I'm still around

Great things have happened for me career-wise, despite a layoff in March of 2011. I am earning much less than I was in a prior position but the good news is I have a killer-long bike commute (24-25 miles one-way) and I am working within a very bike-positive community and workplace.

I'll reveal more eventually, but just wanted to let folks know I am doing OK and intend to blog more.

The past year has been a very up and down year for me on a personal note and career-wise. Cycling has consistently, along with other aspects I may choose to reveal at some point, the better part of my transitional period.

I am down to four bicycles now - two nice road bikes (carbon Roubaix and an aluminum Cannondale) and two steel less-nice bikes (27" wheeled road bike and a department store MT bike). If I had space to do so, I'd set up another home workshop and maybe build a few more project bikes, but I've been busy in the job search lately, so maybe that is a winter project for me.

More soon... which might be late 2011, but who knows?

~ NJ

family time and fitting in cycling

An anonymous commenter recently asked if I ever spent time with my family. I didn't post the comment, as I suspected initially it was a barb directed at me given recent changes in my personal life this past year. However, after thinking about it more, I realized it could be that the person genuinely was interested in whether I saw my family, given their knowledge of my life is limited to what is reflected here online.

I do see my children often - and I spend time with them more than a lot of fathers, even those who are still living with their kids under the same roof. The parenting arrangement is between their mother and I, not anyone else. Their mother has not given me any indication that scheduling has been unsatisfactory as far as she or the children are concerned, in fact, I have agreed with the plan proposed by her, not the other way around. Additionally, she has requested that I refrain from posting personal details about my life and the current situation.

My kids
Rachel - posed for the pic as she wears a helmet when riding at all times


Lauren


I started cycling because I did not want to end up on a slab at the morgue at 38 years-old, a very real possibility according to my physician at the time. I was overweight (230+ pounds) and had extremely high cholesterol and developed high blood pressure. Medicated and unhappy, and seeing my life ending before seemingly it had ever begun, I happened upon cycling in 2007 as a means of improving my health. This blog, amongst other things, has chronicled this journey. I started with the goal of saving money on prescription drugs, co-pays, and add years to my life. I didn't want to die before seeing my kids through high school and college, and enjoying grandkids.

I am telling you today sitting here at about 165 pounds that my life and health have changed and changed for the better - I eat salads now and enjoy it. There have been some personal struggles and failures I have been dealing with in the past year which are independent of my bicycling activities. I am attacking the future head-on with positivity and zeal. I no longer will tolerate negativity and pointless criticism. I will allow time and expect God to judge me.

A book of inspiration for me was "Heft on Wheels" by Mike Magnuson. I would suggest anyone wanting to make a paradigm shift in their life read this book, especially if cycling could be the answer.

I do not want to see my friends and colleagues, a generation of great men, become victims to their diets, careers, and lifestyles. Refuse to succumb to what society thinks is "good enough" and stretch the paradigm. A medicated, overfed, and undernourished lifetime is not enough for me... nor should it be for you or anyone.



Others who have slimmed down through cycling...
Fatty
Frank Kinlan

...I'll add more as I find them...

opportunity strikes!

I cannot report on the full details yet, but I am going to be slated to be included in a major US bicycle distributor's 2011 catalog. The photo shoot is this week.

I'm excited!

Details to come, as long as there aren't any disclosures that prevent it.

another STP preparation update

Two of us (I was one of them) put in 75-ish miles on Saturday.
A different two of us (I was one of them) put in about mid-30s Sunday.
In addition, I did a major couple hills yesterday in a short-ish ride of maybe 10-12 miles.

It feels good.

I think the worst part so far was dumping $250 + about $100 store credit at REI for two new pairs of fingerless Pearl Izumi gloves, two PI elite series bib shorts, a new short sleeve jersey, and two headsweats type beanies.

Though I think I'd rather be comfortable at 120 miles into the ride than miserable and still facing 80+ miles on day #2.

still limpin'

We're back online but we're doing so with an older laptop for now while we await the arrival of a new PC.

More soon...

PC issues

Our home PC is dead (maybe). So it will be hard for me to make some posts in the next couple days(?) until it is resolved.

The message the computer spews when first turned on: "BIOS ROM checksum error" sounds pretty dire indeed.

Luckily, I have a neighbor who's a self-professed tech-geek. I also have a techie brother-in-law visiting this week, and a friend who hosts a tech radio show. I think I have an adequate ad hoc "geek squad" to address my problem... or at least to be able to provide sufficient evidence to my wife why it is better to go out and buy a new PC than attempt to fix a computer with (potentially) motherboard issues.

Until then...

Green Bike status report

Since September, I've been commuting by bicycle about 64% of the time. This includes commutes since mid-November, when the program paused until mid-February.

Since it is in the 20s today and snow fell yesterday, I dropped the bike off at REI for their "warranty tune-up" to check things over, make adjustments, etc. About the only thing going on, and is completely normal, was the brakes need adjustment. The cables tend to stretch when new and I've backed out the barrel adjusters to almost their full extension.

Also, I'm having the REI techs look at how my bike computer is set-up. Since last weekend, when I took a 5.5 mile ride around the neighborhood and vicinity, the computer isn't functioning normally. It might have a bad pick-up lead or the magnet on the spokes isn't properly aligned so the computer fails to register movement. The GPS type cycling computers, though expensive, are probably a worthwhile investment. I believe most also record/chart out your path for later download to your computer; a nice feature if one does a lot of backwoods trail riding.

first ride of the week

It's a lot colder today in the morning (might rain tomorrow) and I read where I should have my knees better covered for warmth (better blood flow to the joints).

I tried out a few different gear combos - shifted to easier gears than I'd been using and increased the RPMs per a book I'd read last week on cycling and specifically related to hill climbing. The book said it would be better on your knees to do this rather than do fewer RPMs (possibly faster travel speed) with a tougher gear. I'm still not sure which would work better, but I'm more accustomed to the latter.

Also, I might continue doing this for a couple more weeks into mid-November and then take a break or throttle back on the frequency due to pending daylight savings time (it'll really be dark in the morning and afternoon).

Today, I got home in 21 minutes flat.