# Finally hit 50 miles (the newbie experience within).



## Kleh (Jun 16, 2008)

So it's been a rough start for me in the biking world. I hadn't biked since I was 17 when I used to do touring rides across Minnesota with my father. For some reason, now 25, I had the overwhelming ambition to get back into it, and figured if I was going to go, I may as well go all out. So I bought the bike, all the accessories, and anything I could think of.

My first trip was along a local trail (Centennial Trail in Spokane, WA) and I went for about 6 miles and, basically, wanted to kill myself. 8 years of smoking (quit 4 months prior to bike-obsession) and a pretty poor exercise habit (I'm one of those effortless skinny kids who's never actually had to earn his physique) had officially caught up to me -- after the ride, I was lightheaded, my legs were as sore as could be, and I could barely drive 5 miles back to my house. The next day, with limited time before work, I managed a pitiful 5 miles and felt absolutely terrible, and my entire work day suffered from it. Luckily, I didn't let myself give up -- not that it would have mattered, my wife would have rather killed me than see me blow that much money for nothing. I decided after that to take a couple days off and on Sunday night -- instead of hitting the trail -- I decided to play some basketball with some friends.

Basketball was another thing I was just starting to get into this summer, but unlike biking, I didn't really prepare myself for it -- i.e. I didn't buy shoes. Instead I decided to use some running shoes and on basketball day #1, I both sprained my ankle (second degree) and received what I was told was a "pinch" fracture to my right foot. That was about a month ago, and my doc told me I'd be out of cycling for 3 months, in crutches for 3 weeks. This also happened to be two days before the longest span of perfect spring days I'd ever seen in Eastern Washington.

So last week I stopped using the crutches, which is an exercise in itself (I still have two very colorful bruises around my armpits), and was able to take off my ankle/foot brace without much pain. I still can't walk, but luckily my first day standing on my own I threw on my cycling shoes, hopped on, and felt perfectly fine pedaling.

The next day, before work, I was able to do 12 miles in just under and hour and felt great, but I had to get ready for work and cut short early. Two days later, I'm up to 18, then 22 a day later. This is all on the same trail, and my 12 and 18 milers were done going back and forth along the same area (two small climbing sections, mostly flat) and my average has gone up at least 1-2mph every trip. I hit 30 miles on my 6th trip, and felt pretty good, so this time I actually planned out my mileage, as opposed to just going until I was either too tired or near my car.

The one thing I've gathered from doing 50 miles for the first time: you begin to notice how good or bad your clothing purchase was. Prior to the ride, I'd never had an issue with pain (besides lungs and soreness in my legs, which was expected), but now all of the sudden my ass hurts, to the point where I need to get out of the saddle every 5 or so miles after 30. My feet? I hit 36 miles and they suddenly felt like I was running all day in wood shoes, and at one of my turnaround points I had to take a 5 minute break to take off my shoes and rest my feet. At 42 miles I began to notice the feeling of a small pressure point right on the top of my head caused by my helmet that I'd never felt before -- a mere annoyance, but difficult to distract myself from. I'm sure I'll get used to all these things, but this ride definitely made me think about finding a good pair of headphones for my Ipod for the next trip, just to take my mind off the minor distractions, and of course some energy bars, which I didn't bring with my this time (felt like I was going to starve to death at around mile 40).

And within all of that, it was absolutely breathtaking. I stayed on the path along the Spokane River headed toward Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, which is mostly low traffic, with really nice scenes and cooled wind from the river smacking me the whole way. I definitely find myself wanting to buy a small digital camera so I can chronicle my trips. I averaged about 16mph on the trip, and was the first time I was passed easily by someone. Some guy decked in every advertisement imaginable riding a Cervelo flew by me, and while I had hoped to keep up with him, he was out of sight within 2 miles (he must have been going an average of 8-10 faster than me) and it only made me want to get better, ride more, and work on my average.

Anyway, the point of this whole thing was that, after 7 rides, I'm hooked. I kind of wandered how people got so obsessive about cycling when I first joined these forums, but now I definitely know.


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

It only gets worse. The desire to ride that is. Next you will be dragging friends along for the ride and pushing them. Then you will be figuring out creative ways to be "ill" on nice days so you can ride.

Consider this a warning.


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## SystemShock (Jun 14, 2008)

A 50-miler after only 7 rides? Wow, impressive. If it were me, I'd be worried about getting injured from ramping up the miles so quickly. 

But hey, if it works for you, roll wit' it, I guess. Nice job. :thumbsup:
.


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## fireplug (Nov 19, 2008)

Good job...I have been riding for a few months now and still have not hit the 50 mile mark. Have a hilly area around my house and I feel myself getting stonger but I can't seem to break through the three hour mark (15 mph average).

So my hats off to you for doing it so quickly


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## shaochieh (Apr 19, 2002)

I can ride a long ways but never increase speed yet. I done 47km less than two hours and with two small 5% hills. I guess I was not built to be bike racer but I sure enjoy it a lot.


