RonnieR

Hey Everybody!! I began riding a bike 2 weeks ago. It was a 20 year old Huffy. It took a lot of effort just to keep it moving. So, we went and bought a Trek FX2 for my wife and me. Hard to beat the end of year price. We just finished our maiden voyage of 2.2 miles 85 degrees and 82% humidity (welcome to Alabama). Could have gone little further but the sun was setting fast. I am 55 years old, 5'7", 305 pounds.

WOT

Hi, I'm Shane. Joined up here recently to get some info.
I've a Trek FX7.2 and we have a love hate relationship. I am over the recomended weight for the bike so I've been giving it a hard time.

Bottom Bracket lasted 3 months, both of the pedals broke off around the same time and the rear wheel has had so many new spokes it's effectively new.

That said, new pedals, upgraded BB, 48 spoke rear wheel, full fenders, rear carrier and she's been golden for the last while.

I'm commuting daily on a 14k round trip and signed up for a 50k cycle in about a month so I'm gradually working towards that. 34k being my longest ride to date.

I'll post up some snaps of the bike at some stage.

jonref

Hello everyone! John here. Tipping the scales at 250 and 6'4" I thought it was time to break out the old Peugeot and loose some weight. Well... the neighbor hood I live in is one that you are either going up hill or down from the house and 1 circle of the block got me to thinking otherwise about riding.

So I bought an indoor bike to get me started and I ride it every night to get my cardio in shape, as well as a 62 year old man can get it I suppose. I'm shooting for 220 lbs in the coming year.

The old PX-10 I have was purchased new in November 1973 and is still in great shape. I'm looking forward to riding it again.

I'm having fun and wasting lots of time reading everything that peaks my interest on this site.

I finally found a source for new rivets for the Brooks saddle from some of the posts here and my old seat has again taken it's rightly place on the bike.

I had removed the rivets to soak the leather (bad advice from someone) in Neats Foot Oil and never could get installed back properly until now.

So with that job finished...it only took 44 years to complete.. I'm happy.

khaotik

I am 6'2" and started my weight loss at my highest of 310 lbs. I am currently down to 269 lbs and decided to start riding again. My little one is just starting to ride and I enjoy keeping up with her. I've been lurking here ever since I found out about the Clydesdale term. All of the post I read have become inspirational for me.

bigboardfun

Keep it up Ronnie

bigboardfun

[QUOTE=The Full Monty;19724050]This forum is the first I've ever heard of either terms...love it!

I was timid at first about posting here when I saw the board, as I don't qualify for the 200 lbs, but it seems the threshold is 150 for "athenas" so (unfortunately) I qualify. My name is Jenna and I'm 5'1, 180 lbs. I'm hopeful that through good nutrition and exercise I can get under the 150 threshold. As my fitness improves, I hope to take up swimming and possibly even running and enter some shorter triathlons. As for bikes, I'm very ignorant when it comes to cycling terms/parts, etc. This is the first ive ridden since i was a kid, but I've had a great time so far![/QUOTE

It seems low for 180 to be Arhena category. Welcome good luck on you cycling journey.

moogyboy

hey friends

I've been posting to other forums on the website for a few months, and only just discovered this one. Woohoo! So briefly:

I'm 43 years old, 5'9", currently about 260 lb. (was around 225 for many years before I puffed up), and fwiw my inseam is about 30 in.

I'm trying to quit smoking after having done so for most of the last 30 years. I'm also trying to eat somewhat better. A lot less meat, a lot more grains and fruits/veggies. I don't really drink to speak of, just the occasional beer in the (very) occasional social situations.

I've suffered from obstructive sleep apnea and chronic depression for many years, but thankfully I have treatments for both and I get by.

I'm currently unemployed for over one year, so things are tight financially.

