Down 18lbs (1.3 stones) so far....? on cadence

here2help

Hey all. I just gotta say that I'm loving my hybrid bike. With a combination of commuting/personal training/rides after work and on weekends, I have lost 18lbs (1.3 stones) in the last 12 weeks and I feel great. I've noticed a huge improvement in endurance and have lost 3" around my waist so far. I started at 278lbs (19.8 stones), so I have a LONG way to go, however this is definitely something that I will be able to stick with.

I have a question on cadence. On days that I don't commute, after work I typically take a 15.6 mile ride and average 14mph with a cadence of 65. I've been reading that anything under 80 is really low however when I up-shift, I just can't seem to sustain a faster rotation on the peddles, it feels unnatural and awkward.

What can I do to try and get the cadence up? Or should I just keep focusing on losing the weight and learn more technique later?

-Stu

el_presidente

keep trying it will come

or get a fixie

redddraggon

Don't worry about the cadence, some people are mashers some people are spinners - you're probably a natural masher.

If you really want to increase your cadence select a gear one or two lower than you normally would and try to maintain the same speed - eventually it'll become natural.

rrsodl

here2help wrote:

Hey all. I just gotta say that I'm loving my hybrid bike. With a combination of commuting/personal training/rides after work and on weekends, I have lost 18lbs (1.3 stones) in the last 12 weeks and I feel great. I've noticed a huge improvement in endurance and have lost 3" around my waist so far. I started at 278lbs (19.8 stones), so I have a LONG way to go, however this is definitely something that I will be able to stick with.

I have a question on cadence. On days that I don't commute, after work I typically take a 15.6 mile ride and average 14mph with a cadence of 65. I've been reading that anything under 80 is really low however when I up-shift, I just can't seem to sustain a faster rotation on the peddles, it feels unnatural and awkward.

What can I do to try and get the cadence up? Or should I just keep focusing on losing the weight and learn more technique later?

-Stu

Excellent achievement, that is something I'm trying to do too, I've put so much weight on in the last 18 months.

I find that slow cadence gives me knee pain so I prefer higher cadence although I don't know how fast I'm pedalling really.

I didn't do much cycling in the winter months, I thought I was loosing my interest in cycling... I kept coming back to the forum seeking motivation by reading how much fun the members here have.Hopefully I can keep it up now that I started doing more miles with the better weather. Can I ask you how many miles commute do you do daily? and how many miles are you doing on a weekly basis?

Anyway, you certainly are an inspiration to me and I can't wait to get on my bike again

ademort

Well done big fella, keep it up and forget the cadence. It,s working just fine for you so carry on gear munching, hey the weight is coming off so what more do you want. Ademort

here2help

RRSODL wrote:

Can I ask you how many miles commute do you do daily? and how many miles are you doing on a weekly basis?

Anyway, you certainly are an inspiration to me and I can't wait to get on my bike again

I've been called many things, but I think that's the first time I've been called an "inspiration". :oops:

My commute is 5.7 miles each way and flat, however I don't commute by bike every day and I'll probably have to stop commuting soon due to the heat. I'm over in Phoenix, Arizona (USA) and it's already getting to 96F/35C out and within the next 4 weeks it will be up to an average of 115F/46C.

Right now I'm doing about 60 miles a week commuting about 3 days and then doing two 15 mile rides. You'll be surprised how fast you get used to it and once you start seeing results, it will fuel your desire to keep it up even more. I also adjusted my diet. I stopped buying all kinds of salty snack foods and started bringing a healthy sandwich with me to work every day. I also cut back from having about 5 regular sodas to 1-2 diet sodas per day. I almost never drank water before and now I'm having a lot.

In order to succeed, you really do have to get rid of all the unhealthy food in the house. A few times I've purchased some snacks and thought I could moderate how much I was having, but nope, it was too easy to fall back into bad habits.

rrsodl

here2help wrote:

RRSODL wrote:

Can I ask you how many miles commute do you do daily? and how many miles are you doing on a weekly basis?

