RubeRad

You better!

N00b_Cyclist

Congrats! Hope you enjoy it!!

WOT

Good for you!! Looking trim too, a couple of century rides on that new steed will be no bother to you!!

velojym

So, joined a B ride today... realized I'm not quite ready for that yet. I finished the "B transition" route, but it wasn't fun.

I have some work to do to live up to this new bike. I rode Jake today though.

zjrog

Wow! Excellent machine for reward!

I know what you mean, how much more work I have to do to live up to what this bike is capable of...

velojym

I'll admit I'm feeling a little foolish right now, having just built a perfectly capable road bike which I haven't even ridden yet, but it's done, and yes... I'll feel some drive to live up to the bike's potential... at least to some extent. The 1200 may get fenders and see all-weather use as a mileage builder.

zjrog

Nah, Brother! That N+1 is useful in your case. You found a need for that Trek...

I have a dilemma for XMas, and my Birthday a few weeks later. Wife offered a choice of a new firearm or a Fatbike! Tough choices!

velojym

I feel ya there. It's a good think I like wood stocks and blued steel on my guns. Makes it easier to sneak new ones in.

zjrog

I need something wood, chrome or blues. Everything else is "scary" black...

Well. Except a clear airsoft...

KraneXL

If your family doesn't support your endeavors excommunicate them and find a support group that shares your passion. That's what I did.

velojym

Shamefully, I let my fitness lapse a bit over the last few months. With two jobs and my family, it got really easy to find excuses. Since both of my jobs evaporated with Covid, I'm riding more again (I was walking and doing some hiking during that lull, though).

I had to re-adjust my LHT today, as I'd realized some of the discomfort I was feeling wasn't so much due to my recent decade of morbid obesity.... well, a side effect, anyway. Turns out, I had a LOT more padding between me and the saddle over that time, during which I'd bought the bike. I raised it a couple cm and checked my leg extension, and double checked my cockpit length, declared it good enough for now, and knocked out 30 miles without any trouble. At my peak, I would have barely counted that as a ride, but right now... I'll certainly count it.

Due to the current social/safety conditions, I'm doing my riding at a nearby cutoff route. Fortunately, I'm an introvert and comfortable in my skull. Keeps the repetitive laps from getting dull. It's a 2.5 mile round trip from one end to the other, with a slight climb at one end. 11 laps got me about 1000 feet of elevation gain, including a few jaunts onto connecting streets to get me close to 30. Not exactly the Rockies, but I'm feeling good about using it for base miles.

velojym

Hey! I remember these guys! Hit a weight loss plateau for the last few weeks, though I suspect my legs can account for a good bit of that. Build 'em up at 240... oughta be able to scream along pretty well once I'm down a few more lbs.

velojym

Started to include another lap into my solitudinous routine, which I've done before, but has a lot more elevation gain than my little cutoff route. Unfortunately, that gain isn't being reported accurately on Strava. Good thing I'm not chasing any elevation based challenges.
My legs still know what's up.

Got a new back wheel on Jake, and adjustable noodles on the brakes, so we're ready for some Kona miles now.

zjrog

It's good when they come back into view!!!!

SethAZ 

Hey velojym , when I first opened this thread and realized it was from a couple of years ago, and was from someone saying "I'm 340+ and thinking about cycling to help lose some weight..." I thought I knew how it would end, with someone resurrecting an old thread to ask hey, did this actually work out, with nothing but crickets. Then I get to the end of the thread and you're still at it and lost over 100 lbs in the meantime.

For heavens sake mate, well done! Now, going back to your original posts, I just want to know this: has your family changed their tune in the meantime? I mean with the eye-rolling and the "yeah, whatever dad" type comments? I should hope so, because you've really shown them. Anyhow, thanks for following up here. I'm really happy to know how much you've worked on your plan and seen so much success.