I became interested in biking again earlier this year after not having a bike for many years (I had one for a few months several years ago but only rode it a few times before it was stolen). All I have to ride at the moment is an old thrift store Huffy MTBSO that I picked up for $20 and upgraded the crappy parts to make it rideable. No money for anything better...yet, at least. I should be riding much more than I do but a combination of uncooperative weather and my own lethargy keep me off the trail. Mostly I've been using my bike for light commuting around the neighborhood since I don't have a functional car. The Huffy is not a sophisticated machine in the least but it's a pleasant everyday beater bike that I don't worry about dinging up.

I know that I'm physically not the stereotypical bike guy: too heavy, wide shoulders, short legs. But I'm hoping that if I can just get myself motivated to get out of the dang house I can get myself down to at least my former weight and maybe lower. I want to get in the habit of hitting the Olentangy Bike Trail which I can get onto down at the end of my street, and ultimately take it to either end and back in one shot. Regularly. I think it will help. Eventually when I'm able to I'd like to either modify the Huffy with road/street tires or just buy an inexpensive road bike for fitness on the OBT. Ultimately I would like to transition into mountain biking...just moderately technical Blue-level trail riding, none of that wacky downhill or freeride stuff for me, thanks.

And that's where I'm at, folks. Dunno if this Clydesdale will ever be a throroughbred, but being a reasonably fit hack-horse will do just fine. :-)

cheers

Billy S.

The Full Monty

Thank you. I went off of the definition per the "Why Call us Clydesdales and Athenas?" thread.

Patwoz

I lost 50 lbs this year, I'm currently 204 and it really makes a difference when you ride. I can climb hills like never before and I can finish my single track 15 minutes faster (mostly because of the hills). BTW I'm 53 and have been riding the trails since the 1970's just like those guys from Cali. My friends and I used to convert our balloon tire paper boy bikes into 10 speeds using 1970's 26" wheel Huffy's. I had a gold color Roll Fast that rode like a tank, and it was as heavy as a tank. We just didn't know it was going to become a "thing." I lost my weight by keeping a food journal, I discovered that I was eating about 4000 calories a day which included the donuts, bagels, candy and chips on the back table at work. Cutting that stuff out and eating smarter the pounds just fell off in 6 months.

Patwoz

Please quit smoking, I did 17 years ago after 20 years of pack a day smoking. It truly is the best thing you can do for yourself! The breathing, energy and stamina come back. Maybe as an incentive you could put your cigarette money towards a great used MTB. There are plenty of decent bikes on Craigslist for good prices. Good luck and keep riding, your Huffy looks like it does the job just fine.

Nimbuslove

No don't stop smoking cuz you'll get all healthy and save money and stuff. also hi I'm nimbuslove, pleased to meet all of you. I'm a new rider after a 15 year hiatus and have fallen back in love with riding again. I lost a hundredish pounds and want to lose more. not to mrntion its really helping my grey matter

Doctor Memory

Hi! I'm Tracy, and I grew up riding bikes, but when I went to college (lo these many years ago) I stopped riding and started drinking. I bought a mountain bike back in '89 which I loved to ride, but then around the turn of the century my daughter was born and I pretty much stopped riding. Always missed it, but never enough to do anything about it. Now I'm 55, 6' and 225 pounds and I'm looking to get back into riding. Being a bear of small brain, I bought a used (84!) Trek 660 racing bike. I'm really enjoying getting back into riding, there's a 5-mile bike trail near my house, I ride it end-to-end most days. I'm also getting serious about tracking my diet (although I refuse to give up beer), and since the first of July I'm down 8 pounds, heading towards a goal of 190-ish. Really enjoying reading about everyone else's progress, especially people who weigh a lot more than me making better progress than I am (well, kinda enjoying that).

ier

Hi, I'm Ibrahim. Everyone's been so helpful already so I figure I should introduce myself and stick around a bit.

I'm 38 and from Detroit. Until 2 days ago I hadn't ridden in 25 years but now I'm definitely buying a bike, it's just a matter of which.

My highest weight ever was ~415. At the end of April I was 399 lbs and rather than see that 4 again, I figured I'd do something about it. So I've since been going to the gym 3x/week, walking every day, and I've switched to a mostly plant based diet. I'm down at 362 right now.

