Greetings and good morning from Jacksonville!
09-18-23, 07:29 AM
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Greetings and good morning from Jacksonville!
So much to say... where to begin.
I started riding, essentially for the first time, back in May of this year. On a whim really. I had been waking up early in the morning (like 3-4am early) and finally decided to do something useful... like go to the YMCA (which opens at 5am) and workout. To mix cardio in with weights I hopped on the treadmill and stationary bike. Next thing you know I see there's a local triathlon and figured I could swim the 400m, bike the 11 miles and run (ok... walk) the 5k. Purchased my first bike in 15 years (last one was a dept store special which fell apart after less than 100 miles) one week before the triathlon and I actually finished (last for my age group but I finished).
As of today I am close to 700 miles on my "new" bike and after repeatedly finding these forums for questions I have finally decided to register.
Gear... I spent way more than I wanted to on a bike but I am very happy with it. Trek Domane AL3. And holy cow do bikes get expensive... But for now I am focusing on the things which are free, or at least very inexpensive, to improve my riding times.
Things I have learned. In no particular order. And beyond obvious to even the casual rider.
Keeping my bike clean improves my time/speed. Including, but not limited to, the cassette, crankset/chainrings, brakes, etc.
Learning how to tune the bike derailleur makes for a quiet and more efficient ride.
Learning how to shift properly improves speed and decreases fatigue. This goes along with steady cadence and power. I learned, by mistake really, that slowly gaining speed through shifting and steady cadence/power creates an overall faster ride than staying in one gear and powering through acceleration. I learned this lesson on a day where I was particularly sore and tired and figured I would take it easy... and wound up having my best time and speed in over a week. I do not have a power meter... I count and know when I am pedaling and how hard I am pedaling... at least at the novice level... would love to have a power meter one day.
Simply pinching the tire is a pretty lousy way to determine tire pressure. I checked the tire pressure one morning and found that my tires were at 40 psi (max rating 70). So I pumped them up to 60 and the difference was HUGE. My butt took a beating but now I just lift my butt off the saddle when I hit anticipated bumps in the road... problem solved. I now max them out to 70 psi every single morning. In addition to making sure the cassette is clean and the chain is cleaned and has a fresh run of lubricant.
Going from flats to clip-less was one of the first improvements I made. Again... all of a week before my second triathlon (sprint... gonna go OLY next year). First fall was after my first ride... pulled up behind my jeep and realized the order was... first unclip and then come to a complete stop. Next fall was at a tight turn... again gotta anticipate unclipping before stopping or slowing down. Third was right in front of a car that I stopped suddenly to avoid. My fault. He stopped and asked if I was ok. I was. Just a little bloodied and embarrassed. The last, and fourth, was again avoiding a car... this time the truck made an illegal left turn in front of me. This one did not stop to see if I was ok. I am undeterred but still very cautious. I figure I am a novice ocean swimmer and have stepped on a stingray (have the scar to prove it... thank goodness it was a baby stingray), been bumped by a shark and have swam face first into a jelly fish... it was like a day at the dentist... without the anesthesia... So risk is relative.
And lastly... yesterday morning I forgot my hydration... I have to drive 10 minutes to get to my route. The day before I forgot my shoes and had to go back. Yesterday I switched to a different electrolyte powder. These turned out to be flavored. Flavor of the day was Pina Colada. So between my focusing on not forgetting my shoes and having the song "If you like Pina Coladas" stuck in my head... I left my bottles on the counter. No worries... I pass a convenience store on my route and carry my wallet with me. I've fallen multiple times on my bike with a large audience... I swim in the ocean with all the wild life imaginable... I have a wife, 3 kids and 3 dogs... it's time to man up. If I'm going to be a "real" biker I eventually had to walk into a store, bike in hand, clickety-clackety with my bike shoes wearing my bike tights, my bike helmet, my bike glasses... and step up to the counter and buy a couple of sports drinks.
Hope this wasn't too long.
Have a great week!
