Cycling!
 

I didn't see a thread for biking riding! Forgive me if there is already one but I thought it would be neat to log our miles here.

Anyone wanna join in? :)


EDIT: Apparently I can't spell Cycling... can anyone fix the title? lol

I will join in, I don't ride my bike that often usually once or twice a week right now when my husband is home. We rode on saturday and went 18 miles, I know that probably doesnt sound like alot but we just started. I will be on vacation till the 4th so I won't be riding for a while but I will keep up with this thread.

18 miles is amazing! I just started cycling myself and the most I've done is 10. I am not sure how often I will be able to ride but it would be great if I could go for an hour everyday while hubby baby sits and then maybe on the weekend I can work myself up to 20 mile rides :)

I'm a cyclist! As of a few weeks ago I have a roadbike and I get out for anywhere between 10 and 40miles. Did 25miles in a few days ago and 18 miles this afternoon.

I plan on doing a 100k (62miles) ride this weekend if the weather permits. I turn 27 sunday and I started exercise for the first time in my life exactly a year ago, I wanna celebrate by doing something awesome. lol

Do you ladies have a roadbike or a regular bike? I'm from the Netherlands so I cycle to work and everywhere else on my normal bike, I don't count those trips as cycling really.. to me as a Dutchie they are just.. commuting. LOL. I sometimes arrive at work and will be like "oh, I'm here..? how did I get here?"as I've done those 6 miles so OFTEN!

Hi Philana!
I have a hybird.. it's not quite a roadbike but not quite a mountain :-) I live out in the Arizona desert and there are a lot of gravel paths and off roading type stuff around my house that I wanted to be able to go on in addition to road.
Eventually I can totally see myself getting a bike that's just for road though!

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...eWay/008-1.jpg

I can't wait to work myself up to 100k rides! Although, I think I'd need to upgrade my bike first. I am totally excited about getting into it more. I have to admit, I love to ride way more than running so I see myself sticking to this for the long haul :)

Fun: sounds like the perfect bike for your livingconditions! The Netherlands is cycling-country no.1 so there's perfect cyclinglanes that go on and on here. I don't need to cross any rough terrain thankfully. I'm a bit of a whimp so that would be scary. Nice bike!

It took me a bunch of weeks to get allt he right gear and figure out what I need for a good ride, but now I am slowly learning. Adn more comfortable on the bike every day. I can keep cycling when I go around a corner now, yay. LOL. Oh, and I think I have the click pedals figured out. I wish I would fall already though. Knowing you can fall and won't die is kinda important for your confidence on the bike I think, and I've not fallen off anything in about 10 years.

Do you watch cycling? I just watched my first Tour the France and LOVED it. It's like I get it more now that I cycle myself.

Anyhow. Me rambling. It's just so awesome. And It oo like it way more than running. I need to keep up on the running though since I signed up for a few long runs in september. But this is so much more fun!

I'm in! Hello all - I finally got a bike last Saturday to help in between my runs/lifting etc. Made it out last night after my lift session about 8 miles in 45 minutes - nothing too strenuous but it felt good!

I have a hybrid style too - Trek 7.1FX - I LOOOOOOOVE it!!

Hi and Welcome! :) 8 miles is great! I love how I feel after a ride. Sounds like cycling is a great addition to your running & lifting! It's nice to add some variety, isn't it?

Oh I am jelous of your roads ;)
You know what would be neat? If everyone took pictures while on their rides so we can see the different terrain!

I have started to look up cycling videos on youtube! Expecially for tips and what not :carrot:

10.6 miles in 55 minutes, averaged 11 miles per hour. Now.. that might seem really slow but as I was explaining to my husband half of the journey I was "off roading" in a few off beaten paths.. lots of mud hills, rocky trails, etc. But when I was on the road I was probably averaging closer to 15 mph.
I guess I shouldn't pay much attention to my speed when I do a lot of off road cycling :-)
Either way that was officially my longest ride yet, lol. Man this is so addicting.

I love to cycle.

I did a quick ride by myself this morning, 16 miles, in about 53 minutes (that was an average rate of 14.8 mph with wind).

I was proud of myself for having changed one of my tires by myself. Woohoo! I got a flat (never found what caused it) and while I had seen other people change tires before, I had never done it myself. It took me 13 minutes from start to finish.... which is slow, for changing a tire, since I've seen some of these guys change them in like 5 minutes flat, but for my first time, I'll take it.

Love my bike!
 

