Anyone Got Back On Their Bike (after a long break) or Started Cycling During Lockdown?

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Replies

  • Manga23
    Manga23 Posts: 47 Member
    When the weather allows me to hit the road I ride about 40 miles once a week. Started late at age 42 because I didn't like running anymore. I wanted to do some cardio besides weight lifting so I bought my first road bike.
    I loved it since my first ride......it helped me through lock down when the gyms where closed. Up here they still are 😒
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    I don't think gyms have opened here, but I wouldn't go to one until we have a vaccine. The gym is for health. Being in an enclosed space with a lot of people breathing hard during a pandemic of an airborne virus doesn't sound healthy at all.

    But riding a bike outdoors? Fun!!
  • AlanKmfp
    AlanKmfp Posts: 57 Member
    mjbnj0001 wrote: »

    Once again, good luck! Depending on where you are in the UK, there's a Youtube channel I watch pretty often, and some of the locales might be familiar to you. leonardmlee ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEuC2TeojJTwX0yfPmGFiWA ); he's a bit older, and a bit on the heavy side. Of course, the GCN - Global Cycling Network is UK based, along with their several sister channels, including tech topics, GCN tech ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC710HJmp-YgNbE5BnFBRoeg ).


    Thanks for the LeonardMLee link, hadn't come across him but have now watched quite a few and subscribed. Nice to have a "normal" persons take on things. Youtube has been really useful in terms of maintenance tips etc. After my last ride on Sunday I decided my 10 or so year old tyres had had enough and were probably a little dangerous so had new tyres and tubes delivered yesterday; now fitted and hoping to get back out there in the morning and start my June mileage.

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  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Bikes are so much fun! 🥰
  • AlanKmfp
    AlanKmfp Posts: 57 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    I started cycling about 1.5 yrs ago after a 30 year break. I rode over 1,000 miles last year at age 64!

    Wow, excellent.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    I only have one bike, and bikes aren't allowed on most of the good trails around here. A road bike is the obvious choice if you're only going to have one. But every now and then I get to rent an MTB and have a completely different kind of fun.

    Shocks make a bike extremely forgiving. You can basically just ride wherever you want. You can do potholed gravel roads and tame trails on an “all road” bike, but you have to choose your line carefully. On a MTB I tend to go for the obstacles because it’s fun to be able to.

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  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,246 Member

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    Is this photo a Mt. St. Helens locale, or a fire scar? Both pic are great. You've got some great country out there.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Burn scar from 10 or 15 years ago, at Harts Pass. :smile:
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,246 Member
    Burn scar from 10 or 15 years ago, at Harts Pass. :smile:

    I probably mentioned, here and there in these forums, that I lived for a while as a kid outside Seattle (Auburn). Love the geography and the countryside out there and up into the Cascades and Olympic Penninsula. Now, I live at the Jersey Shore, and love it, too, but it's different. Sand, ocean, flat; I live about 3 miles away from the highest point on the Eastern Seaboard south of Maine, appropriately called "Highlands" which is about 230 feet above sea level. As a sailor coming up the coast, you can see it pop up from quite far away. I forget sometimes how much flat we have here until I took my then-young kids (about 8 and 5 at the time) through the "Delaware Water Gap" the first time, in the NW part of NJ. Bracketed by "mountains" about 1500 feet above sea level (not as high relative to their bases), the kids were in awe at the gigantic mounds. They had never seen such things.
  • AlanKmfp
    AlanKmfp Posts: 57 Member
    Second June ride done:

    Sun 7/6 22.32 miles
    Wed 11/6 10.51 miles

    Total: 32.83 miles
    Remaining to Goal: 67.17 miles
  • dewit
    dewit Posts: 1,468 Member
    edited June 2020
    I used to bike commute for over a year. About 9 miles one way. Started off with 2 days/week and ended up biking also on snowy windy days or pouring rain. Interestingly enough, I would still do video workouts at work, I felt so energetic! What I loved about 🚴‍♀️-commuting would be that I invested almost no extra time in it ("stealing" family time, in addition to being a working mum).

    I then switched jobs and now have roughly 3 miles. Luckily all nature (at most 1 traffic light, depending on the route). Sometimes I variate and make it a tad longer. Still little, but now in the summer I take every opportunity to travel by 🚴‍♀️ everywhere (shopping, taking the kids to their trainings, when they take place ofc!, even dr's appt!).

    I love to go on bike tours with the kids. Right now only exploring our area of course, but still fortunate enough to have a few lakes in the surroundings. 😍

    Feel free to add me! I get easily motivated by example 😀 and we could set goals and see how it goes (I'm in a few challenges here already and I don't bike enough miles at the moment to be "competitive", so I'll keep away from that for now).

    Have fun 🚴‍♀️ing!
  • GetHeroFit
    GetHeroFit Posts: 27 Member
    I bought a hybrid bike to commute with, but have never done it. I really need to get back on and riding and look into riding to work now that the daylight works better...
  • Motorsheen
    Motorsheen Posts: 20,508 Member
    When the bike bug bites it bites hard. I've been cycling for around 6 years or something. I use it for everything, I ended riding so much I got rid of my car too. I come from a running background but wanted something more low-impact, so the bike was only natural. Speaking of impact, just wear your helmet too, you prolly do but it can be sketchy as hell. The longest I took off was probably around 4 months after being hit by a car and breaking my patella. I get a be loco without my time in the saddle.

    Chapeu!

    I don't give a rip about my car.