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## Blue CheeseHead (Jul 14, 2008)

Enjoy and keep at it. This is my third year and I am 20 years your senior. Last Friday I got an e-mail saying "We are going long tomorrow. We are going to Madison to get a Jamba Juice and them come back". What the heck, I'm in. It was a nice 107 mile round trip. I don't mention that to diminish what your did as 50 miles on the 6th ride is awesome. I just wanted to tell you what you are in for.  

My wife does think I am certifiable, but likes that I have dropped 25 pounds and kept them off.


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## Kleh (Jun 16, 2008)

Thanks all .

fireplug, I intentionally took a rather flat route, and I'm going to do my first 50 miler with ups and downs in about an hour, so we'll see how that goes (I suck at climbing, feel like I'm gonna die).

Blue, my wife thinks I'm nuts, but she's looking into getting a bike so she can join me. She's been at it for a month and can't decide what she wants, so she can't really blame me for being obsessive .


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## tyo (Feb 2, 2009)

One of us.. =] , congrats on sticking with it. With a 50 miler under your belt so soon, are you looking to start up touring again?


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## Kleh (Jun 16, 2008)

Touring would be fun, but I definitely want to improve my speed and climbing. I shot for 55 miles this afternoon and ended up about 10 miles short and bonking my last quarter. I don't have a computer with elevation, though now I wish I did, so I couldn't tell how difficult the route was -- seemed extremely steep in some spots and my average was just under 14mph for the day, when I'm typically in the 16-17 range. During my last quarter, I found myself having to stop halfway up the climb to rest my legs; I went on a down-and-back on a local trail and decided to cut short my destination because I knew it'd be rough on the way back.

My wife bought a bike today so she can join me, she's feeling a bit neglected . Hopefully she gets into it as much as I am, but I really doubt it, heh.


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## ColoradoVeloDude (Oct 7, 2005)

Kleh said:


> So it's been a rough start for me in the biking world. I hadn't biked since I was 17 when I used to do touring rides across Minnesota with my father. For some reason, now 25, I had the overwhelming ambition to get back into it, and figured if I was going to go, I may as well go all out. So I bought the bike, all the accessories, and anything I could think of.
> 
> My first trip was along a local trail (Centennial Trail in Spokane, WA) and I went for about 6 miles and, basically, wanted to kill myself. 8 years of smoking (quit 4 months prior to bike-obsession) and a pretty poor exercise habit (I'm one of those effortless skinny kids who's never actually had to earn his physique) had officially caught up to me -- after the ride, I was lightheaded, my legs were as sore as could be, and I could barely drive 5 miles back to my house. The next day, with limited time before work, I managed a pitiful 5 miles and felt absolutely terrible, and my entire work day suffered from it. Luckily, I didn't let myself give up -- not that it would have mattered, my wife would have rather killed me than see me blow that much money for nothing. I decided after that to take a couple days off and on Sunday night -- instead of hitting the trail -- I decided to play some basketball with some friends.
> 
> ...





I started cycling in late (like December) 2004. Didn’t have a bike so I bought one. Waited for the first “good” day (dry road, decent weather – I live in Colorado Springs). I always wanted to do Ride The Rockies. Both Brother in Laws and a friend said they would do it with me. So, I started training. Went 4 miles the first ride. Nearly KILLED me. Age at the time: 47. The next few times out it only got better. Also, started setting new personal records: 5 miles, 10 miles, 15 miles, 25 miles in one sitting. Then hitting 100 miles in a week, then 50 miles in one shot, then 100 miles in a day (first century was in early May 2005, www.bvbf.og – only the first 60 miles are uphill). 

I did Ride The Rockies (www.ridetherockies.com) in 2005. Wasn’t pretty, but I was hooked. Then 2006, 2007, and the Bicycle Tour of Colorado in 2008 (www.bicycletourcolorado.com). And the century rides in there too as well as the Copper Triangle (www.coppertriangle.com). 

I had to beg off the touring this year because I broke my leg on my 25th day of skiing this year on March 7th – just no time to train good to do justice for the rides that begin in another week. But, the Triple Bypass is still in the consideration.

What I am trying to get across here is that you’re going to get hooked more into the riding. Other parts of your life are going to benefit from it too. You’ll want to do healthier things for your body instead of thinking you have to do them. You’ll start describing your bike to people in terms like “it’s the latest technology in heart attack prevention.” (I am paraphrasing a Kaiser-Permanente billboard I saw).


My suggestion to you now is to do the following:

a)	You’re hooked. There is no reason not to buy the dedicated cycle clothes, the roadie shoes, the specific jackets and gloves. It’s a large initial investment, but once done, the riding is pretty cheap. 
b)	Sign up for a century ride later this year. There is NOTHING like the feeling of finishing your first 100 miles in one day on a bike. Most people reading this right now are nodding their heads and their minds are being taken back to that first time and basking in the nostalgia and triumph of that day.
c)	Sign up for a bike tour next year. I gave you the web sites for the two “granddaddy” rides in Colorado. Big Miles. Big Hills. Big Fun. Yeah, there can be 20 miles of climbing at a 6% grade, but then again, there is also usually 20 miles of downhill at a 6% grade. Let your inner kid loose (weeeee!) 
d)	Get on a regimented training program to help yourself keep up and measure your improvements. A good one is here: http://www.ridetherockies.com/rider-area/training/ (and it’s not that bad).
e)	Take off the iPod for a while and LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Bonking is no fun. Your body doesn’t speak up to loudly until it’s suffering. Millions of years of evolution have told your body to shut up and perform because stress usually involves running away from some sort of danger. Listend to the nuances in your cadence and performance. The bestthing to do is to keep hydrated. Next, what you eat the night before is what you ride on the next day. The on-cycle fueling helps to reduce the losing battle of calorie consumption and finding that balance is different for everyone. Another benefit of losing the iPod: for me, the journey is the destination. Part of the journey is being outside and drinking in the experience – especially during my favorite riding time (like 5:30AM start) and places (like in some of the lonely areas around Colorado Springs).

