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.

Back in January I set some goals to help me stay motivated through the year. During today’s morning ride before work I broke my mileage goal for the year. It feels so good to be meeting my goals and hopefully it’ll inspire you to continue working towards yours.

The last few weeks I’ve struggled both on and off the bike. I was in one of those down periods that we all experience from time-to-time and it was affecting my riding more than anything. Prior to this week my weekly riding mileage was on the decline with totals of 58, 45, and 35 over the last three weeks.

The cleats on the bottoms of our cycling shoes are some of the most well-worn pieces of equipment a cyclist has. They get walked on, shoved into a pedal against spring pressure, scraped onto the ground, and are forgotten about until they become a problem. Kind of like tires on your car.

I decided to shoot a little video for this topic. The quality isn’t great so please bear with me as I try something new.