Just got back into cycling after a 15 year break. I live in an area which is a valley, so I have to do hill climbs of 11% to go anywhere. After a week of struggling with the hills I completed my first 26 mile ride with 2522 feet of climbing and it didn’t feel that hard!
Hi, I'm 58 and turning 59 soon, I'm daily rider and daily working out in the gym, feel Lucky to find your channel. All other channels are dominated by young guys who are not aware about age matters. Many thanks for the good work . Liked and subscribed.
I deeply appreciate your opening statement about not needing any fancy data metrics to get fit with cycling. I wasn’t able to afford any of the cool things like a power meter and head unit when I first started and it really bummed me out but I ended up making tons of progress just going out and enjoying being on the bike. Great video all around 👌🏻
I agree - although I will say that having a heart rate monitor and a cadence sensor have helped me a lot as I have gotten back on the bike after an 18-month pause. I live in an area with moderate hills and I find it helpful to have the monitor beep and vibrate on my arm when I'm nearing the top of my heart's limits. The cadence meter has also helped my pedaling stay consistent. I was previously pedaling at around 70 rpm but have sought to increase to around 90 rpm. This has made my days out a lot smoother and makes me think I am being more efficient. Take care!
53 year old here had a little dabble into bike riding couple of years ago but as you say its easy to make up exscuses and dint stick to it trying again using your videos as kind of reasoning to my head thanks for the good informative videos
Good advice!. I think a heart rate monitor is a inexpensive (£25+) essential for older riders - it helps prevent over exertion which might not end well!
I’m riding for the exercise ie fitness and use the bicycle for physical therapy on my leg. I found my single speed bike to work best for strengthening muscles and it’s more of a workout.
A great way to build up base strength is to do low cadence hill repeats in a hard gear that are about 5 to 10 minutes long. Soon that harder gear will become your normal climbing gear. Then choose between upping the cadence efforts on that gear for greater fitness or shifting up to one more harder gear and repeat. Great video 👍
Just started jumping on a bike again after 20 years of not touching one. I can do 20-30 miles stints now on my local trail but hills are still very much my nemesis... I need to really try this more.
Good advice given in this video. Building base fitness is a marathon instead of a sprint. Increase your training gradually and your fitness should improve gradually as well. Cycling is a brilliant sport for building, and maintaining fitness levels.
You will not believe how much I needed this video! Thank you! I've not sat on my bike for a serious ride in over four years now. After sustaining a fractured shoulder in the gym I stopped all forms of excercising for what I thought was going to be a short interval. But I got used to it too much and the mentality of: "I'll go out on the bike tomorrow", "It's too cold today." "It's too hot today." "I'm too tired." etc, etc soon set itself in stone. I've gone from a 30" waist with body fat of 14% to a 36" waist with fat around 40% (I'm guessing). I know HOW to get fit, it's the WHERE do I start thats the hurdle I can't seem to get over. Also, because my body is a completely different shape now, a ten minute ride makes my ankles, knees, hands and privates go numb. Sad state of affairs!
Also consider that your bike may be set up too aggressively. Maybe you'll need to get a more relaxed bike fit while your body adjusts to the bike again. I can no longer tolerate the height difference between my saddle and the handlebars that I used to be very comfortable with. I found I'm not as flexible now. Adjusting my bike allowed me to be comfortable again, thus being able to put more time on the bike. Just my two cents. Best of luck in your journey back!
Are you using your old bike? If you have a new bike then maybe your bike is not fitted for your body size. Adjusting seat post and stem length helps a lot.
I've just started cycling in about a month, and trying to do it intensively in the past week. Now I just got back from 4 hours ride, sitting in my balcony, thinking about, "How could people go fast and had that endurance, while at that time it was very difficult for me to catch my breath while cycling". And suddenly this video came up on youtube, and all the answers i needed is here. Thank you.
My no car friendly route for exercise is up two hills then around a reservoir on top of a hill that is known for being a great kite surfing and sailing lake lol. It's a rough 15 miles.
I really enjoyed this video. I used to have to stop 10 times within a mile but now I can do 5 miles with out stopping. Also swimming helps with cycling fitness.
Excellent video, very good information especially for those of us that are a bit older and wanting to get back into cycling without getting discouraged. But also, the camera work in this video!! Nice!!
Great video. I found hills to be a real mental challenge as much as anything else, bad experiences would lead me to exclude certain roads from my routes and then I never went back to them. That was until i really started to understand the gearing on my bike, that was a real game changer. Fitness obviously helps, carrying less weight up a hill will always be a benefit, but just learning to use the gears for a steady cadence was a mssive leap forward. I got back on a bike 10 years ago, in my mid 30s after giving up smoking. This year I completed the Étape du Tour. It takes time but I'm living proof that anyone can do it! Subscribed.
