zjrog

As I weigh myself only once a week. Every Sunday first thing. Ritualistic I reckon...

After last week's 6 pound drop, I would have been ok with gaining a pound or two. But no. 248 even, dropped that .6 pound. In fairness, I had some spiced rum the night before, and allowed a minor binge on leftover pasta and meat sauce. Spirals of pasta made of black bean flour, lower in carbs, and even has some protein! Yes, this old pirate needed to let loose just a bit...

Saturday I went for a ride, planned for 12 or so miles. But after my long work hours week, little sleep, I was low on energy. So wrapped my ride up at 8.5 miles. Over 550 feet elevation change. This was on my old KHS...



A little later in the day, I remembered there was a classic car show, and decided to ride my reward bike down. Of course, they were wrapping up, and leaving when I got there. So despite being tired, I stretched the return ride into a longer loop, 5.5 miles...

I will say, it was a fun ride. While I originally was waiting for 240 to ride this, I'm just 8 pounds shy, and see no harm in taking it out now. I think for slow rides, or by myself, the KHS gets the nod, but for longer rides, or if my buddy wants to push things a bit, I can chase his Giant with the CAAD8...

I've sent my nutritionist some questions. My low carb diet, required post surgery, is also limiting my energy output. I didn't bonk, but had I decided to continue my earlier ride, I may have. Not concerned with hydration, I get my fluids in just fine. And I didn't feel like waiting till my late October appointment with her...

All in all. I feel pretty good weight wise. I'm nearly to my 240 goal, and looking in myself to see what I want to reach. Realistically, I'm setting sights on 230. But, is 200 possible? Feasible? To reach a point where I'm not even overweight, according to BMI charts, I need to hit 188... Well. I have a tough time imagining that weight. Quite literally, that would be half of my heaviest weight.

I do have a new health issue. My left foot. My second toe is getting longer, and has developed an ulcer on the tip. My podiatrist is on the case, and we are trying a few things. But the toe is about a 1/3" longer than my big toe. And is rubbing in my size 13 shoes... He suggested some Chaco sandals, they have more arch support than most sandals. I had a tough time dropping $80 on sandals, but they were on sale, $30 off at least...

zjrog

Took a BIG step out of my comfort zone, took the 29er out in the dirt. Just a little scouting, but the trail area is pretty easy. Confidence building. Three lessons learned/remembered. One. Lower tire pressure for a better ride. Two. Seatpost height... Three. Sand will suck a tire in, if you don't watch your weight transfer.

RubeRad

The less so, the wider your tires are. Krampus with 3" tires at a little under 10/15 psi FTW!

zjrog

I imagine so, I'm not sure I have much room for much wider on this frame, it is a 2010 or so Performance Access XCL 9r frame, it was built up as a "Monster Cross" by a guy that we fostered when he was a teenager. He sent me this bike 5 years ago, as a way to help me get back on a bike and rolling again, after breaking my back in a bike crash 8 years ago. It rolls on 700x54 Kenda tires, Small Block 8 in front, Slant Six in back. Next set of tires, need to be tubeless for me to drop that much air out...

RubeRad

Yeah, not a plus frame, so pretty good to get 54s in there.

Cool to hear your foster kid remembers you fondly enough to stay in touch and be involved. So many horror stories out there from the foster system. Thanks for being one of the good ones and helping kids that need help.

zjrog

It was a great experience. We wanted to adopt, but there were too many hurdles. So when he reached out through Facebook 8 years ago, it was a big surprise. And good to know his life turned out so much better than we expected. We've met his wife and kids, and stay in touch. Hoping to go visit soon... It's a tough experience at a tough time for many of them... My own grandkids, so far, were fostered and adopted by my son and his wife... They are as good as blood to me...

zjrog

Suddenly, tonight I don't care what my scale says Sunday. Dropped another pant size. In 10 months I've dropped from size 54, and getting tight. To 40s. 38s might pull on, but won't be comfortable. I could mention I pulled my belt a notch tighter as well.

