Hi
It's probably about 20 years since I've ridden a bike in anger, but there was a convergence of 3x important things in July that inspired me to get a bike again, and get back in to cycling.
1. A "Health MOT" confirmed what I already knew - that I was overweight and unfit and that things needed to change. 5' 9" and just under 15 stone, with little to no exercise in the past 10 years, and a desk job.
2. Despite not cycling, still a massive fan, so with the Grande Departe of the TF practically on my doorstep, what an opportunity to see something I've been watching for probably 25 years. Saw Stage 1 roll past on the Cote de Buttertubs
3. A bike at a really good price - I ended up buying a Carrera tdf from Halfords at £243. Week after I bought it, I received an e-mail offering the same bike for £199, and Halfords agreed to refund me the difference, so got what I think is a pretty decent entry level bike for a really good price.
Have been out and about on it practically every day for the past couple of weeks. Most rides up to 10x miles. I'm thinking I need to build up strength and stamina, before I think about distance and speed, but I'm generally still averaging about 12mph on most rides I've done. I've done 50 miles in the past week, which I think is a great base to build from. Registered on strava last week, and there's enough in there to excite the geek in me.
Found my challenge today - a few rides I've bottled out of tackling a hill nearby, but attempted it today - it's shown on strava as 0.4miles at an average 8%. http://www.strava.com/activities/185095802/segments/4334280785 Stopped halfway and ended up walking the last 50 metres. I'm hooked enough to make sure I'm able to ride this with ease in the next 6 months.
Thanks for reading and any pointers or words of encouragement much appreciated.
It's probably about 20 years since I've ridden a bike in anger, but there was a convergence of 3x important things in July that inspired me to get a bike again, and get back in to cycling.
1. A "Health MOT" confirmed what I already knew - that I was overweight and unfit and that things needed to change. 5' 9" and just under 15 stone, with little to no exercise in the past 10 years, and a desk job.
2. Despite not cycling, still a massive fan, so with the Grande Departe of the TF practically on my doorstep, what an opportunity to see something I've been watching for probably 25 years. Saw Stage 1 roll past on the Cote de Buttertubs
3. A bike at a really good price - I ended up buying a Carrera tdf from Halfords at £243. Week after I bought it, I received an e-mail offering the same bike for £199, and Halfords agreed to refund me the difference, so got what I think is a pretty decent entry level bike for a really good price.
Have been out and about on it practically every day for the past couple of weeks. Most rides up to 10x miles. I'm thinking I need to build up strength and stamina, before I think about distance and speed, but I'm generally still averaging about 12mph on most rides I've done. I've done 50 miles in the past week, which I think is a great base to build from. Registered on strava last week, and there's enough in there to excite the geek in me.
Found my challenge today - a few rides I've bottled out of tackling a hill nearby, but attempted it today - it's shown on strava as 0.4miles at an average 8%. http://www.strava.com/activities/185095802/segments/4334280785 Stopped halfway and ended up walking the last 50 metres. I'm hooked enough to make sure I'm able to ride this with ease in the next 6 months.
Thanks for reading and any pointers or words of encouragement much appreciated.
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Keep up the good work and you'll end up looking at this as your challenging hill 
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