I rode another 10 miles today, but it was hot and I got knackered.. Wiped out... I pushed myself to eventually enjoy the ride home. People!! Drink a lot of water before you even begin your outdoor activity... Put on sunscreen at least 15 mins before going out so it activates. Take plenty of water with you and maybe take along a banana. I did okay with that today, but I can NOT go out at 10am because that is way too late. I have to start at least by 7am, then I would be home by 9am, way before it is horrible. Today I left at 10am, got back at noon. OH when the sun is at its peak hatefulness... Live and learn (I know better)
My friend suggested that on the days I do a long ride of 8-10 miles or more, that I take off the next day since my body needs the rest to rebuild. So tomorrow is my day off.. She suggested that I do yoga or maybe work with some 3-5 lb weights, do general stretching, etc.
I saw this awesome video of a 2+ hour bicycle ride in the Netherlands. I skipped through it, looked up the places on Google maps, checked out street view, etc. Now I want to be able to mount a camera on my bike. You can use a reflector mount, put it on your handlebars, rig up a 1/4" x 20 thread bolt between 3/4" and 2", use washers, nuts, rubber washers, etc. and screw your camera to it. Simplified version.... Of course I researched this on the internet, watched some YouTube videos, etc. so now I am an expert.. HAHAHHAHA
I had a nice pear, fennel, ginger juice this evening. Tomorrow, first thing.. Mean Green!!! Maybe go for a 20 min walk, something easy... I am excited for my bike rack and adaptor bar to arrive so I can travel to different locations to ride my bike. I enjoy riding in parks and on bike paths, rather than on the roadway.
More later.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Friday, May 25, 2012
Bicycle Carrier for My Car
I have been researching bicycle carriers for my car. I don't want to get bored or uninspired about bike riding, so if I can take my bike on my car to other locations, I will have many, many different places to ride. I can drive close to Palm Beach and ride on Lake Trail, which is a bike/walk trail on the Intracoastal (west) side of the island of Palm Beach. It is beautiful and runs from the middle bridge (Okeechobee Blvd in West Palm Beach), north to the inlet. There are many side streets to ride and just because you are in Palm Beach, doesn't mean you have to spend a lot of money to have a great time there. You can go to TooJay's restaurant and the prices are the same as at any other TooJay's, or I have gone to Publix in Palm Beach and purchased a sandwich, a drink and a piece of fruit for under $7-8... Then go out under a tree across the street and enjoy a rest. You can also use the bathrooms at either of those places. I am sure there are many more places, like Green's Pharmacy that has a lunch counter and probably bathrooms.
I also like to ride in the City of Lake Worth which is situated along the Intracoastal, and you can ride north and south, or pump up over the bridge and go over to the ocean, hang at the beach, maybe have lunch, then ride north or south along A1A. I happen to like riding on the walkways, rather than out in the road. The bike lanes are very narrow, as they were added after the roadway was built, as an afterthought. I just feel safer on the walkways and I usually travel at a slow pace, so I don't freak people out who are walking. Since, the Lantana bridge is closed you can't ride a big loop, south along the ocean, across Lantana bridge, north on Federal to Lakeside or Palmway... But you can ride to Lantana beach, or to John G's another great breakfast or lunch place, and double back.
I love to ride through John Prince Park, and I think that loop is about 7 miles. The park is 645 acres with bike paths from one end to the other and all over the place. There is even a campground in there! This park also has a big lake with water skiing, boating, rentals, lots of pavilions for shade and picnics. I think this park lacks a concession, so you have to bring everything you need, or go across the road to Publix to get drinks or snacks.
I have been riding to Okeeheelee Park but that is almost 4 miles from my place, so I would ride 8 miles just to get there and back, and there are about 4 miles of bike paths throughout the park. It is a beautiful relatively new(er) park with a lot of stuff to do. There are baseball diamonds, water skiing, bike/kayak/canoe rentals, big lakes, a golf course next to the park, a nature center with walk paths through the nature area. It is a county park, as is John Prince Park.
I want to explore Wellington, but not quite sure where to go. Thank God for Google maps, so I can check that out.
My friend has the right idea. She lives along the major north/south bus line, so she could put her bike on the front of the bus (only holds 2 bikes), travel south to Delray, have lunch, then ride her bike north to return home, about 9 miles. If you have a south wind behind you, you can make that trip without killing yourself.
Okay, back to the bike carriers. I bought a nice folding 1-bike rack today. After I got it all unpacked and checked out the information online, I discovered it has a weight limit of 35 lbs, and my bike is 42 lbs without the basket and back rack, so let's say it is 46-48 lbs. That makes me nervous, so the rack is going back tomorrow. I went to Walmart online and ordered another rack, not fold up, but a 2 bike rack with a 70 lb weight limit made by Allen, model 102DB, for $35!!! I have been watching videos and going to their website, www.allensportsusa.com. I also ordered the adaptor for a female bike to put a crossbar for it to rest on the carrier holders, and that was $12.87 at Amazon.com. Both will arrive next week.
