New to cycling...kind of....odometers? speedometers?

[FXmomto3]

I'm just navigating my way around the forums...this looks like a great site !

I'm not COMPLETELY new to cycling, but I am just now starting to get more serious about it...and honestly am finding it a little overwhelming, so please be understanding if I ask questions that may sound stupid to you more experienced riders...

I'm 36....for the last several years I've been riding for pleasure, and also for weight loss...I have three children with severe Autism and Fragile-X Syndrome who just don't get bike riding at all...So I've toted them around in trailers and extra seats attached to my bike...Each year they get heavier...one grows out of the seat and gets moved to the trailer and one gets pushed out of the trailer and put into some new contraption I've come up with....Well all three are now too big for anything...I darn near gave up on my passion for cycling...but I've decided to hire someone to watch my children now so I can still get out to ride....so now I'm stepping it up a whole lot....until now I've toted more than 150 pounds of solid weight behind me...so I'm hoping the lightening of the load will help me increase my speed.

So I went out and bought a Specialized Road bike...I even got proper biking shoes and pedals....professionally fit for the bike...and in September of this year I will be doing my first century ride....or at least I hope so...I'm awaiting the website to go up to register for it which should happen in the next couple of days hopefully....it's the Hastings Highlands Hilly Hundred, in Ontario Canada. I must say I'm a bit nervous after reading blogs of experiences during the ride....some speeds reaching almost 90kph...Not sure I would ever reach those speeds....is that pretty typical...? what can I do to increase my speed....do you ride with speedometer/odometer? If so can you recommend some ? I have to admit, I'm very driven by numbers...always trying to beat what I did the day before....but honestly never have been competitive with another person....I'd like to finish this ride without being "the one everyone is waiting for"....but regardless I think I'll just be happy finishing....hahaha

I'm here hoping to learn from you as much as I can....

 

[64Paramount]

Welcome FXmomto3!

There are many brands of bike computers that offer multi-function units. At the minimum, most will have functions that display current speed, average speed, odometer (total distance ridden), tripometer (current ride distance), time of day, and ride elapsed time.

Some have more functions than that, like pedaling cadence (which is a very popular function), air temperature, etc.

I have Cateye wireless computers on 2 of my bikes, and a Nashbar Tempo wireless on one of my bikes. Both Cateye's are about 7 years old and the Nashbar is about 2 years old.

I've been very pleased with all of them....

 

[vspa]

sorry to hear about your children, they surely appreciate and benefit from you taken them out for a ride or promenade

 

[FXmomto3]

Thank you 64 Paramount....That helps a great deal !

VSPA, thank you for your sentiment...though I do love being their Mom...they have challenges different from most children (some very severe), but they're pretty awesome kids !

Nice meeting you both !

 

[Phil85207]

I have been road biking for some time not an have had just about every kind out there. Cycling is a progression, and the more one gets into it the more info one likes to have. I have an Garman 800 now, but my last one was a garmen Forlerunner 305. It is a wonderful little unit with one exception. I will fly off the bike and get run over like mine did. One must take steps to prevent that. Anyway for the money it can't be beat. Google it and you can find them for cheap and it includes heart rate too. You can go on the web to a place like Training Peaks to up load the info and keep track of all your rides, and it does runs too. I had it for years before it got run over and my wife got me a upgrade for my birthday. Good luck.