D
Deleted member 22722
Guest
Hi all,
I've been lurking on these forums for the last couple of months gaining a wealth of knowledge from all members and thought it was about time I posted a quick note to say hello.
I hail from Oldbury, not far from Junction 2 of the M5 in the Midlands and have recently taken the plunge and gotten into biking. The main reason, like a lot of other people i've read about on here, was because I found that my 40 years had suddenly crept up on me and before I knew it I was tipping 19.5 stone on the scales. I think that in part, the weight started to pile on once i'd given up the ciggies 2 years ago. A general lack of any exercise over the past 10 years hasn't helped things. either.
I'll also be relocating offices at work in about 12 months time and I'll no longer have access to free parking. So unless I want to fork out around £500 a year on a parking pass I have to come up with an alternative.
So about 3 months ago I decided that I was going to get myself a road bike, slowly build up my fitness with the aim of being able to cycle into work in 12 months time. As I only work 5 miles away I thought that this would be a realistic target that I could achieve.
Before I contemplated jumping on a bike it was my intention to drop some of the excess weight as I assumed that it would make the cycling part a whole lot easier. I spent around 8 weeks eating a lot healthier, cutting out the crap like crisps, chocolates and fast food and I dropped 2 stone. I immediately felt a whole lot healthier and was surprised at how much extra energy that I had, even though I am still classed as obese.
During this time I was doing a lot of research on biking and this is how I came across the CycleChat forums. My knowledge of bikes was severely limited as I hadn't ridden a bike since I was about 19 and at college. Well that's a small lie because I bought a mountain bike from Decathlon around 7 years ago, it was completely the wrong size for me (which I didn't know at the time) and I ended up riding it on about 6 occasions before it sat unused in the garage.
I am lucky enough in that my employer partakes in the CycleScheme so it was an easy way for me to purchase a more suitable bike whilst saving a little cash at the same time.
After reading a lot of reviews I'd narrowed my choices down to around 3 or 4 different model road bikes. Not knowing what size i'd need though I wanted to check them out in the flesh to make sure that it would suit me. After going to a couple of LBS's I came across one that just happened to have a Giant Defy 1 in stock and in my size too. I gather trying to find one of these in stock anywhere let alone in the right size is an achievement in itself so I plonked down a deposit and arranged my voucher through work.
2 weeks later I took delivery of my new bike (i'd post a picture of it but I'm not sure how to do that - anyone care to enlighten me?). After getting kitted out with all of the essentials, new helmet, gloves, cycling shorts etc I was eager get on the bike. At the same time I was very hesitant of riding on the roads not having done this on a bicycle in over 20 years. I therefore decided to start riding when there was less traffic on the roads, early mornings and later at night. I've been driving since I was 18 and riding motorcycles since I was 25 and I think the motorcycle riding more than anything has been the biggest aid over the past few weeks. Road positioning, braking, riding in the wet, looking out for potholes etc are essentially the same on a motorbike as they are on a bicycle and my confidence on the bike has increased very quickly. At the same time I am always assume every other user of the road, including pedestrians are idiots.
I'm into my 4th week of riding so far and I've been getting out every other day/night at the moment (work & family commitments overrule my cycling pleasures unfortunately). My first time out I started out with a measly 4-5 mile ride, which I was dead proud of. Bearing in mind that my goal was to cycle the 5 miles to work and back in 12 months time. I've noticed that with each ride I'm getting faster and my stamina is increasing to the point that I'm not ready to pass out when I get home (one of the hills between home and my workplace has still yet to be conquered though) . More importantly, I feel great and alive after a ride. The additional exercise is also helping with the weight loss and I'm now under 17 stone for the first time in heaven knows how long.
I am regularly riding between 13-15 miles at this point in just over an hour and have decided that I will start riding to work once the kids go back to school next week. I'll start off riding in once the first week, twice the second week and so on. I'll probably give myself a rest day mid week and continue to drive in on a Wednesday in the short term.
Anyhow, I've rambled on for far too long.
