OK so how is my cycling going? Has it been a 5 minute wonder or have i stuck with it in my bid to lose weight, adopt a more healthy lifestyle and get fit?
Mo and I stop from our cycling break at White House in Scraptoft Lane Leicester
Well I can report it is going well and that I get quite addicted to it. I particularly like the freedom of it and how it the exercise makes me feel more alert.
Have got together with Mo, a local 63 yr old pensioner whose wife gets him out from under her feet a few times a week by getting him out on his bike.
He has been cycling for years now and even though he has a very modest bike by any standards which he claims cost him just £40 always seems to leave me well behind even going up hills despite the fact my bike is admittedly somewhat less modest cycling machine.
He seems to glide up hills while my legs are screaming in pain for me to stop and walk. And in fact if it wasn’t for pride i would certainly get off and walk up the hills that he seems to take effortlessly without even breaking a sweat.
I have a sat nav type device i use called a Garmin 800 that tells you how many miles you have cycled, your speed, elevation and even calories burnt. Via a cable you can plug in and attach to your wrist as you cycle it will even give you real time info on your heart rate and I suppose sound an alarm if your are about to have heart failure.
That device tells me our weekly cycle rides from Highfields Leicester to Scraptoft village are about 11 miles and that i burn several hundred calories each time doing it.
I like the way it saves your journey that you can later upload to the internet and replay back.
A huge tip I was given by the knowledgeable young people at the Evans Bike shop in Lower Temple Street in Birmingham was about padded cycling shorts.
I didn’t invest in any at first but have recently done so and have discovered how much more comfortable that makes the whole cycling experience.
Mo this weekend is doing a charity cycle event for British Heart Foundation at Rutland Water. Although I am not able to join him in participating in that due to work commitments I have promised him a modest contribution and would encourage anyone else reading this blog to donate also. (Donation Link to follow… once he emails me it)