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I didn't have much time for a ride this afternoon so I made the climb up to the rock. tomorrow will be just as hard but I plan on making a longer one.

Last day of my work week. 12 hours. After today, I am a day shift person. Less chances to ride but as daylight savings comes, maybe more. A bit under the weather today but looking forward to good workouts next week.

Last night we narrowly avoided an ice storm! When I left the hospital, ice had coated the jeep and it was sleeting. Fortunately, overnight things warmed a bit and there was no icing to speak of this morning. Not a good day to go riding I'd say.

This morning the weather is blustery and cold. Tonight sleet and freezing rain is expected. It is difficult to get in riding when the weather is cold and windy. I need to ride the street bike. Get used to it. But not today.

This morning I didn't ride. I did a hike up the mountain. The road up flagpole mountain is very steep and made for a good exercise. I found myself to be in better shape than a month ago. Getting up at 5am to hike at 6am makes for a short sleep night. Right now I am really feeling the effects. This afternoon, I took a short rest before leaving for work. I am hoping I can bounce back and make the late shift a little more enjoyable. With the 12 hour days coming Saturday and Sunday, and with the temperature tomorrow projected to be declining, I have to plan on another quick hike. Bike riding is not fun in the cold.

I climbed the same route again today. I just went a little farther. There were more people out riding the road than usual. A guy in a truck asked me if I was having fun. I thought what a dumb question. Of course I'm not having fun. I am trying to get in shape. But I covered almost 9 miles. Next week maybe I can get out and do a longer ride. Once my weight gets below or at 220, I have to start the Hindu Squats.

Today I rode from the top of the mountain down into the valley below before turning back up the hill. The climb covered 3 miles. It was a little cooler than is comfortable. After the two days off, the climb was a little harder. Time is a constraint on mornings like this. It didn't warm up enough to ride till 10am. That left only a couple of hours till time to go to work. Tomorrow, with any luck, it will warm up soon enough to ride earlier and, of course, farther.

Today I had a Drug Lit test. No riding. It was also quite cold outside. This afternoon has turned out very warm and pretty. Blue sky and sunshine. Tomorrow morning I will have to make up for this day of sloth.

I snuck a peak at the scales this morning. Down some more poundage. I probably won't be able to ride this morning due to low temperatures. This afternoon may warm to a sufficient temperature to get in a small ride. Maybe monday after the exam I can get over to the gym for a spin. I am really glad to have this purpose to drive myself. I have to say again that I really will have to thank Mike for getting me on this program. The goal of April is still a bit off but it affects my day to day eating and exercise decisions (for the better.)

I made a ride today out the usual route only to come down a road where two old idiots were target shooting. They had evidently set up so they were shooting down the road. I arrived just in time to have bullets whizzing by my helmet. On a good note, I rode almost 10 miles in the short time I had left. Soon I will make that all the way ride to the top of the mountain and back.

I went on a hike this morning. My plan was to hike to the top of that road off of Big John road. My friend Paul was having some problems with dizziness so we cut it short. He must be having viral vestibulitis. I got plenty of work. I was sweating profusely. Today is expected to reach 64 degrees. Nice! This afternoon I took a ride out wiregrass road. I took the side road down to the watershed dam and across and back up to the main road. that made for a total trip of 6 or 7 miles. I didn't have much problem riding it. I really wanted to go farther but I didn't have the time. I put the bike in the shop for the brake pads. It won't be out till Saturday afternoon. Just in time for the cold wave. The forecast for Sunday is for serious cold. I guess it would be a hiking kind of day.

I took another ride today. The ride took me to the top of the climb as usual but I kept going. That made for a total of 9 miles. The turnaround was just past the almost impassable mud hole. I intend a trip up to horn tower and back. I am not sure how far that is. Another plan is to do a run down the wiregrass road as far as possible and back. The goal would be to go from the beginning to the mountain and back.

