The FastDay Forum

Because of plantar fasciitis I cannot run anymore. So I bought a used road bike over Christmas! I have been out for two long rides already. I am really enjoying it!

Are there any other cyclists here?

I love cycling, but I also love walking, so I haven't been out on my bike for months. I have an electric bike, where I can switch pedal assistance on or off as the terrain gets tougher or easier, so I still get a workout, but can travel much further than my bike-fitness will take me. Look forward to getting out when the weather is less wet and windy.

I haven't been out on my bike since getting a dog. I can't dog walk at the moment as I have recently had an ACL repair. My exercise bike should arrive tomorrow (this will help me regain my mobility) does that count OH is a serious road biker, cycles Mount Ventoux every year.

No biking as a sport, but biking to work when the weather is not too bad (20 mins) and some recreational biking in summer. So yes, I consider myself a cyclist

I commute daily to work and to the local shops but none take me more than 15 minutes. I've always done it (I am Dutch) but have never done any longer rides.

I am hoping to start commuting by bike as well. I had to sort out lights because it is dark on my way home these days. My workplace is on top of a really big hill, so I will get a good workout going in. TBH, though, what really scares me is going downhill. The steepest part dumps straight into a highway! I might take a long way back home just to have shallower hills!

Something I've really noticed already is that I can get a really good workout by cycling, judging by how tired and I am afterward, but it feels so different from the exhaustion I experience after running. My aches after cycling have nothing to do with impact. It's making me realize how hard running is on my joints!

A break from running might be good; beating PF can take a while.

(And how's the - "Ouch!" - seat working out?

If tired/sore you're likely pedaling too slow. Both methods of locomotion are complementary to each other training-wise. Both benefit from high cadence/step rate. 100-120 or more on the bike, 180 steps or more running. The higher rates reduce effort by emphasising lungs over muscle (aerobic over anerobic effort), while reducing strain on joints.

My 27-speed road bike has been hanging from the garage ceiling for 4 years now. I discovered that a stationary bike doesn't require a helmet, gloves, weather gear, nor frequent flat fixes, chain oiling, dodging traffic, or annual gear cluster and twice a year chain replacement. The scenery doesn't compare however, unless the Discovery channel is on! Be safe!

Yeah, the traffic thing does require constant alertness. I think part of my exhaustion at the end of a ride is mental.

So far the seat isn't too bad. When I injured my tailbone before (if that's what you are remembering), it was on an upright exercise bike. There doesn't seem to be any pressure on my tailbone on a road bike since I am leaning over so far. I have had some shoulder soreness, though. My handlebars may need adjusting, or it may just be keeping my head up the whole time will take some getting used to.

FWIW:
Keeping the head up definitely kinks the neck muscles (takes a while) even when things are set right.

Seat height is very important. To set it, pedal (temporarily) with your heels over the center of the pedal. If you feel your hip bones pivot up and down it's too high. Lower the seat 2cm at a time until they stop moving. At the bottom of the stroke you should not be on your toes. (Think about the flat foot motion of scraping mud off the bottom of your shoe.) And if the seat is too low you'll definitely feel the completely unnecessary extra effort in your knees especially up hills. Raise the seat 2cm at a time. Legs should be straightened but knees should never lock at full extension downward. (We exert the most pressure with our legs when they are almost completely straight.)

With pedals held at the 3 o-clock/9 o-clock position, the ball of your front foot should be directly below your knee. Adjust the seat front-to-back to set this. Finally handle bar height is mostly set for comfort. You may need to raise them if you experience uncomfortable pressure or numbness across the palms of your hands. Sometimes an extension is needed for this.

If you have neck soreness you might have your shoulders up too high. Try to relax, lower your shoulders, and enjoy the cycling itself. Once you get used to the traffic relaxing might become easier.

I've just got a road bike after having a hybrid for pottering about, I may give triathlon another try if it works out. I'm going to go for early morning weekend training rides rather commuting once I'm used to it.

I bought a posh hybrid a couple of years ago - carbon frame and super light - after the physio told me to stop running to save my hips a bit longer. It is currently indoors on a turbo device to help rehabilitate the newly-resurfaced left hip, although if the weather was better I reckon I could justify going out on the road again. Taking care to only fall on my right side, of course. Have been doing 30 - 40 minutes on the turbo but it is surprisingly tedious as well as hot and sweaty.

Outdoors, I tend to cycle hard around 14 - 21 mile local loops for exercise or go out with my mate Chip, who also has a new hip, for 30 - 40 mile longer rides which always involve a cafe stop. Chip is currently out of action due to falling on a frosty bend and breaking his collarbone..

I am an avid cyclist, too. Indoors and outdoors. Used to do 12 km a day regularly. (Started 12 years ago when I quit smoking.) Since I have started FDs it is much more. Often I do 50 km a day (mixed on my exercise bike and outside. I just have so much more energy and the (intrinsic) need to move.

While I was working at an office 6 km from my home I walked there in the morning (walking my bike). Took me about an hour. Back I rode my bike. That felt good. The job is history. I would do that again, it was a good daily exercise and the route was through a nice park mostly.

I can not jog on normal ground (knees). I started jogging on my trampoline, though. That works very well for me. The swinging also triggers good mood.

I LOVE cycling but unfortunately I live on a mountain and it is not safe, nor easy, to cycle around here. Serious cyclists train here and the motorists hate them!!! So to cycle I have to put the bike on the car and go elsewhere - which rarely happens.

We do have a bike rack on the caravan, so recently the cycling I have done is around towns that we visit. It's a great way to do the grocery shopping there too.

25 years ago or so I didn't have a car and my bicycle was my main form of transport, combined with the train when travelling further afield. I cycled to work, to do shopping, to visit friends, to the theatre, to other social activities, any time of day or night. Took a change of clothes in the pannier as necessary. My longest regular journey was around 25km, but I also did a few of the 7-day Great Bike Rides. It was wonderful. And I was the fittest I have ever been.

Whenever I get on the bike, I feel so happy! I do have an exercise bike as well, but there is no comparison...

(Interesting, but not surprising, that this thread has brought the men out!!)

Time for a revival of this topic, as better times in terms of weather should be approaching (currently it is officially spring out here, but the temperature is 1.9 C. and we are having lots of snow ). Who is still active in cycling or has plans to do so in the near future?