Benefits of the bicycle : Cyclist couple drops more than 75 pounds last three years
Posted on Sunday, August 3, 2008
ROGERS —The before and after pictures on the couple’s refrigerator door give just glimpses of the journey from the office chair to the bike seat.
During the past three years Cindy Reese and her husband Doug Bittinger, both of Rogers, have lost a combined 75 pounds while biking on the paved roads of northwest Arkansas. Reese has dropped 30 pounds and Bittinger 45. The couple of six years are obviously in better shape in the after picture.
This year they have made their hobby competitive and become weekend warriors, racing in more than 25 races as part of Team Lewis & Clark / Raymond James.
Today in Lincoln, Reese, 36, will compete in the Raymond James Arkansas State Championship Road Race, which is presented by Lewis & Clark Outfitters. Organizers expect more than 175 cyclists to participate.
The event starts at 9 a. m. with junior races and adult races follow at 10 a. m. The adult race course is a 24-mile loop that begins and ends at Lincoln High School. Reese is scheduled to race at 10: 35 in the final event of the championships.
“ A year ago I had no idea that I would be racing as much as I am now, ” Reese said. “ I never thought I would do any of it. ”
Bittinger, 44, usually races but has been sidelined recently with congestion. He will assist in event operations. Joining him will be the couple’s two dogs — Rufus and Bella. The dogs enjoy the cyclist scene and can even drink from a water bottle.
“ They are our children, ” Reese said.
To prepare for the races, the couple bikes on average six times a week totaling 125 miles.
When they ride, they ride with helmets and gloves that serve as protection for falls. Their only falls have occurred on practice rides. Reese is superstitious. At any mention of falling during a race, she searches out a piece of wood.
“ Cyclists don’t like to talk about falling, ” Reese said. “ You just don’t talk about that kind of stuff. ” Getting started
Reese and her husband only re- cently learned the cyclist creed.
Bittinger used to cycle a little bit during his undergraduate days at the University of Iowa.
While studying in Iowa City, Bittinger was in the ROTC program and spent four years in the military after graduation. He rose to the rank of captain but was not the biggest fan of the training.
“ I hated running a lot, ” Bittinger said. “ When I was in the army, I had to run. I told myself I would never run again when I got out. ”
He kept his word. After leaving the army, his lifestyle became more sedentary as he began working in an office and he slowly put on the pounds.
“ I didn’t do a whole lot of activity, ” Bittinger said. “ I put on a lot of weight. ”
He would push himself into shape when he saw his wife exercising.
Reese remembered it was a feeling that served as a catalyst to change her lifestyle
“ I was fat and unhappy, ” Reese said. “ I was overweight and the largest I had ever been. ”
Reese started exercising three years ago. When she lost the first 10 pounds, she began to have more energy. She then stepped up her fitness by participating in 5 K running races. It wasn’t long before Bittinger found the house to himself while Reese was running herself in shape. He wanted to spend more time with his wife so he convinced her to turn to biking.
“ He hated running and we wanted to do something together so we started cycling, ” Reese said.
They gradually got themselves into the cyclist scene. They started hanging out at races where they would enjoy refreshing drinks while watching the race.
After watching many races, they soon felt the urge to become weekend warriors. Their first race together was last fall when they signed up to race as individuals.
They stepped up their racing this year when they joined the Lewis and Clark team.
Bittinger first found out about the team when he met some of the organizers while out on a fun ride early in the year.
The couple said that one of the best aspects of the team is meeting people with the same interests. With the Lewis and Clark team, the couple has raced in several states including Arkansas, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Colorado and Missouri. Victory Lane
Reese was never an active athlete before she started excising three years ago but her racing medals in the secondfloor workout room might suggest otherwise.
While racing in the Category 4 classification of cycling this year, Reese has won three events this year. In March she won the Hell’s Kitchen Road Race in Hogeye. In June, she won the Kansas State Road Race Category Championship in Pittsburg and the Arkansas State Time Trial Championship in Galloway. Instead of losing weight, she now bikes for the challenge of outperforming herself. “ I just do it now because I love it, ” Reese said. “ I am addicted to it. ” Reese sees the benefits cycling has had on her and her husband’s life. They are now morning people and sleeping in means they get up at 7: 30 a. m. Reese said she has more energy at work, too.
Reese is hoping to raise her level of racing to Category 3. Her husband still wants to drop the pounds.
Fitness experts suggest that the best way to achieve goals is to have a workout partner. Their goals slightly differ but the couple still pedals together.
“ We can push each other, ” Bittinger said. “ Unfortunately, she pushes me a little more than I push her. ”
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