My riding is down this week.  I’ve been busy, tired, and stressed.  I drove to work today, but brought my folding bike.  I’m giving blood tonight, and I’m going to ride down to avoid parking issues.

Edit:
I fixed a stupid typo above.

I did ride to donate blood.  I forgot to bring a lock with me, so I just wheeled the bike into the building.  They were okay with that, so it worked out alright.

I didn’t do much riding this weekend.  I rode with Tim for about ten miles on Saturday.  He let me borrow a single-speed road bike.  I’ve been wanting a nice, simple, cheap, single-speed bike for a while.  I found one on Craigslist, but it was too small.  Tim’s is almost big enough, but he’s not selling it.  I’m not crazy about the new ones out there.

I did visit Vic’s Classic Bikes today.  I put down a deposit on a new ride.  I’m still figuring out what components I want, but I picked out a frame and wheels.  I’ll do a big reveal once I receive the bike in a month or two, but yes, it will be a single-speed.  It’s wonderful to have a wife who is so supportive of my cycling.

We also spent hours today driving around Louisville looking at neighborhoods.  I’ve spent countless hours looking online for houses also.  Yes, we intend to move out of Charlestown.

One of the houses we are looking at would leave me with a 3.5 miles commute instead of 16.5 – 20.0 miles ride.  That might actually force me to take the long way to work occasionally.  It would eliminate the need for me to drive to work.  Even in snow, my LHT with studded tires would be fine.  I could walk if I needed to.

So, will I end up car-free?  Kristy will still drive.  We would probably go down to one vehicle instead of two.  That would be quite nice.  :)

I’ve been keeping a camera handy on my LHT recently.  That made this picture possible.  I came up on a deer, but he spooked to easily to get a picture before he ran off into the woods.

Somewhere along my route today, I passed 3500 miles for the year.  I’m pretty pleased with that.  I’m well on track to hit 5000 miles for the year.

Friday: Who knows.  I plan to ride, but anything can happen.

]]> http://fatguy.org/2010/08/26/turkey/feed/ 1 http://fatguy.org/2010/08/25/more-mixed-terrain/ http://fatguy.org/2010/08/25/more-mixed-terrain/#comments Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:42:30 +0000 David Crowell http://fatguy.org/?p=2483

Tim and his Bleriot

The ride was an advertised RCCS ride, but it was put together last minute, so nobody else was able to show up.  Tim did a better write up, and it can be found here.

I was able to attach a camera bag to my front rack, so I had easier access to my camera.  That did mean I took more pictures.  Most of them weren’t posting.  I’ll put a few in this post.  The full album can be found here.

This was one of the flattest rides I had done in a while.  There was one dive into a creek valley, then a climb back out.  There was also a white-knuckle descent to the river on a gravel road followed by an arduous climb.  The rest of the ride was flat to rolling.

Tim notes in his writeup where I eat, and he does not.  What he doesn’t say, is that I had skipped breakfast that morning.  Had I not eaten when I did, I would have had a much harder time finishing the ride.

I stole this last picture from Tim.  He walked around the mud pit, and called it “the easy way”.  I said “I don’t like the easy way”, and attempted to ride through the mud.  I was no match for the mud, and the bike and I came to an abrupt halt.  I then had to put my feet into the mud to avoid falling into said mud.  I still need to wash my bike.

It was a good adventure.  We racked up nearly 80 miles, then went to Charlestown Pizza for food.  It was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday.

]]> http://fatguy.org/2010/08/25/more-mixed-terrain/feed/ 3 http://fatguy.org/2010/08/21/we-love-gravel/ http://fatguy.org/2010/08/21/we-love-gravel/#comments Sun, 22 Aug 2010 02:55:10 +0000 David Crowell http://fatguy.org/?p=2474 RCCS is hosting another gravel-seeking ride tomorrow.  In honor of that, I’m posting a few pictures of last Sunday’s Gravel ride that Tim and I did.

If you want to attend tomorrow’s ride (I know short notice), you can read more at the RCCS site.  Ride is at 9:00 am at my house.

Folding Bike - No Lock Required

Tim, Mark, and I worth the three people that showed up for last night’s RCCS Brew Cruise.

I rode my Dahon folding bike to avoid having to lock up.  I ended up with it locked to Tim and Mark’s bikes for most of the stops, but I did carry it into BBC Taproom.  The other establishments were packed, and I wouldn’t want it to get in the way.

My previous post was quite negative.  I’ve been fighting off frustration with many things in live, and dealing with depression.  Luckily bicycling has made me feel better about myself, and introduced me to many new people.  I now consider some of those people friends.

I now have a social life again, due to the bicycle.

Sunrise over the Ohio River

I did ride on Sunday with Tim.  I’ll write about that and share some pictures soon.

I intended to ride to work yesterday.  I headed out the door on my LHT shortly before 7:00 am and made it less than two miles before my chain broke.  Discouraged, I called my wife to come get me, and changed into work clothes, and drove.

In addition to getting a new chain for the bike, I made a second, spur of the moment, purchase at another bike shop.  I bought a Brooks Professional saddle to replace my sagging Brooks B-17.

Barge on the river

The hot weather has passed.  It was about 63 degrees when I left the house.  It was very comfortable weather with clear skies.  I couldn’t have asked for a better commute to work.  I may stay sane after all.

Trying to be visible

 

The commuting rig

 

Coffee Thermos - not a nuclear weapon

Walker Post Office

Kristy and I are in Parkersburg West Virginia.  She has some family matters to attend to.  I spent most of the day on the bike.

I had heard about the rail-trail in the area.  It is scenic, has tunnels, and is quite flat.

The route I took to get to the trail was about 11 miles, and included a mix of city streets, divided highway, and country roads.  There were hills.

I was riding my little 7-speed folding bike, but I didn’t need to walk any of the hills.

My route is here:

Everything I said about the route is true. In additon,

• It’s too flat.
• It’s not paved.  This made it slow going.
• It gets quite remote.  I wasn’t carrying enough water.
• During the day on this Thursday, it was nearly empty.  I saw a couple walking their dogs, and no other cyclists.
• I couldn’t stop for fear of being carried away by insects.
• Cell phone service is very spotty.

I came across a sign for the town of  Walker, and hoped to find food and water.  There were no stores of any kind in town, but there was a post office.  I was able to get water there.

When I came near the town of Cairo, I went off-path, unto a dirt road that became a very pot-holed paved road.  I didn’t know it at the time, but I could have taken the trail and arrived in the same place.  No matter, traffic was light, and the hills were refreshing.

In Cairo, there are a number of small businesses that cater to those traveling along the trail.  I loaded up on food and drinks, and continued on.  I was then only 3 miles from my destination, North Bend State Park.

My wife met me at the park, and we drove back to Parkersburg.

All the pictures (including the not-so-good-ones) are here.

Highlights of the trip:

• Tunnels!  I rode through two tunnels.  The first one was the longest.  You couldn’t see the other side.  I was glad for having a headlight on the bike.  The first tunnel was very cool and damp like a cave.  There was cool air and a fine mist blowing out from the end I entered.
• Interesting weather.  It started warm and humid, but not hot.  Skies were overcast, and winds were calm.  Further into the ride there was thunder in the distance and some rain.  Late in the ride, it warmed up and the sun came out.
• At 40.2 miles, it was the longest ride on the new bike.  That bike is really for shorter trips.  I did have some minor comfort issues, but nothing that interfered with m enjoyment of the ride.
• Riding along the shoulder of Highway 50 was interesting.  That highway is a divided four-lane, much like part of my commute route.  The difference is that Highway 50 is more “freeway-like”.  It has ramps and a 65 mph speed limit.  There were signs for it being a bike route.
• In town, I got yelled at to get on the sidewalk.  It made me feel right at home.  :)
• Being a bit lost.  While off the trail, I was unsure of where I was for a while.  I don’t have a GPS on the bike, and cell coverage was unavailable at the time.  I did have a paper map, but it didn’t really have the level of detail I needed.  It was an adventure.

There go my bicycle commuter miles for the week.  I’m planning on throwing my folding bike behind the seat, but I’m not sure how much time I’ll have for riding.

When I get back, I may, or may not make a one-day trip to Michigan and back on Saturday, then fly to Washington DC on Sunday.

Why, yes, I am a bit stressed out.

I rode to work today, although it was a fast, direct-route kinda ride.  I averaged 16.24 MPH for the ride.  That’s pretty quick for me.

I’m not going to be able to take my folding bike to DC with me this trip.  I’m a bit bummed by this, but the logistics were stressing me out.  I don’t need more stress.  I’m going to buy a proper case for the bike, and fly a more bike-friendly airline next time.

I do have another trip coming up in September, but I’ll be driving to St. Louis.  I don’t think that city is all that bike-friendly, but I’ll get some riding in.

I’m awfully busy to get the long rides in, so I’ll just have to ride to work every day, or as close to that as I can.

August will not be a record bike mileage month for me.  I’ll be spending time in DC with no bike.  I have to drive to Michigan and back, and I have a lot of things to work on around the house.  I just need to keep riding to work, and running quick errands on the bike and it’ll work out.

I still intend to get 5000 miles in for the year.  I need to keep my average daily miles up to do so.

My numb hand is back to normal.  I rode the LHT into work today with the stock saddle.  My poor Brooks saddle is sagging and causes numbness.  The stock saddle wasn’t great, but didn’t cause numbness.

Now that I’ve ridden the LHT almost 40 miles for the day, I know that I still have fit issues.  I tweaked the saddle position some, and rotated the handlebars forward.  I’m going to ride again tomorrow and see how much improvement there is.

Not riding to work causes me stress.  It’s weird.  I drove to work every day for many years.   I even had a hellish 35-mile one-way commute for a couple of years.  Yet I felt that sitting in the car with creature comforts made it okay.  I don’t feel that way anymore.  I don’t like throwing away money on gas, parking, and car maintenance.  I don’t like gaining weight.

I do like the fresh air, sunrise, weather (except headwinds), adrenaline rush, and the overall alive feeling I get when riding my bike to work.  It gives me something to look forward to twice a day.

Early in the ride is a nice fast downhill.  Let’s just say I won’t be hitting 40 mph on this bike.  I was riding the brakes most of the way down the hill.  I don’t know how fast I was going, but I’m guessing 25 or 30.  The bike just doesn’t feel stable beyond that.

I had adjusted the derailleur before the ride, but I’m still having an issue with the highest gear.  I guess I’ll take it in for an adjustment.

It only has seven gears.  The range is much less than my other bikes.  It perfect for city riding without horrible hills.  Even the hills on my route were okay in the lower gears, but I wasn’t carrying any extra weight.  The higher gears weren’t really necessary, because the bike just isn’t stable at high speed.  Once I get the seventh gear working, I’ll be perfectly happy with the gear range the bike has.

I’ll be taking the bike to DC next month, as that is some pretty flat riding.  I may not need to shift.  :)

The ride was peaceful.  It was still quite warm out.  The insects were swarming in big clouds.  I tried to keep my mouth shut to avoid a “protein snack”.  The nearly-full moon was out.  Mars was quite visible.  There is very little traffic on this route.  I need to do this more often.

Let me back up a minute…

I only rode my bike to work two days this week.  I only rode home 1 day, as the other I got a ride home.  My idea of another record mileage month is out the window.  I’ve not been riding enough, but I’m not letting that bother me.

My wife will be home tomorrow, a bit earlier than originally planned.  I’m glad she’s coming home, but it will cut even more into my bike riding time.

So anyway, I open the box and find a new bike.

It’s a Dahon Speed D7.  It certainly won’t be my primary bike, but it could come in very handy for travelling, or even short around-town trips.

How many of you have a wife that would surprise you with something like that?

It folds up quite small.  See how large the trunk bag appears on the folded bike.

It is officially too big to go as checked luggage on most airlines without oversize items fees, but I’m going to take it with me to Washington DC next month, and see how that works out.  It’ll be nice to have my own transportation while on a business trip.

I was amazed that it came with fenders and a rear rack.  I just threw on a cheap set of lights and my trunk bag, and it’s ready to go.

I did take the bike for a four-mile ride after getting it set up.  I rode to the bank, the pizza place, and home again.  I enjoyed some good food, a great beer, and a new bike from my wonderful wife..  Life is good.

I had been pushing myself to break a new record, and it just wasn’t fun anymore.  So, I didn’t ride, other than one trip to the pizza place and back.  I rode wearing normal clothes (it was a short ride), sandals (no clipless on the LHT), and <gasp!> with no helmet.  I actually intended to wear the helmet, but forgot it on the way out the door.  Once I was on the bike and realized it, and didn’t bother going back.

I did spend some time over the weekend getting a new home-theater PC up and running.  Now I can watch Doctor Who episodes (via iTunes) on the TV instead of the tiny laptop screen.

I also spent some time watching the TV.  I have a weird relationship with TV.  I hate the normal crap.  I don’t have cable.  I rarely watch TV, but then some particular show will come out that I’ll purchase on iTunes, and I’ll spend entirely too much time with it.  Right now, that would be season 5 of Doctor Who.

I’m back on the bike today.  I rode to work, with a full coffee pot strapped to the rear rack.  I need to buy a large thermos.

I’ve been riding a lot of miles.  I broke a few records on Sunday.  I’ve ridden two centuries in a little over a month.  I hit 3000 miles of cycling for the year during my commute today.  I’m well on track to get 5000+ miles for the year.

The depression that was really affecting me earlier this year has gone away.  I’m sure it’ll come back again some day, and I’ll have to cope.  Overall, I’ve been feeling really good recently.

Bad Stuff

My eating has been crazy.  It’s partially from being hungry from riding.  It’s partially due to treating myself to beer, pizza, ice cream, steak, and similiar items much too often.

I haven’t had any real weight loss since March of 2009!  That sickens me.  I know weight is just a number, but I still have a gut.  I feel like I’m way too fit for this gut.  I’ve got to lose the gut.  Damn the gut!

I’m having comfort issues on my newest bike, Surly Sue, the LHT.  Although I’ve ridden two 100-miles rides on that bike, the recent rides have left me with possible ulnar nerve issues in my left hand.  I also have some saddle issues to figure out.  As such, I’m riding Oria, my recumbent, more often, as there is no pressure on the hands.  I will get a bike fit to help get comfortable again, but in the meantime it’s nice to have another option.

What’s Next?

I’m trying to get my eating under control.  I had started my “food diary” back up a while ago, but that didn’t last long.  I need to track what I eat.

I’ve decided that I need a fast bike.  Both my current bikes are designed to be comfortable for hauling stuff long distances.  Neither is really designed to be fast.  After much thought, I think my fast bike will be a recumbent.  Probably a Bacchetta Strada.  It won’t be until at least next year until I can afford one, but that’s the plan.

From Saturday's short ride

Weekly Miles: 255.6 (my new weekly record)
Miles Today: 116.6 (my new daily record)
Top Speed Today: 47.5 mph (my new record, possible stupidity involved)

Today:

I rode to Tim’s house (about 21) miles, leaving home about 4:30 this morning.  We left on a planned 70-miler that ended up a tad longer.  I then rode home.  It was a do-it-yourself Century ride.  :)

Morning

At Iroquois Park

Kentucky Tobacco

I felt strong, and arrived at 4:05 a.m.  I had plenty of time to prepare for a busy day.   I was able to leave work early, but my pace on the way home was slower.

