There comes a time when it has to end (2000 miles ridden)

By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics and access other forums reserved for members. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today by clicking here.

Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 7:31 am

If you enjoy cycling as your cardio workout then I can also highly recommend a 'spin' class 2-3 times per week at your local gym. It's hard work but you really get the maximum benefit and it's especially handy in bad weather when you may not be able to get out on the road or cross country. You can go at a pace that suits you and the classes I've attended are usually 50/50 male/female with a wide age range so it's not at all intimidating and the fitness level of some of these people is very inspirational.

Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 9:49 am

I've got a mountain bike, I saw it at the back of the shed the other week when I was looking for the paint.

i saw the frame of one locked to a railing in Weatherfield this week. Sadly everything else had been stolen, even the saddle and forks. Beware, SP.

Even if you get an ashtray, don't even think about smoking outdoors, it's a public place out there, and illegal to smoke. That even includes the wide open platforms of our local railway station, apparently. Rolling Eyes

Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 3:11 pm

I found it very helpful to combine geocaching with my cycling. That way, I have a definite goal for the end of the ride. I couldn't see myself going on 50K+ rides just to go cycling, but if someone has hidden some tupperware at the end of it, I'm there.

Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2007 7:42 pm

Since you say that you were an apprentice in '81, I'm guessing that I am quite a bit younger than you. When I started work, I couldnt drive and we didnt have enough money for a second car anyway so, I bought a mountain bike. First thing to remember is that 'racers' are fast, but run over the least bit of glass and you'll be walking home. Mountain bikes dont have the problem because of the nobbly tires, but hey, the rolling resistance is a bugger.

I used to cycle 16 miles a day, 5 days a week which doesnt sound much. I figured that I was young and healthy, I used to be a cross country runner and distance swimmer but the first time I actually tried the run to work, I thought I was going to keel over! I had to rest for 30 minutes before trying the return journey.

Also, I advise you to develop a sixth sense when it comes to riding on the road. I've had 3 instances where a car driver actively tried to kill me and another dozen where I wouldnt credit the b****d with that much forethought. One particalarly charming individual took offence at me passing a standing line of traffic which he was stuck in so he tried to inch me into the on-comming traffic which happened to be in the shape of a truck! As a general rule of thumb, I advise the following. Car drivers generally havnt seen you, if they did, they didnt care and the rest are trying to kill you. Flourescent jackets are an absolute minimum requirement along with enough lights to put a christmas tree to shame. Even then, assume your fellow road users are insane, stupid, blind or all three. Rant over.

Have fun. Take it slowly both physically and metaphorically. Get yourself a good MP3 player, gloves and a jacket and remember the following :

I can absolutely guarantee that whatever the weather, you wont rust and you wont melt but a coronary is optional.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

Connie L. Gus wrote:

Here's a very nice thread that will hopefully motivate you.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=228767

I read through that whole topic, some amazing stories on there Shocked

I cancelled the order for the bike in my first post on this topic, at the same time, I ordered a slightly different one, the replacement bike is the same make, model and cost as the previous one, the only difference is, this one has no rear suspension on it, and instead of the "Shimano Acera gears" on the other one, it has "SRAM X-series gears" on this bike, which from what I have read, are better than the Shimano's.

I thought it might be another few weeks for delivery due to cancelling, but they said it will be delivered on January 14th Cool

, this is the new one I ordered:

24 speed CBR Front Suspension Twin Disc Bike

My reason for changing the order was, I noticed quite a few posts on mountain bike sites where it said, having a rear suspension can cause you to lose quite a bit of power through the gears as you pedal, and I think I will need as much power going directly to the wheel as possible, without it being wasted by a bouncy rear suspension, so changing to a hardtail mountain bike looked the better option.

Got a set of weighing scales today, and I was quite shocked by my weight, last time I got weighed a few years back, I was about 15 1/2 stone, and I feel bigger now, at least when I look at my stomach I do Very Happy

, so I was expecting to be about 16 - 17 stone, but the scales tell me I am only 14.2 stone (198LBS).

I can only think that my muscle wastage has caused me to not be as heavy as I thought I would be, muscle being heavier than fat, so any weight I have put on in fat over the last few years, has been negated by the weight loss from the muscle wastage?

