rayw1604
Senior Member
- Location
- Cheltenham, Glos
Hi All,
I've been lurking in the forums for weeks now, having a laugh and also finding a lot of very useful information from all the members' posts here. Anyway, I thought that today I should contribute my own post, especially as I broke through an important obstacle(important in my own little world anyway
)
I am a 48 year old male, happily married, and have had a touring type bicycle for about 6 years - the Orbit Orion, now an obsolete model by an obsolete company, I believe - but really haven't done much with it, except in bursts of short-lived enthusiasm, and usually in the summer. I tried doing 300 miles in a month back in February, 2008, but gave in/lost interest after a few days of bad weather, after only 60 miles in total.
Fast forward to October this year, and the bike is mouldering away in the corridor of my flat, unloved except by my Norwegian Forest cats, clogged up with cat hair for that reason. I was very unhappy with my weight - nearly 15 stone - and lack of fitness, and decided that cycling had always worked for me as a means of losing weight in the past, albeit only for a little while. So I washed and cleaned the bike and started a new regime - cycling some days but not every day, not putting pressure on myself if I didn't feel like it, mixing it up with gym sessions (I'm a receptionist at the YMCA in Cheltenham, and get use of the gym for free, so no excuses there), and keeping a diary on my PC of which routes I did, what distance and average speed I managed etc. I bought the Cat Eye Double Wireless computer thingy, as I felt that cadence was a big issue in getting the most of my cycling.
Anyway, to cut a very long post short, I have lost 18 pounds in 8 weeks, having cycled in all sorts of weather, rain, wind, gales, darkness, you name it, and I have loved every second of it. I feel supremely good in myself. My average speed has improved from 12.5 to 13.6. And, just this morning, I conquered a psychological and physical block I have, namely hills, by cycling non-stop up a particularly nasty specimen in Cheltenham called Harp Hill. I have good gears on my bike but haven't used them properly until reading up on good technique, here and elsewhere. That hill climb, a stroll in the park for many seasoned cyclists here, I will grant you, means so much to me, I cannot emphasize enough. I tried doing it in October and managed about ten yards before dismounting. I am now going to do it at least a couple of times a week, and time myself next time(this time I was so concerned about doing it at all, I forgot to take a note).
I have no intention of stopping now, and keep myself going with the thoughts that a) I feel so much better, and other people are noticing too, and
it will be so much easier and more fun come next Spring, now that I have started at what is really the wrong time of year.
Phew!! Those members who have got this far, thank you for your patience. I will make future posts shorter, but I really felt I needed to offload all my thoughts and happiness, and share it around in some small way
And thanks for a great forum
I've been lurking in the forums for weeks now, having a laugh and also finding a lot of very useful information from all the members' posts here. Anyway, I thought that today I should contribute my own post, especially as I broke through an important obstacle(important in my own little world anyway
)I am a 48 year old male, happily married, and have had a touring type bicycle for about 6 years - the Orbit Orion, now an obsolete model by an obsolete company, I believe - but really haven't done much with it, except in bursts of short-lived enthusiasm, and usually in the summer. I tried doing 300 miles in a month back in February, 2008, but gave in/lost interest after a few days of bad weather, after only 60 miles in total.
Fast forward to October this year, and the bike is mouldering away in the corridor of my flat, unloved except by my Norwegian Forest cats, clogged up with cat hair for that reason. I was very unhappy with my weight - nearly 15 stone - and lack of fitness, and decided that cycling had always worked for me as a means of losing weight in the past, albeit only for a little while. So I washed and cleaned the bike and started a new regime - cycling some days but not every day, not putting pressure on myself if I didn't feel like it, mixing it up with gym sessions (I'm a receptionist at the YMCA in Cheltenham, and get use of the gym for free, so no excuses there), and keeping a diary on my PC of which routes I did, what distance and average speed I managed etc. I bought the Cat Eye Double Wireless computer thingy, as I felt that cadence was a big issue in getting the most of my cycling.
Anyway, to cut a very long post short, I have lost 18 pounds in 8 weeks, having cycled in all sorts of weather, rain, wind, gales, darkness, you name it, and I have loved every second of it. I feel supremely good in myself. My average speed has improved from 12.5 to 13.6. And, just this morning, I conquered a psychological and physical block I have, namely hills, by cycling non-stop up a particularly nasty specimen in Cheltenham called Harp Hill. I have good gears on my bike but haven't used them properly until reading up on good technique, here and elsewhere. That hill climb, a stroll in the park for many seasoned cyclists here, I will grant you, means so much to me, I cannot emphasize enough. I tried doing it in October and managed about ten yards before dismounting. I am now going to do it at least a couple of times a week, and time myself next time(this time I was so concerned about doing it at all, I forgot to take a note).
I have no intention of stopping now, and keep myself going with the thoughts that a) I feel so much better, and other people are noticing too, and
it will be so much easier and more fun come next Spring, now that I have started at what is really the wrong time of year.Phew!! Those members who have got this far, thank you for your patience. I will make future posts shorter, but I really felt I needed to offload all my thoughts and happiness, and share it around in some small way
And thanks for a great forum
