Six months ago today I picked up my new bike up from the shop a 13 hybrid .Its the first bike I have owned for over 25 years I had cycled on odd days on holiday but never owned a bike since I was a teenager . To date I have riden 1227 miles which I find amazing .My first ride was only 6.5miles then I slowly increased the milage 10 ,20 then 30 miles .As the milage increased so did my targets .A 50 miler before Xmas was target number one ,achieved with a week to spare. A metric century before six months target number two ,done last week (66miles) after a failed attempt of 59 miles due to horrendous headwinds two weeks before.next target is a imperial century before the end of the year. I have riden every weekend to date except one due to ice in the midlands we did not have to bad a winter other then the winds ( I hate headwinds). I now cycle with two mates from work who started or restarted cycling at the same time as me and we ride 30 to 50 miles around the lovely countryside of Leicestershire every weekend. I now feel after six months riding my fitness level has really improved ,really noticeable when climbing I used to use my lowest gear and spin away but now I climb in much higher gears and quite often don't use the bottom ring on the triple at the front and have not used the lowest gear a 30 tooth on the rest cassette for 4 months The decision to buy a bike has certainly been one of my better ones and have loved every minute on the bike even when struggling and riding the bike is now a priority in my life and I spend the week planning the weekends ride and looking toward to many or miles. Next target is slowly improve my average speed which is currently 12 to 12.5mph
Also considering +1 road bike looking forward to some trail riding in the summer not done much in the winter as I don't enjoy getting muddy and getting proper use out the hybrid. Just thought I would share my progress and hopefully encourage others as people on here have encouraged me . Thanks to @ColinJ for setting up the half century challenge which has got me chasing the miles and @Supersuperleeds for the encouragement knowing my locals roads and climbs and everyone else who's liked my rides or replied to any question I posted
13 rider
Also considering +1 road bike looking forward to some trail riding in the summer not done much in the winter as I don't enjoy getting muddy and getting proper use out the hybrid. Just thought I would share my progress and hopefully encourage others as people on here have encouraged me . Thanks to @ColinJ for setting up the half century challenge which has got me chasing the miles and @Supersuperleeds for the encouragement knowing my locals roads and climbs and everyone else who's liked my rides or replied to any question I posted
13 rider