My BMI for my height (5'9") and weight (198LBS) is = 29.2 and that equates to being overweight, just below obese:

BMI Categories:
Underweight = Below 18.5
Normal = 18.5 - 24.9
Overweight = 25.0 - 29.9
Obesity = 30.0 and Above

I need to lose a minimum of 30 LBS, that would get me down to 12 stone (168 LBS), which would give me a BMI of 24.8 and mean I was just inside the normal weight category by 0.1, so that's my weight goal to aim for.

[edit]

Forgot to mention, I have cut my smoking down a lot, I only smoke 2 roll-ups every hour now, averaging around 22-28 a day now, whereas before I was smoking 60+ a day, I will gradually increase the time between smokes, so it becomes 2 every 1 hour 15 minutes, then 1 hour 30 minutes, until I gradudally wean myself off them.

Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 7:40 pm

SP:

Good luck! I found a stand for my Mountain bike to convert it to an indoor exercise bike. Cost was about $99 (US) at a place called "Dick's Sporting Goods". Great for keeping on the bike in the winter AND in the VERY hot days of the summer. I got my butt back in shape only to fall off of it because I started baiting too much!

Starting tomorrow Mrs. The Man is working teaching some nights, so back on the bike for me. I am not trying to loose more than 10 lbs, but I want to get back in good cardio shape. Smoke the occasional cigar (1 per month at most) so that is not too much of a problem... but I can tell when exercising if I have smoked one recently.

Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 9:55 pm

Good luck SP, I hope you achieve your goals.

Concentrate on stopping smoking. You may gain weight, as a result, but the health benefits by far outstrip the weight gain. I speak not as an anti-smoking advocate but as a 35/day man for 30 years who gave up 1 year, 5 days and 22 hours ago (because of CAD). It was bloody tough but worth it. So good luck and if you need any encouragement feel free to PM me.

Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 9:59 pm

Geez Barbara, You made it sound like 100 lbs. overweight at the beginning. Laughing

Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 10:05 pm

Probably a good move switching to the hardtail SP, unless you're doing serious off-roading then the suspension bob wouldn't be worth the extra comfort. If you find you're getting a sore arse then get a suspension seatpost and gel saddle. They make a lot of difference.

Baiting Guru Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 3551

I only ride 12 or 13 miles, but I got a seat that has a cut-out so one's tailbone doesn't touch anything.

Baiting Guru Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 3193

Scam Patroller wrote:

I will gradually increase the time between smokes, so it becomes 2 every 1 hour 15 minutes, then 1 hour 30 minutes, until I gradudally wean myself off them.

That's how I'm doing it too. I'm down from ten a day to one every four hours, and now fairly comfortable there. It's about time to extend that to five hours.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

Yeah, I was recently looking at those bike stands with the weighted wheel for resistance, handy for days when it's pissing down with rain, might try and get something like that at a later date.

I imagine my arse will be killing me quite a bit until I get used to it, at least it's not a saddle like on a racing bike, some of them are like razor blades, now that would hurt.

I had a little quandry today, the full suspension bike I ordered in my first post on this topic, which I later cancelled in favour of ordering the same bike in a hard tail version, well, the catalogue sent details of all of their sale items from the autumn/winter catalogue which I ordered the original bike from, and that full suspension bike has now been reduced by �50 to �249, I was nearly tempted to cancel the hardtail and order the original one again, wasn't sure what to do Confused

, but decided to stick with the one on order, the extra �50 saving would have been a bonus, I could spend that on other bike stuff, someone went to Halfords for me today as they were going that way anyway, and got me a bike pump, fleecy rain and wind proof cycling gloves so my fingers don't fall off in the icy winds, and a 12 function bike computer so I can track exactly what I have done when out on the bike, also, my new Adidas tracksuit arrived from the catalogue and I have a pair of Adidas trainers on order, which should be here soon, so then I'm all set, just need the bike, roll on the 14th Cool

Can't wait to get on the bike, and I tend to get really obsessional about anything I do, so I will more than likely be out 2 or 3 times a day for shortish rides, as per my first post, I was thinking 10 - 15 miles per day to start, but that's probably pushing it a bit at this stage, so something like 2 - 5 miles will do for starters, if I feel I can do a bit more, I will, but I tell you one thing, this time next year, I will be doing at least 30 miles per day, hopefully more, ideally, I would like to do 40 miles per day, and by then, I will have got myself one of those Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS's set up with the heart monitor, then I can use sites like www.motionbased.com to keep all my cycling routes and cycling data online for easy access and reference.

