NEWBIE...Need some help..Urgently

Try to keep your cadence around 90-100 rpm (candence is the rpm of one pedal), that should teach you about what gear you shoudl be riding in. The Cateye Astrale 8 cyclocomputer has that funcition, and it's only around $35.

Correct saddle height, when the pedal is at the bottom, your leg shoudl have about a 10deg. bend in it, when that's the case, you have the correct saddle height. You can also move your saddle fore/aft, and you'll just have to play with that to see what's best for you.

If the bike is new, lube the chain after every ride. After a week or two of that, then just lube it after every ~5-10 rides. Get yourself a saddle pouch and put in it: tire levers, spare tube, patch kit, a few bucks, and get yourself either a CO2 pump or a frame pump in case you flat (and you will).

If your shifting isn't as crisp as you'd like, both www.parktool.com and www.sheldonbrown.com are good sites you can use for tips to perform basic maintenance on the bike (i.e. shifting adjustments, braking adjustments, etc.).

Good luck!

I would guess "leg pain" might just be soreness being you're just starting out. Your legs might just not be used to the activity??? Are you using clipless pedals? If so, depending on how they are set up, they might be the cause of your knee pain. I got all kind of suggestions on how to adjust my saddle when I first got my bike, and I ended up just experimenting with it untill I got the feel I wanted.

rgunn1 said:

I would guess "leg pain" might just be soreness being you're just starting out. Your legs might just not be used to the activity???

At 10MPH? On a flat plane? Look, either he's slapping himself into a beastly gear and working way harder than he should, he's riding at an uncomfortable height (look to some pictures of cyclists to figure out how your legs should be working, your seat might be too low), or he's hideously out of shape, which will fix itself if he keeps to cycling.

Good luck man, check your seat, experiment with heights and find one that's right for you.

Sounds like it'd be worthwhile to take your bike into a local bike shop (commonly referred to 'round these parts as "LBS"😉 and get it properly fitted to you. If you purchased the bike new from a shop and they didn't offer a fit session to you - or worse: WON'T offer a fit session to you - then take you business (and your bike) to a shop that will. Even if a fit session costs upwards of $50 it'll be well-worth it to you. With an improper fit, you'll be VERY likely to give up cycling entirely.

A good-fitting bike shouldn't feel painful, akward or uncomfortable. It should feel very much like a natural extension of your body. The only "pain" you should feel should be from developing muscles. That's only a generic answer though as "pain" could mean several different things both good and bad.

I would guess the "others" who are averaging 27 mph are also greatly exaggerating their abilities or measuring their "average" over 100 meters. Sure there are those out there who may be able to do that, but they very very advanced......... Our state TT cat 1 winner averaged less than 25 mph over a 40K course. If you ride with a group you can go faster than you would alone, but 27 mph is even pretty fast for a paceline to go for more than a short distance.
Don't beat yourself up too bad if you don't see huge numbers on the cycle computer when you get home. 1st you are a beginner and 2nd it sounds like you need some adjustments to the bike. Do yourself a favor and go get a good bike fit. It could be loads of things and/or a combination of things - saddle height, top tube length, cleat angle, etc. And don't expect a perfect miracle when you do get it all dialed in correctly, you should be comfortable, but you won't necessarily be fast right away, definitely not as fast as averaging 27mph, - work on your fitness too!