Will cycling just 5k ish a day get me fitter? And anyone new to cycling?

[Sup3rCooper]

I've treated myself to a new bike and it's hardly a racing one It's the Pendleton Somersby because I've not ridden for a few decades and even on testing it a little up and down the aisle in Halfords, I was decidedly wobbly. Will this improve?

Anyway the plan is to use it for 5 or err maybe 10k (yeah right) at a leisurely pace. Worth doing?

5k is better than 0k. It will feel so good you’ll want to do more especially when the weather is nice. If your bum starts to hurt just get a pair of padded shorts (you can wear them under your trousers) and carry on, you build up a tolerance after a week or so.

@Chickenwing I agree! I cycle 5km (uphill) all the way to work and home again 4 times per week. I am definitely fitter.

I was coming on to suggest Strava - you’re simply racing against yourself and it’s really motivating to see your times coming down.

@AvocadosBeforeMortgages just googled my local council and found an 11 mile trip described as on next to no roads and a relaxed cycle so that could be something to aim for as it start me about 500 yards from my house!

@UserX the seat on the bike I've ordered is super padded but I will definitely invest in a gel cover if there's any discomfort. I cannot ride my son's bike for instance as it's just agonising - the seat is so narrow!

@@Chickenwing ooh that's good to know. I'm really unfit right now so hoping easing myself into it is the way to go

I've not had a bike since I was about 10. And that was a Raleigh Honey which shows my age

Can someone answer a stupid question.

This bike has 7 gears. What gear is to be used for just cycling on a normal road surface, so no incline? Is gear 1, for example, for going up a steep hill?

Just use the gear that's comfortable. Start in a low gear and over time as you get fitter your revs-per-minute on the pedals will go up, start by aiming for 50 or so.

Get padded shorts. Padded seats are fine but Not Enough.

Start with shorter rides. If you get overexcited and do that 11 miler first day you'll be walking funny for two weeks and probably put the bike away and never pick it back up again. 20 minutes max! You're likely to be sore day 2 and 3 anyway, don't try and power through it - it's bruising, so will only be made worse. Wait and go out on day 4. After a couple of weeks - five rides or so - you'll be good for longer distances.

If you toughen up faster than that, yay!

I cycle 11 miles a day to and from work and to be honest it’s the main thing that prevents me from applying for other jobs!

5k will make a bit of a difference. It might end up making a massive difference to your fitness if you get bitten by the cycling bug.

I bought a traditional style bike for the 1.5 mile journey to the station for my commute. I started enjoying that so went for bike rides at the weekends. Then I moved house so had to cycle 3 miles to the station, with hills, so bought a speedier bike and that was it, I was off doing 20 mile rides at the weekends just because I absolutely loved it!

Now I've got DD and have few opportunities to cycle and I'm really missing it and I'm flabby, blobby and tired.

Enjoy your shiny new bike!

Walking 5k would be better for you. Cycling, I reckon at least 25k for the same impact as walking 5k.

@starzig for various reasons I'm now doing far more walking than I once did (I acquired a dog with high exercise requirements) and house / job moves have meant I'm cycling less than I once did.

I was far, far fitter when I did less walking and more cycling and I've had fewer injuries from cycling

Time wise, I usually reckon 20 min per mile of walking and 5 min per mile of cycling. No idea how you'd measure exact fitness gains from one vs the other, however.

I'm not sure how much fitter you'll be if you cycle 5km regularly but I suspect if you start cycling you'll love it and end up doing much longer rides.

2 years ago I bought a bike, having not cycled for years. I started off doing short rides - 4 or 5 miles - then longer ones at weekends. I remember being so proud when I did 18 miles one day.

Then I decided to start cycling to work a couple of days each week. That's 12 miles each way so 24 mile round trip.

I now regularly cycle 30 miles with dh on Sundays. We're not super fast as we like to be leisurely and enjoy the scenery, but we are definitely much fitter.

If you do start cycling longer distances (10 miles plus) then I would buy padded shorts. They do make a difference.

In terms of gears, you'll need to play around with them and find what's comfortable. For hills you'll need to use a lower gear.

I've just bought a road bike with 27 gears and am still getting used to that as my previous bike had 16. I seem to spend a lot of time changing gear!

As others have said, don't overdo it when you first start. Take time to work out how to set the bike up to suit you, eg play around with the saddle height etc. And enjoy yourself!

Hello again OP - I would also highly recommend the book ‘cyclecraft’ on how to cycle safely on the roads.
I use pavements if I’m with my youngest dc (age 8) but use the roads most of the time, there’s normally a quieter if slightly longer way to get somewhere - CycleStreets is another good app to help with this - don’t forget canals and bridleways are perfectly legal to cycle on.

I cycle 20k a day 4-5 days a week and can't say I've noticed a change in either my fitness or my weight/size. Legs look more toned though.

@starzig oh I hate walking! So boring. I do it of course but part of the reason id like a bike is to cover greater distances if I can and maybe feel a bit more invigorated. If that's the word I mean! Think so

Loads of helpful responses. Thank you all. Will take them all on board.

Bike is in and being built tomorrow so I'll be collecting then!

We all have to start somewhere. I started cycling about 4 years ago when I had an Achille injury and couldn't run as much, so I started off going out with a local beginners' group - we used to cycle about 5-6 miles to a local village, had coffee and cake, and cycled back. It wasn't far but it was a start. I suspect I took in rather more calories than I burnt off! That was only once every two weeks so 5k a day would be better.

I progressed to doing a charity bike ride with work.

Now I don't cycle that much but I did a local event last Sunday (20 miles) and we have a local Breeze ladies group so I went out with them yesterday and rode 14 miles. It's worth looking to see if there is one near you and if they do beginners' rides.

And another vote for (a) padded shorts and (b) reading Cyclecraft.

Sup3rCooper
yes very much so , I have not been out on it during this week ( work full time ) but i intend to go out at weekend .

Does anyone have a bike computer to tell you how far you have gone and plan routes etc . I know I could use google maps but I would need to keep my phone lit up / active and i can not figure out how to do this plus it would drain my battery

Strava does that job for me Cooper - well the distances anyway. Route planning I use a combination of google maps (set to cycle) and CycleStreets.

@Angie169 have you got a watch? I have an Apple one so I'm hoping that'll be enough for me stats wise! I've downloaded strava too

@Taswama brilliant. I'll look into that now

I have a garmin trip computer. I’ve never used it for navigation but it’s fun to see how fast you’re going & your mileage.

One more thing about seats. Your bum will hurt at first. If it’s just your sit bones feeling bruised, it’s fine & you will get used to it. If your actual ladybits hurt, you need a different seat.

Sup3rCooper
No i dont have a smart watch ( or any watch for that matter )
I have just had a look on youtube at that Strava app it looks good so I will down load that as i want to be able to keep a record of how long it takes me to cycle around my local parks.
I really could do with some thing that will help me to find and get to new places I have had a quick look at the cycle streets app and does not seem to recognise my place of work or Dbs home address both of which are on main roads so I am not sure it that will work for me .
Having looked at the garmin trip computers they look good but most are a bit out of my price range or they are until I am sure that I am going to continue with this bike riding malarkey

Thank you all for your ideas and suggestions.

To change your shape only heavy weights will do it