Here's what happened to me:
- 2008: Rode 2500 miles in Los Angeles. First child born in November.
- 2009: Rode 700 miles. Spent a lot of time being dad.
- 2010: Rode 500 miles. My second child was born in December.
- 2011: Rode about 300 miles. Dad the rest of the time.
- 2012: About like 2011.
- 2013: Moved to a hilly part of the Salt Lake Valley (east Sandy, near the mountains). Busy year. Riding dropped down to about 200 miles, mostly on mups. I feared the hills.
- 2014: 200 miles, mostly on MUPs. Still afraid of the hills around me here.
- 2015: 150 miles; started a new job.
- 2016: 150 miles.
- 2017: 300 miles, mostly on MUPs still.
- 2018: I came to the realization that the hills aren't going away, and neither is my love for biking. But my fitness level was in the decline and I had gained some weight.
- Started riding a little in March and April. The hills were terrible but didn't kill me. So I figured if they didn't kill me they would make me stronger.
- Lost 36 pounds.
- Rode 3000 miles.
- Got a gym membership for the cold months.
- Layered into my routine weight training.
- 2019: Lost another pound (it's still January -- and loss is no longer a goal)
- Visit the gym 3-4x/week.
- Ride a little, when the temperatures rise above freezing.
- Goal of 4000 miles starting in March.
I posted this to show three things:
- It's really easy to fall out of the habit. I was a regular rider before 2009, and then it came to a halt, mostly. After awhile I couldn't imagine getting back on and facing those hills. I would put the bike on a rack and take it to level areas.
- It's a lot of work getting back in shape, but even at 50, totally possible. The hills don't scare me anymore. My training rides were typically in the hilly areas, and I would do hill repeats at least once a week too.
- Losing 36 pounds is hard work, but simple math: Each day either eat less, or burn more calories, or both. Strive for a calorie deficit every day. Calorie restriction is no fun. Riding is. Plus riding makes you more fit and healthy. So for me at least, riding was the primary component to my weight loss.
If I, 6'3" at age 50 can come from a relatively sedentary lifestyle at 212 pounds, and can get healthy while dropping to 175 pounds, then anyone without a major health issue can too. But expect it to be a lot of work... and honestly, a lot of fun.