The Fat Guy

I’ve written before that I’m participating in The Ride to Conquer Cancer this September.  I’m trying to raise $3200 to benefit people in this community who need cancer treatment. 

When you donate, The Norton Cancer Institute can use the money immediately to help treat cancer patients.  Please be generous, and donate!

This fundraising project is a 150-mile 2-day bike ride from Louisville to Lexington and back.  I’m honored to be a part of it, but your donations are what really matters.

On the heels of my record bike-miles week, I set a new record for the month also.

My car mileage is up, but I made a trip to Michigan, and two trips to the Danville area.  I didn’t track my bike mileage monthly until this year, and I believe I rode about 500 miles in August of last year, but at 542.2 miles, I’m calling June 2009 a record.

My average weight for the month was 202.0 lbs.  I have been struggling with my weight recently, but I think the last month or so has been due to building muscle mass from more bike riding and weight lifting.

After over riding over 80 miles last weekend, I’m riding full commutes to work this week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  On Tuesday and Thursday, I’m doing a partial commute, and my weight training.  The commuting alone should bring me to 120 miles per week.

I intended to complete two things on Saturday.  #1 Go for a 35-mile solo ride.  #2 Mow the lawn. 

I started out a nice ride, and ran across three young (and friendly) dogs.  I had to stop to avoid hitting them.  They were quite playful, and didn’t want to let me go.  When I finally did get away, I later noticed that one of them had punctured one of my water bottles, and it had drained.  I shortened the ride to 23 miles to avoid dehydration.

I damaged my mower while mowing the lawn, and won’t be finishing that until next weekend.

Sunday was much better.  I met up with Tim for a 61-mile ride leaving from Sellersburg.  We had advertised it as a RCCS ride, but it was last minute and no one else attended.

After the ride, my daughter and I went swimming at Hardy Lake.  It was a nice way to relax after a bike ride.

I set a new record on bike miles for a week.  My previous record was 186.1, my new record is 201.9.  I’m on track to make June 2009 a record month for miles also.  It’ll probably end up around 560 miles.

I’m not doing my normal “weekly average weight post”, but my weight is down a bit.  My weight seems to just be bouncing around at around 200 lbs.  I eat decently and ride quite a bit, but I could stand to improve both.  It may be that I won’t ever reach my 175 lb goal, but I will keep trying.

I really did intend to ride to work all five days this week.  I didn’t make it.  I only rode Monday through Wednesday.  The ride home on Wednesday was brutal.

I’m getting up early tomorrow (Saturday) for quick 16-miler.  I’ll probably take another ride later in the day once I finish yardwork.  Sunday should bring a 50-mile ride with Tim.  Monday means riding to work again.

Just minutes before I should have left, I made the decision to drive.  I’m cranky, sore, and sleepy.  I’ll give it another try tomorrow.

I visited a local gym with my daughter the other day.  I’m not ready to commit to a membership yet.  I used to own an elliptical, and I found it horribly boring.

However, I’m now seeing a personal trainer for upper-body strength, under doctor’s orders, for arthritis in my shoulder.  These sessions are expensive, luckily my insurance company covers most of it.  I know it’s only temporary, so I’m considering a gym membership.

There are days where I can’t (or won’t) ride the bike.  Having another option is a good thing.

While I was there, I found out about the “student special”, where my daughter could use the gym for three months.  She was interested, so I signed her up.  We’ve got three months for $99.

I still don’t have a membership, and I’m not sure I will, but I am seriously considering it.

Today is the third day in a row that I rode to work.  It’s getting harder every day.  I’m still trying to make it until the end of the week.

I haven’t started my truck since Sunday.  I haven’t paid for parking or used any gas this week.  That’s quite nice.

In addition, my weight was below 200 again this morning.  I had dropped below 200 a while back, but I gained it back.  I guess I need to watch my eating and push myself harder on the bike to continue the weight loss.  Nobody ever said this would be easy.

I’m attempting to ride my bike to work everyday this week.

This morning there was light rain on the way in, but I found it pleasant.  I took a slightly longer route that took me along the river in Jeffersonville.

Once I got to work a nasty storm came through, but I was safely inside.

The ride home was warm, humid, and mostly sunny.

I was riding Nermal.  I really enjoy both of my bikes, but Nermal has been ridden less overall.

