Sunday, August 24, 2014

Coming Up on Three Years

8/24/2014 252lbs, 57 pounds lost since 8/30/2011
25 minute moderate aerobic spin

Late July in 2011 saw me make a very important decision in my life. That decision was to go car-light, meaning to utilize the local bus system and walking for my primary transportation. After about two weeks of walking, I switched to bicycling and the bus system. 6 weeks after I started this, on the 30th of August, I "couraged up" and put myself on a scale for the first time in years - 308 pounds. For the

complete narrative of my weight loss - including how I gained all that weight in the first place - click here.

So now I'm coming up on my three year anniversary since that weigh-in. I'm still overweight at 252 pounds, but not obese. I feel very mobile and strong. Almost 60 pounds lighter, it's a great feeling of accomplishment and a source of pride. I love being able to ride my bike, get up out of chairs without it being a struggle, and keep up with kids and grandkids.

According to the BMI charts, I still need to lose another 42 pounds to be at the upper end of my healthy weight range. I don't believe it, though - I love being 230 pounds and anything less than that I look too skinny.

Anyway, it's an important third year anniversary for me, so I will enjoy the bike rides I take this week with a certain relish. I hope to see friends and family members on the road - But I won't, I guess. Most have put their faith in Doctors and Pills.

See you on the bike!


Saturday, August 9, 2014

Riding in Rain . . . AGAIN!

8/9/14 251lbs, 57 pounds lost since 8/30/11
35 minutes in the rain

Today we woke up to a soft, but steady rain here in El Paso. The weather report indicated that the rain would last throughout the morning, and then the sun would come out. So, my plans - initially - were to wait until the afternoon to go for my bike ride.

But the last few rides have been in the rain - and (as I indicated in the blogs) all of these rides were extremely enjoyable. So, at about 10am, after a great breakfast made by my Bonnie, I decided to ride in the rain anyway. I mean, after all, think about it - The only possible "negative" is that I would get wet, and that's really not a negative at all. Of course, at 61 years of age now, my 3 kids and my poor wife think I'm going to catch pneumonia and die just because I get wet. I try to convince them that diseases like this happen to people because of viruses, not warm, gentle summer rains. But one of the facts of life is that logic does not work on blood relatives, so I just shrug my shoulders, climb on the bike, and ride anyway. Then, a couple of hours after the ride, they realize I haven't died, so they feel better.

It's probably a little more dangerous to ride a bicycle on city streets in the rain, but not enough that it would keep a person off of the bike. There are two major considerations:

  1. Corners are slick, so cyclists need to slow down more than usual when turning. I slow way the heck down, never pedal in a corner, and wait to accelerate until I've completed the turn. In 1979 on my trusty ol' Trek 520 touring bike I started accelerating mid-turn on a rainy day and the wheels slipped right out from under me. It hurt, folks, and I learned my lesson.
  2. Be more visible. People driving cars cannot see us cyclists as well during rainstorms. My bike has the most amazing array of lights of any bike I have ever seen - so when it is raining I have all my lighting on high and I am as visible as a lightening bolt. If some cager plows into me and sends me straight into the arms of Jesus, it won't be because he or she didn't see me, that's for sure.
Interestingly there were no other cyclists out riding through the rain in my neighborhood this morning, although I imagine there were lots out later in the day. Edgemere Park did have lots of walkers and joggers, though.

I did get very wet, but I did not die of pneumonia today.

See you on the bike!

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Confounding the Diet Nazis

8/6/14 251 lbs, 57 pounds lost since 8/30/11
37 minutes around the neighborhood, stopped for breakfast

Today I posted a little note at Facebook that said: "Eating a Denver Omelet with pancakes, laughing at the diet nazis - in the middle of a 15 mile bike ride - at Village Inn". Well, I guess I was incorrect on the distance. I actually rode only 7-1/2 miles, but it was a great workout for my heart and legs. At least there wasn't any rain today lol! If it's any consolation, I had plans for 15 miles but the day called me home.

If you spend any time searching the internet and listening to experts and studying diet programs, it is easy to conclude that the key to weight loss is what you eat - both the quantity and the quality. However, personal experience tells me that (at least for me) exercise as a lifestyle is much more important to attain health and weight control. As a matter of fact, there have been times in my life (as recently as 3 years ago) that I have experienced substantial weight loss through exercise alone, without dieting.

There is one reclusive exercise proponent, a man named Covert Bailey. You find very little about this man on the internet these days. He is not listed on Wikipedia, there are no videos of him at YouTube, and his old website says simply that he is retired. He was one of the few pro-exercise voices. Of course, there are several more, but Mr. Bailey was a pioneer, and shook my planet.

