MFP Biking Challenge July 6

shorerider

Another week for the MFP Biker Gang!

What is everyone's pledge/goal for riding for the coming week?

I'd love to say 100 miles for myself but it's supposed to be raining for like the next 4 days :grumble:, so I'm not sure I'll get in 100 miles.

I will set a goal though of upping my distance by 10% again-that means doing one 45 mile ride sometime this week.

So, that's my pledge--increase my distance by 10% to 45 miles.

Anyone been watching the Tour de France? I'm inspired!

shorerider

Another week for the MFP Biker Gang!

What is everyone's pledge/goal for riding for the coming week?

I'd love to say 100 miles for myself but it's supposed to be raining for like the next 4 days :grumble:, so I'm not sure I'll get in 100 miles.

I will set a goal though of upping my distance by 10% again-that means doing one 45 mile ride sometime this week.

So, that's my pledge--increase my distance by 10% to 45 miles.

Anyone been watching the Tour de France? I'm inspired!

stschulz

I ride the 45 with you dear.
(in Delaware)

shorerider

Here's some GREAT quotes I found, too, on the 'net that can give us inspiration for meeting our goals for the coming week!

The first one is my favorite!

Pedal On!

---

"The bicycle is just as good as most husbands and, when it gets old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire community."

- Ann Strong "Borrowed" from the website of Intown Bicycles. Thanks Mike.

"When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race."

- H.G. Wells

"Cycling satisfies so many needs. If you're in a gregarious mood, you can go out with a group. OR you can go alone- solo. If you're in an aggressive mood, you can go fast, or if you're tired and want to unwind you can go slow. A bicycle doesn't discriminate in age, either."

- Georgena Terry

"Just as the ideal of classic Greek culture was the most perfect harmony of mind and body, so a human and a bicycle are the perfect synthesis of body and machine."

- Richard Ballantine

"Bicycles are social catalysts that attract a superior category of people."

- Chip Brown, "A Bike and a Prayer"

"Whoever invented the bicycle deserves the thanks of humanity."

- Lord Charles Beresford Miscellaneous

"The bicycle is a curious vehicle. It's passenger is its engine."

- John Howard, U.S. Olympic cyclist

"Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel... the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood."

- Susan B. Anthony

"Those who wish to control their own lives and move beyond existence as mere clients and consumers- those people ride a bike."

- Wolfgang Sachs, For the Love of the Automobile

"The bicycle should always be the vehicle of novelists and poets."

- Christopher Morley, novelist, and writer

"Bicycle riding as little as three miles a day will improve your sex life."

- Dr. Franco Antonini

"Cyclists are open-minded. Cyclists are egalitarian. Cyclists share a fellowhip of the wheel that can overcome all political, social, racial and economic barriers. Except for recumbents."

- Ted Costantino, cycling journalist

"Let our people travel light and free on their bicycles."

- Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire

"Don't buy upgrades; ride up grades."

- Eddy Merckx

"Government must help to eliminate cars so that bicycles can help to eliminate government."

- Advocacy slogan in Holland

"Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There is something wrong with a society that drives a car to work out in a gym."

- Bill Nye, scientist and producer of public TV science programs

"The bicycle enables us to escape many other machines: We use it for transportation, sport, recreation, and make it a way of life."

- Jobst Brandt, famous wheel builder, and author of The Bicycle Wheel

"Bicycling is human scale- a living, breathing alternative to the city's domination by motor vehicles. There is magic in blending with traffic, feeling the wind in one's face, the sheer fact of traversing the city under one's own power."

- Charles Komanoff, cycling advocate

"For city bicycling to catch on we need a revolution in our society's infrastructure. Right now a city rider needs to be a road warrior, and the bike needs to be cheap and ugly so it won't get stolen. That's not a bike friendly culture."

- Gary Fisher, founder and CEO of Fisher Bicycles Riding

"City riding is a continual lesson in feminine principles, in particular the art of being vulnerable. A confrontational, macho aesthetic spells calamity. You must learn to yield, to dodge, to seek harmony. You are obliged to mind the web of interrelations, that complicated mesh of interestes, conflicts, and intentions."

- Chip Brown, essayist, and author of "A Bike and a Prayer"

"A road rider who is unpracticed is merely an athlete on a bike, half-educated, a pedaler- not a complete cyclist."

- Maynard Hershon, cycling journalist (visit our Effective Cycling web pages!)

"Nobody ever died from not knowing how to play flag football. Yet we spend tax money teaching kids its nuances in gym classes, while bicycle safety is still foreign to most school curriculums. That isn't right."

- Don Cuerdon, cycling journalist who uses the pen name "Captain Dondo"

stschulz

OK I thought about it.

