It's the Little Rides

Getting into a routine of biking again this summer has been difficult.  On Mondays, I tell myself I will bike both Saturday and Sunday of the coming weekend, but then it is really warm, and there is outside work to be done (weeding, watering, mowing the grass putting up shade blinds on western and southern windows, working in the community garden), that should be done before it gets hot, and suddenly it's 11 a.m. and too late because...it's too hot!

But I was reading the latest issue of Mother Earth News, and it is full of articles about living cheaper/simpler.  There's nothing new in it, so far, but some of the things are reminders that I can be doing better.  Like, most people's daily driving takes them less than 2 miles from home. 

So, I rode my bike to a meeting at the library last night.  It is about 20 blocks, maybe a mile and a half, and took me about ten minutes.  Yes, I had to ride on the street, which I don't really like to do, and I had to cross a few major intersections, but still, I rode it, instead of getting in the car.  There are other times I can do this, and will try to make that choice in the future.  Is it a ten-mile ride that burns tons of calories and makes me sweat?  No, but it's still a bike ride, it's good for me, and it saved me wear and tear on my car. 

The short rides count too.  A long as it is daylight, and I can ride safely on the city streets, there's no reason I shouldn't be biking when I can.

Why Biking is Better for Me Than Zumba

I started biking regularly about 18 months ago.  Except for three months when I was casted and off m feet after breaking my leg in the mountains, I've biked regularly since.  Winter is rough for biking.  It snows, it is really cold, and there are a hundred things I'd rather do than be out on a bike.  But I live in Colorado, so a few bad days are always followed by a really great one, and even if I can't get a big bike ride in, I can at least tool around the neighborhood or do some simple shopping.  But still, it's winter, so my usual 30 miles a week ends up being about 3 miles a week, if I'm lucky.

And that's why I fill in with Zumba. 

But when it comes down to it, Id rather be biking.  Tonight I did an 11 mile ride, and thought about why I love it so much more than Zumba.

Biking is one of those things that I can do by myself.  There's no competition, I'm not trying to be faster than someone or to keep up with someone.  If my legs ache, I can slow my pace a bit, until I feel like I can give it full bore once again.  There are sounds and sights to distract me, but generally I'm alone, in the quiet, thinking my own thoughts.  When I finish a bike ride, I feel physically tired, but mentally and emotionally uplifted and ready to take on my next challenge.  My legs just do their thing, and I just ride away without a thought or a care, other than avoiding any road hazards I might encounter.

Zumba, on the other hand, leaves me both physically and mentally exhausted.  It is not a solo exercise, as I'm with a group of others.  While I'm working my body pretty hard, my brain is getting a workout too.  I can't just let my legs do their thing.  I have to pay attention.  I have to try to keep up with the moves, and make my arms and my legs work at the same time, usually at opposing tasks.  I am trying not to look like I'm flailing around (even though I'm definitely flailing around).  This takes mental work, and despite the fact that I've been doing this for months (since September, 2013), I have yet to build the muscle memory required to do the moves without thinking.  I can't think through my problems, and despite the number of fans going in the room, I can't let the wind just take my problems away. 

And despite my months of Zumba, I have not lost any weight or changed shape.  I would argue that I am stronger, especially in the legs.  But only biking starts to trim me down and give me the kind of aerobic workout that makes me feel blissful when I'm done.  I like doing Zumba, I like the friendly atmosphere and I adore my Zumba instructor.  But when it comes down to it, biking is going to win my heart every time.

And I've really not done a good job at making time for biking these last couple of months.  I'm going to have to be better about that.

Ugly Body

I've been a pretty bad blogger of late.  I apologize for that.  Going to try to do better.  We moved a few weeks ago and that has taken all of my energy.  I'm back to Zumba twice a week, but my bike schedule has not seemed to have recovered yet.  The weather is warm enough, but we're going through some very wet weekends.  Two weeks ago it snowed.  Last weekend I spend my time in the mountains instead.  This weekend - we are getting torrential rain and hail.  Not exactly good biking weather.  I have, however, been spending plenty of time outdoors, digging in the garden, trying to fix up the yard at our new house, that sort of thing.  So I am getting my exercise!

I ran across this article last week, and thought I would share it.  Go ahead, go on over and read it, then come back.  I'll wait.

Isn't she flat-out amazing?  I am not a fan of cross-fit, partially because I could never do it, but also because I've heard some crazy stories out there about how overboard people go with it.  People have been seriously hurt doing this particular type of exercise, and while I want to be in shape, I don't particularly want to lose the use of my arms or legs after a workout session.

And yes, I know, she had gastric bypass surgery and lost a ton of weight.  I'm not a fan of that either.  My husband had gastric bypass about 16 years ago, and while he lost weight, it hasn't been the most pleasant of trips for him.  He still has continued health problems, not to mention a ton of complications that most people don't think about when they get the surgery.

