Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - My Goal (input needed)

Most of you know I am a newbie, but so far I am loving cycling and this forum. 80 miles in 2 weeks! I am doing it for weight lost but I can't help myself but try to go faster. I have set a goal of 700 miles before I buy a road bike. Is that premature? I have some friends here that do ironmen and they want to "punish me" on a road bike. Why does this make me excited?

Sounds reasonable - 700 miles will be enough to know you are addicted and there is no recovery.

Try riding your friends road bike before you buy one. You may not like the more aggressive posture. In some cases I have heard of rider's guts getting in the way (hitting their thighs) when they are pedaling.

Sounds reasonable - 700 miles will be enough to know you are addicted and there is no recovery.

that's the truth, and once you buy that second bike there is no help for you either ;).

Actually 700 miles sounds ok, for me it was about 9 years before I actually bought a road bike, not sure why I waited that long, but now the damage is done.

Most of you know I am a newbie, but so far I am loving cycling and this forum. 80 miles in 2 weeks! I am doing it for weight lost but I can't help myself but try to go faster. I have set a goal of 700 miles before I buy a road bike. Is that premature? I have some friends here that do ironmen and they want to "punish me" on a road bike. Why does this make me excited?

Probably because you have no idea what "punishment" means to an ironman competitor.

Why wait ?

Go buy the bike. I bought a GF Wahoo, and feel in love with riding, and commuting.
3 month later I purchased a 2008 Trek 7.5fx. 3 weeks, almost 250 miles, and 4 pounds lighter.
Trek dealers will do 12 months same as cash!!!

Good goal to set. I set a goal of doing a triathlon (Olympic distance) in 2008, so that is why I bought a road bike. Now I bought a bike for my wife, and now I am going to buy a different bike to ride trails with her that my street bike wouldn't work on with the narrow tires.

Once you reach that goal, have a blast on the new bike. Then set another goal with something to be gained when you reach that next goal........

Why wait ?

Go buy the bike. I bought a GF Wahoo, and feel in love with riding, and commuting.
3 month later I purchased a 2008 Trek 7.5fx. 3 weeks, almost 250 miles, and 4 pounds lighter.
Trek dealers will do 12 months same as cash!!!


Its not the money, I want to reward myself for hitting a good goal. I figure 15 miles per day 6 days a week thats only 8 weeks.

Try riding your friends road bike before you buy one. You may not like the more aggressive posture. In some cases I have heard of rider's guts getting in the way (hitting their thighs) when they are pedaling.

Hey, hey, hey....no talking about my gut...:D

1000 is a nice round number. And it's only 125 per week for the same 8 weeks. Do able, very do able. And it sounds better too. I made myself ride my first bike for a full year before getting another. Some days I wish I had gone ahead sooner, other days I think I made a pretty smart move. Ride the living hell out of what you have now and whatever you get next, you will likely ride even harder, further and faster. Good luck.

I like to set goals for myself, and I also like to know that I'm buying the best bike for my buck, so I always weight if a new model year is coming out. Glad I did this year. I've had my eye on the TREK Portland and while this years Orange/Copper metallic paint looks nice, the 2008 color makes this bike a classic in my eye.

I think you need to find a trailer to haul that little one around in too! LOL!

Chris

In some cases I have heard of rider's guts getting in the way (hitting their thighs) when they are pedaling.

That's why I haven't bought a road bike yet. One of the guys at my LBS said I should wear the tires out on my bike before I come in and get a road bike. That way I'll have a lot more time to know what I want in a road bike since it's a sizable financial commitment (for me anyway) for a nice one.

Sounds like you have a good LBS! :) Nice to hear this. I will warn you though, a road bike is an addictive and heady drug!:p The next thing you know, you're doing century rides........
That's why I haven't bought a road bike yet. One of the guys at my LBS said I should wear the tires out on my bike before I come in and get a road bike. That way I'll have a lot more time to know what I want in a road bike since it's a sizable financial commitment (for me anyway) for a nice one.

Try riding your friends road bike before you buy one. You may not like the more aggressive posture. In some cases I have heard of rider's guts getting in the way (hitting their thighs) when they are pedaling.
I can identify with that problem. For me it's simply a matter of not trying to use the drops, which I rarely used even when I had no gut. ;)

Its not the money, I want to reward myself for hitting a good goal. I figure 15 miles per day 6 days a week thats only 8 weeks.
I've found that varying my distance and intensity helps me build miles, and speed, faster. Instead of doing the same ride every day, I do some short easy rides (recovery), some short intense rides (although I don't do intense rides for the first couple months when I'm getting back into riding), some medium length rides, and then one long one on Sat or Sunday. Mixing up the rides also keeps things more interesting...

im in much the same way you are. I bought myself a mountain bike at the start of this summer, I told myself when I hit a weight goal, I would reward myself with a road bike.. I started at 256, im at 242 (240-243) when I hit 215 i will get myself a road bike...