Wobbly While Signaling - HELP!

The Historian wrote:
:: I'm taking a "Street Skills for Cyclists" course. The final day of it
:: is this weekend, and calls for me to complete a 15 mile group ride.
:: It's bad enough that I'm the only fat rider on a comfort bike in this
:: group, but an even worse problem is that my bike wobbles when I
:: attempt to signal. I can't remove my left hand for more than a second
:: or two without beginning to lose control. Is there an easy solution,
:: or is it something obvious I am not doing? HELP!

What's a comfort bike? What does "fat" have to do with it?

How much riding have you done? Do you have any balance issues that you know
of? It seems to be just a matter of skill, otherwise. Or confidence.
Perhaps your bike wobbles because you are afraid of falling? Could that be
it? Can you sit in a more upright position before removing your left hand?
It really should not take much to keep the bike going fairly straight. And a
little bit of wobble is not really anything to worry about as long as you
don't go careering out of control and hit something or worst.

::
:: I'm enjoying riding despite all the problems associated with the bike
:: learning curve. But I am looking forward to the day I don't have to
:: enjoy it despite beginner's difficulties.

So, you've just recently started riding? I've seen your handle somewhere
before, I assumed it was in here. Maybe not.

Anyway, practice makes perfect. Keep riding, you'll figure it out.

::
:: Thanks,
:: Neil
:: http://historian2wheels.blogspot.com/

The Historian said:

I'm taking a "Street Skills for Cyclists" course. The final day of it
is this weekend, and calls for me to complete a 15 mile group ride.
It's bad enough that I'm the only fat rider on a comfort bike in this
group, but an even worse problem is that my bike wobbles when I
attempt to signal. I can't remove my left hand for more than a second
or two without beginning to lose control. Is there an easy solution,
or is it something obvious I am not doing? HELP!

I'm enjoying riding despite all the problems associated with the bike
learning curve. But I am looking forward to the day I don't have to
enjoy it despite beginner's difficulties.

Thanks,
Neil
http://historian2wheels.blogspot.com/

On a comfort bike and depending on your normal posture, your weight may
be naturally more on the back wheel which could make it a little more
squirrely feeling, but you ought to be able to do this. I would not
rush it if you are uncomfortable, though. Also, if you brake with the
front brake and don't have both hands on the handlebars, sometimes it
can cause some unexpected handling reactions. I don't have a flat bar
bike anymore, but the only time I wrecked out seriously, I accidentally
braked with the front wheel on my mountain bike when I had one hand on
the bar. The road was slick and I went down when the front wheel
jacknifed on me. Handling is all different (more stable) for me on my
road bike and I can pretty much do whatever I want.

You'll probably get more comfortable with it over time. You have only
been riding for several months. Right? Is this the first time you have
tried riding without "both hands on the wheel?"

"The Historian" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm taking a "Street Skills for Cyclists" course. The final day of it
is this weekend, and calls for me to complete a 15 mile group ride.
It's bad enough that I'm the only fat rider on a comfort bike in this
group, but an even worse problem is that my bike wobbles when I
attempt to signal. I can't remove my left hand for more than a second
or two without beginning to lose control. Is there an easy solution,
or is it something obvious I am not doing? HELP!

Only guessing, but I'm thinking that you're so stiff and tense
when you try and signal that it starts you wobbling.
My wife has a similar problem with her downtube shifters
because she gets so tense. Happens to older folks who are afraid of falling,
i.e. sensible individuals.

The more miles you ride, the more relaxed you will get.
And sometimes "comfort" bikes are not so comfrotable.

In article <[email hidden]>, The

Historian said:

I'm enjoying riding despite all the problems associated with the bike
learning curve. But I am looking forward to the day I don't have to
enjoy it despite beginner's difficulties.

Thanks,
Neil

That day will come -- and your wobbly signalling will disappear -- that
much sooner with more riding. Don't unduly concern yourself; go and out
and ride and you'll soon discover these difficulties will solve
themselves.

Luke

On Mar 28, 6:39 am, "The Historian" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I'm taking a "Street Skills for Cyclists" course. The final day of it
is this weekend, and calls for me to complete a 15 mile group ride.
It's bad enough that I'm the only fat rider on a comfort bike in this
group, but an even worse problem is that my bike wobbles when I
attempt to signal. I can't remove my left hand for more than a second
or two without beginning to lose control. Is there an easy solution,
or is it something obvious I am not doing? HELP!

