Well, I finally got my bike out the other day and took a 6.7 mile ride. I made the boys come with me. They wanted to at first, but it really wore them out. They weren't too happy with the gravel road I took them on. But, then, neither was I. I thought it was gonna be about a 20 minute, four mile ride. It turned out to be a 52 minute, 6.7 mile ride. But, it was enough for me to get the bug again.
I really wanted to ride again Tuesday but I was VERY saddle-sore. So five minutes into it I decided to go home and wait another day or two. Wednesday I bought some padded bike shorts and Thursday morning I went for a shorter ride - this really was a 20-minute, four-mile ride. But, like in 2004, when I first bought my bike, I'm now dreaming of riding it on long trips. I'm reading cycling books and websites, etc. I can't get enough. People who know me know that I have a very obsessive personality. I jump from one obsession to another. But this is one I'd really like to keep doing permanently. It's much healthier than my recent 9-month World of Warcraft obsession.
In fact, if I had spent as much time biking over the past year as I spent leveling my WoW characters I'd be in great shape. I won't say it was all wasted time, though, because I spent many hours adventuring through the game world with my sons - and sometimes with my daughter. We really had a lot of fun together and I'm not sure I want to give it up entirely. But I did spend far too much time with it than was healthy.
Since I decided to take a break from it (about a month ago), I've been much more active and really have not missed it. Although I'm not spending nearly as much time with my kids as I was. I do miss that - so I'm trying to find ways to do more active things with them. I'm going to try to get them to ride with me once in a while. I'm going to try to plan a backpacking trip or two this summer (probably just short one-nighters) and I am going to sign them up to take Karate classes with me (although only the oldest will be in the same class as me).
Anyway, back to my biking obsession. Today I decided to ride to work - despite my concerns about doing too much, too fast. I made myself go slow and easy, even coasting downhill instead of trying to hit top speed as I usually do.
It took me just over an hour to make the 10 mile trip. So far, I have no regrets. Actually, I feel great! In fact, I'm wondering why I haven't been doing this all along. It seems like a great way to get in my two hours a day. Plus, I'll be saving the 40 minutes a day I usually spend in my car - not to mention the ridiculous amount of money I'm spending on gas these days.
Still, I don't want to overdo it and burn myself out. So today I haven't yet decided whether to ride back home or have my wife come and pick me up. I guess I'll see how I feel this afternoon.
I really do need to do something to get more exercise in every day. My scale is still stuck at 231. I believe this is the ninth day in a row I've weighed in at 231. And I know eating is not the problem. It really would not be healthy for me to reduce my calorie intake any more. So I have to burn more calories.
Next week, karate classes start. I'll have classes on Tuesday and Thursday. So, I'm thinking I will bike to work on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. But somewhere in there I need to get some resistance training. Maybe on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I haven't figured that part out yet. I just know I need to get more active and stay that way. As long as I'm doing things I really enjoy, like biking and karate, I should be able to incorporate these activities into my life permanently. That's the only way I'll ever be able to stay fit once I get there.
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