Originally Posted by Motophoto
I can go a little more than a hour at a good clip before the pain is too much which takes me 17-20 miles. I could go longer if I dropped the speed a bit. My legs could go much farther but the joints are not up to it any more. I think as some of the weight comes off it will help the joint pain.
If you have joint pain, hard fast efforts are not good for the joints. Drop the speed to where the joints don't hurt. If you can, find the time to work up to riding all day. Try to slowly work up to riding 100 miles at one time (or as long as possible for you) let your joint pain guide you as to how far you can go. That will help you lose weight and most likely be better for the joints, at least it will feel better (check with the doctor first, don't take internet advice about this!). It works wonders for my rheumatoid arthritis. After 50 or 75 miles I can ride much faster and harder, for longer without joint pain, than I can with just a short warm up. You could lose a pound in one century (100 miles) ride. More than that in fluid loss but about a pound by the time you get back to typical hydration levels. I helped a friend train for a century this fall, she lost five pounds without changing anything else. That's about one long slow ride (70 to 110 miles) and one short ride (20 to 30 miles) a week from mid July to early September. Maybe 6 or 7 weeks? Riding all day also may get you in the habit of having small snacks on the road and no big sit down dinner that day. You will need to eat plenty on a century ride, don't worry about too much calorie intake the day of the ride, or the night before if you are doing a century.