That being said, the part of this article that spoke to me was her attitude about her "ugly body."  Plenty of times I catch sight of my naked body in the mirror and roll my eyes.  Not only am I fat, but I'm at an age (over 50) where things that used to be firm are no longer firm. "Firm" being a relative term, of course, as I've always been large.  It's sag city and wiggly skin time for me these days.  Realistically, even without a ton of weight loss, my body looks an awful lot like hers.  I have a belly, but I have loose skin, and floppy flab, and almost all the things she shows in her pictures.

And like her, I have to be thankful.  My saggy body, my ugly body, WORKS.  It lets me do Zumba.  It lets me ride my bike all over creation if I want.  It lets me move furniture and carry boxes and chase kids and work in the garden.  It lets me walk across my work campus at a decent clip, it lets me climb stairs without getting out of breath, allows me to do a LOT of physical work without having to take too many breaks.  I don't know too many 300-pound women that can do a straight hour of Zumba, or a 12 mile bike ride with only a five-minute break to drink.  The fact is, my body WORKS.

My husband is thinner and younger than me but can't do what I do.  He moans and groans and limps around the house like an old man.  He had gastric bypass surgery, but doesn't work out.  His non-work hours are spent in a recliner in front of the television set. 

Why do I work out at all?  Because it makes me feel better.  Because it makes my body work.  Because it makes me healthy.  Losing weight would be awesome, but after 18 months of serious working out, I've only lost a handful of pounds.  What I've gained from working out isn't obvious by looking at me.  It becomes obvious when you see me digging up a new garden space, hauling 40 pound bags of potting soil around, riding my bike at 15 mph down the bike path, or sweating it out at Zumba, making my legs bend in ways they don't want to.  It shows when I get my yearly labs done at the doctor and my cholesterol and blood sugars are quite normal.  It shows when my blood pressure is no longer something to be treated with medications whose side effects are scary. 

I love my ugly body.  It is serving me quite well these days. :)

Front Of The Class

Last week at Zumba, "my spot" was taken.  I usually do my flailing Zumba in the back corner.  I can see the instructor, but no one can really see me unless they are trying.  I do this as a courtesy to the others in the class.  As I flail and fling make my moves, I don't want to confuse anyone by my lack of rhythm and my inability to move both my arms AND my legs at the same time.

In other words, I don't want anyone watching me and trying to imitate my moves.

So this new person was in my spot.  I ended up at a spot in the very front, with two rows of ladies behind me.  This meant an awful lot of them were going to see me flail my way through this thing.  Those moves where my arms are going the same direction as my legs, instead of opposite them.  Those jumps I don't ever do, and that whole shoulder shimmy thing I never managed to learn in high school.  If anyone is watching me to keep up with the moves, I feel bad for them.

But I did notice something by being in the front.  I was forced to step up my game.  Not only could the instructor look me in the eye, but all those other eyes were potentially on me.  Yikes.  Talk about motivation!  But the good thing about that is that I really did get a better workout.  I didn't flail any less, but I kept up better, and stretched further, sweated more.

That's what happens when you think someone is watching you.

I am forever grateful, however, that my Zumba classes are all women, and we are working out in a place that is pretty much "no boys allowed." 

Because, seriously, who would want to see all that? 

I may try that being in the front thing again.  It wasn't as horrifying as I thought it would be.

Why Are We So Mean To Each Other?

An unfortunate thing has happened as we have all gotten freer access to the Internet, to social networking, and have the ability to immediately comment on anything we read or see.  People who might have never been able to voice things out loud now have the ability to comment quickly on anything they read or see or hear.

I am here to say that just because we can, doesn't mean we should.

This week, I've seen no less than two videos posted to my facebook feed that show fat people dancing or working out.  The purpose of the postings was to snark at the fat person doing the dancing.  And I resent that, very much. As a fat person who works out, who rides a bike and dances her butt off at Zumba twice a week, I resent the implication that what I'm doing is "funny" or joke-worthy. 

I also greatly resent the idea that you think you have any right to comment at all on what I'm doing.

I ran into my Zumba teacher at the coffee shop today.  She is such an awesome woman.  She lost 80 pounds and has more energy than a 5 year old in a candy shop.  She never fails to make me feel good about what I'm doing, even when I feel like I'm flailing and not getting anywhere.  She tells me all the time I am so inspiring, that I encourage people.  I don't intend to do any such thing, but it's nice to hear it, especially after seeing the mean comments that seem to be poured on to videos posted of fat persons exercising.  People like me have avoided gyms and workout classes for many years because we know that there will be people staring at us, mocking us, and making snide comments to their friends when we aren't within hearing distance.  We know this because some people don't have an inside voice, and because we have seen the comments people make on videos or pictures they may have seen on the Internet.  Here we are, trying to get in shape, even possibly trying to lose some weight, and we are chided and ridiculed.  Who would even try after that?

It took me many years to get to a place of true acceptance.  I have said for years, since I was 25 years old or so, that I accept that I'm a fat girl.  And I think I was fairly accepting of myself, but never 100% there.  I gave it a lot of lip service, kind of in the manner of "if you say it enough, you will believe it."  Now that I'm in my 50's, I think I have truly reached that full acceptance.  I flail my way through Zumba in a class situation with others, where I am by far the biggest one there, and probably the least able of them all.  I put my fat butt, which is definitely wider than a standard chair, on the seat of a real, honest-to-goodness bicycle, and ride ten miles at a time, two or three times a week.  When I pass joggers or walkers or other bikers on the path, I don't wonder if they are looking at my butt and thinking that I shouldn't be flaunting my fat in public like that.  I assume that jogger is saying "Hey, I'd tap that." 

