A couple of off days.

Well, I haven't been very active this week. Which is not too good when I have a century ride looming this weekend, but life can get in the way. My wife and I are heading down to Waco for the Waco Wild West Century.The week has not been a total loss though. Sunday I got my wife out for a game of tennis....well, we really just got out there and laughed at each other chasing the balls around the court. I have never been a tennis player and in fact only played once or twice with an ex-girlfriend who was a State Champion and therefore I either got frustrated at not being able to return her volleys or she got frustrated at trying to teach me. Anyway, my wife took tennis in college, but it being so many years ago for both of us, we are starting on equal footing. It gives us a chance to get some light exercise while spending some time together. That's the important thing. Today I hope to head up to the "Y" to get in a spin class at least, but with today being my wife's birthday, Happy Birthday Eva, and I have a surprise party to clean and decorate for. I was pleased to get an email from somebody who read a previous post....glad to hear that there is somebody out there who actually reads this stuff, though it is really just for me to look back on. However, if you read something that peaks an interest, you have information to share, or just want to discuss...please drop me a line. This is a learning experience for me as well. See you on the road.

Windy Training Day

Well after a week of running and just one spin class, it was a little hard to get started on this Saturday morning. Cloudy, cool, and threatening to rain was the excuse that I needed to sit and enjoy that extra cup of morning coffee and work my way through the paper. It soon was apparent that it was a good decision as it started sprinkling about 8:45. After a 30 min. break where I again began to think it might hold off, down came the cats and dogs. My thinking? Get caught up on those little projects around the house that keep getting put off...rollout shelves in the kitchen cabinets, laundry, etc. After a coule of hours of this I looked outside and it was bright, sunny, and dry. Did it really just rain? I almost couldn't tell. So I donned my gear and headed out for the lake. Where I live, it is about a 9.5 mile ride to White Rock Lake. So I can pretty much tailor my rides at the 10 mile intervals. Not feeling up to a long ride I started off with the mindset that I would just do a short lap or two and head on home to get more done around the house. I'm not sure what it was that changed that game plan, maybe the slightly cooler weather or the difference in the wind direction, but the same old route seemed a little different. Usually when the weather turns I have a little better fitness than I do this year and therefor I would be out riding int he country or on other organized rallies or have put the bike up for the year. Anyway this change from the weather that I am so used to changed my outlook. I just kept coming around for another lap feeling good and convincing myself to do one more lap. By the end, I had completed a good 70 miles. The wind made it a very hard workout, but I felt proud of myself for pushing that far on a day that I didn't want to ride at all. Now, about the lake....I understand the desire to improve the hike and bike trail around the lake. It helps to beatify the lake. It helps get the casual person out to the lake to enjoy the weather and get good exercise. And the new bridge around the north side of the lake is a fantastic addition to the efforts that they are taking to improve the park. However, the trails are for those who want to walk, jog, skate, or lazily ride around. It is not for the normal athletic biker. The rest of ride the road. So why in their infinite (or lack of ) wisdom did the city of Dallas take te bike lane off of the Mockingbird Bridge? Has anyone ever been on the bridge where it was so highly trafficed that they really need three lanes? I now have to contend with motor vehicle operators that feel the need to express their dominance of weight class. A Lincoln tried to squeeze between me and another vehicle that was overtaking him on the right. I never used to have htat problem when we had the separate lane for cyclists on the bridge. Texas Department of Public Safety states "A bicycle is a vehicle and any person operating a bicycle has the rights and duties applicable to a driver operating a vehicle, unless it cannot, by its nature apply to a person operating a bicycle." And, "A person operating a bicycle on a roadway who is moving slower than the other traffic on the roadway shall ride as near as practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway unless: ...The lane is too narrow for a bicycle and a motor vehicle to safely travelside by side." And, yes I have been riding Texas roads for a number of years. Yes, I have come across the stupidity of both driver of motor vehicles and bicyclists alike. But, when are we going to realize that we can Share the Road? Well, enough for today.

