Old Git On A Bike battles with the wind (2000 miles ridden)

beski

You don't seem to be doing too bad mate, you average about 14mph on most rides, more than I usually manage. Usually I only average about 7-8 mph especially off road. You ride virtually every day aswell.
I did about 110 miles the week before last and my legs seemed to be permanently aching, even when not cyclling!
Maybe it's just part of an age thing, recovery & general fitness are much better when your younger.
As for the SDW I suppose it depends on how many days you are going to try to do it in, some guys on 'here' did it in two days. I have thought about giving it a go but the most I have managed over the downs in one hit is about 32 miles, and I was knackered!
So maybe over 3 days would be more reasonable
Some of the climbs are wicked though, theres one from Alfriston up toward Firle Beacon which is a killer, especially if it's hot

mick851

old git on a bike,.. i remember last year when i first started to bike it to work every day, my thighs and left knee was hurting. then i'd be out on a weekend going along the trans pennine trail and through wharncliffe woods it got pretty painful and my legs were like lead

mick851

been to halfords today had a look at the carrera banshee, its tempting, might buy it.....

Old Git On A Bike

beski wrote:

Maybe it's just part of an age thing, recovery & general fitness are much better when your younger.

Could be that I suppose, or the miles I did last month are catching up with me and making me feel fatigued quicker at times :?

With regards to the South Downs Way, I was planning on doing it in 2 days with the admin from another site, I saw the photos where the lads on here did it a couple of months ago, having failed the first due to snow blizzards, it has them walking up a hill in one of the photos, I'm sure there must be loads of hills like that where you simply can't ride up them and have to walk it.

They said the first 65 miles was the easiest, and they did that all on day one, leaving the harder 35 miles for day two, I think they did in in a total time of around 10 hours over the two days. How hard would it be to do the whole 100 miles in one day, say, take it nice and slow over about 15 hours of riding, obviously, a lot of hills would have to be walked up, would that count as having done it or does more or less all of it have to be ridden to qualify as doing it in a day?

@ Mick851, from what I have seen written on here and other sites/reviews, the Banshee is a pretty decent specced bike for the money, but I bet you see something better to make you change your mind before you buy it, deciding what to get is a nightmare ain't it :?

Just had a ride over to Pevensey, kept up a nice pace all the way, what wind there was, it was side on, so it was nice going both ways, no problems with the hill on the Bexhill to Pevensey back road, flew up both sides, same with Galley Hill, maybe it's just the wind that is having an effect on me and slowing me when I hit a hill, (as well as old age ). I Hope to be going out for my night loop in about 10 minutes, providing it doesn't rain, which it is forecast to do, anyway, log for this evening:

Aug 8th

Top speed 26.5 mph (cycle path hill)
Avg speed = 15.2 mph
Distance = 22.04 miles
Time 01:26:44

Pulse before ride = 64 bpm's
Pulse after ride = 102 bpm's 9:03pm
Pulse 10 minutes later = 82 bpm's 9:13pm
Pulse 20 minutes later = 78 bpm's 9:23pm
Pulse 60 minutes later = 82 bpm's 10:03pm

Total miles ridden = 1835.43

beski

They said the first 65 miles was the easiest, and they did that all on day one, leaving the harder 35 miles for day two,

That makes me feel a bit better, the 20-30 odd miles that I do is being done at the harder end of the SDW then!

Old Git On A Bike

@ Beski, I think the second days 35 mile section is from somewhere around Brighton to Eastbourne if my memory serves me right, is that more or less what you usually ride then? When I get my new bike, I wouldn't mind coming down and trying that section with you some time, you up for it?

Did my usual night loop, pretty good pace again, log for tonight:

Aug 8th (2nd ride of the day)

Top speed 27.8 mph (Bexhill Road)
Avg speed = 14.9 mph
Distance = 14.17 miles
Time 56:56:2

Pulse before ride = 82 bpm's
Pulse after ride = 106 bpm's 11:17pm
Pulse 10 minutes later = 86 bpm's 11:27pm
Pulse 20 minutes later = 82 bpm's 11:37pm
Pulse 60 minutes later = 76 bpm's 12:17am

