The year in cycling

rayfromtx
rayfromtx Posts: 111
in Fitness and Exercise
Two years ago I came on here and y'all helped me lose 62 pounds. Last April I bought a road bike and started riding and fell in love with it. I set the rather lofty goal to ride 7,000 miles this year, but I totally screwed that up. I've finished riding for the year due to the weather forecast for the next couple of years so I thought I would share my results.

I rode a total of 208 times for a total of 10,396 miles. The total climbing was over half a million feet. (I live in the hill country) Average ride length was 50 miles. The craziest part is the fact that I burned 480,014 calories on the bike which is the equivalent of over 137 pounds of fat. As a result, I have dropped my resting heart rate from 75 bpm to 47 bpm. My heart rate on a given ride is generally between 20 and 40 bpm lower than my riding partners at any given point in the ride. For instance, yesterday I rode 124 miles with 7,500 feet of climbing at an average pace of 17.6 mph. My average heart rate for the ride was 118 bpm.

I was able to accomplish this while working a full time job. I have no kids at home and an understanding wife. Her good nature is going to be tested in 2013. I'm planning to take a six month leave of absence and ride the perimeter of the US. That will end up being in the neighborhood of 10,000 miles.

I'd like to thank MFP and my friends here for helping to make this possible. I'm 51 years old and I guess I suffered a bit of a midlife reassessment(crisis) and decided to do this instead of buying a sports car. My friends here gave me support and encouragement to stick with my weight loss and lifestyle changes necessary to change my life for the better. It's been a hell of a ride, pun intended.

Replies

  • lilpoindexter
    lilpoindexter Posts: 1,122 Member
    Holy crap man, you are insane. Good luck on your long trip.
    I picked up biking this year because I was bored with the elliptical and with walking. i bought a used hybrid off craigslist. I live in SoCal..we have paved bike paths along our paved rivers...I found I really enjoy bike riding..I'm looking for a brand new hybrid. I currently ride 30-50 miles on a given trip, but in 2013 i'd like to build up to one 100 mile ride a week.
  • letjog
    letjog Posts: 260 Member
    WHAT.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    Great journey Ray, your story is an inspiration.

    My road bike sits in the front hall, full of good intentions as soon as the weather and available daylight for commuting to work improves. My route is along unlit country roads so I need to be sensible here. March next year should see me out on the bike again. In the meantime I am swimming at the local pool and looking forward to when the local waters warm up a bit so I can get an open water swim.
  • Melanie1967
    Melanie1967 Posts: 238 Member
    Ray you are such a inspiration, and I love having you as a MFP friend! Your positive attitude carries on to all of your friends and gives us a brighter light to look forward to on the healthier side. Keep up the AWESOME job you are doing. If you ever get bored of where your riding at, ride on up here to Ohio and visit me! ;-)
  • yoginimary
    yoginimary Posts: 6,788 Member
    That is a wonderful accomplishment.

    Do you do any of the organized rides? I do the Outlaw and the Rosedale almost every year - just wondering if I would see you passing me some time. :tongue:
  • Aesop101
    Aesop101 Posts: 758 Member
    That is wonderful Ray. Keep us posted on your travel. Maybe some of us will join you at some point. Yes a bike is in my future.

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