New Clydesdale Rider

[ScoutLar]

I’m a new rider. I guess I’m a clyds… but I feel out of place as the average clyd is over 6’… sort of like big and tall… I’m only 5’7″ and I’m 280 lbs right now… Not my most achievable moment. I’m trying to get back down to 200 lbs and hoping going out on the trails will help with that.

Is there any advice you can give me? I’m picking up my new bike Cannondale Cujo 2 this afternoon, and was planning to hit a beginner flow trail on friday after work.

Also does anyone else feel awkward sometimes going into the bike shops?

[m.krupp]

First welcome to the community. I think if you can connect with other riders you will find acceptance and many of your concerns will go away. Plus other riders can encourage you and motivate you as start riding.

Second of all sweet bike. I looked real close at those bikes a couple of years ago before finding a great killer deal on a used bike.

As far as advice, I would suggest like with any exercise or working out or new activity start slow and well within in your limits. Also if you can find people to ride with that helps a ton. Also watching YouTube vids can educate you a lot. Some favs most on this site are familiar with are Seth’s Bike Hacks, GMBN, Skills with Phil, and Rich Drew.

Lastly, yes at times I do feel awkward in the bike shop. The more I go to have my bike worked on or order parts or just ask questions I get more comfortable. They recognize me now and know I will keep returning because they are my shop and want my return business. I also visited all my local shops and had my bike worked on at a few different ones. One shop no matter how many times I was in there it felt intimidating. Their prices weren’t any cheaper but they were a the most convenient one to get too. I found another shop that the vibe felt better no matter what you are in there for. I made that my shop and I am loyal to them and they take care of me. Check out other shops and just go in maybe to ask some bike questions or when you are looking for a small tool or part and see where you like.

[OhioFatBiker]

Welcome.  M.Krupp gave sound advice.  It won’t help you improve your health if you go beyond your capability and hurt yourself.  Start slow and develop your fitness and skills. There is no shame in walking technical features that you can’t ride.  Ride the bike, do it regularly and you will lose weight pretty quickly.

Where are you located?  Is there a lot of trails nearby?  Do you have any friends to ride with?

As far as feeling awkward in a shop,  you might not know what the guys are talking about but generally people like to help.  But like any human interaction, it is easier to deal with people who you have a relationship with.

[ScoutLar]

Thanks for the sound advice. I have been watching all of those MTB youtube channels. I’ve gotten some pretty sound advice off of them. It’s another to place into action xD. Practice practice practice. I picked up my bike yesterday, and just rode it around the neighborhood. It feels awesome to be back on a bike! Although I don’t think I’m going to be doing any long rides right now. I think I will just stick around the neighborhood until the saddle sore eases.

 

I think in regards to going into the shop maybe the one I bought the bike from just isn’t my scene. They seemed more into just selling me the bike and pushing me on my way.. But I might’ve found a cool shop somewhere else. I’ve been talking to a shop tech over FB. I got into contact through videos he posted on youtube about bike maintenance. Now he’s helping me upgrade my old Norco Storm for my wife so we can go out together.

Small steps, but steps in the right direction. I will be taking it pretty easy right now and just get used to my new bike. 🙂

 

Thanks for the advice!

[Sean Gordon]

Don’t worry about weight loss at first – track your progress in terms of miles and hours each week with a bike computer or a smart/fitness watch. Try to do more hours or more miles each week, this will increase your metabolism and you will burn more calories during all activity. Strava is a great tool that I use as a training log, sometimes I’m feeling down on myself and I look back through my training log and I’m like “hell yeah I’ve done so much good riding lately and I’m doing more than last month.”

Basically give yourself kudos for doing bigger and bigger rides, because that is measurable progress and its not debatable. Your weight will decrease much more slowly, and will be highly variable week to week because of hydration, digestion etc, and if you obsess over it too much you’ll feel too many little setbacks that can be discouraging. Getting fitter through mountain biking is a positive reinforcement feedback loop – the more you ride, the more you can ride.

That is: weight loss is your long term goal, but you can keep up your motivation by seeing progress in your milage or time and reaching short term goals.

[Oldandrolling]

Good sound advice by all contributors. I lost 30 lbs in the first 2 years  biking. The hardest thing for me was to keep a consistent riding routine at the beginning. Don’t worry so much about what you can’t do or how you look. Just get out as often as you can, don’t give up and try to ride a consistent amount each week. After a few months I am certain you will see noticeable improvement.

[OhioFatBiker]

By the way,  stop back on the forum and let us know how you progress.  I love to see more people getting engaged in the sport that has done so much for me.

 

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