vesteroid

Glad I found the thread here, its been inspirational at a minimum. Back after thanksgiving, I decided to start running.

Lets just say my first day of running, was way less than fun.

I have had more aches and pains since then than I care to count but kept at it.

I ran non stop (ran is relative you know) four miles this past saturday. I couldnt run 4 minutes when I started.

I was so happy with my progress over the last month, the wife and I decided we wanted to get bikes so I can add a few days a week to my training, but not punish my knees any more than I already do.

I am going to pick my bike up today, and the wife gets hers tomorrow night.

I am still in the collect clothes stage, but should have some basic stuff ready to go soon.

Now just to figure out how the gears work and all that, and see how many stop lights its going to take me to fall over.

Anyway, its been fun reading this, and I am sure you will hear about my riding adventures going forward lol.

I never knew I was a clyde, but now I do!

Someone needs to make us some shirts

vendorz

LwayOL... all the way thru this thread - thinkin... dern have i been missin somethin all these years not even thinkin on wearing some spandex?!?!?

Sometimes, I reckon, ya jes don't know what ya jes don't know...

Durockrolly

Each and every one of you are unbelievably awesome!!! My issue is not necessarily weight (although I would like to get down to 180 from 200. I weighed 223 a few months ago) but my diabetes. I've been a type 2 diabetic for 10 years but about 18 months ago I just started neglecting my health. I saw my Dr. two weeks ago and she gave me an ultimatum. Get my HBA1C below 8 in six weeks (by April 1st) or go on insulin. This was a true wake up call. I had gotten back on my bike a month ago knowing this Dr. visit would not be good and it has been the major reason my blood sugar test results have been outstanding. I will be 54 in April and I will never go on insulin. We all know health concerns come in more packages than just weight. I thank you all for your inspiring stories and want you all to know that you will all, in part, be the reason for my success.

Thank you.
Fernie!

goldfinch

Jaws, I think your post got lost in this long thread. I suggest starting a new thread about your search for a bike. You should have better luck getting responses.

JAWS.1

Thanks for the advice goldfinch, I have a begun a new post.

Chrysalis

Sometimes you do have to be brave to work towards your dreams...your goals. I'm self- conscious at times. I live at the beach where skinny in def. "in".....( I need to lose about 100 lbs) but I am having a blast! Does it hurt a little when people say nasty, thoughtless things? Yes it can and does. But you just have to put it in perspective. Consider the source and remember that with every stroke of the pedals you are closer to your own desire. You are doing this for YOU. I am doing this for ME! And in the end...what matters is what YOU think...what I think....the rest.......just wind blowing by as you cruise along. Love and light to each of you movers!!!!

Beachgrad05

Hello everyone! Great thread!

Last summer I decided to get off my fat butt and got a Trek FX which I planned to commute on as well as ride the bike trails near my house with. I was inconsistent and riding alone didn't help.

This is me last summer


Embarrassment for sure played a roll. I contacted a local riding club but learned I was way too slow to ride with their slowest group. Discouraged me.

Mid-feb a blog i frequent posted a wake up call about eating right, healthy and getting fit. I began commuting to work several days a week. Riding the bike trail along the river to the beach (17-18 miles RT). Eating better. As I am a goal oriented person, I signed up for some rides, the first one 31 miles as part of the BikeFest deal here on May 5. Also decided for the riding I want to do...need a road bike. My LBS treats me with respect even though I am an Athena. I am even getting comfortable riding in my cycling clothes.

I even have found a group to ride/train with. With my diet changes and riding I have lost 9 lbs!

Ewok

I admire you for that. I'm less self concious to start biking when my spring break starts next week, but running is something I'm absolutely paranoid about. I won't even let myself start until I'm closer to 200 pounds.

lenny866

Beachgrad05.......keep up the good work!

