Brand New and Hopeful!

I am sick of being jealous of all those beautiful, powerful women I see zooming around on their bikes so this year I have decided that I am going to give it my best shot to join the ranks. I am 30lbs away from my goal weight. I have two kids, am divorced and the primary care giver. So, the challeges for me will be to get fit and find time to do so. I have been able to get to the gym (indoor spin bike) three times a week and my goal has been 10-15 miles at 80-90 rpm. I have it on a 9-11 resistance setting. I dont feel like I am making much progress, but I assume something is better than nothing. I was able to get an indoor cyclops brand mag trainer on super clearance. Too bad I am still saving up for my bike! Ha ha! Once I get that, I will be able to ride inside or outdoors when my schedule allows and not only between the limited hours at my local gym. It is overwhelming to start from ground zero, but we all start somewhere. I joined this forum to hopefully keep me motivated towards my goal- 30 miles, 30 pounds by my 30th birthday. Here goes nothing!! Lol

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your journey into fitness! Riding a bike is a great way to do it. Let us know how it goes.

Welcome to TE, Akroll! If you want motivation or advice, this is a very good place to be.

Good for you for wanting to get on a bike!

Thanks Ladies! I am very enthusiastic!

Welcome to TE, and all the best with your challenge! You'll find lots of support and encouragement here.

If you're organised enough to get to the gym three times a week then hopefully you'll have no problem swapping out some of those sessions for riding. I started riding when my daughter was 2, it took a bit of organising with childcare, but it was possible. What kind of riding do you fancy?

Welcome to the best sport there is :)

This time last year I could barely ride 15 miles without dying at the end and struggling the whole time. Last June I rode 30 miles for the first time and needed two days to recover.

This year - I rode 30 miles Friday, 20 yesterday and hopefully 50 today and I feel great.

Hopefully you find biking to be the best sort of zen there is, as well as a great way to stay fit and healthy.

Good luck!

Akroll - Sounds like an awesome plan. How old are you children? Mine are 4 & 6 - to be 5 and 7 before summer's end. I am having more problems riding with them now than I was when they were a bit younger. My neighbor gave me a bike trailer and I pulled them everywhere. Now, they are a bit bigger and don't want to ride in it with each other. They want to take their own bikes but can't go very far or very fast. My 6 year old has made it about 3 miles but couldn't ride straight by the end. 4 year old can do a mile.

Akroll,

When I started riding I was far more than 30 pounds overweight and it killed me to ride a level mile. That was five years ago. To date I have lost nearly all of the weight I wanted to, and am within 5 pounds of my ideal goal (pre 3 children and menopause) weight.

I have also done several serious cross country bike rides.

You are on the top of a delightful new life experience but be careful, the riding can become addictive. Maybe it's the endorphins, serotonin that are released or the insane sense of self assurance and accomplishment that biking can give you whether you ride 1 mile or 100.

Just remember that life is like riding a bike, it requires forward motion to maintain balance.

good luck and have fun.

marni

Thank you for all the nice feedback! My girls are 4 and 2, but both have spring birthdays right around the corner. They keep me busy, but i love-love-LOVE being a mommy. I am looking forward to getting a bike so I can go out and ride with them- even if it is just around the block. They both love their little bikes. We have a state trail near our house I would also like to take advantage of. Until then, i crank the tunes ("I'm sexy and I know it, wiggle wiggle wiggle") and pedal away on the stationary 'spin' bike. I putter out typically at 10 miles, but I am proud of it. Im sure everything will get better with time! I am determined to reach 30 miles by the time I am 30. That gives me until July. 2012 is going to be an awesome year for me even if it kills me. Ha ha.

Welcome to TE and good luck with your goals. You will find excellent support, encouragement and advice here.

I could barely cycle 3-4 miles when I returned to cycling at age 58. Now I can do 40 (slow) miles easily. Cycling is addictive!

Akroll, welcome to TE, and congratulations on taking on new challenges! I am 52. I learned how to ride a bike for the very first time in my life at 50 and it took me something like three months to break 25 mile rides once I was skilled enough to actually start riding in the road.

That was two years ago and I've lost 50 pounds since that first time I swung my leg over a bike - and much of that was in the first year. Last year my challenge was to learn how to mountain bike, and THIS year my goal is to get better on both road and trail. Spinning class, for me, was the initial encouragement to get out on a real bike - I figured if spinning was so much fun that riding outside would be even better. It is :D

You can do it, and have fun riding with your girls! Have you started looking at bikes yet? Which bikes are you considering?

Welcome to TE Akroll!! This place is great and I'm a newbie as well and super enthusiastic!! Let's share our experiences on the road here :D

Threadjack! Maye, have you biked the Minneola to West Orange Trail over near Clermont. Fun ride unless your pulling a trailer full of little boys.

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Originally Posted by Cynedra

Threadjack! Maye, have you biked the Minneola to West Orange Trail over near Clermont. Fun ride unless your pulling a trailer full of little boys.

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Not yet but I REALLY want to since I heard that some of these trails are connected and that the West Orange Trail is really nice for a 22 mile ride with a lot of nice things to see and do along the way. Once I nail down my pedal "issues" I will head to the trails for sure. I live in East Orlando so I think is like a 45 minute ride for me. It's true that eventually they will link all the Central FL trails to make it a big loop? I heard that the loop once finished is going to be around 200 miles! Nice!!

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Originally Posted by Akroll82

Thank you for all the nice feedback! My girls are 4 and 2, but both have spring birthdays right around the corner. They keep me busy, but i love-love-LOVE being a mommy. I am looking forward to getting a bike so I can go out and ride with them- even if it is just around the block. They both love their little bikes. We have a state trail near our house I would also like to take advantage of. Until then, i crank the tunes ("I'm sexy and I know it, wiggle wiggle wiggle") and pedal away on the stationary 'spin' bike. I putter out typically at 10 miles, but I am proud of it. Im sure everything will get better with time! I am determined to reach 30 miles by the time I am 30. That gives me until July. 2012 is going to be an awesome year for me even if it kills me. Ha ha.

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You might pick up a trailer to haul the kids around in along the trail. They are still young enough to really enjoy riding together in a trailer. I bought a used trailer for cheap. I use it to haul my dog around.