Cycling Thread - All Peddlers and Pedallers welcome.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Have started a new thread as the other one is very nearly full.

Bit worried the this thread might suffer from lack of traffic/obvious signposting and another poster has started a thread asking for a cycling topic

Please show yr support
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/site_stuff/2428272-Cycling-topic-anyone?msgid=55621596#55621596

Oh thank you ever so much for posting a link here. Nice to meet you all will have a proper read later.

Yes the more who post on there the more likely it is we'll get a topic. So don't hold back!

Good luck for today Buffers, for when you get home too!!

Came to post the link to the other thread but you got there first :)

How did it go Buffers?

From a terrible forecast yesterday, to gorgeous sunshine in reality today. DH got a 60 mile ride in with the club, ds and I did 25 miles for an icecream

I did it! 105 miles and children in bed :)
Saddle was great - hardly felt any discomfort. Only bit that wasn't great was the feeling of sickness after about the 60mile point. Managed to average 14.5mph and did over 5500 feet of climbing. It was so beautiful though. Thank you for asking guys :))

Yes, well done Buffers, and on getting the children to bed! It sounds fantastic, I am not very good at hills , must get fitter as I always have to have a puff or two of salbutamol on hills.

Day off today for us and we are doing 35 miles (with a sandwich at the pub in the middle ).

Cycling has taken a back seat for me at the moment as we have a new puppy, however I did manage a swift 12 miles last weekend to try and get used to my clip pedals. It wasn't too bad, I have the double sided pedals which I thought would be easier but it just caused me a panic trying to work out whether I was on the clip side or the plain side, guess I'll get used to them.
Plus we have the most diabolical weather here in Scotland, days of torrential rain interspersed with gales, not exactly good cycling weather.

Back from our ride. I didn't eat much but felt that mid way food was not a good thing today. DH said my speed had improved again according to his computer.

Really surprised my speed had improved because I need to load my big trailer up and take hay to my horses so my first 6 miles (out of 35) looked like this, DH took the photo, said I was an embarrassment , long may it continue!!

First day of the hols here and we did a family ride at a NT place locally. Our 9 year old did the 7 mile loop without moaning so we did the 4 mile afterwards. Longest she has ever ridden for and I don't even have earache .

DH is very keen for a family train/bike holiday in Holland in the spring, maybe, maybe.

Puffy I have padded shorts and can can tell you that they really don't help with a fanjo-crossbar impact! I feel your pain!

I'm off to cycle to work today - first ride for a couple of weeks, after 10 miles through the Tay forest on my hybrid (def not designed for that terrain!)

DH presented me with a pair of the new DHB halter neck bib shorts as an anniversary present today. A bit early, but on our actual anniversary I'll be doing a triathlon, and next weekend we are at Ride Londone

Good luck for Ride London CMOT! I'm also riding, at least weather forecast looks good!

How did it go Pipkin?

DH was the one who got to actually do RL (thrilled with a 17.2mph average), but we all rode in from Excel on Saturday to do Freeride which was amazing. DS rode really well in such big crowds - we'd been a bit worried how he would cope as he''s never ridden in a big group or in anything bigger than a small town. But he was filtering like a child born to it, and on the bits in/out was great with the traffic.

Glad to hear you DH did well and enjoyed it, very similar pace for me, got in just before 6 hours per the official chip time and garmin shows 5.47 so was happy with that.
Bet you were really chuffed with your DS, good on him taking to it so well and with such confidence!
So, will you be signing up for the ballot next year then?!

Would like some advice regarding cycling training courses. I am a beginner cyclist. Well... Learned how to cycle eons ago on a pretty straight tarmac road so can do very gradual turns. DH recently got me a folding bike and wants me to start cycling again as him and my kids all avid and able cyclists and I have been putting it off forever. I think with me it's also a bit of a confidence thing as I am petrified of going too fast so tend to cycle slowly, and also don't dare to try things like cycling with my bum off the seat, or hopping on and off pavements, etc.

