Screws In My Coffee

I had to look back at my goals from last year.  I did transform my diet and lost about 20 pounds and three inches from my waist.  I traveled 2,602 miles in 2013 by human power.  The human power was measured walking, running and biking. I purchased a juicer and I have started juicing greens and added them to my daily diet. What I am amazed at is the fact that in late September I started bike commuting.  I rode 1, 643 miles from September 24 to December 17.  I almost rode everyday to work. I have never done this before in my life.  I am so inspired to have the ability to ride my bike and I am grateful for my health. So even though i did not make my goal of walking 2,000 miles this year I exceeding my expectations by running 146 miles.  I never expected to start running because running takes a toll on my knees and back so I do not want to get gung-ho on running. I enjoy running on the golf course and trails and try to stay off of the streets because they are so hard.  I walked 1,123 miles...

Last week I rode 203 miles bike commuting from my home to work.  My ODO is at 1,812.  I rode several days in the rain and most of it was sort of chilly.

There is an age old argument that continues to rage in the US among dieters.  The issue is that they want to lose weight and deny themselves calories and sweets in order to lose weight.  Some diet plans and food makers offer concepts called  cheating . This concept of cheating is riduculas to me.  For one thing consider that everyday that you are breathing above ground is a day that you are cheating death. So as I was riding into work today zipping along at 18 to 20 MPH on my 17 mile commute I thought about how I was cheating on my   cycling diet. My general response to the question that I get from friends who ask why I like to bike is that I bike for chocolate.  This response is also my general plan for life.  When I burn 1,300 calories on a bike ride to Dawson, GA from my home in Albany, GA I can eat a double Snickers bar in Dawson knowing full well that I'll burn it off pedaling past the cotton and corn fields on my way home.  Do not cheat on your diet, do not diet, have fun, ...

For week 49 My odometer reads 1,608 miles in my 3 years in Georgia.  I have ridden about 1,300 miles this year since September 24 2012.  Since week 47 I have ridden about 248 miles.

Lily Pond road Oak Trees When you find yourself struggling to get up the inspiration to exercise something is wrong.  Maybe you need to pick a different way to exercise.  When I get in the groove of bike commuting there are days when it is difficult to get up on a cold morning and bike into work.  There is a thrill after I get started that does not wane as I put more miles on my bike.  This morning was on of those times when everything went perfect, so I am writing this blog entry to inspire me in the future when I am having a difficult day. For starters I want to paraphrase a Neil Young lyric, I would rather burn out on my bike on a country road than rust away in a lazy boy watching TV. For those of you who went to Disneyland in the early days you remember the ticket ranges from A to E.  A being the kiddie rides and E being the really cool scary rides.  I rate my bike commutes the same way.  When I start bike commuting I start ...

With the Thanksgiving Holiday week requiring me to work Monday and Tuesday I did not bike commute for the rest of the week.  Last week I had to drive Sylvia to the dentist so I did not bike commute on Wednesday or Friday.  For week 46 I only rode 46 miles.  I wanted to ride to make up for the mileage that I missed in week 46 plus keep my miles up during week 47.  My goal is to ride at least 100 to 120 miles each week. For week 47 I rode 170.21 miles according to my bike computer.  My odometer reads 1,358.9 miles in my 3 years in Georgia.  I have ridden 1,039 miles this year since September 24 2012. My longest ride to date is 66 miles.  I rode to Dawson yesterday and it was a hard ride out to Dawson because there was a very strong headwind blowing from the west.  I enjoyed the tail wind on GA 32 as I rode back to Albany.  I wanted to do a metric century on my birthday last April and I just did not get it done, so this was my 60 mile birthday ride a few months late.  I will make the 61 m...

I am really inspired about my latest drawing. The image on this page is the bottom right corner of my current work in progress. Most of the time I have a vision of what I am drawing, but there are times when I turn my mind off and let my emotions and artistic ability flow onto the illustration board through the colored pencils without thinking about what is going on. It is in these times when I am at peace. When I tune out the voice in my head that tells me I'm doing it wrong or that I am using the wrong color or that I'm not good enough, this is when I have the freedom to draw like I want. I rode my bike 134 miles this week and my odometer for bike rides in Georgia since January 2010 is at 1,142 miles.  This year alone I have ridden my bike 835.09 miles. I am getting to the point with my cycling just like my drawing where I have tuned out the voice in my head that tells me that I'm too old to ride a bike or that I will never be as strong of a rider like I was in Oregon...