Absolute beginner needing advice

Specific board for this popular undertaking.
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Absolute beginner needing advice

Post by thirdcrank »

aneledrazzit wrote: ...
Bike has been purchased, was looking forward to testing it out but it's been thunder and lightning since it arrived!!! Maybe its a sign hahaha. ...


One to log in the diary I suggested starting. :wink:
Bonefishblues
Posts: 11010
Joined: 7 Jul 2014, 9:45pm
Location: Near Bicester Oxon

Re: Absolute beginner needing advice

Post by Bonefishblues »

thirdcrank wrote:
aneledrazzit wrote: ...
Bike has been purchased, was looking forward to testing it out but it's been thunder and lightning since it arrived!!! Maybe its a sign hahaha. ...


One to log in the diary I suggested starting. :wink:

Nothing to stop pictures being taken though!
spen666
Posts: 58
Joined: 23 Apr 2009, 10:54pm

Re: Absolute beginner needing advice

Post by spen666 »

aneledrazzit wrote:....

Bike has been purchased, was looking forward to testing it out but it's been thunder and lightning since it arrived!!! ...



Need to get out in that, because you will be lucky not to experience at least one during your ride
boink
Posts: 589
Joined: 3 Aug 2007, 4:25pm
Location: Stone, Staffs

Re: Absolute beginner needing advice

Post by boink »

Need to get out in that, because you will be lucky not to experience at least one during your ride


That's made me laugh. Got the soaking of my life in Devon, day 2 of my lejog. Got so wet that at one point we stopped at a little chef and tried to ring out socks and T shirts then put them under a hand dryer. Tiny video clip here gives an idea of just how wet it was. Hours of it..in August!

http://blazingpedals.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-08-05T00:21:00-07:00
jgurney
Posts: 1212
Joined: 10 May 2009, 8:34am

Re: Absolute beginner needing advice

Post by jgurney »

boink wrote:
Need to get out in that, because you will be lucky not to experience at least one during your ride

That's made me laugh. Got the soaking of my life in Devon, day 2 of my lejog. Got so wet that at one point we stopped at a little chef and tried to ring out socks and T shirts then put them under a hand dryer.

:lol: I remember doing that in the hand dryer in the gents at High Wycombe bus station after getting caught in a downpour.
boink
Posts: 589
Joined: 3 Aug 2007, 4:25pm
Location: Stone, Staffs

Re: Absolute beginner needing advice

Post by boink »

Had same on a nice hot day in France some years later, quite refreshing..but when you've got a couple of hrs or more to do on a miserable day in the UK - or your setting off in it, knowing it's going to be raining all day - it's character forming!

Panniers got soaked inside. Lejogers nowadays don't know they're born with these new plastic banknotes.
bluelagos
Posts: 64
Joined: 22 Apr 2020, 5:43am

Re: Absolute beginner needing advice

Post by bluelagos »

aneledrazzit wrote:I'm not doing it soon. I'm thinking maybe next year. It gives me time to train so by then I wouldn't be "inexperienced." I understand that it is a crazy thing to want to do, but I want to do it for my friend.


Sounds were you are where I was 4 months ago.

Am upto 70 milers now and hoping to go in Sept.

Some tips from a beginner to someone 70% ready to go:

1. Find a riding buddy who knows what they are doing.
2. Build a base fitness. I started on 10 milers, then 15, 25, 40. Only attempted the higher ones when the lower ones became second nature.
3. As you build, you will work out about your stamina, bike fit, kit, fueling - all important as they can stop you riding if you get them wrong.
4. Lots of riding time and lots of rest time. Dont over train but you need to train. I think 2 or 3 days on the road with a day off - it worked for me.
5. You can do it on anything as it isnt a race. I started on a mtb but switched to a road bike. My Lejog is supported so wont need to carry much. If theres a few of you, maybe you can have support cars as am sure a few partners may be happy in support roles? Makes it much easier if you have a support vehicle.
6. The biking community are a nice bunch, always happy to offer advice/tips - which you'll need!

