morning ride + stupid question

[diamond_lady]

Hi all.
Just wanted to share some pics with you....went on a ride this morning, quite early (and quite cold   ) and took some pics. Wonderful weather and wonderful sight.
Ok here's the stupid question: this is my third week of riding a bike.... apart from the unbelievable joy I feel everytime I put my back on my baby, I feel soooooo very tired everytime I come back from a ride. My arms and hands hurt a bit and I feel like I've run the NY marathon  :lol:
I feel tired both physically and mentally (but so very happy  :mrgreen: )
It's just because I'm new to this world? Have you experienced the same thing ?

[diamond_lady]

[gazingwa]

loosen up your grip, you'll kill yourself if you ride so tense, I can ride for 2 hours and no pain, it's all in posture and make sure your arms are slack (be able to flap them around)  your grip should be just enough to have control when you need, remember you push to steer so you don't need much grip, never pull on the handles.

[juggernaught]

When i looked at the pics i thought to myself "looks like Italy".  Doh!  It is Italy. How can one country look so beautiful ?

Anyhow...to comment on your question: Yes...motorbiking can be tiring.  Unlike a car you just don't sit back and relax.  All your major muscle groups are doing work.  Your arms and legs each have multiple functions. your back and abdominal muscles are keeping you upright and balanced.  Your neck and shoulders are always at work keeping your head upright and add to that the weight of the helmet.  Nope...motorbiking is a bit of a workout.  I remember how tored my forearm muscles would get after riding.  Now i have forearms like Popeye.  :mrgreen:

[fretbuzz]

Nice bike,nice pics
yeah I love my morning rides
no traffic wind is brisk
it`s refreshing!
yeah  guess you have to relax a bit
cause you should`nt suffer any pain
from cruising around,only pain I
suffer from riding is the grin from ear to ear
causes my face muscles to cramp up from time to time! :mrgreen:

[diamond_lady]

When i looked at the pics i thought to myself "looks like Italy".  Doh!  It is Italy. How can one country look so beautiful ?

oh yes, it is beautiful. But I'd love to see how beautiful are the States...

Nope...motorbiking is a bit of a workout.  I remember how tored my forearm muscles would get after riding.  Now i have forearms like Popeye.  :mrgreen:

eh eh eh I already have tonic forearms, even though not as big as Popeye's!! I know it's a bit of a workout... so I guess it's just inexperience.

[diamond_lady]

Nice bike,nice pics

Thanks!! I love my little baby!!!

yeah I love my morning rides
no traffic wind is brisk
it`s refreshing!
yeah  guess you have to relax a bit
cause you should`nt suffer any pain
from cruising around,only pain I
suffer from riding is the grin from ear to ear
causes my face muscles to cramp up from time to time! :mrgreen:

I love riding in the morning. Maybe I'm a bit anti-social but I like the feeling of being the king of the road...ehm.. the queen  
I got up early just to take a ride; around 10 o'clock crowds of sunday tourists with horrible and noisy cars began to cross my way... :x

[Rema1000]

Everybody holds the handlebars too tight when they start.  As you get comfortable, you'll learn how to loosen-up.

But it's still more work than driving; I'd say that a 2 hour ride feels more tiring than a 5 hour drive.

[weaselnoze]

When i looked at the pics i thought to myself "looks like Italy".  Doh!  It is Italy. How can one country look so beautiful ?

oh yes, it is beautiful. But I'd love to see how beautiful are the States...

can u smell olive trees when u are near them?

[GeeP]

Nice pics!

Yeah, most every new rider has a death grip on the bars.  Once you loosen up you'll notice the bike isn't as jittery either.

[JetSwing]

beautiful country

[Caffeine]

Bellissima!  

[Roadstergal]

http://www.gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17779

And lovely pics!

[diamond_lady]

Thanks Roadstergal, I didn't think about using my thighs...    well, I obviously did use them, but I think I put too muche pressure on hands and feet (I have a sore foot now...left foot).I'll try to loosen the grip on the bars.

Glad you all like Italy... the colours are wonderful in this season.

[weaselnoze]

so about those olive trees...  what part of italy?  i have roots in sicily

[diamond_lady]

so about those olive trees...  what part of italy?  i have roots in sicily

sorry.... I live at the exact opposite
North of Italy, near Switzerland. There aren't many olive trees around here... just a couple here and there.  :dunno:

[Tyson]

I'm fairly new to ridding myself, and have found I really need to be concious about not holding on too tight. The other thing I have found is it takes a while to get used to the wind. Now 120km/h feels like 100 km/h felt like a few weeks ago, But after a long cold ride you really feel it in the chest and shoulders.

[pandy]

Lovely pics!

Everyone's covered the physical parts pretty well, and touched on the mental. When I first started to ride, my body would get tired, too, especially my wrists. I still have to consciously relax my arms, because when I get tense, I lean more on my wrists.

I also CLEARLY remember the pure exhaustion part when I first started riding. All of my mental energy was VERY focused on learning how to ride, teaching my body what to do. I was having to THINK about EVERYTHING. I'd get home from a 1/2 hour ride (which seemed like a marathon back then), and I'd be mentally GONE!   I'd seriously need a good relaxation and rest period after the intensity of my newbie rides. Once my body started to learn on its own how to ride, I didn't need to focus 100% of my mental attention on the minutiae of riding.... Now I can focus more attention on keeping cagers from killing me.    :lol:

[500rider]

I didn't see anybody mention the cold aspect so I will.  The cold air especially when you factor in windchill factor can really suck the heat and therefore energy right out of you.  

When I am getting cold on the bike, i'll actually start yawning.  that's when I know i'm getting too cold.  Also, I noticed that when I get to that level of cold that my shoulders really tense up and then are really sore later.

[diamond_lady]

yeah, getting cold is just a bad thing, but yesterday I didn't get cold, it was just a light breeze on my knees. I have a gear that would protect me from the return of the glacial era, so...no problem with cold :lol:
Pandy: you just said it. I feel exhausted when I come back from a ride. Everytime I go out I feel a bit more relaxed, only time and practice will solve my problem.
It's just too beautiful and exciting..... a lot of emotions=I feel so tired.
I don't know how you guys drive your cars in the States, but here you really have to be careful   You need to look in every direction and always anticipate other's actions.
And you have to add the tiredness I get form parking the bike...I swear....I'm so afraid it could fall down that I spend like 15 minutes checking that the lateral stand is doing its job...
So: focus on riding + emotions I get + trying to keep my butt safe + stress I get from parking my baby = I feel like a 90 yrs old.... I just need a day off!!