The average of my daily weigh-ins for the month of January is 269.0 pounds. I started the year at 275.4. I’m down 6.4 pounds. Although I’d be happy to consistently lose only 4 pounds a month, I’m concerned that I’m currently not losing weight.
Back to it. I’ve got to remind myself to eat better. I need to quit going out to eat and drinking beer. Yes, I had beer again yesterday. I also had a huge serving of fish and chips.
Yes, I messed up my numbers for the year, then I skipped a weekly update.
This week, I gained a little.
My average weight for the week ending 1/30/2016:
268.3 lbs
Up from last week:
0.3 lbs
Down since I re-started on 1/1/2016:
6.5 lbs
I went two weeks without riding the bike to work. That sucks. I’ve also been attempting to grow a beard. Yesterday, I forced myself out the door on two wheels for the trip to work.
I’m glad I did, even if the scraggly beard did little to keep me warm.
My weight spreadsheet had an error. I haven’t lost as much weight as I thought. You can see the correct numbers on my weight page.
In addition, I haven’t weighed since Saturday. I also quite tracking food for a few days. I’ve been terribly lazy. I had four days of beer drinking.
Meh.
I’ll kick it back into gear tomorrow.
My average weight for the week ending 1/16/2016:
266.9 lbs
Down from last week:
2.6 lbs
Down since I re-started on 1/1/2016:
7.9 lbs
Even with some “cheating”, I’m losing weight. I just need to keep going.
I’ve been doing well. I’ve lost weight, eaten better, and had no beer. The only weak spot is riding. I haven’t been on the bike much.
On the way home from work today, I stopped at the store to pick up a few things and grabbed a six-pack of beer. I couldn’t help it. I’m enjoying one of the bottles now. I’m considering it a “mental health break”.
I won’t be riding to work tomorrow, as I’ll be working from home. Friday may be the one day I do that this week.
My average weight for the week ending 1/09/2016:
269.5 lbs
Down from last week:
5.3 lbs
Down since I re-started on 1/1/2016:
5.3 lbs
As promised, the new year brought new resolve to lose weight. I gave up beer, and have been attempting to ride my bike more.
I was out for 26.6 miles this morning. I was not fast.
Tim and I met for a ride out to the Long Run / Floyd’s Fork area. This is series of parks being connected by new sections of the Louisville Loop.
Unfortunately, being at the eastern edge of the Metro means it’s a rather urban ride to get there.
I met Tim for coffee to start our trip. Within ten miles I was feeling weak. I considered bailing on the ride. Tim cajoled me, and we continued. I tried to keep my whining to a minimum.
Once we arrived and rode some of the paths, we took a short excursion on foot through the brush to enjoy a view of the creek.
We looped around and headed to the southern end of the finished section of path. There’s a fence up, but I figured we’d get around that, and check out the new construction. Unfortunately, a park ranger was there (on his bike), locking the gate.
We eventually headed back, and again I struggled on every hill. At one point Tim told me he couldn’t ride back at 10 mph, but that 13 mph would be okay. We almost immediately came to a hill that brought me to 6 mph. Ugh. I was not strong today.
Tim didn’t leave me far behind, so I struggled on. Eventually, once back on the busier roads, my speed went back up (adrenaline from traffic?). We finished up the ride with another coffee.
I got 45 miles in, but never felt like a cyclist today. Some days are good, some are not. I’m still glad I got out and exercised. I’ve been using Google Fit on my phone recently. It thought I was walking for 70 minutes of today’s ride due to my slow pace. Yikes.
My wife met me at The Post, a local pizza place, where I had a sandwich and iced tea to drink. It was difficult to not order a beer.
Now that I’ve showered, I’m finding all of the sore spots from today’s ride. Ugh, again.
I haven’t been posting about my rides, and I’ve complained about not riding nearly as much, but I do ride. Here’s a quick rundown of some recent, memorable rides.
Cold Camping
On November 13th, Tim and I headed to Shelby Lake outside of Shelbyville for a lakeside camping spot. The ride was pleasant, if a bit windy. We had a cold, windy night to contend with. I was uncomfortable for much of the night, even though I was able to get a fire started. The return trip brought us a good breakfast. 80+ miles over two days and a beautiful campsite – not bad.
November GAR
On November 22nd, Timothy put on another GAR (Gravel Adventure Ride). This one left out of New Washington Indiana. I rode my rSogn, as my Fargo, which is usually my gravel bike has some drivetrain issues.
