My New Bike

[mbalmer]

Wow! Fremont to SJ for a first ride is impressive. I remember when I was 21 and got my first bike, my butt hurt for a month. After that, no pain. Now that I'm almost 50, my lower back is what hurts after a couple of hours. I guess a recumbent bike is in the near future. Keep it up Rob. You may want to alternate bike and moto until your butt (and other parts) gets used to the ride. Do some short spurts, some longer, some hilly. Oh yeah, get the bike shorts; that will help some. I quit using real bike clothes. Too much $$ when a t-shirt and cut-off sweats are just as good.

[ROBsS4R]

Rob, how many miles is that?

Could be your bike fit needs a bit of adjustment too.

Wow! Fremont to SJ for a first ride is impressive.

It was only about 10 miles or so 20 miles round trip mostly all flat ground. Not impressive at all really 

Lets see how I do on my way home. I was thinking of hitting REI for bike shorts on the way back so it will be about a 17 mile ride home. My ass will thank me later 

[x136]

Um... can you say "CROSS WINDS"?!!!     Very cool though, in a disturbingly non-OSHA compliant sort of way.

Not much for the wind to catch on, really. Unless you're carting a time trial bike with a disc wheel and a trispoke. Of course it looks horky, but such is the price one must pay to be cool.

(Cyclists are cool now, right? Right?!)

It was only about 10 miles or so 20 miles round trip mostly all flat ground. Not impressive at all really 

Lets see how I do on my way home. I was thinking of hitting REI for bike shorts on the way back so it will be about a 17 mile ride home. My ass will thank me later 

Ten miles each way is a pretty good commute, actually. Long enough to get something out of it, but likely not so long that it feels like it takes up too much time.

If you're planning to ride it on roads more than dirt, I'd recommend looking into some smoother, thinner tires. My last commuter bike was a mountain bike, and switching to some Michelin Transworld City tires (about $20 each at REI, as I recall, but there are lots of others, too) helped a lot.

[ROBsS4R]

So I rode to work 3 days in a row now.

Boy am I spent. Tomorrow I am going to take a break and work from home.

So when does Saddle Ass stop hurting 

I know this is unrealistic but after 3 days I feel little to no improvement in endurance, Saddle Ass etc.

[mostrobelle]

Give it time, grasshopper.  Try riding every other day to start out with to let things heal up on off days.  Make sure you stretch a little before and after each ride.  Pop an ibuprofin before you get on the bike.  Drink a lot more water than you're used to and try to get a little more sleep than you usually do.  These area small and easy things to do that will speed up recovery and ease you into your new hobby. 

[TCK!]

If you're looking for recovery I'd suggest upping your intake of essential amino acids, and supplementing with some good quality creatine.

The monohydrate stuff will make you retain lots of water and make you bloated as well as potentially give you MAJOR cramps when you start your cycle only use it if you're really on a tight budget.

But to make creatine useful you gotta drink LOTS of water. 1-2 gallons a day. It works by bringing extra water into your muscle tissue adding in recovery. I've cycled on and off of it while training and two weeks without I was crippled sore by the same volume of training, started back on it and my regime was back to normal and was able to start increasing my volume again. It's cheap and works well if taken properly.

[ROBsS4R]

The Strange things is I am not sore the next day like after playing a good game of badminton.

Cardio is good. Legs burn when riding

I just feel week and old  I will just keep at it of course 

[x136]

The saddle issue could be any number of things. Poor saddle positioning/general bike fit, a poor saddle (OEM saddles aren't always great), or you could just plain not be used to it. Give it some time, and see if it goes away or gets worse.

I'm not one to take a bunch of drugs and potions for every little thing, but if you are, go right ahead.

[TCK!]

I'm not one to take a bunch of drugs and potions for every little thing, but if you are, go right ahead.

You'd hate to see my supplement bag! Yes I have a whole bag dedicated to my magic potions, although I've been cutting back to the core essentials as I've been testing and seeing what works for me and what doesn't.

[ROBsS4R]

The saddle issue could be any number of things. Poor saddle positioning/general bike fit, a poor saddle (OEM saddles aren't always great), or you could just plain not be used to it. Give it some time, and see if it goes away or gets worse.

I am pretty sure its just your normal saddle ass that goes away after a few weeks of riding. When I use to ride long ago I recall having to go through this.

In any case tomorrow is a break day for me 

[Desmostro]

I am pretty sure its just your normal saddle ass that goes away after a few weeks of riding. When I use to ride long ago I recall having to go through this.

In any case tomorrow is a break day for me 

Good on you The first couple weeks are always a pregnant dog, then its like riding a bike!

Edit:
I was way out of shape once and got passed by a guy climbing Mt Tam on his 70th b-day. Talk about dismay. 
After that I decided that "getting old" is also a lot about the process of 'getting out of shape' rather than just loosing ability.

[TCK!]

Good on you The first couple weeks are always a pregnant dog, then its like riding a bike!

Edit:
I was way out of shape once and got passed by a guy climbing Mt Tam on his 70th b-day. Talk about dismay. 
After that I decided that "getting old" is also a lot about the process of 'getting out of shape' rather than just loosing ability.

I hope you Ben-Hur kicked his cycle over... Whenever I played rugby against people that were out of shape they always fell back on cheating to try and win...

[duckwrench13]

I have oodles of bike saddles in the garage. Some Ti rail ones, some squishy centered ones, some over-built knock the hell outta 'em mtn saddles...

Let me know if you want to swap through a few, and see if one works for ya.

[x136]

You'd hate to see my supplement bag! Yes I have a whole bag dedicated to my magic potions, although I've been cutting back to the core essentials as I've been testing and seeing what works for me and what doesn't.

Heh, yeah, every time I go on a group ride, people are drinking from bottles that look like leftovers from a Ghostbusters movie, and are passing around enough powder and pills to fill a Tarantino film. I'm just sitting there drinking water and eating a granola bar...

In any case tomorrow is a break day for me 

Good plan. Ease yourself into things. At least a bit. I started bike commuting when my last car died, so it was more of a trial by fire. Thankfully it's a short commute.

[mostrobelle]

Good on you The first couple weeks are always a pregnant dog, then its like riding a bike!

Edit:
I was way out of shape once and got passed by a guy climbing Mt Tam on his 70th b-day. Talk about dismay. 

I hate getting passed by the "blue hairs."     I got around a guy the other day and he drafted me for a while (first time for me!) and then he decided to drop the hammer.  He was probably late 50's/early 60's.  Sometimes I really hate bein' a chick.  I've got everything but the muscles to do what I want, but let's face it, guys are just better at lots of the things I like to do.