Yeah for shoes/clips/pedals! I can't wait to get some!

Today hubby and I rode bikes along the river trail. We went a bit further than last week, about 16.5 miles. Each week we add distance but try to maintain the same time.

However, today's time wasn't too good because hubby's bike was giving him problems. About 2-3 miles into the ride, one side of his front brake started rubbing against the tire. We kept stopping so he could adjust the cables but that didn't seem to work. Then he tried riding with the front brake completely disabled for a while but wasn't really comfortable doing that. We didn't have the proper tools with us to loosen the pad from the thing that holds the pads (don't know the technical term for it). So it took us about 45 minutes to go almost 8.5 miles.

About half-way through, after we turned around to head back, the front brake rubbed through the tire and caused an air-leak so we had to stop and patch it. Luckily we carry patch kits and manual bicycle pumps for air. We haven't had to patch a tire in years so were out of practice. What was nice was that many bicyclists rode by and asked if we needed help or anything. We returned back without any problems. Hubby rode all the way with his front brake disabled but he rode cautiously in an attempt to avoid situations in which he might have to suddenly brake.

So this afternoon he's off to get a new tube and possible a new tire. He's "threatening" to get a new road bike, but he better wait until I can get one, too! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Hi everyone-had a great weekend. Watched hubby do a duathalon Saturday. He did really well. Under the time he was hoping for.

Sherry-you asked if I was going to do tris or dues with my hubby. Well, I'm having some huge emotions about this issue lately. I REALLY want to do them. I think it would be great for us to do that together. My problem lies with my body-I had ankle surgery just over a year ago. I had blown out all the ligaments/tendons, and it would give out on me without warning. Well, the surgery went great, rehab was long and painful, but no problems. I was told that my other ankle will probably need the surgery down the line for the some reasons (I have severely sprained each ankle over a dozen times). SO-I want to run, but I am terrified I'll end up hurting an ankle and needing the surgery earlier that otherwise. The big problem is, sometimes I'll run and think its going well and then I'll get home and an hour later either 1 or both ankles will swell and throb-I hate that it doesn't give me a sign when I'm running, so I'd KNOW the limit. ANYWAYS, I AM going to try to start a running program with the intent of trying a sprint triathalon. I was so upset watching everyone race Sat. and not being able to participate so I'm going to give it a try. Wish me luck.

Boy, I hope that paragraph made sense. My brain is just whirling on that topic.

Sorry for the bike troubles on your ride. I hope everything gets fixed up for next weekend. My hubby was out shopping for a new road bike this weekend. He's hoping to get one before his next race in June. He currently has a 20 some year old Schwinn that the wheels keep blowing spokes. Way overdue for an upgrade!

Have a great one.

Eek! Yeah - my front brake rubs on one side slightly, but it's on the metal rim, at least. I've tried adjusting it, but am not sure what I can do. I think it's just the wheel rim is really slightly bent out of shape, or I didn't put it back on right when I last quick-released it, because it only brushes at one point around the rotation.

I try to ask if people need help. I helped a lady on the bike path get her chain loose after it got jammed between the rear frame and sprockets. Mostly she just didn't think to loosen up the quick-release to relieve the pressure of the frame & sprocket. I've got my little emergency kit that I bought with the bike, because I remember when I was a kid I always had issues where I'd run over a thumbtack 25 miles away from home, and would have to take the train back. I've got a patch kit, a frame-pump, and a couple of "leatherman" swiss-army tools made for bikes with all the allen wrenches, screw drivers, things to get the tire off the rim, etc. I've found while doing maintenance at home that it's too small (not enough torque) for things like adjusting the seat or changing the pedals, but it's fine for emergency fixes, or things that would require maintenance on the road. It all fits in a little bag under the seat. They also now have banana-boat sunblock that comes in a big glue-stick applicator thing, too, so I keep in there for when I realize I left home without putting on sun-block.

Yesterday was nice out, but I had a doctor's appointment (far away) so I couldn't ride my bike. On the way there, I was pondering, "When was the last time I got my car inspected?" Eek... apparently I've been riding my bike so much, I forgot! It was overdue in March! So, I went and did that immediately after, before I ended up with a ticket.

