And So It Continues

Six inches of snow this morning, then cold and wind this evening. Beast handled it well. Fun to be out in the ice and snow.

Don't Want To Go Back To The Gym

Pretty nice rise in the temps. It is still winter though.

Some of what I saw with Evil today.

Tolerance

At the beginning of the year I honestly thought I'd be spending more time at the gym, than I have so far. Don't get me wrong I've been there, but a day or two a week is about all I can tolerate, and that's a bit of a surprise. I just thought I'd be opting for the gym much more especially since January has been so cold this year.
I was at the gym yesterday, but, even with the temps still below zero today, I just had to be outside on a bike that moves, taking a few pictures.

Nasty

Dealing with lots of cold and extreme weather conditions, even for Minnesota.
Got out this morning with, Amy, Aaron and Gabrielle, before the wind and cold hit, for another 30 miles.
The city trails are taken care of very well. They have been in amazing shape and just a delight to ride.
Gonna hunker down for the next couple of days. Temps won't get above zero. The gym will definitely be the workout destination.

Still Cold

Nice ride with my daughter, Gabrielle. Absolutely gorgeous out. Big bright sun on fresh white snow. We started with a tailwind, put the 15 to 20mph headwind into the middle of the ride, and rode home with another tailwind. Temp never got above 4 degrees and wind chills were at -20 degrees.

When Gabrielle was a little kid I told her that, because she had curly red hair like me she too would go bald. Pretty sure she is still worried that might happen.
Today I told her a three hour ride at 4 degrees and 20 below wind chill would be fun.
Poor kid, she still believes her old dad. She even said, “that was a nice ride”. 31/11.5

Friday Walk

Started to snow so I started to stroll.

It Was My Choice

A beautiful day with incredibly bright sun....too bad it was just a prop. High temp today was -6. Wind chills were in the -20s. I got in about an hour on the Beast.

No Rhyme or Reason

Rode in below zero temps. I could've gone to the gym, but wanted to be out in the cold on a bike that moved. Something might be wrong with me.

So Much Snow The Train Tracks Have To Be Plowed

Still Winter

Whoa! Got cold fast. Wind was a bitch. Me on a bike that didn't move.

Great Sunday Ride

Sun , warmth and friends....as good as it gets.
Lots of variety in tire types on the ride. We are a very accepting group. 30/

Sun and Snow

Woke up to six inches of snow. Beautiful day out. We just rode where the plows had been. A really nice ride today, with Amy...really nice! 32/??

Just Wanted To

Sun was out. Maybe it was Amy out toughing me yesterday. But, I think I just missed being on two wheels and outside. I mean the temp was in the single digits and it was a Friday. Nevertheless, I packed the old hairless head into the ski helmet and goggles, climbed on the Beast and did a Cedar Lake and Isles loop. Only about 45 minutes, but it felt good.
I've lost a little over 5 pounds since January 1st.

Lacking

Feeling a little on the wimpy side after 3 days in a row at the gym. I reconsidered my gym plan for today when I found out Ms. Amy rode her bike to work, but I just couldn't muster up the desire to fight those 30-40 mph winds. One day I'll be as tough as Amy.

Nice Ride

Lighter layers and later light. Nice!

Simply Nice

Temp at 40, a dad and daughter ride, Elijah this afternoon, and just me and the TV tonight. Nice.

It Was Good

Feeling better than I have in several months.
Temps near 30 turned the roads sloppy and the trails soft, but this was the closest I've been to a road ride since the end of November, and it felt good! I was on Evil with studded tires, and instead of the hum of the road, I heard the chatter of carbide-tipped studs on wet, sandy and salty roads, but it was good!. Brown salty spray was thrown up from the asphalt into our eyes, and mouths coating our glasses so we couldn't see, and changing the color of our clothes, but it was good! The hills of January hurt, but it was good!
And it was made even better by being with Amy, Steven, Ryan and Gabrielle. Very nice Saturday ride. 50/15.0

Short Walk

Smiles All Around

Temps on the rise. Nice to be out.

The Want To Is Coming Back

A smidg above zero, but the sun was out. Feeling Good!

I didn't need a sign

Warming

Temp got above zero (by 5 degrees) for the first time in over 48hrs. Felt rather balmy and I got the itch to ride outside. A little over an hour with the Beast. As I was riding along the ice encrusted Kenilworth Trail I started to daydream a bit and imagined the trail in spring with the smells of the earth being released from winter's grip. A smile emerged on my face, which seemed to spread and warm my entire body.
Felt good to be out, and I wanted to be out. That's a good sign. Burn-out is easing.

