Am i doing it right?

marcthehammer

Ive been riding for about a month now (22 miles round trip to work and back).For the first 4 miles i take it easy bout 14/15 mph.Bout halfway i meet up with a work mate whos cycles regular and the speed goes up to bout 18/20mph.I do this mon/tues and wednesdays.But by wednesday my legs are really hurting and i find it difficult to maintain any kind of speed on the way home.Is this normal for a newbie? On saturdays i try and do about 20 miles easy riding (13/15mph) I was wondering if i could do more to get fitter and ease the leg pain a bit?

N0bodyOfTheGoat

It will take time to build up speed and stamina for cycling, just like taking up any sport. Your legs may be aching as you are keeping up with your work mate by riding in a high gear at a slow cadence.

If so, its might be worth trying an easier gear and get those pedals spinning! This will test your aerobic fitness more, but might relieve the pressure off you leg power. Personally, this style suits me better, as I am much happier spinning at a high cadence, typically 90-100 on the flat.

It might also be worth you winding things down for the last couple of minutes coming home, using a very low gear. This will give your leg muscles a chance to get rid of some of the lactic acid buildup before you dismount for the night, which will otherwise make your legs ache.

marcthehammer

Thanx.I usually try and sprint the last 500 metres i guess thats the wrong thing to do. DOH!!!

Bronzie

Warmup.............warmdown...............go as hard as f*ck in between

10 mins warmup / down spinning very easy gears before pushing on the pedals too hard.

If you are really feeling heavy legged, just spin an easy gear and don't be tempted to push on at all to give your muscles chance to recover.

biondino

It sounds like you're pushing a bit too hard to keep up with your mate. You don't need to - your fitness will soon catch up if you take it a bit easier (and maybe ask him to take it a bit easier too).