elae

Love this! You're an inspiration. Thank you!

elae

Thanks for the reply. I was reading up on the Kinetic Road Machine this morning. It has great reviews!

MRT2

Maybe you could change his mind. Unless he really thinks as a complete beginner that he will be doing a lot of single track, he really should get something so the two of you can ride together.

bruce19

I had an 8 yr layoff. My advice is to be patient and choose the kind of riding that makes you look forward to riding again. If you enjoy it and do it with regularity the rest will come.

bigd777

I was in the same boat as you. Stared riding my bike a couple times a week 10 15 miles .My weight was 288 I'm 5-11 now I'm down to 183 riding about 200 miles a month

Russ Roth

I took about a 6 year hiatus due to second and third child, rebuilding a house, starting a doctoral program and moving. The move was to Long Island where the roads aren't friendly in a lot of places and the bike paths can be crowded. Bought a new 29" mid-level mtb and its probably one of the best purchases I ever made in bicycles. Like you I had/have a high end road, and a couple other bikes laying about as well but the trails here are really fun and easy to learn on and the MTB just called for having fun. It really kickstarted getting back on the bike and the kids love hitting the trails as well.

beach_cycle

Greetings Elae;

Congratulations on the baby! Your life changes were necessary, NOT excuses.

Getting back on a bike is an awesome decision. Follow it up with regular rides; in my experience, the rides become faster, longer and more enjoyable (less effort).

I am 52... when I was 23, I was involved in a major motorcycle accident. At 26 I started riding a mountain bike to figure out out how to ride with TBI. At 27, I started riding motorcycles again, but at 31 I crashed hard and did not ride again until I was 48. I used to ride two wheel bikes, but this time I decided to try a three wheeler (adult tricycle). From the beginning, I was able to ride ~20 miles at a time, although it takes about 3x effort (so they were like 60+ mile rides). At 40, I started walking/swimming/lifting weights, so by the time I started pedaling a trike, I had built up strength... but at 49 I was riding a two wheel mountain bike, crashed and broke my hip; I had total hip replacement surgery, and after 6 months started riding again. These last few years I've been pedaling about 5,000 miles/year. 32 mile college commutes helped with the miles, rain or shine, and my body became used to the prosthetic hip.

I think our bodies want more comfortable bikes over time. Maybe a comfortable bike will make longer rides easier.

beach_cycle

If bike trainer = exercise bike, you might like the recumbent. I've tried them in the gym, and discovered they are easier to pedal.

jppe

I do not like trainers! But I have a Kinetic Road machine and it does a very nice job when I’m forced to use it.

elae

Wow! That’s two votes for the Kinetic Road machine!

elae

Your story is so inspiring! Thank you for sharing. Best wishes!

SethAZ 

I think the great thing is that if you stick with it, you go from that "2 miles and I was pooped" to 10-15 miles in a very short time, probably just a matter of a few weeks. The thing you've got going for you is that you've done this before. You know you can do it, and this initial phase as your body is breaking itself back in will pass quickly.

elae

Thank you everyone for all the wonderful replies. Within less than 24 hours I received such great advice and encouragement. What a wonderful group this is! I wish each of you the very best ...be safe and healthy out there

lenny866

Remember, your not riding as a younger man. Your mind will think you are young and can ride hard, but your body will tell you different. I use the 10% rule (in the spring) until I have 200 miles on my legs. Don't increase your mileage more than 10% per week. Build up slow, as it is easy to get hurt and takes twice as long to heal. I also use my cross bike (with fenders) as our springs are rainy with lots of leftover salt and sand on the roads.....have fun and welcome back.

Ogsarg

That is how I got started with cycling after decades. Tuned up the old MTB and just started riding. I was really out of shape and 5 miles was difficult. After a while it was 10, 15, 20, and at that point I decided I liked it and wanted to do longer rides so got a used road bike and the miles just kept increasing.

I'll echo others and say not to push yourself too hard. Just keep riding and having fun.

August West

Almost certainly not riding as a younger woman either since I believe elae is a female.

BKE

You replied to my inquiery about why needing a trainer and your reasons were sound and most understandable. But..... a custom Lightspeed and a (I assume) top of the line Specialized MTB (both fitted, as they should be) makes me think you were/are not a novice even after 15 years. Care to share more of your past riding experience?

elae

LOL! this brought a smile to my face today! I just love this group! Yes I am a female, yet tomboy at heart😊

elae

I fell in love with the sport when I lived overseas in Switzerland in 1997-2001. I didn’t ride at that point but I had friends that did. And even when we were driving around in a car... and would get to a bridge or a hill or a mountain road ... my friends would start talking about how right here is where their legs would be burning if they were on their bike. I guess you could say I caught the fever of cycling by living vicariously through them for a while.

