45 year old, fat, newbie commuter needs advise please

pianoleo

Yes, the general consensus on this website (and I absolutely agree with it) is to stick to the code. Of course, now the fun is in learning the traffic light sequences on your route, pacing yourself to hit them all on green, and if that isn't possible, find quick side roads that bypass the red lights...

Agent57

fatboybiker wrote:

Red lights, ped crossings, zebra crossings, filtered junctions etc etc...

I'm still in noob-feck-it-what-coppers-mode and jump all of these or ride through em before getting the green light blahblah....

Is that wrong ? If I ever want to consider myself a proper cyclist I should follow the 'code' right ?

Why do you even need to ask? :roll:

fatboybiker

pianoleo wrote:

Yes, the general consensus on this website (and I absolutely agree with it) is to stick to the code. Of course, now the fun is in learning the traffic light sequences on your route, pacing yourself to hit them all on green, and if that isn't possible, find quick side roads that bypass the red lights...

Sounds good....

I'll be sticking to the 'rules' from now on... To be honest, I already knew deep down.

Nik Cube

Bit of advice when going through a roundabout at a nice speed there may be silly slidely stuff mid way through the apex - and then ouch!!

I know this from an off this morning

vaseline

I used to ride through red lights and the wrong way down one way streets. Until the day I had a collision with a woman who walked from behind a lorry and wasn't expecting a cyclist to be going the wrong way down a one way street. I felt like a complete cock and ever since have stuck to the rules of the road. My rule these days is do what I would do if I was driving a car, and put myself in the place of the pedestrian, one of which I regularly am. These days it makes me cross when I see cyclist going through red lights and that must mean I'm a better person, right?

SmellTheGlove

Great effort all round FBB - actually, having done the hard bit, which is starting in the first place, it's less about the 'code' than the satisfaction of honing the skills. Momentum is 95% of everything on the bike; use anticipation to keep it up. Rather than e.g. arriving at the signal just as it turns red, slow down early then accelerate through on green. Same with crossings - size up the situation early and keep pedalling, if necessary with one brake jammed nearly full on. When the gap opens, you're ready to go.

That's downloaded my entire brain; I'm off for a lie down.

fatboybiker

SmellTheGlove wrote:

Great effort all round FBB - actually, having done the hard bit, which is starting in the first place, it's less about the 'code' than the satisfaction of honing the skills. Momentum is 95% of everything on the bike; use anticipation to keep it up. Rather than e.g. arriving at the signal just as it turns red, slow down early then accelerate through on green. Same with crossings - size up the situation early and keep pedalling, if necessary with one brake jammed nearly full on. When the gap opens, you're ready to go.

That's downloaded my entire brain; I'm off for a lie down.

The anticipation thing is something I need to work on.... I stuck to the rules today and spent time sat at lights waiting for a green. But I totally see the reason for sticking to the rules.

STRONG HEAD WIND TODAY :x :x The ride home was sooooooo hard but still did it in 35 minutes...... they wife thought I was gonna croak when I came in the door huffing and a puffing.... (she was possibly hoping I'm sure she quickly hid , what looked like my life insurance policy behind her back )

another 16 today.... thats 32miles this week.

jeepie1999

The only rule of the road I don't stick to is the speed limit. There is a fabulous downhill near the start of my commute in the morning (less fabulous when going home sometimes!) which is easy to do 36 - 38 mph. The police love to have a speed trap here.

I am unsure of the law - do speed limits apply to all road users or just motorists (including motorbikes but not pedal cycles)?

davis

Jeepie1999 wrote:

I am unsure of the law - do speed limits apply to all road users or just motorists (including motorbikes but not pedal cycles)?

It only applies to motorized vehicles.

Clarion

Top stuff FBB. I was in your position a couple of years back (or so), and now I love my commute. Wouldn't want to do anything different.

Sticking to the rules is half the fun. I like the smug feeling as I pass the RLJers.

fatboybiker

just looked at the weather forecast for here tomorrow the wind is gonna be around 30mph :shock: thats faster than today and I nearly died pushing against it...

tomorrow could be a nightmare.

Kieran_Burns

fatboybiker wrote:

just looked at the weather forecast for here tomorrow the wind is gonna be around 30mph :shock: thats faster than today and I nearly died pushing against it...

tomorrow could be a nightmare.

