Originally Posted by
qcpmsame
Leave this thought far back in the recesses of your mind, none of us can roll back the clock, or change what things we ought to have done. This is now, ride and enjoy every minute of the time spent rebuilding your fitness. Many of us had slow starts, when we got back on the bicycle, for what ever reason. Lots of us have our stories about how few miles we ride for a bit, and about how much our legs ached after those rides. I did 2 miles for a while, and felt lucky to get that little bit done without keeping over, stone dead. After 10 years of surgeries and complications, I felt damn lucky, just to walk out the door, and sling a leg over the top tube (regardless as to how high it was
,) and I am not the worst case here, by a long shot. Now, I am doing 25 miles daily, no problems, and had over 7,000 miles these last two years. My physician has said that cycling put all of my lab numbers into the good ranges, and I managed to shed over 100lbs, and keep it off for over 2 years, so far. You can do what ever you set your mind to.
From most of your posts, I'd say that you are pretty much hooked on cycling, welcome to our addiction support group. Ride what you have, get things fitted as best as you can, a good LBS will help you through this, it builds loyalty from their customers, and get your legs and lungs, as well as your butt, back into shape. When you are good to go, you can decide exactly which, and what type of bicycle, you want to carry on with. Best wishes on all of your rides, these first several may well test you, just keep at it.
Bill
Well, thanks. Actually, thanks to everyone -- this is a very supportive group.
I have my own semi-inspirational story about fitness, though not about biking. A few years ago I weighed slightly more than I weigh now. I was planning a solo vacation that would involve both a lot of walking and a lot of eating. So I just walked every weekend and I dropped about 20 pounds. Then when I went on vacation, I walked somewhere between ten and fifteen miles each day. This contributed to me being able to eat whatever I wanted, and I still lost weight.
So I know that I'm capable of getting back into shape. And I know that it will go slowly. But as you say, I'm hooked on cycling, and I'm impatient to get into a good enough shape that I can start having fun. And by fun I mean things like a ride down to the waterfront on pleasant weekend mornings, or even going to work without being tied to the public transit schedule.
But I also think the bike takes a different kind of "getting into shape." First it's the heart and lungs -- and though I recognize this takes a while, I'm still very impatient. The good thing is that my legs will be getting into shape at the same time. I think.
But thanks for the words of support. I'm just going to take it easy, recognize that progress will be slow, learn how to use the shifters (my mind still thinks I'm riding a five speed), and have fun with it. And one of these days I'll probably be able to do one of those 60-mile rides that one of my friends started pestering me to do the minute I got a bike.
