WooHoo!!

Secteur

Started cycling in March & since then have lost 18kg.

Bought a triple as it's hilly++ where I live & initially used the small chain-ring on EVERY hill, most of the time. In the last 6 weeks, doing the same (and bigger) hills, I haven't had cause to use the small chain ring once! literally not once!

Also, I have a local "time trial" that I devised - 9 miles home-to-home, +140m elevation gain/loss - used to take me 32-34 minutes (15-16mph average). I remember thinking I'd never, ever get under 30 minutes.

Well, I haven't ridden it in about 2 months, but I just did it now - moderately windy the whole way - got back home with a time of 28 minutes with an average speed of 18.9mph! (the garmin also says my *average* HR was 103% of my max HR lol!!)

Can't believe it!

I still have about another 10kg of flab to lose, and I know my fitness still needs work so here's hoping that one day I can get down to 25 minutes!!

the_spooks

Well done indeed

Jim Will Fixie It

Good work Secteur! Keep it up and 25 minutes should be no problem

Secteur

To try and give me something to aim for, what would be a good time for the course I have described - I know there's tons of factors to consider, but just ball park figures for an "all out" effort?

i.e. what sort of times could be achieved by; a serious amateur (me), a good club rider, an elite rider and Alberto Contador?!

Jim Will Fixie It

I asked a very similar question in Amateur Race about TT times. Basically, how long is a piece of string.

However, for a rough guide. My local TT is a 10 mile loop (2 give way junctions) and features 269ft of gain. I did it on Wednesday in 28m30s on a fixed wheel with a tiny gear. The winning time was 24m14s. The course record is 22 or 23 minutes. The best guys in my club have been TT'ing for years (think 5-10+ years) and/or are decent racers (2nd and 3rd Cat.).

I'm not going to suggest what a Pro could do it in as I don't want to get flamed for over/under-estimating.

With your course being a mile shorter, but a bit hillier I'd imagine the 'course record' could be about 22-23 minutes for a (very) good club rider.

Secteur

well, it's something to aim for - but maybe not this year!

anto164

Congrats.

As for the TT, aim for aboutt... 18minutes for the 9 mile?

MountainMonster

Well played man, but the only thing really important when on the bike is not your average speed, but the smile on your face.

I've lost a shed load of weight as well since picking up cycling seriously again, and I feel great about myself. Glad to hear your hitting your targets. I'm now 7kg maximum away from my goal.

fuzzynavel

Secteur wrote:

Started cycling in March & since then have lost 18kg.

Bought a triple as it's hilly++ where I live & initially used the small chain-ring on EVERY hill, most of the time. In the last 6 weeks, doing the same (and bigger) hills, I haven't had cause to use the small chain ring once! literally not once!

Also, I have a local "time trial" that I devised - 9 miles home-to-home, +140m elevation gain/loss - used to take me 32-34 minutes (15-16mph average). I remember thinking I'd never, ever get under 30 minutes.

Well, I haven't ridden it in about 2 months, but I just did it now - moderately windy the whole way - got back home with a time of 28 minutes with an average speed of 18.9mph! (the garmin also says my *average* HR was 103% of my max HR lol!!)

Can't believe it!

I still have about another 10kg of flab to lose, and I know my fitness still needs work so here's hoping that one day I can get down to 25 minutes!!

Secteur...well done on your progress.

Which Garmin do you have....the reason I ask is that I have the 705 and it has the virtual partner training aid on it. You can basically ride a course then you can see pacing info and splits the next time out. I use it frequently to try and give me motivation to keep pushing and beat my previous times.

Berk Bonebonce

Secteur wrote:

it's hilly++ where I live!

Riding the hills hard provides a good workout. They are what you might call 'more interesing intervals', in as much as there is usually some downhill afterwards which provides chance for some recovery.

P_Tucker

How much of the weight loss would you attribute to actually cycling, and how much would you attribute to complaining about creaking noises? About 50:50?

DF33

Well done son. Keep at it.

Secteur

The other interesting thing I have noted from my garmin (800) analysis., is that my average cadence had gone up from around 80-85 in March/April, to 90-95 now.

andy46

Great news, it's nice to see improvments isn't it

Unfortunately for me I've probably gone downhill again after nearly 3 weeks off the bike due to work etc, just wish I had more riding time.

Matt the Tester

well done! keep it up!

The Ors

I've been doing something similar to the OP. My beer belly has definitely gotten smaller (several people have commented) but my weight has gone up by about 3kgs! :?

CakeLovinBeast

The Ors wrote:

I've been doing something similar to the OP. My beer belly has definitely gotten smaller (several people have commented) but my weight has gone up by about 3kgs! :?

I've been riding now for just about five weeks and I've only just reached the point now where the weight has started to come off again. The whole weight issue can be a little unpredictable in all fairness - I put on about 3kg of muscle, but was losing weight from elsewhere at the same time. Had a bit of a 'mare based on unhealthy living over the bank holiday weekend, but still on a decent track...

I know how you mean about the TT: Our local club has a route nearby that's just short of 9 miles that they use for training during the week. I scoped it out recently and gave it a go and despite going out a bit too fast, ended up doing 26 minutes at 19.4mph - I was well chuffed!

chiark

Fantastic, well done!

Tip top work. the thing that amazes me is that in 2 months I can see muscles in my legs that haven't been seen for years

andrewlwood

The Ors wrote:

I've been doing something similar to the OP. My beer belly has definitely gotten smaller (several people have commented) but my weight has gone up by about 3kgs! :?

Yes, me too - I lost 6kg in the first three months, and I'm getting slimmer still, but have put on 2kg in the last two months. surely not all leg muscle?!

pipipi

Well done Secteur (and others), both in reaching bike targets and weight targets. I try not to worry too much with the weight, cos I seem to gain muscle quite easily, but measuring your waist should be a good guideline.

Whilst I don't claim to be time trialling at any standard, I do like to know the splits in my head, eg from this roundabout to the bottom of the hill is 6.5mins and try to maintain the pace accordingly.

When I first started I was just interested in the overall time, which came down in quite big chunks, but then these plateaud, much as you would expect. So rather than wait to finish a 2hour ride and see if I had gone quicker, I split the ride up into smaller sections and treated each one of those a s achallenge to beat.

I don't know how easy it is to do that on your ride. But I'm sure you could time yourself up an important stage/hill. Then the next time you get to the same stage, you know you need to get up there in 90 seconds. I imagine that the Garmin can do all sorts of tricks that would help. But if you are signifiantly slower or faster in the initial stages then you won' have anything to pace yourself against. Try taping a few times to the handlebars