did i get a bad bike? or am i just that out of shape?

[nyxela]

I use to be in good shape. and im explaining this so you get an idea of just how bad i got. lol

But my septum got shattered and i had boen shards lodged into my sinus cavity above my nose so i was constantly sick, too sick for surgery, spent SEVERAL months almost a year  inside a room due to severe allergies worsening my condition. they were giving me shots in my BUTT (OW) of anti biotics xD it was awful

anyways so i literally lost all my muscle and became as weak as ive ever been. i thought 10 lbs was really heavy with one hand! 

so i afterwards i spent almost a year just getting back to working, doing normal thing you know.

over my college winter break i started working out  HARD CORE!! 😄

not just like, 15  min or 30 min here or there, i do 30 min on my ellipictal 6 days of the week, and do 20 min minimum of pilates or yoga a few times a week and 50 sit ups every other day and ive stuck to it,

i got a bike for the summer thinking wuhu this will be so easy!!! i use to love biking when i was a kid i practicly lived on my bike

i got on it tho and omg... i feel like it goes too slow? like.. i dont cover as much ground as i should for my revolutions on the pedals. and its hard! it has 21 gears, is a kent HZR i think with the white and teal wheels. wasnt expensive, but ive spent so much buying exercise equipment, and just bought a car so just wanted an OK bike for this summer you know, nothing professional

is cycling when you first start just that hard? this last week ive gotten to the point i feel peppy enough to do an hour on the ellipical in one day, i think i did that twice last week. (doing a half hour the other 4 days ofc)

and ive been really improving on my muscle mass and such

not sure if i got a bum bike, or if im just that out of shape, i thought a few go arounds of my block (which is pretty hilly ill admit, small town in iowa) was really... realllllly hard...

i ordered it online, assembled it, and put grease on the chain. so im starting to think its just me, i use to really love biking, any suggestions on making it easier? maybe i need to start out on more flat trails but idk i just feel like it was tooooo hard for what little ground i covered. i under stand shifting lower for if it feels too hard and i did have it on lowest settings going up a hill and ended up walking the bike last ten feet. it was really embarressing 😞 kids ride bikes all the time! grrr

[Esya]

is cycling when you first start just that hard? this last week ive gotten to the point i feel peppy enough to do an hour on the ellipical in one day, i think i did that twice last week. (doing a half hour the other 4 days ofc)

---

Well, I am not really a biker in the sense that mine is just for work commute, which is 5 km one way and my bike has 7 gears only and nothing like a sports bike at all. But yes, biking is hard at first, however the good news is that your body gets used to it quickly. Just be aware that your body gets used to the amount of biking you do on a regular basis. So by me biking 10 km a day, I can do 15 km easily but more would feel challenging again. That would become easier again if I increased the daily distance and my body would get used to that. I notice when I have holidays from work and therefore I hardly bike the first few days of biking are a lot harder again.

Maybe beat yourself up less over how hard it was and feel good about the work you have put in. Start with a small distance until that feels good and then increase. When that feels good, increase again. With some time you will most likely be reaching your goals. I think your body just needs to get used to a different kind of workout.

[swduncan]

Lift each wheel off the ground and give it a spin - does it make at least a few revolutions before stopping?

Check the brakes, make sure they're not rubbing. 

I'm going to guess it's probably not the bike stopping you - it would be hard to assemble it wrong enough to make it hard to ride without noticeable rubbing or other noises. 

Check the height of your seat. Often people set it too low, which can make it hard to pedal - there are a lot of sites that will help you figure out the right height, but keep two things in mind: sitting on a properly adjusted bike doesn't usually allow for both feet flat on the ground, and make one small adjustment at time. 

Last but not least, how steep is the hill - not all hills are rideable 8-) Cycling uses muscles differently, and when I start the season I'm always flabbergasted at how weak I am. 

[joggerjosh]

Biking is my favorite workout. If you go out on trails or bike paths, like the W and OD near D.C., you can cover almost 70 miles of beautiful suburban and rural landscapes. 

As an exercise, biking takes little getting used to. I took about 1 month of biking on the weekends to cover intermediate distances. As long as it isn't your only exercise, the adjustment will be smooth. 

Last year, I started having trouble pedaling and became fatigued quickly after biking for a few miles. I couldn't figure out what was wrong until I checked my tires. They were super-flat! A low-pressured tire is the number one reason for slow and laborious biking, because not enough people check their tires every time they go out biking.

That being said, a long period of intermission from biking might affect your strength and endurance, so aim (if possible) for easier terrain and perhaps try to avoid the treacherous neighborhood inclines that lead you up at more than 40 degrees to the horizontal.