Total miles ridden today = 36.21
Total miles ridden = 1849.60

beski

Yea, I live in Polegate, I go up to the downs through Wannock, Jevington or Folkington usually, either over the downs through Wilmington towards Alfriston & up over Firle Beacon. The furthest I've got so far is the Ouse valley travelling NW.
I have looped back from Firle Beacon towards Seaford & then Exceat to Friston a couple of times, or down & along a track that follows the foot of the downs from Firle back to Berwick. Or going the other way I do a loop of about 18-20 miles through Jevington towards Beachy Head, Birling Gap, Crowlink, Friston, Butts Brow back to Jevington & home.
There are loads of tracks/loops to do, too many to mention. I regularly pass through Friston Forest which has purpose built loops
I'd be up for any rides that you fancy, anytime you feel fit

mick851

old git on a bike,.. hows the bike ridding going? hav'nt seen you on this forum for the last few days! have you decided what bike you are getting yet? still think im getting the carrera banshee, had a look at the reviews and most what i have seen say its an ok bike

dunker

well the last few days down south here it's been like a hurrican almost, gusting to 50mph today and sunday was just as bad. monday was pretty bad with constant sw at 20 gusting to 35 so knowing ogoab i's be suprised if he's been riding the last 3 or 4 days?

is this wind ever going to stop? i don't think we've had a calm day since may? looks like that's it for summer, 10 days of 20c-25c in july and windy, boooo i thought global warming was going to make things, well warmer? :?

mick851

dunker,.. up here in south yorkshire, its rained and rained, a bit of sun a bit more rain oh, and a thunderstorm and............rain!!!!!!! yep summer def gone. i think the seasons went winter spring autumn up here

Old Git On A Bike

dunker wrote:

well the last few days down south here it's been like a hurrican almost, gusting to 50mph today and sunday was just as bad. monday was pretty bad with constant sw at 20 gusting to 35 so knowing ogoab i's be suprised if he's been riding the last 3 or 4 days?

@ Dunker, you're not wrong mate, the weather here has been bloody terrible lately, for the last 5 days, the winds have been anywhere from 25mph up to around 45mph, combined with rain at times, it's really dismal, so again, this is going to be a month where I am not getting as many miles on the clock as I need to, that calls for action, I can't afford to dip in to the little money I have so far saved for my new bike, so, back to the catalogue I went, and ordered this exercise bike:

Pro-form 748EK6 Cycle

At least with that indoors, I will not be getting out of shape when unable to get out due to the weather, I'm dreading the winter, then again, the way the summer has turned out, the winter will probably be excellent. Another bonus with that bike is, I will be able to use it for warming up before going out for a ride, which is something I have never done previously, I'm looking forward to getting it, then there will be some serious miles going on the clock every day 8)

@ Mick851, still no decision on what bike I will eventually buy, but I have now been looking at the Boardman Comp bike, at around £650, it's a fair bit more than I wanted to spend, but by the time I had saved up enough for that, the 2009 bikes will be out and there might be a slight reduction for the 2008 versions, I know the reduced prices wont be as good as last year due to prices for bike raw materials apparently going up etc, and that's even if they have any left, they still have them on display in my local Halfords and they look the dogs doodahs.

Old Git On A Bike

The weather turned out better today, nice blue sky and sunshine for a change, I decided to take it easy after not riding for 6 days, and there was a pretty strong head wind which slowed me up anyway, but it was great to be back out on the bike again, the wind is supposed to be dropping further during the evening, so I'll do my night ride later.

I got weighed after the ride and I'm bang on 12 stone, I didn't make the mistake of eating more and piling the pounds on whilst being of the bike for the last 6 days, hopefully I can now work towards getting down to around 11 and a half stone, although 12 stone was my original target, I would like to lose just a bit more, log for today:

Aug 15th

Top speed 30.7 mph (steep road near Hooe)
Avg speed = 13.5 mph
Distance = 32.21 miles
Time 02:23:06

Pulse before ride = 66 bpm's
Pulse after ride = 102 bpm's 5:06pm
Pulse 10 minutes later = 90 bpm's 5:16pm
Pulse 20 minutes later = 82 bpm's 5:26pm
Pulse 60 minutes later = 78 bpm's 6:06pm

Total miles ridden = 1881.81

Old Git On A Bike

Not long in from my night ride, there is only the lightest of head winds out there tonight, the full moon is glistening on the English Channel, foxes and rabbits are running on the seafront path and beach, hardly anyone is about, it's so peaceful and nice to ride in.

I much prefer riding at night, but I do need to sort myself out a proper decent front light, the Halfords one I have is a bit rubbish, might as well ride with no light at all for what it does, with a decent light I will also be able to do night rides over to Pevensey along the dark country back roads, anyway, log for tonight.

