Jay,

Lot's of great advice here. Probably not much valuable I can add...but i will anyway

First, I'd say "good luck" but I don't think it is luck that will get you where you want to go. At least not mostly. But I do wish you the best on your mission!

About 14 months ago I started cycling. I bought a cheap flat bar road bike ($369) on line which I still ride (though I really, really, really want a new bike). I was 220 lbs then (at 5'10"). I remember my first ride. 15 miles with two "climbs" which consisted of an average 4% over about .6 miles with some parts at 5-6% on that short climb. I made it up the front side in my granny gear probably at about 6 mph or less at times. A mile later going up the back side I had to get off and walk. Then, at about mile 10 my arse hurt so much that I had to pedal a few strokes and stand up...pedal, stand up (I couldn't stand and pedal at the same time very well becasuse it winded me too fast and made my legs hurt ). That 15.04 miles took me 1 hr 8min for an average speed of 13.24 mph.

I just did that same route on my morning ride yesterday with the goal of going out hard, but less than maximum effort. I did that same route in 48:34 averaging 18.6 mph (total climbing about 600 ft). I now climb those hills on my middle chain ring rather than the third ring. I did hill repeats on those hills on Memorial Day (they are close to my house and make a pretty nice 3 minute interval). I averaged 12 mph up those same hills (fastest was 13.3 mph). Now, that isn't fast to a lot of folks here, but from where I started it sure is improvement. Not only am I stronger now, but carrying 42 less pounds up a hill makes a big difference.

I am now at 178 lbs and in better shape at 45 than I was at 30 (maybe even 25). I went from a 40 waist and just bought cargo shorts that are 32's. I'm pretty confident I'll be a solid 32 with all pants by Fall.

What did I do? I counted my calories in and out as accurately as I could and tried to maintain a 500-700 calorie a day deficiet. For me, no more than that or I actually would perform worse on subsequent days...YMMV. I use http://thedailyplate.com . As mentioned by a poster above, I tried to ride consistently. I aim for 5 days a week (although that might get shorted a day if other responsibilities conflict). I started targeting my training better rather than just riding around. First I started keeping times on the routes I rode and started comparing each successive ride and tried for improvement. Then in about mid-October when I got a trainer I started some interval training to make the most of my 45 minutes or so almost every morning. I am convinced that the targeted training helped increase my speed and power quicker and also accelerated my weight loss. For example, on a really hard hill climbing TT effort I can burn 600+ calories in that time as compared to 400 some if I'm doing a slower recovery type effort. I also think those targeted efforts increased my lower body muscle mass and helped increase my resting metabolism which kept the weight coming off.

This all takes time. But for me it has been a very rewarding effort. If you keep at it you will see improvement (assuming you are typical, reasonably healthy person). Usually it is a few seconds here, a tenth of a mph there, but every once in a while you break through a wall and that's fun! Plus, when you look back to where you started the gains are quite noticeable. For now, time spent on the bike is probably most important for you. Keep riding and attacking those same hills. They will become easier and easier (especially as you learn to pace yourself).

It's probably too early to start more intense training (unless you are already in good shape from other sports). If you can work yourself up to getting out and being able to spend 2-4 hours (or more) on the bike and still be able to function when you get done you will be burning a lot of calories. After you do that for a while, and ride shorter rides consistently the other days, you might be able to add more intensity. I worked on being able to ride longer before I worked on being able to ride faster (for the most part)

That said, I'm not a nutritionist or a personal trainer or anything. This is just my story. And make sure you see your doctor before starting or changing your fitness routine. Now go get'em tiger!