Anyway, you certainly are an inspiration to me and I can't wait to get on my bike again

I've been called many things, but I think that's the first time I've been called an "inspiration". :oops:

My commute is 5.7 miles each way and flat, however I don't commute by bike every day and I'll probably have to stop commuting soon due to the heat. I'm over in Phoenix, Arizona (USA) and it's already getting to 96F/35C out and within the next 4 weeks it will be up to an average of 115F/46C.

Right now I'm doing about 60 miles a week commuting about 3 days and then doing two 15 mile rides. You'll be surprised how fast you get used to it and once you start seeing results, it will fuel your desire to keep it up even more. I also adjusted my diet. I stopped buying all kinds of salty snack foods and started bringing a healthy sandwich with me to work every day. I also cut back from having about 5 regular sodas to 1-2 diet sodas per day. I almost never drank water before and now I'm having a lot.

In order to succeed, you really do have to get rid of all the unhealthy food in the house. A few times I've purchased some snacks and thought I could moderate how much I was having, but nope, it was too easy to fall back into bad habits.

Good and sensible advise

Last summer I was doing about 80 miles per week but not taking care of my diet at all. However, I don't think I put any weight on during the summer, it was during the winter months that I put on over two stones :oops:

I don't drink fizzy drinks (soda) very often so that is not a problem for me, however, I'm really bad at drinking water. I just don't drink unless I'm thirsty :oops:

The area of food where I have to be careful with is bread, butter, sugar, cakes, biscuits. I just love bread and butter

I stopped eating bread outside meals altogether, reduced the number of cups of coffee to 2 per day. Used to drink about 5 or 6 with two teaspoons of sugar each.

One problem I always get is that I seem to run out of energy on the way back of my rides. I begin to crave for cereal and banana - Last Friday I had a bowl of porridge before I went for a 25 miles ride and on the way back I nearly did not make it to the top of the hill near my house, the rest of the ride is on flat but windy. Sometimes I take a few nuts in my pocket to help me get back in better shape

Anyway.... yes, it would be mad riding with that heat. hopefully you might be able to do a few miles in the evenings if it is not too hot.

Keep it up

Rick

ride_whenever

Coffee is good for losing weight, as long as you don't have sugar and drink it black. Because caffeine inhibits fat uptake

ddraver

wrt cadence - lance armstrong and his team of super boffins came up with 90rpm as the magic number for spinning vs mashing!

A - W

Well done and keep up the good work. There are never enough hours in the day for cycling.

rrsodl

This guy seems to be doing very well too

Rick

Clever Pun

Well done, keep it up. You're losing weight the right way, something to be proud of

here2help

Thanks for all the encouragement guys. I rode my normal 15.6 mile path last night and despite being windy as hell and having to use a higher gear, I was only 1mph/7mins slower than my personal best. I've come down with a little cold this morning, but may still try to make it out for another ride tonight.

BentMikey

Excellent work, I'm impressed!

If you're unwell, getting symptoms below the neck, it'd be better to rest and not cycle.

Drfabulous0

A cadence of 65 may be really slow by racing terms, but I'm betting you ride with flat pedals which really leaves you no option but to mash. Try some clipless pedals and the benefits of spinning will become apparent and start to feel more natural. If you're not ready to take the plunge then try some old fasioned toeclips.

You might learn to increase your cadence by riding singlespeed as well, the easiest way to give this a try without commitment is to select a gear then tighten the screws in your derialleurs so they can't move. I ride a fairly low geared singlespeed and have an average cadnce of around 85.

Anyway cadence is for racers and ponces (I would be a bit of both), well done for your weight loss and I'm glad you're enjoying the cycling, keep it up, whatever speed you feel like pedalling.

nwallace

RRSODL wrote:

This guy seems to be doing very well too

Rick

Article wrote:

He wore size XXXXXXXXXXL pants

Yu wat? It's disturbing that thats either a standard size or someones worked out how many X's to add to get to the right size.