Aug 15th (2nd ride of the day)

Top speed 27.1 mph (cycle path hill)
Avg speed = 14.4 mph
Distance = 14.60 miles
Time 01:00:44

Pulse before ride = 80 bpm's
Pulse after ride = 96 bpm's 11:10pm
Pulse 10 minutes later = 88 bpm's 11:20pm
Pulse 20 minutes later = 82 bpm's 11:30pm
Pulse 60 minutes later = 76 bpm's 12:10am

Total miles ridden today = 46.81
Total miles ridden = 1896.41

mick851

old git on a bike,i bought my lights from halfords but i got the small bikehut ones ( front and back ) for £19.99. the front light is only 3.5" long, has 3 leds but throws out quite a lot of light. when i travel to work in winter i go along the trans pennine trail and its pitch black on there. anyway keep up with the bike ridding, i wont be back till 25th, going on holiday later. 9 days in a tent on east coast, and its forecast rain for a change :roll:

Popeh

Just had a long read over the thread and wow.

Hats off to the commitment and the gains, I was impressed on the weight loss and how quickly the mileage racked up.

Some interesting bike choices, the banshee mentioned earlier certainly looks more the business than I was expecting.

Just got back into bike riding myself as it's something I used to love but work took over many years ago, and I also need to drag myself away from MMORPG's/computer use, so this thread is reassuring.

Awesome job and give yourself a Christmas incentive/objective! :-) (It's only4 months away, crikey!).

Old Git On A Bike

@ Mick851, my front light was about £10 from halfords, it's a normal light, not LED's. Enjoy your holiday, hope the rains stays away for you, I wouldn't fancy camping in the current weather, good luck with that

@ PopeH, welcome to the forum, mate, nice to hear you are back on your bike, computers are bloody terrible for making people lazy, fat and unfit, how did we manage without computers years ago :? yeah, Christmas is not far off now, at least people will know what to buy me now, usually, when asked what do I want for Christmas, I have no idea, and say nothing or anything will do, now it will be, something for the bike, please sorted

I did the same route as yesterday, Pevensey, loop aroud by Hooe, back to Pevensey and home. When I was passing through Bexhill, I looked over my shoulder and a roadie was directly behind me, he then went by me, looking down at my bike as he passed, I kept on at the same pace, about 15mph, but as he went further away, he kept looking over his shoulder at me continuously, he was about a hundred metres or so ahead of me by then, so I decided to go after him.

When he went round a bend in the road, I increased my speed and I was going along pretty much all out, when I turned by Coombe Beach station he wasn't that far ahead, maybe he had eased up a bit by then, he was seated and I always sprint along that particular road, I got to about 10 - 15 metres from him and then sat upright in my saddle trying to look all relaxed, looking to my side pretending I was enjoying the view as I went along, my lungs were actually on fire , he looked over his shoulder, saw me behind him, and then his legs started going ten to the dozen again, bless him , I couldn't be bothered chasing him any more, as my lungs were just starting to recover, I might have chased him some more if I had 2 skinny wheels on my bike .

The wind was terrible all the way back, it was about 9 MPH when I went out, and was supposed to be dropping to 7 MPH, they got that very wrong, it's more like 15 - 20MPH minimum, I struggled to do 7MPH over the shingle beach, and even on the cyclepath, getting above 10 or 11MPH was a struggle, damn wind :x, log for today.

Aug 16th

Top speed 29.5 mph (steep road near Hooe)
Avg speed = 13.6 mph
Distance = 32.05 miles
Time 02:21:16

Pulse before ride = 64 bpm's
Pulse after ride = 98 bpm's 8:14pm
Pulse 10 minutes later = 86 bpm's 8:24pm
Pulse 20 minutes later = 82 bpm's 8:34pm
Pulse 60 minutes later = 78 bpm's 9:14pm

Total miles ridden = 1928.46

Popeh

Before computers we rode bikes, climbed tree's and got out. lol, times certainly change.

lesz42

hey! old git!



did you get your tyres sorted? and fitted? great reading as ever!

justresting

sorry if you covered this as I have been dipping in and out of your excellent thread, but if you changed the size of your tyres at some point did you alter the setting on your computer? or did you find it made no difference ?

kev2b3

Hi there.
I must admit i have only had a quick glance over this great thread, when i have time i look forward to reading it all.
I would like to ask you one question and that is , as well as the cycling are you also dieting. The reason i ask this is because i am in the same boat as you were when you started, i am 44 years old and i weigh 289.5 lbs.

Many thanks

Kev

Old Git On A Bike

@ Lesz42, no mate, the tyre I bough from CRC is still in the cupboard, can#'t be arsed going to the trouble of sending it back, so I still have the same tyres on.

@ Justresting, I have not needed to change my computer setting, the bike still has the original front wheel/tyre on, the only tyre that has been changed is the back one.

@ Kev823, yes, I have been dieting, in the early days, I was not doing things correctly, I was missing many meals and not eating much at all, basically, crash dieting, this had the adverse affect of leaving me feeling weak when riding, as it would do by not eating enough, and with trying to lose weight like that, you will eventually put it all back on plus more.

