you with this.
  • While you don't have to have the best clothing and be a trend setter, invest in a good pair of shorts and MOST OF ALL A HELMET!!being comfortable while riding only makes the experience that much more enjoyable.
  • HAVE FUN..
 
I've only had my bike for a little less than a month, so I'm a rank newbie as well. The first time I went out and rode, it was obvious that I was an out of shape slob. 5 miles and I was beat. Sucking wind, sweating profusely, it was ugly.

But a month later, riding 4-5 days a week (short commute to and from work, 10 - 15 mile solo rides), I did my first LBS group ride yesterday. 21 miles, and I honestly felt pretty damn good at the end.
 
Thank you all so much for all of your input everyone! I haven't been out a whole lot due to an incident where I have been diagnosed with a stress fracture of my left distal fibula, (a part of the ankle), but I am going to see about going out this weekend and buying a biking computer, and a better helmet from my LBS since the one I currently have is close to trash. Since biking has hardly any impact on my distal fibula in comparison to the running I do for cross country, which is how I got injured, the doctor said it is the best thing to do given my circumstances and desire to stay in shape..

On a side note, I am starting my college searching since I am going into my junior year of high school in two weeks, any ideas for colleges or states that have good cycling teams? I hear Texas is bigger on it than most states since that is where Lance is from, but my parents and partly myself are preferential to me not going a thousand miles from home for higher learning, haha.

Thanks again everyone!

BDoosey
 
BDoosey said:
[...] I am starting my college searching since I am going into my junior year of high school in two weeks, any ideas for colleges or states that have good cycling teams? [...]

BDoosey

If you're just getting into cycling, it may be premature to use cycling as a basis for choosing your college...

But anyways: www.usacycling.org -- The Official Website of USA Cycling

The above page has links to the various collegiate conferences which in turn have links to results, etc.

Good luck!