Well, the forecast was for 50's today. Wrong. It was frosty this morning when I rode. But I did ride. The brakes were getting pretty sorry. I was pretty miserable on the mountain today. I kept the speed slow so I didn't really freeze. Those tights aren't much good for insulation. I'd be better off using the shorts with sweat pants. Maybe tomorrow. I got the bottle cages on the road bike tonight. Little by little I am ready.

Yesterday was petty cold but I still made the ride to the top of Skyway motorway. Mom was being tested at St. Vincent's today so no riding. Tomorrow I will try a longer ride.

These weeks seem to fly by. I spoke with Mike last night about the ride. He seems to be looking forward to it. He mentioned that it is still a long way off. Not true. The date will be here so quickly, it will surprise us. This morning was cold. Temps in the 30's aren't conducive to bike riding. I suppose I'll be back in the gym to ride the stationary and stair climb. I'll have to get started early so I can take mother to the hospital in Birmingham. It's after lunch. From 2 o'clock on, it is pretty slow around here. I have been looking for where I can ride my road bike. I guess I just have to get going and do it where I can. I think that the route from my house up to town and around town and home is my best bet. Riding 21 is dangerous. Highway 148 has a lot of fast moving trucks.

Today is a 12 hour day at work. Not much chance of getting a ride today. The mild weather has been great for getting out on the bike. Temperatures at night have dropped back to the 30's and 20's so taking a ride in the evening would be pretty chilly. Monday I have to take Mom to the hospital for a test. That will mean an afternoon ride at best. Tuesday I am back for the procedure. Who knows?

Well here is another week gone by. Where does time go? Today I spent 40 minutes on the stationary bike. Lots easier than riding.

I will have to remember to thank Mike for this idea. I needed something to build a fire under me. Something to spur me on to get my blood flowing and take my mind off things I can't control. I need this...

This morning a cold front with some significant rain was on its way. I hurried up to the usual climb spot and started to make my way. About 10 minutes into the climb, it began to rain. So I quickened the pace. I also was able to gear up in a few places to make the climb harder and quicker. Long story short...I made the ride faster than ever. I must be gaining some strength. Tomorrow the weather will be colder. Temps below 45 are tough on a bicycle. It may be a hiking kind of morning. I am going to begin looking for a longer climb.

With my newly restored bike computer, I could see that the climb to the top was almost exactly 2 miles. So by adding the climb from the valley floor below (0.8), I almost have a 3 mile climb. I took the short one today so I could get to the top and back home but found my time was good, thanks to the computer, so I tacked on another mile. This mile was downhill so it came into play as I came back. So today was a six miler with 3 miles of hill. The weight seems to be coming off. I sneaked a look at the scale today and liked what I saw. I am still a long way from where I was a couple of years ago, but I am seeing change. Got to keep leaving that PB alone. I know the climbing is doing the trick, but the stony mountain road is taking a toll on my backside. I don't think there is a seat made that can help that. Maybe that is why a suspended bike would be better. Weather is taking a turn this week. Rain is expected tomorrow. Seasonal weather (cold) is coming by the weekend. Saturday...

Mitchell gave me a Specialized Cyclocomputer in 1996. After 8 years, the battery gave out. After replacing it, getting it set right was like breaking the Enigma code. (Had to figure it out all over again. ) Clock set - hold bottom button till clock displays. Use left button to select 24 hour, hour, minute. Tire calibration - use mode button (bottom) to select odometer. Hold left button till four digit number displays. This number corresponds to size in mm of wheel (one complete turn). So 81 inches x 25.4 = 2057.4 M/h or Km/h - use mode button to select odometer. hold both mode and select buttons. M/h orKm/h will flash. use mode button to select. Use left button to exit.

