over ambitious or not ??

[daddypaul3]

hey guyz and gals

having taken up cycling again, not been on one since my teenage years me and a couple of friends are thinking of doing the Manchester to Blackpool cycle on the 14th July....... approx 60 miles
here's my thinking i currently weigh in at 19 stone (yeh i know fat f**ker) but started cycling earlier this month & so far i have cycled about 70 ish miles and lost nearly 1/2 a stone , am planning on seeing what my fitness levels are around the end of march and then making a decision !!!!!

Any thoughts or comments welcome am i being a bit to ambitious or not ????

cheers
paul

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Plenty of time for you to get ready for it, just keep going out and pushing the miles up, don't forget to have some days off for recovery though.

 

[daddypaul3]

oh and by the way i did 6 miles at 5.30 am in the wind and rain this morning so im not scared of putting the effort in ... i know i need to improve on the distance but time constraints before work means i have to be back home at 6.30 am to get ready for work.... would cycle there too if they had showers as i dont fancy sitting in a shirt and tie after cycling to work without a shower lol ....been doing upto 13 miles at the weekends but i am gradually getting a bit faster

 

[fossyant]

You'll get there. Just keep upping your miles. Make sure you are riding regularly though.

 

[fossyant]

Cycling to work - use babywipes and deo. Works for me - no showers at any sites (travel for meetings too) and I wear shirt and tie !

 

[BrumJim]

oh and by the way i did 6 miles at 5.30 am in the wind and rain this morning so im not scared of putting the effort in ... i know i need to improve on the distance but time constraints before work means i have to be back home at 6.30 am to get ready for work.... would cycle there too if they had showers as i dont fancy sitting in a shirt and tie after cycling to work without a shower lol ....been doing upto 13 miles at the weekends but i am gradually getting a bit faster

Daily short rides are great at keeping up the fitness. Weekends are there for stretching it. You've started nice and early - and winter fitness is worth more than summer fitness*, so should be no problems.

* - Firstly, you've had the mind set to get out there. If you are happy to ride in the cold and wet, then riding in the warm and dry will be easy. Secondly, there is more air around in winter, so riding is harder.

 

[ComedyPilot]

Don't forget, as roads are slippier in winter we tend to ride slower. Thus we have less momentum for getting up hills, so we work harder. Summer will be a breeze for ya.

 

[MattHB]

I started riding in oct 11 at 17.5 stone. In July 12 I did the Macmillan 100 (at about 15.5 stone) with ease.

Keep building miles, do some sportives as well, it's good practice for pacing and nutrition. Sort your diet out (no alcohol for a start) and just keep spinning those pedals and you'll do that and more with no issues.

 

[jay clock]

little and often and increase steadily. Once you can do say 15 miles in one go, no problem in pushing yourself for 20 the next time, but the next ride do 15 again.

Re the cycling to work/shower issue, one thing I found helped a lot on the odd occasion I needed to do it, was to shower BEFORE cycling. Then dress a little bit too cool for the weather, actively think about taking it easy, then a rub down with a dry towel on arrival, maybe basin-wash the armpits (and any damp nether-areas). Cycling to work quickly replaces a normal commute and is free training time. Once you can do a few miles as a commute every day for a few weeks, suddenly a longer ride becomes easy.

Finally at 19 stone you are a skinny runt. Gaz from on this forum went from 39 stone to 13 stone purely by cycling and is a TV star! http://39stonecyclist.com/pictures/ and then search out some of his videos....

 

[helston90]

Lots of small trips to begin with- that was what got me going- bit here to the shops, visit the folks, whatever, then they got extended on weekends to 25 mile + fun rides and then you'll be on into July ready for it.
Riding an organised event in warm summer with lots of others is a world apart from lone riding at 5.30am in the pitch black head-wind of winter!

 

[malcermie]

Practice = fitness. Now going up hills on middle ring that would have taken granny ring three months ago

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Contrary to popular thought I think the depths of winter is a great time to start cycling, you're going to love the summer!

 

[Kestevan]

Manchester to Blackpool should be OK. It's not too challenging a route, no big climbs (just watch out for the headwind as you hit the coast at Lytham).

Having said that, you need to keep riding between now and July - a little often, building up the miles slowly. Aim to have done a 30-40 mile ride 2 or 3 weeks before the event - on the day the atmosphere and no of people will make it seem easier than riding on your own, and as long as you take it easy you should be OK.

Oh and make sure your bike is in decent nick, the number of people on the Man-Black ride squeeking along on rusty chained old MTBs with flat tyres is depressing (and they're making it so much harder for themselves).

 

[Minotier]

Nice and steady build up and you will easily do this fella.
Bit of decent weather and get the miles totting up and it will be a joy!

 

[daddypaul3]

overslept this morning really P*ssed off with myself not a great start !!!!!!!!​