Cycling UK Forum

I used various Android phones mounted to my handlebars and Google Maps was okay, but having a Garmin Edge 705 is far better.

Lift weights to accelerate your metabolism.

p_pitstop wrote:Currently 7 out of the 50 strong workforce are cycling to work, but there is no secure cycle parking. I use a nice big lampost and others just lock the bike to itself. I'm trying to convince 'the management' to give over a precious single parking space to 3-4 Sheffield hoops.
Does anyone have a similar experience ? Are there rules for suggested spacing ? Any idea how much a hoop costs ?

You have no rights unfortunately.

You should lock all of the bikes together. No-one will steal them then.

BigBear wrote:Hi, I'm 6'4" and 20st. I don't mind being 6'4" but I hate being 20st ........ so can anyone recommend a decent mountain/hybrid bike that would suit me. I intend to use it on towpaths and cycle paths. Something under £200 would be good.

I can sell you a Carrera at £199 if you're prepared to collect. It's in mint condition with SPD pedals, although I have the originals if you want those. PM me if you are interested.

johnmac wrote:

Why do I suddenly feel as if I am reading the Daily Mail?

Are you, in some perverse way, trying to suggest that Paul's experience with Sussex Police was at all acceptable?

No, I am saying that the conjecture extrapolated from it is nonsense.

Why do I suddenly feel as if I am reading the Daily Mail?

Robert82 wrote:

thirdcrank wrote:I suppose the moral is, don't let the exrecise of cycling become an excuse for over-eating. Blindingly obvious, but it is a mistake I have made.

You're not the only one! Cycling makes you hungry, it makes me ravenous, and you eat more, so far so good. The danger is that eating more is habit forming, so you tend to do so even when you've not been exercising so much.

Interesting point about BMI being a statistical tool. It all makes sense now. My partner's a keen dieter - a slim looking size 12 who's officially obese. Her BMI is obviously out of step with the norms. Mine isn't unfortunately.

I can't believe people don't realise about BMI. If it's a measurement of mass then obviously there are other factors to be considered.

Regarding eating. You SHOULD eat after a ride - protein mostly, and eat it slowly so your body gradually fills rather than woofing it down until you can't speak. Eating too quickly fools the bodies inbuilt 'stop' reflex because you fill up too fast. Also, you will find that you must stay hydrated or you tend to eat more because your electrolytes are out of balance so drink plenty and don't eat junk. If your electrolytes are not balanced you will find you get cramp a lot and you are very sore and stiff after exercise for a couple of days or so. It can be avoided.

Y'all really should learn what the purpose of the BMI is. On an individual level it has some value but it is really an anthropological tool applied to statistical data such as the census.

The point is that it is a ratio measurement that is collated amongst the population and averaged, where the safe average is a BMI of 25 - 27. If the national average is above 30 then we know that we have a problem.

Whether or not it has any valid use on an individual level is not really the point because it is simply not accurate enough to be anything other than a ball park figure, i.e if you are between 25 and 30 you are not obese.

I despair of hearing people who are blatantly and hideously overweight saying things like 'rugby players are technically obese according to BMI so I'm okay'. No they are not you buffoon, they have an above average BMI ratio. Whereas much of the population has an above average BMI because of fat, with them it is because of muscle bulk. The clue is in the name:

Body Mass Index.

It is a ratio measurement of mass against height so the point, on an individual level, is not necessarily a large measurement being bad, but the reason that such a large measurement is taken so on a global scale. Large BMI is taken in to account with poor diet an low exercise and therefore a reasonable empirical conclusion is that the world is too fat.

It is NOT something you should concern yourself with if you exercise and eat well. You need something that is more accurate and tailored to you.

jan19 wrote:I've been cycling to work for three months now. My shape is definately changing and I've gone down a dress size. Yet I've not lost more than a couple of pounds.

I just feel so much better. My stiff joints (I'm 50) are as flexible as they were in my 20s and I have so much more energy.

I think maybe the scales could go and I should really rely on how I feel. Hubby ( who's already had one knee op) cycles to work and is now in the shape of his life....

It is a good idea to dump the scales, because you should focus on wellness, and also you will find that as you slim down you will gain weight because muscle is 5 times more dense than fat.

Lawrie9 wrote:Throw your scales away.. eat sensibly...excercise sensibly which includes lots of steady work as well as the punishing sessions. Most importantly...avoid dieting. At my athletic peak ate ten doughnuts at a time , fish and chips, six pints of beer, whole packets of biscuits and wine gums...and never put an ounce of weight on. I remember Olympic athletes who would stuff themselves with cake and biscuits before a race and ended up on the podium...or throwing up behind it I can't quite remember. Don't believe all this scientific dieting nonsense ...its all a load of old cobblers.