I'm enjoying riding despite all the problems associated with the bike
learning curve. But I am looking forward to the day I don't have to
enjoy it despite beginner's difficulties.

Thanks,
Neilhttp://historian2wheels.blogspot.com/

Are you white-knuckling the bars with the hand that stays on them? I
recently rode with someone who was having a similar problem on a road
bike, and it was a comfort thing. Once she relaxed, she was able to
relax her grip and sit up a bit more, making it a lot more stable.
You'll find even with both hands, a more relaxed grip on the
handlebars results in a smoother and more stable ride. This is
accented when riding with one hand.

Good luck, keep pedaling, you'll get it.

Roger Zoul said:

The Historian wrote:

:: I'm taking a "Street Skills for Cyclists" course. The final day of it
:: is this weekend, and calls for me to complete a 15 mile group ride.
:: It's bad enough that I'm the only fat rider on a comfort bike in this
:: group, but an even worse problem is that my bike wobbles when I
:: attempt to signal. I can't remove my left hand for more than a second
:: or two without beginning to lose control. Is there an easy solution,
:: or is it something obvious I am not doing? HELP!

What's a comfort bike? What does "fat" have to do with it?

Trek Navigator 3.0. I'm an overweight novice rider in a class filled
with lean, experienced cyclists. I don't mind being the last to finish
the ride. but I want to be able to finish it without causing an
accident.

Quoted message said:

How much riding have you done?

39 miles this week on bike paths. My first ride was December 24, 2006.
I've probably got in about 150 or so miles total.

Do you have any balance issues that you know

Quoted message said:

of?

Underdeveloped core muscles from being 385 pounds. Mild scoliosis. A
left leg that doesn't extend fully.

It seems to be just a matter of skill, otherwise. Or confidence.

Quoted message said:

Perhaps your bike wobbles because you are afraid of falling? Could that be
it? Can you sit in a more upright position before removing your left hand?
It really should not take much to keep the bike going fairly straight. And a
little bit of wobble is not really anything to worry about as long as you
don't go careering out of control and hit something or worst.

::
:: I'm enjoying riding despite all the problems associated with the bike
:: learning curve. But I am looking forward to the day I don't have to
:: enjoy it despite beginner's difficulties.

So, you've just recently started riding? I've seen your handle somewhere
before, I assumed it was in here. Maybe not.

It was here.

Quoted message said:

Anyway, practice makes perfect. Keep riding, you'll figure it out.

::
:: Thanks,
:: Neil
::http://historian2wheels.blogspot.com/

On Mar 28, 5:39 am, "The Historian" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I'm taking a "Street Skills for Cyclists" course. The final day of it
is this weekend, and calls for me to complete a 15 mile group ride.
It's bad enough that I'm the only fat rider on a comfort bike in this
group, but an even worse problem is that my bike wobbles when I
attempt to signal. I can't remove my left hand for more than a second
or two without beginning to lose control. Is there an easy solution,
or is it something obvious I am not doing? HELP!

I'm enjoying riding despite all the problems associated with the bike
learning curve. But I am looking forward to the day I don't have to
enjoy it despite beginner's difficulties.

You're probably clutching the handlebar much too tightly. Practice
riding in a straight line while consciously releasing your grip until
your hands are resting but lightly on the grips. After a while you
should find that the bike really will continue forward without you
having to wrestle it into submission.

Once you've trained yourself to believe that you can control the bike
with a light touch, it will become easier for that touch to come from
only one hand at a time.

R

Quoted message said:

I'm taking a "Street Skills for Cyclists" course. The final day of it
is this weekend, and calls for me to complete a 15 mile group ride.
It's bad enough that I'm the only fat rider on a comfort bike in this
group, but an even worse problem is that my bike wobbles when I
attempt to signal. I can't remove my left hand for more than a second
or two without beginning to lose control. Is there an easy solution,
or is it something obvious I am not doing? HELP!

I'm enjoying riding despite all the problems associated with the bike
learning curve. But I am looking forward to the day I don't have to
enjoy it despite beginner's difficulties.

Could be that you're going very slowly at the intersection out of fear, but
so slowly that you're losing stability. A little bit faster might do the
trick, despite internal logic that is telling you otherwise.

Also, do you have a water bottle on your bike? If not, I'd suggest getting
one. Why? Because the practice (away from traffic and other riders
initially) of getting at your water bottle while riding, and putting it
back, is going to improve your confidence for riding one-handed (while
signaling).

