Better late than never?

It has taken me far too long to actually get around to composing anything worthwhile for a blog. I'm still not even sure blogging is for me; I tweet and spam Facebook enough. I apologise in advance for poor descriptions, or a lack of interesting topics. I'm trying to bring you up to date. Future posts will be more in-depth or interesting, hopefully. 

With that said, let's give it a go. 

I'm going to start each post with the following headings: Playlist (at time of writing), distance (distance covered that day), type of cycling that day, total distance covered. I track every cycle I do with Endomondo and you can find me here.

Playlist : Rory Gallagher's Greatest Hits. 
Distance today: 18.89 km 
Total: 1709 km

The raison d'etre of this blog is to support my interest in cycling, and hopefully to keep me motivated when I'm not in the saddle pedalling away into the sunset. 

I'd like to cover the last 1700 kilometres entirely but that seems excessive. I'll break down the happenings since I started into a few small sections. Although everything is still entirely fresh for me, I'm not trying to publish a book here; Let's keep it short and sweet. 

Back in October '12, I decided it was about time to start working on my weight. Weighing in at 125.3 kg at my last diabetes clinic visit, it was obvious that I needed to make a change; I had an active lifestyle in terms of college and work, but not in any form of exercise. 

I had a bus pass, this meant I used it as often as possible. I would skimp on walking into town or out because I felt I had to justify the cost of the bus pass by using it all the time. This left me with a commute of nearly an hour or more each way. That's an awful lot of time sitting on your rear after breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I began to walk some of my commute, get off sooner, walk across town, get the second bus I needed; it probably helped, who knows?

After the weeks of work as Student Leader in CIT, which is probably the most physically active I'd get out there, I ended up in a relationship with someone that was very fit, active, and motivated; it was refreshing. I had also found myself surrounded by people who were positive and motivated when it came to sport. Each person rubbed off on me, just enough to make a dent; I decided to hit the gym. 

The gym in question was of course the CIT Gym, free for full-time students. I was delighted that I wasn't going to have to financially invest. I wanted it to be a change, not a chore or expense I'd resent. I spoke with the staff in there, picked a day to start, and headed on in. I asked to start on the spinning machines; I can't run, I really can't. Long walks and/or short runs used give me terrible pain in my shins. They set me up on one, suggested a 20-30 minute session at a low level to get used to it. I did just that. After the first session, I decided to do it again, resetting the time to another 30 minutes. 

The spinning machines told me what my RPM (cadence) was, my speed was, and more importantly what 'distance' I'd covered in the time. Little did I know that the distance covered would become my most sought after statistic. It was exhausting on the first day. Scratch that, it was exhausting every day, that never changed. I continued this up to and including the Christmas holiday break - so into January. I was working on campus during the break, so I had the proximity to keep it. So I did.

Shortly after Christmas however, the relationship I'd been in, ended. I was probably looking for something to raise my spirits and started looking at cycling in a big way, researching bikes, clothing, athletes and more. I had the idea that it would be a natural progression from the spinning machine to the road, hitting 30 km covered in an hour session on a regular basis, to being able to do the same on a real bike; it would open up the world to me. 

I was wrong. I was tremendously wrong. But more on this in a moment., 

The money I earned during the Christmas break started being saved up, I'd looked at bikes and had asked reddit's cycling community for advice (/r/bicycling) on what type of bike would best suit my needs and we settled on a hybrid from a local bike shop (LBS for future posts). I looked at Victoria Cross Cycles, went in for a chat with a lad called Gavin, who is a complete gent and a very honest salesman. He had the balls to bring my weight into the discussion and it made the selection even better. I settled on a Giant Escape 3

Fresh from the shop, all the bells and whistles.

This was my entry to the road, or my escape if we're playing that game. Even the 3km cycle from the shop out to CIT to show my buddies at work was tough. I was out of breath, and felt terribly unfit. What was going on? I should be able to handle this no problem, I used maintain 30 km/h on the spinning machine with a decent intensity! This is where I was wrong, so tremendously wrong.

Spinning and cycling are very different. There is so much more effort to actually push your weight along than just spinning your legs against a resistance. If I were able to find out what resistance level riding my bike would have been on the spinning machine, I probably would have sat there thinking it was impossible. However, I endured, I'd made the purchase and the commitment to commuting on my new steed.

I started commuting to college the next day with a 9 km commute through Ballypheane that I'd learned from walking back through that way once. So there I was doing roughly 18 km a day, give or take from exploring a few new roads. I started getting tips on a better commute and actually shortened my commute to 8km by going a much more direct route. This helped a lot because it was also flatter. 

