To those who bike commute--how long did it take till it stopped hurting?

[Joyous_5]

Hi all,

I know that several of you are regular bike commuters/errand runners and I'm in awe of you. Now that we've moved closer to town (only about 2 miles away--yay!) I thought it would be great fun to bring my son in his bike trailer to run some errands.

Yesterday we went to the local farmstand and added another short 3 mile loop (5 miles total, mostly at an incline grade). Today, I thought it would be GREAT to ride us over to the library. Not sure how far away this is but I was dying, DYING most of the way there (again, felt nearly all uphill or at least at an incline). It took nearly like 40 minutes to get there. It really isn't THAT far--maybe 4 miles one way?

I'm not out of shape completely--I jog three miles, three days a week and lift weights. What's going on? Any ideas when it won't be such a struggle? I am a sweaty, wet mess by the time we get anywhere. Suggestions? Tips? All appreciated--thanks!

[ctg492]

I have only pulled a trailer with groceries, not a child. It is much harder and the hill I have to climb to get home "almost" makes the trailer pulling undoable. So I can imagine with a child it would be very hard on inclines. I see people doing it often. So maybe just time and practice will build the muscles needed. I run all winter on the treadmill and consider myself fit, yet when I hop back on the bike when the snow stops, it takes a while to feel fit on the bike. So my observation is that they are not the same muscles used.

[flowerseverywhere]

I have biked almost 1500 miles this year but not pulling a trailer. I got a new bike at the beginning of this season and it was fit to me in a bike shop and was much easier to ride than my old one. I immediately was able to increase my speed by about 3 miles an hour, which has since increased with time. With up and down hills I still can go over 11 miles an hour, more like 13 if it is flat even with full heavy panniers. (I am a female in my late 50's and not an athlete) I changed my handlebar basket to panniers and it made a huge change in my balance putting the weight closer to the center of the bike. I can carry almost everything in them.
If you are not riding a new bike, I would suggest looking on the net or getting a book from the library on how to clean and tune a bike if you can't pay a bike shop to do it. Also, I would suggest riding without the trailer to see if that is the problem after making sure the wheels on the trailer are lubricated and flowing freely. Just like a car, bikes need cleaning and oiling for the gears and wheels to turn properly. Maybe it is just the trailer and dynamics of pulling weight which I have never done.
also, check to see if you are shifting the gears properly. I find that riding in lower gears but peddling more is much easier than peddling less frequently in higher gears. There are lots of websites that explain shifting and you can figure out what works best for you.

If you are going to bike a lot find out how to change a tire and carry a small pump or cartridge as well as a spare tube with you. I have only had two flats with all the riding I have done but it is a bummer if you are in the middle of nowhere like I often am, as I avoid well traveled roads. Wear a helmet and bright clothes, and I also have a blinking light on the back of my bike and obey all laws. It is my observation that at least 50% of people do not come to a complete stop before taking a right on red or at a stop sign, and frequently 2 or 3 cars blast through a red light when it changes.
My longest ride this year was 67 miles and since I ride almost every day I didn't feel too bad, but I was tired. I wear bike shorts on long rides.

[Kevin]

When you cycle on the flat you mostly have to work against two things. Those are air resistance (which you notice more when there is a head wind for example, making it harder work) and rolling resistance, which is the combined friction of the tyres on the road and other kinds of friction in the bike itself.

When you start to climb you add gravity to the things you are working against. Your speed drops so air resistance also drops, but you really notice the incline makes it much harder. This is all about your power to weight ratio, so for a particular weight of rider + bike + trailer + child + groceries you have to put in a lot more power to achieve a given speed.

Putting in more power for longer is about aerobic fitness, which will improve as you do more cycling, but you will reach your personal limit beyond which your fitness won't improve any more. The other thing you can try to do is improve the weight side of the power to weight ratio. Lighter bike, lighter trailer - sounds like it may not be practical.

