Riding around the neighborhood also gives you the chance to see what all the neighbors have in their garage too. :) Found out a neighbor is a low rider fan and has 3 in his garage, another guy has 2 tri-fives. Another has a 66 mustang. I saw a 1968 Datsun 2000 roadster.
It's an interesting way to meet the other car guys in your neighborhood.
Everyone else has hit the main points, but yeah ride a lot, get fitted properly, and sprint frequently. New research is showing that frequent sprints are as effective as much longer gentle rides.
Definitely find a trail/bike/route/style that you enjoy, and you'll be amazed how soon you're suddenly doing centuries. For years I thought I was a roadie, but it turns out mountain biking is much more my styles. I can finally do a 40-mile-mountain bike ride, but it does take lots of pedaling to get to that point. Don't get your heart set on a specific pace of growth—just have fun and you'll get faster.
I notice a big difference in power and stamina running SPDs (clips).
If you're someplace flat, the only way you're going to get faster is by riding faster. You need to explode out of corners. It's far better to keep your average speed at 15mph for 12 miles than an average speed of 12mph with short bursts thrown in. Do you have a speedometer?
Everytime I ride with newer riders, I'm always surprised at where they are going slow. You should'nt coast down a hill. You shouldn't coast on flat.
Fat cyclist here. Some notes: You have way more leg strength (just from walking) than most beginner riders who are thin, and you should be able to push a HUGE gear. Don't fall into that temptation, that's how you wreck your knees. Pick a gear that feels like it's providing just a little resistance, and spin. You want your feet to be moving somewhere around 70-90 rpm (https://cycle.jog.fm/workout-songs/for/90/minute-rpm). This will build your endurance, will work out your heart/lungs instead of just your already huge leg muscles.
If you have a friendly local bike shop, stop by and see if they'll give you a quick fitting for free (or cheap). Doesn't have to get the bike perfectly set up for you, but 2 minutes of adjusting by someone who's done it for years may help keep you more comfortable as you stay in the saddle longer.
Invest in one or two pair of bike shorts (or bibs - great for bigger guys). The padding helps prevent saddle sores, the spandex helps prevent inner-thigh chafing, and it will help you feel less abused once you work up to 90-minute rides. You can wear bike shorts under regular shorts and nobody will be the wiser.
Otherwise, what everyone has been saying about sprints is great. When the mood strikes, move to a higher gear, keep spinning at your 70-90rpm, and see how fast you can go.
If you have a cyclocomputer, a truly merciless workout is to always ride faster than your average speed up to that point. Start out at twelve mph, and you'll be dying in about twenty minutes...
Pretty much everything has been covered already. I have a rails-to-trails type path right near my house that is broken up into sections by cross streets. I have a 2-mile section with about 5 sections that I ride alternating between basically pedaling as fast as I can and just riding. I don't really time it though, so it's all my perception.
The other thing that always burns up my legs is hills.
Also, you may want to be on the lookout for a "no-drop" or beginner trail ride, especially if you haven't ridden trails before. Group rides with experienced riders, especially if they know each other, have a way of turning into all day hammerfests, and that's no way to get introduced to it.
I know you can't run.
But you can do a running style training plan.
For runners- it's one speed type workout a week- which is short sprints OR reall hard for slightly longer distances OR tempo ride (for a 6 segment exercise- one segment for nominal warm up- 4 at a pretty high rate- faster than your long one- and one cool down). Oh, or hill repeats.
As you get better, you can do two of those a week.
But for now, I'd say once a week, and then start a 30 day challenge weight thing. On that, I do one 30 day challenge for my legs, one for my abs, and one for my arms. Start short, as they get super hard by day 30- but it helps a lot.
For the weekend- long rides at a rate where you can still talk. But almost with difficulty. This will be pretty close to you aerobic upper limit. You can use a HR monitor (which I do) to get it right on, if you'd like.
Inbetween all of that- shorter, slower recovery rides.
Since you want to do really long rides, find a couch to marathon plan- and adapt it to riding. Stick to it. They really work well.
The important thing is that you are doing two things with the plan- increasing your anaerobic ability through the stregth/speed work and increasing your aeroboic ability with the long events. The marathon plans are really interesting- you see most of the long runs are slower or much slower than marathon pace, so it's kind of confusing- but the end goal is that the aerobic + anaerobic workout timing match up with the event you plan to do. And it does work.
My personal favorite are the spints- not because I actually like them, but because I could see the results of those the following weekend- where I could run faster with the same HR effort as before. It's pretty amazing.
Hill workouts were interesting too- as I tried to pay attention to my recovery rate- so by the time the race came around- I had confidence that I could keep my pace going up a hill, as I would recover getting over it.
