Hi all
The name is steve, just thought i'd get more involved in the cycling community now i've "passed" what friends and family were saying is a mid life crises!! (40 years old now).
Where to start?
24 years ago i got a job and cycled everywhere on a tourer bike.
Bought a mountain bike and a road bike, went out every saturday for 60-80 mile rides, joined the wisbech wheelers aged 18,
did my first ten mile time trial in 28.10 (in jeans!!). Attended a few more 10 miler runs after that.
Then started driving lessons, got a car, sold two bikes and dumped the other on the compost heap!!
22 years later my doctor is getting concerned my asthma is getting worse and said i really ought to start exercising more!!
So in january i drove to hunstanton and walked to brancaster then i used the bus to get back to the car.
Basically i walked a "little" 15-23 mile section of the norfolk coast every week until mid march. (From hunstanton to bacton so far).
Then i decided to retrieve the bike from the compost heap, clean the frame down bare, respray it, throw loads of new bits at it and start cycling again!! (I'm an engineer by trade and i'm rather proud of my little restoration).
Since then i haven't been away from the bike for more than 48 hours!!
It's a heavy beast, being one of the first mountain bikes made by raleigh, although its now got slimline slick tyres, racing rims
(with flattened spokes), a front chainset from a raleigh racing bike (i had to grind a bit off the left hand crank as it was colliding with
the frame), seven speed cogs on the back, with top gear being very tall geared for this lump of iron!!
There's also a few other bling bits added (my walking sat-nav and a basic speedo with heart-rate monitor), the main thing is this
41 LB beast is causing me to loose weight and i'm definatly getting fitter as i can hold my breath for 90 seconds and have a resting heart-rate in the early morning of 52bpm.
In march i rode 8 miles in 84 minutes, and had aching legs for two whole days. (weighing 18 stone 2 lb).
More recently i've ridden 68 miles in 7 hours 12 mins ... and didn't really have any aches or pains the next morning!!
Now at 14 stone 12 lb .... and when i get down to 13 stone i'm going to treat myself to a proper racing bike (my incentive).
Here are a few pics of my heavyweight bike taken in march/april, which is as aerodynamic as a brick ... there's no escape from the fenland
winds!! (The wheels, tyres and pedals have since been changed as well).
I think i can call this a hybrid??
The name is steve, just thought i'd get more involved in the cycling community now i've "passed" what friends and family were saying is a mid life crises!! (40 years old now).
Where to start?
24 years ago i got a job and cycled everywhere on a tourer bike.
Bought a mountain bike and a road bike, went out every saturday for 60-80 mile rides, joined the wisbech wheelers aged 18,
did my first ten mile time trial in 28.10 (in jeans!!). Attended a few more 10 miler runs after that.
Then started driving lessons, got a car, sold two bikes and dumped the other on the compost heap!!
22 years later my doctor is getting concerned my asthma is getting worse and said i really ought to start exercising more!!
So in january i drove to hunstanton and walked to brancaster then i used the bus to get back to the car.
Basically i walked a "little" 15-23 mile section of the norfolk coast every week until mid march. (From hunstanton to bacton so far).
Then i decided to retrieve the bike from the compost heap, clean the frame down bare, respray it, throw loads of new bits at it and start cycling again!! (I'm an engineer by trade and i'm rather proud of my little restoration).
Since then i haven't been away from the bike for more than 48 hours!!
It's a heavy beast, being one of the first mountain bikes made by raleigh, although its now got slimline slick tyres, racing rims
(with flattened spokes), a front chainset from a raleigh racing bike (i had to grind a bit off the left hand crank as it was colliding with
the frame), seven speed cogs on the back, with top gear being very tall geared for this lump of iron!!
There's also a few other bling bits added (my walking sat-nav and a basic speedo with heart-rate monitor), the main thing is this
41 LB beast is causing me to loose weight and i'm definatly getting fitter as i can hold my breath for 90 seconds and have a resting heart-rate in the early morning of 52bpm.
In march i rode 8 miles in 84 minutes, and had aching legs for two whole days. (weighing 18 stone 2 lb).
More recently i've ridden 68 miles in 7 hours 12 mins ... and didn't really have any aches or pains the next morning!!
Now at 14 stone 12 lb .... and when i get down to 13 stone i'm going to treat myself to a proper racing bike (my incentive).
Here are a few pics of my heavyweight bike taken in march/april, which is as aerodynamic as a brick ... there's no escape from the fenland
winds!! (The wheels, tyres and pedals have since been changed as well).
I think i can call this a hybrid??
