Tuesday, 30 July 2013

60 days on the bike... and I feel fine...

Today was 60 days after buying the bike. It also got its first service today too... but that's not important right now. I bought a Specialized Crosstrail 2013 as a compromise bike because I wasn't sure if I was going to take to riding again and so I didn't want to spend a fortune on a bike that might sit in the garage. I also didn't want to buy a bike that would be a pain to ride if I did take to it again... I took to it, quite a lot actually.

Stats are as follows:

Distance: 1,316.4km
Time: 63hr 2m
Elev Gain: 13,626m
Rides: 69

The most important stat though is 107.3kg at the start and 98.2kg 60 days later. Je ne suis plus un gros lard any more... well, kinda... :-)

Longest ride has been 90km which was an accident trying to do 60km and failing. I can only say that riding round Hampshire is highly pleasant. There are loads of routes to take which you can vary and they're picturesque as well as having an amazing amount of cow action.

Fitness wise it has been amazing. A recent 50km jaunt was 24 minutes quicker than 6 weeks ago when I first did it. A 85 minute ride over to a friend's BBQ last weekend was more invigorating than tiring.

Losing weight. Getting fitter. 60 days. No, seriously, 60 days! It is amazing really the difference you can make in such a short amount of time. The best part though is not particularly obvious. I can now eat silly amounts of my favourite food and feel... errr... less like it is a bad thing!

The best part though about doing all this riding is seeing all the cows... they're lovely. Moo!

Thursday, 6 June 2013

A week-ish on the bike

I'm desperately unfit... but not nearly as unfit as I thought I was going to be. I've managed to find a usefully rideable route to and from Hursley, though these are not the same. I've fallen off quite spectacularly once going down a road that advertised itself as "paved" but which would have challenged a tank. Spending an awful lot of time in 1st gear going up hills but managing to go up them with a minimum of complaining. The thing I am really happy about is my recovery time, where I get off the bike and return to some kind of heart rate normality in a surprisingly short time.

This morning was my first ride not going anywhere in particular and so decided to have a go at cycle route 23 to Alresford. Very pretty route really and loads of critter action. Highlights were a small pile of highland cattle and an owl. Can't say that arriving at Alresford in an industrial estate is the most salubrious welcome I've ever had! Having said that it comes out right near the Itchen Valley Brewery...

I've put a Strava link on the bottom of this blog so that hopefully, if anyone is interested, they can see my most recent rides. Here's hoping that I manage to keep it up.

Saturday, 1 June 2013

I've bought a pushbike... may gawd have mercy on my legs!

I bought myself a Specialized Crosstrail an today I went for my first proper ride. Well, eventually I did anyway after I made a false start as I'd forgotten my helmet. Doh! Rode out to Hursley and then back and I am sure that my legs are not going to be happy with me later in the day. I may need to get some muscle relaxant this afternoon.

The idea is to ride to and from work 2-3 times a week and hopefully lose some weight. In the meantime I may just open a lactic acid factory given how my legs feel right now.