Significance of this. I wore 40s last, 18 years ago when I retired from the Navy. (Of course, 38 years ago when I joined the Navy I was a scrawny kid, 28s with a belt...

zjrog

Again, I almost chose to ignore my scale today, but, it's Sunday and I do have a ritual weigh in... 246.6. I was 247.6 last Sunday. So my discussion not long ago about changing goals is a bit more interesting...

I had a great ride yesterday. 20 miles at 15 MPH. Managed to hit 25 MPH a few times. Managed to hold 20+ for nearly 2 minutes at one point. My local folks now think I'm not the 13-14 MPH rider I profess to be... But rest assured, I'm not the 18+ they are!!!

I spent a bit of my day today getting my Cannondale R200 ready for the trainer. It will be my winter indoor ride. If a nice day presents itself, I won't need to pull a bike off the trainer to go for ride.

Good thing I have tomorrow off, I will be on the bike again. Looking at 20+. And maybe another short ride on the 29er in the dirt too...

So, I'm down 131 from my heaviest. 109 since surgery in October... Looking forward to my 1 year surgical followup in October. I wonder if I can be in the lower 230s by then...

zjrog

Hmmm. Ok. I slept later today than planned, still got my ride in as planned. Turned a 15 mph average 23.6 mile ride. My Wahoo app didn't map correctly, and Strava was sloppy, showed a 4 mile difference, as well as 4 mph difference odd.

Ride analysis showed I expended more than 1100 calories for the ride. I ate a protein bar prior to the ride, and another at 15 miles. Both more carbs than protein, and combined for 400 calories. Putting me 700 in the hole...

Spent the afternoon doing yard work. Ugh. Then weekly grocery shopping. In the evening, I decided to take the dog for a trail walk. Despite my joint ailments...



Mile and a quarter, uneven surfaces. I'll pay for it tomorrow. But the dog loved it, and really, so did I...

So, my fitness watch and app say, I had over 20,000 steps for the day, as well as a calorie deficit in excess of 4600 calories. Color me, shocked!

Two items of note. Today's jersey I've had for years, but I was too big. Despite it's being 3x, it is smaller than my 2x. Second item. While shopping I tried on jackets...

Not 3x, or 2x, not even xl... LARGE! REALLY! Wow!

zjrog

30 mile ride on my reward bike today. Rode with a fast group, though they did slow for me a couple times. Like the unexpected 3.4 mile mild climb aptly named Roadkill. I slogged through at an average 13. Somehow. Of note, after that climb was a mild downhill, I hit 38.9 MPH chasing the faster 2 guys on that 2 mile stretch. Caught and passed one, but not the other. 53-12 combo. Held it for most of that second mile. I couldn't have done that on my other bike with 50-12... The guys made me look good, and I thanked them. I am invited to ride again, so that's something...



On that climb, I spiked to 176 bpm, and backed off. That was effectively at 110% of my max heart rate.

That was a FUN ride! And great guys...

tallbikeman

Zjrog it is good to see the effort and the excellent results. It is hard to ride in peloton's because the more fit people can explode not so fit people by out fitnessing them. Here locally there are peloton groups for all fitness levels. Some groups are more aggressive and ride in line with people pulling the front for a certain time or pace then switching out. Others ride more casually and usually slower. The ride groups usually advertise their average speed and whether they stop and regroup along the way. Some don't. Averaging 14mph with a hill in the way is awesome. I much prefer riding alone and do so most of the time. I try to average 10-12mph on my rides which average 10 to 20 miles in length. As a bigger person my calorie use per mile is fairly high at 12mph. Most of those calories are used going through the air. Just plain air resistance. If I recall my air resistance formula I believe the air resistance force squares when the speed doubles. Us big guys are huge wind breaks for all the other guys behind us. When I road raced there was no one that gave me a good break from the wind unless I was further back on the line. All the guys loved following me because they got a good wind break. Hit 248lbs and very close to 247lbs. I'm thinking about dropping allowed calories per day to a lower level than Myfitnesspal recommends. Been going to a Kaiser weight loss/nutrition class. They recommend 1600-1800 calories per day for men. before exercise. That would definitely speed up the weight loss which is about 1 1/2lbs per week now. Keep up the good work.

