Cycling

[delboy]

Why do you need special shoes to ride a bike? And multi-coloured ganseys?

You don't you know. 

Cheers for the tips is lads. Some helpful stuff. My first preference would be to get a second hand bike around the £200-£300 mark but there not as easy to find as thought they would be. When doing my reserch and trying to find out how much everything would be, it was costing about £600 to get everything. Don't think I'll be doing that right away. As someone mentioned, the best way is to pick the gear up as you go along and get more seriours.

Have you ever cycled before, I think you'd be mad to spend that on a bike if you're going to get fed up in a couple of months. 
Mine was under £200 but if I'm still enjoying it as much in 12 months I think I'll upgrade.

Buy cheap, buy twice!

I'd rather that than buy dear and then let it rust in the garage.

The quality of a bike will improve the experience immensily riding on a cheap bike can quickly become a chore, the cheapo bike is much more likely to sit in the garage and gather dust than will the decent bike IMO. And if it comes down to it and they find its not the pastime for them a decent second hand bike will almost certainly hold its price better than the cheapo and will sell for roughly the same price it was bought for unlike the cheapo.

I hope you're not calling Jane and "cheapo"! 

What 

[pintsofguinness]

Jane's my bike.

[Jimmy]

Cheers for the tips is lads. Some helpful stuff. My first preference would be to get a second hand bike around the £200-£300 mark but there not as easy to find as thought they would be. When doing my reserch and trying to find out how much everything would be, it was costing about £600 to get everything. Don't think I'll be doing that right away. As someone mentioned, the best way is to pick the gear up as you go along and get more seriours.

Depending on the sort of bike you are after, I may be able to help.  In fact, I have one out the back of the house you can have if you are anywhere near Belfast.  It may need some work done to it but it wouldn't be that dear, it's a mountain bike if that's any use to ya

It's a road bike I'm looking, but thanks for the offer.

[The Real Laoislad]

Im doing up to 30km every Saturday in the Phoenix Park. Going to start go in the evenings after work now that the evenings are bright.
Starting off all i could manage was 4 or 5km,and really wanted to quit but stuck at it and have lost a stone and a half since christmas and am fitter than I have been in years.
 

[Tony Baloney]

Im doing up to 30km every Saturday in the Phoenix Park. Going to start go in the evenings after work now that the evenings are bright.
Starting off all i could manage was 4 or 5km,and really wanted to quit but stuck at it and have lost a stone and a half since christmas and am fitter than I have been in years.
 

What sort of bike are you using? A few of the fellas in work joined the cycle to work scheme and got these, what I can only describe as, "hybrid" bikes. Seem to be a cross between a mountain bike and a racing bike. For the commuter or average user doing 20 or 30 miles surely these would be a good compromise, rather than an ultralight racer with skinny wheels that buckle after about 10 yards on the backroads of Armagh.

[The Real Laoislad]

I bought a mountain bike in Halfords for €150 and I just wear a tracksuit bottoms and a jersey with ordinary runners, you don't have to spend big at all IMHO

[ludermor]

Jeez i might bump into ya, i try and do a lap of the park on saturdays and with the extra hour in the evening will try and do it a few times a week. The run around the back of the park through castleknock and chaplelizard is lovely in the good weather.

[gerrykeegan]

Thats a lot of cycling LL, do you just go up and down the middle bit or around the inside walls. Do you wear the Laois jersey? I am in the park with the kids most weekends, I will look out for you

[Orior]

Ireland is lamentably short of cycle paths. There are a few in the north:

Belfast - Lisburn, along the towpath
Belfast - Comber, along the old railway track,
Portadown - Newry, along the towpath

Any others? Whats your favourite?

[The Real Laoislad]

Jeez i might bump into ya, i try and do a lap of the park on saturdays and with the extra hour in the evening will try and do it a few times a week. The run around the back of the park through castleknock and chaplelizard is lovely in the good weather.

I'm there at about 9am most Saturdays,do you jog all the time or cycle?

[ludermor]

Cycle all the time i wouldnt be able run!

[The Real Laoislad]

Thats a lot of cycling LL, do you just go up and down the middle bit or around the inside walls. Do you wear the Laois jersey? I am in the park with the kids most weekends, I will look out for you

I usually park the van at the Papal Cross,then come out of that on the bike and turn left up towards the Aras,then turn left at that roundabout at the Aras and head up towards the Castleknock entrance,then double back and cycle at the back of the Zoo,down by the Garda Headquarters,coming out where the Wellington statue is and back up then on the main road towards the Papal Cross again,I usually do this circuit about 3 times,its about 9km for one circuit.
There are loads of little tracks and routes that can be taken but I like that one.

Could have Laois jersey on but could have anything really,I will be the one driving the dirty white Renault Trafic van,usually some little punk has "I wish my Girlfriend was as dirty as this" wrote on the back doors so if ya spot me give us a shout!

[Orior]

Thats a lot of cycling LL, do you just go up and down the middle bit or around the inside walls. Do you wear the Laois jersey? I am in the park with the kids most weekends, I will look out for you

I usually park the van at the Papal Cross,then come out of that on the bike and turn left up towards the Aras,then turn left at that roundabout at the Aras and head up towards the Castleknock entrance,then double back and cycle at the back of the Zoo,down by the Garda Headquarters,coming out where the Wellington statue is and back up then on the main road towards the Papal Cross again,I usually do this circuit about 3 times,its about 9km for one circuit.
There are loads of little tracks and routes that can be taken but I like that one.

Could have Laois jersey on but could have anything really,I will be the one driving the dirty white Renault Trafic van,usually some little punk has "I wish my Girlfriend was as dirty as this" wrote on the back doors so if ya spot me give us a shout!

Ahem... she is.

[pintsofguinness]

Thats a lot of cycling LL, do you just go up and down the middle bit or around the inside walls. Do you wear the Laois jersey? I am in the park with the kids most weekends, I will look out for you

I usually park the van at the Papal Cross,then come out of that on the bike and turn left up towards the Aras,then turn left at that roundabout at the Aras and head up towards the Castleknock entrance,then double back and cycle at the back of the Zoo,down by the Garda Headquarters,coming out where the Wellington statue is and back up then on the main road towards the Papal Cross again,I usually do this circuit about 3 times,its about 9km for one circuit.
There are loads of little tracks and routes that can be taken but I like that one.

Could have Laois jersey on but could have anything really,I will be the one driving the dirty white Renault Trafic van,usually some little punk has "I wish my Girlfriend was as dirty as this" wrote on the back doors so if ya spot me give us a shout!

Ahem... she is.

Definitely

[JUst retired]

Pints, you mentioned an mp3 player, and no one has mentioned it since. That seems a bit daft, how do you hear traffic coming from behind you?