The Everyday Cyclist Challenge

No More FREAKING Excuses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-06-09T18:58:00.002-04:00

I woke up yesterday morning & decided that there were NO MORE EXCUSES (except for an injury) for not getting on the bike, doing my core work, & using the Bowflex any more. I just finally got tired of just flat out being LAZY instead of putting in the effort required to getting in better shape. My friend Will gave me a Bowflex at the end of last year. I started out using it quite regularlly, but other things started creeping in on my workout time & I just let it happen. I also had bronchitis for the month of January. I couldn't ride, but that was no excuse for not doing any kind of core workouts. I was just too darn lazy to put in the effort. Through out the first have of the year, I would be consistent when things were going well, but when a monkey wrench was thrown into my plans, I let it get the better of me. Well that's not going to happen any more. I went for a 2 hour ride yesterday & felt good. I just kept a steady pace & averaged 18.45 mph for 36 miles. Later in the day I did a workout on the Bowflex (I cleared the area around it to use it) & finished the day doing some stretching from Cyclo-Zen. Today I commuted to & from work & did the recovery yoga workout from Cyclo-Zen & the cool down & stretch routine from Cyclo-Core. I set a goal to try to be 170 by January 1, 2010. My current weight is 209 lbs. I'll post my progress weekly at the very least. Thanks to everyone who reads this & feel free to comment to keep me honest in my endeavor.

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly.

2009-05-27T09:22:00.003-04:00

Well, I'm using the title of one of my all time favorite movies for this post. I know it's been a loooonnnngggg time since my last post & for that I apologize. I have no one to blame but myself for that. Well, let's start with the good. I rode the American Diabetes Associtation's Tour de Cure on May 17th. The weather really wasn't looking that great, it had been raining most of the weekend & I thought it would be another year of riding in the rain. Riding in the rain really doesn't bother me as long as it's not pouring down rain, thundering, or lightning out. It was overcast the entire ride, but it seemed that the rain was going to hold off. I was riding with a good group of people & we were going at a good pace, each rider was taking a turn at the front & we were doing around a 20 mph average. I wanted to stay with this group, but Mother Nature had other ideas. I had to stop at a rest stop to use the rest room & lost the group. I then rode solo for about the the next 20-25 miles, passing people along the way. I invited them to hook on to me & I'd be more than willing to pull them with me, but most of them didn't want to ride at the pace I was riding at, which was cool with me. As I was on the way back to the start of the ride, I caught up with the group I had been riding with at the start of the ride. I hooked onto the back of the group & rode with them. I certainly felt stronger this year climbing than I had in the past couple of years. I was able to stay with the group on the climbs & there were some short, steep kickers on the way back. The rain, which had held off for most of the ride, started again with about 5 miles left on the route. It was a light & steady rain, nothing bad, so I just had to deal with it. I got back to the starting point, had my lunch, then the rain started to come down harder. I felt sorry for the riders still on the route, having to deal with the rain, but I was glad I wasn't one of them. All in all it was a good ride. My computer or their measure of the route may have been a bit off, because I did about 64 miles in what was supposed to be a 62 mile route. My average speed was 19.55 mph. I'm pleased with that, seeing as I didn't meet one of my target goals for this ride. Now it's time for the bad. I really only had one goal before this ride started & that was to get under 200 lbs. Needless to say I didn't meet that goal. I'm stuck at about 205 for some reason & can't seem to get off this plateau. I'm staying away from the junk food (as much as possible) & trying to eat better. I guess I'll have to figure out why I'm stuck here & get down to losing more weight. Now comes the ugly. A few weeks ago I did a week of leg spinning work on the bike. Ever since that week, my left knee has a tendency to become sore during a longer ride. It usually doesn't bother me for rides that are less than 2 hours, but anything longer than that & I start to feel it. I did feel it on the Tour de Cure. After about 2+ hours on the ride, I felt a slight pain in the knee, but it really wasn't that bad, at the time. Come about the 3 hour mark, I felt it a bit more. I just took some pain releiver for it after the ride was over & thought it would be fine. I rode the trainer on Tuesday following the Tour de Cure & could still feel some discomfort with the knee. I thought if I rested it the rest of the week, it would get better, but for some reason, it still was hurting throughout the week. I rode this past Memorial Day with some friends & after about 2+ hours, it started up again. I had to get a friend to give me a ride home since I didn't want to push it any further with a sore knee. I'm going to have the guys at Epic Bikes check out my position on the bike to see if it needs any kind of adjustment which might be causing the knee to hurt. Well that's about all I have for now, thanks to everyone who reads this & I'll do my best not to be so lazy & post more often.

Back on track again.

2009-04-13T18:40:00.003-04:00

Today I got on the scale & it was reading 207 lbs this morning. I lost 1.6 lbs this past week for a total loss of 4.2 lbs. I realized that I need to watch what I eat & still keep exercising. This past week I was on the bike just about everyday. Today it was raining all day, so I decided I needed to work on my tight back. I did the 30 minute Recovery Yoga workout from Cyclo-Zen. It felt good to stretch again. I admit I've been pretty slack at my stretching & flexibility training. I'll have to find a way to incorporate them at least 3 or more times a week. That's about all I have to say for now. Thanks for reading......

A Small Step Back & Some Changes

2009-04-11T15:14:00.002-04:00

This past Monday I got on the scale & found out that I had actually gained some weight back. I weighed 208.6 lbs last Monday for a slight gain of 1.8 lbs. That means I've lost only 2.6 lbs total. I'm disappointed that I gained some of the weight back, but I know this can happen from time to time. The thing to remember is to stick with what was working before. I wasn't able to ride as much as I wanted to last week due to other commitments. This past week was much better for riding. I've been able to get the workouts I needed to get done this week finished. This upcoming workout schedule is for building up my endurance. I'm glad to get finished with the power part of my workouts for the time being. They do work, but they are some of the hardest workouts I've done on a bike. I'm looking forward to just riding and not killing myself like it felt I had been doing for the past couple of weeks. I'm also hoping that the weather will co-operate so I can commute to & from work all next week.
As you've probably noticed by now, I've changed some things on the blog. I thought it was time for a change & wanted to change the layout from the previous one to the current one. I've also added the Everyday Cyclist Podcast to the blog to listen to if you want to. The final addition was a weather forecast so you can check the weather in your area. I hope everyone will enjoy the new layout & continue reading. Thanks for all your support.

I'm getting lighter

2009-04-01T21:00:00.002-04:00

Got on the scales again this past Monday. I'm down to 206.8 lbs. Lost another 1.2 lbs., that makes a total of 4.4 lbs since I started about 4 weeks ago. I've been doing my best to eat right, but I occasionaly have weak moments just like everyone does. I've been trying to be as steady with my exercising as I can. I've finally got the job situation sorted out, so that's one big stress out of my life for the time being. I'm able to start being consistent about riding & doing some of the workouts from the club. I've started doing the Fix the Back - Stretch 3 times a week & doing the Core in 5 at least twice a week when I get up before leaving for work. I'm hoping the weather gets better so I can commute to & from work, to help get some much needed base miles in. I've been pretty consistent with working out this week. I had 5 x 5's to do on Monday. I warmed up using Warm in 5' , then used Cool in 5' after the ride. I also did the Fix the Back - Stretch before going to bed. Yesterday was doing Core in 5' before heading to work. I commuted to work, but the rain came early & had to get a ride home. I did a pyramid workout on the trainer & boy did it hurt. I think that should be considered cruel & unusual punishment. My legs are certainly feeling it today. Tonight was a tempo ride on the trainer to work out the soreness from yesterday's workout. I'm hoping the weather lifts tomorrow to get out on the road for a recovery ride, but only time will tell. I feel I'm getting stronger & using the workouts from the club & on the road workouts, it's only a matter of time. Thanks for all the support from everyone who reads this.

