[WarMaiden]

Last night our car broke down.

This morning I had to get to work, so I biked it--all 14 miles, one way. This afternoon, I will bike back home.

It took me about an hour and twenty minutes on the way up, and I will probably cut about 10 minutes off of that on the way home, because I am a better athlete in the afternoon plus it's very slightly downhill. If I'm lucky, I'll get a tailwind, too.

So that's 2.5 to 3 hours of biking I'll have done today. Plus, I'm still doing my NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) at work, standing at my desk, for 4 hours today.

I'm tired due to not sleeping well last night--worry over the ride and the car kept me awake. But the biking is no huge deal for my body, anymore, after 6 weeks of bike training and strength training; I feel just the very tiniest bit of soreness, almost imperceptible.

My life and my body have changed in a lot of other ways too since I quit sugar just a little over 2 years ago (on May 1st, 2008), but this is a great example that happened today of what a difference it makes.

And bonus, I'm going to eat about 2700 calories of delicious whole foods today and STILL end up with the kind of deficit I need to keep on track with my weight loss.

[smyrah]

great job... imagine if you ride the bike to work for 5 days..

[Lyn2007]

Wow, that's awesome! Amazing how our lives change

[findingfawn]

Wow! Great job!

We live on top of a mountain and last fall a guy down a little from us started biking to and from work, we are about 8ish miles from town and he works at the hospital across town (not a big town, maybe a few more miles) and my hubby is always amazed that he can make it up our mountain on his bike, I usually feel tired for him when we see him.

[JustBeckyV]

That is incredible!! I need to get a bike!

[WarMaiden]

I've been regularly biking about 6 miles each way, 3 times per week; so 36 total miles per week. (I drive to a park and ride location which is about midway, get my bike out, and bike the rest of the way from there.) I'd prefer not to do this commute completely on my bike every day, because 3 hours is a big time commitment!

But, it's pretty awesome to know that I am physically capable of riding 28 miles in one day.

[asharksrevenge]

That is so incredible, and a testament to how great you are treating your body that it will respond on command like that...and no soreness! My behind hurts if I just sit on a bike, much less ride one. I see that we started right around the same weight., and look how far you've come! You are an inspiration for me!

[Passionista]

You're amazing! Tell me more about your weight/bike training program that got you to the point where you are now with the ability to bike like this with ease!

[Nikki6kidsmom]

Impressive! I think the 3 day a week schedule is a good idea when the car is working again but at least you know you have the ability to do it if you need to. Kudos!

[WarMaiden]

Originally Posted by Passionista

Tell me more about your weight/bike training program that got you to the point where you are now with the ability to bike like this with ease!

Though I started losing weight in May 2008, I didn't really begin exercising to help with the weight loss until November 2008. At that point, I was doing hill-walking up and down some pretty good hills near my workplace, which is very good for developing leg and butt muscles. Then in the spring of 2009 I took up strength-training again following the program in New Rules of Lifting for Women--plenty of bodyweight and functional movements. And a few times per month I'd do a one-hour bike ride on the weekends near my house, though I had to build up to that due to the "ow" factor of the bike seat.

I quit working out for about 9 months, but then started up again in March. I have been doing 30 minutes on the bike, twice per day, 3 days per week when the weather permits as a portion of my commute to work. That helped me adjust to the bike seat and get some aerobic conditioning in. I have also been doing strength-training 3 days per week for 45 minutes, focusing mostly on the upper body and core but with some work on squats, walking lunges, and gluteal exercises too. My whole body has REALLY improved, strength-wise, in just 6 weeks of training.

(I might note that I was also a fairly dedicated bike commuter in college and after, at the height of which I rode perhaps 45 miles per week. So 20 years later, I do have a base of knowledge and experience about how to do this to draw from.)

Today, I am not actually really notably sore, after the 3 hours of riding yesterday. I will say, though, that the last 45 minutes or so of the ride on the way home was NOT fun. I just wanted to be off the dang bike, and there was a serious headwind

Thanks for listening and sharing my excitement, guys.

[Idealmuse]

Nice job WarMaiden. It's really exciting to hit those distances you've never done before. I'm doing that a lot this summer and it never gets old!

Biking is great for the leg strength too!