Since there are a few of us on here, thought it might be worth starting a thread on this. If you don't like cycling, don't be a tool about it - just don't comment.
Went out and did just under 90k in just under three hours in the pissing down rain today. Pretty pleased with that since the weather was dreadful and I came off pretty badly last week and am still suffering from fuckedknee. Anyone else out today or tomorrow?
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Now wearily sitting on the sofa watching MOTD!
Back in the saddle after a couple of years of losing my bottle after a run in with a corsa full of knobs. (Not the above)
Personally I can't stand them - puncture magnets, slippery road surfaces and loons overtaking on narrow roads. I stick to the A roads and have artics thundering past me
Bike should be ariving this week so i anyone knows some decent routes out from Bexleyheath please let me know.
You sat you're at Bexleyheath. So ride down to Bexley Village. The loop is North Cray Road towards Ruxley Corner, turn left out of the roundabout onto Maidstone Road towards Swanley then turn left onto Birchwood Road. Get to the end, turn left, head up towards and past the Old Bexley Hospital then the drop back down into the Village.
The loop is 7.6-7.7 miles long. My old cycling club used to use it for training.
There's a bit of everything in that. You've got a gentle incline up North Cray Road then a little kick up at the end by the roundabout. There's a more of a climb on Maidstone Road then when you hit Birchwood, you can open the legs up and fire the afterburners.
What I suggest, the first time you do it, do it once. If you feel comfortable, do it twice. When you're feeling stronger, do it 3 times. Use that as your base to compare your performance. By all means, go and ride elsewhere too but every now and then, come back and ride the loop then you'll be able to look back and see what you've achieved.
If you've got a smartphone, sign up to Strava. Its free. It will automatically pick up segments like this and you'll be able to see that you're getting fitter and stronger when your times start to come down and your average speeds pick up.
The first time I rode that loop about 3 years ago now, it was a major struggle. The lump in Maidstone Road used to fill my legs with lactic acid as my HR went through the roof. By the time I hit the downhill bit of Birchwood, I was all out of energy and I'd end up lapping at 13mph. Now, I can happily ride a lap averaging over 20 mph. The more miles you get in your legs, the easier it becomes. Oh, and as for hills, they never get easier, you just get used to the discomfort
There are major pros and cons to joining a club. It worked well for me for about a year because I was really unfit and I was a novice but because I was taking my fitness really seriously, I was improving at a rate of knots and I quickly outgrew the club. For me, time is precious. I'm more than happy to go for a 50 mile bike ride but if I go out at 9am on a Sunday morning, I want to be be back in time for some dinner, some chill out time on the sofa afterwards. A 50 mile ride with say 3,500ft of climbing say, so moderately hilly (something like Welling out ot Westerham, take in a couple of big hills and back) can be done in 3hrs without stopping*. You learn to drink and eat on the bike. Some cycling clubs cater for that kind of riding, some dont. Some prefer to ride 20 miles, stop for a cup of coffee somewhere, have a chat, ride some more, stop for another coffee and have a slice of cake, have another chat, then ride home. Rather than be back at 12-1pm, you're looking more at 3-4pm with punctures. The novelty of club riding soon wears off. (Seriously, I joined the club to lose weight, why are you encouraging me to ride slowly AND EAT BLOODY CAKE FOR!?!?!! See where I'm coming from?!?!)
*when I say not stopping, I stop at traffic lights before anyone says different