Food – Page 2 – The Fat Guy

Spring Day

I think this nicer weather is the boost I need to be on the bike every day. Although I decided not to participate in the #30daysofbiking thing over on G+, where we ride every day of April, I have been on the bike every day this month, except the 1st, when I got around via cab and bus.

Today’s weather might have been the best yet. It was in the low-60s when I rode to work. I wore short sleeves and no jacket. Signs of Spring were everywhere.

Along my morning commute in Old Louisville

I failed to pack a lunch for work, which meant a quick trip across the street to the Mexican restaurant. That’s not ideal, but I knew I wouldn’t be going out for dinner.

After lunch, I was jaywalking across Main Street, a one-way street and I was almost hit by a cyclist riding the wrong way. I normally look both ways, even on one way streets, but I was distracted by a woman who also showed that Spring was in the air.

There was no collision, no yelling, just some rattled nerves.

After work I had a massage appointment. I took a slow pace in the now 80-degree day. I didn’t want to get too sweaty. The ride up Baxter Ave and Bardstown Rd was pleasant and uneventful – which is something during rush hour.

My massage therapist found a particularly nasty knot in my left leg. I’ll need to do more stretching to keep it from coming back.

I had a leisurely ride home where I cooked beef and pork on the grill for several meals. I steamed some broccoli, which I overcooked and it turned to mush, and later I made a potato soup. I have enough food prepared to last until the weekend.

It’s supposed to cool off later in the week. That’ll be a shame, I’ve been enjoying sleeping with the windows open. The weekend is looking nice. I need to plan some bike miles.

I’m still beer-free since Saturday. I think some of my depression and muscle aches were from too much beer and not enough water.

So, another glass of water, and I’m off to bed.

A Stumble

So Friday was my “new beginning”. Then Saturday happened.

When I woke up Saturday morning, I had no coffee in the house. I headed out on the bike to Sunergos where I bought three pounds of coffee and sat and drank a couple of cups there.

The plan was to go home, then later go grocery shopping. Instead, I went to Four Pegs with the intention of a late lunch and a beer. I had the food and seven beers. I was sober enough to know I needed to walk the bike home. So, I walked home. It was still early afternoon. I slept for a few hours and woke up in the evening with a hangover. That’s a new one for me.

I was unable to sleep most of the night. It was miserable. I metaphorically pulled a muscle by kicking myself over it. I felt very stupid. I was depressed. Sometime overnight I had a bit of an anxiety attack.

Today was better. I didn’t get out for a long ride, but a puttered around the house. I went grocery shopping and didn’t get beer. I didn’t go out to eat. I can’t say I ate healthy today, but I ate food from the grocery store that I prepared at home. That’s an improvement.

Tomorrow was supposed to be my first volleyball game, but it’s been put off another week. That’s actually a good thing. I have a lot to do this week.

Spring is for New Beginnings

So it’s good that I got up and rode the rSogn to work, albeit a bit late due to the damn snooze button. I brought leftovers for lunch, but a friend invited me to lunch. I’ll save the leftovers for another time.

I really wanted to go out for a beer after work, but I stuck to plan and came home. I set up my new tent, so I know how for my next camping trip (possibly tomorrow).

I’d order this tent a while ago. It arrived a while ago. It’s been sitting in it’s unopened box until today.

Without the rainfly, the tent is mostly mesh. This helps with ventilation.

The rainfly sits far enough away from the tent that it should be more waterproof than other tents I’ve owned. It also creates two vestibules (one on each side) to store things outside the tent, but covered.

The whole kit, including the footprint I purchased separately packed into the tent tube on my tour panniers. It was a tight fit, but it worked. The main body of the pannier is empty. Only the tent tube has anything in it. The rest of that pannier can hold sleeping bag, pad, etc. I still have the other pannier available for cooking stuff.

I’ll write more about this tent once I actually get to use it.

Once I was done playing with the new toys, it was time to cook dinner. I threw pork chops on the grill, steamed some veggies. I drank water with it. I’ll admit to craving a beer. I don’t have any in the house.

