I only rode my bike 160.6 miles.  My neck and shoulder have conspired to keep me off the bike much of the time.  I made good use of carpooling, the bus, and the occasional cab ride to get to work.  I’ve even walked the 3.5 miles home from downtown once.

I quit weighing myself recently, but I’ll be doing that again now.  I had quit posting my weight a while before that, but I’ll get that caught up soon.

Now that I have an iPhone I downloaded the  MyFitnessPal app to track what I eat.  I’ve also downloaded the EEBA app to help me budget my money using virtual envelopes.  We’ll see how that works out.

The last two days have been much less painful than before.  I feel like I can function normally.  I didn’t ride my bike yesterday, because I had to return the rental car and walk to work from there.  I took the bus home.  Today, I rode the single-speed and it felt wonderful.  I’ll be on it again tomorrow.

I still have an appointment with a neurosurgeon on Monday.  I’d like to avoid surgery, so I’ll get a second opinion if he immediately suggests it.  If two doctors suggest it, I’ll go through with it.

Things are going well between Robin and I.  I like the fact that we’re both comfortable living where we do… two blocks apart.  Seriously, I just know I need to avoid pushing things faster (or further) than they need to go.  We are seeing each other exclusively, but I really don’t feel comfortable discussing much more here.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is also the Car-Free Happy Hour.  This is technically January’s event as it was delayed a week.  Will you join us at 5:30pm at Four Pegs at 1053 Goss Ave 40217.  I may ride my bike there, or just walk.  It’s very close to my house.

Weight?  Weight!  Wait?  No, don’t wait.  I still need to lose about 55lbs to make it to my goal weight.  A reasonable goal is one pound per week, giving me about a year to do this.  So 175lbs by 2013.  Could the iPhone be the tool I need to do this?

With my new phone comes a new phone number.  I used to publish my old one pretty openly, but I’m not doing that any more.  That’s why I didn’t port the number to the new phone.  If you need my number, send me an email, and I’ll get back to you.

Tim and I had done some “training” rides on Monday nights last year.  No training today.  We’re both out of shape, and I’m slower on the recumbent due to not riding much in the last 18 months.

We meandered around town for an hour, then I headed toward home.  I stopped at Four Pegs to talk to the owner about Car-Free Happy Hour, and I had to have a couple of beers while I was there.  Their kitchen isn’t open on Monday’s, and I hadn’t eaten since lunch.  The last time I did this on a Monday, I went to Hammerheads and didn’t remember the rest of the night.  So, today, I went home.

I called Danny Mac’s Pizza for delivery, but they recently cut the days they are delivering.  Bummer.  I ordered anyway, and rode the ‘bent up to pick it up.

I ate well and rode a total of about 28 miles for the day.  That’s the best mileage day for the year.  It certainly was too many calories, but maybe I’ll get that under control tomorrow.

I’m riding the recumbent to work tomorrow.  It’s set up and ready to go.  It would be more work to NOT ride it.

On Friday, I took Robin down to Za’s Pizza on the Big Dummy.  It was a blast, but she wants a cushion to sit on next time.  I rode the recumbent to her house today, and she rode it through the alley.  She’s interested in trying out a tandem recumbent now… so I’ve got to find one available for a test ride.

My eating habits have been bad.  I’m drinking too much.  My bike riding is way down due to the neck issue.  I guess the recumbent becomes my go-to bike so I can get more miles in.  I’ll ride the LHT in winter weather, as it’s better equipped.  I’ll ride the Big Dummy for hauling loads or people, as it does it well.  The ‘bent is for everything else.

I’ve driven too much this year (Robin’s car).  It all involved us going out for something, but I didn’t think the first calendar year of being car-free would involve so much driving.  I’ve driven almost as many miles as I’ve ridden a bike.  Granted, I’m low on bike miles due to my neck issue, but it’s still frustrating.

I have tentative plans to meet up with Tim after work tomorrow for a one-hour ride.  We’ll see.

For the rest of the week I need to eat healthier and ride more.

Bike Miles

I rode 5502.9 miles in 2011.  That’s more than 400 miles over 2010′s 5087.2.  By comparison, 2009 was only 3860 miles.  November 2011 was a new personal record month.  I had 697.7 miles.  December is my best December yet, but nothing exceptional at 444.9 miles.

I hope to surpass 6000 miles in 2012, and have a one-month best of 750 miles.

Car-Free

I sold my truck and became car-free on November 4th.  I’m still adjusting to living without a car, but it’s not a difficult adjustment after living most of the year as if I were already car-free.

Bikes

I bought the Big Dummy as my car truck replacement once I knew I actually would sell the truck.  I still have some fit issues to get dialed in, but the bike has been great at hauling things (and people!).

I’ve spent a lot of money on bikes this year.  In addition to buying the Big Dummy, I bought a SON dynohub and lighting system for the LHT in April.  I later moved the wheel and lights to the single-speed.

In March, I bought a used kid-trailer as an affordable cargo hauler.  I haven’t used it since buying the Big Dummy, but it could be useful to tow it with the Big Dummy if I really need to haul a lot.

In December I bought new wheels (including Shimano dynohub) for the LHT.  I also bought new brakes.  Now, January 1st, the bike is still partially assembled in my kitchen.

Health

2011 has been a challenging year due to health issues.

In June I had a horrible neck pain problem.  It kept me off the bike briefly.  It made me miss some longer pleasure rides that I wanted to do.  With some treatment and strength training it was resolved to the point that I can function normally, but it never went away.

In September I was hospitalized due to a bowel obstruction.  Luckily it resolved without surgery, but it was scary.  I only missed one important ride, and had no lasting effects.

On the day after Christmas my neck issue returned.  I’m still struggling with it, and I see myself riding the recumbent more often now.  I wasn’t car-free last time, so my options are a bit more limited now.

The various doctor visits may have actually added to my overall mileage for the year.  I had doctor visits in New Albany and east of Lyndon that took me a bit farther for transportation cycling than I normally go.

Weight

Ah, the elephant in the room.  First let’s look at my monthly average weight since I started tracking it in 10/2007.  Up until July 2009, things look great, then a bit of a bump, lost again, then steady increase since March 2010.

Now let’s look at the same values beginning January 2009.  You’ll notice that most of it is between 200 and 220lbs.  That changes when it goes above 230 in July 2011.  It stays above 230 until the last two month of the year.

It’s a little bit depressing, but not all that surprising.  I’ve been treating myself to good food and beer as if I don’t have a weight problem.  I not going to give these things up, but I need to make better decisions on how much and how often to consume these things.

2011 was not a good year for weight loss.  I ended the year 13lbs heavier than I started it.  Ugh.  As Tim would say, I have an “intake valve problem”.

