That's exactly how I started, about 25 lbs ago! Just some very non-ambitious toodles around the neighbourhood. But it's addictive - especially when you get a little stamina and drop some of the weight holding you back!

That's why I like it, too. It feels natural and fun - NOT like exercise. :thup: I spent a lot of time biking as a kid, too. Maybe that's why I'm not as nervous or fearful jumping back on this saddle. My DH keeps tryign to get me riding horses, however, and that is not NATURAL to me. :D Plus I always end up on my arse with my trusty steed two hundred feet ahead. I'll take the bike, thanks.

Sens - thanks for the tip on the gloves. I was meaning to ask. Sometimes the heels of my hands get numb or sore if I'm doing a lot of downhill stuff.

I'm treading carefully with the carbs, too. I'm too chicken to try the protein bars or anything too carby. I figure I'm being brave with the fruit.

I'm still new to this. I've just been going along mainly on my lc fare. But if we jumped right into a challenging ride, or an incline, I didn't have the oomph. Endurance, no problem.

The apple or peanut butter seemed to help that the first time I tried. But then last time, like I said, I got a major attack of the hungries mid-ride. Could have been my breakfast too. I didn't have my usual protein intake because I was at the inlaws - a very carby household.

I'm going to try again - maybe CBG's approach of the split snack -- and see what happens. For most burns around the city of under an hour I don't bother. I don't find I need anything for that kind of ride.

Great to chat with you guys about this!

Okay, one last thing, and then I'll shut up. :D Karen - don't worry about your speed. It will come. What kind of bike do you have? Is it heavy or light? Since you already have the weight of the trailer to deal with, a light bike will help.

I can't believe how much lighter my new bike is than my old MB with the chromaly frame. That thing weighed a ton. It was a real drag and I was very slow. Fat, too, though. :rolleyes:

Not that I'm recommending you run out and buy a new bike. Just a thought. Meanwhile - at least you're building up the muscles in your legs!

My road bike is a Giant OCR1 and it's great!
But for the bike paths I ride my brother's old basic Marin mountain bike - actually I think what makes it so hard to pull is that I don't have clipless pedals on the mtn bike so I'm not getting the whole pedal stroke. I may just break down and just get the SPD pedals.

Either that or I need to move to a less hilly area :rolleyes: My town is the "Gateway to the Poconos" so everything is pretty much hilly around here and it kicks my butt!

Hi Everyone! I'm a little late joining this thread, but I also recently took up (road) biking. With a little good advice from Senrides, I purchased a new bike (Specialized Sequoia) in march and am already doing 25miles at a time.

My bit of advice to anyone starting out, get a helmet. The reason I took a decade off from riding (and piled on the pounds) was because I was in two back to back biking accidents, both of which wouldn't have been nearly as bad with a helmet on.

--nw

It's National Bike to Work day today. Anyone ride to work? It was raining here but I rode as well as one other person in our office.

Senrides- I was thinking about doing RAPSody also. It falls at a good time in my training for CO.

Teardrop! That is awesome! I would just love to see a friendly face there! (Assuming yours would be friendly ;) )

NoWonder - you are not kidding there, I have cracked two helmets so far :( I want to add just one other caution to yours - us gals, and those guys with long hair - never ride with a hard clip holding your hair back - I did, and when I crashed it went straight into the back of my head. I completely freaked my kid out because I lost my memory for two hours. (It was way different from how I had ever imagined loosing my memory would be, not scary at all, just weird that I could not recall where I was, where I had parked, how to get back, or what I was doing specifically there)

Karen - I ride with a gal on the yellow OCR frame (2002's I think?) and we just finished paying off my daughters TCR, so we like Giants, too!

Allez Y'all!

sen

Anyone watching OLN to catch Petacchi's sixth stage win in the Giro today??

Well, I couldn't bike to work (since I work at home LOL) but I did bike to the bank - does that count?? Unfortunately, the girl at the drive-up window was snippy to me and told me not to bike through there again - nice huh?

The task for this weekend - teaching my 9 year old how to use LOOK pedals/cleats. He's used toe clips on the track, but never clipless. I may have white hair until this is done, but he wants to ride with me on the road for longer rides. My brother's cycling friends donated most of the parts for the bike, so I only had to spend $200 and my kid gets a functional road bike read to roll.

Sen, thanks a million for the warning about the hard hair clip!! I have long hair and always have it clipped/tied back with something - guess I'll be sticking with the crunchies for now.

I love Giants! When I was looking for a road bike, the Giant compact road frames fit better than other brands women-specific designs, but the clincher was how nice the guy at our local shop was - totally awesome. The poor fellow had the task of teaching clumsy me to use clipless pedals - I am not very coordinated and there was a huge learning curve.