Drop me a PM if you want more details about the tours here in Colorado. Once you do one of them, you’ll be a touring junkie for life and also have permanent bragging rights.

Later

ColoradoVeloDude
Colorado Springs, Colorado


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## Kleh (Jun 16, 2008)

ColoradoVeloDude, great post, and thank you.

A Colorado trip is definitely something I'm looking forward to; I have a sister just outside Denver (Evergreen), and we're visiting her in July. I definitely need to do some training before tackling those types of grades over long distances; I ran my first near-50 miler the other day in a very hilly spot and it completely kicked my ass (but at least this time I brought food). I actually spent a lot on my clothing/equipment (picked up a new jersey yesterday, needed more pocket-space) and I think they just need a good breaking in period (though I'm already considering buying some Assos bibs).

I haven't been using the Ipod, but was considering getting some headphones I could use on the road, to take my mind off the pain, especially while climbing. For the most part, I enjoy not having anything in my ears, but that last 10 miles yesterday was extremely rough.

I think the biggest problem I've been having is maintenance. Sounds so easy, but during my trip yesterday, toward the latter half, my middle cog was rubbing while I was in a middle gear and I couldn't understand why. Later, it stopped doing this. I think I was maybe switching gears too lightly on my large cog and was in the "half-gear" mode, but I couldn't replicate it. I want to learn exactly what I'm doing wrong before I try for any long trips outside my typical trail.

A century would be great, but I'm letting my wife get used to the idea that me wanting to bike for 3-4 hours at a time isn't just an excuse to get away from the house, so we'll have to wait before I look into signing up for one of those, hah! I definitely felt good hitting 50 miles, and makes me wish I had friends who cycle regularly so I could brag to them about it (which is why I came here to post about it).


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## Chopsuey (Jun 4, 2009)

shesh ColoradoVeloDude you act like your body is younger then mine, and im 20! Seems like you would be a pretty cool uncle to have, and nice riding


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## cervelo-van (Aug 29, 2008)

Kleh,

Many many of us have been through exactly what you are going through. You seem a pretty determined individual, so I think the issue with you will be more about holding yourself back from going to far with this newfound passion so as not to get injured/overdone. You have youth on your side, many of us started again at a much later age. (53 in my case with 40 years not being on a bike)

I would suggest that you find a local club to ride with, you can learn a lot. I initially joined a leisure club, it helped me learn the basics, and got me on rides up to 50 miles. It also teaches you the basics of riding in a group. When those rides became too slow for me and the stops too many, I moved on to an LBS group rides. In my first year I did 100K and 200K rides in a good pace, and have a few more long ones planned for June/July. I did not think a year ago that I could ride a 200K. 

I walked the first real hill I had to do  I braked all the way down the first bridge I crossed.

Keep at it, have fun, work on the things you think/know need improvement. 



Kleh said:


> Touring would be fun, but I definitely want to improve my speed and climbing. I shot for 55 miles this afternoon and ended up about 10 miles short and bonking my last quarter. I don't have a computer with elevation, though now I wish I did, so I couldn't tell how difficult the route was -- seemed extremely steep in some spots and my average was just under 14mph for the day, when I'm typically in the 16-17 range. During my last quarter, I found myself having to stop halfway up the climb to rest my legs; I went on a down-and-back on a local trail and decided to cut short my destination because I knew it'd be rough on the way back.
> 
> My wife bought a bike today so she can join me, she's feeling a bit neglected . Hopefully she gets into it as much as I am, but I really doubt it, heh.


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## ColoradoVeloDude (Oct 7, 2005)

Chopsuey said:


> shesh ColoradoVeloDude you act like your body is younger then mine, and im 20! Seems like you would be a pretty cool uncle to have, and nice riding



Aw shucks ... that was a a nice compliment. My nieces and nephews don't want anything to do with anything that makes them sweat and work. 

Body is being pushed more to get ahead of the inevitable aging. I wish I discovered cycling in my 20's like you have. Just remember to get out and some of those week long tours. it'll do wonders for your head and also let you set a baseline for what is important in your life. Like use your money to buy experiences and not things. Well, some things are necessary. But you know what I mean I think.

Drop me a PM i fyou want further Colorado ride details. Come out here and do a nice, long, bike ride in the mountains. You'll find out what you are made of at the end of the week. For me, the first year confirmed that I was made of mush inside. Getting better each year though... !

Later

C...V...D


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## KellyMo (Mar 31, 2009)

GJ Kleh. I finally got enough time (and willpower and weather) to do my first 50 of the year.

