Ride details: Link
Ride summary:
Sign of a windy day. This stop sign was being blown around by the wind.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
April 15th ride
Very windy day for a ride, I decided to take it easy today. Average speed of only 17 mph over 40 miles. Wind average of 16 mph with 40 mph gusts.
Ride details: Link
Ride summary:
Sign of a windy day. This stop sign was being blown around by the wind.
Ride details: Link
Ride summary:
Sign of a windy day. This stop sign was being blown around by the wind.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
April 7th ride
The sun was out, temps were in the mid to high 60's and the wind wasn't blowing too bad. Sounds like a great combination for a Saturday ride. Rode around Lake Santee then down towards the Greensburg park before heading home. The ride was excellent and fast with an average over 20 mph.
The heart monitor stopped working, so I'll try a new battery before the next ride; although I have been contemplating getting a newer style monitor.
Ride details: Link
Ride summary:
8 minute video from the ride:
The heart monitor stopped working, so I'll try a new battery before the next ride; although I have been contemplating getting a newer style monitor.
Ride details: Link
Ride summary:
8 minute video from the ride:
Friday, April 6, 2012
One year Anniversary with the Musashi
I bought the Musashi one year and 4,000 miles ago! I'm still excited about riding this bike! I definitely made the right choice. I've ridden around 350 miles so far this year, thanks to the unusually warm weather we are enjoying.
Here are the details from my very first at home ride on the Musashi: Ride Details
I remember being disapointed in the speed ( I averaged 14.6 mph over 30 miles), I was facing a strong wind from the West and wasn't quite used to the new ride.
Below is a catchup listing of the rides so far this year. I started a new 'motto' on the last couple of rides: Sprint up the hills. It has really made a difference as you can see on April 3rd, my first ever round trip with an average over 21 mph. I've had longer trips with higher averages, but never a complete round trip at this speed.
I haven't decided on any goals for the year yet. I'm just happy for the early warm weather.
February 29th: Ride Details
20 miles with an average of 17.0 mph
Hard to believe it was above 60 degrees in February!
March 6th: Ride Details
23 miles with an average of 18.2 mph
March: 7th: Ride Details
31 miles with an average of 19.2 mph
March 11th: Ride Details
40 miles with an average of 17.8 mph
March 13th: Ride Details
28.38 miles with an average of 19.0 mph
March 14th: Ride Details
21 miles with an average of 17.4 mph
March 18th: Ride Details
22 with an average of 17.7 mph
March 19th: Ride Details
20 miles with an average of 17.6 mph
March 21st: Ride Details
21 miles with an average of 19.3 mph
March 22nd: Ride Details
18 miles with an average of 19.1 mph
March 24th: Ride Details
29 miles with an average of 19.8 mph
March 29th: Ride Details
21 miles with an average of 20.5 mph
April 3rd: Ride Details
21 miles with an average of 21.2 mph!
Not much wind to slow me down today, and I powered through the hills for a real workout.
Here are the details from my very first at home ride on the Musashi: Ride Details
I remember being disapointed in the speed ( I averaged 14.6 mph over 30 miles), I was facing a strong wind from the West and wasn't quite used to the new ride.
Below is a catchup listing of the rides so far this year. I started a new 'motto' on the last couple of rides: Sprint up the hills. It has really made a difference as you can see on April 3rd, my first ever round trip with an average over 21 mph. I've had longer trips with higher averages, but never a complete round trip at this speed.
I haven't decided on any goals for the year yet. I'm just happy for the early warm weather.
February 29th: Ride Details
20 miles with an average of 17.0 mph
Hard to believe it was above 60 degrees in February!
March 6th: Ride Details
23 miles with an average of 18.2 mph
March: 7th: Ride Details
31 miles with an average of 19.2 mph
March 11th: Ride Details
40 miles with an average of 17.8 mph
March 13th: Ride Details
28.38 miles with an average of 19.0 mph
March 14th: Ride Details
21 miles with an average of 17.4 mph
March 18th: Ride Details
22 with an average of 17.7 mph
March 19th: Ride Details
20 miles with an average of 17.6 mph
March 21st: Ride Details
21 miles with an average of 19.3 mph
March 22nd: Ride Details
18 miles with an average of 19.1 mph
March 24th: Ride Details
29 miles with an average of 19.8 mph
March 29th: Ride Details
21 miles with an average of 20.5 mph
April 3rd: Ride Details
21 miles with an average of 21.2 mph!
