50

"Keith Willoughby" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Feeling a) rather chuffed with myself and b) very numb
in my little fingers. Going to have to sort that out at
some point.

You can get some gel gloves to sort out the numb fingers.

Quoted message said:

I did briefly consider going for the metric century,
before coming to my senses. I'm pretty sure the Imperial
century's going to have to wait for a year or two, though.

You can do it next week Keith! I went from nothing to 200
miles in 16 weeks with rides of 30, 40 50, 96, 115 and 200
between Feb and Jun 1999 and I'm not Superman.

--
Simon Mason Anlaby East Yorkshire. 53°44'N 0°26'W
simonmason.karoo.netsimonmason.karoo.netOpen ↗

Simon Mason said:

"Keith Willoughby" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Feeling a) rather chuffed with myself and b) very numb
in my little fingers. Going to have to sort that out at
some point.

You can get some gel gloves to sort out the numb fingers.

I have a pair of those Tchibo padded gloves, but they don't
help. I suppose I should give the proper gel ones a go. The
basic problem, though, is all the weight that's pressing
down on my wrists. I should lose some of it.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I did briefly consider going for the metric century,
before coming to my senses. I'm pretty sure the Imperial
century's going to have to wait for a year or two,
though.

You can do it next week Keith! I went from nothing to 200
miles in 16 weeks with rides of 30, 40 50, 96, 115 and 200
between Feb and Jun 1999 and I'm not Superman.

I bet you weren't 20+ stone, either 🙂

Yeah, I know I'm being defeatist, and I shouldn't, but at
the speeds I go, a century would take me 14/15 hours
including stops, and I just don't see any way, yet, that I
could keep going that long.

On the positive side, when I do lose a stone or six, if I
can keep the legs as they are, it'll feel like I'm peddaling
downhill all the time 🙂

--
Keith Willoughby flat222.orgkeithOpen ↗ Fair and balanced

"Keith Willoughby" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Simon Mason said:

"Keith Willoughby" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Feeling a) rather chuffed with myself and b) very numb
in my little fingers. Going to have to sort that out at
some point.

You can get some gel gloves to sort out the numb fingers.

I have a pair of those Tchibo padded gloves, but they
don't help. I suppose I should give the proper gel ones a
go. The basic problem, though, is all the weight that's
pressing down on my wrists. I should lose some of it.

Is it the little finger and one next to it? If so it might
be handsurgeon.comguyon.htmlOpen ↗.

Try drop handle bars (worked for me) or bar ends. It seems
to be about keeping my wrists straight, gloves don't make a
difference.

"Keith Willoughby" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You can do it next week Keith! I went from nothing to
200 miles in 16

weeks

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

with rides of 30, 40 50, 96, 115 and 200 between Feb and
Jun 1999 and

I'm

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

not Superman.

I bet you weren't 20+ stone, either 🙂

No I was 12 stone, sorry I didn't take that into account.
In that case, your ride was even more remarkable and I
forgot to say well done :-)

--
Simon M.

Frank X said:

"Keith Willoughby" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Simon Mason said:

"Keith Willoughby" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

>
> Feeling a) rather chuffed with myself and b) very numb
> in my little fingers. Going to have to sort that out at
> some point.

You can get some gel gloves to sort out the numb
fingers.

I have a pair of those Tchibo padded gloves, but they
don't help. I suppose I should give the proper gel ones a
go. The basic problem, though, is all the weight that's
pressing down on my wrists. I should lose some of it.

Is it the little finger and one next to it? If so it might
be handsurgeon.comguyon.htmlOpen ↗.

Yeah, that looks like it.

Quoted message said:

Try drop handle bars (worked for me) or bar ends.

I have bar ends. Maybe I should try to stay on them longer.

Quoted message said:

It seems to be about keeping my wrists straight, gloves
don't make a difference.

That also makes sense. At the beginning of a ride, I can
keep my wrist straight and it's fine. At the end, as I tire,
it bends and becomes sore, and the two fingers go numb.

I wonder if some kind of strapping around the wrist
would help.

