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Cycling


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Took up cycling a year ago. Absolutely love it. As a desk jockey who had just retired kicking the round ball it has kept me fit and trim. Been building the miles since winter culminating in a 100 mile sportive a few weeks back. Im now doing more riding in the mountains near where I live as I have gotten fitter and more confident on the bike. Hardest bit was an 8k ascent average 6% gradient 2 weeks ago that nearly killed me but great sense of achievement at the top and as for the downhill..hit 70kmph just before crapping my pants. Doing another 100k sportive in two weeks.

 

Its a great buzz. Only drawback apart from near death experiences each and every time I ride thanks to bad drivers and shitty roads is that now I keep buying bits of gear and want to upgrade my pretty decent bike after only a year on it.

 

Im seeing more and more cyclists on the road now. All good. I get out every weekend at least and midweek during the spring and summer.

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Took up cycling a year ago. Absolutely love it. As a desk jockey who had just retired kicking the round ball it has kept me fit and trim. Been building the miles since winter culminating in a 100 mile sportive a few weeks back. Im now doing more riding in the mountains near where I live as I have gotten fitter and more confident on the bike. Hardest bit was an 8k ascent average 6% gradient 2 weeks ago that nearly killed me but great sense of achievement at the top and as for the downhill..hit 70kmph just before crapping my pants. Doing another 100k sportive in two weeks.

 

Its a great buzz. Only drawback apart from near death experiences each and every time I ride thanks to bad drivers and shitty roads is that now I keep buying bits of gear and want to upgrade my pretty decent bike after only a year on it.

 

Im seeing more and more cyclists on the road now. All good. I get out every weekend at least and midweek during the spring and summer.

Impressive stuff mate. So where are you putting all these miles in ?

 

I went through exactly the same thing with my road bike in that I wanted to upgrade not long after buying it but stuck with it although I never really enjoyed using it. I'm trying to sell it and I'm thinking about getting a bigger sized bike. 

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I'm in Ireland. Lucky to have a small mountain range close by. Seems to be more and more sportives these days as well and Im less than 2 and half hours from pretty much everywhere on the island so plenty of options for some really cool and challenging events. Im not interested in racing at all.

 

I love my bike (Giant Contend SL-1) even though its Alloy and rim brakes while all around me seems to be carbon and disc. I will probably keep it for a while yet and maybe upgrade the wheels next year. Had a few spokes breaking on my back wheel. Think the Giant PR-2 wheels may be a bit flimsy for the poor roads I have near home. 

 

Went out yesterday in savage wind and nearly turned back after 10k but stuck at it and managed to get in 60k so I was well happy.

 

Its very addictive at the moment. Get anxious when I see really bad weather that may stop me getting out.

 

Bigger sized bike you say?? - hope your fit is correct. That will make a huge difference.

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I'm in Ireland. Lucky to have a small mountain range close by. Seems to be more and more sportives these days as well and Im less than 2 and half hours from pretty much everywhere on the island so plenty of options for some really cool and challenging events. Im not interested in racing at all.

 

I love my bike (Giant Contend SL-1) even though its Alloy and rim brakes while all around me seems to be carbon and disc. I will probably keep it for a while yet and maybe upgrade the wheels next year. Had a few spokes breaking on my back wheel. Think the Giant PR-2 wheels may be a bit flimsy for the poor roads I have near home. 

 

Went out yesterday in savage wind and nearly turned back after 10k but stuck at it and managed to get in 60k so I was well happy.

 

Its very addictive at the moment. Get anxious when I see really bad weather that may stop me getting out.

 

Bigger sized bike you say?? - hope your fit is correct. That will make a huge difference.

Your braver than me going out in that yesterday.

 

Yeah bigger size. I'm 5ft 9" and apparently it's either the 56 cm or the next size up. I opted for the 56 but I feel cramped up and don't really enjoy riding it. It spends so much time not being used I decided to sell it. I'll then make a decision on whether I'm going to get a new one. We'll see.

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The wind is the one thing that stops me being in the Olympics.

Yeah yeah I know Olympians train regardless and that is what makes them champions but I fucking hate riding in the wind.

I can knock out hours and hours no bother. But see the 5 mph into the wind slog I cannot be arsed. Living in the highlands does not help but the hills you can beast the wind you can’t.

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The wind is the one thing that stops me being in the Olympics.

Yeah yeah I know Olympians train regardless and that is what makes them champions but I fucking hate riding in the wind.

I can knock out hours and hours no bother. But see the 5 mph into the wind slog I cannot be arsed. Living in the highlands does not help but the hills you can beast the wind you can’t.

