Energy issue

Take it slower.

Protein and a good nights sleep will help but you will always feel tired (to some degree) after exercise. Make sure you drink plenty of water and eat food regulary during the ride as well.

i agree with sue cooper about low intensity

im also like you trying to loose some weight, i do take a sports drink with me "Iso Energy"
http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/ ... 67&cid=201

i do find it helps on 1+ hour rides

apart from that i have a nice big cold drink of chocolate milk when i get in and then stretch my leg muscles for a few mins

its not easy trying to lose weight and as yet ive not found a quick way (i wish) but just try to eat a little bit more healthy each week.

try doing some high intensity work out as well as basic cycling.

30s full power then recover do this 5-6 and you'll soon loose some fat and build up stamina.

I used to be quite large, 17 stone until I decided this year I had enough of being "cuddly".
Diet is very important if you want the energy to exercise but want to loose weight. Low GI foods like wholemeal pasta are great. If you aren't doing much during the day then eggs for breakfast are good.
If you want to shift some weight quickly, a short (20-30 minute) run before breakfast is very good but quite tough.
Stick with it. Its hard to stary but you get the double effect of being lighter and fitter.
At the end of last year 10 miles was my limit but with three stone gone I can happily go for 40+ mile xc rides and keep up with the group.

And obviously cutting down on pies, chips and beer helps.

As we age recovery time after exercise is also extended. this will be magnified by your lack of bike history.

As already said - shorter and easier but nice and regular. When you're recovering well, and quickly, start to gradually increase EITHER intensity OR distance. Cycling fitness is a long term project, don't expect too much too soon. Small steps, good luck.

It may give you heart to hear of a 53 year old who was in the same boat around 3 months ago . Bit by bit I have extended what I do . 15 mile today mainly cross country and I will go again tomorrow , infact I have got to the stage I miss it if I can't get out . I hadn't cycled since my twenties . 2 inches lost off my waist too !

If you're on any prescription meds, check those out. Some blood pressure meds can slow ya down a bit. But aye, take it easy. If you're wrecked for days you are doing too much in my opinion.

The right rate to pedal at is the one that feels comfortably. I normally spin at 90-100rpm, but that's something that very few people actually do. Some friends are a lot more comfortable at around 60rpm, and we generally ride at around the same speed for the same distances.

As already said really.

Take it easy to start with, the first few weeks are hard until your fitness level increases, then you'll find you can push yourself a bit harder ... you'll still find yourself feeling knackered out and probably feeling rubbish but you will notice the recovery time decreases quickly. soon you'll be knackered and feeling beat after a ride and be fine the next day after a good nights sleep.

Also your diet is very important. Diet is like cycling is like life. You'll get out of it what you put in to it. Have porridge for breakfast, its a great slow release energy source, hold the sugar/honey/maple syrup. Avoid trail, chocolate, nutrigrain, health bars, etc as they are all full of sugar = bad for loosing weight. If you need a snack, chashew nuts are great, so are home roasted sunflower seeds, cottage cheese is good too (if you have a fridge at work). Have a proper lunch, salad box with brown pasta/rice and tune/chicken is good. Have a proper meal in the evening (no junk/microwave meals, oven ready meals, takeaway, etc), tesco have a cracking range of "shake n bake" meals, you buy your veg and meats, cut it up, whack it in the bag then in the oven and ta-daa! No more deserts!!
Avoid white food, white pasta/rice, whitebread, white crackers, these are all fast carbs, try and eat brown rice/pasta instead, wholegrain bread, lentils are your friend, they are slow release energy and they go well in curry and chillie and spagbol.
Have yourself a cheat day once every two weeks where you can have a beer, or wine and some nice stuff like icecream etc, but only for one day, think of it as a reward ... its an incentive to be good the rest of the time.

Get plenty of sleep! LOTS, when you start exercising your body is going through a massive change and will continue to for as long as you ride or do any kind of proepr exercise, it will need plenty of rest to start with (rest as in sleep not late nights on the sofa ) to recover and grow muscle, when your asleep is when your body is repairing itself, it needs a healthy diet to do so efficently. Thres no harm in taking a good multi vitmain & mineral supplement whilst your getting your diet sorted out.

Dont give up, little and often, keep going back for more, in a couple of months you'll have the stamina to really enjoy being out riding, thats when you'll really start to loose the lbs, then you''l have the missus to worry about, "I never see you anymore since you got the bloody bik...."

Dont take any of that as a negative against you, I've got no idea what your diet or lifestyle is, just a few helpful things that have helped me when I started excercising and loosing weight.

Don't just ride. Run! It's the best thing I ever did to loose weight and improve my mountain biking fitness.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/couch-to-5k-plan.aspx

http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/couch-5K-running-plan.aspx?WT.mc_id=101003

The Rookie wrote:

Sod that, go for ride, enjoy it, drink beer, enjoy it, fall asleep, go to work and dream of cycling, dinner and back to go for ride!

i agree with this as well, some folk here are a touch obsessive