I’m having comfort issues on the LHT.  I’m going to have to schedule a fit with Bluegrass Bicycle.  My left hand goes numb while riding, and often stays that way for a while.  I’m hoping I haven’t already done nerve damage.

I’ve decided to stick to riding the recumbent in the meantime.  I didn’t ride Wednesday because I overslept (story of my life…).

Today was interesting.  I rode the recumbent to work this morning.  Had a stressful, busy day at work.  Left work at 5:00 and met up with Tim.  He was riding his ‘bent, so we rode together around Louisville for about 17 miles.  There was some light rain and lightning in the distance, which just made it a bit more interesting.

We parted ways, and I rode home.  So, in addition to a busy day at work, I put over 53 miles in.  That made the day much better than it would have been otherwise.  It was also fun to see Tim on his ‘bent.

Shortly after parting ways with Tim, and heading down Main Street downtown, I saw David Morse from CART photographing closed sidewalks, and planning a protest for the poorly managed manner in which it is done.  I may have to spend my lunch hour with them tomorrow.  :)

Along the Levee Trail

The worst part of being sick may have been staying off the bike.  Now that I’m better, I’ve been riding.

The weather has been very warm recently.  We’ve had two heat waves with highs in the 90s pretty much every day.  There was a break between the heat waves, but that’s when I was sick and not riding.

Saturday

On Saturday I met up with Tim for a mostly urban ride around Louisville.  We did spend some time on the Levee Trail, including a portion that appears to be new, and not yet open.  We ended up with 57.1 miles.

Sunday

On Sunday, Tim came to my place for a hillier ride.  We planned 35 miles, but he had mechanical issues that caused us to abort the ride at 13.9 miles.  That was a bummer.

I spent a few hours being slightly depressed and even took a nap.  I could have been productive and mowed the lawn, but I didn’t.

Once evening came, I knew I needed to ride.  I hopped on the LHT and headed toward Louisville without really having a plan.  Sunday was the 4th, so the sound of fireworks was never far away.

Once I got to Louisville I basically rode toward the airport.  I’m not sure why.  I eventually stopped and sent a text to Tim.  He was at the waterfront with his family enjoying a concert and waiting for the fireworks.

I headed to the riverfront and used the free valet bike parking provided by Bicycling For Louisville.  I crashed Tim’s party (sorry Tim!) and hung out with he and his family for the last of the concert and the fireworks.

I rode home in the dark (with my great lights!) stopping at Waffle House for “bike fuel”.  My total mileage for that ride was 43.8.

Monday

I had Monday off of work for the holiday.  I again rode with Tim where he hoped to stop at a number of nature preserves.  We did indeed do that, but anyone who rides with Tim knows that he often makes the route up along the way.  We rode off-road some on our LHTs.

At 38.3 miles, this wasn’t a really long ride, but with the heat and the off-road stretches it was tiring.  It was a good ride and well worth it.

Commuting

I intend to ride to work tomorrow, however I need to be there at 5:00 am, so I plan to leave by 3:00 am.  Ugh.  I really want to set a new mileage record for the month, so on the bike I go.

Unfortunately, normal for me usually means my wife is out of town.  That will be true again.  I’ll be taking her to the airport early tomorrow morning before work.

So, mostly alone, body healed… It’s time to ride some miles.  :)

I was on track to have 800 miles for the month of June.  Then things got busy, but I was still on track for over 700 miles.  Then I got sick.  If I rode to work and back one day this week, it would put me at 700 miles.  That’s not going to happen.  So my total for June is 665.6 miles.  136.6 of those miles were on the recumbent, the rest on the LHT.

June 2010 is a record mileage month for me, beating out August 2008 with 626.8 miles.

I’m not done.  There’s a new month starting soon.  Now that my daughter has moved out, and my wife will be gone again, I intend to set a new record for July.

By mid-morning, I was able to eat solid food.  That’s a switch.  By early afternoon the feverish feeling appears to be gone.

I won’t be riding my bike to work this week.  I haven’t actually been to work this week yet.  I shouldn’t ride tomorrow, I still need to recover, and I can’t ride anyway, because I’m picking Kristy up from the airport.  There is some better news!  I won’t be riding on Thursday so that I can spend more time with Kristy.

I can’t ride on Friday, because I’m taking her back to the airport for another adventure.  I thought she’d get to stay home for more than two days.  Such is my crazy marriage.

On the other hand, I’ve got every weekend in July available for putting in some miles on the bike.  I’m planning at least one more camping trip too.

I waited until today (Sunday) hoping it would get better, it didn’t.  I went to the urgent care clinic and it was quickly determined that I have strep.

I had initially planned to ride to Louisville on Saturday to help Tom move.  I was also hoping to ride with Tim today.  Those plans didn’t happen.  Instead, I’m home-bound, trying to recover, and avoid spreading the bacteria to anyone else.

I’m also staying home tomorrow to avoid sharing this with anyone, but I should be safe to return to work on Tuesday.  If I’m feeling well, I’ll even ride my bike and attend Car-Free Happy Hour afterwards.

Today, I forced myself to get on the bike.  Once I was rolling, it was worth it.  I took the recently re-opened Waterline Rd on my ride to work.  It’s a peaceful wooded stretch of road and I rarely see a car.  I did see two turtles on the road.

I wasn’t feeling up to riding home after work, but I really didn’t have good options.  Traffic was bad.  Drivers were rude.  I really felt for a while that the world isn’t meant for people anymore, but instead is made for cars.

I pulled into a parking lot, walked over to some grass, and just sat down and enjoyed the feel of the grass.  I was a bit farther from the road now, so the traffic noise was more distant.  I thought about napping, but figured it would be a bad idea.  After drinking some water and reflecting on where I’ve been recently, I suddenly felt much better.

I hopped on the bike and the rest of the ride home was awesome.

Surly Sue is loaded

Let me back up a minute.  The last few days did not go as planned.  Saturday, my daughter graduated from high-school, and a few family members (including my ex-wife) drove down from Michigan to attend.  The graduation was fine.  It was neat to watch, and several people cried.

My daughter decided some time ago to move back to Michigan after graduation.  My ex-wife and I both were going to haul her stuff back to Michigan.  I was also going to take a bike with me and visit an old friend, and ride with someone who I’ve talked to online.  I had requested Monday and Tuesday off of work to have time to do this.

For reasons I won’t go into here, I did not drive to Michigan on Sunday.  So I found myself with a couple of “free days”.  What do I do with “free days”?  I ride my bike of course!

Winding Road

There were some concerns about possible severe weather, but I decided I’d risk it.  The ride was hot, but pleasant.  I took a nice slow pace and made it there in about 3 1/2 hours.  The odometer read 36.8 miles for the day.  I found a two-mile stretch of a pleasant gravel road along the way.  It wasn’t “seriously epic” like some of the roads Tim and I have found, but it was quite pleasant.

Just call me Squinty

Gravel Road

Farm

After getting my tent set-up, I talked to a bike tourist who was also camped there.  I was sure to tell him that I was simply doing an overnight trip.

My Campsite

John was riding a beautiful lugged-steel touring bike that he bought used and had repainted and built up to match his desires.  The bike had toured Europe and Asia with it’s previous owner.  He told me the manufacturer of the frame, but I can’t remember now.

John's Bike at Camp

Clifty Falls has a new shower facility, so I was able to take a shower when arriving, and another after getting up at 6:00 a.m.  I kept this trip simple and did not plan on cooking.  I ate fig bars for breakfast , broke camp, packed the bike, then rode over to see if John was up.

Before long, John was ready to roll.  His ACA map had him going on Highway 62, which I had seen was under construction, and not safe for riding.  We followed my previous day’s route, in reverse to get back to Charlestown, stopping at a small diner in New Washington for breakfast (okay, I had a burger for breakfast)

There were some strange, fast-moving clouds that passed overhead, and the associated wind gust gave us a strong but brief tailwind.  The weather cleared up later.

Funky Clouds

Two Loaded Touring Bikes

I made the decision to ride along with John for a while longer.  I didn’t have a firm plan, but wasn’t ready to end the adventure.

After looking at the ACA maps, I planned a much better route that avoided much traffic and took us down the recently re-opened Waterline Rd through the old ammunition plant.

We meandered through Utica and Jeffersonville.  The riding got much more urban.  We rode through Clarksville, saw the Louisville skyline, and made our way to New Albany where we stopped for water and snacks.  Did I mention it was hot?

John was now following the ACA maps again, as my knowledge of this area wasn’t as good.  We eventually ended up on Corydon Pike, and we climbed up to Edwardsville.  At this stage it was time to say goodbye.  We had ridden together for about 70 miles.  John had to be in Corydon in time to set up camp for the night.  I needed to get home in time to get ready for bed, as I do work tomorrow.

View From Edwardsville

The last portion of the ride made my legs more sore than the previous miles combined.  I should have learned my lesson from John about pacing.  He rarely exceeds 11mph.

I arrived home with 93 miles for the day.  That’s in addition to the nearly 37 miles yesterday.  June 2010 is now a record mileage month for me.  The month isn’t over, so it’ll be interesting to see the final total on July 1st.

Saturdays are often a good day to sleep in.  I was awoken early this morning by a thunderstorm.  After falling back asleep I was awoken again by a phone call from work at 6:00 a.m.  Our website was offline.  A quick check revealed all internal stuff was functional, so it was the web hosting company.  A few phone calls later everything was resolved.

The thunderstorm had passed, I still hadn’t had my morning coffee, but I really needed to clear my head to prevent a bad mood from ruining the day.  My lovely wife called and suggested I ride my bike.  So I did.

I headed out on my 11-mile loop.  It was still raining lightly when I left, but it stopped pretty early into the ride.  I wasn’t in a hurry.  It wasn’t a training ride.  I just wanted to relax.  So I took almost an hour to ride the 11 miles, then rode to the coffee shop to get my caffeine fix.

I’m now home, and things are looking up!  The sky in mostly sunny and blue, the temperatures are warming up, and I’ll be watching my youngest daughter at her high-school graduation ceremony tonight.

I rode the ‘bent for comfort today.  I’ve been neglecting that poor bike, so Oria will be my commuter of choice for the week.

I was caught in a sudden but brief downpour.  This picture was taken after the rain subsided.  It’s 94 degrees and sunny as I write this.  There is the possibility of severe weather.  Hopefully I’ll make it home first.

I knew that March of this year was good.  I assumed it was a new record.  I had no idea that I did more miles in August of 2008.  I had only been riding a few months when I set my record.

I’m hoping to blow that record away this month.  If I keep up the pace that I’ve been doing, I should have 800 miles for the month.  We’ll see.

My commuting bike for this week will be Oria, my recumbent.  I’ve got some “butt issues” that need to heal, so comfort is the word.

During the slower weightloss period I dropped about five pounds from March 2009 to July 2009.

From July 2009 to present I’ve actually had a small net gain.  I actually weight more today than I did in early March 2009.

On the bright side, I think my body fat percentage is a little lower than it was in March 2009.  I have been riding the bike a lot more.  I’ve built a lot of muscle.  I’m on track to have over 5000 miles on the bike this calendar year.

Also being fit (which I feel I am) at any weight is healthier than not being fit at the same weight.  My quality of life has improved greatly.

I just need to keep working to eat better, as my natural inclination is to binge on things I shouldn’t.

Last Saturday I rode a Century.  I rode my bike to work and back 4 out of five days this week (I overslept on Thursday).  Most days this week were calling for rain, but I avoided it each time, other than a few sprinkles.

My commuting for the week racked up 140.5 miles on the bike.  I’m not doing any big rides this weekend.  I may not ride at all.  I have a lot of “domestic” stuff to do.

Depression

I’ve had a depression issue for most of this year.  It lifted mysteriously on Thursday, May 27th.  I’ve been almost giddy ever since until yesterday (the day I didn’t ride) and my mood darkened.  I rode again today, and things are well again.

Does riding fix the depression?  Is the cause more subtle than that?  I don’t know.  I do know that it’s hard to get on the bike when I’m depressed.

Diet

I’ve been eating better, other than Wednesday where I went out for lunch, and again for dinner.  I overate to the point of discomfort at dinner.  I hate it when that happens.

Weight

My weight is still bobbing around between 200 and 210.  It may linger there forever, but I now know that I must monitor my weight regularly and watch what I eat for the rest of my life.  This isn’t negotiable.  If I fail to do this, I will gain every pound back.

My goal weight is still 175.  It may take a long time to get there.  It seemed to be in striking distance at one point, but the loss has stalled.

I watched a speech by a doctor discussing a few things about obesity.  I recommend it if you have a spare 90 minutes.  The advice he gave was:

1. Be as fit as possible at your current weight
2. Prevent further weight gain
3. If successful then begin weight loss

That’s not the way I did things.  I started with the diet, then exercise, now I’m hoping to lose more weight, but trying not to gain more.

When I started this adventure my BMI was about 41.  Standard medical procedure for someone like me would have been gastric bypass.  I’m glad I didn’t go that route.  I rather like having a complete GI tract.  My BMI is now about 28, which is still considered overweight, but I would no longer be considered for surgery, and that is a very good thing.

What Now?

I got a bit lazy after losing 100lbs.  I started to indulge in the foods I love.  I thought I could still do it, because I’d already lost weight, and because I ride my bike… a lot!

Well, that’s not the case.  I went two months without weighing myself and gained almost 10 lbs.

I’m back to keeping a food diary.  I am weighing myself daily again.  I’m making more appropriate decisions about what I eat and drink.

I may have to give up beer.  It’s a weakness for me, and I often go to a wonderful food establishment just for the beer.  Then, of course, I partake of the food also.  I really wanted to go again today.  I didn’t.  I stayed home and ate sensibly.  If that particular establishment is off-limits to me, and I quit drinking beer, it would be easier to stay on track.

This ride did not have a mass start, but instead, registration began at 7:00, and you could leave when you were ready.  Michael and I left around 7:30.  There were some others that got an early start at about 6:30.  I was told only eight riders opted for the 100-mile route.

This was only Michael’s second century, but this one was hilly.  His first was flat, so the ride was a challenge for both of us.

Michael and I are not fast riders.  There were probably plenty of other slow riders, but they didn’t choose the 100-mile route.  Luckily, the rest areas remained open until we passed through them.  It was a hot day, and we needed to refill our water bottles often.

We rode past Saddle Lake in Hoosier National Forest.  I was tempted at that point to jump in for a quick swim.

There was definitely some climbing involved but it usually led to a nice view.

Typical rural Indiana scenery

I could have used a Double Cola about then.

You have to love a place called Possum Junction.  Too bad they were closed.

Siberia, Cold in name, warm in heart

We saw several of these mini oil rigs

This reminded me of the Windows XP “Bliss” wallpaper

This was in St. Meinrad.

This is the covered bridge on Huffman Hill Road.  It’s no longer open, but is the site of a small park.

Michael and I were just about done with the ride at this point.  We were happy, but glad to be near the end. It’s a good thing it’s not a race.  We were the last two to finish the ride.

I think I recreated the route here. I may have taken a couple of wrong turns though.

I’ve only included a sampling of pictures here.  If you want to see all of the pictures, or download the full size versions, see the Web Album.

I took an alternate route to work and back today, giving me a total of 41.3 miles for the day.  I think I’m prepared for tomorrow.

I think I earned some carbs for the week, so I stopped at Charlestown Pizza Company for food and beer.  Of course I rode my bike there.  I’m pretty much known there for my love of beer and bicycling.

