One of those now

[paul]

That is what my daughter said to me when I showed her my new bike. I don't know where she picked that up. Anyway, I have just started getting into biking and looking forward to joining a club soon and learning all there is to know about this great sport that I have overlooked for quite some time!

[Zonda]

Welcome to the group!

[TimB]

Paul,
Welcome to the group. I am also a new 'one of those'. As a public service for you to defend your sanity, I will tell you that I too just bought a bike, and I am still on crutches :)

[Erica]

welcome to the group Paul :D when you lookin to start riding?

[paul]

Thanks for the welcome! I did my first 10 mile ride this past Saturday. Norwood to Six Forks to Durant to Brassfield to Raven Ridge to Possum Track and back up Six Forks to Norwood.
I saw several others bikers out that morning. I'm planning on a Beaufort, NC to Cedar Island trip the end of September - about 40 miles.

[skiffrun]

Thanks for the welcome! I did my first 10 mile ride this past Saturday. Norwood to Six Forks to Durant to Brassfield to Raven Ridge to Possum Track and back up Six Forks to Norwood. ... Assuming you live on or just off Norwood between Creedmoor & Six Forks (possibly Mt Vernon Church & Norwood), that's 3 pretty good hill climbs (Norwood the long way, Possum Track, Norwood the steep way) in 10 miles.My first ride on the road (on a ~ 28 lb. mtn bike with knobbly tires) was (essentially) from Falls of the Neuse on Honeycutt to Possum Track, over to Norwood, and then across Norwood to Creedmoor Rd, where I turned around at those gas stations; I "got" to do that Norwood stream valley crossing in both directions, back-to-back, with hardly any time to catch my breath. I had been doing 20, 25, and 29-mile rides on the greenways, but I thought that first 17.6 mile road ride on those hills was going to kill me. (Heck, with a much nicer bike now, there are some days that course would be enough to force the question: "why am I doing this?")For a flattish warm-up / cool-down, try Mt. Vernon Church Rd / Pleasant Union Church Rd from Norwood to Six Forks, and back. Round trip is 5 miles.

Also, to extend your ride without additional "killer" hills, try Norwood from Mt. Vernon Church Rd to Farless Rd (Leesville Rd), and back. That should be 7-8 miles round trip. There are short "bumps ups" on that section of Norwood, but no climbs.

If you ride at times that the traffic does not concern you, a ride you may enjoy would be to start as per the above paragraph, but continue on Leesville to Hickory Grove Rd, turn right to Carpenter Pond Rd, turn right to Mt Vernon Church Rd (note that Carpenter Pond merges with and becomes Old Creedmoor Rd about 1 mile before Mt VC Rd), turn right on Mt Vernon Church Rd to Norwood Rd (crossing NC-50/Creedmoor Rd en route). Warms you up with flattish stuff, and saves Mt VC Rd hill for last. (For a completely different experience, ride the just described in the reverse direction.)

Finally, I recommend NOT riding down the hill on Old Creedmoor from Norwood to Shooting Club. Don't recommend riding up it either. There is NO room to manouver on that stretch of road. And if you are not "ready" for it, the speed down that hill can be a bit more than thrilling - even without the uncaring auto traffic.

[FenderFreek]

So...what we're all really wondering is -

What kind of bike did you get?:D

[paul]

Ok, this is the true story: I was wanting to get more exercise and had been walking four miles several times a week. I tried jogging but I just wasn't up to the pounding. I had been considering getting a bike so without doing a lot of research I went to ****'s and bought a Quest comfort bike. This is a great bike for riding around Chatsworth, Raven Rock and Brassfield, which I do most every evening. It's about 5 miles with very steep hills and inclines. Following that first weekend, I was talking to a few guys at work that ride bikes and the trip to Cedar Island/Ocracoke came up and how road bikes perform, etc. That afternoon I headed down to Hillsborough St and bought a Raleigh USA Candent 1.0. This is the bike I rode the first 10 miles on. I really like the bike and I felt it was a good entry level to eventually upgrade.
Skiffrun, thanks for the routes. I was thinking rather than turning on Brassfiedl off Durrant I would continue on to Honeycutt. I haven't determined the mileage that would add. On my first ride mentioned in the previous post I left out I also road down and back up Bayleaf Church Road.

I'd also like to ask some advise. Should I get a saddle bag and what tools do I need to carry on the road, etc?

I'm also interested in joining a cycle club.

[skiffrun]

... Skiffrun, thanks for the routes. I was thinking rather than turning on Brassfiedl off Durrant I would continue on to Honeycutt. ...

I'd also like to ask some advise. Should I get a saddle bag and what tools do I need to carry on the road, etc?

