Cycling

[funkyg]

Hey guys.
When I got my new job I promised myself that I would try cycling to work to try to be a bit healthier. That was six months ago and I still haven't started. Anyway the weather's turning nicer now, and I've just got myself a new bike. (I wanted the bike anyway, not just for going to work on)
It's roughly 9 miles mostly flat from my house to work. For a beginner (I've not ridden in a looooong time!) what kind of time should I be looking at?
I'm not totally out of shape, I go swimming once a week, and karate twice a week which includes some cardio and body weight training before hand. I just wanted to try and add something else that I won't get bored with.

Funkyg

[QfanatiQ]

I used to do 7 miles accorss london (stopping at light YES) in about 30 - 40 mins (lights depending) I was going from Canary Wharf to Bakerloo Tube.

If you have a good route and not many lights you shodul be fine, stopping and starting is a bitch.

Go for a dry run at the weekend.

Hope you have a shower at work.

Enjoy.

Cheers......Q

[funkyg]

I used to do 7 miles accorss london (stopping at light YES) in about 30 - 40 mins (lights depending) I was going from Canary Wharf to Bakerloo Tube.

If you have a good route and not many lights you shodul be fine, stopping and starting is a bitch.

Go for a dry run at the weekend.

Good call, thanks.

Hope you have a shower at work.

Oh crap, I'd forgotten about that aspect. At my last place they did have showers (along with a swimming pool no less!) but not here. Looks like I'll have to go back to the drawing board. I'll just ride for an hour when I get home instead, save having to talk to the wife!
Thanks for the advice. K+.

Funkyg

[QfanatiQ]

Well, you coudl take a very causual ride to work in the mornings wearing light weight clothing and ride back hard (if you are tryign to get this into a fitness reguime)

But if you can do an hour before or after work then (as you know) it is a good amount of time.

Showers and Pool,,, where did you work and why did you leave?

Cheers.....Q

[BertRoot]

Mine is 4.6 and fastest I do it is about 13 minutes but usually about 20. All down to win really.

[funkyg]

Well, you coudl take a very causual ride to work in the mornings wearing light weight clothing and ride back hard (if you are tryign to get this into a fitness reguime)

But if you can do an hour before or after work then (as you know) it is a good amount of time.

I'll stick to the hour after work I think. I don't really do half measures, and would end end up a right sweaty bastard. Not good when you then have to spend all day in a shirt and tie.

Showers and Pool,,, where did you work and why did you leave?

Heh, that's what everyone says! I used to work for an ad agency in the Cheshire country side. It was a nice place to work, but the IT dept was outsourced while I was there. Got to keep my job but they sucked the fun out it, and the management were complete wankers.

Funkyg

[QfanatiQ]

Mine is 4.6 and fastest I do it is about 13 minutes but usually about 20. All down to win really.

13 misn that fast, a long time back when i was young my best time over 5 miles (including a 1/2 mile steep hill stint) took 12 mins.

Thatys bombing it. When i had a speedo i used to be abel to manage 38mph at a push (not for long) and a good steady 30 on a flat for a while.

I am not even close to that anymore. Well done you must be going some at certain stages.

Cheers.....Q

[BertRoot]

13 misn that fast, a long time back when i was young my best time over 5 miles (including a 1/2 mile steep hill stint) took 12 mins.

Thatys bombing it. When i had a speedo i used to be abel to manage 38mph at a push (not for long) and a good steady 30 on a flat for a while.

All down to gearing mate. I ony run one front chainring that is a 46 toother. My smallest on the back is an 11 and if I am not doing 19 mph then I can't really make use of that top gear. After that if the wind is right I can do 1.5 miles at 30+ and the rest round about 25.

[1 REP MAX]

Why dont you get some of these for your shower at work. You just have to hang it out of your window for a few hours

http://www.firebox.com/product/1774?...&src_id=shower

[headsortails]

I wouldn't worry too much about not having a shower unless you are a real sweaty stinking bastard. I rode to work for about 1.5 years with taking a shower work end, I just took the last 1 mile or so nice and easy, with the right clothes you'll barely break a sweat.

