In April 2010, once the days started to get longer again I decided to dust my bike off and give it another go! Since mountain biking across rough terrain terrified me I decided to stick to roads, although I was also apprehensive in traffic! I started off with planning routes that ensured I didn't have to negotiate too much traffic, but it wasn't long before I was planning more challenging longer routes. I thoroughly enjoyed cycling down country lanes and finding places (whilst getting lost may I add!), that I otherwise wouldn't have discovered. I steadily progressed from a weekly ride to cycling three or four times a week, eventually managing a full day ride at the weekend. I noticed a rapid improvement in my cycle fitness and soon became very competitive if another cyclist over-took me! I soon discovered I was at a massive disadvantage compared with someone on a road bike in terms of speed, and it became apparent to me that if I was in it to win it I would have to do something with my bike! After researching and considering my options I discovered that a new set of tyres and tubes is the single most effective upgrade you can do. I decided to replace my MB tyres with high pressure slicks, which I think helped tremendously, and were relatively cheap. After expereincing the frustration of a a couple of punctures (maninly when they were hedge trimming and thorns were left in the road!) and having to act the damsel in distress and get my hubby to come and resue me I invested in slime inner tube sealant and haven't needed rescued sine! I think the best motivational tool for me whilst cycling is tracking my rides using runkeeper. RunKeeper is a GPS-enabled iPhone fitness application which charts your exercise progress. All you have to do is start the app, tell it what kind of exercise you're doing and then stick the phone back in your pocket. Now it will track your movements - noting your average speed, distance travelled and calories burned as well as charting your routes on a map. You can even publish your runkeeper activities on Facebook so that your friends can motivate you further and track your progress. http://runkeeper.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment