Please say it gets easier!

tuktuk

Doing my first bicycle commute tomorrow, 8 miles each way from Tynemouth to Newcastle city centre. Im dreading it if im honest! I hadnt been on a bike since childhood (im 23 now) and have found it pretty difficult on the few 6 mile 'test' runs i have done. Unfit, i know! Sitting in a car for 5 years has done me no favours :oops:

Bought a GT Tachyon 2.0 which is much better than the old mountain bike but im still finding it hard

Please tell me it gets easier!

gosport_commuter

Yes it gets easier, after you have done 2 or 3 weeks you should feel you are much fitter, and your recovery time will reduce substantially. Keep at it!

corshamjim

It gets easier. Surprisingly quickly too.

MrChuck

It does. Don't be too hard on yourself if you struggle to begin with- if you're starting from scratch 8 miles each way is a pretty respectable commute, especially if you're doing it every day. You can't really expect to go from zero to that and not feel it!

But you'll get there- one day soon you'll look back and be amazed that you once thought it was hard.

tuktuk

Thanks for the replys

Im going to take the bike tomorrow and twice next week to try and ease myself into it slowly.

If anyone travels that way and spots me pushing the bike along the coast road then dont laugh too hard

porlyworly

It gets easier I started cycling in November (5 miles each way commute) and was panting like a fat dog at the start but you get used to it and slowly but surely improve week on week

Tony-J

Hello mate. Nice bike, nice place to live. I do nine miles from Lemington, West of Newcastle on the Tyne bank to Quorum business park East of South Gosforth racecourse. I do it every day, the first two weeks felt as if it would grind me in to the ground but I knew from experience in my past life as a fit cyclist that it gets easier. If you don't give up and get a Metro pass you will eventually reach the point where you look forward to the ride. At your age you should be reaching a physical peak, stick with it it will be easy to get fit enough quick. My ride has pretty much zero effect on me now and I'm 42.

Kendal Black Drop

Rule #10 says "It never gets easier, you just go faster."

Cycloslalomeur

Bugger, you beat me to it. Fanatical observance of Rule 5 is also advised.

The obvious caveat is that while it may not get any easier you will probably still enjoy yourself vastly more than before as your fitness level goes up and you begin thinking your first name is Fabian.

tuktuk

I made it!

The surface isnt as good as it looked from the car and although its a cycle route theres loads of places its loose gravel and pretty rough/bumpy.

3 people went sailing past me but i did take the guy on the mobility scooter, its a start

My legs are in less pain than my previous test runs, but those were hilly compared to the commute so maybe i worried more than i should of!

Bring on the return journey

BigLee1

Well done!! I think it gets more enjoyable than easier, you get used to the discomfort and once addicted you`ll be "racing" other commuters
Nows the time to start tweaking the bike, adjusting brake levers and shifters, upgrading pedals and shoes ...............

Tegglington

Congratulations! and good work.

I was in a pretty similar situation 2 years ago, and now I wouldn't be without my trusty steed.

One thing I look back on and wish I had done from the start is keep a track of the miles I had covered. I started a spreadsheet about 6 months on and guessed anything before that. its nice to know how far you could have covered. so far this year I have covered 367 miles on my commute. I also update it with punctures and when I replace parts to see how long things are lasting on the bike. keeps me happy anyway

mudcow007

it definitely gets easier, you wont really notice but you will notice you are getting quicker an less out of breathe....until you reach a point where you want to ride further an further an furt...of you get the point!

congratulations an welcome to the revolution

Kieran_Burns

Tegglington wrote:

Congratulations! and good work.

I was in a pretty similar situation 2 years ago, and now I wouldn't be without my trusty steed.

One thing I look back on and wish I had done from the start is keep a track of the miles I had covered. I started a spreadsheet about 6 months on and guessed anything before that. its nice to know how far you could have covered. so far this year I have covered 367 miles on my commute. I also update it with punctures and when I replace parts to see how long things are lasting on the bike. keeps me happy anyway

http://www.endomondo.com

You get to see your personal bests for distances and times and when you beat them

If you use it with a smartphone you get the virtual coach giving your lap (mile) times as well. The map of your route is also shown and will give you your bunny (fastest) and tortoise (slowest) mile.

Worth using if you want to see how you are improving and how many miles you're doing if nothing else. Me and my cycling mates are obsessed with the 3 minute miles now - you average over 20mph for the mile if you keep it sub- 3 minutes. We're down 2:30 ish and one the 1st proper dry warm day I'm going to bust that on my Madone

mouth

Won't be long until you're taking the 'long' route to work, and then riding at the weekend, and then in the evenings as well. don't forget the local club's TT on a Tuesday as well.

A 16 mile round trip is quite respectable as a starting point. 5 each way is enough for me at the moment. Good luck mate.

tuktuk

Thanks for the kind words everyone

The journey home was much better, i had 2 cyclists in the distance and made it my challenge to catch them, first i caught and went past (he was wearing rigger boots, so its not as good as i make out haha) the second was an obvious cyclist though and i caught up to him on a slight incline and followed him for about 2 mile before he carried straight on and i split off in a different direction.

