First bike in a long time! Bit of advice needed

[Daveyraveygravey]

Ki3r said:

Cool. Will have a think about it (so not to rush into spending £600!). Friend has kindly offered to help me as well which is good.

Do I need anything else? Going to have a look at helmets and lights, and want one of those computers to see my speed/distance. Which ones are worth looking at?

Have a look at Garmin Forerunner watches - think they are around £100 and you can use them running as well as cycling and have all the functions you need apart from navigation. Had one for about 4 years great bit of kit.

[Ki3r]

Right, complete change of plans at the moment.

Friend let me ride around works car park on his bike, its a Ridgeway, with drop bars (can't remember the model), it was very nice to ride. Didn't take long to get used to the drop bars either.

I've decided to go for a road bike, not fussed about going off road.

I've been looking at the Specialized Allez 2014/2015 (2014 is cheaper, but not many left).

The reviews seem good, its £500 for the 2014, or £600 for the 2015. If I can get the 2014 I'll get that, but is there anything else that is worth looking at?

[Ki3r]

Look what I have .



Sadly its chucking it down, so not going to take it out just yet. Hopefully tomorrow.

Its a Giant Defy 3, 2014 model (£100 off compared to the 2015 one). Looking forward to taking it out. Got a new helmet as well. Just need to get some lights and some padded shorts.

Thank you for the advice, no doubt I'll be back asking some more questions as and when .

[Ki3r]

First ride done earlier today, it wasn't too bad! 7.7 miles in 38ish minutes I think, lots of hills though, horrible things!

Arse was killing me, ordered some padded shorts to try out under my normal shorts.

Enjoyed it though, good fun .

[Magic919]

Your arse will toughen up. Even with great shorts, you can expect some discomfort whilst you acclimatise.

[DUMBO100]

I'm happier off road and bought a Kona Blast Deluxe recently I paid about £525 for it and am delighted with it,especially how light it is

[Ki3r]

DUMBO100 said:

I'm happier off road and bought a Kona Blast Deluxe recently I paid about £525 for it and am delighted with it,especially how light it is

I do wish my bike had some kind of suspension...it is very bumpy!

[Ki3r]

Been out on it every day since Sunday, first ride was 7.7 miles, I was dead by the end (lots of hills and very sore arse), yesterday was a 3 mile ride to collect my mums car, and today was 4.3 miles after a full day at work, trying to find a few routes that aren't too challenging at the moment.

Arse isn't as sore anymore. Wish I had got a bike sooner!

[WinstonWolf]

You'll be planning your first half century before long

[Ki3r]

WinstonWolf said:

You'll be planning your first half century before long

One step ahead...looking at 100 mile training plans. Some of them don't look that bad to begin with, until week five or so. Not going to run before I can walk though, slow and steady to start with .

[WinstonWolf]

Just get the miles in and you'll get there

[Ki3r]

WinstonWolf said:

Just get the miles in and you'll get there

Another 4.6 mile ride before work, pretty much the same as yesterdays but took the road rather than the cycle path, avoid the wet leaves and added 0.3 miles on. Slightly slower than yesterday, 13.4mph average, compared to 13.9mph, but can't complain.

Out again tomorrow, want to try and make it 5 miles, then I think the next chance I get will be Monday, as I'm going for a few night shifts at work.

[WinstonWolf]

resting is an important part of training.

[Ki3r]

Yeah, made that mistake when I used to go running.

Don't like how close some cars pass though!

[WinstonWolf]

Get a powerful flashing light for daytime use, something like the Moonshield 60. This seems to buy you an extra foot. Are you riding close to the kerb? As counter-intuitive as it seems the further out you ride the more room cars seem to give you.

[Ki3r]

Didn't think of sticking my light on! Will do that next time.

Not too close, around a foot or two? Figured if they have to go further into the oncoming traffic they won't try and squeeze past. Most the time people are ok. Get a few knobs though.

[WinstonWolf]

There's always a few.... The logic of sitting further out is they have to make a conscious decision of how to pass. If you're close to the kerb they frequently just squeeze through without giving you due consideration

[Ki3r]

So I may have been messaging someone on a dating site, got talking about cycling, and turns out she likes it as well, so pre arranged a date to go for a ride together...

I love cycling even more now

[Ki3r]

First ride in a week I think. Mixture of work and oversleeping stopping me going out.

Found a nice route that is just under 6 miles, couple of hills nearer the end (nothing too bad though).

Treated myself to some padded shorts, and I can safely say the best thing I've got for the bike so far!

Not able to get out tomorrow due to work, but Wednesday before work should be doable. Took just under 25 minutes today.