In December, I hit my goal for the year: 2,000 miles ridden, and 200,000 feet climbed, all logged on Strava. The next day a major snowstorm hit and I parked my bikes in the garage for a nice winter’s nap. And with my bikes parked, I parked my exercise regimen. I read somewhere (maybe I heard somewhere, or maybe I just thought it up somewhere) that after a big season, it’s good to take time off from the bike. Give it a rest. Take a vacation. Your body will be stronger for it when you resume.

So I took some time off. I caught up on some sleep, I got some extra office work done, and I even enjoyed the extra hour each morning for a couple of months and I wrote a book. Well, the other day I hopped on the scales and I was shocked.

10 pounds! I had gained 10 pounds!!

I couldn’t believe it. I hadn’t changed my diet, or frequency of eating. I hadn’t gone crazy with ice cream or donuts. The only thing I had changed was riding my bikes.

I came to a profound conclusion: Biking helps you lose weight.

And if you think about it, there’s an even more profound conclusion: Not biking makes you gain weight!

So, I started doing the math. 10 pounds gained in just 3 months = 3.3 pounds gained per month. 10 pounds in 3 months. I pulled out the spreadsheet and did some math. And here are the results. The numbers don’t lie. It’s just math.

Summary: Without biking, I will gain 3.3 pounds per month. After only 36 months, I would weigh 270.5 pounds. I’m glad I went to MBA school. These realizations will probably save my life.Continue Reading