There are a couple of good things about a bike. No gasoline, no registration fees (if you don't want to register it), you don't need to insure it, you don't need to license it, you don't pay excise tax on it (a foreign concept to me until I moved to MA), and I doubt you'll ever get a speeding ticket. (Although you can be ticketted... I had a friend who got a failure-to-obey-a-traffic-control-device ticket when he didn't stop at a stop-sign and hit a car...) It was a mild accident, nobody was hurt (just bruised from landing on the hood, the bike a little bent) but he was in the wrong, so he got ticketted. And inspection is kind of left up to the individual instead of having it be yet another money-making scheme for the government. That's not to say I disagree with car inspections or the need for them, I just wonder why you have to pay 5 times to get your car licensed, registered, inspected, excise-taxed, insurance, etc. It would be nice to just have a lump-sum, or with payment-plan options, like insurance does to you.

It seems to me taxes, insurance and the like were all grouped together with the mortgage, when I had a house, so you didn't have to think about 14 different things... Maybe it's not a big deal to most people, but I'm flakey and have a hard time remembering to put on pants before I leave the house, half the time. ;)

Everyone asks me about duathlons and triathlons. The problem is anything involving a bike involves running, too. I can't run to save my life, nor do I wish to. It's just too much impact for my taste, and I suspect I have knee problems that only show themselves when I do impact-related exercises. If they had a bike/swim thing, that might be interesting. Somebody's got to be last, after all. :)

--Janis <-- worst on the swim team for 7 years as a kid

Janis-you just made my day! :rofl: I thought I was the only one. Must be a musician thing! :dizzy:

Got in a nice 14 mile ride last night with the hubby. The dirt roads are finally getting crunched down and rideable!!!! Hope you're all doing well.

I'm doing ok, but the weather hasn't let up. Tonight I'm going to the gym for sure though... I've been slacking too much lately, and I'm beginning to feel some regression... :(

--Janis

Janis-I know just what you mean. Our weather map shows only rain for th the foreseeable future!:( I dont mind riding in sprinkles, but we're talking downpours and storm like wind. We played softball in the pouring rain yesterday. It was cold and miserable at times, but it kinda reminded me of being a kid and getting all muddy and wet. We actually had a blast overall. Hope you got to the gym. At least your using what you're paying for on those icky days. I'm at the gym between 4-6 times a week. Makes me feel better for spending the money if I use it often.

Hi everyone!

Am I too late to get in on this? I've been reading the thread, but didn't even want to think of joining until I got my little odometer thingy, which I got last night!

I paced out the main part of my ride, and it came to 2.5 miles one way, so I know I'm doing over 5 miles! I plan on adding alot more, working out a new route in my head, now I just have to ride it and see how 'rideable' it is.

I'm hoping I can ride today! It's raining :( but if it lightens up I'll definately go anyway! I'm rarin to try out my new odometer!

Kim

Hey all,

Sorry I haven't posted much recently. Been really tired, haven't been sleeping well, and have made some poor food choices lately. But I've kept up with the exercise and think maybe I'm doing a bit too much for my amount of sleep and my eating. So I took an unplanned but necessary rest day yesterday and today is my planned rest day. I'm making an effort to eat better so I can keep up with the exercise, and the sleeping will just have to resolve itself in time (I hope). I was so tired that I yawned twice during spin class on Wednesday!

Tomorrow hubby and I plan a long ride (for us, anyway), about 30 miles. I am already trying to think of foods to take to fuel us on our ride and I'm thinking: almonds, peanuts, baby carrots, bananas, lots of water. Any other ideas?

Hubby got new tires and tubes for his bike. His were pretty old and getting close to needing replacing, anyway, so at least the timing of the tire tear was OK! He looked at road bikes while he was at the bike shop and the cheapest one he saw was $1000. Oh my. So I think we'll have to do some shopping around. We don't plan to race, we just want to ride faster than we do on our mountain bikes. :dizzy:

Brandy, I hope your training plan goes well. Your ankle problem sounds painful - ouch! Don't overtrain and really mess up your ankle, running isn't worth it (IMHO, anyway). Are there any types of races where you could bike and swim, and skip the running? I would love that, hate to run, too many things jiggle.