Tuesday: 25
Wednesday: 15 (that'll be too easy)
Thursday: 45
Saturday: 15

Total of 100. weather provided. (My weather report says it'll be sunny here)

shorerider

Weather turned out great today after all--so I rode to the gym, did some weights, and rode home.

That gives me 16.5 miles for today and a good start on the week.

familybugs

July 1 - July 6th

Tues- 25 miles
Friday- 44 miles
Sat - 30 miles
Sun - 19 miles

Total- 118 for last week... This week my goal is 125

ohthatbambi

I didn't make it out this morning b/c I am trying to get my son packed for camp. If it is not raining later then I plan to hit the streets for a nice quiet ride.

My goal for the week is 50 miles. I am painting my son's room while he is gone to camp. He will only be gone until Friday so I have alot to do in a little time. It is part of his bday present and it will be a big surprise when he comes home Friday. I am redoing it all. So my goal is a little less than I would like it to be.

familybugs

I didn't make it out this morning b/c I am trying to get my son packed for camp. If it is not raining later then I plan to hit the streets for a nice quiet ride.

My goal for the week is 50 miles. I am painting my son's room while he is gone to camp. He will only be gone until Friday so I have alot to do in a little time. It is part of his bday present and it will be a big surprise when he comes home Friday. I am redoing it all. So my goal is a little less than I would like it to be.

That is so much fun! I did that for my son last summer! It is a Ton of work!!!!!!
What are you doing to it?

stschulz

Enjoy the paint job Bamboo. I painted years ago a bathroom with a seascape. Lighthouses and beaches and sdeabirds, boats on the water... was really fun.

familybugs, I am very impressed! How do you find the time with 3 kids?

blondeheat

Hi, I want to join you! I love bicycling. This week my goal
30 min spin today (indoor trainer)
1 hour Spinerval video tomorrow
3 mile/ jog thurs
30 min easy spin Fri
15 min easy spin Sat
Sun TRIATHLON!!!

Wish me luck.

BTW - I am thinking of putting my calories on Maintainance from Wed or Thurs to Sun so I am not low on energy for the race. Any suggestions?

shorerider

Got in 15 miles this morning. But boy, was it a push! Yesterday and today my rides were just torture for some reason. I really felt like I was pushing through mud--just no energy at all. Coupled with the no weight loss in the last week, and I'm not happy!

I'm starting to wonder if I need a break. I've been riding pretty much 4-6 days a week now for since April 1, with only the occasional day or two off, so I'm wondering if a week's break would be in order? Maybe my body just needs some time to regroup??

ohthatbambi

Mon- 11 miles

ohthatbambi

I didn't make it out this morning b/c I am trying to get my son packed for camp. If it is not raining later then I plan to hit the streets for a nice quiet ride.

My goal for the week is 50 miles. I am painting my son's room while he is gone to camp. He will only be gone until Friday so I have alot to do in a little time. It is part of his bday present and it will be a big surprise when he comes home Friday. I am redoing it all. So my goal is a little less than I would like it to be.

That is so much fun! I did that for my son last summer! It is a Ton of work!!!!!!
What are you doing to it?

He has traditional cherry furniture in his room. I didn't want to buy all new furniture...well I did, but I don't need to spend money when his furniture is just fine. I am changing all the knobs and stuff to a chrome and accessorizing with chrome...just to sort of give it a modern feel. I am painting the base color khaki and I may get brave and try some other colors. His new bedding is denim and has khacki, navy and deep red in it.

stschulz

BTW - I am thinking of putting my calories on Maintainance from Wed or Thurs to Sun so I am not low on energy for the race. Any suggestions?

kwelshw,

you should not only put your calories on maintenance, but also consider loading carbs. I Triathlon is a serious race and you need all the energy you can get. Google the web for "carb loading". You'll find plenty of information. And it really does give you a boost for that day.

You can worry about weight loss again after the Triathlon. And don't forget that right after the event you need to "refill" your carbs and protein too!.

blondeheat

Rode 40 min to Spinerval video. Good thing as I used up all my regular calories at lunch! Smoked salmon salad for dinner.

familybugs

sounds cute Bamboo!!!

PrincessLaundry

Hey there!!! I am so proud of my family!!! We took them on dirt roads, found some dirt hills to climb, and all around again in the Florida humidity late yesterday and rode around for over 75 minutes, and about 6 miles!!! YEY!!! They are LOVING it!!! No complaining, no fussing, not much lagging. They are doing great! I'm sacrificing calories burned for me, to get them out riding, but it has been so worth it!

My husband and I were talking about how thrilled we are about our kids not sitting in front of a computer game all day. We hate pushing our kids to actually ((shocker here)) have our kids play outside. ((Oh no! lol))

So we had a funny right before we left. We offered to take a friend's kid with us when he surprised us with a visit last night. He wanted to ride his electric scooter. :huh: What happened to kids actually working their muscles power? :noway:

Anyway...How did everyone else do???


