Maelochs

Interesting. I have been car-free for much of my adult life (no longer am---cars are great every now and then) so I have ridden in every miserable situation--sore, tired, 19 days in a row, the worst weather, carrying loads, fighting rush-hour traffic ....

I have also done fast group rides where the phrase "turning oneself inside out" became starkly accurate---that is exactly what it feels like.

I found that I could push myself well past what i ever imagined--i could endure discomfort and pain and yes, suffering, for much longer than I ever imagined, and that i could push myself much longer and harder than I would have dreamed. I found out that if I had a reason (stupid pride in this case) I could keep up and even on one occasion excel---and the main memory is not how well I did but how

Incredibly badly it sucked.

I understand that some people find validation in pushing towards, and then extending, their limits. Great. We all have our paths. And having proved to myself that I could endure All the worst parts of cycling .... I no longer need to prove Anything.

I don't push hard unless I feel like it, and I back off when I feel like it. I don't care.

I reject the notion that "Faster and Stronger is Better." "Better" is whatever I think is better--for me--at any given moment.

I don't need the validation of the brotherhood of riders who like to brag about how much they can hurt themselves.

I respect them for their achievements---but they are not special for it. They have chosen a path, and they pursue their goals. So what? A lot of cyclists have mythologized racing, suffering, performing, and all that .... but that is just one myth.

I know that is can be equally hard, and take equal mental discipline, to get up every morning and ride, ride in the afternoon, and then again late at night, with absolutely no regard for conditions other than packing and dressing appropriately. 95 degree and 95 percent humidity? Rush-hour traffic at 55 mph on a narrow road with no shoulder and no alternate route? Pouring rain? Freezing rain? Standing water and sub-freezing temps? Hurricane-force winds?

When you have to work to eat, buy food to eat, or take care of whatever business to keep your life going, you just get out and ride. And at least for me, I could not have One negative thought, even knowing I was already tired, my legs felt like they had been beaten with a ball-peen hammer, and that I had a lot of miles to ride in the worst road and traffic conditions in freezing rain or whatever. I needed every bit of energy just to get out and ride.

So freaking what? There is no Commuter Grand Tour ... but I would have been a top competitor.

So what?

Nowadays I often refuse to ride if it is raining on a hot or warm day. Sometimes I look out at a perfect day, just cool enough and still warm enough, no wind, the sky just gorgeous, and say, "Ah, I'm just not feeling it." I have earned the option to ride only when and how I like.

I won't put anyone down for doing the same, and I ignore--often with a bit of humor---all those people who think they are superior because they do what they want to do and I choose Not to do what They want to do.

I don't ride a bike to prove I am tough or fast or rugged or whatever ... I simply love riding my bikes so I do it.

CargoDane

Well said, Maelochs.

Cacti

I don't know. The bike I just bought (from an online bike store) is driving me insane and I haven't even had it a week. There was a rubbing noise from the rear wheel and I took it to a bike shop. The dude was really cool, asked me to leave it for an hour and he fixed it for like $20. After one short ride, it started rubbing again. The bike has hydraulic brakes and there is no way for me to adjust those pads so that they're not rubbing against the disk. I'm now convinced it's the tire being out of alignment

I mean, I know exactly what's going on. If I had one of those tools (that look like a micrometer), I could buy a spoke wrench and fix it myself. This bike has spent more time upside down in my living room with me trying to fix it than it has being ridden. I'm half tempted to buy a stand, the tools and fix it myself just out of principle. I'm so mad and disappointed. I just wanted a bike to go riding. Should it really be THIS much work? Am I being too picky? I'm not sure if a little rubbing is okay or not. I just know that friction causes me to lose speed, not to mention the pads wearing out too soon. I'm at my wit's end with this and I've only had the bike for 4 days!

SurferRosa

^ It's a lot easier when you have the tools and know-how to fix every problem you might encounter. That's one reason I stick with vintage lightweights. They're super easy for me to keep perfectly dialed-in.

Maelochs

Find a mechanic who can actually fix the bike.

wphamilton

It took me 2 or 3 months of being car-free before I felt like it was tolerable. Somewhere in 4-6 months I started to enjoy it.

I know that doesn't sound all that encouraging but I do remember feeling like it was all worth it. I didn't even care about fitness when I started; I wasn't even certain that I would gain much fitness. I was just getting around. But when I saw a few gains, that did become part of the goal. There's something to be said for improving yourself, just a little better, almost daily.

Regarding the suffering mythos. At some point, after the initial gains, if we want to improve appreciably we have to push beyond our comfort zone. If that's "suffering" then yes, we have to suffer for gains. I don't see it that way, and for me there has never been as much "suffering" as when I first started cycling. Partly for psychological reasons, and partly because pushing past the latest plateau is not always a priority. Regardless, I think the first few months were by far the hardest with respect to "suffering".

