Bikes + Service + Christmas = Happy Kids

Here is a great opportunity to put together some bikes for some needy kids in the Phoenix area this Saturday, December 19 at The First Assembly of God in Phoenix. An anonymous donor bought 5000 new bicycles from the manufacturer, but they all need to be assembled. The Wipalawiki Scout lodge and the Phoenix Dream Center are working together to get this project done, but they need lots of volunteers. If you can come for the whole day or just a couple of hours, we need you! Click here for more details. Our family decided that it would be a fun way to work together in the Christmas spirit - we hope to see you there!

Planet Bike Blaze 1W (10 Month Review)

When I first started commuting via bike earlier this year, I knew I would want a good headlight (and tail light) so that I could be seen by traffic. I didn't want to spend a fortune on a HID or Halogen light or one with a proprietary battery, but I did want something that would work well and be durable. I also wanted to find a set of lights that used good old-fashioned AA (or AAA) cells, there are lots of options out there including Alkaline, re-chargable Nickle-Metal Hydride (NiMH) and a new re-chargable one based on Nickle Zinc chemistry. I did some research, read some reviews and selected Planet Bike Blaze 1W headlight paired with the Super Blinky tail light.

So after 10 months of nearly daily use, what do I think of the lights now?

First the good -
1) These lights are bright! - be careful not to point the headlight directly at on-coming traffic, you might freak some drivers out - but they will see you! The battery life is great, especially on the rear-blinky light. I use re-chargable NiMH batteries and they work OK. I am considering switching to Nickle Zinc batteries because they have a higher voltage that might work better.
2) I liked the look and operation of the lights so much I bought a second set for my son's bike.
3) Mounting the lights was very easy. The Quick Cam for the front light is pretty nifty, it adjusts to a variety of handle bar diameters and holds the light steady most of the time, but...

Now the not-so good.
1) The Quick Cam is designed to stay on your bike while the light unit can be easily unlatched so it doesn't get stolen when you lock your bike up outside. Unfortunately, the plastic on the light housing on both my son's bike and mine cracked and the light would not stay secured to the quick cam. The plastic latch for the light on the Quick-Cam is a bit flimsy and wears out over time. Once in a while when I'd hit a bump the light would fall off and smack the road pretty hard. I had to pick up the pieces on several occasions but was able to get it working again holding it together with some duct tape. A few more hits and the lights would be permanently ruined.

I sent an e-mail to Planet Bike's customer support, Mark LaLonde responded in a matter of minutes and said he would send me 2 new housings for free! Now that's speedy customer service. They came in a couple of days ago, along with 2 replacement Quick Cam mounting brackets that I ordered for $5.00 each. It was like an early Christmas (for me anyway:) Thank you Mark and Planet Bike!

Bottom line: Nothing lasts forever, but Planet Bike would rather help you get your equipment repaired, rather than chucking it into the land-fill. I think that's pretty cool.

Drop and give me 20!

Or just drop 20 - woohoo! This has taken me all year to get to this point, lots of riding, less eating. This will make Ragnar easier because I won't have to drag that extra 20 along for the run.

Gotta Love those Boy Scouts!

I was asked to speak at a Boy Scout round table last night about the Cycling merit badge. It was a lot of fun and we had a great discussion about how to get the boys more active and spend less time on the computer and video games. The cycling merit badge is a fun and rewarding way to get fit. Click here for the requirements. The capstone requirement is a 50 mile ride in 8 hours or less. Ryan earned his cycling merit badge this past year. It was fun to work on it together, and a great accomplishment that built his confidence. (not to mention bragging rights!)

In preparing for the class, I learned some things about the challenges facing our youth (and adults) regarding fitness and being over weight. From the September issue of Scouting magazine in an article entitled "Fat Chance", Mary Jacobs quoted some alarming statistics. "Body Mass Index (BMI) data collected from applications to the 2010 National Scout Jamboree show that 41 percent of the youth were overweight or obese; among the adults a staggering 77.5 percent were overweight, obese, or morbidly obese." She goes on further to state that Scouting is raising the bar by encouraging responsibility. "Bottom line, if you're overweight, you can't attend Philmont Scout Ranch, Florida Sea Base, or Northern Tier High Adventure Base." I'm glad the scouting organization is giving us all some tough love.

I know my doctor had been telling me for years to loose some weight My BMI says I'm over weight (how rude!) This year I finally committed to doing what it takes to get the weight off and keep it off - for me that means I have to do some sort of exercise every day. I really have to plan ahead and look for ways to get it in. Most of the time I can make it work, but it hasn't been easy. When I reach my goal, I will be in the "normal" range for my height.