You see, it's because I'm not exercising for them.  I'm not riding my bike for my husband, my coworkers, my friends, or the anonymous (very cute) guy on the roller blades who passes me going the other way.  I'm not flailing away at Zumba to impress the other girls in the class, or to wow my awesome Zumba teacher.  I'm doing it for ME.  For the unhealthy me, who deserves to have my later years contain less pain and less loss of mobility.  For me, who deserves to have low cholesterol, no sign of diabetes, and blood pressure that is right where it should be.  For me, because I shouldn't have to look at stairs as the enemy.  For ME.  It's all about me.  And I know that I am in better shape physically than plenty of other people who never get off the danged couch, even though they may be half my size, or a third my size.  Size isn't the only determiner of health, if it is a determiner at all.

What bothers me about those who shame fat people who exercise, even if they do it quietly and out of my earshot, is that they kept those younger versions of me from being active, from making the effort and getting into shape.  When I see a fat girl dance, I have nothing but admiration.  There's a woman who knows that what is important to HER is all that matters.  When I see a fat guy on a bike, I'm like, "you go, dude."  When someone meets me on my bike path and smiles at me, I smile back.  I want them to know I appreciate their support.  A smile is a support.  A smile says "hey, I think you're great, and keep up the good work."

And that, ultimately, is how we should be treating each other.  Regardless of our level of fitness, regardless of our body size or shape, if we are working out, then we are doing the right thing.  We should be supporting each other, not trying to bring each other down.

Back At It

I managed to get two bike rides in this week.  The weather is finally moderating, giving us some spring-like temps.  This had been a long, cold winter.

Thursday promised to be near 70 degrees, so I took off from work.  We are in the process of finding a new rental house, too, so I did things related to that, too.  At the warmest point in the afternoon I, I put the bike rack back on my car and loaded up the Trek, and away I went.

I drove to Golden Ponds, which reopened a couple weeks ago after some flood repairs were complete.  This area links to the Lykins Gulch area, which would give me somewhat of a trail to ride.  It's not the whole Greenway, or even the full run of the Greenway that I usually ride, but from the Ponds to the airport, then east to Rogers Grove, around Fairgrounds Lake, and back to the Ponds gave me 6.5 miles.  Considering I've not done a full 10 miles since last September, I'll take it.  Where there was gravel, there was mud, and where there was pavement, there was still a lot of mud.  As the trail runs mostly along the river, and the river overflowed its banks and cut itself a completely new path, there was bound to be mud.

There is also great destruction.  The river bed is scoured out, down to the rock and gravel, and many trees are marked for removal or already removed.  One particular spot near Rogers Grove, where the river made a lazy turn and there was a wonderful little sandy beach where kids and dogs would play in the water, is now nothing but overturned trees and the river completely rerouted.  If I had not known where that spot was, I wouldn't have been able to recognize it from its new look.  The river itself has become more of a slough - shallow, spread out into multiple small channels.  How it will ever look like a river again, I don't know.  Rather heartbreaking to see.  All that wonderful scenery is gone, changed forever.

But this part of the trail is intact, thankfully, even the underpass at Hover Road.  That, at least, made it feel more normal.  Thursday I rode in 60-degree temps with cloudy skies, but no wind.  Today I rode in 75 degree temps, clear sky, and a brisk wind.  I am so out of shape, but I pushed myself through the wind, grunting all the way.  It felt good to be on my bike again.  It felt good to be doing what I love, even if it is in a shortened space. 

Our city people promise the entire Greenway will be repaired within the next two years.  As parts are repaired, more will be opened.  But seeing what I saw on my rides this week tells me that there is an overwhelming amount to be done.  One pedestrian/bike bridge I encountered was still grounded on the far side, but on the near side it is just hanging there, yards from the concrete it should have been touching.  Entire portions of the Greenway have been overrun and completely destroyed.  You can't even see where it used to be.  Repairs are going to be a daunting task.

But even so, I'll take it.  I have missed it, and the bike rides this week have made me feel a whole lot better.  Sore, but definitely better.

Long Time No Bike

Well, since the floods in September, my biking has been hit or miss, mostly miss.  Not having a decent place to bike with the Greenway now out of commission, it has been hard for me to get motivated to ride.  Then there was winter, which this year has been colder and snowier than my previous two winters here in Colorado.  For much of December and February, we had snow on the ground and temperatures below zero.  There were a few nice weekends in January, but we are in a windy cycle that won't quit.  And me riding in the wind is just not going to happen.  I'm not aerodynamic enough for that.

