Thumper Club Forum
Club House => Chatter => Topic started by: guest7 on June 30, 2009, 10:17:42 PM
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I was once a pretty keen cyclist, but when I started my own business I found that I couldn't easily fit cycle riding into my working week and I gave it up.
Recently I had started feeling guilty about the expensive touring bike hanging up in my garage and I decided to get back into the saddle.
Last week I started taking short evening training rides. I decided to head for a steepish hill nearby because it's close to home, but far enough away to let me spin some life into my legs before starting the climb.
On the first ride I looked at the hill ahead, adjusted my gears accordingly and got into a good pedalling speed. Then I stopped, a panting mess. I set off again but had to stop again shortly after that. My mind said "you can get up that" but my body said "get lost".
The following night I stopped at the same two places, but got higher up the hill after that. The third night was the same. I had the weekend off because the bike was off having some nifty little auxillary brake levers added to the flats of the drop handlebars (I wish I'd had these years ago, I can say for certain that they would have avoided at least three bike accidents).
For a year or so my mate Chris has been nagging me about the weekday training rides he and his mate go on. Last night I gave in and joined them. We had a easy pedal up to a village called Tongwynlais and then headed uphill to a pub called the Black Cock Inn. It's a long climb and once again I had to stop for breath and pain-relief, but we all got up there well enough. They suggested a pint and although I never mixed serious riding with drinking I thought that was a good idea. After some time Paul went off and got another round. By the end of the second drink we had been sat in pub seats for longer than we'd been in the saddle on this ride.
Then the two of them started discussing which pub we could ride to next ::) They settled on the Travellers Rest, which was a mere 10 minutes ride away. At the second pub we ended up having two more pints! My wife rang me and said "are you planning on coming home?"
"Of course, but why are you worried?"
"Graham, it's 11.00" :o
After that it was a mile and a half freewheel off the mountain (at speeds approaching 40mph) and I was soon back home, having cycled 8 miles in 5 hours.
It's not all bad though, the climbs were hard and it was good to get pushed by stronger riders. Today I went back to my training route and went as high as I managed last week, but this time without stopping. I doubt I will ever get back to the level of fitness I had when I used to cycle 20 mile to work in the morning, but it's good to be making an effort.
God bless endorphins ;)
GC
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You knew you could, you knew you could, you knew you could!!!!! That first bit sort of sounded familiar.
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Night after night GC keeps practicing and each night he gets it up further, despite the puffing and panting, the sweating and screwed up face...
Good on you mate - it will come back.
R
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I thought I'd post an update on my cycling progress.
The hill I use as a benchmark (Rhiwbina Hill) turned out to be ideal. It's very steep at the start but the climb isn't too bad and it's short, then the gradient eases for the rest of the climb up to the top of the mountain. After a week of attempting the climb I could get to my highest point without stopping. Within another few days I had also cracked the short second climb that leads onto the final two miles to the top.
Now I can get to the top of Caerphilly mountain without stopping, albeit slowly. Yesterday I was able to go up in one gear higher and for the first time it felt like my legs were pulling me up rather than me pushing them.
To vary the routine I opted, the other night, to try a climb up to a spot called 'The Wenallt'. I can reach this climb by simply turning right on my approach to the Rhiwbina Hill. This route is monstrously steep (which I'd completely forgotten until I was on it) and when I stopped it was actually hard to get back onto the pedals when I set off again (and I did this four times before the top).
So, I seem to have found another challenge for the coming weeks, although I suspect it will take much longer to tackle this climb without stopping.
And yes my legs hurt
GC
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Awfully good for your heart and lungs though. Significantly reducing your risk of disease and probably adding to your lifespan. Well done you!
Now stop making me feel guilty!! ;)
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Awfully good for your heart and lungs though. Significantly reducing your risk of disease and probably adding to your lifespan. Well done you!
Now stop making me feel guilty!! ;)
Now that will depress Sue - she has been upping the life insurance... ;D
R
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I've done a deal today to do some work for a local bike shop in return for this:
(http://homepage.ntlworld.com/one.pot/Escape_Mini_1.jpg)
It rides like a normal bike, but the small wheels make it a doddle to stash away when not in use. I'm not keen to carry on using my touring bike for training because it is:
a. heavy
b. expensive
c. I'd rather use it for holidays and longer runs.