I felt like an actual cyclist during the first half of the ride… then the wheels feel off and I struggled. Still, I pulled myself through under my own power for 57 miles.
Christmas Ride
My wife and I drove to Crestwood to visit her brother. We had a nice brunch. I had brought my bike with me to ride home. It was appropriately decorated.
It was only 29 miles, but it felt good to get out. After getting home, Tim and I went to one of the few bars open on Christmas for a couple of beers.
Rainy!
Tim and I headed out on the Sunday after Christmas for a 50-mile road ride. The day started with 70-degree temperatures, rain, and wind. I was wearing shorts – a decision I later regretted.
The first 30 miles weren’t bad. It did rain hard, but I don’t mind getting wet.
The return trip was supposed to have a tailwind, but at our mile-30 store stop, the front came through, the wind changed direction, and it got cooler.
If you look at the elevation profile on the GPS track below, you’ll notice it gets crazy after mile 30. That’s not reality. The pressure-based altimeter couldn’t handle the weather change. In reality it was dead-flat.
The temperature had dropped into the low 40s, we had a stiff headwind, and I was still wearing shorts. Brrrrrr.
Tim asked me where the ride registered on my fun-meter. I told him that some rides are more fun in retrospect.
Today
Although I didn’t get out for a New Years Day ride, which I did a few years back with Tim, when it was 9 degrees, I did get out today. It’s starting to feel like winter. I think it was low 40s. I’m meeting up with him in the morning for another ride.
I’ve done other rides besides these. I just wanted to get a sampling out there. Tim, Timothy, and I did an overnight camping trip to Jefferson Forest in the rain. That was memorable.
I’m trying to really ramp up my riding this year. Wish me luck!
I did pretty well losing weight from 2007 to 2011. How? Mostly through tracking everything I ate, and exercise. The bicycle was only part of the exercise.
Since 2012, I’ve been horrible about my food and beer consumption. I’ve done short-lived half-measures to attempt to get back on track. This morning, January 1st, 2016, I weighed-in at 275.4 pounds. That’s unacceptable.
I’ve also wasted a ton of money on beer, and dining out. I need to be more responsible with everything I do.
2015 was a terrible year for my diet, exercise, and cycling. I rode my bike only 2,424.3 miles for the entire year. In comparison, I rode 5,502 miles in 2011. I haven’t regularly tracked my calories in years. I haven’t weighed regularly in months.
It’s a new year. This changes today. I will not drink beer at all during 2016. I will track everything I consume. I will track not just bike rides, but other exercise. I’ll make it a point to do “training rides” where I push myself faster, even if they are short rides.
My goals? Same as always. I want to lose 5 lbs a month until I reach a weight of 175. I want to ride longer rides (like I did in 2009-2011) without suffering. I want to get faster, fitter, and thinner.
I’ve almost spent as much time working on bikes in 2015 and riding them. I need to simplify.
I attempted to sell my Big Dummy, but I didn’t get any buyers. I’ve since disassembled it, to part it out – again no buyers. It’ll remain in pieces for the time being. It’s put away out of my way.
The recumbent needs work, and I really don’t enjoy riding it much anymore. It’s also put away in a non-rideable way.
The rSogn (now with drop bars again) is my primary bike. It has rack, fenders, dynohub lights, and can do nearly anything. My Space Horse is a fun lightweight single-speed. I may use this for the flatter training rides.
The Fargo has some drivetrain issues currently, but I intend to get it fixed when I have the money. The Fargo comes in handy for the awesome “middle of nowhere” rides we sometimes do.
The tandem is rideable, and I won’t be changing anything for a while. It’s almost never used now. I am a bit disappointed in Diane since she pretty much gave up on bicycles.
I still want something like a Disc Trucker, but I don’t have the funds for it.
Why haven’t I written since August? Good question. I’ve spent most of my online time on Google+. I’m cutting back there. I’ve also spent too much time on the couch with Netflix. I’m cutting back there too. Tim has complained that the bike blogs we follow have been going dark. I’m going to try and write more to fight the trend.
Physically, my body has been weird. My neck was better for quite a while, but I have other, new pains. In just the last week, the neck pain seems to be coming back, but I’ve decided to ignore it for a while. I want to wait at least five years before getting surgery. I’m hoping that a better diet, weight loss, and exercise can help the neck this time.
Stick around for more. I’ll be here.