Totally agree with this, mate. Absolutely kills me when there is a head wind and living by the coast doesn't help this. I'd rather go out in rain, snow or blistering heat than against a strong headwind. You just get nowhere fast with twice the effort.

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Totally agree with this, mate. Absolutely kills me when there is a head wind and living by the coast doesn't help this. I'd rather go out in rain, snow or blistering heat than against a strong headwind. You just get nowhere fast with twice the effort.

Agreed.

 

We have a lovely coastal ride that can be absolutely ruined by the headwind on the return

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  • 2 months later...
  • 1 month later...

Greetings, after a bit of advice from the cycle paths on here. I bought a dragster about 6 months back, fucked if I can use the thing for work every day as it weighs a bastard tonne. So, Boxing Day I went to the new Decathlon and picked up a decent enough mountain bike. B’twin 540, which is light as a feather compared to the dragster, so had a few test runs cyclin into the gym and out on a few errands. I’ve  sorted my head around thumbs down and fingers up (as a kid I had a chopper and various bmx’s, and the dragster has the same suicide lever setup as the old choppers), but I’m a bit unsure on best seat height - I couldn’t get it fitted in the shop as I had to drop everything to get it in the car, brother in law reckons slight bend in the knee when fully extended. 

Also front suspension can be turned off, generally gonna be on okaying Melbourne roads, is it best to lock suspension unless on a particularly rough terrain? I keep getting it kicking in when I stand at lights to set off.

fucking weird pedal things - is there a nack to these things? Strapless pedal clips

I’m wearing standard trainees, and I nearly come off the bastard trying to get back into the straps after every set of traffic lights, are they only supposed to be used with cleats?

maps, I’m trying to get divorce google, so don’t want to use their maps for getting about if I can avoid it, but apple maps doesn’t want have bikes as an option, so what do s a good tool for getting around?

 

cheers folks 

 

 

97EFBE4C-B39B-49B6-9B32-BA48A05AD950.jpeg

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I have the front suspension on my mountain bike locked when on roads then turn it off just before I get back into town but that's because it is all cobblestones by mine and it's a fucker without it. 

 

Couldn't be arsed with those toe clips myself but they are probably alright when you get used to them. Wouldn't really fancy going off road with my feet attached to the pedals. Easy enough to replace them though. 

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Seriously, falling off your bike at traffic lights is up there with one of the most embarrassing moments of all time. There's no coming back when you're clipped in and suddenly start to go a bit diagonal with a full load of cars behind you ready to dart off. 

 

Fallen off about 4 times before getting rid of the cleats for awhile. Get some pedals you're comfortable with and keep the cleats until it becomes more of a hobby than a commute.

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  • 1 month later...
On 9/19/2016 at 8:14 PM, Bernard Diomede said:

Brilliant that Dougie, a superb achievement. Me and a couple of lads have been talking recently about doing the very same, but weren't sure about whether support would be needed. Where did you do your research for the trip? Routes, stopping points accommodation etc?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So are you still talking about it ?

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  • 1 month later...
5 minutes ago, Numero Veinticinco said:

You're doing it wrong. First picture, completely wrong. Second, better but still wrong. 

 

Yeah, better ways to clean it I'll admit but grass/other areas are covered in mud or waterlogged. Had to make the best of it.

What's wrong with the second picture?

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55 minutes ago, Spring said:

 

Yeah, better ways to clean it I'll admit but grass/other areas are covered in mud or waterlogged. Had to make the best of it.

What's wrong with the second picture?

I was messing. Saying that you’re riding your bike wrong. First one is upside down, second you’re not going to get very far. 

 

You short, I’m a cunt. 

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5 minutes ago, Numero Veinticinco said:

I was messing. Saying that you’re riding your bike wrong. First one is upside down, second you’re not going to get very far. 

 

You short, I’m a cunt. 

 

Gobshite.

 

I went and checked the turbo just to make sure there wasn't anything obvious going on.

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  • 4 years later...

The old knees aren't up for running any more. Got a few lbs to lose which I put on when I quit cigs (cue JV to appear and call me a fat bastard, the hilarious cunt), so got my bike out of storage. Out every night just doing between 5 and 10 miles at the moment but I'll be ramping that up. Aim is to do Liverpool to Leeds along the canal this year. 

 

Tried to bunny hop out of a cycle lane the other day to avoid some glass. Landed flat on my face. Fuck me it hurts falling off a bike. 

 

181971.jpg

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