Any bike riding success stories

NewLIFEstyle4ME

I ride my stationary bike quite often in my battle of the bulge. But this thread is about outside bike riding. I have a bike and used to ride it regularly with the family. I haven't rode my bike outside in some years, and I'm going to start TODAY to ride at least 30 minutes per day.

That made me wonder if anyone has any bike riding success stories. I know quite a few people who have lost the weight/reached their goal just by walking. I'd love to hear if/how riding your bike daily helped you in your battle of the bulge!

How often do you ride?

How much did you lose riding?

Any advice, please do share!

Matt_Farris

This is my first post here, but I'll dive in. I bought my first real bike back in February of last year. I always liked to ride as a kid and I thought I would enjoy it as an adult. I thought it would be a great way to help me get my weight down from nearly 300 pounds. I started out riding 5 miles, then 10 or so, and sometimes 15. Then, a friend of mine posted on facebook that she wanted people to commit to ride the Bike MS event with her in September. Reluctantly, I committed to riding 150 miles over 2 days. That commitment was my motivation throughout the summer. Being unemployed, I rode nearly every day. On July 4th, I rode 50 miles before most people had gotten out of bed.

By September, I had only lost 25 pounds, but I was feeling MUCH better. I felt more fit. My problem was that I just wasn't as committed to eating healthy as I should have been. Anyway, I completed the event and felt great about myself. I just realized that I would be a much more effective and faster cyclist if I were much much lighter. I vowed that for the next year (this year), I would be at my goal weight of 220. (I'm 6'4"). I knew that dropping the weight would make me better.

A new job and lazy eating habits after the event put the kabosh to my weight loss for several months. In March of this year, I renewed my vow to be at my goal weight. I've now taken a more holistic approach to my fitness. I continue to ride, but I've also focused on eating healthier and I've started running and weight training as well. I've now lost almost 50 pounds total and 25 since March. I have a ways to go, but I feel like I'm quickly getting there.

So, to make a long story short, the bike has worked for me on two levels. It has served as a form of exercise, which was my initial goal, and it has also served as motivation in and of itself. My goal now is to be the lightest, most fit cyclist I can be. It has prompted me to make wholesale changes to my lifestyle. I feel better than I ever have!

And to answer your questions:

I regularly ride 20 to 30 miles. I'll continue to push that up over the summer as I get more time to ride. (Longer days help). I don't get to ride as much as I want to now, but I usually get in one or two rides during the week and a longer ride on Saturdays.

Advice?: Make sure you have a bike that fits you. A poor-fitting bike isn't fun and cycling should be fun.

NewLIFEstyle4ME

Oh....My....GOD :blushing:

I just got in from my 30+ minutes ride, I am sweating like I stole something, who KNEW 30+ minutes of outside bike riding is like 2hours of Taebo (for those outta shape and used to stationary bike riding but totally unaccustomed to outdoor bike riding). Honey...woooooooooo! My fat is crying something fierce. Who knew the wee hills I walk daily are such mountains when riding a bike. I had to get off my bike and walk it several times. My poor active children are so patient, as they rode much slower than normal and they waited for me with joy. My son just said he's proud of me! My youngest son just kissed my sweaty forehead (yuck I know). My daughters say they are proud of me too and I can do it and they will help!

It's definitely on, I'm going to ride my bike DAILY, as I love the super fast beating of my heart as I ride and the tremendous amount of sweat--just from a wee little 1+ or so mile ride--I'm sure it couldn't have been more than 2 miles....

PLEASE share more bike riding success stories...I'd LOVE to hear them!

dsjohndrow

Me and Lance used to take drugs, he won the Tour d' France, and I ended up in the bushes.

All kidding aside, exercise is a small portion of how you actually lose weight. 90% of weight loss is a deficit. Biking is a great exercise. 45 minutes 3 times a week should really help.

bsharp57

I have been a serious recreational rider for about 10 years. My passion is hills. I compete in the Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hill Climb in New Hampshire. With the assistance of a trainer and MFP, I shed 15 pounds and took 12 minutes of my best time last year. Cycling is great not only for fitness but well being and stress reduction. Keep on pedaling!

Cheri_Moves

I lost my first 50ish pounds by counting cals, mountain biking on the weekends and riding my bike to and from work most days (about 12 miles round trip.)

