Am I an idiot?

[DBourne]

Well this week I decided that I should start riding a bike to get fit.

The blokes at work are mad-keen cyclists so I said to myself I would ride around work for a while, then join them on the trail.

Anywhoo.. my brother in law lent me one of his bikes this morning. So I got up @ 5:50am. Drove to work, (in cycle gear, work clothes were in a bag) and rode around work.

Now to say I am unfit is a nice way of putting it. So I was buggered almost at even the thought of having to peddle!

I managed to do a few laps of a little circuit I constructed in my head which resulted in about 25-30min of cycling.

Only now, my legs are rooted, im sitting @ my desk an hour early and thinking "god that was silly.. you're an idiot"...

so I thought I'd put on my emo hat and ask ffau if I'm an idiot for doing this?

[SB076]

Nah its all good, you will be sore for the next few days, but you just need to get back in the saddle and peddle - your body will slowly get used to it and it will get better and better - til you can do the distance comfortably

[WAR40T]

yes, yes you are. IMO. riding your bike would not only would be good for your health (unless you had a heart attack) but you could save a few bucks in fuel in the process. good on ya for doin it.

[pertuan]

No pain, no gain as they say.

Any new exercise will take its toll in the first week or two. But after that, it gets easier and your fitness will take a quantum leap. Keep at it, its good for you.

[xbgs351]

Good stuff. You will notice big improvements very quickly.

[King Nothing]

Good stuff! I started a fitness thing as well last week, I went for a 40min walk/jog/run last Friday, I'm pretty unfit and pushed it way to hard. Man I was in pain until Tuesday. I couldn't walk down stairs, struggled to stand/sit, all that. You think it's bad now, wait until tomorrow. Finally managed to do it again last night, took it a bit easier and I'm nowhere near as bad this morning, in fact I'm going again tonight. Already lost 3kg!

Anyway keep at it, your body will get used to it and you will be thankful for it in the near future.

[Powdered Toast Man]

Yeah just keep at it and you will adapt. The problem then is if you want to improve your fitness further you will have to keep pushing harder so you will always be in a little pain after. The advantage is once your fitter you will recover much faster so the pain will last less time.

[blueoval]

I recommending a warm up/stretch immediately before and after you ride your bike. This will reduce the pain your feeling. You probably have a big build up of lactic acid in your muscles.

[FlipXW]

Keep at it mate, Cycling does absolute wonders for your fitness.

For starters have every second day off as rest. Tomorrow you will feel very sore in the legs, and your gouch will die if you sit on the seat again. Over say the first month you should aim to be riding a little further everyday. After a while you will adapt, you will no longer pull up feeling sore, sitting on the seat wont bother you, and the best bit is you will start to feel and look great.

[3vXT]

Nope not an idiot. I have a shiny new pushbike in my shed (just one of those subway bikes) that i've not yet gotten on as i don't want my neighbors to see me. You've got bigger balls than me.
I have been thinking about some 2am 'batman runs' around my suburb though

[X000BOSS]

mate go to k-mart and spend 25 bucks on one of gel seats covers. that will be a little nicer on your bum.

[DBourne]

thanks for all the replies.
and thanks phil for giving me a heads up on the gouch.. i was thinking " this will hurt next ride"

i really wanna get my own bike as this one has a few issues (gears jumping, front brake constantly on, seat doesnt stay still). but hopefully i stick at it

[Fev]

i used to ride alllll the time with my mates a few years ago, 1 of my mates was almost top in the state for Downhill and crosscountry mountain biking. we used to ride through the cumberland state forest, make trails, use existing trails and sometimes go off into the bush and find cool stuff..

havnt ridden for say 3 years now.. i just like driving my car so much better!!! and i sold my bikes 2 months ago lol

[xbgs351]

Originally Posted by blueoval

I recommending a warm up/stretch immediately before and after you ride your bike. This will reduce the pain your feeling. You probably have a big build up of lactic acid in your muscles.

Stretch after not before. Stretching cold is not a good idea. Warm up by riding slowly.

[Duke]

Sergeant Bourne!,
I spend up to 2 hours or more in the gym nearly every day - and pain is my friend, my only friend - get used to it Pilgrim and get back on that damn saddle! That's an order!

