Newbie Road user

[cyberknight]

Thanks Jonny. The London to Brighton thing is a goal for me, doing it by myself would not likely have the same mental impact as paying £40 and having to do it does. Ideally I would love to be fit enough to do the London to Paris run but I am not sure I will be by then.
I did go out on one of the local club rides, my first ride on a bike in years and we cycled 32 miles with one stop. My arse was numb, and I certainly did not feel great after, I did make it however.

Longest ride i did this week was 10 miles each way commute , 6 day week and about 65 hours work in total, i had intended to ride today and it was meh cant be assed tbh .

 

[craig kennedy]

as soon as the summer holidays start for my kids, ill be cycling 12 miles daily, 6 to work and back again. I am hopeful that within a couple of weeks of doing that ill be able to cycle home a longer route of 10+ miles

 

[Nigelnaturist]

as soon as the summer holidays start for my kids, ill be cycling 12 miles daily, 6 to work and back again. I am hopeful that within a couple of weeks of doing that ill be able to cycle home a longer route of 10+ miles

My mates house is less than three miles away, a medium route is about 8, back in March I was doing 20-22 miles there and back, pulled back a bit on that recently, sort of 20 there 12 or home, as @cyberknight will tell you, the more you do the easier the distance becomes.

 

[craig kennedy]

yeah, I figure that would be the case, biggest problem is finding time to make it worth going out. Seems no point going out for half an hour here and there?

 

[Nigelnaturist]

yeah, I figure that would be the case, biggest problem is finding time to make it worth going out. Seems no point going out for half an hour here and there?

I appreciate that, but if its all you can do, try and work harder in that time, sprints or a couple of hill repeats if you have any close by. When I started I could barely do 6 miles 1/2 hr without stopping.

 

[cyberknight]

yeah, I figure that would be the case, biggest problem is finding time to make it worth going out. Seems no point going out for half an hour here and there?

Half an hour is better than nothing , thats pretty much my commute time each way give or take .If i dont have time for a club run at the weekend i have a 24 mile route i can do and i can be more fecked then a 60 miler if i work at it.

 

[craig kennedy]

I am currently capable of cycling for an hour at an easy 10mph pace without stopping, including some hills, so I am happy with that.

For those interested, the ebay cycling glasses with built in prescription lenses arrived and to my surprise, they look ok, and work as well, will post a pic in a little while

 

[craig kennedy]

ok pictures of the glasses, and the inner part slots in very nice and is very secure. also worth noting that in my case the left and right lenses are different strengths so they are pretty flexible when they make them, and all together £25 + £5 for shipping which is not bad in my book.

 

[cyberknight]

ok pictures of the glasses, and the inner part slots in very nice and is very secure. also worth noting that in my case the left and right lenses are different strengths so they are pretty flexible when they make them, and all together £25 + £5 for shipping which is not bad in my book.

Looks good , i need reading glasses now but luckily im ok with anything more than a foot away ......... so far.

 

[jonny jeez]

yeah, I figure that would be the case, biggest problem is finding time to make it worth going out. Seems no point going out for half an hour here and there?

Your commute will quickly start to have an impact, so don't worry about times and distances now. You will know when you are ready to start pushing a little further.

Pretty soon you'll be posting about your first 100 miler.

In my opinion,,if you can ride 50 miles, then you can ride 100. Once you are over 50 and you know your bum and general fitness can handle it, it just a matter of time spent in the saddle. If you attempt a longer distance, I would just break it down into small segments and stop for a tea at each way point.

 

[craig kennedy]

I'm at £113 so am over the required amount, will be getting more

What are the general thoughts on cycling on your own, i t had been suggested it's not a great idea fur safety reasons, but it's always going to be hard to find someone at the same level as you right and I'm happy on my own

 

[Nigelnaturist]

I'm at £113 so am over the required amount, will be getting more

What are the general thoughts on cycling on your own, i t had been suggested it's not a great idea fur safety reasons, but it's always going to be hard to find someone at the same level as you right and I'm happy on my own

Done over 20,000 miles almost all on my own, without major mishaps/ thats in three years or so.

 

[craig kennedy]

cool, Il just keep doing what Im doing then. I think I am now kitted out 100%, got cheap camera, glasses, helmet, Gloves, shorts, shoes, socks, tops, canosters to fill tyres, puncture repair kit, water bottle (need to get another one), tools, lights, speedo. What am I missing....... ah no spare tube, cant seem to work that one out, I think my wheels are 700c / 23 so I presume the tube needs to be the same?

 

[craig kennedy]

oh and mobile cradle for Sony Z3 is also on the way (waterproof phone which makes it handy)

 

[PhilDawson8270]

I would avoid tracking your ride with your phone GPS if riding solo. The last thing you want is to be stuck with a mechanical fault, or at worse be knocked off on a hit and run, with a flat battery as the GPS of MapMyRide/Strava has run your battery flat.