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Anyone doing London2Paris ?

2 replies

skiingnomore · 15/01/2015 11:11

Im a total nutter and a complete newbie. I have 27 weeks to get myself in shape and fit. I managed 4.5 miles on the gym bike in 30 mins on Tuesday night with not too much trouble but its a minute fraction of the distance and very slow too !

So Im 3 stone overweight and quite unfit but I will do it and raise money for our local hospice.

Any one else started from scratch and done it or anyone else doing it this year.

Would love to hear from you !

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Thistledew · 15/01/2015 11:31

A friend of mine did it last year having not cycled properly before and from only basic fitness. It was hard, but she managed it. She was a little overweight to start with as well, but had dropped two dress sizes by the time she did the event.

I took up cycling four years ago now and went from finding 7 miles a slog to being quite comfortable doing 65 miles about 4 months later.

You will need to work hard at your fitness and get used to spending a couple of hours at a time on the bike as soon as possible. I would strongly advise that you get a good bike (don't spend less than £500 new, ideally that price second hand) and then get used to riding it. It is a very different thing to riding a bike in the gym as for starters you will need to get your behind accustomed to the saddle, and you will use your core and upper body quite differently as well. If you can afford it, I would recommend paying for a proper bike fit as well. This costs around £150 but will mean that the bike is set up in a way that reduces your risk of injury and maximises your comfort.

Good luck!.

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skiingnomore · 15/01/2015 12:49

Thank you that's really god advice and has made me feel it is acheivable . I am going for the proper bike fit and a turbo trainer so I can cycle away on the actual bike to get my fitness up until the weather improves .

I know it will be really hard but I'm pretty determined . It's for a good cause . I've watched some footage on you tube of people doing it and the pace didmt seem too fast and a lot of people looks less than natural cyclists so imcomfortable I won't be completely out ofmy depth !