I remember tracking your feats on Strava mate. Last couple of years have been hit and miss with the cycling for me, losing my Dad and a tough time at work ending in redundancy had more of an effect on me than I realised at the time. But this last 8 weeks or so I've really got my mojo back, heading towards 900 miles so far (Inc a few local walks). Cycling for the love of it, seeing the beauty of the area we live in on both the trails and the road. I've not felt like this since 2011 when I started commuting to work each day by bike, I've lost 16lb already, committed to losing at least another 10lb and take it from there. I've used memories of doing London to Paris for inspiration, remembering what it was like to be that fit, and got a place in this year's Ride London 100 for MacMillan Cancer Care. Unfortunately, I'm sure it'll get postponed, but I'm training as planned, and will do a 100 miler on my own if it doesn't go ahead. I hope you get the desire back mate, I thought I'd lost it for good, but really buzzing now.
It's taken 9 years for the bruises to go, but I managed to convince me wife that I needed a hybrid and road bike. I only got into cycling in 2011, aged 36, to lose weight. Started by commuting to work from Carlton to BDGH where I worked at the time. We live in a lovely area for cycling with all of the abandoned rail lines, towpaths etc, and after a couple of years where my cycling was hit and miss, I've found my mojo again. A hybrid is perfect for the Transpennine Trail and roads around here, I use my road bike for longer distances and for the hillier routes, but hybrid riding is genuinely a joy around here. I've got a Planet X Pro Carbon road bike and a Cannondale Quick CX4 hybrid. I tend to use Geared Up, the bike shop in Wombwell for servicing and repairs, and got my hybrid from there. The lads there are spot on, I've had to force them to take a tenner on some occasions when they've done a quick fix for me. Hope you enjoy whatever you do, stay safe.
I bought a Road bike about 3 weeks ago and have done over 150 miles so far with 85 of them being the last week. I'm going out every night and doing 10-15 miles in 35-50 minutes, generally averaging Mid 14.5mph to 16mph last night for the 14 miles I did. I've been aiming to do 50 miles a week, which last week I did 43 and this week already I'm well over 50 miles and probably will get to 100 this week. I'm absolutely loving it and feeling as fit as I have for a fair few years.
HELP!! I started cycling recently using an old hand-me-down bike (cost me £0.00) - Used to get around rather than walk/bus etc (no car) - I need another one - it's falling apart literally - don't wanna pay much, not yet anyway I'm the ripe old age of 60, overweight and a bit of a 'plodder' - no interest in personal bests/speeds etc but would like to be fitter and know how far I've traveled - currently tootle up & down the TPT at my own pace and I can do 15-20 miles at a time (most people overtake me) Type of bike? Second hand bikes? Price? What pitfall(s) to avoid? How do I measure distance covered? (I'm worse than useless with a mobile phone) Ta very much
Can you be too fat to cycle? I'd like to get back into it but I'm conscious about looking like a pillock.
I would advocate a hybrid bike. You’ll get the ease of riding on the road and also can go off road as well. I’ve got a road bike and it’s amazing on the roads. I bought it because I hated using my Mountain bike on the road. MBs are sluggish unless off road. Hybrid are a mixture of both. You’ll pick up a really nice 2nd hand one for a couple of 100.
I used to cycle from Pontefract to Allerton Bywater everyday when I was an apprentice. You're right Mountain bikes are sluggish. Especially if you have a suspension and carry a bit of timber. More effort goes down rather than going forward. If I bought a bike I'd go for a racer type. Although I'd look a prat in jeans and a polo shirt on one of them.
I’ve done 15 today, took me an hour and half. Like you say it was windy as ****, found myself have to pedal down a couple of steep hills
To measure distance you need an app. Endomondo and Strava are two examples, but there are plenty of others. The basic free ones will give you distance and speed no problems. If you turn the feature on, Endomondo will even talk to you every mile telling you your performance over the last mile. Be warned though every can hear how slow you are .
For those wanting a bike to start cycling again, I think second hand would be the way to go at the minute as all the cheaper new ones seem to be sold out. If your current bike is falling to bits it might be worth getting a bike mechanic to fix it, might be the cheaper option.
There's nothing like a sleep after a long bike ride and unlike running it doesn't knacker your joints!
I'm at 76.4 miles of running for the week, and am truly knackered. My joints feel fine, muscles buzzing a bit, but I'm really, really tired. I'm going to have a kip.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world...the-girl-who-cycled-1200km-to-save-her-father Kinda pisses all over our efforts lol