The Get fit club!

[J4MIE]

I have been in Hibernation mode since the end of September, I just have no interest in getting outside at this time of year, until May

I played squash for the first time on Monday evening, it ended up lasting for 2.5 hours. Brilliant workout but I am still struggling to move

[Big Ben]

At least you're still racking up miles Big Ben. I've been a slacker lately. Are you on a road bike or mountain bike?

A very cheap mountain bike. There aren't too many bike lanes over here and the roads are not very safe so I chose this one because it was cheap and I can use it everywhere... but I prefer tarmac . If we had better conditions I would have gone for a road bike.

[Big Ben]

I haven't used my bike much lately. Been pounding the pavement/trails more than anything, although nowhere near as much as BB.
Managed 160km in October, and about the same for September.
It's getting harder this time of year, with the shortening daylight hours, and the pathways and sidewalks are starting to get icy .
I should just give up and go in to hibernation until the spring .

Actually 1600km in 10 months is 160km/month . The truth is that winter really discourages me too. We have much softer winters here but anyway, soon enough, it will be dark when I get to work and dark when I punch out.

But I'm trying to look at the bright side of things. I just can't wait to get back on my snowboard

[janneppi]

Good to see so many people being active.
I cant seem to be able to do nothing except walking, 3-4 hours pee week. I tried some joga exercise last weekend for the first time in a year

And I did sell my old road bike yesterday, hopefully to a good home.

[airshifter]

A very cheap mountain bike. There aren't too many bike lanes over here and the roads are not very safe so I chose this one because it was cheap and I can use it everywhere... but I prefer tarmac . If we had better conditions I would have gone for a road bike.

Conditions are similar here, and when it's dry I enjoy being able to do more riding on trails, even though they are very limited in this area. And as far as cheap mountain bikes go, I'd bet I could challenge you for that title. There are very few close places to ride on or off road for any distance without dealing with some traffic problems.

If I keep at it I'll probably upgrade to something with front suspension though, as it would ease the hard hits and take less toll on my back.

[Big Ben]

Conditions are similar here, and when it's dry I enjoy being able to do more riding on trails, even though they are very limited in this area. And as far as cheap mountain bikes go, I'd bet I could challenge you for that title. There are very few close places to ride on or off road for any distance without dealing with some traffic problems.

If I keep at it I'll probably upgrade to something with front suspension though, as it would ease the hard hits and take less toll on my back.

I'd like to go off road more though not extreme stuff, but the truth is that my butt doesn't like it one bit

my bike was around 125 euros... new. It has suspensions but it makes plenty of funny noises when the terrain is not very smooth.

i actually hoped I would use it more to come to work but now that winter is almost here I put that on hold for a few months

[Big Ben]

For some unknown reasons November seems to be a very good month to run for me. I ran 115 km over 9 days and had in those 9 days my 'best' week ever running wise, 89km in 7 days.

I used to run with a friend but she's away for a few months. She was my voice of reason. I was always counting km and trying to run more and more while she was like forget about km and lets just run. It feels like she was doing it to feel good and I was looking for misery.

[airshifter]

I'd like to go off road more though not extreme stuff, but the truth is that my butt doesn't like it one bit

my bike was around 125 euros... new. It has suspensions but it makes plenty of funny noises when the terrain is not very smooth.

i actually hoped I would use it more to come to work but now that winter is almost here I put that on hold for a few months

My bike was only about $130 new. It's quite the piece of crap. Actually it's held up well considering the abuse. I have finally managed to bend the back rim a bit too much. The shifters and brakes work well, and actually I like the shifters more than many much more expensive bikes.

Around here we get a lot of roots on the off road trails, and they can be bone jarring if you try to keep any real pace. Part of me wants to get a full suspension bike to make the off road stuff more fun, but the other part knows that it will just make the road riding less productive.


And lately, I've not been riding it. I need to get off my butt and start working out in some way again, as laziness can be addictive.

And really, I think your friend is right Ben. When it becomes too much of a goal you can suck the life out of the fun you are supposed to be having. Though I admit using a fitness tracker and joining some challenges does motivate me to get out and do more, I still have to keep it in the realm of having some fun and feeling good for myself.

[schmenke]

I am really glad I purchased a new bike earlier this year to replace my old POS (that I had owned for about 10 years). The new bike is so much easier to ride with the aluminum frame and larger wheels. The components work properly too .
It’s far more enjoyable to ride, especially on hills. I’m now riding up hills in my middle chain ring whereas previously I’d be chugging along the same hill in the granny gear .

Airshifter, avoid the full sussy unless you want to mostly ride downhills. A front suspension with lockout is what I use.

As for running, well, with the snow and ice covering the sidewalks and trails, the next few months will be pretty much limited to the treadmill in the basement ( ) .

[Mark]

How's everyone got on with their plans for 2014? As my bike is probably going to be off the road until the end of the year it's a reasonable time to take stock.

I've ridden a total of 2,693miles in 2014, around 400 more than in 2013 and I've done a lot more long distance rides this year, I ended 2013 with my longest being about 65 miles I think.

I did ok over the winter, going out with the local cycling club quite a bit, but I haven't done a ride with them for a long time after I kept getting left behind!

A big motivator has been the Gran Fondo competition which Strava has been running, to get you do to 130km (81 miles) every month, I managed my first one with a friend in February and that was a massive struggle, but then I went onto do complete the challenge again in May, June, July, August and September.

I did my first century ride in May, 106 miles! I was well pleased with that and I'd planned to do at least a couple more but I found once the 100 miles was out of the way, the distance target didn't bother me any more, so haven't done it again.

By far my best ride of the year was somewhat shorter at 68miles, but was memorable because myself and a friend rode over the middle section of Stage 1 of the Tour de France, just a couple of weeks before the pros. That was amazing, to be on those roads, on a lovely day with loads of other cyclists doing the same, then to watch the stage a couple of weeks later having done it myself. I'm planning to go and do it again next year!

Apart from not just generally riding further and being faster the main thing I didn't get done in 2014 which I want to do in 2015, is the C2C ride from Whitehaven to Sunderland, which is about 130 miles of big hills. Most do it in 3 days but I want to do it in 1 day! Didn't work out mostly because of the logistics of getting to Whitehaven to start the ride!

Hopefully either the weather will get nicer soon or I'll get over my dislike of the cold, and start riding again!