Lost again....

2009-03-26T21:41:00.002-04:00

I know this post is late, but I got on the scale this past Monday & the scale said 208 lbs. I lost .8 lbs last week for a total of 3.2 lbs total for the past 3 weeks. Over the weekend I had 2 good rides. I was able to do just short of 40 miles of Saturday. The ride was great & the weather matched the ride. On Sunday I was able to ride with a friend. We did about another 40 miles, but we did 3 10 minute medium/hard efforts. My legs felt pretty good after the ride. Monday was a hill ride. I really need to work on my climbing. It hurt going up hill. I'm going to try to get more hill climbing this weekend if the weather co-operates. I've been checking out the new format of Cyclo-Club & like it so far. I'm going to work on a week's workout this coming week to see how the new format works for me. Thanks for reading.....

Sore & tired legs!!!!!!!

2009-03-18T20:47:00.003-04:00

I have 2 tired & sore legs from the past 2 days. Yesterday was a pyramd workout. I've done them before, but this one had a twist to it. Once I got to the 5 minutes hard, instead of dropping down to 4 minutes, I had to do 2 more 5 minutes hard with 5 minutes rest. I was able to get down to the 2 minute interval on the way down, but when I put it in the big ring, my mind said let's go, but my legs said heck no. I ended up just cruising the rest of the way home. This morning was a commute to work, my legs actually felt pretty good on the ride in. The ride home from work was just as good, my legs felt good on the bike. Once I got home, I switched bikes & did a mock sprint workout. That consisted of 10 sets of 15 seconds out of the saddle with 2 minutes rest in between. My legs are certainly feeling it today. I'm glad tomorrow is an easy day. Thanks to Graeme for the Cyclo in 5 series, it's a life saver.

Losing more of me

2009-03-16T22:04:00.003-04:00

I got on the scale again first thing this morning & the scale read 208.8 lbs. That's another 1.2 lbs gone this week for a total of 2.4 lbs lost. I was able to watch what I ate most of the week, but at the end of the week I was out of town & it made it harder to choose good things to eat. I made sure I didn't go overboard with what I chose to eat. I was able to ride Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday last week. I also used the Warm in 5 & Cool in 5 before & after each workout. I had to ride the trainer for an hour today due to rain that was just coming down too hard to ride in, that & I didn't feel like spending hours cleaning the bike & drying out my shoes & helmet from riding in the rain. I need to incorporate the Core & Core Advanced in 5 during the week, just to help out with strengthing the core muscles. I'm looking foward to a better week weather wise & getting able to get outdoors and ride more. The on the bike workout schedule this week is going to be a hard one. I know I'll be feeling it, but it will make me stronger in the long run. Thanks for reading.......

Lost this week

2009-03-09T22:06:00.002-04:00

I got on the scale this morning & my weight was 210.0 lbs. I lost 1.2 lbs this week. It's a good start to getting back on track. This afternoon the weather was great & I was able to get out & ride. I got in a good 23+ miles today. I started with the Cyclo in 5 Warm program, then went out riding. After the ride I cooled down using Cyclo in 5 Cool program. My legs actually felt better than I thought they would. I was able to do a few steady efforts & it was encouraging to see how I felt. I did register for the Tour de Cure & now it's just a matter of training & fundraising for the ride. I really enjoy this ride. I had to miss it last year & I felt bad about it. I decided that I wasn't going to miss it this year. Tomorrow the workout will be challenging, but I'll manage to somehow survive. I'm glad the time change has taken affect, I'll be able to get out & do the workouts instead of having to do them indoors. Thanks for reading.

A new week

2009-03-02T19:50:00.002-05:00

Here we go, off to a good start to a new week. I got on the scale first thing this morning & my weight was 211.2. I have a goal to be under 200 lbs by May 17th for the Tour de Cure. I rode the trainer today for an hour, just spinning my legs, getting back into the flow of things. I used Cyclo in 5 Warm before the ride & then used the Cool after the ride. I'm hoping to be able to stay with my workout schedule this week & even throw in some commuting this week for the extra miles. We'll just have to see how the week unfolds. Thanks for reading......

Life & other things

2009-03-01T12:36:00.003-05:00

I know it's been quite a long bit of time since my last post, but life just has a way of taking good plans & throwing monkey wrenches in them whenever it can. I've been out of town for work & thought that the hotel I was staying in would have at least a stationary bike to ride, but that was one of life's monkey wrenches. All they had were 2 treadmills & an eliptical trainer. I brought along a small dvd player & the Core & Zen dvd's to workout, but once again, another monkey wrench. The buttons of the dvd player had been covered with something & were either sticking or not working at all, so needless to say I got no workouts in at all that week out of town. Last week I was able to learn to ride rollers & actually used them one day for an hour. Riding rollers is a harder workout than using a fluid trainer. I rode for only an hour, but I was totally exhausted after that hour. I was able to do 20.2 miles in that hour & only had to touch the walls twice while reaching for a water bottle. I'm going to try to ride the rollers at least twice a week & get better on them. I'm also going to start posting my weight each Monday to keep me accountable on watching what I'm eating. I hope that this will help me watch what I eat & will help me get my weight under control. I'm hoping that I will hear from people that read this blog for support on my good weeks or get on my case for not sticking with things. I have a scale so each Monday night I will post my weight & the following week will have the amount of weight I've either lost or gained. Thanks to everyone who reads this blog & thanks for all your support.

Finally able to get back on the bike.

2009-02-14T10:29:00.001-05:00

This past week, I was finally able to get back on my bike. I can't tell you how good it felt to get out & finally ride again. I was going totally stir crazy the entire time I had been under the weather. I haven't really been pushing it, but I was able to ride 3 days this week so far. My legs really were feeling it the first ride back, but on the last ride I did, they felt pretty good. I rode the road bike home from work for the last ride & had a headwind the entire time, but my legs stayed with me the entire ride. I was surprised that my average speed was as high as it was considering the headwind I had on the way home. I just bought me a couple of new toys to help me get back to where I want to be. I bought a new adjustable fluid trainer that should be much quieter than my old wind trainer. The other new toy is a set of rollers. I've never ridden rollers before but a friend told me he can teach me to ride them in 20 minutes. I'm planning on going up to see him & let him teach me how to ride them. I've heard that they help your bike handling skills & improve your pedal stroke. I certainly hope that they do what I've been told they do. I need all the help I can get. I'm going out of town next week for work, but I'm planning on taking my bike & new fluid trainer with me to keep back in the routine. I'll let everyone know what's going on. I'm sorry I haven't posted in some time, but really haven't had anything to say while being sick & didn't want to whine on here. Thanks to everyone who reads & you're feedback is greatly appreciated.

