Lazy-Commuter
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I know some people put this in their "hello, I'm a newby" first posts and I'm sure there must be threads and threads somewhere along the same lines, so sorry if I'm going over old ground here. I know I could use search, but I invite you to consider the first word in my username ..
I started thinking about this following Tony's "addictive" thread. Anyway, where did the cycling thing begin for you?
For me, it was one of those things that Mrs-LC and I always thought we'd do "one day, when the kids are old enough and we can go out as a family" in a keep-promising-it-but-we'll-probably-never-really-do-it kind of way.
But, we've always been into walking and we got into the habit of letting the little-LCs take their bikes along: they could cycle faster than their 0.25mph walking speed and go further and it was just better all round.
Until, last year when they became quick enough that we had to run to keep up with them. And I do not do the "r" word. So we took the plunge.
Having got the thing, I thought I ought to get some use out of it - and hopefully lose some weight - so started the riding to work in August 2007.
It took me a few weeks to build up to the point where I could actually do the distance: ~ 7 miles each way. I know I know. My bugbear for ages was a 60m climb done over about a mile to get out of our village: took me two whole weeks of trying every night to get up that.
I bottled out of the commute last Winter due to cold, wet and dark. But found I was itching to get started again in February this year, though it was really March before I made any real headway.
To cut it short, I quickly got to the point where I was on the bike pretty much every day, my ride was getting quicker and taking less effort, I'm much fitter (although compared to my starting point it doesn't say much!) and have lost a bit of weight.
I plan to continue commuting right through winter and find I don't mind the rain: it looks like I'm going to have do a salmon impression on the way home tonight and I don't care. My colleagues are worried about my mental health.
But I just hate it when I can't ride to work. If we pass a bike shop, we have to go in and the little-LCs roll their eyes and say, "oh no, daddy's buying another gadget." I think it's fair to say I've got the bug.
I started thinking about this following Tony's "addictive" thread. Anyway, where did the cycling thing begin for you?
For me, it was one of those things that Mrs-LC and I always thought we'd do "one day, when the kids are old enough and we can go out as a family" in a keep-promising-it-but-we'll-probably-never-really-do-it kind of way.
But, we've always been into walking and we got into the habit of letting the little-LCs take their bikes along: they could cycle faster than their 0.25mph walking speed and go further and it was just better all round.
Until, last year when they became quick enough that we had to run to keep up with them. And I do not do the "r" word. So we took the plunge.
Having got the thing, I thought I ought to get some use out of it - and hopefully lose some weight - so started the riding to work in August 2007.
It took me a few weeks to build up to the point where I could actually do the distance: ~ 7 miles each way. I know I know. My bugbear for ages was a 60m climb done over about a mile to get out of our village: took me two whole weeks of trying every night to get up that.
I bottled out of the commute last Winter due to cold, wet and dark. But found I was itching to get started again in February this year, though it was really March before I made any real headway.
To cut it short, I quickly got to the point where I was on the bike pretty much every day, my ride was getting quicker and taking less effort, I'm much fitter (although compared to my starting point it doesn't say much!) and have lost a bit of weight.
I plan to continue commuting right through winter and find I don't mind the rain: it looks like I'm going to have do a salmon impression on the way home tonight and I don't care. My colleagues are worried about my mental health.
But I just hate it when I can't ride to work. If we pass a bike shop, we have to go in and the little-LCs roll their eyes and say, "oh no, daddy's buying another gadget." I think it's fair to say I've got the bug.