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

On Mar 28, 12:39 pm, "The Historian" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I'm taking a "Street Skills for Cyclists" course. The final day of it
is this weekend, and calls for me to complete a 15 mile group ride.
It's bad enough that I'm the only fat rider on a comfort bike in this
group, but an even worse problem is that my bike wobbles when I
attempt to signal. I can't remove my left hand for more than a second
or two without beginning to lose control. Is there an easy solution,
or is it something obvious I am not doing? HELP!

I'm enjoying riding despite all the problems associated with the bike
learning curve. But I am looking forward to the day I don't have to
enjoy it despite beginner's difficulties.

Thanks,
Neilhttp://historian2wheels.blogspot.com/

Hi Neil,

Glad to see you are still at it.

I think this is mostly a fear barrier. Perhaps you can practice by
lifting one hand a few inches above the bar ready to grab it again
without compounding the exercise with hand signals, getting ready for
turns, etc. After a while you'll get it. Just relax. And remember a
bike stays up due to semi-controlled wobbling, and sometimes this
wobble is more pronounced that others. Just go with the flow and don't
try to fight it. If you have very wide bars, this seems to encorage
one-handed wobblieness. I think this is because the relatively large
hand movements needed to control the bike are difficult to do
precisely. With narrower bars (or your hands holding wide ones closer
to the middle) less hand movement is required, and this allows for
more precision. I know that I can ride a straigter line one handed
with one hand holding right in the center next to the stem, rather
than out at the end of the bars. I don't have to do this, as I am
comfortable with the wobble from holding out at the end, but the
wobble is more pronounced.

As you are overweight, perhaps you have while riding with both hands
lots of weight resting on the bars? If you do, this could set things
out of wack when you lift one arm. If this is the case, do something
to your riding position (seat position, bar position) to eliminate
having so much weight resting on your hands.

Joseph

Quoted message said:

On Mar 28, 12:39 pm, "The Historian" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I'm taking a "Street Skills for Cyclists" course. The final day of it
is this weekend, and calls for me to complete a 15 mile group ride.
It's bad enough that I'm the only fat rider on a comfort bike in this
group, but an even worse problem is that my bike wobbles when I
attempt to signal. I can't remove my left hand for more than a second
or two without beginning to lose control. Is there an easy solution,
or is it something obvious I am not doing? HELP!

I'm enjoying riding despite all the problems associated with the bike
learning curve. But I am looking forward to the day I don't have to
enjoy it despite beginner's difficulties.

Thanks,
Neilhttp://historian2wheels.blogspot.com/

Hi Neil,

Glad to see you are still at it.

I think this is mostly a fear barrier. Perhaps you can practice by
lifting one hand a few inches above the bar ready to grab it again
without compounding the exercise with hand signals, getting ready for
turns, etc. After a while you'll get it. Just relax. And remember a
bike stays up due to semi-controlled wobbling, and sometimes this
wobble is more pronounced that others. Just go with the flow and don't
try to fight it. If you have very wide bars, this seems to encorage
one-handed wobblieness. I think this is because the relatively large
hand movements needed to control the bike are difficult to do
precisely. With narrower bars (or your hands holding wide ones closer
to the middle) less hand movement is required, and this allows for
more precision. I know that I can ride a straigter line one handed
with one hand holding right in the center next to the stem, rather
than out at the end of the bars. I don't have to do this, as I am
comfortable with the wobble from holding out at the end, but the
wobble is more pronounced.

As you are overweight, perhaps you have while riding with both hands
lots of weight resting on the bars? If you do, this could set things
out of wack when you lift one arm. If this is the case, do something
to your riding position (seat position, bar position) to eliminate
having so much weight resting on your hands.

Joseph

You mentioned something about being, what?....380 pounds(?) so it is
unlikely you are trying to ride the drops and do aero so how about doing
your first 80 pounds or so just sitting up as much as practical? If you
are worried about staying with the pack then you are using the 'already
lost weight' approach and it won't work for a newbie. Most (not all)
bikes are pretty stable on their own, as my grandkids have demonstrated
during their 'kill the bike' phase. They would get up to about 12 MPH
and just stand up running and let the bike go. 9 times out of 10 the
bike would stay upright on it's own until it got slow enough to just
fall over. Sitting full upright means you won't get racer type speeds
but you still get the exercise, which is the whole point.
Case study....me. A Century at 12 MPH is still a Century even if it is
not a 25 MPH blast. Miles count either way and if you aren't trying to
become a racer the miles do add up to lost weight and better conditioning.
Just keep at it.
Bill Baka

The Historian said:

Underdeveloped core muscles from being 385 pounds. Mild scoliosis. A
left leg that doesn't extend fully.