I am not on any set diet as such, I just watch what I eat, I try not to eat anything really fatty, skimmed milk instead of full fat, low fat spreads instead of butter/margerine, I use sweetex rather than sugar, no fried food at all, everything is either grilled, boiled or steamed, I eat mainly carb related foods now and a lot more fruit that I ever used to eat, mostly bananas, as they are good for cycling and sports in general, if I feel peckish any time, I eat another banana.

I also stopped drinking, my last lager was on Christmas day 2007 in preperation for when I got my bike, not that I was a heavy drinker, I only used to have 4 cans at home on a Wednesday and a Sunday, but even cutting those out will have helped.

All you need to do is eat sensibly and ride as much as you can, the weight will come off and stay off if you keep on top of it and make it a regular thing.

I have not been out for the last 5 days, it's been wind, wind, wind and rain, but today and tomorrow look great with very little wind, I just went to give my bike a check over as I do before each ride, make sure everything is tight and pump the tyres up, all looks good, I spin the back wheel and notice a lot of buckle, if I hold my thumb nail against the rim as it spins, there is about 1/3 to 1/2 an inch of buckle, no idea how it got buckled, I have not hit any potholes or anything, then I notice I have a broken spoke on the back wheel, snapped at the hub, would a single broken spoke cause that much buckle, bearing in mind this wheel is only one of those lousy 24 spoke jobbies? That's my riding screwed again :x

I thought I would have had my new exercise bike by now, got a letter from the catalogue on the 20th, saying it will definitely be delivered before the 23rd and that the company will contact me with the delivery date, they phoned the same day as I got the letter, and said it will be here on the 27th :evil:

Not sure I can be bothered paying about £20 to get a taxi to Halfords and get a new spoke fitted, so I will probably be off the bike for a while and have to make do with the exercise bike when it arrives until I can afford a new bike.

Got a new floor pump and handlebar cool bag from Lidl today as well, the bag is great for £4.99 for long rides, it will hold 4 water bottles and some food inside it, one mesh bottle compartment on the outside plus one other mesh compartment, a large zipped pocket on the front and a map holder, shame I can't get to use it for a long ride yet , pump looks good for the £4.99 price as well.

Old Git On A Bike

My new exercise bike arrived today, unpacked it and noticed the plastic body cowling covering the internals was overlapping the other side, whereas it should be a flush fit, then I noticed one part of the foot area was snapped at the front :x, same at the back, 1/2 inch gap where the body cowling should be flush, it has obviously been dropped or badly handled during transit, 16 days waiting for that pile of cr@p, not a happy bunny :evil:

I turned it upside dowm and it's even all scrathed and uneven on the underside, just been on to customer service at the catalogue, told them to come and pick the damn thing up, it weighs 34 kilos, so I told them they better send 2 blokes to collect it, because I aint carrying it back down from the 3rd floor, I'm proper annoyed at the moment, they asked if I wanted to order a replacement, told them NO.

Just about to go to Halfords to have a new spoke fitted to my bike, hopefully they can do it today while I wait.

[edit]

Just got off the phone with Halfords, asked if they could fit a spoke today, they said they might not have a spoke for it, but to bring the bike in and they will measure up to see if they have a spoke that will fit, something about mountain bike hubs being bigger, why wouldn't they have a spoke for it, all the bikes they have in this particular store are 95% mountain bikes.

Anyway, said I would bring it in, and asked if they had a spoke could they fit it today, he said no, can't fit me in for a week or two as they are 2 staff down and overloaded with work, nothing is going right for me at the moment, dodgy new tyre from CRC, broken exercise bike and Halfords even turning me down :roll:, Halfords bloke suggested I try Spin City Cycles in Ore village a couple of miles away, told me they specialise in wheel building, I have had that shop recommended to me before, so I'll give them a try, plus, as I'm looking for a new bike, they are also a stockist of Cube bikes, so I can browse them whilst I'm there.

beski

Tough breaks, I feel for you, that sort of cr@p really gets me down. Why do thay always seem to happen in clusters?
On the bright side Spin City sound a better bet than Halfords for sorting the wheel, & the money saved from the exercise bike will help to get your new bike sooner

Old Git On A Bike

beski wrote:

the money saved from the exercise bike will help to get your new bike sooner

Hi Beski, I wont have any extra money to save as I got the excercise bike on buy now, pay April 2009 terms.