Dave
I started riding, essentially for the first time, back in May of this year. On a whim really. I had been waking up early in the morning (like 3-4am early) and finally decided to do something useful... like go to the YMCA (which opens at 5am) and workout. To mix cardio in with weights I hopped on the treadmill and stationary bike. Next thing you know I see there's a local triathlon and figured I could swim the 400m, bike the 11 miles and run (ok... walk) the 5k. Purchased my first bike in 15 years (last one was a dept store special which fell apart after less than 100 miles) one week before the triathlon and I actually finished (last for my age group but I finished).
As of today I am close to 700 miles on my "new" bike and after repeatedly finding these forums for questions I have finally decided to register.
Gear... I spent way more than I wanted to on a bike but I am very happy with it. Trek Domane AL3. And holy cow do bikes get expensive... But for now I am focusing on the things which are free, or at least very inexpensive, to improve my riding times.
Things I have learned. In no particular order. And beyond obvious to even the casual rider.
Keeping my bike clean improves my time/speed. Including, but not limited to, the cassette, crankset/chainrings, brakes, etc.
Learning how to tune the bike derailleur makes for a quiet and more efficient ride.
Learning how to shift properly improves speed and decreases fatigue. This goes along with steady cadence and power. I learned, by mistake really, that slowly gaining speed through shifting and steady cadence/power creates an overall faster ride than staying in one gear and powering through acceleration. I learned this lesson on a day where I was particularly sore and tired and figured I would take it easy... and wound up having my best time and speed in over a week. I do not have a power meter... I count and know when I am pedaling and how hard I am pedaling... at least at the novice level... would love to have a power meter one day.
Simply pinching the tire is a pretty lousy way to determine tire pressure. I checked the tire pressure one morning and found that my tires were at 40 psi (max rating 70). So I pumped them up to 60 and the difference was HUGE. My butt took a beating but now I just lift my butt off the saddle when I hit anticipated bumps in the road... problem solved. I now max them out to 70 psi every single morning. In addition to making sure the cassette is clean and the chain is cleaned and has a fresh run of lubricant.
Going from flats to clip-less was one of the first improvements I made. Again... all of a week before my second triathlon (sprint... gonna go OLY next year). First fall was after my first ride... pulled up behind my jeep and realized the order was... first unclip and then come to a complete stop. Next fall was at a tight turn... again gotta anticipate unclipping before stopping or slowing down. Third was right in front of a car that I stopped suddenly to avoid. My fault. He stopped and asked if I was ok. I was. Just a little bloodied and embarrassed. The last, and fourth, was again avoiding a car... this time the truck made an illegal left turn in front of me. This one did not stop to see if I was ok. I am undeterred but still very cautious. I figure I am a novice ocean swimmer and have stepped on a stingray (have the scar to prove it... thank goodness it was a baby stingray), been bumped by a shark and have swam face first into a jelly fish... it was like a day at the dentist... without the anesthesia... So risk is relative.
And lastly... yesterday morning I forgot my hydration... I have to drive 10 minutes to get to my route. The day before I forgot my shoes and had to go back. Yesterday I switched to a different electrolyte powder. These turned out to be flavored. Flavor of the day was Pina Colada. So between my focusing on not forgetting my shoes and having the song "If you like Pina Coladas" stuck in my head... I left my bottles on the counter. No worries... I pass a convenience store on my route and carry my wallet with me. I've fallen multiple times on my bike with a large audience... I swim in the ocean with all the wild life imaginable... I have a wife, 3 kids and 3 dogs... it's time to man up. If I'm going to be a "real" biker I eventually had to walk into a store, bike in hand, clickety-clackety with my bike shoes wearing my bike tights, my bike helmet, my bike glasses... and step up to the counter and buy a couple of sports drinks.
Hope this wasn't too long.
Have a great week!
Dave
10-02-23, 06:28 AM
#8
Newbie
Thread Starter
So far I've only ridden A1A for a couple of triathlons. It was very fun but also reassuring with police bikes circling the route during the race. I am slowly leaving the golf cart trails for the road (where there are bike lanes) more and more.
