Biking Buddies 7/26-8/2

[dulcecoeur]

I am starting the thread this week so I can tell Natasha about the Egg Beater pedals...

Natasha, he likes them. Said they are more stable than his other clipless pedals, as they have a longer extended base and because of the way they clip in as well. He will probably get some for his road bike as well (but some of the less expensive ones, his are the top of the line ones, so about retailing at $750 CDN, but he gets them at cost for $380 (ridiculous still I know!)

Hope everyone is getting some good riding in this weekend.
Last night I did a small trail ride/with some roads to link for about 2 hours, and today just went out for an hour as tomorrow I am doing an "epic" mountain bike ride for my birthday...I think we are aiming for 60/70 Kilometres so I am saving my legs a bit for that! I am looking forward to it though, it should be a lot of fun.

Cheers!

[SusanMac]

Happy birthday! What a great way to celebrate. I love doing active things on my birthday. You can always sit around and eat and drink after the aerobic challenge :-)

I just saw in Bicyling magazine that there are new Egg Beaters designed for road bikes. They have a more stable base that is supposed to be better for roadies. What is the big benefit of the Egg Beaters? Is that you can clip in almost immediately? I hate having to spin my pedal around until it's at precisely the right spot to clip in. Hoping and assuming this becomes more intuitive as time goes on. Not a big deal, I know, but is a pet peeve of mine, particularly in busy intersections!

Went for a 30-mile ride yesterday and was one of my strongest, best workouts this summer. For whatever reason, I never really felt like I had to warm up. Got into the groove immediately. It typically takes me a good 5 miles before my legs feel warmed up. Must have been all the cookies that I ate at MIL's house over the weekend! How long does it take for you guys to really warm up and start working hard on a ride??

Wow - what an exciting finale to the Tour!! I'm so sad it's over. But, the Vuelta Espania is around the corner in Sept. We need to dramatically cut back our TV time after being glued to the TV for the past 23 days anyway.

[TPorter2]

Wow, I'm so excited to find this thread!

I just got a bike a couple of months ago, and I started out by only going for short rides of 10 minutes at a time. Five minutes out and five back. I was completely sedentary, and 10 minutes would wear me out! I gradually increased it to 15 minutes, then 20 mintues and am now at 25 minutes. I'm trying to mix in more hills to increase difficulty as well as time. Any ideas would be appreciated!

[SusanMac]

TPorter - is this a road bike or mtn bike? it sounds like road bike, but wanted to make sure.

I'm fairly new, as well (started riding in April) and have 2 great sources to recommend -- 1) Bicycling Magazine has great workouts each month, as well as tips for equipment, preventing flat tires, fluid replacement, etc. Since it's a magazine, it's really easy & digestible to read a quick article and get some new ideas. 2) for a longer read, I recommend Serious Cycling. I've forgotten the author, but it's a great book that covers everything from how diet affects your ride to cross-training to how to attack hills to how many days/week to ride.

Last idea is to look around for a local bike club. If they're not too competitive (some of them are), they're a great source for learning routes in your area and riding safely with a group (instead of out by yourself). Even if you're not ready for a group ride, they can help you find out where the local hills are, routes to avoid cars, etc.

[Natasha]

Thanks Rachel! :) Good to know. I'll pass the info on to my husband too since he is always interested in new gear.

Happy belated birthday!

Natasha

[jazzyjas]

It seems I won't be able to go on the Wednesday night ride this week since I have a meeting of one of the various board of directors I sit on (never let anyone know that you complete tasks or can organize anything). I may try to go by myself earlier on Wednesday. We'll see.

Rachel -
Hope you had a super birthday ride

Susan --
I don't really experience much of a warm-up period during my rides (maybe a couple of minutes) but I do so much walking with my hyper active puppy that I have often just finished a 3 mile walk when I set off riding.

TPorter --
I second the idea of looking into a bike club -- mine has many rides that are at slower paces and publishes a directory so you can find people near you who ride. The company can make it easier to ride longer distances since you will be distracted some.

happy riding all!!

jas

[TPorter2]

Thanks to SusanMac and jazzyjas for the ideas about a bike club. I will check that out. And thanks for telling me about Bicycling Magazine, I will pick that up as well. It is a road bike, kind of a 50's style retro ladies bike.

Last night, I fulfilled the first cycling goal I set a couple of months ago, I rode my bike to my son's house and back. It is only a little over a mile away, but is up some pretty steep hills. Felt really good! And riding back was even more fun since it was downhill most of the way.

Anyway, thanks again!

[SusanMac]

TPorter - congrats on your goal! Be careful, though....once you're hooked money starts disappearing! We keep getting packages in the mail every few weeks from Performance Cycling and Colorado Cyclist :-)