My first ride on my new bike - A noob's experience!

CXrider

Age:46
Bike: Boardman Team CX
Reason for purchase: Great reviews and I fancied road use and trail/canal path use.

So, I picked up my CX from Halfords yesterday. I got it home in the boot of my wife's Auris.
I have to say.. when the man from Halfords wheeled it out I, well, I was like a little kid about to unravel the Xmas present that I believed was the toy that I always wanted. it was akin to a moment about 10 years ago when I finally took delivery of the car of my dreams. Its looks amazing, I have to say.

I have to add, the bloke from Halfords was excellent and very patient with my noobness. I spent at least 30 minutes in there asking him to show me how to adjust the bike's brakes, gears, seat and bars. He advised me on shoes, got me an inner tube, the best value helmet, set up the seat height and bar angle, and talked me through the process if/when things go wrong or there is a need for adjustments.

This afternoon, after a busy morning in my home office, I got the itch and just had to take the bike out for a spin.
I thought I would make it a worthwhile trip and go into the town centre in Woking and pay a visit to Sports Direct to have a look at their cycling gear as I basically have naff all.

I donned my new helmet (some dark grey Boardman thing with a yellow back end) and wheeled my lovely new bike out onto the road in front of my home.

First problem.. how the fudge do I get my trainers into the bloody pedals!
The standard pedals have the old strap thing which I have seen in my recent visit to a spinning class, the old way of doing it before the shoes with metal bits that slide into another metal bit.. cleats? :oops: Something like that.
Thing is.. after wiggling my foot end on the top trying to persuade the strap bit to hop over my toes was like a circus act but I eventually did it only to then have the problem of how on earth you add the second foot in...
I was not sure if I should get back to a wall for stability and do it there or start pedaling and do it on the fly. The former sounded less dangerous so I opted for that and had a similar game getting that one in.

So, I set off. Wow.. immediately I thought WOW this is alright. I was unused to feeling power instantly push the bike forward having had a pure MTB. I knew the route into town well (about 2 miles of 30MPH urban roads) so I was confident that I would at least know the road and what to expect.
What I had not counted for was:

The wind:
Blimey, it was a windy day today and you really feel it. Funny how it seems to be windy, right in your face, when you come across a hill! :x

Drain covers:
Who the fudge put them in the side of the road on the bit cyclists have to ride on? Bloody ridiculous. I had to swerve a yard each time as the road kinda depresses around it. This random swerving only adds to my growing fear of being knocked off.

Leaves:
Hey, this is leafy Surrey. Leaves everywhere and one fears that they are hiding a huge pothole of death...

Conkers:
I was fine with the occasional BOIIING as I ride over an acorn or chestnut but a bloody conker was a like a large pebble and gave me a sweaty palm moment.

Cars:
On the whole, I wasn't as scared of them as I might be. I have been a careful road driver for 25 years and I always give cyclists a wide berth. I expected the same treatment and got it, which is nice. Vans and lorries are a bit different and the air makes you wobble but although the whole thing was a little unnerving it wasn't too bad.

Roundabouts:
WTF! Bloody hell. How scary are roundabouts? Jeezuz. the mini ones are okay and I flirted with danger a bit but the big ones.. no chance. I dis.. argh, forgotten the word, got off my bike and walked the pedestrian bit. It will take me a while to have the courage to take a large roundabout like a car. (I keep thinking disengaged, dismantled, distended.. umm, I am sure there is a dis- word for getting of a bike - it will come to me)

Traffic Lights:
How annoying are these things! :P
I read a thread that was along the lines of 'who stops at traffic lights'. My thoughts on reading it were that it would be mad to do anything but stop at a traffic light.
However, once you get into that all important rhythm it is not easy to stop. It is not easy to think about stopping knowing you have to get your feet out of those bloody strap things without falling off and looking like a right twat.
Also, you dont want to have to stop and then start off, put your pesky feet in those bloody strap things and then use that energy to pull away.
I came across about 4 in total (surrey is great for not having many traffic lights) and I never actually went through a red light BUT I did see them and swooped up onto the path and went 'around' them getting back on the road if the bisecting road was clear to pass. I know this is still not good. I will try to stop each time from now on once I have sorted the pedal/strap issue out.

