Advice for routes.

Seaneh

Right, I've been cycling for years but almost exclusively MTB, I'm way out of shape and want to get back to a healthy physique so today I bought a flat bar Lapierre from nigels cyclestore in galway, very nice bike for the price (less than 500) and i feel that coming from an MTB backgroud the flat bars will be much easier than dropped and also mroe poractical for everyday use.

I was wondering if anyone could tell me what routes are best for your average joe to train on, and how far i shou,d be aiming for when i start and how long that is likely to take me.

I live in renmore and was thinking that maybe galway to spiddal was achiveable but thats 17k each way, i feel i could do it but was wondering if anyone could give me some tips, maybe suggest a different route, or tell me if im aiming too high too soon. I'm comitted to dropping weight over the next 6-12 months to get back to what i consider my ideal weight and I am comitted to doing 3-4 runs a week on the bike.

This has all been rather hap-hazardly written but I hope someone can give me a few pointers.

Cheers.

Seán.

rottenhat

17km each way sounds like a reasonable starting point to me, unless there's a huge mountain in the middle (NB I don't know that area at all so I'm assuming you haven't chosen some brutal route). I would think you could do that in two hours or so depending on how windy it is. If you're not tired after that, go further the next time. If you're cooked after that, ride it a few more times before increasing your distance.

Initially, I'd look for flat routes until you have some miles in your legs, then get up nearby hills. If you're getting out 3-4 times a week, your fitness should improve quickly. If you enjoy the cycling, I'm sure you'll be up for quite lengthy rides by the summer - the general rule of thumb is to increase your distance by no more than 5-10% a week. You might also look for a local club - it's a lot easier to motivate yourself to get out when you know you're meeting friends.

Seaneh

Cheers rott. http://www.lapierre-bikes.co.uk/lapierre/fitness-bike/2009/RCR-100-1/usage that's the bike by the way, the rrp is 495 I got it for less than that with a lock, cage and straps thrown in for free so I'm happy out, was a toss up between this bike and a daws compact for the same price but went with the flat bars for practicality and comfort starting out even if I did sacrafice a kilo or two and slightly lower standard groupset.

yeah Im going to get numbers for cycle clubs in the area soon enough.

Also, the boards.ie jersey, I can has? where I can Has? How much I can has for?

blorg

The best thing to do is just to head out and see how you feel, try to push yourself at a steady but sustainable pace, consistency and repeating the effort day on day is key here.

17km each way, e.g. 34km round trip, is quite long for a beginner I reckon so don't get disheartened if you don't manage it. Maybe start with something around 20km and work up from there? See how you feel and don't push yourself so far you get disheartened and don't want to continue. The general advice then is to increase weekly mileage by around 10% each week, you may be able to push that depending on how hard you push yourself but key to the whole thing is consistency.

Also- if you are specifically looking to lose weight cycling will help but diet is far more important, so you will need to address that too.

Regarding the boards jersey, anyone can buy one but someone has to volunteer to get the order together from the supplier and the cost drops if more people order. Short sleeve jersey full zip is €37.38 (inc VAT ex postage) but that presumes an order of 10- for 5-9 there is a 20% surcharge and for 1-5 a 50% surcharge.

http://www.fcarvalho-ciclismo.com/

danburke

This is a shorter route that has a great climb in it..

From Salthill it is about a 15 mile round trip so I have started it in Renmore..

Once your happy with it a more demanding demanding route is this

Seaneh

they look like two very nice routes, cheers Dan.
going to give the first one a blast today and see how it goes!