Davis911

I've been riding every weekend since Jan 20th. Cycling 20 to 100 miles per weekend + watching/monitoring what I eat + 1 to 2 exercise classes per week has brought about a lot of weight success. (NOTICE I SAID COMBINING). This also brought great success when I participated in the 180 mile (2 day) ride from Houston to Austin (MS 150)

plateaued

Yea. my success story is that I only broke a rib crashing last weekend insead of killng myself.

TDGee

I've lost about 100 pounds by riding a bike and monitoring my caloric intake. (Some of it was before I started tracking here, so my ticker doesn't reflect it) I started out after an injury struggling to get five minutes in without dying. Now I will be riding in a metric century (63 miles) in a few weeks. Stick with it, it's great therapy.

NewLIFEstyle4ME

This is my first post here, but I'll dive in. I bought my first real bike back in February of last year. I always liked to ride as a kid and I thought I would enjoy it as an adult. I thought it would be a great way to help me get my weight down from nearly 300 pounds. I started out riding 5 miles, then 10 or so, and sometimes 15. Then, a friend of mine posted on facebook that she wanted people to commit to ride the Bike MS event with her in September. Reluctantly, I committed to riding 150 miles over 2 days. That commitment was my motivation throughout the summer. Being unemployed, I rode nearly every day. On July 4th, I rode 50 miles before most people had gotten out of bed.

By September, I had only lost 25 pounds, but I was feeling MUCH better. I felt more fit. My problem was that I just wasn't as committed to eating healthy as I should have been. Anyway, I completed the event and felt great about myself. I just realized that I would be a much more effective and faster cyclist if I were much much lighter. I vowed that for the next year (this year), I would be at my goal weight of 220. (I'm 6'4"). I knew that dropping the weight would make me better.

A new job and lazy eating habits after the event put the kabosh to my weight loss for several months. In March of this year, I renewed my vow to be at my goal weight. I've now taken a more holistic approach to my fitness. I continue to ride, but I've also focused on eating healthier and I've started running and weight training as well. I've now lost almost 50 pounds total and 25 since March. I have a ways to go, but I feel like I'm quickly getting there.

So, to make a long story short, the bike has worked for me on two levels. It has served as a form of exercise, which was my initial goal, and it has also served as motivation in and of itself. My goal now is to be the lightest, most fit cyclist I can be. It has prompted me to make wholesale changes to my lifestyle. I feel better than I ever have!

And to answer your questions:

I regularly ride 20 to 30 miles. I'll continue to push that up over the summer as I get more time to ride. (Longer days help). I don't get to ride as much as I want to now, but I usually get in one or two rides during the week and a longer ride on Saturdays.

Advice?: Make sure you have a bike that fits you. A poor-fitting bike isn't fun and cycling should be fun.

You ROCK--Thanks so much for posting!!! I have a really nice bike, I got it a few years ago (before I got really fat and flabby)...it's a Trek and I like it a lot.

FATJAKE5

I ride my bike from the West Coast to the East Coast and back each year and gain weight each time. Do you think the beer along the way is the problem?:drinker:

plateaued

Your bike looks very heavy. You must have to pedal very hard.

binglebandit

I've lost my weight from a lot of different things, but when the weather is nice I bike every day to the campus or to where my studio is at. So a total of 30--70 min a day. It can be brutal with the hills and strong winds we have here, but it does get easier. The best part is now when I bike I can totally notice a difference in how much quicker I can go.

I think what saved my legs the most was learning how to shift before hitting a hill so that I didn't get winded going up it.

dnunny

We bought bikes and ride as a family. It is exercise. I can't get up some of the hills...my goal is at the end of the summer I'll be able to ride up the hill without stopping or walking up the hill.

bdenitto

We bought my husband a bike last July ( a Trek hybrid). He started riding a few miles and can now easily ride 50+ miles in a day. He has lost 91 pounds since August of last year. We just bought him a Cannondale road bike and he is training to go to France this summer to ride parts of the Tour. I jump on the stationary bike at the gym and hopefully I am going to buy a bike and a trailer for our 2 year old in the near future. His advice is to push yourself to do a little more each time you get on the bike.

SleeplessinBerlin

Years ago, in summer, my best friend started to use her bike as the preferred method of transport whenever she needed to go to the university. Which was almost every day. The ride took between 45 and 90 minutes (that means 90 to 180 minutes total), depending on the route. She lived outside the city so the first half of the ride was always pretty quiet. She lost weight so fast I couldn't believe my eyes. I decided to do the same. My route was shorter - took me usually about 20-30 minutes, but I also started to lose weight quickly. And I always got compliments on how fresh I looked.

