Biking Update - March 6, 2010

I finally got back on the stationary bike this week, and my weight has responded accordingly. I was reliably below 210 lbs all week, even though I did not exercise every night. And I am looking forward to getting out on the roads shortly! The weather is warming up, and it is about time to get back on 2 wheels.

Biking Update - September 12, 2009

Not a bad week for biking, until the flu came back to knock me down later on. We started out the week with a ride on the Airline Trail up in East Hampton - a gorgeous rail trail and a near-perfect ride (aside from CRChair's short-lived loss of his rear breaks. We rode 23 miles total (about 11.5 miles each way), which is definitely one of the longer rides this year. I then had a poorer day on Sunday when I tried to ride to church, but only made it a mile up the road before back and leg pain forced me to turn back. Then, a great night of riding on Tuesday for Guys Nite Out - including out first truly pitch-black ride home where my 25-watt headlight was invaluable. The temperature is great this time of year for riding, and the scenery could not have been more beautiful.

As for weight loss, it was a weird week. I spiked up significantly early in the week after eating out more than usual on Labor Day. Then I came back down significantly and ended off the week pretty much where I ended off last week. Hopefully, this upcoming week will provide some biking opportunities between the downpours, and will provide a more even keel for weight-loss

Biking Update - September 5, 2009

Not a bad week for weight loss. Everything again stayed between 208 and 206 lbs. Not much biking got done outside, but plenty was done in the attic. We're hoping to bike on the Airline Trail today, so we may see more weight loss over the weekend.

Biking Update - June 12, 2009

A good week for weight loss and for biking. Just not a great week at work. I rode 20 miles solo on Saturday and then 12 miles with CRChair and the Bowhunters on Sunday - beautiful days and beautiful rides both. I rode pretty much every day during the week on the stationary bike (which is finally beginning to disintegrate, as I tore an arm off this week) due to rain. And I picked up the Trek Navigator 3.0 from Amity Bike in Woodbridge, so I can get back to riding some of the dirt trails again.

Weight-loss wise, I was down a pound pretty much every day this week over the same day the previous week. No major advances, but what is (hopefully) steady progress. Work, on the other hand, had me sleeping 6 hours or less a night, every night. So my body is likely suffering some inefficiencies from that.

This weekend, I am hoping to again ride on both Saturday (solo) and Sunday (group). Maybe I'll try to up to 30 miles in a single ride, so that my goal of a 20 mile charity ride will seem easier and easier in comparison.

Happy WWDC Day!

Today is a very exciting day for Mac Geeks and Apple Fanboys all over the world. It is the kickoff to WWDC - WorldWide Developers Conference. This is the annual event where Apple Computer has typically launched its big products for the year. Most notably for the last two years, it has been the event that launched the Apple iPhone and the Apple iPhone 3G. The keynote - the big presentation where the announcements are made - is scheduled for 10 AM PDT (about 1 PM EST). You can follow along at MacRumors.Com LiveBlog if you wish.

The most current rumors are up at DaringFireball.Net where John Gruber predicts the new iPhone will be called the iPhone 3GS (earlier rumors had it pegged as the "iPhone Video). He predicts 2X the RAM and 2X the processor speed, 15-20% longer battery life, and iPhone tethering (already confirmed in the iPhone 3.0 software). Other sites are predicting integrated video camera (and autofocus digital camera) including possibly the long-awaited integration of video iChat.

We shall see. It should be an interesting day.

Biking Update - April 18, 2009

Not much to report this week, so I'll keep it brief. No biking, due to Holy Weekend activities and long days at work. Weight vacillated between 207.8 and 211.0 lbs all week with nary a reason from looking at either my exercise or my diet. Does this mean I have reached my natural low, or just that I have reached a plateau? Only time will tell.

Biking Update - March 14, 2009

Finally, I have good news to report on both the biking front AND the weight loss front. First, on the weight loss front I hit a new low of 208.6 lbs this week - a full pound and a half under my goal weight of 210 lbs. And what is more, I kept it under 210 lbs pretty much the whole week. I had a major spike in weight over the weekend, for no discernible reason, but once I started losing on Monday night, the weight came off pretty quickly and stayed off. This is no doubt due to the fact that I am biking every day again and am doing 10 miles a day on the stationary bike. (Yes, virtual miles, my attic is not THAT large.) Using the distance goal (10 miles) instead of the time goal (60 minutes) is working well to keep me motivated. Time can be unforgiving. But distance means if I want it to go faster, I can simply pedal faster.