@@Forest_velo Thank you, still can't quite believe I beat the time cut! I've watched a few of your videos this morning and have really enjoyed the content 👍
I just got an e-bike @60 to help me loose 15# it’s a slow process but I feel that has helped get fitter but it is a slow process, been taking creatine as well to help with recovery etc. nice video. Hill climbing on my normal roadie is a pain, can’t do those 10-12% grade 4-5% not a problem anymore.
Great vid......but what I would strongly advise is to use lights both front and rear plus wear light coloured clothing especially on overcast days / late evenings or even just emerging from shadows of tree canopy's on sunny days. Also maybe invest in a turbo trainer for those days when the weather is too bad - no excuse to ride for an hour. Re-joined a local Cycling Club a month ago after a break of 29 years !!! ....other sports and distractions the reason for the break. My general fitness is pretty good and kept up in the medium group pretty well but I was [am] getting destroyed on hills.....these are great tips thanks. Advice on nutrition and recovery times would be appreciated 👍
I don't go on the roads without my Exposure "Trace " lights on "daybright" setting, tiny and bright as hell on flash mode and can be seen from a good distance, also far safer like you say when you go into the shadows on a bright sunny day ie on a bend that's tree covered etc...Means I can wear my black clothing and hopefully be safer!
This is exactly my cup of tea. I'm not an F-1 racecar, so datalogging my performance just isn't for me, lol. Your approach suits me much better, as I'm slowly building up my fitness from pretty much 0. Thanks 🙂.
Really enjoyed the video as i'm re-starting my fitness journey in cycling. I would also add only one more thing that I have found really useful. That being to use an app like Strava to track the ride as it can be really rewarding and keeps the training honest. At least I find it really helpful and fun.
Awesome tips…I’d like to follow you, this will help me to gain fitness in order to someday conquer Ironman Lake Placid NY USA which I have attempted 5 times and the bike course always gets me it better s +6600ft gains 🙏🏼
Haha... Modest brag "After a few months 60-70 miles slowly at 15 or 16 mph" 😂 If that's the slow ride at your club they won't be happy to welcome me, that said I'm good on the front in a headwind 😂 Nice video, lots of good advice👍 Always good to see our local roads.
@@Forest_velo I'm just jealous as I'm too scruffy to be a roadie 😀👍This kind of content is the way to go, lots of people looking for "The Answer". I hope the channel flies 🤞
I like riding. My issues are I’m very slow. Plus I have a problem with trying to find the right gear. My son he is set at his and loves it. He out rides me. I wanna keep up but I’m lost.
The difference between average results and extreme results is getting in those rides on the days your tired, hungry, weak, or over heated. Those rides matter most. Now when I see a hill on a bad weather day that devil in my mind smiles while my riding team bite their lip. Embrace the pain!!!
It's a 360 degree camera. You can choose which "view" to show on the replay, and I think the camera software can "hide" the stick that it's mounted on.
What your average speed and top speed for the road bike you’re using? I’m curious because I don’t have a road bike just mountain, cruiser, and hybrid. I live on a gravel road so the narrow tires are a no go.
Depends on what I’m doing and who I’m riding with… if on my own probably about 16/17mph depending on hills etc. If with others in a chaingang or pace line maybe 22mph. You can check me out on strava!
Good video, thanks Very Much for the thought and effort! Query- why are you wearing all black? Fashion? How to make a dangerous activity even more dangerous!
Hi, thanks for your comment. It’s a blue top but dark, yes. I also have white helmet and shoes and a rear light. I’m also lucky to have some very quiet roads round me but I take your point!
I don’t personally cycle everyday but I know people who do. It depends on how much you do and whether you can recover well from it? A rest day is always good every now and then.
I would do them seated but it’s a personal thing some people like to stand which is ok. It’s the same for cadence. I like to spin so would aim to keep it above 80 depending on the gradient.
Really depends on the % grade of the climb. Anything under 6% you should aim to stay seated at high 60s to low 70s RPM. Between 6% and 8% attempt it seated. If you start bogging down - then get up out of the saddle. Aim for around the same RPM as the 6% - if you start "clanking" your cranks you'll need to practice on creating a fluid crank revolution. Anything above 8% should come around the intermediate stages once you have your stroke optimized and know when and where to come off the saddle. Good luck.
