Amazed at the difference not pushing an extra 15 lbs makes
 

From last year I have lost around 15 lbs.. This year I'm looking at my speed and going "that can't be". I struggled to do 15 mph average last year and now I can handle 17-18 pretty easily.
Went from 234 to 219lbs. MY goal was to get to 215, so I think in a couple months I might be there. Then, who knows? Would love to do a 10-mile time trial over 20mph but that will take some work.

Great job! If you want to get under 20 mph on a tt, you need some additional work like intervals and speed training. The good news is those will help you take off additional weight and go even quicker

I'm amazed at the difference losing 5 lb. makes! I was 165 for the past two years, but got it down to 160 now and I can climb so much better! So yes, bigbadwulf, I guess 15 lb. would be a huge difference!

My goal is 155, which is what I was all through my 20's - 40's, i.e. before I got really old and started adding on the weight for no good reason.

Rick / OCRR

Good news, indeed BBWulff. Glad you are making progress.

Bill

hmmm ... interesting. on a virgin ride with my new bike I got up to 40mph just on my condo complex hills very quickly, but on a test commute with a small rear rack and trunk with junk and a gps mounted to front bars couldn't get over 33 mph.

Congratulations! I'm inspired, but jealous. Need to get down from 200 to 190 or lower myself.

Dropped around 65 pounds over the last 13 months and I've found the hills that kicked my butt last summer are not bad at all anymore. I just say "legs, I need a little more power to get over this" and they say "you got it, boss!". There is a short but very steep hill about a mile from the end of my usual evening route. I was going up it as about 3-4 mph last year, Went up it last night at 8-9 mph. Whoo-hoo!

Not sure how much is due to increased strength and how much is due to not dragging the extra weight around, but it feels good. When I drop some more, I should fly up the hills, relatively speaking.

65 lbs!!?? WOW! That is incredible. You ain't half the man you used to be... ;)

Interval training: Did one last night ;). A faster group went by us while we waited at an intersection. My buddy says "I bet you can't catch them". Well, about 1.5 miles later I caught them indeed. And then they turned off the road we were to continue on, about 1/4 mile after I caught them. Arrgh!! That was interval enough for me. But I continued on the rest of the way at a good clip. I'm not much into training in the sense of a structured thing. That kinda takes the fun out of it(for me). But I will push myself. That is no problem.

Congratulations, BBW. Feels good, eh?

Congratulations bbwullf! I've lost 25lbs since taking up cycling last May. I'm at 220 now. and would like to get it down to 200lbs. Those first 25lbs came off easy... I've been stuck here at 220 since before Christmas, trying to figure out how to melt off the next 20...

I hit a plateau in a weight loss plan and found that splitting my daily bike ride into an early morning session (30-45min) and an afternoon session (1 hr +) helped quite a bit. Must have something to do with getting that metabolic rate up twice. Total time in the saddle was about the same. 205 hoping to get back down to 190.

I stuck at 222-225 for quite a while. Rode the mountain bike all winter. Same weight. Got on the road bike and instantly lost like 5 lbs again.

I went from 168 to 156 over the course of a year, and didn't notice that much of a difference.

16-17 is a pretty decent rate of speed. Improvement is quite addictive. It's pretty hilly where I live and I went from 12.5 average to 15.5 and feel inspired!

I've found that nothing affect my average speed more than my weight. Five pounds makes a big difference for me.

I've been working hard this year. I've gone from 162 to, as of today 139. I wish it made me faster. Even my intervals havn't done as much as I'd hoped for. But I do climb better. The flats still kill me. I just can't hang with the big motors.
I think I just picked the wrong genetics. .

I didn't notice it was you Al until I clicked reply to ditto your message. I just weighed in today at 174, about 20 pounds below my 195 high a little over a year ago. I haven't noticed any difference in the riding. Of course my wife has me carry a trunk bag with about 20 pounds of gear so I guess I am handicapped.

Down from a recorded high of 219# in April 2010. I weighed in this morning at 162. Its all come off by walking, riding, and eating less/eating better. I'm hoping my speeds will improve this summer as I get to riding more.

Weight loss is gooood stuff for TT's :D

I have a 20mi course (with a couple big hills) laid out for personal TT work. Losing weight brings the time down and avg speeds up...and those hills are not as big as they used to be.

10mi at 20mph is fast moving and a great accomplishment for our age, way to go!

I finished my 20mi TT with a 20mph interval (1 mile) and that is not easy.

I get killed on the hills (not to mention mountains) since I weigh 200. Sounds like you could move to Colorado and be King of the Mountain :-)

Saw a story a couple of years ago about the weight of pro riders. Most were at or slightly below two pounds per inch of height; none weighed more than a kilogram (2.2 lbs) per inch. So at 6'4", I should weigh about 155? Looks like a Tour win doesn't lie in my future.

Really Curtis,

The climbing is all you'll need for Devil Mountain Double!

Rick / OCRR

I don't hear the term any more these days, but back when I first started racing, and doing time trials, finishing a 25-mile time trial in 1 hour 15 minutes (20 mph average) was known as finishing in "evens." I think it's an English expression. Stapfam?

But as far as weight, I was pretty much just the opposite. Coming out of high school I was 6'1" and 145 lbs. Once I started cycling, and especially racing bicycles, I was 165 lbs. And when I started to get good at road sprinting in masters, I was 175. Now I ride 18-20,000 km a year and I'm able to maintain 175 lbs.

Luis

Way to go, Luis.

Ranch View Road? South Drive?


For myself, all I can say is I feel more fit riding the bike, but I just don't seem to be losing any weight. I hover between 220 and 230 (I'm 6'-2"). Right now I'm on a downswing, owing to riding frequently, giving up alcohol for Lent, and trying to to eat so much crappy food (a rule I broke today when I tried Pop's Hamburgers... but hey, it was in the middle of a 30+ mile ride).