I hope for a lot of pictures from tomorrow’s ride.  I hope it doesn’t rain to much.  I hope my legs don’t give out!

I ate too much today.  I went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch.  I cooked steak for dinner, but I feel good, and I think it was worth it.

I’ve been busy with little things.  I’m still setting up my new work laptop.  I’m doing the bills.

I’m in a good mood even though I haven’t ridden today.  Maybe I just needed the break.  I’ll be back on the bike tomorrow… probably in the rain.

• Home
• Post Office
• Coffee Shop
• Bank
• Work
• Doctor’s Office
• Coffee Shop
• Home

It turned out to be 43.5 miles in beautiful weather.  I had to spend a few hours working, and some time getting poked and prodded by my doctor, but overall a good day.

As far as my crushing depression I was having before… It disappeared <poof!> last Thursday.  I did discuss it with my doctor, but I really don’t want to take medication for it.  As far as an existing medication causing it, I should get the lab results soon.

Oh, I weighed this morning.  I’ve gained weight, as expected.  My weight this morning was 211.2, which is about where I was in early February.  So, I lost some progress again.  I’m back on the wagon.

I’ve ridden my bike 1974.2 miles for the year so far.  Here it is broken out by month:

I would really like to have over 600 miles for June, so I’d better get riding.

I talked to Michael about riding with him in the Bloomington area.  He was happy to host a ride.  We did about 63 miles over some nice terrain.  It was hilly enough to keep it interesting, but not so hilly as to totally kill me.

I want to thank Michael for hosting the great ride and planning the route.  I’d like to thank his wife for feeding us lunch.  So, thanks!

I didn’t get very many good pictures, but I’ve posted a few of what I have below.

Although I didn’t ride today, Memorial Day, I had plenty of other activities to keep my busy.  My mood has brightened greatly since early last week.

I recently replaced the cassette and chain only to discover that the chainrings were worn bad enough to cause skipping.  I was going to replace those, but then the bottom bracket (which I’d had problems with before) started coming loose.  A close inspection revealed the bottom bracket shell (part of the frame) was cracked.

Neeko, my daughter's bike, upgraded with parts from Nermal

Sure, enough money could have fixed it.  However, Nemal had served his purpose.  I had moved on to better bikes and didn’t need to fix Nermal.

Luckily Nermal was a “parts donor”.  When I bought Nermal, I also bought his twin for my daughter.  My daughter named that bike Neeko.  I’ve moved the wheels that Tom built for Nermal over to Neeko.  I moved the chain and upgraded derailleur purchased from Bluegrass Bicycle.

Neeko now looks much like Nermal did in an earlier iteration.  Before I bought a Brooks saddle or switched to flat bars.  So the spirit lives on.  :)

At eight miles and a leisurely pace, we didn’t burn many calories, but it was fun, and a nice way to spend time together.

The destination was Charlestown State Park.  Skies were clear and the air was cold when we arrived at 8:30.

There was something very peaceful about breakfast at 8:30 at a picnic table.

We rode around the park for a bit before heading home.

Diet Progress

I haven’t been watching what I eat or weighing myself.  I’m taking a break from the weighing and trying to focus my energies elsewhere.

I ate what I wanted on vacation, and have pretty much kept doing that in the few days I’ve been home.  Losing weight is still important to me.  I just need to focus on it again.

Bicycling

I rode a little over 45 miles on vacation.  Thursday of last week was a short but hilly ride.  Sunday was about 25 miles and several thousand feet of climbing.  I think I prefer riding in the mountains over really flat terrain  such as I did in Florida in September.  On Monday on the return trip I rode down the mountains from the highest point of highway 442 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park down to Gatlinburg.  That was a fast 15-mile ride.

My wife dropped my bike and I off at work on Tuesday, and picked me up after a partial ride home.  I was too tired to continue.  Wednesday I rode my recumbent to work and back.  It felt good to be a bike commuter again.  Today, I overslept and my wife dropped the bike and I off at work again.  I intend to ride the whole distance home this time.

Vacation Pictures

I took a lot of photographs on vacation.  I’ll just share a few.

The mountains are quite lovely.

We went canoeing on the New River outside of Boone NC.

Mountains in the evening are great for photographs.

Riding in the mountains is challenging but rewarding.

I rode through the (former?) town of Pyatte.

This was a very picturesque area that I wasn’t able to explore by bike, but was driving.  If I ever go back to the area I will ride there.  Steep gravel roads with switchbacks and stunning views.

Kristy and I took a helicopter ride on the way home.

Sometimes I’m a geek on a bike.  Other times I’m a geek in a helicopter.  :)

I’ll post a lot more pictures once I’m settled at home and have better internet service.

Oh, I don’t recommend balancing a bike like this, but it was fun.

Weight and Diet

I haven’t been tracking my eating or weight since I got back from DC.  I’m trying to concentrate less on that, and spend more time enjoying life.  Practicing moderation is still hard for me.

Riding

I’m still riding a fair amount.  I went on a 50-mile mixed-terrain ride with Tim on Sunday.  It was a beautiful day in a beautiful area.  See a few pictures below.  Also check out Tim’s post with pictures.  Yes, there was a stream crossing.  Yes, there was an off-road section.  Yes, we were both riding LHTs.

I didn’t ride to work on Monday, but I did ride on Tuesday.  My wife picked me up from work on Tuesday, so my mileage isn’t quite where it should be.

Encounters

While I was standing outside work waiting for my wife to pick me up yesterday, Adam approached me about my Surly LHT.  He apparently has been, or still is, bicycle touring across the U.S.  I didn’t have enough time to find out the details, but we talked bikes for a few minutes.  He’s touring with Dwight, and they are documenting their travels online.  It seems they haven’t updated the blog since last month though.

Vacation

My wife and I are leaving today for a vacation in the mountains of North Carolina.  We’ll be bringing bicycles, but that’s not really the point of the vacation.  With luck I won’t have cell reception.  :)

My daughter will stay home to take care of the dogs and go to school, so this should be a really low-stress vacation.  I’m looking forward to it.

Mental

When I initially lost a lot of weight it gave me a huge sense of accomplishment.  Unfortunately, that fades over time.  I’ve been fighting with depression again.  I’m not sure of the best way to deal with it.  I’m not a believer in medicating for it.  Writing about what I’ve done and where I’m heading is probably the best tool I have to keep the depression at bay.  I do have to say that today is much better than yesterday.

Pictures

Enjoy!  I did.

The picture below was taken after work yesterday.  I needed to ride from work in Downtown Louisville to Feeder’s Supply in Clarksville.  I let Google Maps give me bicycling directions, and I discovered the pedestrian/bike bridge over Browns Station Way.

The path is a bit overgrown, and the bridge a bit worn looking, but it worked well.

Also on the topic of cargo bikes, back in December 2008 I hauled home a fair amount of groceries on Nermal.  I’ve also used the front rack on my LHT to haul a propane tank, but I don’t have pictures of that.

I still haven’t named this bike.  It’s beginning to bother me.  :)

Changes are:

• New stem with different angle to get the handlebars a bit higher – this makes the bike much more comfortable for me
• Schwalbe Marathon tires in 700×40 (42-622) – The old front tire is a foldable Continental Contact, and is now folded up and stored in the bottom of a pannier as a spare.
• Chainstay mounted kickstand
• MKS touring pedals

Everything above came from Bluegrass Bicycle except the pedals, which I ordered from Velo-Orange.

I immensely enjoyed Tuesday’s commute, but unfortunately overslept today and drove to work.

Diet

I believe the paleodiet works.  I think it could work for me.  However, it’s a trial and error process to get there.  Since I started the paleodiet I’ve been suffering depression and lack of energy.  I’ve also had dizzy spells.  I don’t have the drive to figure out how to adjust the diet, so I’m switching back to my previous diet.  I need to watch what I eat.  I used to track calories, but I’m not going to this time, unless I start gaining weight again.

My new-old diet has helped me feel better, mostly.  My energy level shot back up quickly.  The depression is fading, but not quite gone.  I’m still having minor dizzy spells.

Biking and Travel

I’m writing this from a hotel room outside of Washington DC.  My wife is here for work, and I drove to meet her.  I’ll be heading home in a few hours.

I brought Nermal with me to ride around DC.  I’m glad I did, but I’ve had some mechanical problems with the bike, and may be retiring it soon.  Kristy joked that I should have a “funeral” for the bike, and make an ID card identifying the bike as a “parts donor”.

I rode just over 30 miles on Friday, and did some sight seeing around the capital.  It’s Cherry Blossom time, and a beautiful spring day, so the crowds were out in force.

On Saturday, I only rode about 10.5 miles, because I turned back due to the mechanical issues I mentioned.  I didn’t want to walk back to the hotel.  I spent most of that ride in Alexandria.

I have to admit that the Mt. Vernon trail is rather nice.  It was heavily used while I was out.  There were many cyclists, runners, walkers, and what not.  I saw three trike riders.  I stopped and talked to Michael riding a Greenspeed X5.  He was kind enough to let me take it for a short spin.  Now I have another item to add to my wish list.  :)

I’m a bit underwhelmed by the “bike friendliness” of the area.  Although the trail was nice, getting off the trail and unto a major artery in Alexandria was met with much honking, yelling, and even the flashing of a badge.  I later looked it up, and I was allowed in the road.

In the part of DC itself that I rode in there weren’t actual bike trails, but simply wide sidewalks that were also used as bike paths.  This was not ideal, especially with the crowds.  In fairness, it was faster than attempting to ride in the streets, where traffic was mostly stationary.  I also managed to fall over while coming to a stop in front of hundreds of people.  That was embarrassing.

There is a bike/pedestrian path along the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge.  This path makes it possible to easily ride from Alexandria VA over to Prince George’s County MD.  I wasn’t able to find any good bike riding on the Maryland side.  There were a lot of riders going back and forth across the bride, many of them with children.

Bicycle Indecision

I’ve put a lot of miles on the new Surly LHT I bought in January.  I’m still having comfort issues with it.  I’ve ordered a new stem from Bluegrass Bicycle to raise the handlebars (I’ll be picking it up on Monday).  I’m hoping that it will help.  I rode the recumbent to work on Wednesday, and had forgotten just how comfortable it can be.  I can ride many miles on the Surly, but do I want to?  I can climb steeper hills with the Surly, but I can climb most hills on the ‘bent, and walk the ones I can’t ride up.  I won’t be buying another upright bike until I’ve made up my mind about this.  Poor Nermal (the cheap hybrid that is now broke) will not be replaced.

Bicycle Commuting

Kristy will be home on Monday also.  I’ve ridden a lot of miles while she was gone.  I can’t let that stop.  I love the way riding makes me feel.  It isn’t even just about weight loss anymore.  It’s a combination of things.

• Weight loss
• Save money on parking and gas
• More freedom from car issues
• Sense of accomplishment
• Endorphins!

I get cranky when I don’t ride, so to be a better husband and father, I must ride often!

Weight

My weight had dipped when I started the paleodiet.  It’s now gone up a little, but seems to be holding steady now.  I haven’t been weighing as often.  I’ve actually quit focusing on weight as much as I used to.

I’m trying to find a healthy balance in my life for everything.  I tend to obsess over things, so I’m taking a temporary hiatus from weighing myself.

Video

I shot the following video of a plane coming in for a landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.  There is a park along the Mt. Vernon Trail with great views of the planes.

Pictures

A rare empty area on the Mt. Vernon trail

Capitol Building from a distance

Cityscape

Tourists in front of the Lincoln Memorial

Washington Monument

Cherry trees are blossoming

I set out just after 9:00 am with light rain.  The predicted thunderstorm never materialized, but it was windy and rainy.  The rain would sometimes stop, and there was even some occasional sun.

I felt weak and slow during the ride.  I averaged just under 10 mph.  That’s slow even for me.

The original route was going to be 57 miles.  I made several wrong turns, as I often do, but still enjoyed the ride.  At 36 miles into the ride I was done.  I don’t know why, but I didn’t feel like riding any further.  I called for a ride home.

Despite the abrupt ending, I was glad I got out and rode the bike.

I decided to fix the bike without the chain whip, using the old chain, a screwdriver, a rag, and my daughter’s assistance.  It worked.  I was able to swap out the cassettes.  Installing the new chain was much easier.  I still have worn chain rings, but that will wait another 3000 miles or so.

I haven’t been riding Nermal much recently, but that’s partially because the chain had begun to skip when pedaling hard.  This should fix that.

Bikes are quite simple to work on.  You only need a few specialized tools, and you can fix nearly everything that goes wrong with just a little research on the internet.  Unlike a car, they are small and light enough to pick up and flip around any direction you need.  I’ll never be a great bike mechanic, but I’ll at least be able to handle much of the maintenance of my bikes.

I rode my bike to work every day this week, except on Thursday.  I feel good about that, but haven’t been feeling good in general.  More on that later.

$30 worth of rubber, wasted

Monday I rode the long way to work.  A beautiful route through Utica with lower traffic volume than the normal route.  The ride home was cut short by a large nail, and I called a friend for a ride.

Tuesday, I took a wandering route that was longer than my standard commute, but not as long as the Utica route.

Wednesday was the full Utica route, without a tire failure this time.  I’m really enjoying the longer days than we had a few months ago.

Thursday I didn’t ride to work, but I did ride a few miles to get pizza and beer.

Today, Friday, I took the direct route to work and back.  It was cold and windy this morning, and slightly less cold and windy this afternoon.  I throughly enjoyed the ride to work, but the ride home was a slog.

I’m not planning on riding tomorrow, as I’ve got a lot of other things going on, but I am planning a 55-60 mile RCCS ride on Sunday.

That will push me pretty close to 200 miles for the week.

Weight and Diet

My weight is fluctuating around 200 lbs again.  My eating habits aren’t where they should be.  I’m drinking a beer as I write this.  I’m seriously considering giving up beer for good.

My paleo-diet idea is currently just that, an idea.  I’ve been consuming pizza, brownies, ice cream, beer, chips, and other things that I shouldn’t.  I think I need to reformulate the how and why I eat.  I can better change my behavior if I understand it.

Mood

This has been a rough week.  I’ll write a seperate post about it when I can put it into words that don’t come out sounding whiny.  I went too long without updating here because I didn’t want to post something that basically means “Whaaaaaaaaaaaa!”.

Sunrise over the Ohio River

It was still quite cool each morning, but the evening ride was much warmer.  Sunny skies were the norm (although I did get a few raindrops on Monday).

My new favorite route to work is more pleasant, but longer and hillier.  I no longer have to ride the shoulder of a four-lane divided highway.  My average speed to work remains the same, but my max speed is higher due to 35+ mph downhills.  That is usually followed by a 6 mph uphill.  :)

Once I make it to the Ohio River, the route is mostly flat, but the view is nice.

Evening Trucker

Signs of Spring

On Wednesday, I was ready to ride.  I took the long way to work wandering down Waterline Road, through Utica, along the river.  I took a mostly normal route home, with a total for the day of 37 miles.

Today, I didn’t ride to work.  I took Nermal to work to use as “lunch ride” bike on days that I don’t ride to work.  I figured it wouldn’t get any use this week, as the weather forecast was calling for thunderstorms.

