minnesotamongo

I bought a Specialized Global Carmel (XL) around the beginning of June. I've lost 180 lbs since July 2009 and have been working out with a Personal Trainer for about 5 months so I thought that Cycling would be a piece of cake. WRONG - totally different and very challenging (I still weigh 400 lbs).

Tonight I just did my first 10 mile trek. The town I live in (Mankato MN) has a lot of hills since it is in the Mn River Valley so it's a bit challenging for me. But it was great - I know it's nothing for you guys - but a milestone I'll remember for awhile.

I really enjoy biking and have added it to my regular cardio and weight lifting. I just wanted to share a little of my joy and thank this forum for all the help. I've been lurking for awhile now and all the information I gleaned off of these pages have been very helpful!!

Now if I can just figure out how to NOT stick my tongue out when going up hill. It doesn't seem to help!

cyclokitty 

Congrats!

OT: Wow. Mankato MN -- that's the town that was often mentioned in Little House on the Prairie tv
show. That's pretty neat. I didn't realize it was hilly in real life since the tv program was made in California and had all those big mountains waaay in the distance.

Anyhoo, 180 lbs is incredible progress!! That is fantastic work! You know, 10 miles of actual bike ride does feel a lot different from 10 miles on a stationary bike. I learned that one pretty quickly but luckily it soon turned out to be one of the better realities of bike riding. I enjoy the freedom on the bike versus a gym workout and even though I'm not as fast as lots of other smaller cyclists, that speed gap is closing.

Welcome to the herd.

MrClyde

Dude, GREAT JOB!

That is outstanding. That is one reason I like the Clyde section. You are an inspiration.

10 miles is awesome. My first ride was about 4 miles, and my wife thought I was crazy. But I was tired of how I looked and felt, and wanted to do something about it. Cycling has been great for me. I had tried weight lifting with mixed results, and jogging which was too hard on my knees.

Keep it up, you'll be addicted soon like the rest of us.

minnesotamongo

Thanks - I really don't mind training in the gym - I even like weight lifting - but there's something about getting outside. We have a ton of great bike trails in town, so I have a lot of variety.

It's funny how - just all of a sudden - I got "bike-stronger". It was like from one week to the next I really noticed a difference.

Only 150 lbs more to go to my first goal - piece of cake, right? LOL

TrojanHorse

You were 580 pounds? (I know, I know, my math skills are amazing)

Bully for you on your progress so far and best of luck getting to 250 (as if luck has anything at all to do with it)

Just think, someday you'll be posting on this forum as a scrawny 180 pounder and newbies will wonder why you're hanging out in the clyde forum...

Neil_B

Congratulations on the weight loss and the riding. And ten miles of hills is never "nothing." They never get easier, we only get faster at climbing them.

Seattle Forrest

I've got to agree with you; outdoors is a subtle kind of happiness. I get stressed ( cabin fever? ) at home and at work, and a bike ride or a walk or a paddle in the kayak always help. Having a gym membership was a mixed blessing ... it kind of felt like one more chore to do, but was good exercise and all that. The bike being there whenever the mood strikes is much better, though.

Ten hilly miles is no joke. Keep it up!

minnesotamongo

Dude - i was even higher than that at one point - but that's the past. I didn't do surgery - just diet and exercise - plus I had to figure out what was going on in my head to cause me to want to shovel so much food in my yapper.

I think the hills would be easier if I could stand up on my pedals -but I'm still a little cautious about that with all that weight on the pedals - I fear I may break something. But all in good time I guess.

I had a lot of bikers to watch last night - it gives me some goals for hill climbing, pace, etc...

Peter_C

Congrats to you~! 10 miles is 10 miles more than most people ride!!

My first ride was all of about 400' - and a slight downgrade (my driveway) - now my longest ride to date is 37 miles. Time in the seat, keep it enjoyable (so you keep doing it)...

minnesotamongo

I think the biking is helping. I'm down another 16 lbs in 13 days.