--
Keith Willoughby flat222.orgkeithOpen ↗ Ceci n'est
pas une sig

Simon Mason said:

"Keith Willoughby" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You can do it next week Keith! I went from nothing to
200 miles in 16

weeks

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

with rides of 30, 40 50, 96, 115 and 200 between Feb
and Jun 1999 and

I'm

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

not Superman.

I bet you weren't 20+ stone, either 🙂

No I was 12 stone, sorry I didn't take that into account.
In that case, your ride was even more remarkable and I
forgot to say well done :-)

Cheers fella!

--
Keith Willoughby flat222.orgkeithOpen ↗ "If I knew I'd
live this long, I would have taken better care of myself."
- Mickey Mantle

Keith Willoughby said:

I have a pair of those Tchibo padded gloves, but they
don't help. I suppose I should give the proper gel ones a
go. The basic problem, though, is all the weight that's
pressing down on my wrists. I should lose some of it.

Lightweight cyclists can get the same problem too. Try
altering the handlebar position: tilt, up, down. Strange as
it may seem, I find putting the bars /down/ can help
sometimes.

~PB

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You can do it next week Keith! I went from nothing to
200 miles in 16

weeks

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

with rides of 30, 40 50, 96, 115 and 200 between Feb and
Jun 1999 and

I'm

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

not Superman.

I bet you weren't 20+ stone, either 🙂

Shouldn't be a problem Keith. I am a svelte 20 stone, down
from 23.5 stone and I did 90 miles this Saturday - best one
day mileage in nearly 30 years!

Quoted message said:

Yeah, I know I'm being defeatist, and I shouldn't, but at
the speeds I go, a century would take me 14/15 hours
including stops, and I just don't see any way, yet, that I
could keep going that long.

You would be surprised how far you can go in a day with
ample rest and food breaks.

Quoted message said:

On the positive side, when I do lose a stone or six, if I
can keep the legs as they are, it'll feel like I'm
peddaling downhill all the time 🙂

I'm curious as to what I I'll be capable of when I am five
stone lighter. Having done 50 miles in 2.5 hours as a 20
stone lard [censored] the same mileage should be a breeze when
i've shed the weight equivalent of seven gallons of water or
32 bags of sugar.

Keep at it Keith, you'll get there, I saw bigger lard arses
than me on the Great Yorkshire Bike Ride (70 of the 90 miles
done on Saturday) some of them left me on the hills but
there again they had lower geared mountain bikes and I
reeled them back in on the descents and level bits.

Glad to see that you also use trains as part of some of your
rides. I though I was a lone in integrating public transport
options into some of the rides that I do - has worked out
quite well when I've suffered mechanical failures.

Vernon in Leeds

Keith Willoughby:

Quoted message said:

Today I extended my personal best distance from 33 miles
to 51.85 miles!

Woo-hoo! Nice one. Good pace too.

Quoted message said:

I did briefly consider going for the metric century,
before coming to my senses. I'm pretty sure the Imperial
century's going to have to wait for a year or two, though.

At the start of this year, I thought 50 miles was beyond me
and I just did 150 miles... Yes, I saw your response to
Simon's comments, but seriously, don't underestimate
yourself - it sounds like you're making great progress. In
any case, it's not a competition or a test - as long as you
are enjoying your rides, that's all that matters. The miles
will add up soon enough of their own accord.

d.

Keith Willoughby said:

Today I extended my personal best distance from 33 miles
to 51.85 miles!

Well done! Sounds similar to my previous PB and extension of
- I'd never have thought I'd do 50 milers this year, based
on previous years cycling. Mind you, mine was over *much*
less hilly terrain than yours!

--

Velvet

vernon levy said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You can do it next week Keith! I went from nothing to
200 miles in 16

weeks

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

with rides of 30, 40 50, 96, 115 and 200 between Feb
and Jun 1999 and

I'm

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

not Superman.

I bet you weren't 20+ stone, either 🙂

Shouldn't be a problem Keith. I am a svelte 20 stone, down
from 23.5 stone and I did 90 miles this Saturday - best
one day mileage in nearly 30 years!

Wow! Damned impressive.

