The cycling however, is the constant.  I’m up to 531 miles as of yesterday afternoon, when I took a ride into Annapolis from Severna Park.  I love that ride and one of the things that’s really great is that I can see my improvement in my numbers.

The naval academy bridge is perhaps one of the biggest “hills” in my normal cycling routes and it’s challenging for a number of reasons.  First, it’s a hill.  Second, there’s generally a fair amount of traffic moving at speeds of 45-50 mph.  Third, the bridge spans the Severn river and there’s usually a stiff crosswind or a headwind to deal with. Did I mention that it’s a hill?   Over the past month, I’ve shaved nearly 30 seconds of my trips across the bridge and yesterday crossed it in 1:29 as opposed to nearly 2 minutes back in March.

I did a tune up of the bike a few months ago at the Bike Doctor in Arnold.  The staff there is great and they do good work.  I replaced my chain at the time and now I’m wishing I’d replaced my tires.  Not that I can’t handle changing a tire, but I might have stretched the useful life out of the pair of Continental Grand Prix 4 Season Tires a bit.  I estimate that they have around 1500 miles on them, which is pretty damn good for a set of doughnuts.  Nevertheless, I’m off to get some new tires later today.

A few weeks ago, I was out on a ride and a dude in jeans on a beat up old mountain bike pulled up next to me and said, “Totally unsolicited advice here, but that bike doesn’t look like it fits you very well.”

“Really?” I was incredulous. I’d been riding this bike for 2 years and never experienced any signs of a poor fit. No pain in my posterior, no numbness in my feet or hands, nothing. Still his words resonated since I’d never actually gotten the bike “fit” to me.

“Maybe, just raise your seat a bit.” Parting shot.

As I rode the rest of that ride, I mulled over the suggestion. Sure, my seat was low. Sure my bike didn’t look like it was a racing bike – even if it is. Sure, my stem isn’t jammed down at a ridiculous angle. But the seemed to fit. And who the fuck was this guy anyway. He wasn’t even riding a road bike. He was wearing jeans and no helmet. No helmet, I tell you!

I let it sink in over a few days and reluctantly, I raised my seat by about an inch. The next ride was one of the best of my life. It was certainly one of my fastest rides ever. And still no signs of poor fit in the way my body reacted.

“Maybe that dude knew something after all.”

And then there’s the comment section of my last post.

Most of the comments are from people I have actually met in life, and even those that I’ve not met, I’ve come to understand that we have a common passion for cycling and fitness, so there’s a sense of trust.  And still, still I’m resistant to the idea that a couple of beers a day could be having such a strong impact on my fitness and weight loss.

Don’t get me wrong, I know that the advice to drop the beers is well founded.  I’ve since read up on how beer and booze affects metabolism – it’s not good, by the way – and I know that it is at least part of the answer.  And yet, I’m resistant to it.

So here we’ve got a case of absurdity.  I take advice from someone who I don’t know about a topic that I’ve not asked any advice on and it works out well.  And yet, I’m finding it difficult to take well founded advice from people I know and trust.

Well, I’m here to say, I like beer a lot.  But I like the idea of living to a ripe old age much more than beer.  And if it takes cutting out beers to get there, well, it’s worth a shot.

Certainly it can’t go any worse than raising my seat by an inch.  Can it?

I have been putting in a lot of miles lately on the bike – about 65-75 per week – which is a lot for me.  In January, I rode a paltry 12.9 miles – one ride.  It wasn’t even cold this year, but I was in a real funk.  February was a bit better at 25.8 miles (two rides, still in a funk).  In the month of March, things turned around – or rather I turned them around – I hit 197 miles.  As of today I’m at 113 for the month of April.  My year to date total mileage is 323 miles on the bike.  Not bad, considering last year I only pulled 899 miles for the year and didn’t even get on the bike until April.

As my cycling has kicked up, so has my appetite.  I’m trying to do all the right things, fueling up before the ride with some real good complex carbohydrates.  Drinking plenty of liquids packed with electrolytes on the bike.   Eating a combination of protein and carbs post ride.  And still I’m finding it difficult to drop additional pounds.

It has occurred to me that I might be packing on muscle weight in place of fat – a thought that I kind of like – but I’m not sure that’s what’s going on.

My typical daily intake on the days that I ride follows.  My rides are between 60 and 90 minutes long usually at a pace of 14-17 miles per hour.

Breakfast

1/2 cup of non-fat greek yogurt
1/2 cup of granola
1/2 cup blueberries
1 Tbsp honey
1 banana

Lunch

Salad and 3-4 ounces of lean protein (chicken, fish, turkey)
Orange
1 oz of cheese

Pre-ride Snack

1 banana drizzled with 1 Tbsp honey
Orange or Apple

Post-ride Snack

Granola Bar
1 cup of milk
2 Tbsp chocolate syrup

Dinner

2 beers
4-6 oz lean protein (fish, chicken, turkey)
salad
vegetable (green beans, carrots, spinach, etc)
1 Tbsp olive oil
fruit

So the question comes up, am I not eating enough before the ride?  Am I not eating enough after the ride?  Are the beers killing me?

