Getting back into cycling
Discussion
Hi guys, i want to get back into cycling after many years of sitting around in front of the television doing nothing. I'm 41 now, piled on a few pounds & really arent as fit as i thought i once was. Got my bike mountain bike dusted off a couple of weeks ago & went for a ride, not far, but enough to make me sweat, ached for a couple of days afterwards. I have a good quality mountain bike & a road bike (not ventured out on that yet) but want to know whats the best thing to do? Go out every day or once every so many days? & How far do you go so you dont push it too far?
Used to race bikes in my teens but the bikes have changed alot over the years & the type of bike that cost over £1000 then, with similar spec now cost a couple of hundred.
Do things get easier?, can you go further? Or am i so unfit that at 41 im past it?
Used to race bikes in my teens but the bikes have changed alot over the years & the type of bike that cost over £1000 then, with similar spec now cost a couple of hundred.
Do things get easier?, can you go further? Or am i so unfit that at 41 im past it?
unless you have ambitions to do really long distances or competition in the near future, just ride and enjoy yourself. if you enjoy it you are more likely to keep doing it, which means you will get fitter without realising it as it wont seem like a chore. there is no need to set goals.
there are trail centres all around the country and they are great environments for people getting back into biking. i took a friend around cwm carn who had not been off road for years and he loved every second of it.
as for bikes, if and when you come to the point where you want a new one, the world is your oyster, there are some very good new bikes around for approx £750 that will take loads of abuse and are more than capable of dealing with UK trails...... of course, there are more expensive bikes out there but I have found the cost of the bike is not proportional to the fun you have, sometimes its just about being out there...
Apologies if that comes across a bit "mint sauce" but you know what i mean!
on the road, just pick a destination on a map and go there, alternate training routes, i found that thinking of the bike less as a hobby and more of an alternative method of transport has really improved my desire to ride and get the miles in my legs which should help in races this year. as an example, i turn up at castle combe race meetings on a bike every now and then wher eby default i would use the car. ok, so standing around watching cars in lycra is a bit wierd but its no drama.
there are trail centres all around the country and they are great environments for people getting back into biking. i took a friend around cwm carn who had not been off road for years and he loved every second of it.
as for bikes, if and when you come to the point where you want a new one, the world is your oyster, there are some very good new bikes around for approx £750 that will take loads of abuse and are more than capable of dealing with UK trails...... of course, there are more expensive bikes out there but I have found the cost of the bike is not proportional to the fun you have, sometimes its just about being out there...
Apologies if that comes across a bit "mint sauce" but you know what i mean!
on the road, just pick a destination on a map and go there, alternate training routes, i found that thinking of the bike less as a hobby and more of an alternative method of transport has really improved my desire to ride and get the miles in my legs which should help in races this year. as an example, i turn up at castle combe race meetings on a bike every now and then wher eby default i would use the car. ok, so standing around watching cars in lycra is a bit wierd but its no drama.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 18th February 11:44
just rest till it stops hurting and your distances will soon go up. I'm 46 and seem to be able to ride all day now.around this time in 2009 I signed up for this http://www.lifecyclechallenge.com/ I had not been on a bike for at least a decade. I was 43. I went from a standing start to easily being able to complete 100 miles in a day in about 16 weeks, taking it fairly easy at first (although the first group ride was 80kms) and then getting to the point of doing the same 80kms 3 times a week and longer rides on Sundays with the group. I did not complete the challenge but I lost two and a half stone and had a great time. Just get on and ride whenever you feel like it, use the bike for nipping to the shops, etc. Work up a sweat every so often and in between just go for a leisurely roll. It should be enjoyable above all, you're not going to win the TdeF are you?
Here's us doing a cool thing: you can't usually cross the Bosphorus Bridge on a puhsbike, but you can with a Police escort! Note the weather ideally suiting the two English riders in the team and not the Maltese, really...a few days before this we had been in 40C heat!
Here's us doing a cool thing: you can't usually cross the Bosphorus Bridge on a puhsbike, but you can with a Police escort! Note the weather ideally suiting the two English riders in the team and not the Maltese, really...a few days before this we had been in 40C heat!
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