On the biking front, I took a long ride along the Stratford shoreline with CRChair, Nick, Bowhunter, Mrs. Bowhunter, and Brother-of-Bowhunter on Saturday. The weather was amazing - near 60 degrees Fahrenheit all afternoon with just enough wind to keep the sweat from sticking around. We rode well over 10 miles and saw many small signs that Spring may be in the air (despite the return to freezing weather during the week). The most fun moment was when Bowhunter, Nick, and I took an unexplored side trip on a dirt road and found ourselves on the wrong side of the Housatonic River. We found a narrow spot and each took a different tack. Bowhunter rode on thru, I walked on thru (in waterproof shoes), and Nick leaped over. One guess as to which method is my favorite to recount. This was also our largest biking group of all-time with 6 people on a single trip. This Spring, we plan to do some group rides which should dwarf this crowd. it was a great time.

Biking Update - February 28, 2009

This was an interesting week for weight loss. On the one-hand, my weight stayed within 1.8 lbs of my goal of 210 lbs. On the other hand, there was no really notable weight loss. I hit 210.2 lbs on Saturday, and I was back to 210.4 by Friday. Hmmm... Well, I'll certainly take it. And my current goal is to reach the target weight by June. So I have some time. In the meantime, I am trying to get back toward a full exercise regimen. I am back on the bike most days in the week, and I have taken the "initial test" to resume the 100 push-up challenge. Hopefully, I can find the time and self-discipline to get back to 60 minutes on the bike a day, plus push-ups 3 days a week.

Does not look all that hopeful for biking over the next week, though, as the weather looks poor and the weekend is full of fun but non-bike-related activities like Bible Quiz Meets and Birthday parties. Oh, the humanity!

Biking Update - January 31, 2009

This will be another short update, because there is not a whole lot to talk about. I did not bike at all this week - either outside or inside - because I caught a nasty cold and have pretty much been sleeping and working while I recover. Luckily, doctors in the 19th century showed that weight loss can still occur while sleeping - sometimes you actually lose MORE weight while sleeping than while exercising - so the news was good this week. I still lost weight, though modestly, by staying on my diet.

This next week will probably see a small spike as Sunday is a "free day" (i.e. I can have what I want, within reason) for the Superbowl Party that CRChair is hosting. But if I recover, it will also mean a return to exercise, which can only be good for my overall health. I can't wait to get back onto 2 wheels!

Quickie Biking Update - January 3, 2008

I put up a major update on Wednesday, so I am going to keep this one brief (and no graph, because the hotel internet is not playing along). I am doing okay over the holidays. I am staying well below my last goal of 230 lbs, but am having a hard time staying at my new goal of 220 lbs. I hit it one day just before Christmas, and have not gotten back there. But my goal DATE for that was February 1, so I have some time to recover from the Christmas-New Years difficulties. And the difficulties are not getting in exercise. That is going well. It is the portions. Hard to say "No" when Mom2 offers more roast beast or you're traveling and you can't bring home the other half of your meal anyway, so... Anyway, overall staying on plan and staying sugar-free which has me feeling good. Except when I step on the scale and see that the larger portions are pushing me farther from my goal.

The last few days since New Years have been great for bike riding. We're traveling - visiting Ward, Muse, and Baby E - and the time at the hotels has been SPECTACULAR for trying out my new 2008 Dahon Matrix. I bought this thing to make keeping up my exercise program while on the go easier, and it has been paying off in spades. The first day away I biked in 14 degree weather with extreme windchill. (That is where the "ninja biker" picture up top comes from.) Yesterday, I rode around downtown Dover, where I was thrilled to see there were bike lanes. Today, I repeated my exportation of downtown Dover and tried out the Matrix on a few gravel paths as well as the nice roads. All of our hotels have been back in corporate-park type areas, so there have been a lot of empty roads to cut loose on. It is only 3 days into 2009 and I have already logged 15.88 miles. Nothing for a hard-core biker like Jill in Alaska or the Weekend Adventurer, but a good "morning jog" pace for someone like me.

Happy New Year, Mod-Blog!

From all of us, to all of you. May 2009 be year of hope, of joy, and of peace.