NYMXer

I too am fairly new to cycling, and ride both Mtb's and road for about 20 months now. While I have made good progress, more than a few people have offered some great advice to me, and that was "it never gets easier, you just go faster", so with that said.....ride to meet your needs, and your needs only.
Ride the bike as often, far and hard as you'd like. The results are sure to follow!

tsl

Don't sell yourself short. It took you 60-some-odd to get into the shape you're in, so it stands to reason it's going to take a few more than six weeks to turn that around.

My commute is down to 24 miles a day five days a week, from 31 miles a day, four days a week.

In perspective, my first bike ride as a returning rider was 0.67 miles. I had to stop and rest halfway, then required a nap on arriving at home.

At six weeks, I was up to four or five miles a day maybe three or four days a week during the week and maybe ten on the weekend. So you're on about the same trajectory as I was. Just keep at it.

Bear in mind too that cycling is a whole lot of work. Sure it looks easy, and even kids can do it, but we're not kids any more. We weigh several times what kids weigh, and our bodies don't adapt as quickly, nor do they recover as quickly.

Give time time to work.

FrenchFit 

Jeez, why? I ride 2 or 3 times a week now, (maybe 60 miles total), don't give tiredness a thought. Break it up with some hiking, running, swimming, etc...there is no good reason to ride every day - unless you are commuting. No, you don't need ANY supplements. And, why just ride trails -- seems like a strange punishment to me.

VegasTriker

In the first post you mention this bike being a $50 bike. That makes me suspect you bought it used. If your bike seems to be hard to pedal there are a few things you need to check on it. Any of these will make the bike sluggish. If you are putting a lot of extra effort into riding that could make you tired.

1. Are the brakes rubbing? The very first thing to check as it is often the problem. This can be the case whether the bike has rim brakes or disc brakes. Given the price you gave us in the first post it is almost certain the bike has rim brakes. Lift the front of the bike and spin the wheel by hand. Look to see if the brake pads contact the rim as the wheel spins. Repeat for the rear wheel. If the brakes are rubbing you may have to open the brakes to stop the rubbing. If the wheels are not true it will make the rubbing worse.
2. Do the wheels spin freely even if the brakes are not rubbing on the rim? Lift a wheel and spin gently. Let go and watch how the wheel comes to a rest. It should slow down and slowly come to a stop with the valve at the bottom of the wheel. It may rock back and forth with the valve down if the hubs are really good. If it stops quickly you will need to have someone work on the hubs to get the tension on the cones and bearings right. Too loose or too tight will eventually destroy the hub. If it is too tight or not lubricated it will take more work to propel the bike.
3. There are other places like the bottom bracket being too tight that can rob you of power. Many new bikes come with sealed bottom brackets so this may not be something you can deal with. It would probably take a bike shop to fix problems here.

donheff

So that is why I haven't generated a six pack after losing weight!

I agree with others - mix it up a bit with some off days or very light days. Make sure that beater $50 Schwinn is tuned up.

Gerryattrick

As far as my cycling goes the answer is yes and no.

Sometimes I have long spells where I feel great, even after long, hard (for me) rides, while other times I just feel weary after rides. I suspect it gets worse with age, unless one is super-fit or super-lucky.

If you are new to cycling, just give it time and experience.

Daspydyr 

If you ride 4 or 5 days in a row, you need to take a 2 day break. You are starting out. Great start. I remember when a 5 mile ride was followed by an hour of recovery!

bkaapcke

Sounds like you are getting low on electrolytes, to me. That wiped out feeling that just won't go away no matter how much you eat. Salt pills or other electrolyte supplements will make a huge difference. Especially if you take diuretics as part of blood pressure control. Talk to your doctor if you are. bk

oddjob2

If you find some young ladies to chase, you will find the heaviness in your legs will disappear.

DavyKOTWF

Good tip Oddjob though then I'd have to run from my wife.

