My first Ride

My first rides were rather dismal, speed wise and distance. I might of averaged 12 or so as well as 12-14 miles.....right now I am holding ~20 give or take a few mph on my 25-30 mile rides depending on traffic &stop lights, weather, and if i have hit the "zone" yet.

If you have a computer also take into consideration the traffic and stop lights. In the city I only average about 14-18 and my overall average speed is about 16. Once I am out of the city I usually reset my stats for a more accurate reading.

As with anything new, give it a month or so to get into it. I have heard it takes a about 3 months to get into biking shape depending on where you are physically. I would focus on getting out on the bike rather than the speed you're going at. Hills use to kill me, but once your legs get into shape they will get easier. Loosing extra weight also helps.

Hitting the weight room will also be beneficial, if done right. Your body tailors it's self to how you train, if you want to get better at cycling the only way is to cycle.

Nice bike. After you put 500-1000 miles on it, you'll have to come back and tell us what you think. The Revenio has a lot of nice things being said about it. As for speed, don't worry about it. In general getting faster requires miles under the tires. You should just focus on riding as much as you want and enjoying it. Once you're fully into the cycling groove and digging it, you can start asking about and thinking about training techniques for getting faster if you so desire. Right now, you've got a new bike to which to adjust, a new activity to which to adjust, muscles that need to adapt, cycling conditioning to improve, and so on. The absolute most important thing for you right now and, IMHO, any point in your cycling future is to enjoy cycling. The one thing you can do right now is post pictures of your bike.

Nice bike. [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif[/IMG] If you start cycling every now and then you will get used to hills, wind etc. You will probably start to enjoy them too! [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif[/IMG]

Once you get very used to cycling though, you are prone to crashes! If you get very very confident about cycling you might start going faster and make sharp turns and maneuvers in the city which can result to accidents. The same applies if you start commuting by bike and get very used to a route at the point of riding without paying any attention. It might be something to be careful about. [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif[/IMG]

Dont worry about speed much, speed varies according to alot of things, terrain, wind etc. If you try to keep a good pace and not get exhausted fast then you will be able to make more distance at higher speeds too. Cadence apparently should be around 90rpm.

Btw, i jumped into cycling head deep also. Turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made. As the others said, have fun and stay safe.

Blake Neese said:

I rode 24 miles with an average speed of 12.8 mph..my total time was around 1:45, and I really struggle up hills. Any pointers on improving? I am jumping into this head deep and actually loved my first ride and plan on many more miles on my bike! 🙂

good distance but low speed, you will improve a lot just by riding as often as you can,

Thank you guys! I'm planning to ride about 40 miles on Monday, as the 25 miles I rode wasn't bad at all, hopefully y'all are right and I'll get faster with time because I can't even keep up with my friends yet lol

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by Blake Neese [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Thank you guys! I'm planning to ride about 40 miles on Monday, as the 25 miles I rode wasn't bad at all, hopefully y'all are right and I'll get faster with time because I can't even keep up with my friends yet lol

Be patient. Up your miles slowly, and don't be surprised if you hit a sticking point after a few days. Training adaptation is about stress and recovery, so allowing for plenty of easy/short days is important as well. It takes months for real changes to occur in your cycling muscles and cardio-vascular system. Killing yourself by overdoing the training isn't helpful to that progress. Don't think you need to ride further and faster all the time, that's a sure-fire method to stressing out and ruining your enjoyment. Just go out and ride when you can. And don't worry about the speed,ride and climb at a comfortable pace, and you'll naturally get faster.