Hills:
Who put these on our roads? Whos stupid idea was this?
Couldn't they just have flattened the whole land out when they made the roads in the first place?
Ok, I appreciate that eventually they might actually become fun and rewarding as I gain in fitness and technique but even a 1 or 2 degree hill was very tiring and psychologically damaging to me. This will improve.
Going downhill was far more technical that I had thought. You have to change up (or is it down?) a lot and then you pick up speed and then the drains and conkers take on a whole new level of worry. I think I actually preferred going up the hills! :shock:

Ok, back to the story.
I got to town. I ended up buying some Mitts as my hands were cold and I knew they were comfy from my brief forays on my other bike. I bought a splendid top with the pockets on the back, just like a real cycling jersey and a pair of cycling shorts with some huge pad in there like I had a problem wetting myself. As it happens, the seat was surprisingly comfy. I was expecting not to be able to sit down at all and I didnt actually have a problem at all but thought it was a sensible buy anyway. Total cost: £25.00 - what a bargain. I love that shop. You know Charlie from Two and Half Men? Well, instead of bowling atire I get a lot of golfing attire from SportsDirect. My mates call me Mr Dunlop

I then thought, hey, I am feeling brave so I then took on a ride into Addlestone to meet me nan (92!) and show her my gleamingly sexy, chrome bike. She was well impressed, gave me some money to get a cage and bottle after I turned up gasping for a drink (remember, I had nothing apart from a helmet and an inner-tube. Umm, not sure why I bothered taking it as I didnt have any tools :roll: )
However, I then got a 10 minute talk about road safety, how I should be careful, its not about speed, have I got a lock, look after my back, and to give her a call when I got home to make sure that I was still alive. Bless.

I was at my Nans for 30 minutes and had two glassed of some industrial strength bitter lemonade.
I now had to psych myself up for the trip home back to Knaphill in Woking. I told myself that it was more 'downhill' on average to bolster my ailing energy levels.

I got home! I survived. I had bravely taken on my first road sojourn and lived to tell the tale.
The trip home was 8.2 miles according to Google Maps and I did it in 38 minutes, which works out about 12 - 13 Miles per Hour , which I thought was a tad crap BUT "it's not about speed".

My legs were a little wobbly when I transcended and descended (umm, dis--- what is that bloody word) the stairs in my home but were not too bad. My shoulders and neck were fine. My wrists and palms were surprisingly good, my privates were still alive and hopefully in full working order. However, I have a dull ache across the centre muscles of my back. Not in the lower back, not near the neck but about a 10 inch circular area of discomfort around the exact centre of my back. This was given me jip on the ride home and I was occasionally having to sit up and stretch. I put this own to using muscles I have not before. Given that other areas of my body are basically fine I am pretty sure my general riding position was not too bad and I was trying to be relaxed in the saddle. If anybody knows of any particular reason why that area of my back would be sore then please let me know so I can try an adjustment. I felt that I was not hunched or extended, it felt about right to me.

What have I learned:
I need to buy a cage and bottle for liquid replenishment.
My nan really cares about me.
I need to get some proper cycling shoes and those metal things which MUST be easier than those bloody straps.
I don't like conkers.
I don't like roundabouts.
Always be patient with cyclists when I am in my car and not get annoyed when the bar stewards whiz past me, go up the path and end up well ahead of me by the time the lights go green.
It's a GREAT bike.
I LOVE cycling.. It's very rewarding and it's amazing the distance you can travel.
I need to take tools out with me to cope with a puncture.
Sports Direct are good even for cycling gear.

Thanks for listening. I will update this with other 'firsts' as I travel through my new biking world.

Discharged, disgotoff, agh, I am close here. I keep thinking 'dismantled'.
Bloody hell, almost had it then. Disengaged, dispensed, dismantled (again) , aghhh got it!!

