I’ve now got the time off work starting June 2nd for a four-day tour.  Debbie, who joined me on half of last year’s tour, is planning to ride this one.

Below is a preview of the tentative route.  We’re riding four days, which means three nights of camping.  Total distance is approximately 220 miles.

Route preview

Camping is planned at Clifty Falls State Park, Spring Mill State Park, and O’Bannon Woods State Park.  The entire tour is in Indiana, but the start location is just across the river from Louisville.

My plan at this point is to ride the Big Dummy, assuming I can get the handlebars dialed in where it’s comfortable.  Failing that, I’ll try to figure out how to carry everything on the recumbent.

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!

Progress?  I’ve not been perfect about the rules.  I even bought beer at the grocery store, and had a few last night.  I have been better.

Results?  My weight on 11/21 was 230.2lbs.  Today is 224.2lbs.  In the time between, it’s been 220s the whole time.  I’m seeing small consistent drops.

Weaknesses?  On Wednesday, I went out on an allowed outing for Car-Free Happy Hour.  I was fine with my food consumption, but had a bit more beer than necessary.  On Thursday, I was going to go out to eat, but the restaurant I went to went out of business.  I went home and cooked.  Friday I went out for pizza.  I ate entirely too much, but was better about the beer consumption.

I went grocery shopping last night on the Big Dummy.  I hauled a lot of groceries home.  I’m planning on making large amounts of soup.  I can freeze the extra.  I can easily bring it to work for lunch.  It should be a big help.

My daughter came to visit yesterday.  We made a chicken breast and rice dish.  I ate a bit too much and had beer.

I have no big bicycle plans this month.  I’m just coasting by.  We have one gravel ride planned in a week or two… I don’t know which weekend.  Other that that it’s just riding to work, running errands, or the occasional in-town ride.

I dropped off my rear wheel for the ‘bent on Friday.  That meant riding out to Lyndon after work.  I’m riding back out there today to pick it up, probably just in time for the rain to get here.

My top ten months are below.

There are seven more days to ride.  One of those days is Gravel Grovel, which will get me about 60 miles.  That means I can average less than 23 miles per day for the other six days and hit my target.

Why yes, I do have a Thanksgiving Day ride planned.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

My weight goals:

• Get back down under 200lbs by March 2012
• Get to my goal weight of 175lbs by September 2012
• Maintain my weight between 175 and 180 indefinitely

How will I achieve these goals?  I will:

• Get back to tracking everything I consume
• Drink beer only for special, social occasions
• Quit going out to eat alone
• Quit eating at my desk at home or at work – especially snacks
• Severely limit carbohydrate consumption, especially sugars and grains, except on days with big bike rides
• Visit coffee shops less often, I drink my coffee black, but coffee shops have very little I can eat
• Look into a support group, such as Overeaters Anonymous – I’ll ditch it if I see little value

I have some physical goals also:

• Gain some upper-body strength
• Through diet or supplements, reduce inflammation – this should help my neck and other areas

Somebody asked if I was starting this at the first of the year.  No, it started TODAY.  I’m not waiting.  Here’s my food list for the day (don’t worry, I won’t be posting this all the time):

You’ll notice I’m not counting calories.  I think what I eat, and the amount of it is more important than an inaccurate calorie count.  I’m also not measuring stuff closely, but relying on common sense.  Portion sizes will be a challenge.

I also have some bicycle goals:

• Complete a ten-day tour next year
• Participate in at least one race next year (I’ll be racing Gravel Grovel this Saturday, but I mean another race)
• Get faster so I can keep up and have company during a Populaire/Brevet
• Buy a lighter road bike set up “Brevet” style
• Buy a mountain bike and try to avoid breaking any bones
• Ride one century per month next year

I’m 40 years old.  I’m in better shape now that when I was 35, but things have been heading downhill again.  I think that losing weight, eating better, and getting stronger will help my mental and physical well-being.  I may even see improvement in my neck, which is important as I can feel the inflammation returning.  I’m terrified of going back in for another epidural.

So, this “project”, over four years in, is being reset.

I’ve been at risk of undoing much of the health improvements I’ve done over the last four years.  My eating habits are not only directly unhealthy, but not great for my mental health with the self-loathing I feel after a whole week of eating bad… week after week.

I’ve let myself get lazy and distracted.  I haven’t been keeping up on household chores.  I’ve basically been a mess.