I’ll be up early tomorrow. I have no coffee in the house. I consider that an emergency. I’ll run by Sunergos and grab a few pounds. After that I plan to go to the farmer’s market. Yes, I’ll be riding the Big Dummy.

Home Cooking

Yes, I need to cook more. Tonight, I cooked a simple spaghetti meal, but I steamed fresh broccoli, and served it on the side. I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow, and one more meal after that.

I’m not currently counting calories, so I didn’t try to total them up.

I weighed myself on April 1st. I gained 3.2 lbs. I’m up to 237.8. That’s now how to do this. Hopefully the change going on now will make my May weigh-in go the right direction.

Acceptance

I’ve been frustrated with life recently. I’m unhappy with my weight. I’m unhappy with being alone.

It’s time to accept things. I need to not worry about being single. I’ve done it before. I can do it again.

I need to acknowledge my eating issues and work on them. I need to cook at home, give up the beer for a while, and do some exercises in the evening instead of sit at the bar drinking.

One thing will help me to achieve the “stay at home and cook” goal – I’m going to be broke for a few weeks. Poor planning and unexpected expenses teamed up to take my beer away. Maybe this is a good thing.

I have been riding. I’ve even been back on the rSogn. I still need to replace the handlebars with Albatross bars, but that’ll have to wait for finances.

Tim got a new bike. He calls it SeaFoam. We managed to get out for a ride both Saturday (foggy) and Sunday (Easter). I have a few pictures from Saturday.

If you can’t tell, SeaFoam is a Rivendell Atlantis. Tim always has the nicer bike.

A trip through Joe Creason Park in the fog completely hid the fact we were in an urban area.

I didn’t ride the bike to work on Monday or Tuesday. I took a cab (waste of money) to work. I took the bus home. Both days involved walking, and drinking at a bar (more money wasted).

Tuesday, I had a few beers after work, when Tim contacted me about an evening ride. I ran home and got ready. We met and rode 15 or so miles after dark. Again, I was on the rSogn, and he was on SeaFoam. Both of us with dyno-powered headlights.

As he headed for home, I stopped again for another beer.

See? This one was totally the bike’s fault!

It’ll be at least two weeks without beer now. I’ll then limit my drinking to one day a week.

In addition to spending more time at home with my dogs, I’m starting back with sand-court volleyball next Monday. This will hopefully give me enough social interaction (and some exercise!)

Life is an interesting journey. It’ll be fun to see where I end up by the end of the year.

More Adjustments

I rode my bike to work four days last week. I still don’t feel much like a cyclist, but pushing myself out the door is getting a little easier.

Yesterday was a beautiful day, but I spend the day running errands on the bike and doing housework. I hauled a large load of groceries on the Big Dummy

I’m still drinking too much beer. I love beer, but every time I try to cut back, my consumption climbs back up in short order. I may have to give it up entirely. I’m tired of still being fat.

I’ve pondered the idea of a paleo-diet multiple times. I tried it once. I wasn’t able to stick to it. I lost my weight before with calorie counting and sensible eating (and little beer). I’m not going to do the paleo-diet. I’m going to eat a sensible diet, mostly home-cooked, mostly non-processed, and heavy on the plant matter. I’m not going vegetarian, but smaller amounts of meat, and larger amounts of vegetables are in order.

The bicycling situation is complicated. I’m out of shape. I’m slow. I can putter around town all day, but longer rides are hard. I’m mostly limited to riding the recumbent. I need to take off on some long solo rides, but time and weather have been limiting factors.

I feel like I need to take a break from worrying about the cycling for a while. I can work on other issues in my life in the meantime. So, I don’t care about bike miles. I care about getting around by bike. I care about making my house a more pleasant place to live. I care about cooking healthy meals at home. I care about spending more time with my dogs.

I used to have an exercise mat. I should replace it. I need to do some strength-training. I’m getting too old to ignore my upper body.

Maybe it’s not too late to rescue this calendar year.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade

For some reason Louisville has the St. Patrick’s Day Parade eight days before the actual holiday. I’d never attended before, but Timothy told me the Pedal de Ville team needed some help. He wanted to, but he was busy racing Death March with Asher.

