Cycling

I was just wondering if anyone on here enjoys cycling ?

I've just brought myself a new bike. It is a hybrid, very light and ideal for flat roads. It is single speed which will and has already tested my legs!

Anyone else like biking ? Either off road or on.

I'm taking up trail riding soon. Although I know sod all about it. I love going running and training MMA, but wanted to try something that my mates, not just training partners, can have a go at with me.

I saw a decent Raleigh bike for £200 quid, that has quite a lite frame and until I can afford it next pay day, I have, in the mean time, been buying accessories, such as a helmet, gloves, puncture repair kit ect.

amazon have some padded cycling shorts for £7, reduced from around £30 that have had great reviews, I'll be ordering them today & post a link in case you, or anyone else on here, needs a cheap, good quality pair.

How far do you normally ride?

Paul, that'd be great to get the link off you for those shorts. The saddle is taking some getting used to shall we say!!

I don't know much about trail riding either to be honest, but I'm guessing it is like mountain biking, in which case it is good fun We used to do a lot of that years ago, but I had a bad stack and lost my bottle. There is some great places near me to go off road on. Loads of woodlands. I'm sure you will find some good places as well, regardless where you live.

Good idea getting the accessories now. I spent £300 on my bike, and a further £100 on accessories, including a helmet, lock, lights and pump! I wish I had spent more time looking online and getting it beforehand rather then just getting it at the same time because I needed too.
Glad to hear you've brought a helmet as well A lot of people will let vanity win over buying a helmet, but if you ever do have a stack, then vanity will be the last thing on your mind!

I haven't been out for about 2 years before I got my new bike (yesterday) I went out for at least 8-10 miles yesterday and probably done about 6 today. It isn't much but the single speed is hard work, so will need to build up. Once I have got back into it I will ride half decent distances.

So is the trailing more for fun then fitness I take it ?

It's for both fun & fitness. I do loads of fitness training & just hope we get lots of decent weather for it.

Here you go http://www.amazon.co.uk/Muddyfox-Padded-...651&sr=1-1
Link to cycling shorts. Though I expect I'll be wearing my MMA shorts over the top to spare people being traumatised at the site of me in tight compression kecks

I haven't quite purchased all the accessories yet, because I shop around for decent stuff at bargain prices.

I'm actually scared of being hit by a car, as it's kind of a phobia of mine. Plus I'm not up on road etiquete because I never learned to drive due to epilepsy, so I will keep away from busy road junctions ect.

Last year, I went to Italy and we took a cable car up near the summit of a mountain with 2 bikes we hired, and then rode back down.
   
Unfortunately, we got so lost that it took us a whopping 20hrs to get back to the cycle hire shop, lol. Resorted to staying in a hotel in another town because we ran out of daylight & I wouldn't cycle the remaining 7 miles on a busy road in the dark.
One crazy, scary adventure & it's why I have been looking forward to purchasing a bike for the summer

I think it is always a pleasure to ride in the sun but especially off road, it can be interesting in the rain as well

Thanks for the link Paul. Yep I think I might do the same with regards to wearing some baggy numbers over the top!

What other accessories do you have left to get mate? I can recommend a few good shops online, Evans Cycles is good, Chain reaction is another one. Tredz isn't bad either. I think Evans has a clearance sale on a lot of bike stuff also.

I can't blame you about the phobia of being hit. Only earlier I went out for a bit and a car pulled out in front of me! Winds me right up. Plus it wasn't long ago my mate got nailed cycling along the road, again a car didn't see him in the middle of the day and took him out. Luckily he wasn't to badly injured considering!!

WOW!! That trip to Italy and on the bike trail sounds fun. I don't suppose it was in Lake Garda where this happened was it ? That picture is great as well.
Can't believe it took a massive 20 hours to get back to the shop. No wonder you decided against cycling back in the dark, the drivers out their are mental as it is!!!

I've started cycling a lot more recently, and I often do cycles up in the hills near my home, I have a mountain bike but it's a very heavy bike and going uphill takes more effort than is entirely necessary. Fortunately my dear old Dad has got my Mum a new bike and as such her old bike (actually a men's bike) is going to me, and it's considerably lighter than my current bike, of course in prep for me doing a lot more cycling I now have padded shorts (best things ever!) and numerous other pieces of kit, including the essentials (helmet, hi-vis jacket and a pair of gloves for when it's cold).

I'll be cycling to Uni after the summer too, and currently it's about 25 minutes from my house all downhill, about 35-40 back virtually all uphill, with my current (heavy) bike, with the lighter bike, that should go down to 20 there and 30 back.

Ryan - Sounds like quite a challenge with all those hills! I think a geared hybrid bike would suit you well. Or even a racer. If you mainly stayed on the roads then you wouldn't need to get suspension on the bike either as that'll just soak up your energy. That sounds like a right result that you've now got your mums old bike. The lighter frame will be a big help.

I need to get me these padded shorts. I'm suffering today as a result. I noticed the padded shorts Paul Ducky sent were from Sports Direct via Amazon, so although I've ordered a pair I will pop into town after work and see if they have any in store.

(01-04-2012 18:18 )Money_Shot Wrote:  WOW!! That trip to Italy and on the bike trail sounds fun. I don't suppose it was in Lake Garda where this happened was it ? That picture is great as well.
Can't believe it took a massive 20 hours to get back to the shop. No wonder you decided against cycling back in the dark, the drivers out their are mental as it is!!!

Yep, it was Lake Garda. Gorgeous place! And yes, the drivers are mental, with narrow roads & seemingly no speed limit, lol.
I ordered my padded shorts, yesterday. I still have unpleasant memories of sitting down for breakfast, fueling up for the last leg of the bike trek & my bum was sore and swelled up to the point where, when I sat down, I checked under my arse to see if I'd accidentally sat on a crusty bread roll :S

Upon returning our bikes to the shop, we hugged each other & congratulated ourselves on having survived, lol

Sounds like a bloody scary but fun adventure!

I know exactly the place you mean. We went there a couple of years ago, it is fantastic. You need to get the cable cart up there. I didn't go for the bikes but a few of my mates did. There are 3 different trails to take, they took the easy route and said it was still mental! They did however make it back a lot sooner then you did! I am not surprised you got lost though. It looks insane. What trail did you take ?

Haha, I can only imagine what it must have been like, I was suffering enough myself but I done nowhere near the time you did! I went to sports direct and picked up a pair of those shorts. Either I've got the wrong ones (they look exactly the same as the ones in the link) or they aren't actually padded at all ? I'm not sure but I will try them out in a bit and let you know.

Love cycling buddy....either recreational or goin to work....super for cardio vascular exercise buddy....