My 17-year-old daughter is spending the summer with me.  She’s ridden her bike very little this year, but she decided that she’d like to ride at the state park with me for Father’s Day.

We loaded the bikes into my truck (and forgot the helmets) and went to the park.

She picked the route, winding from one end of the park to the other.  There were a couple of big hills to climb, so I was surprised she picked that route.

It took about two hours to ride the ten-mile ride.  She spent some time walking the hills, and we took breaks occasionally.

Along the way we saw turkeys, butterflies, tadpoles, rabbits, and unidentifiable insects.

My average weight for the week ending 6/20/2009:
203.7 lbs

Down from last week:
0.5 lbs

Down since I started on 10/31/2007:
92.7 lbs

My average loss per 30 days since 10/31/2007:
4.65 lbs

Weight until goal:
28.7 lbs

The up-and-down at just around 200 lbs continues.

I got an email from Tim asking if I was interested in a 40-miler early this morning.  Of course I was!

We started just after 7:00 a.m.  When Tim has a route, I just follow him.  I rarely know the roads.  His account is here.

I did take a fall, but I was on the ‘bent, so I didn’t have far to fall.  I slid on my bottom, and have minor road rash.  It’s not enough to keep me from riding.  The bike suffered only minor scrapes.

I did get a quick ride on Tim’s new QuickBeam and on his Rans Rocket.  This discussion that ensued may well encourage Tim to ride his Rans a little more often.

After the ride I went to Bluegrass Bicycle for some repairs.  Nermal’s rear wheel was trued, the derailleur was replaced, and some cables were replaced.  Oria needed one new cable, and the front derailleur adjusted.  I also bought some new bar-ends for Nermal, the old ones were breaking.

Later, my daughter and I rode our bikes to the grocery store.  It’s not a long trip, but I rather enjoy it.

I ate well most of the day, but I had fresh, hot brownies and ice cream for a snack.  It was a nice finish for the day.

I only rode to work one day this week.  33 miles for the week so far.  That’s not good.

My daughter is visiting from Michigan, and I want to spend time with her, so I’m not sure how much time I’ll have this weekend to go riding.  I’d love to do a 60+ mile ride on Sunday, but that would mean a day of ignoring my daughter.

I also have housework and yardwork that needs done.

I will be taking both of my bikes to the shop on Saturday morning for some work.  Nermal has a rear wheel issue and needs new cables.  Oria has a minor front derailleur issue, and just needs checked out.

I upgraded this blog to Wordpress 2.8 the other day, and it totally broke my daily weigh-in page.  I finally found it was necessary to delete the page, and re-create it.  Now it’s working again.

After my long ride on Sunday, I stayed off the bike until today.  I seemed to have damaged Nermal’s rear wheel slightly, so I rode Oria to work today.  There was a chance of rain, but it was sunny out for most of my commute.  I made good time on the way in, and averaged 15 mph.  I was slower on the way home, partially due to a headwind.

On Saturday I drove to Michigan to pick up my daughter.  She’s spending most of the summer with me.  Tonight, she’s eating dinner at a friend’s house, so I’m taking advantage of that and just “grazing” on some healthy food instead of cooking a meal.

I’ve been rather busy, and haven’t posted on the blog as much.  I also haven’t figured out how to get my daily weigh-in page fixed.  It broke when I upgraded to Wordpress 2.8.  I still track my weight in Excel so I’ll update it here once I fix the issue.

I’m still above 200 lbs, but I think some of the lack of weight loss is due to building muscle.  I’ve had a lot of progress in my weight-training sessions for my shoulder.  I still have shoulder pain, but it’s more manageable.  I can also lift substantially more than I could when I started.  I still have the most trouble when trying to sleep at night though.  Being really busy and not sleeping well does not make me happy, but other than that, life is good.

Tim put together a great ride for the RCCS.  At 70 miles, it’s my longest ride to date, and I rode Nermal.  I would have normally chosen my ‘bent for a long ride, but I enjoy switching it up sometimes.

There were a total of seven of us that showed up for the ride.  It was a good mix of people, bikes, and fun.

The southern-most part of the ride had a few hills, and one big hill, but it was mostly flat other than that.

Tim posted a good review of the ride, and explained where we went better than I can.  I just followed the group.  We didn’t have cue sheets, and that was fine.  Tim explained in the original announcement that the group was to stay together, and we did.

