Cycling Thread - pleasure peddlers to serious cyclists sign in here!

[Thistledew]

Hi All

I thought I would start a cycling thread. It would be great if we could make it all inclusive, so whether you currently just enjoy bike rides but are interested in taking it further, or already train seriously, please post what you are up to and what your aims are. By sharing knowledge and experiences, hopefully we can spur each other on.

If you want to, please post a quick biog of how long you have been cycling, how much you currently cycle, and what your goals are.

And for those who wish to engage in a bit of bike porn, please feel free to post what sort of bike you ride!

Happy peddling!

Ill let you know how the test ride goes tomorrow. I'm hoping I either love it or hate it so its an easy decision to make one way or the other.

Hello all, can I join in?

I have only just discovered this thread, even though it is almost full!

My cycling story: I started cycling after New Year - I was at a NYE party and saw a friend I hadn't seen in ages - she looked fantastic, and she had been cycling (quite impressive distances).

So since then, me and some other friends have been building up. We have a brilliant 12 mile cycle route close by, which we do a couple of times a week. I changed from my hybrid to a road bike a few months ago, and I have been trying to build my distance, although the furthest I have cycled so far is 36 miles.

In the normal course of events I would be quite happy with this, except that in 9 days time I am doing Lap the Lough - an 86 mile lap of Lough Neagh! (although there are breaks every 20 miles - that might help).

Not completing it is not an option, since DH was very doubtful I would be capable of doing it in the first place, so there is a fair amount of pride at stake.

Anyhow, I am off to skim read the thread - delighted I have found a cycling corner on MN.

Beryl, good luck with the big ride. Sounds very impressive. Prove your dh wrong!

Mine said I'd never commute to work by bike and I've been proving him wrong for months now.

Ooh how did the test ride go viva thats one mad looking bike. I think I would feel too vulnerable in that low position in traffic?

Gd luck beryl thats quite a distance but you might be amazed by what bloody mindness and your body are capable of. my DH did 60miles of hilly charity ride with virtually no training mad sod, but he could hardly walk for the next week and was useless with the kids too!

I have been commuting once a week to work the last couple of months and now feel 95% recovered from my op in April. It did take far longer that I thought to recover. My time cycling to work has improved from 55mins to 44mins I am very pleased with that as thats the time I was doing before I had my second dd 3yrs ago. The warmer weather really helped me it was mad setting off at 6am in 22c heat and cycling home in 34'c was my hottest (live in Devon) but my muscles were flying along compared to the last winter commute I did in Dec-12 when it was 0c and my feet were like ice blocks and legs didnt work. I hope to keep it up into the darker days but stop in December again as it just wasn't pleasant! The last couple of days I have been out with my nearly 2yr old in the hamax seat. She was great and even did her own helmet. She hadn't been out with me for a while as she was such a handful last time and has got tantrums off to a fine art it wasn't much fun we are getting her a balance bike with brake for her 2nd birthday at the end of the month so watch out as she is a speed demon already on her scooter

i have a fab cycle computer that my DH bought me for xmas and yes it has the temperature on it hence my geeky knowledge of what temp I cycle at its very helpful

Ive ordered one of the recumbent trikes, should be here the week after next.

I was worried at first about traffic not seeing me but I'm assured by other recumbent users that you feel safer because cars notice you more as you're unusual and give you more room as they're not sure how wide you are.

Not been on here for a while - had a bit of a catastrophe which I wasn't sure whether to share or not but here goes. My and my lovely Tricross (waves at fellow members of the Tricross quiche) got hit by a car a couple of weeks ago . Thankfully it was a very low speed collision and I thought I'd got away with just cuts and bruises but I'm now having problems with my foot which I think are due to it being wrenched out of the toe clip when i got hit. The good news is the docs say it should heal on its own in about 6-8 weeks, bad news is no cycling for me at the moment which is driving me nuts!

The even better news is that, to my great surprise and delight, the Tricross -hereinafter referred to as Lazarus - is repairable which I am thrilled about because I don't link the colour of the latest model! Phew.

Oh, and if anyone here doesn't wear a hat, I'll point out that my helmet took a huge thump on the road when I landed on the ground but my head was fine. If I hadn't have been wearing my helmet I would have been far from fine so if you don't wear one, please at least have a think about it. (lecture over!)

Had a great ride today. Did a Sky ride, 18 miles at a bit of a slower pace than I normally do. But sun was shining and it was nice.

I've signed up to do a 32 mile ride in a fortnight which includes one of the Top 100 UK cycle climbs! Should be interesting as my gears are stuck in the middle ring.....

Beaver what is a sky ride?