Sicker than I thought

2009-01-26T19:16:00.003-05:00

I thought I only had a cold, but I was wrong. I took it easy all day Saturday, hoping to feel well enough to go out & ride on Sunday afternoon. It turned out that I didn't really sleep much at all that night & felt even worse on Sunday morning. Early Sunday afternoon, I went to the med stop nearby to get checked out. It turns out I have a case of bronchitis. The doctor gave me a prescription for some antibiotics & some Tussin X cough medicine with codine. I was able to get some sleep last night & just took it easy today all day long. I'm feeling a bit better, but I told my boss I was going to take a sick day tomorrow just to give me one more day of rest. I'm hoping to be better by the weekend, so I can hopefully get back on the bike. I really do miss riding. Oh well, such is life, but I should be better here soon & back on track again. Thanks for reading.

I really hate catching a cold!!!!!!

2009-01-23T19:27:00.002-05:00

I thought after the ride I was able to do on Monday I was on my way to feeling much better. Boy was I wrong!!!!!!!!!! This whole week has been a total wash for doing any kind of training. Instead of getting better, this cold has gotten worse. I'm able to survive the workday, but when I get home, I'm just totally drained. I was hoping this was going away, but it seems like I get tired sooner & sooner each day. I almost called sick into work today, but somehow I was able to finish the day. When I got home, I pretty much took a shower & laid in the bed to take a nap. I feel a bit better now, but still quite tired. Doesn't look like I'm getting much riding in this weekend with the way I'm feeling, besides the forecast for tomorrow doesn't look that promising anyway. Maybe with resting all day tomorrow, I might be able to get a ride in sometime Sunday for a bit. I'll just have to wait & see how things go day to day. Thanks for reading.

Weekend Wrap-up

2009-01-20T19:34:00.002-05:00

This past weekend really sucked for doing any kind of workouts. I wasn't feeling well the entire weekend. I don't know if it was the flu or not, all I know is that I felt really rundown & tired the entire weekend. I just took it easy & rested. The rest was needed greatly. Yesterday I was feeling well enough & the weather co-operated enough to let me get in a 2 hour ride. It really felt good to be on the road again. My legs felt pretty good the entire ride. I had a headwind on the way out but the tailwind on the way back certainly was fun. I was supposed to be off totally, but seeing as I missed all weekend, I thought doing a outdoor ride was certainly a good way to make up for the weekend. Today was the 30 minute Recovery Yoga routine from Cyclo-Zen. The workout is getting a bit easier, but it's still challenging for me. That's about all I have for now, thanks for reading.

I'm feeling it still

2009-01-16T22:00:00.003-05:00

My legs are certainly still feeling the workout from Tuesday. On Wednesday my workout consisted of warming up for 10 minutes on the bike, then doing Body Weight Conditioning Circuits #2 & #3, then it was back on the bike for 30 mintues, the first 10 minutes warming the legs back up, then 2 x 5 minutes in a big gear with minute rest between sets. After that it was 5 minutes at a high cadence with 10 seconds of super-spinning inserted in each minute in the small chain ring. The rest of the workout was just cooling down. Yesterday, it was just a totally bad day. Things started bad early at work & just stayed that way the entire day. By the time I got home from work, I was tired & really didn't feel like doing a workout. I feel kind of guilty about not doing it, but my mind wouldn't have been into it, so I would have really not gained anything from the workout. I possibly would have hurt something by not really paying attention to the workout. Today was a much better day. I did today's workout which consisted of doing Resistance Training - Funcitonal Circuit #3 from Cyclo-Core. That workout is challenging for me, it definately works my balance doing some of the exercises. The last part of the workout was doing Cyclo-Zen's Fix the Back Core Training Program: both the Strength & Flexibility workouts. I feel much better now that I was able to get the workout done. I was hoping to get outdoors & ride tomorrow, but the weather isn't looking that great to ride outdoors, so I guess it will be trainer time. I also got a surprise in the mail today. I received my Walz cycling cap for winning last month. I must say it really is a nice looking cap, especially with The Everyday Cyclist Challenge logo stitched on the side. I can't wait to show it to my friends. Thanks for reading & the comments, they really are a help to me.

Today was tough!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-01-13T21:01:00.003-05:00

Today was the other workout I dread doing besides the Ab & Core workout from Cyclo-Core. Today started out with the 45 minute Yoga Spin workout from Cyclo-Zen. The yoga parts of the workout are the easy part, it's the spin part that will flat wear you out. The harder the gearing got, the lower my cadence became. I tried to keep up a good quick cadence, but by the time you are in a 53 x 15 or 53 x 14, it's just flat out hard to pedal 100 + rpms in that gearing. As I was watching the spin part of the video, I noticed something each time they did a close up of the back of Graeme's bike. Maybe I was just delirious from the workout, but it seemed to me that each time they showed the rear wheel of his bike, it was in the same gear on the rear cassette. As I progressed to the harder gears, it seemed that Graeme was having no problem with a high cadence in the same gearing. I guess I was just suffering more than I thought I was during the spinning part of the workout. If anyone else has noticed the same thing, please let me know. If you haven't noticed that, I'll just chalk it up to my semi-insanity. As if the Yoga Spin workout wasn't enough torture tonight, the program called for one time through the Power workout from Cyclo-Zen also. That workout may only last 8 minutes, but it's certainly 8 minutes of pain, torture, & total agony. I actually was happy to be able to do all the exercises in that workout, but I know I'll be feeling it later this week. The workout ended with the cool down & stretching routine from Cyclo-Core. That certainly was a welcome relief after all that torture!!!!!!!!!!! I'm hoping to wake up tomorrow not too sore, but we'll just have to wait & see.

Catch up time

2009-01-12T22:43:00.001-05:00

I'm sorry there hasn't been any posts since last week, but they changed my work schedule on me, so by the time I get home, eat, let the food settle for a bit, then do the workouts, it really doesn't leave much time for posting as often as I would like. I'm going to have to re-schedule some things so I can try to post more often. Last week I did pretty good following the workout schedule. The only workout I really had problems with was the ab & core bonus workout. I was sore from doing it last Tuesday, so when it came time to do it again on Thursday, my abs were still quite sore. I did the best I could, but had problems with some of the exercises. After that it was Body Resistance workouts #2 & #3. I was fine with them except for having to do more crunches. As if I wasn't sore enough from working abs on Tuesday, doing the same workout on Thursday, I had even more ab work to do with Body Resistance #3. Needless to say, I wasn't very successful completing that part of the workout. My abs were just too sore & I was planning on going for a long ride on the weekend. I did the best I could for that day. On Saturday I was able to get a nice long ride in. I was able to spend over 4 hours on the bike. After getting home & eating some food, I did the 30 minute recovery Yoga workout from Cyclo-Zen. Today I was able to get a Bowflex workout in & did about an hour spinning on the trainer. I'll do my best to update more often. Thanks to everyone who reads this & those who leave comments. Your comments & support are greatly appreciated, more than you'll ever know. Thanks again for reading.

