TX_Chris

Clyde here that started this new life long hobby on July 1 at 315 lbs. Got a Giant Escape 3 hybrid & absolutely loved getting into bicycling. Made decision to clean up diet by just making better choices more often than bad choices. Not counting calories just eating healthier when hungry. I have logged 190 miles to date & shocked how fast my cardio & overall fitness have progressed with regular consistent riding. I am down 20 pounds without starving myself & having a blast progressing in cycling. One mile at a time & a lot less fast food. Riding with a smile.

UnknownUser

Male, early 20's, been somewhat big my whole life since i broke my arm in first grade and now am looking to ride for a cause. I weigh about 400+ yes i know and im 5'11" last i checked. I would prefer to stay private at this time as im shy in this department and not proud of it either. My current goal is to lose atleast half my weight, be happy to be me for a change. Would be nice to have a bike that doesnt go flat when i sit on it, recently i went to walmart and tried a FatBike with them huge wheels/tires. I liked, its different but is their one like it or different that will do me the kindness of being durable enough to work.

Weight Cap: Around 400lbs load
Available Amount To Spend: $200-$300
(Sadly needs to be available on Amazon, as my funds are currently in my gift balance department)

I would love to be down the street in no time. Thank you for your time, and sorry if this isnt the correct area to post this thread.

pullin12s

Hi All, My name is Mike, but here I'm "pullin12s" which refers to the hours I was working in law enforcement before I retired. Couldn't wait to get away from those hours, only to learn most medical positions work them now! Who knew?


Anyway, I'm 53, married, a true Clydesdale, in search of leaner pastures. Recently diagnosed with a semi mild heart ailment, but for the time being at least my resting heart rate stays between 140 and 160 beats per minute. Seems to have my body fooled that my metabolism is back to my teenage years because I'm dropping weight kind of quickly, only thing is I'm using up my heart 2 or 3 times faster than I would like. A few more weeks on blood thinners and they'll rezapp me and try to put me back in a normal rhythm.


I rode as a kid all the time. Got a great deal on a Motobecane Grand Jubilee and put a few dollars into new tires and brake pads and since I lived 20 miles from my girlfriends house, over the summer I was putting lots and lots of miles on my bike. Was in great shape then and know I can get there again. Just don't tell my wife I'm riding to my girlfriends house again! She'll get really mad! Sorry, poor humor. I just believe I can get there again.


I bought a 2009 Trek 1.2 road bike in mint condition recently and it has some additional equipment on it that added to the value, so I'm really pleased to have this to start again with. I'll try to keep you all up to speed on the weight loss. I want to drop a minimum of 100 lbs. I lost 130 overnight once but that was because she got mad and moved out!
Mike

wingedbulldozer

26 YO, 291 lb (131.95 kg), 6'7" (2.01 m roughly)
I ride a 2015 Norco Indie 3, and love every minute of it. As for riding, I bike commute everywhere, so real;ly it's just what I'm used to.
I work night shift (10-6) so I enjoy a bit more free time and emptier roads here in KY and I ride to the gym and home every other day (weekends not included).
Looking into a mountain bike if it doesn't cost as much as a car.

tpadul 

Hi everyone,
I'm brand new here on the forum, I'm a 48 year old female about 5'8 and about 240 right now. I have not been on my bike in several years, and by several years I'm probably talking about more than 20 years or more. I have a 19 year old daughter and while she was young I maybe got on my bike and road around the neighborhood with her a handful of times. Prior to that when I was younger in grammar school and high school I rode my bike all the time.. I'm of the generation where we grew up playing outside all the time, so in the summer I was on my bike all day long.

I desperately need to lose some weight and about 3 years ago I had just lost 60 lbs and was down to about 212 and felt pretty comfortable with that weight and wanted to get down to about 180. However 3 years ago I met the most amazing woman and we have been married now for almost 2 years, during that time I've backslid on my healthy eating and have gone back to sucking down my sweets, I love dessert, cakes, cookies, ice cream and anything chocolate are my downfall. I am extremely upset with my weight gain and I'm determined to get back into riding and lose some weight.