I have rarely dieted, until recently, and after that experience will probably not diet again.

For the science behind why I believe exercise is the primary permanent weight-loss and health engine, and why I appreciate Mr. Bailey so much, look at the links listed here at my website markstone.org.

My personal experience is lifelong, but in this following couple of paragraphs I will detail the last three years:

I weighed in at 308 pounds on August 30, 2011. At that time I was about a month into a bicycle commuting, car-lite lifestyle that had me riding my bike about 5 days per week, with a total of 35 or 40 minutes per day in the saddle. Between that August weigh-in and January 21, 2012, I lost 33 pounds not dieting. Not only was I not dieting, I was recklessly overeating. 33 pounds lost in 5 months = 6.6 pounds lost per month.

On January 21, 2012, my wife and I joined Weight Watchers. I weighed 275 at the beginning, and when we quit WW at the end of 2012 I had lost 45 pounds in 11 months. During that time, I continued to exercise but backed off on the duration and intensity, and no longer commuted on the bike. 45 pounds lost in 11 months = 4.1 pounds lost per month. Additionally, when we quit WW and I did not adjust my cycling, I gained back 20 of those 45 pounds. Just recently I have kicked up the bike mileage and frequency again, and am losing the weight. 

This is a small example of a pattern I've seen my whole life long: Exercise produces faster, more permanent weight loss than dieting. Apart from the physiological reasons stated at my website (see link above in this post), exercise can be (and is for me) a healthy lifestyle, whereas dieting is just - - dieting.

For the full story of my battle with weight since 2003, scroll to the top of the page and click the link there.

See you on the bike!


Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Another Bike Ride in the Cooling Rain - Continental Tyres - No Aggressive Drivers

8/5/14 251lbs, 57 pounds lost since 8/30/11
30 minute Spin in the Rain

First, though, I want to post a picture of a T-shirt that I saw on Facebook today. Being a grandpa I found it very special:

Real Grandpas Go Cycling! Love it!

This afternoon was another bike ride through a soft rain in my neighborhood. It wasn't a "thunderstormy" type of event, but a gentle rainfall. I didn't use any kind of rain coat, I figured that if I got wet big deal. I wasn't going anywhere but home, so who cares if I got wet?

The only real difference in how I ride when the streets get wet is in cornering. I slow down quite a bit more and I don't pedal in the corners. The less torque on the rear wheel, the better! I do turn on my full night-time array of lights, however, because when the rain is coming down it's more difficult for cage drivers to see little old men on bikes. I don't want to be a hood ornament, so I make myself as visible as possible.

I love my Continental tyres on the bike so much, that I invested in a set of Continentals for our Dodge Caravan. I figure if the quality is so high on their relatively inexpensive bicycle touring tires, it must be very high on their expensive automobile touring tires. It cost over 6 bills to make the purchase tho - Don't tell Bonnie what I spent! (Actually she already knows. I'm just kidding. She's not too happy with the cost, but I want her to be safe in her car.)

An interesting side note to today's wet ride: I think it's been two or three months since I've seen an aggressive anti-cycling driver. Sometimes the mere presence of a cyclist on the street makes drivers mad, so they honk and "buzz" us (which is to pass dangerously close to a cyclist on purpose) or yell or throw things. It's been quite a while (relatively speaking) since I've encountered someone like that. I don't think I'm riding any differently; I still take the lane when I need to, and ride like the bike is a vehicle (for example, making left turns from the left turn lane, etc.), but no one acts mad. I'm probably on a lucky streak of some kind, I guess.

I don't understand why people would get mad and/or aggressive at a person just out to get some exercise on a bicycle. But it happens, and, unfortunately, quite frequently. I don't know why I've been given a respite for the last several weeks, but I'm not going to argue.

See you on the bike!

Monday, August 4, 2014

Active Rest from a Tiring Day?

8/4/14 251lbs, 57 pounds lost since 8/30/11

Yesterday I went on a relaxing, nonsensical ride that my body thinks it should not have gone on. It illustrates that when a person is tired, he or she may not be tired the way they think they are.

Huh?

I had worked 7 straight days when I came home from my job yesterday afternoon. I manage a restaurant, if, when done correctly, is a lot of work. I'm not interested in arguing with anybody about whether a restaurant management position is "work" or not – You'd be surprised how many people think it's easy. There's an immense amount of stress, and if a manager wants to keep loyalty and his or her job it takes
Me and my crew
active involvement. Every day leaves me tired, and after a string of days all I want to do is collapse into an easy chair when I arrive home.

