Not sure whether it is usual to introduce yourself here but seems only polite to do so although I’ll throw in a few questions for good measure.
I’m certainly a newbie to serious cycling, although whether you’d call me a beginner depends on your perspective. I cycled a lot in my student & subsequent years but just commuting & never on a sporting level. Other than occasional rides in the summer holidays the next 10-15 years were quiet, although I’ve kept fit through a variety of sports & gym work and have a basic MTB to play on the fields and tracks around home.
It’s just over 14 miles of moderately hilly road to my work & I thought it might be fun to take the bike. However I had been discouraged by uncertainty over how long it might take & whether I would be good for any work at the other end - not to mention the trip back! However through a combination of Nicole Cooke’s gold, petrol prices & my regular tennis partner getting injured, I resurrected my old racer and to my delight I found that the trip was well within my capabilities managing it in just under an hour.
I’m now thinking about where to take my resurgent interest in cycling. The immediate plan is to try cycling shoes & clipless pedals for the first time and to work on reducing my PB on the old racer. I can’t cycle to work every day, but should manage 2 or 3 days/week. Outside the commute, I’m thinking of doing the Glasgow-Edinburgh run. Beyond these plans I’m not so sure. Are there competitions out there for (veteran) novices? Should I join a club? Are there different styles of clubs, and what might I expect to find in a club?
What about the bike- it probably goes without saying that I’ve already been eyeing up potential upgrades to the old racer: a 10 speed Dawes Lightning, bought from Edinburgh City Cycles sometime in mid-1980s I think. It’s doing fine and I’ll keep using it until the employers decide to sign up for the cycle to work scheme. By then, I hope I’ll have a clearer idea of what to go for (the Specialized Roubaix pro looked lovely in the shop, but maybe just a bit too much of a thoroughbred for me at the moment).
I’m certainly a newbie to serious cycling, although whether you’d call me a beginner depends on your perspective. I cycled a lot in my student & subsequent years but just commuting & never on a sporting level. Other than occasional rides in the summer holidays the next 10-15 years were quiet, although I’ve kept fit through a variety of sports & gym work and have a basic MTB to play on the fields and tracks around home.
It’s just over 14 miles of moderately hilly road to my work & I thought it might be fun to take the bike. However I had been discouraged by uncertainty over how long it might take & whether I would be good for any work at the other end - not to mention the trip back! However through a combination of Nicole Cooke’s gold, petrol prices & my regular tennis partner getting injured, I resurrected my old racer and to my delight I found that the trip was well within my capabilities managing it in just under an hour.
I’m now thinking about where to take my resurgent interest in cycling. The immediate plan is to try cycling shoes & clipless pedals for the first time and to work on reducing my PB on the old racer. I can’t cycle to work every day, but should manage 2 or 3 days/week. Outside the commute, I’m thinking of doing the Glasgow-Edinburgh run. Beyond these plans I’m not so sure. Are there competitions out there for (veteran) novices? Should I join a club? Are there different styles of clubs, and what might I expect to find in a club?
What about the bike- it probably goes without saying that I’ve already been eyeing up potential upgrades to the old racer: a 10 speed Dawes Lightning, bought from Edinburgh City Cycles sometime in mid-1980s I think. It’s doing fine and I’ll keep using it until the employers decide to sign up for the cycle to work scheme. By then, I hope I’ll have a clearer idea of what to go for (the Specialized Roubaix pro looked lovely in the shop, but maybe just a bit too much of a thoroughbred for me at the moment).
only polite - yes but not necessarily everyone 
