Show us your.......newbie progress! [4 Sep 2012 - 4 Oct 2014]

[Nomadski]

The Blackberry & Elderflower variant is rather nice! I never used to like Pimms as it used to dry my mouth out rather like eating those Sharon Fruits or Persimmons as they are now called.

Tastes change over time though and I like it now.

The missus bought herself that very same variety only 2 days ago! With that and the Chinese meal synergy you should rename yourself SpookeyDokey.

Due to my mum being taken into hospital I only managed one commute this week, but the return leg was a slight detour to her house in a rush took me 38 mins to cover 11.1m, i was a tad fooked at the end of it!

apart from that this morning I got out on the trusty 29'er, and hit the trails with a few friends, starting at 7am was the best idea ever it was still hot and the forest was full of mozzies, picked up 5-10 bites while riding through em, was a lovely ride though and very quick in parts as well, the forest is really dry and packed now, so the bike was riding nicely, definitely see the benefits of the 29'er just need to get my seat position correct so I am not leaning to far forward going down hills ;-)

Route: MTB Run 07/07/13
Activity: Mountain Bike
Started: 7 Jul 2013 07:01:17
Ride Time: 1:37:19
Distance: 13.12 miles
Average Speed: 8.09 mph
Fastest Speed: 24.49 mph
Ascent: 643 feet
Descent: 635 feet
Bike: Scott Scale 970
Shoes: Specialized Tahoe

Sorry to hear about your mum, hope everything is ok.

Looks like I'm making progress. Did a metric 100 today (63 miles). 30 miles downhill then 30 miles up hill. I averaged 13.6 mph. Riding time was 4:38 with actual time 5:15. The rest time was buying water in supermarkets and traffic lights.

I can't believe how much I have improved. I'm still over 20st but the weight is coming off. I also passed the 2,500 mile mark since I started in October.

4 weeks to the London 100. That will be an amazing day.


http://app.strava.com/activities/65334988

Brilliant stuff @philinmerthyr, congrats on the MC in this heat! Brilliant 2.5k of miles you've racked up too, way more than me!! Like Ive said a few times, weight often bears no relation to fitness, found that to my cost with a larger lady on the New Forest Sportive who just kept going and going and going and gone!

Well set out this morning wanted to do average 20-25 miles had a new route planned got back nice gentle sun drenched ride only to find my strava phone app had crashed how i never threw the phone in the local field i will never know, so pi**ed off.

So got back showered popped to a well known cycle franchise and bought this



So hopefully know no more missed data

Bit of a kick in the teeth that, but at least you have the right tool for the job now. Smartphones are great as a starting point, but if your doing this a lot and are bothered with tracking mileage and routes properly then these things are top notch.


I went out at last for the first time in around 10 days which has made me feel very guilty every time Ive looked at my bike. Got out today in searing London heat to try the "superhighway" into town and another one back, and it seemed to work ok. Saw some great sights (St Pauls, Trafalgar Sq, Westminster, Battersea) and headed back via a different superhighway via Wimbledon village. Saw Chris Evert in a Hertz people carrier, and enjoyed relatively little traffic around Wimbledon for once!

Bit slow on average with a lot of taxis and buses on The Strand and Trafalgar Sq area, but liked doing a flat route for once.

May well be my 'pottering about course' when Im bored.

http://app.strava.com/activities/65414139

 

[Nigelnaturist]

The stand is brilliant the biggest down sides are how heavy it is and the floor space it takes up. The more expensive ones are lighter so they can be packed away quickly and moved easily. They also take up less room so they can fit more into pro teams pit stop areas which can be tight at times. The feedback pro elite stand is the one most teams use for the above reasons but they are a massive £225.99

Anyway here's my picture of the stand and bike and one of the view over maidstone from last night

Pretty sure you could modify the stand for less than £195 if you want. It is good value though.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Well I went out did a total of 6 miles or so, as got yet another vist at about 3 miles, got home (having replaced the tube, took a few glass shards out) pumped up the tyre with the track pump, only for it to flat again, I think this p fairy is actually possible being kind to me and giving me a warning.
So I will go and try out this new stand, and maybe a picture.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Due to my mum being taken into hospital I only managed one commute this week, but the return leg was a slight detour to her house in a rush took me 38 mins to cover 11.1m, i was a tad fooked at the end of it!

Hope your mum recovers soon, all the best.

 

[Ciar]

cheers gents, the mum issue has been going on for a few months as she is a type 1 diabetic, problem is she got an infection in the left foot which moved to the right, just picture the elephant man, so we called the ambulance and made them take her in, low and behold one operation later it's now being dealt with, not mentioned it in the past not something I normally chat about

 

[boybiker]

Pretty sure you could modify the stand for less than £195 if you want. It is good value though.

