Love Cycling? Check out CyclingDepartment!

[Bram Hengeveld]

This might look like a weird topic for a (sim) racing website, but is it really? Cycling, is together with running, the most popular activity to stay fit and healthy and is practiced by both professional motorsport athletes and gamers as well.

A little personal background story why we have launched a new community forum for bicycles and cycling in general over at www.cyclingdepartment.com

For the last 10 years I have operated RaceDepartment, together with a lot of passionate staff to help with the daily operations. Like with so many of us with a desk job or with a hobby that forces you to be on the PC a lot of hours a day, this eventually comes with a price.

Mine came back in February of this year when I was diagnosed with diabetes type 2 which is basically the luxury version of the diabetes type 1 that some are unfortunately born with. Type 2 has many causes but what caused it for me was pretty straight forward: not a very healthy diet, lack of exercise, not enough sleep, stress etc etc. On top of that I was one of the main shareholders of the Marlboro Company for the last 25 years with a consumption of at least a pack of cigarettes a day.

All of us with an unhealthy lifestyle know eventually that day will come where the blunt truth catches up with you. So in the last couple of weeks/months I've made some drastic lifestyle changes. Per the first of May 2016:

• Quit smoking (Gosh, the extra cash!!!)
• No more sugar. Less carbs (kinda). More veggies. More water etc
• To bed much earlier.
• And most importantly: MORE EXERCISE in the form of doing a solid bicycle ride every day / multiple times a week.

The results after two months:

• Lost at least 10 kg of body-weight (Gained a lot of muscle though)
• Blood-pressure from a scary shocking high value to a steady healthy 117/80.
• Blood-sugar level: from 9.6 to 7.9 to 5.1 and dropping.
• Feeling fitter and fitter each day by racing either my road bike or mountain bike with a very much improved overall health and stamina.

So why this new cycling site? If I can make a drastic change like this I am 100% convinced everybody that needs it can. On top of that I have re-discovered my old (mountain)biking hobby again after being inactive for too long, and I am not the only one. Cycling is booming again!

So if you are passionate about cycling as well and you would like to join our new world of road bikes, mountain bikes, cycling sports, technology and more we would be more than happy to welcome you at www.cyclingdepartment.com

See you on the other site

 

[Morten Wernersen]

All this talk about speed, I once did 53.7 kph on flat road trying to keep up with another cyclist, I think he might have been pro, the only reason I dident go faster was because I ran out of gears

 

[Tim Davila]

Very interesting @Bram i stopped smoking (4months clean), after 15 years smoking 1 pack of marlboros i also made a full checkup, im very healthy says my doctor. But even so i just made a full revision of my bike 7 days ago and im riding at least 1 hour every day starting 8am.
i will be joining the cyclingdept for sure,
thanks for that initiative.
Im sure many sim racers can benefit from that.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

i stopped smoking (4months clean)

Congrats Tim!

 

[Tim Davila]

Congrats Tim!

thx mate it was kinda hard.. had to use nicotin patches or i wouldnt had made it i think.

 

[Metalogic]

Looks interesting, I'll check it out. The only (non-pretend) form of transport I actually own currently is a Hewitt touring bicycle, which I use for commuting everyday, getting around town, general exercise and cycling trips - both day trips with friends and occasional long cycling holidays in the UK and Europe.

It's not that I don't like driving (I do!), I just can't justify having a car at the moment as really don't need one on a regular basis. I do hire one for weekends when I do need one (about 6 times a year), which usually costs me about £50 or so a time.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

thx mate it was kinda hard.. had to use nicotin patches

The reason is in the sentence above. Nicotine patches just endure your nicotine addiction and make it even harder.

Cold turkey all the way

 

[AndrewBo]

Yep. True. And they cost simply to much. I've saved that money and used it for cleaning my carpets......Man, they stunk.....now that I can smell again the right way. Stop smoking dudes, It's worth it.

 

[Tim Davila]

The reason is in the sentence above. Nicotine patches just endure your nicotine addiction and make it even harder.

Cold turkey all the way

it worked for me tho, but i'm sure must have people that it don't work as good as it did for me.

 

[Metalogic]

Yep. True. And they cost simply to much. I've saved that money and used it for cleaning my carpets......Man, they stunk.....now that I can smell again the right way. Stop smoking dudes, It's worth it.

I moved to an e-Cig about 2 years ago, don't feel the need to smoke tobacco at all anymore, BUT think I'm more addicted to nicotine now than I was when I was smoking, am probably a heavier "vaper" now than I was a smoker

I have managed to reduce the strength of the nicotine liquid I'm using quite a bit, but still use my e-Cig too often and I want to quit, as am waking up each day with a withdrawal headache. Think cold turkey is probably the one way from here, though last time I tried it I hardly slept for two nights, had a constant headache and then foolishly cracked...

