Training for cycling

[Jay68442]

I started my training and hope to work my way up to 50 miles. That is my goal for now. Not sure how long that is going to take but I'm in no rush. The only problem I have is living in a place called mountain top. As you can imagine from the name its not that flat here.

My question is; how did most of you go about reaching your goals? Did you set short term goals for each ride or ride until you reached your limit?

[Scott]

That's great, Jay! Is there a loop around home you like? How far are you riding now? You can start with base miles using a few familiar routes and add longer weekend rides, increasing your distance by say 10% each week until you reach your goal.

[dadmo]

To answer you question I will use myself as an example. I began riding 3 years ago. That first spring (on a mountain bike) I was riding about 15-20 mile a week, not much by any biking standard. On the 4th of July I went out for 50 miles and stayed at about 10 MPH (again not great). For the rest of the summer I rode maybe 25 miles a week and that Sept. I borrowed a hybred and did my first century. It wasn't as physically tough as I thought it would be but make no mistake 100 miles on a bike is a long ride even when you have been biking for a few years. The worst part of all was getting my butt use to the bike seat.

[Jay68442]

Hey Guys,
There is no particular loop I take. I pretty much get on the bike and ride until I'm tired or run out of time. I've doing my riding in the morning before work. I usually average about 10 -15 miles a ride. But I just started so I have only done this a few times.

[mstlyn]

Hey Dadmo,

Your butt actually gets used to those bike seats? When I was a teenager I didnt even think about it.
I couldnt believe after years not riding a bike how awful those things feel!

Arent there some, uh "nicer" bike seats out there to be had? =)

[mstlyn]

I started my training and hope to work my way up to 50 miles. That is my goal for now. Not sure how long that is going to take but I'm in no rush. The only problem I have is living in a place called mountain top. As you can imagine from the name its not that flat here.

My question is; how did most of you go about reaching your goals? Did you set short term goals for each ride or ride until you reached your limit?

Hills and valleys, ouch! My legs hurt just thinking about it. I think you'll get in shape for long distance riding faster that way though!

Have a great time!

[Mom]

Jay, my husband wants to offer you the following pointers: Start with a spin class at the local gym or Y just to get the legs and lungs in shape and use to climbing etc. A good way is to join a local bike club or participate in local rides at the D or C level. Last year when he started he was lucky to be doing 10 miles plus an hour; he should have kept better records. The biggest difference between spinning and outside riding is you get to coast down hill but the real thing is being in the correct gear at the right time. Once you get that down it is a question of riding different routes, flats for speed and hills for climbing and then participating in other charity or local rides. The other thing is to make sure that you stretch the legs after a ride or even at rest stops because the biggest problem is the build up of lactic acid in the legs and hydrate because that delays the acid build-up.

[Jay68442]

Thank You for the pointers MOM and Mr Mom. I will certainly take them into consideration. Not sure where I would find the time for a spin class as I go to Kung Fu and Tai Chi classes 3 - 5 a week.

[Scott]

I pretty much get on the bike and ride until I'm tired or run out of time. I've doing my riding in the morning before work. I usually average about 10 -15 miles a ride. But I just started so I have only done this a few times.

You're off to a good start. If you have the time, try doing 20-25 miles one day this weekend.

[Jay68442]

A little update on my training. Here are my first 5 rides with the new bike

Ride #---Date---Mx Speed---Ave Speed---Distance---Time
1--------9/12---31.2--------13.0--------8.25-----38.02
2--------9/14---35.4--------13.9--------8.18-----35.19
3--------9/16---29.1--------13.2--------8.23-----37.28
4--------9/18---32.2--------13.9--------8.35-----36.05
5--------9/20---31.7--------14.8--------7.81-----31.47

This sunday I'm planning to do a 20 mile ride. I have to admit the hills kill me. The slight up hills are not bad but the long steep ones are murder on my legs. Good thing there are only a few of those on the loop i've been doing. I will also try a new route this weekend. One last note. I found a long time cyclist in my development who said he would teach me the ropes.

LiveStrong Philly 40 miles or better next year.

[dadmo]

Jay:
Here are some biking web pages with cue sheets.

Bikely

Pedaling

Trail Link

[Jay68442]

Thanks for the links Dadmo, I will check them out.

[TCLEFT]

A little update on my training. Here are my first 5 rides with the new bike

Ride #---Date---Mx Speed---Ave Speed---Distance---Time
1--------9/12---31.2--------13.0--------8.25-----38.02
2--------9/14---35.4--------13.9--------8.18-----35.19
3--------9/16---29.1--------13.2--------8.23-----37.28
4--------9/18---32.2--------13.9--------8.35-----36.05
5--------9/20---31.7--------14.8--------7.81-----31.47

This sunday I'm planning to do a 20 mile ride. I have to admit the hills kill me. The slight up hills are not bad but the long steep ones are murder on my legs. Good thing there are only a few of those on the loop i've been doing. I will also try a new route this weekend. One last note. I found a long time cyclist in my development who said he would teach me the ropes.

LiveStrong Philly 40 miles or better next year.

Seems to be the year for trying out new things. My Son and I tried out a Pai Lum Kung Fu class last night. We had a really nice time. I'm pretty sure we're going to go back.

[Jay68442]

Seems to be the year for trying out new things. My Son and I tried out a Pai Lum Kung Fu class last night. We had a really nice time. I'm pretty sure we're going to go back.

Thats great. I've tried a few arts and I like kung fu the best. I studied wing chun, hung gar and now eagle claw. One of the things I enjoy most now is tai chi. So relaxing

Do you know the name of the school?

[TCLEFT]

Thats great. I've tried a few arts and I like kung fu the best. I studied wing chun, hung gar and now eagle claw. One of the things I enjoy most now is tai chi. So relaxing

Do you know the name of the school?

I believe they just stayed pragmatic and called it Pai Lum Tai Chi/ Kung Fu. Between my Son and myself we have 30 years into Chung Do Kwan Mu Sool. We seemed to fall right into pace. Just some shorter stance configurations and pivoting differences to adjust to and we were right at home. Everyone was very nice and respectful with no egos. Very nice experience. To keep scope with this thread, we figure it's about a 13 mile ride to the school, all rural. When we join, we're thinking for the Saturday Tai Chi class, we'd ride, train, ride home. Assuming we'll be able to move for the Tai Chi. (It's over Point Mountain Road ) Get the picture? Oh, well, no brain, no pain, or something like that .