If you have ever watched any of the big cycle stage races, like the Tour de France, you will notice that the best mountain climbers are wiry little men, both short and slim. That's because they have the optimum power to weight ratio for going up hills, for a given level of aerobic fitness. Keeping up a higher pedalling cadence (more revolutions per minute on the pedals by shifting to a lower gear) will help - lots of really good climbers seem to dance on the pedals, always standing out of the saddle, in a really low gear. Making sure your tyre pressures are correct will also help a bit - if you only have a hand pump that came with the bike then you probably won't be physically strong enough to pump them to the correct pressure and you may need a track pump with a pressure gauge. Same applies to the trailer tyres.

Kevin

[Joyous_5]

This is really helpful information to have. Thanks for sharing your own experiences and pointing out how I might improve my skills. My bike is new and is my first road bike--I did notice that soon after I got it, I was riding along a flat path with my Dad and I felt like I was flying--this was without the bike trailer so I'm sure that's contributing to my wimpiness.

I just purchased an ibert child carrier and am anxious to give it a try in place of the bike trailer. I wonder if it will make the carrying any easier?

I like the tips about bike maintenance and training myself to get stronger. I'm sure it will come in time, just a little disappointed that it will be more work than I anticipated.

[flowerseverywhere]

so glad you are going to try alternatives. Don't be disappointed, be energized by the fact that you are moving towards more car independence.
the Ibert carrier looks great, plus you get to see the child. I would feel a much more comfortable being able to keep an eye on the little one.
I think that those bike pedal trailers look great as well, but I have never used one.

And by the way, you are not wimpy, just need to get everything to mesh together for a great experience.

[Kevin]

I was riding along a flat path with my Dad and I felt like I was flying--this was without the bike trailer so I'm sure that's contributing to my wimpiness.

Not wimpiness, just physics. The less weight you have to shift, the less power it takes to achieve a certain speed. What you experienced was a better power to weight ratio.


I just purchased an ibert child carrier and am anxious to give it a try in place of the bike trailer. I wonder if it will make the carrying any easier?

Do you mean a child seat that bolts on to the back of the bike? That would be a lot less weight than a trailer, so again your power to weight ratio would be better, making it less work to go up hills.

Kevin

[junkman]

Joyous,

Fat, mushy tires rob energy. So I'll second Kevin's comment about the need to monitor and maintain proper tire pressure and add one more, tire width. If you're using the sort of fat tires found on mountain bikes or "townies", your rolling resistance is a lot greater than if you're using a 700x32 (or narrower) tire. That resistance translates directly to greater effort required to move the same distance. Even with a new tube and tires, you're going to lose a couple of pounds of pressure per day. If you squeeze the tire by hand, it might feel firm enough. But when you put a gauge on it, you'll be able to measure the loss.

It was an almost silly purchase, and defintitely a luxury, but I bought a small, Black&Decker, electric air-pump, because I lacked the strength to put 90 pounds into my tires with a floor pump. (With a hand pump, the sort I carry on my ride along with spare tubes and a patch kit, I can't even get 45 pounds). But with the electric pump, I can set the shut-off switch at whatever pressure I want, and I always go out the door with my tires fully inflated.

As for the other aches and pains of getting back on a bike as an adult after not having ridden one in years, that can take months to overcome. But I'm now pedaling around 2,500 miles a year. So it's possible to become comfortable enough on a bike that it nearly replaces use of a car. Also, some days, when conditions and spirit are in synch, the miles are a lot easier than other days. But stick with it, because it does get easier as you gain endurance and efficiency. Speaking of which, any bikie will have a long list of things to do make make pedaling more efficient, beginning with toe clips, proper shoes, a clip-in pedal system, proper seat height, aerodynamic clothing, etc., etc., etc. Some of their suggestion really are meant for racers, but some are cheap and easy to adopt and really do make a difference, even to "commuters".

Charlie