GC
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I do a fair bit of cycling myself, including the occasional commute. I live on the edge of the Pentland Hills, so I'm lucky to have lots of good mountain bike territory on my doorstep - just back from a little spin up there in fact. I've got a few bikes, but this is the one I was on this morning:
(http://www.pbase.com/niblue/image/88731162/original.jpg)
It's a steel (Reynolds 853) Cotic Soul.
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Nice! I bet it slaughters the full-sus boys uphill.
GC
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I do a fair bit of cycling myself, including the occasional commute. I live on the edge of the Pentland Hills, so I'm lucky to have lots of good mountain bike territory on my doorstep - just back from a little spin up there in fact. I've got a few bikes, but this is the one I was on this morning:
The Pentland Hills look good.
We are planning a holiday on the West Coast (Tarbert) and I am hoping to get out on the mountain bike for a few rides. England and Wales have clearly defined paths/bridleways but since there are no bridleways marked on the OS maps so I am not sure where I can ride. I am guessing forestry access is much the same as in England and Wales but what about the rest ?
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Aye SteveH,
Forestry Commission is the same as with you, freedom to roam, provided you watch out for harvesting operations and obey the signs! Chain-shot from a felling processor goes 200m+ and makes a nasty mess if it doesn't kill you! :o
I'll arrange for some details of FC cycle trails info afore you come up, if you PM me and tell me where. As for other places up here, go carefully, Countryside Code, be prepared to dismount or slow down and the worlds your oyster. ;D
Mountain bikes are fine, but are like a whispering death in some parts. Also some loons have taken to riding FC trails in the dark using head lights and then turning them 'off' ??? for an even bigger 'rush'! ???
Go canny and my regards, Bill.
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I've done a deal today to do some work for a local bike shop in return for this:
(http://homepage.ntlworld.com/one.pot/Escape_Mini_1.jpg)
It rides like a normal bike, but the small wheels make it a doddle to stash away when not in use. I'm not keen to carry on using my touring bike for training because it is:
a. heavy
b. expensive
c. I'd rather use it for holidays and longer runs.
GC
Aye GC, Cheap labour?
£79-00 at TESCO's on special offer at the moment!
My regards, Bill.
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I'm at the pre-riding stage (we'll call it Carrick -4weeks) although I can now manage the 4 pints a night, so i'm getting there.
I too have many (too many according to SWMBO) bikes staring at me as I go into the garage (4 in all) and a recumbent 'speedy', all made by Mike Burroughs....having broken my collar bone in a time trial 10 years ago.....by the time it had healed sufficiently for me to get on a bike again, a lot of (most of it) my fitness had disappeared, and I just couldn't face the 6am 25 mile training ride before work not to mention the associated pain......so, not really ridden since then.....
Reading GC's efforts has sort of got me thinking.....if he can do it.....etc etc
Keep it up GC......at least I don't have any hills round here, but i'll no doubt be knackered getting over the rail bridges!
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Nice! I bet it slaughters the full-sus boys uphill.
Most of them yes - but my own full-suss is actually a bit lighter than the Soul:
(http://www.pbase.com/niblue/image/95169304/original.jpg)
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We are planning a holiday on the West Coast (Tarbert) and I am hoping to get out on the mountain bike for a few rides. England and Wales have clearly defined paths/bridleways but since there are no bridleways marked on the OS maps so I am not sure where I can ride. I am guessing forestry access is much the same as in England and Wales but what about the rest ?
The access laws are different in Scotland but the net effect is that you can pretty much ride wherever you like.
There are also a lot of trail centres in Scotland. Which Tarbert are you going to (there are a few!)?
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I too have many (too many according to SWMBO) bikes staring at me as I go into the garage (4 in all)
I've got four as well. I hadn't been riding much so far this year but getting out a couple of times while we were on holiday (Western Isles and far north west of Scotland by motorhome) got me back into it. I even managed to get myself out of bed early this morning and do a ride in the Pentlands before work.