If you would like me to speak to your organization about cycling, I would be happy to do it!

So this is crazy, but...

I have heard from some friends about a really awesome race called the RAGNAR Relay. It is a running race (done by teams of 6 or 12) that goes from Prescott to Mesa - 202 miles in all! Each person runs three times over the course of about 30 hours anywhere from 3 to 8 miles each leg. I have heard that it is a crazy fun time. It will be in February 26 and 27, 2010. I want to do it - who's in?

We did it!

Our team 'The Crew' had a great time at the Anthem Sprint Triathlon yesterday morning. We got up and arrived at the race site a little before 6:00AM and got our packet and t-shirts. We got Ryan's bike set up in the transition area then we got our numbers drawn on our arms by a very enthusiastic race volunteer. He thought it was AWESOME! that we were doing the race as a relay team. We waited a little while before the race started, we were in wave 2 that started at about 7:05. I ran the 3.1 mile course winding through the paths in Anthem by the community center, down to Gavilan Parkway and back to Anthem Rd and back to the community center. I was pretty wiped out coming into the transition area to hand off the timing chip to Ryan. He headed out for the 12.5 mile bike ride. Pam, Sarah and I cheered him on as he came by for his three laps around the course. Ryan did great and was right on pace for each of his laps. He came back to the transition area and handed the timing chip off to Sarah who then ran to the pool area where she 'mowed down' the competition and passed several people in the pool. She had a great time and our overall score was better than our goal by a few minutes. Great job!

Here are our times (click here for the official results)
h:mm:ss
Overall 1:38:49 (184 of 228 finishers)
Team 1:38:49 (11 of 13 teams)
Dana - Run 0:26:54 (121 of 232 finishers)
Ryan - Bike 1:01:48 (210 of 230 finishers) - Ryan was the youngest competitor!
Sarah - Swim 0:10:07 (103 of 228 finishers)

The big race this weekend

'The Crew' is getting ready for the Anthem Sprint Triathlon this weekend. We are doing it as a relay. Our swimmer needs to spend some time in the pool, the bike leg is in good shape, the run will be tough. We will earn those T-shirts for sure - Wish us luck!

It's official!

So - now that I have taken 100 trips to work, I think I can officially claim to be a bicycle commuter. I have built up my 'street' cred through the cold, rain and heat. OK it's Arizona, so only the heat counts but still...

Mountain Bikin'

We had a great ride this morning on the Campbell Mesa and Walnut Canyon trails north of Flagstaff. It was windy and cool - very invigorating. Ryan had a flat so we got to try out our patch kit.

Training Run

Ryan and I went for a training ride this past Saturday in preparation for the Anthem Sprint Triathlon. We followed the same 4 mile loop that will be used in the race. It starts out going up hill for a mile or so from the Community Center on Anthem Way to Daisy Mountain Road. Then we head down hill for an little over a mile to Dedication. This was our fastest part, Ryan was able to go over 21 miles an hour here - pretty speedy!


Next, we zig-zagged back through the neighborhood to the Community Center. We did 3 loops for a total of just over 12 miles. Our goal for the race is to finish in an hour or less. Saturday we did 1 hour and 6 minutes - pretty good for our first time. We will work on it some more the next few weeks to see how fast we can go. Afterward we enjoyed a cold drink from the Fry's Market. Ryan had an interesting and tasty Acai-berry drink.

It's going to be Tri-rific!

I discovered the Anthem Sprint Triathlon a couple of days ago. It is a 3.1 mile run, 12 mile bike ride and a 400 meter swim. I thought to myself, "Hey, I could do this."


I told my family about it and asked if they were interested. Ryan said he could ride his bike, Sarah said she could do the swim and I could do the run. It looks like we will be signing up to do it as a relay. Isn't that exciting? Have you ever done something like this? What is your best advice?

Hike to Indian Mesa

Pam and I went on an adventure this morning. She had wanted to go to the Grand Canyon (no entry fee today) but I had an appointment this afternoon. We decided to go to Indian Mesa instead. Not too far and something different. You take the Table Mesa rd exit west until you get to the Agua Fria river, then start walking. I thought it would be about 2 miles but it ended up more like 5. We heard wild burros braying to each other across the canyon. We saw lots of buzzards, birds and bugs. We didn't make it to the ruins, but you can click here to see more about that.

