New bike new lifestyle

[abbynemmy]

I mostly lurk here, so i'll give a formal introduction. I'm not much of a chit-chatter but post when I have something constructive to say. I just want to thank everyone on this forum for inspiring me to take control of my health. I am 34 years old, married, father of three girls 9, 8, and 16 months. I'm 6'1" and 304lbs. My wife and I started the Abs Diet two weeks ago so far I have lost 9lbs. I have a very physicaly demanding job. During spring, summer and fall I work in lawn care, fertilizing lawns. I walk around 10 miles a day pushing a 50lb spreader of pulling a hose. The problem is I am in a truck all day so breakfast consisted of chips or combos from the gas station and lunch was fast food washed down with a 2 liter of soda and energy drinks. So needless to say I lost very little weight which I put back on in the winter. This year I am going to be eating healthy along with commuting the 13 miles each way to work.
Which brings me to the bike. I was looking for a jack of all trades kind of bike. I decided on a steel cyclocross bike. I'll be commuting on rough paved country roads so I figured the steel frame along with the wider tires will help smooth out the ride. I picked the bike up yesterday so here she is. First time posting pictures so I hope it works.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh257/abbynemmy/Poprad.jpg

Its a Lemond Poprad disk. The LBS said I won't have any problem with the wheels but I have my doubts.
The nice thing about disk brakes is if a wheel goes out of true as long as its not rubbing the frame you can still ride. The wheels will be getting upgraded though, don't want to take a chance on a 13 mile commute at 5:30am in the country.

Here she is ready to commute

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh257/abbynemmy/Commuter.jpg


Again thank you for the inspiration. This is my favorite place on the net.
Randy

[cohophysh]

Welcome and nice bike. I have had LBS's tell me those wheels would support me and I am your size. Not sure how much I trust them. Get a pair of deep V 36 spoke. There are a couple threads around the clyde forum

[v1k1ng1001]

Nice Lemond

[flip18436572]

Looks like a nice bike. If you don't feel comfortable with the rims, then by all means change to something you do feel comfortable with. Otherwise you might not do the riding you want to do. I am not as heavy as you, but my spoke count is nowhere near what others are using and swear by.

Good luck and have fun!!!

[OldRoadGuy]

Good on you. I hope you achieve your goals.
Your kids will be happy you did too. :)

[bautieri]

Nice, congrats on the bike.

Remember to take pictures and share your tales with us.

[BikEthan]

Very nice set up. Sounds like you've done your research! Good luck on the commute!

[bdinger]

Awesome ride, and congrats! One word of warning, however, commuting via bicycle is addictive. Lack of commuting may cause irritability, sleeplessness, and the strong desire to do crazy things to get your fix - such as commuting in the snow on a -4 (-19 windchill day).. :).

But.. I envy the setup. Absolutely gorgeous!

[B Piddy]

An Abs Diet guy...I too have followed the orange book now for some time. Welcome to the boards.

[kenseth03]

Good luck with reaching your goals. Everytime I think of not eating right or not riding my bike one day, I just think of how I want to be around for my little boy as he gets older. Thats your best inspiration, your children! Good luck, have fun and be safe!!!

[Mobiker50]

I mostly lurk here, so i'll give a formal introduction. I'm not much of a chit-chatter but post when I have something constructive to say. I just want to thank everyone on this forum for inspiring me to take control of my health. I am 34 years old, married, father of three girls 9, 8, and 16 months. I'm 6'1" and 304lbs. My wife and I started the Abs Diet two weeks ago so far I have lost 9lbs. I have a very physicaly demanding job. During spring, summer and fall I work in lawn care, fertilizing lawns. I walk around 10 miles a day pushing a 50lb spreader of pulling a hose. The problem is I am in a truck all day so breakfast consisted of chips or combos from the gas station and lunch was fast food washed down with a 2 liter of soda and energy drinks. So needless to say I lost very little weight which I put back on in the winter. This year I am going to be eating healthy along with commuting the 13 miles each way to work.

Welcome to the banks of the Clydes! Good looking bicycle, I even like the wheels (of course, time will tell on those!). One thing I might suggest is that besides doing the scale thingy, take a tape measure and with your wife's help, take some measurements (no, not THAT measurement!!):eek: But waist, hips, thighs, etc. Write those down and redo at some point. You WILL make a difference in some of those, even when the weight doesn't seem to be coming off. And take a picture of yourself (sans shirt of course), front and sideways, someplace where you can repeat the picture later to give yourself a good comparison. You'll be glad you did.

And, other than that, ride, eat (sensibly), sleep, repeat.