I didn’t want to leave a bike locked at the parade staging area so I walked the two miles there. It was a nice day. I took the shortest route which took me through a bad neighborhood, but it was the middle of the day and I had no issues.

I knew nobody there. I was introduced to Scott, the Schlafly representative. Schlafly was sponsoring this “float”. It’s not really a float. It was a decorated, pedal-powered, bar. It could hold over a dozen people.

They were still in the process of decorating the “float” for quite a while after I arrived. Some stuff was St Patrick’s-themed, other stuff was Schlafly-themed.

This was Lilly. Poor dog.

We eventually got underway. We began with a minor hill, but this thing weighed 2500 lbs. I think a few people didn’t pedal. There was no shifting, and the first few feet were difficult. After that we had to be careful to not run over children.

We cruised slowly along Baxter Ave and Bardstown Rd. The spectators were pretty crazy. Everybody wanted hand-outs, but I had little to give. It felt wrong to give green plastic bead necklaces to children.

It’s nice seeing these street full of people

We were egged on at the end to go faster, so we spun like crazy, taking our speed from 2-3 mph to probably 5 mph. That thing is heavy!

Is the Schlafly sponsorship obvious enough?

We parked at the end, and I walked down with a few of the others to the Schlafly event at River City Drafthouse. I had three beers and some food. I paid for the food, Schlafly covered the beer. That was very kind of them.

I walked three miles home. This was not in a bad neighborhood, nor was I the only walker out and about. I stopped again at Four Pegs for a few more beers.

At this point I stumbled home and went to bed. It wasn’t a bad way to spend a Saturday. Five miles, too many beers, too many calories, and a whole lotta fun.

Food, Dating, and a Lazy Weekend

I mentioned a while ago that I joined a dating site. I haven’t actually had a date yet. I had one (let’s call her T) that stood me up – probably for valid reasons. There were two more who weren’t interested once they found out I don’t own a car. Never mind that I don’t need them to run me around. I’m quite self-sufficient.

There are still two more, M and L. M is fascinating. She’s also found this blog, so of course I’ll say good things about her. 😀 I haven’t met her in person, so who knows what first impressions we’ll have with each other. L is less interesting, but I’m supposed to meet her tomorrow evening. She doesn’t know I don’t have a car yet. We’ll see how that turns out. I’ll be taking a bus to meet her.

I spent most of the weekend in the house. Tim, Timothy, and Patrick headed out yesterday for a camping trip and gravel ride.. I didn’t go. My ongoing neck issue meant no gravel riding. Although they were quite cold, I’m still jealous.

I wanted to go to Four Pegs for food and beer today. I still had a lot of housework to do today. I negotiated with myself. If I did the dishes, I could go to Four Pegs, so I did the dishes. I walked to Four Pegs – I haven’t been on a bike since Friday.

I got into an interesting conversation with a woman bicyclist at Four Pegs. Let’s call her Z. Z is gay. So, I’m out of the running. However, she actively tried to set me up with her friend, D. It was obvious D wasn’t interested. Z didn’t give up. It was really quite embarrassing. That’s the first time that a stranger tried to “hook me up”.

Oh, and Z knows somebody in common with M… but I won’t get further into that, or somebody will figure something out and get weird… or not. Louisville isn’t that big.

This dating thing kind of sucks. Most people (including me) want somebody to have a connection with, to have a partner, to have someone to be affectionate with. That’s the easy part. It’s all the other stuff that makes it complicated. Lifestyle, TV shows, cars, beer, music, physical activity, and just normal stuff like attitude, tone of voice, and body language.

Let’s not forget the weird dance we do. I am looking for a long-term thing, but you don’t just go out and say, “Hey! You! – you’re attractive and seem nice, will you marry me? What’s your name by the way?” Some people already know each other before they get involved. That’s they way Cindy (my first wife) and I were. We knew each other since kindergarten. That makes it a lot easier.

M likes email (as do I), which means we’ve had several long exchanges. That also means they come once a day at best. It takes a while to write it all.