I felt fine during the ride, but required a two-hour nap after I got home.

My average weight for the week ending 6/13/2009:
204.2 lbs

Up from last week:
4.5 lbs

Down since I started on 10/31/2007:
92.2 lbs

My average loss per 30 days since 10/31/2007:
4.68 lbs

Weight until goal:
29.2 lbs

Getting under 200 lbs was a challenge, but I did it.  Staying under 200 is harder.  Hopefully my diet changes I talked about in my last post will help here.

While doing my weight training today, my trainer suggested that I increase my protein intake.  Apparently I’m not building muscle fast enough.

I later thought about my recent struggles with losing additonal weight, and how my diet has changed.

I used to be able to lose weight even when not riding many miles, as long as I was sane with my calorie intake.  Now, I struggle with the weight whether I’m eating a reasonable number of calories or not.

I went months without buying bread.  I didn’t eat sandwiches.  I ate a high-carb breakfast, but low-carb meals for the rest of the day.  I later starting eating more carbs.

If I’m going to take the trainer’s advice and eat more protein, I’ll need to lower my calorie consumption somewhere else, so I’m cutting the lunch and dinner carbs.  It’s still not a strict low-carb diet, as I don’t believe that’s healthy.  I really need carbs in the morning to get me going.

I’ve also been working on weaning myself off of caffeine.  If I cut it cold-turkey, the withdrawal will be miserable, so I’m doing it gradually.  I’m only doing it because there is some evidence that caffeine can worsen arthritis, and I’m really sick of the pain in my shoulder.

As far as bike riding, I rode to work on Monday, and haven’t touched the bike since.  I will be doing some riding tomorrow (a partial commute, and some errands), but none on Saturday.  I am riding a 60-70 mile ride on Sunday with the RCCS.

Having a plan… and idea of what I need to do to lose more weight helps me feel better.  Maybe now I can reach my goal weight of 175 lbs.

My weight was below 200 lbs for eight days in a row, then started climbing again.  I weighed 206.8 this morning.  I really feel like I have less control over it now.  It’s getting a lot harder to lose weight.

My eating hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been horrible either.  I rode to work on Monday, but not since.  It’s easy to say I’m going to “buckle down” and eat better and ride more, but it’s not so easy to do it.

I’ve been very busy recently, which stresses me out.  My shoulder pain has taken a turn for the worse.  These things aren’t helping any.

I had an errand to run in Danville KY today, so I drove there, but brought the bike along.

I managed to squeeze in a 30-mile solo ride, on unfamiliar roads.  Amazingly, I didn’t even make a wrong turn.

The weather was nearly perfect.  Temperatures were in the 80s.  The sky was mostly clear, and there was a nice breeze.  I did get a bit of sunburn, but nothing too bad.

I wanted to cross over Herrington Lake on two different bridges.  Riding along Lexington Road (Hwy 34) was a bit hairy at times, so I cut over to Chenault Bridge Road as soon as I could, and crossed over that older bridge.

After a bit of wandering in low-traffic areas for a while, I found my way to Kennedy Bridge Rd, back across the lake, and into the town of Burgin.

From there, I was in the home stretch to finish the ride.

I didn’t ride enough through the week, so even with today’s ride, I only have 91.8 miles for the week.

My average weight for the week ending 6/6/2009:
199.7 lbs

Down from last week:
1.8 lbs

Down since I started on 10/31/2007:
96.7 lbs

My average loss per 30 days since 10/31/2007:
4.97 lbs

Weight until goal:
24.7 lbs

I had pizza and beer yesterday.  I had beer today, and 800 calories worth of ice cream.  I haven’t ridden many miles this week, yet I lost weight (until today).  I am happy to have my weekly average under 200 lbs though.

This blog has been rather quiet recently.  I really haven’t been doing much that I can write about.  Everything is going rather well in my personal life (I just wish Kristy would be home sooner).

I have an interesting bike-related adventure going on tomorrow.  I’ll have a camera with me.  Stay tuned.

I spotted an iPhone laying on the side of the road on my way into work yesterday morning.  I stopped, went back, and grabbed it.  It was undamaged and functional.  I called someone in the contact list who got me in contact with the owner.  He was grateful to get it back.