I like that you've still got your old bike. I really regret that I threw away the Univega SupraSport that I'd had since I was a teenager and had bought it with my meager earnings working a part-time job for the then-minimum wage of $3.35/hour. It didn't make the cut to get packed into a Penske truck when we had to move across the country in the mid 2000s. I hadn't ridden it in like 20 years when I got rid of it, but little did I know within 4 years of that move I was back on a bike again, and have more bikes now. That old Univega was crap compared to what I have now, but I still wish I had it, and could fix it up and have it as my "retro" bike that could still be useful, friction shifters on the downtube and all. You've got your new Trek but still have Jake the Snake, which is cool.

ps: I have to ask, if you don't mind, are you prior service Army? I ask because Jake the Snake isn't exactly original, given how it rhymes and all, but that was a common nickname back in the day for all the wildlife we weren't supposed to mess with when we went out into the field. It's just something I heard a bunch in a military context and never heard it outside of that context, so I had to ask.

velojym

Thanks for the props! Honestly, I started the thread to help with my accountability, but I wasn't 100% sure I'd be successful in following through.
My wife and daughter make halfhearted attempts to 'get with it', taking walks with me sometimes, but I'm still applying gentle pressure for the wife to get back on the tandem. No eye rolls, so much anymore, but conversation about bicycling or fitness in general tends to lead to lost interest pretty quickly. I think there's natural pressure based on my success that they don't want to think about too much... and there are usually way too many sugary/starchy snacks piled up in the kitchen.
Yes, I'm glad I kept Jake. Very glad. Only item I own that would cause emotional distress if I were to lose it. The name came with the bike, and if I remember correctly, it was the nickname of one of the founders of the company. No prior military here, though I have some family who have belonged to a couple branches.

velojym

I guess, as of today, the Kimchi Kruizer (Hyundai Elantra) is officially a member of the family. Took it to get a hitch receiver installed, and now Jake can ride around without having to be partially disassembled. I also went ahead and got a pigtail, in case I decide to put together a little 'adventure/camping' trailer. Can't be very heavy, but I think I can have a lot of fun with this little beastie.

Oneder

If people are sabotaging you get them out of your life. You may need to do this even with family. The reason you are hefty in the first place is most likely the bad habits you picked up in childhood, You need to start being around people with better habits and start emulating them instead of your bad role models.

velojym

I'm with you on the 'immersion' thing. Though, I don't think my family is intentionally sabotaging me. I think I'm just making them uncomfortable with their own habits, which in turn make it more difficult to cultivate good ones in myself. I'm hoping to be a good example for them, though, as my daughter is 13, and I don't really want to just up and leave my family without at least trying.

In other news... one reason I don't really ride from my house is the hilly/busy nature of the road. I just took the 'Dale (M500) down to the lake and back and yeah... it's kinda steep for me. At least, I'd be struggling if I rode it on Jake (48/38 front), but the triple LX drivetrain on the ol' beater worked great.
So, if I find myself unable to haul a ride out to do some pedaling, I can still get a couple hill laps in from the front door now. I'll call that a milestone. Didn't run Strava, since it was only a mile round trip, but I think I will in the future. I'll make it a segment, and see how I improve on the short little grunt route.


The bar seems a bit low, and for longer rides, can be... but it's awesome for kronking up a hill while using my upper body.

CerveloS5

As someone who turned 50 a couple of weeks ago - here's a warm soon-to-be welcome to the club! It seems to be THE age to focus on our health, lose some weight, and get back to cycling. I'm just starting again after a broken hip from a ski accident last year. I put on 15lbs during the recovery, but I've lost 11lbs over the past 6 weeks. Shooting for 10lbs - 15lbs more.

Are you still shooting for 200lbs? Any plans for your 50th - assuming Ragbrai is postponed?

velojym

The official goal is about 204, but yeah, thereabouts. Ragbrai may be out, so I'm going to set my sights on a couple rides near my old stompin' grounds: Wheels on Fire in Tucumcari, and Tour de Taco in Clovis. Both in NM. They tend to be on adjacent weekends, so while it wouldn't be quite the Ragbrai experience, I'd still be pleased with it.
Glad to see you got back in the saddle!

CerveloS5

Good luck in your continued weight loss journey. I've turned this time of home quarantine into focusing on losing weight myself so my hip will have less to lug around. How's the new Trek Domane? Seems like you have an awful lot of interesting bikes to choose from? I'm down to just this one - my old man bike

velojym

Sold the Domane to my brother. While it was a cool bike, I'm gonna keep Jake my primary until it can't do it anymore. After all the miles we have behind us so far, it'll take a major wreck I think.

bwilli88 

Read thru the thread and congrats. I am celebrating a bit,I finally hit 218 from a high of 268.

velojym

Good job!