Last Tuesday at the WW meeting we talked about motivation. We talked about positive and Negative motivation and what works and when it works. Yesterday I really felt what Both positive and negative motivation are all about.
A year or so ago riding to the church 4.4 miles away ( both where we go and where WW meetings are) took 45 minutes and left me read faced sweating and nonfunctional for a good 30 min or so Every hill was a punctuated by under the breath cursing. (negative motivation I needed to lose weight)
Tuesday (30 lbs lighter) I rode and even though it was warm it took less than 30 minutes, I wasn't sweaty and didn't swear at the hills at all. (Positive Motivation, I feel better) T
Then there was last night. I loaded up the trailer with about 60 lbs of stuff (It was our turn to feeding homeless teens, and DH needed to work so we took his killer 15 lb laptop) and Off I went back to church. I thought I might be in trouble by the time we got about 1/2 mile down the street but people were counting on me to be there with food at a certain time so no time to turn back. I can tell you I was right back to that 45 minutes read faced sweat drenched swearing crazy person I was a year ago. The good news is I made it. I hauled 2 times the excess weight I used to carry around on my body. It felt good that I could. I didn't give up and ask to be rescued. Now I remember exactly what it felt like when I started. And more importantly how much better I feel now with 30 lbs less to haul around and better fit too.(Positive motivation for sure)
Speaking of fully loaded trailer test....
I can honestly say that pulling a fully loaded trailer makes you not notice headwinds or tailwinds. Yep it was tough and I have a long way to go before I'm ready to haul that load on a bike tour also a lot of hill work to do before trying to pull it in the hills. I was using all my gears and the lowest are hard to balance going that slow! I also need to figure out how to get water bottles on my bike. not being able to stop for a drink is brutal in 90 degree weather.
The trailer it self did good. My biggest problem is learning where the wheels are behind em as the trailer has 2 wheels side by side and the bike doesn't and I can't see where the trailers tires are. I also get hung up going around corners sometimes by catching the wheels on something I go around. (never when riding just when parking etc) This leads to having to swing wider around road hazards such as glass and metal chunks and way wider around dead skunks! The only moment of concern was on the way home, about 25 lbs lighter, going down hill. I was going pretty fast and hit a rough patch no problem for the bike but the trailer did a little bounce. No problems with control on the bike, just a little disconcerting. I hope I never hit a pot hole with a trailer tire! I also wonder a bit about my breaks, on the down hills fully loaded I get going pretty fast. I'm sure it's just me being nervous and I'll get used to it.
What really made me nervous was the car driving idiots that were not playing nice and sharing the road. A bit over a mile from home a pizza delivery guy turned right in front of DH and DD and could have easily creamed them had DH not been watching. Why he thought his time was more important than DH and DD's lives I'll never know. The second idiot waited for DH to cross the intersection then turned left in front of me as I was heading into the intersection. Again he needed to turn and could risk my life to save himself the 15 sec he would have had to wait for the intersection to clear. Again MY LIFE was worth less to him than the few seconds he saved making an illegal and unsafe turn. (BTW all this while we were properly using the bike lanes and following all the traffic rules.) Oh well we did survive. I am thinking about calling around to the local pizza delivery companies and asking the managers to have a discussion about watching for bikes in the bike lanes and sharing the road. Probably won't help but I would be able to blow off some steam.
Showing posts with label bike riding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bike riding. Show all posts
Friday, May 29, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
OK I have a confession to make....
Here in the central valley of California I'm loving riding my bike. I really miss it when I can't put in an hour or so. I hope that I can keep loving riding when I get home and hit the hills again.
Today I restricted a bit because of the sunburn and the bright sunshine out side. I'm one of those fair skinned, freckled people that burn like really bad. Normally I avoid the sun. Long pants, long sleeves, swim suit cover ups, etc. are not due to hiding all the excess weight, they are burn prevention. (the hiding is just a side benefit) Sun screen doesn't seem too effective most of the time. I've been know to burn in the shade. In the sun I fry.
I really need to find something I can wear in the heat while riding that covers my legs and arms completely. I found my self sitting in a recliner with my legs up trying to get the swelling in my burnt areas to go down last night. From about 2 AM till 6:30 AM I was sleeping in Dad's recliner. This morning I am much improved, the swelling nearly gone, but sunlight still burns like crazy. Maybe I'm part vampire.
I do have a pair of long pants that are fairly soft inside that I may be able to wear for a short ride tonight. I had to go buy some shorts to keep the pants from rubbing the still very sore skin I borrowed shorts from my Mom yesterday. Maybe this evening I can get Dad to go for a short ride with me. DH is in Santa Cruz getting ready for a 600K ride that starts in the AM so he can't go with me and the girls are at a Girl Scout meeting tonight.