I'm also interested in joining a cycle club.You are sort of already part of SlowSpokes, but they ride almost entirely down Cary, Apex, Garner, Clayton way. IMO, that's pretty far to drive for a regular ride when you have such fertile terrain outside your garage door. As you build some endurance & speed (?), the Gyros Sunday Beginner's Ride may appeal to you; but they're route is 37 hilly miles, and you are currently targetting a flat 40. You'll be ready for a flat 40 before you're ready for a hilly 37. The Gyros posted speed for the Beginner Ride is 14-16 mph (I think).

You may want to do a little research on how best to train for changing your metabolism, losing weight, increasing your strength. A slower, steady pace / heart-rate for longer distances encourages your body to change more quicly than doing fast, shorter distances. All aerobic riding helps.


No need to be in a hurry to add Honeycutt to your route. The hill from Durant up to Falls of the Neuse is tough (although my opin may be warped by fact that I've always done it at the end of a ride ... no, that hill is tough). Try the Norwood to Leesville ... MVC route first. Less hill per mile.


Go to the Trek Store, the Bicycle Chain, All-Star (pick one - they are all reasonably close to where you apparently live) or drive back down to Hillsborough St where you bought the bike tonight before you ride. Get a saddle bag immed. You need 1 spare tube, 1 set of rim tools, and a multi-allen wrench tool in that saddle bag on your bike BEFORE you ride again. You need those tools to allow you to change a flat & make minor adjustments to your saddle, tighten things, etc.. I didn't have the above when I started, but I should have. Other tools can wait.

I assume you purchased a floor pump with a pressure gauge built in. You should properly check the pressure and "top-up" your tires before every ride.

If you go to the store where you purchased the bike, they should be more than willing to help set you up with proper bag, rim tools, allen-wrench thingy, and more importantly, give you a lesson in changing a flat. After all, you just paid them a bunch of money & that is a major advantage of working with the same shop repeatedly - they help you & you purchase from them, etc.. Take your front wheel off the bike and take it with you for the lesson. If you are not comfortable removing the front wheel, take the bike with you and have them teach you, pronto. If the store where you purchased the bike does not want to be helpful, well, dump them. Get the freebies / lifetime assistance you can, but start to look elsewhere for your regular LBS. One caveat here: if they are overwhelmed with other customers while you are there, cut them some slack. Wednesdays are usually relatively slower than Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun.



You also should decide if you are going to use CO2 cartridges or a hand pump to re-inflate after a flat on the road. I prefer the hand pump as it has an unlimited supply of air (the cartridge does not ... but many prefer them). Choose one and either put the cartridge in the saddle bag or mount that hand pump on the bike tonight. This all likely means you are unlikely to ride tonight.It appears your current riding is not taking you far from home, so you could prob call the wife to come get you if you flat (or you may be able to just hoof it depending on your shoes), but as you begin to ride longer to prep for your beach trip, you'll prob get farther from the house and/or your wife (I assume with a handle of "paul" that you are male & your spouse female) may be doing something else.Tomorrow night, after you ride, let all the air out of the front tire, as if had gone flat. Then, in the comfort of home and without time or traffic pressures, remove the front tire, remove the tube, and then proceed to put them back on just as if you were fixing a flat. Practice.

On second thought, if you try to practice Friday night and fail, you'll not be able to ride Sat morning. So don't practice Friday evening. If you come by Pleasant Union School Parking lot about 10:30 Sat morning, I will volunteer to oversee / advise as you practice changing a flat. If this last appeals, send a Personal Message (click on my "handle" on this message if you've not done that / haven't figured out how to send a PM yet) to me, and we can likely narrow the time-frame, etc.. Or perhaps you can talk one of your work colleagues into supervising your training effort. Be sure to choose a colleague that is patient and known for being willing to teach.

On the other hand, you CAN take the Zonda approach to practising to change flats. That is: don't. (Zonda may have changed her position on this.) But you should try to acquire basic skills; you don't want those co-workers to dump you because you haven't learned anything / don't seem to want to learn. Do you?

[Zonda]

On the other hand, you CAN take the Zonda approach to practising to change flats. That is: don't. (Zonda may have changed her position on this.) But you should try to acquire basic skills; you don't want those co-workers to dump you because you haven't learned anything / don't seem to want to learn. Do you?

You probably think this is funny. I don’t. I’ve had the tire changing class twice. I can change the tires on my old bike, but the tires on my new bike fit tight and it’s hard to get off. You don’t even ride with me. Who are YOU to comment on my tire changing abilities??

[Pugslyyy]

On the other hand, you CAN take the Zonda approach to practising to change flats. That is: don't.Somebody pee in your cornflakes?

[paul]

Thanks for all the tips! I had to travel to Asheville and before I left today, I found a really nice bike store - FATZ. I picked up a saddle bag, tire changing clips, manual pump and a multi tool.
Hopefully I can get all this mounted before the weekend.