I’m going to refocus.  I’m weighing myself again.  I haven’t started posting it again because the page is crazy with too much data.  I’ll find a better way to present it soon.  My weight this morning was 236.4lbs.  That’s higher than it’s been since October of 2008.

I need to stop going out to eat so much.  Going out for pizza or a burger and a beer three or four times a week is not only working against my goals, but is costing too much money.

Today, I cooked a pork chop on the grill and had celery sticks.   I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  It was a sensible size portion and I drank water with it.

More Goals

In December 2008 I listed a few secondary goals.  I just revisited that.

• Learn to ride a unicycle (next year)
  I wisely gave up on this.
  
• Be car-free (three years away)
  Strangely enough, I’m on track for this.
  
• Either fix-up my house, or move (three years away)
  I moved more than a year ahead of the goal.
  
• Meet a woman crazy enough to like my lifestyle (never?)
  I got married – we’re split up now – don’t want to say much more than that.
  
• Ride a several hundred mile multi-day tour (next year?)
  Although late, I did this in March of this year.

Message From The Past

In January of 2009, I wrote something that I needed to read now.  Luckily, I do re-read my older blog entries occasionally.

I mention effort to save a life.  I was trying at the time to convince my audience that this is possible and necessary.  It turns out the audience is me in 2011.

Alright Then

If I fix my eating habits and focus more on productive activities, not only will I lose weight, but I should feel better about myself.  It’s not a cure for depression, but it means fewer bad days.

It’s strange that the things I crave when depressed (food & beer) are things that will eventually make me more depressed.  This is common.  What is it with the human psyche?

My goal is to finish the race.  Finishing last is okay.

I don’t have the budget for a dedicated gravel bike, so I’ll be stripping racks, lights, and fenders off of the LHT and putting some fatter tires on it.  The LHT is a wonderfully versatile bike.

Depending on the weather, clothing may be a bigger challenge.

Wish me luck!

• I did a 130-mile camping trip on the last weekend of the month
• I spent a lot of time running errands out to the east end
• I rode my recumbent for 70 miles by riding to the Crestwood ride 25-miler, then back home
• I rode a 70-mile RCCS ride
• I rode my bike to work every day
• I had several 20-40 mile rides
• I rode a few extra miles on the last day of the month – just to push myself to a new record

On 8/31, I rode to work the normal way, a whole 3.6 miles or so.  I left work early for a doctor’s appointment (which got me okay’d for a third epidural).

I rode the following route from work to the doctor and then home:

Instead of taking the normal way, I took River Rd all the way to Lime Kiln.  This was flat as a pancake and I managed a 15mph average on this stretch… on the single speed.

After turning unto Lime Kiln there’s a small climb, but it’s mostly flat after that.  I stayed on that same road, although it changes names to Herr Ln then to Lyndon Ln, all the way past Shelbyville Rd and nearly to my doctor’s office.

On the way back, I took the more normal New Lagrange, Washburn, Westport route.  After meandering through the parks, I wen’t to Za’s for pizza then headed home.

After getting home, I realized I was still short of a new monthly record, so I headed back out.

I basically just wandered around.  I didn’t have a destination in mind.  I had mentioned to Tim that I might go through Indian Hills, but I never made it out quite that far.  I was still on the single-speed (actually haven’t ridden the LHT since the camping trip).  Here’s my route:

Once I got back home, I had 671 miles, a new personal best month.  I’m going to shoot for 700 in September.

I’m a bit behind schedule compared to last year.  At the end of July lat year, I was at 3202 miles and ended up with 5087 miles for the year.

Now that my neck isn’t preventing me from riding and I’m living the car-free lifestyle (even though I haven’t yet sold the truck) I expect to surpass 5000 miles for the year again.

So what should my goal for 2012 be? 6000?  7500?

What am I waiting for?

I have a lot of changes coming.  My daughter is moving out of the house tomorrow.  My wife moves out in a few weeks.  There are plans in place to get ride of the house in Charlestown.  I’ll be selling my truck before the end of the year.

What’s that got to do with it?

Nothing, but mentally I seem incapable of handling too much at once.  So I’m waiting.  Not a great reason, but it’ll have to do.

What now?

My neck problem improved dramatically for a while, then started to get a little worse.  I’m going to start commuting on the recumbent again for a while, and save riding upright bikes for group rides, or gravel stuff, or whatever.

Miles!

My June mileage was horrible.  Due to my neck issues I rode only 110 miles.  July was better, but still a bit off, at 363 miles.  Back in March I rode 647 miles.