Tonight I'm relaxing in prep for chasing kids all over Marine World tomorrow. 12 hours of chasing a 4 year old and a bunch of brownies/Jr girl scouts all over Marine world vs. 600 K ride. Yeah I think he's still burning more energy, but I'm also pretty sure he wouldn't volunteer to trade places with me. I will be wearing long pants and a tank top with a light weight man's shirt over it and hoping for the best weather wise. (cool and breezy please!) Darn. I just realized I forgot a hat and will need to buy one.
I finally got rid of most of the water weight from traveling this week, just in time to go back, but it looks like maybe I stayed fairly flat in the weight department if you ignore water weight. Here's hoping that I can maintain, or at least not gain.
Today I restricted a bit because of the sunburn and the bright sunshine out side. I'm one of those fair skinned, freckled people that burn like really bad. Normally I avoid the sun. Long pants, long sleeves, swim suit cover ups, etc. are not due to hiding all the excess weight, they are burn prevention. (the hiding is just a side benefit) Sun screen doesn't seem too effective most of the time. I've been know to burn in the shade. In the sun I fry.
I really need to find something I can wear in the heat while riding that covers my legs and arms completely. I found my self sitting in a recliner with my legs up trying to get the swelling in my burnt areas to go down last night. From about 2 AM till 6:30 AM I was sleeping in Dad's recliner. This morning I am much improved, the swelling nearly gone, but sunlight still burns like crazy. Maybe I'm part vampire.
I do have a pair of long pants that are fairly soft inside that I may be able to wear for a short ride tonight. I had to go buy some shorts to keep the pants from rubbing the still very sore skin I borrowed shorts from my Mom yesterday. Maybe this evening I can get Dad to go for a short ride with me. DH is in Santa Cruz getting ready for a 600K ride that starts in the AM so he can't go with me and the girls are at a Girl Scout meeting tonight.
Tonight I'm relaxing in prep for chasing kids all over Marine World tomorrow. 12 hours of chasing a 4 year old and a bunch of brownies/Jr girl scouts all over Marine world vs. 600 K ride. Yeah I think he's still burning more energy, but I'm also pretty sure he wouldn't volunteer to trade places with me. I will be wearing long pants and a tank top with a light weight man's shirt over it and hoping for the best weather wise. (cool and breezy please!) Darn. I just realized I forgot a hat and will need to buy one.
I finally got rid of most of the water weight from traveling this week, just in time to go back, but it looks like maybe I stayed fairly flat in the weight department if you ignore water weight. Here's hoping that I can maintain, or at least not gain.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Ouch...
Only 18 minutes on the trainer and all I can say is Ouch!
DH has offered a reward for 5 exercise points a day for the next 10 days, or total of 50 points in 10 days. it doesn't have to be exactly 5 a day. No results weight related results needed just the effort. Today's 18 minutes of high level riding was 4 points. Yesterday's 2 hours of swimming at low level 6 points. So my mark is set.
Swimming tomorrow. Maybe add some bike to it just to see if I survived today and can do it again tomorrow.
Hopefully my legs aren't as sore tomorrow as the cramps indicate they might be.
I've left the reward to him... Only thing is it can't be food related.
DH has offered a reward for 5 exercise points a day for the next 10 days, or total of 50 points in 10 days. it doesn't have to be exactly 5 a day. No results weight related results needed just the effort. Today's 18 minutes of high level riding was 4 points. Yesterday's 2 hours of swimming at low level 6 points. So my mark is set.
Swimming tomorrow. Maybe add some bike to it just to see if I survived today and can do it again tomorrow.
Hopefully my legs aren't as sore tomorrow as the cramps indicate they might be.
I've left the reward to him... Only thing is it can't be food related.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
The Pity Party is over. Time to get going
I'm feeling a bit better today though still in need of all the symptom relief of NyQuil. You know sniffling, sneezing, stuffy head, fever .... Yeah not great but no where near as bad as yesterday.
DD spent the night with a friend and DH is downstairs Riding to a spinervals DVD. I thought I'd take a look at a few things today.
I found this link on training for a bike tour.
http://www.experienceplus.com/reading_room/training_fitness/bicycle_training_programs/bicycle_101_under_little.html It has a lot of info. I'll have to print the package and see if I can get started on it ON DH's trainer since the weather is still sucky.
