Gutted with myself - fat quitter
andrewlwood
Posts: 224
Went on the Evans ride this morning down to Dorking, to try the new Cannondale out on something a bit more scenic than London roads.
Ride started out with a hill - one of those fairly steep ones that just keeps coming, and that I never really recovered from. The flats were great - not difficult to motor along at between 17 and 20 mph - but any kind of incline after that (and there are LOTS in that part of the world) very quickly became a slog. In the end I did about 15 miles of the 30 mile route and took a shortcut back to the station, and went home. Including rides to and from the station, I did about 25 miles today. My heart rate was up around 165 bpm for most of the two hours I was out for, thanks to those blo0dy hills.
I'm a big bloke, in both the good and bad way - 5'9, 100kg, mix of muscle and tub, and I'm cycling again after a 4-year hiatus, and loving it. My 8-mile commute takes me less than 25 minutes, and in the past I've happily completed 70-mile days. But today was horrid, and I'm determined not to let it happen again. Any tips?
Ride started out with a hill - one of those fairly steep ones that just keeps coming, and that I never really recovered from. The flats were great - not difficult to motor along at between 17 and 20 mph - but any kind of incline after that (and there are LOTS in that part of the world) very quickly became a slog. In the end I did about 15 miles of the 30 mile route and took a shortcut back to the station, and went home. Including rides to and from the station, I did about 25 miles today. My heart rate was up around 165 bpm for most of the two hours I was out for, thanks to those blo0dy hills.
I'm a big bloke, in both the good and bad way - 5'9, 100kg, mix of muscle and tub, and I'm cycling again after a 4-year hiatus, and loving it. My 8-mile commute takes me less than 25 minutes, and in the past I've happily completed 70-mile days. But today was horrid, and I'm determined not to let it happen again. Any tips?
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Maybe you tried to hit the hill too hard and then stuffed yourself up for the rest of the ride. I did something similar last weekend with a mate and it took ages to recover.
Not been riding long enough to give any decent advice but maybe taking it easier up the hills will help. I'm up to about 70 miles now and have found that I can kill myself off very easily if I try to nail the hills too early. Probably obvious to the more experienced riders but I've found it really tricky pacing myself when I want to bomb arround everywhere :oops:
If it happens again, turn around & change the route - after all, part of the beauty of the bike is you decide where you want to go ?
Secondly, practice hill climbing, it does get easier, not that it helped me today as I huffed & puffed up Ditchling Beacon & got passed & dropped by a seriously fit roadie half my age.
Lastly, I'm same height, obviously can't judge bone structure, but I did the Burgess Hill Sportive in March & had to walk the hills, I weighed 84kg in January.
I'm now 78kg & doing it again next week - let's see if I can get up the bastards this time. :twisted:
I read your post as saying that you're just back into cycling, ie this is not just an off day. IME the head remembers past glories and doesn't appreciate that the body is no longer capable of fulfilling them. It's very demoralising!
I set out a 30 mile hilly route: first 3rd was uphill, 2nd was rolling hills, 3rd dropped back down to home. At first I could only do the first third and I was knackered, turned around and freewheeled home. The first time I completed the route, my legs blew at 2/3s (no bale-out) and had to stop twice. On the rolling hills it was a slog uphill and I had to freewheel down the other side to let my legs recover.
I persevered and at some point - a tipping point - it all came together and I could push to the top of a hill with fresh(ish) legs and then belt down, gathering momentum to carry me halfway up the next one.
I started back around 2 months ago and last week completed a 100 km route with lots left in the tank.
TL:DR: work on your endurance base - long slowish rides - and alternate with some short, intense, hilly rides. Your fitness'll come back quicker than you think. Keep at it.
The main thing is just DO NOT give up.
Yes, the aim is to get fitter, shed weight and get the heart back to where it should be. Nothing else for it, looks like I'm just going to have to keep plugging away at those hills!
Thanks again!
Dammit, fell off !
*I think this quote pre-dates the tour of Ireland
Perhaps you didn't eat/drink enough...?
Either way, don't quit - this sport is all about overcoming pain. A few months down the line, you could be doing the same route and fly round it like it's nothing.
Stayed with it to the end. Came dead last. Except for all the other people that dropped out.
So - might have been slow, but at least I finished. Not everyone could say that.
I just told myself I would plod on at my own pace but finish no matter what.
That way you have no way of quitting, other than crawling into a hedge.
+1 Literally "everyone". H*ll I've had bad months and maybe even a year or two somewhere back in time. You're not alone. Hop back on the bike and just try and enjoy yourself.
Mine is a 15 mile loop up the coast and along the tyne, which is slightly bumpy, which now takes about an hour. I track my rides with Nokia sports Tracker on my phone.
The first time I did this route, I could barely make the climbs, and was having to drop to the granny gears (really embarrassing) I can now crack round at a reasonable pace, and have dropped 25 minutes from my original time. Still sometimes feel like censored on the ride, but then when I compare back I can see how I am improving - still got a very long way to go though.
BTW I'm mid forties, and about 3-4 stone overweight, not some racing whippet! So I know how hard uphill stretchs are!
This means you are obese and would have to loose a quarter of your body mass to get to a "normal" weight range
It is not surprising you cannot ride a bike up hills
No offense intended, it's just basic physiology
follow on
www.velochallenge.org
I'm sure that Sir Chris Hoy has a higher BMI than me and I'm sure he would beat me up any kind of hill but this is not the point. The OP is clear that they are not an athlete of any sort. It is obvious that the problems described are due to a low power to weight ratio
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The BMI categories are just a very broad brush
If you are a rugby player or a cycling track sprinter then your BMI will show as "overweight" even if you are at the peak of physical perfection
5'9 and 78kg isn't obese. It's just- by a small amount- into the overweight region
5'9 and 100kg is a different matter
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I agree, BMI is a guide but not the be all & end all
You're right. Just overweight, but not obese. There goes my low self-esteem again....
sorry should have clarified that
BMI is useless for determining if you are obese or not
www.velochallenge.org
As I said, I'm down from 84kg to 78kg since January & everyone says how fir & slim I am - but I know where the bulges are & I've still got 24% fat.
Well below the 36 inch waist though, and as bompington says, this is crucial, it's what the Govt. are using to alert people to the risk of diabetes.
If you lost the excess weight, and at 5 ft 9 you should be 75kg or less, you'd bloody fly up the hills
By the way, I'm 5 ft 11 and 100kg, and I'm trying to get to 80kg for the same reason- went up honister pass and thought I was having a heart attack, and I do gym classes, body pump so am reasonably fit.
And as for chris hoy- he's about 85kg of muscle- and he wouldn't get up mt ventoux very easily either
In summary, anyone over 90kgs who blames their hill climbing ability on lack of fitness, should drop a few pounds, as well as improving base endurance
5,10 Was recently 100KG (previously well above that) now 94 heading for 80KG (in my dreams) can't stop eating, as soon as the buzz evaporates i am looking for food. i can't cycle 24/7 trouble is i can eat 24/7 :oops:
I climb like an anchor too but i get there in the end (slowly)