L likes texting. Very little is said in each text, but you can have many in a short period of time.

I really prefer one-on-one conversation, but I haven’t got there with any of them yet, except Z’s friend D, who cut it quite short.

I’m not sure I can handle trying to talk to strangers with the intent of finding “the one”. I’ll continue for a while, but eventually I’ll give up and go back to not worrying about it. Too bad I already paid Match.com for three months.

Things Were Good…

My post on the 20th, gained me an email from a friend who wanted to make sure I was okay. Yes. I’m okay. I was actually in a good mood when I wrote that, but had just come out of a bad stretch.

Things were good last week and through Saturday. I was upbeat, productive at work, and had hope for the future. Then Sunday happened.

I’ll back up. Friday after work, I went to Apocalypse Brew Works for beer. It was packed inside, but they had a campfire in the parking lot, so I sat around with a group of strangers and got drunk. It was actually a good time. There’s something about sitting in a circle around a fire that gets you talking to people.

I left there after having one too many. I still hadn’t eaten dinner, so I stopped at Cumberland for a burger and one more beer. Cumberland didn’t have a fire or a circle, so I really didn’t talk to anyone. My ride home was a blur – an uneventful blur, but still… I got home and went to sleep.

I woke up Saturday morning feeling dehydrated and smelling of wood smoke. I felt much better after a shower and a pot of coffee. Saturday’s plans were grocery shopping and housecleaning. Oh, and I had a growler of beer I’d brought home from Apocalypse.

I drink too much beer. I realize that. It hurts my weight loss efforts. It hurts my mental state. I’ve cut down for a while, only to pick back up later. I was determined to not over-do it on Saturday, as I had big bike plans for Sunday.

I thoroughly cleaned the drivetrain on the rSogn for Sunday’s plans. Timothy was putting on an LBC Populaire.

I woke up early Sunday feeling good. I cooked a good breakfast and drank plenty of coffee.

The ride was planned at 68 miles. I wanted 100 miles for the day, so if I took the long way to the ride start location and back (in Prospect), I could do that.

I headed out in plenty of time. I was underdressed, but I knew it would warm up. Ten miles in, I wanted to turn around and go home, but I kept going. It was 18 miles until I arrived in Prospect for the 10:00 AM departure.

There were some interesting bikes there. One guy from Columbus Indiana was riding a recumbent. Sam, from Lexington Kentucky, was riding a Velo-Orange Polyvalent.

Being a timed event, I didn’t bother with pictures. We rolled back toward town. Many of the riders pulled ahead of my on River Rd. They were soon out of site. There were still a few behind me somewhere. After a bit, the recumbent rider passed me.

Two riders behind me caught up as we were approaching downtown. They slowed a bit to stay with me. We crossed the Second Street Bridge into Indiana, and the faster group had apparently made a wrong turn somewhere, and were coming back toward us. Now I was riding with a group again.

While riding next to the recumbent rider and talking to him, I didn’t spot a pothole in time, and hit it hard. There was no damage to my bike, but I had to stop to retrieve my pump which had fallen off. Nobody waited for me. I was pretty much cooked already at this point. I had pushed a pretty good pace (for me). I was unable to catch them.

I continued on to the first control, Quill’s Coffee in New Albany. Most of them were still there, including Timothy. My mind was made up. I let him know I wasn’t continuing with the ride. I was only 18 miles into the Populaire, 36 miles into my day. They left while I had a cup of coffee.

I wasn’t ready to ride another 12 miles to get home. I was that tired. I was about a block away from New Albanian Brewing, so I rode there for a beer and food, then began a slow amble home. It took me nearly an hour to go those 12 miles home.

I cooked a nice dinner at home. I spent some time stretching my leg muscles, which had begun to cramp up. I was exhausted – much more exhausted I should have been for the riding I did. I felt kind of “cooked” mentally too. I went to bed at a reasonable time with the intention of riding the recumbent to work and taking the long way in the morning.