385? But you've lost a lot of that already.

Keep practicing. For some riders, comfort riding with one, or both,
hands off the bar comes only after much practice, if at all. I have
been surprised at strong riders being unable to shake hands with me when
I meet them on a ride, since they are afraid to remove one hand from the
bar for that long.

But it is not merely a trick to be able to ride no-hands. Yes, not just
one-handed, but no hands. It allows you to take care of things while
you are riding, such as dealing with clothing and equipment.

Experiment with just taking one hand off the bar. You may want to
temporarily shift more of your weight to the saddle when you do this
(just shift back and more upright), but with a little practice you will
be able to manage that. Then worry about doing so as you signal, and as
you are looking around to make sure it is safe to proceed.

As you progress, try to briefly remove both hands from the bars. Again,
you should shift your weight back some and sit upright, to help you do
that. With practice, you can control the bike, even turn, by just
shifting your weight from side to side.

--

David L. Johnson

Arguing with an engineer is like mud wrestling with a pig...
You soon find out the pig likes it!

catzz66 said:

On a comfort bike and depending on your normal posture, your weight may
be naturally more on the back wheel which could make it a little more
squirrely feeling, but you ought to be able to do this. I would not
rush it if you are uncomfortable, though.

Agreed.

Quoted message said:

Also, if you brake with the
front brake and don't have both hands on the handlebars, sometimes it
can cause some unexpected handling reactions. I don't have a flat bar
bike anymore, but the only time I wrecked out seriously, I accidentally
braked with the front wheel on my mountain bike when I had one hand on
the bar.

I never thought of this, but certainly it is true. When you brake, you
naturally put more pressure on the bars. If you have only one hand on
the bar, you have to resist that push-forward or you will abruptly turn
and fall.

Use both hands to brake. PA law (or at least their cycling booklet)
says that you don't have to signal if you need your hands to brake.

--

David L. Johnson

Arguing with an engineer is like mud wrestling with a pig...
You soon find out the pig likes it!

In article <[email hidden]>,

The Historian said:

I'm taking a "Street Skills for Cyclists" course. The final day of it
is this weekend, and calls for me to complete a 15 mile group ride.
It's bad enough that I'm the only fat rider on a comfort bike in this
group, but an even worse problem is that my bike wobbles when I
attempt to signal. I can't remove my left hand for more than a second
or two without beginning to lose control. Is there an easy solution,
or is it something obvious I am not doing? HELP!

I'm enjoying riding despite all the problems associated with the bike
learning curve. But I am looking forward to the day I don't have to
enjoy it despite beginner's difficulties.

Are you trying to look at where your turning into, while
stiffly holding your head steady for looking straight
ahead, and just turning your eyes?

If so -- don't.

Feel free to turn your head to look around and get
a good, informative look instead of taking furtive
glances, but know the bike will tend to go where
you're looking. That effect can be overridden by
practicing, and that's the trick.

Find a nice, safe, no-traffic, wide area like an
empty parking lot, and practice shoulder-checking
without swerving. Once you've mastered that, the
rest just falls into place. Mike's advice about
the water bottle is good, too. Y'know what else
helps? Being able to ride no-hands. The best way
to practice that is to find a gentle upgrade that
requires you to keep pedalling, but not forcibly.
Take your hands off the handlebar and just hover
them over the grips. You might lose confidence
after a pedal stroke or two and start to veer, and
have to get back onto the handlebar. That's okay,
the handlebar is right there. Eventually you'll
develop a body-knowledge of steering the bike by
leaning it. Except, some bikes just aren't
predilected to being ridden no-hands.

I figure shoulder-checking is a more important
skill than signalling anyway. In fact it should
always precurse any signalling.

Just between you, me, and the lamppost, the
right arm right-turn signal is not only easier
to perform than the left arm signal, but I think
it's more informative to other road users than
pointing up at the sky with your left hand.
The left arm right-turn signal is for car drivers,
who can't stick their right arms out the passenger
side window. Unfortunately for cyclists, the right
arm right-turn signal isn't universally recognized,
so it's a good idea to check to see if it is or not
in your jurisdiction.