In the last couple of days I've been looking for the best baby seats for my bike - I'm planning to use the summer for bike rides with my daughter.

Weezoh

My wife and I have made cycling part of our exercise, although it's not the majority due to weather concerns. in the last couple years in the summer we've been out there pretty much every weekend on the trail and that's helped a lot. We weren't serious about weight loss until 2011 after my wife had a stroke (nothing to do with her weight but we decided it was time to do something before it was a factor in something else going wrong). We just got back from the bike trail and had someone else there take our picture again to compare with a picture we had taken in 2007. Here's the comparison. (Currently I'm down between 65 and 70 pounds and still am working on it. She's down about 100 and is finished)

ovege

I ride as often as I can, I do indoor in the winter 4-5 times/week and outdoor all summer long.

I lost my first 40 doing couch to 5K and the last 50 biking. I am plateaued but I am getting stronger and need to add more muscle strength to the endurance. I ride 20-30 miles outdoor when I can and have done 75 in a day so far. Century here I come!

ovege

Congrats! You both look awesome, that looks like so much fun!

My wife and I have made cycling part of our exercise, although it's not the majority due to weather concerns. in the last couple years in the summer we've been out there pretty much every weekend on the trail and that's helped a lot. We weren't serious about weight loss until 2011 after my wife had a stroke (nothing to do with her weight but we decided it was time to do something before it was a factor in something else going wrong). We just got back from the bike trail and had someone else there take our picture again to compare with a picture we had taken in 2007. Here's the comparison. (Currently I'm down between 65 and 70 pounds and still am working on it. She's down about 100 and is finished)

NewLIFEstyle4ME

Me and Lance used to take drugs, he won the Tour d' France, and I ended up in the bushes.

All kidding aside, exercise is a small portion of how you actually lose weight. 90% of weight loss is a deficit. Biking is a great exercise. 45 minutes 3 times a week should really help.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I so agree with you. I'm working my way up to 45 minutes per day. I'm going to ride EVERY DAY (God Willing) until I build my stamina up. Went again this afternoon and not too shabby (but still shabby :laugh: ) I conquers a few of the hills I couldn't yesterday, but still had to walk the bike up some hill and like yesterday though. WOW, my heart was beating like crazy again, sweating big time again and breathing sooooo hard--UGH. It's going to take some time, but I'm loving it!

madmax0412

For me road cycling has been an amazing way to increase my aerobic activity. I love getting on my bike and taking in the scenery. I go very early in the morning and anyone I see out there is generally running or cycling. We all wave to one another so that's great too.

I use Endomondo to track all my exercise combined with a bluetooth HRM. The first time I measured the calories I burn while riding I just couldn't believe it. I burn far more calories riding my bike for an hour than I do during any of the trendy fitness DVDs I follow 3 times a week.

After a prolonged drop off in my workout regimen, I'm back it and more determined than ever to stick with it. Coming to this forum and entering challenges via Endomondo should help me stick with it. So with that said, my fitness level on my bike isn't quite what it was 8 months ago or so. I'm only doing 15-16 mile rides 3-4 times per week right now. Next week I plan on increasing that to 23 miles per outing.

But for now it's all about just getting on my bike and riding!

Feel free to add me as well. I'd love to follow your cycling progress and weight loss progress.

NewLIFEstyle4ME

I have been a serious recreational rider for about 10 years. My passion is hills. I compete in the Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hill Climb in New Hampshire. With the assistance of a trainer and MFP, I shed 15 pounds and took 12 minutes of my best time last year. Cycling is great not only for fitness but well being and stress reduction. Keep on pedaling!

I will! You ROCK, period...especially that hills are your passion--WOW!

traceyleighgirl

I bought a bike and starting riding slowly last year. I've lost 35 pounds from lowering my calorie intake, and ONLY biking outside. I seriously HATE any other form of exercise. It's the only thing I will do, aside from canoeing/kayaking. I love being outside and the bike makes me feel so free

I started super, super slow. A couple of measly miles per day until I built up my stamina. The most I've biked in a single ride was 31 miles..Not shabby for someone who hates working out, haha. I can't wait to beat it when the weather stops raining here.

I would recommend getting a speedometer for your bike. It's a challenge always wanting to beat your previous miles!

NewLIFEstyle4ME

I lost my first 50ish pounds by counting cals, mountain biking on the weekends and riding my bike to and from work most days (about 12 miles round trip.)

Bam! Love this--you ROCK!