Here are the pictures we took - we recommend it, although it was a bit hot, probably even better in the fall. before the water starts flowing in the river again. Click 'view all' below to see captions and locations of the pictures

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Mmm breakfast!

We made MJ the pancake

FIRE!

Laurels camping trip

Hey, we're at Lynx lake for some camping fun!

Happy 4th of July

We had an exciting and LONG ride today from our House in North Phoenix to visit Grammy and Grandpa and Nanny and Papa in Mesa. We started out at about 6:30 in the morning and sent a few pictures via cell phone as we went. (see posts below)


Trip highlights included lunch at Grammy's (panini, grapes, orange slushy, Gatorade and water) and swimming at Nanny's. Later Nanny and Papa made hamburgers hotdogs and all the good 4th of July food we like. We had a nice time visiting with the cousins. We were really glad to see Mom and Sarah who came back from Youth Conference to pick us up. We like riding bikes, but 50 miles was enough for one day!

Enjoy the pictures! click on "view all" to see pictures with captions

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50.2 mi - 5:55 hr:min ride time

We made it all the way to Nanny's house!

42 mi - 5:12 hr:mm

We made it to Grammy's! We are eating some delicious paninis she made for us. Grandpa took a picture of us.

25 mi - 2:20 hr:min

Half way there!

12 miles - 1:03

We stopped for a break @ WF

go

Here we go!

Here's Another Test...

This is a test to see if the RSS feed from my blog will post to Facebook.

I'm testing sending a picture from my cell phone. What do you think?

We are getting ready for our big bike ride Saturday. We will try posting from the cell phone.

Hey, who turned the heat on?

So it's been a while since I posted. Overall pretty busy and sticking with the bike riding. I have logged over 2100 miles since January with 73 trips by bike to work so far. I only had one blowout and two "out-of-bike experiences" (falls) My new goal is to ride a total of 5000 miles by the end of the year.



I am recruiting Ryan to be my riding buddy, he is doing great and is becoming an accomplished cyclist. We sold a couple of our older bikes and got him a spiffy hybrid bike that fits him just right (Trek 7.3 FX). We did a 28 miler together last Saturday (it was really hot!) We rode down to Metro center for lunch and back, took frequent breaks and drank lots and lots of water and gatorade. We are planning a 50 miler for the 4th of July and will be riding to the Grandparent's houses in Mesa.

The weight loss thing is still a work in progress, but progress is the key word. It is taking longer than I expected. I have not been keeping track of the food as closely as I have in the past, but I am eating smaller portions and (mostly) real food. I am shooting for 2000 calories of food/day and 3000 calories from exercise, and general living. The bike is fun, but I think I need to add some resistance training. My understanding is that more muscle = more calories burned. It doesn't sound fun - anyone have any great ideas for adding fun to resistance training?

An especially great day for a ride

I got up early this morning for a ride up to New River. It was a perfect day for getting out on the bike. I missed riding yesterday. OK, I admit that I wimped out - just didn't feel like getting rained on going in to work. Besides, I had finally built up the courage to buy some 'stretchy-pants' the kind cyclists wear 'just for fun' I had been avoiding them for the longest time - body image issues you know. But for longer rides, the padding in the right places becomes important. So If you see me riding around, kindly avert your eyes! (at least don't point)

Today, the weather was cool and overcast, not windy at all. I went north on Norterra Parkway to Carefree highway, then east to 7th Street. Up to that point there are very nice, smooth bike lanes or wide shoulders. Once you head north on 7th street, the shoulder is pretty narrow and the road is much more bumpy. There are some nice hills, which I need to do more of. The desert scenery was very nice, greenish even.

I made my way towards the Daisy Mountain building, somewhere along the way, 7th street turns into New River Road which loops around Gavilan Peak (the big pointy one in the middle of New River) and back towards I-17. Passing under I-17, New River Road wanders west toward Lake Pleasant. This road is very bicycle friendly, the road is very smooth, has wide shoulders and not too much traffic. I was hitting my stride and pedaling at a good cadence. After 6 or 7 miles of blissful slightly down-hill riding, the road intersects with Lake Pleasant Road.

Heading left you pick up the end of Carefree Highway and start back eastward. Trivia Question: Who wrote the popular song named after this Highway? If you know post a comment, if not post your wild guess then Click Here to find out. I was thinking about this song all the way back to Norterra Parkway.

I zipped south on Norterra Parkway to the road leading to the Dump Transfer facility. It has an excellent whoop-de-do that will make you squeek if you are trying it in a car. Try it, you'll like it! Then over the Dixeleta overpass and south on the frontage road back home. Time just under 3 hours, distance 46 miles.