We had beautiful weather in the early afternoon.  The roads were even dry (good thing too, Nermal is running without fenders right now).  Patrick, who has joined us on a couple of RCCS rides met up with me downtown, and we rode through Old Louisville and The Highlands, before parting ways, and each getting back to our duties.  That was a nice 13-mile spin.

Tomorrow I’m attending a Norah Jones concert with my daughter.  Riding my bike to work is not really in the cards.  So, I took a 19-mile night-time ride now.  I may do another one tomorrow night after the concert.

I usually enjoy the ride into work, but the ride home is always slower and less enjoyable.  I still don’t know entirely why.  I’ve decided to mix up the schedule up a bit.

Today, I rode my 11-mile loop when I got home.  The route consists of beautiful country roads will very little traffic.  The sun was going down, and it was a pleasurable way to wind down after work before having to wash dishes.

I’m planning on getting up early in the morning, and doing that same 11-mile loop.  Then I’ll shower and head to work.

So, the plan is to ride two 11-mile rides per day for the week.  I only did one today, but that’s okay, this plan wasn’t formulated until this afternoon.

Four of us arrived in Edwardsville for ride.  Tim, Dominic, Patrick, and I were prepared for a chilly day, as the temperature was barely above freezing at the ride start.

As we headed toward New Middletown we ran across several members of the Louisville Bicycle Club, and they were moving quite fast.  It turns out they were running time trials.  One of them was Dale, who used to ride with us occasionally, until he preferred riding faster.  As we got into New Middletown we talked to a few more LBC members including Chaz, Tom, and Jen.

As the ride progressed we needed to shed clothing due to warmer temperatures, and actual sunlight!  I know, it was sunny yesterday, but after months of dreariness, this weekend is wonderful.  The temperature topped out in the low 60s.

We went a little off-route, so the total mileage was about 56.  This was probably the best ride I’ve had this year.  The New Year’s Day ride was nice also, but was much colder.

I was also in a cheerful mood because my weight had dropped below 200 lbs as of this morning.  We’ll see if that trend continues.

I rode 126 miles this week.  That’s my highest mileage week this year.  I’m hoping to start next week off with a full commute to work tomorrow morning.

Beautiful Day!

I had intended to get up early for a ride, but caught up on my sleep instead.  I did get out in the afternoon and took Oria, my recumbent out for an 11-mile spin.  I hadn’t had this bike out since November, but the comfort is amazing.  Any thoughts I’ve had of selling this bike have been quelled.

The Wonderfully Comfortable 'Bent

I had also been playing with saddle set-back and tilt to try to make the bike more comfortable.  I took a second ride on my 11-mile loop on the LHT to make sure I would be comfortable for the RCCS ride, and that the shifter would work properly.

By the time I got out the door for the second ride, the sun was lower and the air a bit chillier, but my single layer of clothing was enough.

It's Getting Late

LHT and Sunlight

I changed that a bit today.  I left early this morning for a little extra time.  I stopped at a coffee shop and enjoyed a coffee before continuing on.  I didn’t go out of my way by far, but I did ride along the river in Jeffersonville and added 1/2 a mile to the ride.

On the way home I only had a vague idea of what I was going to do.  I ran along the river in Indiana to Utica.  A mostly-pleasant ride, but with few chances to stop and eat or drink.  That’s okay, I really don’t need more to eat or drink.

Once I got to Utica, I know that I’ve passed the hairy sections of Highway 62.  On the other hand, getting to 62 means riding a narrow twisting road with t00-fast traffic.  So, instead, I continue northward along the river.

I eventually find Waterline Road.  Waterline Road was just recently opened to the public.  It runs through the old Army Ammunition Plant.  Riding through there is eerie yet beautiful.  There are signs of the former human-use of the land, but everything is grown over, falling apart, or usually both.

This part of the ride is mostly uphill, as I’m moving away from the river, but I’m not in a hurry.  I’ll poke along at eight miles per hour.  I eventually run back into the highway and putter along the shoulder at twelve miles an hour, only into a bit of a headwind today.

It was a good ride, and a little bit of an adventure.  I rode a total of 37 miles for the day.  All this just to get to work and back.

I should be asleep, but I didn’t take pictures on this ride, and wanted to get some of the details out before they were lost to my imperfect memory.

January and February are up slightly over last year.  That was following a pitiful December.

Poor Oria hasn’t been ridden since November.  I’m thinking about riding her to work one day this week.

Marathon Winter Tire

I haven’t posted in two weeks.  What happened?

I’ve been busy.  Some of it was necessary, some of it was fun.  I’ve been riding, but not quite enough.  I’ve been following my paleodiet a bit better.  I’ve  been losing weight.

The RCCS had a another coffee ride last Sunday.  It was a lot of fun.  Due to scheduling issues, we didn’t have one today.

Tim got a new bike.  It’s a Kona Ute, a cargo bike.  I have no real need for a cargo bike.  If I get a trailer, I’ll have even less need for a cargo bike, but I really like his Ute.

My Daughter's Nook

My daughter got a Nook.  I got studded tires for my bike.  Winter still won’t go away.

A shifter on my new LHT broke.  On Your Left Cycles has ordered a new one for me, and fixed up the existing one well enough to have most of my gears.

I’ve order some slightly wider tires for my LHT.  I should have them by Wednesday.  There as wide as I dare go for enough clearance between tire and fender.  (42-622 Continental Contact).

I’ve been under a fair amount of stress.  I’m trying to teach my daughter to drive, but her attitude has made that difficult.

The stress makes me want to eat poorly.  I’ve been doing pretty good at avoiding that for the most part.

With my weight hovering right around 200 I’m trying to push it under that 200 lb mark.  I know that’s just an arbitrary number with no real meaning, but it does have a psychological meaning to me.  My goal weight of 175 is also just another arbitrary number.

The ride itself was about 24 miles.  My mileage for the day was about 40.  We explored a trail in Clarksville that I’ll revisit when the snow melts.

Also, riding a 4-mile one-way trip in 19 degree temperatures is one thing.  Riding the full 16.5 miles is another.

During my ride today, I wore my normal work (dress) clothes.  I just wore boots, hat, gloves, and helmet in addition.  I changed into my shoes at work.  Very easy, very simple.

I’m doing the same ride tomorrow, but that really doesn’t add much mileage.  So, the RCCS is holding a ride Sunday (Valentine’s Day), and I’ll be riding that.  The weather will probably be less than ideal, but that’s one thing that makes RCCS rides interesting.  :)

The winter storm that passed through last night and this morning dumped several inches before I even got out of bed.  My daughter and I took a short ride around the neighborhood right after the plow went by.  The road surface was still covered, but not too deep.  Riding through the deep snow in the driveway was amusing.

I convinced my daughter to go into town with me, so we went back home, I switched bikes, and we both grabbed helmets.

We ran a few errands and stopped at a coffee shop to warm up.  The main roads were still quite snow covered at this point.  We went home, and my daughter made some “snow ice cream“.

I had one other errand I had forgotten earlier, so I packed up and headed out again, alone this time.  By now the roads were mostly just slush.  I’m really glad the LHT has fenders.

I finished my errands and had an enjoyable day.  It was much better than sitting indoors the whole day, and we didn’t fall on any ice.

Two LHTs at Sunergos

Tim and I planned an RCCS ride for this morning, but didn’t give a lot of advance notice.  That’s probably why only Tim and I arrived at the ride.

We both rode our LHTs, and it was good fun and good coffee.

LHT Overlook

I got a text message from Tim asking if I’d like to squeeze in a ride this weekend. I call him, and we planned for this morning.

The temperature started out at about 40F. I tend to overdress, so I opted to go without a jacket. I wore a new jersey that my wife got me with a compression shirt under it. I wore cycling tights, wool socks, and my cycling shoes. I finished it off with a hat under my helmet and leather gloves.

LHT and Bleriot

Tim came to my house with his Rivendell Bleriot. It’s a beautiful bike, but too small for me.

Our route took us out Tunnel Mill Road through rolling hills until the steep descent into the Fourteen Mile Creek bed. Then the steep climb out made me thankful for the low gears available on my new LHT.

We then turned on Marion Martin Rd. I used to live out on that road, and I knew there would be a beautiful view of Fourteen Mile Creek and a small waterfall. We stopped for a few pictures before continuing up through New Market then to New Washington for a store stop.

Standing at the Precipice

Our flat riding continued to Otisco where we had another store stop, and I ate some chicken strips.

We took Leon Prall Road out of Otisco and into hillier terrain. We were in very familiar terrain now. Tim and I had ridden these roads quite a few times, though usually in the opposite direction. It was along here somewhere that our climbing ability faltered, and we would crawl up the hills at 4-5 mph.

It was a pretty straightforward ride back home with only one big climb along the way. We finished up at around 38 miles, but that number is just an estimate. Tim and I both need to do a roll-out calibration on our computers.

Waterfall Below

New Bike, Old Bridge

Old Barn

Gate to Nowhere

Southern Indiana Field in January

My Old Tree Friend and LHT

I picked up the bike last night and was itching to ride it today.  My panniers wouldn’t easily mount on the rear rack, so I put them on the front rack.  My trunk bag would block my tail light, so I also put that on the front rack.  The bike did handle differently with the weight on the front, but it was still very stable.

I stayed up entirely too late last night, but was excited enough to get up and ride to work today.  Now I’m looking forward to the ride home this afternoon.

I’m still trying to come up with a name for the new bike.

After changing out of my soggy clothes, and taking a hot shower to warm up, I drove to Bluegrass Bicycle to attend another session of the Park Tool School.  I’ve been a lousy bike mechanic, and I’m hoping to improve that.  Today, among other things, we changed a brake cable.

Once I got home, I spent several hours working on my daughter’s bike.  I replaced the rear brake cable, trued the wheels, fixed the fender alignment, installed a new rack, and raised the handlebars.

I can see that I’m going to spend money on tools to work on bikes now, but I will eventually save money.

I rode to Sellersburg, and met up with the other riders.  I had only ever met one of them before.  For the first few miles I kept up with the fast group.  I started losing ground on them, then rode alone.  I was going to finish the ride, but I was hungry, so I turned for home.  I got in a total of 30 miles, and I really feel like I put the new bike through it’s paces.

The ride seemed to turn out similar to my first group ride, which was with the SIW also.

Ignore the ugly, horribly mounted rack in the picture.  I borrowed that one (spray painted!) from my daughter’s bike until I get my new rack.

I took a bus from work to the bike shop to pick her up, so I could ride her back to work.  I rode with my daughter to go out for pizza (and beer for me).

Then I rode my 11-mile loop.  I haven’t ridden that route in a while, but it was a quick ride before bedtime with “the other woman”.  Night rides can be very peaceful.  My route takes me out in the country, where I run across more wildlife than humans or cars.  There is barely any sound other than the hiss of the tires on the road, and the wind in my ears.  The new bike is silent, smooth, almost supple.

Don’t bother telling my wife.  I’ve already been caught.

This is the first one I’ve attended, and there were about 30 people there.  The collection of bikes out front was quite interesting.  unlike many rides I’ve been on, every bike at this event was set up for transportation and/or hauling things.

I wish I had brought my camera.

I’m going to attend as many of these things as I can.  The next one is 2/16/2010 @ 5:30 at The Bodega on Market Street.

Four of us were there for the ride.  I don’t consider that to be too bad considering the late notice.  It was cold, but we were dressed for it and enjoyed hot coffee from Heine Brothers and Sunergos.

Ben, Dominic, Tim, and I followed the route westward to Shawnee Park and back.  It was never meant to be a long ride, just an enjoyable one.  The planned route was about 20 miles, but Tim and I put in about 26 or so for the day.

We are planning another ride for this coming Sunday.  Check the RCCS site for more information.

I did ride to work yesterday (Monday), but I was quite cold.  I did have chemical hand and foot warmers, but I was still too cold.  I ended up getting a ride home.

I drove today, and I’m in a bit of a mental funk because of it.

Looking at the weather forecast is just depressing.  Snow makes riding hazardous.  Frigid temperatures make me want to stay indoors, or in the heated car.  It may be a while before I ride to work again.

Tasty!

I met up with five others today for the Ghost Bike Memorial Ride.  It was a cold day for a ride, but I was dressed well enough.  After the ride, Tim and I continued on for a few more miles (after a stop for coffee) bringing the total to 19.

After arriving home I cooked a nice healthy meal of chicken tenderloin with red pepper (I overdid the red pepper), brussells sprouts, and a bottle of Schlafly’s Coffee Stout.  Thanks Tim!

Bike with no name

What is the perfect number of bicycles?  N+1, where N is the number you currently have.

Despite wanting a simpler life with fewer toys, I’m adding a new bike to the fleet.  I’ve had two rideable bikes, but they will become three in about two weeks.

I found a 56cm Surly Long Haul Trucker at a local shop that had been sitting in the showroom too long. The LHT is the bike I was writing about wanting back in November.

I took the bike for a spin this morning (it was a bit cold for a lengthy ride), and put a deposit down on it. It will be mine on the 15th.

I sent a picture of the bike to my wife (who is out of state again), and she called me immediately. She had apparently been planning on buying me one, over time, built piece-by-piece to my specifications. Overall it would have been more expensive, but I would have had the opportunity to pick out components. She was also working with a different bike shop.

That’s what happens when you have a secret.

Either way, the other shop hasn’t ordered anything yet, but already have some money “on account” that will go toward racks, fenders, a computer, and whatever else I outfit on the LHT.

My bikes have names.  Nermal is my frankenbike-hybrid/commuter that started life as a cheap Giant Cypress ST.  Oria is my long-wheelbase recumbent Bacchetta Agio.  The newcomer doesn’t have a name yet.  I will ride it/him/her for a while to get a feel for the personality first.

This was probably the most difficult 40-mile ride I’ve ever done.  The hills were unrelenting.  Even with chemical warmers in my gloves and boots, I had issues staying warm enough.

Tim wrote about it here.  I’m just including some pictures.

Weight

I (mostly) lost weight through the first half of the year, but mostly gained it all back in the last half.  I’m still happier with my weight than I was in 2007 or 2008 though.  I need to have the self-control that I did in 2008 again.

Bike Mileage

I didn’t make my goal of 5000 miles.  I knew I wouldn’t fairly early.  I did ride 3,860 miles for the year, which beats the previous year of 2,238.

