First Bike Today

Find a club, ask alot of questions and ride as much as possible.

Hehe...yes you're right, clips do take some getting used to.

Some people will tell you with certainty that you WILL fall 2 times learning how to use clips. Because you can't get unclipped in time, and then you gracefully fall over at a traffic light.:p

Good luck, have fun and be safe.

Cheers!

If you haven't been already, get a professional fit. Well worth the 50 to 100 bucks if not included with your bike purchase. Your comfort on the bike is directly proportional to your enjoyment and amount of time you'll ride. Get a good floor pump for the house and a saddle bag with all the necessities for changing a flat on the road. If you don't have expericence changing flats practice at home before hand. Remember to clip out before you get to the light or stop sign. 🙂

Treat all cars like they do not see you. Cover your brakes while going through a green. Have fun and be careful!

Good advice so far.

Some suggestions.

This may sound bloody obvious - but at all times make sure that you pay attention to what is ahead of you on the road, apart from when you're overtaking.
New cyclists make the mistake that they have control of what is behind them - they don't.
So until you get your bearings - make sure that you concentrate upon what is ahead of you.

In terms of riding - remember cycling is all about enjoyment and trying to build stamina slowly.
Gaining stamina takes time - and yes you'll be enthuasiastic and you'll want to get huge distances in from the start - but your body needs time to adjust.

I too would encourage you to ask questions - and the best place to do that is at a cycling club.
That way you'll get advice (some good/some bad) and you'll quickly learn what does/doesn't suit.

Finally make sure that when you do start riding that you bring liquid with you and that you imbibe reguarly throughout your ride.

Don't neglect sweet spot training (SST) ride between 1 and 3 hour pace. Riding more than 4 hours is a waste of training time duration gets to long and intensity drops to low. SST increases hour power (FTP) the most important aspect of cycling.

Dr Coggan's book amazon.com103 6727117 0325459Open ↗

The Trainer 1upusa.comkurtkinetictrainer.htmOpen ↗

The Thread cyclingforums.comt314849.htmlOpen ↗

Well thanks for all the info so far. I rode again today. I did about 10 miles, just trying to get used to the feel of the bike and those darn clips. So, I went ahead about bought some more user friendly than the ones that came on the bike. I bought some speed play clips. Well worth the money from the couple of mins I was playing with them.

Someone in the local cycling club stopped me and told me about the club. I will be going to the next meeting, its on the second wednesday of the month. Then once I get confident in my abilites on the bike i'll start going on rides with a lot of people.

I work with someone who is huge into cycling and gave me advice on the bike to buy and what to look for. Tomorrow we are going riding together. Wish me luck! I think that I might need it with those clips.

I'm still trying to learn which gear to be in in which situation ... that will come in time i suppose.

I can sympathise with you on the cleats. I used them when I tried 🙁 to race for three years. Since the day that I discovered that I preferred to ride for fun instead of competetively🙂 , my clipless pedals have sat in my spare parts drawer and I have been using my trusty old Shimano 600 platforms with the toe clips and toe straps.

As everyone else has said, the clubs will help you a lot. Just remember, nothing will help you as much as experience, so go out there, ride, and learn.

I just recently got into cycling as well. I'm having a blast! Had the bike for 2 weeks and then went on a 26 mile group ride. About the gearing, it took me a couple of weeks for me to fully understand the gearing. You'll get there! I'm on my 4th week now and loving it! Going on a 20 mile ride tonight even! Wahoo!

Well thanks for the advice so far. Today I rode for around 30 miles with some guys in the local tri club. It was rough! But I got threw it just fine.

As for the clips, I got a pair of speed plays, and I love them. Much easier to get in and out of than the DSPs.

Plus I got my first set of arrow bars today. Those will take some time to getting used too but, in time. I love cycling a lot so far. Thanks for all your help.

kamon8404 said:

As for the clips, I got a pair of speed plays, and I love them. Much easier to get in and out of than the DSPs.

Incidentally, cycling terminology-wise clips and toe-clips actually refer to the older style of pedals where there is a fabric or plastic cage around your foot while it's in the pedals. The more modern variety of pedals that require the use of bike shoes are actually called "clipless pedals," although nowadays because the old clips are so, well, old, calling the clipless pedals toe-clips is actually making a case for itself.

Quoted post said:

Plus I got my first set of arrow bars today.

Aerobars. Named after the aerodynamic improvement they offer due to the more streamelined position they allow you to take on the bike. Take my opinion for what it is worth, but if you are this new to cycling, you're jumping the gun on getting aerobars. All safety issues related to bike control and riding with others around you while in the aerobars aside, you may really want to spend some time in the more traditional road riding "on the hoods" and "in the drops" positions to get your body used to riding distances and making sure your bike's fitting you well.

Happy riding - welcome to the sport!

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