Tomorrow is the final day of July (don't call CNN yet!)
I have been on my latest 'program 17 days and only rode 7 of those. Posting 65 miles and averaging 11.87 mph.
I vacationed with my son and his family this past week and between the road portion (travel) of six days and other duties with his family, we only rode 2 days while there. Minneapolis and St Paul are probably in the top five bike friendly cities in the country. Too bad Charlotte is too busy building pretty, shiney things. Let's see, gas $4.00/gallon, everyone in the state is not overweight but OBESE! Charlotte has ONE light rail line, as in one track. Why not scrap the light rail, have a massive (like CCC after WWII) to build a bike infrastructure and GIVE everyone a bike! We would get in shape, save millions in transportaion and drive down the price fo gasoline! WHAT A TRIPLE PLAY!
But enough about saving the world! Long story short is, I have lost 7 lbs in roughly two weeks with very little effort other than really watching my diet. So hopefully I have turned the corner on my past experiences.
We will see as we enter stage 2 :-)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
ANNOUNCING: le Tour de Blubbier'
One friend suggested I set smaller, more frequent rewards in order to keep myself motivated. So what better way to set your goals than to model it after the most famous bike competition of all. ('Blubbier' is French for blubber [my translation anyway])
So how do we do it.
A. Stages will consist of one month with an average weight loss goal of six lbs lost per month. Weigh-ins will occur every Sunday morning.
B. Training will be based on the The Seven Week Success Plan as outlined in chapter 7 of the Lance Armstrong Performance Program. There are three training levels; beginner, intermediate, and advanced. They include a fitness test to determine what level you should begin. We will assume I am a beginner. It also suggest a week of recovery rides in between each level. That makes for twenty three weeks of training. Almost six months, I am sure I need at least that.
C. Diet will not be any one particular program like South Beach, Atkins or Weight Watchers. Rather, a close scrutiny of caloric intake vs caloric burn.
All this info will be logged to an Excel spreadsheet.
REWARDS: the fun part!
July, Stage One: REWARD: Viewpoint Flashpoint High Intensity Taillight. not a great reward but again, at the suggestion of a friend that felt everyone should have more visibility from the rear. It has a strobe option and that also increases visibility.
AUGUST, Stage Two: REWARD: Performance Clear Rain Jacket. Again, not really special but you have to start out small. A nice addition to my rear pockets and the vinyl can serve as a warmer on cool days as much as rain protection. I don not intend to get caught in the rain very often.
SEPTEMBER, Stage Three: REWARD: Cat Eye Astrale 8 Clycocomputer w/Cadence. Due to a bit of stupidity of my own, I lost use of my old Cat Eye and purchased an inferior substitute. I won't bad mouth the replacement but NEVER buy E3 Cycling products. Enough said.
OCTOBER, Stage Four: REWARD: Cliff Bars. The longer rides will come and I like their all natural (maybe even organic) approach Cliff provides. Four 12 packs salted away in the freezer will offer a nice snack on the longer rides.
NOVEMBER, Stage 5: REWARD: PowerBar Gels, Two 24 packs. I have already become addicted to these things on rides of very hot days or rides over 1.5 hours. (sidebar - never buy their powerbars, who knows what those things are made of.) I see the Gels as concentrated Gatorade. May be wrong, may be right.
DECEMBER, Stage 6: REWARD: Limar 908 Road Helmet. Now we're talking ego here. I have a yellow jersey or two and need a helmet to match! Actually this goes back to Stage one. Yellow is one of the highest visibility colors you can wear. (Ever wonder why all those state DOT vehicles are painted yellow? If you can remember when they were a very dull brown, then you're as old as I am!
JANUARY '09!, Stage 7: REWARD: The first of the double rewards, should be pedaling along nicely now. How about a pair of Louis Garneau Air Gel Carbon Gloves and a pair of Louis Garneau Rex Gel Glove? I am still trying to solve the mystery of numbness in my right writs and hand when I ride. I would understand the left because it is pretty static but the right is constantly involved in changing gears and an occasionally breaking action.
FEBRUARY, Stage 8: REWARD: Peal Izumi PRO Slipstream/Chipoltle Argyle SS Jersey, Black. Now TEAM Garmin Chipolte, they look good both aesthetically and competitively. May as well look good too!
MARCH, Stage 9: REWARD: See stage 8, only difference, this one will be white. I should have dumped somewhere in the range of 50 lbs!
APRIL, Stage 10: REWARD: Spin Doctor Pro G3 Work Stand. I don't intend to become a major league bike mechanic but what little bit I have tried to do already; install three different computers, wheel work. It does make it easier having your work and hand and eye level!
MAY, Stage 11: REWARD: Canondale LTB Bib Short. I should be looking FINE by now. hahaha! and with that white jersey 'won' back in stage 9, I need white shorts to match! With their black accents, they will look good with the black jersey as well!
JUNE, Stage 12: REWARD: Giant OCR 1! A fine bike and don't I deserve one? If I follow my plan, I will lose 60 - 80 lbs! Stay tuned!
So how do we do it.
A. Stages will consist of one month with an average weight loss goal of six lbs lost per month. Weigh-ins will occur every Sunday morning.