I met up with Tim this morning for a short-ish ride.  I ended up with 35 miles for the day.  I was happy with that.  I brought my camera with me, but never took a picture.

Where am I heading?

I’ll be car-free by the end of the year.  I will hopefully be back on track for weight loss.  I should be weighing myself again soon.

I will hopefully pull myself together enough mentally to be happy with what I have, rather than obsess with what I want.  I’ll still want things, I just don’t want to obsess over them.

I haven’t been talking much about weight recently.  I don’t have much to write about.  I haven’t been controlling my diet.  I haven’t been weighing regularly.  I haven’t been losing (or gaining) weight.  My weigh has been steady at just above 220 lbs.  That’s quite a bit above my goal weight of 175.

I started this adventure at nearly 300 lbs and very unfit.  I had a sedentary lifestyle.  I was probably on the fast-track to a heart attack.

I was able to bring my weight under 200 lbs for a while.  I also got much more fit.  That took a lot of effort and self-control.  I still intend to work at that, I’m not giving up my goal weight yet.

One thing has changed.  My bicycle-centric lifestyle means I can maintain a weight around 220 lbs without much effort.  I drink beer and eat pizza with few limits.  I don’t eat fast food or drink soda, but that’s because I don’t enjoy those things.  Parting with them wasn’t difficult.

Maybe I’m just making excuses for not putting the effort into losing more weight.  I want to do some more bike touring this year.  I want to have more free time away from work and family obligations, but I’m not sure how to pull that one off.

I’ve been ignoring the need to train a great deal for swimming.  Swimming is painful due to my shoulder arthritis.

I’ve made the decision to not compete in the triathlon.  Actually, I won’t be competing in anything.  I’m also not going to attempt to race the Tour Divide in 2015 as I initially intended.

The problem, is training.  Training isn’t fun.  Training hurts.  I don’t want to hurt.  It’s just not worth it.  I want to ride my bike and have a good time.

I had been formulating my decision all weekend.  I really didn’t want to talk about it.  I was ashamed.  I was angry with myself.  I posted on BikeForums about it with the subject “I’m a quitter“.  I actually got some really good feedback from the other members.

Quitting would be sitting on your sofa and eating cheese puffs. You’ve just refined your goals.

That made me feel better. I do still want to ride, and I want to ride a huge number of miles. I want to lose more weight, and stay fit. I want to go on a tour.

Life’s too short to do things you hate. Go out and ride, tour, randonnee, ride around the neighborhood….whatever. Do what you enjoy.

+1 on what everyone else said. Do what makes you happy. You’re still exercising and improving yourself by riding recreationally instead of training to race. I don’t blame you one bit for not wanting to do that stuff anymore. I tried it during the first half of 1993 for mountain bike racing. It was mostly fun at first and I did pretty well, but when it came time to upgrade from the Beginner class the fun was over. It became the kind of sufferfest I DON’T like, and not worth it to me. I’d rather suffer on my own terms.

I mentioned that Kent Peterson was my inspiration for attempting the Tour Divide in 2015.

The thing to realize is that Kent is a mutant. I mean that in the nicest way possible; I’ve ridden with him and he’s a really nice guy, great advocate for cycling, etc. But he’s in a class above most when it comes to riding.
He’s one of those guys that can survive on little to no sleep. He can fuel himself on garbage. No, really… we’re talking about a guy whose personal slogan is “Not A Nutritional Role Model”. He’s done a 1200k fueled on little more than Payday bars and Starbucks. He can ride for hundreds of miles on trail mix and peanut M&M’s. He won the Raid Californie-Oregon (1200k from SF to PDX, fixies only) then rode the additional 200 miles back to Seattle so he could go to work. By his own admission, he doesn’t beleive in “training” either. When you ride 12,000/year you really don’t need to do anything additional as training.
Most of us, with the right training, could finish a race like the Tour Divide or a 1200k brevet. Some people, like Kent, Vinnie M (over 40,000k RUSA distance last year), and Mark T (4x 1200k events last year) just have a different natural ability for the sport, and structured training doesn’t play much into their routines.

I’m of the attitude that if it’s not fun anymore, then why do it?

I know I don’t need the approval of others to make these decisions, but it did make me feel more comfortable with it after the fact.  I’ve disappointed at least two people by doing this, but I want to ride a bike not run and swim also.

If I don’t compete in the triathlon, I can’t see making my goal of racing the Tour Divide in 2015.  Should I give up on both, or dig in deeper and train?