TheArmadillo

I started cycling last summer, borrowing my mother in laws bike (which I am still using) as i wanted something more challenging than walking. I had lost 40ish lbs by that point. I hadn't cycled in about 15 years at that point and could do a mile on the flat as long as i stopped part way.

This year i started working full time (instead of part time) and moved to a further away office. I cycle to work, 16 mile round trip, 5 days a week. I have a sedentary job and find this the easiest way to fit in exercise while working. I enjoy it as well as its a nice route, although very hilly.

I also sometimes cycle in the evening/on the weekend to get places (we don't have a car).if i go to the shops i use a hiking backpack to carry shopping, you have to be careful balancing with it on though. I also have a child seat for my 2 year old. We are just waiting for my 8 year old to grow into his bigger bike so i can go out with both kids.

My fitness has definitely improved as has my shape. It means I can eat more. I find exercise important for keeping my mood stable/good for my mental health. I also find i need it when I am sitting on my *kitten* all day.

NewLIFEstyle4ME

I've been riding every weekend since Jan 20th. Cycling 20 to 100 miles per weekend + watching/monitoring what I eat + 1 to 2 exercise classes per week has brought about a lot of weight success. (NOTICE I SAID COMBINING). This also brought great success when I participated in the 180 mile (2 day) ride from Houston to Austin (MS 150)

Super woooooooooW! 20-100 miles per weekend, that's her0/shero stuff. :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:


I'll be taking it turtle-like for the next few weeks and/or until it doesn't feel like my heart is about to bust outta my chest and/or I'm sweating like I stole something---it's going to take me sometime to get to 5 miles I'm thinking--slow but steady wins the race. I'm DETERMINED to ride everyday though for at least 30 minutes each day until I work my way up!

ssflbelle2012

I got a tricycle April 4th as I am physically disabled and doubted I would be able to ride a bike at this time. My first ride was .33 of a mile in 30 minutes. I was breathing so hard and my heart was beating so fast I thought I was going to die. This afternoon I biked 3 miles in 45 minutes and it felt fantastic. Since biking I have lost 5 pounds, but certainly hope this trike will help me to eliminate another 148 pounds.

NewLIFEstyle4ME

I got a tricycle April 4th as I am physically disabled and doubted I would be able to ride a bike at this time. My first ride was .33 of a mile in 30 minutes. I was breathing so hard and my heart was beating so fast I thought I was going to die. This afternoon I biked 3 miles in 45 minutes and it felt fantastic. Since biking I have lost 5 pounds, but certainly hope this trike will help me to eliminate another 148 pounds.

You're my SHERO! I love that you've posted this! Yesterday's biking is much better than the first two days, still huffing and puffing like I was riding to save my life, but I didn't walk the bike as much and I did conquer some of the hills I couldn't for the first two days. I felt bad, breathing to hard and sweating. My nice slim and trim super healthy daughters said, they too breathe hard and their hearts beat super fast too...that made me feel much better (misery LOVES company dontcha know ) Again, THANK YOU so much for posting!!!

ssflbelle2012

You're my SHERO! I love that you've posted this! Yesterday's biking is much better than the first two days, still huffing and puffing like I was riding to save my life, but I didn't walk the bike as much and I did conquer some of the hills I couldn't for the first two days. I felt bad, breathing to hard and sweating. My nice slim and trim super healthy daughters said, they too breathe hard and their hearts beat super fast too...that made me feel much better (misery LOVES company dontcha know ) Again, THANK YOU so much for posting!!!

AWW thanks so much but a SHERO! I think not, just doing what I have to get healthy. That is great that yesterday's ride was better than the first 2 days. Trust me when I say each day will get easier and easier. The first time I did the 1 1/2 miles of my subdivision in 15 minutes instead of 30 I was so surprised and happy I did a little seat dance. Yes, your daughter is correct- we all breath heavy and sweat. Just stay focused and keep breathing and sweating you can do it. I am heading off to the gym now and later this evening will do a trike ride. Have a great day.

NewLIFEstyle4ME

Yea. my success story is that I only broke a rib crashing last weekend insead of killng myself.

OUCH--OWWWWWWWWWWWCH

Ya know...I'm always sure to wear my headgear....bike riding can like any other sport/exercise be potentially dangerous. Thanks for posting this. I always tell my boyfriend/hubby to "ride safe" when he rides his motorcycle--I'll tell this to myself and my children as we ride our bikes!

iWaffle

Have you heard about that Lance Armstrong guy? So inspirational.