B. Training will be based on the The Seven Week Success Plan as outlined in chapter 7 of the Lance Armstrong Performance Program. There are three training levels; beginner, intermediate, and advanced. They include a fitness test to determine what level you should begin. We will assume I am a beginner. It also suggest a week of recovery rides in between each level. That makes for twenty three weeks of training. Almost six months, I am sure I need at least that.
C. Diet will not be any one particular program like South Beach, Atkins or Weight Watchers. Rather, a close scrutiny of caloric intake vs caloric burn.
All this info will be logged to an Excel spreadsheet.
REWARDS: the fun part!
July, Stage One: REWARD: Viewpoint Flashpoint High Intensity Taillight. not a great reward but again, at the suggestion of a friend that felt everyone should have more visibility from the rear. It has a strobe option and that also increases visibility.
AUGUST, Stage Two: REWARD: Performance Clear Rain Jacket. Again, not really special but you have to start out small. A nice addition to my rear pockets and the vinyl can serve as a warmer on cool days as much as rain protection. I don not intend to get caught in the rain very often.
SEPTEMBER, Stage Three: REWARD: Cat Eye Astrale 8 Clycocomputer w/Cadence. Due to a bit of stupidity of my own, I lost use of my old Cat Eye and purchased an inferior substitute. I won't bad mouth the replacement but NEVER buy E3 Cycling products. Enough said.
OCTOBER, Stage Four: REWARD: Cliff Bars. The longer rides will come and I like their all natural (maybe even organic) approach Cliff provides. Four 12 packs salted away in the freezer will offer a nice snack on the longer rides.
NOVEMBER, Stage 5: REWARD: PowerBar Gels, Two 24 packs. I have already become addicted to these things on rides of very hot days or rides over 1.5 hours. (sidebar - never buy their powerbars, who knows what those things are made of.) I see the Gels as concentrated Gatorade. May be wrong, may be right.
DECEMBER, Stage 6: REWARD: Limar 908 Road Helmet. Now we're talking ego here. I have a yellow jersey or two and need a helmet to match! Actually this goes back to Stage one. Yellow is one of the highest visibility colors you can wear. (Ever wonder why all those state DOT vehicles are painted yellow? If you can remember when they were a very dull brown, then you're as old as I am!
JANUARY '09!, Stage 7: REWARD: The first of the double rewards, should be pedaling along nicely now. How about a pair of Louis Garneau Air Gel Carbon Gloves and a pair of Louis Garneau Rex Gel Glove? I am still trying to solve the mystery of numbness in my right writs and hand when I ride. I would understand the left because it is pretty static but the right is constantly involved in changing gears and an occasionally breaking action.
FEBRUARY, Stage 8: REWARD: Peal Izumi PRO Slipstream/Chipoltle Argyle SS Jersey, Black. Now TEAM Garmin Chipolte, they look good both aesthetically and competitively. May as well look good too!
MARCH, Stage 9: REWARD: See stage 8, only difference, this one will be white. I should have dumped somewhere in the range of 50 lbs!
APRIL, Stage 10: REWARD: Spin Doctor Pro G3 Work Stand. I don't intend to become a major league bike mechanic but what little bit I have tried to do already; install three different computers, wheel work. It does make it easier having your work and hand and eye level!
MAY, Stage 11: REWARD: Canondale LTB Bib Short. I should be looking FINE by now. hahaha! and with that white jersey 'won' back in stage 9, I need white shorts to match! With their black accents, they will look good with the black jersey as well!
JUNE, Stage 12: REWARD: Giant OCR 1! A fine bike and don't I deserve one? If I follow my plan, I will lose 60 - 80 lbs! Stay tuned!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
RETROSPECT
It's been a year, so how do things look?
I have owned a bike since July 1, 2007 and what have I accomplished?
Well I have a bike, rode about 700 miles. Averaging a little better than 13 miles per week. That isn't even a good daily average.
I also had one crash, all my fault. Eight stitches later, I eventually got around to riding again. Then the shoulder went lame and I had surgery. More reasons not to ride. I have gained weight and feel worse than I ever have. Now what? How about a few incentives?
1. Lose weight - first 10 pounds, a new jersey. Maybe a team jersey of some kind.
2. Half way thru my goal...how about a Garmin GPS & trainer? The Garmin Forerunner 305. I tried to upload a photo but it says it's corrupt from the REI site.
3. When I reach my goal, known only to me. A better bike. How about a Giant OCR1, 2 or 3? No attempt was made to upload a photo after what happened with item #2!
Stay tuned! This is the year the fans said wait for last year!
I have owned a bike since July 1, 2007 and what have I accomplished?
Well I have a bike, rode about 700 miles. Averaging a little better than 13 miles per week. That isn't even a good daily average.
I also had one crash, all my fault. Eight stitches later, I eventually got around to riding again. Then the shoulder went lame and I had surgery. More reasons not to ride. I have gained weight and feel worse than I ever have. Now what? How about a few incentives?
1. Lose weight - first 10 pounds, a new jersey. Maybe a team jersey of some kind.
2. Half way thru my goal...how about a Garmin GPS & trainer? The Garmin Forerunner 305. I tried to upload a photo but it says it's corrupt from the REI site.
3. When I reach my goal, known only to me. A better bike. How about a Giant OCR1, 2 or 3? No attempt was made to upload a photo after what happened with item #2!
Stay tuned! This is the year the fans said wait for last year!
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