Not influenced by Bradley Wiggins, I swear!

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dharma66

Regular
Location
Manchester, UK
No really. Honestly. I was thinking of buying a bike weeks before I'd ever heard of him, honest!

Oh it's no use. Yes, yes, the incredible, amazing performances of the Team GB cyclists is probably what's swung it.

But really, I was planning it weeks ago...

So, I'm Phil, I'm 45, from Manchester. Last time I rode a bike that was not attached to a gym floor and had actual wheels was thirty years ago. Well, nearly. I did borrow my sisters mountain bike for a few weeks about 5 years ago, but it was so small I couldn't turn the handlebars, so that didn't last long!

I'm very overweight. About three years ago, I got down to about 17 stone by indoor rowing. Inspired by my boss at the time (thanks Graham), I really took to it and lost nearly five stone, culminating in completing a half marathon in about 1:52. I would have made my 1:45 target if I hadn't had a massive bout of indigestion 20 minutes in.

I'm back up to 20 stone, and want to put a halt to the increase. I can't row anymore, as the only gym I can reasonably access has a 20 minute limit on its single Concept 2, and that is basically just a good warm-up. So, I'm going to try cycling.

I'm currently looking at low end hybrids (sounds like something from a sci-Fi movie), and will be cycling mostly on road, with perhaps the occasional tow path. First stage, though, will be wobbling up and down our cul-de-sac until I can remember how to turn corners!

At least I won't have to worry about mastering 'wheelies' this time! (They were nigh on impossible on a Chopper!)
 

Profpointy

Legendary Member
A post about bikes - was expecting you'd just decided to grow sideburns
 
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dharma66

dharma66

Regular
Location
Manchester, UK
@Profpointy: Yeah, I wondered about the sideburns. If athletes are shaving their legs to cut down on drag, surely those bushes are doing him no good :smile:

@Raging Squirrel: sadly that bike is about double what I'm looking to spend at this point. I'm not sure I can even still ride a bike, so I'm keeping it simple for - probably a Trek 7.0. If I take to it, I'll spend more next year.
 

aJohnson

Senior Member
Location
Bury, Manchester
Not for aerodynamics?

The mind boggles!

No hair makes it easier to clean wounds, less infections, easier to bandage and such.
 

wisdom

Guru
Location
Blackpool
:welcome:Phil
Heres a.little excert from what i call a personal acheivement which may spur you on.
I am 51 and was a bit overweight.Went to the gym for about 12 months and it was all free weights very enjoyable but i didnt lose an ounce just bulked up which wasnt what i really wanted..So i bought a hybrid ok it wasnt a cheap one but it got me back into cycling and most important commuting which i consider was the best thing i ever did.
Using the bike every working day gave me a reason to cycle.i didnt ride slowly but really enjoyed every journey despite the weather.Winter was excellent.Every day felt better and i began to feel guilty on days when i had to use the car.
I decided that the next stage was to cut down on my intake to work with the cycling this resulted in a one and a half stone of weight loss since the beginning of May.Its purposely not a fast weight loss as i have a family and dont want to start boring diets.I just used common sense and cut out all of the crap apart from the odd treat.I now have bought a road bike as well(what we used to called racers)Now i use whichever bike suits the weather and what i have to carry for work.
The most important thing is to enjoy cycling and all that goes with it.
I am continuing with the sensible eating and am going for another stone by November.
Cycling is the way forewards for me:thumbsup:
 
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dharma66

dharma66

Regular
Location
Manchester, UK
Thanks all.

@Wisdom: Great story, and great progress, thanks for sharing. My only real disappointment is that commuting is not really an option...My commute is from near Rochdale to Knutsford. It's over 40 miles, and Google Maps reckons its a 3 hour ride :sad:

So what I'm figuring is that rather than finish work at 4 and queue up for a 20 minute slot on the rower, I'll just kick rowing into touch, drive straight home, arrive around 5, and jump on the bike right away. Doe mean it will be rush hour, but one benefit of being so far out is that its quite easy to find quieter roads!
 

sittingbull

Veteran
Location
South Liverpool
My only real disappointment is that commuting is not really an option...My commute is from near Rochdale to Knutsford. It's over 40 miles, and Google Maps reckons its a 3 hour ride :sad:
Drive part way, park the car up somewhere secure and cycle the remainder. Knutsford is a nice place to cycle. ^_^
 
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