Not much wind to slow me down today, and I powered through the hills for a real workout.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Being Obese
"You are obese"
I still remember the very moment the nurse said that to me. I was participating in the annual work place physical put on by our insurance company. What? Did I hear her right? I see obese people practically everyday, and I'm not one of them. Sure I'm overweight, but obese? No, never. My look must have given away my thoughts, as the nurse then added this to send the message home: "You are obese, there is no such thing as borderline or a little obese, you are either obese or your not, and you sir are obese." " You're also a borderline diabetic"
It took a while for that message to really sink in. At first I was like right, and your most likely part of that crowd that says Arnold Schwarzenegger is overweight. How can anyone say he's overweight? I then started to research it a bit myself. I found many online weight charts. They all seemed to agree, that my ideal weight should be around 135 to 167 pounds, depending on whether my frame size is small, medium or large. I weighed in at a little over 245 pounds! That meant I was as much as 110 pounds overweight.
How could this have happened? I remember back when I was growing up, my mom took me to the doctor since I would eat everything she put in front of me, and was as thin as a rail. I had to actually gain weight before the Navy would accept me back in 1982. When I left the Navy in 1990, I was still in great shape and riding my Cannondale road bike for great distances at some fast speeds.
Now fast forward to 2005 and I'm 100 pounds overweight and OBESE? This can't be, I am to limber for an obese person, I can touch the palms of my hands on the floor when I touch my toes. I can stand on my hands with my body parallel with the floor. I can ride a bike for twenty miles without any issue.
Then it started to hit me, I haven't really ridden my bike since the mid 1990s. There were also other little clues, I couldn't see my toes when I looked down at my feet.
I remember the first time I took my future wife to see my wonderful grandma, may she rest in peace. It had been a while since I had last seen her, and what was the first thing she said when I walked into her home? "Terry!" she exclaimed in shock, "You got big!" My wife and I could barely hold in the laughter.
Then there was the time my wife bought me some sweat pants that were one large size that fits all. Before I tried them on I grabbed their waistline and stretched them out with both hands, they must have stretched out over 3 feet across,
"How big do you think I am?!" I asked in shock.
"Just try them on, they are suppose to fit your size" She said.
"Do they look like they could fit?!", "You can fit two people in here easily.",
"Just try them on, I can return them if they don't fit."
So I tried them on, and to my horror, they fit very snugly and comfortably.
"Ne-ver mind" I sighed.
We still laugh about those times.
Little by little I began to realize the nurse was correct, I was in fact obese, even though none of my co-workers or my wife would believe it, yes they believed I was a little overweight, but not obese. Being overweight seemed to be the norm. After some searching on line I found that since my BMI was over 36, I was actually counted as a class 2 obese, or morbidly obese. Here is a simple chart to check your own BMI using height and weight: BMI Chart.
It has taken a while to get my weight in check, I still have a little way to go. At the close of 2010, I weighted in at 173 pounds, by the end of 2011, I weighted in at 199 pounds. I went backwards a few pounds last year. But 2011 was my first entire year under 200 pounds, so it was still a banner year for me. That was significant for me, since I had tried for years to get my weight under 200 pounds and never could until 2010. I never dieted at all in 2011, so riding the bike is the only thing that helped keep my weight down.
This year I made a new years resolution to be under 180 pounds by the end of March and then stay under 180 pounds for the rest of the year. So far I'm on track, at 178 pounds on the last day of March.
It wasn't a single motivation that helped me get my weight down, it was a combination of items. The largest contributor was the "Biggest loser contest" that my workplace held in 2010. I'll go over the different methods and motivations I have used to lose weight in future posts.
I've been a lazy poster so far this year. With all this great weather, I have already put on over 300 miles so far. I'll have to do a catchup post on all the rides.
I still remember the very moment the nurse said that to me. I was participating in the annual work place physical put on by our insurance company. What? Did I hear her right? I see obese people practically everyday, and I'm not one of them. Sure I'm overweight, but obese? No, never. My look must have given away my thoughts, as the nurse then added this to send the message home: "You are obese, there is no such thing as borderline or a little obese, you are either obese or your not, and you sir are obese." " You're also a borderline diabetic"
It took a while for that message to really sink in. At first I was like right, and your most likely part of that crowd that says Arnold Schwarzenegger is overweight. How can anyone say he's overweight? I then started to research it a bit myself. I found many online weight charts. They all seemed to agree, that my ideal weight should be around 135 to 167 pounds, depending on whether my frame size is small, medium or large. I weighed in at a little over 245 pounds! That meant I was as much as 110 pounds overweight.
How could this have happened? I remember back when I was growing up, my mom took me to the doctor since I would eat everything she put in front of me, and was as thin as a rail. I had to actually gain weight before the Navy would accept me back in 1982. When I left the Navy in 1990, I was still in great shape and riding my Cannondale road bike for great distances at some fast speeds.
Now fast forward to 2005 and I'm 100 pounds overweight and OBESE? This can't be, I am to limber for an obese person, I can touch the palms of my hands on the floor when I touch my toes. I can stand on my hands with my body parallel with the floor. I can ride a bike for twenty miles without any issue.