    If (when) it dies on the side of the freeway, I could easily get by with just my bike(s), and if I need to travel any longer distance or if the weather is unbearable, there's Lyft.
  • KristieJC
    KristieJC Posts: 243 Member
    I’ve had a bike for several years that I used only when we went camping (RV camping). But I’ve just started riding regularly the past few weeks cause I’m newly motivated to lose weight and am limited cause of foot surgery late last year. My daughter and I ride nearly every day, at least m 5 miles. Today I did 10.34! A new high. I’m not able to send friend request. Friend me!
  • KristieJC
    KristieJC Posts: 243 Member
    Also, I recently learned about the existence of padded bike shorts. I had no idea. They are a life saver! Or rather a butt saver.
  • KristieJC
    KristieJC Posts: 243 Member
    kasey39 wrote: »
    I was really embarrassed about having to stop to rest a couple times on only a 5 mile ride, but it still felt so good...and so much more enjoyable than even thinking about running! Hoping to keep back with it - I've really missed it, and really, really need this weight off!!
  • KristieJC
    KristieJC Posts: 243 Member
    No reason to be embarrassed. When I see someone overweight who’s walking or cycling or whatever, I think that it’s great that they’re working at it. And you don’t go from zero exercise to a marathon in one workout. You’ve got to gradually ramp up your exercise. Of course this is coming from someone who is only 10 pounds into a 60 pound weight loss goal, so I totally understand how you feel. I’m sure people see me and think “look at the fat lady on the bike” but I’m going to keep riding.
  • AlanKmfp
    AlanKmfp Posts: 57 Member
    KristieJC wrote: »
    I’ve had a bike for several years that I used only when we went camping (RV camping). But I’ve just started riding regularly the past few weeks cause I’m newly motivated to lose weight and am limited cause of foot surgery late last year. My daughter and I ride nearly every day, at least m 5 miles. Today I did 10.34! A new high. I’m not able to send friend request. Friend me!

    Excellent, well done, hope you can carry on enjoying it.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    KristieJC wrote: »
    Also, I recently learned about the existence of padded bike shorts. I had no idea. They are a life saver! Or rather a butt saver.

    Yes. and chamois creme or A&D ointment helps too.
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,246 Member
    KristieJC wrote: »
    No reason to be embarrassed. When I see someone overweight who’s walking or cycling or whatever, I think that it’s great that they’re working at it. And you don’t go from zero exercise to a marathon in one workout. You’ve got to gradually ramp up your exercise. Of course this is coming from someone who is only 10 pounds into a 60 pound weight loss goal, so I totally understand how you feel. I’m sure people see me and think “look at the fat lady on the bike” but I’m going to keep riding.

    ... and I'm the fat old guy on the bike. And, I'm keeping on riding, too!
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,246 Member
    edited June 2020
    KristieJC wrote: »
    kasey39 wrote: »
    I was really embarrassed about having to stop to rest a couple times on only a 5 mile ride, but it still felt so good...and so much more enjoyable than even thinking about running! Hoping to keep back with it - I've really missed it, and really, really need this weight off!!

    I got out yesterday for my first ride since strict lockdown descended on us here in NJ in March. It was a modest ride compared to my previous efforts, but it has been 90 days off the bike, so I am not surprised. Since I came back into cycling a couple of years ago after decades away, I've learned that ride conditioning is a gradual process. At first, frankly, a mile was a big deal. Now I'm riding everywhere (or was until covid-19). As a result, I know it'll come back through repetition. BTW, I'm down between 70 and 80 lbs from max (been varying a bit in lockdown), with more to go.

    Pic is yesterday, on my ride, at one of the public access points on my peninsula to the estuary ("river") which runs out to the ocean a couple of miles away. Now that I've broken the barrier, I'll be out and about again. With prudence, of course, being susceptible with several underlying predisposing conditions.

    Good luck on our riding, too!

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  • dewit
    dewit Posts: 1,468 Member
    @Machka9 : I want to hug you, like your post and admit it's so inspirational - all these at once! 🌻 Happy to be your pal, never knew about hubs, sorry to hear about how much you've being going through 🤗. You're strong and truly inspirational by example 👍. Thank you so much❣
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,559 Member
    dewit wrote: »
    @Machka9 : I want to hug you, like your post and admit it's so inspirational - all these at once! 🌻 Happy to be your pal, never knew about hubs, sorry to hear about how much you've being going through 🤗. You're strong and truly inspirational by example 👍. Thank you so much❣

    Thank you! :heart: {{hug}}
  • moonangel12
    moonangel12 Posts: 971 Member
    @Machka9 - what a story to tell <3 thank you for sharing!
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,559 Member
    Our most recent ride! June 14 ...

    Sunday -- winter's afternoon ride ...

    Distance: 16.40km
    Elevation: 91m 
    Moving Time: 1:02:17
    Elapsed Time: 1:03:48 
    Speed: Avg: 15.8km/h Max: 43.6km/h
    Calories:    252

    ​​​​​
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  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,246 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    Our most recent ride! June 14 ...

    from this and previous posts, looks like a pretty country.
  • pridesabtch
    pridesabtch Posts: 2,459 Member
    I raced 5 years ago, then got sick. I put on a bunch of weight, ugh. Not good for cycling, especially in WV.

    I'm just getting back into it and the rebuild sucks, but it will be worth it soon enough. Feeling the wind in your face is freeing. I did 20 miles with the club Tuesday and I had to walk a hill I have NEVER EVER walked before. Such is the life of restarting at a much heavier weight...

    Best of luck. Feel free to add me. -Nikki