First outing (don't laugh)

jeannot18
Posts: 720
First outing on my new (second hand) bike. Last night went to get my new bike bought on Ebay. So this morning, the weather was still holding up, I decided to go for a little spin. Put all my new shinning gear on, water bottle filled up. Started really well until I wanted to change gear from hardest to easiest and realised I did not know how to do it (my previous bike many many moons ago had the gearshifter on the frame, this one is with the brakes). Had to stop because it was getting to hilly and could not pedal anymore...
Back home 17mins after I had left, went on the Net to search for a solution. But could not find anything. So decided to swallow my pride and go to my LBS, the guys showed me, he did not laugh (well not to my face anyway). SO back home and though let's go out again. Really enjoyed it, strange as you don't notice the roads ascending when you drive a car. Had to stop once on a steep hill. I need to learn to close my mouth too, whatever i swallowed did not taste good.
Back home I checked on MapMyRun the distance, that came to 26km (in1h16mins), had to stop a couple of time also to ask for direction (and take a breather too...).
I really enjoyed that.
More to come
JC
Back home 17mins after I had left, went on the Net to search for a solution. But could not find anything. So decided to swallow my pride and go to my LBS, the guys showed me, he did not laugh (well not to my face anyway). SO back home and though let's go out again. Really enjoyed it, strange as you don't notice the roads ascending when you drive a car. Had to stop once on a steep hill. I need to learn to close my mouth too, whatever i swallowed did not taste good.
Back home I checked on MapMyRun the distance, that came to 26km (in1h16mins), had to stop a couple of time also to ask for direction (and take a breather too...).
I really enjoyed that.
More to come
JC
Pédale ou crève
Specialized Elite Allez with 105
Rockrider 8.1 : )
Specialized Elite Allez with 105
Rockrider 8.1 : )
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Comments
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Don't worry about not knowing. When I road tested what became my current bike I'd never come across the integrated shifters and had to ask how to change gear. It doesn't make you a bad person, more a good customer.0
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Really enjoyed it, strange as you don't notice the roads ascending when you drive a car.
Very true. On a bike you soon learn how little is actually flat.0 -
I was also surprised at how many roads I thought were quite flat, which turned out to have an incline. I think you also don't realise how uneven and terrible the roads are either, until you go on a road bike. Some of the long roads that I thought were fairly flat, actually turned out to be more of a challenge than 5-7% gradient hills. Maybe because I kept a higher speed and tried to sprint up the hills, whereas keeping a slower steady speed I found more of a challenge0
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so true.. roads that originally looked flat as a pancake suddenly start sapping your stamina!
its such a rush when you come back to them and before you know it, these roads are your acceleration ramps0 -
This will make you feel better
A consultant I work with went to his LBS saying he was after a MTB and a roadie as his other MTB had been nicked and he wanted a roadie cos we all had one. So sensing he had a bit of cash they persuaded him to take a nice spanking £3000 Trek Madone out for a lil spin.
So out he goes just 50 - 100 metres up the road and realises he hasn't asked how to make it brake (he was sat with his hands on the top bar and the last time he road a roadie was when they had suicide brakes) . Before he could work it out he slammed into a kerb catapulting over that into a iron railings, wrecking the front fork and wheel, And not to mention his very pompous pride and other bits of his body. Ended up having to shell over £5000 on the 2 bikes and he only intended going to spend about £2000 on both of them.
I nearly pi$$ed my pants when he told us cos he's a complete cock
Anyway welcome to your new addictionBianchi. There are no alternatives only compromises!
I RIDE A KONA CADABRA -would you like to come and have a play with my magic link?0 -
dont worry about them flat roads that are actually ascending they will quickly get very easy and you will soon be searching for steeper and longer hills0
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I had to get a mate round to show me how to change gears . :oops:0
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will3 wrote:Joe86 wrote:I was also surprised at how many roads I thought were quite flat, which turned out to have an incline.
This is true.
As you get fitter you'll realise they're flat again
Well I hope so, went out today again (30km) and it seems like that whatever roads i take they are going up :shock: . Had a couple of downhills and those are great. Managed to have a drink without stopping, a bit of a struggle putting the bottle back in but i guess is down to practice like anything else.
JCPédale ou crève
Specialized Elite Allez with 105
Rockrider 8.1 : )0 -
A mate of mine had the same experience.
We were on a group holiday in Provence and a couple of us were training for a ride up the Ventoux. He felt left out so he borrowed a bike to go for a "spin" to the nearest town and back.
He told us that lycra wasn't really his thing, so, I kid you not, he set out wearing white flannel trousers, espadrilles, a cricket jumper and a straw hat ON A DROP BAR ROAD BIKE! :shock:
Half way up the road, he realises he doesn't know how the gears work, so, wait for it, dressed like a complete fop out of Brideshead Revisited, he flags down a Belgian lorry driver and asks him to explain the gears on his bike. :shock: :shock:
Apparently, the bloke was so shocked that he was out of the cab and half way through the demonstration before he realised what he was doing.
Some people HAVE NO SHAME! So why should you?0 -
You'll also notice that there seems to be a permanent headwind, no matter which way the wind is actually blowing :?0