Norcalnewbie

I'm a fairly new rider who is overweight and I feel awkward at times esp when other cyclist pass by and they have nice bikes and all their cycling clothes and here I am slowly passing by. I just cycling in shorts and sweats. I feel like a total noob. Sometimes I also feel awkward when people see me around down town and see me on a road bike. I guess it's different to them or something. Another thing that makes me feel awkward is sometimes when the wind hits me or if I'm in the drops my belly is more defined. I also feel weird when people start to pass me. I just get nervous I guess. I just look down and keep pedaling. Im sure people don't care and its all in my head but in the end I just keep chugging along and enjoy what I'm doing. So far since I've made a sort of life style change in jan. of this year I've lost about 22lbs. I've changed my diet around I've stopped drinking soda,and eating fast food. I've started running on the treadmill and hiking as well as walking outdoors and I've started cycling. I also started lifting weights. It's been great. F what everyone thinks. Just keep doing you and be happy. Find something that motivates you and keep thinking about it. Best part of my lifestyle change is that I've got to try new foods that are healthier than what I used to eat. Fresh pasta (no sauce). Is great. I've also lowered my cholesterol and lowered my bp. Good,luck man.

Wolfrage

I stepped on the scale yesterday, after getting home from buying my new Scott SUB 40 and I weighed exactly 300.00lb. Enough is enough. I'm 36, I've been through 5 knee operations and a shoulder surgery over the last few years, and finally am decent enough to start biking. I have no experience with these funky 2 levers on each side shifters, so this is going to be an interesting start. I live on a dead-end half mile circle that has a reasonable slope up oneside and down the other, so I'm gonna practice tonight.

No more excuses. Thanks for the motivation, gang!

Gone is my winter of discontent, and now is the spring of motivation.

psalm

Truer words have never been spoken!

savagemann

I'm 37yo. Have always been a big guy. In 7th grade I was 6' and 220lbs. Coming out of HS I was 6'2" 280lbs.
I was very active despite my size.
A few years ago I was as much as 350lbs. I'm 6'3". People have always said I wear my weight well. But I don't like it.
I started cycling again about 5 years ago. Not nearly often enough or long enough.
Got severely bitten by the mountain biking bug about 4 years ago. Used to MTB every day between ages 15-20.
Started riding a bit more and started feeling much stronger and healthy.
Dropped down to about 320lbs, but seemed to have hit a plateau.
I was getting much stronger on the bike, and felt much better.
Got married last may and weighed myself after the honeymoon and I was up to 330lbs.
Rode a lot through the summer and dropped down to 310lbs, where I hit a major plateau.
Could not break the 310 mark.
Around xmas, I built up a road bike.
Started riding quite a bit.
So far I have logged about 1000 miles since jan 1st and have done about 50,000 feet of climbing. Living at the base of a 4000' mountain helps with that.
Started eating a little more sensible.
1 serving of oatmeal with fresh fruit for breakfast.
I make a sandwich for work, using the suggested serving sizes for meat and 1 slice of cheese. Also bring 2 pieces of fruit with me.
For dinner I eat no more than what will fill a medium sized plate.
If I have dessert it is usually a small bowl of cereal.
I'm not really counting calories, more concentrating on serving sizes.
I like to drink beer, so I have laid off the heavy beers and substituted them with 110cal light beer.
Since xmas, I have dropped about 20lbs and am down to about 290lbs.
In February I completed my longest ride to date. 65.6 miles metric century.
Completed in 4 hours and 6 minutes.
Avg speed was about 16mph.
I was taking it easy.
It was fairly flat with only 2000' of elevation gain.
Very windy for a long 20 mile section. We were battling 20-25mph headwind for 20 miles.
On my average rides I maintain 18-19mph avg if it is fairly flat.
Climbed up a mounatin last week and had an avg of 14mph over a 30 mile ride, with 2500' of gain in about 6 miles of that.
I'm steadily losing weight. About 1lbs a week.
It takes discipline to make such a lifestyle change.
To be totally honest, at least half the time I am forcing myself onto the bike, because I would rather be lazy and sit on the couch.
Thats where the discipline comes in.
Once I'm out, I'm loving it....but it is hard to motivate sometimes.
I do rides before work, and also after work. Sometimes short loops of 10-15 miles at a hard pace.
My usual weekend rides are about 28-35 miles.
Sometimes when I'm out and the conditions are less than great, it is hard to keep going.
If it's cold or rainy, I keep wanting to turn back....but I keep telling myself every couple miles to go just a little further. Then I keep that up for about 10-15 miles and turn around......= )

vesteroid

Really cool story, I am jealous of your fitness progress. You seem to be doing very well. Keep up the good work.