Time for an overdue update

2009-01-06T20:34:00.002-05:00

Sorry for no posts lately, but the new year has been quite hectic already. I was able to get in all the workouts for last week. It took some doing & sacrifice to get them all in but I managed somehow to get it done. I was able to get out & ride on Sunday with my friend Eddie, we just did a 2 hour steady effort ride, it was a good ride with a great companion. I've learned a lot from Eddie & take what he tells me in, whether it be good or bad. I trust him when it comes to cycling & racing, seeing as he's been at it for much longer than I have. I wasn't able to get a ride in yesterday like I wanted to, I had so much stuff to finish up after the holidays, that yesterday was the only time I was going to have enough time to get it done. Today was the workout I probably hate the most. Today started out with the Bonus Ab & Core Conditioning workout from Cyclo-Core. I'm always sore for a few days after that workout & I know it's really going to hurt seeing as I haven't done it for quite sometime. During the workout it certainly showed how far off I had gotten. After that suffering was over, it was time to do the Body Weight Resistance workouts #2 & #3 from Cyclo-Core. I managed to do the Static Body Pike exercise 3 times today & I was certainly feeling it the last time. I had to skip the Twisting Crunches & Standard Crunches from Body Weight workout #3 because my abs were starting to hurt already. I'm hoping to get some miles in tomorrow but it will probably be on the trainer. The forecast calls for 20-30 mph winds tomorrow. I'll just have to see what the weather brings & go from there. That's about all I have for now, stay tuned for more posts....

Let's try this again!!!!!!!!!!

2008-12-29T17:23:00.002-05:00

After such a disasterous start to my offseason, I just thought it would be a good idea to go back to square one & start totally from the beginning again. I missed so much earlier due to work & other life issues, that it would be a waste of time to start from where I left off. Fact of the matter is I forgot where I was in the 12 week offseason program, so starting from the beginning again seemed like the easiest thing to do. A couple weeks ago, I was doing some criterium practice with some friends. I was riding hard for a while then was doing some cool down laps when one of the other guys got froggy & I decided to chase him. I was turning a corner when the rear tire blew & I hit the pavement. My helmet is shot, but it served it's purpose. I guess I hit either the saddle or the top tube with the inside of my left leg because it's been sore since the crash. It's slowly getting better & not hurting as much. I've ridden a few times since then & my legs haven't been that bad. This past Saturday I was able to buy some upgrades for my Trek. I had a friend that was selling some Ultregra components for a reasonable price. Today was the first time I was able to take it for a ride & everything worked great. It shifted nice & crisp and my legs felt good the entire ride. I used the Warm in 5 before the ride & Cool in 5 after the ride. I also did my Bowflex workout & did the Cyclo-Zen Fix the Back: Stretch routine to losen up my back. All in all a good day & a good re-start to the offseason.

What a lousy offseason so far!!!!!!!!

2008-12-24T19:06:00.002-05:00

This has been the worst offseason for me in the past few years. I just can't seem to get on track this year & it's very frustrating. I can start the week out good, but then either work or other things in my life intrude & throw me off track. I seem to be having more bad weeks than good weeks this year. It just seems like for every step I take foward, I end up taking two or more steps backward. I know I should be further along than I am, but things just seem to keep getting in the way this year more than before. I think I'm just going to ride as often as possible during the holidays then start all over again after the first of the year. It might put me a bit behind early in the season, but maybe I'll be stronger during the latter part of the year. Just trying to put a positive look on things so far. Thanks for reading this & I'll keep in touch. Here's wishing everyone who reads this a very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.

What a weekend!!!!!!

2008-12-15T16:44:00.002-05:00

This past weekend was a total washout for any kind of workouts. I was sent to Cincinnati late Thursday afternoon to fix a broke airplane. They sent one other technician with me. We arrived at the airport very late Thursday night & then just checked into a hotel to get some sleep seeing as we both worked all day before arriving there. On Friday it was working on the plane. We fixed the original problem quite quickly, but when we had to do the check for the part we replaced, that's where the problems began. It seemed that every time we got closer to fixing the plane & going home, something else would pop up to keep us there. We worked from about 8 am to 12 midnight on Friday, 8 am to 10 pm on Saturday night, & on Sunday we started @ 7:30 am, finally finished with all the checks around 4 pm, then had to finish paperwork and caught a flight out of there at 7:40 pm. By the time I finally got home it was 1:30 am Monday morning. I'm going to get a good paycheck for this trip, but I didn't have any time to do any kind of exercise, that is unless you want to count climbing up and down the stairs to the cockpit several gazillion times exercise. I'm just glad to be home & looking forward to the rest of this week.

Sorry for no posts lately

2008-12-10T21:11:00.002-05:00

I'm sorry I haven't been posting lately, but things have been keeping me busy at work & by the time I get done with my workouts, it's too late to post. I promise I'll try to do better from now on. This past weekend I was able to get a 4+ hour bike ride in with a local group and it was a good ride, just constant rollers the entire route. I was on the bike again Monday for about 2 hours and my legs felt surprisingly good after that long ride. Today was the "Fix the Back" Core training program: Strength from Cyclo-Zen, followed by a 10 minute warm-up in zone 1 then doing 6 sets of 30 second OLD's (in the small chain ring), then cooling down for a bit then I added 3 sets of 3 minutes in the big ring @ 80% with 5 minutes cool down between sets. I finished the workout with the Cyclo-Core: Stretching, Flexibility, & Cool down Program. My legs feel good after the workouts & I think things are going well so far.

8 Minute Power Routine & 5 x 5's

2008-12-02T21:18:00.003-05:00

Today was supposed to be the Yoga Spin workout from Cyclo-Zen, but I substituted a different cycling workout. I warmed up for 15 minutes, then started 4 sets of 5 minutes hard, then 5 minutes easy. After I was done with the 4 sets, it was a 15 minute cool down. Once I was done with that it was time for the 8 Minute Power Routine from Cyclo-Zen. I forgot how hard this workout is. You start out with 50 reps of Hindu Squats, then going into push-ups, then crunches, and ending up with bicycle kicks. This is one tough workout. I hope to be able to do it at least twice here by the end of the workout schedule. I finished the workout using the Flexibilty, Stretching, & Cool Down routine from Cyclo-Core. I'm sure my abs will be feeling it in the next few days, but that's the price to pay for getting stronger. You can't get stronger if you don't push the limits & suffer once in a while. Stay tuned for more adventures.....

Holiday Catch Up

2008-11-30T14:51:00.002-05:00

I kind of re-arranged the workouts due to Thanksgiving. I was supposed to do Cyclo-Zen "Fix the Back" Core Training Strength, then Cyclo-Core: Bonus Ab & Core Conditioning workout, then end it with 20' of on the bike training. Friday was supposed to be my off day, but I decided to take Thanksgiving Day off and do that workout on Friday. Saturday was 10' warm up to z2, then Cyclo-Core Body Weight Conditioning Circuit #1, then 20'on the bike, 5' build up to z2 then hold 105+ rpms, then Cyclo-Core: Resistance Training Funcitonal Circuit #1 then Cyclo-Core: Stretching, Flexibility, and Cool down Program. Today was 2 hours on the wind trainer due to bad weather outdoors, followed by Cyclo-Zen Recovery Yoga routine. I tried to watch what I ate on Thanksgiving Day & didn't over eat. I had a little of everything so I didn't feel deprived at all. I wasn't stuffed, but I was satisified after dinner. I hope everyone had a good holiday weekend & I'll have to be more vigilant in my nutrition with the holiday season upon us. Thanks for reading.

