First proper ride today

rumbataz

Finally went out for a longish cycle ride today. I wore padded cycling shorts and these helped a lot. I also bought a winter cycling jacket and this kept me warm along with cycling gloves.

I had a couple of issues: firstly, I forgot to fill my water bottle up and I couldn't believe how dehydrated I felt at the end! Secondly, my hands felt numb a lot of the time - lack of circulation. I think this may have been down to me gripping the handlebars too tightly as I was quite nervous. I had to relax my hands off the handlebars every now and then to get the circulation going again.

I'm still not completely comfortable on the bike but it was an enjoyable first proper ride.

anto164

Welcome to the world of road riding.

By the way, what gloves are you using? Get some with gel inserts on the palms. I had the same issue, but some better gloves sorted it. If that doesn't sort it, then do some searching on here.

rumbataz

I've got some gloves from Halfords but I don't find them very comfortable at all. They kept my hands warm though. Do you recommend any particular gloves?

sungod

as you've found, gripping the bars too hard will numb your hands, try to relax and it'll help a lot, also shift hand position on the bars every now and then, that'll help too

proper cycling gloves usually have some padding, and often are quite grippy, which helps in the wet

this thread is about winter gloves...

viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=12817071

...get them *roomy*, so they don't restrict circulation and there's also space for a liner on the really cold days

notlongnow

rumbataz wrote:

Finally went out for a longish cycle ride today. I wore padded cycling shorts and these helped a lot. I also bought a winter cycling jacket and this kept me warm along with cycling gloves.

I had a couple of issues: firstly, I forgot to fill my water bottle up and I couldn't believe how dehydrated I felt at the end! Secondly, my hands felt numb a lot of the time - lack of circulation. I think this may have been down to me gripping the handlebars too tightly as I was quite nervous. I had to relax my hands off the handlebars every now and then to get the circulation going again.

I'm still not completely comfortable on the bike but it was an enjoyable first proper ride.

Well done on your first proper ride Ive only forgot my water bottle once big mistake as it was during the summer i didnt realise until i stopped for a drink my heart sank it was the longest journey back home ever.

rumbataz

Thanks for the encouragement!

I lowered my seat slightly today so everything feels a bit more relaxed and comfortable. I guess i'll just have to experiment with seat height/angle until it all feels right. I also oiled my chain with a wet lube - I did this by rotating the pedals slowly and just allowing the oil from the bottles nozzle to wipe off onto the chain. Is this the right way to oil a chain?

anto164

By the way, your seat angle (as a guideline) should be flat. Only adjust one thing at a time when moving your controls (saddle height, saddle angle, stem length, cleat position etc etc etc). It helps eliminate the changes one by one if you find you have problems.

I lube my chain by dripping one drop of lube onto every link of the chain. You need to make sure that enough oil is on each link to penetrate the link.

ollyridesfirst

Definitely try to move your hands on the bars every now and then to keep the blood flowing. Even onto the drops....

As for gloves, i use Altura Pro Gel for both summer and winter (cut off fingers, and waterproof - 2 pairs) and can't fault them at all.

Good luck