Tell me about Cycling

Where do you want to bike?

I don't "cycle" but I ride my bike a lot. It's fun so I don't really feel like I'm excercising. Luckily nola has plenty of bike lanes now that people actually respect. The wife got into to so now it's something we do together.

Seeing as how we are flat I would recommend a single speed bike. The frames can be cheaper and they are easy to work on.

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The wife got into to so now it's something we do together.

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Mentioned that to her today, but as usual, kids ruin everything.

Mountain biking

The hooper road park trail is a nice trail. I rode it for the first time a few months ago and found it plenty challenging for a beginner.

If you are looking for a beginning mountain bike for light trails and around town riding you can get one from a local bike shop for under $500. You can also check out craigslist and if you don't end up like cycling just resell for about what you paid for it.

Road racing

Road bikes are a lot of fun too. If you want to practice on a closed trail I would recommended the Mississippi levee by LSU. You can ride up and down the levee without worrying about vehicle traffic. You can do this with your mountain bike as well.

I haven't purchased a road bike in quite a number of years, but I am going to assume you can get a decent one for around $500 at a local bike shop. Again craigslist is probably your best bet because you can probably resell it pretty close to what you paid for it.

Cycling can give you a false sense of security in weight loss. I've seen a ton of people that eat whatever they want after a ride because now "they deserve it". Their weight has barely budged or increased (muscle under the fat). If you keep a good diet and cycle, it's a pretty good way to lose weight. It's a better way to keep at a certain weight IMO. And have awesome legs haha.

I lost maybe 5 or so pounds through cycling but it's hard to go beyond that. Through diet, running, swimming, weight training, and basketball/soccer/football I've lost 17 pounds. whatever you do, go 100%.

Thanks for the Baton Rouge suggestions but I won't be riding there.

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cyclocross bike

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Excellent choice. Basically a road bike that can fit fat tires. Great for someone who rides mostly roads and smooth single track trails or across a lot of smooth grass fields. No suspension to slow you down or absorb bumps though. Not popular here in the South, so you will probably pay retail and over $1K to get a basic model. I have a 15 year old Kona Jake The Snake cyclocross bike that is the tits.