Yesterday, instead of going to the group handling training I normally do, I opted for a longer ride because I need the mileage. In hindsight I probably should have just did the handling training because my ride sucked.

I started off OK and wanted to ride something a little bit faster than my planned century pace of 15 mph. I targeted an average of 16 mph for the ride. Once I got down off the trail and on the loop around White Rock Lake the wind was blowing pretty good with gusts to 20 mph. I was still able to maintain a good speed but was frequently below 15 mph.

About half-way through this first loop I really started to labor. I want to think it was the heat but it could be several issues.

1. I wonder if I wasn’t hydrated enough. I’m bad about not drinking enough water throughout the day and I think this, combined with the heat yesterday, caused part of the problem. I carried a bottle of water and a bottle of gatorade with me but it didn’t seem to help.
2. I may not have gotten enough food. I had a small romaine salad with a can of tuna and a few mushrooms for lunch. That was it. No dressing or anything. I also had some wheat pretzels in the afternoon but I basically didn’t have anything to eat several hours before my ride. That, combined with the heat, was probably a recipe for disaster.
3. Carrying eight 10 pound bags of potatos while riding isn’t helping. Think about that statement. The next time you’re in the grocery store find a 10 pound bag of potatos and feel how heavy it is. I’m carrying eight of those in extra body weight/fat around while I’m riding. That hasn’t got to help me at all except on the downhill sections where I can really build up some momentum. I’m very surprised that I don’t have knee problems due to me carrying all that extra weight around for years.

Well, today marked day 1 of Biking To Live. The alarm went off promptly at 5:00 AM. Man is that early. I’m glad I went to bed early the night before. I was surprised at how dark it was outside. Well, I proceeded to get dressed and downed a quick bottle of water before even leaving the bedroom. It was a little more brisk than I anticipated so I went back inside and threw on a long sleeve t-shirt.

The ride, for the most part, was uneventful. Because I wasn’t sure how the traffic was going to be I stayed to the sidewalk for the first part of the ride. The sidewalk in this area is frequently used by runners but there were no other dedicated “athletes” out at this time in the morning. Maybe they were smarter and still in bed. I eventually left the side walk and hit the bike path. Surprisingly, I fell into a good rhythm and everything seemed to be going good. About halfway through my route my hands started to cramp up some and I had to shake them out every so often to get the feeling back. It was at this point that I decided I needed new gloves. The ones I had were….I don’t know….at least ten years old. I’ve also decided by this point that I need to get a flashing red light for the rear. There wasn’t much traffic, and I had the bike path, but I just didn’t feel too comfortable riding with it still so dark. I guess I’ll be visiting Nashbar later in the day to order gloves and a light.

With tomorrow being 21-Apr that means I’m on the eve of the day I will begin to save my life through riding my bike. I’m excited but cautious. I’m ready to change but know it will be a long, hard road both on and off the bike.

I made final preparations today ensuring my bicycle checked out ok and that I had all my gear (helmet, gloves, water bottle, shoes) prepped and ready to go. I put my bike up on a makeshift work stand I had created using a bicycle trunk carrier and an old Black and Decker Workmate Bench I had. While on the stand I lubed the chain and pedals. Eventually I’m going to have to purchase a quality workstand in order to maintain my chariot of life.

My wife has readied for tomorrow by preparing a special detox drink that will help clean me out. After that I’ll be going on a strict diet to help shed these 100 extra pounds I’ve accumulated. Strict may be too harsh a word. Anything I do with regards to my diet is better than what I was doing.

Everything seems to be in order so I guess it’s time to turn in and get some sleep. This is another area of my life that will need dramatic improvement. My last few years in the military I became accustomed to surviving on anywhere from 2-4 hours of sleep a night. Sometimes more and sometimes less. You can only imagine what that does to your energy levels. Since leaving the service I’m probably averaging about 5.5 hours of sleep a night. That has got to change as well.

Ok, it’s off to bed now. I’ll see you on the other side.