Week 11, Day 6

Weight: 231 lbs.
Waist: 43.0 inches

Ride: 19.6 miles
Time: 1 hours 21 minutes 40.00 seconds
Pace: 16.1 miles per hour
Conditions: moderate NNW wind.

Calories burned: 1,529.81

First food: 10:33 a.m.
Last food: 3:29 p.m.
Exceptions: Pre-ride banana; post-ride prunes.

Note: Woke up with a sore throat this morning; I hope that does not portend further illness as the week goes along.

Week 11, Day 4-5

Weight: 231 lbs.
Waist: 43.0 inches

Ride: 52.1 miles
Time: 3 hours 35 minutes 44.40 seconds
Pace: 14.5 miles per hour
Conditions: mild south wind on the trip to Winters; normal head winds on the road to the dam.

Calories burned: 3,779.68

First food: 12:25 p.m.
Last food: 4:11 p.m.
Exceptions: Pre-ride, a few prunes; mid-ride, a breakfast bar; stop at Steady Eddie's, a cranberry scone.

Note: Best ride yet. I've never had an easier time riding up the road to Monticello Dam. It wasn't "easy," but it has been much harder in the past. My sense is that my wind was much better, probably due to taking up jogging this week combined with having not ridden so much on the bike this week.

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Weight: 232 lbs.
Waist: 43.5 inches

Run: 3.7 miles
Time: 37 minutes 0.00 seconds
Pace: 10 minutes per mile
Conditions: no wind.

Calories burned: 650.25

First food: 10:44 a.m.
Last food: 3:24 p.m.
Exceptions: Post-run breakfast bar; and many exceptions, including a cheeseburger with fries and chips consumed with Barry, Justin and family on a visit to Davis.

Note: Today was my second run. It felt good, but I was still sore from my first run. I ran (with Truman) again from Border's to the Putah Creek Bike Path to Drummond Avenue and back.

Week 11, Day 3

Weight: 232 lbs.
Waist: 44.0 inches

Ride: 17.7 miles
Time: 1 hour 13 minutes 26.79 seconds
Pace: 14.5 miles per hour
Conditions: very light south wind.

Calories burned: 1,282.92

First food: 10:48 a.m.
Last food: 3:43 p.m.
Exceptions: Pre-ride banana.

Note: Slept too late to bike over to Woodland this morning, so did the Tremont Cemetery ride, instead. Stopped for coffee and a (very high quality) scone at Chamonix in the Anderson Plaza shopping center. Good place, but not really a comfortable or inviting place to lounge.

Week 11, Day 2

Weight: 232 lbs.
Waist: 44.0 inches

Run: 3.7 miles
Time: 37 minutes 0.00 seconds
Pace: 10 minutes per mile
Conditions: no wind.

Calories burned: 650.25

First food: 10:44 a.m.
Last food: 3:24 p.m.
Exceptions: Post-run breakfast bar.

Note: Today was my very first run in years. It felt good. I ran (with Truman) from Border's to the Putah Creek Bike Path to Drummond Avenue and back. I ran slow, but had no significant pain and feel fine now, a couple of hours after the run. My plan is to run again Friday, and then resume running the following Monday.

New Time Constraints

Week 11 -- 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Week 11, Day 1

Weight: 232 lbs.
Waist: 44.0 inches

Ride: 33.6 miles
Time: 2 hours 19 minutes 2.07 seconds
Pace: 14.5 miles per hour
Conditions: 10 mph north wind.

Calories burned: 2,442.82

First food: 12:24 a.m.
Last food: 3:44 p.m.
Exceptions: Bran muffin at La Bou.

Note: Biked over to the State Capitol, this morning, after frustratingly repairing my slowly leaking front tire. The problem was my pump was not working right. I ended up putting some air in my tire and finishing the job at the Shell station. In Sacramento, I didn't find a cafe I wanted to stop at, so I went to La Bou in West Sac, which was good, as usual.

Week 10, Day 7

Weight: 232 lbs.
Waist: 44.0 inches

Ride: 17.7 miles
Time: 1 hour 13 minutes 21.16 seconds
Pace: 14.5 miles per hour
Conditions: no wind, but warm.

Calories burned: 1,282.92

First food: 10:17 a.m.
Last food: 3:43 p.m.
Exceptions: Pre-ride banana.

Note: Ate like a pig all weekend at Lake Almanor. I had a great time up there, but it was not a good trip for a diet.

Week 10, Day 6

Weight: 232 lbs.
Waist: 44.0 inches

Ride: 17.7 miles
Time: 1 hour 13 minutes 17.52 seconds
Pace: 14.5 miles per hour
Conditions: no wind, but warm.

