Not ridden for 12 years

dg74

And just making my way back into the sport. Purchased an immaculate Saracen Mantra 1 (not even used by the previous owner) for £120 and am in the process of buying my new equipment.

Any pointers from anyone? Piled on the weight since I gave up (currently 17.5 stone from 14 stone) looking to shape up fast and regain some respectability

Thanks all.

milkywhite

Pointers on what equipment to buy?

General fitness tips?

Where to ride?

Probably need to be a bit more specific with you questions!

dg74

milkywhite wrote:

Pointers on what equipment to buy?

General fitness tips?

Where to ride?

Probably need to be a bit more specific with you questions!

Yeah fair do's, bit eager this morning!

General fitness tips would be good as I've not done nowt for ages. And some places to ride (or ride buddies in the Newcastle area) would be great too as I used to ride at Hamsterly Forest and Prudhoe Pine Woods (Northumberland area).

Thanks again.

milkywhite

No idea on where to ride up your way as I've never ridden up your way.

As for fitness...sensible weight loss and a general imrovement in aerobic fitness is your goal, I assume?

If that's the case then diet is the place to start. If you eat a lot of crap then look to cut a lot of it out (Being up toon I reckon it's all Doners with chilli sauce ). There's not a lot of pioint in more exercise to lose weight if you then recharge the old batteries on greasy junk.

Riding...start gentle. If you go 50km on your first ride you'll knacker yourself and will be out of action for a few days all sore and chafed. Find some local routes a few km long and just try them out, without busting a gut too much. Low-ish intensity over a longer time burns fat more efficiently anyway. Once you find yourself getting faster and more confident, extend your routes. Ride a bit faster. Just generally step up the intensity. Whatever you do, just make sure you're enjoying it.

Riding buddies will help with motivation. It's very rare that I go riding alone. I'm VERY unlikely to drag myself out on a wet Monday morning if my usual riding buddy isn't meeting me there. Check out a local riding club. There's bound to be one somewhere not too far away.

.blitz

If you haven't done much for some time, obv. take it easy at first and try to enjoy the ride. If you can speak only in short-word sentences while you're riding, that's about right. Try to avoid going out with 'enthusiastic' mates

Long, steady rides will be fuelled by fat reserves and you will be pleased to find that even gentle MTBing will kick start your metabolism. Although you won't lose '14 stone in a day', excess weight will just fall off at the beginning and you will see some substantial improvements. There's plenty of info on http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/

In terms of kit, MTBing is too much of a lifestyle pastime to find any real bargains but don't be afraid to post any questions here on bikeradar; someone always know the answer.

dg74

cheers fellas. any advice at this moment in time is appreciated.

I work roughly 5/6 miles away from home so plan to ride there at least 3 days a week (depending on shifts) so that is as good a place to start I guess.

Now, clothing, gloves, lights and a decent helmet will be needed...I hope the mrs is ready with her cheque book later

.blitz

BTW have a think about some MTB-size road tyres if your commute is mainly on Tarmac. They make a big difference.

Eranu

If you plan on winter riding I would get some waterproof socks too. I started again last year and didnt ride much in the winter and it set me back a fair bit, bought some sealskinz for this winter and they have made a big difference in terms of the "I can't be bothered cos its too wet factor"

Look at DHB gear from wiggle for some fairly reasonably priced gear, it's very good.

milkywhite

dg74 wrote:

I work roughly 5/6 miles away from home so plan to ride there at least 3 days a week (depending on shifts) so that is as good a place to start I guess.

That sounds ideal as a starting point.

Get some decent clothing suitable for the English winter.

I always go by the mantra "buy cheap, buy twice". That doesn't mean you have to spend a fortune, but don't buy something that's not up to the job because it's few quid less. There's plenty of good gear about that won't break the bank.

Any questions about specific items then do a search on here first. If that doesn't give you the answers you need then ask away. Someone is bound to have used what you're looking at.

BlackSpur

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12592435&highlight=bike

Should sort you out with some of the basics