Then it started to hit me, I haven't really ridden my bike since the mid 1990s. There were also other little clues, I couldn't see my toes when I looked down at my feet.
I remember the first time I took my future wife to see my wonderful grandma, may she rest in peace. It had been a while since I had last seen her, and what was the first thing she said when I walked into her home? "Terry!" she exclaimed in shock, "You got big!" My wife and I could barely hold in the laughter.
Then there was the time my wife bought me some sweat pants that were one large size that fits all. Before I tried them on I grabbed their waistline and stretched them out with both hands, they must have stretched out over 3 feet across,
"How big do you think I am?!" I asked in shock.
"Just try them on, they are suppose to fit your size" She said.
"Do they look like they could fit?!", "You can fit two people in here easily.",
"Just try them on, I can return them if they don't fit."
So I tried them on, and to my horror, they fit very snugly and comfortably.
"Ne-ver mind" I sighed.
We still laugh about those times.
Little by little I began to realize the nurse was correct, I was in fact obese, even though none of my co-workers or my wife would believe it, yes they believed I was a little overweight, but not obese. Being overweight seemed to be the norm. After some searching on line I found that since my BMI was over 36, I was actually counted as a class 2 obese, or morbidly obese. Here is a simple chart to check your own BMI using height and weight: BMI Chart.
It has taken a while to get my weight in check, I still have a little way to go. At the close of 2010, I weighted in at 173 pounds, by the end of 2011, I weighted in at 199 pounds. I went backwards a few pounds last year. But 2011 was my first entire year under 200 pounds, so it was still a banner year for me. That was significant for me, since I had tried for years to get my weight under 200 pounds and never could until 2010. I never dieted at all in 2011, so riding the bike is the only thing that helped keep my weight down.
This year I made a new years resolution to be under 180 pounds by the end of March and then stay under 180 pounds for the rest of the year. So far I'm on track, at 178 pounds on the last day of March.
It wasn't a single motivation that helped me get my weight down, it was a combination of items. The largest contributor was the "Biggest loser contest" that my workplace held in 2010. I'll go over the different methods and motivations I have used to lose weight in future posts.
I've been a lazy poster so far this year. With all this great weather, I have already put on over 300 miles so far. I'll have to do a catchup post on all the rides.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
2011 summary post
Summary:
I've ridden more miles and faster in 2011 then compared to previous years on a recumbent. The year started with a new bike in April, I had then completed a lot of goals and now the year is ending with almost 3,700 bicycling miles.
Who knows what 2012 will bring? I have been looking at the Elliptigo bikes for something completely different. I hope to try one out next spring to see how it rides.
New bike, the Catbike Musashi.
I have been considering a new bike for a few years. The 15 year old Vision R40 just seemed a bit well....old and outdated. I did have the gears updated in 2007, which helped it last a few more years. I had some cash saved up and I had the go ahead from the wife, so I started testing new bikes as soon as it was warm enough.
Here is my post on choosing the Musashi.
Now that I have a few thousand miles on the Musashi, I definitely feel I made the right choice. Although the Catrike 700 would be a lot of fun, it would not be as fast, and would be a bit more dangerous on these country roads I like to ride on.
Completed goals:
This was the first year that I set goals. Setting goals and documenting my rides on this blog has really helped improved my riding. below are some of my goals completed this year:
60 miles under 3 hours with no stops.
Over 200 miles in a single weekend.
Over 2,500 miles for the year. I rode on to almost 3,700 miles.
New camera, the GoPro Hero HD.
I have long considered getting a camera for the bike, I'm glad I did. Here are some of the videos that I have taken:
My Youtube video channel.
My audience:
This is the first year that I have received feedback on this blog and the first year to have over 1,000
hits, now I'm almost upto 4,000 hits. I even have some followers. All of this has helped keep me motivated to keep riding, thanks for all your visits and your comments. If you wish to be a follower of my blog, click the 'Join This Site' link on the upper right hand side of this page. If you like this blog you can also try visiting the sponsors on this same page.
So thank you and happy holidays to all of you for taking the time to read about my recumbent adventures
Future posts:
In the past I have concentrated on documenting my rides only, I am considering adding more personal posts, including how I lost some weight last year by riding my Vision R40. I started last year at over 230 pounds and ended the year at 173 pounds. My motto was "Eat less and move more".
I've ridden more miles and faster in 2011 then compared to previous years on a recumbent. The year started with a new bike in April, I had then completed a lot of goals and now the year is ending with almost 3,700 bicycling miles.
Who knows what 2012 will bring? I have been looking at the Elliptigo bikes for something completely different. I hope to try one out next spring to see how it rides.
New bike, the Catbike Musashi.