I can live with them slight downsides and put the money towards some new wheels!

 

[SWSteve]

Good ride steve a lot of big climbs on that route! . As for the tennis even I found the end moderately entertaining and I consider tennis only one up from cricket .

you've obviously never stayed up all night listening to TMS. That's entertainment

 

[fivepence]

Quite encouraging to read through the progress people have made. In my case from a 3 mile run at about 10 MPH practically killed me to 15 @ 15. Small steps but worthwhile enjoyable ones
http://app.strava.com/activities/65176273

 

[DaveyM]

well I managed 50 miles yesterday and 23 ish today.
I have enjoyed it all so much ( apart from being stung by a Bee on Saturday )
I know that I have less than a month left before I do the Coast to Coast so every mile counts I guess.

 

[Nomadski]

Quite encouraging to read through the progress people have made. In my case from a 3 mile run at about 10 MPH practically killed me to 15 @ 15. Small steps but worthwhile enjoyable ones
http://app.strava.com/activities/65176273

I did a short 4 mile loop last year when I got my bike and I came home feeling like Id run a marathon. Was downing drink after drink, had the fan on, face was like a beetroot... Now 4 miles is just the warm up.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

I did a short 4 mile loop last year when I got my bike and I came home feeling like Id run a marathon. Was downing drink after drink, had the fan on, face was like a beetroot... Now 4 miles is just the warm up.

2/3rds of my ride today

 

[RWright]

I got a bike work stand last year, I set it up in a dining area of my kitchen when I got it. It is still there.

I went out early today and got my first 100 miler. To celebrate I went out and bought a 16 pound bag of ice to ice down my feet, knees and ass. Not really, but I did get a bag when I got home, I was thinking about ice from about 80 miles on. My refrigerator's ice maker can't keep up with me in the summer.

I got a bad start, I wanted to take the Blue Meteor (Synapse) but just before I was leaving I notice a tire was cut on the sidewall and a little of the tube was bulging through. Instead I just fired up the Red Rocket (Trek 2.3), I knew it was going to be a little rougher and a little more twitchy ride but I wasn't really sure how far I was going to go when I left so I didn't think much about it. It was a good move, the Ultegra shifters on the compact shifted easier and flawlessly the whole ride, something I can sometimes make shifters not do when I get tired and lose concentration.

I didn't eat much breakfast and by 10 miles out I was hungry, by 15 miles I was stopped and eating a sausage and egg biscuit and a Payday candy bar. I stopped about 4 hours later for lunch at a different place and ate the same thing again. The second place had not made anything decent for lunch since it was Sunday I guess, I think they cater more to the work day locals. The second go round didn't sit so well on my stomach but I got through it ok. I drank tons of Gatorade and water.

The first fifty or sixty or so miles going out, I had a 2 or 3 mph tailwind most of the time. I got a little cocky and was thinking, hmmm, this ain't so tough, maybe I should ride 200 miles today. The wind picked up to about 9 mph from the south(my direction home), right around noon, the time I was heading back. It made for a long day.

I stopped at a beach area near the lake, on a bridge at the lake and near a nuclear power plant to get a few pictures. I will post them in the photo section later on. It got warm at mid day so I am a little sun and wind burned but nothing major. I liked the area I rode in, LOTS of other riders, every time I stopped someone riding by asked it things were cool. It was a good day. I will sleep well tonight.

http://app.strava.com/activities/65446178

 

[Nomadski]

Great ride there @RWright! Century bagged and tagged.

 

[Mo1959]

@RWright. I go away for the day and come back to read of your amazing ride. That is a huge jump up from your previous longest is it not? Amazing. I see you say you weren't sure how far you were going to go. Wonder if that is the best way to do long rides. At least if you don't set out with a specific goal you can't be disappointed.

Hope you sleep well and the legs recover.

 

[RWright]

@RWright. I go away for the day and come back to read of your amazing ride. That is a huge jump up from your previous longest is it not? Amazing. I see you say you weren't sure how far you were going to go. Wonder if that is the best way to do long rides. At least if you don't set out with a specific goal you can't be disappointed.

Hope you sleep well and the legs recover.

I have done a metric ton before. I think it might be better to just go out and see how things go sometimes. I was aware of the increase in the winds for the afternoon when I went out. I got out and was feeling good, moving along pretty swiftly, that and seeing so many other riders was exciting to me, so I was at 60 miles in no time, that is when I decided to go for it. 100 is a lot of miles though. Felt like I was riding all over 3 counties.

I forgot to add, I only got scalped once, and he was a skinny and looked like he knew what he was doing.