Janice, I got a chuckle reading what you wrote about the benefits of going places on a bike. I have to share that I got a ticket on my bike when I was 13 or 14 years old! Yes!! The ticket was for "riding on the wrong side of the street." I had to go to "traffic school" for bike and skate board offenders on a Saturday morning. So there I was, a skinny geeky girl with glasses surrounded by all these long hair boys with skateboards. My best friend and I used to ride our bikes to school and one day hers had a flat. No time to fix it, so we rode double on mine. As we approached the school, we crossed the street, which is why I was on the wrong side. When we saw the cop, she jumped off my bike so I guess I'm lucky that I didn't get written up for that, too! So now you know my deep, dark secret.

Welcome, Kim! Never too late, we're just doing what we can to get in our 500 miles. Look forward to hearing about your rides!

"offenders on a Saturday morning. So there I was, a skinny geeky girl with glasses surrounded by all these long hair boys with skateboards."

Sounds like "The Breakfast Club!" You were such a wild-child, I'm sure. ;)

It's still raining out, but I did go to the gym yesterday, and I got in 14.5 miles on the stationary bike. Ouch! I couldn't adjust it to be like my real bike, so my butt's sore now.

I wish I could say I was getting my money's worth out of my gym membership, but I've been really bad for the past month or so. I need to get back into going 3+ times a week. I was just "burned out" and frustrated, and needed a change. That's when I started focusing more on my bike (because it was a more interesting change) but I miss the gym. It's funny how some of the same people are there EVERY night. You'd think they didn't have a home, because it doesn't matter what night you go, they're still there. I guess those are the people known as "gym rats."

Hi, Kim! Welcome! :hug: Sure - jump in any time. No time limit, per se. Just join in!

--Janis

Thanks for the welcomes! I got in a 9 mile ride this morning! I've found a new route that's longer, less traffic, seems safer and just more enjoyable for me!

Also read about a Bike Tour for AIDS here in CT this morning. When I read the headline to my hubby he said 'so when are you gonna start training for it?' without me saying anything! LOL. I'm glad someone has that much confidence in me! I'll definately be thinking this one over. It's in September...so that's 4 months to work up to it.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Kim

Sounds like a good idea. I can't imagine those charity things would be too hard, or people wouldn't do them. Just a plug-away and you'll get it done thing.

This week we're having some sort of "bike-week" where you try to ride your bike (to commute) to work as much as you can. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the weather will cooperate, but I'm going to try to get in a few times via bike.

--Janis

Janis-Here I've been compaining about all the rain we've had, and I just say clips of New England on the news! I hope you're surviving without getting flooded out. My goodness that's a lot of water.

I haven't ridden because of weather. Had some good spin classes, but nothing outside. I've been doing some walking in the drizzle, but get nervous riding in the rain because it gets slick out and combining that with bad drivers doesn't seem like a smart move.

Kim-Welcome! The ride sounds really cool. What is the distance for it? Those offer so much support on event with pit stops and water/gatorade, that you'll be able to do the event comfortably. Good luck.

Sherry-how were your weekend rides? My eating has been less than stellar this past week so I'm trying a no binge pact for the week. I'll be doing my best to stay to healthy foods in proper portion sizes.

Well, have a great one, and hope the rain goes away so we can all get moving again.

Hey y'all! Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day! Mine was great!

Yeah, the rain here in New England is driving me crazy too! I watched the sky all day and finally just said 'a few drizzles won't hurt' and took off for a ride! Got in 5.7 miles on a road that seems to be a steady but very slight incline...lol...it kicked my butt!

I'm not sure of the distance total in that race...what caught my eye is that one of the days it's going to be here in my town...25 miles here. I could do that with some training! I just gotta find out how much you have to raise to participate...I don't know ANYONE around here so I'd have a hard time raising money.

Janis, your bike week is probably part of bike safety month! On May, 17th there's going to be a 'Silent Ride' and from what I gather it's at least USA wide. It's a ride that's silent, and preferably ridden no faster than 12mph to honor cyclists who have been injured or killed on the roads. I thought it was a great idea! I wish there was a ride closer to me. I'm seriously thinking about going for a ride at 7 (start of it) that night anyway, just to take part in my own way.

Well, hope everyone is doing well!

