So I put on my best, “Grandpa doesn’t know how to use the techy web-camera video thingy” face just to say this. I’m sick…again. This tends to be my sick season, every year I get a bit under the weather around this time. What does it mean for cycling? It means I probably won’t ride until Saturday…sucks I know. I blame my wife, because it’s never my fault. hehe.

Tomorrow I hope to have some news with regard to my first rally of the season. Stay tuned. Also, I hate to pimp myself out like this, but can I get a recommendation? You guys have been the most motivating factor in all my weight loss challenges, so I’d love to know if you like what I’m posting.  And…I love you…

Peace people!

P.S. ignore the bare light behind me, we just had our room repainted and I’m waiting for my wife to pick out a new fixture to replace that one. Or, that could just be how I roll…don’t judge.

The Highs and Lows of Today…

I did it. I hit my first milestone in my memorably weight loss saga. 250 lbs. Yeah, that’s 270 lbs to 250 lbs…122.5kg to 113.4kg for my SI friends (why doesn’t America use this? Come on!) 20 lbs and I’m on a roll. It was pretty awesome to have this since my weekend was full of food and fun. With pizza and a trip to La Hacienda Ranch (which by the way, the owner is the creator of the Frozen Margarita…which is now housed in the Smithsonian!), I knew my scale was going to be cursing me as I stood upon it. But that was not to happen.  So it’s back on the horse…the aluminium horse, but that was not to be either. Sad when the rain kept coming down and I was no able to take to the streets. Why not you might ask? Well it gets pretty hairy out here with the drivers that don’t like cyclists and accidents can happen so much more easily in the wet weather. So if I ever go out in the rain, I need a buddy to ride with in order to be much more visible and safer. Yet, I couldn’t find a buddy today… it’s a lonely existence, being the lone rain rider.  Never fear though, I’ll try to pick up a ride mid-week and then hopefully start the Saturday morning ritual this weekend.

Thanks for all my new and old followers, I really appreciate you riding through this with me. Have a beer for me today, and pat yourselves on the back in your achievements as well as mine. You guys are awesome. Also, if you have a question don’t forget to ask.

Ah the joys of cycling… I’ve been chuckling at this guys face for a good part of my morning.

(via cycling)

Dear Tumblrians,

I’m sending up a plea for help. Look what happened. Yes, that is weight gain. And it’s really zapped my attitude. Don’t get me wrong, I knew some flux was bound to happen…but I didn’t expect it so soon. I really thought I’d be able to hit my first goal of 250lbs (113.4kg) without having to fight the roller coaster. It also couldn’t have happened at a worse time. I was finally able to get out on the bike for the first time since my surgery, and I didn’t lose any weight…I gained.

So I’m feeling a bit down. And knowing that all of us who blog about our weight challenge use the blog as a support mechanism, I’m asking for some of that support. I can do this…just not feeling much desire right now.

If you’ve gone through the same thing and fought through it let me know. Can you help me out?

So I finally did it. I purchased a pair of full leg warmers so that I could get back out on the bike and put in some time. I got out there and started riding and it felt really good. I can’t say that it was a good ride…more on that in a moment…but it was great to finally be on the bike again.

Here are the ride’s stats:

My First Trek Back on the Bike
Time: 00:56:39
Distance: 14.19 mi
Avg Speed: 15.0 mph
Max Speed: 28.6 mph
Elev. Gain: 353 ft
Avg Heart Rate: 174 bpm
Max Heart Rate: 194 bpm
Avg Cadence: 70 rpm
Max Cadence: 98 rpm
Calories: 1,244 C

So about that ride. It was a good ride, but not a great one. Mainly because I could really feel both the time off the bike and the atrophy that has occurred in my left quad. I held horrible lines, especially uphill. My bike would constantly be pulled to the right due to the amount of power my right leg could perform over my left. I also wore myself out much sooner. As you can see it was only a 1 hour ride. That’s about a third of my normal time. I knew I couldn’t do a full length ride, but really wanted to put closer to 2 hours in. I was so tired by the end though, I doubt I could have kept it up for another hour. This ride was interesting though because it was the first time I really paid attention to my Heart Rate over everything else. I fought to keep it under 185 as much as possible and did pretty well at that.

It was great to get on it again and I look forward to a number of more rides as the weather warms up.