Elkhound

I think it was Greg LaMond who said, "It never gets easier; you just get faster."

Mojo Slim

Keep us posted on your progress. Build up slowly. And as said, keep it fun.

Artkansas 

Yes, but as you ride, you can learn how long it takes to get to point X without knowing what your average speed is. That's all you need.

Imagonnabike

A little over 3 miles, I rode twice in small intervals. I am still doing that half fall thing when I try to stop. I think the location of my water bottle is messing me up, not sure. Maybe with time it will improve. I rode at a local park and had the time of my life. So pretty, deer in the fields, children playing.... truly relaxing!

Imagonnabike

4 miles!

MinnMan

See, you've quadrupled your mileage in, what, less than a week? That's why we're all rooting for you, as few of us are in a position to do that any more.
Don't worry if you find yourself at a plateau or even if you lose some ground at some point. Just keep riding and making sure you enjoy it.

Imagonnabike

Thank you!

Lauraspark

As long as it takes. It's all relative.

Rowan

The thing is... don't try to overdo things, but keep up the challenges. Twenty miles is an excellent target.

In any form of cycle "training", the accepted practice is to add around 10% a week to your previous week's distance. But as in any form of physical exercise, the gains when starting out can be quite rapid, so you might be able to add between 25 and 50% of your previous week's total distances.

In other words, if you ride four times this week, at a mile each time, that's four miles. Next week, do a combination that will give you 6 miles. And then around 9 miles the following week.

You can probably work out yourself from that how long it would take, ideally, to get to 20 miles in a week. Then you can go from there to doing 20 miles in a single ride.

The point about ramping up the distances gradually or gently is to ensure that you can work out any issues related to bike fit as you go (something that went to heart of your buying decision on this bike). You also are able to build your confidence in the bike and how it handles and stops, and work out the routines you need to get going, to stop, to corner, and when you encounter pedestrians, other riders or obstacles. Plus you will need to ensure you maintain your fluid intake by carrying plenty of water (especially in SA).

Eventually, you will be looking at your neighbourhood maps to identify routes that may interest you or take you places that (a) you can't access by car or (b) you've never had the inclination to explore before. That increase in fitness and reduction in weight that you are aiming for will also follow.

I know from teaching completely novice adult female cyclists how much feeling of achievement they had in being able to ride even 100 yards. So well done on getting this far.

Lauraspark

Imagonnabike

4 miles!