Just got back into cycling after a 15 year break. I live in an area which is a valley, so I have to do hill climbs of 11% to go anywhere. After a week of struggling with the hills I completed my first 26 mile ride with 2522 feet of climbing and it didn’t feel that hard!
Hi, I'm 58 and turning 59 soon, I'm daily rider and daily working out in the gym, feel Lucky to find your channel. All other channels are dominated by young guys who are not aware about age matters. Many thanks for the good work . Liked and subscribed.
Absolutely agree 100% 👍
Agree 100%. Very good practical advice.
I deeply appreciate your opening statement about not needing any fancy data metrics to get fit with cycling. I wasn’t able to afford any of the cool things like a power meter and head unit when I first started and it really bummed me out but I ended up making tons of progress just going out and enjoying being on the bike. Great video all around 👌🏻
Great to hear!
I agree - although I will say that having a heart rate monitor and a cadence sensor have helped me a lot as I have gotten back on the bike after an 18-month pause. I live in an area with moderate hills and I find it helpful to have the monitor beep and vibrate on my arm when I'm nearing the top of my heart's limits. The cadence meter has also helped my pedaling stay consistent. I was previously pedaling at around 70 rpm but have sought to increase to around 90 rpm. This has made my days out a lot smoother and makes me think I am being more efficient. Take care!
53 year old here had a little dabble into bike riding couple of years ago but as you say its easy to make up exscuses and dint stick to it trying again using your videos as kind of reasoning to my head thanks for the good informative videos
Good advice!. I think a heart rate monitor is a inexpensive (£25+) essential for older riders - it helps prevent over exertion which might not end well!
I have phobia for a heart monitors. I'm paying attention to a breathing rate instead. It's easy and infomative.
I just got into Cycling and try to hit a 15 mile mark everyday no more than 2hrs a day. Man the improvement I have seen in just 2 weeks is insane
Thank you. Not much to say beyond that, just thank you. Excellent advice, demonstrations and amazingly well communicated.
Glad it was helpful!
I’m riding for the exercise ie fitness and use the bicycle for physical therapy on my leg. I found my single speed bike to work best for strengthening muscles and it’s more of a workout.
A great way to build up base strength is to do low cadence hill repeats in a hard gear that are about 5 to 10 minutes long. Soon that harder gear will become your normal climbing gear. Then choose between upping the cadence efforts on that gear for greater fitness or shifting up to one more harder gear and repeat.
Great video 👍
Just started jumping on a bike again after 20 years of not touching one. I can do 20-30 miles stints now on my local trail but hills are still very much my nemesis... I need to really try this more.
@@theripper121Same here, I started this month after 22 years. Hills are something else, always feel like getting off the bike and walking home😂
Good advice given in this video. Building base fitness is a marathon instead of a sprint. Increase your training gradually and your fitness should improve gradually as well. Cycling is a brilliant sport for building, and maintaining fitness levels.
Absolutely!
Love the way you have the horse rider room 😊
Enjoyed your ride. Magic (to me) how you manipulated the camera. Thanks for the vid.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video and advice. Just ride for the love of riding
You will not believe how much I needed this video! Thank you!
I've not sat on my bike for a serious ride in over four years now. After sustaining a fractured shoulder in the gym I stopped all forms of excercising for what I thought was going to be a short interval. But I got used to it too much and the mentality of: "I'll go out on the bike tomorrow", "It's too cold today." "It's too hot today." "I'm too tired." etc, etc soon set itself in stone. I've gone from a 30" waist with body fat of 14% to a 36" waist with fat around 40% (I'm guessing). I know HOW to get fit, it's the WHERE do I start thats the hurdle I can't seem to get over.
Also, because my body is a completely different shape now, a ten minute ride makes my ankles, knees, hands and privates go numb. Sad state of affairs!
Making the decision to start is a huge step 👍
Also consider that your bike may be set up too aggressively. Maybe you'll need to get a more relaxed bike fit while your body adjusts to the bike again. I can no longer tolerate the height difference between my saddle and the handlebars that I used to be very comfortable with. I found I'm not as flexible now. Adjusting my bike allowed me to be comfortable again, thus being able to put more time on the bike. Just my two cents. Best of luck in your journey back!
Are you using your old bike? If you have a new bike then maybe your bike is not fitted for your body size. Adjusting seat post and stem length helps a lot.
I just watched an entire video of someone riding their bike 😐 I think the British accent helped. Cheers! Love a good ride.
You look really great! @ 55 I really admire your passion.
Looks like filming with drone. Great footage.
I've just started cycling in about a month, and trying to do it intensively in the past week.
