Cycled a Marathon!

littlegreenman

Obviously, this will be small potatoes to the serious cyclists of the forum, but I did my first 25 today. Actually my computer gave me an overall distance of 26.2, hence the title.

As a slightly overweight and reasonably unfit 48 year old I'm not unpleased by this. Only got back into cycling earlier this year after probably 20 years of doing effectively Eff all excercise.

Took me about 2 hours at a moderate effort (average of 12.5 mph) so I'm clearly not looking at racing any time soon (or indeed ever), but it was good to get to a milestone I've been eyeing for a while.

CountryDave

Keep at it. I'm a fat 48 year old who would be a lot fatter without my bike.
My first ride was to work (about 5 miles), less than halfway there I was all for chucking the bike in a hedge and catching the next bus. Now at the point where a 25 miler sounds like a good day out.

m_c

Good effort!

But remember, it never gets easier, you just quicker.

littlegreenman

CountryDave said:

My first ride was to work (about 5 miles), less than halfway there I was all for chucking the bike in a hedge and catching the next bus.

I remember that when I first got back on the bike. Purgatory.

CountryDave said:

Now at the point where a 25 miler sounds like a good day out.

I did it at a reasonable pace, for me. Got home a little tired but OK. I did hydrate regularly and ate along the way, which I would never have done 20 years ago and that made all the difference, and just went at a steady pace without trying to chase the guys who flew past me at 20mph+. Guess I have learned a little from some of the GCN videos I've beeen watching.

Reckon I could do a good day out at 50 miles realistically now, with a few cafe stops along the way of course.

Now actually thinking of looking into a bit of bikepacking next year, maybe even the coast to coast. Probably over a week with sightseeing rather than an enduro thing though.

littlegreenman

m_c said:

Good effort!

But remember, it never gets easier, you just quicker.

And therefore further. A year ago, I'd have struggled to do 25 at all, never mind in a couple of hours. On my shorter rides I'm upping the average regularly.

Just need to keep Jens in mind...

"Shut up legs!"

jonnyburgo

Nice one mate, you build resilience pretty quickly cycling my regular commute used to be 32 miles a day, killed me when i first started but after a couple of weeks it was a breeze. Always handy to have a banana in your pocket (ooh-er) for if you get a wobble on, or a snickers.

Kalimna

Good on yer - its damn hard exercising wheb you're not used to it. Im  slightly younger, but still unfit bloke, slowly getting back on my bike. Did 20miles last night, 1hr30. Again, not unpleased with that.
 Sticking point will come in a few weeks cycling around Arran. It's a bit hilly, apparently  

Adam

CountryDave

I did the Blackpool Illuminations 'Ride the lights' last night.  Never again.  14 miles of purgatory.

It was great, apart from the fact you couldn't think about looking up at the lights because of chavs pulling wheelies down the wrong side of the road, the eejits stopping dead in the middle of the road to take a family selfie (while hundreds of bikes pile up behind them) and one or two of the 'I've got an expensive carbon bike and castelli kit, therefore you should get out of my way' crew treating it as their own personal time trial - ignoring all the pelican crossings and battering down the wrong side to pass all the unworthy.

Basically the chippy tea was the highlight.

fields5069

Well done on cycling a marathon. I found cycling to be easier than running, and my commute meant that, according to Strava, I was expending between 4000 and 6000 calories a week. That's 40 to 60 miles of running, approximately, so it seems easier to expend the calories by cycling.

BigLicks67

Good effort, your next target is a half century : >

Heartfeltdawn

littlegreenman said:

Obviously, this will be small potatoes to the serious cyclists of the forum, but I did my first 25 today. Actually my computer gave me an overall distance of 26.2, hence the title.

As a slightly overweight and reasonably unfit 48 year old I'm not unpleased by this. Only got back into cycling earlier this year after probably 20 years of doing effectively Eff all excercise.

Took me about 2 hours at a moderate effort (average of 12.5 mph) so I'm clearly not looking at racing any time soon (or indeed ever), but it was good to get to a milestone I've been eyeing for a while.

Small potatoes to some but it's all about achieving something for yourself. After another bout of knee surgery, I've been back on the recovery front again this August. It takes me time to build up not only the strength in the legs but also the trust in my mind that my knee isn't going to give way like it did in 2005. 

I'm averaging 5km a day in August running and have been throwing in 10-20km cycling sessions as well. The figures aren['t amazing, I'm not exactly running quick at 27.30 for 5km but it's all part of something bigger. Considering the first run post-surgery was a 15 min 2km to shake the cobwebs out, it's gone OK. 