I'm not sure I'll ever do anything crazy, but bikepacking seems like an interesting goal to work towards. In the meantime, the farthest I ever go from my house on a regular basis is maybe 10 miles. Usually it's not even 1 as unless classes are running I only go to a coffee shop to work or the gym and both of those things are <1 mile away. Using a bike to commute like that seems like a no brainer - way faster than walking there.

Solare

I am back at it after being rear-ended on my motorcycle a couple of years ago.

I have a Giant Ventura 4 (I think) and a trainer in the living room.


Looking at my sig it is a raleigh venture 4.0


Did I miss anything?

Chunky_Monkey

Hello all!!

I've posted on here a few times now so I suppose it's time to finally introduce myself.

My name is Jenn. Im a 27 year old gal from Columbus, Ohio. At the recommendations of others here, I recently purchased an FX 3 and I couldn't be happier. I decided to start riding after hitting a plateau in my weight loss. I originally started out at a cringe worthy 461 pounds...... after a year I've dropped down to 369 pounds. Still lots to go but I'm sure cycling will help with that.

Staypuft1652

Welcome!

bakerjw

Congrats!
Keep this in mind. You didn't get to where you were overnight. It takes time and you are doing the best thing possible for yourself. There will be plateaus and they are discouraging, but wait them out and show them who is in control.
Keep it up and always remember. You're doing better than those sitting on their couches.

FlamsteadHill

Hi, my name is David, I'm 53 years old and 6'2" @210#.

I was around 185 during my late teens to early 20s, but that started to change after I got married. Over the years I steadily put on weight until about 5 years ago I reached a maximum of 238. My job is sedentary, so that doesn't help, but I always seemed to have too much going on to put any real effort into exercise. But I did start walking and got down to the mid 220s after about 2 years. My idea was that it took years to get up there, and the best long term strategy was to take it off in a similar manner, with sustainable changes in diet and exercise.

Then, 3 years ago, I got acute diverticulitis. It put me in the hospital 3 times in less than 2 months for a week each time. That third time was the indicator that antibiotics weren't going to fix it, so I had what ended up being a total of three surgeries over the next 3 months. When I was discharged the last time I was down to 206. Not the greatest way to lose weight... And not real; I got back up into the high teens to around 220 over the next few months.

My wife has had a problem with weight her whole life, and has tried all kinds of things with varied short term success. About 6-7 years ago she started making concentrated efforts with a heavy focus on exercise. She had a few setbacks because of outside circumstances, but last fall she was back at it again.

This spring we spent about 4 weeks in Europe, doing quite a lot of hiking in the Alps, and one day we rented bikes. I've always liked bikes, and in fact commuted by bike in my late teens/early 20s. Well that just re-awoke the urge to get out and pedal. So at the beginning of July we went out bought bikes so we could do something together. I don't feel free to state my wife's actual weight, but I can tell you she's down 86# from her all time high, and has already beat me in one way - she's under our wedding day weight! We don't ride together quite as much as we both had hoped, as she knows she's holding me back and doesn't like to do that in spite of my insistence that it's ok.

We're riding Raleigh Venture 4.0s. There were two thoughts behind selecting a "comfort" style bike. One, if it was more comfortable we'd be more apt to get out and ride. And two, we got them for fitness, so if they're not quite as "efficient" as a hybrid or road bike, well we'd get more of a workout in less time :-) Whether either of those points are valid or not, I don't know, but we are so far very happy with them.

This past weekend I rode the Harpoon Point to Point, a Vermont Food Bank fundraiser. My wife would have liked to do the 25 mile route, but she had other commitments, so that left me free to ride the 50 mile (actually only 46) on my own. I did a lot of reading on preparation, and riding as much as I could. The previous weekend I rode 35 miles and felt fairly prepared, but still uncertain - it was going to be longer, but with easier grades according to the RideWithGPS elevations. Including 2 stops of just over 20 minutes I finished in just a minute under 4 hours, which was my goal. And I felt great! Way better than after my 35 mile ride the week before.

