New to cycling

brianclown

As a complete beginner to cycling (but can run 5km in 26 mins) would a 20km cycle be too much? would I start to tire even halfway through?

cdaly_

Get out there and see. 20km will take you about 1 hour to 1h20 to start with. If you're concerned about tiring out, work out a route that circles your home so you're never more than a couple of km from home. Bring a banana and some water.

petethedrummer

It depends on how hard you push yourself.

With running there is a threshold where if you slow down you are not running anymore. You never reach that point with cycling once you are above 0km/h. 1km/h running is walking*. 1km/h cycling is still cycling.


*though I have observed a guy who runs to work in the same industrial estate who seems to be able to run at 1km/h. He is an anomaly.

magicbastarder

i'd say you'd do it in less than an hour.
my first cycle after getting back on the bike last year (would not have been as fit as you) was a 13.5km cycle, took about 30-35mins i think.
was in a heap for about 15 minutes after i got home though.

brock92

Went for first cycle 3 weeks ago, done 28Km in 1:23
I have no fitness at all. The 14km cycle home was nearly all uphill. I thought i would never get home. :eek:
Was wrecked after it but it was also very enjoyable. I go cycling at 4:30am

awec

IMO if you can run 5km in 26 minutes you can cycle 20km no bother at all.

Thargor

Depends on the hills, if its a flat route you can cycle forever pretty much especially if you already do other cardio. No law against stopping and taking a break either, you can give yourself 2nd, 3rd, 4th winds with short breaks when out on the bike, way more than when you hit your limit and just cant run anymore anyway.

TopOfTheHill

Just did my first 20k cycle last weekend and took me 58minutes.
Similar to you my 5k time is roughly 30 minutes so you should be fine.

JamJamJamJam

My 5k is 25-26 minutes-ish, too, and I also just started cycling. You'll be fine on a 20k. Fitness won't be a limiting factor on that ride. Just go out, get used to the brakes, the gears, the handling, etc. The real limiting factor could be a lack of padded shorts. If it's a road bike, buy padded shorts. Padded shorts will be really important. I think you should get padded shorts. Good luck, and enjoy!!

Padded shorts!!!

Neleven

awec wrote: »

IMO if you can run 5km in 26 minutes you can cycle 20km no bother at all.

+1
(So long as the bike is half decent!)

JIdontknow

Padded shorts!!! That really make a big difference to comfort levels!