Dis, ahgh, bollocks, I actually had it and when I went down two lines I forgot it again.
Ahhhhhh - disjointed, dissssssssssssssss dismounted... agh... thank god.

Jameshill247

I have some stuff from sports direct including the jersey and it's not bad has lasted longer then some other jerseys I have bought

... Disembarked?

apreading

Excellent story - well done and glad to hear you are loving it so much - glad you had a good experience at Halfords too, they arent all bad (mine was excellent)!

One thing you should learn/read about is positioning your bike. If you are swerving round drains etc then you are probably riding too far in, for a number of reasons. I usually ride at a constant distance so that I am not heading for these - swerving increases your chances of hitting someone about to overtake from behind. Riding in the gutter also puts you where all the rubbish, grit, glass and conkers tend to be on the road - riding further out minimises this.

Riding further out also allows you to control the traffic and not encourage them to squeeze past when it isnt really sensible. If you ride in the gutter and they think its worth trying to squeeze between you and the oncoming traffic then they often will. Toruble is, sometimes there isnt enough room and also when they realise this or something happens they are prone to pull to the left to avoid oncoming traffic and possibly wipe you out. If you ride a bit further out then they will only overtake when there is nothing coming the other way and even if they do swerve towards you there is room for you to take avoiding action to your left.

Loads of articles about this, such as http://aseasyasridingabike.wordpress.co ... ard-place/ that came from a quick google.

It really does make the world of difference.

Even if there is a painted 'cycle lane'on the left of the road, I ride just outside it (unless its a wide one) as riding in these is just asking for trouble and punctures...

petemadoc

Phew, took me a while to read all that. Well done for joining the ranks. Keep at it over the winter and you'll soon be flying.

diamonddog

Enjoyed the read, enjoy your bike.

diamonddog

Dismounted, that took some finding.

mrfpb

Unscrew and remove the toe clips and just ride on the flat pedals until you get the cleated pedals and shoes. Your foot may slip occasionally, but your likely to ride more confidently when you know it's easier to stop (and dismount).

Welcome to the cycling tribe. I rode to Woking from Fleet the other day - Average 14mph there, 12 mph home. Don't worry about the speed for now.

Initialised

On the drains and conkers thing. If you ride in the gutter cars wont give you space and you'll puncture, skid and generally slow down a lot as that's where all all the crap ends up. Ride 1-2m from the kerb. In the winter it makes a lot of sense to ride in the left most tyre line for many of the reasons out lined by apreading above. But the extra benefit is that the cars keep that area clear of water, dirt grit etc and tend to flatten the road making it often the smoothest part of the road. It also keeps you visible and it should be clear to any passing traffic what your 'line' is when they overtake also it gives you escape routes to the left and right as traffic slows or emerges from the left.

elderone

Sounds like you have the bug,welcome to the world of road riding.It gets addictive and expensive.

CiB

Initialised is right. Ride in what's called secondary, where cars' nearside wheels go. It's the best place to be. As for red lights, accept that you're traffic and live with it and stop or treat them as a give way, but don't do the bouncing on to the kerb and back onto the road bit - it makes you look like a juvenile and panders to the Daily Mail view of all cyclists. Others may have a different view, which you're welcome to.

Buy Cyclecraft by John Franklin, and read it at least three times. It's the best ten quid you'll ever spend in your life.

OverTheHillAt21

I enjoyed reading the post. I'm sure we all feel a lot of that if not all the first time we set out. I also ride with toe clips but I do stop properly at lights and roundabouts, in fact I take it as a matter of pride to behave as a good cyclist and set an example. If there's a pedestrian railing at the lights I try and grab hold of that and stay in the clips; or sometimes if there is a good view of the road and lights you can judge your arrival to meet a green light by adjusting your speed but I never run a red light. Think of yourself as an ambassador for cycling.