I hope to one day be under the weight classification for a Clydesdale, but I doubt I'll shrink 2", so I will most likely always be "eligible" for this forum. My goal is to be under my early adult weight of 185, as I felt a bit chunky back then. However, I realize that weight is just a number, and I am not going to go crazy shooting for something that's unrealistic. I just want to be as healthy as I can be, and if that means a different number, so be it.

Staypuft1652

Welcome David!

Jason9142002

Wow, I am usually the biggest rider. I am 6'4" and I just got down to under 300. Bikes and clothes are tough for dudes our size.

Shadowx

Hey, Jon here. 6ft even 294lbs. loved riding in high school, did 20-24 miles a day almost every day(parents put a 2hr time limit hour hour back). that was 15 years ago ish, My amazing wife pushed me back into it, she really wanted to get the family riding again. I ended up getting myself a new bike, a Marin Larkspur CS2, pic below, got my 8yr old a new bike, a pull behind bike for my 4yr old and a trailer for my 2yr old. I really just wanted to get out and ride again, i just love exploring and seeing how far i can push myself. I also want to lose weight, my goal is 200 even, i just want to be a good healthy weight.

Rastete17

Hello, Ron here. 5'9" 178 lbs, just start riding again, after some 10 years. I'd been doing about 10 miles
every other day these last two months and I'm loving it. The bike I got is a Schwinn 7th avenue, hybride, not the best option I believe, but so far it's going OK. I'll get a better bike later, like the TREK or Specialized, for now I'm really satisfy and my health is great. BTW I'm 62.

Have a great ride all!

Sillyak

Hey,

I'm 6' 213 lbs. I was always an athlete up until ~ 6 years ago when I got married and started a job where I'm on the road a lot. A few weeks ago I was 222 lbs and typed my weight into a bmi calculator and saw that it said obese. Definitely time for a change. I bought a road bike and have been going consistently as well as watching my diet and packing healthy lunches instead of relying on fast food. It's only been 5 weeks but I'm down to 213 lbs. I like reading this forum. Lots of inspiration.

sodjer6

Hello all, name is Jeremy. Just starting to get back to regular riding. Guess I fit the clyde description pretty well as I'm 6'5" and currently at 340 lbs, though really looking forward to seeing that scale start with a 2 here very soon

In the past I enjoyed many many miles on a bike, however ended up getting sucked into online gaming after suffering some non-bike related injuries. Couple that with a diet that I didn't change and going from highly active to sedentary= me becoming very, very overweight.

Also ended up with a skin infection a couple years ago that nearly took my leg. While at the hospital I was weighed on an accurate scale for the first time in years. I had no idea my weight had gotten so bad. Seeing 496 lbs pop up on that screen was life changing. That was my highest known weight, however it certainly could've been higher. After getting the infection cleared I was left with lymphedema and a goal to get back to a healthy weight. Got the ok from the doc a month later and signed up for a gym membership. It's been a long road but thankfully other than the lymphedema which was likely partially related to the weight problem, I dodged other weight related complications/illnesses.

GeoGoGo

Hello Everyone!


My name is George and I just joined the forum. I just recently lost my job and have decided to put my free time to good use by getting off the couch and on a bike! I need some recommendations on choosing a bike.


I am a big guy, 6' 360 pounds and am concerned about finding a bike that would be a good fit and most importantly, will support my weight safely. I have looked at the offerings from all the big box stores but I don't feel they would hold to a rider of my size. I have not ridden a bike in probably 30 years. I have done some research on Google and I think I am looking for something in a mountain bike, hybrid, or cruiser.


I live in a rural area and will be doing mainly pavement riding with some occasional light off roading. I am trying to keep it under $400 and am not adverse to buying used. I assume a bike built for larger people will have the accompanying higher price.


I would love to hear any ideas, suggestion, thoughts, or opinions. Thank you all for the time! Have a great weekend!




Respectfully,
George D.