Month by Month Review

• January 2009
  • Biking irregularly due to weather and ice storm
  • First RCCS ride
  • Rode 277.8 miles
  • Average weight of 216.5 lbs
• February 2009
  • Gave up the idea of living car-free in the near-term
  • I assumed (wrongly) that I’d hit my goal weight by August
  • Rode 263.3 miles
  • Average weight of 208.2 lbs
• March 2009
  • I met Kristy
  • Rode 192.4 miles
  • Average weight of 204.6 lbs
• April 2009
  • My car died – spent two weeks without one before buying my truck
  • Kristy and I were engaged
  • Kristy left the state for a few months
  • Rode 290.9 miles
  • Average weight of 206.6 lbs
• May 2009
  • Rode the 60-mile Tour de Cure
  • Set a new weekly mileage record of 186.1
  • Rode 452.0 miles
  • Average weight of 203.3 lbs
• June 2009
  • Weight was under 200 lbs for a while
  • Set a new weekly mileage record of 201.9
  • Rode 542.2 miles
  • Average weight of 202.0 lbs
• July 2009
  • Kristy came home
  • Went to West Virginia with Kristy to meet some of her family
  • Rode 371.3 miles
  • Average weight of 201.8 lbs
• August 2009
  • Managed a 20-mile ride in Michigan while traveling
  • Almost sold my recumbent
  • Business trip to San Antonio – Too much good food
  • My daughter came to live with me
  • Rode 199.6 miles
  • Average weight of 208.4 lbs
• September 2009
  • I married Kristy in Florida – managed to bring bikes and get in some riding too
  • Finished The Ride to Conquer Cancer – I enjoyed the achievement, but I’m not really sure I want to spend the (fund-raising) time to do another charity ride
  • Rode 298.9 miles
  • Average weight of 212.4 lbs
• October 2009
  • Kristy left again for work
  • Rode 436.1 miles
  • Average weight of 209.7 lbs
• November 2009
  • Went mountain biking for the first time
  • Rode 443.9 miles
  • Average weight of 209.8 lbs
• December 2009
  • Kristy came home
  • Spent Christmas in West Virginia
  • Kristy left again
  • I’m gaining weight again, it’s going to take work to get back down
  • Rode 91.6 miles – holy crap!  what happened here?
  • Average weight of 215.2 lbs – wow back to January weight

Overall

I’m happy with what I’ve done for the year.  I met a wonderful woman, fell in love, and got married.  Looking back at my posts from the past year, many of them seem rather negative.  I guess it’s easy to focus on the times when things aren’t going as planned.  Things usually don’t go as planned, but work out alright anyway.

That doesn’t mean I give myself a pass on not losing the weight and keeping it off.  I very much intend to achieve my goal weight of 175 lbs, and stay there.  I’m hoping I can do it before December of next year.

Happy New Year everyone!

I had talked about the fact that I ride for fun rather than weight loss.  I was dreaming of buying a new bike, though I have two perfectly usable ones.

Since then, my mileage is way down, and my weight is up.  I can make excuses about being busy, but the truth is that I haven’t been trying hard enough recently.

I do spend a lot of time thinking about bikes.  I spend more time thinking about bikes than riding them.  I have spent very little time thinking about my eating habits recently.  I haven’t been tracking my calorie consumption or my weight very regularly.

This has led to a 20 lb weight gain over the last five months.  So, I lost 100 lbs, but gained 20 of it back.  That is frustrating.  I feel like the “Fat Guy” that I used to be.

Not Totally Negative

I did ride to work yesterday.  Then I ran some errands around Clarksville Indiana by bike.  I traveled Eastern, Lewis & Clark, Greentree, and Veteran’s Parkway.  I have never considered riding those non-bike-friendly-roads until yesterday, but it wasn’t as bad as I imagined (even with holiday shopping traffic), and I had a good time.

My ride terminated at Feeder’s Supply where I bought 50 lbs of pet supplies, and waited for my wife to pick me up in the truck.  I had 32 miles for the day, not bad for simple utility cycling.

Now What?

Ride more, eat less!  I need to start carrying around paper and pen to write down everything I eat.  I normally track it on my computer, but if I’m not near a computer, it may not get recorded.  I need to track it even I don’t have time to calculate the calories.  I need to hold myself accountable.

I briefly considered posting everything I eat here, but that would truly make this a (more) boring place. 

I need to post here more often.  Writing about my weight loss attempt keeps me focused.  It keeps my goals at the front of my consciousness.

Merry Christmas everyone!  I’ll try to keep my snacking on sweets to a minimum.

The snow did help put me in a more festive spirit, which matched the Christmas lights I put on my bike yesterday.  My daughter snapped a couple of pictures before I left.  One is with the flash, my reflective bits are very visible, but the Christmas lights aren’t.  The other is without the flash, but the lights are very visible.  Either way, motorists should be able to see me.

Still Struggling

I’m still not losing much weight, mostly because I’m still eating too much.  We had a birthday party for my daughter on Saturday, and I consumed way too much food.  I need to stop doing that.

I planned the route, but we missed a turn somewhere near Clark State Forest.  It didn’t take us long to get back on track, and it changed our overall mileage by less that 1/2 mile.

This is the route we actually took:

The first half of the route was just rolling hills from Charlestown to Borden.  We had a bit of a headwind, but knew that it would help on the return trip.

We climbed up Jackson Rd to head out of Borden.  This climb averages a 11% grade and briefly hits 16%.  It was at this point that the wind was no longer slowing us down.

We rode along the top a ridge for a while, which gave some beautiful views.  Eventually we realized we made a wrong turn, but continued along until we came to Pixley Knob Rd.  This led to an extremely fast descent coming out of the knobs.

We rode to Henryville for our store stop, then it was just more rolling hills to get back.

It was quite cold.  This was my first cold ride of the year.  I’ve had rides that started cold, but this one didn’t really warm up.  I was dressed for it, but I’d rather be warmer.

After getting home, I ran a few errands on the bike then over to Charlestown Pizza for a pizza and too much wonderful beer.  After riding, eating, and drinking, I took a nap.

Now I ride because I enjoy it.  It’s a way to relieve stress, keep me fit(ter), and still allows me to play with gadgets.  My gadgets are now mechanical instead of electronic.

I’ve realized that my weight loss has become secondary to riding a bike.  I’m disappointed that I can only ride one day (tomorrow) out of my three-day work week next week due to other obligations.

I only managed one ride in the last week, a 50-miler with Tim.  I even pretended to be on a single-speed, by not shifting (for most of the ride anyway).  Tim was riding his QuickBeam, which is a beautiful single-speed bike, but I’m not currently looking to have a dedicated single-speed bike.

My Next Bike?

Why am I up at midnight now, when I have to get up at 5:30 to prepare for the ride in?  I’m planning and scheming in my head.  I’m trying to figure out how to come up with the money for my next bike.  It’s a sickness. 

Why a new bike?  Why a Surly LHT?

• I want to start touring.  I hope to ride to Michigan next year.
• Touring bikes make great commuter bikes.
• The Atlantis is too expensive.
• I carry a lot of stuff on my commute.  I’ve been ridiculed for how much I carry.  A touring bike can carry more.
• I’m not convinced I need a recumbent, and I rarely ride mine now.
• My current upright bike, Nermal, is a low quality bike, with a lot of money put into it.  I have more upgrades I want to do, but should probably put them on a new bike.
• Upgrades?
  • Better rack
  • Wider tires
  • Front rack
  • Dynohub lighting system

A quality bike like this is one I can have for the rest of my life.  It’ll cost some money, but nothing compared to my used truck.

Don’t get me wrong.  I still want to lose weight.  I’m still watching what I eat.  I still hop on the scale nearly every morning.  I just want to ride a bike even more than I want to lose weight.

My Daughter - Ten Years Ago

My youngest daughter is nearly an adult.  I’m now balancing teaching her to drive and teaching her to ride her bike.  The “how” is the easy part.  The “which for when” is harder.  She doesn’t have the love of cycling that I do, but she does want to go places that aren’t convenient to walk, and she doesn’t yet have a car or a driver’s license.  She could really use the exercise, but anytime I bring that up, I’m “being mean”.

I’ve lost nearly 100 lbs with my lifestyle change.  She doesn’t yet need to lose that amount, but thinks she can’t lose any weight.

I try not to be too heavy-handed.  She will be 18 next month.  She doesn’t like to wear a helmet.  There are no helmet laws here, so I don’t make her.  I don’t forbid her from eating certain foods, I just try to encourage her to choose the healthy ones. (I don’t always make the smart choice myself.)

I really wish I had fallen in love with cycling earlier, and could have exposed her to it before now.  If she had grown up riding her bike for transportation instead of riding in a car for every 1/2 mile trip, I wouldn’t be struggling with her as much as I am now.

I got Nermal back from the shop yesterday, with a new bottom bracket.  The front brakes weren’t working well, so I pulled them apart, cleaned, lubed, and adjusted everything.  They seem to be working better now.

My daughter wanted to spend the night at a friends house, but wanted a ride.  She wasn’t certain where the house was, but with a little prodding, she rode the 2.6 miles with me on her bike… after dark… on a Friday night.  It was fun, but I think she was terrified.  She has lights, but is uncomfortable in traffic.

I went against my own judgment and stopped for food and beer on the way home.  I really don’t need the calories, but good beer is worth it.

I hadn’t been posting my weight for a while, I have now.  I’m also back to tracking my food.  I need to take control again.  Losing the last 35 lbs seems near-impossible.

I did go on an awesome Friday night “Brew Cruise” with Tim, Ben, Chaz, and Kristin.  It was a shortish ride, but I had ridden to work that day, then had to ride home.  I made it home just before 2:00 a.m.  Granted, we did have five stops along the route, and spent some time at each.

Saturday was spent at home doing housework.

On Sunday, I met up with Tim and Dale for a 45- mile ride in Oldham county.  I really enjoyed the ride, other than a painful issue with my ankle.  I think I caused that Saturday by smacking my ankle on the laundry hamper.  (Maybe I shouldn’t walk around the house without shoes?).  Dale hosted the ride, and provided a nice selection of beer for after the ride.

Nermal’s bottom bracket has been a bit loose recently, and had been submerged in mud not long ago.  On the ride in this morning the cranks were especially loose, and I was having shifting issues.  I made it in to work, but immediately took my bike down to the shop.

Well, the bottom bracket is destroyed.  The shifting issue was just a derailleur adjustment.  Oh, and after 2500 miles, the chain is worn.

I really didn’t want to spend more money on this bike.  I plan to replace it with a Surly LHT, but I don’t have the money for that now.

I had to catch a ride home from a co-worker, and I really do need to drive the next two days, but I hope to ride on Thursday and Friday.

Mountain Biking

I got up early on Saturday to take my daughter to take her SAT test.  I dropped her off, then headed over to Tim’s house.  We rode two of his mountain bikes.  He rode his Redline Monocog, a single-speed 26″-wheeled bike with no suspension.  I started out on his Cannondale 29er hardtail.

The Cannondale felt like a truck: big, heavy, and would roll over anything.  We later switched bikes and the difference was huge.  The Monocog was simplicity itself.  No shifting to worry about, and it was easier to just tug around on the trail.

This was only my second time mountain biking, and I managed to stay upright, even if I did run into a small tree and tweak my wrist a little.  It was a lot of fun, but quite a bit more tiring than road riding.

I will remain primarily a road-rider, but a mountain bike is on my wish-list.

Inappropriate Clothing?

I had worn cycling tights and a jersey (I needed the rear pockets!) for the mountain bike ride.  I had planned to bring a change of clothes, but forgot.  I needed to run an errand at the Louisville International Airport… so I walked through the airport wearing the clothes I had ridden in, including the mud splatters.

After picking up my daughter from her SAT test, we needed to stop at Meijer for some shopping and I was still in my cycling garb.  I felt like a goof, and did get a few weird looks, but nobody said anything.

Sunday Ramble

Tim came by on Sunday for a 45-miler.  We stayed on paved roads, but dove down into the river valley twice, with two climbs to match.  There was also a nice descent into a creek bed on Tunnel Mill Road, followed by a short, steep climb.

The weather was absolutely incredible.  It made it into the low 70s, not bad at all for November.

The rural area north-east of Charlestown has a number of run down buildings.  There are  some pictures below.

Tim wrote about it here.

Yard Work

I had a lot of yard work to do, hopefully for the last time this year.  I got it done over the weekend, but split it among the two days, so that I still had time for other things on both days.

Commuting

I only commuted by bike two days last week.  This week isn’t looking good either.  The first three days of this week I have after-work obligations that require me to have my truck.

I’m not sure what’s going on Thursday yet, but I do intend to ride on Friday, as the RCCS is having another “Beer Run“.  I’ll be riding to work, then riding the short-ish RCCS ride, then riding home way too late. 

Overeating

I’ve eaten way too much this weekend.  I’m currently stuffed from eating too many brownies.  I’ve had pizza twice.  I’ve been drinking beer.  I can’t keep eating like this!

The Pictures!

The only problem with this is my laziness.  I drove to work on Monday and Tuesday.  I did ride yesterday and today, but when I shower in the morning, I’m trying to come up with reasons to not ride the full commute.

My new route has made the commute less stressful and my recent lack of weight loss are both good motivators, but I’m guess I’m a generally lazy person.  Only having one car available could give me another reason to ride my bike.

I still have a long-term goal of selling the house, and moving closer to work, then I could truly never drive again.  In the meantime I need to be less lazy.

We had wanted another mixed-terrain, gravel road, rambling trip through Hoosier National Forest.  I planned the route, printed cue sheets, and prepared my GPS.

Tim and I were joined by Jeff.  Jeff was new to our RCCS rides, but a skilled cyclist, and brought the proper bike for the gravel roads, but probably not the best bike for the route we ended up taking.  None of were prepared.

Either we missed a turn somewhere, or the map was wrong.  Either way, we weren’t exactly sure where we were at.  The GPS was not as useful as I thought it would be.  We did find some great gravel roads.  Traffic was extremely light, and the weather was wonderful.

Once we were back on course (we think we were anyway), we made a left turn that both our cue sheet and the GPS confirmed as the correct route.  The narrow gravel road was rougher than most, but didn’t give away what was lying ahead.

The road dead-ended into a marked trail.  Looking at the GPS, it appeared that we could continue following it to the next part of the route.

The path got rougher, muddier, and eventually were crossing small creeks.  We were mountain biking on bikes meant for pavement.

Remember my last post where I said I’m hard on my bike?  It’s going to take a while to get all the mud out.

We spent hours doing a seven-mile loop in the woods.  The trail just looped back around.  By the time we got back to our parked cars, we had put in a total of 40 miles.  It was a great ride and it kept with the RCCS spirit of an “adventurous” ride.

View Larger Map

To make up for it, I rode the full commute today, even with the sketchy weather forecast.  I’ll get back to the weather….

The Crash

I rode my alternate route again, which I really like.  There was a bit of a headwind most of the way in to work this morning, but I was enjoying the nicer weather and the nicer route.

Near this intersection, traffic was heavy, there was an upcoming right-turn lane, and some very rough pavement.  I was so busy checking traffic to move left and get out of what would become the right-turn lane, that I didn’t notice the rough pavement.

One moment I was looking behind me for traffic.  The next moment I was sliding on my back across the road, watching the car behind me come to a stop.  The driver of the car got out, and asked if I was alright as I pulled myself up.  Noting no real injury, just a couple of scrapes and a sore wrist, I said, “Thanks, I’m fine”.  I picked up my bike and attempted to walk it off the road.

It was then I noticed the handlebars were completely askew.  A closer look revealed my right bar-end was broken, and the bars had also rotated forward.  My handlebar mirror had also cracked, but my helmet mirror was fine.

Luckily the bike had fallen to the right, as the left pannier had my laptop in it.  The laptop was undamaged.

I was able to straighten the bars and continue on to work.

During a break at work I rode down to Bike Couriers to have them look at the bike and install new bar-ends.  The mechanic re-adjusted the bars properly, and installed the bar-ends, and I returned to work.

More Damage

I left work in the afternoon and was headed home.  I didn’t make it far when my left pannier (with the laptop!)  caught in the wheel and destroyed the rear fender.  Although the pannier fell in the road the laptop came away unscathed.

The rear fender had folded back on itself, and I thought it would be salvageable.  I got out my tools and removed the rack.  The mounting hardware was ripped completely off of the fender, so I no longer have a rear fender.

