Starting cycling: learning how to ride a bike

1. Running
2. Sports articles
3. Publications Cycling

The different aspects to consider when starting cycling: choosing the bike and its position, the number of weekly and yearly rides, how many kilometers for a beginner, how to ride, how to change gears?

Cycling is a sport that brings multiple benefits to its practitioners, it is both social and individualistic, ideal for competitors as well as for cyclists and hikers, it suits those who want to take care of their physique as well as food lovers.

However, it is not easy to learn how to ride a bike by taking lessons like you can for skiing or swimming. For that, it's better to see how to get a by bike.

The purpose of this article is to help beginners "learn how to pedal" or even "ride a bike", and also to answer the question: how many km on a bike for a beginner. Cycling also allows you to taste the freedom that effort on two wheels can bring.

This article is not scientific, but is based on over 20 years of cycling experience.

There are different aspects to consider when starting cycling: choosing the bike and its position on the machine, the number of weekly and yearly rides, the number of kilometers traveled per year, how to ride, and how to change gears.

The benefits of experience

But that's not all, experience teaches us that cycling and its practice form a whole, and that it is not possible to separate this whole from the environment related to the practice: the weather, the state of the road, not to mention an essential element: the cyclist.

Thus, returning from Paris-Brest-Paris, after having covered a few thousand kilometers in a year, I can say with certainty that what drives the cyclist forward is undoubtedly their mind (and not the price they paid for their bike), it is undoubtedly their experience (which cannot be found in stores or on the internet, but on the road and in cycling clubs).

Choosing a bike and its position

What kind of bike to ride? The road bikes used are, with a few thousand euros difference, the same as those used by Tour de France pros. Namely, a classic frame made of steel, aluminum, or carbon, a pair of 700 aluminum wheels generally, and a groupset for the derailleur and brakes.
At Sport-endurance Running, we believe that it is not the equipment that matters, as long as it is suitable for cycling. It is more useful to have a bike on which you are well positioned, even if it is made of steel or aluminum, than a bike on which you are less well positioned and that is made of carbon.

• If you ride up to 5 or 7,000 km per year, the correct position on the bike can be easily acquired.
• If you ride beyond this distance or tackle long distances, you can have a postural study done at a bike shop. Preferably, use your connections to choose the right one, but this step is not at all mandatory.

In choosing a bike, there is the choice of the freewheel and that of the crankset.

The choice of gear ratio

The crankset is called compact when it only has two chainrings (a 36-tooth and a 50-tooth), and triple when it has three chainrings (such as 30, 40, 50 teeth). The cassette has 9 to 10, or even 11 sprockets.

The choice of triple chainrings depends on your level of practice; for beginners, the compact is sufficient.
The choice of cassette is important depending on what you want to do: for road cycling in flat terrain, rides of 100 km or more, it is best to have a cassette with evenly spaced teeth, such as 13 x 23. The evenly spaced teeth reduce the difference in gear ratio, allowing you to pedal while maintaining a consistent cadence.
If you prefer mountainous terrain and longer distances, you need both a 13-tooth sprocket for descents and a 25 or 26-tooth sprocket for climbs. Later on, you can easily acquire a second cassette, called a mountain cassette (or even a dedicated bike - which is even better).

A gear ratio of 39 x 50 on the crankset and 13 x 23 on the cassette is an excellent compromise for learning to pedal and making progress by working on your pedaling cadence.
On your first rides, focus on the distance covered, and on subsequent rides, look at your average cycling speed and progress slowly.

Weekly and annual cycling outings

Cycling, like other sports, benefits from the number of outings done. A cyclist who rides once a week will be less fit than a cyclist who rides three times a week. From this postulate, two small rules can be applied if one has the practical possibility.
1- Cycling to work (an activity that consists of commuting to work by bike): doing only 5 or 6 km every day brings more benefits than doing nothing, and this is positively reflected in the Sunday ride when it is noticed that fellow riders have more difficulty than us.
2- As in running, breaking up an activity pays off: it is better to do 50 km two days in a row than 100 km in one outing. The body recovers better on two outings than on one.

During the week, it is already good to do a ride of 60 to 80 km in winter, and 100 to 120 km in summer, which is much better, i.e., it would be the minimum. Cyclists ride differently in winter than in summer, depending on the region. Some ride all winter, while others take a break during bad weather and resume later.

Over the year, the cyclist can do 52 outings if he has not taken a break, and can plan to ride between 3,000 and 5,000 km.
5,000 km is a good annual distance. 7,000 km corresponds to a cyclist who does 200 km rides in the year and regular outings. Then there are those who do more and want more.

Pedaling is easy, but what is the proper foot position on the pedal?

Other publications cycling

One Step Higher - The Book

One Step Higher, presentation of the book published in 2021 in paperback. If Paris-Brest-Paris could be told as a tale, or how to progress from a 100 km bike ride to the legendary 1200 km cycling event?

(Writen on 01/05/2023 - 650 views)