It’s time to get serious about cycling (my weight loss)

In ten days Biking To Live will be one year old. I feel like over the last year that I’ve I’ve failed to accomplish what I set out to do. I gave it a good shot the first six months or so but ever since last October I’ve been hit and miss. More miss than hit. That said, I figured with the one-year anniversary of Biking To Live coming up I need to actually step up to the plate and take cycling (my weight loss) serious. I say cycling (my weight loss) because if I can step up my cycling to the levels I want to then my weight will take care of itself.

Now, the big question is how do I get serious about my cycling. I’ve been thinking about this for a little while now and have come up with a few things.

1. Join a cycling group. Cycling alone makes it too easy for me to blow off riding. I’ll have some accountability if I have a couple of group rides a week that I’m committed to. I did my first group ride (I know it was only three people) this past weekend and I was consciously watching what I was eating and drinking the day before so I didn’t spoil it. I need that type of motivation.

2. Up the mileage. Because of my current living situation there’s no reason I shouldn’t be riding at least a 100 miles a week within a month. It won’t take me much longer to get back into a rhythm on the bike which means I should be riding five or six days a week before long. I have tons of time in the evenings to get rides in and have all day on Saturdays and Sundays to ride. I’ve got to be careful not to burn myself out but the opportunity is there for me to up the mileage considerably. With the hill work I can get in here in Dallas I can really step up the riding efforts too.

3. Get my bike in shape. As many of you know my trusty steed is 15 or so years old. I’ve kept it in pretty good shape but over the last couple of rides I’ve heard some creaking that probably means the front and rear hubs need overhauled. I know my chain needs replaced. I plan on having that taken care of while I’m out of town next week.

4. Register for and ride a century. That’s the ultimate for a recreational rider like me right? Ride a 100 miles in one day. I’d like to target a ride later this year in the fall after I’ve got a lot of mileage under my felt and have shed a few pounds. Tentatively, I’m looking at the Waco Wild West Century on September 26, 2009. This year is the 25th Anniversary of the event so it should be awesome. That gives me almost exactly six months to prepare. I think that’s plenty of time. I’d like to have a partner though so if any of you Dallas area readers would like to partner up, or know of a better century in the same time frame, please leave a comment below.

There are a couple of other things that I need to do in order to take my cycling seriously as well. First, I need to do a little shopping. I need to pick up some more bibs and jerseys, get a new saddle, and get a new set of cleats. Second, I want to start doing my own bike maintenance. I’m a very mechanically inclined person and have no problems with working on anything. Heck, I worked on nuclear reactors in the Navy for six years. To do that I need to invest in some bike tools. If anybody knows of a good set (they can be used) I’m all ears.

I guess that’s it. I have a couple of followup posts that will elaborate on this a little more but I wanted to get this one out there and get your feedback.