I bought a bicycle

[The Wicker Man]

huff puff, huff puff, huff puff, 250, huff puff ...

[High Spy]

250

Weight, reps, or something else.

[The Wicker Man]

250

Weight, reps, or something else.

As deep knee bends are too hard on my knees I have just been sitting on the edge of my bed and doing "stand ups". Yesterday I did 260 reps of stand ups. Look at my previous post as I gave what my goals are. Maybe even give them a try. They are not as easy as they sound when you do several hundred at one go.

[The Wicker Man]

My education on the art & science of the modern bike has taken many YT videos and many months to fully appreciate. I have discovered that the Schwinn I bought is hopelessly slow. It is slow because it is very heavy despite the add for it saying it was very light. It is slow because of the stock tires. It is slow because of the gearing it comes with. And there are a few other reasons why it is slow. No wonder all I could manage was 8.1 miles an hour on my last ride of the season of 19 miles. Riding that bike had become so distasteful to me that I ordered a new bike for next season. I just received a call today that it should be ready to pick up this coming Wednesday. I'm not going to say how much I'm paying for it. Let's just say that it cost several times more than the Schwinn. The frame is aluminium so it is still nowhere as expensive as a carbon bike. And it is only considered an entry level race bike. Although to release its full potential one needs to upgrade the tires to race tires.

[The Wicker Man]

I picked up my new bike today. It is a world of difference from the Schwinn. Just feather light and quick in comparison. Have I related what happened to me when I was seventeen? I don't remember so if one has read it already ... too bad ... lol. I had a Schwinn three speed. It was a cow of a bike and I could not keep up with my friend on his ten speed. So I had saved every penny I could get my hands on until I could afford to buy my own ten speed. It was a beautiful white Fuji. I rode all over town showing it off. That weekend I went on a fifty+ mile road trip like usual but this time my friend could not go. On the way back I raced down a very steep hill also like usual. There was a speedometer on my bike and I was going just a hair above 60 mph. But unlike usual there was a brand new rut in the road that caught my front tire so perfectly that it stopped going forward while at the same time the back tire kept going forward in an arc. I was launched into the air like Superman. I did not land quite as gracefully as Superman usually does though as I tumbled and rolled to a stop. And also as usual when something happens to me like that, I was unhurt, without a scratch on me. My new Fuji was not so lucky. In its tumbling down the hill it was totally demolished. Both wheels were mangled, the handlebars were bent and evey tube in the frame had new contours that it did not have before. I tried to carry it home but got tired and tossed it in the woods. I complained to the Spirit that day, "thanks for saving me but I had the bike for less than a week, couldn't you have saved it also".

Fast forward to today. When I got home I had to take my new bike for a spin around the block even though it was only 26f. I went my usual route for a short jaunt. But the contour of the path has changed and before I could react the front tire went into a deep depression that once again launched me over the handlebars. And this time I was slightly hurt. I landed on gravel face first and a rock managed to break my skin just enough for one tiny drop of blood to ooze out. But this time my Bike was totally undamaged. I guess the Spirit did not want to hear me complain again so He spared my Bike while allowing the least amount of damage to me. I call that a good result!

[BeNotDeceived]

I picked up my new bike today. It is a world of difference from the Schwinn. Just feather light and quick in comparison. Have I related what happened to me when I was seventeen? I don't remember so if one has read it already ... too bad ... lol. I had a Schwinn three speed. It was a cow of a bike and I could not keep up with my friend on his ten speed. So I had saved every penny I could get my hands on until I could afford to buy my own ten speed. It was a beautiful white Fuji. I rode all over town showing it off. That weekend I went on a fifty+ mile road trip like usual but this time my friend could not go. On the way back I raced down a very steep hill also like usual. There was a speedometer on my bike and I was going just a hair above 60 mph. But unlike usual there was a brand new rut in the road that caught my front tire so perfectly that it stopped going forward while at the same time the back tire kept going forward in an arc. I was launched into the air like Superman. I did not land quite as gracefully as Superman usually does though as I tumbled and rolled to a stop. And also as usual when something happens to me like that, I was unhurt, without a scratch on me. My new Fuji was not so lucky. In its tumbling down the hill it was totally demolished. Both wheels were mangled, the handlebars were bent and evey tube in the frame had new contours that it did not have before. I tried to carry it home but got tired and tossed it in the woods. I complained to the Spirit that day, "thanks for saving me but I had the bike for less than a week, couldn't you have saved it also".