I love this map so I can show my kiddos how far they go! ~~~~> http://www.mapmyrun.com/create

msarro

Hey all! I'm just starting to get back into cycling after a year, so my goals are going to be itty-bitty for now. I'm going to set my goal at 25 miles this week.

So far I'm at 14.8. Given I plan to ride to the farmers market and back (another 10 miles) I may have to adjust that a little.

The girlie loves that I'm getting a cycling butt, haha.

For those of you who aren't familiar, there is an abandoned turnpike in Pennsylvania which can be used for riding. How often do you get to ride down a 4 lane highway - including two tunnels???? http://www.abandonedturnpike.com. I'll put up some pictures from the ride as soon as my friend uploads them all.

That's where I got about 12 of my miles this week. Its really light riding too, with a few really low grade hills.

PrincessLaundry

Hey all! I'm just starting to get back into cycling after a year, so my goals are going to be itty-bitty for now. I'm going to set my goal at 25 miles this week.

So far I'm at 14.8.

For those of you who aren't familiar, there is an abandoned turnpike in Pennsylvania which can be used for riding. How often do you get to ride down a 4 lane highway - including two tunnels????

My goal is to bring home as many kids as I take, nobody dies along the way, and I don't scream at anyone for not listening. LOL I think I'm the one with the itty-bitty goals again until school starts back up and I can REALLY go back to riding! :laugh:

Your turnpike sounds great! Take pictures if you can, it sounds great! Are there trees along the way for shade???

shorerider

Ok gang--I've decided to take a few days off from riding. I think my body needs some time to recover a bit. Still no weight loss--legs feel like mush--in a foul mood overall.

So, I'm setting back my goal to increase to 45 miles one week and am that a few days off will help.

ohthatbambi

I am heading out to ride in a few minutes. I was planning on 30 miles, but it is getting HOT fast so I don't know. I may have to shorten it due to the heat and humidity factor...in case you didn't know, it is REALLY HOT in Alabama during the summer. The humidity is so bad it feels like you could cut it with a knife. Makes any form of outside exercise just flat out UNPLEASANT!!!

ohthatbambi

I did 18 today. I was feeling like doing a little more but it was just getting too hot.

So totals so far this week

Mon - 11
Weds - 18

stschulz

Ok gang--I've decided to take a few days off from riding. I think my body needs some time to recover a bit. Still no weight loss--legs feel like mush--in a foul mood overall.

So, I'm setting back my goal to increase to 45 miles one week and am that a few days off will help.

Good decision! I hopr that does not come out wrong, but with the miles you usually ride you NEED to read up about training dear! You are hurting yourself and you risk that you get tired and don't want to ride anymore. (Overtraining). I am suprised that did not happen earlier.

You are not just riding around the block anymore and have some big distances plus sometimes long rides back to back on your schedule. That is good as long as you take a break too.

Generally you should take at least a day or two break per wee. After 3 weeks you should take an entire week off. No biking!. You can do other things, but no bike. After that you can start again your 3 week cycle and increase the milage significantly. Called periodization. Basically all athletes in all major sports use it. Google it or email me if you need more info.

shorerider

Good decision! I hopr that does not come out wrong, but with the miles you usually ride you NEED to read up about training dear! You are hurting yourself and you risk that you get tired and don't want to ride anymore. (Overtraining). I am suprised that did not happen earlier.

You are not just riding around the block anymore and have some big distances plus sometimes long rides back to back on your schedule. That is good as long as you take a break too.

Generally you should take at least a day or two break per wee. After 3 weeks you should take an entire week off. No biking!. You can do other things, but no bike. After that you can start again your 3 week cycle and increase the milage significantly. Called periodization. Basically all athletes in all major sports use it. Google it or email me if you need more info.

I did Google about long distance bike riding and that's how I discovered that even "professionals" take breaks--so I was like YIKES! I'm still 90-some pounds over weight and very new at this, so what am I trying to do here!!

So, I'm taking off until Monday I think and back at it. I'm really hoping this plateau,---short as it is so far-breaks soon because it has got me down.

Oh, and I did measuring again--even though it's only been 1 week since my last measurements--and I've lost 2" off my "upper gut" in 1 week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT, my thigh increased by 1/2" and my calf by 1""--gotta be muscle!

stschulz

Tuesday: 25

---

28 Miles. Check
Wednesday: 15 - 14 Miles. Check
Thursday: 45
Saturday: 15

stschulz

I did Google about long distance bike riding and that's how I discovered that even "professionals" take breaks--so I was like YIKES! I'm still 90-some pounds over weight and very new at this, so what am I trying to do here!!

Yup! And you do some serious exercise too! Maybe you underestimate your effort or are very ambitious? Or you just have fun?

