47, fat and unfit. Can it be done?
Discussion
As per title, (sadly))
I’m clearly not getting any younger, i’ll be 48 in November, I am massively unfit and desperately need to give up the fags.
Dieting has never been a problem as in this area when I put my mind to it I can easily put in the effort to lose weight.
My mate has all of a sudden got the cycling bug and has talked me into a charity bike ride next May, Paris, (20 miles South) to London.
Can it be done?
I think my major issue is stamina. Going to look at road bikes this afternoon and have a budget of approx £500. Any musts that I should be looking for? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I can commit 3 days a week and 1 of a weekend to training but am dreading getting started just because I know how woefully bad I’m going to be. Hills are a major concern of mine due to how unfit I currently am. Anything more than a slight climb is a major concern, ( or possible mental block) of mine.
Any tips or thoughts welcome.
Luckily from where I live there is a track/route nearby that is dead flat and exactly 1 mile per circuit. My plan is to cycle there, (downhill) and then do laps or lap maybe at the start. Build from that until i’m comfortable to move on and go for rides out with my mate who is already on 10 miles a day comfortably.
I have a year to get to the average 55 miles a day that will be required for the charity ride.
What do I need to know?
TIA
I used to ride regularly a few years back when I was working on the music tours and really enjoyed it. Was woefully bad when I started, but before things went bad I could comfortably cycle 30+ miles a day.
I’m clearly not getting any younger, i’ll be 48 in November, I am massively unfit and desperately need to give up the fags.
Dieting has never been a problem as in this area when I put my mind to it I can easily put in the effort to lose weight.
My mate has all of a sudden got the cycling bug and has talked me into a charity bike ride next May, Paris, (20 miles South) to London.
Can it be done?
I think my major issue is stamina. Going to look at road bikes this afternoon and have a budget of approx £500. Any musts that I should be looking for? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I can commit 3 days a week and 1 of a weekend to training but am dreading getting started just because I know how woefully bad I’m going to be. Hills are a major concern of mine due to how unfit I currently am. Anything more than a slight climb is a major concern, ( or possible mental block) of mine.
Any tips or thoughts welcome.
Luckily from where I live there is a track/route nearby that is dead flat and exactly 1 mile per circuit. My plan is to cycle there, (downhill) and then do laps or lap maybe at the start. Build from that until i’m comfortable to move on and go for rides out with my mate who is already on 10 miles a day comfortably.
I have a year to get to the average 55 miles a day that will be required for the charity ride.
What do I need to know?
TIA
I used to ride regularly a few years back when I was working on the music tours and really enjoyed it. Was woefully bad when I started, but before things went bad I could comfortably cycle 30+ miles a day.
You should be fine in a year.
Get strava.com on your phonw, it helps track progress. You'll see progress very quickly so it'll be motivational.
On the bike front, i'd suggest going for a comfort orientated road bike. I'd avoid flat bar hybrid style, over long distances you want the veriety of hand positions that drops offer.
Get good shorts, comfort is king. If you'd find chafing, then sudacrem is a great solution - put on pre ride, no chafing.
Main thing? Make sure you enjoy it. Forget this "lots of laps and making it training" idea, you'll be bored silly. Just go and explore the places you've never been. Check out multiple ride mapper on google (needs strava) - after a while you'll find you've coloured in near your whole local area
Get strava.com on your phonw, it helps track progress. You'll see progress very quickly so it'll be motivational.
On the bike front, i'd suggest going for a comfort orientated road bike. I'd avoid flat bar hybrid style, over long distances you want the veriety of hand positions that drops offer.
Get good shorts, comfort is king. If you'd find chafing, then sudacrem is a great solution - put on pre ride, no chafing.
Main thing? Make sure you enjoy it. Forget this "lots of laps and making it training" idea, you'll be bored silly. Just go and explore the places you've never been. Check out multiple ride mapper on google (needs strava) - after a while you'll find you've coloured in near your whole local area
Cheers.
My friend did say that this far the hardest part for him has been the saddle issue
I am very impressed with how quickly he is progressing and know he will help me along. We are similar on age, weight and previous lack of exercise. The only real difference is the smoking issue and this is my major concern in regards to my stamina.
I know only I can sort that part.
He has already got Strava and said it’s a must so I will download the app when I get back later after purchasing the bike.
My friend did say that this far the hardest part for him has been the saddle issue
I am very impressed with how quickly he is progressing and know he will help me along. We are similar on age, weight and previous lack of exercise. The only real difference is the smoking issue and this is my major concern in regards to my stamina.
I know only I can sort that part.
He has already got Strava and said it’s a must so I will download the app when I get back later after purchasing the bike.
