my first ride in 4 years

kaptainmarc · 29 Feb 2016 at 09:34

Went out on my bike after dusting it off and giving it a quick check

It had been 4 years since I had been out on it.

struggled with bad knees my whole life and the doctor told me biking would help solve a lot of my problems. I quite enjoy biking but i'm incredibly unfit nowadays.

did a 5km ride took my 49 minutes with a couple of uphill struggles average speed of 15.1km/h people could probably run quicker. But I am 6ft1 and 115kg last time I checked so I'm no light weight speed machine

using the Strava app so don't know how accurate it is.

going to keep doing the same route as its 75% off the road and down a nice track, see how quick I can get my time. The plan is by end of may to be able to cycle to work which is 13 miles (and still manage a work day)

got my old specialized Hardrock think its from 2007? ancient

but it does the job for now until I am more comfortable at cycling then i will probably treat myself to something nicer once I have proven I will stick at it

any tips that you think I should know feel free to tell me

plan is loose some weight and fix my knees want to feel good and happy in time for my wedding.

topgun06 · 29 Feb 2016 at 10:02

Oh superb news! Keep it up. Strava is normally pretty accurate.

randomshenans · 29 Feb 2016 at 10:04

Just keep plugging away mate. Hard when you get back in the saddle. Push on and you'll get further and quicker.

UTmaniac · 29 Feb 2016 at 11:52

Well done you!

Forget about speed, protect your knees by using gears that keep your revs per minute north of 100.

kaptainmarc · 29 Feb 2016 at 12:10

yeah thats the plan fix the knees. it got to the point over christmas where walking I would limp so I have been doing my physio exercises since then. I have a subluxing patella due to imbalanced leg muscles.

Back on the bike tonight after work. I think I should probably get some new inner tubes and tyres as i worry they are going to burst from being so old

UTmaniac · 29 Feb 2016 at 14:10

I would not worry too much about replacing tubes and tyres just for the sake of it, if they look OK visually then I would keep them on, maybe just have a spare tube to hand and a mini pump in case you get a flat (plus a lever).

In hindsight, I went more than a bit silly with buying a load of different tyres in a CRC sale around 2010, I would have no issue fitting them to use at least 6 years on (they were stored out of direct sunlight).

kaptainmarc · 29 Feb 2016 at 15:24

ah ok then, it was stored on a rack for 3 and a bit years in a heated shed and then in my garage for the last 8 months and the tyres seem ok so will just keep an eye on them.

tonights been stopped as I have to run some errands and it will be too dark afterwards. need to buy some lights for night riding. and a helmet!

mattyfez · 29 Feb 2016 at 20:10

I'd just focus on keeping up the distance to start with and forget about speed.

I've been riding for about 18 months after not doing any exercise to speak of for about a decade.. 10k rides tore my behind out to start with, I'd have to stop at least twice.. But that quickly passes I'd you do 10k three or four times a week.. After about 5 months of doing that with the odd 20/30 ride as I felt I could cope with it, 10k barley feels like a warm up. Now I do at least one all day ride a month, over 100k.

One thing I would say is enjoy the ride, yes push yourself when you feel like it, but get back into the swing of it and have fun.... Don't be clock watching and thinking you should always be going a bit faster than your last ride, it's not possible due to weather, mood, etc. And it's not a race..

Keep up the maintenance miles, and you will get faster, once you are back used to handling the bike and build a little fitness.. Then start thinking about how to improve.. Remember, riding a bike is fun, the health benefits are just a welcome side effect!

kaptainmarc · 1 Mar 2016 at 08:44

did the ride again last night. Think I was reading strava wrong

moving time 19:58
elevation 49m
distance 5km

so a 20 minute ride, I can feel it in my knees when I'm riding muscles working that I didn't know I had

tyres need pumping up noticed they were a bit squishy whilst I was riding.

want to start building up the distance after a few weeks. 13 miles is the target by May and I would like to be confident I wouldn't be dead by the end of it.

topgun06 · 1 Mar 2016 at 09:45

What tyres to you have? Having properly pumped up tyres will make a good difference!

kaptainmarc · 1 Mar 2016 at 09:57

topgun06 said:
What tyres to you have? Having properly pumped up tyres will make a good difference!

I couldn't tell you, but they are old and i mean very old maybe even the original tyres still on, bald parts from where i use to do skids as a teenager

Jono · 1 Mar 2016 at 10:16

You should probably replace those.

dodg3rman · 1 Mar 2016 at 16:02

Great to see you getting stuck in to cycling. Keep at it and it will get easier for sure.

I too have knackered knees as i found out i had moderate pushing severe arthrits in both of them just over a year ago. Couldnt walk up stairs without pain shooting through them , couldnt bend much to pick stuff up and work was getting a nightmare at times.

Took up cycling as a low impact exercise to help strengthen my legs as I cant do squatty type stuff due to impaired ankle movement.

To start with the knee pain was awful but I got a proper bike fit and shoes with plenty of float etc etc and since then my muscles have built up lovely and I get no pain from my knees except when i've pushed really hard on sprints and top end power outputs.

Again , stick with it and good luck with your goals. It will change your life for the better

lordrobs · 1 Mar 2016 at 19:08

Also worth doing a ball park seat height adjustment using the heel-to-pedal method if you are getting knee pain. It is very easy to end up sitting too low when you first start off and that can strain your knees a bit.