Exercise

Other than cycling I’ve done little exercising.  I had my push-up plan back in 2008 that I abandoned after suffer shoulder pain.  I’m supposed to be using some dumbbells to strengthen my upper body to help with the neck and shoulder issues, but I’ve not been using them as much as I should.

I was training for a triathlon early in the year, but ditched that after suffering problems in the swim portion of the training.  I did not enjoy the running, but I was capable of performing what was needed.

I did race my first bicycle race in November, the Gravel Grovel.  I met my goal of less that 6.5 hrs (just over 6 hours).

My biggest problem right now, is that my most common exercise other than cycling is the 12 ounce lift (lifting the beer to my lips).

Relationships

Okay, where to begin?

When I started this blog in November of 2007, my 13-year marriage was ending.  I didn’t talk about it publicly for months, but it was happening.

I married Kristy in 2009.  It was a much different marriage than the first, but didn’t work out for much different reasons.  We are now officially divorced.

Interesting tidbit.  I met an interesting woman, Robin, a few days ago.  My desires in a relationship are a bit different now.  I’m not ready to rush in to living together or marriage (eek!  I said the M word!), but she lives nearby (walking distance, no bike even needed!) and we have some common interests.  We rang in the new year together.  I’m not going to talk much more about her for the time being.

2012

Most goals stay the same.  Goal weight of 175lbs.  Stay sane.  Be happy.

Some goals have changed.  Ride 6000 miles for the year.  Ride 750 miles or more in at least one month.  Save more money.

All of this is for nothing if the Mayans were right.

Happy New Year everyone!

What a strange trip it’s been.

• Diet, exercise, bought a scale and an elliptical
• Got divorced
• Bought a bike
• Got rid of the elliptical
• Became a bicycle commuter
• Appeared on TV
• Made new friends
• Lost nearly 100 lbs
• Met another woman
• Got married
• Moved into Louisville
• Gained 30 lbs
• Split up again – heading for divorce
• Continued a destructive lifestyle
• Went car-free

It’s time for me to reflect where I’ve been and where I need to go.  I’ve gotten too used to “instant gratification” in everything.  I feel I “deserve” things that in the long-term are bad for me.  So I’ve gained weight.

This is more than eat less/ride more.  This is my relationship with food.

Looking back on old posts to write this has been illuminating and given me new incentive to work at this again.  The wedding pictures especially.  I was about 20lbs lighter then than I am now, and I looked quite a bit better.

So, I’m going to work harder and see where I am in another year.  I hope some of you hang out and enjoy the ride with me.

I had a light breakfast of a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk.  That’s mostly because I overslept and didn’t have time to cook bacon and eggs.

Work

I had a productive day at work.  Although my official duties are database related, I get pulled into various IT projects.  Today, I finished up a small Windows application to make deployment easier for one of our line-of-business applications.  Just a little thing, but it was nice to write software again, even on a small scale.

New Bike

I heard from Ian today.  We agreed upon a price and payment plan.  The Big Dummy is mine.  I’m getting the KickBack kickstand and wide loaders in the deal.  Now I truly have a pedal-powered pickup truck!

Cyclocross

After work I rode out to the park to meet with Tim.  We did a couple of easy laps around the course, then he started a faster lap.  I fell back, stopped and took a breather.  I really wasn’t feeling strong.  We then did a lap with me in the lead – running at my pace. It wasn’t much faster than an easy lap.

I’ve made up my mind that cyclocross is not for me.  I’ll continue to do these practices for fitness and fun, but I don’t want to race.

Tim gave me a ride part of the way back home.  I rode home from the Highlands.  I still rode 12.5 miles of commuting/errands and 12 miles of ‘cross practice.

Dinner

I go out to eat entirely too much.  I still haven’t been grocery shopping, but I had enough stuff to cook spaghetti, so that’s what I did.  I have no beer, but I need to avoid it for a while.  I had a filling meal, and have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Late Errand

My daughter works at a local drug store.  She called me to ask me to bring her something.  I hopped on the single-speed, went to the ATM, then the drug store, dropped off something for her, and bought some stuff for me.  The round-trip was only 2.5 miles.

What did I learn on my errand?  I learned my Acorn handlebar bag will fit two large bottles of supplements (glucosamine) and a 14oz tub of Haagen-Dazs ice cream.  So, dessert too!

More Saturday

I got an email from Michael, who I rode with on Saturday.  He passed along a couple of pictures of me.

The first is just me riding through the woods on my single-speed road bike.  Not the ideal bike for the terrain.

Action shot

The second picture is hilarious.  We were at the nearly impassable stretch of the Riverwalk behind the golf course.  I had no idea he was taking pictures, but I needed to lift my bike to get through.

Upward and onward?

Exercise & Stretching

I’m doing my dumbbell exercises.  Even the 5lb stuff hurts after enough repetitions.  I have no upper body strength.

I’ve also noticed over the last few months that I hurt more.  My legs were so tight last night that any movement was painful.  I realized that somewhere over the last six or so months I quit stretching.

So, I spent about 30 minutes stretching my legs, back, and torso yesterday.  I’ll do it again tonight.  Hopefully I’ll notice a difference soon.

The Truck

The gasoline-powered cargo hauler (as opposed to the pedal-powered cargo hauler) is going up for sale this week.  I’m done using it now, I just need to find a buyer.  Then I’ll be officially car-free.

This Weekend

Tim, Michael, and I are heading to Red River Gorge (in Tim’s SUV) for two days of riding, and one night of camping.  It’ll be cool during the day, and cold at night.  I’ll be wearing as much wool as possible at night.  I hope there aren’t any burn-bans in effect this weekend.  We’ll really need a fire.

Either way, it’ll be a blast.  Much like the Big South Fork trip was last year.

On the advice of my chiropractor, I bought some five pound dumbbells.  Then they sat on the bedroom floor.  Five pounds is nothing.  I can easily lift them.  Then, today, I did the exercises she told me to… and it hurt.  I’m glad it’s only five pounds.

This is one of those things that isn’t so much for weight loss as it is general health.  If my neck gets worse again, I’ll be off the bike.  I can’t have that.  I need to stay mobile.

I was concerned about the weather.  It was quite cool, but not quite cool enough for long-sleeves.  There was a chance of rain, which would make it cooler.  I wore shorts and short sleeves and brought a long-sleeve compression shirt with me.  Although it did start raining, I never felt cold enough to change.

We met near the intersection of Bardstown Rd and Douglass Blvd, known as “The Loop”.  We had planned to meet at 6:00, but were underway by 5:45.

