A Bit of Inner Turmoil

With Friday here, I get to try to figure out how to get some ride time. If I want to. The problem is going to be the weather. After Monday’s ride I don’t think the cold will be much of a problem, as long as I make sure to wash my gloves afterward. My nose tends to run quite a bit when I ride in the cold. Not a pleasant thought, I know, but it’s one of many factors a lazy fat cyclist must consider.

I’ve been trying to figure out how I can get some time on my trainer. It’s not just the schedule. I think if I get up 15 minutes earlier I can get a decent, if short, workout in. The problem is that I hate exercise bikes. Riding a trainer is too much like that. It’s just boring. I’ve tried watching TV and listening to the iPod. Nothing helps.

We’ll see how the weekend goes.

A Lot of Work to Do

I have a lot going on. Between work, family, and taking care of the house, I tend to be pretty busy. I also like to sit on my butt and enjoy activities associated with that; mainly watching TV and reading. I also enjoy food. A lot. I’m not a foodie, which is to say I’m not always particular about the food I eat and I am by no means a food snob. If it tastes good to me I’ll eat it. You may be able to see where I’m going with this. Between my schedule, my laziness, and my appetite, I’ve got a lot of riding to do.

I had the day off on Monday and I thought I’d get the road bike out and do a quick run on the eight and a half mile loop from my house. The daughter had been invited to lunch by a very nice friend and her mother and I had a few hours to kill. The temperature was a balmy 38 degrees, and the wind was a little brisk. I have ridden that loop many times and I have to say that Monday was one of the more painful days on the loop. The area where I live isn’t exactly a great place to just get on a bike and spin. We have a terrain that could best be referred to as built in interval training. This is what the route looks like using the path profiler gadget (developed by www.heywhatsthat.com) on Google Maps:

Not very long climbs, but man, there sure are a lot of them.

I didn’t throw up, so I’m calling this one a success.

Why, Oh Why, Do I Want to Subject Myself to a Blog?

Why am I doing this? I am not a "public" person. Basically, I like my privacy, I don’t mingle at get-togethers, I am usually described as “kind of quiet, and keeps to himself,” and I think it was a good 3 or 4 months before I learned who all of my neighbors are. So why am I doing this? Well…..

I am overweight. I’m taking a cue from the Fat Cyclist and posting my desire to lose weight where my friends and family (or any other unfortunate web-surfing soul) will be able to see it. With any luck, I can shame myself out of a few pounds. (Speaking of Fat Cyclist, take a look at his site. He’s going through a very difficult time, but making the most out of it by doing some great stuff with fundraising for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. A very admirable effort from an admirable man.)

I like to ride my bike and I like to talk about it. As I mentioned, I don’t have many people I open up to. I commend my wife for listening to my riding stories for as long as she has. I like road biking and love mountain biking. I don’t have nearly as much time as I would like to ride, and when I do, I try to get as much out of each ride as I can.

I am not good at keeping in touch with family and friends. I’m a really good “Hey, whatever happened to…” candidate. I’m hoping this blog will let those that are interested know what is going on.

The way I see it, is the continued success of this project depends on two things. First is that I keep up with it. No one will read it if there’s nothing to read. Second, people have to read it. I won’t post unless there’s someone out there willing to waste a few minutes of their life listening to me rant. So, if you are out there, let me know how this is going…