Gotta start somewhere
Noller
Posts: 3
Hi guys,well its the same old story.49 yrs old,fat,recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes,5ft 8in tall,216lbs,ex rugby player(not serious) but used to be half fit,ex smoker too,realised gotta lose lots of weight and improve fitness.So what to do i thinks?Eventually arrived at cycling due to the fact my younger brother is really into it and is a fit lad to boot.
Having checked out this forum for a while,which is excellent in my opinion!!,i came to the conclusion that i dont wanna spend too much,so ordered myself a lovely Merlin malt rs via mail order 54cm, circa £600.00, and waited 12 days for it to arrive.Like a child on Christmas morning when the postie turned up,so got it assembled and decided i now need some gear to get going.Well, lots of pound notes later(dont tell the mrs) i have got the necessary bits to get me going.Altura lycra(yep even at 49 years old)shorts,a couple of proper shirts that are tight as hell on my slim frame!! some shimano R077 shoes spd-sl yellow cleats and shimano R540 pedals.A lezyne floor pump,some spare tubes,drink cage & bottle etc etc.....Oh and a Garmin edge 200gps thingy.So first trip out plotted a course that is basically a 10 mile loop and set off for my first trip.Me being me i forgot the Garmin so had no data to record except that i arrived home over an hour later sweating profusely and blowing like a women giving birth.A week later,today in fact,went on the same loop AND remembered my Garmin.Here's the stats: Time 46.48 mins Distance 9.57 miles Average speed 12.27mph Maximum speed 24.05mph Calories 667 (Yeeeaaah) Ascent & descent 383.9ft
Now i realise you're probably not too impressed with my timings and i dont think Cav has anything to worry about but to me its a milestone that can only be improved upon!!! And i really enjoyed it....Cheers.
Having checked out this forum for a while,which is excellent in my opinion!!,i came to the conclusion that i dont wanna spend too much,so ordered myself a lovely Merlin malt rs via mail order 54cm, circa £600.00, and waited 12 days for it to arrive.Like a child on Christmas morning when the postie turned up,so got it assembled and decided i now need some gear to get going.Well, lots of pound notes later(dont tell the mrs) i have got the necessary bits to get me going.Altura lycra(yep even at 49 years old)shorts,a couple of proper shirts that are tight as hell on my slim frame!! some shimano R077 shoes spd-sl yellow cleats and shimano R540 pedals.A lezyne floor pump,some spare tubes,drink cage & bottle etc etc.....Oh and a Garmin edge 200gps thingy.So first trip out plotted a course that is basically a 10 mile loop and set off for my first trip.Me being me i forgot the Garmin so had no data to record except that i arrived home over an hour later sweating profusely and blowing like a women giving birth.A week later,today in fact,went on the same loop AND remembered my Garmin.Here's the stats: Time 46.48 mins Distance 9.57 miles Average speed 12.27mph Maximum speed 24.05mph Calories 667 (Yeeeaaah) Ascent & descent 383.9ft
Now i realise you're probably not too impressed with my timings and i dont think Cav has anything to worry about but to me its a milestone that can only be improved upon!!! And i really enjoyed it....Cheers.
0
Comments
-
Well done! I'm in a similar boat but fortunatly not quite as heavy and no diabetes.
You will be very surprised how quickly you improve and start losing weight if you keep at it regularly. Get on Strava or Endomondo. Dood for tracking improvements over tiem
0 -
Well done. Keep up the good work.
Don't be put off by anybody's times or speeds; we all live in different places, apart from anything else. I can average over 25mph in flat Hertfordshire; I couldn't in the Lakes or Sheffield! Etc.
But amateur cycling at its most basic is not actually very scientific. Bike fitting, aerodynamic positioning, good pedalling technique, training programmes and nutrition all matter, but if you put in the miles regularly, push yourself really hard, eat properly and keep yourself fuelled before and during your rides, you WILL see progress. Intensive cycling burns a lot of calories. The riders of old partook in a much simpler sport; Eddy Merckx had himself, some simple steel bikes and lots of carbs and water (and steaks, apparently). No minutely controlled diet, no sports psychologists, no fancy shorts, no carbon fibre this or that.
I also think you should read this, if you haven't already!
http://road.cc/content/news/66865-king- ... just-eight0 -
Well done! keep it up! you really will notice an improvement within a month. I started 6 weeks ago and I am flying up a hill that nearly killed me on my first trip out. I agree with @Dashik that strava and Garmin connect are really good for tracking your progress. As for your times you might find it good to know that they sound about the same as mine were when I started (46 yrs old, only 11.2 stone, just given up 40 a day habit) main thing is you enjoyed it though 0