Father's & Son's

Last week Ryan and I attended the Father's and Son's campout near Flagstaff at a place called Kelley Canyon. We had a great time setting up our tent and cooking dinner. Ryan roasted our delicious Polish sausage over the campfire and I cooked the corn on the cob.

In the morning we made some air powered rockets and Ryan fired the awesome potato gun. We also played a fun game called 'Cracker Whacker' where you tie a saltine cracker to your back beltloop with some fishing line and try to break the other guy's cracker with your rolled up paper.

We did bring our mountain bikes and went for a great ride along Forest Rd. 700. We wanted to make a loop along some other roads but I couldn't figure out the map, so we just stayed on the main dirt road. We made it almost all the way south to Munds park, but we were getting tired so we turned back at 8 miles or so (measured on my bike's computer) It was a lovely sunny and cool day in the north country of Arizona. We saw a couple of other bike riders, some ATV riders and a motorcyclist.
We took some snacks and gatorade to keep us going. Ryan is becoming a very good bike rider and made it the whole 16 miles without complaint. He is well on his way to earning the Bicycling merit badge in scouts.

As promised, here are the pictures...

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Hoo-ah! Pat's Run

Our family had a great time this past Saturday at ASU running/walking in Pat's run at ASU. For those of you not familiar with Pat Tillman, he was an outstanding athlete that played football for ASU and the Arizona Cardinals. After the attacks on 9/11/2001, he decided to give up his football career and joined the Army and became a Ranger. While serving in Afghanistan he was killed in a tragic friendly fire disaster. The run celebrates his life and supports a charitable foundation in his honor.

We got up at 4:30 AM and left the house just after 5:00. We wanted to have plenty of time to get down to a park & ride at 38th St. and Washington, where we rode the Light Rail right down to the ASU stadium. We were pretty sleepy but we made it! We knew there would be tons of people there and wanted to avoid the traffic and freeway closures. The light rail is very cool and efficient. One thing that is kind of different is that you pay for your ticket at the kiosk at the station, but no body checks to see if you have one once you get on - it's sort of an honor system - I kind of liked it.

The weather was just about perfect, cool but not cold. We got to the starting line in plenty of time. There were 20,000 participants signed up, that's a lot! We pretty much filled up the Packard Street. We had our official 'Technical T-Shirts' and timer tag chips on our shoes. With so many people, there is no way you could all start at the same time so they did a rolling start with the faster runners in the front and the walkers in the back. When you made it to the starting line, a sensor on the ground read your tag on your shoe for your start time. A similar reader at the finish line automatically calculated your individual run time - pretty cool.

Every one did great, the walkers in our group are very competitive and had to pass anyone with grey hair that they saw. There was one guy that they kept passing but somehow he would get back in front of them. There was no way he was going to finish before they did! I was able to beat my goal of under 40 minutes (35:48)

After we had some refreshments at ASU, we had an amazing breakfast at Flapjacks.

There was a really good positive feeling in the crowd. We had such a great time we all want to do it again. I hope many of our readers will join us next April.

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1000 miles of fun!

This week I passed the 1000 mile mark since I started commuting on my bike in January. Woohoo! I have really begun to enjoy riding and look for any excuse to ride somewhere. The last few weeks I have been on a bike buying spree. As mentioned in a previous post, I got Pam a recumbent bicycle, then I got her a stationary recumbent exercise bike. After riding around on some trails with my hybrid road bike, I decided that I needed a mountain bike as well, so I got a nice Fuji bike with disk brakes. I'm still looking for a road bike for Ryan. How's that for bikemania?

Ride in style and comfort.

I got a new bike for Pam last week. Ryan helped me test it out and it seems pretty solid. It is a recumbent bike and is very comfortable to ride. The starts and stops are different than for a regular bike, but once you get the hang of it, it is a lot of fun. Ryan and Christin have tried it and lived to tell the tale. The seat is adjustable, but I need to add a longer back support rod so that the seat will be in a better position for Pam.

Ryan and I forgot our scriptures at the stake center, so we took the opportunity to ride over there and pick them up. We hung Ryan's backpack on the recumbent's seat and loaded the books in. We made the 12 mile trip in a little over an hour. Ryan is on his way to earning the cycling merit badge in scouts.