Thank you for starting this thread! I love cycling; I have a mountain bike. I had to get a stationary cycle after I was hit by a car (while in the bike lane) in 1974. It is not the same... I was SO afraid to ride on the road! I would literally tear up, when I saw people cycling, alone or in groups, because I used to ride 20 miles, every day, and used my bike for primary transportation for several years.

In 2009, a young friend lost his wolf/dog mix, and asked me to help in the search. He didn't know I couldn't ride, and just tossed his bike towards me, as he jumped on his uncle's bike, and took off, calling over his shoulder which area he would be covering. I couldn't let him down, it is a small town, early Saturday morning, and I decided, for the first time, I might be safe.

Such freedom! Such joy! this boy still cannot understand the gift he gave me, that day, leaving me to honor his friendship by overcoming my fears.

I live in Saskatchewan, where our cycling time is limited, and its been a year since I was injured (another car vs. human wreck). I was cleared to ride again only recently, and have been looking for an inspiration. Thank you, so much for providing me with just the push I need!

It is late in the season, late in the month, but count me in! :D

Welcome Rana & Sandramac!

Rana~ Congrats on the great ride & the tire change! That is still something I need to learn how to do :) Bravo!! Can't wait to hear your updates :-) You sure have motivated me to go farther than what I have done so far!

Sandramac~ So so sorry to hear about your incidents with cars :( It's a frightening reality check to realize it's a risk we have to take when we share the road with cars ;( I keep telling myself though, most things I love to do have risks.. I also go horse back riding when it's not so hot here in the desert and that has plenty of risks as well! I am so happy you are back riding. Can't wait to hear from you again!

Well my party got rained on! Literally!
I was hoping for a long ride.. (at least over 10 miles) tonight. The storm seemed to clear up for a bit so as soon as I got home I was out the door. Well.. 20 minutes into my ride I got freaked out by all the lighting so close. Then it started pouring. So I booked it home and only did 5 miles. It's better than nothing! My jaw is super sore though from being stressed about the lightning. I guess I was clenching my jaw? Anyone have that happen when they exercise?

Also, I am happy because I finally have a helmet! I am picking up things I need little by little. I'd eventually love to get a computer on my bike to tell me my speed & stuff.

Okay, that's all for tonight :)

P.S- Anyone use mapmyride.com? I love it because I can map my ride exactly how I ride it and I will know the exact miles. They have the app for your smart phone, too!

My farthest yet.. lovely 12 mile ride in 63 mins. I did some interval training (pedaling really fast between landmarks, then easy pedaling, etc). I felt really good after my ride. Before I would fall down as soon as I got in the house from exhaustion!

Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like

I started riding again after, ahem, 35 years of not. I started really slowly - a few miles a day, and have moved up progressively to 25-30 miles a day. Last weekend, I did 45 on Saturday, 31 on Sunday and 10 after work on Monday. My thighs and legs are looking great :)

I wish I could figure out why I stopped riding... Oh, silly me, I bought a car.

Rode to work today!

In a dress!

Way to go guys!!

I did a little over 8 miles yesterday. It was about 104 when I went riding so it definitely slowed me down a bit. I can't wait until summer is over and the temps get nice here in central az!

A quick 20 mile ride on my road bike!

Yay!

Rode my first metric century this weekend. 100 kilometers. Took me 9 hours to complete and 6 hours of pedaling. I feel remarkable good!

That's great!

I did my first Metric in February of this year, so I know EXACTLY what you went through.

:carrot::carrot::carrot::carrot:

Good work everyone- you are all so motivating! Did 35 miles on Saturday w/ my husband. We had planned a specific trail but had to improvise when it didn't work out. We stopped for lunch so the whole day was about 4 hours. Loved it & really loving my trek hybrid!!

Ride On!
 

Its great to hear everyone riding such distances! How inspiring!

I used to do 20 miles a day, up and down hills, across mesas, but that was years ago! Where I live now,its pretty flat, but some interesting off-road riding, which is why I bought a mountain bike.

I love to go for distance, but for the time being, I am riding around town and the highway surrounding town. It is nice, here, because there is NO traffic, and I have the road and streets to myself.

Starting last Friday, I have been getting in 6 miles per ride, and twice on Saturday, for twelve miles that day . I am still building up my ankle strength, but it feels SO good, I think cycling will do me more good than walking. I average 12 miles per hour, and in this small town, no need to slow down for traffic.

Today, with a slight breeze, and temperatures in the low 80's, it felt as though I had been swimming, it was that refreshing. Truly thankful to be doing this, again!