Now I'm wanting to curl up in bed and die. Talk about finding all those little necessary tweaks that don't come out on the 10-20 mile rides...

You rushed right into the 50. How long do you think you'll take to hit the century? I'm going to try to gauge my workouts on how you do haha... at least it'll push me with the idea of "he did it, so why can't you?" Granted, I'm older, but who cares as long as I don't kill myself!


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## ColoradoVeloDude (Oct 7, 2005)

KellMo & Kleh:

Good job on completing 50 miles. Your next goal is 80 miles. But, be certain to go through the 55, 60, 65, 70, etc.. first. And, dial out any issues (hot foot, numb hands, numb manly or girly bits). To rectify some of the seat issues (sorry, pun intended) you might have to go get your butt measured and a new saddle. 

Also, upper body stiffness/soreness may need some other focus - like on your upper body and core. This means crunchies, ab-ball, and free weights. Death walks, dead lifts help too. Cyclists are notorious for having great carido systems and extra strong legs but really out of shape core muscles (abs, lower back). It's all connected and improvements in all areas will carry over to all areas. 

In my opinion, once you get to 75 or 80 miles in one sitting, then you are ready for a century ride. 

The key here is to train early, train consistently, and push yourself a little more each time. And, of course, to allow your body to recover by resting (i.e., weights one day, cycle the next, take a day or two off a week from training) If you overdo it, you'll get unmotivated and burn yourself out so you won't want to ride. And that would be sad...


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## KellyMo (Mar 31, 2009)

Thanks for the advice. I've been lurking around, trying to figure how to remedy my new issues without an in-depth fitting (something that is virtually impossible here).

I'll start back up with crunches and some weights and start looking at pathways I could take that are longer.


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## MarkFein (Sep 13, 2008)

Hello all-
I just got my first road bike on Sunday and went out cruising around town for 20 miles or so. More damn fun than I ever had on my mountain bike, which was mainly for tooling around or going to the grocery. My neighborhood is totally hilly: 2.3 miles up a 3% grade to get back home from anywhere. A very popular ride, which I did a couple of times on my mntn bike -which had me all but blacking out from lack of O2 both times- is 3 frigging miles up a 5% grade! I have bad dreams about this hill, but here it's considered a pretty average ride. Everyone blew by me as I was spinning away, miserably wishing I was pool-side somewhere with a tall margarita and a couple of babes. I'll have to try it again soon on my road bike just to test my ability to suffer in silence. Anyway, I'm tagging along with a local club this Sunday for 30 miles, just to see if I can do it. Gawd, I love my road bike (new Caad9-6). Cheers to all.


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## Kleh (Jun 16, 2008)

Congrats Kelly! We ordered my wife a road bike today, so my production may shift a little (I'm going to still try and get out on solo rides to keep my body trained for higher mileage), but I did manage to hit 60 miles 2 days ago. I've taken a little bit of a break due to spring quarter finals and I need to develop a surefire chain cleaning technique before I go on my next ride (been having issues with chain noise and it's driving me nuts). I feel you on the tweaks; I've been contemplating a pro fit, as I'm getting a tiny, sharp pain in my left knee, but it's not very consistent, so I'm not too worried yet (hopefully some pedal technique will help that). I averaged about 16 mph on my last ride with a heavy wind in my face on the way and against my back on the way back (on a down and back path). I'm pretty sure my wife is getting me a Garmin Edge 305 for father's day, so I'll be able to share more specifics soon (no idea on elevation, etc, but I think my current route is pretty flat). Either way, I'd love to compare statistics, it'll drive me to work more this summer (I don't know any bikers in my area, so BF is alls I got ).

Cervelo, thanks for the suggestions. My LBS has been bugging me about doing a 16 mile group ride with them so I can get the basics down and join their long-haul crew, but I've been in the "I don't want to embarrass myself on a group ride by not being able to climb and/or keep up" mode of training so I don't feel like a newb in the group rides. I guess I should just relax and give 'er a shot, huh?

Mark, I mentioned one hilly ride that I went on after doing the 50, and it was horrible -- an entire race team flew by me (about 15 of 'em) while I was standing next to my bike after bonking on one of the final hills -- it was an extremely humbling experience. Now my only goal is to strengthen up on my normal route so I can try again and see the difference (I've found myself attacking every hill on my current route, and it's getting much easier). I still dream about bonking those final few hills though, ugh.

Colorado, I'm definitely trying to work on my upper body. Although I'm not in bad shape (naturally skinny) I also am very much not in shape, and I think the fact that I'm skinny has only put me in worse shape over the last couple years. I want to shoot for 100 miles by the end of the season in increments of 5, but I'm trying not to press myself too much. I'm also really trying to get the hang of the mechanical side before I go too much further, since I'm already seeing some of the issues with not knowing how to do certain things (I'm already considering taking my bike in for a 2nd dérailleur adjustment). I also want to get my eating habits down while on the road, because right now I'm under-eating and seeing the effects quickly.

I'm taking a couple of fitness classes for summer courses which require me to do 45 minutes of cardio per day. I figured that it won't be too difficult to get an average of 45 minutes a day bike time in, and I'll get 2 credits for it .