Kim

I saw a posting about the silent ride here, too. I'd be afraid I'd get killed doing it, though (all the rain, etc.) Besides... I don't think I usually average much more than 10.5 mph on real roads. ;) Maybe I do - I don't know. On the stationary bike, I did 14.5 miles in 40 minutes, but that was plugging away at it and sweating like a beast. Normally when I'm out on my bike, I just kinda putz around for fun, and I'll get there when I get there. And like my friend told me when I was starting out - "There's no shame in getting off and walking it up a hill if you need to." Those words echo through my head whenever I get to a hill I can't handle, but they're getting fewer and farther between, so I'm getting better!

As for flooding and such, I live on the 4th floor, so hopefully it won't affect me too much. If it does, the rest of you need an ark! :) But yeah - a lot of people's basements are flooding and stuff. That's the problem with housing/soil around here - the soil doesn't leech very well. It's all sandy/swampy clay, so every homeowner seems to have water issues. When I'm rich and famous and can afford a house around here, I'll have one built on pontoons. ;)

--Janis

Janis,

either I don't pay enough attention or I'm crazy, but we're not getting as much rain as y'all are! We have gotten alot, but we're not flooding, even though we had flood warnings. And we're right on the coast, seein as we're in a Navy town...lol. I hope you aren't having a hard time of things with all the rain! The most annoying thing for me is I can't ride my bike!!!

The silent ride thing is slow paced, you'd be fine! I understand though not wanting to ride with all the rain! I went during a break in the clouds the other day and hit some puddles...was fun, but everyone might not think so!

No shame at all in walking! It is fun to look back and realize you're not walking hills that you used to have to walk though!

Hope everyone is well!

Kim

*wringing coat out*

And it continues... Yeah, mostly the rain is an inconvenience for me. While the roads have big puddles, it's not that bad around me (for driving in a car). My bike path is probably mushy right now (the one closest to me is dirt and ash, after all), and it's just dark and dreary. When I was at the gym the other day, I noticed a crackling sound in the air. Apparently the air is so saturated with water, that the high-voltage power lines that go over the gym's parking lot were crackling and sputtering!

I mostly don't want to ride my bike out in it because a) it's still "new" to me and I don't want to get it wet & dirty, and b) I have white carpets, and need to bring it indoors after I'm done.

I want to go to the gym tonight, but it's practice night for fife & drum, and we didn't have practice on Sunday (and my parents came to visit last Tuesday, so I missed it then, too). But with all the gloom, I want to go to the gym for my personal sanity. I find it relaxing. Also, I've been slacking off way too much lately. I haven't gone to the sauna, steam room, pool, or jacuzzi in ages. Lately when I go, it's to do the weight machines (and that's it, since I've been biking), but last time I used a stationary bike too, and by the time I was done, the place was closing, so I couldn't even take a shower when I was done, much less lounge around in the jacuzzi. I need to get going on a regular basis again so I CAN putz around not worrying about getting everything in, instead of working hard for the one time I'm there and not having enough time to make it fun.

*sigh* I feel like I'm stuck - not enough time for anything, and this is something I definitely need to make time for. :p I've lost 20 lbs in 5.5 months... while it's still a loss, I was hoping to have lost twice that by now.

--Janis

Hey everyone!

Hope y'all aren't getting flooded out. All the rain we had earlier this spring stopped just like that (snaps fingers). But I've yet to see the sun here along the coast and am looking forward to that.

Didn't make the long bike ride Saturday. In fact, haven't done any exercise since last Thursday. It's a long story, but my sister and I decided to drive to Tucson to see our mom for Mother's Day. Was a heck of a lot of driving for a short visit, but I'm glad we went. My "mother's day gift" from hubby and pets was new bike tires! Hubby rode without me this past weekend and went faster with his new tires. Said he got me new tires because he was afraid I'd slow him down. My response: I was going slow so he could keep up.

I too read about the Silent Ride and right now 12 mph is a fairly brisk pace for us because we have mountain bikes with fat tires. I'm sure 12 mph is slow on a road bike with thin tires, but right now we only average ~13 mph.

I've had far too many rest days lately but some were on purpose because I was exhibiting signs of overtraining. My real problem was that I've been eating like crap (can I say that here?) and probably not getting enough nutrients to support my activity level. So I took a break and plan to get back into it tomorrow.