tallbikeman

I got to reading some more of your latest posts and like you I recently had a pair of athletic shorts fit real nice that were Large, not 2XL. I read your post about going down to a healthy BMI. Like you that is what I'm shooting for this time. I know from the last diet episode that 220lbs is above a healthy BMI for me. Like you my actual good BMI may be sub 200lbs so I keep losing weight until that happens. I have to accept that the only thing I'm in charge of here is losing weight. I don't know where I'll be for a healthy weight. One of the biggest revelations of this year was when I realized I have been overweight since my mid 20's. I played several day's a week in men's full court basketball leagues and raced off road bicycles/Klunkers/Bombers for many years all the while not acknowledging my overweight condition. People would tell me I wasn't overweight but in my mid thirties I found out my BMI was above healthy by several points. As I aged this has gradually gotten worse. I ignored the BMI information, convinced I was not fat. I know better now, sort of like the lifetime smoker whose COPD diagnosis is a surprise. Keep up the good work, good thoughts, and good bicycle rides.

zjrog

Our small local group is a mixed bag. The club is quite unofficial, more a Facebook group. But they did create kit a couple years ago, I git a jersey, that didn't quite fit then, but does now. My solo rides are much slower than with others. And I admit, I rally get bored quickly alone. I refuse to wear headphones for safety reasons. THANKS!!!

BMI is still showing me as obese. I need to lose 20 or so pounds to be simply overweight... I was never coordinated enough to play basketball in any serious fashion, but loved to crash the boards, so to speak! Racquetball was my passion. And enjoyed returning a bit after knee replacement. But that was cut short when I broke my back. Lately, I've considered gtting in the court and seeing how the swing feels in my back... It really took me a while to relalize I was getting out of shape, then things escalated...

zjrog

Where I work, they sponsor a monthly Wellness ride May through Sept. I got a chance this morning to join them. A nice 20 mile ride, with a 1.5 mime descent, and climb back up... I spiked my heart rate at the top of the descent, fear acknowledged... But went all the same. 5 miles later it was climbing it in return. And I managed, but was slowwwwwww....

20 miles in 1 hour 20. 15 mph average.

Looking forward to the Spring ride! And with this ride, I'm at 99.5 miles for the month!

The other day, I weighed, and I was up 4 pounds these last 2 weeks. Only a bit frustrated. I weighed yesterday, well out of schedule. Lost those 4. So back at 246. No reason to panic, my weight will fluctuate, and why I usually only weigh on Sunday... Aiming for 225 for my next weight loss goal...

zjrog

I took the 29er out in the dirt again... Fun ride, except for weeds stuck in the cassette and chain... Brings me to 105 miles for the month!

tallbikeman

Got up this morning and weighed first thing. Down 3 more pounds. 245 now. Going out on a 15 mile ride through one of our major homeless areas and up to an area known as Natomas. I plateaued for a couple of weeks and was shorting myself more and more calories every day. I call it leaving them on the table. Finally my body gave up some lbs and I'm going to keep the deficit going to keep the weight loss going. Tomorrow I'm in a Kaiser Permanante sponsored weight loss program. This program is about 8-9 miles from my house. I rode it on my bicycle last week and intend to again tomorrow. I'm using an old Schwinn Varsity with a 26 inch seatpost length and 40mm 700c tires for a lot of my dirt/gravel off road riding. I'm also using an old Schwinn Sports Tourer with 27x1 1/4inch tires for the same thing. The 27inch tires work very well off road. Who would have thunk. The upper picture is a 10speed rear cassette Schwinn Varsity with Shimano MTB rear derailler. It has Tektro 559 brakes which are quite adequate for the bicycle. Since this picture I have changed out the Brooks for a nose less seat which is very comfortable. The second bicycle is a 1980 Schwinn Sports Tourer with a 10 speed rear cassette, Shimano MTB derailler and a two speed front end. I kept the original center pull brakes and they are very powerful. This bike is still 27"x1 1/4" wheels and rides beautifully. I've gone to a much lower 5.5" S&M cruiser handlebar with a Spongy Wonder seat since this picture was taken. This is a great bicycle to ride. Keep up the good work on losing weight, you will always benefit from the results.

zjrog

Congrats @tallbikeman on the weight loss! I love those older Schwinn bikes. I see some taller bikes pop up locally, but not as tall as your bikes! Very nice machines.

