Managed 20km today

underdog

This is nothing more than self congratulations and a thank you to those who gave me some advice the other day.

I headed up Goytre mountain using google maps to pick a route as I went, all in all it was just over 20km with 1000m of climbing, no pushing, and didn't find it all that hard.

As a reward Margam res was looking quite stunning at the end

Surf-Matt

20km isn't that tricky but 20km including a mountain is quite an achievement - nice one!

biff55

meh , i ride 20 km carrying the mountain.

anyway , good work fella.
personal satisfaction is wot its about.

RealMan

Good for you, everyone's got to start somewhere, after all.

Have another go at it next week if the trails were good, and see if you can beat your time - or even add on an extra bit.

underdog

Surf-Matt wrote:

20km isn't that tricky but 20km including a mountain is quite an achievement - nice one!

I been riding about 2 weeks, so 20km on flat is quite something for me, but was happy with the climbs since about 40% of was up hill.

I am doing it again tomorrow, as I am back in work for 4 days then, I may change direction though and ride further in and down to Margam park to finish.

Thanks guys

llamafarmer

20km and 1000m of climbing is a good effort after 2 weeks mate, well done.

At first glance I thought that photo was on some Greek island

Thewaylander

RealMan wrote:

Good for you, everyone's got to start somewhere, after all.

Have another go at it next week if the trails were good, and see if you can beat your time - or even add on an extra bit.

Or he can ignore his time and keep riding his bike for fun and get fitter by accident.

Ho hum

llamafarmer wrote:

20km and 1000m of climbing is a good effort after 2 weeks mate, well done.

At first glance I thought that photo was on some Greek island

Yes, well done indeed mate.

I would struggle to do a 1000m of climbing now lol!

I take it you were reasonably fit before you started cycling?

underdog

Ho hum wrote:

I take it you were reasonably fit before you started cycling?

Yes and no, I have surfed since I was a teen, played street hockey to a decent level BUT the last few years have mainly been spent eating pizza and smoking 30 a day :oops: The first couple of rides killed me, but my lungs seem to have opened up a bit suddenly.

The view of the res astounded me, it looked like nothing you would expect to find a mile away from Port Talbot steel works

Or he can ignore his time and keep riding his bike for fun and get fitter by accident.

That's where I am at, I record my rides, to see how far I went (and what calroies I burn) but pay little attention to time

nipper9

hi underdog

where is this 1000mtr mountain?
and how long did it take u?
can u send me the route i will give it a go?
is that brombil res. in the pic?
cheers paul

ps iam contracting in the works currently on the gasometer stop!

underdog

nipper9 wrote:

hi underdog

where is this 1000mtr mountain?
and how long did it take u?
can u send me the route i will give it a go?
is that brombil res. in the pic?
cheers paul

ps iam contracting in the works currently on the gasometer stop!

Hi mate, I can't send the route as my phone lost GPS and so it all isn't recorded, it's basically up through Goytre (forestry entrance oppoiste L&A riding school), up, up and then some more up, then pick your trails across and down, as you can see that time I came down via brombil res.

I done it again yesterday but added to the distance by taking a very long route into Margam park instead of down by the res. I actually passed another biker coming the other way yesterday, which was nice

Oh it was 1000+ m TOTAL climb

Ho hum

underdog wrote:

Ho hum wrote:

I take it you were reasonably fit before you started cycling?

Yes and no, I have surfed since I was a teen, played street hockey to a decent level BUT the last few years have mainly been spent eating pizza and smoking 30 a day :oops: The first couple of rides killed me, but my lungs seem to have opened up a bit suddenly.

The view of the res astounded me, it looked like nothing you would expect to find a mile away from Port Talbot steel works

Or he can ignore his time and keep riding his bike for fun and get fitter by accident.

That's where I am at, I record my rides, to see how far I went (and what calroies I burn) but pay little attention to time

GIve up the fags mate and then you will get another boost in your cycling performance!

I am on day 51 of not smoking after having smoked on and off for 25 years and I am feeling the benefits

underdog

Ho hum wrote:

GIve up the fags mate and then you will get another boost in your cycling performance!

