How to get in shape for bicycle riding?

Question

I just bought a Trek 3700 took it for a spin and was f-ing exhausted after 5 minutes. Im a buck 130, workout everyday, and ran 5 miles flat just for the h**l of it a couple days back. Im also a smoker which obviously is a problem. But the main thing was my a-- was mega sore and my legs got sore almost instantly. Any ideas? Im ready to enjoy the freedom of a bicycle. Very enjoyable 5 minutes.

Answer 1

One of the best parts about cycling is you don't need to get into shape to do it. You do it to get in shape.

You'll find that as your legs get stronger, your butt will also get used to a bicycle seat. However, if your butt continues to give you problems, you may need to look for one that fits you better. What fits varies from rider to rider, so you may have to experiment.

Answer 2

Well first off, the bike you bought is a mountain bike.  Did you ride it in the hills off-road or were you tooling around the neighborhood? Mountain bike tires are soft, wide, nubby, and therefore have high rolling resistance, which means it takes much more energy to push the bike along than riding on a skinny road tire with high psi.  

Second, you must ride in low gears and pedal fast. The pedals should have barely any resistance and your legs should be going at least 60 rpm for maximum efficiency.

Third, if you plan to ride this bike on streets, sidewalks, or other paved areas and not off-road, go back to the bike shop and get tires that are called slicks; these have fewer nubs and a bit less rolling resistance.

Fourth; get a better saddle. The one's that come on Trek's suck (personal experience), and bike shorts (don't go cheap on either side).

Answer 3

The easy answer is ride more, but while doing that make sure your bike fits you well, all the components are working well (one evening I thought I was having a heart attack....no energy....not able to get up to my usually pace.....at the end of the ride I discovered that my rear brake was rubbing.....) and if you are not wearing bike shorts I would suggest that you do.  The bike shorts will make your ride so much more comfortable, especially as your distance increases.  I would suggest riding each day or so and gradually increase either your distance or time and as you get stronger add some hill work.  I keep a log of both time and distance .... it is amazing to see the progress from week to week as the season progresses...Enjoy

Answer 4

Quit smoking and ride more...the soreness will go away.

Answer 5

stop smokin first of all because that makes u out of breath quickly, and ride ur bike more, the more u bike the stronger ur legs get

Answer 6

Make sure the seat and handlebars are adjusted

for you.

Your leg should be almost straight when  pedaling.

You might think about getting a padded seat cover.

Adjusting the tilt of the seat a little might help.

Try different settings when you go for a ride.

I raised my seat so I can touch both toes on the ground

while setting on the seat.

That was on my old Huffy

That might be a good location to start.

Forget about riding up hills for a while.

I ride a LWB recumbent since Nov, 2007

Nothing like being comfortable.

I am almost 67 years old and about 125 lb.

Answer 7

Well the one thing that would really help you is to practice riding your bike more. That and really work on your arm and leg strength. It would really help you out.