Tim planned an urban route that would still get some climbing in.  We headed west, then south and looped around in Iroquois Park.  We stopped for bathroom/water break before leaving the park.  I ate a peanut butter sandwich while waiting.

We headed back north, through Old Louisville and downtown.  We shared River Rd with runners (there was a race of some sort going on).  We stayed out of the way.

We cut up through the Mockingbird Valley area, then over to Indian Hills where we did some more looping, just to ride the hills more than once.

Then back to River Rd and out to Wolf Pen Branch and Barbour Ln.  We took some neighborhood streets and were near Patrick’s house, so he headed home to take care of family duties.

Tim and I headed west on Westport and into St. Matthews where we stopped at a bakery for some much needed carbs.

We continued through Seneca Park and to The Loop and had breakfast and Twig & Leaf.  There was an LBC group having breakfast there because they cancelled their ride due to rain.  Tim and discussed riding a little extra to get 62 miles (100 kilometers) to have a metric century.

We each headed home from there.  I took a roundabout way to Sunergos Coffee and enjoyed a good cup.  I then took a wandering route home.  My bike computer said 62.3 miles, which is just over 100 km.  It wasn’t even noon yet.  That’s a pretty good start for the day.

Click for full view

Riding a bike and other exercise left me tired enough to sleep, and I got into better habits.  My wife’s schedule has sometimes interfered with that.  Well, it should help now.  She now leaves the house at 3:45am.  I get up sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 unless I oversleep.

On Tuesday, I was up early, and left the house early enough to take the long way to work.  Yesterday, I overslept and <<shudder>> drove to work.

I got up at 3:00 today.  That gives me plenty of time to read email, make coffee (I started drinking coffee again), make breakfast, possibly write a blog post, and ride a few extra miles.

If I can fully get my body into this early morning thing, it’ll be nice.  Mornings are quiet and peaceful.  Traffic is still light if I head out early enough.

I ran another race last Saturday, the Reindeer Romp 4k.  It was originally scheduled to be before the 5k I did a while ago, but it was rescheduled to to weather.  I did run a bit better pace (26:54 for the run, 10:49 per mile), but I was incredibly sore after the ride.

Running in general just seems like a bad idea for my body.  I have issues with my knees and hips when running.  I also end up sore all over the next day.  I do get a stronger endorphin buzz from running than cycling, but I’m not sure if it’s worth it.  I don’t enjoy running much at all.  I sort of enjoy the first hour or so after a run though.

My shoulder arthritis has flared up again.  I’m not sure of the cause.  That started to cut into my bike riding, until I got the recumbent out again.  I can ride the recumbent without aggravating the shoulder, but now it’s causing knee pain.  It may be I need to readjust the seat.  I’ve actually gained a little weight since I last rode it regularly.

I took (yet another) break from the YMCA.  Spin class really hurts.  Swimming aggravates my shoulder.

The real question is am I pushing myself too far?  I’m seriously considering dropping out of the triathlon training.  I don’t want to.  Completing a triathlon would be really cool.  It’s still the swimming I’m most worried about though.

I should know in a few more days or weeks.

No more coffee. My coffee consumption has skyrocketed.  I seldom brew my own, I go to the coffee shop and end up buying snacks while I’m there.  It’s hurting my weight loss effort, and my wallet.  I’ll drink water and milk.

Very little eating out. I guess it’s a mental thing where I feel like I have to treat myself.  I’ve been doing it too often, and it’s causing problems.  I need to pack a lunch when I go to work, and cook dinner at night.

Very little beer.  I love beer.  It’s something I treat myself with, usually when going out for dinner.

No ice cream. I haven’t had any recently, but if it’s in the house, I’ll eat the whole container.  Kristy will be home soon, and probably bring some in the house.  If the allowed amount is none, it should be easier for me.

Changing weight-tracking. I’m still weighing daily, even if I haven’t updated the page here in a while.  I’m no longer going to post daily weights.  I’ll change the weigh-in page to be weekly averages.  Then maybe I’ll be able to keep posting regularly.

I did mention some exceptions to the changes.  I may occasionally violate one of the rules during social functions.  This could include an RCCS coffee ride, pub crawl, whatever.  If I ride a 40-mile round-trip to have pizza and beer, that’s okay.

I won’t be training this week, but I will be back at the YMCA on Sunday.  It’s time to get in gear again.  After the triathlon in July, I’m going to re-attempt switching to a paleo-diet.  I tried before, but I felt like crap when I didn’t eat carbs.  I’ve since learned that it takes 2-3 weeks to adjust.

After running the 5k yesterday, and attempting a spin class last Tuesday, not to mention the four days I went to they Y for swimming and weightlifting… I met up with Tim this morning for a 34-mile ride on the single-speed.

After the ride this morning, I intended to be lazy around the house.  Debbie, my training partner, sent me a message about a 2-hour spin class this afternoon, so why not?.

I had only managed 10 minutes of my previous attempt at a spin class, but I realized that I tried to go all-out too often.  So, I met up with Debbie at the Y, and managed to complete the class.  I did take it a bit easier in the beginning, but in the last hour, I was keeping up, and could barely walk when I left.  Not a problem, I only had to ride home.

I took a small detour and stopped for food.  I was famished after eating very little all day.  I overate, and had a few beers before trundling home.

My legs?  Do they hurt?  Uh… yeah, actually they do.  Why do you ask?

I’ll be up tomorrow morning early for swimming and weightlifting before work, and running after work.

A week ago I was supposed to run a 4K. I didn’t even buy running shoes until two days before. I didn’t train at all. I was saved by bad weather. I didn’t run.

This past week I ran indoors at the YMCA. 1 mile, 3 times. Not a huge distance, but I did better than I thought I would. For some perspective, the last time I ran a mile, I was in high-school, and despite being lean and muscular I could barely breathe and almost vomited.

So today, I didn’t wimp out.  This is the route. I even rode my bike to get there, which was a good idea due to lack of parking.  There were over 700 people running.

For the first 1.5 miles I kept up a good pace without walking. I think my first mile was about 11:30. After the halfway mark I did drop to a walk a couple of times to recover before getting back to a jog.

I saw a lot of Couch to 5K t-shirts. There were some icy spots on the road.

My finish time was 34:16. I did a lot better than I thought I would.

The ride home was at a leisurely pace. My legs are sore.

Some observations from a bicyclist point of view:

• Running requires fewer layers of clothes in cold weather
• A 5K run wasn’t bad, but a 5K bike ride is nothing
• I was generating enough heat during the entire run, it was like climbing a hill on the bike, constantly
• A lot of people run – how can we get them on bikes?
• Once the run was over, I quickly got chilled
• I had minor knee pain, and will probably look into one of those bands that goes around the leg just below the knee

I don’t think I’ll ever become a regular runner, but I’ll do it enough to train for my Triathlon in late July.