Anyway, tomorrow is an off-day, going to wipe down the bike and lube it for Friday and shoot for another 60 miler on a new route. I'm trying to remember to bring my camera with me so I can document my rides in a blog (my dad, a huge cyclist, is bugging me to document my rides for him, since he lives in the boring mid-west ). If I remember, I'll post the link here.

Thanks all for the replies!


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## MarkFein (Sep 13, 2008)

For the rider in the UK: It's a 2009, in a dark metallic gray, although they have the white/red frame here, too. As for weight, I really can't say for sure. I do plan to go to my LBS and have it weighed. You might ask for the same at your local shop also.


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## Kleh (Jun 16, 2008)

70 miles ended in a flop yesterday. I tried a new route, started with about 10 miles uphill, which I figured would give me a good warm up.

I was right, it warmed my Speedplay cleat up to the point where it exploded off my foot and nearly sent me into traffic. Apparently, two of the screws holding the outer plate on decided to just fall out, or strip, or something. I immediately unclipped wildly and nearly went down, I floated into the lane next to me (4 lane highway) but luckily most cars will jump into the left when they see me (small shoulder, I'm in the lane most the way). I first tried the cleats out as-is and decided that if I move my foot at all, they'd unclip -- so I got the idea of unscrewing one of the two screws left (4 in total, 2 blew off) and screwing it into the opposite corner (I really didn't want to give up the day). This worked, but I was still worried about clipping out, especially on the way home (all downhill). So, at the 10 mile mark, I ended up heading back.

The cleat blow-up may have been a blessing in disguise, because on the ride home, I was feeling incredibly uneasy. I figured maybe it was the hill (I can't climb) and that I didn't get a chance to "straighten" myself out after climbing so much. By the time I got home, I had a pretty bad cough and my stomach was still floating. Today, I have the flu.

So with finals week starting Monday and me being sick most of my days off work this week, looks like I won't be able to take another crack until next week. Father's day is coming up though, and my wife has been asking me biking-related equipment questions, so that's looking pretty hopeful .

Oh, and prior to the ride, I had my LBS do a small dérailleur adjustment and fixed many of the issues I've been having with my gears lately, as well a solid relube with prolink fixed most of my noise issues. I just wish I could learn dérailleur adjustments on my own, blah.


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## KellyMo (Mar 31, 2009)

Man, I'm glad nothing bad happened from the cleat explosion! Reminds me of when I took a rest and decided to randomly check my cleats... and one screw was missing. I think I'm going to post a new thread about that.

I just popped back in here hoping you'd have more inspiration for me. While your last outing may have been a failure (actually, I planned a 60mi trip to Erlangen, and at 4km away I realised I was sick of riding on gravel, so I turned around and ended up with a "mere" 52mi... and thank God. I'd probably have died if I had to go one foot further. I'd scheduled resting about 30 min there and eating at least one bratwurst and a cafe latte, but since I didn't make it, I had to rely on the two bananas I brought. Tragic), your prior endeavours still encourage me.

Your prior post reminds me of something. I think I'm the only female around here who likes to cycle. I'd say that about 10% of all "real" cyclists (there are a LOT of casual bikers here in Germany. I'm talking about the ones who've got water bottles/camelbaks attached to their bikes or themselves) are female, and 99.9% of that time they're following their male counterparts. So I'm really hopeful that your wife gets to know and love the sport like you do. In fact, I'm very saddened that I cannot encourage her to enjoy and love it like I do haha.

My husband's due back in 19 days from Iraq (but who's counting?	:cornut, and he's really the one who got me to see that $200 Wal*Mart bikes weren't the way to go. Granted, he's into MTBs and now wants to build a single speed for both himself and me... but I think I really want to get him a road bike for his birthday.

So, all that wordiness to just say... despite the setbacks, keep it up. You're my new goal :thumbsup: , so don't fail me now! Hahah... no pressure...


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## MarkFein (Sep 13, 2008)

Hey Kelly- 60 miles sounds huge to me, and I assume you've been working up to that for more than 5-6 rides. I've only had my road bike for around a week, but went out for a long ride (long for me) of 24 miles today. Only flat in a few places with long uphill grades. On the outbound leg I pedaled the grades easily, wondering why. When I got to the far end and turned around to head back, it was much, much harder. Now at home, checking elevations on Google Earth I see why. From starting point to the turnaround the road trends imperceptibly downward. But from the turnaround there's actually a rise of 240 feet back to the starting point. One of those grades is around a mile long; I had to stop twice which was an unpleasant surprise, but now I see why. Funny how deceptive changes in elevation can be.


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

Kleh -- Great writing. From your foot trouble to your helmet woes to your trying to chase down that ad-bedecked Cervelo rider, you tell it like it is.


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## Kleh (Jun 16, 2008)

Thanks Kelly -- it's always good to have support. I know on certain days I definitely need it, and I'm thinking that I'm going to try 70 miles on my rather flat trail before I attempt the uphill demon again. I actually finished up studying early today, and I'm itching to get back on the bike -- once my wife wakes (she has the flu now, of course) I think I'm going to head out with my camera and document my typical trail-ride into my blog (I'll post he link here later). My wife's bike should be coming today or tomorrow, so this may be my last long solo ride for a bit (I want to really work on getting her started so she doesn't feel left out when I'm out on solo rides).