That doesn't mean I've been sitting on my butt and doing nothing.  It just means I haven't been on my bike.  I am taking a Zumba class two days a week.  If you don't know what Zumba is it's this generation's aerobics.  Basically, we dance for an hour.  I can't say that I enjoy it.  There is an awful lot of jumping, especially on one leg or the other, and with my knee and ankle problems, that is just not something I can do.  I end up modifying quite a bit of what I do in the class.  I don't balance on the right leg, ever, and never jump.  I also don't run around.  If I can't do it in place I don't do it at all.  I am not getting the kind of exercise as the others in the class, but I walk out of there sweaty and sore, so I know I'm doing myself some good.  But I don't like to do it.  I'd rather be on my bike.

I also started a Tai Chi class.  That is not for the exercise, but for the increase in my ability to balance and keep myself from falling.  Had I had better balance when I was walking in the snow last year, I might not have fallen, or if I did, might not have hurt myself so bad.  After two weeks of class I'm not sure I'll take another one.  I'll finish this one, since I paid for it.  And I might practice some of what I learn in the class. But overall, I'm not happy with it.  I leaves my knees in pain and the day after last week's class I limped around my office like an old woman.  My right knee was furious with me and my right ankle seemed to be trying to detach itself and run away.  No, I'm not "doing it wrong."  Tai Chi just has the same limitations for me as much of the Zumba class does - I cannot balance my weight on one leg or the other.  Tai Chi requires that you are either 0% on one leg and 100% on the other, or 30% and 70%.  Either way, it is requiring me to balance much of my weight on the bad leg at least half the time.  The leg, and I, soundly protest.  I'd rather be on my bike.

Speaking of biking...I did get on my bike twice in the last week.  It wasn't much, but I hadn't been on it in nearly three months.  Monday, on President's Day, my daughter and I rode around town doing a little shopping.  We biked six blocks to Hancock Fabrics, then another six blocks to the thrift store, then to the bulk store where we got snacks, then back home.  And yesterday I biked again to Hancock's to pick up a few things for a baby quilt I'm making for a shower this week.  So there was some riding.  Easy riding, for sure, but riding nonetheless.  As I suffer through the knee pain of Zumba and Tai Chi, I long for my bike and for the well-being it gave me.

Soon, spring will be here.  We are starting to have more warmer days than cold, although the wind does continue to be a problem.  But soon enough, I'll be back to biking every weekend, and working in my garden three days a week, and my knees will stop complaining.  That will be nice.

Altering My Course

It has been a rough week for me.  I feel completely stupid and selfish for being concerned about my bike path when there are so many other pressing issues, but old habits die hard, too, and thinking I could not bike (and not getting to bike last weekend) really wore on me.  I've been watching the river recede, and everywhere I drive I'm trying to get a good look at the greenway that I can see.  It looks like any paved path that was parallel to the river, for the most part, survived mostly intact.  There are a few exceptions - at one place (Sunset Street) the river raged through a very narrow channel and took out the bridge, and most of the concrete.  In later pictures, the concrete is stacked up like plates 50 or so yards downstream.  Anywhere that the bike path bisected the river was completely obliterated.  The river made its own channels and paths downstream, and there are large pieces missing.  I hold out hope that repairs will not require a complete overhaul of the greenway, just repairing the sections that are damaged and replacing what is missing.  Still, I think it will be next summer before the path is back to what riders, walkers, and joggers need it to be.  I will miss seeing fall on the greenway, something I saw in great detail last fall.

So this week, I had to find somewhere else to bike.  McIntosh Lake, to the north of town, seemed like it might be a decent subsitute.  It is partially paved (about a third of it) with the rest being fine gravel.  It is a 3.5 mile ride if I do the whole circuit, about a third of what I was doing on the destroyed greenway.  The problem with a gravel route is that it is very hard on my bike, and hard also on my back side and my lower back.  I have a street bike, and that bumpy gravel path rattles and shakes my bike like nobody's business.  As sturdy as it is, this can't be good for it.  And three times around the same loop was -- shall I say it -- boring.  The other problem with this route is that it is much narrower than the greenway.  The greenway is 8-10 feet wide, the McIntosh lake route is about 5 feet wide.  There are a lot of walkers (with and without dogs) on it, and getting around them on a narrow path is dangerous for all of us.  I'm a little leery of doing this every weekend until the greenway is back in business.

So I am looking at alternatives.  There is a bike route near Garden Acres Park, which would add several blocks (and maybe 2.5 miles) to the route around McIntosh Lake.  If I started there, went around the lake, and then back to the park, it would be 6 miles.  If I did that twice, it would be 12 miles.  Upping my mileage is not a problem, as I was starting to feel the greenway was too easy at 10.5 miles.  So there is that.  I'm still looking for other ways to stay on a paved surface, but not on city streets or highways.  We'll see what I come up with.  For now, this will have to do.  I do need to start earlier in the morning, to avoid as much foot traffic as possible on the new route.  I've been getting lazy and getting out at 8 a.m. instead of 7.

In other news, my daughter and I started Zumba classes at FitChicks.  Zumba is this generation's Aerobics.  I had fun, and it was a decent workout, but I was so consumed by trying to figure out the moves that I didn't get as great a workout as I wished I did.  The classes are on Mondays and Wednesday nights, and we will keep doing them as long as we can stand it.  The Zumba plus two bike rides a week should help keep me losing weight and getting in better shape.  I cannot do any of the jumping with my compromised ankle, but I can still keep moving.  It may help me get through the long cold winter, too.  I still may join a gym too.  There will be days I won't be able to bike because of winter weather or just sheer cold.  I need to be prepared for that.