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 1:45 pm

the seat on mine was VERY un comfortable what i did is get a big comfy seat for a excercycle and put that on, it made me want to ride more because I enjoyed it more

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 2:13 pm

good luck with it SP! Glad to see you're spending a bit of cash on it, those very cheap cycles are the best way to become totally unmotivated about cycling because they're so crap. As others have mentioned before, make sure to be serious about locking it -- thefts even in broad daylight with loads of people around are very common in, ahem, most places in the greater ____ area.

I'm a fanatical cyclist myself (putting in 100-140 urban miles most weeks, about half of which is getting to work and back) and it's a very good feeling. I can't lie though, it doesn't do much about the beer gut (I think I would require a different lifestyle change to deal with that one), and my weight has stablised at, well, a bit more than it really ought to be.

cheers,
f5

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

Some bad news, I got a call from the catalogue today about the trainers I ordered, there has been a delay, now expect to deliver by the end of the month, so I wont be able to ride until they arrive Mad

The catalogue is getting worse, their sale is on at the moment, so I ordered another Adidas tracksuit yesterday and a pair of jeans, both of which are reduced in price, when will they be delivered? Bloody February 8th, a damn month to deliver a couple of common items, useless twats Evil or Very Mad

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

My new bike has arrived, it looks even better in the flesh Cool

, I'll stick my laptop on in a bit and take a couple of photos of it.

I wasn't completely sure of the manufacturer, the bike is called a "CBR Extreme", I had a suspicion that CBR stood for Claud Butler Racing, well that's who did make it, it has Claud Butler in big letters on the outside of the box, I can't see the bike on their website, so it's probably a bike they make for the home shopping catalogue market.

The bike does feel a bit on the big side, I put the saddle on as low as it will go and I still can't get my feet flat on the floor when sat in the saddle, in the catalogue it says the size is, 26 ins wheel (66 cm) for inside leg 28-36 ins, I'm 5'9" with a 31 inside leg, so that seems slightly off, not that it matters much anyway, it's the right size for cycling when I have both feet on the pedals, anyway, it's here and I'm happy with it.

Nothing much to do apart from putting on the saddle, pedals, front wheel, reflectors on front and rear, and the handlebars, give it a check over and make sure everything is tightened up, just the computer to fit, I'll do that when my trainers arrive.

The bike did come with 2 allan keys and one of those flat tools that fits 12 different nut sizes, unfortunately, neither of the allan keys fit the 4 nuts that hold the handlebars on Rolling Eyes

, my other half has just gone down the town, so I asked to her to pop in to the hardware shop and get me an allan key, she better not lose the allan bolt I gave her to take to the shop Twisted Evil

, once the handlebars are on, it will be ready, now I'm just waiting for my damn trainers to arrive before I can use it Mad

I'm on a bit of a diet now until I get to ride it, hopefully I will shift at least half a stone by the end of January by going on the multi gym and not eating much, only had a sandwich and a banana since Saturday.

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 2:50 pm

Quote:

I put the saddle on as low as it will go and I still can't get my feet flat on the floor

It's misleading when they tell you that anyway.
The most important thing, as you say, is that your leg is almost straight at the bottom of the downstroke when pedalling, otherwise it's niether efficient or comfortable. I cringe when I see people with really low saddles and exaggerated, cramped up bent legs.

When I used to race (Road bikes mind you) I was set up in that way, and from the saddle I could only get one set of toes on the ground.
At the end of the day, when you need to brake hard and then put both feet down, you shouldn't actually be sat in the saddle anyway.

Good luck, and enjoy!

PS: Having one sandwich and a banana since Saturday is not so good! You need food, have a ham salad sandwich or something, that won't put weight on you... you still need some energy every day.

