The Biggest Loser

No, they haven't drafted me, and even if they did I'd only go if I could take my bike. Rather, my wife and I started a challenge this week that mimics it - we're competing against each other each week to see who can loose the biggest percentage of weight. You may be thinking "geesh, he has it easy, he bikes 128412049 miles a day and eats next to nothing, and has exhibited in the past that he can lose a ton of weight fast". You are right, partially.

I do not, however, have it easy.

See my wife, she's a machine. When she dedicates herself to something - it gets done. In that light, if for a second I think "this is going to be easy" and continue putting forth mediocre effort, she'll kick my ass. Fact is, even if I work like an animal, she may still kick my ass. It rocks to be married to not only your best friend, but also to someone just as driven and sadistic as you are. Entering a competition with them? Hrmm... :)

With that in mind, I need to step it up yet another notch. Yesterday by the time I hit the door at home I had clocked 27 (probably more like 29 but I'm being conservative) miles on the bicycle. Felt pretty darned good to be honest, and I finished the night by being good with food. Dinner was probably 800 calories, but after being in the sun for (literally) 4 hours I needed something. Total calories for yesterday were right around 1600 - smack in my 1500-1800 daily goal. For the week, after riding in this morning, I'm sitting at 94 miles - well on track to hit the 150/week goal that I had set for June, and even well on track to get the 200/week July goal.

Yesterday I also enjoyed my first amount of real miles (about 6 or so) on gravel. It was actually pretty dang fun, and yet again my Long Haul Trucker shines. The tires are at 80/65 (rear/front) psi as I've found that's the best comfort/speed balance for me - and on gravel it's just butter smooth. Some of the rough spots, sure, it got a little bouncy as any non full suspension bike would. Man, though, it just soaked up most of the rest of the junk and rode like a champ. The ride home on the shoulder of the highway was FAST and smooth. I have no idea how fast I was going, but gearing wise I alternated between 36x11 and 48x11. Even on the hills, only one forced me down to 36x15, the rest it was either 36x11 or wussing out a bit and hitting the 13 tooth in the rear. Just fast, fast, fast and smooth rolling.

Overall, been a good two days for ridin. This morning's commute in, I saw probably over a dozen bikes - this has been a common thing all week long, and I was even running late! So many happy folks riding their bikes enjoying what it's like not to be tied to a gas station. Rock on.