16 miles down, hopefully 1600+ to go!

BigLee1

Brill watch out for rigger booted cyclists, I was on my other commute of 7 miles with my hardtail, 20litre rucksac, fleece, work trousers and rigger boots. This bloke who was kitted out for racing on a hardtail tried to waste me but I made him sweat a bit as I passed him and when he passed me hung on his back wheel as he tried his best! He knew the guy I met up with and later wanted to know who I was as he couldn`t shake me and was confident he could apparantly he rode with the local club appearances can be deceptive

tuktuk

Haha that will be me passing some granny shopper only for it to tan me later on.

I definately need some more suitable footwear and my trouser leg catches on the chain every now and then! Something tight fitting or with straps of some sort maybe.

Back in the car on monday but will cycle in on tuesday and friday next week

plowmar

socks?

Well done my first rides - non commuting - were only 7.5 miles. My current commute is a fantastic 1 - yes donot snigger - mile. But days off 50+ miles so every thing comes to those who work at it. Enjoy.

Kendal Black Drop

My commute is too short to ride. It almost takes me longer to get my bike out than to ride to work. My record time home from work is 1 minute 50 seconds...

Long_Time_Lurker

I'll keep an eye out for you (assuming you ride along the coast road). I'll be the bloke on the Mtb (a dirty old Felt or a spanking new Cube).
It took me 2 weeks for my body to get used to it. After2 months I was finding alternative/longer routes as I went from 1 hr 20 minutes door-to-door down to 50 minutes and was enjoying myself so much.

tuktuk

Yeah i have been on that cycle path alongside the coast road from billy mill up till heaton rd where i head towards the quayside.

What time do you commute ?

tuktuk

Here is the bike im on so you can spot me





Just fitted some lights and water bottle which doesnt pull out straight, you have to bend it to get the bottle out and then getting juice out of the bottle is a joke too! Live and learn...

corshamjim

This gadget looks like it solves the bottle cage issue.

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/topeak-topea ... prod16025/

I just bought one, not fitted it yet though (another job for tomorrow).

tuktuk

ah that looks good.

I had 2 different ones in my hand, the one i bought and one where the bottle goes in/out from the side... I hadnt even thought of this issue till i got home and fitted it.

corshamjim

Well .. I installed the Topeak tilting bottle cage mount. The bolts supplied to fit the mount to the bike frame have a shallow head so as not to foul the mechanism, but not only that they are very long. That is probably fine for most bikes, but my braze-on bottle cage mounts on the Pashley aren't very deep so I had to space the bolts out quite a bit to get it to fit.

The bottle cage mount itself seems to work fine but looks like it might be a bit wobbly - time will tell.

Initialised

I used to do Fenham to Silverlink (8 miles). Started out needing an hour, ended up at ~35-40 minutes. Was fairly fit after my first Summer. It does get easier as you find the optimal route and shortcuts as you learn and progress.

Long_Time_Lurker

Tuktuk - i'll keep an eye out.
Although I'm an early bird so that I can get first dibs on the work showers.
Tomorrow I reckon that I'll be on the Coast road around 6:30 - 7:00 a.m. and then on the home run about 4:30.
I'll be on a full-fat, spanking new, Cube mtb - black baggies, green hydration pack.

As for the cage/bottle issue - just swap it onto the mount on the other tube. Easier to grab hold of on the move too.

team47b

I use a Zefal WIZZ Side Opening Bottle Cage, can be fitted to use left or right or you can just still use it from either side, BUT the clever thing is that both fitting holes are slotted so you can decide how far up the frame it goes, great for small frames/taller bottles or short arms!

tuktuk

Long Time Lurker wrote:

Tuktuk - i'll keep an eye out.
Although I'm an early bird so that I can get first dibs on the work showers.
Tomorrow I reckon that I'll be on the Coast road around 6:30 - 7:00 a.m. and then on the home run about 4:30.
I'll be on a full-fat, spanking new, Cube mtb - black baggies, green hydration pack.

As for the cage/bottle issue - just swap it onto the mount on the other tube. Easier to grab hold of on the move too.

I bottled it thismorning and took the car in :oops: Looked like it was about to chuck it down any second and i dont have any waterproofs etc just yet.

Where do you join and leave the coast rd ?

I join at billy mill and leave at heaton rd but i keep to the right hand side (college side) all the way up until i cross over at the corner house pub. Im sure im doing this wrong though and i should be crossing to the other side earlier ?
Thanks for the tips re the water bottle.

Definately taking the bike tomorrow!

BigLee1

For waterproof leggings buy some ex army goretex pants and cut them down to make shorts for warm feet get some neoprene overboots, they won`t keep you bone dry but warm instead