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 4:58 pm

It's better to have your leg almost fully straight when you are seated on the bike. You adjust the seat in relation to the peddles, not the ground.
I won't bore you with the technical reasons, but it's infinitely more efficient.

I found this a guide SP: Clicky

Have fun, You've inspired me to get my mountain bike out of mothballs. Very Happy

*Edit* Toe clips are a must! Wink

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 6:44 pm

Great to hear that your new machine has arrived. Hard tail bikes are more efficient in energy transmission. Instead of bouncing up and down, they go forward. There's some advice here on the baiter forum that in a lot of ways is better than the bike forums. Eating is very important. It seems that my brain starves first and then bad things happen. On Saturday I was going to get something to eat before a ride about 3. The place I stopped at was packed. I left with an empty stomach to lube my chain and shoe releases then hit the bike path. Four hours later and in the dark I caught a cyclone fence at 17 mph. When a handlebar touches a fence, it turns the front tire into the fence and that will stop a bicycle almost instantly. The rider will continue unless clipless pedals are still attached to shoes. In that case, rider continues, goes down, rolls, bike goes into air and the rider does a 270 degree spin with the roll. The guys behind me said it was spectacular. I was pissed that I injured a hand that I had been working on since my last major crash on 15 October and now am sad that I can't do a metric century that I had scheduled for today. Sad

My hand now feels the same as last week but I have a calf that's almost twice as large as the other. So, lesson learned, eat something and never go three across unless you are in the middle.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

Mugatu wrote:

The most important thing, as you say, is that your leg is almost straight at the bottom of the downstroke when pedalling,

Yeah, it's spot on where it is now, for some reason I remembered it as you had to have your feet flat on the floor, now remembering back, as you say, they don't need to be.

@ Windy, go on mate, get the bike out of mothballs and get out on it, pointless having it if you are not using it, no way would I use toe clips on a bike, never used them, I don't like the feel of being clipped in if I happen to come of the bike, would rather my legs be free.

@ Connie, ouch Sad

, shame about not being able to do the century ride, I would love to be able to do one of those one day, probably easier on a road bike, though Very Happy

, I don't think I'll be riding like you do for 4 hours at a time, not looking to kill myself just yet, I was only sitting on the bike in my living room for about 20 minutes today, and my arse is killing me, imagine what it will be like after my first ride Shocked

I took some photos of the bike using my laptop camera, even with the living room light on and 2 lamps laid on their side for more light, the pictures are still quite dark an fuzzy, so I'll only post this one, I really need to get a digital camera for stuff like this and to take with me when I'm out riding:

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/3838/webcam200801110607jb6.png

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:36 pm

An old computer truth says 'crap in, crap out,' and unlike in television, it's impossible to make high definition glossy prints from crappy 72dpi thumbnails, but here's a better version of your pic none the less:

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

That's better, it looks lighter like that when I view the images on my laptop, but dark as hell on this old machine.

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:01 pm

Scam Patroller wrote:

no way would I use toe clips on a bike, never used them, I don't like the feel of being clipped in if I happen to come of the bike, would rather my legs be free.

I started with cages a long time ago and my last two bikes have had integrated pedals. My sore calf is a direct function of the bike going through the air while I was spinning on my back with my feet firmly attached to the bike. Even though the mechanisms were just cleaned, lubed and set at the absolute minimum level, they never released on Saturday. Thinking of all the crashes and near misses over the years I think you have a point about clips.
Very nice bike SP. You need to go out and get it dirty.
Laughing

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:13 pm

(Grumble, grumble....two dusty bikes somewhere........)

They have some really neat, 'city' tires for that wheel size, as mentioned, a lot less rolling resistance if you're doing street work.

Work up to the knobby stuff.....

I have an 80's era Fuji Hybrid type, and a touring bike that has never been more than 5 miles from the house....
Laughing

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:29 pm

Wishing you all the success!
It can be done and I'm speaking from experience. I've dropped 8 stone since I began my weight-loss program, and I started out at 22. Not only do I look better, I feel better.

There comes a time when it has to end (2000 miles ridden)	View next topic View previous topic