Todd's Tri Turtles 2 (Beginner, Sprint, 5K, 10 K) - Closed (Page 2)

I'm picking up my new (and 1st) road bike today! I bought a Specialized Dolace Elite Compact 2013: http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/road/dolce/dolce-elite-compa...

It's my first time with a road bike (have always rode a commuter or a mountian bikes). Anyone have any beginner tips?


Edited by Just_Kelly 2013-12-30 11:40 AM

I love Specialized! My first (and only roadbike) is a Specialized Ruby, just rides so nice.

What type of tips are you looking for? It will definately feel a little unusual at first and maybe even unbalanced as opposed to the mountain bike, but you'll come to love it and want to ride it everywhere. Did you get clip-on peddles, brackets or flats?

Welcome to the group and thank you for your service as well. I know what you mean about the running and doing so with others who always think it is a race. Enjoy the sport for your self and what you get out of it. I assure you that you will have a positive place here, with like minded people. You also proved that nothing fancy is necessary to participate in this sport, but most triathletes love their toys and gadgets.

Vicki, welcome to the Turtles and back to pursuing you goal of completing a Triathlon, but no one can fault you for helping to care for a family member. I imagine after a tramtic situation like that, that everything looks just a little more precious now. We will get you to your goal

Dayra, welcome to the group and a whole new set of friends. I applaud you for chosing to stay heatlh and positive even though you have been thrown some curve balls. Stay positive and don't let others bring you down, but it sounds like you already got that. Also don't blame your swim coach because she probably saw Sharknado and is now terrified of them and Tara Reid

Michael, welcome to the group and a path to a healthier lifestyle and self. Don't worry about your speed or distance with anything at this point other than starting a healthy routine and staying with it. I'm not a Doctor but I do have two bulging disk in my lower back, which have caused me problems, but triathlon training and exercise has actually helped it. When you build more muscle, lose weight, and build a stronger core your back will get strong and benefit.

Stacey, welcome to the group and a new you. Having a group around you that is active and into the sport is great, but don't try to put yourself by them. What I mean is that you should only measure yourself by you, not what others can do. We will discuss the training options when the group starts in a week.

Paul welcome to the group and back at it. You can also get to Kona through the Lottery System, so it's not only by qualification. (There is also the EBay slots but they sell for over 25K. Sounds to me that your hardest thing is doing things in moderation to lesson your chance of injury. I think that some time a person like yourself who has competed at a high level has a harder time "just being" so to say. Triathlon is a great sport to just be yourself and be happy with your time and your accomplishment. I look forward to you sharing some of your experiences and again welcome.

Jo, welcome to the Turtles. You have experiences that you can share withg group and a knowledge to know that there is still some to learn. Congrats on the Olympic, you may have been dead last but you did it and now you have a time to shoot for. You seem to have a lifesytle thought about triathlon, which is what this sport and being active is all about in my mind as we all get older.

Welcome, Graham it's funny how sometimes just getting out of our own way makes all the difference in the world. It took me a while to realize that plans are a good thing, but I also realized that I have to mold them to match my schedule and what I'm trying to do. I will be there to encourage and motivate you.

Of Course you can Tracey. I will tell this group that Tracy is one of several from the last group that you can look to for how to make everything work. This lady handles several kids (all very active), family activites, and still manages to get in her workouts and participate in events.

Brian welcome to the group and a new adventure for you and the wife. I can tell you in the simpliest of terms that swimming leads to faster times in and of itself. That said you will reach a certain time, at which time you will see little improvement without technique corrections. You will get it all figured out.

Bobick, welcome to the group and away from the computer (seems odd saying that knowing this is an internet forum ) I have heard good things about CBI and can tell you that there is a good one in Conroe in March that is geared towards first times, but all are welcome. I live in the Brenham area, so who knows you and I could maybe even get together for a ride during this journey.

Welcome to the group Tweets and Triathlon. Don't think that working out is ever a waste because your body benefits, but I know what you mean. It is always more fun and easier to work out when you are working towards something. Don't worry about the swim thing, it will come. Go to the classes, learn, practice and you will be fine. To many people go to swim lessons or masters classes and get discouraged or compare themselves to others and stop going. Just do what you can and you will improve. I understand what you are talking about with your boyfriend as my wife was very similar. She did not understand everything and was not someone I could speak to about it. The only thing that helped is that she wanted me to quit smoking and it was keeping me smoke free so she bit her tongue. I did as you are doing and used BT to speak with like minded people. I can tell you that know after four years my wife is more understanding of my workouts and love of this sport. Sometimes I wonder if she was afraid that I was going to change and stray, which may be a part of your boyfriends uncertainty (us guys get jealous). Maybe you can join on us that bike ride this year.

Kelly welcome to the group and thanks for referring to me as an Adult You sound like you are reallty on a good path and know what you want and need to do. We will be here for you and are glad you will be here for us.

Woohoo, what an exciting day and you can never go wrong with a Specialized Bike.