I have dusted off my old 1987 Raleigh Seneca Mountain Tour. I bought it brand new and it's been kept indoors most of it's life. It's in pretty good shape and I'm having a friend help me tune it up. He suggested some Compass Rat Trap Pass tires instead of those horrible knobby mountain bike tires, I will not be riding any dirt trails or doing any real mountain biking and will be mostly on paved asphalt paths and streets, so I need better tires to make my ride smoother.

I'm very excited about getting back into riding and hoping to inspire my wife to start riding with me. I want to look around for a vintage old Raleigh for her.

I got on my bike 3 days ago for the first time in years and was only able to ride around my neighborhood for about 15 minutes before getting too winded, I have some hilly streets near me and even those small inclines in the road I felt like I was trying to climb Mt. Everest my legs were woggly and I felt like I rode 500 miles... I know I need to start out slow so yesterday I went back outside and stayed in our parking lot of the apartment complex as it was completely flat ground and I did much better, rode for about 15 mins and was not as winded.. So I know small baby steps are in order for me.

Looking forward to chatting more with everyone here. I'm pretty ignorant to all the bike terminology and really don't know much about fixing them at all, but I'm looking forward to learning. Most of all I'm looking forward to finally losing some of this weight I put back on and get back down to a healthier weight. I remember how I felt when I lost the 60 pounds and that was without any exercise regime at all, just cut out certain foods from my diet. I want to get back to feeling better about myself and my goal is to be able to ride my bike for hours without getting winded and tired.

Flying Foot Doc

Good luck tpadul. You will do fine. If you are so motivated, just ride a little bit farther, even just part of a block every time you ride. Enjoy it, let us all know how it goes. Just keep pedaling! Andy

lina4lina

Hello all!

I'm 41, married, living in the DC metro. I've been obese my entire life. I had a bike for a short period time as a kid but then that was pretty much it until probably around 7 years ago when I lost a lot of weight and I decided to try biking. I was ambitious, tried a road bike and it didn't take. It didn't feel relaxing, it hurt my wrists, hurt my butt, and I was just very nervous. I actually didn't give up and I bought a recumbent trike, which I loved. After injury and other 'stuff', I gained weight and stopped riding my trike. My husband also stopped riding his bike. Anyway, I've been watching people lately biking, people of all sizes, different bikes and I started to think that maybe I could bike again. I looked up my weight limit on my trike and I'm over, like not just a little, a lot. (it is in the lower 200s).

So I started hinting at my husband that I might want to bike again, he has also expressed an interest. Yesterday, we took his bike to the bike shop to get fixed up, and went to try out bikes for me. I had my heart set on the Electra Townie so that was where I focused my efforts. I tried it and I felt ok but then I asked if they had any other similar bikes (more upright, pedals somewhat forward) and the guy pointed me to the Trek Verve. I tried that and I fell in love. I was wobbly, I was nervous and getting both feet on the pedal was an initial challenge but once I started going I was fine.

I went biking after I got home and we live in a hilly area so it wasn't exactly easy. Going up hills is a bit tough and I'm a little nervous going down hills but it was fun. I didn't think I'd sweat as much as I did for a short ride because it really didn't feel like exercise. I got a little saddle sore but thats ok, I ordered some padded shorts and I think I'll get there eventually. I think my biggest challenge will be passing people especially people with dogs because I just feel a bit wobbly right now but I'm ok with getting off and walking the bike at certain points until I get better.

Anyway, I'm glad to be here!

TX_Chris

Welcome Lina to the forums & thank you for sharing your first steps in your journey to a happier & healthier you. Taking it slow & being consistent will help your progression in cycling be one you enjoy. Best of luck & look forward to reading about your progress.

Chris

Begs

Hey Everyone! My name is James. Excited to be on the forum. Recently moved to the Central Valley of CA and have been riding for the last 5 months. I am born and raised in Denver and then moved to Chicago for 4 years. I stopped riding in Chicago but am excited to be back on a bike.

When i moved to Cali I was about 315lbs. I am currently down to about 290lb. I already feel a difference in my riding. I would love to hear from other big guys/gals on the struggles of cycling and the successes of cycling.

I ride a 2010 Roubaix Comp. I love the bike. I also own a Fuji Cross 2.0 as a gravel grinder.

Look forward to talking bikes with everyone!!

SugarMonkey

New to this end of the forums. I was reading the "why clydesdale/athena" thread and realized the women's weight was way lower than the mens. The only time I was below 150 was when I was on chemo

My fighting weight (really, I used to do Tae Kwon Do tournaments) was about 150 and it was muscle and boobs.