Cacti

Best advice yet

snookanglr

I was in loads of pain for a long time when I first started riding too (mostly my neck and butt). Nowadays my quads are still almost always sore but the rest of the stuff has gone away. It took almost a year for me to truly build up "cycling muscles". I also had to get my fit right and find a saddle that works for me. I say give it more time. Increase your mileage gradually and give youself sufficient recovery time. Stretching, core exercises, and massage really help too.

dkatz1

Kind of hard to answer. I got my first bike (except from days more than 20 years earlier) in 1999. I liked it immediately, but: it did make me sore. I live about ten miles from work, and I got the back late spring. I figured: maybe by the end of the end of the summer, I'll be able to ride to work.
Instead: it took me three weeks before I was commuting regularly. Keep at it and it very quickly becomes easier (though if you have an actual injury to your wrist that well may interfere). But I love all those things you don't like...I mostly ride the same places these days as I have been for years. And I don't get tired of them.

pachyderm56

if you don't like to ride a bike don't, if you want some exercise try something else, walk, jog, run, play tennis, many many options out there, I recall back in the 80's and 90's so many people complaining about going to aerobics classes, it seemed the only reasons they went were for the community (a good reason) and for vanity wanting to look good. let it go, find something you like

Cyclist830657

Man, what a bunch of sh*ts on this site. Bye.

10 Wheels

Look in The Mirror

mepfa

I’ve been riding bicycles fir about 60 years. When I was young it was about adventure. My parents would have to come pick my buddy and me up from little prairie towns. Later riding was all about speed, time trials, and triathlons- exciting! In my 40’s and 50’s it was a social thing, group rides and Biking Across Kansas. Many centuries were ridden and I was always uncomfortable, at odds with my bicycle, some part of me always hurt or was numb. I hated it but loved the camaraderie. About a year ago I discovered recumbent bicycles- I’m not talking about trikes! My joy and sense of adventure returned. I am completely comfortable on my recumbent and fast enough to scare myself. In the meantime, I get to enjoy the sights around me and return home without any aches and pains. May I suggest a recumbent bicycle to you?

viffer

My parents bought me my first bike when I was 3 years old complete with 16 inch solid tires and training wheels. I was hooked for life. Rode it around the neighborhood everyday and being able to take the training wheels off and balance the bike a few months later was one of the best days of my childhood.

They say you don’t choose your hobbies, they choose you and this was definitely the case with cycling for me. I would give it a few more months but if you’re not enjoying cycling after say 6 months then you have to ask yourself why you’re doing it.

Leadrunner

Well said, sir. I once tried going to the gym. I didn't enjoy it, so I didn't do it again.

TheLizard

This was the best response until you said "drop bar". For love of God do NOT get a drop bar. OMG what's wrong with you people?

How many bikes have I ridden that were almost perfect except they were ruined by having drop bars? Way too many. Too bad it's such an involved conversion.

CargoDane

I don't ride drop bars usually, but that's your opinon? And with those "OMG" and whatnot?
I think a gravel bike at some point will be my first drop bar bike since my only drop bar bike I had when I was 13 (so 35 years ago). It has benefits over flat bars and vice versa.
I hope it's in jest, but you can rarely tell with these things.

greenspark

In 2012 we went to Berlin and collected two new Bella Ciao bicycles from the owner of the company, Matthias. This came after reading Lovely Bicycle Blogspot. We experienced Berlin in a way impossible to enjoy by car (no parking, traffic jams), U-Bahn/S-Bahn (subway - under the streets) or walking (too far to get to places). Then we went to Dresden by train and with friends rode our bikes from Dresden to Prague before checking them in with Emirates and flying home. We loved it. We travelled like hobbits (first breakfast, morning coffee, midday lunch, afternoon cake and coffee, evening dinner, late night drinks) and were lucky to do 18 miles a day. Of course, every day was sunny, it was late Spring, but what made it was the quality of the bicycle. We wore street clothes, no helmets, and EU bike route 2 was paved and far from roads with cars and trucks. The Italian frame absorbed shock of cobblestones, gravel portions of the road and the occasional pothole.




Then in 2016, we returned to Berlin, but this time we rented NextBikes and hated them. They were uncomfortable, clunky, sluggish and made cycling a completely different experience. The city felt completely different. It was rather amazing how the same two wheels with handlebar and pedals changed the experience.

When we brought our Bella Ciao bikes home, with our hills and wind, a 3-speed push bike is misery. So we promptly converted them by adding Bafang BBS mid-mount ebike kits. It's now our primary way to get to the city and we love every minute of it.