Lots of good advice here for the OP. No worries, I'm not juicing or anything weird like that. The supplements are Whey Protein powder drink, extra E, D3, K2, C, magnesium, CoQ10, some Cardio Health drink full of B vits, garlic and ashwagandha, and a green drink. Very hard to get all that in just eating food nowadays. Probably most of you are deficient in D3, K2 and magnesium


What BK said about electrolytes got me to thinking and researching...I wonder if adrenal fatigue is a real thing?


Anyway, I've rested 2 days and backing off a little. Will try a longer ride soon.


Test road something called a Specialized Diverge Comp today, weighing 18.5 lbs. No big deal, slumped over and horrible seat. My upright Hybrid feels better and has a better seat. That dang $3300 bike didn't even have a kickstand or pedals. He had to whip out some old pedals to put on it. Will stick to my WalMart BSO for a while until I lose some weight. For the first time I saw where my BSO Schwinn had Shimano somethings on the rear back, derailer I guess.


Will report back in 3 months and see where my progress is.

osco53

Your Welcome

MinnMan

Yes, your old bike is right for you, at least for the time being.

FamilyMan007

Some great advice in the various responses.

One aspect I have not seen being mentioned is 'stretching' - too much pen-pushing over the course of my career had left me very stiff.

I have found working on stretching to be very important as I have progressed in my cycling capability (which is still relatively low compared to many on this site)

Walter Denton

I don't have much good advice for the OP but I can certainly empathize and I hope our common experience will leave him feeling less alone on these forums. I began riding last fall at age 68 after a very sedentary past 30 years or so. My first time out I rode about 1 mile around my neighborhood and I was very tired. I decided I needed to try harder so I began riding 2-3 miles and I was often exhausted to the point of nearly passing out. My chest burned, my legs ached and I couldn't do much for the rest of the day. After a couple of months of riding about 3 times a week I was able to ride 7 miles and still feel like I was near death. I'm not overweight, I have never been a smoker and, yes, I regularly see my physician and have had a lot of medical tests all of which I seem to pass. Was I having any fun? No. The first 5 minutes or so of cycling were fun but after that it was always pure agony. As the weather got colder I eventually stopped cycling and didn't start again until a couple of weeks ago. Now I'm back to 3-4 miles every other day and I have slightly picked up my speed. What I have read here about spinning has been helpful but I'm still almost ready to pass out when I finish. But I will keep at it because the alternative is to sit in my recliner and slowly die. Like the OP I hope that someday I will enjoy the experience. I get discouraged when I read about you guys who ride 30, 50, 100 miles at a time but my goal is to someday be able to do a 20 mile ride - and to someday enjoy the experience.
Please forgive the long post.

Carbonfiberboy 

It's possible that some of your fatigue is about diet and sleep. You have to eat enough of the right stuff and sleep enough hours to recover. The right stuff includes protein, carbs, and vegetables. Say, 1/2 your plate vegetables, carbs the size of your fist, protein the size of your palm if it's meat. That'll change of course according to the meal, but that's the basic recipe. Enough hours is usually 7+. I like 9 when I can get it.

Adrenal fatigue is a real thing. Go easy enough that you don't breathe hard 80% of the time, that's the rule. That may seem impossible, and perhaps for now it is, but try to do that. It'll come.

When I was young, I rode everywhere at ~60 cadence. Never bothered me. Would now, though.

DavyKOTWF

I think I'm good on most of that except possibly the sleep. I awake often at 4 am and don't really go back to sleep, so getting 6.5 hours sleep about half the time; the other half the time I get 7 hours. Having to get up around 1 am always, makes it a challenge. All round good advice and perspective there CarbonFiber. Thank you.

I paid attention to my cadence today and on the hills I was about 60 but all the rest of the time, I was 70-100. Is that okay?