Fast forward to today. When I got home I had to take my new bike for a spin around the block even though it was only 26f. I went my usual route for a short jaunt. But the contour of the path has changed and before I could react the front tire went into a deep depression that once again launched me over the handlebars. And this time I was slightly hurt. I landed on gravel face first and a rock managed to break my skin just enough for one tiny drop of blood to ooze out. But this time my Bike was totally undamaged. I guess the Spirit did not want to hear me complain again so He spared my Bike while allowing the least amount of damage to me. I call that a good result!

So AGF's last post was "Don't Murder Me" by the Grateful Dead?? That's disturbing. Does anyone know any more about the man? Any posts here that elucidate his whole story?? Odd that he would even link to a GD song. Seems completely out of style or not characteristic for him.

The above avatar for AGlobalFaith looks photoshopped, and his Working on the Railroad thread is thought epic by many. A follow-on thread is now locked temporarily, so I'm placing my comment here. Soon I shall depart for Walmart and to hopefully get a new cell phone too. It's an A14 to use as a hotspot for when I visit the islands and stuff. Number 57 coordinates are prevalent there in my new stomping grounds.



Horror, but not bicycle story.

[The Wicker Man]

Well it got up to 41f today and it was sunny. So I road my new bike a few miles. I'm not sure how far because I did not think to charge up my bike computer. And I had no lack of power in my legs due to all the stand ups I've been doing. Two days in a row not long ago I did 1200 stand ups each day but not all at once. The problem today was hyperventilating all that cold air. It made my lungs hurt really bad that I wanted to turn around at the end of my street and call it a day. However, I cracked on as the British would say and endured the pain. Wow my new bike is really fast compared to my less new bike. It just flies down the road with like half the effort. Or maybe that is just because my legs are stronger. A few YT's that have a Trek Domane similar to mine all claim that the stock tires are slow and that if one were to install some Continental GP 5000 race tires the Domane becomes a beast of a bike. That means it becomes really fast. I have the Conti GP 5000's mounted on new carbon fiber wheels but I have not mounted the new wheels on the bike yet. First I want to get a baseline for the stock setup on a 20 mile course when it becomes warm enough so I don't have a heart attack because of constricted airways. Given my story there is a good chance that God would not let me die but why tempt him. He might have a backup waiting in the wings if I get a bit too cocky!

[BeNotDeceived]

Currently my inventory of bikes consists of two specimens. One a Giant MB (Mountain Bike) with 650b wheels with Schrader valves, front suspension and disk brakes.

Mountain bike wheel sizes have evolved over the years, with traditional 26-inch wheels being reserved for dirt jump, freeride, and kids' bikes.3 Nowadays, most adult mountain bikes offer either 27.5-inch (also known as 650b) or 29-inch (called 29ers), and a combination of the two referred to as'mullet'. 29ers are the ideal choice for taller riders over 5'7" …

Another consideration is how easy it is to put your bike inside a car. The smaller wheels are also a bit lighter.

My other bike is a Peugeot MB that I picked up second hand and has solid rubber tires that never go flat. The tires are 26 inch, but 1.25 inch wide IIRC. Unfortunately they’re both in AK while I’m in OK until the ninth. Hopefully the weather will cooperate so I can at least buzz down the road to get the mail. Meanwhile, The Collective on 10th street has deep fried plantains that are out of this world. It’s about a mile North of me, so should make for a pleasant stroll, to get some lunch.

[Valo]

Well it got up to 41f today and it was sunny. So I road my new bike a few miles. I'm not sure how far because I did not think to charge up my bike computer. And I had no lack of power in my legs due to all the stand ups I've been doing. Two days in a row not long ago I did 1200 stand ups each day but not all at once. The problem today was hyperventilating all that cold air. It made my lungs hurt really bad that I wanted to turn around at the end of my street and call it a day. However, I cracked on as the British would say and endured the pain. Wow my new bike is really fast compared to my less new bike. It just flies down the road with like half the effort. Or maybe that is just because my legs are stronger. A few YT's that have a Trek Domane similar to mine all claim that the stock tires are slow and that if one were to install some Continental GP 5000 race tires the Domane becomes a beast of a bike. That means it becomes really fast. I have the Conti GP 5000's mounted on new carbon fiber wheels but I have not mounted the new wheels on the bike yet. First I want to get a baseline for the stock setup on a 20 mile course when it becomes warm enough so I don't have a heart attack because of constricted airways. Given my story there is a good chance that God would not let me die but why tempt him. He might have a backup waiting in the wings if I get a bit too cocky!

How goes the bicycling? I need to kick it up a notch from walking 6-10 miles every day to doing something a bit more vigorous. Biking is fun but I have a horrible bike ATM. I like the idea of figuring out how to do weight training and other exercises without having to go any where special, like a gym. Using your own body weight and repetitions (like leg squats) are great. Just need to get past the "I don't want to experience pain and discomfort" stage!

