andyfromotley said:
errmmmmmmm .. hello ....... the title was 'cheer me up' !!!!
Okay Andy, I'll have one last go. You've asked for it, but please forgive the length of this post. I've told the story before online, but I hope it helps to motivate you!
I cycled as a child but got my bike nicked from the school bike sheds and that was that until...
[Fast forward to 1989] I had an office job, spent all day sat in front of a computer, got a lift to and from work. The only exercise I got was walking up and down stairs at home, and the stroll to and from my mate's car in the company car park. I piled the weight on until I reached 16 st 5 lbs. One day we pulled up at the car park and our usual spot was occupied. We ended up at the wrong end of the car park and I started whingeing about the 'long walk' to the office block. Suddenly, a thunderstorm broke out, and we were getting blasted by torrential rain. My mate was a skinny guy 25 years older than me and he took off like a scalded cat. I tried running after him but my legs were turning to jelly and I was gasping for breath. I had to slow to a walking pace.
Eventually, I squelched my way into the office block. I was so out of breath that it took me minutes to climb a few flights of stairs to my floor. By the time I got to my desk I was red-faced and completely knackered. My nearing-retirement-age mate was looking relaxed sitting at his desk working. He'd had time to make himself a cup of coffee and boot his PC by the time I got there. I had to face facts - I was 33 years old and terribly unfit; my lifestyle was slowly killing me...
I decided that something had to be done. I'd heard about a new craze imported from the USA, called
Mountain Biking. It sounded fun. Well, here in West Yorkshire there aren't many mountains but there are hundreds of big hills! Bridleways all over the place. Perhaps I'd get an MTB? I decided to try one out first so I went to see a guy who had MTBs for hire. I looked forward to the day of my first MTB ride, but when it came to it there were several problems:
(1) The bike I hired was awful. It weighed about 40 lbs and nothing worked properly. The gears kept slipping and the brakes hardly slowed me down.
(2) It was a really hot summer day. I got sunburnt and really dehydrated.
(3) As I said above - I was 33 years old and terribly unfit!
The ride almost killed me and put me right off mountain biking.
I watched the Tour de France on TV that July and decided that a skinny-tyred racer was what I really needed. I got on the train and went to Harry Hall's famous bike shop in Manchester. A few hours later I came back with a nice new red racing bike. I jumped on it at Hebden Bridge station, wondering whether all the stuff I'd read about modern bikes was true. 10 seconds later I knew the answer! I hadn't ridden a road bike since I was a teenager and this machine was vastly better than the bikes I'd had then, and compared to the MTB tractor I'd suffered recently - it was like it had a motor - fantastic!
Still, in reality, I was the motor and once I got off the flat valley roads, I had your problem Andy - the hills were killing me! You think you suffer uphill - read my story of
The Trauma of Trawden! I had a long way to go...
I stuck at it and things got better. At times, it was hard work, but here I am in my 50s, fitter than I was aged 33. I did the ride of my life last summer, if you want to know more, read
Hebden Bridge to Coventry by bicycle.
I've been complaining recently about being 'unfit' after a long winter layoff, but I'm going to jump on my bike this evening and go out on the hills for a couple of hours with some mates and I know that I'll be okay. It takes time to build up fitness, but it also takes time to lose it.
I've even grown to love mountain biking too, but it took riding a decent MTB to get me interested again.
Andy, if I can do it, you can too! It takes time and hard work, but it is worth it - keep on pedaling!
What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.
PS The first time I went up
Mytholm Steeps, I fell off my bike on the steep section. I lay in the road still attached to my bike as cars full of giggling children drove past me. I decided that I'd got a bit ahead of myself and avoided the climb for a while but when I was ready I went back and bagged the beast.