Spin City Cycles said I can bring my bike in tomorrow, it's £12 + 50p for a spoke, I think that includes having the wheel trued up, not sure, or is it extra for that, she wasn't clear and sounded in a rush, I forgot to ask if they do it while I wait, hope they don't want to keep the bike overnight, otherwise that will be an extra £15 in taxi fares out of my savings.

mick851

old git on a bike,.... yep it rained, under our tent felt like a water bed , havnt been on my bike since we've come back. my legs ache with too much hill walking. sounds like you've had a few probs over the last few days!!!

kev2b3

hi there old git on a bike.
a few months ago i broke a spoke in my rear wheel. i went to halford and they charged me 2.50 for the spoke and 10.00 to fit it. The next day i put the bike together and within 30 secconds the spoke again snapped on the rear wheel. This time my rear wheel went to my proper bike shop who charged me the same but the mechanic spent more time checking all the spokes for me, i did,nt have any problems at all.In all it take about 10 mins to do the job. Halford employ tidy lads but their knowledge on bike maintenance is low,

beski

I had a spoke fitted on the rear wheel of my bike last year at my LBS, the price was about the same & included having the wheel trued.

Old Git On A Bike

I didn't go to Spin City Cycles in the end, as they wanted to keep the bike overnight, meaning I would have had to get a taxi there, one home and another back over there to collect it. So after a lot of phoning around, I eventually found another bike shop that could do it while I waited, meaning money saved on cab fares, just one cab over there which cost me £9.70, £11 including a tip.

The bloke said I could collect the bike at about 4:15, so I popped into the local boozer for a drink while he did it, I only meant to have one or two pints and take my time drinking them, but it never works out like that, does it? I ended up having 3 or 4 pints.

Anyway, I picked the bike up at getting on for 5:00pm, and rather than going straight home, I went back to the pub and had a few more pints, bear in mind I have not had a drink since Christmas day 2007, so the drink hit me quite hard, I can remember leaving the pub, but don't remember much else after that.

All I do remember is not being able to ride in a straight line directly after leaving the pub for my 5 mile ride home, and I do remember being on the floor at least a couple of times, there are some goulges on the welding on the stay opposite the chainstay side, my right knee is all swollen and the left one has a graze on it, left hand is sore, right hand has small cuts and grazes, and I must have twisted my left ankle slightly, because it's swollen up and painful.

No idea how I managed to ride the 5 miles home, I could easily have been killed, can't even remember arriving home or carrying the bike up 3 floors, could have broke my neck on the stairs.

In hindsight, I should have just taken the bike to Spin City Cycles, because I ended up spending about what I would have spent on taxis anyway, plus I would be our riding today, now I have a dodgy knee and ankle and am not able to ride :evil:

The only good news is the new spoke was fitted and he trued the wheel up, he also said he took a couple of links out of the chain, only charged me £10. I don't think I will be drinking again for a long time, and certainly never attempt to ride a bike after drinking about 7 or 8 pints of Stella, what was I thinking :roll:

[edit]

Just gave the bike a proper check over, the rear tyre is down quite a bit, hope it's not a slow puncture, and I spotted more scratches on the forks.

Just remembered some other stuff, the bike only bloke charged me £10 for fitting the spoke, truing the wheel and taking a couple of links out of the chain, what he also did was take that plastic chain protector disk off from behind the cassette, adjusted the breaks front and back, and he appears to have fixed my rear cassette which had a lot of play in it, not bad for a tenner was it 8), shame about the other stuff.

dunker

would'nt don't worry about scratches on an alu bike if yours is? they're battle scars i say. course it would have been a better idea to have had a lemonade and ride the bike home sober then pop up the offy for a treat which after 2000miles you sure do deserve

everyone seems to say real beers are better for you too especially stout maybe try something like black sheep, old perculier, hob goblin, guinness next time?

looks like it's gonna stay dry for a while and tommorrow the sun might even come out omg! just heard the weather bloke on telly say it's been the dullest august on record. i remember saying previously in this thread that this years summer could'nt possibly be worse than last years, think i jinxed it doh.

loco020

so the drink hit me quite hard, I can remember leaving the pub, but don't remember much else after that.

All I do remember is not being able to ride in a straight line directly after leaving the pub for my 5 mile ride home, and I do remember being on the floor at least a couple of times,

Hi there O.G.

I did similar some years back. Came back from a night out and decided it was a good idea to go out on my bike :roll: Last thing I remember is lurching from one side of the bike to the other, almost overbalancing as my face seemed to get closer and closer to the tarmac on each side. I also remember a car overtaking right over on the other side of the road giving me as much room as possible. Miraculously I stayed on. I'm sure I couldn't do the same trick when completely sober. It was definitely a "never-again" moment :idea: :oops:

Hope you heal quickly.