Cycling!

[Ragingtortoise]

I've noticed quite a lot of threads on weight loss, and was wondering if anyone could give me some cycling advice. I keep noticing people who say that running is a great way to lose, and it is, but I really don't like running. One thing I really enjoy, though, is cycling. So far my cycling plan has been to bike up river until I get too tired to go any further, then I just coast down hill back to where I started. Any comparisons to how biking stacks up to running would be great, and I'm also looking for advice on its overall weight loss effectiveness. Thanks for any good advice, oh, and first post ftw!

Edit: Added a Poll!

[Deleted]

I don't really know anything about anything, but I'd say that if you enjoy cycling more you should go with that. Because you'll have a lot better motivation to actually do it when you enjoy it.

So yeah, like I said, I have very little knowledge of things, "I just do them", but motivation plays a huge part in it. If you just want to lose some weight I don't really think it matters what method burns the most calories, just do something that you enjoy. Then its like a win-win.

/insertsmileyfacehereifyouareintothatkindofstuff.

[Aoremas]

I happen to cycle quite a bit, but don't wanna get too specific and technical when I give you advice, I also won't act like some pro biker, so don't necessarily take what I say as concrete. Basically when you are biking, you should be in a hard enough gear that your legs always feel at least a little strain, but not too much. I'm assuming you are riding a stock bike with 3 rings in the front and 7 in the back. I HIGHLY recommend you keep your front gear in the middle ring AT ALL TIMES. Keep your back ring in about the 4th or 5th gear for small inclines and flats, and if needed at a really steep hill, pop the back gear 1st or 2nd. I would also say that about 3 miles bike equals one hard running mile. Keep up the riding! It's great exercise and great fun!

[Ragingtortoise]

Thanks for the advice, Aoremas, I usually keep my bike in the 2nd front gear and 4th in the back. If I'm going up a hill tha'ts more than just the slight incline that I usually face going up river, I'll switch to 2, 2, and then 2, 1, if it gets really steep. When I coast back downriver I'm alost always in 3, 7, to get the maximum speed out of my bike.

[Asera]

I bike to work as much as possible in the summer, that's most of my cardio. Lol.

I use a 2009 Norco Bigfoot dirt jumper mountain bike as well... not very fast on the road. Quite a bit heavier than road bikes as well. I find using a mountain bike on the streets forces you to exert a bit more energy to get it going.