Distances and a few other things

PimpMyBike

Im new to cycling and want to start doing longer distance rides than what I do now . I want to end up doing about 50 miles and I do about 5 now . So how should I train to go longer and what are the distances that I should do ?

And I get a back lower back and bottom after a while of riding , so is that normal and how can I stop it ?

snoopsmydogg

for the ass pain do you wear padded shorts? That can be a big help.

Lower back pain could be getting used to the new position but you may want to look at your current position too. there are many sites that can give you an idea of an online bikefit or even go to your lbs where you bought it.

For distance just build a little each time and you will be covering more miles before you know it.

thescouselander

Start measuring distences in km - it feels like you've done more then.

sumosprintstar

Just get out and ride......seriously. The more regular the better. Don't pressure yourself with distances just enjoy it. The 50 will come quickly.

mr_poll

A good search on this forum will help - you will probably find that books on training that you can buy will be a little daunting at this stage (or for a good while, I still cant get my head around VO2 and thresholds etc).

For what its worth when I started I found a loop that was flatish initially took me about 45 mins, the advantage of riding the same route was that it allowed me to see how I was improving. Also it wasn't a huge time commitment - I did that 3 times a week within a month my time was tumbling to close on 30 mins. I then started to increase the loop distance, so the time commitment was back up to 45/50 minutes and tried to get that faster. I also added a weekend ride just bimbling along no time pressure just trying to do some distance, with the odd small climb.

Once I was happy I could go out for a cpl of hours (and this took a long while) I found a non competitive club and joined their slowest group and worked my way up from there - which added a nice social element and taught me a lot more about riding and pacing then I would of learnt alone.

PimpMyBike

I forgot one thing :

Edit : I get really bored on rides when I'm on my own . Do you get less bored as you ride more ? Or is there a way to become less bored as I live I the middle of a city and there is nothing to look at .

ShutUpLegs

PimpMyBike wrote:

I forgot one thing :

I get really bored on rides and spend half the time complaining . Do you get less bored as you ride more ? Or is there a way to become less bored ?

Ditch the mountain bike and get a road bike

thefd

PimpMyBike wrote:

I forgot one thing :

I get really bored on rides and spend half the time complaining . Do you get less bored as you ride more ? Or is there a way to become less bored ?

I never get bored - but then I am cycling in lovely countryside on the edge of Edinburgh. I don't know where you are riding but try some more interesting routes.

Do you ride alone? Try riding with someone. They will motivate you and you can chat as you go.

If all else fails - get Strava it will motivate you...

madtam

ShutUpLegs wrote:

Ditch the mountain bike and get a road bike

I know this is the wrong section but you could turn this around and -

Ditch the roads and ride on the mountains (or at least the more interesting off road trails).

I have recently changed this around and hung up the mountain bike to spend more time on the road, and am enjoying it. However, whilst the increased speed of a road bike on a clean downhill road is great, there was still great fun to be had, crashing down a loose surfaced and twisty bridleway. The off road climbs focused the mind as well as you had to concentrate on the surface and the line much more than grinding up a road.
No offence to anyone but I don't see anything wrong with a bit of variety.

Ringo 68

Nothing wrong with variety at all. Infact, I wouldn't mind a nice mountain bike myself but if i want to keep my balls intact I think I will give it a miss for the time being :shock:

rick_chasey

sumosprintstar wrote:

Just get out and ride......seriously. The more regular the better. Don't pressure yourself with distances just enjoy it. The 50 will come quickly.

Yup.

Once you start riding over an hour in one go, start thinking about taking some food with you too.

styxd

I get really bored on rides and spend half the time complaining . Do you get less bored as you ride more ? Or is there a way to become less bored ?

Brilliant!

Im not quite sure cycling is "for you"

Get yourself an X Box instead.

slowondefy2

You get bored cycling 5 miles? :shock:

Only times I don't enjoy cycling is either when I get cold or if it's persistently raining making it hard to see. Other than that I'm usually surprised how quickly one/two/three/four hours can disappear by. Sometimes I'm relieved when I start heading home again (I normally follow a pre-set trail), but usually that's because I've gone out too fast initially!

I often don't really 'feel like' going out, but always enjoy it when I do.

Not sure what to say. Riding bikes is supposed to be fun, not boring!

Wacky Racer

PimpMyBike wrote:

I forgot one thing :

I get really bored on rides and spend half the time complaining . Do you get less bored as you ride more ? Or is there a way to become less bored ?

I get knackered long before I ever get bored. Maybe cycling isn't for you? For what it's worth, I get bored jogging, which is part of the reason I took to cycling.

ianbar

if your bored you can't really be enjoying it, i used to be a runner before i took to cycling i don't find that boring but it is painful so i don't enjoy it so i don't do it. i too do often think "oh can i be bothered" when i am thinking about setting out for 3+ hours on my day off and not feeling overly energetic but usually get into it, or set some kind of challenge for myself.strava is actually a good motivator too.

PimpMyBike

ShutUpLegs wrote:

PimpMyBike wrote:

I forgot one thing :

I get really bored on rides and spend half the time complaining . Do you get less bored as you ride more ? Or is there a way to become less bored ?

Ditch the mountain bike and get a road bike

I havent got a mountain bike ?

PimpMyBike

I think I worded it wrong . I meant to put I get bored when I'm on my own. My bad ...

slowondefy2 wrote:

You get bored cycling 5 miles? :shock:

Only times I don't enjoy cycling is either when I get cold or if it's persistently raining making it hard to see. Other than that I'm usually surprised how quickly one/two/three/four hours can disappear by. Sometimes I'm relieved when I start heading home again (I normally follow a pre-set trail), but usually that's because I've gone out too fast initially!