By the time I was heading out the door at 5:15 or so the snow was coming down.  I rode to the YMCA and got in a small amount of exercise before heading to work.  There was some snow on the ground by then.  I was surprised that my bike was one of four in the parking garage when I was leaving.  Notice the XtraCycle on the far-right.

During the day we got a couple of inches of snow.  The main roads were kept clear and the warm-ish temperatures meant that nothing iced up (on the roads I was on).

My commute home was pretty uneventful, but the dogs seemed happy to play in the snow when I got home.

Notice all of the "luggage" on the bike.  Commuting and a stop at the Y means I get to carry more stuff.  There is a thermos for coffee buried in there to cut back on the expense of the coffee shop.

Now that I’m home, I need to get to sleep so I can get up at 4:00 a.m. again, but I’m not sleepy.  I’m considering walking to go out to dinner.  I’ll overeat, but a full belly might be what I need to sleep well tonight.

We quickly got going.  Maybe I started off too fast.  Maybe I’m still too weak from yesterday’s workout.  I am still sore from yesterday.  In any case, I lasted all of ten minutes in the spin class before I bailed.  I went and swam for a while, now I’m sitting here at the Y watching the news channels go crazy about the snow.

I’ll be riding to work in a minutes, but my shortened workout has left me some extra time.

Today, in addition to swimming and weight-lifting, I took advantage of the indoor track at the Y.  I settled into a steady pace, and before I knew it, I had run a mile.  I felt fine.  I guess my cardiovascular system is stronger now than when I was in high school, even if I sag more now.  :)

I’m a bit sore now, but I’m pleased with myself.  I’m going to the Y again tomorrow, but I’m not sure if I’m going to run.  I’ll see how my legs feel in the morning.

I have an appointment on Thursday morning with a “wellness coach” at the Y.  I basically just asked how to use the computer-fitness-tracking-thing (I can’t remember what it’s called), and had to schedule an appointment.

I’m really only doing strength training for my upper body, arms, and core.  I think my legs are doing  just fine from a few years of riding a bike.

I rode to work and back.  Not much else to add.

Tuesday

I rode to work, then to a massage appointment, then home.  I ate too much.

Wednesday

Woke up with a horrible headache, called work to let them know I’d be late, then went back to sleep for a while longer.  I did go into work, but I drove.

Since I was driving anyway, I ran some errands after work.  I went to Swags to buy some running shoes.  Found some that will work for about $60.  Then I went grocery shopping.  Now that 2011 is here, I’m tracking all of my driving miles.  Well, Wednesday was 22.1 miles put on the truck.

Thursday (Today)

Rode to work again.  After work rode across the bridge to Jeffersonville to meet up with Debbie, who I’m training with for the Triathlon.

We discussed scheduling, training, and whatnot.

After I got home, I put on my new running shoes, and some thick base layers (it’s cold outside!) and my reflective vest, and went for a quick run.  The shoes will work.  I should probably buy some thin gloves.  I have thick ski gloves I wear on the bike, but they are not ideal for running.

Rest Of The Week?

I’m now committed to running the Reindeer Romp 4k on Saturday.  I might be crazy to run this soon, but at least it’s only 4k (2.4 miles) and I can walk as much as I need to.

I also need to spend some more time at the Y.  My swimming technique needs a lot of work.  I also need more miles on the bike.

• Train for and complete an Olympic Triathlon on 7/31/2011
• Weight lifting for upper-body strength (I’m pretty pathetic above the waist now)
• Get to my goal weight of 175lbs by 7/1/2011, and never go above 180 again (at about 216 today)
• Ride at least 5000 miles for the year
• Drive fewer miles than I ride (this could be hard due to most driving being longer trips)
• Do at least three overnight bike camping trips
• Start riding with the local club – on my single-speed (I’ve done that once this year)

Old Goals

Let’s look at some goals I posted on 2/28/2009

• Goal weight will remain at 175 lbs (for now).  I hope to reach that goal by the end of August.
  Didn’t happen.
  
• Ride a century this year (100 miles in one day).
  Didn’t happen until 2010.
  
• Raise $3200 for The Ride to Conquer Cancer, and complete the entire ride under my own power.
  I raised over $2500 and completed the ride.  I’ll call that success.  I did not participate in 2010.  The fundraising part really is the hardest.
• Learn to ride my new unicycle, and complete a ten-mile ride on it by June 2010.
  I gave up the unicycle.
  
• Juggling?
  Didn’t bother.  Without the unicycle it wouldn’t be as cool.  :)
  
• Ride to work more often.  I had hoped to average 3 days per week, but I’m not even managing that right now.
  This was up and down for a while, but I moved to Louisville, and I ride (almost) every day.
  
• Ride to work five days a week at least 3 weeks per year.
  See above.
  
• Increase my average speed on the bicycle a little bit.
  Hasn’t really happened, although the triathlon training should help that.
  
• Learn to kayak this year.
  I still haven’t touched a kayak, but I did take a canoe trip.
  
• Get a rod, reel, and fishing license, and spend some time relaxing and fishing.
  I didn’t do this either.  Most of my free time is gone.  I have been reading a lot though.
  
• Find new fitness activities.
  I guess training for a triathlon counts.  I’m also starting weight lifting.
  
• I had made a goal to live-car free.  I think I’m giving that up.  I do want to drive less, but realities of the modern world make this a very unpopular choice.
  I wrote this when I had an old car that was paid for.  Then it died.  Then I bought a truck.  I seldom drive now, but I’m now married, and have a car payment.  It’ll be a while before I can become car-free.
  
• Ride 5000 miles this year.  I’m way behind on this so far.  I’m two months into the year, and I’ve only ridden 541 miles.
  I did not make 5000 miles in 2009.  I did in 2010, and hope to in 2011.
  
• Get better about riding in cold rain.  I often use this as an excuse not to ride to work, but I have the gear to do so.
  I ride in cold rain.  I still don’t care for it, other than the “crazy factor”.
  
• I had planned to try to drive less than 3500 miles per year.  I’m giving up on this also.
  I’ve modified this to simply ride more than I drive.
  
• Ride in a roller coaster this year.  I’ll actually fit now.
  I didn’t get a chance for a real roller coaster, but I did ride in a number of other amusement park rides.  Yes, I fit.
  
• Go skydiving in the summer of 2010.
  Didn’t happen.  I still want to do it someday, but I’ve got too much else going on financially and time-wise.
  