This morning I installed the new tires on both bikes. I put the new seat on the mountain bike. I got a 9am start and went out to the Skyway Motorway to try the On the Rocks tires. They worked great! I hadn't planned on being impressed but the soft pliable tire material really worked on the rocky roads. I climbed easily to the top. I guess I need to get a bigger challenge. I spoke with Lisa about bike riding. She offered to fit my bike for me. All she could suggest about the soreness it causes your backside was, "it gets better with time." Paul will likely want to hike up the mountain tomorrow. That will be a good run. Maybe I can coax him into walking up to the tower out on highway 148. Progress!

The tires and accessories arrived today from Nashbar . I will have to find time to install them either tonight or tomorrow morning and give them a trial run. Yippee!

The monday I begin my work week is impossible to get a workout on. All the more reason to get up early tomorrow and hit it. But where? The closer to the house, the more time spent riding. The rides up the mountain seem to be doing the trick. I can't spend too much time doing it. That would leave no time for anything else. Early morning might not be the best time to get it done. I weighed today. 240 pounds. That is lighter surely than a week ago, but I took no reading to compare to. My clothes seem to fit better, but that belly is still out there. 240 is a lot to weigh. So much better when I am around 205. Take that hunk of iron off and climbing hills will get a lot easier.

Today I made a longer ride. Not a lot longer, but I rode to the height of Skway Motorway from the valley below. I started where Wildcat road intersects Rocky Mount and rode the whole way up. I was feeling pretty strong until I got home and sat down. Mike called this past friday. He was impressed that I was riding as much as I am. I am too. I have a goal now. That makes a lot of difference in my effort. Today or tomorrow, I should be getting those tires and the seat from Nashbar. That will makes some difference I hope. If I were to continue to ride, I believe I'd have to replace the mountain bike with a better one. The frame has taken a lot of dings from rocks. I don't really intend to do riding exclusively. I want to continue to hike more than ride. The next challenge is to ride distance. I have an idea to go out to the road near the Pinhoti and ride up to the Scenic Drive road at Cheaha . I need to find those maps and determine the length of it.

The past 2 days I have ridden up the Skyway motorway road to the overlook. I found today's ride to be a little easier than yesterday's. My idea was to find a ride that required steady effort. Riding the roads was an on/off effort. Struggle to climb but then glide down the hills. I wanted a challenge that pushed me for a long time. The next step is to go down the Rocky Mount Church Road down to the bottom of the hill. Then ride up to the top and on up to the overlook. That should produce a ride of almost 1 hour uphill. That combined with using increasingly higher gearing should achieve a better level of fitness. Also, Steve at the gym said they would be installing spinning gear. That would be a lot of benefit to a distance bicycle rider.

I finally got out for my first ride this year. I have been doubling up the efforts. This week while I am off, I will hike and ride each day. I found myself to be quite tired after the short ride. There are no easy rides around home. Lots of rolling hills which means I am either coasting or creeping up the side with my heart thumping. I got in a 2 hour ride yesterday with a 4 mile up the mountain hike. I am supposed to get a call to go on a hike today. No candy or peanut butter the past few days but I have eaten bread. I have to cut that part out also. The next two or three days have rain forecasted. I hope they are wrong. I need to get a goal for the trip if I am to know if I am making progress. I had thought that I might get to where I can ride the Wiregrass road out to the mountain and up on top and back. That would be about 16 miles on a mountain bike. Hopefully that would be a good level to go road biking. But the constant pedaling of a road bike is a different thing. I need to ge...

Well the earth has circled the sun once again. I believe I was supposed to have made a resolution or two. I guess this plan to move back to fitness will serve. I have enough on the plate as it is. School. Kids. Work. Hiking trips. There is plenty to keep me busy. I made it through another evening without hitting the PB or candy. It is too easy to get into that stuff. I was telling Melissa how you have to make the promise of getting fit the reward for all the changes. No way I can focus on the short term reward of eating donuts or pizza. I have to see the long term. Monday if Sara isn't sick we were going to go hiking overnight. If she is sick, I'll do a long bike ride. Something to get me working.