Then I came across this site. Score!
http://www.adventurecycling.org/features/howto.cfm
Everything form how to train for a bike tour, choosing a bike, reading maps, shipping bikes etc.
Music for indoor cycling http://www.fitmoves.com/IndoorCycling/ListSongs.asp Can sort by flat, sprint, climb, interval and Relaxation songs.
As the link says these songs are good for climbing the hill. Love this post.
http://www.fatcyclist.com/2007/04/03/7-perfect-climbing-songs/
I'll have to check out these songs and see if I want any of them for my ipod.
These sites should keep me busy for a while.
DD spent the night with a friend and DH is downstairs Riding to a spinervals DVD. I thought I'd take a look at a few things today.
I found this link on training for a bike tour.
http://www.experienceplus.com/reading_room/training_fitness/bicycle_training_programs/bicycle_101_under_little.html It has a lot of info. I'll have to print the package and see if I can get started on it ON DH's trainer since the weather is still sucky.
Then I came across this site. Score!
http://www.adventurecycling.org/features/howto.cfm
Everything form how to train for a bike tour, choosing a bike, reading maps, shipping bikes etc.
Music for indoor cycling http://www.fitmoves.com/IndoorCycling/ListSongs.asp Can sort by flat, sprint, climb, interval and Relaxation songs.
As the link says these songs are good for climbing the hill. Love this post.
http://www.fatcyclist.com/2007/04/03/7-perfect-climbing-songs/
I'll have to check out these songs and see if I want any of them for my ipod.
These sites should keep me busy for a while.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Bike/Trike thoughts... Lots of thoughts.
It's been brought to my attention that most people tour on Bikes not Trikes. Why? Is there a reason Bikes are better? What are the pros and cons of Regular bike vs Recumbent bike vs Recumbent Trike for touring.
I like the idea of a recumbent Trike for several reasons, one I hate most bike saddles. At my current weight most are painful to sit on and painful for days afterward. I can see that that could change after losing a significant amount of weight. Another is balance and fear I count this as one thing because the one leads to the other. I have a constant low level of vertigo with occasional increased levels that range from discomfort to need to touch something to walk upright due to visual issues. Normally I can ignore it and just keep going, when it's worse the thought of trying to balance on a bike is scary, especially if riding near traffic. Sometimes just going up or down stairs is scary. You would rarely see me climbing stairs without touching a hand rail or the Wall. The vertigo is believed to be allergy/ear related. That is NOT something that is likely to go away with losing weight, though clearly I would not be upset if I was proven wrong.
Now if there is a good reason why touring on a Bike is better than a Trike I'm open to suggestions. It does have to be enough better that it would out weigh the balance/fear and I hate saddles issues. I do a lot of things in a less than steady state, so I could do a tour on a bike unless the vertigo got really bad. I'm not saying I'd be able to enjoy it as much but I could do it. (It's hard to enjoy the scenery if it won't hold still and if it starts jumping around or spinning all bets are off.) DH says he's not sure you could set up a Trike to carry the things we might need on a bike tour as we are looking at not using a touring company that would carry our stuff in a van. Instead we would like to plot our own route and carry what we need, clothing etc.
Also there are recumbent bikes... That might take care of the saddle issue. (not sure as I've not tried one) but I am concerned that leaning back without that extra wheel for stability might be worse than riding a regular bike. Oh well. Lots of time to figure it all out I guess.
I like the idea of a recumbent Trike for several reasons, one I hate most bike saddles. At my current weight most are painful to sit on and painful for days afterward. I can see that that could change after losing a significant amount of weight. Another is balance and fear I count this as one thing because the one leads to the other. I have a constant low level of vertigo with occasional increased levels that range from discomfort to need to touch something to walk upright due to visual issues. Normally I can ignore it and just keep going, when it's worse the thought of trying to balance on a bike is scary, especially if riding near traffic. Sometimes just going up or down stairs is scary. You would rarely see me climbing stairs without touching a hand rail or the Wall. The vertigo is believed to be allergy/ear related. That is NOT something that is likely to go away with losing weight, though clearly I would not be upset if I was proven wrong.
Now if there is a good reason why touring on a Bike is better than a Trike I'm open to suggestions. It does have to be enough better that it would out weigh the balance/fear and I hate saddles issues. I do a lot of things in a less than steady state, so I could do a tour on a bike unless the vertigo got really bad. I'm not saying I'd be able to enjoy it as much but I could do it. (It's hard to enjoy the scenery if it won't hold still and if it starts jumping around or spinning all bets are off.) DH says he's not sure you could set up a Trike to carry the things we might need on a bike tour as we are looking at not using a touring company that would carry our stuff in a van. Instead we would like to plot our own route and carry what we need, clothing etc.
