How far is far enough? Biking

I've got a Giant road/dirt hybrid bike I use to get around town in Hilo, and exercise on. The terrain around here is generally downhill to the coast, after which is it flat. The ride back to my apartment is, obviously, an easy uphill. When I first got my bike, I had to ride hard to get anywhere, but I'm getting to the point that I'm not getting sore any more. I can easily ride three miles, to the store and back. I recently have pushed a little, and easily rode about 20 miles round trip, to the beach and back. I want to lose my poundage, I'm at 240 flucating up and down now, standing 5'9". Food wise I've made a lifestyle change, eating much better now.

So, given this brief background, how many miles do I need to ride to get a decent workout? Weather is variable here, and I don't like riding for too long, lest shouts of "******* hauli" and other polite Hilo greetings assail me. So could I ride hard and fast for a shorter distance?

I've also got a problem with my hands feeling like they're not getting enough blood when I ride really hard. I suspect it may be that I lean heavily on the front handles, cutting off blood at some point. When I sit back take weight off my hands they feel much better, but I don't have a real solution.

You are correct in your assessment with your hands. There is couple of ways in which I have overcome the same situation. First, find yourself a good pair of cycling gloves with extra padding. I usually have to go with an offroad cycling gloves to get the padding I want. I ride with an aftermarket set of handle bars, essentially a full wrap around for my offroad bike. The handle bars if I remember correctly is a Scott AT4 Pro. These are almost 10 years old if not more. This bar allows me to alternate my hand position while riding. I am not resting on my hands in the exact same position during my ride. The alternating of the hand position has eliminated any issues that I have had.

Good luck in the saddle.

congrats on the bigtime improvement! Feels great, huh.

a few points that may be helpful. Yes, bicycle gloves are not a gimmick - they really help. When you are over 20 miles, you will also appreciate bike shorts and bike shoes (even with platform pedals). You will get a better workout with clipless pedals however, because you leg muscles will be pushing and also pulling.

But to address your question, how many miles does it take to lose weight and get a good workout, in my completely worthless opinion, I'd say 15 miles, 3 times per week. The big thing is to do it a few times /week, more than just once.

Also, keep pushing yourself. Look for chalenging hills, or increase the milage, or your speed. If you aren't tired at the end, you aren't doing it right.

Good luck!

I would focus less on the miles traveled and more on the time spent at effort, which is really where the fitness comes from.

5-10 minutes of warm-up, 20 minutes of hard effort, and 5-10 minutes of easy spinning would make a great workout. Now, how many times you do it, how often you vary your route, your workout efforts, distances, etc., is what program design is all about. There are countless programs available on the internet- pick one that looks doable to you, and give it a shot. In short, you will have much better results using a bike to get in shape if you "become" a cyclist, at least in mindset.

On a side note, gloves are an important part of safety gear. When you crash (and you will), you may get scrapes on your shoulder and hip, but you can absolutely tear apart your palm if you use it to break your fall.

Cameron

I'm going to get sniped at, but the meat and taters of it is that its not the milage, but the heart rate sustainment for X amount of time. I used to ride a minimum of an hour at 19-21mph. Then I invested in a heart rate monitor.. that changed things considerably. I started working target ranges. The end results were I dropped 60# and was riding 70ish miles relatively easy. Then I got hit by a car.. and started over some time later after I'd gotten past aches, pains, new bike, and living location.. now I'm up to it again with new living location, my Bianchi road bike, and being post some surgeries.

Your best workout cycling is when you invest in the 'clipless' or 'step-in' peddles. I suggest something like the Shimano SPD or lollipops with MTB shoes. Read the directions for adjusting the shoes and clips for comfort, a few degrees makes a HUGE difference in comfort. These peddles increase your work out efficientcy in addition to the comfort factor.

Wrists - its not just gloves, look at your wrist angle. If your wrist has anything but a slight natural bend or straight, your putting all your weight onto the wrist joint. Pain and discomfort will increase over time till that is corrected.

BTW - wear a helmet, its saved my life 3 times. Oh, and shaving your legs is not... just something to do to wear a dress.. picking hair out of a scabbed over road rash sucks.

I haven't been wearing a helmet because I haven't been able to find a good one. I'll make my way over to the bike store here and get whatever they reccomend. Sounds like I've got a long list of things I need. New bike chain, grease, tires....

The polar HR monitors are around 30 dollars and it keeps my mind happy staying in the target range. For me thats about 155 and after 7 miles, I am spent.

I just got new Keo Look pedals. So much better than the spd's.

SkullDeformity:

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I suggest this for your hands:

http://www.ergon-bike.com/en/grips/index.html

And for biking, you have to maintain 65% VO2 max for more than 30 minutes.
So, get a cardio watch like people suggested and try a 30 mile run at a good
fast pace downhill and a slow pace uphill. Try to find week-end clubs
at local fitness centers. They will have small groupd of fit and freindsly people
that will go on various unboring rides in your area...

Keep up the good work!

MG

My recommendations are the same as above,

clip shoes & pedals, bar pads/gloves, and a heart rate monitor

In all reality if your hands aren't getting good blood flow, it's because your leaning on them too hard, which is mostly due to weak ab muscles. Something I did when I first started riding (which I honestly haven't done for awhile), was raise my seat so I did work my abs more by holding my upper body up, over time, couple of weeks, they were strong enough to where when I lowered my seat again, I was no longer pushing on my hands. If your knuckles are white when riding, your pushing too hard on the bar. (mwhities taught me that)

it's because your leaning on them too hard, which is mostly due to weak ab muscles

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ahh, I just came back from a ride and I was trying to get off my hands. How would putting the seat higher help? It seems like it would pitch me forward more...?

Boy, those head winds are tough.