• I want to be a better cook.
  I may be slightly better, but only slightly.  I still don’t cook often enough.
  
• I want to find a wonderful woman to enjoy these activities with.
  I did.  I met her shortly after writing that blog post.

Candy is unsure

After riding my bike to work and back home, I needed to go to the grocery store.  I didn’t feel like riding, so I intended to drive.  Once I was standing next to my truck, keys in hand, I realized it was silly to drive.  The local Kroger is less than a mile away.  I didn’t need much, so I walked.

The sidewalks had been ice-covered a few days ago, but they seem to be clear now.  I bought what I needed and headed home just as it began snowing.  By the time I arrived home it was sleeting.

Raw-Food

While researching paleo-diet stuff (which I’m not doing right now), I came across raw-meat diet for pets.  Dogs and cats are carnivores, so I did a little reading and decided to give it a shot.

My finicky cat is not taking to it at all so far.  The dogs however, love it.  They’ve eaten pork ribs, eggs, and chicken legs.  I need to buy some organ meat to round out the diet.

I was buying some fairly expensive dog food before, so I may actually save money doing this.  You don’t have to buy expensive meat.  The cheap stuff is fine.  Watching a dog eat an egg can be funny.  Both of my dogs eventually eat the whole thing, shell and all.

The downside to this plan is that I’ll have to mop the kitchen floor much more often.

Sandy is being protective

Getting Up Early

I hate mornings.  Even if I go to bed early, I still really dislike getting up.

I need to start getting up earlier so I can train for the triathlon.  I’ve got a couple of weeks before I really start training, but I need to get up tomorrow and get down to the Y before work and work on my swimming.

Why?  I don’t know.  How do I know?  I was at the downtown location today becoming a member.

Why am I becoming a member?  Well, I will write more about that later.  I have a new goal, a new obsession, and a good way to lose weight and get more fit.

I will tell you why I’m doing what I’m doing, even if I’m not telling you what I’m doing, yet…. Confused yet?

I was involved in an online discussion about the “fat person mentality” that tends to hang around people like me, even after shedding the pounds.  It becomes an excuse to not do things.  You tell yourself “I can’t do that, I’m just a fat guy”.  The name of this blog really shows the issue.  Yes, I was a fat guy when I started it, but am I still?  Even if I am a little, is it enough to prevent me from doing things anymore?

No.  It’s not.  I can do anything that any other normal person can do.

So, I’m taking a challenge.  I’m going to push myself.  The Y membership will help me.

More tomorrow.

I’m up to 4900 miles on the bike so far this year.  I’ll easily hit 5000 for the year.  Getting 5000 next year will be the real challenge with my shorter commute.

I still don’t seem to be losing weight.  I am eating better now.  There was a company potluck yesterday, but I skipped dinner after I got home.

I ate much better at work today, but don’t feel like cooking tonight, so I’ll probably just microwave some frozen vegetables.  I’ve been ignoring my food diary.  I still need to start using my dumbbells, or doing push-ups, or something.  Writing blog posts, sleeping, and reading are taking up my time though.

The things that were successful during that time?

• Tracking everything I ate and adding calories
• Exercise
• Ate most of my carbs early in the day
• Limited snacking
• Very little consumption of beer
• Weighing myself daily

From early 2009 to now this has turned into:

• Not keeping track of anything I eat
• A lot of exercise, but nearly all of it cycling
• Food binging
• Higher consumption of beer
• Weighing myself sporadically

I will be accountable again.  I will track what I eat (although I’m going to forgo the calorie counting).  I will weigh everyday.  I will post what I eat here (sometimes).

As I said in my last post, there are several changes I’m making.  They started this morning.

I was actually off to a bad start.  I didn’t want to cook, and due to laziness I still needed to wash dishes.  I hadn’t been to the grocery store so I had nothing quick, easy, and healthy around the house.  So, I just didn’t eat.

Around 3:00pm, I was too hungry, and went looking through cupboards again.  I spotted the oatmeal.  I had given up on oatmeal a while back when I started following the paleo-diet.  Now that I’m back to my original weight-loss plan, paleo is out the window.

I put 1/2 cup of oatmeal, 1 cup water, and a dash of salt in a large cup, and microwaved it for 2 minutes.  I stirred it, added a small pat of butter and some cinnamon.  I did not add sugar.  It was a late lunch after skipping breakfast, but it’ll do.

The dishes are nearly done.  I’ll cook a proper dinner tonight.  I’ll go grocery shopping tomorrow (after the RCCS ride).

I have some other changes I need to make.  I need to start doing some more exercises to strengthen my core and upper body.  I need to drink more water. I need to limit my coffee consumption to one pot per day.

Dog food on the 'bent

It looks like this week will be transportation cycling only.  That’s okay, that’s why I live in town now.

I woke up feeling horrible on Monday and almost drove to work.  I hopped on the single-speed and pedaled my way in anyway.  It made me feel better.

I adjusted the brakes on the recumbent, so I rode it into work today.  I had to stop for dog food on the way home.  I was leery of trying to haul a 40 lb bag, so I grabbed a smaller one.  It worked fine.  I’ll get the 40lb next time.

I thought about the fact that my commute and errands over the last two days haven’t been many miles.  Then I realized that although 15.5 miles over two days may not be much, it’s a lot more exercise than I used to get.

I also didn’t burn any gas to get to work or get dog food.

Yes, I am happier this way.

I was up early today, undecided what riding I was going to do today.  It looks like I’m not riding.  I’ve been doing housework this morning.  I need to mow two lawns.  Then I need to hang around the house for the trick-or-treaters that will come by.

Maybe I’ll find the time to get the brakes adjusted on the recumbent.

Happy Halloween!

I’ve gained weight.  My weight this morning was 221.2.  I’ve erased a lot of progress, but that’s changing today.

My Dinner - Low Carb

I haven’t spent a penny today.  I brought a lunch to work.  I carried a thermos of coffee to work.  I cooked dinner tonight.  I have leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.

I want to be at my goal weight of 175 (less than 50 lbs away) in one year.  Then I want to maintain between 170 and 180 indefinitely.

In addition to controlling myself again, I’m going to start doing some upper-body exercises.  I have a set of dumbbells, but haven’t touched them in a while.  I need to quit busying myself with stupid stuff.  I can exercise all I need in a few minutes a day.

Which vehicle to take to the coffee shop?

This is, in part, due to my focus on bicycling for transportation.  Bicycling for transportation has become such I big part of my life that moved into Louisville (while continuing to pay the mortgage on my old house) so that I could bicycle everywhere.  It’s been wonderful.  I have not driven to work since moving.  When my wife and I go out to eat, I’ll even meet her there rather than drive (if she’ll let me).