Riding the Edge

Today I went for my first "Big" ride in a long time. I noticed that the Central Arizona Canal runs along the north edge of Phoenix and would provide a great route from my house to north Scottsdale. I know there are a bunch of fences blocking access to the very nice roads right next to the canal, but there is usually a road or path outside the fence too. I looked on the internet for specific routes and found that there is a really nice section called REACH 11 that has some trails running along near the canal, but I could not find any information on the parts of the canal closest to my house. What to do? - Go and see for myself.


The closest place to my house to the canal is at Jomax and 19th Avenue. Sure enough, there was a trail next to the fence on the south side of the canal - so I was on my way. It didn't last very long - I ran into another fence blocking the trail. Hey there is supposed to be a right of way for the trail, I guess the land owner didn't get the memo. It was at this point a friendly golden retriever came up the greet me. He showed me another way along a gravel road that eventually led to 17th avenue going towards Happy Valley Road. He ran along side me for a long ways, I hope he finds his way home.

Next it was East on Happy Valley road to where the canal crosses and again, I picked up the trail on the south side of the canal. The trail was not too bad, but again it was cut short by a fence. I worked my way around on some dirt roads and even pavement on the west and evenually worked by way back east to 7th Avenue. At this point I know I could have gone south and gotten a major street going east, or I could see what I found going North. One thing is for sure, I don't like this part of Happy Valley Rd and 7th Street. There is no room on the road for a bike and the cars that go screaming past.

I went North and found Cave Buttes Dam Rd leading northeast. It was a very pleasant and smooth road with no traffic. It goes past a BMX facility that has a track with jumps and ramps for bikes. I wonder if anyone you know has been there, it looks intense. Following the usual pattern in this part of town, the road dead ended into a fence. The Maricopa flood district sign warned of fines, confiscation of your first born and a litany of dire consequences should you choose to intrude. The dirt road on the other side of the fence was clearly well travelled, so I travelled it as well, going west.

It got pretty rough in a few places and after a mile or so I went in a southwest direction along a dirt road (Cave Creek Dam Rd.) This road ended up connecting to a neighborhood with (sniff) PAVED ROADS! The wheels on my bike must have still been round because I flew through the neigborhood and ended up on Deer Valley Road - it even has bike paths - yea!

East on Deer Valley road, past Cave Creek Road where I discovered the entrance to the REACH 11 Recreation Area. I had read a lot about this facility and was really looking forward to the trails there. They have a sports complex, horses and lots of trails. Down the ramp and onto the trails. Very nice, fairly smooth, lots of vegetation around and the wind at my back - what could be better? The trails lead east, travelling along the CAP canal, pass under the 101 freeway and SR51. I passed one mountain biker going the other way. Finally, the trail ended in a parking lot and I exited the recreation area onto Tatum road.

Heading south Tatum I was able to pick up the dirt path running east along the south side of the canal. Unlike the previous sections along the canal in the north end, these paths were fairly well maintained and surprisingly smooth and fast. Crossing over 56th St, I continued east on the canal path and eventually it began to parallel Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd. I crossed FLW and continued east. For some reason, there are no bike paths along this road, so I rode mainly on the sidewalks. Traffic was not too bad, but I don't like riding on high speed streets unless there is a bike path.

North on Scottsdale road (is it always under construction?) to Princess Blvd. This passes through the Princess resort and as you would expect, very lush green landscaping, nice bike paths and lots of walkers, runners and a few cyclists. I meandered across Hayden Rd, continuing east (no bike path) and crossed under Loop 101. Here I had expected to see a business park entrance (my destination) but I was one street north. So I again worked my way through the desert on a trail until I got to Bell Rd. I toured the business park for a few minutes, then headed back west on Bell road under the Loop 101. Bell road has a nice bike path for about a mile, but it disappears all to quickly when it turns into Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd.

Back across Scottsdale road, along the same canal path, across 56th and on to Tatum. Back through the Reach 11 Rec area where I met up with a horse and rider. They stayed motionless as I passed. I figured that I should give them a wide berth, so as not to spook the horse. As I was about to exit the park, I got tripped up on the cement ramp and flipped over my bike. Fortunately I was going pretty slow, but this was my first spill since I started riding again so I was not to happy!

I rode west on Deer Valley road and picked up the canal path on the north side of the canal. This would be a great path for a mountain bike with a suspension and bigger tires, but it was pretty slow going on my skinny tires. I hadn't realized it but Deer Valley road goes all the way through to the airport. Next time I will go this way. I made my way to 7th Street and went west on Pinnacle Peak road past the airport. The road is still dirt for about half the way, but there is major construction underway, so in a year or so there will be a fully paved road all the way to 19th Ave.

