New Guy, Fat Guy
 

i have posted a few times, but figured i would introduce myself here. i have a feeling this section will take up most of my time here, since it's made for people like me. i'm 6'3" and in the mid-300s.

i was really into biking on and off for a few years, but really took a step back last year and didn't really get out at all. at one point i was commuting to work, living the dream, but that's not really an options anymore so i'm just biking for health and the occasional errand.

most recently i had a target special hybrid bike that i had a lot of fun tooling around on. here is my favorite picture:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=314589

i ended up selling it in a moving sale, so i was bike-less and looking at an extended timeline before my move. my wife was taking the dog and moving ahead of time, so i was looking at being alone for the next 2 months or so with nothing much to do. i decided to go get fit for a bike at a local store. i was very apprehensive about going because i figured i would look like a circus bear riding anything but the massive steel bikes i had been. after taking a ton of measurements they put me on a road bike and let me take it out. i was amazed at how comfortable something so uncomfortable looking could be. anyway, here's a pic of my bike and i look forward to getting back out there after the weather gets a little better.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=314590

Ah, nice. What year Roubaix is that? It's sharp looking, that's for sure. I'm extremely fond of mine.

Make sure you get some nice bike shorts to complete the circus bear look - they will definitely make a difference in your comfort.

Happy riding!

I have people telling me all the time how uncomfortable those skinny bike seats are. Many of those people have not been on a bike since their own American made Schwinn with the big padded seat.

it's a 2012 Secteur Sport. definitely been great so far.

i actually have a pair of padded shorts from even when i was tooling around on my hybrid. they certainly make you feel better after a ride and i just throw them on under my gym shorts. i also figured out i was sitting way too far forward on the saddle and that was causing a lot of unnecessary pain/numbness.

i might have to get a set of bibs though because if not i'm going to have a plumber's crack tan.

Nice bike. Agree with TH about the bike shorts.

Nice bike! I love road bikes.

Hey tiger
I too am starting to cycle again. I'm not small either. I'm 5'7" and weigh 337( weighed myself this am at my wife's job).
I went for my first bike ride today in 20yrs.:thumb::thumb: Believe me, I have a long way to go, but I love biking and I want to be able to commute to work. I work about 17 miles away. I just want to say keep up the good work and most importantly, DO NOT STOP!!! WE CAN DO THIS!! :thumb::)

thanks, and good luck to you too.

it is really frustrating getting done a grueling ride and being wiped only to have your phone tell you that you've done < 2 miles. right now i'm fighting a lot of quad fatigue which kills me basically the whole ride and then goes away an hour after i stop riding. i go for two rides a day, which is much more manageable for me.

right now i'm charting my rides on an excel sheet. writing things down helps motivate me. i'm also working on improving my diet which is probably 80% of weight loss.

i'm keeping track monthly starting this month. i've gone for 6 rides totaling 11.1 miles and an hour and 5 minutes of bike time. my average speed is 10.17 mph. not lance armstrong, not even up to what appears "normal" around here, but my mileage is increasing each ride/day and so has my average speed.

i had to go and get my chains adjusted a little bit today and get another lesson on how the gearing works. apparently you can cross-chain, half shift up or down, and there's a phantom gear that i don't have a ring for. my two rides today were better though because i stayed in a lower gear. since my bike was filthy and i wasn't up on the maintenance aspect the guy recommended some chain oil and i realized i could use a little stand. i didn't want to pay $150 for one so i did some searching online and built one out of 1/2" conduit and a spring clamp. it looked a little shaky and i had to re-tighten it some, but it does the job and lets me spin the wheels freely. here's a pic:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=314771

hope everyone got out and rode today!

Hang in there I had been off the bike for a few years and in Jan. 2 miles killed me. I did 52 miles today
5'11" and 315 here. my goal is just a little farther than last time. You will get there takes time
Roy

Hey Plumberroy and Tiger

Thank you guys for all the motivation for getting back on the bike. You guys motivate me to continue. I have a question. My knees are hurting me and wanted to know if you experienced the same thing when you started out and does it still hurt? It feels like I've been on my knees all day, the same feeling I get from my work. Plus, I do have arthritic joints from old powerlifting and football injuries, but hoping losing the weight and riding will help strengthen my knees. I'm know I'm going to experience some kind of soreness.
Do any of you guys have a beginners training log or site that would be able to guide into "plumberroy's current achievements? Hey Plumberroy how long has it taken you to get to your current level? I'm proud of both of you for continuing to do good and staying at it.
Thank you guys for all you getting where you are and for any suggestions.
- Ray

Oh btw Tiger \, niiiicce bike stand you made.:thumb::thumb: I'm going to make the same kind if that's ok with you. Thank you sir for the great idea. :thumb::)

Knee pain is often due to either a saddle that is not at the correct height or pedals that aren't properly adjusted, if you're using clipless pedals. I'd bet on the saddle, though. If you want to tinker yourself, try raising it and seeing if that helps. People have a tendency to adjust their saddles too low when left to their own devices and I can tell you from personal experience that will cause knee pain.

In terms of knee strength, what you're really aiming for is building up the muscles around the joints since the joints themselves really can't be strengthened.

A good training log is bikejournal.com. It's free unless you want to be able to automatically upload with a GPS device.