And if there's nobody else around, I don't even
bother to signal, because ... what's the point?

There may be a proviso in your local regulations
that says you don't have to take a hand off the
handlebar if you deem it unsafe to do so. Like
if you're going down a steep hill, and really
need access to that brake lever as you approach
the intersection.

cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

Bill said:

Quoted message said:

On Mar 28, 12:39 pm, "The Historian" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I'm taking a "Street Skills for Cyclists" course. The final day of it
is this weekend, and calls for me to complete a 15 mile group ride.
It's bad enough that I'm the only fat rider on a comfort bike in this
group, but an even worse problem is that my bike wobbles when I
attempt to signal. I can't remove my left hand for more than a second
or two without beginning to lose control. Is there an easy solution,
or is it something obvious I am not doing? HELP!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'm enjoying riding despite all the problems associated with the bike
learning curve. But I am looking forward to the day I don't have to
enjoy it despite beginner's difficulties.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Thanks,
Neilhttp://historian2wheels.blogspot.com/

Quoted message said:

Hi Neil,

Quoted message said:

Glad to see you are still at it.

Quoted message said:

I think this is mostly a fear barrier. Perhaps you can practice by
lifting one hand a few inches above the bar ready to grab it again
without compounding the exercise with hand signals, getting ready for
turns, etc. After a while you'll get it. Just relax. And remember a
bike stays up due to semi-controlled wobbling, and sometimes this
wobble is more pronounced that others. Just go with the flow and don't
try to fight it. If you have very wide bars, this seems to encorage
one-handed wobblieness. I think this is because the relatively large
hand movements needed to control the bike are difficult to do
precisely. With narrower bars (or your hands holding wide ones closer
to the middle) less hand movement is required, and this allows for
more precision. I know that I can ride a straigter line one handed
with one hand holding right in the center next to the stem, rather
than out at the end of the bars. I don't have to do this, as I am
comfortable with the wobble from holding out at the end, but the
wobble is more pronounced.

Quoted message said:

As you are overweight, perhaps you have while riding with both hands
lots of weight resting on the bars? If you do, this could set things
out of wack when you lift one arm. If this is the case, do something
to your riding position (seat position, bar position) to eliminate
having so much weight resting on your hands.

Quoted message said:

Joseph

You mentioned something about being, what?....380 pounds(?) so it is
unlikely you are trying to ride the drops and do aero so how about doing
your first 80 pounds or so just sitting up as much as practical?

I don't think I explained that well. Fat people, even recovering fat
people, often have underdeveloped core muscles. Ever see a really fat
person try to stand up? I'm currently about 250, and aiming for 200.

If you

Quoted message said:

are worried about staying with the pack then you are using the 'already
lost weight' approach and it won't work for a newbie. Most (not all)
bikes are pretty stable on their own, as my grandkids have demonstrated
during their 'kill the bike' phase. They would get up to about 12 MPH
and just stand up running and let the bike go. 9 times out of 10 the
bike would stay upright on it's own until it got slow enough to just
fall over. Sitting full upright means you won't get racer type speeds
but you still get the exercise, which is the whole point.
Case study....me. A Century at 12 MPH is still a Century even if it is
not a 25 MPH blast. Miles count either way and if you aren't trying to
become a racer the miles do add up to lost weight and better conditioning.
Just keep at it.
Bill Baka

The Historian said:

Bill said:

You mentioned something about being, what?....380 pounds(?) so it is
unlikely you are trying to ride the drops and do aero so how about doing
your first 80 pounds or so just sitting up as much as practical?

I don't think I explained that well. Fat people, even recovering fat
people, often have underdeveloped core muscles. Ever see a really fat
person try to stand up? I'm currently about 250, and aiming for 200.

I have one, um, fat friend, about 5'10" tall and 300 pounds. He manages
OK but does admit to having some weight related problems. I am trying to
get him on his Cannondale to get into better shape. He is not a couch
potato but rather a computer addict. He is good on motorcycles but not a
motivated exerciser. He is my project.
May you both do well.
Bill Baka

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You mentioned something about being, what?....380 pounds(?) so it is
unlikely you are trying to ride the drops and do aero so how about doing
your first 80 pounds or so just sitting up as much as practical?

I don't think I explained that well. Fat people, even recovering fat
people, often have underdeveloped core muscles. Ever see a really fat
person try to stand up? I'm currently about 250, and aiming for 200.

You used to weigh 385, you're down to 250 and targeting 200?