I’m doing the weight watcher’s program and I have a very difficult time staying within the daily points allotment on days I ride, but that’s supposed to be okay cause I get points for the exercise and I stay within them.

I’d welcome advice in the comments.

Going into this year, I made the same commitment, and did nothing about it in January or February. On Wednesday February 29th, everything would change. I ate a salad at lunch. That salad would be the catalyst for change, but not in the way you may be thinking.

Food poisoning. Within six hours, I was sick, really sick. And I was deriving from Philadelphia to Severna Park. Sparing you the details, I’ll just say that things weren’t right with my system for about a week.

I dropped five pounds.

A few years ago one of the best doctors I’ve ever known said to me, “you’re getting to the age when you need to make a choice about whether you age going to live to be eighty or ninety, or die in your fifties or sixties.” I probably should have headed that warning sooner, but here I am, facing my fortieth birthday and I’ve decided that this better not be the 2/3ds milestone of my life.

So after being violently sick, and dropping five pounds, it seemed like an ideal time to begin a journey toward a healthier life. I began making changes. I started tracking my food intake with the weight watchers tools. I started going to the gym and riding my bike more frequently. I stopped drinking beers during the week. All of these changes started to add up and really become force multipliers.

Losing weight was certainly the primary goal, but there have been other benefits.

I have struggled with mild depression most of my adult life. I have also suffered from terrible migraines for as long as I can remember. After a few days (yes, days) of regular exercise, I noticed my mood improving dramatically. I used to wake every night several times a night. Now I am sleeping through the night most nights. I haven’t had a major headache in weeks.

To be fair, I’ve also started going for regular acupuncture appointments for my headaches and I’ve also made changes with respect to supplements. I’m now religious about my vitamin D, vitamin b12, and fish oil supplements.

I know that all of these subtle changes have made a dramatic impact on the quality of my life. I’ve lost 6.2 pounds in a month. It’s not coming off at breakneck speed, but it is coming off. Also, I’m positive that I’m building muscle which weighs more than fat because all of my pants are getting tone super loose.

But the best affirmation was the other day when a neighbor asked,”have you lost weight?”

That really made me smile. I’m still smiling about it.

Yesterday, I’d been planning for a trip to Philly but it got canceled at the last minute by my customer.  Finding myself with no real requirements for work and a forecasted high of 70F, I decided that a quick day trip to the beach was in order.

We left around 9:30 and got to Lewes around 11:30.  We visited our favorite pub for lunch and then spent a few hours on the beach.  It wasn’t quite as warm as I’d hoped, but there is always something magical and refreshing about being on the beach.  The rythm of the waves, the sand, the breeze.

The life lesson here:  when the opportunity presents itself, take it and drive like you stole the car.

In the past two days, there have been many of these moments. There’s the ever so slight rise to the top of the Rusty Bridge over East West Boulevard. Three years ago, I was huffing and puffing to get up that minor hill. There’s a similar rise to the bridge over MD100 that used to nearly kill me. The Naval Academy Bridge once looked like a mountain that I’d never be able to climb.

And then there’s the satisfaction that comes with overtaking and dropping another rider. I’m not usually competitive on my rides. I’m not usually one to gloat either, but I’m going to allow myself to do so today.

I was about 25 miles into my ride yesterday as, I approached the Rusty Bridge headed south on the B&A trail. I noticed cyclist on a Cervelo coming down East West Blvd. Since the trail is closed just south of the Rusty Bridge, he went up Light Street Ave before getting on the trail. I had to follow the same detour, which meant slowing down to get though some switchbacks, and that put me about 75 yards behind the rider when I re-entered the trail.

A number of thoughts went through my head:

Should I sprint to catch up with him?

You are 25 miles in on this ride. You are getting tired. You might not have the strength.

If you do catch up and don’t want to talk with him, what do you do? You’d look like an ass if you couldn’t keep up with him.

I started peddling like mad and shifted into a higher gear. I was gaining on him pretty quickly and then I made the decision.

I’m gonna drop him.

And I did. And it felt great.

To be fair, my feat may not have been much of a feat at all. I’ve got no idea whether he is a strong cyclist. I have no idea where he was on his ride. He may have been out for a short recovery ride. Perhaps he was just stretching his legs.

And yet, there is still a certain satisfaction about smoking a guy on a bike that easily cost three times as much as mine.

The weather was just about perfect, with almost no wind, strangely warm temperatures, and some low December sunshine. I tweeted before we left that I was going to make some vitamin D. I’d forgotten just how low in the sky the sun is at this time of year. We’ve just entered the beginning of the lengthening of daylight for the year. We’re over the hump, rounding the bend.

As we crested the Naval Academy Bridge, you dropped the chain. I struggled with your derailleurs to right it without getting off, but that chain was stubborn. We had to stop for a mechanical. I worried that this might be a problem for the rest of the ride, but it turned out alright.

As we cruised into Annapolis, there was a fair amount of traffic which I hadn’t planned on. I debated the route. I’d thought we’d ride around the river through Crownsville when we left, but was second guessing that now. There would be more traffic than we wanted to deal with on MD450. So we took a short break at the City Dock.