I took a closer look at the pannier that fell off, and the clips that hold it to the rack are bent up badly (probably from the crash in the morning).  I was able to get it to stay securely by moving it to the right side of the bike (the wrong side).

The Weather

I was expecting a cool morning commute with a headwind, and mother nature did not disappoint.  I was dressed properly, and slogged through the headwind.

I expected slightly warmer temperatures and rain for the afternoon commute and a tailwind.  I got the tailwind, but the forecast was wrong on every other count.  It actually exceeded 80 degrees this afternoon.  When I left work it was only overcast.  I was wearing cycling tights and a long-sleeve thermal compression shirt.  It was a bit warm for that.

I would have made it home in record time had it no been for the fender incident.  My bike computer showed 61 minutes of riding time, but clock time was over 90 minutes.  On the 2nd Street Bridge, I was approaching the 35 MPH speed limit on the second half of the bridge.  Cars were still passing me.  During much of my commute home my speed was above 20 MPH.  Having a strong tailwind is like having an electric motor helping you along.

Previous Incidents

This is the third set of fenders I’ve been through on that bike.  I’ve destroyed several wheels.  I replaced the chain and cassette on my recumbent (just wore the darn thing out!).  The gravel ride I did in July went through three tubes, and caused me to replace tires.  I’m doing another gravel ride on Sunday.

I’ve crashed twice before todays incident, not counting the many times when I was a kid.  I crashed on my recumbent earlier this year, which led to me sliding across the road on my butt.  No real injury then either, just a little sore.  There were some minor scuffs on the bike.  I had fallen on gravel during a low-speed turn once on Nermal before, but there was no injury, and no damage.

Today’s incident was the first time I crashed in traffic.  It was surreal to have a view of moving cars from ground level, especially while I was still sliding along the road.  I’m glad I wasn’t hurt, and I’ll be paying closer attention to rough pavement.

Recently, he’s been interviewing other “Invisible Bicyclists”.  He’s trying to call attention to distracted motorists who don’t notice us.  He’s also trying to show that bicycles aren’t just toys, but a valid method of transportation.  He does this while keeping a positive outlook.  I applaud him for that.

I recognized him, and went out of my way to talk to him.  He asked a few questions, and took a few pictures.  Expect to see me on his blog soon.

Today (Tuesday), I only rode a partial commute, as I had tired legs.  I only ran into some light rain.  I will ride at least part of the way everyday this week, as I don’t want to pay for parking.  I’m planning on a partial-commute again tomorrow.

On Sunday, I’m meeting up for an RCCS ride.  Check out that link, and see if you’d be interested in coming to a hilly, gravel ride.

If I can squeeze in a ride on Saturday, then I’ll have ridden for seven days straight.

I rode from home in Charlestown toward Louisville, but I didn’t want to take my normal commute route, so I just headed out without a plan, but with my GPS.  It was a longer, hillier, and more scenic route.

When I got to the Second St. Bridge to cross into Kentucky, the bridge was closed for a charity walk.  There were thousands of people walking on the bridge.  There were no alternate routes, so I walked my bike with them across the bridge.

When I arrived at the race, the women were racing.

After a while the “Elite Men” class began the race.

A ‘cross race is all about mud.

After watching the last race, Tim and headed out for a ride, then parted ways downtown.  I enjoyed the urban portion of my ride also.

I headed back into Indiana where I had a quick (and greasy) meal, and meandered back north toward home.

I took a different route home, but still stayed on roads that were considered rural not long ago, but have since had many subdivisions spring up, which adds to the traffic.  It was dark as I neared Charlestown, but my lights work well.

I got home with another 53 miles under my belt.  I also think I have a new route for my commute.  It adds a few miles and some hills, but should be much more pleasant.  We’ll see what traffic is like on on Monday morning as compared to a Sunday evening.

The week starting on the 12th was a little crazier.  I still managed to ride to work and back 3 days.

Why could this affect my riding?

• I spend an extra 1.5 hours per day commuting when I ride
• I have less physical energy
• I have less mental energy after an extended amount of bicycle commuting
• I need more sleep when I ride a lot
• My weekends have been busy with personal errands and tasks (such as moving Kristy’s stuff into the house)

This past week, I had enough, and I was exhausted.  I still rode on Tuesday, but that was it.  I paid $8.75 per day to park for 4 days, and drove my truck.

I’ve been so busy, I’ve been running and doing something from the moment I wake up, until I get to sleep at night.  Some of it is work, some of it is moving Kristy’s stuff, some of it is normal domestic crap.  Oh, yeah, Kristy is out of town, so she’s not here to help.  I’m not blaming her, she wishes she could be here.  I also have my younger teenage daughter living here and increasing the stress level.

On Monday I applied a software update that has led to a work-week-long pain in the @ss.  This coincided with two other screw-ups (one of which is partially my fault).

On top of this, I had to come up with a fat chunk of money for a lawyer.  I’ve got some legal issues to deal with.  It’s just a “family law” matter, nobody is in trouble or anything. 

So, it’s late on a Friday night.  I can’t mentally let go of the issues at work, so I can’t sleep.  I can’t fix the issues at work until at least Monday.  I have to get up early tomorrow to finish up at Kristy’s old apartment.

On the bright side, I will be done at the apartment tomorrow.  I’m going to try for a bike ride on Sunday.  I think I’m going to get back on the bike for full-time commuting again on Monday.

I don’t know who said it, but the phrase “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans” applies perfectly.

Wish me luck!

I rode to work 4 days last week (3.5 commutes due to getting a ride home one day).  I did three full commutes this week, but won’t be riding tomorrow as I need my truck for some errands.  I did ride with Tim on Saturday for the Fuck Gas 40oz Fun Run.  Tim wrote about it here.

I’m not gaining weight anymore, but I’m not really losing either.  I’m still eating too much on average.

Biking and moving things are my only exercises recently.  I still need more upper-body exercise, but at least my shoulder isn’t bothering me much now.

I have an extremely busy weekend planned, but I still want to get a few miles in.  I’m hoping to squeeze in an evening ride with Tim on Saturday.  It may even be this crazy bunch.  On Sunday I’m planning on attending the Harvest Homecoming ride.  My daughter may, or may not, come with for this ride.

I feel pretty good about the last five days.  I’ve been riding more, sleeping well, and (mostly) eating better.  My weight is slowly heading in the right direction.  I’ve been more productive in spite of the chaos surrounding my life right now.

I had really intended to be at my goal weight by now, but I’m almost 34 lbs away from it.

My foot pain is gone.  My shoulder is mostly just a minor nuisance.  I can and will keep riding, and lose the weight.

I haven’t been posting weekly and monthly updates, because they were bad news.  I haven’t been posting as much in general for a variety of reasons.

I have felt better this week than I have in a while.  I’ve been terribly busy, but I’m squeezing in time to ride my bike to work and back.  It’s a huge stress-reliever, and the key to my weight loss.

I need to go back and re-think my goals soon.  My target weight isn’t changing, but many other things will.

It was feeling better on Saturday, so my daughter and I went on an 11-mile, slow-paced ride.  I was very careful on how I used that foot, and all was well.

I did a lot of yard work on Sunday, again being careful on my foot.

I woke up this morning with no foot pain.  I rode Nermal into work at a brisk pace, and probably overdid it a little.  I’m having some minor discomfort.  I’ll be sure to be more careful on the way home.

I was going to ride to work this morning, but I woke up to some horrible pain in my right foot.  The foot is swollen and won’t support my weight.  I have an appointment with the doctor later today.

I don’t know if it’s an injury, but I wasn’t having any problems with it on the the ride last weekend.  Kristy suggested a spider bite, but I don’t see anything on the skin anywhere.  I’m almost thinking it’s a broken bone, but I have no idea how that could have happened.

I don’t know if I’ll be on the bike this week, next week, or even further out.  I should know more this afternoon.

I’d like to thank everyone who donated to this cause.  I’m glad I could do my part in the fight against cancer.

The ride itself was a wonderful experience.  It was better organized that I thought it would be.  It was well supported.  They had the right foods, and the stops were spaced well.

I had been riding less in recent months, and almost sold my recumbent bike recently after thinking I couldn’t do hills on it any more.  I was a bit worried about my ability to finish this ride.

Self Confidence Renewed

I rode the entire course.  I never walked a hill.  I was far from fast.  I rode 82 miles on Saturday in 7 hours and 40 minutes.  The fastest riders arrived in about 4 hours.  The climb out of Frankfort was pretty brutal.

On Sunday, I took a slower pace, as I still hadn’t fully recovered.  I also met up with Mark, another recumbent rider on his Rans V-Rex.  Mark and I seemed to be riding the only recumbents in the ride.  We rode together for the full 75 miles on Sunday.  We finished in about 8 hours.

Next Year?

I don’t know if I’ll ride again next year.  The fundraising is hard and I usually feel uncomfortable asking for money.  My daughter is expressing interest in riding with me next year.  I think that’s great, but would mean raising $5000 for the two of us.  I think I’m going to gauge “pledges” this time before signing up.

Overnight in Lexington

We were provided tents, but in my rush to get ready at the last minute I forgot to bring a sleeping bag, towel, or flashlight.

I took a shower on Saturday evening and used an extra shirt as a towel.  I managed to get a crew member to drive and buy a sleeping bag for me (which I paid for).  I fumbled around in the dark to get ready on Sunday morning.

It rained overnight, and the tent leaked a little, but the weather during the ride was pretty good on both days.

All things considered, I slept reasonably well, and enjoyed the experience at camp.

I’d like to extend a big thank you to those who donated to this worthy cause, and to Bluegrass Bicycle for getting my recumbent bike ready in time.

This ride will be a bit more of a challenge than I originally bargained for.  I’ve slacked off on my riding, and I’m not quite in the shape that I was a few months ago.

I’ll post again after the ride with some pictures.

The ride is this weekend.  I’m behind on the fund raising.  My goal is $3200, but the minimum is $2500.  I have raised just over $1700 so far, so I really need some more donations in the next few days.

If you can donate something, please do!  This is a great cause that will help cancer patients in the community.

Chances are, cancer has affected someone you care about.  That certainly is the case with me.  Please donate now.

The deadline for mailed-in donations has already passed.  Please donate online, or see me personally for donations in cash or check.

We’ve still got of stuff to move from her old apartment, but we’re getting to it.  Although we’re probably still going out to eat too often, we are splitting meals now which is better for the wallet and the gut.

I’ve worked three days this week.  On Wednesday I drove to work.  Thursday and Friday (today) I rode the bike into work, but Kristy picks me up after work.  That seems to work out well.

I’ve been riding Nermal.  Oria needs some work on the wheels, and should probably have the bearings cleaned and regreased after the sand and saltwater spray in Florida.

I am disappointed with my weight.  I’ve been above 210 lbs all of this month, and part of last.  I had been down below 198 as recently as July.

Kristy is supportive of my weight loss and bike riding.  She kicked me out of bed this morning so that I had time to ride.  I love her for that. 

The payoff was supposed to be the beach at the end of the ride.  Kristy drove there and met me.  We were at the beach for only a few minutes when the bugs got bad, so we left in the truck with the bike in the back.

I did notice that my lack of riding recently has affected my fitness level.  The flat 40-miler kicked my butt.  I need to ride more often.

I’m home, and was back at work today.  I drove, but I’ll be on the bike tomorrow.

There wasn't any swimming on Sunday, so the currents didn't matter

Patrick Air Force Base

Most of Florida is quite flat

Space!

Beautiful bug-infested beach

I've gained weight

I’m going to have to try to continue to eat that way for the next week and a half.  I’m leaving for Florida with her, and we’re getting married on the 12th in Cocoa Beach.

I am bringing  bikes with me (Oria for me, Nermal for my mother, and Kristy’s bike).  I’ll attempt to get some riding in.

I did ride to work and back on Monday.  I rode a partial commute on Thursday.  That’s not nearly enough miles, but life has been crazy.

My commute is mostly flat and can be high-stress due to traffic.  So tonight, I went for a nine-mile spin in the country after dark.  My lights lit up the cats, skunks, bats, and even a frog along the road.  The night insect noises and the whir of my tires were the only noises.  There were a few hills to challenge my legs a bit more than usual.

There was some distant lightning that was my cue to keep the ride short.  I really wasn’t in the mood to get stuck in a thunderstorm.  I’m now home, and the lightning is still distant, so I could have probably squeezed a few more miles in, but I’m happy with the ride I had.

Although short, this was the best ride I’ve had in a while.  It does wonders for clearing the mind.

Several people rode it around, only one crash, and no injuries.    I think several people just found out today that I ride my bike to work.

Most people have a really positive opinion when they see a recumbent.  Nobody thought it was silly.  We even have one “go-fast roadie” type who was impressed with the bike.

I have a lot of crazy stuff going on in my life right now, most  of it is positive, but it’s taking up my time.  I’m not losing weight right now, but just trying not to gain.

The ride this morning was on Oria, the recumbent.  It was a good ride with a mild headwind.  Traffic was polite, if a bit heavy.  I couldn’t have asked for better weather.  Mostly clear and the temperature about 70F.

Riding to work helps my mental state.  I really needed this ride. 

I’m going to hop on my bike tomorrow morning and ride to work.  I’m going to quit drinking Coke (again).  I’m going to eat out less. I have Nermal’s rear wheel fixed, and will re-install it tomorrow.

I’m spending some time with Kristy on Friday and Saturday.  I’ll also be school shopping for my daughter.  I’m hoping to get a good ride in on Sunday.

I’ve had some depression issues recently.  I’m not sure how much of it is due to work, and how much is due to not riding my bike and gaining weight.  The solution is to ride my bike… which is harder when I’m depressed.  I’ve got to break out of the cycle.

I’ve decided not to sell it. Kristy was shocked when I told her, then I noticed a broken spoke on Nermal.  I’m going to re-think the whole one-bike idea.

This will shock many of you who know me, but I’m selling Oria, my Bacchetta Agio recumbent bike.  I’ve decided that I really only need one bike, and Nermal, my upright bike, is more versatile.

What makes this bike great?

• Extremely comfortable – no sore butt, back, or wrists
• Easy to learn to ride compared to many other recumbents
• Disc brakes work well, even in the rain
• Fairly lightweight – 32 lbs stock (a bit more as configured now)

This bike was bought new from Schellers in Clarksville in July 2008, and has approximately 2600 miles on it.  It has been well taken care of, and has a number of upgrades.

• Schwalbe Marathon tires
• Fenders
• Rear rack
• Cateye Velo 8 computer
• Topeak Road Morph pump
• Two seat-mounted water bottle cages
• Choice of original flat pedals, BMX style pedals, or dual-sided SPD clipless pedals

This bike would be great for touring, commuting, or just riding for fun.  I’m asking $1200.  Contact me with questions, or for a test ride.  I only deal locally.  Cash only.

Why am I selling?

There are a number of reasons I’m selling this bike.  I have re-prioritized my life, and although I plan to ride as much as possible, I really only need one bike.  I also need the money.

I rode the Tour de Cure back in May on this bike.  It was a hillier ride than I expected, and I’ve struggled with hills on this bike ever since.  I think it’s mostly psychological, but my attempts at overcoming this have failed.  The last long ride I took on the bike was initially planned to be 120 miles, but I wimped out at about 90 miles.

I also test rode a Surly LHT during my West Virginia trip.  I’m sold.  I want one.  Selling this bike will not allow me to buy the LHT, as I have other needs for the money.  I can, however, plan on replacing Nermal in the future with one bike that can do it all.  The LHT is that bike.

