RTAWW #7 - Riding is Miraculous and more!

Bikes are just amazing.  It's thrilling to ride, fun to challenge yourself or try something new, and a great workout.  It's even better when you get to do ride with your family. Today I ventured to get my kids riding bikes again.  They had learned over the summer and had gained a bit of confidence, but after school started, colder weather set in, and their bikes got roasted, they fell out of the rhythm and it was difficult to get them going. They were both super excited to get new bikes for Christmas (which was a miracle in and of itself because their bikes were a gift from a family that we don't even know that decided to 'adopt' our family for Christmas - we're so thankful for their kindness, words can't really express it but seeing my kids smile as they rolled down a 80-90 ft hill with 25% grade and then ride around a lesser incline to get back to the top at which point one of them, my older son, let out a "YAHOOO!").  It took a few balancing games and some push starts but they got the hang of it and I know that they'll get better and better. They already want to go out and ride tomorrow, but they want to leave earlier so we can ride longer! Our ride was described as "epic" and I had to let them know that there's lots more where that came from and riding just keeps on being epic. It was fun to have my wife out riding too. I guess the point of all this is to say that bikes are miraculous, amazing, epic, and make you go "YAHOO!" Ride on, Eat less, Move more, and Keep breathing...and drink more water. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Road to a Weight Weenie #1

       So I'm going to do some cycling journaling because I am hoping that it will help keep me honest and going in the right direction - the lighter direction. I can't say that it's really a new year's resolution because I've been losing weight for a while now.  I maxed out at 209 lb over last summer and I worked my way down to 173 before the fire. If you have questions about the fire, look up the Campfire in Paradise, CA.  We were displaced and are living with my parents in Bakersfield.  Over the holiday's I went back up to 180 and now I'm getting back on track - that is back to my schedule before the fire with some additional exercises. 
        Basically I don't eat 'til 10 and then stop eating at 6. That is about the extent of my effort to lose weight and it had worked for me when I was in my own home with all of our food. We tend to be vegan, but here in my parents home we have been eating out a lot and well Thanksgiving and Christmas brought sweets up the yingyang (ying-yang?ying yang?). No matter how it's spelled the sweets were up there - they're not up there anymore I imagine.  Because the sweets have now been flushed through the system it's time to get this 5'10" frame back to the leaner side. 
        My goal has been, and still is, to get to 155 lb where my race weight is 145 or lower (I'm fairly light naturally?).  Another goal is to get bikes. I had 3 bikes burn up and my access to a TT bike melted away as well (since my brother kindly let me use his TT bike when I wanted, but his home also burned up).  One of my mom's friends has given me a Specialized Crossroads that I have nicknamed "ashy anne" or "the ol' crossroads" or "the phoenix."

This bike is getting run through the ringer. It is essentially my road/cx/mtn/TT bike right now.  I can't say I'm' pushing it too hard because I'm not really that fit right now, but it's taking me through sand and mud and everything it's not made to do and that makes it pretty fun.

        Something that I wanted to share that for some reason has inspired me is a TED talk I saw on Youtube about how fat leaves the body.  I had always thought that fat leaves your body, after being broken down, in your feces or urine. This is not completely inaccurate but it turns out you breathe out most of it.  This knowledge has created in me the desire to get out and be a bit more active and get myself breathing a bit harder. I also liked the guys catch phrase at the end - something like "Move more, eat less, and keep breathing."  That is my mantra for 2019 - Move More, Eat Less, and Keep Breathing!  Since I'm planning on doing this often (we'll see how long it lasts) I think this is enough for now. Below is the video that I watched. Maybe you already knew about how fat leaves that body, maybe it's off base (I didn't do too much research on the legitimacy of the information) and I did spoil the punch line of the guy's talk but it was a good presentation.

      Hope your new year brings some cycling happiness!