In my garage is a Peugeot PX-10 that I bought new. It's a racing bike, meaning you are supposed to win the Tour de France riding it. It has a 72° parallel frame with a Brooks Professional Saddle that refuses to be broken in. It is exceptionally lightweight with ten speeds. It also has almost no road wear, merely the deterioration that comes from sitting in a garage, unused. Why? Because it is not comfortable. It does not feel right. I can see where I would go faster on it, but it's no fun.

Bicycle geometry is a bit like chess, it looks simple but the number of variations is almost infinite, and only a few are winners. Bikes are made for many different purposes, and bike stores too often sell the customer the wrong bike - either because they don't have the right bike, or the salesperson is inexperienced. If you live in a flat place, you need a different bike than hilly. Windy vs calm. Speed vs pleasure vs getting around. Age and body fitness makes a difference. Now with ebike kits and purpose built ebikes, more people can enjoy biking, but many of the ebikes are not great designs. Shock absorbers are essential for severe off road mountain riding, but on a town and country bike, no one has come up with a better answer than spring steel. The front fork of a classic European bike took decades to perfect, but they have had a century to do it. A Dutch bike will ride different than an Italian bike because the conditions are different (Holland is flat, windy and they keep their bikes outside). In old England, Raleigh made the DL1 - a roadster that is as comfortable and soft as a 1950's Cadillac. It was used by police, postal delivery and grownups. But they also made the Sport model (DL-24) that has a different geometry and is more suited for teenagers.




Raleigh DL-1


So first, look at your bike. What did you buy? What's it made of? What's it's geometry?

If you want to get serious about the research, read Lovely Bicycle (it's dormant now, but full of really useful information). Then start checking out bikes. Some depends on where you live. If you are in the Bootheel of Missouri you won't have much luck. If you are in Boston, Portland or Berkeley you will find a deep knowledge base. Or just pop over to Europe - it's bike heaven,

grizzly907la

I would like to know how tall you, and your physical condition? What type of bike are you riding? I'm 6'2" and finding a bike my size is a real PITA. Small bikes kill me and their hell on my knees. You've been riding for three weeks. You got to give it some time, and like others have said, you need to set realistic goals and work up from there, provided that your bicycle isn't the problem.

Don't sell the bike unless it isn't a good fit for you. Keep on riding. I haven't done a decent ride in two years after moving from DTLA. One of the few things I liked about DTLA was the fact that it was better for me to use my bike to get groceries, and to get around town via the public transit system and in conjunction with my bicycle. I loved going out early in the morning, and riding to the grocery store before everyone got up. I took a test ride last week in my new location, and the mild hills sort of kicked my butt, but I shall persist, because its nothing new for me. I got back into "cycling," back in 2012, because I got sick of walking from the train station to the school I was going to (I'm on the 50 year plan for my AA degree ;-) .) It became easier as I kept doing it. The moral of the story is to keep going. Make necessary changes, and keep on going!

grizzly907la

Nice setup!!

alfie43

Winter 2019

I am 77 years old. I live in Michigan, and I ride everyday. I ride for fitness, not for fun.. As a former daily outdoor runner for 35 years, I've learned how to dress for temps from 15°-95°. I apply those same strategies to cycling. I also learned thats its rarely fun; I go out because its what I do and who I am. In other words, its not will power or discipline. Its just a habit: a good habit. You don't see runners running with a smile on their face. Its rarely fun; its mostly work.
Winter riding is all about attitude. It hardens your resolve and strengthens your character. You prepare by layering up and with fierce dedication to the year-round riding,. It's winter, and it's yours. Seize it

Spring 2018

kathryn777

When riding alone, I need to drive to rides I enjoy: climbing among Redwoods and creeks, less than 1 car/mile on most sections. Luckily only 20 min drive. I don't enjoy every minute, I find dripping sweat and struggling up hills quite unpleasant, but overall I enjoy the scenery and peace.

I prefer riding with a group to chat with lovely people, I am less picky about the route but expect low cars and natural vistas for 50%.

(I ride so I can eat fried chicken and not gain weight.)

grizzly907la

I love broccoli!!! I loved it, even as a kid!

TheLizard

Well, it's my personal opinion, yes. Don't take it personally, use the drop bars if you want.

SO many bikes have them and so many people ride them I had to try out a couple of bikes set up that way. Had a sweet Cannondale road bike, a stupid light "Six -13" 5. It rode like a dream, but I just couldn't deal with those drop bars. The guy I sold it to acted like he was stealing it from me.

CargoDane

[My emphasis]
I don't even understand the bolded part of the quote and why it would have anything to do with drop bars?

Remember the post I responded to? Yeah, that one from you. Warning about drop bars to the extent you were, made it seem like you were saying they were awful and/or dangerous.

Around here, we tour mostly with flat bars etc., not drop bars I.e. the US peopl mostly tour on drop bars), and most bikes you see around do have flat bars - except for vintage and new road bikes, and recently: Gravel bikes, of course. But drop bars have their place. It's a different compromise.