Young Newbie Cyclist - Advice Please

I just bought this

Marin Fairfax 2009 - Stock
Marin Fairfax '09 | BicycleBuys.com

I ride 12 miles everyday back and forth to work and ride at nights and weekend.
70 miles a week total. Bike is very smooth so far. Very happy

Im young 20 years 150 lbs 6'2 and have been cycling for about 3 months now. I have high metabolism eat a lot of food and junk mixed in there as well and I don't watch calories.

Question
How much training and dedication will i need to become mid range strong cyclist and perhaps eventually get into racing? and would you recommend changing handle bar style and bike in future?

 

Wow. It must be a good thing that you don't smoke cigarettes.

 

Habits. You know how it goes.

 

Welcome to cycling and the forum. 70 miles a week is great. Keep it up. On your weekend rides, include some longer routes, gradually increasing length as your endurance builds. You have youth on your side and you are not hauling much weight up the hills, so you should be able to work up to rides of 40 or 50 miles in a few months, if you can't do that already. If riding a century is something that interests you, sign up for one for next spring or summer and train towards it. If you are still dedicated to cycling in a year from now, reward yourself with a new road bike and keep the Marin hybrid flat bar bike for commuting. You will find a pure road bike to be much faster and more fun.

 

If you planned to race on the road next year, I'd look at breaking your training up and mixing it a little, some hill sprints/intervals on Tuesdays & Thursdays, a couple of hours on a Wednesday with rest on Monday & Friday,(one day should be a steady hour,litle ring).Saturdays & Sundays it's good to ride with a local group,try and join a local club as there will no doubt be a mixture of different level riders there,this will also get you used to riding in a bunch.
I hope this helps

 

Glad to find another Fairfax rider here.

I just bought the same bike this week and am just getting started, I've been on a couple of 4-5 miles rides this week. I like the bike and how it rides, but someday may want to get an additional 'real' road bike. I'll see how much riding I do on the Fairfax. It seems pretty capable of going whatever distance I am willing to pedal it.

I had been keeping the tires at around 100 psi but just read the tire sidewall and it says 85 psi max so I lowered it to 85. I'll have to see how this affects the ride next time I take it out.

I'm 53 and my wife and I are getting back into cycling after not being on a bike for around 25 years.

 

How much do you weigh? You're likely still running the tires at a too high pressure.

 

I weigh around 210 lbs, what pressure should I keep the tires at?

 

What size are the tires?

 

700 x 28 (Kenda Kwest)

 

Try 80 psi.

 

I will try that on my next ride - thanks.

 

Just rode the bike with the tires at 80 psi, everything seems good.