In brief: My cycling history

I started recreational cycling in 1979 at the age of seven and remember my first bike was a Raleigh Chopper, fully equipped with a motorbike saddle and automatic transmission type gear stick.  Hardly a road bike but great for wheelies!

A few years later, my parents bought me a blue Raleigh Grifter.  This had one of the most heaviest frames I've ever seen on a bicycle.  Try as I did, I could never lift it off the ground in true juvenile style but it was more than adequate for rides in the parks and on pavements.

At the age of 14, I made the breakthrough and purchased my first road bicycle; a bottom of the range yellow and white coloured Falcon.  I thought the bike was the business and was convinced it was the bike that professional cyclists used in the Tour de France.  Little did I know....

In 1987, cycling took a back seat as I began smoking.  This I did for twelve years, until one day I realised I should be getting back on a bike again.  This was after I weighed myself and had got the shock of my life; the scales read 18 stone!  Replacing pizzas, chips and the like with yoghurts, fruit, chicken and similar food meant I not only had a better appetite for eating but also for exercise.

I vividly remember my first ride back in the saddle, riding a £50 Coventry Eagle mountain bike.  I could barely manage 5 miles, but gave up cigarettes after this ride - I was simply too tired to roll one up and smoke it.  My target weight was 13 stone and I managed to reach this within eight months, purely by exercising and healthy eating.

Riding the Coventry Eagle, I completed the 58 mile London to Southend charity bike ride for the very first time.  I would describe this ride as being on a flat course with one exception, a very steep climb at Chingford.

However, in the two years leading up to this I reached sufficient fitness to be able to complete 50 mile training rides a couple of times a week.  Since this event was of a similar distance, I decided against raising funds; the distance was not a challenge for me so took part in different activities for charity instead.  The following year, I did the same ride, again on a non fundraising basis.

In 2000, I bought the best bike I've ever owned to date; a Specialized S-Works road bike (photo: below) with Shimano Ultegra groupset.  Now this really is a Ferrari compared to the then other bike, the Coventry Eagle. 

How could I ever forget my first encounter with clipless pedals soon after!  I was riding towards a set of traffic lights with my feet firmly clipped into the pedals.  I completely forgot to unclip the foot.  By the time I realised, I was at the traffic lights and could not go any further forward.  It was too late and had nowhere to go but hit the floor like a pack of cards, a 0 mph crash!.  Not amusing at the time but now I can see the funny side and have a laugh and joke about it! 

In 2002, I moved to Norwich and soon resumed cycling, joining a very friendly cycling club called Velo Club Norwich.  The club has expanded significantly since I joined; there were only 20 members back then but it now boasts approximately 65 riders.  In the three years since I joined, I've been regularly attending Sunday club rides.  Usually they are over a distance of 40-60 miles.

A year later, I completed the Norwich 100 mile cycle ride.  Again, the course was fairly flat with a few lumpy hills here and there, but nothing compared to what awaits me next June!

Three months ago, I bought my first ever winter training frame and fork; a red Stelvio frame and Ambrosio carbon fork (photo: below).  I built the bike up myself using cheap parts which would not be too costly to replace if the weather ruins them.  I will be using this bike throughout the winter and spring. 

I can often be seen on the Norfolk roads of an evening, doing some base mileage riding.  Therefore, basic fitness can be maintained leading up to the training plan.

Finally, to the present and future, I will be doing a lot of training; I have devised a six month training plan which will start on 20 January 2006.  I will be reporting my progress each and every time I train via the Training blog link. 

     Left: my Specialized S-Works bicycle

     Left:  my winter training bicycle

                                                                          Date article submitted: 12 November 2005