I can tell you a lot of stories of people who were wondering why they did not have the success they wanted or suddenly just lost interest, got injured. Don't look at what you are doing as "just riding a bike". You ARE doing some serious training. And there is a lot more to riding longer distances then jsut being fit. The training is just how to get there. Then there is nutrition. When do you eat, and what, how much before and what after the ride. Hydration. And so on and so on. It is a science itself almost.

I think you should give yourself more credit for the athletic effort you are making. Make a trainings plan. And learn about how best to get to a set goal, i.e. I want to ride so many miles by....

By the way, if it wasn't for me saying I'll ride 15 miles today I would not have gone out. Humid, hot, headwinds... just plain no fun. But since I said I'll go, I did.

shorerider

Yes, I am learning that this long-distance stuff takes some thinking through!

The next issue I'm fixing is getting in all my calories when I do these long rides--since I'm diabetic, I have to watch my carbs, sodium, etc. very close. And, even though I can eat ALOT more carbs now than I ever used to be able to (including fruit!), I still have to be careful, even on long-day rides.

So, I'm being faced with having 1500-1800 and up once I go for longer distances in calories to eat and only being able to have about 25% of that in carbs! Try that and see how fun it is!

It's becoming very difficult. In fact, I am going to talk to my doc about it because I could eat more carbs if I went back on the one diabetes pill that I just got off of last week, which I don't really want to do. One of my goals is to get off all meds--but without that pill, my carbs are more limited. With it, I can probably eat all I need to get my calories in for the day.

What to do.....what to do.....I'm thinking that I might go back on that dang pill until I lose more weight. But will talk it through with my doctor and see. Maybe ask to be referred to a dietitian and see if i can pick their brains.

I've also just joined up with this on-line site dedicated to diabetics who wish to be involved in more than your average athletic activities--so I'm hoping to get some information/help from there, too.

Thanks for the advice and support! I miss my bike already! I have really come to love riding--I can't believe how much I do love it so quickly but I just love getting on there and seeing how far I can go and all the scenery I see--it's just so great being on that bike!

stschulz

I hear you!
Talking to your doctor is a good idea. I forgot that you are diabetic. That makes it even more challenging. If you can not eat too many carbs then all the power bars and such will not work for you:frown:

Sounds though as if you are are on the right track with all the research you are doing. See, I am a little bit too much perfectionist and want to know everything about all parts and components of that sport that I can possibly learn. So I read a lot about training and nutrition an such. Specifically for endurance.

I feel with you about missing the bike. I HATE these weeks when my schedule calls for a week of and sometimes I cheat by a day.:embarassed: Sure, I can go to the gym and do weights or other things that do not too much effect my legs. But it's not the same. I am going for a long ride today (I try at least), and that curiosity what is beyond that part of the road that I have already explored is an incredible motivator for me. O also read that if you make a trainings plan, it is easier and more motivating to accomplish your goals. And that is true. I keep track in a journal, and it is really funny to read where I was 3 month ago. Here I am riding 40 - 50 miles, and in March I was struggling to finish 4 miles!

I'd be interested to learn what your final decision on carbs/pill is and why.

shorerider

Well, the diabetes and exercise site that I joined has already proven helpful. I've gotten back some good responses about my questions and think I will go back on at least 1/2 of the one pill for now and see how that works.

Someone on there made a good point--that as I lose more and more weight, I will burn fewer and fewer calories on these rides, so I will need to eat less and less to keep up. That means fewer and fewer carbs needed, which means that I will eventually not need that pill to enable me to eat large amounts of carbs!

I hadn't thought of it that way--so I'm going to still talk it over with my doc but to me--right now--being able to ride long distance is more important than being able to come off the meds, particular since that will come with time.

On another note, I ordered a good book off of Amazon.com called "Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100." Great book! Lots of stories, suggestions, tips, training info, etc.

PrincessLaundry

Well, the diabetes and exercise site that I joined has already proven helpful. I've gotten back some good responses about my questions and think I will go back on at least 1/2 of the one pill for now and see how that works.

Someone on there made a good point--that as I lose more and more weight, I will burn fewer and fewer calories on these rides, so I will need to eat less and less to keep up. That means fewer and fewer carbs needed, which means that I will eventually not need that pill to enable me to eat large amounts of carbs!

I hadn't thought of it that way--so I'm going to still talk it over with my doc but to me--right now--being able to ride long distance is more important than being able to come off the meds, particular since that will come with time.

On another note, I ordered a good book off of Amazon.com called "Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100." Great book! Lots of stories, suggestions, tips, training info, etc.

Hey there!!! I am glad the other site is also helping you girlie! Keep us updated.

And yes, your workout will provide less of a calorie loss, but you are getting so much stronger. It's a good, bad, and ugly there.

Let us know how your book goes, I might get it for fall (back to school) reading. Share if you find any great tips!

YEY YOU!!!