Getting Started : Cycling

  The cycling element of the triathlon was the least daunting element for me at the start of the process. I have been able to ride a bike since I was a kid and have had a go at different kinds of cycling over the years. I had a 15 year old mountain bike and a helmet sat in the shed so all I had to do was get the bike working and I was on my way. It sounds so simple but my bike had other ideas. Firstly both inner-tubes had to be replaced as they had perished, then the brake blocks (a job that appears to require you to have 3 hands) and finally a lot of fiddling to get the gears working again. After a week or so of getting oily I was on the road.

15 year old Diamondback Wildwood mountain bike I used for my 1st triathlon.

  I kept my 1st ride to a short and off the road, 10km's to work and back down a local cycle path. Everything went well, the bike worked, my legs worked but my bum hurt as I had not got any cycling shorts. I needed to spend a bit more cash to get some clothing a saddle bag and repair kit. This was done by visiting my local Aldi (discount supermarket for those outside the UK) when they had their cycling event on and a trip to Sports Direct. Lastly I decided on a couple of upgrades to the bike to improve its speed and how I was riding it. The first upgrade was to get some new tyres. I changed knobbly mountain tyres to some slick tyres that would roll better on the road. The second change was to get some strapless toe clips to keep my feet in place as I wasn't ready to commit to clip-less peddles and cycling shoes.

  All I needed to do now was to cycle as much as I could to get fit. As the weather got warmer I started going out and doing 20km rides at weekends. My thoughts being I only had to do 15km in the triathlon so this was a great distance to train with. Also as the days got longer I was able to take advantage of not having to give my wife a lift to work on Wednesdays and Fridays when she doesn't work by swapping from car to bike for the commute. It was only 5km each way but helped build up my fitness. I was using my smart phone GPS and the Endomondo app to track my rides so knew I was getting quicker as the weeks went by. When the triathlon came around I knew I would be fine on the bike. I wouldn't be the quickest or the slowest. I wouldn't be on a fancy bike but I would get round and would enjoy it.

GPS track of early training bike ride - generated via Endomondo Android app on Sony Xperia S smart phone

  So what did getting started on my bike cost me? Well I already had the bike so that was free. The new tyres were about £30 for the pair and inner tubes £5 each. The strapless pedal clips were another £10 and the cycling clothing came to about £50. Finally came the saddle bag, repair kit and oil for about £20. So without having to get a bike the cost of getting started was about £120 it total.