therams
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Manchester
OK, this post started out as a review of my new bike, but I seem to have gotten side tracked. Sorry for the long rambling post, it’s probably quite dull, but it’s been quite therapeutic to write all this down.
After turning 34 and the birth of my first son I was getting fat and unhealthy. My life was great but I seemed to have no time to do anything. For years Golf had been my escape, but with a small family 5 hours out of the house on a Saturday and early morning summer round was no longer possible. It was my wife how suggested cycling to work. To be flair, I had a brief spell as a cycle commuter a few years back, but a badly sprained ankle stopped that and I never started again.
Anyway, with a new Job, just a 10 mile round trip, I got the bike out of the shed and dusted it down and in early October I started to commute. The cycle to and from work was a revelation, within a few weeks of starting I was feeling better; I had energy, something that had been lacking for a while. Most importantly though I had a release, when I got to work the sleepless nights seemed like they had not happened and when I got home the stress of the working day seemed like miles away. I guess you could say I was hooked!
Anyway, in early November, after I had just kitted my mountain bike out with slicks, lights and mud guards it was stolen from outside work. It was all caught on CCTV, but it was impossible to make out the face of the A**e would took it. I was mad at having the bike stolen, but my main fear was stopping commuting, like I did when I had a sprained ankle. So I got my wife’s Mountain Bike out of the shed and started using that to get to work. To be fair, it was probably a better bike than the one I had stolen a, Trek MTB. I kitted that out with slicks and mud guards and started again! The new bike actually seemed better fitted to me and the commute seemed to get easier and faster. Of course, this could have been me getting fitter, anyway things were good again. At about the same time I also invested in a Garmin Edge 205 GPS computer. I love stats and this provides loads of them. In hindsight, I should have gone for the 305, with heart rate and cadence but that's another story.
By December time, even though the weather was pretty grim, I was starting to think about doing some longer ride, dare I sat it "cycling for fun". On Christmas day I went out and did 12 miles and on Boxing Day I did a 20 mile ride. This was getting enjoyable. I am not sure if I have lost weight, but I now wear my belt two buckles tighter and feel 100% better.
When the New Year came around, I decided it was time to get a new bike. I work for a small company and decided to implement the cycle to work scheme. Way hey, £1000 to spend on a new toy. After looking at bike in Evans and Halfords, I decided to go to my local bike shop and ride a few different bikes.
Thanks for listening, I must do some work now, but I will post the new bike review soon….
After turning 34 and the birth of my first son I was getting fat and unhealthy. My life was great but I seemed to have no time to do anything. For years Golf had been my escape, but with a small family 5 hours out of the house on a Saturday and early morning summer round was no longer possible. It was my wife how suggested cycling to work. To be flair, I had a brief spell as a cycle commuter a few years back, but a badly sprained ankle stopped that and I never started again.
Anyway, with a new Job, just a 10 mile round trip, I got the bike out of the shed and dusted it down and in early October I started to commute. The cycle to and from work was a revelation, within a few weeks of starting I was feeling better; I had energy, something that had been lacking for a while. Most importantly though I had a release, when I got to work the sleepless nights seemed like they had not happened and when I got home the stress of the working day seemed like miles away. I guess you could say I was hooked!
Anyway, in early November, after I had just kitted my mountain bike out with slicks, lights and mud guards it was stolen from outside work. It was all caught on CCTV, but it was impossible to make out the face of the A**e would took it. I was mad at having the bike stolen, but my main fear was stopping commuting, like I did when I had a sprained ankle. So I got my wife’s Mountain Bike out of the shed and started using that to get to work. To be fair, it was probably a better bike than the one I had stolen a, Trek MTB. I kitted that out with slicks and mud guards and started again! The new bike actually seemed better fitted to me and the commute seemed to get easier and faster. Of course, this could have been me getting fitter, anyway things were good again. At about the same time I also invested in a Garmin Edge 205 GPS computer. I love stats and this provides loads of them. In hindsight, I should have gone for the 305, with heart rate and cadence but that's another story.
By December time, even though the weather was pretty grim, I was starting to think about doing some longer ride, dare I sat it "cycling for fun". On Christmas day I went out and did 12 miles and on Boxing Day I did a 20 mile ride. This was getting enjoyable. I am not sure if I have lost weight, but I now wear my belt two buckles tighter and feel 100% better.
When the New Year came around, I decided it was time to get a new bike. I work for a small company and decided to implement the cycle to work scheme. Way hey, £1000 to spend on a new toy. After looking at bike in Evans and Halfords, I decided to go to my local bike shop and ride a few different bikes.
Thanks for listening, I must do some work now, but I will post the new bike review soon….