196.1 lbs TOTAL!!

Adding biking to my work out routine has really helped. I am totally pumped.

chasm54

WRONG. Sticking your tongue out when going uphill is essential for catching flies, which are a valuable source of in-ride protein.

Congrats. Keep at it, you'll come to love it.

Kneez

Very well done so far! i am terribly impressed. If you don't mind me asking, what was your diet and exercise routine like before? And what do you eat and how much to your exercise now?

I completely agree about the getting outside bit. i do ride inside sometimes but I always prefer to be outside and going somewhere. Saying I rode 20 miles inside just doesn't seem like anything special compared to riding 20 miles outside and actually going somehwere and coming back.

ziggydcat

My hats off and my tongues out to ya. It's amazing how I look forward to riding now. In 2 months I am riding 20 miles in the time it used to take to ride 10, and I feel better afterwords as well. Today was the first day I managed a 12+ mph average for my 25 miles. Yea me!

Set goals for yourself. You really get a sense of progress and achievement that way.

Congratulations and welcome to the pack

dscheidt

Hills are what that 28 tooth chain ring is for, the bike's got low gears, don't be embarrassed to use 'em. standing to climb is hard on the knees, it takes more energy to produce the same amount of power, and so if the hills are even modestly big, standing isn't going to get you up them any faster. that said, I don't think you're going to break the cranks standing on them. Standing does use different muscles, so standing for a stretch will give some parts of your leg a break.

Wogster

The best use of standing to pedal is to restore blood flow to your sit bone padding, and to reposition if the saddle is starting to make itself known to you. As dscheidt said, climbing is what the low gears are for.

On a triple crank (3 rings) think of it this way, the small one is for climbing, the medium one is for flats and the big one is for descent. When you get stronger, and lighter, you will kick it up a notch and use the small one for steep climbs, medium one for less steep climbing, the big one for flats and descents.

minnesotamongo

Good advice and encouragement - thanks.

Right now - I do about 30-45 minutes of cardio a day - then lift weights. My Personal Trainer has set up various routines for me to work on different things - muscle groups - intensity, etc. I meet with her 2x a week. Right now I count all my calories on Livestrong.com - I really like that site.

I want to lose another 140+ - so I have a ways to go - but I'm in it to win it.

Thanks again for all the help and encouragement.

steve0257

I know about those hills. My brother drove school bus there in the early 80s, and I think it was E Main, that during the winter they wouldn't let the buses use it. 200 feet of climbing in a half mile.

minnesotamongo

Steve - they used to have a Bike Race out here where they did a loop through the city and they climbed E-Main several times.

That would suck...

zoste

Don't know how I missed this thread...

Mongo, my hat's off to ya.

wild animals

10 miles over hills is awesome and hard! I have been riding the same beautiful 15-mile loop for like 5 years, and I still love it, but I never got any faster. I started regularly riding the backwoods hills in my town a month or two ago and my average speed went up .5mph after my second time out. Today I went 21 miles an hour UP A HILL! The hills are hard but they do good things for ya

kevinvin

Congratz on the first two..

Yes.. It has been proven that sticking ones tongue out can not only increase output by as much as 5%.. it also makes you look more... Thoughtful

minnesotamongo

I'm down 196.1 lbs now - 16 lbs in 13 days - not quite sure how that happened. I'm still eating well - must have been time.

I'm still in line to lose another 140 + lbs but this is sort of a past 1/2 point picture.

nymtber

They say a picture says a thousand words...

Your pictures are just awe-inspiring! Keep up the fantastic work, and stick to it. You have made some serious progress, and I think you will find cycling to be just plain fun 10 miles is pretty good, Heck some springs that is all I can muster before feeling yuck. Next thing you know you will be getting off the bike after 25 miles hardly tired

Neil_B

You can't fool me. Those are two different men in those photos.