Totally New At This Questions :)

hibiscus09

I bought a Bianchi Eros 2 weeks ago. I have not been on a bike (other than beach cruisers & spinning class bikes) since high school -- then I had a 10 speed.

I've been at Kiawah Island, South Carolina (totally flat everywhere) riding on bike trails for 1/2 my distance & through neighborhoods the other half. I've started training for a century this week. I am 41 years old, in shape & have been exercising about 8 years -- i.e., weight lifting & various forms of cardio -- mostly running & the elliptical trainer.

I'm using this training schedule:

http://www.geocities.com/ne_century...g.html#SCHEDULE

On yesterday's ride, I went a little further because I was playing catch up due to an unexpected visit from the in-laws . My ride was 17.06 miles, which I completed at an average speed of 14.19 mph. When I'm on the bike trails, I can only go so fast because they're very curvy & have lots of people & kiddies on them. There are certain parts of the island where you're not allowed on the road.

Anyway, here are the questions:

1. Is that a decent starting speed? I feel like I'm exerting myself, but not breathing overly heavily. It's very hot & humid here. I'm doing early morning rides. Also, when I try to go as fast as I can, I can only get to 18.1 mph. I've been keeping the bike in 18th gear (I only know that because someone told me what gear it was in) -- it seems to be light to medium resistance.

2. When I bought the bike the guys were nice at the shop & tried to explain some things to me, however, I've never owned a bicycle with 27 gears! I've just been mainly leaving the bike in one gear because it's totally flat here & when I was just practice riding it the first day, I could only figure out how to make it change gears about 2 clicks each way on each gear changer.

LOL, I know that may sound funny to the experienced rider, but I wasn't born knowing how to operate bike gears. I click the gear on the right handle to descrease resistance & it will only go about 2 clicks. Same goes for all the others.

3. I bought a cycling book I've been reading "The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling" that says you should be able to do minor repairs to your bike, take the tools with (i.e., change the tire tube, etc.). Do bicycle shops offer clinics to teach you how to do these things? Where do you learn?

4. I haven't purchased cycling shoes yet. I didn't feel comfortable enough to be clipped into my bicycle yet. LOL Do you guys recommend them?

Thanks for your help! I'm feeling much more comfortable on my bike than I did on Day 1 (2 weeks ago) but I still have to stop completely to get my water bottle from it's holder & have some Gatorade. LOL When you guys were beginners was that a scary proposition to you?

I'm planning on joining a cycling club next week when I get home & I've noticed they offer easy rides (i.e. 11 - 14mph) on the weekends. Hopefully, that will get me on my way.

Geonz

Join the cycling club -- that's the best way to learn all that stuff about tools and fixing things. HOWEVER you're joining late in the summer. Be warned that most rides advertised at one speed, have gotten a lot faster. Experienced cyclists will -- without meaning to (usually) -- LIE THROUGH THEIR TEETH about how fast they are going to go and that they won't drop anybody, they swear. Don't write off the club if it happens on your first ride. .. your best defense is to find the other people who are annoyed at always being dropped, and do your best to try to remember where you came from when you get faster and stronger! See if there's a REALLY REALLY beginner-type ride to get to know the people who will support you, and find out when they are riding.
Different people are different. I ride a lot with my club and have watched people join & get better and boy, is there variation. So your first rule should be, if it feels right, it probably is, especially if you're in shape. Things like how much you lose "shape" how quickly don't change between running and biking.
I averaged 14.1 mph on my first century (in my 4th year biking), in sneakers, thank you. However, I rode that century pretty much by myself since most folks going that far were going a lot faster.
Are you training for a certain century or just one in general?
THere's also lots of difference in that general coordination thing. I had to practice with the water bottle stuff, and when I got faster I got a CamelBak mainly so I didn't have to lean down. And then there are pacelines. Most folks at the century level of fitness are also at the paceline level of skills (and have cycling shoes). I brought down a paceline in a crashing mass behind me early on that sort of tainted my experience in that department, so I prefer drafting with people I"ve put a *lot* of miles riding with.
Again, this time of year it can be hard to jump on board -- but look for the folks on the hybrids or with the toe clips (I do have those -- and when they wear out people give me the ones they gave up for their shoes :-) ) .
The people I like riding best with are retired. They're not trying to prove anything. Seek out that type and keep trying 'til you find out when they're riding. And if the club is all WOnderJocks -- *don't* believe 'em when they say the only way to get better is to ride 'til you puke and that being dropped in themiddle of nowhere is just part of the process of getting good. It doesn't have to be. You can do what you're doing -- pace yourself, push as hard as you feel comfortable, and get stronger at your own pace. I did that century when I was 40, and the next summer did a double metric (126 miles) averaging 16.9, still in those same sneakers.
Oh, and on-road repairs -- I still abdicate to the experts when I can, use the cell phone and do 'em at home when I can. I did practice changing tires on the back porch -- but I still read the directions on the box and I have an amazing knack for assembling things wrong.
WHere's home, and what century are you aiming at?

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Sioux Geonz, webmastress
http://www.resourceroom.net

hibiscus09

Thanks Geonz!

The people I like riding best with are retired.

I always like these kind of people better whatever I try to do. They're not out to prove anything & they know what's important in life.

I'm from Columbia, South Carolina. I was shooting for this century:

http://www.carolinacyclers.org/okra.html

Irmo is only 20 minutes or so from Columbia.

The cycling club I'm looking at is:

http://www.carolinacyclers.org/index.htm


Thanks again for your advice!

Geonz

I spent most of a school year in Columbia (lived in W Cola) and did a single club ride -- supposed to be 14-16 and the ride leader averaged 16.1 with me doing my dangest to hang on, listening to him speculate why he jsut couldn't seem to get his speed up any more as his big old jacket parachuted around him. I didn't tell him, figuring that would be the last I saw of 'em and my sense of direction isn't that good. (I did a lot more riding with the Electric City Cyclers because I have a friend in Easley.)
A century is a *BIG* jump for starting -- don't be abashed if you end up doing the metric. The metric at the Peanut Ride was my "long ride of the season" for the first three-four years of my cycling life.

__________________
Sioux Geonz, webmastress
http://www.resourceroom.net

hibiscus09

What's the metric -- what distance?

My sister lives in Easley. I'm going to ride with another of my sisters, so if they leave us at least we'll stay together. LOL

Geonz

It's hillier up there, too.
Go for it!
I'm always recommending that people go to a ride with somebody who'll stay with them. It's also easier for the leader to see they're dropping somebody if it's more than one somebody when there are actually people who care about that kind of thing. (I don't mind at all when they don't -- as long as they don't proclaim otherwise. Flaming hypocrisy always galls me. Saying "nobody will be dropped" on the grounds that anybody that can't keep up must, by definition, be a real Nobody, is cheesy, but too frequent.)