I've been back on the bike for a year and a half now, after a 20 year hiatus. Found an 80's Summit (Japanese) road bike at a yard sale for $40 that got me back into it (after I spent a year or so looking at it, thinking "I should really start riding that thing"). Went from 6'3" 275 to 250, where I seem to have plateaued (room for improvement in my diet), but my legs are solid muscle and my spare tire is more like a barely inflated tube at this point.(I'll never be "skinny"--years ago I had some disc problems, and the orthopedic surgeon who was reviewing my MRI and Xrays said "I can't tell if these bones belong to a large man or a small horse".) I ride 15 miles every morning before the sun comes up because I can't imagine life without riding at this point. Another plus is that I haven't caught a cold since I started riding again, which I think has at least something to do with cranking up my circulatory, digestive, lymphatic and nervous systems every AM. For my 50th birthday last December I bought myself a used Klein Quantum, which I've upgraded with DA components (bought used off Ebay) and a set of Velocity Deep V wheels. If you didn't buy a cycloputer with your new bike, I highly recommend it. I just added one (a Blackburn Delphi 3.0--works OK, but beware the moisture intake design flaw on the mount bracket that causes the speed and cadence displays to flip out when you ride in the fog) and being able to monitor my cadence has pushed the intensity of my rides up a couple of notches. I've got my average cadence up to 90, not bad for a guy who's always been much more a masher than a spinner. I'm trying to work out what combination of the two works best for me.

Visit this forum frequently--it's a great source of attitude free inspiration, as has been mentioned in several threads over the past week. I read the road forum but am frequently turned off by the "I'm THE most badass biker/hippest person in the universe" rants often found there. Here in Clydeland its a brother and sisterhood, and what's not to like about that?

Your first couple or few weeks back in the saddle may require some patience--don't go too nuts with distance and climbs at first. My ride was 7.5 miles for my first year, just trying to do it a little better every day. After about 2 weeks I noticed that the (very modest/almost not a) climb that initially left me panting, wheezing, and swearing wasn't so hard any more, and then I was hooked--I knew that if I just stayed on the bike my cholesterol, heart rate, and blood pressure would all stay nice and low. So far, so good....