This morning, I hated the world. I hated the alarm clock, the bikes, myself, and the fact I don’t own a car. My legs and neck were still in pain, but the mental pain was bigger. I couldn’t call off work. I wasn’t going to spend the money on a cab. I took the bus to work. Riding the bus made me feel slightly sick, which it normally doesn’t.

Getting to work didn’t improve matters. I was grumpy. My co-workers were annoying. I wasn’t very pleasant to be around.

I left work at 5:00 on the dot. I didn’t want to miss my bus. My mood had improved a bit, but I still felt a bit ill on the bus.

I cooked another nice dinner and prepared leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch. I did the dishes. I played on the computer. I feel better, but not quite right.

Maybe cutting out beer for a week (or three) will change things a bit. Maybe just getting back in the habit of being at home, cooking, paying attention to my dogs, and playing on the computer will help.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

I’m Still Here!

I’ve been lax about writing. Instead, I fire off a sentence or two on Google+. I’ve also been using Google+ less, which has helped my productivity, but I’ve had nearly no social life – even an online one. I’ll be curtailing my G+ usage even more to spend the time having an in-person social life, writing here, and focusing on my health goals.

Beer is a problem. Food is a bigger problem. Both have been out of control for a while now. Grocery store? What’s that? Seriously, I need to buy groceries and cook again. Yesterday (and too many other days) I went out for dinner and drank too much beer – way too much. I woke up this morning after a crappy night’s sleep feeling sick and dehydrated.

I went out to eat after work today too. It was either that or the grocery store, and I loathe the grocery store. Also, I’d have to cook, which would mean washing the dishes…. Anyway, I had only two beers. It was enough to enjoy my time, but I didn’t get drunk. It was quite nice. I’ll have to try this “not drunk” more often.

So less time on social media. More time on dishes.

I’m riding the bike nearly every day. I’ve got just over 600 miles in for the year. This time of year isn’t conducive to really high miles, so I think I’m doing pretty good. There’s a populaire this Sunday that I should force myself to ride. 62 miles + 24 to get there and back. Pushing 90 miles? Maybe I could go the long way and get an even 100 for the day. I’ll probably ride the recumbent, as the rSogn will be having new rear wheel built that weekend. I’ve never ridden 100 miles in a day on the ‘bent.

I’ve had some nice short-ish weekend rides with Tim. Nothing epic, mostly just around town rides. Sometimes we had multiple coffee stops. Most of the RCCS crew has little free time. They all have family obligations or whatnot. Darn families. They take away our freedom.

I’ve complained a little (maybe more than a little) about loneliness. Well, I went and joined a dating site, again. I’ll try not to marry the first woman I meet within six months this time around. I texted with one woman late into the night on Sunday. I was limiting my looking to local women… really local, because I don’t own a car. Unfortunately, her profile said she was five miles away, in reality she had moved to another town 40 miles away. We still planned a Monday night date here in Louisville. She stood me up. She did contact me later. She had car trouble. I haven’t heard from her since. I’m not going to pester her. We’ll see if I have better luck (and hopefully someone closer) next time.

Icing on the cake? My daughter and I had plans to go out on Tuesday night. Guess what? She stood me up too. She fell asleep and didn’t hear her phone. Oh well. I’ve spent most of my dining out time alone. Often I’m surrounded by people, yet I’m alone. I’m not an extrovert. It’s difficult for me to just start talking to people, and honestly, some of them don’t want me to talk to them.

I’m a great procrastinator. I wish I could get paid for that. I’d easily get that job. “Senior Vice President of Procrastination” Yep. I could do it. I put off posting here. I’ve put off my upper-body exercises. I’ve put off getting my diet back under control. I should take advantage of my good mood tonight and do something useful, but I won’t. I’m procrastinating again…… Oh wait! I’m posting here. That counts, right?

I’m dreading the March 1 weigh-in. Unless I starve myself until then (which I won’t do), I’ve probably gained a tad. Bleh.

It’s past my bed time. Good night!

Poor Progress

This blog may stay named “The Fat Guy” with my lack of progress. No, I’m not giving up, just feeling frustrated.

I did my monthly weigh-in on February 1st, but didn’t post it until today. I need to lose 5 lbs per month. I lost 3.4 in December. I lost one pound in January. This progress won’t get me there. I’m still 61.4 lbs from my goal.

