19 stone heavy needing encouragment

[Simba1off]

I'm looking for some advice really!
I'm 48yrs old and 19 stone and want to take up cycling. I have purchased a bike a Hybrid with the intention of going out for a couple of hours through the week. I planned on taking it easy trying to ease myself into cycling and have been out a couple of times. The problem is that I don't go very far around the block about a mile if that. Whilst out riding I find my legs burn and my hands hurt constantly changing position whilst riding and return home taking up to half an hour to recover. I don't want to give up, I see all these cyclist out on the roads cycling like theres no tomorrow with hardley a dop of sweat and heres me a hundred yards down the road with my head in the brushes throwing up. I look at the bike and my heart sinks but I still get on it. When I was young I used to do between 30 and 40 miles cycle rides no problem, then again I was young and alot fitter then!
Do I need to set myself goals and work to a routine?
What food and drink should I take on a ride with me?
Anybody been through this and come through it?
Mark

 

[Adasta]

[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTmcWQV-JNc[/media]

 

[Sittingduck]

RE: the leg-burn, where does it hurt, above the knee at the front? Hamstrings, calves or what? Might be that a slight tweak to saddle height can assist this but we need to know more first

 

[Hacienda71]

It becomes easier but like everything it is practice and your body growing used to using the muscle groups that are required for cycling. When I started cycling again I did 6 miles and was shattered, now a few years on I suppose I am one of those people you see making it look easy. I regularly cycle 50 or 60 miles and go up into the local hills to push myself to the limit. It just takes time. Stick at it you will get there and the rewards are worth it.

 

[waggoner]

Stick with it simba,you'll soon build up,,when i first got back on a bike a few months ago i rode to work. All slighly uphill all the way, only 2 1/2 miles, but i was a ball of sweat,,feeling really sick and when i got off the bike i thought my legs had turned to jelly,, i nearly fell over . Took me hours to feel right again!! Now its no problem,,knocked about 5 minutes off the time too!!
I've done some long'ish rides since,( well to me they are..lol),,,so stick with it...... by the way,,we ain't far apart in age /weight wise,,,, 43 and 18 stone..

Good luck.

 

[coffeejo]

Go to your local bike shop and get yourself some cycle gloves, and while you're there, ask them to take a look at you on the bike and see what they say re: position and height of saddle and handlebars.

And ditto what everyone else says - give yourself time and lots of practice. It will come.

 

[The Jogger]

Don't try to ride fast, ride so you are not too breathless if at all. Easy pace is the best to start with and won't you off. At the minute it is more about increasing distance and not speed. IMO

 

[rowan 46]

I found those ergonomic grips helped a bit with the hand and wrist pain, you might try a little change in saddle position to get some of the weight off them and have you sitting a little more upright. I have been riding for quite a while and have recently put on weight due to illness and not cycling as much. The extra weight I am carrying makes cycling a little less comfortable. as you get fitter the cycling will get more comfortable

 

[chillyuk]

I've returned to cycling about 2 years ago after a long (20 year) layoff. I was 19 stone. A couple of miles was all I could manage. Presently at 18 stone I haven't lost a lot of weight, but I have other health reasons for that, but I now go out and regularly ride 30 odd miles either on a road bike or a hybrid depending on my mood. I did a 40 mile charity ride a couple of weeks ago, so it can be done. Just stay with it, don't try and do too much and you will be surprised how quickly you improve. You may find some bar ends helpful to give your hands different positions which might help the discomfort.

 

[Norm]

Don't try to ride fast, ride so you are not too breathless if at all. Easy pace is the best to start with and won't you off. At the minute it is more about increasing distance and not speed. IMO

I think that this is the most important advice to newbies. If you are riding so hard that you can't talk, you are riding too hard.