After only a few days of commuting I knew that specific clothing would make it all the more enjoyable. I'd already picked up a cheap helmet before starting, and I'd like to take the opportunity to say you will never see me leaving the safety of my house on a cycle without my helmet. I strongly believe in them, and as recent articles have shown, they save lives. I don't care about looking like a 'Fred' or having helmet hair. I do care about staying safe. Anyway, I bought some cycling shorts, a jersey, and a jacket. I also picked up gloves one day after my hands went numb cycling in the snow to work, yeah, that's tough and that was quite an experience. I wouldn't recommend cycling in the snow without some form of eye-wear. It stings and puts you in danger of not seeing something you otherwise need to see. Cars, lights, people, etc. 

I started going for short cycles, maybe an hour or so around the city or down by Blackrock Castle. I was feeling independent and excited to explore and see things for myself. I'd convinced myself that I'd be exploring all the back roads and country roads of Cork, going far outside the city and then all the while able to come back home without much bother. I hadn't yet, and I had stopped going to the gym because I found myself needing the energy for the commute, so I needed more.

I wanted to take part in a charity cycle, what better way to force yourself to do distance and not give up? I looked at the Cork Harbour cycle and roped  two friends into joining me. Got a bunch of support from people and went off to up my distance and see how it felt. Began doing laps of the Blackrock-Rochestown route and clocked up the 25 miles (41 km) that the charity cycle would have covered. This was a week before the event, and I felt confident that because of my daily commute, my legs would take me the whole way. I wasn't wrong, it is amazing how much endurance you really do build up from simply commuting a short distance every day.  The charity cycle went really well, I embarked on it at half eight in the morning with two pals, Colin and Jan.

It was a fun route. It had all the flats we needed, small inclines too, and a monstrous climb in Glounthaune. Oh boy was that tough. I stayed on the bike for the whole thing, it's a Cat 5 climb, which is the lowest of the "rated" hills. It's long and steady and you really really suck in the air going up it, at least, the unprepared Michael did. Not everyone could make it up, the veterans did, but many just decided to dismount and walk it. I wouldn't forgive myself if I had done that, and honestly, I didn't want to look weak in front of my pals; I'd maintained great speed and was always leading our group all day, often getting too far ahead and having to wait for them. I made it up, and my heart was exploding. I'm confident I had exceeded a 200 heart rate going up that. After descending into Glanmire, we rode off toward Dunkettle roundabout and onward to the city centre to finish on Albert's Quay. I lost the lads at Dunkettle, I just motored on and pushed hard. Maintaining something like 35 km/h on the way in into the city. It was fun beyond words. I finished a good fifteen minutes before the other two, enjoyed my free soup and fizzy orange. It took about 2 hours and 30 minutes to do the route, including the ferry trip. 

This route then became my standard Sunday route. I would take off from home, make it to the castle and start the route. I failed to climb Glounthaune once since then on my Giant, low blood sugar really takes it out of you. The other fun day I had was in the pouring rain and hideous winds (I had convinced myself if I didn't go out, I'd lose motivation to keep cycling). I went out from the house, cycled to Passage West, onward through Monkstown to Curraghbinny, out through Ringaskiddy and back through Carrigaline. Little did I know that the road out of Carrigaline was comprised of three Cat 5 climbs before getting to Donnybrook and then a huge descent down - in the rain - which had me relying on adrenaline to not completely break down in fear for my life; my brakes weren't exactly the most effective in this weather. I made it home, and the route totalled to about 36 km. Soaked but delighted. I'd found myself laughing to myself thinking "never in a hundred years would I find myself doing this". Now I had. I was in love. 

Eventually I started looking at advancing from the limitations of a hybrid bike, and was eager to join the CIT Road Cycling club for some trips. Distance was what I wanted, so I had to shape up. I expressed my interest in looking for used bikes over facebook, I checked the local shops nearby, and started browsing donedeal. I wanted to go used because new road bikes cost a lot of money. That won't change any time soon.

I looked into how I would afford getting a road bike. I decided it was time to sell my collection of Magic: The Gathering cards. I wasn't getting to use them anyway, I was always working Saturdays and that was the day every tournament was on. I ended up selling my collection for just over €1000. Delighted, this meant I could afford the entry level bikes instead of going for a used bike, however I was told about a buddy of a buddy selling a KTM Strada 1000, which would have been awesome and I would have had money left over. Note "would have". Sadly he sold the bike the day we had agreed to meet up - first refusal was someone else's. I missed out. In a rush to get a bike before going out with the club, I ended up heading out to CycleScene thanks to the efforts of my lady-friend Emma and her lovely car 'Stormie'. There I had a look at a bunch of bikes, tried to narrow down what I wanted, and saw there was also a 10% discount on all bikes at the time. This opened up a slightly better range of bikes than what I'd hoped for. I settled on a stunningly gorgeous Scott Speedster 40 - it had what I wanted (new Sora/tiagra), and didn't have what I didn't want (thumb switch Sora shifters). The bike would be ready the following day for collection, fitted with toe-clips (for now). 

