I have been cycling now since July and as it is coming to year end I thought I’d share my experiences with you, the good and the bad. Originally I wanted to get a road bike but eventually opted for a Mountain Bk. My bike weighs 14.5kg which most people think is light but most people haven’t weighed it next to a Boardman, those things could blow away in a breeze. It’s definitely not a hill climber and on my journey to work there is two monster hills. The first one slants to 30° and travels upwards about 200m it’s a nightmare, the second one isn’t very big but sits about 60° - it’s really steep. In the five months I have been riding I have been noticing muscular differences, specifically the legs which is good for me as I practice TKD, what isn’t so good or helpful in this however is that my muscle in my legs are extremely tight and require more stretching than normal. Come Friday my legs are pretty much shot and need the weekend recovery. I don’t know if this is normal but within the week I would have completed 80 miles and done 3 - 1 hour classes TKD, so yeah 48 hour recovery. I have noticed my forearms become much more toned, mostly because I’m griping too tightly on the handlebars. Still not too confident on the roads and griping is probably the last thing I should be doing. My cardio has improved beyond measure, it would be impossible for me to state how much it has improved so I’ll just say this. In the past when I am done I quit, now when I’m done I go past the point of no return and keep going, a lesson from the hills I climb each day I suppose but the real benefit is that I can go way longer than I could before and now I don’t give up. A lot of the cardio improvement comes down to me having stopped smoking as well. I also suffer from sciatica – have had to get cortisone injections at times because of it. The sciatic nerve would flare up and affect my back and legs with the frequency of once every 1-2 months. It hasn’t gone but in 5 months only one serious bout and only very mild pain the rest of the time. Don’t know if the cycling has helped but physio has told me to exercise and stretch so I think cycling has helped. On my journey I do come to face many obstacles as well, it’s not really all good. Mostly inconsiderate drivers are the problem. Have been almost put into the kerb on more than one occasion with stupid drivers taking unnecessary risks, I don’t mind them risking their own lives but I do when they risk mines. There is a roundabout I go around every day, I can get good speed round it. There’s a set of traffic lights at the start of the road and the ground is fairly level then goes downhill, I can hit maybe 20mph. If a driver gets stopped at the traffic lights behind they then try and make up the time lost and hammer to the roundabout. Problem is the roundabout has two very small very tight lanes with only one exit which is straight ahead which is my exit, there is another exit but you double back to where you came from to the other side of the road. Drivers try to beat me and other cyclists when we are on the roundabout and it really is very dangerous. We end up having to give way. It really annoys me as I have always given cyclist plenty of room and I don’t see the need to get past a cyclist if it is going to present a danger, it’s stupid. But for the bad points cycling has been very good for me. Any other cyclist notice any other benefits or any tips while travelling on the road? Another bad point i have thought of. As i'm climbing Everest hill there is this smug wee guy who shoots past me on one of those electrically assisted bikes. I'm gonna kick him off it lol Baza
Cycling will destroy your flexibility faster than just about any other activity, you really need to keep on top of it or before you know it, your toes are going to feel a lot further away from your hands than they used to. All drivers are homicidal jerks. So long as you keep that in mind at all times, you should be safe.
when it's above freezing in chicago, i ride every day to and from work. i absolutely love riding to and from work, but i can't stand dealing with other automobile drivers. i am actually a very, very careful driver and i look out for bicyclists--maybe because i am one--and pedestrians. i'm just always shocked that when i'm riding i see such a large percentage of people on their devices. a gentleman recently almost hit me because he was looking at his map on his fancy phone, and completely disregarding the environment around him. it's a huge problem, much bigger i think than aggressive drivers (which truth be told is also another big issue).