Also there are recumbent bikes... That might take care of the saddle issue. (not sure as I've not tried one) but I am concerned that leaning back without that extra wheel for stability might be worse than riding a regular bike. Oh well. Lots of time to figure it all out I guess.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
A Girl Can Dream...
It was pretty much same as yesterday. Except that I didn't resist as well, the boss brought donuts. I ate one. I need to figure out how to handle that as the boss always brings donuts, and usually chocolate ones. I guess I could just say Oh well one day a month I will eat a donut. Bringing my own food didn't stop me today. I'll have to think about it. Maybe we can talk about it at my WW meeting someone is likely to have figured out what works when faced with a box of Krispy Kremes.
I think I like this trike... I've not tried it though and would need a chance to try it and others out to see. http://www.terratrike.com/tour.php I wish I knew more about trikes. My dad and brother have trikes, I'm sure they have an opinion but I'd like to see, talk to others and make my own choice. Another possibility http://www.catrike.com/road.htm . The Terra trike Tour is 3 lbs heavier than the Catrike Road but it comes in extra short (34-39 inch x-seam) and short ( 36-41") and the Catrike is 39-46 x seam and darn it I've got short legs. If I measured correctly I'm about 37" x-seam. So the short Terra trike would be fine for me and probably allow my DD ( only an inch shorter at 10 y/o) to borrow it occasionally, though she wants one of her own...
Of course I'm a long way away from being ready to get one I'm guessing 50 lbs. or so before I'll be ready to assume that I can do this and actually choose a bike, but a girl can dream... (if she stays away form those darn Krispy Kremes!) Maybe a goal... get to 180 lbs then pick the bike. that would be down a total of 58 lbs from starting weight and 43 lbs down from my last weigh-in. At 1 lb a week that would be about a week before Christmas 2009. Like I said, A girl cna dream....
I think I like this trike... I've not tried it though and would need a chance to try it and others out to see. http://www.terratrike.com/tour.php I wish I knew more about trikes. My dad and brother have trikes, I'm sure they have an opinion but I'd like to see, talk to others and make my own choice. Another possibility http://www.catrike.com/road.htm . The Terra trike Tour is 3 lbs heavier than the Catrike Road but it comes in extra short (34-39 inch x-seam) and short ( 36-41") and the Catrike is 39-46 x seam and darn it I've got short legs. If I measured correctly I'm about 37" x-seam. So the short Terra trike would be fine for me and probably allow my DD ( only an inch shorter at 10 y/o) to borrow it occasionally, though she wants one of her own...
Of course I'm a long way away from being ready to get one I'm guessing 50 lbs. or so before I'll be ready to assume that I can do this and actually choose a bike, but a girl can dream... (if she stays away form those darn Krispy Kremes!) Maybe a goal... get to 180 lbs then pick the bike. that would be down a total of 58 lbs from starting weight and 43 lbs down from my last weigh-in. At 1 lb a week that would be about a week before Christmas 2009. Like I said, A girl cna dream....
Friday, February 20, 2009
Busy day out today...
It's been a busy day today I tested my new resolve to eat better and have more control over junk food etc.
I went' for 8 hours of training for the Citizens Review Board today. I have 8 more hours tomorrow. I packed lunch and picked up a bagel with light cream cheese. I ate 1/2 the bagel for breakfast and saved the other half to go with my salad and fruit for lunch. I resisted the scones cookies and other munchies that they had available for people to snack on. Quite an achievement as they were sitting in the open a few feet from me all day. At one point I did close the box with cookies in it, just to be a bit less tempted.
Dinner was a pork roast with veggies and salad. After sorting and putting away some stuff and loading and unloading the dishwasher I finished my "homework" for my class tomorrow. I still have to pack my lunch for tomorrow and figure out what I'm having for breakfast.
I came across this site today, Cycling Escapes. It is for way more experienced riders than I am however, their tours look amazing. http://www.cyclingescapes.com/index.html I just don't think I could handle the climb. Probably not for the first time tour.
Here's another one that I think would be possible. Interesting rides, more camping than hotels, interesting business. The problem is that they need 4 people and if no one else was interested in the same dates we wanted It could be an issue as there are only 3 of us. http://www.wildheartcycling.com/, these rides sound fun though many are local to us and I'd like to go a bit farther. http://www.wildheartcycling.com/tours_or_cascade_mtn_rd_h.htm
http://www.wildheartcycling.com/tours_or_willamette_wine_i.htm
Note**** DH says these aren't actually as bad as I imagine... but then our definition of flat is a bit different.
