Old 05-02-12, 05:14 AM
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contango 
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Originally Posted by Askel
The weight loss *is* the reward. If you try to make it some kind of game show where you win fabulous prizes by subjecting yourself to systematic torture because of sub-par equipment, you'll have a rough time making the lifestyle stick.

If I need better clothes or a bike, i just buy it. It gets me out riding more.
Yep... this sums it up pretty well.

The reason I started cycling was to do more geocaching, as I didn't want to have to drive and had found everything within sensible walking distance of home. The bike provided me with a means to strike out further without worrying about train timetables or tickets, driving, parking etc. Then along the way my fitness improved (going geocaching meant I was striking out further and further without specifically registering that my fitness was improving all the time), my weight started to drop and the usual benefits of fitness started to accumulate. At the same time I discovered a load of new places to go cycling.

Once I started to gain fitness and lose weight I realised I enjoyed being slimmer than I'd been in years, I enjoyed having the strength and fitness to go on longer and longer rides, so just kept at it. Having now given away a whole bagful of trousers that are were too loose for me I don't want to go back to my old weight.

If you need something and you've got the money, go and buy it. Otherwise you end up putting arbitrary goalposts ahead of yourself and before long you'll find yourself hating your current equipment and deciding it's just not worth it any more.

I avoided buying cycling-specific clothing for a long time. When I started I was very much a fair weather cyclist - if it was cold or wet I'd stay home. Then I wanted to strike out further and accepted that in the summer I might get wet but in the winter I'd stay home if it looked like it might rain. Then when my body shape started to stabilise I was more willing to pay for cycle-specific stuff, on the basis I'd get more than a single season's use out of it.
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