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We are staying here for a week HERE (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=55.851151,-5.440407&t=h&sll=55.902327,-5.32001&sspn=0.401369,1.024475&gl=uk&ie=UTF8&ll=55.85065,-5.440292&spn=0.285233,0.617294&z=11) Then moving onto Skye for the second week. Its a family holiday so any rides will have to fit around what they want to do, so it will probabaly be a case of finding what I can within riding distance of the cottage. Oddly enough I get more riding in if its raining as theres not much else thay can do.
The Epic looks good, definately 'trumps' my StumpJumper! . How do you find the BRAIN ?
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We are staying here for a week HERE (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=55.851151,-5.440407&t=h&sll=55.902327,-5.32001&sspn=0.401369,1.024475&gl=uk&ie=UTF8&ll=55.85065,-5.440292&spn=0.285233,0.617294&z=11) Then moving onto Skye for the second week. Its a family holiday so any rides will have to fit around what they want to do, so it will probabaly be a case of finding what I can within riding distance of the cottage. Oddly enough I get more riding in if its raining as theres not much else thay can do.
There are some trails in the Tarbert area including what's supposed to be a decent/reasonably tough one called the "Fire Trail" near Lochgilphead. The Crinan canal is a good family cycle route (again further north near Lochgilphead). Some of the other forestry commision areas will also have rides - not done any of them myself though.
The Epic looks good, definately 'trumps' my StumperJumper! . How do you find the BRAIN ?
Mine is one of the first Epic's, much upgraded over the years, with one of the non-adjustable Brain's - however I've always found it works well for me. I put it together specifically to do routes like the 7-stanes where there is a lot of climbing but you still want to have fun on the downhills. I've found it to be excellent for that as it climbs as well as a hardtail (it's quite light at 24lbs) but with full-suss available on the downhills it's also good fun.
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These are my other two bikes:
On-One Inbred. This spends some of it's time set-up as a road commuter with slicks and some of it's time as a mountain bike. At the moment it's more or less like this photo, but with a set of Pace carbon rigid forks fitted. It was supposed to have been put together with a low-budget spec but ended up getting hope wheels and brakes because I happened to have them lying around.
(http://www.pbase.com/niblue/image/95489475/medium.jpg)
Specialized Tricross Sport. Didn't actually need it but when our company signed up for the bike-to-work scheme I couldn't help myself as it was such a good deal (our company chips in £200 on top of paying the bike off before tax is deducted etc.). I already had a cheap road bike (Giant OCR3T) but sold it to placate SWMBO.
(http://www.pbase.com/niblue/image/94209520/original.jpg)
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There are some trails in the Tarbert area including what's supposed to be a decent/reasonably tough one called the "Fire Trail" near Lochgilphead. The Crinan canal is a good family cycle route (again further north near Lochgilphead). Some of the other forestry commision areas will also have rides - not done any of them myself though.
Cheers that looks good. The Canal ride looks quite good for the family, have you ridden the "Fire Trail"
Mine is one of the first Epic's, much upgraded over the years, with one of the non-adjustable Brain's - however I've always found it works well for me.
Ive found the pro-pedal to be quite good, but I have a tendancy to forget to turn it off when I reach the top, and have nearly lost it a few times when reaching down after starting a descent. I find the lock-out on the forks makes the biggest difference to climbing, especially when up out of the saddle.
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Cheers that looks good. The Canal ride looks quite good for the family, have you ridden the "Fire Trail"
I haven't. The only time I've been in the area with the push-bikes was with the family. We were staying in Lochgilphead so did the cycle down to the end of the Crinan canal and back. There is a good cafe in Crinan (as well as an excellent restaurant in the Crinan Hotel) and the ride is pretty much completely flat (barring a couple of rises at loch gates) so it's an excellent family ride.
Ive found the pro-pedal to be quite good, but I have a tendancy to forget to turn it off when I reach the top, and have nearly lost it a few times when reaching down after starting a descent. I find the lock-out on the forks makes the biggest difference to climbing, especially when up out of the saddle.
The forks on my Cotic and Epic both have lock-out but I find that I don't now use them that much, although I used to quite a bit. I'm more of a "sit-down and spin" type of rider though, with only the very occasional bit of out of the saddle stuff. When I first got the Epic the forks it had at the time had a lock-out without a blow-off valve and there was many a time, especially at Glentress, that I'd forget to turn the lock-out off after climbs.