Part of my eating problem is my frustration with my extremely slow weight loss. I started out at about 185 and wanted to lose about 40 pounds. Well, since September I've lost somewhere between 15 and 20 pounds (scale keeps bouncing between 166 and 169). The loss was slow but steady from October to March, but I've now been stuck since March. Well, I guess I should be happy that I didn't gain despite my eating. I think I really need to work on my eating and may cut the exercise for a while until I get that under control.

Not sure if I'll be "spinning" this week, but we are planning our long bike ride for Sunday morning. I'm so looking forward to it.

Stay dry!

"I've had far too many rest days lately but some were on purpose because I was exhibiting signs of overtraining. My real problem was that I've been eating like crap (can I say that here?) and probably not getting enough nutrients to support my activity level. So I took a break and plan to get back into it tomorrow."

Sure. I eat like crap too. ;) I feel your pain... I feel like nothing's been cooperating with me, and I keep kicking myself for "letting" the weight creep back after I lost 75 lbs and kept it off for nearly 5 years. :p The fact is, though, I just haven't been able to keep up the activity level. Unlike those 5 years where I was unemployed half the time and had a treadmill in my basement (and nobody to object if I'd use it at 2am), I feel like I'm always on the go.

I recently had a sleep-study done to find out why I feel so friggin' tired all the time. They're making me keep a "sleep diary" and the biggest thing I'm noticing is I'm not even getting home (much less to sleep) until nearly midnight every night. Between work, school, fife & drum, trying to squeeze in the gym...

And of course there are the implications that has on food. Eating out a lot, grabbing quick stuff "to go" (although I don't do fast-food, and I try to pack stuff) and I don't like cooking anyway. But even the salads I get from places are loaded up with salt and extra calories, I'm sure. God knows they're about 4x the size of a single serving... :p

And here it's been a reasonably good day, but I'm still stuck at work, going on 7pm. I need to go to the gym, but I need to do school work too. *sigh* decisions, decisions.

(I never did go to the gym yesterday, even though I wanted to. I ended up going to practice. Kinda frustrating when only 1/4 of the people were there, and me, and we're not the ones who need the practice the most, as we're there every week!) *sigh*

--Janis

Hi everyone! Hope everyone is having good, dry weather like we are!!! I'm loving it! Been able to get bike rides in for the last 2 days without getting wet! I rode 9.7 miles yesterday and 10.2 today! Yes! My longest ride yet!!!! today's ride was only 2 minutes longer than yesterday's...so I seem to be getting faster at least! Not too bad for a mountain bike with fat tires! LOL. I'm hopefully starting a full time job next week, so nice, fast, shiny new road bike here I come!!!! That is, if I can make myself keep riding after I'm working nights....I really hope I can! I'd hate to have to quit a job just so I can get my bike riding in! LOL. I haven't worked in about 6yrs, so I'm anxious to get outta the house some!

Hope everyone is doing well! Just wanted to check in!

Kim

Will the rain never stop? So far, whenever we've had dry days, I've either been out of town, too busy at work, or sick. :( It can't last forever, and I have many, many miles to go before I catch up...

Hey everyone!

Today I finally went for a bike ride after 10 days of no exercise! :fr: Whatever I did to myself, I think a combo of overtraining and poor food choices, wore me out and I got a nasty little head cold. This has happened before and I think I'm just an exercise wimp and need to schedule week-long breaks into my routine in an attempt to avoid the icky effects of overtraining. Hope it works.

So we rode almost 22 miles, our longest ride yet in quite some time. I wanted to keep going, but hubby was tired. Today he commented that he should have kept the old tires on my bike. Honestly, my old tires were okay, but the new ones seem to provide a smoother ride and things weren't bouncing quite as much, if you know what I mean. ;) Part of the reason hubby was pooped is that a rain storm is coming in and we were riding against a very strong wind for half the ride. Saw the most amazing thing on the trail today. A group of women on roller blades flew by us! They were going so fast, much faster than anyone on a bike has ever passed us. A man was riding a bike right on their heels, we believe it was their coach, shouting at them to go faster, etc. I just cannot believe their speed and endurance to go that far, that fast.