Staying Warm

High of -12, low over night was -24. Hour of cardio at the gym was my choice. Came home to a deliciously warm dinner of wild rice and oyster mushrooms straight out of the crock-pot.

Sun Really Helps

I'm starting to feel better. With the temps at -11 and the wind chill at -25 I actually thought, this is nice maybe I'll do a few extra miles. That's a really good sign, but I knew if I'm going to bust through this burn-out I gotta follow through with the plan.
Made a little progress with video today. Out of the three I shot, one turned out. I think it's the cold, because the one that turned was at the very beginning of the ride, and, of course is the most boring one. I'll keep at it though.
Not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow; day off, gym, or ride. With temps predicted to be colder than anytime in the last 20 years, I have to admit it is tempting to ride, just because I've never done it before. We'll see. 13/12.5

 

Before The Cold

Wanted to get out and get in some miles, before it gets cold. We may be setting some records here, and that's not easy to do, when it comes to cold.
Four of us. I just wanted to stay on the trails and mosey along. It was all about mosey today. Beast was well behaved, and the new camera clamp worked well, but the cold took the batteries out of action. Got a couple of pics, but the camera would never go into video mode, because there wasn't enough juice in the battery.
Out there for 3hrs and 45min, sun was shinning, Amy was there, and despite the warnings the temps and wind chills stayed in the double digits.

Amy, Barb and Bruce

Minnehaha Falls

Not Quite as Much Ice as The Falls

So Far

Three days off the bike, two days in the gym and, hey....I'm feeling pretty good. I gotta admit this is a little scary for me. Who'd have thought that a new year resolution to do less would be scarier/harder than a resolution to do more. -3.8

Did some work on the Beast tonight. Repaired a flat rear tire and put together a handlebar mount for my camera. I got the idea when I was considering a GoPro purchase for Christmas. I don't plan on using it enough to justify the expense, and the mounts don't come cheap either. Here's a link I found for a DIY mount, along with some of my own pics of parts and the finished product. The point and shoot I already had and rarely use. It's got an easy to use movie mode. I'll test it out tomorrow.
http://content.photojojo.com/diy/attach-a-camera-to-your-bike/

Erik's Bike gave me the reflector mount for free.
Parts cost less than $5.00. It'll be bumpy on the trails tomorrow, so I'll feel lucky if the camera doesn't fall off and get lost in a snow bank.

Time For A Change

It was nice not doing a whole heck of a lot on the first day of the year. Did some year end tallying for my businesses, got some football watching in, but I guess the big news of the day is, I did NOT ride. Got in an hour of cardio at THE GYM! You know - it wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it might be. A couple of times a week over there, especially with the temps this cold, is how it's gonna be for awhile. The cold, the dark, the icy trails, my age, and, I think, the car crashes have all conspired to make me a little softer.
I gotta get the old hairy body in some better shape, which will be accomplished by eating fewer calories. I gotta do it. I'm 20 pounds over weight. If I keep the cardio workouts up and the calorie intake down I'll make the progress I want.
I plan on keeping you posted about the progress and how I'm doing, if not daily several times a week, and will always post about the weekend rides with Amy and the team. Please keep on checking in.
The workouts will be pretty basic: a minimum of an hour of cardio 3 or 4 days a week, along with a 3-4 hr ride on Saturday and a 2-3 hr ride on Sunday. Monday will become a periodic day off and Friday will remain a regular day off. I'll get a walk in on those days, most likely with my camera, and definitely post up those pics.
So the transition is in place and we can see how this experiment goes. I won't be noting my miles and speed, at the end of my posts anymore, except on Saturdays and maybe the miles only on Sunday.
You will notice one new numeric tally at the end of my posts, though. It will be a number with a minus sign in front of it. No, it's not going to be the temperature of the day. That negative number will be my weight loss from the previous day or post.
Sometimes I'll share what I ate along with how many calories I consumed for the day as part of my post. It's time for a change, and time to get this done.
Let's see what happens.

Here's a pic of me and Penny from last night. I'll post up another pic when I get to my goal weight and we can see if there is a difference.

Thanks again. I really do appreciate you all checking in.