On the bright side, seeing this has focused my attention. I was going to go out for dinner. Now I’ll stay home and cook. I have no beer in the house, so that’ll help too. Although I should go grocery shopping, I think I’ll do better if I stay home today.

I’ve mostly been at the computer today. I should do some exercise and stretching. I need to get away from the computer.

Setbacks

Yep. I had beer. Not a lot, but some. I also went out to eat for dinner twice this week.

The return spring for my Big Dummy’s kickstand broke this morning. I had to remove the kickstand to safely ride the rest of the way to work. I was a little late to work because of that.

After I got home from work, I installed the rear brake on the rSogn. I also ran the cable and housing for it. It went well.

The right shifter will need to be replaced. The ratcheting mechanism isn’t working. I sent an email to Velo-Orange. Hopefully it gets resolved quickly.

I may or may not install the chain tonight before I go to bed. If I do, I could temporarily throw a rear rack on it, and ride it to work tomorrow as a single-speed. It’s doubtful I will though.

I didn’t take any pictures of tonight’s work.

No More Beer

If one thing has to be to blame for my recent weight gain, it’s beer. It’s not just the calories from beer, but it’s the fact I generally eat more while consuming beer. I also tend to go out to eat and drink rather than cook a healthier meal at home.

That’s changing. I’m cutting out 100% of the beer for an undetermined amount of time.

I went grocery shopping earlier today. I did not buy beer, ice cream, or snack foods. I bought the things I need to cook at home, and a few “quick and easy” meals that aren’t too high in calories.

I just ate my dinner, a black-eyed pea soup with onion and celery. I’ve made better before, but it was warm and satisfying.

(Re-)Beginning

I posted the following on Google+ this morning:

Today I’m officially back on the wagon as far as my weight lost attempt.

I stepped on the scale this morning – 245.8 lbs, ugh. I was down to 197.6 about three years ago. So, I’ve gained back about half of what I had lost.

I ate healthy meals yesterday, other than the snack from the coffee shop in the morning. I drank no alcohol.

Today is the real (re-)beginning though. I’m back to tracking everything I eat.

Although as of now, just over eleven hours later, I’m still on plan, I’m already running into difficulties.

I’m in a bad mood. I haven’t cooked tonight’s meal, which will also provide a couple of lunches. I have a strong desire to go get drunk.

At this point, I’m going to go to bed hungry tonight, and figure out tomorrow’s lunch tomorrow. I’m just not in a good enough mood to deal with it.

Mixed Feelings

I’ve been a little sick for over a week. I didn’t feel up to riding to work today, so Robin drove me. I called my doctor and scheduled an appointment for today. Then I realized I had no bike to get there.

I took a bus from work to the doctor’s office without much problem. The doctor said I have a minor virus and that it’ll pass. He sent me on my way.

I didn’t feel like taking another bus. It would take longer than walking. It was only two miles from home. So, I lugged my laptop home in the 94 degree temperatures. It wasn’t a big deal.

The doctor talked to me about my weight. I’ve gained since my last visit. I’ve justified my lifestyle. I’ve promised to do better. Months have gone by since I knew this was an issue yet I have yet to actually do anything about it.

My bike miles are way down. I ride slower when I do ride. I seldom do long rides. I’m not in as good of shape as I was.

Some of this was precipitated by my neck issue cutting into the long rides. I have less fun on the recumbent, but am perfectly comfortable with it.

I bought the new bike two be able to do the gravel rides with friends, but I’m beginning to think that neither I, nor the bike, are prepared for that. I’m wishing I hadn’t spent the money on it.

I don’t have answers yet. I don’t know how to motivate myself to get in better shape again. I need to figure it out.

Goals, Shmoals

I had intended to not drink for 30 days. That didn’t happen. I did cut down a bit though.

I had intended to ride 500 miles (or 700) in July. 500 is unlikely. 700 won’t happen.

I had started to weigh myself again, but that habit never “set”.

I had started to track my food consumption again, but quickly lost interest.

