Storebuilder Blog - Cycling to work/Fitness

Cycled into the office again today and the average speed time is going up quick.

Made it in about twenty minutes and that included stopping off on the way to buy a new mug as I'd taken it home to wash it properly and forgotten to put it back in the pannier.

When I first started cycling to work the missus the kids and the dog laughed at me as I hauled my huge ass onto an old steel framed mountain bike  that I picked up on ebay for twenty quid and wobbled my way down the drive.

The neighbours killed themselves laughing as well that night as I rode back up the cul de sac, eyebrows covered white with snow, blue knuckles and deathly white face in the early November evening darkness, Small clouds of condensation filling the night sky a testament to my exertions.

I remember that first ride very well because I had covered about half a mile on the way in and was heading up a small hill past the pub when I suddenly felt sick. Not an ill feeling, just a nauseousness from suddenly doing exercise. I felt like I was going to keel over.

I hadn't done anything other than walk from my house to the car to the office and back to the house for a long long time.

I started to panic because I realised that I wasn't going to get to the top of the hill. Hill? It seemed like a mountain at the time. The bike was in bottom gear and I needed another 10 gears below to feel comfortable.

When I finally made it the four miles to the office my legs were jelly and I was exhausted. I had to ride even slower on the flat on the way home to conserve my energy and when it started snowing I was cursing my stupidity all the way home.

The problem was that I was an overweight, bloated 44 year old that spent all day sitting at the computer and doing nothing else. Things had to change and cycling seemed to be a good way to do it.

That first trip took me nearly fifty minutes to cover the four miles to work.

Since then I've upgraded the bike:

It's an entry level road bike to which I've fitted a quick release Topeak pannier system and the only problem is that it doesn't have mudguard clearance so I'm either going to have to find a way to fit mudguards or get a winter bike for the upcoming rainy season.

The upshot of it is that cycling into work every day is a great workout and I feel loads better than I did this time last year. I still have a couple more stone to shift but I'm hoping to be back down to a waist 34ish by the time spring comes and fit back into my jeans!

Sitting down all day and working like a dog on your computer is rewarding when the commissions start coming in but you have to look after your health as well - or you may not be around to enjoy the cruise when you win that affiliate competition several years from now.