Had a total hip replacement three months ago yesterday and hadn't been on a bike in years. Doctor is an avid cyclist so he encouraged me to ride again. I've been hard at it, got some miles in the saddle, upped my average speed and distance, and still working it.

Currently have my tank of a mountain bike that got me through a lot of winter/campus riding and my new Cannondale Foray 2 which is more on the hybrid spectrum if you put it next to the old bike. My mom ran off with my actual hybrid when I wasn't riding. >.>

ZenForest

LOL

Just got my bike assembled, and became new member to this forum. Posted my 1st post in INTRO Section, but should probably introduce myself here too........lol at Clydesdales thread

Been YEARS since I have ridden a bike. 47 years old, a tad over 6 feet tall, closer to 300lbs than 200lbs and need to get back in shape.

Just watched the RIO Olympics and my favorite was watching the Mountain Bikers zipping down the beautiful Mountains of Brazil on their bikes

Motivated me, not to be a competitive racer or extreme biker or anything, but simply to ease back into exercise, and thought I would try bike riding again.

Purchased this bike for $199 at Walmart

https://www.walmart.com/ip/29-Kent-M...-Blue/40572011

Bike has 29inch tires and 300lb capacity so I thought would be a good starting point for me to ride for a year or two.......loose some weight, gain some cardio endurance, and see how into riding I get before spending more money on a better/different bike.

Really just wanted something to ease back into riding. Plan on 80% neighborhood roads, 20% mild gravel roads.......absolutely NO rock jumping, stump jumping or any technical stuff ......really just want to get the body moving again, and thought this would be a quick way to do it.

Bike got delivered last week, and I just assembled it. Had a bit of an issue getting the Front Derailleur to shift through all three sprockets. The front shifter (on the left) is a Revo Friction 3 speed shifter. I just watched some you tube videos, and went back out to the garage, and it now seems to shift thru all three sprockets, but it takes more than three clicks of the shifter to do it. Is that ok ?

This is my 1st post....will post some photos of my experience with the WallMart Special, and post updates on my weight loss (hopefully there will be some).

I realize there is a separate thread for mechanical questions, so perhaps the shifting questions should go there.

Anyways........

Hello from Massachusetts (and I also spend a ton of time on Moosehead Lake - Maine)

keg61

.... sorry iceberg Ithink I got ya beat,I haven't done any real riding in more than 20 years. oh btw, I'm Keith from PA... 55 years old, recovering from a stroke in 2011, haven 't got back riding sgain but it's my plan/goal.I'm currently around 360lbs,before my stroke I topped out at 427lbs( i kid you not)@5'8"I haven 't done any real riding since the early 90s.after my stroke I bought a heavy duty(industrial) tricycle that I rode occasionally for a couple summers. it is my project now. I'm converting/upgrading it from a 1x7clunker to a 3x9 bike path explorer. I'm basically rebuilding everything from the frame up... I just discovered this forum a few days ago and have been enjoying the discussions about dynamos and lights. Gotta go watch the rest of the football game, cyaa

keg61

I love Nashbar, i live in western PA, i used to be able to drive to the Youngstown store (before they moved to Canfield ) in 45minutes. I bought my flat bar road bike from them after my stroke and still haven't masteredriding it yet :-(

mahlers2nd

Just thought I would "re-introduce" myself. I joined last year after buying a vintage road bike... however, life and other excuses got in the way of getting out and riding regularly.

I'm 53 and big-time Athena (no pun intended) hoping to become just a smaller Athena (Even if I reach my goal weight, i'll still be an Athena but I'm ok with that!)

However, over the last several weeks, I've been bitten with the bug again after having joined a team for the NBC Bike Challenge.

I'm s-l-o-w-l-y trying to build up my miles... had my first 5+ mile day since... well, when I was in my 20s! I still have to occasionally hop off the bike and hoof it up the hills but I feel like I'm getting stronger. It will be a proud day when I can do my loop without getting off the bike!