My training partner and I are doing a mini-tour to Indianapolis and back over five days.  It’s a leisurely pace with a full day in Indianapolis.  It’ll be in late March, and I’ll have a lot of pictures.  We won’t be camping, but staying in hotels.

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.

2008

I bought a bike and started riding in April of 2008.  At the time it seemed like I made slow progress in being able to ride, but I quickly shot up to 626 miles in one month (August).  It tapered off after that.  I finished up that year with 2238.6 miles.  The average monthly was 186.6.

2009

In 2009 I brought my average monthly mileage to 321.7.  I had a total of 3860 miles.  I didn’t have any incredibly good months, but I only had one really bad month, December, with only 91.6 miles.

2010

In 2010 I was more consistent.  My worst month, February, wasn’t really that bad at 297.3 miles.  I also set a new monthly record in June of 665.6 miles.  I barely made my 5000 mile goal for the year by getting 5087.2 miles, averaging 423.9 per month.

2011?

Now that I live closer to work, I’m a bit worried my mileage will drop.  I’m also spending more time on other activities related to the triathlon.  I’ve left my goal for the year at 5000 miles.  Commuting alone will only get me about 2000 miles for the year.  I need to squeeze in longer ride and/or take the long way to work.

I think I’m off to a good start.  I put in a 43-mile ride on the first day of the year.  I may (or may not) get in a ride today.

• 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.

Bad:
At the Y today, I did three laps in the pool before needing to stop.  I’m training for an event that will require swimming the distance equivalent to 35 laps in the pool.
Good:
When I first started riding a bike, a mile seemed like forever, but I quickly built up to riding 60 miles.

Bad:
I was completely unable to do a single pull-up.
Good:
I’m now using a weight machine to strengthen those same muscles.  I expect to be able to do pull-ups in a month or so.

Bad:
The scale hasn’t budged recently.
Good:
My pants feel a little looser.  I may be gaining some muscle mass.

Bad:
I still suffer periods of depression.
Good:
I can muddle through until I feel better.  Muddling through is what I’m doing today.  :)

On my way home from work, I hit 5000 bicycle miles for the year.  I’m glad I did, but it does seems a little bit of a let-down.  There isn’t enough time left in the year to add serious miles, just commuting and a little riding around town.

I know my mileage for 2011 will be down some.  I live a lot closer to work now.  I’ll be spending a lot of time training for the triathlon, most of that time won’t involve the bike.

I still have other goals to work for.  I want to complete the triathlon in 2011.  I intend to reach my goal weight in 2011 (about time, I started all this in 2007).

The joke has been made that triathletes are not cyclists.  I’ll be a cyclist who isn’t really a triathlete.

That’s why I started a Y membership yesterday.  My swimming needs a lot of work.  I need to learn to run without hurting myself.  I need to get faster on a bike.

This came about because I got an email from Debbie, a former co-worker, from my pre-weight loss days.  She had found out about my blog.  She wants to participate in a triathlon, and has asked me to join her.

My gut reaction was to decline, but that is the “fat-person mentality” that I mentioned yesterday.  After rolling the idea around in my head for a while I decided to go for it.  It could very well be what I need to make it to the next level of fitness.

I don’t expect to do well, I just expect to finish.  That’s my goal.  Hopefully I’ll attain my goal weight along the way.

I have a friend willing to loan me a bike that is a bit better for a race than my current bikes.  If that doesn’t work out, I’ll strip my LHT down, and use that.

I still have a lot to learn, but I’m commited.  I signed up for the Y membership and agreed to do this.  The next step is to buy some shoes I can run in.  I’ll probably go to the Y for some swimming and running very soon.  The real training starts in early January.

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 haven’t been cooking.  I go out to eat almost every day.  I’ve been drinking beer several times a week.  I’ve been snacking.  The only exercise I’ve been doing is bicycling.  I haven’t stepped on a scale in a while.

That’s changing now.  I will drink NO beer until further notice.  I will cook and prepare lunches to take to work.  I will not go to the coffee shop, unless it’s to buy more whole bean coffee or to buy a cup of coffee on a bike ride.

I realized earlier today that I would have ordered pizza today for Thanksgiving had I found a place open.  As I got hungrier, I cooked what I had here at the house.  I hadn’t went grocery shopping in a while, but I had pork chops, frozen vegetables, and a couple of potatoes that I made into mashed potatoes.