[The Wicker Man]

Well it got up to 41f today and it was sunny. So I road my new bike a few miles. I'm not sure how far because I did not think to charge up my bike computer. And I had no lack of power in my legs due to all the stand ups I've been doing. Two days in a row not long ago I did 1200 stand ups each day but not all at once. The problem today was hyperventilating all that cold air. It made my lungs hurt really bad that I wanted to turn around at the end of my street and call it a day. However, I cracked on as the British would say and endured the pain. Wow my new bike is really fast compared to my less new bike. It just flies down the road with like half the effort. Or maybe that is just because my legs are stronger. A few YT's that have a Trek Domane similar to mine all claim that the stock tires are slow and that if one were to install some Continental GP 5000 race tires the Domane becomes a beast of a bike. That means it becomes really fast. I have the Conti GP 5000's mounted on new carbon fiber wheels but I have not mounted the new wheels on the bike yet. First I want to get a baseline for the stock setup on a 20 mile course when it becomes warm enough so I don't have a heart attack because of constricted airways. Given my story there is a good chance that God would not let me die but why tempt him. He might have a backup waiting in the wings if I get a bit too cocky!

How goes the bicycling? I need to kick it up a notch from walking 6-10 miles every day to doing something a bit more vigorous. Biking is fun but I have a horrible bike ATM. I like the idea of figuring out how to do weight training and other exercises without having to go any where special, like a gym. Using your own body weight and repetitions (like leg squats) are great. Just need to get past the "I don't want to experience pain and discomfort" stage!

I determined that temperatures in the 40's are not easy on the body to put forth that kind of effort. Today it is in the 50's so I'm getting ready to go out and give it a try. Thanks for reminding me because I was distracted and lost awareness of the time! Gota go!

[The Wicker Man]

First ride of the day done. My place is at the bottom of a road and at the top of the road to the east are the mountains. It's not that steep of an incline being only 3.6%. Last year on my old new bike that weighs 37.5lbs it was a chore climbing to the top. This year on my new new bike that weighs 17.5lbs less it was a piece of cake. It also helps that this winter I lost 20lbs. But the best news of the day is that before the winter I wore 46 inch waist shorts. Before winter started I bought 40 inch waist shorts and vowed to myself that I would wear them in the spring. Today for the first time I was able to wear them!

[The Wicker Man]

My rides for today are done. The temperature made it past 60 today. Here are my rides so far this year.

First my last ride of 2023
10/08/23 19.2 mi 8.1 mph

03/18/24 3.25 mi 8.9 mph
03/19/24 4.38 mi 10.1 mph
03/20/24 5.41 mi 9.5 mph
Down went the temperatures
Then just a day going around a big parking lot.
04/04/24 5.29 mi 10.2 mph
04/12/24 8.44 mi 10.7 mph

I could have gone further today but I saved some for tomorrow because I want to do at least 10 miles tomorrow.

04/13/24 10.00 mi 9.8 mph 259 kcal burned

[The Wicker Man]

The temperatures are going down again.
Looks like no bike riding for quite a while.
Yesterday I was a little below max readiness and it was slightly cooler.
So I was not as fast for my ten mile ride.
Today was even cooler and I was even more below max readiness but because this was the last day I could ride for a while I gave it as much as I could spare.
04/14/24 12.1 mi 10.1 mph Heart Rate avg 116 max 129 kcal 621

I am happy with my progress so far. I'm am way ahead of my start last year. Well last year I didn't get started until mid July. So I guess I would have to be ahead. lol

[Valo]

First ride of the day done. My place is at the bottom of a road and at the top of the road to the east are the mountains. It's not that steep of an incline being only 3.6%. Last year on my old new bike that weighs 37.5lbs it was a chore climbing to the top. This year on my new new bike that weighs 17.5lbs less it was a piece of cake. It also helps that this winter I lost 20lbs. But the best news of the day is that before the winter I wore 46 inch waist shorts. Before winter started I bought 40 inch waist shorts and vowed to myself that I would wear them in the spring. Today for the first time I was able to wear them!

Good job losing the weight and staying committed to the biking. I used to be over 300 lbs. After about 315, I stopped checking. Anyway, I am now about 180 lbs or so. I lost most of that weight ~between 2012 and 2017 and have maintained at 180 since. My current goal physical health wise is to fill in loose skin with muscle and just bulk up a bit in general and continue working on my cardiovascular endurance.

[The Wicker Man]

First ride of the day done. My place is at the bottom of a road and at the top of the road to the east are the mountains. It's not that steep of an incline being only 3.6%. Last year on my old new bike that weighs 37.5lbs it was a chore climbing to the top. This year on my new new bike that weighs 17.5lbs less it was a piece of cake. It also helps that this winter I lost 20lbs. But the best news of the day is that before the winter I wore 46 inch waist shorts. Before winter started I bought 40 inch waist shorts and vowed to myself that I would wear them in the spring. Today for the first time I was able to wear them!