Edited by chilistrucker on Thursday 28th June 10:18
It can definitely be done!
Try not to let the idea of the Paris ride be too daunting right now, just get on the bike and have fun, see where you can cycle to/back on a nice route and avoiding as much traffic as possible and just enjoy yourself.
Whereabouts are you based?
Good suggestions above for a Decathlon bike and a road bike with drop handle bars - useful to have the drop bars as you up your distance just so you can adjust your riding position as you go for a bit more comfort as you up the distances. Boardman bikes at Halfords are also worth a look.
Good luck!
Try not to let the idea of the Paris ride be too daunting right now, just get on the bike and have fun, see where you can cycle to/back on a nice route and avoiding as much traffic as possible and just enjoy yourself.
Whereabouts are you based?
Good suggestions above for a Decathlon bike and a road bike with drop handle bars - useful to have the drop bars as you up your distance just so you can adjust your riding position as you go for a bit more comfort as you up the distances. Boardman bikes at Halfords are also worth a look.
Good luck!
lufbramatt said:
Work out how much you'll spend on fags between now and May. Spend that much on a nice road bike and give up smoking 
then it's basically free
Pack of 20 fags, best part of a tenner these days. then it's basically freeRoughly 10 months, 300 days, even at 10 a day that's £1500, triple your bike budget.
Sound advice this!
mickymellon1 said:
switch to vaping, buy a road bike from Decathlon, ride about 50 miles / week - bish bash bosh no problem
Yup, if you can't give up the fags (cycling might motivate you to) switch to vaping. I vape and a hundred mile ride is no problem when I'm at peak cycling fitness.
Have a look on eBay for second hand bike - many cycle to work bargains there!
Try to lose a bit of weight - will make hills much easier
Don't get caught up buying all the gear - shorts, t shirt and trainers are fine for now.
Any ride longer than 1 hour think about bringing some food
Try to find someone to cycle with, talking makes the time go quicker
Take out some cash and learn to fix punchers.
Try to lose a bit of weight - will make hills much easier
Don't get caught up buying all the gear - shorts, t shirt and trainers are fine for now.
Any ride longer than 1 hour think about bringing some food
Try to find someone to cycle with, talking makes the time go quicker
Take out some cash and learn to fix punchers.
Gary29 said:
lufbramatt said:
Work out how much you'll spend on fags between now and May. Spend that much on a nice road bike and give up smoking then it's basically free
Pack of 20 fags, best part of a tenner these days. then it's basically freeRoughly 10 months, 300 days, even at 10 a day that's £1500, triple your bike budget.
Sound advice this!
Easy.
I trained up my 11 year old daughter to do the London to Southend (53 miles) in 6 months doing less than one ride every couple of weeks.
Just build up gradually.
My own story is...I was a 47 year old who had been told his blood test results were so bad that he probably had liver/kidney cancer and not long left to live. Started cycling to work (26 mile round trip, building up gradually) plus a bit at the weekend occasionally.
I am now a 49 year who is over a stone lighter (was already in the green, now REALLY in the green), haven't used my blue asthma spray in many months and think nothing about going on 50/60 mile bike rides for fun. And take great pleasure in destroying "youngsters" on their bikes that try to race "grandad". The last time my blood pressure was checked for my race license medical the doctor actually exclaimed "wow, that's good, what do you do?".
Looking back I also realise I was "not right" prior to getting fitter.
Barring dodgy blood test results this is a very common story amongst forty somethings starting up...and it really is the right time to do it.
As for the bike, don't stress about how much it cost. Buy someone like a b-twin (Decathlon own brand) for £500 and you will be getting a lot for your money.
And get a bike seat fit once you start getting into it and have some spare cash.
I trained up my 11 year old daughter to do the London to Southend (53 miles) in 6 months doing less than one ride every couple of weeks.
Just build up gradually.
My own story is...I was a 47 year old who had been told his blood test results were so bad that he probably had liver/kidney cancer and not long left to live. Started cycling to work (26 mile round trip, building up gradually) plus a bit at the weekend occasionally.
I am now a 49 year who is over a stone lighter (was already in the green, now REALLY in the green), haven't used my blue asthma spray in many months and think nothing about going on 50/60 mile bike rides for fun. And take great pleasure in destroying "youngsters" on their bikes that try to race "grandad". The last time my blood pressure was checked for my race license medical the doctor actually exclaimed "wow, that's good, what do you do?".
Looking back I also realise I was "not right" prior to getting fitter.
Barring dodgy blood test results this is a very common story amongst forty somethings starting up...and it really is the right time to do it.
As for the bike, don't stress about how much it cost. Buy someone like a b-twin (Decathlon own brand) for £500 and you will be getting a lot for your money.
