Hi All
A quick introduction: I am a 53 Year old white van driver who has spent too many years eating pies, smoking fags and growing fat! My commute is 10 miles each way which I have been doing along the A6 between Buxton and Newtown sometimes at 70mph, often at 10 or less during the rush times.
I have noticed electric bikes at a shop in town and took the plunge a few weeks ago.
Not fancying the A6 which is a busy road with many large haulage lorries I have started riding to work along a back route (A5004 “Long Hill”) over a hill which looks over the Goyt Valley – stunningly beautiful but very high, rising to 430M according to Google, 1 mile out from Buxton, then falling to 150M when it joins the A6 at Whalley Bridge, after a fast dual carriageway and when I feel happier in traffic moving at 30MPH. This is 7 miles after the highest point, 8 miles into my journey which is then relatively flat for the next 2 miles.
The first time I attempted this was on the home leg: 2 miles flat, 7 miles continuously climbing nearly 300M then 1 mile of downhill, dropping 130M to Buxton at 300M. I took the bike to work in the back of the van.
I couldn’t believe I had done this! 13 ½ Stone, no real exercise for many, many years and a wheezing smoker. I do a little walking but never push myself to this extent. 10 miles, 50 mins, 918 ft climb and some very wobbly legs! Aches and pains that night, especially around my groin, but determined to do the return trip the next day. My van was still at work to force myself!
The journey in the morning was a real joy! I did ache from the day before true and was hesitant, actually worried about damaging my body, but a fully charged battery took me up the first mile climb of 130M easily in medium assist and once at the top I had a wonderful 7 miles of mostly coasting and time to reflect on the early morning freshness of the world outside the cab.
Hitting the flat section along the A6 was a bit of a downer though overtaking at congestion queues was fun. I completed this time in 35 mins, averaging just over 17MPH.
I’ve been doing this twice a week for the last two weeks and I am beginning to look forward to it. To be fair my legs still ache after the trip home but I see this as a very gradual return to fitness. Aching has got to be a good sign! I’m hoping to increase to 3 times a week through the winter, determined not to let the weather spoil my momentum.
The last time I regularly rode bikes was in my teens though I’ve always had a bike, but make very little use of my Raleigh mountain bike, purchased 2nd hand 5 years ago in a vain attempt to get fit and used maybe a dozen times. Shameful! But I couldn’t possibly use this to get over Long Hill…
Anyhoo, really pleased that I took the plunge and looking forward to weighing myself after a month of twice weekly commutes… Thanks for listening and letting me declare my “born again cyclist status”.
Martin
A quick introduction: I am a 53 Year old white van driver who has spent too many years eating pies, smoking fags and growing fat! My commute is 10 miles each way which I have been doing along the A6 between Buxton and Newtown sometimes at 70mph, often at 10 or less during the rush times.
I have noticed electric bikes at a shop in town and took the plunge a few weeks ago.
Not fancying the A6 which is a busy road with many large haulage lorries I have started riding to work along a back route (A5004 “Long Hill”) over a hill which looks over the Goyt Valley – stunningly beautiful but very high, rising to 430M according to Google, 1 mile out from Buxton, then falling to 150M when it joins the A6 at Whalley Bridge, after a fast dual carriageway and when I feel happier in traffic moving at 30MPH. This is 7 miles after the highest point, 8 miles into my journey which is then relatively flat for the next 2 miles.
The first time I attempted this was on the home leg: 2 miles flat, 7 miles continuously climbing nearly 300M then 1 mile of downhill, dropping 130M to Buxton at 300M. I took the bike to work in the back of the van.
I couldn’t believe I had done this! 13 ½ Stone, no real exercise for many, many years and a wheezing smoker. I do a little walking but never push myself to this extent. 10 miles, 50 mins, 918 ft climb and some very wobbly legs! Aches and pains that night, especially around my groin, but determined to do the return trip the next day. My van was still at work to force myself!
The journey in the morning was a real joy! I did ache from the day before true and was hesitant, actually worried about damaging my body, but a fully charged battery took me up the first mile climb of 130M easily in medium assist and once at the top I had a wonderful 7 miles of mostly coasting and time to reflect on the early morning freshness of the world outside the cab.
Hitting the flat section along the A6 was a bit of a downer though overtaking at congestion queues was fun. I completed this time in 35 mins, averaging just over 17MPH.
I’ve been doing this twice a week for the last two weeks and I am beginning to look forward to it. To be fair my legs still ache after the trip home but I see this as a very gradual return to fitness. Aching has got to be a good sign! I’m hoping to increase to 3 times a week through the winter, determined not to let the weather spoil my momentum.
The last time I regularly rode bikes was in my teens though I’ve always had a bike, but make very little use of my Raleigh mountain bike, purchased 2nd hand 5 years ago in a vain attempt to get fit and used maybe a dozen times. Shameful! But I couldn’t possibly use this to get over Long Hill…
Anyhoo, really pleased that I took the plunge and looking forward to weighing myself after a month of twice weekly commutes… Thanks for listening and letting me declare my “born again cyclist status”.
Martin
Dead happy to be a regular twice a week e-bike commuter.