Good luck, if you can ride round the block you can ride anywhere. Just might take a bit longer...
denniswpearce
Posts: 36
Joined: 31 Dec 2014, 10:56am

Re: Absolute beginner needing advice

Post by denniswpearce »

You might want to think about a supported ride, mentioned in some posts.
I used Great-bear-tours, it’s organised by Karl. He is brilliant, books all the accommodation, takes your bags each day so that all you do is ride. I believe he does a 10 day ride and a 12 day ride. I did the 12 day with a day at each end.
Worth considering
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Absolute beginner needing advice

Post by thirdcrank »

Bearing in mind that this is often a good time of year for cycling, particularly because of the long hours of daylight, it's worth thinking about cycle touring in bad weather. Any sort of schedule, imposed by things like booked accommodation or a fixed date for a return to work will often dictate riding in the prevailing conditions, rather than sitting it out.

I'm sitting in Leeds and it's pouring down. Over the last few days we've had everything including a hailstorm when the BBC reported hailstones the size of £2 coins. I didn't measure any but it sounded as though stones were being thrown at our windows. (I've only seen hail worse once, and that was in France in 1964 when the local papers had pictures of birds which had been killed by hailstones.)

There's plenty of excellent weather in our temperate climate, of course, and many forum members take wind and rain in their stride. Others don't.

My point is that you really need to think about how you would feel / cope if the weather was bad during your ride. With a group, you need to know that about everybody.
Aleks
Posts: 5
Joined: 24 Jun 2020, 12:39pm

Re: Absolute beginner needing advice

Post by Aleks »

Remember - there is no training regime that is cast in stone that you need to use.

Get out on your bike as regularly as possible and you will start to feel your strength increase in terms of distance and repetition (i.e being in the saddle on consecutive days).

10 miles a day, easily turns to 25 miles a day and so on...

No one can tell you what is right - as it as to be right for you.

In the words of our erstwhile leader - 'Ride, Ride and Ride'..... And just enjoy it !


Aleks
Pwo
Posts: 3
Joined: 29 Oct 2020, 9:30am

Re: Absolute beginner needing advice

Post by Pwo »

As everyone has said above really. Type of bike is largely irrelevant provided you're comfortable on it. We passed one guy doing in on a uni cycle (don't know if he did it). I did it on a secondhand giant OCR which only cost me £300. I was fortunate to be in a small group of pals so the company and support was excellent apart from the banter!! We did 1098 miles in 10 days staying in B&Bs with a slight detour to the western isles. Training wasn't really an issue for us as we all rode plus 50 miles per day routinely so upping the distance didn't take too long. Build up your fitness and endurance slowly and don't avoid the rubbishy weather because when you do the ride you're committed regardless. Don't go for a padded saddle. Your undercarriage won't speak to you for a long time afterwards. Don't confuse hair gel with chamois cream.... I did.... You try cycling with spikey pubes. Mind you my wife said I had a brilliant parting when she stopped laughing. My son who owned the gel thought it disgusting (no humour especially as I'm bald).
We also had a bit of a competition amongst us where each of us did the route planning for a specific section, navigation and organised the B&Bs with prizes for best B&B of the trip etc etc and booby prizes for worst etc etc.
If you're planning for next year then you have time to get road fit. How you organise the trip will important. There are companies which will do the lot for you (at a cost).
Good luck to you hope next year allows you to have a go.
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TrevA
Posts: 3551
Joined: 1 Jun 2007, 9:12pm
Location: Nottingham

Re: Absolute beginner needing advice

Post by TrevA »

My wife was a beginner cyclist when we rode JOGLE in 2009, she had been riding for just over a year and, apart from a sore knee, managed fine. The advice I would give would be to ride your bike as much as you can, building up to back to back 50-60 mile rides over a weekend. For the ride itself, I would say take your time, don’t be too ambitious and try to rush it. We did it over 18 riding days and averaged about 60 miles a day, less on hilly days.
Sherwood CC and Notts CTC.
A cart horse trapped in the body of a man.
http://www.jogler2009.blogspot.com
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