And get a bike seat fit once you start getting into it and have some spare cash.
Gary29 said:
Pack of 20 fags, best part of a tenner these days.
Roughly 10 months, 300 days, even at 10 a day that's £1500, triple your bike budget.
Sound advice this!
I quit smoking in 2011 and kept track of how much I'd saved but gave up calculating when I lost track of the inflating cost of cigs the following year.Roughly 10 months, 300 days, even at 10 a day that's £1500, triple your bike budget.
Sound advice this!
Saving was circa £3k, but I owned 3 bikes.
Yep. It can be done. Maybe allow a bit of money for the accessories listed below:
Water bottle and cage
seat bag
small pump
spare inner tubes
cycling shorts
couple of cycling tops
helmet
gloves
multi tool
I would just head into your nearest Evans and buy it all in one hit Some of Evans only Pinnacle bikes will be fine for what you want.
Start doing something like 20 miles every couple of weeks and slowly build up to bigger distances.
I can't remember why I started out on road bikes, but I know it was back in 2010 and I now hav three of the damn things and I'm sure I will get another at some point.
Water bottle and cage
seat bag
small pump
spare inner tubes
cycling shorts
couple of cycling tops
helmet
gloves
multi tool
I would just head into your nearest Evans and buy it all in one hit
Some of Evans only Pinnacle bikes will be fine for what you want. Start doing something like 20 miles every couple of weeks and slowly build up to bigger distances.
I can't remember why I started out on road bikes, but I know it was back in 2010 and I now hav three of the damn things and I'm sure I will get another at some point.
Yes, by May you could be ready to do much more than that
As others have said, start it off easy as you like. Mix up the riding you do between long steady rides and some shorter rides that leave you knackered.
The weight will fall off and you will rapidly gain fitness and stamina
Cycling with someone else will help - going through it together so to speak
Use strava, new kit and whatever else you need to make you want to go out more to track and incentivise your progress
Stop smoking - why not make the last one you had the last one you will ever have had? Vape if you need it, but kick the ciggies as soon as you can.
If your mate doesn't smoke, the rate he gains fitness over you will cause you a lot of pain if you don't stop
As others have said, start it off easy as you like. Mix up the riding you do between long steady rides and some shorter rides that leave you knackered.
The weight will fall off and you will rapidly gain fitness and stamina
Cycling with someone else will help - going through it together so to speak
Use strava, new kit and whatever else you need to make you want to go out more to track and incentivise your progress
Stop smoking - why not make the last one you had the last one you will ever have had? Vape if you need it, but kick the ciggies as soon as you can.
If your mate doesn't smoke, the rate he gains fitness over you will cause you a lot of pain if you don't stop
Yes it can from personal experience, I was 38 when I came to this area of PH.
I was 102kgs and smoked 30 a day when I watched the Women tour in 2014 and made the decision then to get back on a bike since I was in my early 20's at Uni.
Vaping helped me massively, I won't deny it, and there have been some spectacular failures along my way, some of them very publicly watched on here, but I digress. In 2016 (or 15 I can't remember) I entered the first Tour of Cambridge with a few others on here and got round the limited route comfortably (but missed out on the full route by minutes). IIRC I was about 92 kgs at the time.
My aim now is to get to 82ish kgs, but I'm still slow as a snail!
I was 102kgs and smoked 30 a day when I watched the Women tour in 2014 and made the decision then to get back on a bike since I was in my early 20's at Uni.
Vaping helped me massively, I won't deny it, and there have been some spectacular failures along my way, some of them very publicly watched on here, but I digress. In 2016 (or 15 I can't remember) I entered the first Tour of Cambridge with a few others on here and got round the limited route comfortably (but missed out on the full route by minutes). IIRC I was about 92 kgs at the time.
My aim now is to get to 82ish kgs, but I'm still slow as a snail!
I'm going to go against the grain here - personally I'd suggest you spend a bit more than £500. The thing will weight a tonne but more importantly the wheels will be crap (not good if you're fat - and I am so I can say that) and changing gears most likely will require you to take your hands off the drops. Intensely annoying. £600-700 is where you start getting reasonable quality now.
Or, better still go second hand. I have a heavily upgraded boardman for sale, it cost me £600, has upgraded wheels, gears etc, yet is still only worth around £200 second hand. And it's in great condition. If you can put up with a bit of scuffed paint then there are even better bargains to be had!
Or, better still go second hand. I have a heavily upgraded boardman for sale, it cost me £600, has upgraded wheels, gears etc, yet is still only worth around £200 second hand. And it's in great condition. If you can put up with a bit of scuffed paint then there are even better bargains to be had!
Edited by budgie smuggler on Thursday 28th June 14:50
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