Pat_RI

First time poster here I got myself a 2009 Cannondale Bad Boy disc coming in soon to get me on my way to getting in a bit better shape and just for the fun of riding. I haven't really ridden a bike in 20 years and back then it was a huffy. I tried walking to start off with got some bad shin splints after a very short time I am hoping that this will not be an issue when riding. I am in my thirties weigh 5'10 245 and hope to get down to about 210 some time next year. The first thing I have to do though is quit drinking soda and ice coffees because I am addicted to the caffeine and can do without the extra 700 or so calories a day.

Being a New Englander I should be able to get about 2 months (at least) of biking in before the ice and cold kicks in. A question I have is how should I start out my cardio is pretty bad and don't want to get frustrated early. Another question is what should I definitely buy for the bike besides a helmet to insure I am all set for what occurs while riding. I figure I will need extra tube, multitool, pump, and probably some type of computer to keep track of mileage and speed anything else to start off with? I think most of my riding will be done at night because i am not an early bird and I usually don't get home until 7 PM from work. One last question is what to do during the winter? I was thinking of a trainer but I heard they are quite loud....and boring and my apartment walls are thin and don't want to bother the neighbors. Is the volume on the trainers loud or is it an exageration?

I have spent the last week or so searching the site and found some answers but I don't want to start off on the wrong foot.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Tom Stormcrowe

Depends on the trainer. I use the Kurt Kinetic and it's pretty quiet, but it's pretty pricey as well. As to how I stave off boredom? I watch TV while I'm on the trainer.

If I want the ultimate workout, I watch the Jerry Springer show and sprint every time there's a loser guest. In short, I sprint to failure of the muscles.

Get a good set of lights, by the way, and you can extend that riding season through the winter if you want with studded tires, like the Nokians.

Richard_Rides

Don't you mean Bad Boy?

Pat_RI

Yes i did. I must have been thinking of Bob's Big Boy.

txvintage

Where from in RI? I used to live right off Clarks Falls Rd.on I-95 in N Stonington. The state line ran right next to my yard, and the guy across the street was in RI.

There are some really great roads to ride out toward the beaches and down around Westerly, Stonington, and Mystic. The boy scout ranch has some awesome hard pack gravel roads running all around it out there too, just turn right at the exit instead of left and Clarks Falls Rd runs right out to it

Pat_RI

I actually live up in Lincoln and was going to start off hitting the bike baths such as the Blackstone Valley and East Bay and possibly some state parks.