I rode my bike to the coffee shop the other day, when the white truck in the picture on the right pulled up.  One individual drove that huge diesel-powered truck, just to grab some coffee.  I have nothing against trucks.  I own one.  I just believe in using the right tool for the job.

I’ve been very busy for the last week.  Some of it has been the have-to-do stuff.  Some of it is want-to-do.  In either case it has left me sleep-deprived.  I was up late last night driving to Danville and back.  I had intended to ride the Harvest Homecoming ride today.  I changed my mind at the last minute and went back to bed.  I don’t regret the decision.  I needed the sleep.

So, this blog… where does it go?  What should I focus on?  I would love to show some positive results in my weight loss and/or fitness.  The truth is, I haven’t really improved either of those since February of 2009.  I’m in much better shape than when I started in 2007, but I don’t think I’ll ever get to my goal weight of 175.  Maybe this is where I need to focus on waist size and strength.  I should add some weight training to the mix.

So, I haven’t been writing about every bike ride recently.  It’s safe to assume I ride every day now.  I will continue to do so, except maybe today, where I probably won’t be leaving the house.  I will write about exceptional rides.  I will write about what I decide to use as a metric to measure my progress, but I need to figure that out still.

I love bicycles and bicycle advocacy.  I don’t think I’m a great bicycle advocate, other than just being out there on the road.  I’m not eloquent or persuasive.  I’ll leave the “advocacy with words” to those smarter than I.  I’ll just ride my bike.  :)

I’m sitting in the Louisville airport waiting to fly to DC via Cleveland.  I have a work-related conference to attend.  They will provide (too much) food.  I need to control my portion sizes.

I’m not bringing a bike with me.  Without riding, I should be able to get by with very little food.  When I get home I’ll concentrate on eating right again, re-start the food-diary (again), and start weighing myself again.  I’m also going to start using my dumbbells and doing push-ups.

The hotel I’ll be staying at has a fitness center, and I am bringing proper exercise attire, so I should be able to squeeze some time in on the weight machines.

My goal weight is still 175.  My lack of progress has been maddening and a bit depressing.  I’ve used being busy as an excuse to not eat right.  That needs to change.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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 finally brought it up to my doctor, and after tests, X-Rays, and an MRI, I now know that I have arthritis in my right shoulder.

He sent me to another establishment where I work with a personal trainer to strengthen the muscles in my upper body.  I’ve only had one visit so far.  He had me start out with some dumbbells and free weights, with little weight, and paid close attention to how I lifted.  My right side is stronger, but yet it’s the bad side.

We then switched to some of the machines, and some of the exercises extended my shoulder beyond my comfort level.  I could feel the huge difference between the two shoulders.

I was a bit sore when I left, but by the time I got home the shoulder pain was much improved.  I woke up this morning with the shoulder pain again.  I realize this will take time, but at least I’ve found something that works.

Alright, I’ve had a lot of exercise, now I’ve eaten, it’s time for bed.

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 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.

When I realized I woke up late, I considered driving, but I need more exercise.  I don’t need to slide down into the pit of laziness.  Also, I feel better when I ride.

So, I hurriedly packed up, ate breakfast, and was out the door.  Today was warmer than yesterday, but it was still a brisk 27 degrees.  There was a little bit of a headwind, but it wasn’t bad.  Traffic was lighter due to it being later.

So, I’m really glad I rode, and the ride home should be much warmer.

I’ve fallen twice already with no injury, and stepped off of it to avoid falling more times than I can count.  The farthest I’ve travelled so far would be measured in inches.

It’s going to take time to master this thing.

I ate Girl Scout Cookies for breakfast.  At least those things are gone now.  I now know not to ever buy them again.  I apologize to the Girl Scouts, but my problems with food are not solved.

Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer,  but with a good chance of rain.  I may ride anyway.  I may even ride Nermal the entire distance.  I will fix the flat tire tonight.

I did do some dumbbell workout routines last night, and this morning, so my chest and arms feel a little weird.  They’re not really painful, just weird.

I slept in a little later today, and I’ll be driving to work. I haven’t even been on my bike for that many miles this week.  I haven’t checked the computers on the bikes, but I’m pretty sure it’s less than 50 miles.

I am participating in a 30-mile River City Cycling Society ride tomorrow, so I need a little break, and a good night of sleep first.

I’m considering organizing some small group rides for training for the RTCC.  I would concentrate on Southern Indiana people, and have rides from my house here in Charlestown.  There are some beautiful country roads just a few minutes away by bike.  I’ll probably ask around, and try to get something set up for the 28th or 29th.

Weight

My average weight for January 2009 is 216.5 lbs, or 7.3 lbs lower than last month.  My progress during the month has been mixed.  On 1/1/09 I weighed 215.0 lbs.  On 1/31/09, I weighed the exact same 215.0 lbs.  There was a fair amount of fluctuation in between those dates.  The highest weight was 221.4 lbs, and the lowest was 211.6 lbs.

Bicycling

I rode 277.8 miles for the month.  I need to ride 417 per month to meet my goal, so I’ve only achieved 67% of what I intended too.  I drove 678 miles for the month.  I intend to drive only 292 miles per month, so I did poorly there also.

The weather has not been kind to me this month.  We had bitter cold, ice and snow, then an ice storm that really derailled my cycling.  Hopefully February has better weather.

I’m beginning to re-think my idea to become car-free at some point.  I still want the bicycle miles, but the bad weather we’ve had this month has made me wonder if I’m cut out for a car-free life.

Food

My diet is fluctuating as usual.  I have a number of good days in a row, then I overdo it.  Obviously this pattern works for me, as I have continued to lose weight.

I have been changing my diet up a bit.  I’m trying to continue to eat healthy, but spend less money.  One of my other goals is to pay off my debt, and that will be slightly easier if I spend less money on everything, including food.

I’ve been spending more time cooking, instead of using the microwave.  Overall, this is a good thing, and maybe I’ll actually learn a bit about cooking.  I’ve also become a big fan of beans.  They are high-fiber and high-protein.

Exercise

I have done very little exercise other than cycling, and cleaning up debris from the ice storm.  My dumbbells have been sitting in a corner unused.  My push-up plan has been all but forgotten.  I need to start doing these things again.

One new exercise I’ve begun doing, and need to do more often is hiking.  This is an activity my dogs and I enjoy together.

Here are the before and after pictures.

I have no idea how many calories that burned, but it felt good to do it all with my own work.  Much like the first time I rode my bike all the way to work.

I still have more limbs to carry from the back and side yard and I’ll have to have a tree service come in to do some work that I’m not comfortable with, but my driveway is clear now.

