On last Saturday’s group ride a buddy and I were dropped by the main group. The fast dudes must have been feeling good because by mile 8 we were already going over 25 mph and I finally gave in at 27. The other guy did the same about 30 seconds later. That left us to ride by ourselves and we had a great ride despite the wind. We followed a short ride 25 mile loop and enjoyed the cool temps.

About 3 miles from the finish I heard a loud ‘pop’ from behind me. I knew immediately that my buddy had just flatted so I pulled over. Upon further investigation he discovered that not only had he flatted but he had a hole in his tire as well. It looked like the tire had simply

Welcome to the September 2011 Cycling and Weight Loss Report. I do these reports once a month so you can follow along in my progress towards losing weight with cycling. More importantly I want these posts to help inspire you to battle the bulge. You can see what I’m doing, what’s working for me, what isn’t, the challenges I’m facing, and what I’m struggling with. Through it all we’ll both be better for it.

The month of September was another hard (i.e. I struggled) month but it started out great with me completing an organized ride on September 10th called The Patriots Memorial Ride. You can read my ride report here. About three days after that ride I started to not feel so good. I’m hesitant to say I was ‘sick’ but my body didn’t feel right at all. There was no way I could ride but I did manage to keep my eating under control. Somewhat.

As the month of September moved along I began to feel better and was able to get more mileage on the bike the last couple of weeks. My eating on the other hand hasn’t been super. I have kept it under control but it could be improved so much. I’m sure you can relate. Without further rambling, here’s the breakdown for this month.

A few weeks ago the sunglasses I had been using while riding finally had to be tossed after I lost one of the nose pieces. The nose piece had been coming off a lot but I kept putting it back on. Well, it finally came off and I didn’t notice until after my ride so there’s no telling where it ended up. That left me in need for a new pair of riding sunglasses.

Saturday saw me do my second charity ride of the year at the 10th Annual Patriots Memorial Ride. It’s been held each year following the attacks of Sepember 11, 2011 in honor of those who died. I had gotten a lot of riding in over the past month so I was looking forward to the ride and how I would hold up.

Welcome to my Cycling and Weight Loss Report for August 2011. If you remember, I started these monthly posts last month (that makes this report #2) in order to update you on my progress as I use road cycling to win the battle of the bulge. It helps hold me accountable, provides inpspiration to those trying to lose weight, and gives you some insight into my weight loss and cycling goals, methods, failures, and successes. Here we go!

Tale of the Scale

My starting weight for this month was 269 pounds and I set a goal to lose four pounds in August. I fell way short of that goal. On August 31st I tipped the scales at 268.5. That’s a half-pound loss for August. Dissappointing? Yes.

A few weeks ago I interviewed David Mills as we discussed his new book, The Distance, and what drove him to complete his first Ironman Triathlon. He’s back with a guest post today where he talks about finishing his second Ironman this past weekend.

My favorite thing about Ironman triathlons is the simple fact that anybody can do one…seriously. It doesn’t take a unique skill or ability like throwing a 95 mph fastball or being able to dunk a basketball. You don’t have to be strong, tall, fast, smart, or even very coordinated. All it really takes is an attitude that says, “I will not quit.” Let’s face it, none of us are going to get called up to the major leagues. We’ll never play in the Super Bowl, or get drafted into the NBA. But there’s almost nothing keeping you from becoming an Ironman! I’ve personally seen a blind man, a woman in a wheelchair, an amputee, and a 74 year old man cross the Ironman finish line! It’s a larger-than-life moment that anyone can accomplish.