Fitness..

there is a fitness forum on bike radar so might be the best place to ask this question but take comfort in the fact that you in familiar company here, every one could afford to be fitter and the trick is that if you are improving, you are doing the right thing.

as for how to get fitter, i think you have got exactly the right idea, a bit more riding, gradually incresing the distance. the only way to get good at climbing is to practice climbing.

if you have a collection of routes near you i would recommend you just riding them and having fun, i think you will find that just covering ground will make you fitter, dont forget that you have only been riding your bike for a week, how long had your mate been riding the same trail he took you on?

finally, you will find if you are just out riding for fun, you will ride more often and this will definately make you fitter and fitter.

good luck and keep us informed about how you get on.

I've found riding off road is building my fitness and stamina up much quicker, it forces you to work a lot harder. Its a lot more fun aswell, and dont get old grannys in micra's trying to kill you :twisted: every 5 mins.

Simple answer is to keep on your bike, nothing beats riding time, there is no quick route to getting fit.

Im overweight and have been tackling some very technical off-road for the past 2 months. My first outings where TERRIBLE, with constant break stops and in the early days, I was vomiting at the top of the big big hills! :oops:

Riding the same route twice a week, and now I am doing those hills and not stopping! - My recovery from a big hill has gone from 10 minutes, to about 2 minutes.

Fitness can be built up very quickly, you will surpise yourself. Stick to the same route as that is a good guage for your progress you can measure.

My friends have commented at my increase in fitness and weight loss, and this spurs me on even more.

Im now going to add a road ride between off-roads for a longer, less strenuous ride as that is apparently better for weight loss.

The sad fact is, if you stop this excercise for a period of time, you lose it faster than when you gained it! - life's a bitch!

Get out there and enjoy it! - I am (now)

Pag5pro wrote:

Hi Nick,

I started running 3 times a week and out on the bike at the weekend and my fitness got better in a short time. the running did wonders for my stamina and cv but it's not like cycling and was left with my quads hurting on a long ride. and not everyone can run or likes running.

Paul

I totally agree with Paul.

I run twice a week (6 miles each time) and find that when i take the bike out over the weekends my fitness has improved significantly each time.

Very first post

I've been lurking for a while now and picking up plenty of info. Basically, the wife and I went up to the Lakes a few weeks back and decided to hire a couple of bikes (Keswick Mountain Bikes - excellent service) and go out for a day. It had been 10 years since i'd ridden so fitness is low, but we wanted to have a go off road so were given a route by the guy in the shop. There were some killer hills to begin with which we had to walk part of but once the going levelled out we were treated to some cracking descent action. Needless to say, when we got home, I was still buzzing from the experience so went out and bought a bike, (and some of the other ancilliaries, clothes, helmet, tools, spare tyre/tube etc etc, jeez, the costs soon mount up don't they?) Anyway, I purchased a Mongoose Otero Elite (2008) and found so far that it is quite a good machine, tad heavy but wanted the rear sus (i'm not a light bloke, the rear suspension makes for a lot more comfort on my butt)
Having now done a week of 5 mile rides, mixture of road and bridleways I tackled a 20 mile run today in lovely weather. Whilst the ride was great fun, I am now thoroughly knackered! I plan to do more of the 5 mile flattish loops again next week and have another go of the 20 miler next weekend. I'm sure it will be easier to tackle! Then, once a bit fitter, its off to Cannock Chase which is my nearest trail centre to tackle FTD, I CAN'T WAIT!!!

stumpyjon wrote:

Nigel

keep up the enthusiasm,unfortunately it'll get hard as the nights draw in and the weather gets worse but do keep riding. If you can get through the winter without a layoff you'll be really buzzing next year.

Thanks for the encouragement Jon, fortunately i'm self employed so can fit rides in during daylight hours during the working week. Personally, I can't think of a more exhilarating way to get fit again, sitting on a bike going nowhere in a gym is just plain boring!