Originally Posted by
MRT2
The problem is, a 4 mile bike ride, while it is a start, won't really do much. You won't burn enough calories to make much of a difference in your weight loss. The only benefit is that if you stick with it, your body will eventually adapt and you will eventually ride further. Which is what you need to do. Specifically, you need to ride at a pace that will raise your heart rate got about an hour, 4 or 5 times per week. My suggestion is to work up to 12, or maybe 14 miles in an hour, with occasional longer rides of 25 miles or more to build endurance and burn more fat. And even then, your body will eventually adapt, forcing you to work harder and eat even less to continue to lose weight, though in some ways, that is a sign the training is working. And, the Mongoose won't get the job done.
I agree. A couple years ago when I wanted to lose weight and got into cycling, I started out riding 3-5 miles at a time several times a week which didn't really do much but started to get my legs used to riding. Eventually I started riding every morning, doing 10 miles around town and then going on longer rides on the weekends. This, along with changing my eating habits, made me lose 50 lbs. But as far as long rides were concerned, I would push myself to go a certain distance, then another time go a little further, until I was doing 40 mile rides.