Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - New Clyde in Minneapolis

Hi there, guys--

I posted a while back asking about which bike to get for my massive frame (6'8" 400, 34% bodyfat), and I seem to have come across my bike. It's a Sun EZ-tadpole SX that my dad gave to me (he got a new TerraTrike), and I love it so far. I just had it tuned at Calhoun Cycle, and everything seems to be going well. I just want to ask about workouts.

I'm in pretty good muscular shape, as I've just come off a 6 month round of powerlifting, but it's time to get in good cardio shape as well, and lose some pounds. I took the tad out over the thanksgiving holiday and did a casual 12 mile ride, and another more vigorous 15 mile ride. It felt pretty easy, and damn fun. With my size and my strength, how many miles do you think I could do, and how many days a week should I ride? How many calories am I burning with my size?

The ultimate goal is to lose 100 pounds, and do RAGBRAI next summer on the tad. Thoughts?

Oh, anyone want to ride around Calhoun/Harriet?

Thanks so much, guys!

If your doing 15 miles on your first or second ride you are way ahead of the curve! My suggestion is to not get too caught up in mileage and just listen to what your body tells you early on.

The one thing you want to avoid is being so sore or so tired that the sight of the bike makes you flinch. As you get more accustomed to the activity, the mileage wil lincrease on it's own and then you can start setting distance goals such as 25/40/62, etc etc.

As to how many days, I would say every day as long as your body isn't yelling at you to take a day off. Another advantage to not hammering away too early and too often is that you have much fewer days that need to be taken as rest days. Even days where you push yourself for a further than normal distance, and your legs are sore, you can still ride easy and spin to work the Lactic Acid out of your legs. These don't have to be long distance, and certainly not fast, rides.

Nothing wrong with tracking miles and speed.
I ride with a 50 y/o woman (Sun EZ) who can ride 75 miles anyday and has done 100 miles.
Mile tracking is good for knowning when to service the bike.
Just go Slow to Start. You will get stronger each week.
Take off one or two days a week to rest.

woo hoo Ragbrai! I'd take a boiling hot day in Iowa over the weather we have now in a heartbeat