Barely keeping up

[Stretch]

if you not having fun you are not going to enjoy it....your husband will realise you are building fitness and confidence and should slow down accordingly. Give it time and before long he will be eating your dust on climbs because you are much much lighter than him. over time your fitness will improve and your backside etc will get used to the pounding its taking and you will look back at this and laugh...remember enjoy it...and if that means taking it easy for a bit...then so be it

[RyanD]

Tell your husband to go and do his interval session and then he can accompany you on a ride as his warm down. He will be relaxed as his training is done for the day and you won't feel as though you are holding him back. That should be good for during the week. On weekends find a group to join that you are comfortable riding with and release your husband to go and ride as he wishes. Keep at it.

[Bomberman]

 

 

"Husband:

 

Ditch the husband. Everything he says you will fight with. Get a mate or another friend to ride with. Even if they say the same thing as your husband you will hate him for it and will listen to them on the same topic. We were MTBing over Xmas with my wife and a mate. I agreed with him to coach her as she would just fight with me. He was a third party so not involved and she listened and learned. Even though I told her the same thing. It leads to some pretty interesting spats on the trails and roads. Go ride with someone else for a bit until you can do 30 kms. "

 

 

This couldn't be said better.

[Mulalo.ramonedi]

You being too hard on yourself, its early days, but not to mean you completely relax.

You mentioned you stop every 10 meters on a hill, make it your goal to stop only every 15 meters, week by week increase by 10 or more.

 

When i started riding, i could not ride 100 meters on a flat road, well was 159kg and a year later am 30 kg lighter and did the 94.7 in under 4 hours.

 

Good luck

 

My 2 cents worth

[Gravity]

lots of good info here.

also maybe just check that your bicycle wheels spin freely, nothing like wasting energy for nothing. 

save the hills for when you are warmed up.....nothing worse than having to climb in the 1st couple of hundred meters.

also dont ride if you have a rash/sore bottom that will really suck the enjoyment out of it.

as many people have said...."Rome wasn't built in a day"

[Bomberman]

My big no no. Took my wife to van galens on her first ride and it went horribly wrong. A lot of swearing, thorns and bruises later we did it this way.   

 

One Saturday morning I asked her if she wanted to give it a go, so we saddled up and decided to take a ride trough the neighborhood. We started off with a slow pace and I just left her to fiddle with bike as she was riding, 5km/h  , before she knew it she did 10km. No hard riding just a casual ride having a chat, now she loves its.

 

Start off slow, a few laps around the block until you feel comfortable. 

[eccc whippet]

Dont let it get you down...

 

my first ride on the bike was on the beachfront in Durban and I thought there were hills i could barely make it to blue lagoon and weighing around 130 kg with underpants under my cycling shorts i could barely walk for a week...never mind attempting to get back on a bike.

 

My wife and daughter have both taken up cycling...i ride with whoever is the slowest and let them determine the distance...we stick to flat rides like the beachfront for now...my wife had a hectic back op so she got a dual suspension bike to ease the bumps...my wife has already doubled her distance and speed...so now i just ride slowly with my daughter and let her go ahead and stretch her legs.

 

a person once told me that i was expecting too much too fast from myself...it takes time for your leg muscles for cycling to develop...i also spend a lot of time on my feet during the day...you use different muscles...mtb riding is hard work.

 

the saddle issue is something you just gona have to work on...make sure your shorts are tight enough then you just need to  toughen up...a loose pair of shorts will allow the chamios to move and bunch...you dont want that happening.

Edited January 19, 2016 by isetech

[JXV]

Hi all

 

So first up I have a bit of background info and then my question.

 

I am a 24year old female and I have major trouble getting fit and keeping up with my husband while riding.

 

I am very small and thin weighing 50kg for my 1,7m frame. I have an entry level axis 27,5" bike. I only got onto a bike for the first time in my life about a week ago. Spent the week learning to balance and turn and did my first mountainside trail yesterday. A gruelling 12km sprint with my much fitter husband.

 

Today I could barely move at work but decided to hit the road this afternoon. With bleeding thighs from chafing and burning legs I did 3km and gave up. I have hills right around the house so ended up climbing most of the time. Stopped many times and once again frustrating my poor husband.

 

So here comes the question, how can I make this easier for both of us. Am I eating wrong? How can I get fitter, faster? I did fine on the ride yesterday, but today was absolutely terrible. What am I doing wrong?

 

Thanx to everyone!

You will soon get fitter and your technique will improve. Hubby needs to choose easier rides for the two of you to share in the beginning and ride with his mates when he wants to give it horns.

[tombeej]

If you do a search on here you will see many posts by me complaining about trying to teach my sister.

Some of the best advice I got was to let her set the pace (I was expecting her to keep up with me and I couldn't fathom why she was not able to) and also getting other people to ride with her (thanks again Hayley for keeping me out of prison, haha).

 

You got it 100%. 

 

When it comes to spouses riding together with one stronger than the other (divorce material!) there is only one way it can be done:

 

Hubby must ride behind Monique and go at her pace only. No exceptions. That must be the rule both agree to before heading out the door. Monique decides the distance and the pace, and when they must stop for a breather. Hubby has zero say in this regard - he must follow her lead.