We have leaves blowing UP pas the window - we're on the 1st floor.

(I did drive in today - I do 3 days a week at the moment)

CiB

Confirmation that is indeed chuffing windy today. My usual 1:05 - 1:10 became 1:32 in this wind. I sense a biblical journey home again...

The Rookie

Mostly a cross wind today, at times I could see the ground through the front wheel as I had an emergency cant over to keep myself from being blown into the oncoming traffic.

Simon

rhext

CiB wrote:

Confirmation that is indeed chuffing windy today. My usual 1:05 - 1:10 became 1:32 in this wind. I sense a biblical journey home again...

Please don't let it turn round. Please don't let it turn round. Please don't let it turn round!

Paul E

I am not really looking forward to the 12 odd miles on the way home, the wind across blackheath was enough to slow me to a crawl and send my heart rate well above what I was trying to keep it below, oh well, in town not so bad, but train tomorrow as I have to then another bike day saturday, but at least the roads are quieter

fatboybiker

NIGHTMARE HEAD WIND HOME AAARRRGGHH

getting there was a breeze..... excuse the pun BUT...

coming home my 35 minutes became nearly 50 minutes today...... :shock:

too many days like that and it'll put me right off..

still.. 16 more today (feels like 25) one more day tomorrow..

Tomorrow will be a little different if the wind stops blowing.

I'll have the journey in which is 8mls, I gotta go to a meeting in the afternoon(instead of

knocking off at 1 ) and that will be 11.4 miles to the meeting, then my journey home

from the meeting back home will be 6.3 miles.. so IF (and thats a big if) I can do that

without dropping dead, I'll make up for some of the lost miles from monday.

EKE_38BPM

Don't beat yourself up for missing a day.
Ride all the time you can, but don't push it.

Over-exercise hurts and does your body no favours.

Good going though. Just remember to rest up over the weekend.

rhext

It bl***dy turned round!!!!!!!!!

chunkytfg

rhext wrote:

It bl***dy turned round!!!!!!!!!

And it'll turn round again by this evening :twisted:

fatboybiker

another week completed although only 64miles completed this week, Monday missed as you know but I bottled it yesterday when I had my meeting to attend, I thought, head wind, 12.8miles being nearly double the amount of miles I've done in one trip so far, knackered legs from Thursdays blustery day and I would still have 6.5 miles to get home following the meeting, so I came home on the bike and did the meeting in the car.

So....is it normal for my legs to feel worse this week than last week? particularly the big top thigh muscle. My calfs aren't aching although they do feel tight.

that bloody wind on Wed, THURSDAY (hated that day) and Friday had me going slower but having to work harder even using a higher cadance (proper cycling term there )

I'm only 2 weeks or so in and already considering how much difference a road bike might make. I've got my eye on the new Boardman Road Bike that start at around £650.

I know thats not a lot of money for a bike but they seem good value. Its probably twice as much as I'd like to spend really and was considering a used bike off of that god awful selling site (you know the one I mean) but wouldn't know what to look for, any idea's or info would be appreciated.

My main concern about road bikes is more to do with my size than anything else.
You guys who said NO weightloss for a while where right, 2 weeks in and no difference at all , oh well.... its early days yet.

anyway.... @ a smidge under 17 stone I'm heavy and these light frames, razor thin tyres and wheels wouldn't last very long given the state of the roads these days and would surely suffer under my weight or have I got that wrong?

I'm not sure which way to go with this.... either I buy second hand but potentially get a better quality bike. Wait a bit longer, maybe til summer comes, and buy a new Boardman or whatever you peeps recommend for a fat lad.
OR, and here's what I'm expecting you all to come back with, do I stick with my Specialized and my City Jet road tyres and just drool over pictures of road bikes?

Promise peeps, I'll stop with the questions and the random stuff after this.

clarkey cat

If you're more built for comfort than speed then a cyclocross or tourer may suit you better... that is until you are a svelte 13 stone and you can invest in a fully carbon jobby!

i think this is quite pretty

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/jam ... e-ec025746

Nik Cube

The new Dawes clubman looks nice steel frame mudguards and the possibility of taking a rack too. Second week sore thighs - keep going and the weight loss will follow.