I am on day 51 of not smoking after having smoked on and off for 25 years and I am feeling the benefits

It's the ultimate goal for me to be honest with you mate, I hope biking gives me the "excuse" I need :?

Ho hum

How old are you mate?

I am 39 now and I will be 40 at the end of this year.

One of my life goals was to stop smoking before I hit 40. So far, I have managed to achieve that goal.

Don't worry, I am not going to turn into a self-righteous ex-smoker. I know that giving up is difficult, staying off them is harder in the short term, but does get easier.

You really do need to get into the right frame of mind to attempt it.

Good luck whenever you do

underdog

Ho hum wrote:

How old are you mate?

I am 39 now and I will be 40 at the end of this year.

One of my life goals was to stop smoking before I hit 40. So far, I have managed to achieve that goal.

Don't worry, I am not going to turn into a self-righteous ex-smoker. I know that giving up is difficult, staying off them is harder in the short term, but does get easier.

You really do need to get into the right frame of mind to attempt it.

Good luck whenever you do

I'm 32, I want to be able to say I am completely smoke free by 35 (because at 36 I would have been smoking half my life, so want to avoid that )

The trouble is, like you said about frame of mind, I have no inclination to bother to quit, I hope hitting a wall with regards to riding will give me that inclination.

Well done and good luck mate.

Ho hum

underdog wrote:

Ho hum wrote:

How old are you mate?

I am 39 now and I will be 40 at the end of this year.

One of my life goals was to stop smoking before I hit 40. So far, I have managed to achieve that goal.

Don't worry, I am not going to turn into a self-righteous ex-smoker. I know that giving up is difficult, staying off them is harder in the short term, but does get easier.

You really do need to get into the right frame of mind to attempt it.

Good luck whenever you do

I'm 32, I want to be able to say I am completely smoke free by 35 (because at 36 I would have been smoking half my life, so want to avoid that )

The trouble is, like you said about frame of mind, I have no inclination to bother to quit, I hope hitting a wall with regards to riding will give me that inclination.

Well done and good luck mate.

Thank you.

I don't think that you will hit a wall as such, but it is always going to be something that will hold you back performance-wise.

IMO your goal that you have stated above is something to really work towards.

I am going to have to wait another 10 years before I achieve the same goal as you.

bomberesque

1000 HM in 20km is intense, well done. the view looks like the ride paid for itself

post the route when you can, we often do a summer trip to Afan from Brussels and have in the past stayed at L&A, it would be interesting to have a decent ride right out of the cabin!

underdog

bomberesque wrote:

1000 HM in 20km is intense, well done. the view looks like the ride paid for itself

post the route when you can, we often do a summer trip to Afan from Brussels and have in the past stayed at L&A, it would be interesting to have a decent ride right out of the cabin!

From L&A you simply can't miss it, the forestry rode is a steep climb right opposite you. My phone loses GPS going through the trees so I can't post the route up, I will find another way to do it on my night shifts

Once at the top you can head right around Goytre res or keep left and go the way I went and come out in Margam. There's another route around there I use but it ends by jumping a fence into my fathers land in Bryn so won't bother posting that

underdog

Ok played with mapmyride site and this is a rough idea what I done, skipping out my ride to there and the little detours I took and of course the ride home

http://www.mapmyride.com/route/gb/taiba ... 5623416134

If you're staying at L&A might be worth looking at google maps and using more trails or fire road to make it a lap rather than coming down be the res as it would be a road ride back there other wise.

bomberesque

thanks for that, we'll definitely give it a shot if/when we go this year ... got to be worth it for that view!

andyrm

Well done mate! That's good going after 2 weeks and it only gets better - as you get fitter you find you ride better and enjoy it more.

With regards motivation to give up smoking, do the maths. 30 a day = £8 per day or thereabouts. That's £240 a month that you can spend on gorgeous performance enhancing shiny things for your bike that don't really count as a 'vice' so to speak as they are part and parcel of something that makes you healthier. That's my excuse anyways.