Motivation for those starting out

[philinmerthyr]

I started riding last October and like many struggled early on. I was 23st and over the first month built up to a 13 mile route. In November I managed to do the ride at an average of 12.2 mph in 67 mins and was really pleased.

http://www.strava.com/activities/27338099

9 months on I did almost the same route tonight. This time my average was 15.6 mph and my time was 53 minutes.


http://www.strava.com/activities/76207193

This just shows what progress can be made I'm just an average bloke so if I can do it anyone can. If you are new to riding, keep at it. In no time you will make huge progress. The challenge is to keep it up as the autumn and winter approaches.

 

[Hill Wimp]

I started riding last October and like many struggled early on. I was 23st and over the first month built up to a 13 mile route. In November I managed to do the ride at an average of 12.2 mph in 67 mins and was really pleased.

http://www.strava.com/activities/27338099

9 months on I did almost the same route tonigh. This time my average was 15.6 mph and my time was 53 minutes.


http://www.strava.com/activities/76207193

This just shows what progress can be made I'm just an average bloke so if I can do it anyone can. If you are new to riding, keep at it. I no time you will make huge progress. The challenge is to keep it up as the autumn and winter approaches.

Phil your recent epic journey of 100 miles in the Ride London Surrey is massive motivation to anyone.

 

[philinmerthyr]

Yes but the 100 miles seems impossible at the start to most new riders. there were many occasions where i thought i was attempting the impossible. These links show what can be done on a shorter evening ride.

Having said that the 100 miles and the training to get there has been hugely enjoyable. It's a challenge that is achievable by everyone. If you believe you can do it you will succeed.

 

[RWright]

I started riding last October and like many struggled early on.

The challenge is to keep it up as the autumn and winter approaches.

Starting when you did and sticking with it was the impressive part to me. I started during late summer the year before and stopped about October and gained all the weight I had lost back, plus some. Last August I was more determined to stick with it and I did. There were some days it was cold and windy and I could very easily have just stayed inside but I noticed some of the rides you were doing and it motivated me to get out. I plan to stay at it this winter as well. Barring something catastrophic, I think it will be easier this year than last. I hope so anyway.

Good luck to you and everyone else with the cool weather riding coming up this year.

 

[Sillyoldman]

One of my favourite ever rides was last winter when there was a continual light dusting of snow for the whole ride. It never covered the road. There was no wind, it was eerily quiet and quite beautiful. As long as my hands and feet are warm I am a happy camper. But when it's windy.....that's altogether different. I hate wind.

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

Another slant on motivation...
In 2009 at 46 and over 15 stone, very unfit I bought a bike and started cycling into work.
4.8 miles was killing me and taking 40 minutes.

The following year I took up running 2-3mikes every other day and cycled the 140mile coast to coast in 2-days.
That September, I ran the Great North Run in 1:51 and my 10k race times were down to 47 minutes.

In 2011 my running started to suffer and I had to pull out of three separate running races due to breathing issues put down to exercised induced asthma.
I also felt my cycling suffering and this escalated in the latter part of 2011.
Early 2012 I was diagnosed with a major cardiac issue (I had suffered a heart attack in '93), and an angiogram showed the artery on my right atria/ventricle 93% closed.
A successful angioplasty procedure in feb last year fixed that and the cardiologist said that had I not taken up the cycling and running, I would have been your average 50yr old stressed, unfit and overweight desk jockey and wouldn't have noticed the symptoms...and would most likely dead of heart failure by the summer!.

I can now ride that 4.8 miles in 15 minutes, and recently pushed out a 32 mile ride averaging 18.2mph.

Will I ever go back to commuting by car? Hopefully never need to.
I'm not as fit as I was in 2010, but I'll still keep cycling, try to get running again and keep under the 13st mark.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Sometimes, the winter can be such a bore. I ride both indoors and outdoors, when I can. I ride an indoor trainer and watch Hollywood Epic Films. When I get tired of that, I go to the gym and ride with others. Or I ski. Maintaining form and fitness can and will always be a challenge for me. I figure, just by recorded miles, that I have put 10,000 miles on bicycles since August 2006 . It's more, but I lost a lot of records when a computer died. And many more folks are much more avid cyclists than myself. This is a fine forum for recommendations, inspiration, weighty knowledge, and outright mischief.

 

[Rob3rt]

Sometimes, the winter can be such a bore. I ride both indoors and outdoors, when I can. I ride an indoor trainer and watch Hollywood Epic Films. When I get tired of that, I go to the gym and ride with others. Or I ski. Maintaining form and fitness can and will always be a challenge for me. I figure, just by recorded miles, that I have put 10,000 miles on bicycles since August 2006 . It's more, but I lost a lot of records when a computer died. And many more folks are much more avid cyclists than myself. This is a fine forum for recommendations, inspiration, weighty knowledge, and outright mischief.

Problem might be in your thinking and how you define this. You will never be able to maintain peak fitness or peak form for any substantial period of time and you won't be able to maintain both peak fitness and peak form at the same time either. Sounds like you just paddle along trying to maintain your baseline! If you wish to maximise your ability you will need to sacrifice form as you push your fitness higher by placing increasing demands on your body. You then let off and fitness will fall slowly, but fatigue will dissipate quickly leading to a gain in form, it is this point where you will perform best. This will only last so long before the loss in fitness outweighs the gain in form, so you would then need to repeat the process. If you were to plot this process you would have a saw wave kind of plot where each tooth starts at a slightly higher level than the previous one.

 

[magpie21]

Great thread for someone like me getting back to cycling, even 10 miles seems a long way right now!

 

[Hill Wimp]

You will make progress very quickly, before you know it 50 will be your goal and the 100.

 

[KneesUp]

Hello all. I've just got back on my bike after 15 years. I'm still just about on the inexperienced side of 40 and am staggeringly unfit, as it turns out.

I used to commute to my summer job as a student and my target was always 20mph average over the 5.2 mile route (including traffic lights as my computer at the time couldn't calculate a moving average) I was younger and more reckless in those days.

I am now older and live in a hillier place. I attempted to cycle home last night, but had to get off on hill two of several. My aim is to be able to ride all the way home!

My motivation is that I'm riding a bike that is almost 30 years old, and I won't allow myself to even think about getting a new one until I am happy that I'm fit enough to justify it!

 

[philinmerthyr]

My motivation is that I'm riding a bike that is almost 30 years old, and I won't allow myself to even think about getting a new one until I am happy that I'm fit enough to justify it!

I had a similar dilemma last year. In the end I bought a new carbon road bike just after starting to ride an old/heavy mountain bike. I think the new bike was more of a motivation for me to get out in all weather through the winter. The bike was much more enjoyable to ride so the cold and wind were bearable. Personally, I don't think I would have done as much training on the mountain bike.

You may get motivation from working towards the reward of a new bike but don't struggle on the old bike to the extent that you don't enjoy it and risk giving up.

 

[KneesUp]

I had a similar dilemma last year. In the end I bought a new carbon road bike just after starting to ride an old/heavy mountain bike. I think the new bike was more of a motivation for me to get out in all weather through the winter. The bike was much more enjoyable to ride so the cold and wind were bearable. Personally, I don't think I would have done as much training on the mountain bike.

You may get motivation from working towards the reward of a new bike but don't struggle on the old bike to the extent that you don't enjoy it and risk giving up.

The old bike isn't so bad - it's a road bike at least and was reasonably decent in it's day. It's too high geared for here/my level of fitness though, so I'm going to chuck a few quid at a long cage mech and a different freewheel I think. It's hard to get fit for cycling when you're pushing!