UndercoverElephant

Here's a little secret - road bikes are pretty robust. They may not be able to go down a mountain trail with you on the back, but on the road there would be no problem at all, especially if you got wheels with a lot of spokes (Spa cycles do good, cheap hand-built wheels). A touring bike is a good proposition, fairly relaxed position and all the mounting points for racks and guards, not as fast as a real road bike though.

davis

I'm going to get shot down for this... but here goes.

Don't buy a new bike. Yet.

Right now, you're going to get most benefit from fitness and possibly weight loss - it will make far, far more difference than the bike. You're already not sure about the cost, so I can't see spending a large amount of money that's going to make little *real* time difference(*) to be a good idea.

By all means buy the bike, but when you're sure about the money, when you're fitter, when you'll appreciate the difference it makes all the more -- do you want to buy an expensive bike and then slightly resent it 'cos it doesn't halve your commute time?

Oh and don't worry about your weight on a road bike: it's not going to fold up.

PS You will get fitter and lighter. You're probably doing too much too soon. Make sure you're eating real food, though.

*: I'm only thinking about time savings here, not whether you'd enjoy it more.

chunkytfg

Oh I long to be 17stone!!!!

I'm 2.5stone heavier than that and ride a skinny road bike fine.

As has been said a set of high spoke count wheels will happily take your weight no probs. TBH you may not even need handbuilts. Some of the stronger factory wheels are good for ~100kg riders and you are around that mark.

deptfordmarmoset

davis wrote:

I'm going to get shot down for this... but here goes.

Don't buy a new bike. Yet.

Right now, you're going to get most benefit from fitness and possibly weight loss - it will make far, far more difference than the bike. You're already not sure about the cost, so I can't see spending a large amount of money that's going to make little *real* time difference(*) to be a good idea.

By all means buy the bike, but when you're sure about the money, when you're fitter, when you'll appreciate the difference it makes all the more -- do you want to buy an expensive bike and then slightly resent it 'cos it doesn't halve your commute time?

Oh and don't worry about your weight on a road bike: it's not going to fold up.

PS You will get fitter and lighter. You're probably doing too much too soon. Make sure you're eating real food, though.

*: I'm only thinking about time savings here, not whether you'd enjoy it more.

On the other hand, if you get onto a road bike and it feels so right that it wants you to ride it faster and further with a smile on your face, then you might end up getting more exercise and, I'd guess that if you end up doing longer rides at a higher cadence, you might find that this will help with the weight loss.

davis

deptfordmarmoset wrote:

davis wrote:

...some words....
*: I'm only thinking about time savings here, not whether you'd enjoy it more.

On the other hand, if you get onto a road bike and it feels so right that it wants you to ride it faster and further with a smile on your face, then you might end up getting more exercise and, I'd guess that if you end up doing longer rides at a higher cadence, you might find that this will help with the weight loss.

Yeah, I alluded to that in my footnote. My post was a dressed-up version of "don't pin your hopes on it, fella".

fatboybiker

davis wrote:

I'm going to get shot down for this... but here goes.

Don't buy a new bike. Yet.

This is pretty much what I thought.... My Spesh, kitted for the road does seem to make the best sense at the moment.

davis wrote:

Oh and don't worry about your weight on a road bike: it's not going to fold up.

They do look so frail though...... Not built for the larger gent.

davis wrote:

Make sure you're eating real food, though.

Should I be dieting to get the best results? I sort of eat normally and my weight hasn't really fluctuated by more than 3 lb in the last 2yrs. I realise dieting will help with weight loss but I (Maybe stupidly) thought that I would loose weight because of the excercise. :? I certainly feel like I'm putting the effort in.
Do I need to start looking at nutrition stuff now then ?

deptfordmarmoset

davis wrote:

deptfordmarmoset wrote:

davis wrote:

...some words....
*: I'm only thinking about time savings here, not whether you'd enjoy it more.

On the other hand, if you get onto a road bike and it feels so right that it wants you to ride it faster and further with a smile on your face, then you might end up getting more exercise and, I'd guess that if you end up doing longer rides at a higher cadence, you might find that this will help with the weight loss.

Yeah, I alluded to that in my footnote. My post was a dressed-up version of "don't pin your hopes on it, fella".

I guessed that but if it feels right and you can almost afford it....