purposes? Hello,

I've seen a few topics on this question, but most are a few years old, so I decided to start a new thread to hopefully get some updated answers.

I've recently tried to start getting in better shape with some walking/jogging but it's rough on my horrible feet. I would like to switch to biking but am not sure how to choose a bike or what bikes are good for my purposes. I was sort of inspired to switch to biking by the host of the local morning radio show in my area who recently trained for 2 months from scratch to participate in a local charity ride for cancer research (30 miles). He said that he has lost 30lbs since he started training (seems like quite a lot for a limited time though...), and feels a lot better physically. My goal would be to start riding and continue to do so to where I might be able to participate in next year's event (Nov 2011), but maybe ride the 70 mile ride. I don't think I would be able to do the 170 at that point, or if I would even attempt to. Overall though, my ultimate reason for riding the bike though is basic weight loss and improved fitness. If I lost 20-25 pounds, I would be extremely happy with that (currently 6'1", 217), plus the weight training that I started picking up would get my body in hopefully better shape (weights for upper body, cycling for lower body/cardio (hopefully)). I already know that a proper diet is the most important aspect, and I'm already working on that...

I live in a mostly metro area of South Florida, so no hills to speak of and lots and lots of heavy traffic surface streets, but I hope to be able to do some research for recommended good places for cycling (probably would ask the local bike shop people I guess). I am willing to invest in the bike, as it is an investment in my total health, so I wouldn't buy a cheap bike but on the other hand I don't really want to buy a top tier bike at this point either. Something mid-range is probably best.

I also am thinking of buying a stationary bike for the days where I still want to exercise but might want to watch a movie at the same time, haha. So if anybody has a recommendation on that, that's great too...

Thanks!