So my weigh in Sunday was down 20 244. After 2 weeks of gains, I am quite happy to be down 6 pounds from the previous Sunday! I have my 1 year checkup in a month. And right now, 240 will be the main goal. But really, 236 would be better, or, 120 pounds lost in one year. 142 from my heaviest. My heaviest of 378, is the highest I saw a scale. I.might have weighed more, but not much I think.

A friend and I are discussing the possibility of a gravel ride next spring. 50 or so miles of the old Pony Express Trail in Utah's West Desert. Maybe more, if we camp, and have additional support. Bike of choice would be my MTB Monster Cross 29er. I'm looking for suitable tires for the spare wheels I snagged for it... He and I discussed this ride 9 years ago, originally. But I broke my back, he found road bikes. He thinks a CX bike will work, as I think my 29er with gravel tires will suffice. Unless, I find a gravel or CX bike before then...

tallbikeman

Long legs necessitate tall frames. I started out at 17 riding a Schwinn 26" frame Paramont racing bicycle with sew up tires. It was the first bicycle that fit me well. I now ride a 26" Schwinn Varsity that is set up for dirt roads and a 67cm(27") framed Schwinn Sports Tourer from 1980 that has 27"x1 1/4" wheels. Both bikes have SandM cruiser handlebars mounted on BMX stems. I've switched to noseless seats on both bikes due to my first and hopefully last bout of prostatitis I suffered earlier this year. I looked up the Utah western desert Pony Express Route. It looks to be an unimproved dirt road suitable for 4 wheel drive vehicles. Certainly a MTB will do it and I suspect a gravel bike would have no real problems either. All the sites I looked at for this trip cautioned much care be given to weather conditions, rain would turn trail to mud pie. Serious cautions about taking enough supplies, extra wheels for vehicles, and still be prepared for possible hardship. Apparently there is no resupply at all once you leave Camp Floyd State Park in Utah and head west. There is no reliable cell phone service and mostly no cell service at all. 50 miles on dirt roads is a long day with loaded bikes and will probably take a good part of a day. Deserts are the place where all the sand ends up so there could be sandy areas which tend to be unrideable with narrower tires. Sounds like fun. There might be some Utah 4 wheel drive clubs that could give you advice on trail conditions and there probably are bicyclists that have taken this route. I would try to find those people for an advice session. I dropped another 3 lbs this week from last. I've been going to a weight loss class and find that I have to lower my sodium intake to help drop my blood pressure. No more processed or fast food. That is going to hurt. I'm down to 245lbs and keeping at it. I'm going to keep going down until I get a Body Mass Index test result in the healthy zone. Don't know where that is. 220lbs was not a healthy BMI weight so I will weigh less that 220lbs but don't know how much. Looking forward to reports from the great Utah western desert. Good luck with your weight loss program and your health.

zjrog

@tallbikeman, I work in the West Desert. West of Hwy 36 south to Hwy 6 and to the Nevada border. Most of the year, I could drive my Neon on the trail. Buuuuttttt. Carry more than 1 spare. Don't snoop around Gold Hill without permission. Carry more water than you need. I keep survival food on my work truck, 2 cases of water, extra clothing and jackets. A serious first aid kit, and more often than not, an AED...

I used to work in the Mojave desert next to Death Valley. So, I know how to survive the desert.

zjrog

Thought you all might appreciate this journey I'm on. From a size 54 to 40 in pants. I was almost in 5xlt shirts, but now in Xlt... 130+ difference...

zjrog

Observation. I ate poorly this week. Allowed an indulgence on the occasion of my son and family adopted their 4th child Thursday. And had a few things I shouldn't have had. All while only riding with my friend the other evening...