I did my lap of the lough yesterday. 90 miles around lough Neagh. The last 20 miles were a killer - I was tired and sore (elbows, hands and undercarriage), but really pleased that I finished it, and there was a terrific atmosphere. Quite a few long hills, and lots of lovely cyclists giving encouragement on the hills.

The longest I had cycled before that was 36 miles, so I am really pleased that I know I am capable of more.

Sky rides are rides sponsored by Sky Tv. If you google they have a website and you can search for ones in your area. They're all led by a experienced cyclist. I've never cycled in a group before but it was fun.

They finish in Oct but should restart in march.

Well done on your 90 miles btw, fantastic achievement!

VivaLeBeaver, we have recumbent trikes - they're brilliant fun! Has yours arrived yet?

Not yet. I'm hoping it will be this week. The shop in edinburgh is putting on short cranks and a forward bracket for me and then they'll ship it on a 24 hour courier. They've had to order the cranks.

What sort of trikes have you got?

How long did it take you to get used to them? Dd you find you could do longer distance on them more easily?

Pashley PDQ3 for me, rather upright but feels very safe in traffic. DH has a Windcheetah (coffin on wheels). They're fabulous for touring - I went to the Isle of Man a couple of years ago.

I think they are easy to ride, but use very different muscles. Short cranks are good, and I now use them for mountain biking as well. You're using SPDs, I presume?

I'm not sure what pedals it comes with. It's slightly second hand with light use. They come from Ice with no pedals so I know the previous owner must have put something on. I've seen a photo and can't quite work the pedals out....I think it might be toe clips which will do in the interim until I get some spds.

I've read about the fact it's different muscles, hoping it won't take too long to get up to speed.

Viva, I strongly recommend you get SPDs straight away. It's easy to clip-in on a trike and it's actually dangerous not to. I've seen someone go "arse over tit" through tripping over his feet when they slipped off.
(For those into competitive cycling, it was actually Sir DBs dad )

Hello, do you mind if I join in? I'm hoping someone might be able to offer some advice about buying a new bike?

I'm mainly a commuter cyclist and have always just had second hand bikes, I got the last one 5 years ago and I feel like it's time for a proper upgrade since I am doing a london to brighton ride frighteningly soon. (I am quite envious of dh's superlight cannondale too...)

I think I might have an issue though as I am quite long in the leg and short in the body which seems to be the opposite way round to what bike manufacturers expect. Are there any female fit frames that might be more likely to fit? I was planning to spend up to £500 and any advice would be much appreciated!

Thank you

hello- can I join in?
one of a family of bike nuts here.

I saw the references to sky rides ending in October, up thread. Don't forget that Breeze bike rides ( for women/ women and children) carry on all year. www.goskyride.com/Breeze/Index They also happen in areas that may not have sky rides yet.

family cycler here, actually on a 4 day cycle trip atm

can I join you please?

Yay, lots of new girls on the thread! Hello to 93pjb and UniS and MrsShrek3

UniS, are you a Breeze champ? (I used to run Breeze rides)

MrsShrek3, please tell us about your trip! Are your children with you?

93pjb, with a short torso and long legs, you are the perfect proportions for a women's bike. I know almost nothing about commuter bikes, except that Decathlon and Halfords are worth looking at for budget bikes. Also Evans own-brand (Pinnacle) are good value. It's the right time to buy a new bike, as the 2013 models are being reduced, to make way for 2014 models.

Another suggestion: does your employer run a "Cycle-to-Work" scheme? DH recently bought a Brompton this way.

Just noticed that we're nearly at the end of this thread, so hoping Thistledew is around to start a new one.

Would anyone be interested in having a separate thread for mountain-biking? Or shall we all stick together, and show the roadies what they're missing?

93pjb, have a look at a Specialzed Vita. A friend of mine has one, she's quite petite, she loves it and it looks a very good quality bike. It's a female specific bike.

I am a breeze champ - I also do social cycling group type rides as I don't like excluding dads from family rides.
I'm a cycle coach too. so this summer holiday I've largely been concerned with kids stuff, tomorrow is a family ride for my summer kids club cyclists and their parents. Hurrrah.

ooh, a new thread [excited] thanks for the welcome

hoping to cycle to work but fear it's too hilly, esp the last couple of miles. and I carry too much crap even for my lovely dutch panniers

this week is camping at a forest campsite and cycling each day. dh was with us today but it is just me and the three dc the rest of the week. Lots of lovely routes, diff lengths. the dc regularly do 15 mile rides at home but this is obv further for them. dd (7) has a sore bum ds2 and I rode through a darker bit of ground this eve - which turned out to be a large mudbath so just had to go to the bike wash!!

Hi, can I join too please? I have an old trek mountain bike and a new Specialized Dulce road bike.

I tend to use the Trek for family rides & in the summer off-road. Only recently started road cycling & absolutely love it!

I'm hoping to get some good tips on here