The meal was satisfying, even if it meant I had to skip turkey, stuffing, and cranberries.  :)

I had hoped to be under 200lbs by the end of the year.  I now know that’s not going to happen.  My revised goal is to be under 210lbs by the end of the year.  It’s going to mean a difficult push to even do that.

I’ll get back on the scale tomorrow morning, then update my daily weigh-in page.

I worked from home on Friday (due to a health issue).  Later in the day I went grocery shopping, and bought several large bags of candy for the kids that will expect some.  I made it a goal to not eat any of this candy, no matter how much is left.  I’ll take the leftovers to work.  So far, so good.

Today, I shirked a bunch of responsibilities and drove out to Bluegrass Bicycle for the LBC Crestwood ride that Tom was leading.  Actually, as ride captain, he had to trail behind everyone else.

I’ve ridden that ride before.  It’s roughly 25 miles of rolling hills in the Kentucky countryside.  I decided to ride my single speed bike.  I wasn’t really even sure if I could finish the ride on that bike.

I did fine.  I walked two hills.  I averaged 14.2 mph.  I was near the rear of the ride, but not completely at the end.  I did feel like I was going to cough up a lung a few times.  I think that’s a good route to get faster on a single speed.  It’s hilly enough to be challenging, but not so long or hilly to be impossible.

My weight has dropped back to about 216 after peaking above 220.  I need to keep the momentum going.  I’m 41 lbs from my goal.  I let it slip away before.  I don’t want to do that again.

In my previous post I mention that I’ve been “out of control”.  That’s true.  I’m fixing that.  Cooking meals at home is saving me money and helping me eat healthier.  Bringing coffee to work saves me money and keeps me from being as tempted by the snacks at the coffee shop.  Taking a lunch to work is saving money and calories over eating out.

I may, or may not, ride another LBC ride tomorrow.  I have a lot of things to do, but I would like to get some more riding in.

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.

Here’s my monthly weight chart.  It looks like I’m heading toward 220 lbs.

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 going back to smaller portions, lower carbs, and better decisions.  I’ve been eating too much “because I want to” instead of “because I need to”.

I’m giving up beer permanently.  I will finish off the two six packs in the fridge first.  :)

I had a muffin and a banana with my first coffee this morning.  I had chili and unsweetened tea for lunch.  I had a bagel for a snack (oops).  I cooked two hamburger patties on the grill for dinner, and ate them with onions and tomato.  I did not have bread.

I am drinking a beer as I type this, but, as I said, once these beers are gone, that’s it.  My wife doesn’t think I’m going to follow through with the no-beer thing, but I am.

When the RCCS holds another “brew cruise”, I’ll just drink water.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

I’ve made a concerted effort for most of my trip to keep my eating under control.  That didn’t stop me from enjoying some great food, but I tried not to overdo it.  I’ve also been staying away from beer, at least since Friday.

SR-71 Blackbird

I did get to visit two museums on this trip.  First was the National Museum of the American Indian.  Although an enjoyable experience, it doesn’t compare to National Air and Space Museum – Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

I do have new resolve to lose weight.  I don’t want to be “The Fat Guy” any longer.  I’ll leave you with a picture of an SR-71 Blackbird, one of my favorite aircraft.

I’ve been fixated on two numbers.  200 and 175.  175 lbs is my goal weight. 200 is the barrier that I’ve been trying hard to get below and stay below.  So far I have failed both of these numbers.

What do I owe to these numbers?  Why do I obsess over them?  Numbers are hard facts, even if they aren’t the right facts.

I haven’t weighed myself since April 1st.  I’ve been trying not to obsess.  I have been overeating, and have probably gained a little weight.  I’ve also been putting quite a few miles on the bike.  Maybe it will balance out, maybe not.

I will start weighing myself again, but not yet.  Maybe in June.

Down from last week:
3.7 lbs

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

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

Weight until goal:
32.4 lbs

It’s been months since I’ve posted a weekly update.  My weight loss had stalled, so I mostly wrote about bicycle related activities.  That has changed.  I’m losing weight again.  My new diet is working.

I still expect to reach my goal weight of 175 lbs.  I hope to reach it before the end of this year.  My new diet should make it easier to maintain than my previous low-calories diet.

I started a true lifestyle change back in 2007.   The changes were drastic, but effective.  I lost weight, and got much more fit.  The changes centered around eating sensibly and getting exercise.

