First Road Ride in 18 months!!!

martylaa

I was always into my bikes years ago, Bmx's, Racers then Mountain Bikes, since last year i have put 2 1/2 stone on basically eating and sitting on my backside. I have vowed to get into serious shape now. About 6 weeks ago i went out on my mountain bike for the first time in about 8 months, i couldn't believe how out of shape i was! I barely used my mountain bike so i have sold it and bought a road bike again. Due to the weather i have been doing sessions on the turbo trainer in the garage until this morning, so the suns out today so i have just got back from my first road session in 18 months. i completed 18 miles and its quite hilly where i am. Half way through i hit a climb which goes on for about 3/4 mile its quite a steady slope until the last 150 metres it go's real steep and swings round a corner, i finished this climb but it blew my legs totally, i stopped for a couple of mins and it took me about 2 miles to recover, then the last climb on the way home is a steady 1 mile climb which i completed and felt great and ended up going quite quick on the last 2 miles to get home. I now realise how outta shape i am but i will keep going now the first one's outta the way but i need something to help me focus or whatever to get over the climb without suffering as much next time, i realise the more i do the better i'll get. Any tips???

sheffsimon

martylaa wrote:

I was always into my bikes years ago, Bmx's, Racers then Mountain Bikes, since last year i have put 2 1/2 stone on basically eating and sitting on my backside. I have vowed to get into serious shape now. About 6 weeks ago i went out on my mountain bike for the first time in about 8 months, i couldn't believe how out of shape i was! I barely used my mountain bike so i have sold it and bought a road bike again. Due to the weather i have been doing sessions on the turbo trainer in the garage until this morning, so the suns out today so i have just got back from my first road session in 18 months. i completed 18 miles and its quite hilly where i am. Half way through i hit a climb which goes on for about 3/4 mile its quite a steady slope until the last 150 metres it go's real steep and swings round a corner, i finished this climb but it blew my legs totally, i stopped for a couple of mins and it took me about 2 miles to recover, then the last climb on the way home is a steady 1 mile climb which i completed and felt great and ended up going quite quick on the last 2 miles to get home. I now realise how outta shape i am but i will keep going now the first one's outta the way but i need something to help me focus or whatever to get over the climb without suffering as much next time, i realise the more i do the better i'll get. Any tips???

TBH I dont see a problem with what you have described. Your legs were mashed after a hard climb, you recovered and were fine after that.

Stick with it, training's hard.

martylaa

Thanks, a few years ago i would of gone up it no worries but by christ it hurt this time, but yeah i'm deffo sticking with it again, made me realise how much i used to like my cycle days out years ago...
Think i may get this weight off then look to join a club...

andyrr

Tips for going a bit faster ?
Maybe have 2 or 3 routes or varying distances so that you don't get bored by doing just the one, even a short one, 5 miles or so, that you can do multiple times. doing laps kinda bores me but I've sometimes done a short one that had a decent climb in it and each time I'd attack it differently, big ring one time, initial extra hard effort another time to then hang on as long as possible before blowing up, etc.
Try timing your rides and see if you can try to equal or better your time on the route each time (weather can play a big part sometimes).
In a race situation you need to focus on getting OVER the climb so your pacing has to take that into account, for training rides it's sometimes good to start a climb at a highish pace and as you ascend realise it is too high but try to hang on at that pace for as long as possible.
I'd avoid stopping completely to recover, knock it into a wee gear to keep turning the legs with a smaller load.

martylaa

thanks for that, yeah i do have alternative routes around here i can use, i was seriously thinking about the need for the triple ring instead of my double...

martylaa

had another go at the same route yesterday ( only day it never rained round here ) did the first climb and got up it but this time i just carriered on instead of stopping, also found the climb home easier than the first time as well, haven't been out today due to rain so did 30 mins on the turbo in the garage, going out tomorrow and i am going to extend the run which should take me past 20 miles easily, onwards and upwards.....

unixnerd

When I first started after a ten year break I did a 26 mile loop and had to stop for a breather three times. Back then I averaged just over 12mph. Today my average is heading towards 22 in much hillier country :-)

Keep at it and you'll be amazed how quickly you improve. Get out 4 or 5 times a week if you can but be sure to have some rest days for your muscles to heal.

peanut

well done Marty for getting off ya butt and going out there. I'm still sitting on my butt thinking about it

I went for a short hilly walk today of 300 yds ascending 150 feet and I had to stop half way or i would have died. ! Ok I was carrying bags weighing 10kg but I cannot believe how easy it is to lose all your hard won fitness.

Some good advice before already.

I used to do a timed long steep hilly 7 mile loop once a week to monitor progress.
I used to see how far up the hill I could get before I had to select my 'bale out' 34x 25t sprocket or fall off. Then it would be how far I could go up the hill before needing to get out of the saddle etc

Eventually I didn't need the 25t or the 23t .Its a good mind game to play keep you focused and motivated and indicate progress