Biking

[Kneo]

Anyone else into biking? My wife and and I just got bikes and are having a blast taking rides. This morning we took a 5 mile ride and plan to increase our distance with each ride?

So who else rides? Any tips for some beginners?

[Fordman4ever]

I'm getting a bike as soon as we get into our new house. Its a great workout and a great way to clear your mind. Probably just gonna buy a road bike off of craigslist or walmart.

[hammondc]

I do a good bit of trail riding. What kind of bike did you get?

[Kneo]

We just got some walmart bikes to start off with. If we stick with it we will upgrade. We put our daughters in a trailer. We are going to get my 6 year old a tag along soon

[AlohaStyle]

I do some riding... although I'm a total newbie. I bought my first road bike in February as I signed up for the 42-mile road bike leg of the Ski-to-Sea race in Bellingham, WA on Memorial Day weekend. This year was the 100th anniversary of this race that starts up on the mountain with cross country skiing, then downhill skiing, 8-mile downhill run, them my 42-mile road bike race, then canoe down the river, then mountain bike course finishing up with a kayak leg in the bay. Wow, was the race fun! I didn't realize how steep downhill my leg would be... I topped out at 45 mph screaming down the mountain!

I have family members who are into biking and I've always wanted to join but never made the plunge until now. If you plan to bike regularly, I would really recommend getting a nicer bike as it really makes a world of difference. Make sure you have a comfortable seat and the bike fits you well... everyone is different and bikes fit differently. You won't enjoy it if you're not comfortable. Oh, and get a diaper! okay, that's just what I called it, but padded shorts make a world of difference too!

[Zeuceone]

Just ordered my fixed gear bike from the local bicycle shop in town. I'm going to try to and ride to work at least 3 times a week.

[Ranger_B]

I am waiting on delivery and then I will be able to start biking again. Never been too into it but this time I hope to. I found some good apps for the Iphone and am looking forward to a long summer of riding. Any tips you find helpful I would love to hear.

[Kneo]

Originally Posted by Ranger_B

I am waiting on delivery and then I will be able to start biking again. Never been too into it but this time I hope to. I found some good apps for the Iphone and am looking forward to a long summer of riding. Any tips you find helpful I would love to hear.

We downloaded a couple apps that work very good. I am looking at some handlebar mounts that will hold the iPhone 4. The apps we downloaded are called mapmyride+ and cyclemeter. I think I like cyclemeter better, but going to use both a couple more times

[GreekGodX]

I'm thinking about riding my bike to work as it's at most a mile away. Otherwise I just take my dog out occasionally on the bike.

[jesseboston81]

I used to cycle heavily, both recreational road cycling and commuting (8 miles each way). However, the time pressures of the last year of law school and studying for the bar have kept me down for the last year or so--I hope to get back into it in August. I love cycling, and it helped me get through some really stressful and difficult times in my life. In fact, a few years ago I got this to commemorate my love of cycling:

[Kneo]

Originally Posted by jesseboston81

I used to cycle heavily, both recreational road cycling and commuting (8 miles each way). However, the time pressures of the last year of law school and studying for the bar have kept me down for the last year or so--I hope to get back into it in August. I love cycling, and it helped me get through some really stressful and difficult times in my life. In fact, a few years ago I got this to commemorate my love of cycling:

Nice ink. I need to find the tattoo thread. I have added some new tats since I was last on here

[thebayratt]

Thats a cool 'tat!

Me and a buddy do a fair amount of trail riding. There is one place thats about 30mins away that has some nice trails and we usually get in 20+ miles in the park. Then on the other side of the area there is a hospital that has some woods and trails on the property. Even though they aren't very long, the trails have a few hills that you can get some good speed on and have to have some suspension to make it down.
We ride Trek mountain bikes. He has a few road bikes, Felt, Specialized etc...

[AlohaStyle]

A good thing for route planning is simply Google Maps. Instead of using driving directions, you can click on the bicycle symbol above the address bars and they will suggest bike routes for where you want to go. It's very easy to change the line of the route if you want to make any modifications too.

I just used it today for a nice 40-mile ride. My wife's friend was throwing a bbq and I decided to bike there 40 miles while my wife drove.

[cobra03]

I love to ride. I actually just finished a week long bike patrol school last friday. Now i get to combine work and bike ridding. i can't complain.

[imthegoal]

I love cycling as well. I ride between 50-100 miles a week. I just got myself a new Trek Madone carbon ride bike as a gift to myself for finishing my recent deployment to Afghanistan.

[Blak Smyth]

I have a mountain bike and use to try some extreme downhill, but now I just use it to ride to the lake. From my house the lake it less than a mile away. This weekend me and a friend rode to the lake to go fishing, drink beers and smoke some cigars. Good time. There is a 30 mile trail that surrounds the lake, I've only gone about 6 miles though. We have a bad problem with ticks here, keeps me from going out to much. I HATE ticks.

He he...I wouldn't call myself a cyclist, but due to doing triathlons, I have to spend some time in the saddle.

Just this past Saturday, I did a group ride over the course I'm going to do my next race on. Got a little off course and added a little over a mile to the final tally (57.3 miles). LOL

As I've gotten more into it, I've made improvements to my bike. Clip in pedals, aero bars, a new (MUCH more comfortable saddle), and a cyclocomputer, to name a few. Comfort is key, IMO. If you can't get it set up comfortably, you're not going to get out of it what you need, in order to keep going.

My setup at my last tri:


...and this is the saddle under my jersey:

[Blak Smyth]

Does that jersey have a redskins logo on it?

[Noodles]

I started late this year. I ride 2 to 3 times a week. MUP with my wife, road with my club. I usually do between 100 to 150 miles a week.

[E.J.]

LOVE getting out on the bike....doesn't matter, road(Madone 5.2) or dirt(BLT)...





Here is a post from an EPIC ride we did last year around the White Rim Trail...

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...426#post861426


As far as tips.....RIDE, RIDE, RIDE....and wear a helmet...