Change in the workout today

2008-11-26T20:52:00.002-05:00

Today the program schedule was 45 minutes on the trainer, practicing One Leg Drills (OLD's), then super spins then steady increases in tempo, followed by a cool down. I didn't do that workout. I received a call from my friend Will. He told me he was going out riding with his friend Tim & asked if I wanted to join them. The weather was just beautiful, so I had a real tough decision. Stay indoors and do the workout on the trainer, or enjoy some good company, beautiful weather and ride outdoors. Needless to say, I was outdoors riding today. Tim is a Cat 3 racer. I met them at Will's house, so I was nice and warmed up by the time they were ready to go. We headed out into a slight headwind. Once we had a bit of a tailwind, Tim decided he was feeling a bit on the froggy side. He took off & I was doing over 31 mph & he was pulling away from me. I was certainly impressed. We headed back towards Will's house & he was still riding strong. All in all, I think I had a harder workout riding with friends, than if I had stayed indoors. My legs are certainly feeling the effort of today, even with doing Cool in 5' after I got home. I ended up doing 35 miles with an average speed of 19.62 mph. It was a good ride with good company.

Toughest day so far.

2008-11-25T21:00:00.002-05:00

Today was the toughest of the workouts so far. It started out with the bonus ab & core conditioning workout from Cyclo-Core. I really hate ab workouts as I've stated before. I'm sure I'm going to be feeling it later this week. I've been trying to do at least one or two more reps of each exercise. On some of the exercises, I've been successful while on others, not so successful. I'm just going to keep doing them and in time I'll get better at them. After that was done it was on to body weight conditioning workout #2. It started out easy enough, but after doing the static body pike exercise twice during the ab & core workout, it was certainly hard to keep it the third time. I was able to complete each exercise and survived the body pike. After that it was on to body weight resistance #3. I was doing fine until it came to the ab exercises. My abs were so sore from the earlier exercises, I really had a hard time completing them. I did the best that I could but I'll have to do better from now on out. It also called for doing some time on the bike, but seeing as I've been trying to break in a new saddle, I decided to give the bike a rest. I'll probably go for a good ride tomorrow weather permitting That's about all I have for now, stay tuned for more.

Off to a good start

2008-11-24T09:31:00.003-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything for some time, but after getting home from work, doing my workouts, eating dinner, and getting ready for the next day, it really doesn't leave much time for posting here. I'll try to post more often than just once a week. This past week was the real start of my offseason program. I used Graeme's 12 week off season program using Core & Zen. I also have a Bowflex that I'm using to help tone up my upper body. The only other thing I'm going to add to the program is that I'm going to do more riding, either on the trainer or outdoors whenever I have the opportunity, than the 12 week program allows. Down where I live we have a group of riders that get together every Saturday for what is called the Peach Peloton rides. They start out comfortable then each week the distance & intesity increase. I learned last year that I had to spend more time on the bike during the week in order to stay with them for at least half of the ride, therefore that's why I'm adding a bit more riding time to the offseason program. I took vacation this week, so I have plenty of time to get more riding in this week. I have a new frame and saddle and need to break it in. The only way I know of accomplishing that task is to have my behind on the bike as often as possible. I'm not looking for intensity right at this moment, just looking for seat time. I've been watching my diet here as much as I can, but I know it's going to be tough this week with Thanksgiving coming up, then with the Christmas season starting. I'm going to do my best to be careful & choose wisely what & how much I eat. I won't deprive myself of havning some treats, learned the hard way last year that wasn't a good idea. I'll have some treats from time to time, but I'll do my best not to overdo it during this holiday season. I'm hoping to get a ride in later today, just waiting for the temp to rise just a bit more, & if I get a ride in, I might just put in another post tonight.

12 Week Program - day 2

2008-11-18T21:35:00.002-05:00

Today was the workout I probably dread the most doing. I'm not the greastest when it comes to an ab workout. There is still just too much of me in the way right now. Today was the bonus ab & core conditioning workout from Cyclo-Core. This week hurt just as much as it did last week, but I was able to do at least 1 or 2 more of each exercise than I did last time I did the workout. After the ab & core workout it was the resistance workout #1. This isn't a hard workout, but it's a bit more difficult after doing the ab workout. I'm glad I was able to have any kind of improvement doing this workout. I know I'll get stronger the more I stay with the program, but for right now it still hurts no matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise. Stay tuned for my further adventures in pain and suffering during the off-season.

Offseason start TAKE 2!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-17T22:31:00.002-05:00

I know last week I had started my offseason program and it was off to a good start, but then work got in the way. I had to go out of town for most of the rest of the week & really couldn't do much in the way of working out. So after getting home I decided it was time just to start over again seeing as I wasn't very far into the week. Today was just the spinning part of the workout which was pretty easy, especially after all the riding I did this past weekend. Earlier today was a recovery ride just so my legs wouldn't tighten up. After getting something to eat it was time to do the Bowflex workout. This week I've started to do two sets of each exercise. I've got the routine down better, but sometimes I forget how to hook things up so that adds a bit more time to the workout. I have a feeling I'll be a bit more sore later this week, but that will only make me stronger. That's about all I have for now, tomorrow is the Cyclo-Core ab & core workout. I'm so not looking forward to that workout, but it's a necessary evil. Stay tuned for more.....

The Offseason has begun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-11T21:01:00.003-05:00

On Monday I offically kicked off my offseason training program. The weather was nice yesterday afternoon, so I decided it would be great to get out on the road and do some easy riding. I kept it in the small ring the entire ride and just kept up a steady cadence. Later in the evening, it was time to start with the 12 week program. The program workout consisted of easy spinning and cadence increasing, but staying steady. After doing the cycling portion of the program, it was time for the Bowflex. I think that I'm going to do only one set of each exercise for this week, then start doing 2 sets of each exercise from next week on out. Today was one of my favorite (NOT) workouts. Today was the bonus ab & core conditioning workout from Cyclo-Core. I really wasn't looking forward to this workout, basically because I knew it was going to be hard. I hadn't been doing much core training here lately and this workout certainly showed me that I have lots of work to do in that department. I couldn't even stay with Graeme for most of the exercises. I know I'm going to be sore the next couple of days from this, but I've no one to blame for my laziness, but dear lil ol me. After the ab workout, it was time for the Body-Weight conditioning circuit #1 from Cyclo-Core. I just used 10# dumbbells for this workout, getting used to doing it again. All in all a good start to the offseason, stay tuned for more rants and raves as I suffer once again.

Getting used to the Bowflex

2008-11-07T19:38:00.003-05:00

On Wednesday, I did the workout on the Bowflex for the second time. I was a bit quicker on the transtions from one exercise to the next. My muscles were used to the movements a bit more than I was on Monday. I was a bit sore Tuesday, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Using a Bowflex is certainly different than using the usual weight machine or free weights. I'm used to hearing the clanking of metal when working out, with the Bowflex, it's quiet. If not for the resistance, you probably wouldn't even know you were moving the power rods at all. I'm out of town this weekend for work and to help my dad with things around his house, so I won't be able to use the Bowflex this weekend. I did bring my bike and I do remember the Cyclo-Warm & Cool in 5' from Graeme, so I'm planning on riding this weekend and using them. Come Monday, is the OFFICIAL kick-off to my off-season training, so hello Hindu squats, yoga spins, and the 8' power routine. I'll let everyone know how things go and we'll see what happens.