Hey Janice, I know what you mean about keeping up on things. I'm currently unemployed but interviewing. Lately I've had time to exercise and prepare healthy foods and I am terrified of what will happen when I start working. Right now I am trying to figure out how I'll work it all in -- the cardio, the weights, eating healthy food. As you correctly note, it's hard sometimes to make good food choices when you're grabbing food on the run. I'm just so afraid that I'll slip back into my pre-unemployment bad habits and get huge again. :( Hope the sleep study sheds some light on your fatigue, but it sounds to me like you're just doing a lot. I know what it's like to be constantly tired and it sucks.

Kim, congrats on the longer rides and getting faster! That's what hubby and I have been doing -- gradually adding more distance to our rides without adding significant time. For a while, we were going further in the same amount of time (9, 10, 11 miles) but now that we're over 20 miles, it's taking longer. But that's okay! Bike riding is fun! :) We are also on mountain bikes with fat tires and anxiously looking forward to getting road bikes; getting tired of being passed by "bike gangs." Like you, we plan to get them once I start working. Can't wait!

Carla, hope the weather cooperates with your schedule and you can get riding soon!

Hi gals-been to rainy and windy to ride here. I'm keeping up on my spin classes, and playing softball on top of the daily run/walk and turbokick I've been doing. I need to get a bike ride in. I'm really missing it. Hubby bought his road bike and now I'm coveting it. I guess I should clean up my old one and see if I like it as much as my mountain bike (for around here I travel so comfortable on dirt roads due to the lack of traffic that I'm not sure I'd like being forced to stay on the paved roads)

Well, just wanted to let you know I haven't fallen of the earth. Glad you're all getting some riding in.

sf40, 22 miles! Wow! I can't wait till I'm riding that far. Allll that time out of the house, all alone...lol. I think that's part of why I love riding so much...I'm free for a little while! I haven't been able to go lately. I have some health stuff to straighten out! I have eczema, and my hands are soooooo broken out right now, it hurts to grip the handlebars and I have some cracked/bleeding spots everytime I do go! Gloves don't help :( So I've had to take a break too...ugh! I'm feeling it too...just feel like I'm slipping back into the feeling like crap, lazy feeling I've had all my life!

ARtsygirl, you're lucky to have those dirt roads! We don't have any around here. There's trails a few miles away, but I have yet to check them out, I'm halfway scared it'll be full of rro's...lol. We're in a military town and it seems like a good many guys are cyclists around here!

I enjoy the stability that the mountain bike gives. I'm not scared to run over a rock or stick in front of me...with a road bike that would be different! I had a road bike when I was younger, and rode all over on it, and I don't remember having any major crashes...but I'm still nervous! 2 of the 3 times I've had broken bones came from riding something (motorcycle and horse) so I'm sorta nervous about taking a big fall. Funny how I'm like that with bikes now, but it doesn't scare me to ride a horse!

Kim

I know I am SUPER late but can I join too? For the last two weeks I have been riding my exercise bike every morning and would like to give myself a little more motivation! I was doing the walking challenge but when I hurt my knees I stopped walking so much. I will get back into that too but I like the exercise bike way more!

The only thing is my bike keeps track in KM - so 500 miles is 805 KM. So if I do join I would be keeping track of it that way.

Sure hope I am not too late!

Yay! Finally got back in the saddle. It's a gorgeous day out there, I had the foresight to take an antihistamine, and to my amazement my butt didn't complain at all! I need to get out the bike path map and plan some longer routes: today was 20.36 k, and I could go a lot further, especially if I pack a picnic.

Courtnie, I thought I had posted a welcome to you yesterday, but it disappeared along with another post. But anyway, it's not too late to join; as you can see, there are many of us with very low mileage to date. I'm on km's too

Woohoo! So glad to join :)

Yesterday I did double time on the bike (2 hours) so I manged to get in 48.59 km (that is a little over 30 miles). Normally I only get about half that. I will add today's up later :)

Welcome newcomers! :hug: Sorry I haven't posted much lately. Classes just started up again (ugh) and I've been putting in 10.5 hour days at work, too. :p I've been slacking overall on my weight-loss efforts, which obviously concerns me, but I still keep finding excuses not to go to the gym. (bad Janis!) Tonight I'm going. I'm not putting in another ridiculously long day... I need to go the gym, darnit!

