Bikelopnik, or (more accurately) an idiot attempts to be less lazy.

Illustration for article titled Bikelopnik, or (more accurately) an idiot attempts to be less lazy.

I’ve not been on a bike for probably 20 years, and a general dislike of sports has meant my exercise routine has been walking to the fridge to get more pies. However with the prospect of being 30 rapidly hoving into view that really should change.

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Illustration for article titled Bikelopnik, or (more accurately) an idiot attempts to be less lazy.

So I bought a bike. A Whyte C7 to be precise (yes, that Whyte, of the Rich Energy Saga). Why that in particular? Well it was reasonably local, almost certainly not stolen and it’s orange. I was after something with Disc brakes as they are supposed to be better in the wet, and living in the UK that’s more often than not. It’s a bit nicer than some of the super entry level bikes as far as I can tell, but certainly nothing fancy.

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Illustration for article titled Bikelopnik, or (more accurately) an idiot attempts to be less lazy.

I picked a jack of no trades Hybrid Bike as although I’m mostly going on road, the roads are less than optimal. In fact they are mostly craters with some gravelly tarmac in between and this probably wouldn’t be the best conditions for a pure road bike.

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So far I’ve only been out a couple of times due to timing and weather. Last Sunday was the first time out, with my thought process being that I’d ride to the castle in the next village, which though the back lanes was a 9km round trip or so. This went as well as you could expect for an out of shape schlub forgetting that he lives on the top of a hill. Lots of stops on the way back to recover.

Illustration for article titled Bikelopnik, or (more accurately) an idiot attempts to be less lazy.
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Today was a more sensible option of a quick and flatter route around the village. Conditions were quite icy, but that wasn’t an issue. Only about 8km this time, in a quite leisurely 22 minutes.

Illustration for article titled Bikelopnik, or (more accurately) an idiot attempts to be less lazy.
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Eventually I’d like to ride to work, but that’s some way off my capabilities. It’s about 11km, but with a big hill on the route home. Needing to be in the office for 7am is another issue I’m not going to think about for now.

The other thing I’m trying not to think about is what I’ve spent of this endeavour. The bike computer wasn’t really necessary, but is very nice and cost almost as much as the bike did. Everything else I’ve picked up on the cheap, as I’ve found out there is a lot of discounting of older and last season’s stock.

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Even so, it’s cost me more than the MR2 cost to buy.