Rides for overweight unfit people?

Don't underestimate yourself. I reckon that, saving definable disability, any adult who can get on a bike and set off under their own steam could be got through a ride of 50 miles.

When I led a few rides for Southwark Cyclists, I had someone turn up for a ride thinking it would be a ten miler. By the time we'd ridden from London Bridge out to Peckham and through Clapham and on to Richmond Park he asked how far we had gone. I think we'd covered about 20 miles by then and although he was convinced he wouldn't make it all the way back Barry Mason and I convinced him to give it a go. As we approached bail out points I let him know but he decided to carry on and got all the way back at around 40-45 miles. He was so happy at having ridden the furthest he had ever been he was completely unfazed by the three miles he had left to ride home.

No doubt you'd get a few aches afterwards, but that's just your body telling you it's getting lighter and fitter. If lower weight and higher fitness aren't goals for you, just remember that the further that you can ride, the more pubs you can get to.

I think you are wrong. One of the biggest difficulties that unfit people have is that fit people have little experience (or it has been a long time since) they had any serious level of unfitness and have forgotten what unfitness is like, and will always push people too far, often discouraging them from ever participating in exercise again, as they feel they are on such an uphill climb.

One of the things about unfitness is that you have forgotten how your body works, so every twinge, even a pain in your big toe, can be disconcerting.

Slow progressions are best for anyone who is unfit, whatever the exercise or activity. Your body and mind needs to acclimatise to the work you are asking it to do over a number of weeks. You need to feel success by setting small goals and working forward. Setting unmanageable goals and failing is no encouragement.