I have been considering a new bike for a few years. The 15 year old Vision R40 just seemed a bit well....old and outdated. I did have the gears updated in 2007, which helped it last a few more years. I had some cash saved up and I had the go ahead from the wife, so I started testing new bikes as soon as it was warm enough.
Here is my post on choosing the Musashi.
Now that I have a few thousand miles on the Musashi, I definitely feel I made the right choice. Although the Catrike 700 would be a lot of fun, it would not be as fast, and would be a bit more dangerous on these country roads I like to ride on.
Completed goals:
This was the first year that I set goals. Setting goals and documenting my rides on this blog has really helped improved my riding. below are some of my goals completed this year:
60 miles under 3 hours with no stops.
Over 200 miles in a single weekend.
Over 2,500 miles for the year. I rode on to almost 3,700 miles.
New camera, the GoPro Hero HD.
I have long considered getting a camera for the bike, I'm glad I did. Here are some of the videos that I have taken:
My Youtube video channel.
My audience:
This is the first year that I have received feedback on this blog and the first year to have over 1,000
hits, now I'm almost upto 4,000 hits. I even have some followers. All of this has helped keep me motivated to keep riding, thanks for all your visits and your comments. If you wish to be a follower of my blog, click the 'Join This Site' link on the upper right hand side of this page. If you like this blog you can also try visiting the sponsors on this same page.
So thank you and happy holidays to all of you for taking the time to read about my recumbent adventures
Future posts:
In the past I have concentrated on documenting my rides only, I am considering adding more personal posts, including how I lost some weight last year by riding my Vision R40. I started last year at over 230 pounds and ended the year at 173 pounds. My motto was "Eat less and move more".
Sunday, October 30, 2011
October 23rd and 24th ride
Temperatures were above 60 so I took advantage of the nice enough weather for a couple of rides.
I don't like riding when the temps are below 60. The two rides added up to 55 miles total and were almost uneventful. I had a motorcycle rider pass me on the 24th, he was standing on his seat instead of sitting. I'm not sure whether he's a professional stuntman or a fool, but here's the video:
October 24th ride summary:
October 23rd ride summary:
Sunday, October 16, 2011
October 10th to 16th rides
October 16th:
Very windy day, just like the day before, the average wind speed was 20mph with 30mph gusts. The wind was coming from the West and a little from the South.
I planned this ride with the wind in mind, I pushed against it for the first 18 miles getting an average speed of 14.9mph. The next leg I went South and some West for 16 miles with an average speed of 15mph. Then when I was starting to get tired I headed back home which meant going North East for 18 miles with the winds pushing me all the way. I averaged 21.5mph on that leg. I don't think I have ever averaged over 20mph on that particular leg in that direction, since it is mostly uphill. I then finished the ride by going through Park road and Greensburg.
Very windy
I noticed at my second stop that I couldn't sit my water bottle on the picnic table without it being instantly knocked down by the wind. I then decided to film me sitting my helmet on the same table, as you can see and hear below, the helmet was being blown all over the place. This gives a nice idea of how windy the day was, I still have a hard time believing I averaged 14.9 mph heading into that wind. That shows the true advantage of a recumbent.
Detail link
Summary stats:
October 15th:
This day was also very windy with the same 20mph winds with 30mph gusts. I rode to the town of Westport to see my wife who was working at a nursing booth at the community building.
Details link
Summary stats:
October 10th:
35 mile loop with an 18.6mph average speed, wind from the South.
Details link
October 9th:
41 miles average speed of 18.4mph, wind from the South.
Details link
Very windy day, just like the day before, the average wind speed was 20mph with 30mph gusts. The wind was coming from the West and a little from the South.
I planned this ride with the wind in mind, I pushed against it for the first 18 miles getting an average speed of 14.9mph. The next leg I went South and some West for 16 miles with an average speed of 15mph. Then when I was starting to get tired I headed back home which meant going North East for 18 miles with the winds pushing me all the way. I averaged 21.5mph on that leg. I don't think I have ever averaged over 20mph on that particular leg in that direction, since it is mostly uphill. I then finished the ride by going through Park road and Greensburg.
Very windy
I noticed at my second stop that I couldn't sit my water bottle on the picnic table without it being instantly knocked down by the wind. I then decided to film me sitting my helmet on the same table, as you can see and hear below, the helmet was being blown all over the place. This gives a nice idea of how windy the day was, I still have a hard time believing I averaged 14.9 mph heading into that wind. That shows the true advantage of a recumbent.
Detail link
Summary stats:
October 15th:
This day was also very windy with the same 20mph winds with 30mph gusts. I rode to the town of Westport to see my wife who was working at a nursing booth at the community building.
Details link
Summary stats:
October 10th:
35 mile loop with an 18.6mph average speed, wind from the South.
Details link
October 9th:
41 miles average speed of 18.4mph, wind from the South.
Details link
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