DH isn't good at teaching. Honestly all he ever says is I just need to cycle faster and all the skills I lack will somehow miraculously appear. I'm like... Hmmm....

Anyway, I found out there is 1 on 1 cycle training locally with qualified instructors but it costs 75 quid for 2 sessions. They seem to be aimed at people who cannot cycle at all. I'm not sure if that's suitable for me. DH thinks it's a waste of money and all I need is to get out there and practice more. Well today he and the kids took me along to a 2 mile cycle path that encompassed tarmac cycle paths behind houses (some cracking and not in great condition), very rocky dirt tracks through the woods, and on the road. I ended up not pedalling for most of it, just kept pushing myself along with my feet as my bum was on the bike seat. Trust me my bum hurts now even with a gel seat cover on the bike seat when I cycled, and my legs sore but I got to work on balancing on very uneven terrain... So it did improve my skills a bit. I got blister on my right thumb holding on so tight to the bike handles due to fear of falling. Did nearly land on fences and hedges etc. Knackered now.

Not sure if I should continue doing that and if I'd miraculously improve with time. Or if a cycle training course of 2 sessions will cut down the amount of time and practice needed to improve my skills well enough to go cycling with the family. Any advice?

What sort of area are you in? Local to me there is adult Bikeability at £15 an hour, a women only group who do really novice for £10 a session, or building confidence on the road at £15 for two sessions; or another group who do three sessions for £10.

I think it sounds like you just need some time with someone calm out on good surfaces to get used to doing everything. And some padded cycle shorts (Wiggle do good ones) will do more for your bum than a gel seat. And get some gloves!

Hi CMOT, the adult 1 on 1 sessions is run by the local Bikeability provider. They only do 1 on 1 for adults. For kids however they do groups as well as training in schools. I noted your suggestion of padded cycle shorts (didn't know they exist!) And gloves. Will try those out. I'm actually okay cycling on good surfaces, but real cycle paths are very different, as today's experiences have shown. A lot of variation in gradient, conditions not always very good/some worn out parts of the track, some paths too narrow for my liking or fenced in and I'm not good enough to cycling in a tight line not to crash to the side so I think the narrow fenced cycle paths are out. I do live in a very bikeable area with a lot of designated cycle paths as well as sloped kerbs so seems a pity if I don't master cycling well enough to go on them confidently. I think a cycle instructor might be calm enough, but I don't know. Seems pricey for a 1 on 1 session, but if it cuts my training time by half it might be worth it. I don't know.

Maybe have a look for Breeze rides in your area then? If theres a beginner group it will just give you time in the saddle with others. They are free, so nothing to lose really.

I don't know if the fact that I'm trying to cycle on a folding bike makes it harder. It's a Raleigh Stowaway 3 bike with 20' wheels which is just about as large as my 6 year old's bike wheels so I can understand why it seems harder to ride. But on the plus side it is light enough and easy enough for me to stop from crashing or falling all the way down on the side. There are cycling groups here but all mixed ability groups although they say they cater to all abilities. I just know if I'm a slow cyclist I will be left behind or people will have to wait for me, which I don't want them to do as it wastes their time. I might just try doing the bikeability course with an instructor I don't know. It seems pricey but if they turn up with a bike with larger wheels etc. I could feel the difference.

eliphant is there a reason he got you a fold up bike? It doesn't sound like it's right for you, to be honest! Not sure if you got it as you can use it for commuting or something?

Pipkin / CMOT can you talk me through RL? How did you find the crowds & what sort of training did you do? I've done a 100km ride & must admit I found it hard (although partly because it was a wet night ride) but would love to do RL and plan to enter the ballot for next year.

Small matter of my first triathlon to get through next month first . It's only the baby distance but a swimmer I am not so slightly nervous especially as it's open water which I've yet to test out.