Well, one piece of good news is I finally made my 100 miles of walking challenge. The bad news, is I didn't particularly do anything special to do it. I just wore my pedometer every day. Apparently taking the dog to the dog-walk area at the apartment and walking from the parking lot to my office, and office to cafeteria is enough to put in about 3 miles a day. Then there's parades and stuff, but I didn't have my pedometer on for those. (I should - one of these days I'm going to have to do a study to see just how far we march in a year). I bet that's a study nobody's ever done. (*sob* I'm such a geek)

Better yet - I could go home early, and ride my bike to the gym, workout, and go back! :-) That should be good for another 10+ miles on the bike.

--Janis

HI Courtnie! Glad to have ya! I just joined not too long ago and haven't been able to ride much, so I'm way low in mileage! I hope to fix that soon.

Janis, I bet the parade miles do add up! How many parades do you do a year? That would be a fun way to get exercise!

Ugh...weight loss efforts here are down the drain for some reason. I haven't been eating the way I used to, but I haven't been really, really careful! I'm still not drinking sodas, so I'm sure that's a big help. Just so much stress lately! Between docs appointments, 2 kids in karate 3 times a week and an orphaned baby squirrel I'm trying to keep alive, I'm almost pulling my hair out here! I'm not eating bad, I'm mainly back to the point of making myself eat during the day, instead of one big meal at night! For a few days it was not eating all day and a small meal at night, then snacking later :o

Well, better run! Gotta talk hubby into taking all 3 kids to karate with him so I can get a ride in..hehe.

Kim

Wahoo! My rides just keep getting longer and longer! I've been dreading a ride, because of my eczema causing my hands to crack and bleed from gripping the handles, but I said screw it and went....16 miles in 1 hr and 20 mins! My mph average went up .6! I'm well, well on my way to my goal of a 30 mile solo, self sustained ride! I think the goal may be low! I'll go with mini goals though...lol. I may just really check into the AIDS benefit ride for this September, and see about riding all 5 days. Plenty of time to train! I felt great after the 16 miles...like I could have done it again!

I was wondering if y'all would be interested in having a 'team' on bikejournal.com? I don't know if any of you use it to log your miles, but it's a great site for that! After every ride I add my miles, time, avg speed (will total that for you if you don't know...my bike comp keeps up with it though) and all that...you can add rows and columns for different info you like to keep up with such as weight, route, and all sorts of things! It's neat, and motivating to see your progress!

If you're a member of a team, it keeps track of total miles between the team, which is neat! I thought it might be fun here!

Kim

I did 22.88 km today :)

I am going to get out bikejournal.com it sounds super!

Awesome! I love the bike journal thing! There's a seciion where you can look up organized rides in your area if you're interested in that. I'm hoping to work up to doing one or two. Not for competition, but just to be able to do it! I think it would be great fun.

Kim

Did a 20.2 mile ride last night! It was nice and breezy (ie strong headwind...lol) so I stayed cool the whole time and didn't realize how sweaty I got till I stopped! My legs wanted to seize up once I got home and sat down, so I went for a walk around the block to loosen them up some after being on the bike for an hour and 50 minutes! After that took a warm/cold alternating shower, sat on the couch and massaged them pretty hard...got hubby to massage them before sleep and they're not hurting today, wonder of wonders!!!!

On another great note, I've kept off the 5lb loss that I figured was a fluke in the scales! For the longest time I was between 181 and 176, no matter how much diet and exercise I was doing, and it dropped to 175.6 2 days ago and this morning it's 175.4....so my motivation is back!

Hope everyone is doing great!

Kim

Did 34.46km today :)

Welcome, Courtnie! Glad to see you here and it looks like you're off to a great start.

Kim, congrats on the 20-mile ride and the 5-lb loss!

Brandy, hope your weather is better and you're able to ride. Glad you're still spinning. I've stopped for now and am doing all my biking outside on weekends.

Carla, glad to see you posting that you were able to ride!

Janice, sounds like you're crazy-busy and hope you can find time to exercise. Congrats on achieving the walking goal! And yes, you should wear your pedometer during a parade! And there is nothing wrong with being a geek (Have you taken the inner-geek quiz??? http://www.innergeek.us/geek.html. The geekier members of my family and I have been enjoying it for several years now.)