Everyone bikes over there, everywhere. And being In the midst of where all the European tours start and finish ... from watching TV or listening to the radio, it was as if we were in the tour(s) ourselves. You knew all the riders by name... knew everything about them ...knew their bikes! You know what I’m talking about!

Of course back then I was team America and Lance Armstrong was my hero.

Then when I moved back home to Florida, I bought my litespeed and specialized bikes. I became one of our local bike shop groupies😀

We had groups that would meet up and go cycling together all over the place every day of the week. Including a few of us that would hit the trails with our mountain bikes.

I was usually one of the only girls out there and it was always my goal to keep up with the guys. Oh the good ‘ol days!

Between my road bike and my mountain bike I clocked anywhere from 60 to 100 miles a week. I wasn’t a novice, but I definitely wasn’t a hard-core cyclist either.

I miss the thrill of living in the present moment that I got from mountain biking / trail riding, and the adrenaline rush and deep meditative experience I got from riding my road bike.

And, I would love to get back to the fitness level I enjoyed in my 20’s & 30s!

So there’s my cycling histoire! Probably not too far off from any of you guys. I think we all check out everyone’s bikes as we drive down the road whilst in our cars ...do a double take...not checking out the person riding the bike but we’re looking at their bike!
Everywhere you go you’re looking for great places to ride the bike. It’s all about the bike! Because the bike will bring you right!

caloso

The great thing about a Ti frame is that it will last forever, and you can update it with a modern 11-speed group and carbon wheels if you want.

Sertsa

Hi! I'm 53 and started biking again a little over a month ago after about 30 years away. I'm very glad I've been doing it. I also have been focused on losing weight and being healthier and more active in general. Between desk jobs, especially nearly a decade on an evening shift, being laid up for a long time after an accident, life's general curveballs, and mostly my making a lot of bad decisions, I'd gotten huge. As in nearly twice my current size.

Anyway, to your questions:I knew I wouldn't be able to do the things I could pre-accident/ballooning. But I could start. I didn't start riding again until recently, but I began walking and doing some workouts at home, even if just some situps. It was tough at first, but it became easier, and eventually I went for longer walks, found more challenging terrain (so they became hikes), and added more general workouts.

I knew I wanted to bike again, so when I felt I'd lost enough to go to a gym without too much embarrassment I joined, regularly went, and spent quite a bit of time on exercise bikes. I did some weights, too, but most of the time was pedaling.

When I finally felt confident enough to get a real bike this spring I took a similar approach. My first ride--on a mountain bike through a wooded trail--wasn't too long, and I was surprised at how many more places ached than on an exercise bike, but it was good. I also had to rebuild skills and especially confidence. Next time I went a little longer, and so on. As with walking/hiking, I've sought out some more challenging places to ride and have regularly gone for longer rides. I'm still getting there, but I'm surprised at how much I've already improved.

elae

Thank you! wonderful advice. Best wishes to you!

50PlusCycling

You probably already know how to get a bike that fits, anything with two wheels in good working order is all you need to start. When I am off the bike for a long time, my first ride is just an easy cruise for 5 miles or so. I suffer from a few days of saddle soreness, and get back on for another 5 mile or so ride. If I do thee or four of these rides a week, in around two weeks the saddle soreness goes away, or at least diminishes enough to allow for longer rides. After a month, saddle soreness is pretty much gone, and begin making any position adjustments, adding new gear like pedals or shoes, or whatnot.

In the second month I can do 10 or 15 miles per day at an easy to moderate speed, my climbs are usually just highway overpasses, I am acclimating my body to the point I can begin to push the training a little bit without hurting myself. In the third month I can easily ride 20 miles per day, and I can start adding intervals. I use landmarks or set time goals on my cycle computer, and pick up the pace by 3 or 5 mph hour until I pass the landmark or the time I had set. As my fitness improves I can increase the distance before the landmark, or set longer times for my intervals. When I do the overpasses, I try to get over them without reducing my speed.

After 4 months I will take part in group rides, it is never too late to start. The pace is faster (depending on the group), and when you ride with other people, the miles pass by much more quickly. After 6 months I find myself in very good shape, my body is hooked on endorphins, and no matter how tired I may get during a ride, I am already looking forward to the next one.

MRT2

And then it is late fall, time to hang up the bike.

elae

Wow! Wonderful direction. I believe I will take this training schedule and implement it into my own. Thanks a million for sharing your experiences.