Playing with a new toy

2008-11-03T20:07:00.002-05:00

Today I the first time I was able to try the new toy I received yesterday. My friend Will had a Bowflex Extreme in his garage. I asked him a few weeks ago if I could borrow it to use during this offseason. He told me I could have it, seeing as he wasn't using it and wanted it out of his garage. I got with him yesterday after church and we went to his house and loaded it up and brought it to it's new home. I read a bit on how to use it last night and was going to do a workout earlier today, but the weather was just so nice & seeing as I'm off on Monday's I decided that I would go for a ride & use the Bowflex later in the evening. I went out and rode for just a bit over 2 hours today, the temps were nice, the roads didn't have much traffic, and the legs felt good. I kept it in the small ring, using today as a recovery ride. The only downer on the entire ride was that I had a headwind for most of the way back home. Such is life around here. After eating dinner, it was time to try out the Bowflex. Using that is different than lifting weights. I only did 1 set of each exercise, trying to get used to how each exercise is set up on the machine. It was a fun way to strength train. I'm sure I'll be a bit sore either tomorrow or Wednesday. I'm going to use the Bowflex 3 times a week during the off-season in addition to the 12 week off-season training plan I bought from Graeme last year. I'm going to start that part of my off-season training next week. I'm just so looking forward to doing Hindu squats, Yoga spins, and the 8' power workout again. That's about all I have for now, stayed tuned for more.....

Unoffical start to the off-season

2008-11-01T15:58:00.003-04:00

Today is the unofficial start to my off-season. I went on the first of the Peach Peloton rides we do during the winter. We had a good turn out for the first ride. It seemed like we had over 20 people show up for the ride. Today was kind of a social ride they said at the beginning. We did a nice route, varied terrian and rode for 54 miles. I"ve decided this month I will concentrate on staying with my off-season program. Last year I purchased Graeme's 12 week off season training plan. I'll be the first to admit that I didn't follow it religously like I should have. I did pretty good, but if I felt like not doing the workout, then I just blew it off. I don't plan on doing that this year. I can only imagine how much stronger I would have been if I stuck with the progam like I should have this year. I'm also getting a Bowflex from a friend to use this winter, so I hope to be in great shape come racing season next year. I'm going to have to do much better on my diet and nutrition this off-season so I don't gain any weight. On Monday I plan on starting the 12 week off-season program. I'm hoping the weather is nice so I can ride earlier in the day, then do the workout later in the evening. I'm just going to have to make myself do my workouts, no matter how tired I am.

Sorry so long between posts

2008-10-20T20:41:00.002-04:00

I'm sorry it's been so long since my last post, but things have been pretty hectic in my life lately. Work has been very busy & I really haven't had much free time to post. I'm hoping that things get back to what passes as normal at work so I can get back into my normal routine. Even on my days off lately, there has been quite a bit of things to keep me busy. Today I actually had a normal day for me. I woke up and this is what I had for breakfast.

Breakfast:

2 Eggo peanut butter & jelly sandwiches
2 servings fat free milk

After the weather warmed up a bit I was able to get in a 42 mile ride. I used the Cyclo in 5' warm-up routine. I really like using that for a warm-up, it's quick, but very effective. I picked a route that had one really good climb then had rollers the rest of the ride. My legs felt pretty good the entire ride. After getting home from the ride, I did the Cyclo in 5' cool workout. That's another great routine.

Lunch:

2 servings pasta
1 serving Recoverite Strawberry

After lunch it was time to get some things around the house caught up. I had a bunch of laundry to get done, and some serious dusting to get done, that took up most of the afternoon.

Dinner:

1 McDonald's double cheeseburger
1 medium serving french fries
1 medium coke.

After dinner it was just time to play with the dogs. I finished the evening by doing the Cyclo-Zen Fix the Back, Stay in the Drops - Stretch routine.

Sticking with it.

2008-10-09T22:25:00.002-04:00

Another day having to drive due to weather.

Breakfast:

1 serving Special K fruit & yogurt cereal
1 serving fat free milk
1 Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pie

Worked on batteries during the early part of the morning.

Mid morning snack:

1 small banana

Had training until lunch

Lunch:

1 turkey & cheese on white wheat
1 dill pickle
1 serving baby carrots
1 sugar free pudding
4 fig cookies.

Worked on parts the rest of the afternoon.

After getting home, I got ready for a ride. I started using the Cyclo in 5'. I used the Warm the past couple of rides & it works great. I felt great at the start of both rides. The ride was fun, rode hard today. I did over 27 miles and averaged almost 21 mph. After getting home, I did the Cool in 5' then the Loose in 5' workouts.

Dinner:

2 baked potatoes
1 can tuna
3 slices pizza

Looking foward to an easy ride tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

Rainy day today

2008-10-08T20:37:00.003-04:00

Today was a rainy day all day long. I didn't get to ride into work so it was another driving day.

Breakfast:

2 Eggo waffles
1 tsp peanut butter
1 tsp apple jelly
1 cornbread muffin
1 banana
1 cup apple juice

Work consisted of the usual, repairing parts and working on batteries.

Mid morning snack:

1 small banana

Worked on more batteries till lunch. (happy, happy, joy, joy)

Lunch:

2 cups beef stew
1 dill pickle
1 sugar free vanilla pudding
2 cornbread muffins

Caught up on paperwork in the afternoon.

Mid afternoon snack:

1 cream filled chocolate chip cookie

It was bad weather after work, so I just went to the bike shop and hung around a bit till it was dinner time.

Dinner:

1 Big Mac
1 serving french fries

After dinner it was time to do my core workout. I did the Body Resistance workout #2 from Cyclo-Core and the power t-stands were very much a challenge. The other exercises felt comfortable and the static body pike was over before I knew it. I'll have to time myself to see how long I can hold that one of these days. That's about all for now, weather moving in so I don't think I'm riding to work tomorrow either.

Nice day

2008-10-07T21:13:00.004-04:00

Today I was a bit on the lazy side, I drove to work today. I didn't sleep too well last night & the extra bit of sleep I was able to get was a help.

Breakfast:

2 servings Captain Crunch Peanut Butter cereal
2 servings fat free milk

Worked on some parts in the shop before break

Mid morning snack:

Little Debbie Fudge Round

After break I had to work one of the planes we're turning back in because the lease is up on it. It gets frustrating when they find more b.s. write-ups each time they take it for a check flight.

Lunch:

Turkey & cheese on white wheat
1 dill pickle
2 servings celery
1 large apple
1 sugar free chocolate pudding

After lunch it was still work on the turn back plane, doing the ops checks that had to be done due to the parts that were replaced.

Mid afternoon snack:

1 Cliff chocolate brownie bar.

After getting home, it was time for a ride. I met the local group on the road. I was told it was going to be an easy ride, which was fine with me. My legs were a bit on the sore side after doing hindu squats last nigt. Well one lady decided she was feeling a bit on the froggy side, so I thought I'd see if I could catch her. We rode together through the hills that were on the route and then I decided to see how the rest of the group was doing. She went on her way. I let the rest of the group catch up and they said they were doing fine. I thought I would see if I could catch the lady ahead of me. I ended up catching her, but it was a workout doing so.

Dinner:

2 servings Beef Stew
2 cornbread muffins
1 thin slice cherry cream pie.
1 Cherry Coke Zero

After the ride, I did the weight resistance workout #1 from Cyclo-Core with 10# dumbbells, then did the Fix the Back-Stretch routine from Cyclo-Zen. All in all it was a good day.