Once I made it to 19th Ave, I turned north (bike path) past Happy Valley to Jomax (no bike path), West on Jomax, over I17, back North on the West frontage road. Yes I know it is the wrong way, but I had had enough riding and didn't want to go all the way around to Happy Valley Rd to 35th and back.

A most excellent ride just over 43 miles in about 4 hours. I hope someone finds this interesting/useful.

Pay it Forward

OK - here's the deal, this is a game - the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going - Don't have a blog? Although it would be totally worth it to start one, just for the enjoyment of getting a unique one-of-a-kind gift from me - you can pay it forward in your own way - I trust you!

Thanks Dr. Holonyak

The other day I was riding in to work and saw the police had blocked off the street ahead of me. As I got closer I could see that there was an accident in the intersection and the paramedics were working on someone in the street near a wrecked car. I asked the officer if he thought I could pass and he said "Yes, just give them some room - thanks for asking." As I passed I could not see exactly what was going on, but everyone was very subdued. I hope everything turned out OK.

I began to think about how quickly a life-altering accident could happen. I am grateful to Dr. Nick Holonyak Jr. for making my commute a little bit safer. He was the guy that invented the light-emitting diode (LED) If you have seen me go by on my bike, you know I always have my blinky LED lights on and they are really bright. Not only that but they run for days on a couple of rechargeable AA batteries - Amazing!

What inventions are you thankful for?

First Bike Club Ride!

Ryan and I had a good time at our first official DDBC bike ride. We were a little bit late and hope no one was waiting for us. We got Ryan's bike tuned up so it shifts into all gears now and adjusted the brakes. We were able to go up and down the hills very nicely.

It was a perfect day for a bike ride. One of our traditions is for the leader to wear a yellow jersey, but all we had was a yellow safety vest. We decided that we should get something better looking for our next ride. We added another couple of miles to the ride for a total of 6 miles! We stopped at circle K for a cool drink and headed home. - Great riding!

Calling all Bikers!

There is a new bike gang in town - the Desert Devils Bike Club (ddbc for short) Our first ride is Saturday @ 4:00PM. Meet in the parking lot behind the Safeway. We will be riding out to Deem Hills Park (aka 'The Alien Ship Landing Field") and back. It is a pretty easy ride, has one hill and will be about 4.0 miles total - see you there!

Opposition in All Things

After several day's detour northward on the weight train, I have finally gotten back on the southern track. Curse those Krispy Kremes! How could something so delightfully fluffy and pure wreak so much havoc on my corporeal goals? Ok, I admit there were several other treats that passed too close to the vortex... and were assimilated. It is always a challenge to stay focused because there's alway's something in the way, just the way life works I suppose.

The opposition of the week comes from various aches and pains trying to thwart my exercise plan. Here's what I learned so far - running is hard on my knees & feet. I tried some 'Iliotibial Band Syndrome' (sounds like a punk rock group) I would not recommend it, but I did start stretching more and that seems to help. I will probably have to break down and get a new pair of shoes too - it's amazing how much a difference that can make.

The good news is that I am getting faster on the bike and running. Pat's run at ASU is about a month and a half away. I signed everyone in our house up for it (yes they are into it) and we are looking forward to riding the Metro light rail to get there.

What do you do together with your family to keep fit and fun?

And He's Off!

We returned from Utah last night where we took Alex to the MTC. It was a wonderful experience for the family. Thanks to all of you for being so supportive and helping him get ready to serve. Soon we will put up a missionary site to keep everyone up to date on his activities.

As this blog is dedicated to fitness and nutrition, I will tell you that we ate really good tasting food. We can recommend a few places to eat - Winger's in Orem serves some greate honey BBQ wings with a kick. Orem also has a Krispy Kreme and yes, we waited until the light was on to get ours fresh off the line. If you are ever in Kanab, give Grandma Tina's a try. They make a great patty melt, grilled cheese and even vegetables.

I personally did not follow my eating plan very well as my weight ticker will attest. I did go for a morning jog one day and a walk the next, both times it snowed. I bundled up in complete head to foot thermal-arctic wear while the local kids walked to school in not much more than a sweatshirt. I also shoveled the walk & drive way. Good fun but glad I don't have to do it every day.

What are your favorite places/things to eat when you are on the road. Do you try to eat healthy when you are away from home?

A River Runs Through It...

Ugg - not feeling very sporting today. I've been fighting off a cold this week and am just a bit run down. It was my day to go running, but I decided to listen to my body and take it easy. I went for a brisk walk at lunch time - very sunny and cool today - perfect weather for being outside.