I’m back to weighing myself every day and tracking my eating. I’ve been bad about doing that recently.

The route I rode is here.  I used to live in Niles, and know those roads, but after nine years, and never riding a bike on most of them, it was definitely a bit of an adventure.

The riding was wonderful.  The hours spent driving the truck… not so much.

Michigan has many dirt roads - Tim would like this

Most of the area is fairly flat

Scenic stop along the St. Joseph River

Not much of a hill

I took two vacation days from work, and had a four-day weekend and went to Parkersburg, West Virginia with Kristy and Dawn.  It had been 32 years since I was last in West Virginia, so I had little memory of it.

Parkersburg is an interesting town.  It has it’s issues, but I found one charming aspect.  People ride bikes there.  There are kids on BMX bikes all over town.  Adults were riding mountain bikes (most with disc brakes).  Nobody wore a helmet.  It was like the 80s all over again. 

Kristy didn’t have a bike, so we brought both of mine with, plus Dawn’s.  We hauled three bikes there, and four back.  Kristy doesn’t like riding either of my bikes, so we bought one for her.  Her new bike is a Cannondale Adventure 5.  I also test rode a Surly LHT, and it even fit.  I don’t have the budget for that bike.  It’s been on my wish list for some time, and the reservations I’ve had about getting one are now settled.  I want it.  I just can’t have it now.

I didn’t get to ride nearly enough while I was there.  I did ride between the hotel room and her family’s house (about 2.5 miles) several times.  The three of us also went on a short ride around town.

I had to go back to work on Monday, and wasn’t able to ride because I didn’t get much sleep, and had to pick up my dogs from the vet where they were boarded.  I felt a strong need to ride.  My mental health was requiring it.

So, on Tuesday, I rode to work.  There was a chance of rain, but it only rained while I was at work.  The ride home was lovely also.

Today, Wednesday, was the opposite.  I got drenched in the morning, and in the afternoon, but it didn’t rain while I was at work.

I enjoyed riding in the rain.  Only the first few minutes of getting wet is uncomfortable.  Once you get totally wet, it doesn’t really matter anymore.  I’m riding again tomorrow, no matter what the weather.  I probably won’t ride on Friday, as Kristy will be here.

Back to my weight… I’m sure I’ve gained.  I don’t know how much.  I’m actually pretty happy with the way I feel this week.  I feel like I’ve developed the right mindset to ride much more often.  If I can keep riding, I will lose the weight.  Yes, I should get back on the scale.  Yes, I should eat better.  Yes I need to lay off the beer.

Maybe tomorrow. 

The ride to Louisville started at 4:00 a.m. and was very peaceful. There is so little traffic anywhere at that time on a Saturday morning. Riding down Bardstown Rd. at about 5:30 was a completely different experience than it would be a few hours later.

I arrived at the ride start and met up with Leslie (from the last ride), Glen, and Tim. It was still dark and rather cool at 6:00 a.m. when we headed out. I was still feeling strong at this point even though I had put 20 miles in getting there.

I was riding Oria, my recumbent, and had an issue with the chain coming off and getting wedged between the small chain ring and the frame. I had to remove the chain ring to “unstick” it, then put the chain ring back on. This took up some of our time.

Along the route there was a road about a road closure, but we were on bikes, certainly it would be passable. It wasn’t, not even on foot. So we turned around and took an alternate route.

There was some climbing involved and I had packed a bit too much on my bike, the extra weight was hurting me on the climbs. As the ride went on, I was getting slower.

At some point it was decided to cut the ride a bit short. It turned out to be closer to 68 miles than 80. That was fine. It put me over 88 for the day, and I still had another 20 miles to get home. I was worrying about the ride home. I was considering riding to work and sleeping in my office first.

Tim offered to take me home, and I gratefully accepted. So my total mileage for the ride was 88.5, which is a new record for me. Next time I try to break 100 miles I’ll carry less weight on my bike.

A couple of horses in a small field

A couple of horses in a small field

Looking eastward from Mt. Elmira Rd.

More info here.

I’ll be on my recumbent packing snacks and drinks.

I haven’t eaten well today, but I haven’t eaten much either.  That coupled with not riding my bike has me feeling lazy.

On the positive side, I have some better tires ordered for Nermal and I’ve got my new hand-built front wheel to match the one in the rear.  I should be able to put it all together this weekend.

I’m also going on an early morning ride with Tim on Saturday, possibly 80 miles.

She tagged along for Sunday’s RCCS ride driving my truck as a “support vehicle”.  Mainly, she carried snacks and took pictures.  Tim’s write-up is here.

I didn’t post a weekly weight update, but basically I gained 0.1 lbs.  I haven’t weighed regularly and I’ve been eating more.  My next weekly weight will probably be up more.

I haven’t ridden a bike since Sunday, but I will be riding tomorrow.  I felt angry and depressed today, but I think it was the lack of bike riding, or exercise in general.  I felt much better today after my weight-lifting session.

I’m considering riding a century (100 miles) this Saturday.  I need the stress relief.  If I do it, it’ll be my longest ride yet.

If anyone else out there is interested in riding 100 miles starting early Saturday, and riding at a slow-ish pace, let me know.  I could organize a last minute RCCS ride.

I have tomorrow off, and I’m picking Kristy up at the airport.  She’s been away for three months, and it’ll be great to see her again… and that is a major understatement.

We’ll be spending the weekend together, even on Sunday when I’m going on the RCCS ride.  She’s not riding, but she’ll be driving as a “support” vehicle.

I did do housework, cooking, and bike maintenance, so it wasn’t a total waste.

Despite a case of the “blahs” that made me want to consume large quantities of food, I actually ate pretty well.  I did have to keep reminding myself that I want to lose weight though.

Kristy will be back in town on Friday.  I’m taking that day off, so I have a four-day work-week.  I’m going to ride to work every day and try to keep my progress going.

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.

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 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’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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

I didn’t ride, do housework, yardwork, and anything else useful.  To make matters worse, I’ve been eating like crazy today.

I don’t think I’ll be taking any more of those pills.

I rode the full way to work on Thursday, and had to ride to my strength-training session after work.  I was on Oria, my recumbent, and the trainer there thought it was quite cool.  The ride home was difficult after the workout though.

I didn’t ride Friday due to oversleeping.  I intend to go for a ride tomorrow, even if it rains.

Today, Wednesday, I rode the full way to work on Nermal, had a lunch ride with two co-workers, then rode the Ride of Silence through downtown Louisville before heading home.  I rode 49 miles today, and didn’t get home until almost 10:00 p.m.

I’m not really lined up to break my weekly mileage record again unless I do a lot more riding this weekend.

I’ve been eating better the last two days and I’m actually “feeling thinner” again.  I’ve been through that before, and it usually happened at the beginning of another drop in weight.

I’ve had twice-weekly strength-training sessions for my upper body.  The idea is if I strengthen the muscles around my shoulder, it will help protected my poor arthritic shoulder joint.  So far I have some reduction in pain… until I move wrong, then the pain is back.  I haven’t seen any improvement in range-of-motion yet.

I did the miles in four days.  The other three days I did no riding.

• Monday: Commuting – 33 miles
• Friday: Commuting and ride to Seneca Park – 47 miles
• Saturday: Tour de Cure – 60 miles
• Sunday: Ride with Tim, and my first LBC ride – total of 46 miles

Tim wants more miles, and knows I want more miles, so he arranged the beautiful ride from Iroquois Park to southwest of Louisville.  Once we got off the main roads, the ride was quite nice, if a bit hillier than I bargained for.

After some food and a short rest, I met up with Louisville Bicycle Club “ice cream ride” in Jeffersonville.  The ride goes up to Utica and back, then we have ice cream.  What could be better?

The LBC ride was notable for having four ‘bents (including Tom), so I was in good company.

I finished the ride despite not having the use of my smallest chainring.  Apparently I had lost all of the bolts for the chainring, and the chainring came loose.  This was on Oria, my ‘bent.  She’s fixed now, but I had to finish the hilly ride without my lowest gears.

At the beginning of the ride, there were many riders bunched up.  Only some people were riding the 60-mile course.  Others were riding the 40 and 20-mile courses.  My bike problems started 15 miles into the ride, and I considered dropping out.  However, I’m a stubborn old fool, and I rode on.

By the time I made the halfway point, I rarely saw another cyclist.  I was far behind everyone else.  I walked some hills.  I’m grateful to the volunteers at the SAG stops and the roaming SAG vans.

I’ve joked about being banana-powered, and I really was today.  The SAG stops were well stocked with bananas and gatorade.

The weather was mixed for the ride.  The initial ride start time was bumped 30 minutes to wait for the thunderstorm to pass.  There was light rain, then just clouds.  When I neared the halfway point, it started raining again.  A few miles later and it was sunny.  I managed to get a mild sunburn.

When I arrived back at the start location, I was welcomed back.  I thought I was the last person to return (they really track *every* rider).  I was wrong.  There were still two people on the way who had mechanical issues also.

I had brought my camera, but I only took two pictures, neither is worth posting.

I stopped by the bike shop on the way home to get Oria fixed.  She is, and ready to ride again.

I went to Charlestown Pizza Company and treated myself to a meal and beer.  That’s a nice finish to the day.

I’m hoping for a slow and easy “recovery ride” tomorrow.

The city of Louisville was hosting the Bike to Work Day today.  I rode from my house in Charlestown to Seneca Park, then on to Fourth Street Live, and eventually to work.  During my lunch break I rode back down to Fourth Street Live for the festivities, and the disappointment of not winning anything in the drawings. 

After work I headed straight home, as the return to Seneca would have been a bit pointless.  The festivities are already over.

To make it Seneca early enough, I left my house a 5:00 a.m.  That meant getting out of bed at 3:30.  I don’t want to do that again anytime soon.

The early part of the ride was incredibly nice.  There isn’t much traffic at 5:00, and the ride was peaceful and quiet, but dark.

After getting to Louisville I took Frankfort Avenue out to Stilz Avenue, and wound my way down to Seneca Park.

WAVE3 and WLKY both had news crews there.  WLKY interviewed me, and I’m quoted in the story, and make a brief appearance on the video.  WLKY was also taking video from a helicopter.  You can see me in the aerial footage also, because I stick out well on my ‘bent.

There was a photographer there who may have been with the Courier-Journal.

The weather through the day was perfect.  The forecasts had been calling for a chance of rain, but all morning and early afternoon was beautiful.

On the way home, still about five miles out, the skies opened up.  I rode the last five miles in a downpour.  This was my first “warm rain” of the season.  It was actually rather pleasant.  Some guy in a truck honked and made the “crazy gesture” at me.  I found that amusing and well worth getting wet.

I ended up with about 47 miles for the day.  Not bad for just a commuting day.

Tomorrow will be 62 miles for the Tour de Cure.  However, I am driving to that event.

It’s now 8:15 a.m. on Monday morning, and I’ve ridden more miles in the last two hours than all of last week.  I rode my recumbent the full way to work.

I haven’t been completely lazy.  I’ve been doing yardwork.  I went and bought a used weight bench, and did a brief workout with it.  I’ve been cooking more.  I’m starting to get a handle on the out-of-control housework again.  I went grocery shopping yesterday… but I drove.

This week should be interesting.  I’m off to a good start.  I want to ride to work everyday.  I’m riding to Louisville’s Bike to Work Day event on Friday.  I’m riding on the Tour de Cure on Saturday.

Maybe this week can get me out of my rut.

I convinced him to meet me a short distance from work, and we would ride about a 3.5 mile round-trip for our first bicycle commute.  The route would take him across the Second Street Bridge, and down Main Street.

He rode Nermal, I rode Oria.  It was a beautiful day, and there were plenty of other bicyclists out.  There were no major incidents with traffic, but he got a taste of what it’s like.  I think he is less intimidated by the bridge now.  I’ll talk to him about doing this more, from a little further out.  I think he could handle the 7-mile round-trip parking location without an issue.

Tim was on his Bleriot, and I rode Nermal.  Some of the uphills were excruciating, but well worth the rush going down the other side.  I managed to overheat my rims a bit coming down a hill.  I smelled something, and it turned out to be the brakes on the car ahead of us.  I touched my front rim, and it was hot to the touch.

Tim wrote about this ride much better than I can, so go check out his post.

I’m attaching a few of my pictures from the ride, and I stole a couple of Tim’s also.

Tour de Cure – Please donate here.

I’m riding the Tour de Cure for diabetes research.  Diabetes runs in my family, and I know many people affected by it.  The ride is this month, so I have little time to raise more money. I’m riding the 62-mile route.

The Ride to Conquer Cancer – Please donate here.

Cancer affects everybody.  It’s a horrible disease that takes those were care about away.  I lost a good friend to cancer a few years ago.

This ride is a 150-mile two-day trip in September that goes from Louisville to Lexington and back.  I need a larger amount of money for this ride, so I would be extremely grateful if you could donate something.

Thank you.

My average monthly weight was 206.6 lbs, or a gain of 2.0 lbs from March.  I had been gaining in late March and early April.  I’m fairly confident that May will show some more loss.  I haven’t weighed under 200 lbs yet, but I’ve been very close, and it’s a bit frustrating.

Mileage

My bike miles are still low, and I still drive too much.  I don’t think it’s going to be possible to hit my 5000 bike miles for the year.  April’s car miles are lower only because I went two weeks without a car.

Health

My blood pressure is excellent, my cholesterol is good.  I’ve been seeing a doctor for some severe shoulder pain.  I still don’t know what’s causing it, but I have an MRI scheduled for tomorrow.  Maybe that will clear things up.  Some of the medication I have been taking has drained my energy, and made it difficult to ride to work recently.

Personal

As I blogged about before, I’m engaged to Kristy, and will be getting married this September.

I haven’t ridden to work since buying my truck, but I have taken some evening rides.  I’m also trying to get  a co-worker interested in riding.  He’s going to bring his bike over this weekend for adjusting, and we hope to meet up on Tuesday for a partial commute into work.

I had hoped to ride to work today, but woke up late, and really sore, so I’m driving.

I had three dogs give chase, but I could actually see them this time.  They appeared friendly, and I’m glad, as they cut in front of me, forcing me to brake.

The weather forecast has been calling for rain and possible thunderstorms, but it was simply cloudy during most of the ride.  Some light rain started shortly after I got home.

I needed to drive to work due to running some errands before work, so I couldn’t ride, but I am enjoying my new truck.

After work I had some housework to do, and I cooked a steak on the grill.  I sat on my front porch with the dogs and ate dinner.  After washing the dishes and messing around on the computer, I decided to go for a bike ride.

I didn’t leave on the bike until after 10:00 p.m.  The wind had calmed significantly, but the clouds were rolling in.  It is supposed to rain later tonight.

The night air was full of the sounds and smells of the countryside at night.  I startled a possum eating something on the side of the road.  I had to outrun two dogs.  I saw two cars during the whole ride, once getting out of town.

My 600 lumens worth of headlight did a decent job of showing the road, unless I was traveling more than 25 MPH.  600 lumens is a lot for a bicycle, but nothing compared to a pair of car headlights.

I was riding Nermal, so I wasn’t expecting to be all that fast, but I averaged 14.4 MPH on my 11 mile loop.  Not to shabby for a quick jaunt in the hilly countryside.

