Last week, I picked up a used mountain bike off eBay, so I could get out cycling again. I used to enjoy cycling, but the chain on my old bike (which I was actually borrowing from my father) snapped, and I never got round to replacing it, so I hadn’t cycled for a couple of years.

I decided it was time to get back out there cycling for some good enjoyable exercise, so I picked up a 22″ frame Apollo mountain bike from eBay for £40, and got out there riding (click to embigulate):

I took a 3.4 mile cycle over the weekend, but just got back tonight from riding across town to my parents and back – 3.48 miles in 20:56 on the way out (avg 9.96 mph, max 24mph) and 4.38 miles in 26 mins (avg 9.9 mph, max 21 mph) on the way back (different route). Altogether, ~7.7 miles in ~45 mins cycling, I’m happy enough with that!

If you’re wondering about the level of geekyness required to get stats like that, I’m using Google’s “My Tracks” on my phone to record the route via GPS, mostly for motivation so I can work to slowly increase my average speed and cover longer distances. It’s also amusing to be able to see your route on the map.

I’m considering uploading maps of my rides, but I’m not entirely sure whether I want to, since one end of the ride will pinpoint where I live. (On the other hand, it wouldn’t be too hard to find that out anyway, and I don’t have a policy of making enemies, so it oughtn’t be that big a deal.)