Oh, I should open with me being 47 and 19 stone, riding again for about 2 years and I can now happily do 60-odd miles a day. I commute 20 miles to work and back more often than not, I ride 4 miles into town whenever I can get an excuse ("You need a new light bulb, darling? Back in an hour..." ) and I can't understand why so few people that I know have the same love of cycling. Losing weight wasn't my focus, I'm more worried about how fit am rather than how fat I am, and I'm loving it.

Where are you, Simba? See if you can find a riding buddy or even someone to go and meet, say in a nearby town to give you a focus for your ride. Sort out a local loop, just something that's a couple of miles long, nothing strenuous, keep it enjoyable and relatively easy but time yourself. Ride it every other day for two weeks without timing yourself, then do it against the clock again. You will be amazed at the progress.

 

[MacB]

I found those ergonomic grips helped a bit with the hand and wrist pain, you might try a little change in saddle position to get some of the weight off them and have you sitting a little more upright. I have been riding for quite a while and have recently put on weight due to illness and not cycling as much. The extra weight I am carrying makes cycling a little less comfortable. as you get fitter the cycling will get more comfortable

The highlighted bit is very valid, it can get a lot easier very quickly, it can also be easy to backslide

I started at about 18 stone 2.5 years ago, initially I couldn't get to the train station, 3.5 miles, in one go and had to get the second train due to sweating so much. Within 6 months I was able to commute to and from work, 20 miles each way, 5 days a week and I could ride over 100 miles in a day, I was coming close to 1000 miles per month. I also managed to get down to a low of 14 stone, was getting fitter and faster, sleeping better, eating better, etc, etc.

Then I was made redundant and started working from home, plus some bad luck with injury, non cycling related. Went up to 18.5 stone and did very few miles for a long period. Now trying to get back to where I was, thankfully I don't seem to have to start as far down on the cycling tree, but it's a struggle. I just keep reminding myself how much fun I had when I could do a long social ride and hold a decent pace while looking around and enjoying myself.

Currently 44 and 18 stone...hope to be under 15 stone by September...for a large amount of weight loss I reckon I average out to about 1lb per 100 miles cycled...more initially of course then it flattens out.

Good advice from others on sorting out your bike position, you may be surprised by how high your saddle needs to be.

 

[gb155]

[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTmcWQV-JNc[/media]

Im touched, but this one's better

Also,OP, AMAZING Things can be achieved on a bicycle, trust me, I know, all you need, to to want it enough

http://theamazing39stonecyclist.wordpress.com/



[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwvIhTlxd_U[/media]

 

[Simba1off]

Hi
Thanks to the members for all the encouragment and advice!
I will continue to ride my bike and plan on taking advantage of the good weather this fine Sunday morning.
I wish everyone well and will keep you all updated on my experience in the saddle.
Regards.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Hi Simba 1 off
Echo all the above, most of all take it easy and try and make it enjoyable. If yoiu can get out on the bike 3 times a week just for short pootles, the ability soon builds, that's what's so nice about man's greatest invention.

Bike set-up helps a lot in terms of comfort and efficiency, this should help a bit with the comfort:

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

Most starters have their saddles too low and too far forward.

Couple other things that might help, firstly finding a cycling buddy is a real help in the earlys stages and secondly, setting a goal for motivation, like a late summer charity ride, 25 miles or so would not be an unachieveable goal by September. Cycle improvement happens kind of exponentially, once you've conquered 5 milkes, 10 is much easier, once you've done that 20 comes quickly, then 50 etc. The extra miles are just practice and over say 20-30 miles you need to think a little more about eating on the move.

Oh, get cycle shorts and gloves!

 

[teletext45]

I'm quite fortunate to only weigh 10 stone, but when is tarted cycling i was tired out after just a couple of miles. As mentioned above, find a buddy i find riding with somone gives a good distraction to to any pain you may be experiencing. Secondly when it comes to riding plan a specific route, dont ride aimlessly. If you plan a route you get the sense of achievement when you've completed it. finally, have you considered interval training using a heart rate monitor? Thats somthing i do and you do see benefits.

hope this helps
andy