Training from scratch

[dra...@gmail.com]

Riding 20 km (one way) is no easy task in Malaysian weather
(28-35degrees C). I have started cycling at 20km/h on flat terrain for
6 km. It was an easy ride but my HR took some time to return to
resting HR indicating that my fitness level is in dire straits. I will
probably employ a Polar Heart Rate monitoring to ensure that I am not
doing too much too early. Will post an update every week.

[CyclingDoc]

After cycling for 2+weeks 20km 5 times weekly, I found that I could
ride comfortably at 20kmh at an RPM of 80-94. I can do small climbs
with little effort now and have started to increase my mileage to 30km
since yesterday. The pain in the buttocks has diminished significantly
and so has the wrist pain. The thigh stiffness and post-exercise
muscle soreness seem to last only for several hours after a hard ride.
It has also reduced since I have started drinking up to 500ml after
every 2.5km (roughly every 15 minutes). Indeed I am a guzzler but it
feels much better than a muscle cramp!