Now I just got back from 4 hours ride, sitting in my balcony, thinking about, "How could people go fast and had that endurance, while at that time it was very difficult for me to catch my breath while cycling".
And suddenly this video came up on youtube, and all the answers i needed is here. Thank you.
I am impressed with your speed. You are riding leisurely but really shifting.
Thank you very much. I appreciate the wisdom of cycling that you have shared with me today. I look forward to more videos.
Thank you for your excellent tips and advice🙏🏻👍.
Awesome bro thanks
Beautiful scenery! Great information!
Awesome video. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it! 😃
great video nice filming
My no car friendly route for exercise is up two hills then around a reservoir on top of a hill that is known for being a great kite surfing and sailing lake lol. It's a rough 15 miles.
Great stuff,
I live on a so-called county cycleway which barely has room for 2-way car traffic. Then there's the potholes. I want to be fit.... and feel safe.
I really enjoyed this video.
I used to have to stop 10 times within a mile but now I can do 5 miles with out stopping. Also swimming helps with cycling fitness.
Can't swim but cicling 70-100km in one take pretty easy.
Great video! Been doing running and cycling, and on some days, I just don't know which one to do :) Anyway, you ride fast!
Great video, keep it up! I’m a big guy who can’t get up hills without doing 450+ watts with my gearing so every ride has at least a few intervals.
Same here @Thomas5937 Interval training is just a normal part of every ride 👍All the best with your cycling.
awesome video mate, inspiration to get out and ride more! cheers
Ride often, ride longer, seek out hills, hill intervals, sprints, hour of power.
Excellent video, very good information especially for those of us that are a bit older and wanting to get back into cycling without getting discouraged.
But also, the camera work in this video!! Nice!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video. I found hills to be a real mental challenge as much as anything else, bad experiences would lead me to exclude certain roads from my routes and then I never went back to them. That was until i really started to understand the gearing on my bike, that was a real game changer. Fitness obviously helps, carrying less weight up a hill will always be a benefit, but just learning to use the gears for a steady cadence was a mssive leap forward. I got back on a bike 10 years ago, in my mid 30s after giving up smoking. This year I completed the Étape du Tour. It takes time but I'm living proof that anyone can do it! Subscribed.
Congratulations on the Etape! 👏
@@Forest_velo Thank you, still can't quite believe I beat the time cut! I've watched a few of your videos this morning and have really enjoyed the content 👍
I just got an e-bike @60 to help me loose 15# it’s a slow process but I feel that has helped get fitter but it is a slow process, been taking creatine as well to help with recovery etc. nice video. Hill climbing on my normal roadie is a pain, can’t do those 10-12% grade 4-5% not a problem anymore.
Great vid......but what I would strongly advise is to use lights both front and rear plus wear light coloured clothing especially on overcast days / late evenings or even just emerging from shadows of tree canopy's on sunny days.
Also maybe invest in a turbo trainer for those days when the weather is too bad - no excuse to ride for an hour.
Re-joined a local Cycling Club a month ago after a break of 29 years !!! ....other sports and distractions the reason for the break.
My general fitness is pretty good and kept up in the medium group pretty well but I was [am] getting destroyed on hills.....these are great tips thanks.
Advice on nutrition and recovery times would be appreciated 👍
I don't go on the roads without my Exposure "Trace " lights on "daybright" setting, tiny and bright as hell on flash mode and can be seen from a good distance, also far safer like you say when you go into the shadows on a bright sunny day ie on a bend that's tree covered etc...Means I can wear my black clothing and hopefully be safer!
This is exactly my cup of tea. I'm not an F-1 racecar, so datalogging my performance just isn't for me, lol. Your approach suits me much better, as I'm slowly building up my fitness from pretty much 0. Thanks 🙂.
Use Strava, you'd be surprised, a little data can go a long way
I’ve been biking on my beach cruiser everyday. My quads are huge now.
Really enjoyed the video as i'm re-starting my fitness journey in cycling. I would also add only one more thing that I have found really useful. That being to use an app like Strava to track the ride as it can be really rewarding and keeps the training honest. At least I find it really helpful and fun.
Thanks for sharing!
awesome video
Thanks!
Awesome tips…I’d like to follow you, this will help me to gain fitness in order to someday conquer Ironman Lake Placid NY USA which I have attempted 5 times and the bike course always gets me it better s +6600ft gains 🙏🏼
Best of luck!
Good tips and great footage!
Haha... Modest brag "After a few months 60-70 miles slowly at 15 or 16 mph" 😂 If that's the slow ride at your club they won't be happy to welcome me, that said I'm good on the front in a headwind 😂 Nice video, lots of good advice👍 Always good to see our local roads.
