During the winter months I am at the gym 6 days a week, doing cardio, weights and core. However I can't get the sustained heart rate at the gym that I can while cycling, so when good weather arrives I am on the bike again, and I just visit the gym a few times a week to do low burn cardio, weights and core. I also walk and hike.

On the bike my average heart rate on a distance ride is over 130. At the gym, even doing running intervals on the treadmill I am lucky to get an average heart rate of 125. The bike is a more effective cardio exercise for me.

Next summer I am thinking about taking up kayaking, in addition to the cycling.

The weight gain while cycling happened to me too, and in a serious way, back in 2007. I burn over 35,000 calories a month with cycling during the good months, so I was in shock. It turns out I had gotten an inflammation of my intestinal system, most likely caused by food chemicals, which slowed down my digestive system and metabolism. Anyone reading this who is gaining weight and might not know why, to put it delicately, if your bowel movements are not normal, like when you were a healthy child, then you should suspect internal inflammation as the cause of your weight gain. I focused carefully on my nutrition and minimized processed foods in my diet, cleared up the inflammation, my bowel movements are now incredibily healthy, I lost the weight I had gained plus a bunch more, and I feel great.