I rode Nermal (poor Oria is feeling ignored), and he performed well.  Since we weren’t on brick back-alleys this time, nothing rattled loose.  We did go off-road for a stint since it was just two of us on fat-tired bikes.  That part of the ride was a narrow, smooth path through the woods.  There were a few places where we had to get off, and carry the bikes over downed trees.

The weather was beautiful.  There were many people out: on road bikes, mountain bikes, hybrid bikes, rollerblades, joggers, strollers, and dogs.

Tim mentions that I seemed stronger.  I don’t feel stronger than I did a few weeks ago, but I have put a lot of miles on the bike recently, so maybe I am.  Our average pace was only 12.8 MPH, but we weren’t trying to go fast.

Today was my birthday, and all things considered, it was a good one.

Down from last week:
2.8 lbs

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

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

Weight until goal:
30.1 lbs

My weight is going the right direction again.  I’m trying to eat well when I ride, and eat much less when I don’t.  If I don’t restrict my calories when I don’t ride, I’m worried that my weight will go back up, now that I have a vehicle again, and the ability to not ride.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Kristy won’t be moving in until at least July.  That gives me more time to focus on the weight loss.  It would be nice to be under 190 lbs by then.

I’ve had some shoulder issues that I’m now seeing a doctor for.  They don’t directly affect the cycling, but the pain does keep me up at night, which makes riding a lot harder the next day.  Also, some of my medication makes me sleepy, further compounding the problem.  It’s weird, it seems my body started falling apart the moment I decided to take care of it.

Today is also the one-year anniversary of me buying Nermal, my first real bike.  Strangely enough, I probably won’t ride him today, except for a quick grocery trip.  I have a lot to do this weekend that can’t be done on the bike.  One year ago, I weighed about 265 lbs.  Today I weigh 204.

I bought a used 2008 Nissan Frontier.  I’m back in the world of car payments and full-coverage insurance.

I really like the truck, and I’ll be able to haul my bikes, dogs, or whatever else I need to.

I’ll still be riding the bike to work a few days a week.  I don’t want to start gaining the weight back again.

What I can say, is that I asked her to be my wife, my bride, the woman I spend the rest of my life with.  That wonderful woman said “yes”!

Both of us have some craziness in our lives right now, so we haven’t nailed down a date.

It’ll be interesting to mesh our lives together, and challenging to continue losing weight, as she’s a great cook!

I’ve been walking on air for a few days because of this.  I really feel good.  I’m trying to channel this “excited energy” into riding my bike… as that’s still my only form of transportation.

Which, by the way, I had an appointment with my doctor after work today.  I had to ride there in the rain.  I arrived wet on the outside due to rain, and wet on the inside due to exertion.  It certainly wasn’t  my favorite visit to the doctor.

• The sun warming my face
• The goofy grin that comes with simple pleasure
• A strong tailwind for much of the ride, pushing me faster toward home
• The smooth sound of tires running over wet pavement
• The fierce headwind and smattering of rain as I neared home
• A short break to consume the contents of a water bottle
• Ominous storm clouds in the distance
• Birds riding the air currents near the edges of the storm
• A full rainbow from horizon to horizon as I finish my ride

As I continued on my commute the light rain picked up to a steady rain, but not quite a downpour.  I rode the entire way, and arrived at work very wet.

My cycling tights, compression shirt, light jacket, and wool socks did a fine job of keeping me comfortable.

I found out today that there are laundry facilities here at work, so I’m using a dryer so I don’t have to put wet clothes back on for the ride home.

In additon to the challenging terrain it rained for the entire ride.  The puddles would hide deep holes and debris.  Let’s just say that I was glad I have health insurance.

Our group was seven people.  We managed four flats on the ride, one of them mine.  I had a small piece of glass in my tire.  We had multiple little problems with things rattling loose from the bikes going over the bricks.  We had a crash but no injury save for a scraped up hand.

The grit that gets splashed on the bike on rainy days is hard on the brakes.  The brakes were getting used a lot on this ride, so I wore a significant portion of my brake pads off.  I didn’t take the time to readjust the brakes, so I spent the last part of the ride with brakes that slowed me down about as much as a weak headwind.

Now I’m home, dried out and warmed up. I’ve adjusted my brakes and cleaned the bike.  I need to tighten everything that could have been knocked loose.

I’m drained, but I feel good.  I will sleep well tonight.

I wimped out on Thursday, and called a co-worker for a ride.  That co-worker was not able to give me a ride home, and I didn’t have my bike with me.  I borrowed a car overnight to get home.  I drove the car back to work on Friday, with my bike on the back.

Friday afternoon was beautiful.  The temperatures were in the 70s and the skies were sunny and clear.  I had forgotten to bring my helmet, and I rode home in jeans and a t-shirt.

The Second Street Bridge was closed, but I had a positive experience with the shuttle service to get me across the river, as did Tom.

Normally Fridays are bad for rude drivers.  Not this one.  It wasn’t until after I got home that I realized it might be because I was wearing my Ride to Conquer Cancer t-shirt.

I found myself smiling most of the way home.  It was the best commuting ride I’ve had in many months.  Earlier in the week I was dreading the ride.  I considered going into debt to buy a car, just so I could get one now.  I held out, and feel better about it all, and will be riding again next week.

Today, I’m mostly sticking around the house to do yard work.  I may make a grocery run on the bike.  Tomorrow I have an RCCS ride, but I’ve arranged a ride to get there.

I took it slower today, and used the bus for both legs of the commute.  It still meant riding 21 miles.

I normally commute with three bags on my bike, but I’ve eliminated all but one for the bus.  It’s easier to just have one bag to take off before loading the bike on the front of the bus.  I can carry a change of clothes, laptop, tools, spare tubes, lunch, wallet, keys, cellphone, and such.  What I don’t have a lot of room for is spare clothes or a grease rag.  I’ll have to look into more options.  I loathe backpacks, so that’s not an option.

I haven’t ridden my recumbent in a while.  I love my recumbent, but I prefer Nermal for commuting… and the ‘bent won’t fit on the bus rack.

My commute today was interesting.  I rode 10.5 miles on the way to work, and caught the bus for some of the trip.  I hadn’t used the bike racks on the buses before today.

On the way home, I felt good, and rode the whole way.  I did get rained on, but I was dressed well enough for it.

I also ran two errands on the bike today.  During my lunch hour, I rode to a downtown bike shop to get a spare tube.  After getting home from work, I did some grocery shopping.  Fewer people here in Charlestown look at me funny.  They must be getting used to seeing me hauling groceries on the bike.

I am a bit nervous about not having a car.  I do intend to buy another car at some point, but not yet.  I’m using what little money I have to pay my taxes.  I didn’t know I was going to owe money until today.  Selling the car became necessary to pay my taxes on time.

The timing (no pun intended) of this was actually pretty good.  Had it happened earlier in the morning, it could have meant Kristy missing her flight (I drove her to the airport).  If it waited until this Sunday, I could have been stranded somewhere between here and Michigan.

Although I’m looking around for a cheap replacement car, this could be a great opportunity to ride more.

I normally drive to get dog food and cat litter because I get large quantities from 12 miles away.  Today, I had to get a smaller bag of dog food of a different brand, so that I could get it here in town, and so I could haul it on my bike.  20 lbs of dog food and 14 lbs of cat litter definitely affected the handling of the bike, but I made it home safe.

Nermal’s new back wheel is working flawlessly.  I really like the slightly higher gearing the 12-28 cassette has.

By lunchtime the temperature had hit about 60.  I took about  a 3.5 mile ride down to On Your Left Cycles.  I didn’t buy anything, I just wanted to check out another bike shop.

They did have a KHS Urban-Xpress.  I was checking the bike out for Kristy, as she probably needs an upright riding position.  She hasn’t commited to the idea of a recumbent yet.  The bike there wasn’t the right size, but they should have more soon.

I still have to ride my bike back to my car after work, but it’s a beautiful day.  Let’s hope the drivers are polite.

While driving home from work the storm clouds were blowing in.  The rain just missed me.  I was home for all of about ten minutes before the wind and rain teamed up to give horizontal rain.

The rain was intense, but short-lived.  After it stopped, I hopped on the bike, and rode to the grocery store.  Several minutes after getting home with the groceries, the rain started again, but more of a slow drizzle than a downpour.

It was fun to squeeze all of my travel between rain showers.

I’m attending a wedding after work tomorrow, but I’m still considering a partial-commute on Nermal.  I’m a bit leery of doing it, as I haven’t got around to buying a another tube to replace my spare.  Maybe I’ll patch my old one.

About 2.5 miles into my commute, I had a flat rear tire.  No big deal, I have a spare tube, pump, and tire levers.

Bicycle tubes come with a variety of valve types.  The two most common are Presta and Schrader.  Schrader is what most cars have.  Nermal used to have Schrader valves.

My new wheel was set up for Presta.  My recumbent has Presta also, and I was looking forward to not having two different kinds of valves to worry about.  Nermal’s front wheel is still Schrader, but I carry both tubes, so it shouldn’t be an issue.

My pump is convertible between Presta and Schrader, but changing it requires taking it apart, and flipping two different parts around.

It took me entirely too long to change the tube, even longer to convert the pump, and my pannier that holds my laptop and change of clothes lost some mounting hardware.

So, I rode back home, changed clothes, and drove to work so that I could make it on time, and with my laptop intact.

I still managed a five-mile ride for the morning.  Maybe I’ll squeeze in another ride tonight.

My progress is horrible.  I should be riding at least 417 miles per month to get to my goal.  Not only that, but my mileage for March was the lowest of the year, even with the better weather.

I now need about 475 miles per month for the rest of the year to get me to my goal.  I should aim for 500, just to make sure I make the goal.

The big spike in car miles is due to driving to work more often, and driving to visit Kristy.

My mental state is greatly improved from being back on the bike.  Starting off the workday with a bike ride is a huge boost to my mood and attitude at work.

I was highly motivated to get home quickly after work, so I could drive to go visit Kristy, my girlfriend.  I have to drive to see Kristy, as she lives about 90 miles from my house.  I may eventually ride there, but I’ll need a few days off work to do that.

I did drive to work today, but I’ll be back on the bike tomorrow.

My weight is  still up, but I’m back to eating healthy, and plan to put some serious miles on the bikes, so I should be back to losing weight very soon.

I probably don’t need to get involved in another charity ride, but this one seems painless.  Also, the River City Cycling Society has a team for this ride, so I joined.

Diabetes runs in my family, and I was at high-risk for it before my lifestyle change, so I personally feel the need for this.

If I can raise at least $300, I’ll ride my upright bike (Nermal) instead of the recumbent.  Please give if you can.  Thanks!

The wheel was also a 7-speed freewheel design, which isn’t noted for it’s durability.  A cassette design is much better, but 7-speed cassette hubs are pretty much obsolete.  For more about freewheel vs cassette hubs, see here.

I found a set (front and rear) of hubs with 7-speed cassette on eBay a while back.  They are Shimano Deore XT hubs, with a Shimano 7-speed Hyperglide Cassette.  Yep, this stuff is obsolete, but it will work on my bike without changing out the rest of the drivetrain.

I had Tom build a new rear wheel with that hub, a Velocity Dyad rim, and double-butted spokes from Bluegrass Bicycle.

I managed to destroy that wheel before even putting it on my bike.  Tom rebuilt the wheel for me, and it’s now on Nermal.  I also installed the new Planet Bike fenders that I ordered to replace the set where I destroyed the front one.

After getting everything put together I went for a ride around town, then rode to Charlestown Pizza Company for lasagna and beer.

I woke up this morning at 5:00 a.m. (thanks to my girlfriend for the wake-up phone call).  I had a sore, scratchy throat, sinus pressure, and a headache.  I set my alarm for 7:00, and figured I’d feel better, and drive into work.

I woke up feeling worse, especially the throat.  I’ve recently been exposed to strep throat… so I called off work, and called my doctor.  I have an appointment later today.

A good workout on the bike generally leads to heavy breathing, which is the last thing I want right now.  So I’ll stay inside, mess with the computer, and do some housework.

I’ve been lazy, but made up my mind this weekend to overcome it.  Today was a great start.  It felt good to arrive at work completely awake.

I’ve spent too much time thinking of my 33-mile round trip as long.  Thinking of it that way makes it hard to do everyday.  I need to remember that I’ve been on several trips longer than that, and that weren’t split in half by a work day.  If I can convice myself that the 16.5 mile one-way is “short” then I’ll do it more often.  If I can get where I can do it in an hour or less, that’ll make it easier.

My total ride was only 9.1 miles, so it was quick, but I have a lot to do today.

I was going to take more pictures, but my camera batteries went dead, and I hadn’t brought the spare set.

I dropped the new wheel with no tire mounted to it on concrete.  A wheel I had never ridden, or even mounted to the bike was destroyed.  It landed on the edge of the rim and bent it.  Where the tire bead sits was bent outward.  It won’t hold a tire under pressure anymore.  I know, I tried, leading to a blow-out.  It was totally my fault.

That didn’t affect my plans for today, as I was going to do a full commute on Oria.  Oria had front derailleur and rear brake trouble on Sunday’s ride.  The front derailleur was easy to fix, the rear brake was just an adjustment issue, but it took me hours to get it right.

I was up too late, woke up late, and can barely keep my eyes open now, so I’ll drive.

I also need to bring the wheel in, so Tom can pick it up and look at it.  I figure at the very least, it’ll need a new rim laced to it.  I had considered carrying the wheel on the bike somehow, but it’s just easier to throw it in the trunk.

I need to plan my route better next time.  I knew there would be hills, but I didn’t realize how steep the hills at Clark State Forest are.  I also need to learn my route better.  I went the wrong direction twice, and had to turn back.

Due to the turn-arounds I put around 48 miles, that’s after cutting some of the ride short and taking a more direct route back.  We were still out nearly five hours.

The gravel road was, ummm, interesting.  Tim loved it.  I thought it was okay for a mile-long stretch.  Neither of us knew about it ahead of time.  I should have driven the route before settling on it.  I probably wouldn’t have changed the route due to gravel, but I would have given fair warning.

Some of the riders were under time constraints and left early.  Our “no-drop” group did split into several groups fairly early on.  Seven of us finished the ride together.  Six of us went for pizza and beer at Charlestown Pizza Company (which was excellent).

I’m not going to try to name everyone that showed up.  I’m horrible with names.  I only took two pictures and they were at the beginning of the ride.  Not seen in the pictures are Tom, Jen, and I.

Edit: Tim provided some new photos

I have a RCCS ride today that should help, and I’ll be riding to work most of this upcoming week (hopefully).

I ate a huge meal at a Cuban restaurant last night.  It was very good, but today’s weight was 206.6 lbs.  I can’t eat like that too often.

It seems amazing to me that it’s been 500 days.  I have changed a lot, physically and mentally, but I still have the same food issues if I don’t pay attention.

There have been days when I overeat, and wanted to abandon calorie tracking for a day or two.

Now that I’m dating, going out to eat seems to happening more often.  I’ve still been plugging away on my calorie tracking though.  There are a few scary numbers in there, but I try to offset them with lighter days.

I haven’t ridden my bike in way too long, I’ve had days with horrible overeating, yet I’m still losing weight, although slower.  I can live with that.

I’m not going to blame the lack of bike riding on dating.  She’s not around through the week, and I could have ridden ex