A shot of the bike path where it goes under Martin Street.  As you can see, it appears to be intact, just covered in mud and debris.

 

You Can't Get There From Here

We have just lived through a 500-year flood in my town.  Much of the Front Range of the Rockies has been impacted by devastating flash floods from four days of rain that started at the Continental Divide and ended at our town.  9 inches of rain have caused the two major waterways in our town - St. Vrain River and Lefthand creek - to overflow.

The bike path I rode every weekend is now mostly destroyed.  Much of it is still under water, but what I can see of it is not passable.  I do not know where I will ride in the near future, as it will be a year or more before this trail is once again open.  It needs major rebuilding and repair, or maybe even re-routing, before it can be used again.

I do start Zumba classes this week, through FitChick Express in our town.  I don't know if it will be enough to make up for the lack of biking.  I cannot bike on streets or county roads, as they are too dangerous for bikers.  Most other bike paths have been devastated by the flooding, even in other towns.  I feel selfish and foolish being so upset about losing my bike path, when there are so many other bigger issues right now in my town, and in towns nearby.  Major infrastructure repairs will be needed just to make county roads passable. 

I wrote a big blog post about it at my other blog.  Feel free to check it out for more details and pictures.  I'm posting a picture below of what is left of some of the bike path.  The bridge looks to be intact, but the pavement and embankment on the other side, where they connected, is gone.  You can see where the pavement is still there.  That's where I would ride...across that bridge then up that pathway and on to the Airport.  There are at least three other bridges I crossed on those rides, and if I went east, towards Sandstone Ranch, there were a couple bridges there too.  I'm assuming much of the pavement is washed out, or the earth beneath them so degraded that they will need major repairs.  In some places of my path, I was riding ride alongside the river, only a foot or so higher than the river.  The river rose more than 15 feet, obliterating everything.  Scary.

I'll keep you posted.

Time for an Upgrade?

The other day, one of my student staff had a crash on his Trek bike.  He was tooling across campus on an errand for me, and was summarily run down by another student.  His front wheel looked like an accordion.  So I loaded his bike up on my bike rack and took it and him to the local Trek store, so they could put on a new wheel and tire, and check to be sure his frame wasn't bent.

While I waited for him to get finished so I could take him home, I wandered around the bike shop looking at all the awesome Trek bikes.  I adore my bike, and am very happy with the brand.  The last month or so, it has occurred to me that I may be needing an upgrade by spring. You see, I am running out of gears.  I max out at about 16 mph in 7th gear on my current Trek, the Women's Navigator 1.0.  I rarely go below 5th gear anymore, and never below 4th.  There are times when I'm cruising along that I really wish I had another two, three, or four gears to move into. 

There were plenty of pretty Trek bikes in the shop.  I touched tires and handlebars and looked at the myriad of colors.  The only thing that is stopping me right now is the price tag of a new Trek.

So after my ride yesterday, I took my Trek to the local Bike n' Hike, where my Trek was purchased.  They put air in the tires for me, and I talked to them about a tune-up.  I've had the bike for almost a year, and it's about time for it to have one.  Since I ride in wet and dry conditions, sometimes on pavement and sometimes not, a yearly tune-up is a necessity.  It is starting to make a little noise, where before it had been a virtually silent ride.  I scheduled a tune-up for the end of the month.

Then I asked the guy, the same one that sold me the Trek in the first place, about an upgrade.  I told him I was running out of gears.  He laughed.  The next step up has 27 gears, but it was ugly.  I can't have an ugly bike!  But that's what I need, more gears.  He said I could get more speed with smaller wheels and tires, but I don't want a skinny bike.  And I don't necessarily need additional speed, I just need better push to get to the speed I want.  And that will only come with more gears.

So perhaps I will save for an upgrade in the spring.  We'll see what the new models look like.  Because no matter what, I won't be on an ugly bike!

I wrote a blog post about my weight/size loss over on my other blog.  You might want to check it out!

Momilies Blog

Falling Down

Sorry about the lack of a post last week.  I had family in town and we spent Sunday in the mountains, and I just didn't have the energy at bed time to try to put out a post.  I also only got one bike ride in, so I didn't have a lot to say.  This weekend is much less busy, and includes an extra Monday because of the Labor Day holiday, so I am chillaxing at the local coffee shop for the afternoon. 

There's a phrase I use pretty often, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall."  I know the phrase means something else, but to me, it means because I'm big, and because I'm tall, when I fall, I fall hard. And I fall quite a bit, and always have.  I blame it on my big feet, my lack of a decent sense of balance, but mostly, because I'm big.  There's that whole gravity thing going on.