Absolute crap. If you genuinely believe this then you're an idiot, naive at best.

Olympic athletes cram food in for it's energy value. They DO NOT eat like that normally.

byegad wrote:Most international Rugby front row forwards are clinicly obese. Just don't tell them if you wish to live! Weight as a sole measure of obesity is a load of clap trap. Muscle is more dense than fat, you can be 5'10" and 18st and fat or the same height and weight and solid muscle!. How much of your weight is fat rather than muscle is what matters. That said I'm border line and IT IS fat. Hey! Hoh!!

That's because it is a ratio measurement of your weight and height. A BMI > 30 clearly means that, if you're not built like a brick shithouse then you're in trouble.

reohn2 wrote:Half your food intake and be absolutely ruthless with yourself,ride the bike the weight will fall off.

PS,don't give yourself treats,your treat is the fact that you're doing good to yourself by not eating as much.

DO NOT DO THIS - this is dangerous and irresponsible advice.

First of all, moderate treats, don't stop them. You WILL crack at some point and if you have starved yourself you will binge.

Secondly, you have to replace fat with muscle, more muscle accelerates your metabolism which means you will burn more calories at rest. This is how you lose weight for good. The harder it is to lose, the harder it is to gain. You need to eat protein, certain fats and carbohydrate for your energy. If you cycle for 30 minutes a day you do not need a calorie deficit, your 2500 a day will be fine. Anything more and you will need more calories. I eat around 4000 a day but I weight train 6 days a week and cycle every day.

The important thing to remember is that it takes time but the persistence will pay off.

For your information:

1 pound of fat = 3500 calories.

1 x 200 pound man cycling 15 mph for 35 minutes will burn 500 calories. 3500/500 = 7 therefore 1 pound a week is burned off, provided you eat your 2500 a day of course.

To keep it off you really must lift weights, or some other resistance activity. You don't have to bench press elephants, just lift weights to create muscle. 1 pound of fat burns 5 - 6 calories an hour at rest whereas 1 pound of muscle burns 25 - 27 calories at rest, therefore to accelerate your metabolism you must build muscle. When people use the word 'metabolism' they mean 'resting metabolic rate' which is how many calories you burn at rest.

Also, rest a lot. Your muscles do not grow during exercise, they grow during rest. Rest for twice as long as you exercise and stay hydrated, 2 - 3 litres per day of water.

@ Manx Cat - your metabolism only slows with age because you become less active. Their is no biological reason it should deteriorate because of age.

GrumpyGit wrote:It got a bit quiet at work this evening so I had a browse around the web. I was looking at the Condor Cycles web site as they are local(ish) to me have a good reputation.

In particular I was attracted to the "Bivio Flat Bar" but at a price of +/- £1000 how much better than my sub £200 hybrid could it be? Can you get another £800 worth of value, after all it's just another bike isn't it?

What's more, how relaxed would I be at leaving it locked up outside a shop or yoga class?

I just bought a carbon fibre Scott CR1 racer. It was worth the four figure ticket.

This reminds me of the time GMTV rounded up a militant law-ignoring cyclist and Anne Widdecombe (cyclist hater), pitted them against one another and called it a debate. I am sure you an guess what happened.

Cameron shouldn't have broken the law, but he did. Well boo hoo, cry me a fecking river. A little perspective please? If we can do a body count, casualties of cyclists versus casualties of motorists I think the correct analysis is clear. Slap hands, nothing more.

Personally, I have utter contempt for cyclists who break the law and have on occasion torn a strip off the helmet-less light jumping moron I occasionally see on my commute. You should obey the law because it is there for a reason. We cyclists aren't exactly winning any popularity contests which is largely unjustified but if you cannot follow the rules then you will have no credibility when you come a cropper.

There is substantial weight to the argument that town planning takes little or no account of cyclists and their needs. You will not change that through ignoring the law. Those that do are plain lazy and selfish.

The registration plate idea is ridiculous. For it to be of any use the plates would have to be large enough to read, rendering them far too large to safely and practically mount on a cycle. I would happily pay a road tax if it meant I was afforded the same rights as a motorist, and more importantly, that they are enforced and defended by the police. I'll pay if we get regulated lanes and lighting etc. If we just get charged a premium to use the road then I won't do it. Without a registration scheme any fine would be unenforceable.

Does anybody seriously think, given UK traffic problems, that the best use of police time is hounding cyclists? Gimme a break. Some people just don't like cyclists and want to harass them off the road.

I did it in 24 hours - great fun.