I've just this week got back into the habit of going for an early morning ride in the Pentlands before work and I'm enjoying it so far. Yesterday the weather wasn't too nice but this morning it was glorious up there. I always like being up there early in the morning when no-one else is about.
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I've just this week got back into the habit of going for an early morning ride in the Pentlands before work and I'm enjoying it so far. Yesterday the weather wasn't too nice but this morning it was glorious up there. I always like being up there early in the morning when no-one else is about.
I do my best to get out twice a week. I'm on the edge of the Brecon Beacons so theres quite a few mountains on my doorstep to play on. Weekday evenings are pretty quiet apart from the occasional dog owner walking their suicidal dogs. Had a huge labrador/cross knock me off once, I ended up using the bike as a shield to keep it off me, the dog thought it was great fun !, I didnt.
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I do my best to get out twice a week. I'm on the edge of the Brecon Beacons so theres quite a few mountains on my doorstep to play on. Weekday evenings are pretty quiet apart from the occasional dog owner walking their suicidal dogs.
Some bits of the Pentlands can get busy at the weekends if it's sunny, however most of the time it's very quiet and even at the weekends there are plenty of places that few people ever visit, as they mostly stay close to the car-parks. I was up at 6:30am this morning and there was one dog-walker in one of the car-parks but that was the only person I saw.
Had a huge labrador/cross knock me off once, I ended up using the bike as a shield to keep it off me, the dog thought it was great fun !, I didnt.
Worst I've had was being pursued by a swan once when cycling along the Union Canal. I think it was protecting it's young or something, but it was a big bastard and quite aggressive. I did the same as you and used the bike as a shield while I went past it.
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Gentlemen!
A shameless plug for the Forestry Commission, if you are fond of off-road pedal power!
http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-6MQD2A (http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-6MQD2A)
If you require 'local info' I shall try my contacts! ;)
Keep the skinny rubber bits facing earthwards even if they aren't in contact! ::)
My regards, Bill.
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Cheers Bill, the "Places to go" search threw out a few useful ideas.
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We are in the Afan Valley, so if any of you are looking to ride the World class trails we have here, we have a spare room etc...
Google Afan Vally and bike trails for a list etc...
Must get my bike and knee back working.
R
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As an aside to all this non engined bikey stuff, anyone know anything about electric bikes? I'm thinking of the retrofit type motor in the front wheel battery(ies) on the rack sort of effort.
Anyone got one? Know what's good/bad/lousy?
Probably not relevant just now, just idle curiosity... (unless if/when we move West we are near the union canal... at which point I could be very interested in a high power type ;D )
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As an aside to all this non engined bikey stuff, anyone know anything about electric bikes? I'm thinking of the retrofit type motor in the front wheel battery(ies) on the rack sort of effort.
Nowt to do with lekky bikes, when on ols in ornwall the local square was invaded by 30 odd Breton Velo Solex's - have some pics and video somewhere - ow do I put it on ou-tube?
R
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My cycling took a massive blow to the nads recently when I suffered my worst asthma attack for over a decade. For the last few weeks I've been getting breathless even at rest so my riding has been restricted to gentle flat work.
The new little bike is a blinder and fairly flies along. It's a bit disconcerting riding something that feels exactly like all my other bikes, but when you look down you can't really see any wheels ;)
Cheers
GC
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I've got a leccy bike, its a Synergie Avanti. A long way from a hardcore off road but it OK, it is quite heavy. I tweaked up the contoller so it does 20mph now. Consider it as electric assist rather than full electric or the range will be very limited. If you're go to convert a pedal cycle then you need to ensure that the forks and frame are strong enough to take the torque.
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Interesting, thanks, I was kind of looking at these guys:
http://www.alienbikes.co.uk/index.htm
Who're just up the road from me. However I may need to put a hold on that because as of today there is a risk I may have to find cash for a weeks trip to scapa next year (whoo-hoo!! Rust diver heaven! 8) 8) 8))
Watching the whole electric thing with interest though :)
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Their 24V kit looks pretty much the same as what I have on mine with a few minor differences in controls, in the slide show the bike its shown fitted to also has a very similar (identical?) frame.