My next challenge is going to be the bus up to Brecon,
then cycling back. It's 45 miles or so back to my house,
but if I feel OK, then I could do the whole length of the
Taff Trail, 55 miles or so into Cardiff, then back up the
valley to Ponty.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

On the positive side, when I do lose a stone or six, if I
can keep the legs as they are, it'll feel like I'm
peddaling downhill all the time 🙂

I'm curious as to what I I'll be capable of when I am five
stone lighter. Having done 50 miles in 2.5 hours as a 20
stone lard [censored] the same mileage should be a breeze when
i've shed the weight equivalent of seven gallons of water
or 32 bags of sugar.

[censored]. That's twice as fast as I manage.

Quoted message said:

Glad to see that you also use trains as part of some of
your rides. I though I was a lone in integrating public
transport options into some of the rides that I do - has
worked out quite well when I've suffered mechanical
failures.

Yeah, I don't think I've ever been more than 5 miles away
from a train station on my rides. I like the comfort factor
of knowing I can wimp out, even though I generally don't.

--
Keith Willoughby flat222.orgkeithOpen ↗ "You've sunk my
battleship!"

davek said:

Keith Willoughby:

Quoted message said:

Today I extended my personal best distance from 33 miles
to 51.85 miles!

Woo-hoo! Nice one. Good pace too.

Ta!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I did briefly consider going for the metric century,
before coming to my senses. I'm pretty sure the Imperial
century's going to have to wait for a year or two,
though.

At the start of this year, I thought 50 miles was beyond
me and I just did 150 miles...

Blimey. I find 150 miles . . . incomprehensible. I mean, I
can see how I could do 100, although I'm not ready, but I
really don't understand 150
🙂

Quoted message said:

Yes, I saw your response to Simon's comments, but
seriously, don't underestimate yourself - it sounds like
you're making great progress. In any case, it's not a
competition or a test - as long as you are enjoying your
rides, that's all that matters. The miles will add up soon
enough of their own accord.

Aye!

--
Keith Willoughby flat222.orgkeithOpen ↗ "You've sunk my
battleship!"

Velvet said:

Keith Willoughby said:

Today I extended my personal best distance from 33 miles
to 51.85 miles!

Well done! Sounds similar to my previous PB and extension
of - I'd never have thought I'd do 50 milers this year,
based on previous years cycling.

I remember being very chuffed at having done 10 miles a few
months ago. Amazing, isn't it?

Quoted message said:

Mind you, mine was over *much* less hilly terrain
than yours!

--
Keith Willoughby flat222.orgkeithOpen ↗ The Christian
ideal has not been tried and found wanting, it has been
found difficult and left untried." -- G K Chesterton

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Shouldn't be a problem Keith. I am a svelte 20 stone,
down from 23.5

stone

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and I did 90 miles this Saturday - best one day mileage
in nearly 30

years!

Quoted message said:

Wow! Damned impressive.

I felt great at the end even though the last two hours were
spent in drizzle then rain and depressed ambient
teperatures.

Quoted message said:

My next challenge is going to be the bus up to Brecon,
then cycling back. It's 45 miles or so back to my house,
but if I feel OK, then I could do the whole length of the
Taff Trail, 55 miles or so into Cardiff, then back up the
valley to Ponty.

Some of the limitations on distance are mental ones. I've
copped out of two potential century rides by simply catching
a train when I felt 'potentially tired' . If my routes were
further away from railway stations then perhaps I'd get a
century ride under my belt sooner rather than later.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'm curious as to what I I'll be capable of when I am
five stone

lighter.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Having done 50 miles in 2.5 hours as a 20 stone lard
[censored] the same

mileage

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

should be a breeze when i've shed the weight equivalent
of seven

gallons of

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

water or 32 bags of sugar.

[censored]. That's twice as fast as I manage.

It's worth bearing in mind that I was once a very fit youth
and young man who thought nothing of playing rugby on a
Saturday and cycling 60 -70 miles on a Sunday. I think that
the underlying capacity for challenging exercise has never
deserted me.

Quoted message said:

Yeah, I don't think I've ever been more than 5 miles
away from a train station on my rides. I like the
comfort factor of knowing I can wimp out, even though I
generally don't.