Calories burned: 1,282.92

First food: 10:55 a.m.
Last food: ??? (will be off diet this afternoon).
Exceptions: Post-ride banana.

Note: Leaving today for Almanor. Diet resumes on Monday.

Week 10, Day 5

Weight: 232 lbs.
Waist: 44.0 inches

Ride: 23.7 miles
Time: 1 hour 38 minutes 4.14 seconds
Pace: 14.5 miles per hour
Conditions: light north wind.

Calories burned: 1,722.28

First food: 11:00 a.m.
Last food: 3:23 p.m.
Exceptions:

Note: Notice today's weight: 232 pounds. Today is a day of celebration. I've now lost exactly 50 pounds from my starting weight. It's good to make progress. I still feel like I have a long way to go. I bought some running shoes, yesterday, and walked Truman with them this morning around far East Davis. Perhaps beginning next Monday, I will give running a try. This weekend, up at Lake Almanor, I'll try to further break-in the new shoes.

Week 10, Day 4

Weight: 233 lbs.
Waist: 44.5 inches

Ride: 17.7 miles
Time: 1 hour 13 minutes 42.31 seconds
Pace: 14.4 miles per hour
Conditions: no wind.

Calories burned: 1,306.10

First food: 10:55 a.m.
Last food: 3:44 p.m.
Exceptions:

Note: Nice ride.

Week 10, Day 3

Weight: 234 lbs.
Waist: 44.5 inches

Ride: 31.8 miles
Time: 2 hours 12 minutes 35.52 seconds
Pace: 14.4 miles per hour
Conditions: stiff south wind.

Calories burned: 2,347.45

First food: 11:04 a.m.
Last food: 3:44 p.m.
Exceptions: Scone at La Bou.

Note: Nice ride this morning over to Raley Field in West Sac. Stopped at La Bou for a nice coffee and an adequate, though not great, scone.

Week 10, Day 2

Post for Monday, September 14, 2009

Weight: 234 lbs.
Waist: 44.5 inches

Ride: 17.7 miles
Time: 1 hour 13 minutes 46.21 seconds
Pace: 14.4 miles per hour
Conditions: light south wind.

Calories burned: 1,311.71

First food: 10:22 a.m.
Last food: 3:44 p.m.
Exceptions: Pre-ride prunes.

Note: After forgetting to post the last couple of days, I'm back on track. The ride this morning was nice and easy, though the roads were wet, due to last night's rain, and muddy in places, where the dirt from tomato trucks got wet.

Week 10, Day 1

Post for Sunday, September 13, 2009

Food times: 10:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.

Weight: 234 lbs.
Waist: 44.5 inches

Ride: 36.0 miles
Time: 2 hours 30 minutes 56.48 seconds
Pace: 14.4 miles per hour
Conditions: very stiff west wind on the ride to Winters; on the trip back from Lake Solano, had the stiff wind at my back.

Calories burned: 2,676.59

First food: 10:15 a.m.
Last food: 3:51 p.m.
Exceptions: Pre-ride banana.

Note: Rode to Winters and took a break, due to the hard ride into the wind, at the Train bridge. After my rest, I rode Putah Creek Road up to and around Lake Solano and back to Steady Edddie's, where I relaxed with a cup of coffee and a scone.

Week 9, Day 7

Post for Saturday, September 12, 2009

Weight: 237 lbs.
Waist: 44.5 inches

Ride: 17.7 miles
Time: 1 hour 14 minutes 27.29 seconds
Pace: 14.4 miles per hour
Conditions: very strong south-west wind.

Calories burned: 1,328.52

First food: 10:12 a.m.
Last food: 3:51 p.m.
Exceptions: Pre-ride banana.

Note: Due to early morning fatigue and then the threat of rain, I delayed my ride to the early afternoon, tody. Instead of my normal long, hard Saturday ride, I decided to take it easy with just the Tremont Cemetery loop.

Week 9, Day 6

Weight: 237 lbs.
Waist: 44.5 inches

Ride: 17.7 miles
Time: 1 hour 13 minutes 47.31 seconds
Pace: 14.4 miles per hour
Conditions: north-west wind.

Calories burned: 1,328.52

First food: 11:02 a.m.
Last food: 4:00 p.m.
Exceptions: Pre-ride banana.

Note: Bought a stand-up tire pump, today. Hopefully, it works well enough to replace my regular trips to the Shell station to get air.

