A little advice?

[ScottyL]

Hey Guys,
At the ripe old age that I am and being I look a lot younger than I actually am; I decided to get back on a bike and see if it was as much fun as it was when I used one for rehab from an ankle reco.
I have been taking it pretty lightly, slow longer rides for the last week or so ( being that you could have called me a professional couch potato) and today I decided to lift the pace a bit with a blast round a local park and home again a trip of 8-9km with a variety of inclines and reasonably light traffic.

Is this a good move as I was not comfortable at the pace I was going for a majority of the ride, but I believe it will help me get bike-fit quicker.
Can I get some opinions and tips on this type of program and related matters such as hydration and recovery if possible?
Should I stick to my primary ride and do the blast a few times a week or the other way round.... stuff like that to help me get a better grasp of how and what are better options on getting bike-fit.

Cheers Guys

Scotty

[der Ungar]

Hi Scotty

Good on you getting back into it.

To start with, it's just about spending time in the saddle. I wouldn't worry about speed or "going hard" just yet, assuming your initial aim is to lose some weight and gain some fitness. If you can spend 60-90 minutes out there on each ride, and commit to 4 rides per week, you'll see substantial improvement pretty quickly.

Once you'e comfortable, you can start to up the time and/or intensity, but don't feel the need to flog yourself - you'll possibly cause yourself injury.

Other bits and pieces:

- stay well hydrated (a 750ml bottle on a 90 minute, low-intensity ride is about right)
- think about your diet if you want to really improve (reduce sugar and processed food intake, find the vege section in the supermarket etc)
- stretch before and after each ride (very important and often ignored)

Good luck!

Cheers...Michael

[ScottyL]

Cheers for that.
I have been trying to eat better as my gal is trying to loose weight, so I support her by eating better; I sorta know a bit about hydration/diet as I am a 30year vetren of Type 1 Diabetes but nothing that would be specific to bike riding and knowing its a great way to get fit for just about every type of sport it's the way to go for me at least....

Once again thank you for your advice and hopefully I may see you on the road one day