Running is Bad for You

For a blog title "No Excuses Cycling", I've been full of excuses the last 6 weeks.  I'm noticeably thicker around the middle and thinner in the thighs, primarily evidenced by the fit of my 7forallmankind. They actually fit better.  It should seriously take a lot longer to lose fitness and get fat than 6 weeks don't you think?  This leads me to a mini-rant on running, a boring, jarring, and slow form of human powered locomotion relative to cycling and without the beautiful, complex and expensive carbon fiber machinery. Nonetheless, it promises a very effective aerobic workout in a short period of time relative to other workouts.  And, while it's very boring, it also means you don't have to think about it...at all.  With those seductive attributes, I was drawn in.  But, learn from my mistake, running is bad for you! 

Seriously though, hope seems to be on the horizon.  My excuses may be over. This has been a fairly good weekend for the calf and I will try riding later this week.  I'm actually beginning to think it may have been a tendon or ligament behind my knee that was strained because, as the healing has progressed, the pain is localizing in that area.  Those Sevens will be baggy in the waist and tight in the the thighs again soon.  This time, I'm going to resist the temptation to go too hard too fast.  I'll only do what my strength level allows.

As I've been lying about getting fat and skinny in the wrong places, I've also been catching up on some reading.  I recommend two cycling oriented blogs.  Bike Snob NYC and Grit and Glimmer.

A return to biking, a year and a bit later

I've logged over 3000 miles on my trusty Trek US Postal bike since I posted last. I've gone through a few tires, I've broken spokes, wore out a couple of chains, and replaced the Ultegra shifters as the internals wore out. I've replaced more brake pads than I care to count, primarily due to the fact that I don't clean them after the really rainy, gritty rides. Speaking of rain, I've ridden countless rainy commutes, since I live in gloomy Beaverton, Oregon. I've ridden a few commutes at 8 degrees. Why not? I've found remote country roads through Oregon wine country I didn't know existed. I've climbed gorgeous mountain roads that made my heart beat like a jack hammer,my lungs ragged, my throat raw, my quads scream in pain, and my spirit soar with exhileration. I've descended these mountains at near 50 miles per hour, eyes watering from the wind, the sweat accumulated during the climb drying too rapidly, chilling me, painfully, gloriously.

I joined a bike club and started training on the velodrome with a fixed gear. I rode with the team on training rides, hanging onto the lead group during town sprints until it was just the last few riders, and finally falling off, legs having gone to muscle failure, and enjoying the beer after.

And finally, I've lost weight. 19 pounds so far! From 217 pounds to a current weight of 198.