Sorry about that! 😃
@@Forest_velo I'm just jealous as I'm too scruffy to be a roadie 😀👍This kind of content is the way to go, lots of people looking for "The Answer". I hope the channel flies 🤞
Thanks! 😃
Excellent video 👍 Can I ask how you managed to video the way you did? Thanks 🙏
It’s filmed using an INSTA360 x3 360 camera on a mount in front of the bike.
@@Forest_velo yes, saw the other videos you did on the insta 360 after I asked the question 👍 It’s excellent
It never got easier, i just went faster .
I like riding. My issues are I’m very slow. Plus I have a problem with trying to find the right gear. My son he is set at his and loves it. He out rides me. I wanna keep up but I’m lost.
The difference between average results and extreme results is getting in those rides on the days your tired, hungry, weak, or over heated. Those rides matter most. Now when I see a hill on a bad weather day that devil in my mind smiles while my riding team bite their lip. Embrace the pain!!!
Ride with fast people that hanging on tight to their wheel causes vomit in your mouth. We all have been there .
Thanks!
No problem!
Great video sir, for the insta360 - just using the internal mic with no extra external mic / receiver?
I think I was using an external mic - DJI wireless mic
@@Forest_velo thanks I’ll check it out - if you find yourself in Japan one day and want to get some cycling done here, let’s ride!
Where is the camera mounted? I can’t figure it out
Hi! On a selfie stick out front!
It's a 360 degree camera. You can choose which "view" to show on the replay, and I think the camera software can "hide" the stick that it's mounted on.
@@ronskayakingandfishing414 ahhh, not seeing the stick is what threw me off, that’s pretty cool software technology -
Slow pace at 15 mph! I'm only managing 12 mph.
Any tips for fat guy who lives in very undulated terrain? I struggle with the hills. Not much flat terrain here...
There’s a video coming out in 2 weeks about climbing!
Ride more..
Eat less...
Eat healthy...
Get good sleep...
Done...
What your average speed and top speed for the road bike you’re using? I’m curious because I don’t have a road bike just mountain, cruiser, and hybrid. I live on a gravel road so the narrow tires are a no go.
Depends on what I’m doing and who I’m riding with… if on my own probably about 16/17mph depending on hills etc. If with others in a chaingang or pace line maybe 22mph. You can check me out on strava!
What camera you use ? is it a drone?
Hi, no. Insta360 x3 360 camera!
Good video, thanks Very Much for the thought and effort! Query- why are you wearing all black? Fashion? How to make a dangerous activity even more dangerous!
Hi, thanks for your comment. It’s a blue top but dark, yes. I also have white helmet and shoes and a rear light. I’m also lucky to have some very quiet roads round me but I take your point!
Im cycling every day, Im from PR and there is a lot of hills, do you recommend cycling every day?
I don’t personally cycle everyday but I know people who do. It depends on how much you do and whether you can recover well from it? A rest day is always good every now and then.
How do you video your ride?
INSTA360 X3… there’s a link in the description.
Great advice, when doing hill repeats, do you do these seated, what cadence thanks
I would do them seated but it’s a personal thing some people like to stand which is ok. It’s the same for cadence. I like to spin so would aim to keep it above 80 depending on the gradient.
Really depends on the % grade of the climb. Anything under 6% you should aim to stay seated at high 60s to low 70s RPM. Between 6% and 8% attempt it seated. If you start bogging down - then get up out of the saddle. Aim for around the same RPM as the 6% - if you start "clanking" your cranks you'll need to practice on creating a fluid crank revolution. Anything above 8% should come around the intermediate stages once you have your stroke optimized and know when and where to come off the saddle. Good luck.
@@hagakuru thanks for your info, how long or time per rep and how many should I aim to do would you suggest cheers
A simple way to get fit is poison yourself, but put the antidote a certain distance away that requires you to ride really fast
14:20 how do you get the camera to view you in that angle (being in front of you?)?
It’s a 360 camera on a selfie stick out front!
You need to do all types of fitness not just one..
maaaan. what about this camera view? do u have a drone flying in front of view? wtf? cheers for the tips
It’s an INSTA360 X3 360 camera on an out front mount!
@@Forest_velo Holy crap..I couldn't see the holder...nice
How did you video this?
It’s in the video info… Insta360 x3!
@@Forest_velo thanks!
Where are you? I'm surprised there's someone riding a horse casually.
The New Forest. There’s horses everywhere! 😃
kid named finger
That cyclist in front I couldn’t see him