:clap

I cheated and took 15 years getting through college, at 142. Now, I am around 178. :baldy

on a good day.

Work has this moving thing going on again this year. (We have a team with a lame name, and it is a competition. I plan on using the old old age and treachery trick.):evil
Last year I went for doubling 5K steps, (cycling converts somehow in their calculator). This year I signed up for 10K and intend on fighting my way past doubling that.

If that doesn't shed some pounds coupled with my dietary changes I will be forced into the gym.
The schedule says our program is over in a year and a bit. My intent is to be ready for some long rides by then. Back to back miles.
My travel schedule is supposedly vastly reduced, so the plan is to work from home twice a week and get long rides in on those days. The rest of the week at work I'll walk for lunch, and nibble good-for-me veggies and fruits.

Gummee! sounds like you're getting there. :clap
Back in the day I was always good at hills. Sucked at crits. But, then all roads were hills around where I lived. :rofl
Big flat rides killed me.

This family vacation did not include my bicycle, so I'm suffering withdrawals here in Colorado.

Maybe after Memorial Day I can get on my bike. If not, I'll be walking or running and breathing heavy.

Newbie/old guy here, trying to break into to the bicycle scene for "fitness" reasons. Last week I bought a Novara Randonee "touring" Road bike w/steel frame & drop-down bars. This morning was my fourth day in a row of riding, having gone 42 miles trying to break-in my butt.....
AND I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS:

1) Okay, I don't wanna ruin my padded stretch chonies or my sexy new bike shorts, what's the wisdom regarding wearing, cleaning, drying, and the use of an anti-chafe stick?

2) Might it be better to start this "break-in" procedure by riding every other day rather than setting out daily? How many hours, days, miles, weeks will it be before I stop complaining about my butt/sit bones? (Note: My "Sit Bones" have been measured, and I have a saddle most appropriate for my fatass)

57 years old, "morbidly obese" (5' 1" @ 245 lb's), no medical problems, 'thick' musculature, resting heart rate (upon rising in the morning) of 54 bpm, 4 months of resistance training & stationary bike spinning......

3) How many miles or for how long, should I ride these next couple months? Daily or every other day? Should I strive to hold my heart rate in it's "fat burning" zone (116 to 130 according to what I can figure out)?

4) How many miles of riding over bumpy residential roads and a couple hills of downshifting, before my chain/cables/adjustments need to be "tuned" by the local REI store from whom I bought my bike? (How often do I lube my chain?)

5) What questions haven't I asked that I might want to know the answers to???

Thanks in advance,
-= PAT =-

I was looking on Excel Sports website at the powermeters and I really don't have any idea what I'm looking at. Some are in rear hub, and some are in the crankset. I do see they are pretty damn spendy.though. I thought it would be valuable information.The Arc Trainer at the gym has got power (watt) measurements but really that doesn't transfer to the bike ( Idon'tknow what I'm doing on the bike.)

Welcome to the madness.:clap

I can't say anything successful from my perspective about burning fat since 3 years of riding more than the previous 12 but not enough has burned nothing off me. I can ride further than I could 3 years ago, but not as far or fast as I could two years ago before bashing my ribs, then the job moved, then I added too much travel.

Shorts:
I gave up on bargain shorts long ago and with them any break-in.
42 miles in a day is damned good.
If you are riding the stock seat, your body may never break into the seat if it is not a good fit.
The number one most important thing in bicycling is fit. It matters for comfort and that is reflected in how much and for how long cycling becomes a part of your life or fades.
Patience, research and trial and error are rewarded. A good relationship with a local bike shop can go a long way in shortening this "break-in" period.

Frequency:
Everyday is fine. I'd take it easy, to keep the knee damage to a minimum, but light spinning is what I suspect you are up to not hammering hills in big gears.
My advice is stay out of the big ring for a couple of months. Speed is not what you're after anyway at this time. You want to get comfortable on the bike and out in the road. Speed comes with training and mileage.

Time not miles is more important I think. Keep a good spin going, about 90 rpm or better. Keep the saddle up, so the leg motion is NOT like a squat.

Drink water during the ride and if you can ride 42 miles you are going to get into cramping as the weather gets warmer. Get an electrolyte replacement mix/drink to go along with the load of water you'll be drinking.

My body demands about 3 liters over 50 miles and a good liter of electrolyte goo of some sort. I like two types;
1. Nuun tablets, (buy a single tube locally and try them), I prefer the orange, but the banana isn't terrible.
2. I like gummy-bear type of jellybelly things. They travel pretty well. Just need a lot of water with them.

