Done my first commute - knackered

Taita
Taita Posts: 10
edited August 2008 in Commuting chat
Just bought myself under the R2W scheme.

Its a Specialised Sirrus from Evans, with 2 cat-eye lights.
My commutte is only 4.3 miles through Liverpool, but my fitness is lacking!

Jacked the saddle up higher, that made a big difference!

Hello :oops:

Comments

  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    Well 4.3 miles is a good start, you'll find your body should adapt pretty quickly, have you got padded shorts yet, absolute bum saver!

    Once you get fitter you can add more miles to your journey, then end up hench and toned!!!
    Neeermad
    Carbon 456
    456 lefty
    Pompino
    White Inbred
  • navt
    navt Posts: 374
    You'll find yourself wishing your commute was longer pretty quickly.
  • Breathless Commuter Man
    Breathless Commuter Man Posts: 82
    Keep going. I started about a year ago and really suffered for the first couple of weeks, but i was really lardy and go a bit further. Now things are a lot better, few aches in the knees at the end of the week, and I go a lot quicker and dropped about 2.5 stone.
    FCN 8

    2009 Boardman Hybrid Pro
  • Greg T
    Greg T Posts: 3,266
    Well done T.

    Setting your bike up "just right" and getting your logistics sorted will take a while and then it's all good..

    A good top tip for newbies (not sure how much cycling you've done) is to use a lower gear than you think is right but spin your cranks faster. It's easier to push a small gear with faster foot speed than a big gear slower.

    Play around with your cadence and good luck.

    Also - you'll note I didn't make a single quip about needing to move fast in Liverpool.
    Fixed gear for wet weather / hairy roadie for posing in the sun.

    What would Thora Hurd do?
  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    ^^ i agree, spinning an easier gear is soooooooo much kinder on your knees too
    Neeermad
    Carbon 456
    456 lefty
    Pompino
    White Inbred
  • girv73
    girv73 Posts: 842
    I got on the bike a few months ago after quite a few years of little or no exercise. At the start 2 mile cycles down the road and back required medical attention, but after a very short time of regular riding I was cranking through 20+ miles on an ancient MTB.

    +1 what navt said - stick at it and you'll be wishing it wasn't "only 4.3 miles" soon.
    Today is a good day to ride
  • Taita
    Taita Posts: 10
    Thanks for replies everyone :)

    I enjoy the exercise, but the idiocy of cagers is ever more apparent now (I ride a motorbike and drive a car too). Utter numbnuts everywhere!

    There isn't really a decent way of extending my commute, without heading in the wrong direction first!

    So yeah, saddle higher than you think.

    OOOH, won my first 'GAME' today, although he had mahoosive thighs so I don't think he was trying too hard.
  • Littigator
    Littigator Posts: 1,262
    Taita wrote:

    There isn't really a decent way of extending my commute, without heading in the wrong direction first!

    So yeah, saddle higher than you think.

    Cycling in completely the wrong direction is a perfectly acceptable commute to work :wink:

    As for saddle height, when you sit on the saddle with the pedal fully extended (crank parallel with the seattube) your leg should be almost completely straight, anything less than that and you're making it much harder work for yourself.

    The amount of people I cycle past and want to tell them to put their saddle higher...but then I am naturally a nosy parker sticky beak told you so sort of person :D
    Roadie FCN: 3

    Fixed FCN: 6

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