There is lots of stuff you will pick up by experience. But watch out behind large vehicles at lights and avoid placing yourself where one might turn left on top of you, this sadly is one of the classic situations were cyclists get killed. Remember that they might start turning right first to get clear before the left turn. And overtake buses that have stopped on the outside not inside.

littledove44

Great read.

Put one foot in the clips. Get moving with the other foot on the clip less side. Once you are safely moving its easy to spin the pedal with your foot and insert into the clip.
Do as described above. Don't hug the kerb. Better to annoy a couple of people than get pushed off.
The pain goes away as your muscles adapt. As long as the bike has been set up properly in terms of saddle position then do nothing until you have done a few hundred miles.
Get a bike computer or Strava on your phone. It's not a race but it's very motivating to see how your times improve even without seemingly trying.
What matters for now is saddle time, not distance covered, or whether it was hilly etc. ride as often as you can.
Find someone else to ride with who is a bit, not a lot, better than you, or willing to go at your pace. They will push you and protect you.

markhewitt1978

Great to hear your experience

As said above, remove the toe clips for now, they are dangerous and just ride on flats for a while until you get used to the bike.

Then later you can look at clipless pedals like SPD.

slowbike

You can always just remove the straps from the pedals - keep the plastic toeclip part as this will help stop your feet from shooting off the front.
You can pre-bend the toeclip up a bit too - makes getting your feet in a bit easier.

I think everything else has been said ... enjoy your bike! Oh - and can you post your Nans address - we all like a bit of lemonade ...

dsoutar

Lovely tale. Well done and good luck.

Another thing to be (more) wary of on a road bike is white lining and drain covers. When wet they are both like ice so try to avoid making any sort of manoevre on them - just keep the wheels straight. You can get away with it far more on knobblies than you will on road tyres.

dai_t75

Welcome!

Enjoyed reading your story and a lot of it sounds like my first few experiences. I have been riding for 12 months now and love it. From what you mention some advice I would offer:

I personally went straight for SPD pedals and shoes and would not be without them now. They sound a lot easier to use than toe straps! But as mentioned above, maybe try them just as flat pedals for a while? It's very easy to take off the cage part.

Wind - what a pain! Before cycling I never really took notice of the wind on the weather forecast. Now it is the first thing I look at :P I try to plan to cycle into the wind for the first bit of my ride and have a nice tailwind home.

Road position - as has been mentioned have a look at cyclecraft, I found it very useful.

Cars/roundabouts/lights - you do get used to these and it is largely about being clear and confident with your actions so just get out there and practice! Please don't be one of those people that jumps from road to pavement.

Hills - I hated them when I started and never thought I would enjoy them. Now I plan routes to take on the hardest ones I can find in my area. Again this just comes down to time in the saddle - maybe you will learn to love them soon.

Keep up the good work - you will be upping the mileage in no time. I personally don't worry too much about average speed, but if it is something you want to look at have you thought about getting strava? It's an app you can get on smartphones that will help you track your own progress.

Schoie81

apreading wrote:

Toruble is, sometimes there isnt enough room and also when they realise this or something happens they are prone to pull to the left to avoid oncoming traffic and possibly wipe you out.

Good point raised - if theres a car behind me, I try and decide for them when I think its safe for them to pass me. If there's a corner coming up, or oncoming traffic I tend to stay out in the road so they can't pass, but if its clear I move in a little to make it easier. As apreading says, once a vehicle starts to overtake you, and they pass you far enough for you to be out of their direct line of sight, most drivers will then forget about you, so if they're by your side and something comes around the corner the other way - they'll swerve to avoid that and they'll have already forgotten you were ever there - part of this is just instinct to avoid the danger coming their way. Maybe not so important if the road is quite wide.

With lorries and buses, I often ease off and even freewheel when they're passing me so they get past quicker - as much for my benefit as theirs.

I had to remove the toe cages on my bikes, couldn't get the hang of them at all and i'm sure i'd have been eating gravel if I'd have persevered with them. Soon went to clipless pedals though and would recommend it - I was very unsure, but now I've made the switch, I'd never consider going back to flat pedals.

