Since July 4th I have dropped 15 lb and my resting heart rate has gone from 72 bpm to 56 bpm

I've been riding my bicycle all along for shopping and errands but on July 4th I decided to start training for fitness. To that end I have been riding an hour a day at an exertion level which for the most part does not force me to open my mouth to breathe. I have seen my average speed increase from about 11 mph to 15 mph and my weight and resting pulse rate have both dropped significantly.

I have two training loops within easy riding range of my home, one is around a large football/baseball/soccer complex parking lot that's deserted 90% of the time, this loop is fairly flat and pedaling is constant and I never have to drop below or go above the middle range of my 24 gears. The second loop I ride has a couple of hills that approach San Francisco levels of climbing and I'm using the entire 24 gears and really only pedaling for effect about 50% of the time since in the direction I ride the loop the climbs are considerably more severe than the drops and I'm in first gear all the way up. One hill on that two mile loop I can still only make it up without getting off and walking on the first lap, after that I have to get off about 3/4 of the way up and walk the rest of it.

The flat loop I'm doing an average of five days a week and the hilly one I'm doing about twice a week. I see white tail deer every time I ride the hilly loop, it's in a "horse subdivision" where a lot of the homes have significant pasture/patches of woods and quite a few have horses and there are deer all over it, that makes for an interesting and picturesque ride to help distract me from the pain of climbing those steep hills.

Exercise just for the sake of exercise has always bored the crap out of me but I find bike riding to be enjoyable and much easier to maintain a regimen with. I have an old Ab Lounger and a weight bench but finding the motivation to use them regularly is still hard, the freedom of jumping on the bike and just pedaling away looking at nature with the breeze in my face is like a siren call compared to huffing and puffing in one spot.

Anyhow, I just thought I'd share my story to help motivate me a bit and possibly help someone else with the motivation to get out and start doing something that's a bit more fun for me at least than lots of other exercise options.