I went' for 8 hours of training for the Citizens Review Board today. I have 8 more hours tomorrow. I packed lunch and picked up a bagel with light cream cheese. I ate 1/2 the bagel for breakfast and saved the other half to go with my salad and fruit for lunch. I resisted the scones cookies and other munchies that they had available for people to snack on. Quite an achievement as they were sitting in the open a few feet from me all day. At one point I did close the box with cookies in it, just to be a bit less tempted.
Dinner was a pork roast with veggies and salad. After sorting and putting away some stuff and loading and unloading the dishwasher I finished my "homework" for my class tomorrow. I still have to pack my lunch for tomorrow and figure out what I'm having for breakfast.
I came across this site today, Cycling Escapes. It is for way more experienced riders than I am however, their tours look amazing. http://www.cyclingescapes.com/index.html I just don't think I could handle the climb. Probably not for the first time tour.
Here's another one that I think would be possible. Interesting rides, more camping than hotels, interesting business. The problem is that they need 4 people and if no one else was interested in the same dates we wanted It could be an issue as there are only 3 of us. http://www.wildheartcycling.com/, these rides sound fun though many are local to us and I'd like to go a bit farther. http://www.wildheartcycling.com/tours_or_cascade_mtn_rd_h.htm
http://www.wildheartcycling.com/tours_or_willamette_wine_i.htm
Note**** DH says these aren't actually as bad as I imagine... but then our definition of flat is a bit different.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Dinner tonight...
As a school lesson this morning DD is planning Dinner for tonight. She has been give parameters. The first is that she must make it nutritious and balanced. She doesn't have to use any recipe exactly but she must make a list of ingredients she needs and a shopping list. She will be cooking with supervision but she MUST do all the planning and shopping etc herself. (mom pays of course!) I'll still have to figure out points and such and how much I can eat.
DH is back and we are all very happy. We all ate brunch together. Asparagus frittata and salad it was very filling and low point too. I slept much better with him home last night.
The sky is clear and it is supposed to be mid 50's today so I think we may be able to talk Dad into going for a bike ride. I think we would still need go somewhere that is totally off road. DD just isn't that practiced of a rider yet. We do need to start getting our leg muscles in order. While it's early, we still need exercise and may as well make it riding. I guess we could take the tandem for DD and dad and get more exercise with less stops but then she wouldn't get the practice riding on her own. We will have to balance that issue until she gets good enough at riding for us all to get some exercise. Of course then we all have to get fast enough for DH to get a good workout too...
DD wants to ride her own bike so we will probably go to the lake near the library unless we can find a better place. It can be crowded at mid day with walkers and DD freaks out thinking she will hit someone. I think I will get her to ride to the store with me to buy her groceries, quiet street,not too crazy parking lot. It should be OK and I have bags on my bike for groceries.
I also need to get out back and get some garden clean up an prep done today. Green waste goes out tomorrow and I'm sure I can fill the bin. I also need to get a bed ready for Asparagus and that will require some serious digging. I also need to clear an area to start some plants indoors as planting season is around the corner. I'll have to check I think peas are suposed to go in the ground soon. All in all a busy day.
DH is back and we are all very happy. We all ate brunch together. Asparagus frittata and salad it was very filling and low point too. I slept much better with him home last night.
The sky is clear and it is supposed to be mid 50's today so I think we may be able to talk Dad into going for a bike ride. I think we would still need go somewhere that is totally off road. DD just isn't that practiced of a rider yet. We do need to start getting our leg muscles in order. While it's early, we still need exercise and may as well make it riding. I guess we could take the tandem for DD and dad and get more exercise with less stops but then she wouldn't get the practice riding on her own. We will have to balance that issue until she gets good enough at riding for us all to get some exercise. Of course then we all have to get fast enough for DH to get a good workout too...
DD wants to ride her own bike so we will probably go to the lake near the library unless we can find a better place. It can be crowded at mid day with walkers and DD freaks out thinking she will hit someone. I think I will get her to ride to the store with me to buy her groceries, quiet street,not too crazy parking lot. It should be OK and I have bags on my bike for groceries.
I also need to get out back and get some garden clean up an prep done today. Green waste goes out tomorrow and I'm sure I can fill the bin. I also need to get a bed ready for Asparagus and that will require some serious digging. I also need to clear an area to start some plants indoors as planting season is around the corner. I'll have to check I think peas are suposed to go in the ground soon. All in all a busy day.
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