Spring has arrived!

Yes, Spring has arrived - and it's about time!

Overall, it was a good week to ride. I rode four times last week. Two of those rides were outside, and two were at Planet Fitness, including my weekly interval workout. Yesterday was my first long outdoor ride, as you can see above.

I did an out and back from my house in Fort Wayne to Columbia City. Columbia City is west of Fort Wayne. Usually when I do an out and back to Columbia City, I know that since the prevailing winds are usually are from the west, I'll have tailwinds coming home. Well...that was not the case yesterday. The winds were 15 - 20 MPH from the east yesterday. So while that meant smooth riding on the way to Columbia City, it was challenging on the way back. Oh, did I mention that for most of the way back, it rained? I'm glad I packed a windbreaker to wear on the way back, because I needed it for sure. When I got back, my hands were cold (I wore cycling gloves with the fingers exposed), and my feet were wet, but other than that I felt good. No soreness this morning either, which is a good sign.

Next weekend I'll get to do some riding in Chicago. I'm going to be in Chicago for a professional conference from Thursday evening until Tuesday, and I plan to take my bike. I enjoy riding the lakefront trail in Chicago, and plan to have a nice long ride on it on Saturday. I'll also get to visit with my niece and nephew, along with their two adorable children while I'm there.

I'll close my blog entry today with a request. On June 3, I'm riding the Metro Detroit Tour deCure Century Ride for the American Diabetes Association. My goal is to raise $200, and right now, I'm at 45% of my goal. If you can, please make a donation. Here's the link to my fundraising page: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/?px=13157476&pg=personal&fr_id=11730

Have a great week - and I'll update my blog from the Windy City next week!

Shawn

Welcome my son..welcome...to the machine...

83 miles of biking this week, and 73 miles of it...was on this...the machine! :-)

Included on my exercise bike rides was a 35 mile ride on Friday. We had another week of Indiana March Weather, which included snow, sleet, and freezing rain. However, I am cautiously optimistic that I'll get to do some riding outside this week. To ensure that I do some outside riding, I just invested in a pair of shoe covers which should arrive the coming week. I plan to do a 40 mile ride on Saturday and there is rain in the forecast. We'll try out the shoe covers if the weather forecast holds up; I want to start "going long" outside. My Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) ride is a little over eight weeks away. I feel pretty good that if I "had to" I could complete the ride now, but I want to complete the ride in comfort - and more importantly, have a good base for the summer riding season. When I rode in Lorie's Lakeside Century in September 2016, my average speed as 13.13 MPH. I'd like to significantly improve on that this summer!

It is also helping my training that my weight is going down. I weighed in this morning at 228.4. In 11 weeks, I've lost 19.6 pounds...and I've hit my first goal weight. My first goal weight was 231 pounds on May 14, the week I'm going to ride the GAP (week 19 of my diet). This goal is based on losing a pound a week in 2017. I met my first goal eight weeks ahead of schedule. The next goal weight is 214 pounds on week 36 (September 10). That's the week of Lorie's Lakeside Century. When I get my weight down, I'll be flying on the bike!

As we go into April, I plan to investigate the local bicycle club, Three Rivers Velo Sport. I want to push myself, and riding with others is a good way to do that. Their group rides begin in April.

Hopefully when I update the blog next week, there will be more outdoor rides than rides "on the machine" as we enter into Spring! Thanks for taking time to read my blog!

Shawn

Just another week in March...in Indiana

OK, so the picture has nothing to do with Indiana. This is a picture from the Sailsbury Viaduct, taken when I rode solo from DC to Pittsburgh last year. In just a little over two months, I'll be back on the Great Allegheny Passage once again!

It's March in Indiana, so as a result, the weather is in a state of flux. Between, winds, work, and a cold Saturday, all of my rides were at Planet Fitness last week. I did ride 67 miles on the exercise bike, including 30 on Saturday. The Saturday ride on the exercise bike wasn't as dreary as I thought, mainly due to watching two NCAA basketball games on the big screen while biking, while the Pandora Iron Maiden station was playing on my smartphone! With more cold and snow (yes snow) in the forecast for the coming week, it looks like Planet Fitness is in the future for a few more days.

In an effort to get ready for my long rides this summer, I'm starting speed training as well. I've done two speed workouts on the exercise bike in the past two weeks. When I rode my century last year, I averaged 13.13 MPH. Want to get that up to about 15 MPH for the coming year.

Oh, this week is Spring Break! I'm looking forward to a week off of work!

Finally...

I put on 0.4 pounds last week.

I should celebrate losing 14.8 pounds this year, but I need to be more disciplined about my eating... :-)

Until next week...

Shawn

Spring Bike Tune-up, chilly rides, and other ramblings

Last week, I dropped off my bike at Summit City Bicycles and Fitness for the Spring Tune-Up. When I dropped it off, the mechanic told me that many things were worn out. Let's just say I'm glad I dropped it off during the pre-spring sale :-)

• New Shift Cables
• New Brake Cables
• New Brake Pads
• New Freewheel
• New Chain
• New Front Derralier
• New Rear Derrailer
• New Pedals and Clips
• And new nuts for my water bottle to replace the ones I stripped and had a bungee cord holding together.

In essence,  other than the rims, tires, and frames, I have a reconditioned bike...and it rides great! 😊

The past week was a chilly week in Fort Wayne. Snow flurries, windy, etc. While I rode three days at Planet Fitness on the exercise bike, I wanted to take my bike out a ride. So on Saturday I bundled up (From toes to head: Wool Socks, compression sleeves, long underwear bottoms, biking shorts, three long shirts including a 50/50 wool/cotton shirt, a scarf, hat, and winter gloves!)

 When I left on Saturday, the temperature was 30 degrees, and with the wind, it felt like 20. I also had tailwinds at my back on my out and back ride, which meant it was a little chilly coming back. Despite that, I went out and had my long ride of 2017!

Things are looking good for getting my mileage base up for this summer. My Great Allegheny Passage ride is just a little over nine weeks away, and after that I'll be gearing up to ride the RAIN Ride (Ride Across Indiana) in July. So there's going to be a good deal of riding in the future - and hopefully warmer weather too!

And on a final note...

Down 15.2 pounds since the beginning of the year!

Thanks for reading my blog - comments are welcome!

Shawn