Any Newish Cyclists?

[CyclingShark]

I just got a bike. Been out it once, my arms are a bit wobbly!

Wondering if anyone else has recently started cycling?

I am on strava (all one ride at the moment)

thanks, I'll check some of those things when I get the new bike, which is bigger than this one. I hope it's ok as it was always a risk buying online. I am hypermobile and find a lot of sports difficult.

I think the saddle and handlebars are level at the moment, but I don't know about the angle of the seat. it looks normal to me but I don't know. I feel like it could be higher, but I don't like not touching at least a bit.

Maybe I should have ordered a more upright bike, but I found that uncomfortable with the ones i tried, so I thought the hybrid looked better. I thought 7 gears would be enough since it's pretty flat here, but there were more ups and downs on this route than I thought! I'm sure most cyclists wouldn't have even noticed them though, let alone called them hills or inclines even. I don't think I'm using many of the gears I have now anyway, so hopefully that will be OK. I might take this one to a bike shop and get the gears serviced and make sure I know how to change them, in case I decide to keep it as a spare. Maybe these new government bike vouchers will help, once details are released about those

Some of you may find you tube blogger katie kookaburra interesting. She is a keen cyclist and addresses many questions people have.

New cyclist here. I have tried cycling places before but I am so wobbly and terrified of cycling, I'm dyspraxic and my balance is really bad bit figure it is better than using public transport or walking 16 miles a day (will still have to walk 8 of those with a DC walking / buggy).

@Branbleberries the fitter you get the easier it will be. I used to hate hills but I kept at it and even the steepest one near me which I used to stop 3 or 4 times I can now do with no stops.

Think i am spending the next few days with frozen peas in my knickers.

Back later to respond properly to everyone.

Seems the padded shorts are essential!

Eek. You need those little frozen things they give out on the delivery ward after tears and episiotomies.

I'm waiting for dh to come back from his ride so I can go out on mine! (small children at home)

@BreathlessCommotion

Eek. You need those little frozen things they give out on the delivery ward after tears and episiotomies.

I'm waiting for dh to come back from his ride so I can go out on mine! (small children at home)

You can put A small amount of water on a sanitary pad and pop them in the freezer and they work the same!

Even with padded shorts if your jot used to cycling your sit bones will hurt regardless. I'm a fist weather cyclist so I have this every yr when I stop for winter and then get back to it in march.

I've have put my spare biken on a trainer now so I wont have a gap anymore.

Hurrah for this thread.

I've been given a nice fold up bike, which I am planning to start riding in my local park because I'm too much of a coward to ride it on the road.

Does cycling help lose weight?

I tried cycled up my road this evening after 18 years of no cycling, I amazingly didn't fall off but feel like my heart is about to explode.

Does cycling help lose weight?

Only if I average more than 100 miles a week.....

Does cycling help lose weight

Depends if you’re getting your heart rate up.

In my case a 20 minute pootle around the park wouldn’t help me lose weight. But regular decent length cycles, pushing myself to go fast & doing hills definitely helps me stay slim

It has helped me lose weight if I am doing at least 3 reasonable length rides a week (20-30 miles) and also do a couple of HIIT sessions with my bike on a turbo trainer. It about getting your heart rate up, getting a bit out of breath, working your muscles.

If I go out with the dc, then I barely sweat, let alone get out of breath!

I think I'll have to build myself up to longer bike rides! I'm deaf which makes me reluctant to drive on the road, I will definitely take the bike to the park to ride, I'll just have to do lots of laps.

Have a look at any sustrans national cycle network routes near you. They are totally off road, signposted and usually well maintained.

www.sustrans.org.uk/national-cycle-network

I did a 27 mile ride with my bf on his tandem yesterday. It was much easier going up hills! I really enjoyed it, though a bit saddle sore as it's a different saddle to my one, so might look into changing it.

Thank you @BreathlessCommotion

Again another plug for clip in shoes if you stay doing regular 20 mile rides. Ensure your working the back of your legs for balance in your legs

I quite like old railway paths/tow paths as they are much flatter than most roads. Disadvantage is that locally they have many lumps and bumps

Just a word of caution regarding National Cycle Routes. The standard of maintenance varies considerably and they are definitely not all off road. For instance, we rode Hadrian's Cycleway (mainly route 72) a couple of years ago and I would estimate only around a third of it was traffic free and some of those sections were in fairly poor condition. Sustrans state that the network is traffic free or on quiet roads, so you are not likely to find yourself on a dual carriageway or anything like that, but there are on road sections on many routes. They are definitely a good option for people exploring an area by bike, but if it is particularly important to you to stay on a traffic free route then do research your particular route carefully and don't assume that because it starts off on cyclepath that it is like that for its whole length.

When I rode the tandem the pedals had those bits to fit the tips of your shoes in. They have the same thing at the gym. I always get really bad pins and needles and numb feet though when I use them. I pedal my own bike in what is probably an awkward looking foot position.

I definitely prefer old railway routes as they tend to be flatter! I'm not good on hills at the moment and do a lot of walking up them.

SierraOscar does cycling help lose weight? like any other form of exercise it will do but only if you control your eating too!!

I use a Heart Rate Monitor and only burn an average of 30-35 calories per mile cycling at around 15mph average. To put it into context a short ride for me is 20 miles which I do 3 x per week with a ride of 30, 40 or 50 miles on Saturday and Sunday so I'm fairly fit. So you have to cycle 3-4 times as far to burn as many calories as running a mile would do. On the plus side, it's way more fun and forgiving on your joints

I have clipless/clip in pedals and they make so much difference.

@OhMsBeliever numb or tingling feet means that your shoes are too small/tight for the exercise. It used ot happen to me all the time. You usually need at least a size bigger shoes for exercise as your feet expand. It was a revelation as a runner when someone pointed that out to me!

I do still miss running sometimes, but I have an injury to my foot which means running is no longer the right sport for me. Although I never lost much weight as a runner either!

@Blobby10 Probably true but I can only run 2 miles in the time I can cycle about 7 🤦🏻‍♀️. I’m not a great runner.....

I have parts of my route that I treat like a sprint for the finish, I'm off the saddle pedalling hard on the highest gear... and each time I try and go further then I did before. Definitely gets the heart racing.