Fat Guy on a Bike

So despite having a great start to 2013, my riding really tapered off towards the middle and end of the year.  And by tapered off I mean I basically stopped riding.  Which is probably why I gained like 20 pounds.  

But it's a new year, and I have set a new goal for the year: 2000 miles on the bike by the end of the year.  Last year I had just over 1100, but with my lack of riding late I feel like 2000 should be very attainable.

Had a great 30 mile ride this weekend.  I live in an extremely flat area, and the tallest point accessible by bike is a new bridge that is only 170 feet high.  Went over it twice on the ride, along with a couple of other bridges in the area.  I did about 650 feet of climbing, which is by far the most I've ever done on a ride before.  

One of my favorite things about where I live is that I'm a mile away from a lake with a 1.5 mile track around it.  It's a really fun ride, especially when its warm.  To get there I have to take a pedestrian tunnel underneath a highway.  Well right now the highway is under major construction, and this is what it looks like trying to get to that tunnel:

Summer of 2014?!? That's way too long to wait.  So I say "damn the man!" and continue anyway.  I mean, what's a cyclocross bike for if not for going over some dirt and mud.

I made it about 50 feet before I slammed into said dirt and mud.  Right about here:

Undeterred, I continued on.  No way was a little fall going to keep me down.  And the tunnel doesn't look foreboding at all:

End of the world? Nice.  I continue along the path until I get to the lake. Only I'm met with a closed chain link fence on the other side.  Luckily on my right is an alternate path...

Let me tell you, getting through that hole was not easy. I tried to put my bike through first, and it was quite difficult to keep it moving without tumbling over.  And since this was obviously cut with precision, I had to be careful not to snag on the many sharp pieces sticking into the middle of the hole (not easy for a big guy to do).

But with a little light left I was able to make it to the path and ride a few laps before I lost the sun.

They say that pounds are lost in the kitchen, not on the saddle.  And it's true - you can ride all day long but if you don't eat less than you burn it's all for nothing. 

Personally I've never really had a problem exercising.  In fact, for most of my life I've enjoyed quite a bit of it.  In high school I played multiple sports, and have often enjoyed recreational sports since then. I haven't been cycling long, but I love it.  I don't dread exercising by any means.

What I have had a problem with, however, is eating. I, like most people, really enjoy food that is anything but healthy. My two biggest vices are fast food and pizza.  Many people can enjoy these things without over indulging, but I am not one of those people.  I have a hard time stopping when I should, let alone when I am full.  

So what am I doing now that I have decided to make a change for the better?  I had decided when Lent started this year to give up pizza and fast food.  So far I've been able to keep up with that, without cheating, for the past four-and-a-half weeks.  I also gave up diet sodas.  I already feel a lot better - I seem to have more energy than I did before. I drink a lot more tea throughout the day, as it's now my main source of caffeine in the office.  

So this here's a story all about how my life got flip-turned...wait, that's a different story.  This is a story of how I'm finally getting my life (more specifically, my health) on the right path.

For as long as I can remember I've been a pretty big guy.  In high school I played football as a lineman (the big guys), but I was never the biggest guy in school.  In college I had issues with depression and food dependence, and really put on weight.  At my highest I weighed 365 pounds.  

In 2008 I had my first real wake up call.  It wasn't prompted by anything, I just decided to finally do something about my weight.  I looked into lap-band surgery, but decided that wasn't for me.  To me it seemed like the easy way out, even though I know that it's not an easy way at all.  I wanted to do this on my own.  

I joined a local weight-loss program and saw amazing results.  The program was very diet restrictive, and enabled rapid weight loss (under medical supervision).  After less than a year on the program I was down to 215 pounds.  Everything about my life was better, and it was an amazing feeling.  

Then I skipped the portion of the program that is supposed to help you maintain your weight in the real world.  Big mistake.  I immediately fell back on old habits that were very unhealthy.  I hit a new high weight at around 340 pounds, destroying almost all of the hard work I had done.  

After a go at weight watchers and another try with the previously successful program, I have come to the conclusion that if I want to be successful at this I need to learn how to attack this on my own outside of a structured program.  In another post I will detail how I am attacking this nutritionally (it's not a very complicated plan).

Leading up to Christmas 2012 I had begun riding my 2008 Trek 7.6fx bike again. I had purchased in back in 2008 after I had lost the weight as an attempt to motivate me to exercise more.  Getting on the bike and riding again was a great feeling.  But I knew after a few weeks that the hybrid bike was not for me - I wanted to be able to take my bike off road if necessary while keeping it on the road the majority of the time.

So for Christmas, my wife bought me a 2013 Felt F75x.  I can't say enough good things about the bike - it is a workhorse and so much fun to ride.  Since getting the Felt I have put about 350 miles on it.  I'm pretty far behind my goal of 200 miles per month, but I'm working to catch up to where I should be.

I genuinely love being able to ride.  Being outside, having fun, going fast, and getting exercise? It's a great combination. I had tried other forms of exercise, like running, but nothing comes close to cycling for me.  It never feels like exercise like running did - it always seems to be more fun.