[TripSwitch]

Originally Posted by FunSize

*Waves* Hi everyone! Finally have been getting some miles in lately :-) Weather has been around 100 degrees as the daily high which is wonderful.

There is a century ride coming up in November and they have a half century as well (32 miles I think?)

The most I've ever done is 15 miles.. I am sure I could easily do more it's just the weather has been too hot.

Any advice on working my way up to a 30 mile ride? Just do it? lol

Century ride =100 miles... so 32 miles = not quite a 1/3 century ride...

The question I would be asking myself is this... How long in actual real time (in minutes and hours) am I actually cycling... one way of estimating how long it will take you go a certain distance in a certain time with proper training is : If doubling the distance, than double the time + 10%, so if you bike 15 miles in an hour, than 30 miles would should take you 2 hours + 12 minutes (the +10%) or about 132 minutes...

Of course this assumes being well trained and is probably overly ambitious for someone's first time at that distance, but it offers a very general reference point at least....

Another general rule of thumb is to not add more than 10% to your milage or time totals to your training a week....

So by taking a look at where you're at now... with how much milage and/or time you are currently covering and pulling out a calendar to see if you can comfortably (and safely, I might add...) get to where you want to be by 2 weeks before the event (so you can taper your milage and/or time to arrive at the starting line well rested and ready to go...) If that's doable... than go for it...

Trust me I haven't always followed my own "advice"... One time I decided to run a marathon on a whim that was only a few weeks away... and because I had been doing long runs of 14-18 miles on a fairly regular basis at the time, I thought that it wouldn't be a problem (and it wasn't my first marathon, etc...) Well, it was not only my slowest stand alone marathon ever, but those last few miles were pretty brutal... I literally almost fell over at the finish line because my legs just "stopped" working (actually, kind of scary... and yes, VERY painful!)

If you can do it great.... but the one thing I've learned along the way is to always "respect" the distance... and that there will always be another century ride or marathon (or in my case these days another 5K run...lol...) that I can get myself ready for and actually enjoy...

Good luck!

[gatorgirl6]

I would really like it to stop raining outside so I can try out my new saddle... :/ Two days of rain have made riding my bike a difficult task.

[Jocee]

Originally Posted by gatorgirl6

I think I'm in love!

YAY! NEW BIKE!!!

I've been traveling the last couple of weeks and just have not had time to get online to catch up.......

I love seeing posts like this!

[Jocee]

Originally Posted by sandramac

Any suggestions on helmets?

Better late than never......

Bell..... They are the most fashionable, but then have been making helmets for years. Back in the day, a BF has a thing for motorcycles. I always wore a Bell helmet Back in the day.......

[Jocee]

How do we make this a sticky?

[gatorgirl6]

Well, I just put my new saddle on my bike. I am going to take it for a ride today as long as the weather cooperates. I have to ride it over to my parents house to borrow their allen wrenches to adjust my handle bars. Apparently they aren't angled right and I would like to make them a little higher too.

My sister has expressed interest in buying a bike to ride with me. She is a new homeowner, so her budget is even tighter than mine. Any advice on her bike? Should we have similar styles to ride together or does it not matter? I think she would enjoy a cruiser, but would that go significantly slower than a hybrid?