Seriously though, you're to be congratulated for taking the plunge and making an effort. Enjoy the pain, it's your indicator that your body is working toward a better you.

Well done and keep it up!

[Sourbastard]

Originally Posted by Duke

Sergeant Bourne!,
I spend up to 2 hours or more in the gym nearly every day - and pain is my friend, my only friend - get used to it Pilgrim and get back on that damn saddle! That's an order!

A day without Duke Cramping, is like a day without sunshine!

[falzoony]

well atleast you know you can sleep in till 6:50 now.

[The Yeti]

it will get eaeier with time, thats when its time to lift the bar and go harder

keep it up, it will pay dividends in the bed room

keep in mind 10kg = 1cm :

[TOASTED]

yep definately good on ya, ive been meaning to do this for a while now but lack motivation. as everyone has said you MUST warm up and warm down, well actually you dont have too but it is a REALLY good idea. also definately invest in a gel seat cover they are SSSOOOOOOO much better!

[XRated]

Originally Posted by falzoony

well atleast you know you can sleep in till 6:50 now.

Haha best point yet.

[Hunter]

Yeah I bought a bike recently and have only ridden it once and nearly passed out during the ride!! The hills around here are murderous, like 30 deg slopes!!

[mcflux]

I've done similar recently, but with running. First night out I was stuffed after 500m, had to stop for 5 mins after 1000m, nearly spewed at 1500m. Next night out did the same route (2kms), ran the whole lot non-stop & was only moderately puffed.

3rd night out I did 4kms non-stop But, my knee said No the next time I tried repeating that, so I'm just doing a mix of walking/running now (run a k, walk a k, repeat), did about 10kms on the weekend through the bush. I run in a good set of hiking boots, although if I were just running on the street or around a footy oval I'd get a set of runners.

I'd thoroughly recommend hiking though, I did the first 22kms of the Great Alpine Trail the other weekend, climbing the spurs really stuffs you! Took me 40 minutes to get up a 3km spur, then <10 minutes to run back down the same spur when heading back to the car. Kinda felt like I was competing for that hunk of cheese flying down the hillside :P

Getting back to the actual topic though, the upside to cycling is you can just build up speed & then cruise along a flat or downhill section, so you're not always powering along. My best purchase ever has been my $20 roadbike, it's a bit fragile for the bush (the frame's only mild steel & you can lift it with your pinkie) but I've gotten it up to 70-ish chasing logtrucks downhill & getting sucked into the slipstream :P Not bad for a 10 speed.

Oh, and if you're riding in the city, I'd call you an idiot :P The bush is where it's at

[GasoLane]

1# You live in Syd.
2# Syd roads are not very wide.
3# Syd drivers are not known for their good driving habits or courtesy towards cyclists..

Yep. AAA Idiot :

[Rodp]

You're only an idiot if you stop doing it.

[XDV800]

Sex is supposed to be up there as a top cardio exercise.
Change positions to workout different muscle groups.
You won't feel like an idiot afterwards either.

[JAYBA]

Originally Posted by xbgs351

Stretch after not before. Stretching cold is not a good idea. Warm up by riding slowly.

who told you that?

[DJM83]

Kudos to you mate, i used to race mountain bikes.
Got my license that was the end of that, i was as fit as fit can be i bought another bike 2 years ago to take it up again, lasted all of 12 months and i sold my bike only 2 months ago.

[DBourne]

Originally Posted by yzfr101

Sex is supposed to be up there as a top cardio exercise.
Change positions to workout different muscle groups.
You won't feel like an idiot afterwards either.

i heard you have to do more than 20 seconds of exercise to see any results though?

[HLC]

yeah i been doin this excercise thing for like 6 weeks now Dave. its good. ive shed somewhere around 8 kilos i think? but i stopped eating maccas and nearly all take away, chips etc too.

i figured if i do a bit of excercise a day and cut out all the crap i eat then ill lose weight. im not exactly eating a healthy diet, but im not stuffing my face with maccas 10 times a week. i tell you it sucks going to work with a hangover though, do you realise how tempting it is to make some mcheartattack muffin to get me through the next 8 hours lol

ive been meaning to pick up the bike too, but the old BMX aint to good in my area lol, lots of hills.

keep it up mate.

[AC]

Is that a rhetorical question Bourney ? :P