After lunch yesterday, I rode my bike to downtown, about 9 blocks or so, to drop off some knitted dollies my mother had made to the Yarn Store.  On Thursday nights, a small group gets together and knits dollies for kids in oncology wards, and while my mom was in town, she went to help.  She didn't finish her projects, so she took them with her, and when she finished them, she mailed them to me.  So I rode down to drop them off, and stop at the Bulk Store to pick up some Basmati Rice, which I can't seem to find anywhere else.  It is actually quicker to bike downtown than it is to drive and find a parking place, so it is really a no-brainer when I just need to make a quick trip downtown.  On these short trips, I sometimes wear my helmet and sometimes not.  I know, bad girl.

And I was reminded on the way back how important it is for me to wear my helmet.  Every single time.  I had to stop at a stop sign and wait for cross traffic, and ended up being a bit too close to the curb on my left.  When I tried to move my foot over to get better balance, I and my bike fell over.  No, I wasn't hurt, I'm pretty well padded, but there was quite a bit of traffic and therefore witnesses.  And after I got up and dusted myself off and got back on the bike, I realized I should really be wearing my helmet.  You just never really know, and I'd rather be safe than sorry.

So today, as I rode to the cafe about seven blocks from the house, you can bet I was wearing my helmet.

Two Days a Week?

Well, I knew this was going to happen.  Things at work finally got "fixed" and I no longer have Fridays off.  This means less time to bike, but in addition, more money earned and less crazy at the job when I can't get everything finished in 32 hours.  I've been wishing this for a long time.

I do have some flexibility, but until I figure it out, I will only be biking on Saturdays and Sundays.  Today as I biked I wondered how I could cram another hour's worth of biking into those two days.  I will miss doing it three times a week, and my body will too.  In another few weeks, it will be cool enough to ride in the evenings, but that will only work until daylight savings time goes away and I lose the evening light.  I am still committed to exercise at least three times a week.  Serious exercise, not just sitting on a stationary bike at the gym. 

My daughter is looking into Zumba classes for us.  If I could do that once or twice a week, that would help. I don't want to lose what I've worked for since last year, and certainly not all the hard work I've put in since March when I could finally get back on a bike. 

Not sure how this will play out, but I will see what I can work out over the next few weeks to give myself the riding time I need and deserve.  This coming week will be difficult, not only because I'm putting in 40 hours when I haven't done that in about 18 months, but because I have family coming to visit for the weekend, which may make my bike rides not happen.  I will definitely be hurting if I don't get my bike rides in this coming weekend!

Treading Water

This has been a tough two weeks for my biking schedule.  Last week the car broke down on Saturday, so there went my Saturday and Sunday rides, and this week our Saturday schedule did not permit a bike ride.

Well, it did, if I don't mind riding in the late afternoon heat, which I most definitely do mind.

But as fall begins to approach, I know that I won't have to limit myself to early morning rides to avoid the heat.  This will give me a lot more flexibility, and I might even be able to get rides in during the week as well.  In order to have a decent ride, I need at least 1 hour of riding time, as 10-11 miles takes me right at an hour or a few minutes over.  Then I need time to shower and drive from my house to the bike path and back, which adds another half-hour to my workout time.  This summer other things have taken up my time - gardening, my mother visiting, keeping my school child occupied.  Fall means the gardening falls off, the daughter is back in school, and we don't have a lot of visitors stopping by.

But it also means that the weather will be turning toward the chilly, and as winter comes on, getting three rides a week in may be difficult.  Last winter, I was riding up to the weekend before I fell and broke my leg.  If I waited until late enough in the day, when the temp could get up to at least the mid-40's, I was able to ride.  While I was laid up for the 12 weeks I could not bike, there were days that would have been perfect for a bike ride.  People think of Colorado as being this bitterly cold, snowy place, but it is not necessarily.  If I lived in the mountains, then yes, that would be winter.  But here, on the high, semi-arid plains, snow happens but it doesn't last, and many days end up in the 50's and 60's.  Mid-40's is all I need to ride.  If you dress right, you can ride in many different types of weather.  I've ridden in a wet snow, and rain, and hot sun.
This morning's bike ride got me a pretty close look at a turkey buzzard.  I knew they were around but I was less than 30 feet from this one so got a good view of him.  Also saw some of my "regulars" including the cute young guy who roller-blades the entire train (I do only half).  He always gives me this huge grin and a wave.  Also had a short conversation with a fisherman just headed out to catch some trout on the river.  He and I both agreed that the sleek little animals we'd been seeing around were not mink, but otter.  I feel validated!

Not a Good Week for Biking

I biked 11 miles on Saturday, but that's it.  Yesterday the Boulder County Fair opened with a parade and there wasn't going to be time in the morning to go, and then, the car decided not to start.  Without the car, I can't get from my house to the biking path that is safest for me to ride.  So I didn't get to ride yesterday, or today, other than to downtown to do a little shopping and watch the parade yesterday, and biked about 20 blocks to meet the tow truck to take the car to the mechanic so it can be repaired on Monday.

I hate setbacks like this, that are completely out of my control.  Really annoying. 