One thing I've found: It's incredibly easy to find the motivation to get on the bike right now, but incredibly difficult to find the motivation to lift weights. I also have difficulty eating right, but I'm getting a little better (I usually don't bring enough to eat on the road, so I stop at a fast food joint on the way home) -- I also seem to allow myself the excuse to eat crappy because of my newly vested interest in exercise. Though I'm hoping that once I hit a wall and see little gain in my distance/speed, I'll have the motivation to do some weight lifting and eat right.

Mapei, thanks! I know I always enjoy hearing new rider stories, so I figured I'd throw as much as I could out there .


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## Kleh (Jun 16, 2008)

Today I hit 75 miles

I was shooting for 60, but due to some direction-related issues, I ended up overshooting (yes, I got lost). This presented some issues, as I haven't been able to get any riding in lately because of the flu and finals week. To sum this ride up: I'm posting this from my phone because the thought of going upstairs to find my laptop almost puts me in tears.

Now when I said I went 75 miles, I should mention that my legs went 58, because that's when they stopped functioning properly.

The ride started at around noon. I hadn't had anything but coffee all day, so I decided (regretfully) to get a Jack in the Box breakfast sandwich on the way. Not quite sure it was worth the first 15 miles discomfort, paired with trying to wake my legs up. I was making pretty decent time though, and by the time my legs woke up, I felt great -- that was around 25 miles. At the 30 mile mark I hit the WA/ID border and took a quick break. I was only able to eat half a granola bar, and my first thought was, "I'm sure I'll be regretting that."

At mile 35 I hit my turnaround point, but a mile later I missed a trail turn and ended up on some community trail for the local town (Liberty Lake for anyone who knows the area). I was about 8 miles off the turn by the time I realized I was no longer on the trail (thought it was odd I hadn't seen anyone cycling in a bit). I figured I'd do a little "exploring" and try and find my way back onto the trail in town, instead of backtracking.

I eventually found my way back onto the trail, but suffered about 15 miles worth of damage. At mile 50 I started really feeling not only the legs, but basically everything else. For some reason my neck just started getting really stiff, so much that I felt the need to take a little break. I needed to take my shoes off for a bit too, as my feet were on wear-and-tear mode. Ate the last half of my bar and another whole one. Was a bit late though, as my endurance was pretty much shot at this point.

For 8 more miles my average (prior to this was around 16-17) slowly declined, and at mile 58, my legs gave me the middle finger. I was not only struggling to hit 14 mph on straight-a-ways, but I was coasting as much as I possibly could; every 5 minute stretch of pedaling felt like I was going up a mountain. The summary of my last 17 miles was punctuated by me getting passed by a mountain biker within the last mile from my car (I even tried to keep up and failed).

At the end, my ride average was 14.9 (I think, I'll post stats later). I won't be doing that distance until I drastically improve my endurance. There were times, near the end, that I honestly felt I could cry if I wanted to. Unfortunately I forgot my camera once again, so I decided not to do a blog as I had previously suggested.

Anyway, off to bed! Sorry if I had some brutal misspellings (sometimes my P key likes to not work).

(oh and for those of you who know the area: I started at the Spokane Falls college lot and took the centennial trail to Post Falls and back, which, if you've done yourself, is a good way of blowing out your legs in the first 5 miles (rough climb full-o-traffic))


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## MarkFein (Sep 13, 2008)

Duude...that's a great adventure. Ibuprofen, sleep, more ibuprofen. Helluva day; bet there's a few of us sorry not to have made the ride.


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## ColoradoVeloDude (Oct 7, 2005)

Kleh said:


> Today I hit 75 miles
> 
> I was shooting for 60, but due to some direction-related issues, I ended up overshooting (yes, I got lost). This presented some issues, as I haven't been able to get any riding in lately because of the flu and finals week. To sum this ride up: I'm posting this from my phone because the thought of going upstairs to find my laptop almost puts me in tears.
> 
> ...




Congratulations on reaching 75 miles! Sounds like you are hammering this cycling stuff forward quickly – literally!. An average of 14.9 is smoking if you are just beginning I think.

You know, it kind of sounds like you bonked along the way. Leaving on a ride like that without proper fueling is like going on a 200 mile drive with your car gas tank on empty. 

I remember reading somewhere that the human body is capable of only processing 77 grams of carbohydrate an hour. What this means is that you can’t cram in enough calories and process them into energy fast enough to absorb the loss you’re incurring while cycling. 

Next time you try this, eat a really big dinner with a lot of carbs. Good bet: pasta with marinara (non-meat) sauce. Actually, do this a couple of days ahead of time – like eat an extra piece of toast with breakfast with some peanut butter on it.

The adage is that you ride today on what you ate yesterday. Eat a lot the previous day and you’ll allow your body time enough to process the food and cram away the extra in your muscles and liver for quick use later. 