OMG, did you think you were going to die while doing it? Hardest thing I've ever done, and my body went into such shock that I put 5 lbs back on in water weight. :?:

Well, I prepared for it.

Did you prepare for it or was it an accident that you rode that long?!

I knew I was going to ride a metric because I signed up for a charity ride. I then counted how many weeks I had left before the ride, talked to my friends who have ridden those distances or longer, and started riding. Each week I would increase the number of miles I was doing.

By the two week mark left before the actual ride, I was doing 56 miles more or less. I knew that I could tack on the additional 6 or 7 miles with no problems on the day of the actual ride. (100 KM = 62 miles)

I stopped 3 times, the first time for water, the second time for food (yummy oranges! and a hard boiled egg) and the third time for more food (GNU energy thingies and mixed nuts).

I felt great. I had a healthy lunch afterwards -- roast chicken, salad, corn on the cob.

Wow you are all inspiring me!!

The heat has been brutal here for the last few days so I've been doing more off trail/mountain biking type stuff than going long distances from my house.
I can't wait until mosquito season is over.. I am getting eaten alive out there and it's too hot to cover up!
I think it was about 110 when I did my ride tonight. :o

Just wanted to pop in and say how incredibly inspiring this thread is! I just broke out my bike a few days ago and right now I can only go about a mile and a half without getting too tired (295 is a lot to pull around!) but I'm hoping eventually I'll be cycling like you guys! :bike2:

Hi Rana,

I physically prepared for it much like you. I've been building stamina up for the last few months, but was not prepared for withering heat and humidity, a flat tire, and a mental challenge of doing something seemingly so physically impossible.

I'm also very proud of this on a personal level, as it tested me like I have not been challenged in a very very very long time.

I've attached my diary of the day below...... (this should be alright to post?)


********** attached ***************

This circuit should be called "Jo's Rail Trail Tour". Three different trails make up roughly fifty percent. It's self designed by ridewithgps.com

It all started by taking a 8:30 MBTA Commuter train to Ayer from Boston's North Station. It arrived in Ayer at 10:30 AM, about an hour behind schedule due to track maintenance. This circuit actually starts on the Nashua River Rail Trail, that extends though Ayer, Groton, Pepperall, Dunstable and into Nashua for 12 miles. You could not wish for such an beautiful ride with very few people and an incredibly smooth asphalt surface. In waning coolness of morning, the first 12 miles breezed by in 45 minutes, with an average of around 15 MPH.

Reaching Nashua, NH, at 11:30, heat and humidity was rapidly escalating. This day was turning into a classic New England swelter with cicada's loudly singing about approaching mid-day heat and humidity. You could just feel it building. Second guesses surfaced as I was starting to wither.

Peddling north on Rt 111 into central Nashua, I had my second flat tire in a week. This time I was prepared, and repaired it in 30 minutes. Not bad when you consider that I'd never done it before, and only watched a random person who stopped to help me last weekend. My sudden boost in confidence was short lived by a difficult time getting though Nashua due to many missed turns and redirections. Also, some snarky driver showed down besides me and told me to get off the road. Like many of us, one develops a thick skin, but it's still a thin veneer and one still does take it very personally.

Once through Nashua, heat and humidity had become overbearing and I seriously considered if I would be able to complete this little jaunt. I stopped at a convenient store and gobbled down a candy bar (Woo Woo - my first in 6 months!) and 30 oz. sports drink, resting for 20 minutes or so. Feeling much better, I decided to press on.

The next 10 miles were absolutely miserable. For those who know this road, it's Daniel Webster Highway (aka Route 3A) that runs through Nashua's commercial strip to enter Massachusetts in Tyngsborough and into Chelmsford. Ten miles of crappy shoulder, speeding cars and heat-crazed grumpy drivers. In hindsight, this was NOT a smart move, but at this point I was committed to this direction. Overall stress of 90+ degree heat, a blazing midday sun and hyper-paranoia of getting hit by a car really took a lot out of me. I arrived in Chelmsford, with my heart hammering, my lungs searching for my breath, and with tears bursting from my eyes.

And this was only halfway home.

I pressed on after resting and pulling myself together, finally reaching my second objective -- Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. Still under construction, Phase 1 is complete. Overall, this linear park is a proposed rail trail through the communities of Lowell, Chelmsford, Westford, Carlisle, Acton, Concord, Sudbury, and Framingham -- following the 25-mile route of the old New Haven Railroad Framingham & Lowell line.

