Getting back in the saddle after almost two years

The Alchemist

Right chaps, I haven't posted for ages as I've been off the bike for a long time now. In 2006 I was regularly commuting with my road/cross bike and my two young children in a trailer. This was forcefully stopped as my wife was ill for a while and I had to take on a lot of longer journeys which made cycling unfeasable. Now I want to get back in the saddle but after a break of two years and with me not being the fittest person you can imagine (gained around 10kg since stopping cycling) I'd like to hear a few tips to get me motivated and avoid injuries. Anyone have any good ideas?

Cheers

ride_whenever

start slowly and build up to it
don't get too dishartened with the drop in performance after such a long break
Buy some new padded shorts!
start a new bike fund!

N0bodyOfTheGoat

I had a similar time span of not using a bike a few years back, having ridden a racer since about 1982 ("when I were a lad" etc.). I had to forget how I could easily cruise around in a 52x15 gear on the flat in the past, as I was no longer doing TaeKwonDo training five times weekly and I had done very little aerobic exercise since effectively givning up cyling (plus smoked for a few years, having not started until my late 20s, thankfully quit in 2004).

When I got my Felt 18 months ago, I began a clean slate, as regarding my cycling power and stamina. I still very rarely use my 50t chainring now, but the 12 mile round trip commute has got much easier over time and the route though Southampton Common and other quiet roads is pleasant 25 minute trip each way... With a nice hill each way!

Having seen that my cruise gear is typically 36x16, effectively wasting the 11-15 section of my cassette, I have a new 16-27 cassette at the ready (which will hopefully encourage me to use the 50t much more often)... The only dilemma now is whether to treat me/bike to a new set of wheels for the new cassette and chain, or whether to just swap the cassette off the Alex wheels!

Crapaud

The Alchemist wrote:

... I'd like to hear a few tips to get me motivated and avoid injuries. Anyone have any good ideas?

Cheers

Find a group to go out with.

I've been off the bike for around 2 years now and was very disheartened, the few times that I did go out, only to find that I couldn't go anywhere near as far or as fast. It only demotivated me more. That was until I (re)started going out with a group that was more my level.

It was as much the camaraderie - talking about bikes, places we'd toured, things we'd done, just general bikey stuff - as anything else that reminded me how great cycling is. The sociability of the rides took my mind off of any self-perceived need to go faster / further. All in all, it was a very positive atmosphere without any pressure to perform.

It was the ride that motivated me, rather than me trying to motivate myself, to ride.

lost_in_thought

I reckon you have to enjoy it. If you wake up in the morning and think 'oh rats I really don't feel like cycling today' then don't - if you make yourself do it then it becomes a chore rather than something you do because you want to.

Also, as others have said, don't push yourself too hard. If your primary motivation is fitness, then build up to really working your a*** off (literally), if it's not then just cycle at a pace you're happy with and enjoy.

Try for variety as well, exploring on a bike with a map is great fun, regular navigational stops and the enjoyment of discovery can stop the fatigue of a 50 mile ride, I find!

ride_whenever

Maps are for sissies, internal compass, overnight gear and random exploring!

lost_in_thought

Damn it... I knew I'd be exposed as a sissy one of these days!

I'm too scared of getting completely lost in the labyrinth of back roads near my weekend abode...