Way back in January 2008, I participated in a "weight loss competition" with some of my coworkers, all of whom are guys... I lost 20 pounds in about 10 weeks, going from 240 to 220. (I won the contest, but I never officially joined because I figured I would lose because they were guys and would lose weight faster. Guess I was wrong!) But I lost weight purely through diet, so when March rolled around and it started getting nice out, I decided to go to the store and buy a bike to start exercising. Riding it around my neighborhood, I could manage about 10 minutes, going maybe 1.5 miles at best, and I would be too tired to continue. I ended up getting rid of the bike.
Since starting this weight loss effort in October 2010, I added regular exercise in December, working up to 5 - 6 days a week at the gym. Yesterday, I went to a used bike store and picked up a relatively cheap bike so that I could give riding a try again. I figured that since I have been exercising more regularly, maybe I would be able to do a bit better than my previous record of a grueling 10 minutes for a mile and a half.
I went 14.5 miles in about an hour and a half, and I don't even feel tired!