That said, I feel that I’m on the right track. I’m riding more. My neck is better (other than some stiffness from Saturday’s foolishness). I’m cooking more. I’m happier most of the time.

Maybe it’s time to forget the numbers for a while and enjoy life.

Weird Week, Heat Wave, and Mileage Goals

My eating has been better, even with the large amount of ice cream that disappeared one day. I’ve been weighing myself every morning again, although I have yet to post it here. There is a definite downward trend. It dropped six pounds in three days, then jumped up about three pounds.

It’s only Thursday, but it feels like the week is over. I still have to work tomorrow.

Robin and I rode bikes to her volleyball game Monday evening. I signed up for the next session beginning 7/16. This could get interesting… We went to a restaurant across the street called “The Brewery” after the games. I drank water and had a spinach salad. Success with self-control!

Tuesday morning brought a massive headache of near-migraine proportions. I wasn’t on a bike, or even at work. Later in the day I did install the front rack on Robin’s bike.

Wednesday morning was again filled with that massive headache. I had to work. I called Robin and she drove me to work.

Today, Thursday, I happily rode the recumbent to work. The weather forecast has been calling for a heat wave beginning today. It was still pleasant on the way in to work.

It was 103 degrees when I left work. It was hot and sunny, but with a bit of a breeze. The ride home was actually quite pleasant. I had just got the bike indoors and undressed when I heard from Tim. He was out on a ride and wanted me to meet up with him. I got re-dressed and headed out for another 19 miles.

I’m now at 460 miles for the month of June. I’d like to hit 500, but I’ve only got two days left, and I have other things to do. I might get up early and try to get extra miles in to hit 500. I’m also a part of a group on Google+ that are shooting for 500 miles in July, but I’ve got plenty of time for that, and I actually hope to surpass 700.

I’ve been beer-free for a week. Just a few weeks more before I decide if I will allow myself beer again, and at what quantities.

Fitness, Food, and Alcohol

I’ve been eating poorly for almost two years now. I’ve gained weight. I quit weighing myself regularly. I quit being accountable. I’ve had a couple of false (re-)starts since posting about this in in November.

Much of the loss of momentum was due to the neck issue. The neck issue in currently under control. Moving into town back in 2010 made getting around by bicycle easy, but it also meant easy access to many restaurants, bars, and coffee shops. I have no desire to move back to an area where I would be car-dependent again, so I just need to be better about going out.

I went grocery shopping today so I would have enough stuff around the house to eat without being tempted so strongly to go out to eat. Going out to eat usually means drinking beer for me. Drinking beer means I don’t control my eating. It’s an ugly cycle.

Beer has turned into a problem in my life. Not an alcoholism problem, but a weight gain, depression, and digestive system problem. I’m not planning on becoming a teetotaler, but quitting beer for a few weeks, then giving myself an weekly “allowance” of some reasonable amount thereafter. I haven’t had alcohol since Thursday.

I’m trying to spend less money on excessive food and alcohol not only for health reasons, but so I can save more money toward my next major cycling expense. I want a recumbent trike for touring.

I’m also considering going back to the YMCA in the mornings before work. I haven’t decided if it’s worth the money, as I have trouble getting up in the morning and I’m not even positive what exercise to do. I need some upper-body strength, yet I need to be careful to avoid hurting myself. I have arthritis in my right shoulder and my neck issue to worry about.

For accountability, I need to begin tracking what I eat again. I need to start weighing myself. I still need to organize a bit on that. This site should be about weight loss and bicycling again, instead of just bicycling.

Where Did May Go?

I last posted on the last day of April. Today is the last day of May. What’s been going on? A lot.

Part of the problem is that I’ve been posting on Google+ instead of my blog.

Although I rode my bike everyday in April, I only managed 300 miles. In May, I skipped the odd day when I didn’t work. I still managed 358 miles. Still down from my normal, but things are improving.

I’m getting more miles on the recumbent. My neck will bother me if I take a long ride on the other bikes. If I buy another bike it’ll probably be a recumbent, as I can ride those with no issues.