My beginner tip is Time In The Saddle (you will see people post this on BT as T.I.T.S.). Your butt will need to get use to being on the bike for longer periods of time. You will also gain confidence and bike handling skills during this time. Get yourself a good pair of bike shorts or tri shorts for riding. If you got clipless pedals, the two tips I will give you there is practice clipping in and out while on the trainer if you have one, or go to a large parking lot or area and just practice clipping in and starting and then clipping out and stopping.

Edited by Hunting Triathlete 2013-12-30 9:11 PM

I really think that we have a great group forming here and will leave it open for a few more people. We will kick everything off Offically on January 7, 2014, but I will continue to post and respond leading to that day, but have set the 7th due to being out of town again this weekend. I hope that everyone is looking as forward to this group as I am.

Any tips really!

What type of peddles should I start out with?

How do I meet bikers who are newbie friendly to teach me skills IRL?

What length rides are appropriate for a beginner?

Alright, Kelly's bike purchase got me to thinking about something fun that some might not know of on BT.

When you get a new or new to you bike, it does not exist in reality until you post a picture of it. When you post a picture of your bike it is referred to as Bike Porn and there is no such thing as bad bike porn. You also have to name you bike or it will become angered.

I will start things off as an example, this is "Lucille". She is a little flashy with her Lime Green Turtle Tape and Tires, but when you're slow you got to make sure you look good when you go by people becuase they see you for longer





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Is it the Conroe YMCA tri?

1. There are three types basically. First is the stardard pedal that you rode on as kid. Second there are pedals with cages on them (basical pedal with a cage area that the toe area of your shoe slides into, which helps with pedal efficency). Third are the Clipless pedals - these are the pedals that are small that you must purchase a cycling shoe for that has a clip attached to it that locks into the pedal itself. The clipless pedals you have to click in and out of, but they provide you with the most effective pedal stroke because you get the benefit of the upstroke on the pedal because you are a part of the pedal. Some people do not feel comfortable with them because of being locked in, which is why I said what I did in the other post about practicing.

2. The best way to meet other bikers is to find a cycling group in your area or the sign up for some of the charity or group rides. The organized group rides are usally around $30 and are supported and have good cyclist, who you can watch and learn from. This question is also what I meant above by time in the saddle, the more you ride the more comfortable you will become and the more skilled you will be. Some of my best handling skills were learned when I left the road by accident in clipless pedals and did not end up on the ground.

3. The length of the ride is dependant on your skill and comfort level. Cycling does not have the same wear on the body that running does so you can go quit a while if you are going at a nice steady pace. I can tell you that when I started, I would talk thirthy minute rides and then worked my way up as I felt more comfortable. There is not set starting distance because everyone is different. I can tell you that I did a 50 mile group ride after only having my bike for 75 miles, but I paid for it and the last 16 miles were miserable.

I hope these better answered your questions.

Yes sir, I believe it is call TRI 4 FUN (not a ton of people so makes it less intimidating)

I started out on the pedals that have a cage over the toe. I was too scared to jump straight into the clips so the cage offered a happy medium as i got use to having my foot slightly contained. I'd get use to your bike first and how it handles before getting clips.That said though, clips will change your life! They give you access to all those beautiful calf muscles to use in your pedal and definately increase your speed.

When I first brought my road bike I enrolled in a beginners cycle course, best move ever. They taught me about everything, bike maintenance, riding in traffic, riding with groups, how to look over your shoulder and not sway into traffic. It was a 6-week course that ran every Sat morn. Might be worth googling to see if there is anything similar in your area.

There's plenty of social cycle clubs around too, always a great place to meet new people and get into the habit of riding regularly.

NAME: Sarah

STORY: I am 33, have never ridden a bike, don't swim, have done a few 5km fun runs and 2014 is my year to challenge myself and get into triathlons.

FAMILY STATUS: I have been married for 11 years in jan 2014

CURRENT TRAINING: I am a PT so strength train regularly. My husband bought me a carbon specialized road bike and I am learning to ride. So I am trying to get about 10km in per day. I am starting to train with tri alliance here in Queensland in jan where I will learn to swim.

2013 RACES: nil

2014 RACES: first tri will be 8th feb at Bribie Tri

WHAT YOU WANT TO GET OUT OF THIS GROUP: to be in a group of like minded people where I can ask all the questions and also be inspired by everyone's stories.

Sarah, welcome to the group and what an awesome husband you have to support you and buy you a bike like that starting out. How long of a bike and swim do you have to do for your Tri on Feb. 8th. Is the swim a pool swim or open water. How technical is the bike route for the Tri. I ask these questions because you said you are just learning to ride and swim and you are about 40 days out from your Tri. I am all in for challenging yourself but it has to be done safely. The biggest thing is that you know that you can do this distances in both the swim and bike before doing the Triathlon. I have not said anything about the run because once a person gets to that point they can walk or crawl to the finish line if worse came to worse. Welcome to the group and Triathlon.