Riding:
If you have the time to ride everyday two hours a day is great, an hour a day is fine as well.
As you finish your ride cool down the last half hour of a 2 hour ride if that is possible. If like me you have a climb, don't hammer that last half mile. (this would be the do as I say thing not as I do.:huh)
Likewise the first half hour should not be an all out hammerfest, work into the ride break a sweat, get the legs used to and comfortable with the spin. As you pile on the hours of training this will become second nature and eventually you take longer and longer to break into a sweat. This will be the indicator you are getting into better and better shape.
Also after a ride if your legs are tight, lay on the floor, with your legs propped up on the bed so they just hang. Half hour of this will speed up recovery.
Leg massage comes later as you get into harder and harder workouts.

I'm 58, 5'10",and about 178 if I've been good. Former half fast racer back in the day, (my 40's), at about 142.
Now, I ride bike paths and a few roads, some mountain biking as well. hiking, walking, and the occasional run. I've changed my diet and continue to change it. Ever attempting to come to grips with aging and the never ending fight against gravity.

For the average or even above average rider, I would go with whatever you can find for the least amount of money out of pocket. Next time I see you, I'll bring my book training and racing with a power meter. It should offer some insight about the different models currently offered. The only reason I ended up with the iAero was the price point. If I had to do it again, I would have stalked eBay until I found an SRM wireless, or Quarq for the right money. I'm just not a fan of the power tap due to the added rotational mass and you have to have that power tap hub on ALL wheels for training and/or racing if you want to measure power.

There's not a lot of hill-climbing in crits.
 

Ridge would probably disagree with you on that statment.:rofl:rofl

The powertap put me off for that very reason.

:baldy

Hilly crits are the suck. Attack, hill, attack, hill, attack.. ferfucksake let me recover... :lol3

What is up with this hub....
 

I come accross this late '80's Schwinn with 105 components. The photo of the rear hub has something I've never seen before. It's on the side opposite of the freewheel or freehub. It almost looks like a bolt together hub?? Looks like a bunch of SHCS's?? Any ideas??
http://turbocelica.smugmug.com/photo...-f6xJWQr-L.jpg

Mr Head,

Thanks, I'll keep everything you suggested in mind
- however -
I wasn't claiming to have ridden 42 miles DAILY for the last four daze!!! I've ridden a TOTAL of 42 miles between the last four days...... essentially 10 miles daily, out for a half hour, trying to spin but coasting to get some relief by getting up off the seat for a sec'.

The bike is an XS, my inseam is 24", NOTHING fits me correctly.... and I wasn't ready to spring for a custom made bike/frame! The seat is made by Specialized, it's got that gel stuff (I'm not a fan of gel), it's a size 155mm, not too soft/not too firm. I've adjusted my seat such that my knees are directly over the balls of my feet with the forward pedal parallel to the ground. My handlebar height, the stem length is what it is...... how "right" it may be is for the future to resolve. The brake/shifting controls is higher up on the handlebar on one side than it is on the other side..... and it's driving me crazy (I can be anal that way).

For $85 I can go to a local guy with a $10,000 machine/computer that ya sit on & pedal. As a custom bike/frame builder, it helps him determine the absolute most efficient way to set up a bike for the specific rider. I'm sure he'll want to change out my crank to a 165, maybe put on some wider bars for my broad shoulders, dial in the stem length, and try to sell me a $200 seat.......
---- Think I'll continue to try to break my butt in for a longer ride than thirty minutes before I pay him to marry the fit of my bike to me.

That would be the best $85 you will ever spend in your cycling career. Getting properly fit to your bike is worth it's weight in gold.

dammit...... I was afraid somebody would post that.
- but -
I just bought the new bicycle and 'stuff', purchased $300 worth of vitamins for the next several months, got the AC/Furnace serviced on the house that I'm underwater in, gifted the nephew who was accepted at The Naval Academy, hadda buy a new chain, sprockets, air filter, and oil for the SV, as well as borrow against myself for two track days & gas to & from, etc. etc. I'm actually scared to look at my Overdraft Protection account to see what damage I've done this month.....

I could take the attitude of,
"What's another eighty-five bucks, I'm financially screwed already!"
- afterall-
If there is any SINGLE piece of wisdom repeatedly shared about buying/riding a bicycle, it's how crucial "correct fit" is.......

Look, there's nothing that says you have to get a bike fit on day one. Ride for a few weeks, start getting in shape for being in a bicycling position for a few hours at a time, and lose a little weight. I think you're going to feel a lot better on the bike pretty quick. But if you notice your position bothering you, before you start dropping money on random stems and cranks and pedals and seats and different width handlebars, spend the money on the bike fit.

signed,

someone who has never had a bike fit, and has plenty of different random stems and cranks and handlebars and seats around because of it.

zak

That kind of stuff drives me crazy too. It feels weird. My big peeve is not having my handbar quite straight.

But you can never have enough spare parts.He who dies with the most spare parts wins!...Right:lol3:lol3