Good job losing the weight and staying committed to the biking. I used to be over 300 lbs. After about 315, I stopped checking. Anyway, I am now about 180 lbs or so. I lost most of that weight ~between 2012 and 2017 and have maintained at 180 since. My current goal physical health wise is to fill in loose skin with muscle and just bulk up a bit in general and continue working on my cardiovascular endurance.

A very inspiring success story! How did you do it?

[Valo]

First ride of the day done. My place is at the bottom of a road and at the top of the road to the east are the mountains. It's not that steep of an incline being only 3.6%. Last year on my old new bike that weighs 37.5lbs it was a chore climbing to the top. This year on my new new bike that weighs 17.5lbs less it was a piece of cake. It also helps that this winter I lost 20lbs. But the best news of the day is that before the winter I wore 46 inch waist shorts. Before winter started I bought 40 inch waist shorts and vowed to myself that I would wear them in the spring. Today for the first time I was able to wear them!

Good job losing the weight and staying committed to the biking. I used to be over 300 lbs. After about 315, I stopped checking. Anyway, I am now about 180 lbs or so. I lost most of that weight ~between 2012 and 2017 and have maintained at 180 since. My current goal physical health wise is to fill in loose skin with muscle and just bulk up a bit in general and continue working on my cardiovascular endurance.

A very inspiring success story! How did you do it?

Thank you. I know how I did a part of it but half of it God did. I'm kinda feeling sick today but I'll expound later. It is an interesting story and I think I've learned some things that could be helpful to others struggling with weight, etc.

Edit: Truth is more like God did most of it but I played a role for sure.

[High Spy]

The effects of sugar are not sweet +~ FF+DM ~+

Dr. Lustig became familiar to me when I watched his Fat Chance 2.0 video. Just now I found a recent one that’s under 20 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKwpF-JjQkY. In it he discusses sugars impact on mitochondria.

Many restaurants have upgraded their soda fountains to include Barqs diet root beer, which isn’t available in stores. Swiss cheese too, is noticeably absent from Subway options … Thank you for being a loyal Subway® customer and we look forward to serving you again in the future.

InTheKnow began Food Waste on FF … Interesting post #58, after an extended absence extolling the virtues of #57.

Listening to Hidden Brain on KOSU just now the words “these poor people” came to my mind a few seconds before the guest said them. The show is about cravings, addictions and stuff. … The Craving Mind is the guests book.

https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/the-cur ... -cravings/

[The Wicker Man]

Another ride complete.
04/23/24 16.3 mi 8.8mph 902 kcal burnt

This was a tough day in the saddle. I really did not feel up to riding today. It was above 60f but it was mostly cloudy. And when the Sun was not out it was chilly. And there were nasty wind gust. I even got sand blasted once. After 2.9 miles I was ready to turn around and head home. But the Spirit said, you sissy you're going to keep going. So I kept going. At 5.7 miles I saw rain in the distance coming over the mountains to the south. I said, sissy or no sissy I'm not going to get caught in that. So I headed home. Last time I did 12.1 miles so I went up and down a couple streets so I could get to at least 12.2 miles. And when I got to my corner I was at 12.1 and I would have been at 12.2 when I reached the house and I thought perfect! Then the Spirit said keep going. I said, to hell with that, I'm done. "No you're not, do 4 more miles." "I'm done." "Do 4 more miles, I will help you." So I did 4 more miles!

[Valo]

Another ride complete.
04/23/24 16.3 mi 8.8mph 902 kcal burnt

This was a tough day in the saddle. I really did not feel up to riding today. It was above 60f but it was mostly cloudy. And when the Sun was not out it was chilly. And there were nasty wind gust. I even got sand blasted once. After 2.9 miles I was ready to turn around and head home. But the Spirit said, you sissy you're going to keep going. So I kept going. At 5.7 miles I saw rain in the distance coming over the mountains to the south. I said, sissy or no sissy I'm not going to get caught in that. So I headed home. Last time I did 12.1 miles so I went up and down a couple streets so I could get to at least 12.2 miles. And when I got to my corner I was at 12.1 and I would have been at 12.2 when I reached the house and I thought perfect! Then the Spirit said keep going. I said, to hell with that, I'm done. "No you're not, do 4 more miles." "I'm done." "Do 4 more miles, I will help you." So I did 4 more miles!

Heck yeah!

The Spirit has said that to me many times, "You sissy, keep going!" or something similar.

But, your post made me laugh. Good job pushing through!