We have a big driving trip planned next week, so I need to be rested and ready.

I am wanting to keep hammering down the weight, so I feel like I should push harder. I sometimes hear two voices in my head, the one of reason (a plump, easily distracted but comfy voice) and the one of the goal seeking zealot (an energetic, hearty, but sometimes foolish voice) I listened to the zealot and went 'Biking in the Rain' - one point for consistency, minus one for overall health. Today was the reasonable voice's turn.

What voices do you hear? Which ones do you listen to?

Bikin' in the Rain

It rained all day today but it's Monday, so I gotta ride my bike. It was kind of fun - the way in was not bad, the ride home was drizzly and wet. Guess where all the water in the street goes when it's raining - in the bike lane! I was soaked and dirty when I got home.

What do you do when it's raining?

Kendra's race

I ran in a race today - surprise! It was a fund raiser that a very good coach (Brian Dempsey) at O'Connor has been sponsoring for several years now. It originally started as a way to help one of his students that was battling cancer. She is now cancer free! They have decided to sponsor "Camp Rainbow". This organization helps kids with cancer have fun during their treatment and recovery. It was a good time, I would do it again.

What are your favorite charities/community groups?

Trip to Chino Bandido

Today, a group of us from work went to "Chino Bandido Takee-Outee" It's a rather interesting hole in the wall place that defies description. The food is a fusion of Asian and Mexican styles. If you have never been, try it out, you will either love it or hate it, there's not much in between. I had the Emerald Chicken in a quesadilla, machaca beef, black beans and pork fried rice - topped off with their signature Snickerdoodle cookie - MMmm tasty! Do you like Chino Bandido?

Word of warning: When I went to journal everything I ate in my food diary, it was amazing how fast the calories added up. Good thing I rode my bike to work today!

Dana's Theory of Weight Loss

Here's my complex (not really) theory of weight loss:

1) Burn more calories than you eat. My plan is to burn 500 to 1000 calories more than I eat each day. For me, at my age and general state of being, this translates to a 1 to 2 pound weight loss per week. Your mileage may vary.

2) Eat right. Watch your portion size, eat smaller amounts throughout the day.

* More foods in their natural form like, fruits, vegetables, whole wheat, grains, lots of fiber.
* Less processed foods, sugar, cookies and crackers are the devil but I love them!
* Lean meat - fish, chicken, pork

Am I a food nazi? Not really. I pretty much eat what I want, just less and better. Like Captain Barbosa says "...the code is more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules..." (see post on Chino Bandido)

3) Exercise vigorously every day. I like riding my bike and walking, so that's what I do. I work it into my schedule, I ride my bike to work most days and go for a walk or run at lunch on days when I drive. For me it has to be a regular part of the day, I am prone to make excuses if it is just to work up a sweat, but I always go to work.

4) Keep track of everything you eat and all the physical activity you do. It is really easy to get into bad habits like eating too much, wrong food choices, not enough activity, etc. It helps to know exactly how much you put in vs how much you take out - takes the guess work out of it and forces you to be honest with yourself.

Will it work? So far so good, but the first 5 pounds are the easiest right? I have found that I feel better when I eat good food in moderation. I also feel better when I can move around comfortably in my body. At the end of the day don't we all want to enjoy our time here?

What does eating right and exercise mean to you?

I feel like a million bucks!

The ride was excellent this morning. Got the tires aired up for extra speed. I must have had a bit of luck too because I caught the green light at almost every intersection. I am working on pedaling in the highest (fastest) gear but it does not feel right yet. I am working my way up though and can feel my legs and endurance getting better...stronger...faster...

Pretty good week, don't ya think?

Well, it has been a good week of biking and running. I am getting the hang of the bike and feeling better each day. I have been very diligent in recording everything I eat and all the exercise in a handy on-line food journal - (Fat secret) It's free, easy and auto-magically lists all the nutrition for the foods you eat. It also keeps lets you weigh in and provides a nifty weight tracking gadget that you can embed in your blog or website.

Now comes the hard part. I have been down to this weight before and slacked off. I need to stay motivated and dedicated to break through below the 170 lb barrier.


A long-long time ago I used to be a skinny dude ~140 lbs. This is me on my mission ~1983.

We're having fun now!

Don't you just love the Arizona weather? What a great day for a ride. It was cold this morning but once you get your feet pumping you really feel alive. I got my best time yet on my route to work.