StrawHousePig

I've always been self-conscious, but the only thing that bothers me right now is how slow I have to go up even slight grades. Especially with other cyclists on the road. I'm getting some stamina back and can stay on the outer ring for my short rides. So it's something. I've just been doing loops around the neighborhood and have ridden farther in the last two weeks than the last two years.

Honestly, I think what most people think is, "good for them, maybe I should get my fat ass out and do something." I know I always do.

Captlink

I don't have a training schedule set up but my plan is to make short trips to stores and friends houses.In time my strength will build.I remember as a kid this is how I built my strength to concur that "Hill" that I had to walk up.I'm looking forward to finding that hill and the reward at the top.

Simplyhere

First post, and I found out I'm a Clydesdale. Bwahahahahaha. Started at 247, now down to 197 through diet and light exercise. Can't jog because it wrecks my knees, so I decided to ride a bike again. I had an old mountain bike years ago, and took it to an LBS, and got it in shape, but didn't like it too much. Found a fantastic road bike, Trek, for very little money, and so I'm trying that now.

First couple of rides were, to put it mildly, eye opening. I had no idea how hard it was going to be to get back to even a mild level of "shape". But this thread has been totally inspiring, and now I'm determined to stick with it for a little while longer.

Thanks to everyone who posted in this thread. I hope I can be a contributing member of the forum. Pedal on.

Bill

marmot

I'm at a loss, so I hope some of the wise and sympathetic folks here can help me out. A dear friend of my son just bought a bike, was having a wonderful time riding it, but is now very self-conscious because of her weight and because of some snickering jackass she encountered on a ride the other day. I very much want to encourage her, but I'm not sure what to say, or whether to say anything at all. I know it's hard to offer specific advice without knowing the people and the exact circumstances, but I sure could use some suggestions. Hope someone can help.

psalm

^^^ Send her here. There is plenty of motivation and encouragement to be found here.

goldfinch

Go for a ride with her. Or have your son go for a ride with her.

vesteroid

Say something. Often just knowing other people care, and have gone through the same thing is enough To recharge her confidence.

I suspect she is young, remind her that what other people think or say, really in the end doesn't matter, what matters is she gives it her best effort, and keeps going.

Fantasminha

My husband and I have been cycling for about 8 years now and I still consider myself a NOOB. However, reading this thread really takes me back. I used to live in Dallas, and with the heat, sun and exercise, i would sweat so bad it was embarrassing. I used to take water from my bottle and dump over my head just so people couldn't tell the differenciate the sweat (well, also it felt good!) I have to say to all of you, that after all this time I proudly don my lycra even though I'm still quite clearly an Athena. But I just LOVE to see newbies on bikes: I look at it this way -- every cycling one of you is one less driver that I have to worry about while I'm cycling to work! We all started somewhere, and I don't think we EVER forget that. Especially those that started cycling as adults!

sueb2b

That's always tough. You can remind her, though, she's a cool person whereas that dude's always stuck with himself. (That thought always makes me feel better when I run across someone like that.)

If she has some friends to bike with, that helped me on the comfort level. I'm an urban biker and there's various rides around the city that are at a pace for most anyone, and it's more a camaraderie feeling than anything else...those are something that I enjoy because there's just a huge x-section of age and ability, and they encourage me to have confidence in my own riding/exploring.

Beachgrad05

Give her encouragement. She should be proud of herself for getting out there doing something positive for herself. I am still 85lbs from my goal and have no doubt there has been snickering about the fatty in the cycling gear on a bike. That being said, I am not letting a-holes stop me from something I ENJOY and that is so beneficial to my overall health.

When I see other Athena's out there I give them a big smile and a nod hello and hope I am giving a message of encouragement and that they are not alone.

Maybe check for a women's cycling group to ride with? I finally found one and the women in the group come in all shapes, sizes and experience riding. Have her check out this forum maybe.

Show her my journey thread. I have pics of my Athena self from when I started last summer and recent with a 15 lb loss.

This is me on a recent group ride.



https://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w...filter=noflash

Fantasminha

I hope she doesn't let some small-minded gob****e get in the way of her desires.