Silly bottle choice, computer connected incorrectly, saddle too high.  

The next day, I was dropped out to the shop to collect the bike. I cycled it home from there. It was a complete change of geometry and comfort on the bike. I knew there would be huge difference in riding it compared to the hybrid, but was amazed at how fast it 'wanted' to accelerate. I found myself constantly working up through the gears just to satisfy my legs. 

I rigged the bike up with some of the gear I had, saddlebag, tube, pump and so forth (tubes and pump are required for going out with the club). I headed out to CIT to meet the club and take part in my first 'real' cycle. I should note that the saddle was a bit too high at the time, but I didn't know this till after.

I met the lads and it just so happened that it was their climbing day. So off we went, down toward Sunday's well to do a lovely Cat 5 climb, I had to walk over half of it. I simply couldn't do it. I was loving the bike, the speed, the handling, and most of all the feeling of being a real cyclist (not that anyone who isn't riding a road bike isn't a real cyclist, two wheels, even three and some pedals and you're all set!). I was able to keep up with the lads on the flats and my endurance was fine. I was in pain from the hills and I was really suffering. We made it out to Coachford (About 45 km at this point) took a small break and then motored on toward Ballincollig and onward to CIT. 

I must take this opportunity to thank the Club, they really looked after me on my first outing. Elliott, Joe, Erwan, and Killian. Each of them took turns by my side, chatting, giving encouragement and advice. They always made sure I was with someone and wouldn't leave me on my own for any stretch of road. Utter gents. 

I hadn't eaten enough before going out with them either, this combined with a session of low blood sugar, the constant feeling of needing to vomit, a saddle that was too high and killing my back, meant I was really suffering. I was cramping up and sucking water like no-ones business. Elliott even replaced my Sigg bottle with a squeezy one so I could drink on the bike easier. Gent, complete gent. We eventually broke into two groups, Killian and 'The Rocket' Erwan headed off at speed as they wanted to up the pace. The remaining three of us took it handy back. 

We made it into Ballincollig and I broke off from the lads after swapping water bottles back and giving my feet a bit of a cramp reducing rub. They headed back to CIT and I continued on toward home. Eventually making it home, utterly destroyed, physically incapable of doing much, but completely delighted. I showered and went to sleep, satisfied with my 84 km (still the longest I've done in one day). I woke up a few times and ate what I could, found myself numb in a certain area.. yeah.. saddle height is important.. This lasted till the evening of the next day.. Swiftly moving on. 

Since then I can more or less summarise what I've been up to: upgrading certain parts of the bike, dealing with punctures, untrue wheels, broken spokes, and general maintenance. 

The first broken spoke happened 35 km from home, shortly after Coachford. I had to get collected, the club kept me company on the ride back to Coachford though. Gents, utter gents.  I've had three in total since; it happens.

I've been out cycling enjoying the evenings now that we have them back. I love going down to the Lee Fields and enjoying the river by my side. I'm out in all weather now, but mostly for the commute. I'm not much of a fan of 23mm tyres on wet ground. The hybrid is fine on the wet. 

I've only had one spill on either of my bikes, silly marble like surface outside of UCC in the rain. Yeah, came down off the Giant on one side, I didn't get a scratch on me, but it knocked the rear wheel out of true and scratched up the pedal on that side. Nothing major. 



I took the plunge going clip-less too, oh what a difference it makes! I haven't had a clip-less 'moment' yet and certainly haven't had to 'make the face'. 

This weekend however, I am hoping to take my Scott down to Waterford, roughly 120-130 km. I'll cycle to Emma, she'll look after me when I arrive exhausted and then we'll drive back to Cork in the evening, bike in the back seats (like one of the family eh?). 

I've been upgrading the bike as I've been adding kilometres to the road bike - new bottles for easier drinking, new saddle bag as I had been borrowing one, fixed the bike computer, many new tubes, and new tyres. About a week ago she looked like this: 

Oh, I've gotten into watching the professional races in a big way too! Taking part in a Fantasy League for the Giro d'Italia has been really fun, I've a strong squad! 

Before I leave you, I just want to say that the reddit cycling community has been great. I spend a lot of my browsing time there and it is a lively hub of information and excitement for the sport. 

Oh, and since I nearly forgot. My weight now you might be wondering? Roughly 105 kg. Yeah, that's 20 kg lost since October. Cycling is fantastic.

I'll be back to you hopefully with the outcome of Friday's adventure. 


Rain, wind, or shine - pedal on. Cycle safe. 


My sincere apologies for basically trailing off and whittling down the post nearing the end of this.