The disruption to my routine has really thrown off my daily weight-loss related activities.  I haven’t weighed since Tuesday.  I haven’t tracked my calories since Wednesday.  Riding a bike is almost out of the question.

Now that I’m home from work, and my power is on, I just ate some stuff I had.  I’ll prepare a grocery list and ride my bike to the store tomorrow. Tonight, I clean the house.

My bike mileage for the week will be pitiful.  I imagine that my weight is up a bit.

I have a huge mess in my yard to clean up.  I hope to borrow a chainsaw this weekend, so maybe I’ll get some kind of a workout. 

Other than that my weekend was spent indoors at home.  I had plenty of housework and other tasks to keep me busy.  I also managed to get some computer stuff done that I needed to.  However, I ate too much, and didn’t ride my bike at all.  Then I was up too late last night, and didn’t get up early enough to ride today.

My weight has been climbing for the last few days.  The weather doesn’t look good for riding for the rest of this work week, so I may have to spend some time working on sit-ups and push-ups.

I originally intended to ride to work everyday this week, but between cold rain and my lazy butt, I skipped two days.  I still rode three days.  That’s about 100 miles on the bike.  That’s 100 miles I didn’t drive.  That’s $21.00 I didn’t pay in parking.  That’s a whole bunch of calories burned.

I had a busy week at work, but that does make the time go by faster.  I also feel that I accomplished a fair amount of work, and have been learning the ropes at the new job.  My eating habits have been good this week, and my weight loss marches on.

I talked to my daughter today, and it looks like we may go see Wicked tomorrow.  I’ve been hoping to spend more time with her, and this sounds like fun.

The Friday evening commute home is usually the scariest and worst with rude drivers.  Today’s commute home was one of my best.  I only had one slightly rude driver, and several polite ones.  I even had someone in an SUV follow a safe distance behind me the entire length of the 2nd Street Bridge.  It was probably someone who knows me, or another cyclist.  I didn’t see the person, and didn’t recognize the vehicle.

I made good time getting home today.  The slight tailwind helped, but my overall good mood for the day helped me pedal faster.

When presented with a clear, but not as sudden danger, such as getting stranded in the desert with no water, a reasonable person will start thinking of ways to get out of the predicament safely.

Why is it we, as a species, are almost completely blind to long-term health problems and how they will affect our longevity, and standard of life?

Denial?
I was certainly in denial about my obesity for quite some time, but even when I came to grips with the fact that I was “The Fat Guy”, it still took a few years for me to take action.

Not Taking Responsibility?
It’s easy to blame your health problems on circumstances out of your control.  Genetics, bad luck, too stressed out, and other excuses cause us to not bother making a change, because “it’s not our fault”.

Laziness?
Another “fat guy” I talked to has an elliptical and other exercise equipment at home.  It’s not for him, it’s for his wife.  It’s bought and paid for, he might as well use it. It’s easy to be lazy.  I’m an expert at it.  Making lifestyle changes is hard work, but it’s completely worth the effort.

After years of being obese, I chose to change it.  If you need to lose weight, quit smoking, eat healthier, or develop some muscle tone, please do.  It will not only prolong your life, but make more of your life happier.

Calorie Spreadsheet

I track everything I eat in a spreadsheet, and total up the calories.  This allows me to eat what I want (within reason), and analyze it later to determine what I could have done better.  Early on, I had decided I didn’t need to do this anymore and my weight loss faltered, so I went back to doing it.

Deal with Depression

I’ve suffered from depression my entire life.  It is partly to blame for my weight gain to begin with.  I truly believe my depression is caused by a combination of genetics and dietary deficiencies.  There isn’t much that can be done about genetics (pick new parents?), but I started taking general vitamin supplement and fish oil pills months before my weight loss attempt, and it eased the depression substantially.

Buy a Scale

Small changes in weight add up.  It’s hard to determine what direction the change is going unless you have an objective way to measure it.  You don’t need a fancy scale that calculates BMI (I don’t have one), but you will need something that will handle your weight.  Many top out at 300 lbs, I found one that goes to 330, and that’s what I bought.  I believe it was less than $20.

Quit Drinking Soda and Beer

There is some evidence that artificial sweeteners aren’t good for weight loss.  Play it safe and give up regular and diet soda.  Beer has quite a few empty calories also.  Although I haven’t had a beer in a while, I still haven’t managed to completely give it up.

Eat Breakfast

Having a good breakfast means you need less food throughout the rest of the day.  I don’t follow a low-carb diet, so I have a high-fiber, high-carb, high-protein breakfast cereal (Kashi GoLean Crunch).  Choose whatever works for you, but high-fiber has heart-health benefits.

Bananas

Yum – Bananas.  They are high in potassium, and are good.  They are a great snack when you would otherwise eat something less healthy.  I usually eat two a day.

Yogurt

Calcium, vitamins, low-carb, great for digestion.  Once my diet became high-fiber and had yogurt, I had way fewer issues with, ummm, bathroom stuff.

Air-Popped Popcorn

Air-popped popcorn is another high-fiber snack.  This one does have carbs, but not too many.  Don’t use microwave popcorn or add anything too it.  If you don’t like the taste, keep with it.  You may find many of your tastes changing.

Exercise

Yeah, this is obvious.  Pick something you enjoy, and won’t hurt you too bad.  If you are over 300 lbs, running probably shouldn’t be your first choice.  Lose some weight before doing anything hard on the knees.

I started with an elliptical, which is easy on the knees and back, but I found it extremely boring.  Then I bought a bicycle.  I fell in love with bicycling, but I initially found the saddle uncomfortable, so I bought a recumbent.  I’ve now learned that with the proper saddle, and upright bike can be fine on the rear-end.  You’ll still have more pressure on your back and hands though.

Don’t Give Up When You Screw Up

I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve screwed up.  Ate too much at Asian Buffett?  Don’t worry, unless you keep eating too much on a regular basis it won’t matter.  Didn’t exercise for a week?  Don’t worry, just get back into it.  You have the rest of your life to get it right.

Be Careful of Your Social Activities

If everytime you are around family or friends, you eating and/or drinking, maybe you should consider new social activities.  I’m still struggling with this one, as it’s pretty ingrained in our culture.  It is possible to go out to eat, and still eat well, but it is difficult.

Set Goals, and Don’t be Afraid to Adjust Them

Without goals, you don’t know where you are going.  You can set weight goals, calorie goals, exercise goals, or all of them.  However, be sure to revisit them occasionally, and adjust as necessary.

