Hi all

[berty wooster]

I have been out of the saddle for approx 15 years and I have decided to return to cycling to work for fitness purposes. I am 39 years old and the journey is 17 miles each way.
I was wondering if any body else has dome something similar and how they got on.
Also any tips or advise would be gratefull

Cheers all

Steve

 

[Maz]

Hello and welcome,
Have you already bought a bike or is that the sort of advice you were after?
Will your commute be all on roads?

 

[domtyler]

I have been out of the saddle for approx 15 years

Okay, you can sit back down now!

Hello Berty.

 

[ianrauk]

Hi there, welcome back to Cycling.

Let me refer you to this thread, asking the same thing as yourself.
Has some good advice.

http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=14459

 

[domtyler]

Seventeen miles? That's is a long way to cycle twice a day, every day.
Doable, but you will need to work up to it if you are pretty unfit at the moment.

For that distance you need a half decent road bike at the least.

 

[berty wooster]

S few (15) years ago i used to cycle 20 miles a day which I loved doing so once I've done it once and the fitness level improves I hope I can whittle the time down.
I have an mtb at the mo - It is a Trek aluminium 7000 - with front shocks . its been modded over the years - I bought it new in 1993.
I was looking to hear from people who have done something similar to see how they got on.
If i do it and stick to it I may invest in a new bike.

cheers

 

[fossyant]

We'll certainly don't try it every day at first - build up to it.

I used to do 40 miles a day in my youth (return trip) and certainly felt it after the fourth day, so I would usually do a maximum of 4 days, that coupled with racing saturday/sunday was more than enough.

I do anything from 18-30 miles a day now, depending upon which route I take, time constraints etc.

Do take the odd day off to recover. A road bike is much better siuted to that distance. I used to use my MTB for the 40 miler in winter, but it was hard !

 

[gavintc]

I propose that you will lose motivation quite quickly if you go straight into a 34 miles a day regime. You need to build up and get some miles in. I would suggest taking the car with the bike in the back and cycle / drive on alternate journeys until you are happy with the distance. I also think you need to consider a decent bike with narrower tyres - a hybrid or road bike rather than a MTB (sic).