I realize that although I’m still much healthier and fit than I was when I started, my eating habits have slipped  gradually back to horrible.  Overall, I’m still doing well due to the exercise I get but I need another lifestyle change.

I’m considering a six-day diet.  A strict low-carb diet six days per week, then eat what I want on the seventh.  This will allow me to lose weight, yet still go out with Kristy for dinner, or have a beer or three.

The low-carb, high-fat, high-protein diet is a bit controversial, but will be easier to fit-in with Kristy’s cooking habits.  It’s also similar to what I was eating during my best period of weight loss.

I still need to track everything I eat, and weigh regularly.   Both of those things mostly disappeared for the month of December.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

• Goal weight will remain at 175 lbs (for now).  I hope to reach that goal by the end of August.
• Ride a century this year (100 miles in one day).
• Raise $3200 for The Ride to Conquer Cancer, and complete the entire ride under my own power.
• Learn to ride my new unicycle, and complete a ten-mile ride on it by June 2010.
• Juggling?
• Ride to work more often.  I had hoped to average 3 days per week, but I’m not even managing that right now.
• Ride to work five days a week at least 3 weeks per year.
• Increase my average speed on the bicycle a little bit.
• Learn to kayak this year.
• Get a rod, reel, and fishing license, and spend some time relaxing and fishing.
• Find new fitness activities.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 had planned to try to drive less than 3500 miles per year.  I’m giving up on this also.
• Ride in a roller coaster this year.  I’ll actually fit now.
• Go skydiving in the summer of 2010.
• I want to be a better cook.
• I want to find a wonderful woman to enjoy these activities with.

What I’ve achieved

• I’m no longer obese.  My weight is hovering just above 200 lbs.
• My blood pressure and resting pulse rate are low.
• I am physically stronger than I’ve been in years.
• My pants size dropped from a 44 to a 36.
• I feel better about who I am, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
• Others have been inspired others to improve their lives.
• I am more confident in all aspects of my life.
• I am usually much more upbeat, happy, and optimistic than I used to be.

What I’ve learned I still need to work on

• Occasionally, depression still gets the better of me.
• I’m still lazy by nature, and have to fight this every day.
• The “I want it now” mentality is still hiding back there, and surfaces occasionally.
• I am still somewhat self-centered.  I don’t think having a blog helps in that matter.
• The depression and “I want it now” mentality sometimes team up to hurt my financial state.  I need to get better about that.

If you think I’m going off-topic… I’m not.  What started as a weight-loss effort has turned into a complete transformation of who I am.

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 guess I waited too long.  I tried on a few sizes, and a size 36 fit perfectly.  I bought three pair on sale, and will get ride of the larger ones I have.

I’ve heard that the last few pounds are the hardest to lose.  I feel like I’m in that home-stretch.  I only have 33 more to lose.  However, the weather is getting nicer, I’ll be on my bike much more, and I really do see hitting my goal weight of 175 by late August.

After work, I was riding home, and although the temperature was warmer, the wind was a lot worse.  The wind was mostly a cross-wind, but it kept changing directions, sometimes pushing me from behind and giving a welcome boost in speed, other times, blowing right into my face and slowing me down horribly.

After 8.5 miles of my 16.5 mile commute I called it quits, and called for a ride.  I could have finished the ride, but I just didn’t want too.  The weather was bad, idiot drivers were everywhere, and I was hungry.

After getting home I went out to (over)eat instead of having a sensible meal at home.

The weather for the rest of the week looks to be extremely cold and windy.  I don’t think I’m riding again this week.

These decisions aren’t helping me with my goals, weight loss, or car-use, but sometimes I need a break.  I’ll have to do a lot more riding to make up for it once the weather warms a bit more.

I wanted to make up for it today, but, again, I’m naturally lazy, and only took a short ride.  I had left Nermal at the bike shop this morning for some repairs and upgrades, so my lonely recumbent (that still needs a name) was the ride for the day.

My goal is to ride 5000 miles this year.  That means I need to average 14 miles per day.  Well, it’s now the second day of the year, and I’ve only ridden 15 miles.  I’m going to have to work on that.

Another part of my goal is to drive less than 3500 miles.  I haven’t checked my odometer, but I know I’m doing poorly there too.  Part of it was the trip to the bike shop though.

For today’s ride I followed my very familiar 11 mile loop, then rode around town.

I found that one of the small bridges I ride over has flat-topped posts that are great for sitting my camera on, and using the timer for a cheesy self-portrait.