Cycling Forum: New to riding, random questions

Hi. I started riding my bike 4 miles to work, 8 miles round trip, beginning of last July. Gas prices, you know, and exercise/weight loss was a side benefit. Also, next spring the school where my kids go has a 22 mile bike hike, and I want to go but I refuse to be the fat mom at the back having a heart attack!  So I'm in training. :) I know these distances are nothing to some of you but to me as a beginner they are huge.

I had a crash and was off riding for about 6 weeks (bruised ribs, sprained wrist, road rash, etc). Thank god for my helmet, I didn't get so much as a scratch on my face. I started back up again about 2 weeks ago.

I have 2 bikes. If mountain means wide tires and road means skinny tires, then my mountain is a Magna Excitur (a "not-expensive" bike from Target or Meijer, I forget which) and my road is a Rockhopper Specialized. I crashed the first time I tried the Rockhopper because at the time it was waaaay more bike than I could handle. I've been riding the mountain to work and practicing shorter distances closer to home on the mountain.

Questions...the way to work is hilly and I can't make it up the hills yet. I know I need to build some more muscle and stamina. I also carry a backpack to work, which is kind of heavy and I think that doesn't help. What can I do to make the climb easier? The way home is all downhill, I just point the bike toward home and basically coast 2/3rd of the way. It takes me 30 -40 min to get TO work, because of having to walk up those hills and rest at the top of each, and only 15-20 to ride home. I am gasping like-to-die at the top of those hills. Not pretty.

 Does the kind of bike make a difference in climbing hills? I'm riding the mountain now, I feel more secure on it. But I will work up to riding the road bike again when I get some more confidence back.

 Does the backpack make a difference? I don't have a place at work to leave stuff. I do have to carry it all with me. If I got a bike pack or whatever they are called (told you I'm new to this) the weight will be on the bike instead of on me...will that make any difference?

Anything else anyone wants to say is appreciated!

Hello, fellow commuter! I too started riding my bike to work a little over a year ago. My commute is 4 2/3 miles one way. One day it dawned on me just how close that is and how it really takes me just as long to bike home as it would to drive home in rush hour traffic. I haven't regretted the decision yet!

Anyway, to your question, I agree with Lara about the cadence, although I've never heard that term before. I always tell my daughter when she rides with me, it's better to keep your legs moving! So now I know the technical term for it.

Second, I agree even more about the tires question. When I started out I was riding on mountain bike tires (because I was riding a mountain bike, duh!). A co-worker and fellow biker pointed out that if my entire commute was on pavement, I would be much better off with "slicks", or extremely low-tread road tires. So I purchased 2 $10 slicks from Performance and, wow! what a difference it made in speed and comfort. It probably took 5 minutes off my commute, no kidding.

I moved from a backpack to panniers earlier this year and the main difference I noticed is that my back was drier when I arrived. Other than that -- primarily a comfort/preference issue -- I don't believe it had much impact, such as on speed. There certainly is an impression of being lighter, but that's clearly deceiving. The weight is still there, it's just resting on the bike instead of on your back.

What makes a big difference for me is my fuel. My harder ride is in the afternoon, not the morning. But I still notice a big difference if I have a banana before I leave home. In the afternoon, I have a power bar of some kind about half an hour before I leave.

 Anyway, kudos. Keep on keepin' on!

A bike shop will have friendly, knowledgable staff on hand to answer all your slick tire questions, Target won't. Here's what I do, cuz I'm a crotchety old skeptic who likes to save money. Go to your local bike shop and ask for advice on tires. They'll give you the spiel and explain why you absolutely MUST have the most expensive tires ever made. Then say thanks, I'm not ready to buy yet! Go home and start googling on the internets. You'll find better prices albeit no instant gratification.

Keep on keepin' on!

--Tom

First and foremost, congratulations on beginning what may be a lifetime of cycling and fitness. The first step is often the hardest, and you're well beyond that.

It sounds like that hill is pretty tough, especially for a work commute. Feel good about yourself and the progress you're making, and be confident that you will make it up there and live to tell about it. If you keep riding every day (or close to it), you'll be amazed at how quickly you'll progress and how much easier those hills will start to feel.

Re: bike gear, I agree with Tom in that your local bike shop will have the knowledge and experience to answer all your questions, but will also have the most expensive things you don't need. Take their advice with a smile and get all your questions answered, then take that information home and find what you need online. Google will find you a couple good online stores that run sales almost daily, so just keep an eye out for a good deal. Smoother, more narrow tires will make your ride easier, and the gears on your mountain bike will probably make it easier than those on your road bike (mountain bikes are made for steeper hills), so you may want to stick to that bike for a while until you build up more strength and endurance.

Congratulations and good luck!