It's easy to overdo it- and hurt yourself. This should NOT be "no-pain, no-gain" thinking. It should be a long target.
Good luck! And enjoy the view.
Also wanted to add: I've been doing body weight exercises with an exercise ball as well as a bit of weightlifting (with dumbbells) recently. Feels like a much better workout than I used to get using the machines at the gym.
Lots of people on here willing to share their (obviously well-informed) opinions, so I'll chime in also. 
I really wouldn't get hung up on the particulars. The important thing is to cycle, and cycle regularly. You WILL get into better shape. Just ease into it gradually and set goals for increasing distance (go farther) and/or reducing the time it takes to travel that distance (go faster).
For me, and I've been fairly regular cyclist for about half a century now 
, cycling is a way to escape and be by myself and my thoughts. I've ridden in groups before and it's fine, but I don't want to have to coordinate with other people in order to ride. I just want to jump on my bike and go. Spontaneous-like.
As you say, cycling is a great way to explore your neighborhood and surrounding areas. It lets you cover more ground than you'd ever likely cover by walking, and it's so much more "intimate" than driving around in a car. I really enjoy exploring the area on a bike and have probably been on every snippet of paved road within a ten-mile radius of my house.
However you ride, have fun with it first and foremost, and you're likely to keep doing it. It really is a great way to stay in shape, and it's something you can do your entire life.
I few little things to add and hopefully make it easier to build up endurance/drop weight
1) always be pedaling. (Pretend you're on a fixie and just keep your legs moving - high revs/low resistance still burns calories)
2) for intervals/sprints if you're riding around other cyclists try and keep pace or beat them to target points. (Natural competitive spirit and little races are really fun!)
3) if you can do an errand on a bike then do it. (Grocery run, etc) even quick rides will yield results elsewhere (basically building seat time)
I was going to suggest something like alfadriver - adapt (or find) a program similar to the Couch to 5K for cycling. I used to ride for fun and the fitness came with it. I find if I try to ride for fitness it's no fun. I love riding bikes, it reminds me of being a kid and having my first taste of freedom. I've tried several times to ride for strictly excercise and it only lasts about a week. I did 15 miles 2 weeks ago after being off the bike for a year. Granted it was all downhill, but man, it was fun. Good luck!
bmw88rider wrote: Riding around the neighborhood also gives you the chance to see what all the neighbors have in their garage too. :) Found out a neighbor is a low rider fan and has 3 in his garage, another guy has 2 tri-fives. Another has a 66 mustang. I saw a 1968 Datsun 2000 roadster. It's an interesting way to meet the other car guys in your neighborhood.
I stumbled upon some very cool modern architecture in my area by exploring neighborhoods/roads on my bike (usually my singlespeed). I truly is a great way to rediscover/discover something about where you live.
DanyloS wrote: 3) if you can do an errand on a bike then do it. (Grocery run, etc) even quick rides will yield results elsewhere (basically building seat time)
This is a great one I forgot- on both my wife and I- we had a rack installed so that we could put bags in the back. Pretty nice to do a grocery trip where we carry our panniers into a store and pack them very carefully.
For this suggestions- LIGHTS and get reflective vests. The more obnoxious you look, the more likely a car will see you.
I'm not able to run any more (and I actually loved running … I know weird … right ?)
I rode a bike as kid everywhere … miles and miles (several thousand according to my speedometer and odometer) and this back in the 50's and 60's when heavy single speed bikes were the norm
I've bought a used mountain bike .. tires shot, so I've put on street tires (not the tiny/narrow racing bike tires) … but the problem I've got is even though there are 18 speeds .. with the hills here, and the fat butt I'm hauling around, I can't make it up most of the hills going to OR from my house …
I've tried standing up and pedaling like I did as a kid … either I've lost the ability to ride a bicycle or something isn't set up right on this one … doing that is the quickest way I know to me crashing .. LOL …
is it the short, flat handle bars that throw me so off balance ? can a bike shop adapt the old style longer, wider, more shaped back towards me onto a modern bike ?
does this make sense to y'all ?
I think I understand. Sounds like maybe your stem is too short, and if you don't like the bars there are plenty of different options, from relatively straight bars with rise (so you would be more upright) to stuff like these:
http://oldglorymtb.com/round-up-alternative-or-alt-mountain-bike-handlebars/
yeah … there are some there that might fit the need …or it could just be my old age / lose of co-ordination
something like this (but not a single speed) but still with the gearing and hand brakes
yes, there are options for adapting those to modern bikes...but they often don't work as well. Find a good local bike shop and discuss options. It sounds more like an overall fit problem (like possibly a shorter stem) than just the handlebars. There are a ton of options of different bar shapes, though, so trying different ones is cool. Wider bars have become more popular in recent years, even in flats. That might be all you need.