Now we do have a shower at work and it is nice to be able to take a shower at the end of the 10 mile ride, but it is certainly 'do'able without.

[QfanatiQ]

All down to gearing mate. I ony run one front chainring that is a 46 toother. My smallest on the back is an 11 and if I am not doing 19 mph then I can't really make use of that top gear. After that if the wind is right I can do 1.5 miles at 30+ and the rest round about 25.

True, i do not know what my back cog is but i have a three ring frotn chain (i only use one) the one i use is 52 teeth. I wanted a 54 but becuase they were putting racing gears on a mountain bike the deflection on the peddles (middle bit) and chain changer (check my techincle talk) would cause rubbing. It does now.

I am likely to get a decent two ring front put on so there is enough movement in the chain guide/changer.

The good thing bout the large frotn cog is always having more room for power. When going down hill i get frightened before i get anywhere near my legs going to fast.

Bikes have TOO many gears nowerdays.

As for riding 10 miles and last mile easy, i was still a wet mess for 7, that does and woudl not work for me. I think that classes me as a sweaty bastrd.

Cheers....Q

[ffrr]

13 misn that fast, a long time back when i was young my best time over 5 miles (including a 1/2 mile steep hill stint) took 12 mins.

Thatys bombing it. When i had a speedo i used to be abel to manage 38mph at a push (not for long) and a good steady 30 on a flat for a while.

I am not even close to that anymore. Well done you must be going some at certain stages.

Cheers.....Q

jesus 38mph?! ...my max is 27 1/2 down an loooong hill in top gear.. and that's fucking hairy enough for me lol... although what kind of bike was that on? I have a standard mtb but the tyres are 2.5's, fat bastards lol...

I sweat for England too but one thing I noticed considerably once I stopped eating "unhealthy" food was my body odour went almost neutral, and it's stayed that way, weird huh, I guess it's down to diet. Anyone else notice that?

[BertRoot]

jesus 38mph?! ...my max is 27 1/2 down an loooong hill in top gear.. and that's fucking hairy enough for me lol... although what kind of bike was that on? I have a standard mtb but the tyres are 2.5's, fat bastards lol...

I ride Panaracer Fire XCs at 2.1 on the front and 1.8 on the back and my max flat speed along the newly (at the time) tarmaced Blackpool front was 42mph while my fastest downhill in the Lakes was 47. That did scare the living shit out of me but I would like to break that record!!

[MercuryRises]

47!!! Fuck sake that's fast, I've squeezed about 30 out of mine, but that's on big chunky off road tyres, putting some slicker road tyres on this weekend, so we'll see what I can do

[tam9]

i once done 68mph on a steep uphill, it was fuckin hard...not sure if i could do it again

[cyprus]

I on the other hand have a large penis, so my top speed on a bike doesn't bother me...;-)

[whatnow]

well

my bmx has one gear and I do 3km (which is apparently 1.8 miles) which is up some and down others, cobbled bits, swervy bits, quiet bits, park bits and other shit bits. I have been known by my fans to do it in 8 mins but to my friends I like to say 10 as I'm not all that really.

My iPod has once indicated I rode the distance in under the length of vivaldi requium and that's about 9 mins, but to be honest, ride any bike with it on and try not to go fast...

[funkyg]

Did my first session last night. Obviously I was expecting my legs to ache, but I'm feeeling it in my shoulders this morning a bit as well.
Don't know how far I went, but did about 10 minutes easy going for a warm up and then about 30 minutes hard cycling. When I'd finished my legs were well wobbly!
I'm gonna get a bike computer (Tesco have some cheapy ones in) so I can see how far I'm going against time and then see how I can improve on it.
Sat on the couch about an hour later and felt really........invigourated and alive!
And this morning I woke up at about 7 feeling really fresh. Probably just a coincidence, but usually I'm a real bugger for getting up in a morning.
Looking forward to going out again tonight, if the weather picks up as it's pissing down at the moment!

Funkyg

[lloydi]

i cycle 3.7 miles to work, it takes me about 20 mins but i dont push to hard, dont wanna be a sweaty bastard lol, all is good unless you get a nasty head wind or loads of fookin lights