Cheers
Alexis
I've been lurking on these forums for the last couple of months gaining a wealth of knowledge from all members and thought it was about time I posted a quick note to say hello.
I hail from Oldbury, not far from Junction 2 of the M5 in the Midlands and have recently taken the plunge and gotten into biking. The main reason, like a lot of other people i've read about on here, was because I found that my 40 years had suddenly crept up on me and before I knew it I was tipping 19.5 stone on the scales. I think that in part, the weight started to pile on once i'd given up the ciggies 2 years ago. A general lack of any exercise over the past 10 years hasn't helped things. either.
I'll also be relocating offices at work in about 12 months time and I'll no longer have access to free parking. So unless I want to fork out around £500 a year on a parking pass I have to come up with an alternative.
So about 3 months ago I decided that I was going to get myself a road bike, slowly build up my fitness with the aim of being able to cycle into work in 12 months time. As I only work 5 miles away I thought that this would be a realistic target that I could achieve.
Before I contemplated jumping on a bike it was my intention to drop some of the excess weight as I assumed that it would make the cycling part a whole lot easier. I spent around 8 weeks eating a lot healthier, cutting out the crap like crisps, chocolates and fast food and I dropped 2 stone. I immediately felt a whole lot healthier and was surprised at how much extra energy that I had, even though I am still classed as obese.
During this time I was doing a lot of research on biking and this is how I came across the CycleChat forums. My knowledge of bikes was severely limited as I hadn't ridden a bike since I was about 19 and at college. Well that's a small lie because I bought a mountain bike from Decathlon around 7 years ago, it was completely the wrong size for me (which I didn't know at the time) and I ended up riding it on about 6 occasions before it sat unused in the garage.
I am lucky enough in that my employer partakes in the CycleScheme so it was an easy way for me to purchase a more suitable bike whilst saving a little cash at the same time.
After reading a lot of reviews I'd narrowed my choices down to around 3 or 4 different model road bikes. Not knowing what size i'd need though I wanted to check them out in the flesh to make sure that it would suit me. After going to a couple of LBS's I came across one that just happened to have a Giant Defy 1 in stock and in my size too. I gather trying to find one of these in stock anywhere let alone in the right size is an achievement in itself so I plonked down a deposit and arranged my voucher through work.
2 weeks later I took delivery of my new bike (i'd post a picture of it but I'm not sure how to do that - anyone care to enlighten me?). After getting kitted out with all of the essentials, new helmet, gloves, cycling shorts etc I was eager get on the bike. At the same time I was very hesitant of riding on the roads not having done this on a bicycle in over 20 years. I therefore decided to start riding when there was less traffic on the roads, early mornings and later at night. I've been driving since I was 18 and riding motorcycles since I was 25 and I think the motorcycle riding more than anything has been the biggest aid over the past few weeks. Road positioning, braking, riding in the wet, looking out for potholes etc are essentially the same on a motorbike as they are on a bicycle and my confidence on the bike has increased very quickly. At the same time I am always assume every other user of the road, including pedestrians are idiots.
I'm into my 4th week of riding so far and I've been getting out every other day/night at the moment (work & family commitments overrule my cycling pleasures unfortunately). My first time out I started out with a measly 4-5 mile ride, which I was dead proud of. Bearing in mind that my goal was to cycle the 5 miles to work and back in 12 months time. I've noticed that with each ride I'm getting faster and my stamina is increasing to the point that I'm not ready to pass out when I get home (one of the hills between home and my workplace has still yet to be conquered though) . More importantly, I feel great and alive after a ride. The additional exercise is also helping with the weight loss and I'm now under 17 stone for the first time in heaven knows how long.
I am regularly riding between 13-15 miles at this point in just over an hour and have decided that I will start riding to work once the kids go back to school next week. I'll start off riding in once the first week, twice the second week and so on. I'll probably give myself a rest day mid week and continue to drive in on a Wednesday in the short term.
Anyhow, I've rambled on for far too long.
Cheers
Alexis