I often don't really 'feel like' going out, but always enjoy it when I do.

Not sure what to say. Riding bikes is supposed to be fun, not boring!

Well I get bored on my own as there is nothing to see where I bike , not when I'm with other people because you can at least talk to them.

Wacky Racer wrote:

PimpMyBike wrote:

I forgot one thing :

I get really bored on rides and spend half the time complaining . Do you get less bored as you ride more ? Or is there a way to become less bored ?

I get knackered long before I ever get bored. Maybe cycling isn't for you? For what it's worth, I get bored jogging, which is part of the reason I took to cycling.

I tried jogging as well and I hate it :roll:

keef66

I can't manage more than 15 minutes in a gym or swimming pool before I lose the will to live, but I can ride for hours without getting bored.

Not sure what to suggest...

PimpMyBike

styxd wrote:

I get really bored on rides and spend half the time complaining . Do you get less bored as you ride more ? Or is there a way to become less bored ?

Brilliant!

Im not quite sure cycling is "for you"

Get yourself an X Box instead.

I spend too much time on my PS3 anyway xD

TheFD wrote:

PimpMyBike wrote:

I forgot one thing :

I get really bored on rides and spend half the time complaining . Do you get less bored as you ride more ? Or is there a way to become less bored ?

I never get bored - but then I am cycling in lovely countryside on the edge of Edinburgh. I don't know where you are riding but try some more interesting routes.

Do you ride alone? Try riding with someone. They will motivate you and you can chat as you go.

If all else fails - get Strava it will motivate you...

I live in the middle of a city

But there are some good routes near me on Strava , but they're too far away for me to bike too. Hopefully as I get better ill be able to get to them.

snoopsmydogg

why not make your first goal riding to the segments if they are that far away

If you are in the city are there no canal paths to ride or local parks to check out, iirc you got a hybrid didnt you?

variety makes a big difference. Get some mates and just go for a ride out you will be surprised how far you get without even realising.

Sicario

As most have said already, if you're bored after 5 miles you're in trouble. Especially if you want to end up cycling 50 miles.

I recommend you don't try to cycle 50 miles in case you become suicidal!

I find cities can be boring with all the stop start but you'll find the majority of cyclists get out of the city and go in to the countryside.
As mentioned previously; 3-4 hours will fly past if you're on a nice steady cycle.

Sometimes I don't want to jump on my bike but I only have to travel 20 odd feet and then I am in the mood to go miles.

Wacky Racer

Join a group? Maybe a beginners group ride would help to motivate you, and improve your riding. If you are in a city there are sure to be groups near to you. This will also alleviate the boredom factor as you'll have others around you.

slowondefy2

Sustrans may be useful to find less boring routes: http://www.sustrans.org.uk/sustrans-near-you

PimpMyBike

I think I've had enough help about the boredom guys . So I'll try to get out of the city now with some people . So thanks for that : D


What about this though ?

PimpMyBike wrote:

Im new to cycling and want to start doing longer distance rides than what I do now . I want to end up doing about 50 miles and I do about 5 now . So how should I train to go longer and what are the distances that I should do ?

And I get a back lower back and bottom after a while of riding , so is that normal and how can I stop it ?

smidsy

Only way to increase the distance is to get out there and ride. I could barely do 8 miles when I started in January (20 years of doing nothing) but just got stuck in and gradually it gets better. I now regularly do 40 miles and have done a 50.

Fitness is a big help and the only way to get that is to keep riding. Try not to do too much too quickly though.

Turnng the pedals is all you need to concentrate on, not how fast etc. Just get the miles in.

Regarding sore back and bum that could be a badly fitting bike or it could be just getting used to the position.

Getting the right shorts and saddle really helps but is not easy to achieve - trial and error there I'm afraid.

thefd

PimpMyBike wrote:

But there are some good routes near me on Strava , but they're too far away for me to bike too. Hopefully as I get better ill be able to get to them.

Create your own then. Make some near you.

P_Tucker

styxd wrote:

I get really bored on rides and spend half the time complaining . Do you get less bored as you ride more ? Or is there a way to become less bored ?

Brilliant!

Im not quite sure cycling is "for you"

Get yourself an X Box instead.

Personally, I try to avoid things I find boring rather than trying to work out how to do 10 times as much of it.

PimpMyBike

I do love cycling . But I worded it wrong . I meant to put I get bored when I'm riding on my own .;-)

mattshrops

Tape ypur ps3 and a large battery pack to your bike to pass the time. You just have to be careful in the traffic if your on a difficult level tho. You could also rig up a music stand attached to your stem so you could read a book whilst you go along. I would reccomend reading- "need a new hobby?" by Don kiddick.

alex1rob

Set yourself a goal before you set up or plan a route before. For example when I was new I would find a cycle path next to a railway station and plan to do 10 miles one way, 10 miles back.

Do it a few times and time yourself, 'today I'm going to do it 10 minutes quicker' etc. Just keeps you motivated to go that extra bit.

I agree with you on the boredom when you are new though! I used to have some strange thoughts on those cycle path rides. It was so quiet I used to think 'what if someone decided to randomly kill me with a gun, no one would know...' haha.

But seriously, after you start riding more and exercising harder you stop thinking. Seriously. On many of my rides I have very little thoughts running through my mind, except maybe "it's windy" "this is tough" "my heart rate is too high"... Perhaps cycling is my meditation...

mattshrops

Sorry couldn't resist a little dig.

OK- do your distance as often as you can, when you are happy with the speed , increase the distance. Little at a time. do it repeatedly until ...... and repeat.
Its going to take a bit of time. Nothing wrong with shaking it up every now and then and throwing a longer one in, just give yourself time to limp home slowly.There is no secret, just increase gradually