Phase 1 (6.8 miles in Lowell, Chelmsford, and Westford) is now open. Phase 2 in Westford, Carlisle, Acton, Concord, and Sudbury (13.1 miles) and Phase 3 in Sudbury and Framingham (4.6 miles) are proposed extensions. If this first section is any indication, this will be a huge boon to the townships that it runs through -- it should become an incredible resource! The path is straight and smooth, running though woods and wetlands. I actually had to stop for a turkey hen with her chicks -- cute, but incredible stupid -- no wonder that our early settlers didn't starve. Had Pilgrims been armed with bicycles, they could have had road kill for Thanksgiving.

The trail currently terminates at the town line of Carlisle and Westford. When mapping out this circuit, in order to do the 100 kilometers, it made sense to go into Carlisle Center then down to Concord. I was not prepared for was incredible hills leading into Carlisle Center. These killed me. I ended up walking up most of them, with other riders asking "Are you alright?" "Yes, just really tired after riding 40 miles in this heat", as they sped past me uphill!!!!

The nice thing about going up hills, is eventually you will go down. It was exhilarating to sail into Carlisle Center at 25 MPH. There I stopped for an hour, worried about dehydration and heat exhaustion. While there, I had a great conversation with a man who was probably 5-10 year older than me. He started riding 3 years ago. I asked how many miles he was doing today, and he told me that he was coming back from climbing Mt. Wachusetts -- a round trip from Boston of 125 miles. Very impressive. We discussed the finer points of clipless pedals and hills. He offered to have me draft with him into Concord -- Having never done this I thanked, but no thanked, him.

Getting back to cycling, someone suggested that I take River Road & Monument Road into Concord. In a word, WOW. What a nice ride. Mostly downhill, very pretty countryside, and not a single car passed until Old North Bridge - where a shot was heard round the world marked the beginning of our American Revolution. This was the best open road of this whole trip and something I will do again. I rode into Concord Center, where I again rested for 20 minutes, finishing the water I had been carrying with me. I was now 3/4's of the way.

The final legs of this journey was to get over to Bedford Center on Route 62, intersecting with my third objective, the Minute Man Rail Trail and back to Cambridge. These last 15 miles were a total blur. I don't remember much other than focusing on getting back to my apartment in as efficient and expeditious manner as possible. I also experienced something that I have not felt since my teenage years when I use to compete in team sports -- exercise induced euphoria. I'm not sure if any of you have experienced this, but there is a state that comes in exhaustion where the drudgery recedes and clarity emerges. It's weird - the euphoria is distinct, while details are sparse. Is this a classic endorphin rush? If so, it's pretty spectacular.

Pressing down the Minuteman, I did not stop until the trail terminus at Alewife. And I had finished. I was exhausted and was not going to proceed though Somerville and Cambridge streets. I had completed more than 100 Kilometers!

I'm going to do this trip again. Probably this Fall, when foliage is in full display. I'll also definitely figure out another less insane segment from Nashua to Chelmsford.

************* end attached ***************

Wow, a flat tire, no SAG, and you managed to do it?!

That's impressive!

But again, I think you're right -- if you prepared for it and you had miserable heat (which you probably didn't while you were training)... then that would explain why it took so long.

Some pieces of advice, if you want to take it...

If you are bringing water with you -- and you should be -- get electrolytes in them. You can go the Gatorade route, but if your food plan doesn't allow for that, there are other electrolytes you can add to water that are lower calorie and with less or no sugar. Yes, you need to drink those when you are traveling such long distances. Dehydration IS a real concern! I'm glad you stopped, but again, you should have this in your water bottles already.

Secondly, this is the hardest thing I had to figure out -- the food to eat in the ride. I can't do easy carbs like candy bars because of my IR, but I can do hard-boiled eggs, mixed nuts, and fruit, which is what I did. The fruit is really the easy fast energy that I needed (the rest of the energy came from the other stuff) and also bread/nut butter (I like almond or cashew).

You need to figure out what food you carry with you that you can eat (or buy) but I'm not sure if the candy bar is really enough food for the day.

I suspect your exhaustion that day and later is the lack of carbs (your burned off all the glycogen stored in your body) and the lack of proper nutrition (did you have a big lunch afterwards?) that day and the subsequent days.

But you did it!

And you should learn how to draft because he was offering you a GIFT... Holy crap, on those long rides, you need to draft someone (preferably someone who agrees to it or a friend) because it'll save you energy, you'll recuperate on the bike (without stopping), and you'll have some company!