Yesterday afternoon was one of those days. When I pulled up into the driveway, I sat in the car for a few minutes so tired I was unable to move. When I finally drug myself into the house and sat down, I did not want to get up. But I was in the middle of a little "island" of time where I could put on the gloves and skid lid and take the bike out for aerobics. A busy Grandpa has to take advantage of these little islands, or bike rides (and their associated health bonus) become rare.

So I forced myself out of the chair, and said to myself "I'm going to ride anyway. I don't care if I'm tired."

When I got out on the bike, however, I realized something that I've learned over and over in my cycling career: and that is tired from work and tired from bicycling are two different things. Even though work
My Restaurant Management Style
was physical, most of the "tired" feeling was emotional and the result of the stress.  Getting out on the bike, getting my heart rate up into "aerobic" range, feeling the sweat begin to form on my face, breathing getting faster and my lungs filling up, and my legs beginning to burn - - FEELS RELAXING AND RESTFUL! So after a few minutes of riding, I felt like I wanted to ride all day. The tired feeling from work was gone.

This is, honestly, a lesson I've learned over and over before. When my family and I lived in the Denver area, I commuted to work on my bike extensively, many days 25 or 30 miles. I grew to appreciate the long ride home after a busy day at work, because it was so refreshing and relaxing. And now, as I have begun my journey through my sixties, I'm rediscovering the same thing: Exercise is not tiring, in the sense that the human race is tired. It doesn't make a person irritable, or unsocial, or unkind. It doesn't fill us with stress, and doesn't make us wish everything would just go away. To feel the air on your face and the burn in your quads is, somehow, so restful after a long day. With the spirits lifted, the stress is gone.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

PuddleSplashing Ver. 1.3

8/2/14 252lbs, 56 pounds lost since 8/30/11
30 minute amazing spin in the rain

Riding a bicycle in rainy weather is one of the most enjoyable things in life, however getting up enough courage is the barrier. Once I get out on the bike, it feels great - splishing and splashing through the puddles at a blazing 12 miles per hour. Rain always cools things off, and makes things calm. But starting out is always a trial. I look at the clouds and the rain from my cozy easy chair and say "Nah . . ."

But then, having ridden in the rain dozens and dozens of times in my 40-odd years of cycling, I remember that it is always memorable and always refreshing. And then I always quote this saying: "Fitness isn't something that happens to you. It is something you do." I drag myself out of the chair, put on the gloves and the skid lid, light up the front and rear flashers, stare at the clouds and groan, then
Not actually me lol . . . 
mount the machine and start the spin. Only for the first 20 seconds is a bike ride in the rain bothersome; after the first puddle is ridden through, and the fresh air is filling the lungs, then it becomes amazing. The streets seem so much more peaceful, and the strength in the legs seems more authentic. People on front porches and from under umbrellas stare with a strange longing. They know it's supposed to be uncomfortable, but can tell from the expression on my face that riding on the wet streets is astonishing. They wish they could do it too - but are, nevertheless, glad they are not.

Today's ride started during a break in the storm, though, and there was no actual rain falling. For about 25 minutes of the 30 I was out on the Black Knight, there was a refreshingly soft rain, with very little wind.

I was the only cyclist out on the streets in my neighborhood today. 1. The rain: Many riders looked at the clouds, said "Ugh", and the Ugh won. 2. A local bike shop, Crazy Cat, was having a grand opening for a new shop on the west side of town, and I imagine a lot of cyclists were visiting.

Look at this poor guy! I found this pair of telling images on Google:

Guess it helps to watch where you're going and be extra careful when riding in the rain . . .

See you on the bike!




Friday, August 1, 2014

I Almost Rode Today, but Prolly Would'a Drowned

8/1/14 252lbs, 56 pounds lost since 8/30/11
Almost a Ride Today

I got home from work today and the weather was purr-fect for a ride. The clouds were thick and grey, the temperature was in the low 80s, and there was no wind. The streets in my neighborhood were dry, even though thunderstorm cells have been attacking and devouring entire neighborhoods. So I decided that I should get my ride in before the storms got here - Cuz I knew they were a'comin'!!
This is what New Balance 890s look  like

So I immediately changed into my bike riding outfit (plaid shorts and T-shirt. No "Lie-Kra" on me!!), got on my New Balance 890s, and checked tire pressure on the Black Knight.

I put on my cycling gloves, put on my Skid Lid, started both the front and rear flashing lights, and filled up my water bottle. Then as I was actually rolling the bike out of the garage - - THE RAIN STARTED POURING DOWN!! I thought Noah had come back from the dead and built another ark. Buckets and buckets of water fell from the skies, and all I could do was sit inside the garage door and frown at the storm.

But it's not that bad. I love the sound and smell of the rain, especially here in El Paso where precip is so rare. I'll get through this - - somehow - -

See you on the bike!