Any tips for getting through the first 3 days of nicotine cold turkey?

 

[Simon Fillingham]

After recently having my 40 year old health check and being told my cholesterol is 6.8 I'm thinking I ought to do something. I'm not overweight (due to a good metabolism) but I feel I need to incorporate some exercise into my life. I've started walking 2 miles 3 or 4 times a week but guess this isn't doing too much to help.
I haven't cycled seriously in my life. I jumped on a bike about 4 years ago whilst on holiday (lake district, hilly!) and didn't enjoy it, partly because of the terrain but mainly because of the seat! My backside was in agony and made the whole experience something I didn't want to repeat! And its this that's putting me off getting on a bike.
So I'm entertaining thoughts of getting an exercise bike. My stamina during exercise is terrible and I think that although an exercise bike feels like a cop out it may be a good way of building my stamina before taking to the roads?

 

[fortyfivekev]

After recently having my 40 year old health check and being told my cholesterol is 6.8 I'm thinking I ought to do something. I'm not overweight (due to a good metabolism) but I feel I need to incorporate some exercise into my life. I've started walking 2 miles 3 or 4 times a week but guess this isn't doing too much to help.
I haven't cycled seriously in my life. I jumped on a bike about 4 years ago whilst on holiday (lake district, hilly!) and didn't enjoy it, partly because of the terrain but mainly because of the seat! My backside was in agony and made the whole experience something I didn't want to repeat! And its this that's putting me off getting on a bike.
So I'm entertaining thoughts of getting an exercise bike. My stamina during exercise is terrible and I think that although an exercise bike feels like a cop out it may be a good way of building my stamina before taking to the roads?

Main problem with exercise bikes is boredom as you haven't got the passing scenery and controlling the bike to keep you occupied. If you can manage 30 mins on an exercise bike then I would say you would enjoy it more being out on your real bike.

A lot of decent bikes still come with pretty poor saddles. Personally I like the Specialized anatomic saddles but there are plenty of other makes. You need to try some different ones as they come in different widths and find a shape that suits your own geometry.

 

[Simon Fillingham]

Yes, I can understand that's its more pleasant on a real bike rather than an exercise bike. I think until I get some stamina, indoors is the way to go. I suppose it's all related to stamina, but I struggle with my breathing too when exercising. I love being active but whether it be when i try running or swimming I end up panting after a very short distance! Now I'm not that unfit so I think its my breathing technique that is lacking! Determined to improve my fitness though, one way or another..

 

[Metalogic]

Having a decent bike frame and saddle makes a massive difference to the comfort and enjoyment of cycling, also getting the right size frame for you and having the saddle and bars at the correct height and reach. I see so many cyclists riding bikes that look either the wrong base size for them or not adjusted for them properly, or they're just riding something with a nasty cheap frame. These things all add up to the level of comfort and enjoyment of the riding experience.

I cycle a touring bike with quite a hard, relatively thin leather saddle, but because the setup is all correct for my body size, it's incredibly comfortable, even for the occasional 100km ride.

One other tip, if you feel you need more padding on the saddle, don't buy a thickly padded saddle, they become actually *less* comfortable on longer rides, wear padded cycling shorts instead. Even when I ride a crap hire bike with a bad saddle, cycling shorts at least give back some level of comfort.

I don't wear cycling shorts for everyday commuting and shopping etc., but do when I'm cycling 10 miles or more, usually win a looser pair of normal shorts or trousers on top of them - I'm not a fully Lycra-clad roadie.

 

[Metalogic]

Another thing I've done when know that I'm going to hire a bike abroad and not able to take my own bike (which I do prefer to do when possible), is to take my own saddle with me and some allen keys and swap the saddle out. Usually it will fit.

 

[Metalogic]

BTW this is the saddle I've been using for the last 2 years, took a few weeks to break-in (it now has shallow dimples where my sit bones rest), but once it did it became the most comfortable saddle I've ever used. It's not cheap, but I use my bike so often, it was worth it!

http://www.gillesberthoud.fr/anglais/fiche_detaillee/fiche.php?refArticle=201GB2ARA/BR

​

BTW it's lighter than it looks, as the rails are titanium, which also means they don't rust. Giles also stocks spare parts for every bit of the saddle, including the leather, so is potentially a saddle for life. The leather is thicker and better quality than on Brookes saddles, but I had a Brookes B17 previously and it wasn't bad - the Giles Berhoud is more comfortable, though

 

[dcully]

Well this thread raised both my eyebrows.
I'm back cycling about 3 years now after 15 years away.
I done a small bit of road and MTB racing back then, I'm 45 now so it was time to get fit again after little to no exercise since I almost lost my leg in an accident 11 years ago and to this day I still have the metal to repair the leg in the leg so pain is an issue, I also lost my big toe as gangarine set in.
The net result is no football or even running for me ever again
Cycling was the only real means I had left.