This is for Life

This isn’t a “diet”.  It isn’t a way to look better for hanging out a the beach.  This is a way to change the way that you live.  It will affect your life in many positive ways.  It will take time, and the changes will be gradual.  In November of 2007, I was writing about how difficult it was to tie my shoes.  Now, I can ride my 33-mile round-trip commute to work and back on my bike.  Compared to now, I was an invalid.

Don’t Make it a New’s Years Resolution

Those always seem doomed to fail.  Just do it.  Now.  I started near the end of 2007.  I didn’t have a New Years Resolution.  Just Do It (says the guy with no Nike products).

Remember, the stuff above was just my suggestions.  If low-carb is you way, so be it.  If you’re going to drink diet soda, well, others have managed.  There is no one-size-fits-all plan.  Change your life for the better, and it’ll eventually fall into place.

Down from last week:
3.9 lbs

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

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

Weight until goal:
46.7 lbs

This feels great.  I no longer have doubts about reaching my goal weight.

I’ve ridden my bike less than two miles over the past five days, but by controlling my diet carefully, I’m still losing weight.  I’m not giving up on the bike.  I actually feel the need to get back on it.

One of the issues I’ve run into in the past is that all of my social activities involved food.  I’m trying to change that.  I also seem to have given up beer without even noticing.  I just told myself I’d rather lose weight that buy beer, and after enough times of thinking that, I no longer found myself wanting  beer.  I’m not going too far that direction either.  I’ll still drink for special occasions.

I’m going to restart my push-up plan on Monday.  I did the “test” last night and manged 15 push-ups, which is better than before.  I don’t just want to be thin.  I want to be toned, strong, and healthy.

Just for fun, I’m including a picture of me and my daughter from May of 1995.  I was overweight then, but I certainly wasn’t morbidly obese.  I don’t know what I weighed, but I wish I had never gotten bigger than that.  I was 24 in that picture, my daughter was three.

Once I’m through this winter, I will revisit my decision to not buy studded tires for the bike.  Next winter I may be ready. 

I haven’t had a week without riding since I started tracking my mileage in June.  My average weekly mileage in November and December was 54.  My average weekly mileage for August through October was 91.

I haven’t done any exercise this week.  I feel lazy.  I’ve been considering starting back on my push-up plan, but can’t seem to motivate myself.  I bought a pilates video months ago, and haven’t used it.

However, my weight is doing just fine.  I’m still eating well, and haven’t had beer in weeks.  I’ve been out to eat a few times, and was pretty proud that I didn’t over-indulge.  I will probably be solidly under 220 lbs before the year is over.

This comes in the midst of me not riding enough.  My weekly mileage is down.  I rode a partial commute on Monday, and the full commute today.  So, I’ve ridden roughly 50 miles all week.

What I have been doing better this week is watching what I eat.  I have went out to eat several times for social occasions, but I found myself ordering water to drink, and eating a salad, or a vegetarian pasta dish.

The bike riding and other exercise is important to my long-term mental and physical health, but the eating habits are more important for the weight control.  That will continue to be true after I have reached my goal weight, and simply need to maintain it.

I tried out the shower at the new job today after riding into work with temperatures in the low 20s.  Apparently they only turn on the hot water heater when there is an event going on, so I got an ice cold shower.  It did still help rinse the road grime off.

I now feel I’ll fallen far enough behind, that I can’t continue it.  I will begin it again in a week or two when things calm down.

On the bright side, I rode my bike part of the way to work today, and my weight seems to be trending downward again.

Push Ups:
Set 1: 5
Set 2: 7
Set 3: 5
Set 4: 5
Set 5: max (did 10)

Arm curls – 20 lb dumbbells:
1 set of 15

Sit-ups:
None

I also rode my bike a short distance for a grocery run.  A pretty weak day, but I did just do this yesterday.

I’m supposed to do a test for the push-ups to see what my progress is.  My arms are burned out from the exercise, so I’ll take the test tomorrow.

Push Ups:
Set 1: 5
Set 2: 6
Set 3: 4
Set 4: 4
Set 5: max (did 12)

Arm curls – 20 lb dumbbells:
2 sets of 15

Sit-ups:
21

I also rode my bike 16.5 miles on hilly terrain.  A good day overall.

Push Ups:
Set 1: 4
Set 2: 6
Set 3: 4
Set 4: 4
Set 5: max (did 10)

Arm curls – 20 lb dumbbells:
2 sets of 15

Sit-ups:
None – not bothering with sit-ups today.

I managed more curls, but I was weak on the push-ups.

Push Ups:
Set 1: 4
Set 2: 5
Set 3: 4
Set 4: 4
Set 5: max (did 12)

Arm curls – 20 lb dumbbells:
2 sets of 11

Sit-ups:
None – not bothering with sit-ups today.

Push Ups:
Set 1: 3
Set 2: 4
Set 3: 2
Set 4: 3
Set 5: max (did 10)

Arm curls – 20 lb dumbbells:
2 sets of 10

Sit-ups:
15

I feel weak with the curls and sit-ups.  I’ve done more than that fairly recently, but that’s all I could do tonight.  I’ll give it another go on Friday.

At my level here is what I did today:
Set 1: 2
Set 2: 3
Set 3: 2
Set 4: 2
Set 5: max (did 9)

I also did curls (two sets of 10 per arm), and squats (two sets of 10).

I rode my bike to work and back for a total of 33.4 miles.

That’s enough for today.  Now I need sleep.

Anyway, I plan on working on the push-up on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  I also did arm-curls with a 20 lb dumbbell (two sets of 15 per arm), and sit-ups (25 before I gave up).  I haven’t yet made a plan for the other exercises, but I’ll squeeze them in on the same three days, and have four days of rest.

I get plenty of leg exercise and cardio from the bicycles.

I started my weight-loss for health reasons.  Building muscle will help with my health, and with burning fat by keeping my metabolism ticking along nicely.  Also, burning the fat from behind the skin, will allow what little loose skin I develop to begin to shrink back closer to normal.

Also, being able to “drop and give 100″ sounds cool. 

I haven’t really been tracking my calories for the last week.  I’m not going to.  I’m still eating well, and losing weight.  I think I’ve got most of my dietary habits in control, so I’m going to focus more on the workouts.  I have removed the daily calorie intake page from this site.

In addition to this blog, I was using Traineo to help track weight, workouts, and diet.  However, that was yet another place to keep updated, and it had become a fair amount of work.  Also, their servers have become slow recently, so I decided to drop it.

I hadn’t weighed for a week, and I was worried that I had gained weight.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to be down to 267.6, the lowest weight since I started this.

I’m also going to focus on blogging everyday again.  I find it useful to help me focus on my goals.  I have more to talk about, but I’ll wait so I have something to write about tomorrow