Gagaryn

Kalimna said:

Good on yer - its damn hard exercising wheb you're not used to it. Im  slightly younger, but still unfit bloke, slowly getting back on my bike. Did 20miles last night, 1hr30. Again, not unpleased with that.
 Sticking point will come in a few weeks cycling around Arran. It's a bit hilly, apparently  

Adam

One big hill - Goat Fell. Remember, your cycling a circle so you'll have as much descent as climbs - might not feel that way though!  I love Arran and its' a perfectly doable day out if you get decent weather.

My advice - get an early ferry over and get a cooked breakfast on it, Pray to the weather gods - cycling up Goat Fell in a storm is no fun. If you are staying overnight at a weekend go to the disco at the Ormidale Hotel - it is superb and you will never forget it for a myriad resons!

Kalimna

Goat Fell. A name I suspect I will come to fear and hate in equal measure
I've never been to Arran before, but I'm actually looking forward to it. Both the island and the sportive. As it happens, there are 6 of us going over with our partners enjoying the spa at Auchrannie leaving the 3 of us to enjoy the views.
We are making a long weekend of it, so I'll take your advice regarding the Ormidale Hotel. When you say 'disco', are we talking cheesy 80's nonsense, or 'proper' music????
Cheers for the advice/warnings

Adam

littlegreenman

Got to my monthly target a day early

Looking to try and do 300 next month!

Kalimna

Excellent! Good stuff

joneve

littlegreenman said:

Got to my monthly target a day early

Looking to try and do 300 next month!

Good work! I need to get back into cycling 50 miles + per week from march next year.

I have a few cycling nut job friends (one actually) and he regularly cycles 200+ miles a week. He's already close to 5000miles this year; granted a proportion of those are commuting miles (around 25 miles per day), but even so, absolutely ridiculous! 

roundthebend

@joneve @littlegreenman ;
I know a chap who frequently rides 150+ miles for pleasure in a single day.
We live in Peterborough and he will often ride to Great Yarmouth and back via winding roads through Norfolk.
I recall an evening ride of about 40 miles that I planned 'cos I wanted to get some more hills in, and he came along on a singlespeed and led the way. He's 50 years old but an absolute powerhouse on the bike.

I haven't got enough time to do those kind of miles.

joneve

roundthebend said:

@joneve @littlegreenman ;
I know a chap who frequently rides 150+ miles for pleasure in a single day.
We live in Peterborough and he will often ride to Great Yarmouth and back via winding roads through Norfolk.
I recall an evening ride of about 40 miles that I planned 'cos I wanted to get some more hills in, and he came along on a singlespeed and led the way. He's 50 years old but an absolute powerhouse on the bike.

I haven't got enough time to do those kind of miles.

Exactly this! My training plan for the next year is going to have to be precisely calculated, and I just don't have time to do random evening rides for 2 or 3 hours. a long ride at the weekend is going to be struggle enough! 

Gagaryn

Kalimna said:

Goat Fell. A name I suspect I will come to fear and hate in equal measure
I've never been to Arran before, but I'm actually looking forward to it. Both the island and the sportive. As it happens, there are 6 of us going over with our partners enjoying the spa at Auchrannie leaving the 3 of us to enjoy the views.
We are making a long weekend of it, so I'll take your advice regarding the Ormidale Hotel. When you say 'disco', are we talking cheesy 80's nonsense, or 'proper' music????
Cheers for the advice/warnings

Adam

Think school disco and you won't go far wrong. The DJ played everything from Sabbath to Girls Aloud. He's an old guy in a shirt and tie, collects glasses as well a doing the decks - you don't see Fat Boy Slim doing that. Its in a hall separate to the main hotel - rain pours in gaps in the roof - it truly was superb!

Kalimna

We shall look forward to it

roundthebend

At the weekend I cycled 35 miles from Peterborough to Cafe Ventoux near Uppingham. And then back again. I hadn't really trained for it and certainly felt it on the way out. Those who know Peterborough will know that it's on the edge of the Fens so a very flat place. The further West we got, the longer and more frequent the hills became. At one point I was just managing to maintain 5mph - my bike has a 28T big cog on the back which doesn't reduce the gearing enough to get a good pedal cadence going so it was a proper grinding effort.

On the way back I felt pretty good. I wanted to do >100 miles at some point so this was a good yardstick for my fitness.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1843332080
https://www.strava.com/activities/1843332156

I really enjoy putting myself through a gruelling effort like this. The endorphin rush and feeling of achievement are well worth the discomfort.