What to do? (longish post but please read)

MarcBC

I have a road bike of six weeks old which is still to be ridden. A lot of the problem has been the weather but also a total lack of motivation. I stopped working 18 months ago ( a blend of reduncancy and health) and depression has now taken a chunk of me.

I need a target to focus on and was thinking of doing a decent, perhaps sponsored, duration cycle event in April / May next year. Not only will that give me a focus but a reason to get on the bike to start training and if sponsored, a purpose that is difficult to back out from. The buzz from being fit should also bring back some positivity.

Bearing in mind I am starting from zero fitness, nearly 50 and am 3 stone overweight, what events would you suggest would be worth looking at?

They must also be something that requires a good but realistic training schedule (i.e not all day every day).

I looked at the C2C with the British Heart Foundation in May (I had a heart attack 9 yrs ago), but that is a team event (I know no other cyclists) and requires a back up driver for the team.

bilirubin

Marc,

I do not wish to offend but after reading your post my honest opinion is forget events and just concentrate on getting some training miles under your belt.

If you could not get motivated to ride a new bike 6 weeks ago when the weather was cold but bearable who is to say you are going to enjoy it when you do finally get back on.

Being 53 myself age is not an issue however you admit to being overweight, you stopped working due to health issues and you have suffered a heart attack in the past so you need to ease yourself back in gently.

Its only a week to Christmas so feast and be merry and forget the bike, then set yourself some realistic goals for the New Year but above all enjoy the riding rather that beating yourself up over it.

Whatever you decide have a great Christmas

keef66

I'm 53, overweight, and suffer recurrent depression. Cycling is the only thing I really enjoy these days. Work, family commitments and the weather have conspired to keep me indoors for all but a handful of brief outings recently.

Although I'm down at the moment, I'm really looking forward to the spring. I'd focus on that and as soon as the weather improves a bit just get out there and ride.

pneumatic

I tend to agree about the events thing; the risk is that you set yourself an impossible target and then beat yourself up for failing.

When I restarted riding 12 years ago, I was overweight and listless. I am still overweight. However, I am much fitter, much more more positive and I know what to do when I am feeling low: drag myself onto the bike and within a couple of miles I am kicking myself for not doing it sooner.

I suggest you get on the bike and go for a ride. See how far you get and notice how you feel on the tough sections (up hills, in traffic, into the wind).

Then go for another ride. Stretch yourself a bit, by going a bit further, or by doing that hill again. Look for gradual improvements.

If possible, find some mates to go riding with from time to time.

Once you find you can enjoy riding 50 miles, then sign up for an event. Keep that as your ambition, not your target.

suzyb

bilirubin wrote:

Its only a week to Christmas so feast and be merry and forget the bike, then set yourself some realistic goals for the New Year but above all enjoy the riding rather that beating yourself up over it.

ffs where did December go.

It is hard to get motivated, especially when the weather is like it is. Last year I signed up for Pedal for Scotland which I felt would be quite an easy event to start with (slow paced, not too far). Perhaps you could look around for a similar event local to you.

Or if there aren't any, make up your own. You can always just raise some money for BHF or another charity without taking part in an official event.

Monty Dog

When suffering from a bout of clinical depression a few years ago, my doc positiviely encouraged me to ride my bike as 'therapy'. It certainly was good to have a focus and something to lift my spirits.
I would just start by getting out on the bike to try and get a feel and understand your capability. What you don't want to do is be over-optimistic and then get down on the realisation that you're not going to achieve your (too optimistic) target. Perhaps after 3 months and a more reasonable level of fitness would be a better time to do this?
For now, maybe just base your targets on duration of rides, making sure that you only make a steady increase of no more that 10-20% per month e.g. hours or miles. If you start at say 2hrs / 30 miles for your longest ride, in 6 months you should be able to manage 5 hrs / 80 miles.

keef66

I just have a vague idea that I'd like to try getting from Newmarket to Loughborough next year cos
a) it's about 100 miles and
b) our eldest son is in his final year at uni there so I'll have a floor to collapse on when I get there.

Most I've managed since I was a teenager is 50 miles one Sunday morning

Rouge Penguin

Do the Dragon ride first week of June.

Once you actually get out in the fresh air and the addiction takes over, you'll forget all about the motivation. You wont be able to ride enough

If this doesnt happen, sell the bike, its not for you.

acebobby

I wouldn't bother signing up for an event too early in the year if I were you. Youve had 6 weeks of daylight hours and you couldn't find time to get out on a ride, when are you going to find the time to train during Jan and Febs frost, then March winds then April showers. realistically how much training can you fit in between now and May?