See previous comments - the trains provide a security
blanket and do offer an easy way out. I thought that I'd
have had a 100 mile ride under my belt by now. My 90 miler
this weekend indicated that i'm up to the challenge.

Keep plugging away, you'll get there.

Reply to Keith Willoughby

Quoted message said:

Blimey. I find 150 miles . . . incomprehensible. I mean, I
can see how I could do 100, although I'm not ready, but I
really don't understand 150
🙂

<AOL> Me too. </AOL> A mate of mine is a keen marathon
runner, but never mentions cycling. A couple of weeks ago he
cycled to a party in

down, and one day returning. To a short-distance commuter
and occasional day-out trundler like me, that sort of
distance just doesn't exist!

--
Mark, UK. We hope to hear him swear, we love to hear him
squeak, We like to see him biting fingers in his horny beak.

Quoted message said:

I have a pair of those Tchibo padded gloves, but they
don't help. I suppose I should give the proper gel ones a
go. The basic problem, though, is all the weight that's
pressing down on my wrists. I

should

Quoted message said:

lose some of it.

Well, your weight is supported in three places - your hands
on the handlebars, your seat on the saddle, and your feet on
the pedals. If you sat bolt upright, Dutch bike style, you
would have a lot less weight on your wrists, but more on
your seat. You would have more wind resistance, too, but it
might be worth while make a small adjustment.

If you pedalled like mad, your feet would be taking more of
the weight, lessening the force needed elsewhere. Hot shot
racers are sometimes pulling themselves down on the
handlebars to counteract their pedalling force, rather than
leaning on the handlebars at all.

Jeremy Parker

Jeremy Parker said:

Well, your weight is supported in three places - your
hands on the handlebars, your seat on the saddle, and your
feet on the pedals. If you sat bolt upright, Dutch bike
style, you would have a lot less weight on your wrists,
but more on your seat. You would have more wind
resistance, too, but it might be worth while make a small
adjustment.

Or if you lie down, recumbent style, the weight is taken
along the whole length of your spine as well as your bum,
with no weight on arms. Which is why 'bents are so much more
comfortable to most riders.

As someone who had their distance limit set at about 100 km
when my arms felt like they'd entered the brittle failure
zone, rather than my legs being finished, I /really/
appreciate that. It means I enjoy my cycling more is the
bottom line.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111
ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382
640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net
[email hidden] dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Keith Willoughb
Today I extended my personal best distance from 33 miles to
51.85 miles!

I set off at 5:15 towards Barry Island, through Treforest
Estate, Taff's Well, Radyr, Llandaf, Canton, past Leckwith
stadium, up Leckwith Hill (never again. I had to push 2/3rds
of the way. I'd completely forgotten it existed), Landough,
Dinas Powys, and to Barry Island.

I misjudged how long it would take me. I allowed myself 3
hours, and it took 2 hours 20 minutes. So, I arrived in
Barry at 7:35, it was cold, it was miserable, there was
nothing open, and I was hungry. I wandered around, did
another 3 miles going over to Jackson's Bay and up and down
the prom to keep warm, then left at 9:30 to get brekkie in
Morrison's.

Then back, via Sully, up through Cosmeston Lakes (feeling
pretty bad at this point, the constant drag up hill turning
my legs into jelly) and then to my mate's house in Cardiff
bay for a cuppa and a sit down. It was at this point I
decided to get a train home from Cardiff Central, as I
wasn't feeling too good. However, 10 minutes in the saddle
to Cardiff left me feeling a lot better, and the last leg
was much more comfortable than the second leg.

Feeling a) rather chuffed with myself and b) very numb
in my little fingers. Going to have to sort that out at
some point.

I did briefly consider going for the metric century, before
coming to my senses. I'm pretty sure the Imperial century's
going to have to wait for a year or two, though.

--
Keith Willoughby flat222.orgkeithOpen ↗ "Do you want it
pasteurised, 'cause pasteurised is best??" "Ernie, I'll be
happy if it comes up to my chest"

Well done Keith, good effort.

Keep at it. Now you have the basic fitness and are through the "I can do it" barrier. With a steady pace and regular eating and drinking you can push yourself to greater distances than you think you are capable of.

All the best,
Ian