Hi all, newbie from Preston, Lancs here having recently returned to cycling after 18 years. The catalyst for me was a relationship break up combined with my health going to pot (type 1 diabetic and suffering from a skin condition covering large parts of body), so I decided it was about time I took back control of my life.
I started my new life back in mid-July by attending a boot camp on Saturdays in addition to returning to the gym. After a few weeks had passed decided to take things a step further and try cycling to see if I could save money on the 10 mile commute to work (20 mile round trip). To that end did some maintenance on my old decrepid full suspension mountain bike to make it road worthy before going out and managing 7.7 miles at 9.1 mph! Fell back in love with cycling but was absolutely shattered so decided I needed a newer bike (any excuse!). After much research I ended up buying a Carrera Crossfire 1 due to the numerous trail paths in the local vicinity and so far this hasn't disappointed with the exception of a blow out on the original kenda rear tyre (after 170 miles) which Halfords kindly replaced for free with a Schwalbe.
Anyways to cut a long story short at the age of 35 I was 17 stone 10Ibs (down from 18 stone 8 Ibs a year ago), when I started and am now down to 15 stone 7 Ibs through eating healthier options, but not a diet! In terms of exercise I started participating in a local boot camp at weekends and have also joined a cycle club which entails circuit training on a Wednesday evening and weekend rides in excess of 30 miles plus you get out and socialise more in the process which is a great benefit and gives you an incentive to ride even when you don't feel like it! Last but not least I have also started commuting to and from work occasionally weather permitting!
My most recent ride was up to an average speed of 13.5mph after having just purchased some clipless spd's. I am now looking at potentially getting thinner tyres (28's) and am planning my next bike purchase on the cycle to work scheme next year!
As I have been a forum lurker for the past several months I decided it was time to register!
I started my new life back in mid-July by attending a boot camp on Saturdays in addition to returning to the gym. After a few weeks had passed decided to take things a step further and try cycling to see if I could save money on the 10 mile commute to work (20 mile round trip). To that end did some maintenance on my old decrepid full suspension mountain bike to make it road worthy before going out and managing 7.7 miles at 9.1 mph! Fell back in love with cycling but was absolutely shattered so decided I needed a newer bike (any excuse!). After much research I ended up buying a Carrera Crossfire 1 due to the numerous trail paths in the local vicinity and so far this hasn't disappointed with the exception of a blow out on the original kenda rear tyre (after 170 miles) which Halfords kindly replaced for free with a Schwalbe.
Anyways to cut a long story short at the age of 35 I was 17 stone 10Ibs (down from 18 stone 8 Ibs a year ago), when I started and am now down to 15 stone 7 Ibs through eating healthier options, but not a diet! In terms of exercise I started participating in a local boot camp at weekends and have also joined a cycle club which entails circuit training on a Wednesday evening and weekend rides in excess of 30 miles plus you get out and socialise more in the process which is a great benefit and gives you an incentive to ride even when you don't feel like it! Last but not least I have also started commuting to and from work occasionally weather permitting!
My most recent ride was up to an average speed of 13.5mph after having just purchased some clipless spd's. I am now looking at potentially getting thinner tyres (28's) and am planning my next bike purchase on the cycle to work scheme next year!
As I have been a forum lurker for the past several months I decided it was time to register!
. Very well done.
) and use it to get up them hills!! My fitness is slowly improving and hopefully the weight will soon start to drop off. 