Well today hubby and I had planned a long bike ride but it is super windy, and it's rainy and cold! So we only went about 13 miles and hope the weather is better tomorrow for a long ride. Ya know, it figures ... The day we rode last weekend it was rainy and windy. It was nice and sunny during the week. Now today it's rainy and windy. Hmmm.

I am contemplating competing in a triathlon. Have always wanted to, the idea of the multiple activities appeals to me. There is a sprint triathlon near my home (http://www.pacificsportsllc.com/hunt...i/hbtInfo.html) that I'd like to do. I feel pretty good about the bike ride, obviously, especially since the bike course is where we ride almost every weekend. And I'm a decent swimmer. Grew up swimming in the ocean and with practice I think I'd do fine. Just don't like to run. :( So I'm gonna do my exercising as if I'm training for it, meaning I'm going to gradually do more running and less walking, and if I think I can handle the running will sign up.

Also interested in your thoughts on mountain bike vs. road bike for a triathlon. We can ride either in this particular race. I know I'd go faster on a road bike. But 1) I don't own one yet and 2) I've never ridden in a pack and I do like the stability of a mountain bike and might feel more comfortable my first time on a stable bike. I think about all the times I went over the handle bars as a kid (showing off with no hands, and frequently no feet, most of the time) and sure don't want to wipe out in a race.

Got 21 miles in yesterday and a mere 12.6 today :( Got caught in a downpour (was nice when I left!), stopped under a shelter till it lightened up alot and went on home. I had pnuemonia in April and I'm not anxious to have it again! Figured I should get warm and dry soon! Oh well, a light day is good now and then, huh?

Wow, a triathalon! That would be a great thing to try! I'm not a runner either :/ I have no idea how people do it! My hubby does and I've tried going with him. Bad knees and running don't mix. Keep us updated on if you're doing it, and how your training is going! That would be interesting to follow!

I have no idea on recommendations on a bike. I'm on a mt bike now, and haven't been on a road bike for YEARS, so I can't help ya! I am working myself up to buying a roadbike though...scared...lol. Good luck though, I know you'll figure out what's best! If you haven't seen it yet, there's a good women's cycling site that has beginners to people that have ridden for years and years...it's www.teamestrogen.com It's a great site that has tons of good info on bikes, and really anything to do with cycling!

Kim

Hey all, we got in our long ride this morning. 27 miles in 2 hours! Not bad for a mountain bike with fat, knobby tires. Can't believe it, when we first started riding regularly it took us about an hour to go 9 miles. Cannot wait to get a road bike to see how fast we go then! :bike: The other nice thing: it is sunny this morning! We rode in the sun which was wonderful, haven't ridden in the sun in weeks.

Kim, thanks for the website. I found it very interesting and plan to read some more as we prepare to buy road bikes. So much more to think about. I had no idea what a big deal proper fit is! When we bought our mountain bikes, I think the only thing we worried about for fit was our inseam. Though I think my frame is a bit small for me; the seat is as high up as it will go.

Over the next couple of weeks I plan to try a tiny bit of running. If I don't totally hate it, I'll begin "training" for the triathlon. I worry a bit about my knees, too, but since I've been lifting weights they are much stronger and might be able to handle running. I am not signing up until later this summer, subject to how I do with the running. :)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend so far!

I did 25.03km yesterday and working on today's ride right now :) Trying to make the time go faster today because I had a real hard time getting off the couch :(

I did 21.5 miles today. Great ride! Weather was perfect for it!

Hehe Courtnie, I know the feeling....hard to get goin sometimes, huh?

sf40, do you have any idea what kind of road bike you're gonna get? I post over at teamestrogen as kimct! Glad to know you liked the site! The women there are 'real' women, most complaining from time to time about extra fluff! So they're not all super fit, eat hardly anything gals! I think that's why I like it so much. That and they don't laugh at the newer people trying to get into cycling!

i've got my eye on a Bianchi...but will probably get something cheaper so I can get it faster, and save up for the Bianchi...probably as a reward for something or other...like 20lbs lost, or 50 mile ride, something like that. Hubby almost fell over when I pointed out what I wanted and he saw the price! Oh well...I'm hoping to go to work this week (please call, PLEASE call...lol) so I'll be saving the money on my own! I've been looking for a hobby for a long time, and I think I've found it!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Kim

I only got it 15.59km yesterday (only did 40 min) and today I got in 24.13 :)