I will have to be content with riding my bike locally for another week. I went to Okeeheelee again today and rode 10 miles, average speed 8.5mph, going into a 12mph wind on the way home, so it was a challenge. Plus, I did not feel well after eating a huge bowl of broccoli cheddar soup last night... Why did I do that? I eat the wrong thing and always suffer.
Before I retired, I thought of all the things I could do, lose weight, exercise, eat better, etc, etc, and here it is!! I am doing it!! It took a while for it to happen, almost 3 years (I retired in 2009), but here I am, enjoying entertainment, that has initial investments, but after that it is FREE...
Today I went to Whole Foods and had a beautiful salad and asian cole slaw, plus asian noodles with some veggie mixture on it. That was much better for me but I think it will take 3 days for me to feel better. I also had watermelon juice after the bike ride, then tonight had Mean Green juice, so I feel somewhat replenished. The ginger root helps my stomach settle down. Hopefully, tomorrow I will feel better and ready for another bike ride.
That's all for now.. More later..
I also like to ride in the City of Lake Worth which is situated along the Intracoastal, and you can ride north and south, or pump up over the bridge and go over to the ocean, hang at the beach, maybe have lunch, then ride north or south along A1A. I happen to like riding on the walkways, rather than out in the road. The bike lanes are very narrow, as they were added after the roadway was built, as an afterthought. I just feel safer on the walkways and I usually travel at a slow pace, so I don't freak people out who are walking. Since, the Lantana bridge is closed you can't ride a big loop, south along the ocean, across Lantana bridge, north on Federal to Lakeside or Palmway... But you can ride to Lantana beach, or to John G's another great breakfast or lunch place, and double back.
I love to ride through John Prince Park, and I think that loop is about 7 miles. The park is 645 acres with bike paths from one end to the other and all over the place. There is even a campground in there! This park also has a big lake with water skiing, boating, rentals, lots of pavilions for shade and picnics. I think this park lacks a concession, so you have to bring everything you need, or go across the road to Publix to get drinks or snacks.
I have been riding to Okeeheelee Park but that is almost 4 miles from my place, so I would ride 8 miles just to get there and back, and there are about 4 miles of bike paths throughout the park. It is a beautiful relatively new(er) park with a lot of stuff to do. There are baseball diamonds, water skiing, bike/kayak/canoe rentals, big lakes, a golf course next to the park, a nature center with walk paths through the nature area. It is a county park, as is John Prince Park.
I want to explore Wellington, but not quite sure where to go. Thank God for Google maps, so I can check that out.
My friend has the right idea. She lives along the major north/south bus line, so she could put her bike on the front of the bus (only holds 2 bikes), travel south to Delray, have lunch, then ride her bike north to return home, about 9 miles. If you have a south wind behind you, you can make that trip without killing yourself.
Okay, back to the bike carriers. I bought a nice folding 1-bike rack today. After I got it all unpacked and checked out the information online, I discovered it has a weight limit of 35 lbs, and my bike is 42 lbs without the basket and back rack, so let's say it is 46-48 lbs. That makes me nervous, so the rack is going back tomorrow. I went to Walmart online and ordered another rack, not fold up, but a 2 bike rack with a 70 lb weight limit made by Allen, model 102DB, for $35!!! I have been watching videos and going to their website, www.allensportsusa.com. I also ordered the adaptor for a female bike to put a crossbar for it to rest on the carrier holders, and that was $12.87 at Amazon.com. Both will arrive next week.
I will have to be content with riding my bike locally for another week. I went to Okeeheelee again today and rode 10 miles, average speed 8.5mph, going into a 12mph wind on the way home, so it was a challenge. Plus, I did not feel well after eating a huge bowl of broccoli cheddar soup last night... Why did I do that? I eat the wrong thing and always suffer.
Before I retired, I thought of all the things I could do, lose weight, exercise, eat better, etc, etc, and here it is!! I am doing it!! It took a while for it to happen, almost 3 years (I retired in 2009), but here I am, enjoying entertainment, that has initial investments, but after that it is FREE...
Today I went to Whole Foods and had a beautiful salad and asian cole slaw, plus asian noodles with some veggie mixture on it. That was much better for me but I think it will take 3 days for me to feel better. I also had watermelon juice after the bike ride, then tonight had Mean Green juice, so I feel somewhat replenished. The ginger root helps my stomach settle down. Hopefully, tomorrow I will feel better and ready for another bike ride.
That's all for now.. More later..
Monday, May 21, 2012
This morning I had a doctor's appointment that I have been anticipating for a long time. Six months ago he told me I had to do something about my weight and that my cholesterol was high, and that I had to get that under control or he would prescribe medication. I am told that once you go on cholesterol medication you are on it forever...