Good luck!

glad i can help get you motivated. a lot of stories around here make me feel a lot better about doing this and motivated me. i don't know too much about knee pain, right now mine is all quads. i did a quick search and i think my shoes might be taking some joy out of my rides. i have ultra soft gel shoes with a pretty thick bottom. i have a harder pair of shoes that i'm going to try, but any recommendations are appreciated. i might also have to look more into the saddles like the selle gel one, as my ride frequency increases my butt is feeling it more and more.

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-...-Repair-Stand/


can't take credit for it, it cost about $45 using black (iron) conduit instead of the galvanized he recommends. the only thing i would change is probably to make the base an H with a couple of Ts instead of just 90* out towards the front. it won't tip over with the bike, but it would probably make it easier to get the bike up there since holding the clamp open can be a pain when you have the bike in your other hand. i moved mine out in the garage and i propped it up against the wall so that will prevent it from falling over backwards.

edit:
also, if you're going to use hose clamps put the screw on the bottom. it's a much tighter grip than i got putting them on top of the handle of the clamp like he shows.

Be very careful clamping a carbon frame on the top tube. I know its homemade and maybe cant put out much force, but with a normal bike stand never clamp on your top tube, use your seat post.

Thank you very much for the information and suggestions. I was riding today and thought that my saddle felt low comparatively. But I do have to say that my huge gut doesn't help thesituationmuch either. I can say this because I'm truthful when it comesto me and my abilities. i'll try adjusting my saddle and also tweaking my shoes and cleats.
Thanks again:thumb: Ray

ok thank you. I only have a cro-moly frame. but great suggestion

Of course, there is always the tutu look... :roflmao2:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=314828

To rvkhan and tiger. You two have started on a journey towards making permanent changes that will help you lead a longer, healthier, and happier life.

Just last Sunday I, and three other C&A members (TrojanHorse, BeachGrad05 and PhotoJoe), rode 100 miles in the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure. The first 60 miles covered LOTS of hills and climbing (including a hill with a 10% grade--though TrojanHose claims it was really 13%).

At the end of the ride we were all tired but very happy.

The point is that even though now it may hurt to go 5 - 10 miles, eventually you will both be able to cover that and more. You will look back on these early days and laugh.

Keep on riding! Ride safely! :thumb:

The "huge gut" will subside quickly with all the additional exercise you're getting, even if it's "only" two miles right now. Biking is one of those things where you see big gains in short periods of time. You'll probably be riding four miles two weeks from now. :thumb:

tiger you sound like a numbers junky. I am definately a numbers junky, its the accounting and Comp Science degrees. I picked up a garmin 500 with heart rate monitor and a cadence sensor. Teamed up with Strava there is tons of data to contemplate. Just something to keep in mind especially if you are hand updating spreadsheets ;). The link in my signature should take you to my Strava sight and show the latest rides data. Its a 30 sec upload and the stats are auto computed.

thanks for all the pep talk and ideas everyone. took yesterday off to do some moving out and give the legs a rest. i really didn't want to go out today, even though it's absolutely gorgeous but i sucked it up and went on my first ride of the day. i did a little bit further, a little bit faster and i'm very glad i went out. 2.5 miles in 12m21s. i am going to have to pick a different route so i can get some more miles in my round trip.

a couple things from my ride today:

-always wear bike shorts. it makes a heck of a difference, even on the short rides i take. i will never doubt trojanhorse's advice again.
-my knees hurt when i was in too high of gear and trying to grind it out. as soon as i shifted down it went away and didn't feel it again. i don't know if that applies to you, rvkhan,but it's the only thing that has caused me knee pain so far.
-harder bottom shoes are where it's at. definitely got and kept speed more easily with less effort. could be placebo, but i'm not going to argue.
-more pedaling, less coasting. i would be better served taking a full break than constantly coasting like i was doing anytime i got a sniff of a decline. my speed went up a lot and it's easier to keep rhythm. i'm starting to understand constant leg pump and shifting the gears when the elevation changes, just took me a while to get up the cardio stamina to do it. lower gears at a good pace feels a lot better than mashing high gears.
-pick routes that are flatter or more decline. it'll make you feel better, but don't cop out and coast!

I'm 46, 5'11" and 280, I started really riding in earnest again last year. I have managed to stay with it so far, primarily because I have always LOVED to ride. Try and focus on that when you're not on the bike. Remember just how incredibly fun it is when you get out there on the bicycle again. The other thing that is the key for me is to focus on not hurting yourself. You are definitely on the right track with the bike shorts, if your hands start to hurt, get gloves. If your butt hurts get a different saddle. Your knees are hurting you, definitely look into raising the seat. Spin the pedals don't push so hard that helps me keep away from knee pain.

i have a feeling gloves are next. my thumb pad, or whatever you call it base of your palm where your thumb comes in, is starting to hurt during rides. it's definitely different on the hands having a road bike instead of a hybrid. i hate getting something as hardcore as gloves since i still am going out for such short rides, but then again a lot of people probably aren't putting as much stress on their hands as i am. i think tonight i'm going to go out and just ride for as long as i can at a slower pace and just stop and take a break when i get tired, then turn around and ride back. i think it's too easy for me to ride my little 2 mile circuit and call it a day instead of pushing myself.

Yeah, I can't stress enough about getting bike shorts. I was like the person most against spandex you'd ever meet until after that first ride. After that first ride, I swallowed my pride and bought the spandex. Another thing...DO NOT buy cheap bicycle shorts, DO NOT. If you're going to spend your money on anything, spend your money on good cycling shorts.

Just planting seeds:

Y'a know... On my recumbent, I can wear any shorts I want and it's always comfortable. Just sayin'... :D