 

Riding a bike with your spouse must always remain FUN & free of any pressure or expectations.

 

The moment frustrations set in by one person trying to keep up with the other, it won't be long before we see another advert in the Classifieds for a "bike for sale in excellent condition, nearly new, hardly ever ridden".

 

And Monique, if hubby doesn't like this rule then ditch him immediately and look for cycling club in your area that has lady groups that ride together. Much more fun to get into the sport that way.

[Monique1992]

I was where you are now back in 2011 (didn't ride since then consecutively though) but I still want to get off on hills at times  I also HATE hills. Maybe for the start stay away from them.

 

Also, your bum pain, it will go away, I just told a fellow Hubber this weekend that getting back on the bike this year after about 2 months off from consecutive cycling had my bum hurt like hell for the 1st 9 days (I went riding everyday though - pushed through it). I mentioned that it made me understand why it is so hard for beginners. Yoh

 

I also find that many people that start off (I was like this too) put their seat too low. I understand it makes it easier to get on and also feel saver (or like you have more control), but it actually just tire your legs WAY quicker. 

 

I usually choose to go ride alone, so I will be out on the cradle (for instance) doing what ever my fitness can handle at that time, but I realise that I choose to go alone because I am lazy and don't want to be pushed (where I guess I am now, I should be) and I also feel guilty keeping others back, but it comes from hours and hours and hours alone first.

 

The fact that YOU are here asking for 'help'/suggestions I think is already a very positive thing (i.o.w not your husband explaining his frustrations and asking for HELP!!). Only good things can come from this! 

 

If other girls are keen, I will be keen to do a 'slowish' ladies ride out somewhere with you all...maybe Redbarn is a good place....it is quite flat out there and in the middle for people from PTA and JHB.

That sounds awesome! I did red barn's 12km route on Sunday and it was great fun and I stopped less than on my 3km ride yesterday. That's why I couldn't understand what happened with yesterday's ride. I think the chafing had alot to do with it though.

[JJDT]

It has been mentioned but in order to keep injuries away you need to build up up fitness. The recipe to total fitness is long and if you keep up with what you are currently doing you are on the instant recipe for injuries; called TTT and it is "To fast", "To soon" and "To far".

You will hate cycling if you get injured now...lots of good advice in all the posts.

Took me about 2 years to increase my avg. speed in MTB events from a slow 10km/h to a modest 16 - 17km/h.

[s14phoenix]

My wife (and myself) used to do max 5km before being absolutely dead. and that was flat road with no hills.

 

My bum was sore after every ride but my wife complained about hers even more.

 

My hands was crampy and so was hers also.

 

To ease the pain you need to go out on easier rides every time you feel up for it. The more time you spend the better it will get but the truth is that usually that can take a while. Unfortunately your "active" lifestyle helps almost ZERO towards cycling unless you are cycling.

 

You can also go and get a ladies saddle which helps (my wife now rides 20-25km without as much of a sore bum) Ergo grips also help or even soft silicone grips. Have you been properly fitted to your bike?

 

GOOD BIKE SHORTS WITH THE RIGHT PADDING. on your comfort you should get the most comfortable kit you can get.

 

Glad you came right at the barn. I found that my wife also enjoyed that. She hated modderfontein due to the hills...

[Thor Buttox]

My first ever ride on a Mtb after never having had a bike was with my ex (a lady) who hauled my then fat butt up Tokai here in Cape Town. It has a few minor hills. There was a gentle drizzle and I had on my brand new fancy rain top. She flew up the hill. At some point some smart arse rode passed me up to where she was waiting and told her that 'your boyfriend is steaming. And may be having a heart attack'. Yes... I was literally steaming in the rain.

 

On the way back down the same 'minor' hill, I had a puncture and my seat fell off. Literally, not figuratively.

 

I now take beginners out with patience and understanding as I have the memory of an elephant, but no longer the body shape. What everyone says here is true - find someone you enjoy riding with who remembers being a beginner, and stick to it. Now, when I am not injured or broken, I love going out to ride. And when I am injured and broken, I look forward even more!

Edited January 19, 2016 by Thor Buttox

[alsoran]

My mrs has just started riding.

 

10km (30 minutes) 3 times a week like clockwork. Consistency is the key.

 

If she wants to ride with me that is also cool but she sets the pace and distance and I tag along or act as a wind break where required. Most important is there is no pressure but rather the focus is on her enjoying it.

 

There is plenty of time to worry about getting faster later.

[eccc whippet]

That sounds awesome! I did red barn's 12km route on Sunday and it was great fun and I stopped less than on my 3km ride yesterday. That's why I couldn't understand what happened with yesterday's ride. I think the chafing had alot to do with it though.

Use cream if you have to with the shorts....you can apply to the skin...but where you feel the pain apply it to the chamois and a little extra.

[NelAndre]

All great info posted here.

 

Have to re-iterate/support the following:

• Get a proper bike fit. Just do it.
• Get a saddle that fits.
• Hook up with Pretoria East Mountain bike group on facebook and find some ladies to ride with.
• Have fun