As for climbing the hills - It's likely that you can change the gears at the rear and possibly the front to make it easier. Local bike shop should be able to help you sort out what will or won't work on your bike.Standing and climbing is a valid technique, but when you're pushing that hard you're wearing out your muscles before you need to. You should always have a gear easy enough to sit and spin up a hill if you're just out for fitness. I'm at my racing weight right now of 230 and I ride 125-150 miles a week. I'm as strong as I've ever been and I still run a 34 front / 32 rear gear ratio for the easiest one on my carbon road bike. It's slow, but I can hoist my heavy arse up a tree if I want to. On a mountain bike with a triple (3 gears in front), the small gear is typically a 22 and you can go as large as a 32 or 34 gear in the rear cassette. That gives you a stupid low gear. So low it's hard to ride on flat ground without falling over.
I live in flat South Florida. For training, I ride the bridges. ~3mi away is a bridge over I95, the 3mi is a good warm-up, then I do bridge repeats until it hurts.
Alternatively I pick a ride that the path has lots of bridges. From me to the beach and back its ~30 miles and three causeways over the water, so 6 bridge crossings total. It turns your ride into an interval session.
We do king of the mountain rides downtown in the parking garages at night... Just a thought 
I think the best advice I can give is just go out and ride. I try to do a 5 mile loop close to my house a few nights a week balls to the wall. Then on the weekend, I try to do a good 20-35 mile loop.
+1 for wider tires. I run 700x35s on my bike currently and have no issues with flats.
Knocked off early today, it's in the 70s, so out came the bike. I think I found my loop. 
The Wanamaker North MTB trail is 3.5 miles from my house. It's a dirt single track through the woods. So 3.5 mile warm up. The trail is from 2 to 13 miles depending on which combination of loops you do. I did the 2 mile loop today. Then 3.5 miles home. 1.5 hours round trip, with a mix of asphalt, gravel, and single track through the woods. 
That put me at 9 miles for the day, 4 miles past my record. I'm pretty stoked about that. Stick a fork in me, I'm done for the day. I'm not even sure I'm going to be able to walk in the morning, but what a blast. I'm ready to go again except for the part where I probably don't have the strength to open the garage door.
I really appreciate the suggestions so far.
WbJones, get the bike fitted. I spent several hours watching videos on youtube about adjusting the bike to fit me. Some of the adjustment make no sense, until you ride the bike, it's almost like an epiphany. Particularly things like saddle height, it needs to be way up there. Most of the saddles are adjustable forward and back and that's pretty important too.
Hey, that's pretty awesome! Keep doing that and pretty soon it will be easy...
I like a 700x23 tire on the road, but I guess I'm in the minority. Avoid potholes, and stand with knees and elbows bent when hopping curbs, and you'll get the decreased rolling resistance.
Wait. Never mind. This thread isn't about that. Look, if you find yourself on a skinny tire bike, you're still okay. That's all I'm saying.
Have fun with it. I might go for a ride when I get home. I need the stress relief, and this thread has it on my mind.
ultraclyde wrote: yes, there are options for adapting those to modern bikes...but they often don't work as well. Find a good local bike shop and discuss options. It sounds more like an overall fit problem (like possibly a shorter stem) than just the handlebars. There are a ton of options of different bar shapes, though, so trying different ones is cool. Wider bars have become more popular in recent years, even in flats. That might be all you need. As for climbing the hills - It's likely that you can change the gears at the rear and possibly the front to make it easier. Local bike shop should be able to help you sort out what will or won't work on your bike.Standing and climbing is a valid technique, but when you're pushing that hard you're wearing out your muscles before you need to. You should always have a gear easy enough to sit and spin up a hill if you're just out for fitness. I'm at my racing weight right now of 230 and I ride 125-150 miles a week. I'm as strong as I've ever been and I still run a 34 front / 32 rear gear ratio for the easiest one on my carbon road bike. It's slow, but I can hoist my heavy arse up a tree if I want to. On a mountain bike with a triple (3 gears in front), the small gear is typically a 22 and you can go as large as a 32 or 34 gear in the rear cassette. That gives you a stupid low gear. So low it's hard to ride on flat ground without falling over.
these are the same hills I rode up on my old JC Higgins single speed, coaster brake when I was a kid, standing up all the way … 'course I weighed about 110 - 120…
Sounds like a fun ride. Good job. I just got back from my after work ride. Feels really good to release all of the stress from the workday.
You'll need to log in to post.
