h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Can't believe I haven't journaled about my near six month old change in lifestyle here.

Been cycling to and fro from work since the end of May. My better half Philomena suggested, not for the first time, back then that we get some bikes to go out on during the weekend.

So I agreed but said we should spend decent money on them as all my previous bikes have died rapidly as I'm a large powerful chap and am very hard on them.
So we went to a proper retailer (i.e. not Halfords) and spend several hundred pounds each on a couple of really nice hybrid bikes - that is ones that are a cross between a mountainbike and a road racer. I knew I would try commuting to work but we also wanted the flexibility to go off road as Phil was not so confident about cycling on roads with heavy motorised traffic.

Turns out she has a rather ulterior motive which was to get me cycling regularly so that I would get fit and shed some of the admittedly ridiculous weight I'd put on over the last four years or so of not exercising properly.

It worked. In four and a half months I have shed more than 2 1/2 stone in weight (37 lbs or 16.8 kg to be precise) and discovered a love for the sport I didn't know I had. My longest rides have been in excess of 50 miles in one go recently. I've learned lots of the jargon and techniques of cycling properly and am now signed up to get a second bike. This time on a salary sacrifice scheme from work which will see me get it tax free. This one is a road bike too - my initial idea of a hybrid was good but not ideal as it turns out. My passion is to hit the road and churn out long fast miles, plus I seem (bizarrely given my large frame) to like climbing. So the road bike is the one that is going to come out on my exercise days and in dry weather. I've grown rather less fond of off-roading - too many man-made barriers and too many pedestrians in the way to really get speedy.

And did I mention climbing? I'm particularly inspired today as I did my first 'classified' climb today. In racing tours they classify climbs from grade 4, the easiest, to grade 1 and then there is the Tour de France style Hors Category which I will never be able to achieve I don't think - imagine cycling up Ben Nevis and that's the sort of height we're talking about.
Anyways, today I managed to cycle from central Cardiff up to the top of the Caerphilly mountain - a grade 4 or 3 climb depending upon which website and satnav device you believe. About 700 ft up in 2 miles anyway, that's what it was, hard hard hard.
Much pain but boy was it worth it

Well done! And congratulations on losing weight in a way which you enjoyed. Cycling will never have that effect on me. My husband does it a lot, though, and I might transcribe some of his travel journals to make some entries you might be interested in - "Cycling along the the Rhine and the Moselle from source to estuary/confluence". Well, the title's not catchy, yet...

I had a suspicion that many of us here write about every day stuff (particularly in journals and forums) but don't ever mention the thing that is uppermost in our minds and which occupies most of our RL time. This certainly happens in real life, where people can put on a cheerful face for months, whilst they are harbouring a suspicion that they or one of their loved ones could be seriously ill/having an affair/attempting suicide/pregnant. A trouble shared is a trouble halved. Or, as in your case here, a pleasure shared is a pleasure doubled.

Will you continue your avid cycling through the winter months? It might be an idea to reduce it a little, as cycling in the dark, snow, sleet and rain might ruin the fun and your enthusiasm could wane, and the enjoyment forgotten by next spring. We don't want those expensive bikes langouring in a shed ....

Thanks and I have no intention of stopping during the winter. I pay £15 a month for a car park space at work which I have used once since the end of May and that was because there were 60 mph wind gusts that morning and I'd only just got the bike so wasn't too confident about that. I'm a bit reluctant to get rid of it as it's impossible to get back again (people can wait 10 years for one of these at Cardiff Uni) but it is becoming a sheer waste of money...

I've not really been exposed to the full cold of winter yet, nor deep snow (is it possible to cycle in that?) but I have been exposed to rain rain rain and the dark. I'm still doing long cycles in the mornings in deep dark but it is a *lot* more dodgy that doing it in the day - especially with no street lights out in the countryside. I did get a salutary lesson a couple of weeks back when my back wheel went from under me on wet leaves off road and I still have a very sore thumb from the experience. Nevertheless I will keep going just more slowly I have more wet weather and protective gear that you can shake a stick at, overshoes, fluorescent wet weather overtrousers, jacket, gloves, balaclava etc. so I'm not phased really by the weather and I'm building up the base layers and things for the cold to come.
One of the reasons for this that I didn't mention was the saving in money on petrol. I reckon I've spent more on the bike so far than I ever did on petrol! That will come though.

Yes I think we talked elsewhere about your cycling and your husband's cycling tour - I would be most interested in that I'm thinking I might eventually join a cycling club and see if I can persuade Phil to also - she is starting to get more keen on it as I gradually torture her by taking her out on more and more extreme rides at the weekend. - I think I'll leave Caerphilly Mountain out of that plan for the time being though

Good that you found something that you enjoy while at the same time losing weight!

Don't know if you get snow in the winter - if so, I'd recommend getting winter tyres. Since I'm of Finnish origin, I prefer those from Nokia

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp

Thanks Did my first real 50mile+ ride today on my new road racer - very very awesome - it's about 10% faster than my other hybrid bike and it's not 10% lighter (and neither am I since last week) so it's just the general set up of it that is better.
It's not better on my bum though - the old bike is like riding a comfy armchair after the road bike


It's been snowy fairly memorably in several of the most recent winters here but it's not usually anything to write home about.
Wet leaves are more of an issue at the moment - I came off a couple of weeks ago on some which was (and still is) painful.

Being coastal here it's particularly unlikely to be snowy - but that didn't stop it being 18 inches deep a couple of years back. I think that might be the only thing to stop me cycling in now. But I may look into it for the hybrid - I won't risk damaging the road racer in really poor weather - it deserves better.