The Weather Report

Another cold and dreary spring day today… Not that big a deal but it gets old fast doesn’t it? We had a warm winter, a dry spring and after two days I am complaining about the cold and wet… I am annoyed with the weather gods right now.. I have to move past this…

Why I Love to Ride

I am so looking forward to the warmer weather because I really want to be on the bike… I love to ride again and I cannot begin to tell you how much this means to me.

I feel strong again, I feel younger than when I started this.

I started riding a bike “seriously” about 25 years ago. I was out of shape (sounds familiar) and a friend needed a cycling partner to aid her recovery from an accident. I started riding and rediscovered the joy I felt as a kid on a bike. I started to really like how it felt to ride as my conditioning improved, my weight dropped and I grew more comfortable riding the hills and valleys around my town.

I enjoyed the challenges of conquering a long hill, hitting insane speeds on the downhill’s, pulling a pace line at 25 miles per hour.. I never raced, I was never that fast but I enjoyed the rides. I looked forward to the large organized rides. The Wright Wride in Dayton Ohio, The Grape Festival Ride in Westfield NY and many others. I loved feeling the bike under me, responding to my input. I loved the occasional sprint…

I used to take solo rides around Erie Pa when I lived there. On one route I would take there was a very long climb. It was a point of pride for me to never walk any part of that hill and there was an older gentleman that would pace me on his moped. He must have done this 5 or 6 times. I don’t know how he knew I was coming but there he would be riding along side of me cheering me on..

I have found that love again… I feel at home on the bike again. I am riding now as much because I love being on the bike as I am for the fitness.

Riding offers me a sense of connection to myself that walking does not. I am not sure why. I feel very at ease on a bike. Even watching out for cars, pedestrians, truck, other bikes… I just feel like the bike and I are in it together.. Strange? I suppose, but that is the truth..

I am energized and I am loving it. I cannot imagine giving up riding again. It would be like giving up love.

Changes in Perspective

I am beginning to see myself as overweight, not fat. Does that make any sense at all? I have seen myself as a fat man for a long time, even the times I lost weight, more than I have lost this time, I still thought of myself as a fat man. Now I can feel a change in this. I am seeing myself as overweight, in need of losing 40 pounds yes, but not FAT.

I am amazed at the change in perspective.

I am not losing sight of the basic fact however that food will always be a minefield for me. For all that I have lost 55 pounds I will not forget that I have 40 more to go. Forty pounds to go. WOW. If I had started off with 40 pounds to lose I would have still thought that I should never have let myself get that heavy. Now with 40 to go I am proud that I have lost the 55. I have not slacked off and I am most proud of that.

With so much of the weight off I am able to concentrate on the exercise more. I can ride the bike, hike, walk, run(!?!).

Thinking as an overweight man and not a fat man means that I have turned a mental corner. It has been a long Journey to this point. I still have a long way to go but now I am sure that I know where I am going…

The Mind is Devious

I was hungry all day today despite eating my normal weekday fare. I had a bagel this morning instead of the cereal I normally would have because I was running late… I think that might be what triggered the hunger today. The mind was playing games with me. It really wanted me to have some cookies… I was sorely tempted. The brain tried to convince me that I needed the sugar… I had to keep talking myself down from the cookie ledge… I was successful…

I was able to control it and I had my normal lunch of tuna. Dinner was Miso soup with many, many fresh vegetables and fish, and half a Kabocha squash. Very tasty but the soup is really too salty to eat regularly.

Time to Think New Bike

I have contemplated this for some time. I love my bike bordering on unnatural. It was built for me 19 years ago by a frame builder in Glens Falls NY and built up by a bike shop in Erie, PA. It fit me like a glove 19 year ago and I have put around 10,000 miles on it through the years, mostly in the first 10 I had it but a 1500 over the last 2 years.

In that time I have replaced the chain twice, the rear cluster once, the pedals three times, the shifters once, three different saddles, several sets of tires….

I have considered upgrading the components, replacing the wheels and the drive components.. By the time I spend that money I will have paid as much as a new bike.

My problem is simple: the same reasons I had for building a custom bike 20 years ago are true today. I still have the long torso and short legs and I still don’t fit a stock bike.

SO I begin the hunt for a custom frame builder. Not to mention trying to figure out how to afford a bike that will start at $1700 or more just for the frame… Sigh…

AS long as the bike I have now continues to be a good ride I can do it all slowly… Buy the frame, then the components a bit at a time until I have it all ready to ride…

Wish I had something to barter…

Garage sale time?

Peace