Define oneself by reinvention.

Getting over the flu and having not been out on my bike since before it got too cold and snowed in to do so has me itching for a ride but if you read my blog you probably know this. Today I woke up and the little man in the magic box claims that the weather gods shall shine upon my part of the world blessing us with a sunny 54 degrees today which means that I will perhaps get a chance to take ye olde mountain bike out for a trot around the lake. The rail trail is still covered in what appears to be more than a foot of now retreating snow and ice but the roads are pretty clear so I will take advantage of it congested chest be damned! My eating has been on point for the last week or so and my weight is reflecting that...sort of, I am not going up at all and coming down very very slowly over the past week but for being under the weather with no real workouts to speak of it is what it is.

This is whats in my bike bag, The bag itself with a map of some trails wify and I hike stuck in the net, 1 Live strong wrist band, 1 tube, 1 patch kit, 3 tire spoons, allen key for my brakes, small allen key set, 2nd small allen key set with screw drivers, multi-tool with small led flashlight, pressure gauge and the pump rides on my frame usually but it was in the bag when I emptied it so it made the shot.

This break in the weather is going to give me a chance to go over my bike and see what I need to do if anything to get it set to start riding regularly again, which probably just means putting the proper pressure in the tires. I do need to get a new under the seat wedge bag for my tools and junk that I bring along when I ride because last year the zipper failed on the one that I had which es'ploded the contents all over a bridge at speed during a ride so if anyone has a suggestion for a decent yet economical wedge bag I'm all ears! I don't mind using the small camelback style pack that I switched to when the bag broke last year but rides like today where I don't expect it to be more than a couple "warm up" miles on the hills around my house I would rather not have to wear a pack so getting a new wedge would be nice.

I think that its important to find a form of exercise that we enjoy doing as it will help to keep us interested in doing it day in and day out, I tried running and though it had its moments of awesomeness I just didn't take to it like I did to the bike. The bike riding allows me to see trails and sights that no other form of exercise would offer, I suppose running could give me some of the same but the range that a bicycle gives me dwarfs what running could ever hope to. My longest ride last year was 20 miles and this year I am hoping to achieve at least 50 miles in one shot perhaps even more! I have been mapping some routes for me to try out when it warms up and have a 21 mile trail ride that I am looking forward to and hopefully I will be able to do the round trip version of that ride and make it a 42 mile fun ride before the end of the season. My normal rides were falling between 15 and 20 miles depending on whether I left from my house or drove to a trail head in a different city and I was doing that two maybe three times per week, I would like to make my average ride a 30 mile round trip maybe extending out to 50 or 60 at a time but we shall see how that pans out.

My physical limitations shrink by the day as I get stronger and stronger, more weight comes off as muscle builds and my legs are starting to get quite large muscularly with all of the biking at the gym and on the trails. When I was 500 pounds I always thought about how strong my legs were, I mean hell hauling 500 pounds around everywhere I went they needed to be right? but since I started riding I have realized that they were strong as far as raw one time pushing ie: peeling my ass off of the couch to take a piss but when it came to anything lasting longer than about 4 minutes they didn't really have lasting power. These days I am seemingly unlimited strength wise and with my endurance and its clearer today than it ever has been how much I was fooling myself back at 534 pounds, I cannot stress enough at how happy I am that I decided to make that change in my life.

Today I leave you with a quote.

"I believe that one defines oneself by reinvention. To not be like your parents. To not be like your friends. To be yourself. To cut yourself out of stone."
~Henry Rollins~

As Ever
Me