The NBC Bike Challenge has been good for me since you get 20 points just for riding a mile every day... just to build the behavior. I don't mean to toot my own horn but I'm currently leading my community (of course, I'm the ONLY RIDER from my community but hey...). So for now... just getting on my bike and riding every day ... even if only for 1 mile. Once I can ride 5 miles consistently, then would like to join a local meetup group (though with the light waning, may have to wait until next year for that).

Anyway, just wanted to say hello again...

Cheers!

Roamer2

Hello All ~

Familiar theme: picked up cycling again after a hiatus doing other sports. Longest ride recently is a 35 miler. I'm probably not going to be the crank out a double century guy as I enjoy the more technical on/off road adventure type. I have a fun local 12 mile loop on MUP & single track that I try to do daily. It's pretty twisty & full of bridges, roots, etc but I can still manage 15+ mph on that.

Not sure how much longer I'll technically be a Clyde because I'm already nearing 200 on my way to 190 or so...but I'll always be tall & drawn toward the XL end of the cycle spectrum, so this forum is a great source of info! And I love the supportive attitude.

Happy riding, everybody!

G ~

Ph4r

Welcome @mahlers2nd, thanks for introducing me to the NBC, I was previously unaware of this event, but it sounds neat. I am now the only person in my community (zip code), but I'm currently placed pretty well in my State. Here's to hoping you can do the loop in saddle before you thought you even could! Best of Luck, just keep the pedals moving!

indyfabz

I did a cross-PA tour a few years ago. Started from a friend's house in Warren, OH and rode the first day to Franklin. Camped at the free campsite along the ART. It was nice. Saw a bald eagle pair in the morning.

keg61

I currently live in Franklin

indyfabz

I know. It says that under your user name.


The ART was a nice ride. Took it down to Emlenton and then hopped on PA Bike Route V.

keg61

ah yes I forgot it said where I am. I lived in Emlenton in the late 80s/early 90s. the rail trails were not there back then. they built the dam things while I was busy being a fat slob truck driver, now that I live here I have not set one foot on the trail because of how badly I cared for my trike and its need of rebuilding :-(

jlmonte

6'3" 234 + 5 lbs. Giving up carbo loading, old school home mechanic that remembers 3 piece cottered cranks and Suntour. Transitioning to compact cranks with 11 speed w/ 32 cog Specialized Roubaix. Interested in learning from other's experience. Glad to be here.

WestboroGoose

Hi all,

I’m 6’ and around 250. I currently ride a Breezer Venturi and a Nashbar ‘cross bike (both w/ steel frame and carbon fork). I ride for sanity, friendship and love of beer. I’ve been riding off and on for most of my 40-odd years, but jumped into distance riding 6 months ago to train for a (now completed) century.

Nice to Meet You!!!

kellichou

Hey Friends!

Lady here, 38, 5'4", 235. I've been bicycle commuting (7 mi each way, 14 mi roundtrip) 4-5 days a week for about 7 weeks now. I used to bike commute 10.5 miles each way about 10 years ago, and wanted to get back into it.

Like another user mentioned, I was doing great with my weight when I met my lovely wife (I was about 170, I was walking and hiking a bunch, and very pleased with my level of fitness). We've been together about 3 years, married for 1, and those pounds just pile on when I don't exercise!

I love how much better I feel when I exercise. In my job, I need lots of energy, and I love how positive and relaxed I feel when I get to work in the mornings. A hot shower doesn't hurt at all, either! At my old job, there weren't any showers, so I would shower the night before and just clean up best I could once I arrived. It wasn't bad, but a hot shower once I arrive is sheer delight. I have a closet where I can hang clothes and keep all my toiletries.

It's a lot of riding in the dark (I have to leave the house by 5:30am), but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I have a decent enough light (a Shark 500, it was $40 on Amazon), a white/red helmet light, and 2 flashing red lights, one for the bike and one for my backpack.

As far as cold weather riding gear, a lot of what I have I purchased 10 years ago through the REI Garage and those yearly members' sales (merino wool jersey for layering, breathable wicking base layers, merino wool balaclava, padded biking shorts, knee warmers, windblocking tights, a Buff neckwarmer, earband, cycling winter gloves, etc.). I still need to get a good jacket, and shoes.

ClydeTim

New member here! I've heard this is a heavily traveled place for Clydesdales with lots of good advice!

ChuckD6421 

I see, "heavily traveled", eh? Well, puns will get you everywhere in this place.
Welcome Tim!