Tips for a newbie cyclist?

[black2002ls]

Anywhere local that does bike fits on Saturdays? RBM doesn't schedule them on the weekends

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[HarrisonTX]

Dude, we should ride together. I'm a newb as well.
I bought an $80 early 90's raleigh off craigslist a few months back and have been riding the shit out of it. Last sunday I rode 30 miles on the trinity trails. From Benbrook to downtown.
Road bikes are totally different than mountain bikes. I have no idea what I'm doing but I'm having fun doing it.

I may have bit off more than I can chew, and registered for a 70 miler in 2 weeks.

[black2002ls]

Dude, we should ride together. I'm a newb as well.
I bought an $80 early 90's raleigh off craigslist a few months back and have been riding the shit out of it. Last sunday I rode 30 miles on the trinity trails. From Benbrook to downtown.
Road bikes are totally different than mountain bikes. I have no idea what I'm doing but I'm having fun doing it.

I may have bit off more than I can chew, and registered for a 70 miler in 2 weeks.

I bought mine with intentions of getting in shape for a local race this fall. As of right now, I dont see it happening. Goi g to RBM Frisco next Saturday. Hopefully that will help with comfort. Waiting on some aerotech shorts with a 10 mm pad/chamois, hopefully that makes a bit of difference!

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[Vertnut]

Dude, we should ride together. I'm a newb as well.
I bought an $80 early 90's raleigh off craigslist a few months back and have been riding the shit out of it. Last sunday I rode 30 miles on the trinity trails. From Benbrook to downtown.
Road bikes are totally different than mountain bikes. I have no idea what I'm doing but I'm having fun doing it.

I may have bit off more than I can chew, and registered for a 70 miler in 2 weeks.

Your goal should be to finish. Carry as much water with you as possible, and drink, drink, drink. Be careful of "bonking" on your first 100k+ ride, and try to eat a powerbar or 2 during the ride. 3-4 hours in the saddle is a long time.

[no4njnk]

Jim is ok, Woody is good, Gary is the master at bike fits. He did mine and did a great job. I was thinking about going to the Tri Shop to use their Retul but Gary is old school and it took half the time for a fit.

Most of the long rides have plenty of stops, if you have only done 30 miles take advantage of them. Stop, get some food, rest, refill water, and go on to the next step. A lot of people will walk their bikes up big hills so don't be too manly to do that. I started off this year with 30 miles and now 100 miles is pretty ordinary for me (training for an Ironman next year, working myself up this year).

Most bike shops have group rides on the weekends, start going to some when you have a chance. They will either leave you less bored or will make you more fit. I hate riding in large groups but when I ride with 3-4 people faster than me I can notice the increased speed in about a month worth of rides.

[black2002ls]

Picked up a pair of inexpensive ($14 on sale) Bontrager padded gloves at RBM Frisco yesterday. They made tonights ride MUCH nicer on my hands!

I am only riding about 2 miles per ride right now, getting comfortable with my bike, changing hand positions and such. I live right off of a highway and that is the longest route I have immediate access to :-(

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[HarrisonTX]

Picked up a pair of inexpensive ($14 on sale) Bontrager padded gloves at RBM Frisco yesterday. They made tonights ride MUCH nicer on my hands!

I am only riding about 2 miles per ride right now, getting comfortable with my bike, changing hand positions and such. I live right off of a highway and that is the longest route I have immediate access to :-(

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Damn dude, 2 miles? So your whole ride is about 7-8 minutes? I could barely get warmed up by then.

All this talk about gloves and padded shorts. I'm fine at 20-30 miles with juts gym shorts and no gloves. I wonder what all that padding would feel like.

[black2002ls]

Damn dude, 2 miles? So your whole ride is about 7-8 minutes? I could barely get warmed up by then.

All this talk about gloves and padded shorts. I'm fine at 20-30 miles with juts gym shorts and no gloves. I wonder what all that padding would feel like.

Lol, yeah it isn't long at all. I want to make sure I am comfortable before riding the shoulder with cars passing at 55-65mph. There is a long stretch of road with improved shoulders as well as through town. I found out this week that my neighbor rides as well, hopefully I can manage to match his schedule and ride with him a couple times a week.

As for the padding, on the backside I have very little of my own!

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[black2002ls]

How about shoes and pedals? The guy gave me a set of speedplay style pedals when I bought the bike. I have been looking around at shoes pedals and clips. Damn this gets expensive! Any recommendations on entry level budget minded stuff?

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[samuel642000]

Dude, we should ride together. I'm a newb as well.
I bought an $80 early 90's raleigh off craigslist a few months back and have been riding the shit out of it. Last sunday I rode 30 miles on the trinity trails. From Benbrook to downtown.
Road bikes are totally different than mountain bikes. I have no idea what I'm doing but I'm having fun doing it.

I may have bit off more than I can chew, and registered for a 70 miler in 2 weeks.

I'd be game, but normally I'm only free on Saturdays due to my hectic work schedule. I'm no where near ready for a long distance ride but maybe/hopefully soon I will be.

Damn dude, 2 miles? So your whole ride is about 7-8 minutes? I could barely get warmed up by then.

All this talk about gloves and padded shorts. I'm fine at 20-30 miles with juts gym shorts and no gloves. I wonder what all that padding would feel like.

That's my attire for when I ride. Maybe one day ill get proper gear.

[Shorty]

How about shoes and pedals? The guy gave me a set of speedplay style pedals when I bought the bike. I have been looking around at shoes pedals and clips. Damn this gets expensive! Any recommendations on entry level budget minded stuff?

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Shimano 105 pedals (SPD SL), $55 on nashbar.

[no4njnk]

Try Look pedals, you can get them for less money and they are easier to get in and out of. Or you can run standard SPD pedals, I have a set I would let go for cheap, may even have shoes.

[black2002ls]

Try Look pedals, you can get them for less money and they are easier to get in and out of. Or you can run standard SPD pedals, I have a set I would let go for cheap, may even have shoes.

I have little feet. 7.5 or 8!

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[samuel642000]

How do the different pedals work? Are they easy to click in and out of in case if an emergency.

[BradM]

I thought I was going to go out and play bikes today. That shit is much harder than when I was 13!