Week 9, Day 5

Weight: 237 lbs.
Waist: 44.5 inches

Ride: 23.7 miles
Time: 1 hour 38 minutes 51.68 seconds
Pace: 14.4 miles per hour
Conditions: moderate north wind.

Calories burned: 1,777.35

First food: 11:12 a.m.
Last food: 3:23 p.m.
Exceptions: Had a pre-ride banana. In the afternoon I had an off-diet lunch over at Carol's in Sacramento (sandwich plus ice cream).

Note: Bike road really well this morning, following its repair at Davis Bike Exchange. I have nothing but high praise for the service provided at DBE, plus the price was very reasonable. ... Also, rode through Springlake in Woodland. Got a little bit lost, but it seems like a very nice neighborhood, much like Mace Ranch or Wildhorse (without the golf course). Fat Cat Cafe again was nice. I passed on the scone, though.

Disastrous days -- part V

Just when I thought things could not get worse with my ever-breaking down bicycle, they got worse, today. I was only a mile and a half into my Tremont Cemetery ride, fortunately, when my left crank arm and its attached pedal broke off of my bike. I had just crossed F Street, heading east. I was easily making my way up the Covell Blvd overpass in 5th gear (on the back sprocket) when I lurched forward as my left foot came crashing to the ground. I didn't realize what had happened. I thought my chain had merely slipped. However, when I stopped and got off my bike, I could see that my left pedal and its crank arm were gone. I found them 20 feet down the hill.

So once again, for the third time in four days, I had to walk my bike home. I have yet to get my bike repaired. I think I will take it to a different shop. I'm a little perturbed at B&L, feeling that their service has not been great for me. My rear wheel, the one they sold me, they now tell me is not the right caliber of wheel for my needs. If that's the case, why did they sell it to me? Also, I am unhappy with my rear tire, and that is one they installed, never asking me if I wanted instead to buy one less apt to be punctured. Finally, having just gone to B&L on Saturday, I'm embarrassed to bring my bike back in, broken, so soon.

Week 9, Day 4

Weight: 235 lbs.
Waist: 44.5 inches

Ride: 30.0 miles
Time: 2 hours 5 minutes 2.74 seconds
Pace: 14.4 miles per hour
Conditions: light east wind.

Calories burned: 2,225.19

First food: 10:03 a.m.
Last food: 4:00 p.m.
Exceptions: Ate a pre-ride banana.

Note: The saga of bike breakdowns continued again, today. My "fixed" rear flat tire was flat when I got outside to start today's ride to West Sacramento. I decided to throw away the inner tube, buy a new one and install it. That set me back a good hour plus. But in the end, I got on my bike around 8:45 a.m., put in ear plugs, and had a pleasant (not too noisy) ride over the causeway to La Bou in West Sac, where I enjoyed a couple of cups of good coffee and a cranberry scone. On the way home, as with the last time I rode to West Sac, I took the Olive Drive bike path.

Disastrous days

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Today is going to be a vacation from the Bicycle Diet for me. All started out normal, ready for my usual Monday trip out to the Tremont Cemetery and back. (I even had the good news of weighing in at 237 pounds, my lowest yet.) However, just where I turn left from Davis Road onto Tremont Road, I felt my rear tire going flat. As I know now, the hole in the inner tube was in the exact spot where I supposedly fixed the hole I got yesterday. As a result of today's flat tire, I walked my bike a half mile north on Old Davis Road, before hiding it behind an old black walnut tree near a large field of sunflowers. From there, I walked another hour home, got the car, drove back and picked up my unlocked bicycle.

Today's problem makes three straight days of disaster: Saturday my seat broke on Midway Road and I had a horrible ride back without a functioning seat. On top of that, I broke a spoke and had another expensive repair bill at B&L. Sunday, I got my flat tire just before Road 96 on Covell, about the same distance from home as today's flat tire. And then today, I made it three lousy days in a row.

Week 9, Day 3

Weight: 239 lbs.
Waist: 44.5 inches

Ride: 27.3 miles
Time: 1 hour 54 minutes 20.67 seconds
Pace: 14.3 miles per hour
Conditions: light north wind

Calories burned: 2,063.92

First food: 10:04 a.m.
Last food: 3:58 p.m.
Exceptions: Pre-ride banana.

Note: Started out like a very nice ride, after having the bike fixed at B&L, yesterday and installing my new seat. I had a nice time and a coffee at Steady Eddie's, which is always a pleasure. However, approaching Road 96 from Winters on Covell Blvd, I realized something was wrong, stopped roadside, and found I had a flat rear tire. I don't yet know what caused it, but it was a disaster. I walked most of the way home -- a guy picked me up in his truck and with me and the bike in the back, I was driven 1.5 miles. After all the air was out of my tire, I had to lift the back end of the bike. Worn out from the lifting, I left my bike unloocked at the Adobe Apartments at Shasta Drive and Covell, walked home and drove back to retrieve my bike, which thankfully was not stolen. Combined with breaking my seat and a spoke yesterday, this has turned into a "whatever can go wrong, will go wrong" weekend.