Yesterday, I started formally setting up the pain cave/cardio studio... 32" tv still needs mounted to the wall. And my satellite provider needs to hook it up. Bike has been on the trainer for some time, but now I have entertainment. I ran a dedicated ethernet line to the cable outlet, so I don't have to count on wifi for my laptop... And set rubber matting down under the trainer. Now to decide on which program to follow with my old dumb trainer this winter. Setting a primary goal of 1000 miles on the trainer...

At my weigh in today, I'm down a pound. Two weeks after 2 weeks of weight gain, I went back to basics. Last week I had lost that regain, plus 2 pounds. So down a pound this week is a surprise. 135 pounds from my heaviest. 113 since surgery 10/22/18... 243.

tallbikeman

Winters east of California are much more brutal. I usually ride all winter without to much pain. We have to dress for the cold weather and all the bags on my bikes are for clothing going on and off during rides. I do carry spare tubes, tire pump, patch kit and tire irons but the vast majority of space is for clothing. I was raised in Reno Nevada and the winters can be brutal there as they are east of Nevada. I don't miss that. Keep up the good thoughts about losing weight. I joined a class my health provider Kaiser Permanente gives about weight loss. I go once a week and weigh before class then listen to pep talks, personal tales, scientifically sound information given by nutritionists and this helps me keep on track. I've been riding my bike to this class which is 8+ miles from my house. I've been doing a lot of longer rides out to 20 miles in length and taking a day off every week from riding. This actually seems to make me faster and more rested and my rides go better. I've been averaging above 12 mph lately for my rides including stoplights and slow sections of my rides. This is really good for me. Best I've done in years.

zjrog

Yes, winter here can be mild to brutal. So, hoping for some riding days outdoors, but setting up for indoor training with a regimen instead of just riding to ride...

I found a support group was of great help to me before surgery. It is unfortunate that they changed the time of the group meetings to a time that isn't good for me to make them...

Congrats on your own weight loss journey...

tallbikeman

Zjrog how are you doing? I'm down to 243lbs now and still dropping weight. Been thinking about building a faster bicycle. As you know I love yesteryears giant frame 10 speeds. They are inexpensive to buy and very fun to upgrade. I have an old 67cm seat post tube Nishiki Sebring I bought a couple of years ago for $35. It had a bent fork but the lug frame was fine. No deformation. I found an old Kabuki fork that slid right into place online for $75. This is my $110 bicycle. It of course was a 27" bicycle but I'm thinking about changing that to 700C. The original sidepull brakes will adjust just fine. It is a drop bar lower line bicycle with the auxiliary brake handles and stem mounted shifting. The frame main triangle is chrome moly tubing with 1010 for the rear stays and probably the fork too. I'm going to mount a set of Vuelta Team SL37 wheels, Tektro double pivot sidepulls, aluminum seatpost, and a 9 speed Shimano Alvisio MTB rear derailleur. This will shift a MTB 11-34 tooth 10 speed cassette. The 9 speed Alvisio derailleur can be friction shifted with the stem shifters which I intend to use. I believe with shoes and cleats the average speed of this bicycle will be my fastest bike. Trying to get this going by spring of 2020. I liked your reward bicycle idea. I don't believe the reward bicycle counts in the N+1 count. This will be my reward bicycle for losing so much weight. Like you I'm picking a weight before I can be "rewarded". 220lbs. Looking forward to your desert adventure on the Wells Fargo route.

zjrog

Actually doing pretty good. Been stuck in the same couple pounds up and down the last few weeks. But also at 243. Gets a bit frustrating losing the same 2 pounds...

Today is actually my one year surgery anniversary. Down 113 since surgery. 135 from my recoded heaviest.. I might have been heavier than 378, but no idea..

I'm pretty much set up for my indoor riding for the winter, setting a goal that is attainable versus ego is an intersting excercise.

A reward bike is a great idea. I've truly enjoyed mine. A bit sad to be putting away for the winter though...

I see tall Schwinn bikes a lot. But very few others that I consider affordable... Sure sounds like you have an excellent reward awaiting!!!