Old and out of shape, hehehe

[gt3413]

Oh my gosh, I finally purchased mtn. bikes for my son and I today (GT avalanche 2.0's, one disc, one non-disc). He has never ridden a multi-speed bike before so we rode for a while when we got home. He did pretty well. Needless to say, after he was ready for a break, my testosterone kicked in and thinking I was 21 again instead of 37, I took off on my own (last time I biked consistently was probably when I was 21 or 22). I biked probably 3-4 miles at a pretty decent clip. Boy, am I out of shape! I knew I wasn't in the greatest shape but this is crazy. I've exercised my whole life until the last 3-4 years so I'm sure its just a matter of building up my endurance. I was looking at some nearby offroad options but I figure I better start with some regular riding before I jump off the deep end. Any advice? Thanks, Greg

 

[Bentriderlon]

Oh my gosh, I finally purchased mtn. bikes for my son and I today (GT avalanche 2.0's, one disc, one non-disc). He has never ridden a multi-speed bike before so we rode for a while when we got home. He did pretty well. Needless to say, after he was ready for a break, my testosterone kicked in and thinking I was 21 again instead of 37, I took off on my own (last time I biked consistently was probably when I was 21 or 22). I biked probably 3-4 miles at a pretty decent clip. Boy, am I out of shape! I knew I wasn't in the greatest shape but this is crazy. I've exercised my whole life until the last 3-4 years so I'm sure its just a matter of building up my endurance. I was looking at some nearby offroad options but I figure I better start with some regular riding before I jump off the deep end. Any advice? Thanks, Greg

Hey Greg,

Find an easy single track and give it a whirl. There is little in life more fun than riding trails.

Where I live (London Canada) we have the Fanshawe Lake trail system. We can ride right around the lake mostly on single track. These are mostly intermediate trails with a few advanced sections. I rode the whole thing last week (22 Km) on my wife's bike. This week, I rode the east side (10 Km) on my new Giant. What a blast! There is something "Zen-like" about whizzing along the trail at 18-25 Km/Hr. I am certain that there will be similar resources near you. Ask at your LBS or off-road club.

I am not new to riding. I am a roady (and bent rider) who went 1500 Miles last season. I am, however, a returnee to trail riding. I can't imagine why I quit!

Cheers,

Charles

 

[gt3413]

Just got back from my 2nd ride, 4.45 miles in 18 minutes. If my math's correct, thats almost 15mph average or a little over 32 Kmh. It was all on hilly, paved roads. Not a tour de france time but on a mtn. bike with offroad tires I was pretty happy. A little more of this and I'll be ready to hit the offroad. There are 2-3 local trails that I've got in mind. Once I'm in a little better shape I'll try some. Thanks, Greg