Biking as workout program.

Depends on how fit you are, but for an average cardio workout 2-3 miles a day is good. If that's too easy, add a few more miles. Also, you may want to vary the terrain as opposed to adding miles. An uphill bike ride or a dirt trail will give you more bang for the buck than just riding on a paved city street. Also, vary sprinting versus a leisurely ride.

I go about 14 miles (about 35-40 minutes, I think) on variable terrain and it works pretty good. I couple that with the occasional run, though.

I began commuting to work this summer - 3.5 miles one way. I lost 2-3 inches off my waist, an inch off my neck, and could see the difference in my face and shoulders. I can't call it a "weight loss" program however, since building up my leg muscles meant I lost maybe 5 lbs, if anything. But that's just with 2 15 minute rides a day and no change in eating habits, so I was pretty happy.

The good thing about biking is that it's pretty low impact, so yeah, your muscles don't really get sore (I had a case of dead legs for a few weeks; you just push through it). The downside is that IIRC biking 3 miles (which should take you about 10-15 minutes) probably won't burn NEAR the calories an hour walk would; a 45 minute - 1 hr ride, if you're pushing at all, should be at least 10 miles.

My advice would be to establish a 5-6 mile route and MAKE SURE YOU DO IT regularly. As your cardio and muscular stamina increases, you can start stretching it out. I took 2-3 25+ milers this summer, which isn't anything that great, but it's a great way to spend a nice day.

Also, this site - http://www.cyclingforums.com/ - has a very informative and helpful community of posters.

When I got serious into bike riding for a while, I would do hills. There was a neighborhood about a mile away that had perfectly rectangular running streets out on the side of a gradually increasing slope of a hill. In total, there were about 8 of the streets each about a 1/4 of a mile long.

I would do this run a couple of times a week, and my legs got super strong. On the other days, I found a fairly level neighborhood nearby where I could run for speed.

On the weekends I would take long rides that had various terrain.

So, basically if you are trying to get back into competition shape, I suggest setting up various routines, heavy leg days, speed days, and cross training/distance days.

I never got into competition though, I couldn't afford a good bike or the proper gear.

A good key is how you're feeling when you get home. I gave up running and started riding again a couple of years ago, and to start with I was totally wrecked after only about 10 minutes. So build up the distances slowly. (and stay away from traffic.)

I second the traffic comment. Nobody gives dog piss about bikers.

Get a flashing taillight, a helmet, and a front light.

Yeah that's true. I ride about 20 miles every day and even if I do more, I don't really get to be tired later on. But running... give me 15 minutes of slow running and I'm near death. And I don't smoke and eat quite healthily.

Believe it or not, Milwaukee is a fairly bike-friendly city, so we have plenty of those paved multi-use trails - it was different routes, so sometimes it was 20 miles on trail, 4 miles on streets, 50/50, or 9 miles on trails, 20 on streets.

My commute is on surface streets with no marked bike lanes and I haven't had any "car vs bike" issues at all.

No kiddin'? Native Yooper here.

I ride my bike every morning from my apartment in West LA to the beach, which is about 13 miles round-trip (there's a great bike path out here that I can't believe doesn't get used more).

I've read that for a good workout with a bike you want to try to keep your speed at or above 15 miles per hour. Aside from any uphill parts, this shouldn't be too difficult unless you're really out of shape.

I'd like to ride my bike to work and back since it's only a three mile ride, but unfortunately it's almost all uphill and I sweat too much (no way I'd be presentable when I arrived).

When I stick to my routine and watch what I eat, the biking does get good results. But I like food too much, so I find myself supplementing the bike rides with a trip to the gym after work.

Oh yeah, I was hell of slow when I started. Probably even a slower pace than your first ride. And I still chicken out on what I call "the big hill". It's fun going down but a bitch to climb on my way home.

Most people on the aforementioned boards seem to believe that, within reason, it's about the rider, not the equipment. Obviously, you're at a pretty severe disadvantage if you show up for the greater Manhattan Criterium on your knobby-tired Gary Fisher, but you know what I mean.

Call me masochistic, but I love hill work. I get a great "suck it up" vibe from doing 'em.

That's true. I've never been creamed by a car. The only times I came close was crossing a busy street without a light, which probably wasn't a good idea.

Yeah. It felt great killing those tough hills and then being able to cool off on the way back down.

Also, if your area isn't hilly, you can switch to the higher speed gears on the smaller hills. That should give you more resistance.

That's what I do since my area is generally flat. The resistance gives you a better workout, but will soon become nothing so stretching out the distance of your rides is a good idea.

The better rules for exercise, rather than hard distance or speeds, is what it takes to get your heart rate to the right zone and keep it there. If you have a heart rate monitor, that helps. If not, your level of exercise should be enough to generate effort and sweat, but not make you sore or exhausted.

In biking, try to spin at around 80-90 rpms (of the pedals) on the road; switch gears as needed to attain this. Eventually you will be able to do higher and higher gears, and that will make you go faster.

Your current distance is about right, since it gives you about a 30 minute workout. You'll eventually have to make it longer as you get faster, in order to maintain enough duration on your workouts.

Welcome to the wonderful world of biking. Hope you like it here.

Great advice, bele. If you are biking for fitness, figuring out your heart rate zone is pretty much a must. I mean, you can bike for 20 miles a day at a snail's pace and get a terrible cardio workout (although you still burn calories). Personally, I'm a fan of moderate distances and more intensity. The average person doesn't need to bike 20 miles a day to get a good workout. Plus, who has the time for that. A 45 min to an hour bike ride at a moderate to high pace is just fine.