I'm now fitter than I have been in 11 years, I cycle anywhere between 100km per week in the winter to 300+ km per week in the summer.

Only yesterday I done a solo spin into the high hills 30k from my home place, climbed about 600 meters and a round trip of 84 k @ an average of 26.3 kph.

The day before that I done a solo 30k spin @ 30kph which is close to my max ability.
I really like these short 30k spins at maximum effort, great too when you don't have much time.

Cycling for me has been a fantastic way to get fit again, every summer I participate in 5-6 sportive events of anything from 100k to 150k plus do weekend spins with my local club if I can manufacture time.

While far from a top rider where I'm at now was something I could only dream of when I set out on this wee journey 3 years ago.

My advice is get out there and pedal, age is never a barrier for cycling,,

Keep Her Lit !!!

 

[Metalogic]

Well this thread raised both my eyebrows.
I'm back cycling about 3 years now after 15 years away.
I done a small bit of road and MTB racing back then, I'm 45 now so it was time to get fit again after little to no exercise since I almost lost my leg in an accident 11 years ago and to this day I still have the metal to repair the leg in the leg so pain is an issue, I also lost my big toe as gangarine set in.
The net result is no football or even running for me ever again
Cycling was the only real means I had left.

I'm now fitter than I have been in 11 years, I cycle anywhere between 100km per week in the winter to 300+ km per week in the summer.

Only yesterday I done a solo spin into the high hills 30k from my home place, climbed about 600 meters and a round trip of 84 k @ an average of 26.3 kph.

The day before that I done a solo 30k spin @ 30kph which is close to my max ability.
I really like these short 30k spins at maximum effort, great too when you don't have much time.

Cycling for me has been a fantastic way to get fit again, every summer I participate in 5-6 sportive events of anything from 100k to 150k plus do weekend spins with my local club if I can manufacture time.

While far from a top rider where I'm at now was something I could only dream of when I set out on this wee journey 3 years ago.

My advice is get out there and pedal, age is never a barrier for cycling,,

Keep Her Lit !!!

Indeed! I'm 46 BTW

 

[Sleeker]

Hey Bram, You should check out a really great book called "grain brain" by Perlmutter. It's about how you can best replace carbs with saturated fats, and how it will make you mentally sharper and healthier. There's also a lot of info about diabetes, How it is caused and what you can do about it. The book explains that having diabetes has also a negative impact on the brain in the longterm, not only on the body. One of the best ways of dealing with it is to change your diet drastically into a high fat low carb diet.

 

[Frederic Schornstein]

Hey Bram, You should check out a really great book called "grain brain" by Perlmutter. It's about how you can best replace carbs with saturated fats, and how it will make you mentally sharper and healthier. There's also a lot of info about diabetes, How it is caused and what you can do about it. The book explains that having diabetes has also a negative impact on the brain in the longterm, not only on the body. One of the best ways of dealing with it is to change your diet drastically into a high fat low carb diet.

Doing cycling with a high fat, low carb diet is something I would never try if you want to loose weight. You could of course still avoid gluten on a high carb diet. Even the organic dairy products are not really healthy at least based on experience. Since I started slowly cutting out meat from my diet I am feeling quite a lot better. My girlfriend also tried a low fat diet for some time which resulted in her having basically no energy to do anything else beside work.

 

[Grand Tourist]

I moved to an e-Cig about 2 years ago, don't feel the need to smoke tobacco at all anymore, BUT think I'm more addicted to nicotine now than I was when I was smoking, am probably a heavier "vaper" now than I was a smoker

I have managed to reduce the strength of the nicotine liquid I'm using quite a bit, but still use my e-Cig too often and I want to quit, as am waking up each day with a withdrawal headache. Think cold turkey is probably the one way from here, though last time I tried it I hardly slept for two nights, had a constant headache and then foolishly cracked...

Any tips for getting through the first 3 days of nicotine cold turkey?

It has been scientifically proven an E-cig does more damage to your body than an ordinary cig. Just quit and go cold turkey style. Character is needed but with the right support you can build on that. 50% less chance on cancer if you quit young.
I never smoked but in my younger years I have been a gambling addict so I know about addiction....it is NEVER positive. The seduction is always there just turn your back on it and tell it to F O K off. I have been clean for 15 years now of gambling, smoking cigs is just the same kind of addiction in another format. Search what is causing the addiction (childhood, stress,...?) and deal with that and the addiction will fade out. It's always sth deeper and personal, it's not just physical.
This whole community will support you.