Most important thing is to enjoy yourself!!

simon_masterson

mrfpb wrote:

Unscrew and remove the toe clips and just ride on the flat pedals until you get the cleated pedals and shoes. Your foot may slip occasionally, but your likely to ride more confidently when you know it's easier to stop (and dismount).

Welcome to the cycling tribe. I rode to Woking from Fleet the other day - Average 14mph there, 12 mph home. Don't worry about the speed for now.

No need for that. It just takes some practice, as does using clipless pedals. Once mastered, both are very easy. To start with, both can be a bit fiddly. I don't know why people pretend that clips and straps are so difficult to use but that clipless are effortless. Most of the misguided advice I read on the subject comes from people unqualified to comment anyway; you know what they say about the blind leading the blind...

simon_masterson

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Great to hear your experience

As said above, remove the toe clips for now, they are dangerous

Allza

An interesting read coming from another Woking member here! Once you start getting the miles in you can start heading out to the surrey hills like newlands corner. That will give you a real sense of achievement getting up some of the hills!

triban

A really great read, and welcome to cycling!

i have to say that my favourite part of this story is that you're 46 and your Nan still gives you pocket money

arthur_scrimshaw

As others have said, welcome and that's a great first post, I expect it reminds a lot of us on our return to cycling after a long break. I have to say it's good choice of bike, a lot of people opt for the CX as a good do it all nd of bike, me included. I changed the tyres fairly quickly as got a lot of punctures with the standard tyres, I fitted road tyres and also a set of mudguards. I was already riding clipless so this wasn't an issue for me. The disc brakes are good in all weather and inspire confidence. I've had mine 18 months and use it to commute, bad weather road bike and for Audaxes and it's a good bike for all these things.

CXrider

Thanks guys/gals, some fantastic advice there.

I WILL be getting some clipless pedals and some decent shoes.
I HAVE now ordered some full mudguards to take me through the winter.
I will DEFINATELY heed the great advice about road position. It makes a terrific lot of sense and I have always wondered why cyclists are so far out when they 'could' be much tighter to the curb. Now I know, and I will be putting that into practice.
I will build up my confidence in approaching hills and roundabouts. As said, it is just down to saddle time and experience.

Lastly, the lemonade was pretty rank but what can you say to a dear old lady.. Still, it was much needed refreshment, Oh, I have bought a cage and some camelbak insulated bottle thingy now.
I will pop over to my nans this week for some more 'pocket money' as I have yet to get my lights - the last thing on my list!

Thanks again.

CXrider

update.
well i have certainly got into cycling now!

i've now also got a boardman team road and use both bikes nearly everyday.
i have some big rides coming up and have even got into a proper energy and recovery diet.

as a bonus, my body looks like it did 15 years ago!
:-)

BigLee1

What an excellent starting post, very entertaining! Glad you`ve got into it and re the bad back when I changed my road bike from a Trek Pilot 1.2 of `06 vintage to a Giant Defy 1 of much newness (2014) my back was killing me for a couple of weeks until my body got used to it

motogull

CXrider wrote:

update.
well i have certainly got into cycling now!

i've now also got a boardman team road and use both bikes nearly everyday.

Lucky sod.

CXrider wrote:

update.
as a bonus, my body looks like it did 15 years ago!
:-)

Well done, with that effort you deserve it.

CXrider

I am now up to about 80 - 100 miles a week and use both bikes equally.
It is a bit weird as sometimes my back hurts and sometimes it doesn't. Same for the bum, thighs, neck and hands.
Also, my wrists are not hurting. LOL.

Sounds like I am doing too much but the pain is manageable and it is gone by the next day and I nearly always have a days rest between rides.

I think it mainly comes down to position now. The drops make my back and neck ache, the hoods hurt my wrists and the bar top hurts my hands. Haha, have to laugh.

What I do now is make a concious effort to change my position every couple of minutes.
Overall, I find the sitting up position with hands on the bars the most comfortable but I imagine that is the same for everyone.