I’m still spending a lot of time with Robin, and I enjoy that time a lot. We spent a day at Millionaire’s Row at Churchill Downs.

I bought Robin a bike.

Robin has been a good sport and ridden her bike a fair amount. She also ridden on the back of the Big Dummy a few times.

What’s next? I’m heading out with a few friends on Saturday for a four-day tour around southern Indiana. We’re camping at four state parks.

Stay tuned!

30 Days of Biking – Day 27 – Bacon

Another short mileage day, at 7.7 miles.

After work, Robin and I went to the Bacon Ball put on by the LVAA. This time of year, with the Derby related stuff, is bad for my health. I ate a lot of small samples and had two beers before spending some time with Robin.

30 Days of Biking – Day 26 – Birthday

Yes, Thursday was my birthday. I rode my normal 7.7 mile commute. After I got home, Robin treated me to dinner at Za’s Pizza. We were joined by my daughter and her boyfriend, and Robin’s daughter.

I drank beer and ate too much pizza, just like most days.

Not much else to say. I had a good time, but I didn’t “ride my age” or anything like that.

30 Days of Biking – Day 12

My round-trip commute to work and back was a measly 7.7 miles. It was an easy ride on the single-speed. After arriving home, I made a grocery list, and headed back out for a whole 1.5 miles to the local grocery store.

A porter is someone or something that carries stuff. My bicycle was my porter. I had a gallon of milk, snacks for bike rides this weekend, veggies, meat, bread, peanut butter, and a six-pack of Bluegrass Brewing Company Dark Star Porter.

I’m spending the evening being very domestic. I’m trying to keep my housework manageable. I want to spend the weekend on the bike.

I mentioned in previous posts that I’ve been depressed. I think a weekend of bike riding is just what I need.

30 Days of Biking – Day 11

I didn’t ride to work today, Robin drove me. I slept poorly and woke feeling bad. I did get a half mile in after work, but that was mostly so I could say I was on the bike.

I accidently left my refrigerator unplugged overnight and all day today. I threw away a few things, but there wasn’t much in there anyway.

I’m in a mental funk. I haven’t eaten poorly today, but my trip to Four Pegs last night was a bad idea. I ate dinner with Robin tonight, and I helped cook. Now I’m back home and still feeling down.

I think my blog issues are solved. I’m going to give it a few more days before calling it a success.

My neck continues to improve. It’s a gradual change. It still hurts, but my range-of-motion is better. It doesn’t hurt to ride a bike, even with drop bars.

It annoys me to no end that I had to sell bikes to pay taxes. Tim and Timothy rode a hilly 62 miles today. I could have probably gotten the day off work and joined them, but I don’t have a bike that fits that kind of riding. It would have been possible on the recumbent, but not ideal. I know there’s a new bike in my future, when I can afford it.

Crap

I’m enjoying food and beer at Four Pegs. This won’t help my weight.

30 Days of Biking – Days 5,6, and 7

On Thursday, I rode to work and back, 7.5 miles. That’s it. Nothing special. No extra errands. After arriving home Robin and I went to Rich O’s Public House for pizza and beer. We took her car. I over-indulged in both food and libation.

I have put the clipless pedals back on the single-speed. I’m still trying to decide whether or not to leave them there. I’m typing this while wearing my SPD shoes….

Friday morning was rough. I had a hangover and I still felt full. Robin drove me to work, and picked me up after work. We went out for a light dinner (it is possible) at Wick’s Pizza and met some of her friends. I had a salad. Afterwords, I ran some errands on the bike, totalling a measly 1.5 miles, but I was on the bike.

I got a lot of housework and yardwork done on Saturday. Some of it at my house, and some at Robin’s. Later in the day, I had planned to meet back up with Robin, but instead went for a 5.7 mile spirited ride on the single-speed after dark with the new DiNotte lights. They are bright. That’s the bike with the dyno-lighting, so add in a Planet Bike Superflash, and I had two headlights and three taillights. I was quite visible.

I intend to get up early for a 6:00am ride with Tim. Then I’ll spend the day with Robin going to Richmond KY to meet family.