Cycling for Beginners
I read that this sub is also open for beginners and I hope someone can help me with some tips to get started (Especially non-obvious things you might have learned too late).
I took up cycling as a hobby exactly a week ago today and each day I’ve been getting more and more informed on the topic, however I feel kind of lost because there is so much (sometimes contradicting) information out there.
For starters, I have a 25 year old GIANT OCR Compact Road which is too small for me (it was a hand-down). I did 101km with 500m elevation in 4h 30min on Sunday as a first real ride—I had done a max of 15km before that last week—and I didn’t feel much discomfort or ache even the next day except for my neck from looking forward on the bike. I’ve read that it might be because of how wide my horn/handlebars are. I am 190cm with 53cm shoulder width, my frame is labelled 50cm (no clue what that means either). Is that the problem or can I keep riding this until I get a new bike?
Secondly what should I aim for pacing wise and ride wise? Before Sunday I had 100km as a goal but it turned out to be quite easy, so now I’m stuck—should I focus on climbing since that seems to be the hardest? I read online that it takes multiple months to do 100km but I feel like that can’t be true, I am not very active and managed just fine.
I am also wondering about equipment. I want to wait for winter clearances to get a Wilier, Pinarello, or Merida racing bike to use as a sporting tool. Should i upgrade my Giant until then with clip in pedals and padded bike shorts?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!