Cycling his way into a better future
Like many of us, Tualatin resident Daniel Payne found his fitness levels falling victim to age and accumulated bad habits.
So, when he celebrated his birthday several years ago, he decided that something had to change. I looked at myself in the mirror and didn’t like what I saw, he said, so I decided to get fit again.
“I just got sedentary as I reached my 50s, and at 205 pounds I just had let myself go physically,” he said.
It was a far cry from you his youth in Minnesota, where he played all sorts of pickup sports including soccer, baseball, football, boot hockey, cycling, skating and skiing.
“As a kid we rode our bikes everywhere,” he said. “Then as a teenager I got my first 10-speed bike and did my first 100 mile ride, called a Century ride. I loved being outdoors, so in 2013 I got my old road bike out of storage and started cycling again, then within 12 months I dropped down to 170 pounds, a much healthier weight for me.”
I now cycle four times per week and am on track to reach 13,000 miles in 2021. In 2016 I went overboard and cycled 7 days per week, but then I cut back and allowed my body three rest days per week.
Each week I ride on Tuesday night for up to 40 miles at maximum effort, Thursday is a recovery ride at a chill pace for 40 miles, Saturday is my 100 mile day at endurance pace, then Sunday is another recovery ride. Once a year I do a 200 mile ride, and this year we had a group of four that cycled from Tualatin to Pacific City, then back again.
On Tuesday and Saturday, I do a group bike ride from the Tualatin Community Park with a group of local cyclists, then on Sunday and Thursday I often do a solo ride or join one or two other cyclists.
DIET: My wife always told me to watch what I eat, and she emphasized eating organic foods, so I finally started following her advice. My meal sizes are kind of small now, and I often graze throughout the day. I used to just eat any food until I was overly full, but now I count my calories with an app.
TUNES: In the wintertime when the rains return, I prefer to exercise indoors with a smart bike trainer, then I put on classical music from the 18th century. I love listening to the melodies of Bach, Mozart, Handel, Hayden and Vivaldi. Listening to the music makes the time on the trainer pass by more quickly, although when indoors I also am using an app called Zwift which is a virtual world where I control my cycling avatar on the screen along with thousands of other riders from across the globe.
GEAR: I started with just my old 1970s steel-frame road bike to exercise, but now I’m riding a carbon-fiber frame and using deep-dish wheels for added aero benefits. My clothing is specialized with nylon jersey and lycra cycling shorts, and the shoes clip into the pedals for maximum efficiency. I have a bike computer with my course pre-loaded, so it provides me with turn by turn directions along the way. To keep track of the mileage and other statistics I use the strava.com web site, which is kind of like Facebook for cyclists, runners and other athletes.
ADVICE: At first, I just did my cycling alone to lose weight. But then I discovered group riding and now I much prefer the cycling experience with my buddies. I’ve learned to set realistic goals and then track your progress with an app like strava.com. I just place the rides on my calendar as a visual reminder that I get to go outside and play bikes with my buddies each week.
What’s Your Workout?
Tigard Life is looking for inspirational stories of health and fitness. We’re looking for people with interesting stories about how fitness has changed their life. Know someone we should feature? Contact Josh Kulla at josh@tigardlife.com.