The day of the ride, if your stomach doesn’t like to much food before riding, try eating light – a banana with oatmeal, and yogurt. Not much coffee. During the ride, water is the most important thing, followed by a schedule of fueling to help replace the calories expended. Remember that Gatorade, cytomax, HEED, and all other sports drinks are mostly WATER. Which is what your body will need being out exerting on the bike. The other stuff helps, and if the taste makes you drink more, then go for it. Yes, I do feel better using the sports drinks (I use Cytomax because it’s powdered and I can carry along an extra baggie or two of mix depending on the ride length – it’s usually pretty easy to find water along the route). In a pinch, if you find yourself bonking and have no water or sports drink, grab a regular Coke or Pepsi.

Anyway, you’ll figure out what works best for you .

Later
ColoradoVeloDude
Colorado Springs, Colorado


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## Kleh (Jun 16, 2008)

Hi everyone. I'm sorry to bring this post back up, but I figured that I'm better off replying to this post than starting a new one, and perhaps regurgitating information I've already shared. Last time I posted I was a few rides from hitting 100 miles, which was my ultimate goal for the year. Actually, my ultimate goal was to go on a 100 mile group ride, but that ultimately didn't pan out due to scheduling issues, but I was happy with the individual achievement.

At the end of the year I wasn't able to wrap my head around how many miles I had gone. Midway through the season I upgraded to a Garmin cpu, and didn't record my total mileage on my old computer, so I wasn't able to pan out how many miles I had done (that and I wiped my Garmin a few times trying to figure out the waypoint system). If I had to guess, I'd have put myself around the 1200 mark.

So because I'm in the beginners forum, my goal with this thread was to tell my "beginners story", from absolutely no biking/exercise to as often as I could. Ultimately, due to work, I was never able to fully embrace the sport last year, although I went as often as I could. With just having quit smoking, I think I was at a constant disadvantage, and I'm hoping this year I'll ease into it a little better. As I progressed, equipment definitely helped out; as I said, I purchased a Garmin (actually my wife bought it for me), which was pretty awesome (as long as I remembered to charge it); I picked up some extra clothes (finally got a shirt with rear pockets); I also ended up blowing a tire at one point and had it replaced with some Conti GP4000s (thanks to forum recommendations). Unfortunately, as some of you know, buying cycling gear only leads to one thing: wanting to buy more cycling gear.

Toward the end of the season, I was feeling like a real cyclist. I think if I were asked what my biggest issues were last year, it had to be maintenance. I'll admit, derailleurs and brakes were kicking my ass. It seemed like every week I was having shifting issues, breaking issues, or anything in between. It was the only issue I consistently brought to my LBS, because I just couldn't seem to figure it out. Luckily, after the first couple of visits, they started charging me $5 a visit for my helplessness. Take it from me--originally a pretty anti-LBS guy--that it does help, service wise, to become a familiar face at your LBS.

So with the moderate winters here in Spokane, you'd have to guess I'd do some fall/winter/spring cycling, yes? Unfortunately due to budget issues, winter clothing just wasn't an option last year (and we could argue that a majority of my cycling-related purchases weren't really in the budget), so I ended up getting extremely lazy -- the type of laziness that Wii Fit just can't fix.

So here I am, spring in Spokane, and we're into the mid-50s. You better believe I've already cleaned and lubed up the bike and I'm just waiting for that 60+ day so I can feel how badly out of shape the last 6 months has made me. This year is a little different though; not only am I a year and a half out of smoking, I'm also unemployed. I quit my job in January to go back to school full-time, and I should have more time between homework (I hope) to explore the city.

I'm not sure if I mentioned anywhere in my previous posts that we also bought my wife a bike last year, and we've been doing some rides together. We also managed to nab a Chariot bike carrier for our 2-year-old daughter off Craigslist for next to nothing, and we're trying to get her pumped for rides this year. Last year involved filling the Chariot with 3 pounds of candy and things to play with (awesome parenting moment #492), but so far she seems really excited about riding this year.

Anyway, I'm hoping to keep this thread semi-updated this year. I'm rather interested in how this year compares to last, and hopefully I can document it a little bit better.

Thanks for reading!


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## snowgor (Apr 10, 2007)

you should do STP this year. thanks for the good interesting post.


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## kykr13 (Apr 12, 2008)

Great post - good to see your progress. I'm relatively new at this myself, just starting my third year and can sympathize. The more you ride, the more you _want_ to ride and time limitations become frustrating. And I remember showing up for an event ride last year with a dead Garmin...  

Quitting smoking is an awesome thing to do, and I just passed my two year anniversary yesterday. It _will_ get better and you're doing a ton to make yourself healthier. Plus, the money saved can (should?!) be spent on bike stuff!


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## Kleh (Jun 16, 2008)

Snowgor, what is STP?

Thanks Kykr. The only downside to this year is that although my budget is relaxed, it consists mainly of scholarship and financial aid money, so I'm still inclined to watch my spending (more so, perhaps). I'm going to attempt to eat a little better this year, which always seems to be my weakness; like I said in the initial post, I'm naturally skinny, so I don't see any obvious physical differences when I eat healthy, but I know energy wise it would help me out a lot if I stuck to it.

My goal this year is to find some good deals on winter gear and a pair of bib shorts. Luckily, I don't think I need anything major beyond clothes, and even those are mostly optional until fall. Now I just need some nice weather!


