Well, I finally made the commitment to join this club..

[il Padrino Ute]

and purchased a road bike. My reason for doing so is to get back into shape and not do any kind of serious cycling - not yet anyway. Perhaps I may catch the bug and try one of the rides you folks post about, but that won't be for quite some time.

This is the bike I've purchased: http://www.bianchiusa.com/06_strada.html

I have no idea if any of the parts of the bike are quality or what is best for what I need to do, etc. I made the purchase based on price and price alone. The cheapskate in me will almost always win. Feel free to post your comments and thoughts about that particular model bike.

Also, if you folks could give me a good entry-level riding distance, I'd much appreciate it. I don't want my ego to give me the idea that I could ride a greater distance than I really can or should at first.

[Archaea]

Looks like a good entry bike.

Distance is a question of your time, fitness and muscular fatigue.

However, when I first started in earnest two years ago, I started with distances between 10 and 20, and worked up from there.

Distance is also a question of terrain. Hills or mountains will not be the same as flats. If you go up into the canyons, you will receive a better workout faster.

You should purchase one of the Chris Carmichael, Lance's coach, to learn about bike parts, rules of the road, and basic training techniques.

[bluegoose]

Its about time IPU. It only took you 6 months to finally bite the bullet and go for it too. :wink:

I think its a good entry level bike. Interesting choice of handlebars. Is there a reason you went with those rather than the traditional drop-down bars? The components on that bike will serve you well and will take you pretty much anywhere you want to go. Wise move in choosing to go with the triple chainring in the front, especially considering your history of knee problems. It will help immensely on the hills.

Archaeas advice is sound for a good starting distance. I've taken guys out for "first rides" and 18 miles was about all they could handle. The old back side and the neck are often the first things to go. My first ride after taking several years off the bike was about 20 miles and I came near unto puking just over half way through.

Stick with low miles, less than 20-25, on mostly flat terrain, until you have a solid base of miles. Then you can gradually increase the mileage if you choose. No more than a 10-15% increase in miles per week is usually recommended.

Have fun. Hopefully the Utah weather is better than this crappy stuff we're having in California.

[il Padrino Ute]

The single biggest factor for the purchase of that bike was the price; however, I did a quick little test ride on a few models and the position of those particular handlebars just felt more comfortable for me.

I appreciate the comments from you and Archaea. I'm going to take it out tomorrow for a ride of about 15 miles - I figured that would be a pretty good start.

The weather here has been interesting - it snowed yesterday and today is perfect. Hopefully it will be nice tomorrow, but I'll still ride if it's not good. I need to do it no matter what so I actually use the bike for the reason I bought it.

[MikeWaters]

I did a 100k rally the week after I bought my bike.

I didn't even have cycling shoes or cycling shorts.

Big mistake.

Iliotibial tendonitis for a month or two after that kept me off the bike. But I finished.

[SteelBlue]

I did a 100k rally the week after I bought my bike.

I didn't even have cycling shoes or cycling shorts.

Big mistake.

Iliotibial tendonitis for a month or two after that kept me off the bike. But I finished.

I did my first 2 centuries a week apart after having been riding about 3 months. Usually once a week. It cost me 2 months on the bike for the same reason. ITB syndrome is brutal.

[bluegoose]

I did a 100k rally the week after I bought my bike.

I didn't even have cycling shoes or cycling shorts.



Oh, the chafing!!!

My legs hurt just thinking about it.

A couple of years ago I took the YM on a 50 mile cycling campout. Despite a couple of test rides leading up to it and warnings to the contrary, 2 guys showed up wearing levis. Walking like a cowboy while passing the sacrament the next day.