Gears

Interesting article here. One that expounds upon the joys of the fixed-gear, brakeless life. While this article only makes a quick reference to the fixie movement's rebellion against the geared cycling community, there is a pervasive mentality in the fixed-gear community that they are somehow better than the rest of us. Maybe because their riding style is more "organic" or "grassroots," or "back-to-basics" as the article suggests.

Which is great - bicycling IS about getting basic, finding simplicity and experiencing enjoyment on all kinds of levels, but there is no real cause to denigrate other riding styles. We're all on two wheels, right?

And simply put, the fixie revolution is way out of place outside of the city or outside of mountain biking (incidentally, these two disciplines use drastically different gearing). City fixies typically use a gearing that is closer to what is used in track racing - not too pleasant to ride once you get above a 2% grade. Mountain bike single-speeders (not fixed!) use a gear not too different than your first dirt bike - not too pleasant if you have a long flat stretch and need to get somewhere fast!

The point is, there are different bikes for different purposes; I enjoy all mine for those different purposes. If the fixie thing floats your boat - cool. If recumbents do it for you - cool. If a blinged-out road-racing machine that totals 500 grams does it for you - cool.

But there is really no need to put any other riding style down - except for those guys in Primal Wear jerseys.

The Results Are In!

I am definitely not out of the woods yet, but I am seeing good progress. I'm a little sore, but it is different than last time. Right now I am feeling completely cooked because I ran after the ride. Combine that with short sleep for the last two nights and I feel like I got run over. The tailbone is touchy, but not near as bad as after the first ride. I'm also doing a better job of stretching and icing after the riding, so that helps.

I suppose you could argue that riding again is no good for the tailbone at this point, and you might be right. But I also need to know whether I am getting better, and if I just constantly pamper myself, I won't ever know where I really am. So I will continue giving it these little tests and measure my progress.

I have another adjustment tomorrow, and I will be pumping him for further options. Thanks to all who have been asking after me. I really appreciate it!

Another test ride...

I couldn't resist getting out today, so we'll see how the old t-bone reacts tomorrow.

For Susan...

I read the heart-wrenching news over at Fatt'ys site; in a show of support for the family, I am putting up the Pink Jersey. My prayers are with you Susan.

Reasons, Excuses, and Motivations

When I first realized that I had become fat, I found all kinds of reasons for what had happened and why I had allowed myself to sink into a deconditioned state. I told myself that I had a major shift in activity levels, changes in food availability, changes in work habits, etc.

And all those things did happen. I did go from being a wrestler, soccer player, basketball player, and martial artist to being a student. A student who spent the large part of the day sitting and studying. And when I wasn't studying, I was sitting in chapel or church service or sitting in the car driving into town or just because there was nothing to do.

I wasn't getting good home-cooked meals anymore and amounts of food were unlimited. A lot of foods that had been "treat" foods while I was growing up were now regular menu items. I was like a kid in a candy store with access to all the money in the world.

I was also working security for the college, so I was doing late hours and was only getting about five or six hours of sleep a night.

To top off all of that, if I did exercise, it was only brief low intensity strength work - great for building mass, which is something I do fairly easily.

So as you can see, I was in the middle of a recipe for weight gain disaster. But all of these environmental factors didn't have to have the impact they did. I just made bad choices all along.

I could have opted for some activity that would have challenged me and kept me in better condition. I could have opted to eat healthy things and only have the "treat" foods on rare occasions. I could have made room in my schedule for more rest. But I didn't. I made the wrong choices.

So that brings me to the choice to lose the weight. It has been a roller coaster ride on the scale. I have done really well at times, getting down to 210 from a high of 315 or so. That loss was accomplished by doing an insane amount of training for several months. After which, I was completely burned out and slowly began putting it all back on. Some of the weight was muscle since I was weight training quite heavily, but I was avoiding cardio like it was the plague or something. Between knee surgeries and appendectomies, I would do okay with keeping the weight down, but as soon as a major hurdle like the surgeries would come along, I would slap about 20 or 30 pounds back on the gut and have to start all over again.

Now, I believe I am on the final drop of the roller coaster...or I should say, I know I am on the final drop of the roller coaster. The obvious question now being, "How do you know?"

I think I can answer that by defining my motivations. In the past, the motivation was to make people see me as something other than a fat person, or to impress a girl, to make people quit making snide remarks about being a "big guy" or about how much food I ate or how much food they think I ate. Bottom line is that I was always concerned about what other people thought. So my motivation was to prove them wrong by taking on tasks (like eating only certain things and working out) and driving myself to exhaustion. The end result was never quite what I expected, and I always regained the weight.

Now, I have learned that I need to change my life. This requires recognizing what made me weak and fat, removing those destructive habits, and replacing them with profitable and constructive habits. It is not enough to just remove the bad stuff from our lives. We need to make sure that we replace those activities with ones that make us better. So out went the pizza and wings with ice cream binges on a weekly basis, and I have replaced that with organic versions of pizza or ice cream in MUCH smaller amounts. Regular meals are loaded with fruits and veggies and are much lighter on meat and starches. I prepare the vast majority of my own meals and purchase ingredients that have no high fructose corn syrup or trans fats. I have eliminated TV from my home so that I spend more time out on my bike or at the gym. I have acquired equipment that allows me to train throughout the winter so that I don't regress because of bad weather. I hang out with friends who have the same interests in cycling and general fitness.

I made many of these changes gradually, some were done all at once. Some are still in progress. But the overriding factor is that I am changing because I want to change me. I have accepted why I became an unhappy person, and I have accepted responsibility for those actions. The time has come to move on.

Really, I want my old self back - the one that wasn't concerned with what people thought or said. Call it a return to happiness.

Here I Stand

That is about all I can do right now. The ride last week turned out to be a not-so-good idea. Lesson learned. I had a choir clinic at church on Saturday and that involved a whole bunch of sitting. Then I had church on Sunday where I did a bunch more sitting. Things are definitely not feeling right, so I am on the hot pad now and will be doing some icing in the near future.

At least this week it is cold and rainy, so I don't feel so bad about not riding.

Yeah, right.

I Rode My Bike!

How is it that just one short week can seem like such an interminable amount of time? When you can't do what you love to do, that's how!

Due to some strained spinal ligaments, I couldn't sit the saddle and therefore couldn't ride. And life, being what it is, decided to hand me a week full of sunny, 70+ degree days in which to suffer my bikeless condition. It's just not right, I tell you.

But thankfully, that came to an end yesterday! I got out for a 15 mile test ride to see just how well the tailbone had healed up. I wore my thinnest pair of chamois in order to get the best feedback. Ahem.

Anyway, there were only a few uncomfortable moments, but overall the ride was a success. I did a slightly shorter version of my usual recovery ride route since this would allow me to get in a variety of riding situations.

Today, sitting is a bit annoying, so I will continue to stand for the majority of the day while at work. Progress is progress, so I am still pleased that things are going this well. However, I will still take things a little easy for a while.