Catch up time

2008-10-06T20:50:00.002-04:00

I'm sorry I didn't post anything over the weekend, but I was pretty busy & I must confess I really didn't watch what I ate too well. On Friday it was work and then I went to a movie with friends. On Saturday I was invited to a Messianic Jewish service then went to the fair. Anyone who's ever been to a fair, knows that there isn't anything there that could be called healthy to eat there. I will admit that there is plenty of good food there, just not good for you if you're trying to lose weight. I did pretty good at the fair, the worst thing I ate there was a funnel cake. It's kind of a tradition with me to have one at the fair each year. Sunday was busy with church and other projects I had to get done so I really don't remember what I had to eat during the day, it was hit and miss with my eating. So whatever gains I had made during the week, went out the window this past weekend. Today I made sure I got back on the program.

Breakfast:

2 servings Fruity Cheerios
2 servings fat free milk
1 small banana

Did some things around the house that needed to get done before I could go out for a ride. By the time I got things done around here it was lunch time.

Lunch:

1 Weight Watchers Santa Fe beans & rice meal
1 serving Gatorade

After lunch had settled down, I went out & did a 40 mile ride. I hadn't been on the bike for the past 3 days & it showed. My legs felt heavy most of the ride. It did feel good to be on the road bike again.

Dinner:

2 servings Chicken Chow Mein
1 serving brown rice
1 Cherry Coke Zero
1 slice red velvet cake ( had a sweet craving)

After dinner it was workout time, I've decided to do at least one of the core workouts from Cyclo-Core before going to bed from now on. Today was Body Resistance workout #1 then did the cool down & stretch, followed by the Cyclo-Zen Fix the back - stretch routine. Thanks for everyone who reads this.

Trying to stay on the program

2008-10-02T19:55:00.002-04:00

Today was a great day to ride to work, it was only 47 degrees when I left, but it felt great. My legs felt good the entire commute.

Breakfast:

2 servings Special K fruit & yogurt cereal
2 serving fat free milk
1 small banana

Work was work, nothing special today, or nothing heavy to move around.

Mid morning snack:

5 fig bars

Lunch:

Ham on wheat
1 dill pickle
1 serving celery
1 sugar free pudding

Mid afternoon snack:

5 fig bars

The ride home was just as much fun as the ride to work was. I had a slight tailwind and used it to my advantage.

Dinner:

2 eggs scrambled
2 servings hashbrowns
2 pcs. wheat toast
3 hard boiled eggs

I also had a Fast Break candy bar, seeing as I was wanting something sweet to have. I'm doing better at watching my sweet tooth, trying to eat more fruits as snacks. I'm looking forward to some great weather to ride in this weekend. Hope this is helping others. If you have any suggestions, feel free to pass them along.

A tiring day

2008-10-01T21:01:00.003-04:00

Today I seemed to feel tired all day long. I didn't really sleep that well last night so that is probably the cause of things. I woke up when the alarm kicked off and this is what I had for breakfast.

Breakfast:

2 servings Special K fruit & yogurt cereal
2 servings fat free milk

The commute into work was enjoyable, the weather was a bit on the cool side, but it felt good nonetheless. Work was the usual. I had to remove some equipment for another shop and I was placed in awkward postions, which didn't help a sore back, but I got the job done.

Mid morning snack:

1 small banana

Lunch:

1 pkg Ramen Noodles
1 serving celery
1 applesauce
1 sugar free pudding.

Worked on getting parts finished in the afternoon, then had a meeting with the v.p. of our division later in the afternoon.

Mid afternoon snack:

1 small banana

I felt tired throughout the day, thought it might have something to do with my type 2 diabetes, but after checking my blood sugar, that wasn't the problem. The commute home was a bit on the windy side. Most of the route I had a crosswind, but the last part of the ride was a headwind. I really felt tired after getting home and checked my blood sugar like I usually do after a ride & found it a bit low. I had 2 small cinnamon rolls & after a bit my sugar level was back in the normal range.

Dinner:

2 baked potatoes
1 serving Gatorade.

Just got things ready for the commute in the moring before going to bed.

One of those days

2008-09-30T20:46:00.002-04:00

Today was one of those days that I seemed to be hungry all day long. I woke up and this is what I had for breakfast.

Breakfast:

2 Special K waffles
1 tsp peanut butter
1 small banana.

I rode to work this morning & the weather was great, but after getting changed & clocking in I started to get quite hungry. I did my best to drink as much water as I could to try to curb the hunger, but no such luck. I just had to wait till break time.

Mid morning snack:

1 small banana
3 small servings of peanuts.

Today was a busy day at work. I had to reblock about 10 aircraft batteries. These are quite heavy, they weigh about 90 lbs each. I had to move about 10 kits that weighed 84 lbs each into the shop. I then had to move each battery over to the work bench to remove the old batteries in the case & replace them with the new ones. I then had to carry the batteries over to the ready table. This was quite a workout to say the least. I think that might have something to do with the reason I've been so hungry today.

Lunch:

ham & cheese on wheat
1 dill pickle
2 servings celery
1 applesauce
1 sugar free pudding

After lunch it was time to finish the batteries that I hadn't done in the morning. I have a feeling I'm going to be sore in the morning. The ride home was uneventful, but my legs did feel a little heavy after all that lifting.

Dinner:

3 enchiladas
salad
2 pcs. red velvet cake ( shouldn't have had the second piece, but couldn't stop myself)

After dinner was just stretching & getting things ready for the commute in the morning.

A New Week

2008-09-29T20:46:00.002-04:00

Today is the start of the second week of my challenge. I have to wait until Friday to get a scale to find out if I've lost any weight this past week. I woke up and got things together to go for a ride this morning.

Breakfast:

2 servings Fruity Cheerios
2 servings fat free milk

I headed out for my ride, the weather was great, not too cool, not much of a wind. I picked a route that had rolling hills to give me a workout. My legs felt good the entire ride. I did over 42 miles today.

Lunch:

3 hot dogs
1 serving salt & vinegar chips
1 diet soda

I spent the afternoon doing things around the house. I had some things that needed to be cleaned up so it was a good time to catch up on things like that.

Dinner:

2 breakfast burritos
2 biscuts with sugar free jelly
1 serving Gatorade

After dinner it was laundry time & finished the evening with the Cyclo-Zen fix the back stretch routine.

One week down

2008-09-28T20:20:00.002-04:00

I have survived the first week of the challenge. Today was a pretty uneventful day. I went to church this morning and enjoyed the service.

Breakfast:

2 Krispy Kreme doughnuts
2 Granola bars
1 serv coffee with cream

Lunch:

2 hot dogs
2 servings salt & vinegar chips
2 serving chewy chips ahoy cookies

Went to Awanas in the evening and played around with the 2 year olds I help teach

Dinner:

1 Sonic corn dog
1 quesadilla (cheese only)
2 servings apple juice.

Another day down

2008-09-27T20:46:00.002-04:00

Got up this morning ready to go for a ride, the weather was a bit on the cool side, had to break out the vest along with the arm & knee warmers.

Breakfast:

2 bowls of Fruity Cheerios
2 servings fat free milk

Rode to the usual Saturday ride meeting place, but no one showed up. I waited for a bit then decided to head out on my own to get back in time for a friend's son & daughter's soccer games. I did about 35 miles on a rolling hill route and averaged 19.6 mph for the entire ride. I took my commuting bike & rode to the soccer games. I was treated to lunch between games.