DavyKOTWF

About all the advice in this thread has helped. I was riding way too much, 13 out of 14 days? for a beginner? OVERTRAINING. I'm still loving it, though and on my 2 days a week off, I look forward to the next riding day. Am increasing my mileage at most 10% per week now, and just trying to find the right nutrition. And got a new bike! - the Trek 7.4 FX. Have rode it for about 50 miles and tried going back to the 33 lb Schwinn and it was like trying to ride an M1 tank. I may have added some couple lbs of muscle the previous 7 weeks and today noticed that I pulled my belt in an extra notch. Thanks all.

revchuck 

Great job, and congrats on the new bike!

rydabent

Cycling is its own reward. Pretty much the more you ride, the more excess weight you lose, and the better you will feel. You will reach a point where you will not lose any more weight, because you are building up muscle mass. This is when you will feel your best.

The big plus is you will find out as I have my bent and trike are my fountain of youth machines. I just got back from my 60th HS class reunion. My biking is pretty much 30 or so miles every other day. Needless to say I am in far better shape than any of the people from the class that showed up.

Willbird

Iv never been normal :-). But my first ride back cycling was June 1 2014.....it was around 8 miles...I turned 50 that December. But the 8 quickly became 20 and 6 days a week...that was all hybrid riding. Did a metric one month into riding.....July 2014. Did a 75 mile charity ride late August that year. Graduated to road bike that October.....Fuji Sportif

Rode all winter in NW Ohio too except February which was single digit average temp....ran/jogged instead. On top of riding was work at 10,000 plus steps and 100+ flights of stairs.

Sat on butt winter 2015-2016.....never again.....starting back in riding hurt too much. Fall 2015 got new road bike too......supersix evo 53/39 chain rings. Lots of bike to get back into with lost fitness and winds in spring.

No set goal in April, 350/350mi in May, 417/400 mi June. July set goal of 450 but my abnormal bone fired up and decided to try to ride every day of Tour de France (taking same rest days they do) so 7-8-2016 I already have 210 mi in July.

Which leads me to my point ......rest days can contain riding.

I took an easy day today ...just 20 mi and kept HR mostly sub 130. The day before was 32 mi....and got to racing a guy who was riding a solex moped so HR hit 195+ a few times, and that was 28 mi into the 32 :-).

So worst case I take a really lazy day and doodle around town 5-10 miles......that idea will get me out the driveway .....but I bet if I follow my front wheel it leads me 20 mi :-).

I try to head out into the wind so there is some tail wind heading home.....when the tires start to sing the magic starts :-)......

the guy on the moped running 20mph fiat out had never been passed by a 52 year old guy on a bicycle going 29.xx mph so we both had some fun with that :-).

Brother in law told me we are once a man twice a boy....:-).

Bill

Loose Chain

I cannot ay if it goes away because I am life long swim, bike and run. I work out every day for at least an hour alternating swim, bike, run and at least two 1.5 hour strength workouts every week. I do not care about weekly mileage because I workout every day and as a result my overall fitness is very high.

But, I imagine that as (if) you stick to a routine and do some supplemental strength training the tiredness will go away, of course it will. The $50 Shwinn, not so sure about that as it does not sound like a serious machine.

BigAura

he got a new bike

osco53

Remember above all else,, never ever stretch cold muscles..

IF your Intention is a real workout on the bike and not a leisurely ride this is paramount and double so If you Crash !

Ride a mile, two would be better, get off the bike and stretch every thing...
Stretch to your limit,,hold for three seconds then you should feel that you can go farther into that stretch,, Do So ! and hold that for a five count...

Keep hydrating,, Continue your water uptake like an I.V. drip....

Post ride, re stretch every thing as you cool down and RE-HYDRATE....

gettingold

That Schwinn will always be heavy.

ptempel

Just did about 210 miles or so last week. It can be done, but I agree with the others in that you have to build up to it. I also take weekends off for the family. So that's also a rest period for me. Will also scale that back for fall and winter. One test is how you feel on Monday if you take the weekend off. If not too good, then take an easy week. Just light mileage, easy spin, chat more with the other commuters, etc.

Edit: When I say "build up" above, it was 3 years of commuting that got me to where I'm at now. Including the winter when possible.