I not so sure about doing one for charity either, I know its a bit of an outside motivator but really if you want to get fit, and enjoy your cycling, do it for yourself first after all its about improving yourself, by all means raise a bit of cash along the way, but dont let that become your soul motivation because as soon as the sponsored event is over, so will your cycling be!

Also it will take more than just cycling to knock 3 stone off, I am talking nutrition here and if you get that right you will be less depressed, have more energy, and have the get up and go to go out on your bike, try it!

Bobby

P.S.
Just a thought about entering the C2C though, why not put a post on here saying you want to put a novice team together for it, that would be motivation to get fit for the event!

CiB

You asked what sort of events - look for Sportivs, 50, 60 maybe 100 miles. There are plenty around that provide an enjoyable way of spending a few hours on the bike in the company of like-minded folk. Look in the back of the cycling mags.

As for getting out on the bike, the only way is to get out on it. Don't have "a plan", or "a target", do it now. Switch the TV off, wrap up in a few layers and get on the bike, now, not in another hour when you might fancy it. It's not MTFU, more a case of making the first move at it. Putting it off is putting it off and gets no-one anywhere.

And - just because this is a personal bug-bear of mine, don't get too wrapped up in doing sponsored events. Most of us have a fairly limited circle of potential sponsors, and to be quite frank tapping these poeple up to hand over cash so that you can take part in your hobby at a higher level soon starts to grate. Not with everyone granted, but when the email arrives, they cringe. "I want to do an organised bike ride and be seen to be doing something for charideee. I'll do the easy bit by riding my bike for a few hours. Can you stump up the dosh pls?". That's the message.

notaboutME

Marc,

You've made one important step by buying the bike. What you are trying to do is achieveable and has been done by many people. It seems to me the important thing is to be realistic. All targets are RELATIVE. There's no reason why you can't aim for one of the mid range sportive distances, e.g. 50 miles. That would be a hell of an achievement given where you are coming from.

I'm in a similar situation myself as I started road cycling 3 months ago on a twenty year old bike. I suffer from ME so usually start the rides feeling worse than when I finish them (thank you endorphines). The last 3-4 weeks weather (since I bought a new bike !!) have not been been great at all IMHO as I've dropped from 50 -60 mile per week to 1-2 gentle gym sessions at best. I'm aiming to do a 50-70 mile sportive next summer. Being a typical ME sufferer I'm often overly optimisitc about what I can achieve (that's how I got it in the first place !!) but I'm getting better at pacing myself and hopefully I'll make it.

The shortest day is almost upon us and the 'orrible weather can't last for ever. If I was you I would give myself a target for the summer by entering something but make sure it's achieveable. Do yourself a training schedule and keep a diary and go for it. There's nothing wrong with starting with 10 miles at most. Perhaps after 2 months you'll be up to a 30 mile ride in, say 2.5 hours. Remember it's all relative.

Good luck.

PS The weight loss will come with the miles.

Pokerface

If you're set on a sponsored ride, I can recommend London to Paris. I did it for Action Medical Research: http://www.action.org.uk/

It's not nearly as hard as it might seem - it's fun and you meet great people and have a great time. Plus you get to be in Paris to see the end of the Tour in July.

And if you want so inspiration to get you going, have a quick peek at my blog (click on the link in my sig), especially the first post. I was/am a little bit like you (if you overlook my 'disability') and cycling has turned my life around for the better.

giant_man

Pokerface just been reading your blog mate. Wow - what inspiration, you're one of life's acheivers mate, well done to you!

acebobby

giant mancp wrote:

Pokerface just been reading your blog mate. Wow - what inspiration, you're one of life's acheivers mate, well done to you!

+1 on that pokerface, I will be following your blog with great interest!

Bobby

MarcBC

Many thanks fellas. Really appreciated. A mixture of responses but all positive. I guess the first hurdle is to just get my backside on the bike, howsoever I feel.

Re the 3 stone, I was not so much looking for that to go purely through cycling, but as an indicator as to my current fitness (or lack thereof)

I do like the idea of perhaps a novice team for the C2C, but also respect the idea of not putting myself into a position of not achieving closer to the event.

I will look at the Pokerface blog now.

crankycrank

keef66 wrote:

I'm 53, overweight, and suffer recurrent depression. Cycling is the only thing I really enjoy these days. Work, family commitments and the weather have conspired to keep me indoors for all but a handful of brief outings recently.

Although I'm down at the moment, I'm really looking forward to the spring. I'd focus on that and as soon as the weather improves a bit just get out there and ride.

