New to cycling: few questions

Just keep riding, the answers will come to you Grasshopper.

Which is better: a high gear or a low gear?
Low gear is best for uphills, and High gear for downhils.
What is the best way to improve my endurance?
Lots of riding.
What would be a good target speed/distance? Tonight I did 1.4 miles at about 10.8 mph (I only cycled for about 10 minutes because I was testing my new "Bike computer" :p ).
If 10.8 mph was fine, then next time try to ride faster and further. You will
able to go a lot faster and further in a short amount of time.
Also, is it better to do uphill parts of a journey earlier or later?
I live on top of a 500' vertical hill, so almost all my rides end with a hill.
I would prefer hills at the start, but I don't really want to move.

freakin89 said:

I decided to get fit a long time ago, and started running and skipping. But I didn't enjoy it one iota, because everytime I was on a downhill, I'd wish I was on wheels.
So that failed. Then I decided a few weeks ago, to start cycling again. So I've been doing about 15 minutes every other night, just cycling around the estate or into town or whatever - and I want to increase this over time.
So, enough of the spiel, here's my questions:
Which is better: a high gear or a low gear?
What is the best way to improve my endurance?
What would be a good target speed/distance? Tonight I did 1.4 miles at about 10.8 mph (I only cycled for about 10 minutes because I was testing my new "Bike computer" :p ).
Also, is it better to do uphill parts of a journey earlier or later? I live near a BMX track, but this would involve a (for me) tough cycle uphill right at the end of the session. Is that a good idea to do or not?

Any advice would be good!

Thanks bunches!
S

Short answers:

1. Select your gear to keep your cadence (pedal RPM) up to 80-90 rpm or higher. This will feel like you're spinning too fast at first, but you'll get used to it.

2. Progressively longer rides will build endurance fastest, but just riding as often as you can will work fine for now. Suggest you start for 5 miles, then build from there with longer rides a couple of times a week.

3. Don't worry about a target speed at all. Ride at a comfortable pace, push when you feel like it, and concentrate on enjoying your riding. You don't need to force the speed, or put up arbitrary goals for you to pass or fail. Just enjoy the ride.

4. A climb late in a ride is fine. If you're winded at the top, would be best to cool down by spinning gently on a flat road for 5 minutes before getting off the bike.

Keep it fun, and be patient. Progress takes a little time and effort....if it didn't, everyone would be a fit cyclist 🙂