Decisions made, we peddled off with the intention of heading back up the trail. Your gears gave us no trouble on the bridge, thankfully, and getting over the few short hills coming up to the trail was not a problem.

Riding up the trail, I found that I was suddenly smiling for no reason at all, and I knew it was because I was out in the open air with you. As we approached the usual turn off from the trail, I knew we weren’t ready to go home, and so we continued, with no planned route.

Something lead me to turn us toward Kinder Farm Park when we were on East West Boulevard. We’d never ridden through the park, but I knew that there was a nice paved bike trail. It was a little more crowded than I’d hoped, but we managed, and I’m sure we’ll ride there again some day.

By now, the sun was sinking low and I felt the need to get us home before long. We headed back down the B&A tail and took the right at Cedar lane. When we got home, I put you back in the shed without washing you. That was wrong, and I’m sorry.

Today, you’ll get a proper bath and some pampering.  You deserve it.

Well, honestly, I missed every goal by a mile.

I’m just as heavy as I was last year.  Nothing more to say about that.

On the cycling front, I had chosen three events which included the Six Pillars Century on the Eastern Shore, my annual MS ride, and the Seagull Century.  I missed the Six Pillars due to an injury.  My annual MS ride was a great ride, with amazing weather and I raised over $2800 for a good cause.  I never registered for the Seagull.

I didn’t take Mr. Grey to a park every week, but I did spend a lot more time with him in more meaningful ways.  He and I had a great year together and we’ll have another great one in 2012.

So, looking forward to 2012, here are some goals:

1. Shed the 30 pounds that I’d planned on last year.
2. Moderate my alcohol intake in such a way that I can still enjoy a beer or a glass of wine now and then, but not have a nagging sense that alcohol plays too great a role in my life.
3. Hit three cycling events, including a century.

There you have it folks, those are my 2012 goals.  With a lot of work and a bit of determination, I expect that I’ll be writing a different review of my progress in about 365 days.

Your heart beats faster than seems possible.

There is at once a feeling that you are falling from a great height combined with the sensation that you are being hurtled through thin air in the upper levels of the atmosphere.

Your shoulders tighten and jaw clenches.

Something in your stomach feels like it’s swirling around rapidly, like the blue water in the stainless steel toilet bowel on an airliner at 30,000 feet when you flush.

Limbs tingle, and feel like they might move uncontrollably.

There is a sense that the blood in your veins to flare up and rage in a violent boil at any moment.

Your breathing becomes short and quick.

A tingling sensation starts in your stomach and rises like the bubbles in a bottle of seltzer water, up through your throat and neck. Some of these bubbles seem to be released just below your nose — the rest rise up through your skull and are released out the crown of your head.

This is a panic attack.

Even in the middle of the day, the sun is low enough this time of year for everything to be cast in beautiful soft light. The leaves on the trees are still golden, orange and in some places red here in Severna Park. What more could I ask for?

I got to the end of the trail and turned around quickly to head home. (It was the middle of the work day and I did have some business that needed some attention.) As I peddled home, I marveled at the number of people who were out on the trail. The warm weather brought more than a few people out and I passed all kinds of cyclists — folks in spandex, folks not in spandex, folks on high-end bikes, commuters and hybrids, old skool schwins, and even maybe a huffy with a rusty chain. In my view of the world, all these folks are welcome on the trail.

As I neared the bridge over Round Bay road, I noticed someone riding ahead of me in jeans and a button down shirt on an older “ten-speed” style bike. As I moved over to the left, I was a good 75 yards behind the rider. Suddenly, he went down on the edge of the trail. He was separated from his bike, and he was under the split rail fence that borders the trail and the steep hill to the right. Instinctively I put on my breaks.

When I got to him, Paul appeared to be having a seizure. As he was coming to, I was dialing 911. My next call was to his wife, where I left voicemail. I kept asked him not to move and got some more information including his age for the dispatcher. Within 20 minutes the Ambulance had shown up and the medics were taking care of him. I stayed on the scene in case I could offer any details about his condition or the events to the medics. As they took him away, I was relieved to know that he was in good hands.

Today, I got a call from Paul’s wife thanking me for my efforts and help. She told me that he had suffered a broken collar-bone, and a few broken ribs, as well as a concussion. It could have been a lot worse.

Just the other day, there was a discussion on a listserv for the local peloton about what to do in the case of an accident. I was glad to have read that list of items. I’m including (blatantly stealing) them here, for reference.

1. To prevent secondary injury, assess traffic, assign someone to ensure cars/trucks get around everyone in the group.
2. Get all the people and bikes out of the way. Leave lights flashing.
3. Resist the urge to help an injured rider get up. Leave him there until the fog has cleared and he’s ready.
4. Look for injuries and decide quickly if it’s necessary to call 911 or a spouse/SO.
5. Know the signs of a concussion, ask questions, inspect the helmet.
6. Don’t let the injured convince you they are fine.
7. Others not responsible for watching traffic should check the bike (ensure it’s ride-able) and collect stuff that fell off.
8. Watch them closely for the next several miles, especially if riding in traffic.
9. If you make the call to a friend or spouse, be careful what you say. Not being on scene, they often assume the worst.