You ROCK!

Whatever you're doing, stay with the program. And don't get to thinking that
a 250 pound cyclists can't do well. Lots of 250 pound cyclists out pounding
the pavement, even doing the nastier climbs.

Looking forward to hearing more of your adventures-

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You mentioned something about being, what?....380 pounds(?) so it is
unlikely you are trying to ride the drops and do aero so how about doing
your first 80 pounds or so just sitting up as much as practical?

Quoted message said:

I don't think I explained that well. Fat people, even recovering fat
people, often have underdeveloped core muscles. Ever see a really fat
person try to stand up? I'm currently about 250, and aiming for 200.

You used to weigh 385, you're down to 250 and targeting 200?

You ROCK!

Thank you. Here's the timeline from my blog:

* January 3, 2006 - 385
* February 1, 2006- 360
* March 1, 2006 - 350
* April 1, 2006 - 340
* May 1, 2006 - 330
* June 1, 2006 - 320
* July 1, 2006- 310
* August 1, 2006 - 300
* September 1, 2006 - 297
* October 1, 2006- 290
* November 1, 2006 - 285
* December 1, 2006 - 280
* January 5, 2007 - 275
* January 31 - 262
* March 1, 2007 - 252
* March 8 - 254
* March 16 - 253

Quoted message said:

Whatever you're doing, stay with the program.

Eating less and better, and exercising. Now that I'm riding, bicycling
will be my main form of exercise. Although I'm not taking up riding
because it burns calories, but because it's fun.

And don't get to thinking that

Quoted message said:

a 250 pound cyclists can't do well. Lots of 250 pound cyclists out pounding
the pavement, even doing the nastier climbs.

Looking forward to hearing more of your adventures-

Thank you, Mike, and thank you to the other posters as well.

Bill wrote:
:: Case study....me. A Century at 12 MPH is still a Century even if it
:: is not a 25 MPH blast. Miles count either way and if you aren't
:: trying to become a racer the miles do add up to lost weight and
:: better conditioning. Just keep at it.
:: Bill Baka

Good advice, Bill!

The Historian wrote:
:: On Mar 28, 10:51 pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email hidden]> wrote:
::::: You mentioned something about being, what?....380 pounds(?) so it
::::: is unlikely you are trying to ride the drops and do aero so how
::::: about doing your first 80 pounds or so just sitting up as much as
::::: practical?
:::
:::: I don't think I explained that well. Fat people, even recovering
:::: fat people, often have underdeveloped core muscles. Ever see a
:::: really fat person try to stand up? I'm currently about 250, and
:::: aiming for 200.
:::
::: You used to weigh 385, you're down to 250 and targeting 200?
:::
::: You ROCK!
::
:: Thank you. Here's the timeline from my blog:
::
:: * January 3, 2006 - 385
:: * February 1, 2006- 360
:: * March 1, 2006 - 350
:: * April 1, 2006 - 340
:: * May 1, 2006 - 330
:: * June 1, 2006 - 320
:: * July 1, 2006- 310
:: * August 1, 2006 - 300
:: * September 1, 2006 - 297
:: * October 1, 2006- 290
:: * November 1, 2006 - 285
:: * December 1, 2006 - 280
:: * January 5, 2007 - 275
:: * January 31 - 262
:: * March 1, 2007 - 252
:: * March 8 - 254
:: * March 16 - 253
::
::: Whatever you're doing, stay with the program.
::
:: Eating less and better, and exercising. Now that I'm riding,
:: bicycling will be my main form of exercise. Although I'm not taking
:: up riding because it burns calories, but because it's fun.
::
:: And don't get to thinking that
::: a 250 pound cyclists can't do well. Lots of 250 pound cyclists out
::: pounding the pavement, even doing the nastier climbs.
:::
::: Looking forward to hearing more of your adventures-
::
:: Thank you, Mike, and thank you to the other posters as well.

I started at 367...starting riding at 255. I'm now around 230lbs. I've
never had any problems with core muscles as you mention. I've spent a lot of
time exercising, even as an overweight kid. Being fat doesn't have to mean
you don't get exercise.

I don't think your problems really have much to do with your weight. You
have may some "unique to you" characteristics which makes balancing harder
for you, but you'll work through it.

I ride because it's fun and because it burns calories. I like to do long
miles! I hardly like to leave the house if I can't get in around 50 or so.
Of course, life sometimes says "You only have time for 35" so you take what
comes your way.