Mid morning snack:

1 small banana

Lunch:

1 Sonic hamburger
1 order french fries
1 cherry lime aid

We watched his daughter's team play in the afternoon and after the game I rode home to watch football.

Mid afternoon snack:

1 small Powerade
1 small banana
2 servings Chewy Chips Ahoy cookies

I watched the Auburn/Tennessee game after getting home, good game.

Dinner:

3 hot dogs
2 servings Salt & Vinegar potato chips
1 Diet cherry cola.

That's about all I have for today, it was a fun relaxing day.

Five days down

2008-09-26T20:57:00.002-04:00

Well today really wasn't one of my better days eating wise, but you have to remember that you're going to have a bad day every once in a while and not to dwell on it and get back on the program.

Breakfast:

1 bowl Capt Crunch Peanut butter crunch cereal
1 cup fat free milk.
1 Dunkin Donuts Iced coffee
3 Dunkin donuts.

I caught a ride to work with a friend seeing as I forgot to set my alarm and by the time I woke up it was too late to ride. I threw my road bike in his truck to ride home.

Mid morning snack:

1 small banana

Worked on batteries all morning long.

Lunch:

1 ham & cheese on wheat
1 dill pickle
1 serv applesauce
1 serv sugar free pudding
4 fig bars

Caught up on paperwork during the afternoon

Mid afternoon snack:

1 small banana

Rode the road bike home for a change of pace, haven't really ridden it since Monday & it was feeling a bit lonely.

Dinner:

3 hot dogs
1 serv bbq baked beans
4 chips ahoy cookies.

I'm hoping to go for a good ride tomorrow morning and then go watch a friend's children play soccer later on in the day.

Day Four

2008-09-25T19:11:00.003-04:00

I'm on day four of the challenge, so far I've been doing my best to watch what I eat and trying to exercise everyday.

Breakfast:

1 bowl of Kellogg's Special K fruit & yogurt cereal
1 serv fat free milk

Did the morning commute, it was a bit on the cool side, but it felt great and had no problems on the ride.

Mid morning snack:

1 banana

Lunch:

1 pb & j on wheat
1 serv baby carrots
1 serv applesauce
5 fig bars
1 serv sugar free pudding

Mid afternoon snack:

1 banana

Had a nice tail wind on the commute home & took full advantage of it. I rode pretty hard on the way home, got a good workout in.

Dinner:

1 bowl tuna helper
1 salad.

That's about all for now, stay tuned......

Survived day three

2008-09-24T21:07:00.003-04:00

Woke up for the commute to work & took care of the dogs before leaving.

Breakfast:

2 Kellogg's Special K Waffles
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 small banana
1 cup apple juice

The commute to work went uneventful, which after yesterday was very pleasant. The weather was fantastic. I took the hillier route to work to make up for missing yesterdays commute.

Mid morning snack:

1 small banana
2 Krispy Kreme doughnuts ( I know, shouldn't have had them)

Worked the rest of the morning.

Lunch:

1 Ham & cheese on wheat
1 pickle
1 serving baby carrots
1 applesauce
1 Light n Lively yogurt

Worked the rest of the afternoon and was busy so I didn't have a afternoon snack. I had a great commute on the way home from work. My legs felt pretty good the entire ride.

Dinner:

1/2 cup pot roast
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 cup corn
2 dinner rolls

Went to services at church and relaxed & recovered the rest of the evening.

Two Days Down

2008-09-23T20:53:00.002-04:00

On to day #2 of the challenge.

Breakfast:

2 servings of Corn Flakes
2 servings of Fat Free Milk

I usually commute by bike to & from work. I left the house at the usual time and was about halfway to work when the rear tire went flat. No big deal I thought, I've changed tubes lots of times. I took the rear wheel off the bike, remove the tire and tube, found the cause of the flat (a staple), and when I took out the new tube, I found out that it was the wrong size tube, it was too small. I called & got a ride home to shower and change. Needless to say I was late for work. I arrived at work and went through the day.

Mid morning snack:

1 small banana

Lunch:

ham & cheese on wheat
1 pickle
1 serving of celery
1 serving of applesauce
1 small Light & Livey yogurt

Mid afternoon snack:

1 small banana

Dinner:

McDonald's Grilled Chicken sandwich
1 order fries
1 Diet Coke

After work I got 2 new tubes and and fixed my bike. I did the Power Yoga workout & Fix the Back routines from Cyclo-Zen. So far the challenge is going well.

First Day of the Challenge

2008-09-22T20:54:00.003-04:00

Today is the fist day of my Everyday Cyclist Challenge. My goal is to lose some weight. My current weight is 202 lbs.

Breakfast: 2 Kellogg's Special K waffles
1 tsp peanut butter
1 small banana
1 cup fat free milk.

This morning I did something I hadn't done in quite awhile. I borrowed a full suspension mt. bike from the local bike shop and rode some trails not to far from my home. I was cautious the first lap, but still mananged to hit the dirt one time. I was feeling a bit more confident on the second lap, which was a mistake. I not only hit the dirt once, but twice on the second lap. I didn't break any bones or the bike. I did have fun and am going to give it another try sometime soon. I hope to go with someone so I can follow the lines they take on the trails to improve.

Lunch: Ham & cheese sandwich on wheat bread
3 0z. celery
1 pickle

Later in the afternoon, I went out on the road bike for a recovery ride. My legs certainly needed it. I just took it easy for 17 miles. My legs certainly felt better after the ride.

Dinner: 1/2 cup pot roast
1/2 cup corn
1 cup mashed potatoes
1/2 cup baked beans
2 dinner rolls

I did do the Fix the Back - Stay in the Drops stretching routine from Cyclo-Zen then followed that up with the strecthing & cool down routine from Cyclo-Core. I happy with the start I'm off to & hope to keep it up. Stay tuned for more updates.

A new challenge

2008-09-21T13:39:00.003-04:00

I read about the challenge on the Cyclo-club website & thought that this is just what I need to get back into the routine I was in earlier this year. I was doing well, training and losing weight, getting stronger earlier in the year, but then the trip to Atlanta reared it's ugly head. I was going up there to work for the summer to help out with modifications for the planes that I work on. I took my bikes up there with every intention of riding as much as possible. The first monkey wrench that was thrown into the plan was my work schedule. I usually work day shift, but in their infinate wisdom, my bosses decide to put me on nights. The second monkey wrench thrown at me was that I was going to have a rental car. Once I got checked into the hotel and went to work, I was told that the rental car wasn't going to happen. I was hoping to use the rental car to drive to the group rides with the Southern Crescent Cycling Club I belong to. As if the first two obstalces weren't enough, the hotel I was staying at was near the airport and there really wasn't many safe roads to ride on. The drivers in Atlanta can be quite rude if you slow them down and I have heard about several incidents involving drivers and cyclists. It was hard trying to get adjusted to sleeping during the day. I really wasn't very successful with that. I was lucky if I could get 4 hours straight of sleep, then I would doze on and off until it was time to leave for work. The biggest thing was that I was still eating like I was trainging as before. Needless to say, I put on quite a bit of the weight I had lost earlier in the year. Since I've been home, I really haven't had the motivation I was looking for to get back into the routine I was in the earlier part of the year. I'm glad Graeme posted the challenge & I decided to take it up and try to lose some of the weight within the 30 day time frame. I hope to be successful with the challenge & will do my best.