“I’m going to buy that bike.” I told my mother.

We had stopped at a “super store”, and I found a bike on clearance for about $75.  “Is it a good one?” she asked.

With my limited cycling experience, I didn’t know.  Still, I figured it must be good: It has seven gears, a squishy seat, a sleek black paint job and a place to put a drink holder.

When I unloaded my trusty new steed at home, my wife watched with hands on hips. I pretended not to notice that she rolled her eyes before offering gentle encouragement.

Before I go further, I should explain something: At the time I bought my discount-store beauty, I weighed in at 280 pounds - and that’s after losing 30 pounds on the “Sugar Busters” diet and embracing yoga, I decided to step up my weight-loss efforts with aerobic activity.  And what came to mind were childhood memories of the wind in my hair as I shifted the big car-style gear shift on my metallic-orange Schwinn Stingray with chopper handle bars, banana seat and sissy bar.

Inspired by those memories, I became fast friends with my new $75 bike.  The half-mile trip down the road turned into five-mile journeys to Dairy Queen. (I ate no-sugar-added ice cream.) Within a few weeks, I was taking 15- to 20-mile rides - and realizing that my clearance-rack bike couldn’t keep up with the “serious cyclist” I had become.

So, I went to a bike shop and told my story.  I cam home with a hybrid bike. My wife rolled her eyes again, but I was in heaven. I rode almost every day, amazed to discover that 21 gears is approximately three times better than seven.

A month or two later, i was riding in my first organized ride, a 50-miler. Wearing gym shorts and pushing platform pedals, i was saddle-sore but satisfied.  Wheat I bragged to my wife, she said it was great that I was riding and losing weight.

“Honey,” I said. “I was talking to some serious cyclist today. They told me I should invest in cycling shorts so my behind won’t be as sore.” She rolled her eyes. “They also said that maybe I could ride a century!” her smile melted into a a thin like. “And they told me that if I wanted to ride a century, I might want to invest in a road bike.”

Her arms crossed and the smile left her face. She asked: “How much will a road bike cost?” I answered: “Well, for about $1000 or so...” (her eyes popped out of her head a little) “... I could probably buy one that would do about anything I need.”

She glanced into the garage at my abandoned clearance-rack bike and my spiffy new hybrid. Then into the yard at my old pickup truck. Uh-oh. My grandfather bought that truck new in 1979. I learned to drive in that truck. Sure, it was beat-up and rusty, but I loved it.  She, however, hated it. “And how much do you figure that truck is worth?”

Eight weeks later, I rode my first century, and I’ve hardly stopped riding since. I’m healthier - and lighter - than ever.  So, today I can say that, thanks to cycling, I’ve lost 100 pounds. And one great truck.

Danville resident Wade Wingler is the author of “The Skinny on Cycling.”

For more of his story, visit www.HowILost100Pounds.com