My ride was just over 4 hours and averaged 13.6 mph.

I'm sure in your state there are rides that you can take that you probably have to pay a small fee or raise money for charity, but those rides have all the rest stops planned out (usually every 10 to 12 miles), the route is picked out (and usually closed to cars or at least signs are there), and they will provide you with food to eat and water/gatorade to drink, and they will have the SAG wagons which can help you with any of those pesky problems like flat tires.

I hope you continue to do it... those long distances are amazing... as soon as the heat dies down, I'll start long-riding.

Thanks!

And advice is always welcomed!

I'm completely hooked. I've a new friend who has invited me to ride with her group. They just did the Pan-Mass Challenge and would like to ride with them next year. Woot!

That's great, Jocee! I'm so glad.

Today, we went on a 27 mile ride. It was awesome.

Went on a 60mile cycle yesterday, took me like 4h20 or so, which is decent given that I got lost a gazillion times, and then there's so many other reasons to hit the break constantly. Though I improved on that near the end of my ride. I plan on doing a long ride once a week and stick to my 20miles for eveningrides and working on my speed.

Gonna go cycling with a guy that's been pro-cyclist for many years and went to the olympics in Sydney even. Hope he can give me some good pointers. I am loving this so much that I am seriously considering doing it more 'serious'than just for urning calories and having fun. Finding a way so I can get good enough to compete in amateur races or so. But We'll see!

Edit: read your posts on the other page, you guys have been riding good too! It was my first metric century too. Though I'd done 75k on accident a while back and felt fine. I am struggling with figuring out the right foods for energy but I managed well yesterday, just too many calories for my liking. And when I got home I was so hungry I ate like 1500 calories in one sitting. I've never been able to do that! LOL. But it's fine, because you burn a ton when cycling.

I think the reason I had this "I just wanna call home and be picked up" feeling the last 15k or so because I got lost so many times but also because my legs started to feel a bit tired and I had massive winds making it impossible for me to ride 18-20miles an hour (not average, given all the obstacles my avrage is between 15 and 17) . And everytime I saw my speed thing go to 15miles an hour I knew it be minutes longer before I'd be home. LOL.

I am so jealous of you guys!! Philana & Rana, GREAT JOB!!

I took almost 3 or 4 days off because of the heat and mosquitoes are still rampant around here when I go riding at dusk.
I can't wait to get more serious once the weather conditions improve!

I did a 30 minute easy ride this morning. Hubby is currently building his bike and another bike he wanted from Giant was just released so hopefully he will be able to get that soon and we can go riding together!

Nice! Getting lost was my huge frustration as well.... The best part is that you did the metric century!

I'm traveling for work for a couple of weeks and I miss my bike!

Jo

Just did a 19mile ride in 59minutes. So awesome. Been wanting to do that but there has been so much wind. Was one hour of heavy pedaling but I could still talk and wasn't out of breath. I really have no clue if I am actually in really good shape or if it's all just "decent" for some one that's only been exercising for a year. Do any of you know?

Wow.... 19 miles per hour is great cycling. You're in territory that I hope to get to by next summer.

I found the following blog online...... you'll have to reconstruct it as I don't have the number of post required to post links :(

highwaycyclinggroup wordpress com/the-average-speed-page-how-to-find-your-average-speed-what-is-a-good-average-speed/

I have a cycling computer on both my bikes, so I do get the average mphs, which is why I can post how much it was. It takes into account when I'm just pedaling slowly or whatever, which drives me nuts, since I want that number to be higher.

I just have to remember that wind and other environmental stuff can affect how fast I can go! It's not just fitness or my little legs!

Also, it's a good investment. My first computer I bought in Walmart for around $15-20 bucks from Bell and it wasn't hard to figure out. The next one was a Cat Eye (brand) which is a million times better and easier to figure out (I think the higher price = ease of use).

We did another 27 miler today. It was great, except for the change in the way we went home and our friend who was leading didn't tell the rest of us!

I'm having withdrawal. I've been traveling for a week and a half. Only been able to use a boring and broken elliptical machine..... I want to ride my bicycle 27 miles! LOL

I ride, too!

I just upgraded to a 2012 Cannondale Synapse 7 Road that I'm still learning the ins and outs of. I wiped out yesterday (OUCH!) figuring out how to get out of the saddle and pump while clipped in going up hill. (haha!)

I'm doing a 33 mile Budweiser Race/Ride in a couple of weeks and then I have a triathlon at the end of September.

Yay for riding!