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## PJ352 (Dec 5, 2007)

Kleh said:


> *Snowgor, what is STP?*
> 
> Thanks Kykr. The only downside to this year is that although my budget is relaxed, it consists mainly of scholarship and financial aid money, so I'm still inclined to watch my spending (more so, perhaps). I'm going to attempt to eat a little better this year, which always seems to be my weakness; like I said in the initial post, I'm naturally skinny, so I don't see any obvious physical differences when I eat healthy, but I know energy wise it would help me out a lot if I stuck to it.
> 
> My goal this year is to find some good deals on winter gear and a pair of bib shorts. Luckily, I don't think I need anything major beyond clothes, and even those are mostly optional until fall. Now I just need some nice weather!


Strength Training Program
http://exercise.about.com/cs/exbeginners/a/begstrength.htm


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## Kleh (Jun 16, 2008)

Ah, thanks. Yeah, that would probably be a good idea. Over the winter my plan was to work on strength to make up for my lack of cycling. Well, like my usual attempt at working out beyond biking, I failed miserably.


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## snowgor (Apr 10, 2007)

STP is Seattle to Portland


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## DalyCityDad (Oct 11, 2009)

ColoradoVeloDude said:


> Congratulations on reaching 75 miles! Sounds like you are hammering this cycling stuff forward quickly – literally!. An average of 14.9 is smoking if you are just beginning I think.
> 
> You know, it kind of sounds like you bonked along the way. Leaving on a ride like that without proper fueling is like going on a 200 mile drive with your car gas tank on empty.
> 
> ...



My coach (TeamInTraining) explained it to me like this: the first 2-3 hours of the ride you are running on what you ate last night and this morning. After that you need to have new calories in your system but since it takes a while to absorb calories and there is no way to take in as much as you are using on the bike, you have to be eating the whole time. The general rule of thumb is eat as much as you can without feeling overstuffed and it should be carbs not protein or fat. Usually it is between 200 and 350 calories per hour. The things I personally use are cliff bars (each one has 240 calories) and potatoes (the perfect carb). 
As far as hydration goes I try to drink at least a 20oz. bottle of water an hour. It is also critically important to replace the electrolites so you should have one bottle of plain water and one of some type of sports drink that has electrolites.
Sorry if I repeated a bunch of ColoradoVeloDude's info but I thought it would help to explain it the way it was explained to me.


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## kykr13 (Apr 12, 2008)

Kleh said:


> Thanks Kykr. The only downside to this year is that although my budget is relaxed, it consists mainly of scholarship and financial aid money, so I'm still inclined to watch my spending (more so, perhaps). I'm going to attempt to eat a little better this year, which always seems to be my weakness; like I said in the initial post, I'm naturally skinny, so I don't see any obvious physical differences when I eat healthy, but I know energy wise it would help me out a lot if I stuck to it.


Better food can come from spending more time and/or money. It is possible to eat very well on the cheap, but it takes more of your time (comparison shopping, label reading and cooking). Given the choice, I'd rather do this, frankly. But time has a price too and I'd hate to spend the day inside cooking when I could be out riding. Not easy, but you'll figure out what works for you.


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## LMWEL (Jan 5, 2010)

Kleh , Congrats on giving up the smokes !! I smoked my last one Sept.21 ,2009 at 1 am. About a month after I got back into cycling. So I guess you could say , Cycling is saving my life.


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## ameijer (Sep 30, 2009)

Kleh said:


> 30. My feet? I hit 36 miles and they suddenly felt like I was running all day in wood shoes


I take offense at the derogatory hit on my Dutch heritage!


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## Kleh (Jun 16, 2008)

snowgor, that would be pretty awesome. You're talking about the big group event in July, I take it? The hardest part for me will be getting the time off, but maybe if I plan enough in advance I can skirt a few classes; unfortunately, I'm forcing myself to take summer classes this year.

LMWEL, I'm pretty sure without cycling I'd be smoking again. Especially after this week, where I've had the roughest midterm exams of my life. I'm looking forward to not wanting to kill myself for the first month of riding this year though... who am I kidding, it's still probably going to be hell.

ameijer, I've taken enough hits for my French heritage, so I don't mind dishing it out onto others' .


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## LMWEL (Jan 5, 2010)

LMWEL, I'm pretty sure without cycling I'd be smoking again. Especially after this week, where I've had the roughest midterm exams of my life. I'm looking forward to not wanting to kill myself for the first month of riding this year though... who am I kidding, it's still probably going to be hell.

All you need is the wind in your face and all is well !! Ride man Ride...


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## kykr13 (Apr 12, 2008)

Kleh said:


> LMWEL, I'm pretty sure without cycling I'd be smoking again.


If you get a craving, go for a ride. Go fast, find some hills. Stuff that makes you _breathe_. Then think about the ambulance ride a smoker would need after trying that...   

It'll go away. We went out for dinner the other night to a bar/restaurant. Smoking has been outlawed inside buildings here for 2+ years, so a woman at the bar kept going outside every 15 minutes. We were 15' from the door and the whole room smelled like a dirty ashtray as soon as she walked back inside. Barf... 

You'll get to that point soon. :thumbsup:


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