Getting back on Bike please HELP

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Comment by eBrent on January 11, 2012 at 11:44am

Hey Garry If you love bike riding, but your struggling - I would strongly suggest converting it to an eBike.

You can always take it off later once you get your fitness back. This is exactly what I am doing.

I have recently had a kidney transplant and my fitness is well... no existent. I am only using it to get my legs back with the 1:1 power assist, so basically, the motor matches what you put in. There is a throttle also.

This is what I just bought - still waiting on it to be posted Y electric conversion kit Good luck eBrent

Comment by Gary Hogg on January 1, 2012 at 7:23am

Cheers guys. I got the MB front wheel changed. I dont know if this gave me a bit  inspiration but I did get on the MB yesterday. Nice short but mod to hard ride. Thanks for the advice. I'm taking the MB up to a mining camp about 30Ks outside Moranbah.  I found a great road that eventually comes to a very large open field with lots of water holes. So I can combine MB with Photography, should be lots of wild life.

Comment by Paul Martin on December 30, 2011 at 6:01am

Excellent advice from Raymond. 

I would have to repeat that 'health & exercise' shouldn't be your primary goal - enjoyment should be. The others will just happen and more easily than you think compared to if you are going out primarily for exercise.

Start by substituting the bicycle for the car for all those small trips you may do - to the shops; visiting nearby friends, etc.

As Raymond has discovered, if you take it easy you can go all day! :)

Comment by Raymond on December 30, 2011 at 1:09am

I noticed quite a few here (myself included) only got back into it in 2011 for different reasons but to my slight surprise, here's what worked for me:

Basically, I got bored with walking and (an attempted) jogging regimen for "fitness/life balance". I knew that with a new bike, I'd be able to easily glide (fast or slow), explore new areas and keep the scenery moving. So as a bonus, my "sleep hygiene" now feels much less out of control and I'm fitter than I've ever been. Also started to cook more since the junk food wasn't giving me enough oomph to bike as often as I craved so now, the pieces are all starting to fall nicely back in place. :)

I can't ignore the fact that at the same time, I did a lot of reading (and continue to) because I could possibly have an insatiable appetite for inspiration. Being locally targeted, this forum has been superb (thanks DamianM!) and stories like "old men" pushing CityCycles up Mt Coot-tha and Paul Martin's videos - of which I unashamedly stayed up late one night to watch them all - have had me hooked and wanting more both online and offline.

While health and exercise are important, I've realised that they shouldn't be goals in themselves; rather, fun is what I believe to be most crucial. If I know I'm not going to enjoy getting on the saddle on a particular day, I'll instead opt to walk, catch public transport or even stay home rather than risk confusing the situation. Sometimes I see other cyclists rudely ride as if they were a typical motorist in a hurry - so it makes me a little sad when I see others who are trying to (re)start believe that it has to be a race and will be "difficult" because we have "hills" or "weather". Meanwhile, some of my friends keep making unrealistic objectives to "go to the gym and get fit" with a varying levels of success and failure. I don't like being beaten, so I'll start slow and just keep going long after the others have stopped and gone home. :)