Lucky daughter of yours - those TCRs are gorgeous (and pricey). My son is just starting to race on the track this year - but luckily our velodrome provides free instruction and track bikes in the beginning, so other than the gas to get there, we've spent very little.

Yeah, that's super! :rolleyes: Oh well, I guess we just have to ignore stuff like that or go crazy! I had my first "Get the hell off the road!" yesterday, but I didn't even acknowledge it.

Sen - the hair clip thing - who would've thought? Glad I don't have long hair! I always wear a helmet though! Similar to the seatbelt in the car, I feel "naked" without it. Speaking of the noggin area, I recently discovered the "Halo" (see Gypsy, I told you I had one!). :D You can see a picture here: http://www.haloheadband.com/sitemap.html It really works to prevent sweat from stinging the eyes and/or dripping onto glasses. I've used skullcaps before, but they felt like they were pulling my hair out - one by one. This band is super comfy, not terribly expensive ($12 - got mine at REI) and not even noticible when it's on. If you have an issue with sweat getting in your eyes, I highly recommend it!

Well, tomorrow I'm planning an early morning ride - hopefully about 30 miles. Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend filled with riding!

Had to do a quick edit here and post this! Nike's new commercial featuring Lance: http://www.nike.com/wearyellow/seelanceride/main.html I thought it was awesome... :)

Okay, sorry for taking up so much space here, but I had to post this article! It's in the latest edition of "Bicycling" and it made me laugh. Guess we're not all crazy with our diets after all! :D

EDIT: Thanks for the heads-up, Sen! Let's see if this works now:

Carbs, it doesn't show up :( Now it's time to get a ride in......

Hello All!

I live in Belgium and as you probably already know since most of you are experts this is bike riding country! We live in the north near Antwerp and there are hundres of miles of trails - usually sand and gravel in the woods or road type conditions beside the street or elsewhere. The great thing is the only hills you run in to are the bridges you have to cross over canals and highways/streets. The bad part is there is a lot of wind and although my DH says hills are way harder, I can attest that riding in a wind tunnel with the wind against you is hard work!

My DH (who is a Belgian and has been biking seriously a lot longer than I have been around) got me in to this since it is more of a culture here than a fun hobby. He took me to his bike shop and got me what the call translated from Dutch as a sport bike which is from what I have been reading a hybrid bike. I love it and it is so much fun when we do our weekend rides - although not at a super fast speed - we will cover anywhere from 40-50km in about 3 hours. That of course is not including the couple of stops for a drink but gives me a great workout without feeling like I am exercising.

I am so glad I stumbled across this thread and got so much information from all the very knowledgable people. You know I can't ask DH or his head would swell and I would be sitting there with a glazed over look while he goes in to unbelievable details :-)

Thanks again and keep on riding!
Minerva

Minerva! Welcome! Belgium, huh? Home of Museeuw and Boonen and Merckx, right? Incredible Cyclocross, too?
Great to see you here!

sen

Went for a century ride today.

Triple-flatted, and broke my left shifter.

Had to ride the last half with the chain on the smallest gear of the crankset (triple-ring).

Still had a great ride!

J

P.S. A bad day cycling is still better than a good day working!

Wow J - that's quite the ride! Sorry to hear about the flats, I've been there. Have you tried Slime in your tubes? I'm a believer! What happened with the shifter???

Glad you had a good ride anyway! :) A century is something I'd like to do - someday...

I did a quarter-century today (hey, I have to make it sound more impressive than just "25 miles!" LOL). It was a fun ride on a gorgeous day! The only oddity I expereinced was about 1/2 mile of swarming gnats. Not a pretty picture when they get caught in your sunscreen and cover your arms and legs...

Have a great Sunday, everyone!

Carbs,

The left shifter literally "disintegrated". One minute I was doing a downshift, and the next minute I saw the shifter crumple into pieces. It was on old 'grip-shift' on my training bike. I knew it was going to be time to replace it anyday now. Regarding slime: I don't like the extra weight that the slime adds. I know it works, but the cost of the added weight is tough to live with.

For all you cyclist's out there: Next weekend (Memorial Day Weekend), is the "Great Western Bike Rally" in Paso Robles, California. A three-day cycling event with over a half-a-dozen different sponsored rides. Bike rodeos, mountain bike climb rides, rides through the zoo (for the kids), ride by the antique shops (so you can go antiqueing), and my favorite: a ride through the vineyards with wine-tasting at the wineries (I might not actually finish this one), you can do a different ride each day. There are also conventional century rides and partials. Lots of cycling demonstrations and booths. Cost is only $20 per rider. Rooms are still available in Pismo Beach (which is just 20-30 minutes away) or you might still find camping space at the event!

Come join the fun and bring your bike!

J