I cycled to work.

FrenchTart · 5 Aug 2015 at 14:40

touch said:
Coffee discussion is equally applicable to cycling threads as it is to any cuisine thread!

Agreed - coffee discussion is appropriate everywhere imo.

There's just a thread in La Cuisne where we're discussing our daily intake though...and RS posts in there a fair bit

randomshenans · 5 Aug 2015 at 14:46

FrenchTart said:
Did you mean to post that in La Cuisine?

No, no. I'll keep my beautiful quark and whey breakfast out of here mind

FrenchTart · 5 Aug 2015 at 14:53

randomshenans said:
No, no. I'll keep my beautiful quark and whey breakfast out of here mind

I don't have anything against quark really..I was just making a lame joke about the character of the same name

Diddums · 18 Aug 2015 at 07:45

Update!

Starting to get a bit fitter I think. It's still seriously hard at times and one particular elevation home is an absolute killer, I still struggle quite badly with it but I'm getting better overall. My work-home time is now down to 34mins on average with one highlight being 31mins, I'm aiming to get that under 30mins but it'll take a while as that 31mins was really pushing it. Keep in mind that when I started, 45 mins felt like an achievement.

My fitness doesn't seem to be improving much but I put that down to my diet as well. Maybe it is. Dunno.

I still get passed by all sorts but it's getting less and less, I'm gradually starting to become the person passing others which is a great feeling.

I'm not in the position to buy a new bike yet having bought loads of things recently (my wife will kill me) but hopefully in a few months I'll pick up something new. Until then I'm stuck with this Raleigh heavyweight monster which suits me fine. Once I'm fit enough to get this thing under 30mins I'll probably do the journey in 30secs on a proper bike

Here's my Strava link in case anyone's interested. All comments and feedback appreciated as always!

http://www.strava.com/athletes/diddums

FrenchTart · 18 Aug 2015 at 08:04

Your fitness is certainly improving if your time has decreased by a third. The reason you feel it isn't is because cycling doesn't get easier - you get faster

Roady · 18 Aug 2015 at 11:16

Diddums said:
Update!

Starting to get a bit fitter I think. It's still seriously hard at times and one particular elevation home is an absolute killer, I still struggle quite badly with it but I'm getting better overall. My work-home time is now down to 34mins on average with one highlight being 31mins, I'm aiming to get that under 30mins but it'll take a while as that 31mins was really pushing it. Keep in mind that when I started, 45 mins felt like an achievement.

My fitness doesn't seem to be improving much but I put that down to my diet as well. Maybe it is. Dunno.

I still get passed by all sorts but it's getting less and less, I'm gradually starting to become the person passing others which is a great feeling.

I'm not in the position to buy a new bike yet having bought loads of things recently (my wife will kill me) but hopefully in a few months I'll pick up something new. Until then I'm stuck with this Raleigh heavyweight monster which suits me fine. Once I'm fit enough to get this thing under 30mins I'll probably do the journey in 30secs on a proper bike

Here's my Strava link in case anyone's interested. All comments and feedback appreciated as always!

http://www.strava.com/athletes/diddums

Followed.

You're doing great, one thing I found when I started cycling was initially an increase in power - getting faster and 'struggling less'. You'll also find your 'recovery' initially after finishing a ride gets better - out of puff for less time! :cool:

As time increases your body will start altering, burning off excess weight (fat) while building up your muscles. This is the fun part, for me I didn't even change my diet and I was still 'losing weight'! After a while (6/8 months) I found the weight loss tapered off, even though I was still losing waist size.

It wasn't until I changed my riding (more miles and hills from leisure riding!) that I began losing weight again. The leisure riding part of it gets more enjoyable as fitness increases, for me that was the 'big lifestyle change' which really only came about from starting to cycle my commute.

The 'feeling of fitness' initially kept me going, then the weight loss and now the toning/body shape part along with the riding challenges! You'll get hooked!

EDIT: I'm jealous of your unique id in the strava link, mines a boring number!

http://www.strava.com/athletes/3305124

FrenchTart said:
Your fitness is certainly improving if your time has decreased by a third. The reason you feel it isn't is because cycling doesn't get easier - you get faster

Tart quoting Greg LeMond before I can, dammit!

grudas · 18 Aug 2015 at 11:30

Diddums said:
I'll be passing Grudas in no time

FrenchTart · 18 Aug 2015 at 11:33

The worrying thing was that he wasn't talking about the kind of 'passing' you're assuming :eek:

Diddums · 18 Aug 2015 at 11:45

Cheers guys, feels good. Incidentally, I was on my way home a few mins ago when my phone starts going nuts, had a quick peek and there's loads of Roady's Kudos all over my screen

Also Roady, I simply changed my URL in my profile on a PC. Roady's probably taken though.

FrenchTart · 18 Aug 2015 at 11:46

Yes, I get kudos spammed a lot too

Roady and James like to kudos every ride. I always assumed it was revenge for me spamming them with my 4 commute rides per day...

I turn off notifications for that kind of thing.

Roady · 18 Aug 2015 at 12:07

Diddums said:
Incidentally, I was on my way home a few mins ago when my phone starts going nuts, had a quick peek and there's loads of Roady's Kudos all over my screen

FrenchTart said:
Yes, I get kudos spammed a lot too Roady and James like to kudos every ride.

Hahahaah erm

Morning commuters I generally kudos rides, especially if they PR a segment. Normal riders only generally get a kudos with a PR on the ride... Riders who don't ride very often will get one from me... Although local guys always get a kudos! :cool:

As you hadn't got any friends I went a bit mad!

Mikoyan · 18 Aug 2015 at 22:04

Hi all,

New to cycling and main aim is to cycle to Heathrow..

Safe to say im flapping it

, my main worry is routes and route planning, is there any apps etc that I could use?

Thanks

FrenchTart · 18 Aug 2015 at 22:16

Use Strava route planner but check your roads on Google Street View too.

Initially click way points at the start and finish points and Strava and it will plan something based on popularity. Use this as a basis but keep in mind that it might be partially based on commutes/required routes rather than all the nicest roads.

Mikoyan · 18 Aug 2015 at 23:40

Thanks for the tip! Will check this out

Roady · 19 Aug 2015 at 11:21

FrenchTart said:
Use Strava route planner but check your roads on Google Street View too.

Initially click way points at the start and finish points and Strava and it will plan something based on popularity. Use this as a basis but keep in mind that it might be partially based on commutes/required routes rather than all the nicest roads.

I find RidewithGPS much better for plotting routes as you can easily see elevation too and output directly to a .tcx for turn by turn on a Garmin.

Although with changeable routes I'll first throw them into Google maps as it's so easy to click & drag, shows travel times, several routes (for bike) and even colours in busy roads to easily identify places to avoid. Once decided on a route I'll then plan it with RWGPS.

Mikoyan said:
main aim is to cycle to Heathrow..

From...?

FrenchTart · 19 Aug 2015 at 11:37

You can see elevation on Strava too - just click 'turn on elevation'. It supports output to .gpx and .tcx (and maybe others). The only thing it really sucks at is importing routes, which unless you're importing from another Strava route, it simply does not do.