Similar situation for me as well. It's almost always a struggle to get out and ride but it's very rare to when I don't feel more positive afterwards. Very good for the mental health. To MarcBC try setting riding goals and stick with them. Start out with maybe a 3 miles (or ??) a day, 5 times a week commitment for the first week and gradually increase. What has worked for me in the past after returning from periods of cycling burnout is to take it easy at first so as not to make myself hate riding. Get some conditioning in and learn your pace and then start increasing to the longer distances. If you're short on time, a short, hard ride can be just as good for conditioning as a longer more casual one. Remember to enjoy the ride. If you miss a day once in awhile don't beat yourself up. Maybe find some riding partners for one day a week and have a cake stop and chit chat during the ride which is also good for the mental health and gives you something fun to look forward to every week. You're not training to be a Pro so don't treat it as a job. I think being ready for one of the organised rides by April is very possible.

Stone Glider

This is a good time of the year for making plans. Write down a rough list of what you want from cycling in the next twelve months. It will give you a chance to reflect on your ambitions and your chances of attainment. Nothing too specific, just : enter a Sportive, ride to the coast, ride overnight, try a velodrome, C2C....... I did it last Xmas, then I was ill and missed the summer entirely But I managed a 50mile cross-country ride in October plus some Sustrans routes in Wales. It is your life and your list, you can be flexible yet still have something concrete to look back on.

As others have said, the trick is to go out on the bike, everything will follow.

rc856

acebobby wrote:

giant mancp wrote:

Pokerface just been reading your blog mate. Wow - what inspiration, you're one of life's acheivers mate, well done to you!

+1 on that pokerface, I will be following your blog with great interest!

Bobby

+2

Marc...all the best with the weight loss. Have you thought of joining a local club?
At this time of year, you might find that they have indoor turbo trainer sessions during the week and the rides at the weekend.
Most good clubs will have different groups to cater for all kinds of riders.

MarcBC

Yup I have joined a local club (Team MK) and they do ride outs every Saturday, including one group that could work for me. The difficulty is the distances are typically 30-40 miles even in the "slow" group.

They also do spinning classes on Fridays but I have yet to get there.

rc856

Well mate, you've made a start. You've been motivated enough to go someplace new, with new people and join in so get yourself along to the spin classes.
If you're worried about the distance, just tell the group that to start with, you'll go xxx amount of miles before turning round.
Next time your turning point can be another 5 miles down the road etc.

carl_p

There's no reason why you couldn't be ready to do a 50 mile charity ride by the spring. The motivational thing however might be a problem, especially this time of year when it is so cold. Only you can get your head round that. Also cycling in the winter is so much harder than during the summer (well at least I find it so) so don't get overly disheartened about your performance - it will get better when the temperature rises.

I would recommend the club scene. It's great being around like minded people and you'll enjoy the club run both as an exercise and social event. However, be fair to yourself and others before you head out with them as you really do need a level of fitness first. Good luck!

northpole

Great to see that you have joined a club - there should be plenty of levels of competence which you can join in with.
Given your previous heart problems, I would suggest you have a check up to make sure there are no issues at the moment to prevent you stressing the old ticker.
Cycling is a bit funny compared with say running - when running I was never in any doubt about how hard my heart was working whereas with cycling it can be quite a surprise to find the level of beats per minute inflicted! An end of summer cycle to Brighton this year saw my ticker blasting past 190 bpm which according to the tables is greater than I should be doing at my age. The jist of this is that I would strongly recommend you get some form of heart rate monitor to help ensure that, particularly when starting out, you don't overstress yourself, particularly on the hills.
As your club are organising gym turbo trainer sessions, I think it would be great for you to get to know the folks and build up a level of fitness which the current crappy weather will ensure you aren't able to do. Not the most pleasant form of exercise but one of my work colleagues has taken to this and his fitness levels especially on hills has improved enormously this year.
With regards to organised events, I'm with others here - better to take a view when you get to May next year, see what you have achieved with your fitness levels and then decide whether 2011 is the right time to start taking part in events.
My friend's father is recovering from a prostate operation, he's in his 60's and this year a big bunch of us did the Mizzen - Mallon Head cycle - approx 450 miles from the southern most to northern most points of Ireland. He was on a bike which clearly wasn't the right shape for him, it was a hybrid, not a racer and weighed a comparative tonne! Six days later we had all completed the journey - hard work and fantastic fun but a great example for all of us that with determination and the right frame of mind, we're all capable of achieving goals we may have thought impossible.
Best of luck to you in the year ahead.