I also had another problem earlier this week.  I had not seen the payments for my workouts appear on my paycheck stub, so I sent off an email to find out what was going on.  Turns out I was only receiving credit for half or less of my workouts.  I'm sure this information was in the fine print somewhere, but basically, I can only count one workout per day.  I need 12 workouts to get the incentive ($25), but they need to be on 12 separate days.  Since I cannot bike except on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, I can not ever make those 12 days.  Well, technically I could, if nothing got in the way of those weekend rides.  I would need perfect weather and no family events, and then I would barely get the 12 workouts in.  Workouts that are non-cardio do not count, so any weight training I do at the gym doesn't count.

Understandably, I'm upset by this.  Since April 1st, I've put 412 miles on my bike in 67 workouts, burned over 50,000 calories, and lost 10 pounds. Obviously I'm getting my workouts in.  The fact that I'm doing it all should be enough.  It almost feels like the program is designed to not pay out the incentive.  It's a lousy $25, I shouldn't be upset, but I am. 

It will not change my bike rides.  I just won't bother syncing the bike rides to the program anymore, since there's no real reason for me to do so.  I'll just keep the ride information for my own purposes. 

And I may be adding something else to work on.  Yesterday at the parade, my 20 year old daughter and I watched a Zumba class doing the parade.  There were girls of all sizes, dancing their hineys off to the music, looking like they were having so much fun!  Yes, they were also sweating like crazy, which is not my favorite thing in the world, but if it helps me get thinner, and more in shape, I will do it.  I sweat plenty when I bike, too, so what's the difference?  So my daughter and I will be looking into classes in the area.  We didn't get the name of the group that was doing these, but I'm sure we can find something.  I have asked friends if they've tried it or what they know about it.  They say it is fun, it is hard, but that I can do it.

So, why not?  *gets out the Yellow Pages*

Wet

We are having an unusual cool stretch of weather.  It is also damp.  Misty and damp.  I managed decent bike rides the last two days, but this morning there was just no way.  This means only about 90 miles ridden this month.  That's down from 125 last month.  That sort of bums me out.

Lots of people talk about finding their happy place, their zen moments.  Mine are on my bike.  No one can call me when I'm on my bike.  Well, they can, but I won't stop to answer.  No one can really talk to me on my bike.  Other than hi or good morning, we're all whizzing past each other and there's no time for anything else.  It is one hour, or maybe a little more, where I can think my own thoughts, without interruption.  I like that.

One thing I find amusing on my bike rides is the small groups of people jogging, walking, or biking.  They will be in twos or threes, and they are talking to each other.  Having conversations.  And there's the woman I see regularly walking, while talking on her cell phone.  The thought that pops into my head is that if they can hold conversations with each other (or on the phone), they aren't working hard enough at their workout. 

Of course, if they can talk while they are doing their workout, maybe that says a lot how good a shape they are in.

Not much to day in this week's blog, but I'd like to leave you with this.  My friend Ellie wrote this, and I agree with her.  You should read it too.

A Body is Not a Lifestyle

Washed Out

My path was washed out this morning by yesterday's rains.  I had to walk my bike across it.

This weekend was full of many roadblocks.  The weather was horrid.  It was hot and humid, since we are moving into our monsoon season, and the mornings were muggy and sticky and uncomfortable.  Unless I could get myself up and ride at 5 in the morning, it means I'm going to encounter this heat for a while.  Then on Saturday, there was some sort of foot race going on in the space I usually ride.  There had been no signage, I just suddenly rode right into a huge group of families running down the usual idyllic and quiet green space.  I had to go around them, and still ended up in the middle of them later down the greenway, and received a scolding to boot, from a "helpful" volunteer.  So it was hot, humid, there were a bunch of people on the greenway, and I realized as I huffed and puffed trying to go around them through muddy grass and gravel that I was in 7th gear. 

Ouch, my knees. 

Today was a bit better, but a bit more than halfway through, I encountered a washed-out path from the previous day's rain.  I stopped and walked my bike across, then kept on going.  I'll have to keep this in mind next week, after we'll have had a lot more heavy rain showers.  Might have to alter my path.

Which is just fine, if you let me know ahead of time!

I like my routine.  So far this month I've ridden 50 miles.  Not bad for a fat girl.

Never Take a Day Off

This past week I was on vacation, and I thought that meant I would bike more, but I didn't.  In fact, I seemed to have biked less, which disappoints me.  I know, there were things that I let get in the way, but there were days I just didn't get up and get out there.

I know me well enough to know that if I start slacking off, I will eventually stop altogether.  And I don't want to give up this journey I'm on.  I may not be losing a ton of weight (I've lost a grand total of 6 pounds in just about three months) but I am in better shape than I've ever been.  I have good stamina, and my legs and knees are strong and mostly pain-free these days.  That's the benefit of what I'm doing.  And that's a benefit I don't want to lose.

I did bike the Monday of my vacation, but then didn't bike again until the following Sunday.  I rode more than 99 miles in May, and over 125 in June.  If I don't get cracking, July won't be as good as either of those two.  As I get stronger, biking in a wind is not as big a problem, and I've been using a windy morning as an excuse.  That won't happen again, unless the wind is 20 mph or better.