So here is the report: I lost 30 lbs and my BP was 110/70... WOW!!! They are doing bloodwork, but I don't have the results on that yet. I am so excited!! In November my BP was 123/82, so this was a significant improvement. I also showed him my Sports Tracker app that has the total of my activities (walking and cycling)... He seemed to be pleased at the work I am doing. 24 workouts, total time 09:37:26, Distance 60.94 miles, Calories 3,923 kcal.
I missed my bike ride and walk today because I had the doctor's appointment. Tomorrow I have an appointment to have the a/c on my car checked. If I don't get out there early in the day, I don't get the ride in because the feels like temp today was 87 or something!! It has started to be very humid lately. I have to get a handle on when to do exercise, when to drink juice, how much heat and humidity I can stand, etc. I can also go for a swim because I have a pool where I live. There are a lot of possibilities.
I have to get to bed so I can get up and do a bike ride before I go to the car shop tomorrow morning. Goodnight all....
Friday, May 18, 2012
Exercise...
I have been talking about juicing.. I lost 30 lbs and decided it was time to start MOVING!! So now it is time to talk about exercise. Around April 7, 2012, I started walking, then I started riding my 1-speed bicycle, then I bought a new 7-speed bike. I downloaded an app "Sports Tracker" on my iPhone. It motivated and excited me to take walks and ride my bike. I can compare myself with myself to gauge improvements as I continue to walk and bike. I have been experimenting with using panniers, a front basket liner, and I just added a ding-a-ling bell, woo hoo... I don't have the confidence to lock my bike and walk away from it. I think I am too paranoid to leave it because I have the sense that I will come back and it will be gone, poof.
My longest ride so far was 6.49 mi, 48:54 mins, average speed 8.0 mph. Keep in mind that I am riding a cruiser type bike, and that I am not racing, just want to get my heart rate up and breathe a little bit. I don't want to knock myself out or make it a chore.
I put a visor on my bike helmet. I found that I was hesitant to wear my bike helmet because there was a tiny sun visor on it, not large enough to provide any sun protection. I was wearing a sun visor, so I did some searching on the internet for ideas (I love doing research!!), and so I took a woven grass visor and used velcro to attach it to the outside of my bike helmet, like this:
My longest ride so far was 6.49 mi, 48:54 mins, average speed 8.0 mph. Keep in mind that I am riding a cruiser type bike, and that I am not racing, just want to get my heart rate up and breathe a little bit. I don't want to knock myself out or make it a chore.
I put a visor on my bike helmet. I found that I was hesitant to wear my bike helmet because there was a tiny sun visor on it, not large enough to provide any sun protection. I was wearing a sun visor, so I did some searching on the internet for ideas (I love doing research!!), and so I took a woven grass visor and used velcro to attach it to the outside of my bike helmet, like this:
My friend says it looks like I have a cream pie on my head, but I tried it out today and it works great so far. The visor did not fly off and I had great protection. I am more of a function, rather than form person. If people want to laugh at me I am happy I could provide some type of entertainment.. haha... But after going through 5 or 6 facial surgeries, I am happy to wear something that keeps my face in the shade.
This is a photo of my fridge today. Behind the water pitcher is 1/2 watermelon, and the juice on the top shelf is watermelon and blackberry juice. What a treat!! I was always told not to mix watermelon with any other fruits, but I cast caution to the wind and combined the two juices. I am still alive, so I can't see the harm in doing that. Back to the fridge: Strawberries, almond milk, watermelon, balsamic vinegar/oil, oranges, cucumbers, romaine, spring garden mix, celery, kale, fennel bulb, bell peppers, pears, apples, lemons, ginger root, etc, etc.... I will juice most of this within the next 3-4 days, so I usually have very fresh food, most of the time. I love the colors!!
Regarding exercise. If I can either take a brisk walk or go on a bike ride, but the main thing is to do something at least 30 mins. If I can do that 3-5 times per week, I am doing very well. Anything is better than doing nothing.... Here are my stats so far, since April 7, 2012:
Workouts: 23
Total Time: 08:58:37
Distance: 55.42 miles
Energy: 3,616 kcal
I think this is awesome and I love the Sports Tracker because you can see the accumulative effect. It all adds up and every little bit counts. I can work up to doing more and pushing myself harder as I go along. I don't want it to become a chore that I will want to put off til later. I want to be excited and have FUN!!
Over the past month, the weather report has been for afternoon showers/thunderstorms, so some days I have delayed going out, but finally, I realize that if I go out in the morning I will most likely avoid getting caught in a storm. The daily rain has made everything green and lush, but they still say we will have a dry summer and that drought conditions will no be eased just because of one month of rain. Todays clouds:
Monday, May 21, I go for a doctor's checkup and he will do blood work. I can't wait to see the results!!!
More later...
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