Bicycling for fitness

Well I finally had a good chance to use my Fenix P3D tonight. I decided I wanted to try and get into riding bicycles again for fitness and so I had to get myself a bike.

I could of got out my cheap $50 Wal-Mart mountain bike (Roadmaster I believe) which I bought last year for this same reason, but after using that bike maybe twice when I first got it and determining it was junk I decided to get my dad's old bike out. He has a Schwinn Varsity 10 speed road bike that is probably 40 years old or better. It weighs quite a bit, has a plank for a seat, and is tall so I wasn't thrilled when I first got on it.

So after taking it around the block to make sure I could shift, brake, and take the abuse of the seat I decided to go for a decent length ride. I went to a place called the belt loop that goes nearly from one end of the town to the other and was made for walking/biking. After getting there I noticed it was quite dark most of the way, so I pulled out my P3D and stuck it in my mouth (if i get into biking again, I definitely need to buy a bike light) for the 4-6 miles of the loop.

The light itself did great and would be all I would actually need for a light, but a brighter one wouldn't be turned down if I were shopping for one.

As for me, at first I didn't think I could make it further than a couple of blocks as it was already burning my legs, but the longer I rode the less they burned and I felt I could go longer if I wanted. Though I'm surprised that my upper body is just as wore out as my legs. I guess the leaned over racing position is a workout in itself for the arms.

If something in my post doesn't make sense, it's probably because it's nearly 4 am now and I wore myself out tonight

Congratulations! Biking is a great way to get in shape. It may be worth a trip to your local bike shop to make sure the bike is set up properly for your size/height. Just keep pedaling and before you know it you will be riding centuries!

turk

I used to bike a lot when I was a kid. I think I averaged 15-20 miles a day on a junkyard mtn. bike. I stopped when I got to high school (had to be cool ) I had extremely strong legs back then as well, I could leg press something like 850 lbs.

I've been to the only local bike shop around here, and while I do really want a bike, I'm not sure I can justify the $300-400 for a decent entry level bike

Applying German price levels, I'd not trust a bike priced at $300-400. Your money might be better spent on a high quality used bike + some replacement parts like sprocket, chain, seat, cables, tires, pedals.
Part of the fun would be the restoration process. Consider that removing a sprocket or changing a tire exercises different muscles than riding a bike, which is good. Once you're done and riding, you will find that the bike goes so much easier than any bike you could have bought.

The glutes, back, and shoulders/arms are used during riding on a road bike.
As you bend over past 45 degrees, the butt muscles start getting used.
Imagine an arch, with your feet and hands as the end anchor points.
You push against the pedals and your weight acts as counterbalance on the seat, but as you try to accelerate, ie. riding out of the saddle, that counterbalance transfers up through your body down to your hands at the bars.
Your upper body is in tension, and that adds to the workout.

Best thing about biking is it's low impact compared to running. And the distance one can cover is fun. Keep up the good workout.

If you're handy, a few large o-rings and a large gum eraser carved out to mold to bars and Fenix, can be your bike light mount.
I find some of our LED lights make for great portable bike lighting. If you're not a hardcore night rider, bike lighting systems aren't really necessary.

Biking is great exercise, although I prefer running or swimming.

Hey, get yourself some Twofish lockblocks for that light of yours. You don't really need a dedicated light if you have a "good" light already.

And there is always an Princeton Tec EOS on your helmet!

Darell said:

And there is always an Princeton Tec EOS on your helmet!

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That would of been the smart thing to do, but I wasn't actually planning on going for a distance ride like I did. I'll have to use that next time. Or I could mount my Surefire 10X on it though the bike already weighs enough as it is. I weighed it today and it came out to about 43 lbs.

Funny how often I end up riding a lot further than I thought I was going to.

If you want a bike light, you might want to look here or here

iced_theater said:

That would of been the smart thing to do, but I wasn't actually planning on going for a distance ride like I did. I'll have to use that next time. Or I could mount my Surefire 10X on it though the bike already weighs enough as it is. I weighed it today and it came out to about 43 lbs.

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If you are doing it only for exercise then 43 lbs. will get you a really good workout. If you do happen to get a lighter bike the FUN factor will go up exponentially with the decrease in weight. I was just amazed the first time I got on a lightweight bike how fast it went when I pedaled. I was riding with one of my friends, borrowing his 'old' bike and couldn't believe how far we wound up going, and how much fun it was. It's the most efficient form of self propulsion yet invented.

Go to a bike shop that will let you test ride bikes over the same roads / paths you are now riding and compare.

I bought a new mountain bike just over a month ago......it now has about 720 miles on it. I have been riding a nice full suspension bike for the last 10 years, but decided to take the local bike shops "demo bike" out a spin to see how a more modern bike performed.....I ended up with a new bike later that day. The advancements with suspension/disc brakes/frame on my new bike, make me crave riding all the time! I have saved tons on gas/insurance riding my bike. The fitness side of it is an added bonus and often times leads to great adventures.
I have a Surefire M961XM07 with my modded KT4 head with 3 seouls and 3 Mcr27 reflectors mounted on the underside of the handlebars. I have an SR switch mounted on the handlebars and plugged into the XM tailcap, allowing me to hit the "High-Beams" without taking my hands off the bars. Also on the other side of the neck on the handlebars is a 6P with a Cree drop-in and 2-stage tailcap. On the back is a E1L with a Modded KL1 with seoul and Mcr20 reflector and Mce2s 2-stage tailcap with a red rubber cap as my tail-light.
Night riding is a ton of fun when you can see where you're going! Usually the 6P is sufficiant, but sometimes you just need more....a lot more!
When seeing the bike coming "head on" it appears to be HID lighting, especially with both the Cree on High and the KT4SR27X3 lit up!