I took a little bit of an alternate route to work.  I rode a slower pace along the river.  It did add about a mile to my route.  It was a beautiful day.

I also took advantage of the weather during lunch, and two of us went on a lunch ride.

I almost bailed out of riding home, and asked for a ride home.  I was in a fair amount of pain.  I rode home anyway, and I’m glad I did.

I felt strong and fast on the way home, then realized there was a tailwind.

One of the churches along the way was hosting a blood drive.  I hadn’t given since October, so I stopped in.  I’ve rode after donating before, and it’s never been a problem.  It wasn’t a problem this time either.

As my commute home was nearing an end, I spotted something on the side of the road.  It could have been a cell phone in a carrying case.  I turned around.  As I got closer it looked more like pepper spray in a carrying case.  I picked it up, it was a small LED flashlight.

I never really imagined myself picking up and keeping objects on the side of the road, but I can always use another flashlight, and if I didn’t pick it up, it would probably just remain more debris on the side of the road.

Weight

My average monthly weight was 203.3 lbs, or a loss of 3.3 lbs from April.  I’ve made up for April’s gain, and then some.  My daily weight has dropped below 200 lbs for three days in a row.

Mileage

May mileage is improved.  I’m driving less and riding more.  I wasn’t tracking mileage by month last year, but May 2009 could be the most miles in a month for me.

Health

It turns out I have arthritis in my right shoulder.  I probably injured it years ago, and just don’t remember it.  Most of the medication I have been given for it didn’t do much, and had side effects, so I’m no longer taking medication for it.  I have been doing strength training for my upper body with a personal trainer.  This has been helping my shoulder, and is good for the general fitness also.

Personal

Kristy is still too far away.  I’ve been focusing on bikes, cooking, and diet to keep the loneliness away.  Kristy sent a picture, and gave me permission to post this one. 

I’ve been recruiting some co-workers to go on a bike ride during lunch.  Several people keep a bike at work, and we ride along the riverwalk during lunch.  We ride slow, and it’s not a long ride, but it helps break the day up and clear the mind.

My average weight for the week ending 5/30/2009:
201.5 lbs

Down from last week:
2.0 lbs

Down since I started on 10/31/2007:
94.9 lbs

My average loss per 30 days since 10/31/2007:
4.93 lbs

Weight until goal:
26.5 lbs

My last two weigh-ins have been just under 200 lbs.  My weight will probably pop back above 200 lbs for a day or two, but I’m comfortable saying that my next weekly average, and my June monthly average will be under 200.

I’ve done this by eating very light on days that I don’t ride my bike, and eating more food on days that I do.  I’ve ridden a little over 100 miles for the week so far, and still have two more days to ride if I want.

The scale read 200.0 this morning.  That’s the lowest yet, but I’m only a few pounds lighter than I was in February.

I’ve been waiting for the day that my weight is under 200 lbs, and it’s not quite here yet.  Why an arbitrary number like 200?  It means little.  Even my goal weight of 175 is just an arbitrary number.

We all need goals, and 175 is my goal.  Nice round numbers along the way are signs of progress.  So I’ll take my 200.

I had initially planned to participate in the Memorial Day Hike and Bike in Louisville.  Then I changed my plans to go fishing with Kris.  When I woke this morning it was raining, and I changed my plan again to take a ride with Tim.

When I ride with Tim, I rarely know where I’m at, or where I’m going.  he knows many parts of Louisville very well, so I just follow him.  We had a nice 33-mile ride with some hills thrown in for fun.

I had a flat along the way, but I was carrying the necessary stuff to fix it.

At one point we saw three deer in someone’s front yard, but unfortunately neither of us brought a camera.

Tim had a “garbage bike” he rescued some time ago, but hadn’t worked on much.  I was looking at it after returning to his house, and he told me I could have it.

It’s an AMF Pacemaker.  I assume it’s a low-quality bike, but it might be a fun little project.

I’m thinking about replacing the one-piece cranks with a modern bottom bracket setup (with an adapter).  I haven’t decided to make it a 1×9 with derailleur or a 3, 7, or 8 speed IGH.

I think the wheels are not worth saving, so not much of the current bike will be used.  Unless I find problems, I’ll just use the frame, fork, and handlebars.

On the other hand, a cheap way to get it rideable would be new tires, tubes, cables, saddle, and brake pads.  Then clean and lube everything.