Peter

dombo6

giant mancp wrote:

Pokerface just been reading your blog mate. Wow - what inspiration, you're one of life's acheivers mate, well done to you!

+1. Truly inspiring!

dombo6

I would also recommend getting a cheap mtb, something off ebay 2nd hand for a couple of hundred quid, fit some winter tyres and get out in the snow

MarcBC

Dombo6 wrote:

I would also recommend getting a cheap mtb, something off ebay 2nd hand for a couple of hundred quid, fit some winter tyres and get out in the snow

Thank you. I have a mountain bike (Scott Scale 20) which I do get out on perhaps once a month with a group of motorbiker riders I know. All cinder path stuff, however.

Peter, thank you too. Yup I have bought a heart monitor which I intend to use all the time when on the bike. It did scare me on very small climb on the mtb when it showed I had reached my max heart rate. I just assumed it had made a reading error!

Carl, thank you too.

I have done two 30 minute sessions on the exercise bike in the last three days and intend to do every other day for the time being. Perhaps not ideal compared to getting out on the bike, but this thread has already helped me to feel more positive.

Marc

rc856

[[/quote]
Yup I have bought a heart monitor which I intend to use all the time when on the bike. It did scare me on very small climb on the mtb when it showed I had reached my max heart rate. I just assumed it had made a reading error!
[/quote]

Know what you mean mate. I went out with my HRM (admittedly a cheap one) a while back and up a steep climb it showed 210 bpm. According the the max HR calculations, my max should be 183!
I'm hoping that the cheap HRM just wasn't accurate!

Burton

I was just about to suggest you had a look at Team MK, their D Group Saturday ride would be fine.

Whatever happens don't be put off by what you read anywhere, just turn up introduce yourself and someone will look after you.

They do tend to publish the route in advance so you could always join in a bit closer to home, but I think turning up at the start and seeing what you can do is the best bet.

Cycling always makes you feel great, even when you've had a really tough ride, or the weather is rubbish.
The feeling when you walk in the door and crash in a chair having pushed yourself that little bit more is great!

Good luck with it, and maybe our paths will cross on a ride sometime

Fellow Team MK'er!

bigjim

This is a bad time of year if you are feeling low. Locked inside the house because of the awful weather, dark short days etc. Exercise is a great part of feeling good. I dont know how your finances are but I personally would recomend joining a good gym. It is a lifesaver for me. My spirits lift as soon as I walk in. It is bright and busy with music playing and WARM! You tend to see the same people there and can have a chat or laugh, a choice of excercises or classes where you meet even more people and in the one I attend I can finish off a session by relaxing in the jacuzzi and sauna. It is full of people driven indoors by the weather, cyclists, runners, walkers etc. I feel great after a couple of hours there and know I am keeping my fitness levels up for when I can safely return to the bike.

MarcBC

Many thanks Burton, Big Jim and RC856 again.

I am hoping to get to the spin classes via the club on Fridays. Gym session don't really work for me as I do no like being inside (catch 22 with the weather really too), however, the being able to mix in with people is a good idea. I will look into that, at least for a temp membersip to last until the weather improves.

I have been using the exercise bike for the last week every other day for 30 minute sessions and that is helping.

tri-sexual

loads of good advice from many forum members.
you have already made the first steps in achieveing your goals
buying a bike, riding your mtb, joining a club - all positive steps
my advice is to goto the spin classes and go on some rides, makes sure you do these and not to make excuses of why you cant do it. if you do this you will make new friends who will have similar interests to you. from these chose a training partner who will encourage you (and you them) to reach your goals. training with others will motivate you and make working out more fun.
just by riding, you will feel better mentally and physically and you will be surprised at how fast your mood/ fitness will improve
dont get hung up by charity rides etc. start small, ride often and enjoy your riding - setting yourself goals can sometimes give you goal to aim for but if you fail to reach these goals you can often feel more defeated and pressurized which can make your depression worse.
this time of year i see loads of people starting new exercise regimes and crazy diets, setting themselves impossible goals (losing 4 stone in a month etc) when these people realise they cant reach their goals, they simply give up and their situation usually gets worse (the why bother attitude), a healthier mind set is little and often and most of all, enjoy yourself, if you dont enjoy it then it will become a chore and you will make excuses for yourself why you cant do it. then you will give up.

Lycra Man

Marc,

I agree with much that has been suggested. I would set yourself a goal, but make it a resonably easy one. Once you achieve that, set a new goal, and aim for that. That way you keep your spirits up with the sense of achievement.

To begin with, aim at riiding to MK and back - about 16 5 miles each way. Once you can do that easily, join up with your club for a weekend ride.

Lycra Man