Tyre Question

dgregory57

That 50 pounds took a year or so... and I did gain 20 over the winter (I moved to PA where cycling is not a year around activity).

My problem that prevents quicker weight loss is that when I cycle a lot, I also build up quite an appetite.

In California, I used to do about 80 or 90 miles in an average week, I am just now getting up to riding every week again, and still haven't taken to riding before or after work. Last week I did a 30 mile ride along a repurposed railroad trail in the Lehigh Gorge park (almost 3 hours). It was gravel, so a bit less efficient to ride than a paved path. The week before, I did 23+ miles on a more distant rail line that was paved... a much nicer surface, but the scenery was slightly less exciting.

Like you, I do feel much better when I ride, even if the weight may come off slowly. I tend to focus on health, but as I get older, I know I will not be healthy unless I lose the weight.

For my first 100 pounds of loss, I did also attend Weight Watchers, and it helped me to get motivated to balance my diet and increase my activity level.

One caution, since I suffered for it after a couple of months of riding. Keep your cadence up. I tended to ride hard, and the area behind my knees was extremely susceptible to pain, when I would do something like was stubbing my toe. When I increased my cadence, this problem went away. I tend to cycle at about 80 RPM now, I had been doing about 50. I would suggest that people starting out pick a comfortable gear to ride in, and then go down one or two gears... I suspect this is especially important for large riders starting out.

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scotty72

Cadence is not a real issue for me, I've always liked to be in the mid eighties. Even though I've had time off, I slipped straight back into the 80's. Even if I'm on a flat just doing 15 mph or so, I'll slip back some gears and do 80+. That was the first thing I learned years ago, Cadance is king.

I'm starting to commute my bike every (work) day. About 10 miles each way (basically flat). So I'm hoping that I'll start shedding soon. Like I said, feel better and my av speed is gaining too.

I'm lucky because 80 of the ride is off - road cycleway. And 90% of that is very good quality - so the excuse of dangerous traffic is out the window.

Scotty