Sunday, February 26, 2017

Another good week - getting ready to ride the GAP in May!


So another week has come and gone. Let's recap the week!

Another good week losing weight! I dropped 1.4 pounds this week and I'm down 14.8 pounds for the month. The goal is to get to 200 pounds by the end of the year; and so far, so good (although I "cheated" today on the diet...back to Planet Fitness and the exercise bike tomorrow!)

I also had a great biking week. It was a warm week through Friday, and I took advantage. My total mileage was 66 miles, and 51 were done outside. I did some riding back and forth to work (almost three miles each way), and the long ride was 17 miles. Felt good on all of my rides. Knowing that the weather was going to change on the weekend, I decided to get the bike to Summit City Cycles and Fitness for the spring tune-up. When I took it in, the mechanic noted that I wore a lot of things out. Let's see, a solo bike-packing trip from DC to Pittsburgh last year, Lorie's Lakeside Century, etc., yep, that's a lot of miles!

I also purchased panniers for my Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) trip in May. I purchased the same panniers I used last year. I severely overloaded the panniers last year, but they survived the trip, and I promptly tossed them in the trash. For my GAP trip this year, I'm only riding three days, and I'm not camping, so they'll be fine.

Next Saturday is the first "official" training ride for the GAP. I'm hoping that some of my Fort Wayne friends join me, not just for the training ride next week, but to ride the GAP in May. I won't call them out on my blog; but they know who they are 😉 Right now, nine people are going on the trip in May - and we are going to have fun!

Until next week...

Shawn

Sunday, February 19, 2017

It's Sunny and Warm in Indiana (IN FEBRUARY) :-)




It's February 19, and I had the opportunity to ride outside three days because we had some nice weather!

I'm fortunate because I can bike to work. If I bike to the University of Saint Francis downtown campus (where I work), it's about a 15 minute ride. From downtown to our main campus, it's about a 10 minute ride. On Tuesday and Friday I rode the bike to work, and then went for rides afterwards. My total mileage on Tuesday was 17 miles, and on Friday 20 miles.

The picture of me in the bright clothes was prior to my Saturday ride. The temperatures were in the 60's, so it's time to break out the shorts. I went on a 21 mile ride out and about the Fort Wayne River Greenway, and it felt great! It's supposed to stay warm through Friday, so there will be a couple more outdoor rides this month!

The scale weight shows my weight on Sunday. At the first of the year, I weighed 248 pounds, so that's 13.4 pounds since January 1. I need to take off some serious weight with the biking schedule I have this summer.

  • Great Allegheny Passage in May
  • Tour de Detroit Century Ride - June
  • 2 Rivers on 2 Wheels Century Ride - June
  • RAIN Ride (Ride Across Indiana) - July
  • Lorie's Lakeside Century - September

If I can get down to 220 for the century rides, that would be super. The goal is to be under 200 by the beginning of 2018. That's an average of about a pound a week.

Here's to the weather staying warm for a few more days!

Shawn



Saturday, February 11, 2017

Riding in February!






It's February - and we're getting some decent weather to ride! Today the temps were in the low 50's, so it was time to take the bike out of the back room and go for the first ride of the year.

I rode a little over 12 miles, from my house in a Fort Wayne neighborhood to Foster Park. My plan was to ride to Tillman Park, but the River Greenway was closed when you left Foster Park. I turned around, went through Foster Park again, and the River Greenway was closed at Jefferson Blvd, which is fairly common at this time of the year.

Overall, the River Greenway is in good shape. The boardwalks were wet and in some places, had fallen leaves on them, so I took it easy on those. I also took it pretty easy for the ride. I was traveling last week and the week prior I contracted stomach flu, so I haven't been riding as much on the exercise bike as I would like. That being said, I should be able to get back into a good routine this week at Planet Fitness, and plan to ride around 15 - 16 miles outside next Saturday (the long range forecast is calling for sunshine and 50 degrees!)

I'm starting to get more excited about riding the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) from Cumberland, MD to Pittsburgh in May. Hoping that time flies by. I'm very excited to ride with some friends that I've met on Facebook, along with a couple members of my family and some friends from Fort Wayne. It's going to be a great time. I know a couple of my friends are thinking about it, and I know they will enjoy the beauty of the GAP.

Hoping for a better exercise week this week...

Shawn