Week 9, Day 2

Weight: 239 lbs.
Waist: 45.0 inches

Ride: 37.8 miles
Time: 2 hours 38 minutes 36.08 seconds
Pace: 14.3 miles per hour
Conditions: strong SSW wind.

Calories burned: 2,878.62

First food: 10:01 a.m.
Last food: 3:55 p.m.
Exceptions:

Note: Brutal ride today. Planned to go 65 miles. My seat broke 15 miles into the ride and my last 22 miles were horrible. Oh well.

Week 9, Day 1

Weight: 239 lbs.
Waist: 45.0 inches

Ride: 16.6 miles
Time: 1 hour 9 minutes 28.53 seconds
Pace: 14.3 miles per hour
Conditions: very light south wind.

Calories burned: 1,249.21

First food: 10:30 a.m.
Last food: 3:55 p.m.
Exceptions:

Note: Easy short ride, today. Need to prepare for big ride, tomorrow.
Note 2: Week 9 -- 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Week 8, Day 7

Weight: 239 lbs.
Waist: 45.0 inches

Ride: 23.7 miles
Time: 1 hour 38 minutes 49.26 seconds
Pace: 14.4 miles per hour
Conditions: no wind, but warm.

Calories burned: 1,792.35

First food: 11:12 a.m.
Last food: 4:14 p.m.
Exceptions: Had a mediocre scone during my stop in Woodland at Fat Cat Cafe.

Note: Baed on a recommendation, I stopped at the Fat Cat Cafe on Dead Cat Alley in Woodland. All in all, a good place. The people were nice. The coffee was good. The prices were fair. The decor was quaint. And they had newspapers free to read. However, the scone was more of a muffin; and the chairs were not comfortable.

Week 8, Day 6

Weight: 239 lbs.
Waist: 45.0 inches

Ride: 17.7 miles
Time: 1 hour 13 minutes 18.12 seconds
Pace: 14.5 miles per hour
Conditions: warm; light north wind.

Calories burned: 1,321.63

First food: 10:33 a.m.
Last food: 4:00 p.m.
Exceptions:

Note:

Goals for September

I have two goals for the Bicycle Diet this month:

1. For a target weight, I would like to get under 230 pounds by October 1. I weighed in today at 239 pounds. I still cannot fit into my nice corduroys. I think at 229 pounds I will be able to wear them. Even though my monthly weight loss up to now has been over 20 pounds*, I think 10 pounds is a reasonable and an achievable goal for September. It gets harder to lose more absolute pounds as my relative condition of being overweight decreases. But by sticking with the parameters of the diet, foods and time of day, I think I can take off 10 pounds in the next 30 days.

2. For my rides, I would like to complete 3 long rides this month. (Note that one weekend, the 18th to the 20th, we will be up at Lake Almanor, and I won't ride there.) The three long rides should include: a) another summit of Cardiac Hill; b) a 65-mile ride on a flat loop; and c) a 75-mile ride on a different flat loop.

* From July 3 (282) to August 3 (258), I lost 24 pounds. From August 1 (260) to September 1 (239), I lost 21 pounds. My total weight loss to-date is 43 pounds.

Week 8, Day 5

Weight: 239 lbs.
Waist: 45.0 inches

Ride: 30.0 miles
Time: 2 hours 5 minutes 28.23 seconds
Pace: 14.3 miles per hour
Conditions: mild south wind.

Calories burned: 2,263.07

First food: 10:47 a.m.
Last food: 4:00 p.m.
Exceptions: At La Bou in West Sacramento, I had a mediocre (too sweet) cranberry muffin with my coffee. That said, La Bou was a nice find and a good destination in West Sac. The coffee was good.

Note: I reached my two goals for this date -- I rode to the top of Cardiac Hill and I weighed in under 240 pounds. I'll try on my cords and see if they fit, yet. (Edit: they don't fit. Too tight in the waist to button them.)

Note 2: My ride to West Sac was much nicer today, wearing ear plugs, than my ride there last week. I can still hear what I need to with them in, but the painful din of the interstate becomes tolerable background noise with the earplugs.

Note 3: I arrived back in Davis via the Olive Drive bike path, most of which I'd never been on before. Very nice way to enter town.