First ride!

joannesmith2818

So I got my first road bike on Thursday and have finally got out on it. I waited to drive to Oxford so the other half could check it over. The gears were very noisy but we managed to sort it out!
I had a little go on it last night to get used to the feel of the bike and gears. I found it quite hard to brake and change gear at first, but it doesn’t take long to get the hang of it. One thing I didn’t like were the weird cage pedal it came with, so went to a bike shop this morning and got myself from flat metal pedals, so it feels much safer now.
So today we have cycled everywhere (like everyone in Oxford), I picked up some padded shorts and so now it’s a lot less painful on the ass and lady parts! Then we went on my first actual ride.
We found a country road which had a cycle path the whole way down, so it was a bit safer. To be honest I felt relaxed on it, so wasn’t to wobbly and felt fairly safe on the road.
I tried to get Strava but I have a windows phone, so I used the windows equivalent.
So we did 8.5miles and average speed was 13mph which took 40 mins. It was very tiring and the wind was very strong today. We had one very short break as well after the big hill!
The only thing that was bugging me is the pain through my wrists over all the bumps. It feels like dead arm, I think I just lean to hard on them. Also after the 40 mins my neck/top of back started to ache. I will keep doing these short rides to build my fitness up. I wanted to get out for another ride tomorrow but it looks like raining all day.
Can definitely see myself getting addicted right now. It is just so much better than going to the gym!

Mikey23

Excellent account thanks for sharing. I think we all remember our first rides!

That kind of back/neck/wrist/arm pain is fairly common when starting out. It will hopefully go away as your body gets more conditioned. However it could suggest a couple of things. You might be gripping too hard and tensing too much. There is a tendency to do this when nervous. Your position on the bike might need to be addressed if you have too much weight at the front. If properly balanced your arms and hands should feel light. Might need a bike fit sometime in the future but for now just enjoy the experience...

fatsmoker

Good for you!! I use Endomondo on my Windows phone and then export the files to Strava to see how I fared on the few KOMs I follow.

Initialised

Try these exercises, specifically #3, to strengthen your wrists and forearms, it'll speed up the conditioning as you get used to riding more. If you don't have proper weights you can use tins of food.

johngti

Well done! It sounds like you've started down the slippery slope

Mad_Malx

joannesmith2818 wrote:

The only thing that was bugging me is the pain through my wrists over all the bumps. It feels like dead arm, I think I just lean to hard on them. Also after the 40 mins my neck/top of back started to ache. I will keep doing these short rides to build my fitness up.

Wrists might be too tense - try to allow your arms to be more flexy and don't grip the bars so tight.

Neck/back - are you wearing a peaked helmet? When I started road I realised that I was bending my neck to see where I was going - take the peak off.

Essex Rouleur

Good luck with the riding!

With regards to aching neck thats something you will get used to the more you ride. With regards the wrists that could be something else (as well as getting used to the bike and position).

If i were you, i would wait to see how your wrists feel after you have done a few more rides. It may well be its simply a case of getting used to the new riding position. But if it isnt it could be a range of things, like vibration through the bars, seat length putting too much pressure on the arms and wrists, seat height tipping you up and forward too much etc. so before you go spending a small fortune trying to eradicate it, wait and see. Then try moving the seat about to take pressure off or tilt the handlebars up a bit so they are easier on the wrist angle.
If its road vibration causing it, you can replace the bartape with a thicker, spongy tape like Specialized Bar Phat, that comes with gel inserts to stick to the bars underneath the tape itself.

Give it a few more rides yet and wait and see

joannesmith2818

Thanks for the advice everyone. As I was riding I got the impression the wrist pain was from vibrations as I really felt it over the rough patches of road. I will definitely give it a while and see how it goes. I was pleased that my legs were ok though, and the reason for going back was my butt and wrists and I could definitely push harder in terms of fitness. I have tried all sorts of seat heights but will definitely bare it in mind. Also the spongier tape on the bars might be a good idea if I am still struggling with it in a month’s time. I will also give those exercises a go. I lift weights anyway so can easily incorporate them into my routine at little extra effort!
And thanks for the app suggestion; I have now downloaded the Endomondo app! I will have a go with it when I next get out. Unfortunately it gives rain for most of tomorrow but I might get out sometime in the week after work!
As for the helmet, I got a non-peaked one as I read a thread on here somewhere suggesting that. I do think I was trying to look up to far though, as I was a bit nervous of potholes at first and was trying to give myself plenty of warning. As I relaxed into it a bit more I wasn’t so worried though.
I am itching to go back out again. I can’t stop looking at the bike, its right here in my bedroom (nowhere else to put it), think the bf is getting jealous haha.

fishyweb

You could also try getting some gloves and/or mitts with gel padding, to help counter the road buzz.

nawty

And also, you have just done something totally new to your body so it's no wonder it's feeling a little battered.

Recover and then go out again, I think you'll be surprised at how much better you feel after even just one more ride.