Feel the burn......

I can hardly get off the couch to go pee! I shouldn't take two weeks off of the bike like I did this time. Though I have been supplementing my riding with running and have put in 13 1/2 miles this week, I still need to be on the bike. Last weekend though, the In-Laws got in the way. They need my help moving a few things. And, then there was the yard work that had to be done. Those monthly pick-ups..... Anyway, I rode to White Rock Lake, about a 9 mile trip and did a few laps. Today, however, I tried to keep my pedal speed down, as well as my heart rate, to try to burn more fat. You may or may not know that above a certain heart rate percentage, your body can only process simple carbohydrates and sugars so therefore won't burn fat. So, in order to burn the fat cells, you must be able to bring in enough oxyegen to feed the fire which turns fat into a usable energy source. If you are having trouble breathing, your probably out of your fat burning zone. To do that I ride at a slower pedal speed and try to ride long and steady. I normally ride at an average of 90-95 rpms, but to burn fat I drop it to 70-80. During aerobic activity, your body uses two kinds of stored energy for fuel: fat and carbohydrates or sugar. The intensity of your exercise session determines how much of which energy source is utilized. Long durations of low- to moderate-intensity exercise is the best way to lose fat. That's because working at 60% of maximum heart rate,or at a low-intensity, approximately 50% of the calories you burn come from fat. If you exercise at a higher intensity, say 80% of heart rate max., 60% come from sugars and only 40% of calories you are from fat. Lower intensity exercise burns more fat calories than higher intensity activities. The more intensely you exercise, the more carbohydrates (and the less fat calories) you'll expend. However, when your goal is fat loss, you have to look at the total number of calories you expend during an exercise session. Low-intensity activity burns less overall calories than high-intensity exercise. Let's say you walk at an easy pace for 45 minutes. You would burn far less calories than if you ran at a higher intensity for that same duration. Everybody has there own opinion, but I beleive that the best way to "get in shape" is to attain an overall fitness and that takes designing a workout regimen that uses many different exercises. This is the reason cross-training became the buz word a few years ago. Low-intensity burns a higher amount of fat. Higher intensity burns a high total calorie count and increases aneroebic ability, helping us to process oxygen more efficiently. Maximum intensity bursts: weight lifting, running, and sprinting or hill climbing on the bike, builds muscle which in turn makes us stronger overall. Therefore, I try to vary my exercise. Anyway today was a fat burner. I tied to climb as many hills as possible as well, until my legs gave out. If some of you don't know the hills around the lake...ask me. I know most of them. There are lots of places to veer off the normal to pick up a little added terrain. I've been on my soapbox too long, so bye for now.

Brand New Blog

This is my first effort at blogging, so here goes. I Live in Dallas, Texas and am an avid cyclist. I have been riding on and off since the early 80's, however, i took a long hiatus for about 8 years while I partied, smoked and drank a lot.When I decided to get back into it, I looked into doing a ride that I had heard about many uears before and never had the time to train or fund raise. It was the local North Texas Chapter of the MS150. I pulled my old bike out of the garage and started riding again. When my oldest friend heard that I was going to ride, with only two months to train, he said "are you nuts?" Having been a volunteer with the HAM radio support team, he had seen riders in pain on their bikes and knowing that I was a smoker, just KNEW that I couldn't do it. Well, NEVER tell me I can't do something, because I will prove you wrong, or die trying.Well, to make a long story even longer...I did it. It was the toughest year on record going south to Waco in a 25-30 mph head wind with gusts even higher. I suffered through every mile and upon finishing, pitched my tent and sat down and had a smoke.That was 1997. Nine years later and 15 pounds heavier, I am still riding. Not as much as I would have liked to over the past 2 years, but I am back at it and trying to loose those extra punds. Over the past nine years I have ridden close to 10,000 miles on two bikes. My original, rescued from the garage '86 Centurion Ironman and my '98 Lemond Zurich.