I did take my bike on a short trip when my mom and I went to Santa Fe last week.  We rode around downtown, just to get around a bit easier.  It's the first time my bike has been out of the state!  It and my mother's bike traveled just fine on the bike rack on the back of her truck.  The doggies rode around in our baskets, and a fun time was had by all. 

This weekend I will bike all three days.  That has to come first, no matter what.  Winter will be here soon enough and I won't be able to bike.  Gotta get it in while I can!

Rainy Ride

I elected not to ride yesterday and instead spend time with my family.  My mother is visiting for a few weeks, and I am busier than ever with just the usual stuff.  It was also incredibly hot yesterday, the last day of a lengthy heat wave that the western U.S. is experiencing right now.

So this morning's bike ride, with a smattering of big fat raindrops and cloudy skies, was quite pleasant.  I was out early, about 7 a.m., so I was pretty much alone on the trail.  I would pass an occasional cyclist, or one might pass me.  I like those early rides.  It is full of birds and the occasional deer, and plenty of space for me to wibble-wobble all over the trail.

I say good morning or hello to everyone I meet on the trail.  I have learned to pick out the ones that will not say hello back.  Those are the "serious" bikers - those with the fancy expensive lycra clothes, and the deep tans from hours of biking in the sun.  Older men always respond to my hellos, or say hello first.  But younger men almost always ignore me.  And virtually all women ignore me.  I may just be a fat chick on a bike, and I may not be wearing any lycra, but I'm out there exercising too, working out too.  It would be nice if a few of them would bother to nod or smile or return a hello.  I live in a friendly town, but I sure can't say that the bikers I encounter are friendly.  Grumpy butts, most of them. 

Oh well.  I'm still out there.  Still enjoying it.  Still keeping myself in as best a shape as I can.  Round is a shape, right?

Yampa River Core Trail, Steamboat Springs

Yesterday's bike adventure brought me the experience of being stopped in my tracks by a big green frog.  Sitting, he was bigger than my hand.  When he decided he didn't want to be run over, he jumped away, and from nose to tip of toes, he was easily a foot long.  I've been challenged by geese, squirrels, prairie dogs, chipmunks, and all types of birds, but never a frog.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled blog post.

Thursday I put my suitcase in the trunk, strapped the bike to the rack, and headed uphill to Steamboat Springs.  I was going for a work-related meeting, but because of the long drive (almost 4 hours) I went up the day before.  My intention was to drop my bags, change my clothes, and ride my bike.

Steamboat Springs is at 7,200 feet above sea level, and I immediately noticed I was having mild trouble breathing.  Not that that was going to stop me. There was a bike shop next to the hotel, and I went over to get a map of bike trails in the area.  Despite my regular biking and pushing my limits, I know I'm not ready for mountain biking, so I asked about a trail that was relatively flat, and paved.  Steamboat is in the Yampa River Valley, and the town has built a paved bike path that goes about 8 miles round trip along that river.

The difference between it and the St. Vrain Greenway trail that I usually ride (which runs alongside the St. Vrain River in my town) was that the trail was a bit more winding, and definitely had more hills and valleys.  There were a few hills I was afraid I couldn't make it up, but I did it, even if it was in 2nd gear.  The worst were the underpasses that went under roads; these were usually narrow, had a sharp turn, and when you got out of the sharp turn, you had a steep uphill to get back up.  The sharp turns made me slow down, which didn't give me any head start on speed for getting up those sharp inclines.

My knees creaked, I groaned, but I made it up every single one.  I doubled back to try to get an extra mile onto my ride.  I ended up with 9 miles, 9 hard miles.  It was completely worth it.  And what a view!  The river was relatively full, and rushing over the rocks.  The trail also went past the Botanic Garden, which had a musical event going on.  So I got a serenade as I went by.

I hope I get to try some other trails around Colorado as time goes on.  I will not do street/road riding at this point. There are too many accidents between cars and bicycles to be comfortable doing that, unfortunately.  But I think it's time for me to look closer at some nearby trails, and expand my horizons a bit.  I am not bored with the greenway, but my experience means that ride is getting easier for me, and I need to keep myself and my body challenged.

I See Ponies!

I didn't bike the last two days because of wind.  I'm not very aerodynamic to begin with, but throw some wind at me, and biking is just impossible.  I had hoped it would be okay early in the morning each day, but it just wasn't.  On Friday I opted to go up in the mountains to look at the snow instead.  The wind was even worse up there, but since I wasn't trying to bike in it, it was fine!

So today I rode 13 miles instead of my usual 10, to try to make up for some of the lost miles.  I just turned in my miles and hours for May.  I had 16 bike rides in May, for more than 9 hours of riding, and a total of 89 miles.  I burned over 12,500 calories.

Today was 13 miles in a bit over an hour, and I burned over 1700 calories.  You would think this would be helping me lose weight, but it isn't.  I'm still stuck at 320.4 pounds.  I may be putting on muscle, or not, but I am not changing in size.  My clothes still fit the same.  I have more stamina, can climb stairs easier, and generally feel better, and in the end, that was my goal.

Today, there were horses in a field where there are normally only prairie dogs.  They weren't there when I went by, but they were there when I rode back by on my loop.