I needed to get a better windbreaker since everything I have is dark. As faithful readers know, I'm very big into visibility and not getting hit by cars, so I looked at Dick's Sporting goods figuring they would have a lightweight jacket with some reflective strips sewn in. No luck. They did have some "Live Strong" jackets, but no reflectivity - plus I'm not a big fan of Lance Armstrong... I ended up getting a decent jacket at Walmart (yes, Walmart) for $15. I also got one of those yellow reflective vests. Not exactly fashionable, but extremely visible.

Mmm - need protein

You know when you get that burst of energy from working out consistently? Well today was not the day for that. I think I need to add more protein in my diet. Carbs (in the form of fresh fruit) are easy to come by, protein not so much for me. I'm going to have some plain yogurt tomorrow - has anyone else besides me learned to eat the plain stuff? What is your favorite protein?

I did a 'speed' workout today including running some intervals. I think this is a good way to improve your performance, especially if you are have reached a plateau. My legs are tired, tomorrow morning should be interesting on the bike...

Yo, Adrian!

You know that part in Rocky where he just starts training and is sucking wind? Well that's sort of how I felt today. Sure the new bike is great, but for some reason, I thought it would pedal itself or maybe feel like I was going down hill all the time. I guess not.

I worked late and rode home in the dark. I'm glad I had my lights, they work great.

Ryan and I are thinking of starting a neighborhood bike club. What do you think - is anyone interested?

Well, I gotta go and get some raw eggs - Check that - my cholesterol is too high, maybe eggbeaters? I know, somehow it's not quite the same...

Let me tell ya, it's one smooth ride...

I had planned to pick up the bike Saturday morning, but it wasn't ready quite yet. So Ryan and I packed up the old bikes and headed down to a BBQ/fun day at Wells Fargo. Sarah had a tournament that started that morning and it was very nearby the BBQ so we picked Pam and her up and enjoyed a fun time. They had the Wells Fargo wagon complete with four horses and driver. Ryan and Pam had fun riding around - it was very exciting as you can see by the expression on Ryan's face. Alex came down to join us and we all enjoyed a delicious hamburger.



Ryan and I went for a great bike ride around the park behind Wells Fargo. What a great day for a ride! It was sunny and cool - perfection! We made a big loop around the park and ended up back at the softball field for Sarah's final game (they won - yea!)

We had just enough time to get to the bike shop (Bike Depot) and get the bike. I rode it around the parking lot a bit and was very impressed with how smooth and solid it was. The folks at Bike Depot were very friendly and helpful.

I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow -

Went walking @ lunch

My knee seems to be all better, only a half pound to loose this weekend to make my goal fo 2 lbs a week. The hardest part seems to be night time snacking. Any suggestions?

It's here...almost

I went to the bike store last night to see If my bike came in - it was in the box! YES! They will be putting it together today and I will probably pick it up tomorrow.

I am looking for a recumbent bike (stationary or otherwise) for Pam. She wants something that will not put strain on her back - anyone have any ideas?

Feeling better

My knee felt sore yesterday so I wore a knee brace and stuck to walking for a total of an hour. I did ride a bike with Ryan home from church last night after scouts. The bike lights were blazing/blinking. Sarah drove past us and told Pam that she thought she would have a seizure! This morning my knee feels good - one more day of walking should do it. I hope my bike comes in.

Ouch!

I tweeked my knee somewhere along the way. I noticed it today on my run at work and it got progressively more sore. I have it on ice now, hope it feels better tomorrow. I should give it rest, but I don't want to lay off the exericise since I'm doing really well this week.

Time To Shape Up

I decided to get into shape - a better one than I have now anyways. I have been working on and off over the past 4 years to loose that stubborn 20 lbs that has been showing up on me in the most unwelcome places. My biggest problem seems to be doing some sort of exercise every day, I think I'm eating sensibly (OK I had too many goodies over the holidays) so I have to be more consist in working out every day. I have been running a few times a week (about 4 miles each time) but not enough to get control of my uncooperative body. Fact is I just don't like running enough to get up and do it before work. I do like riding a bike though...

So I ordered a hybrid road bike (Giant FCR3) with the commitment to ride it most every day to work - about a 24 mile round trip. On days I don't bike, I will run a 4 mile circuit at work. There is a very nice jogging trail and we have showers at work - so that part is going to be great.

I am very concerned about getting hit by a car, I know too many people who have been injured or killed (some of them seriously) I used Google maps to find a route that included a bike path most of the way and avoids heavy traffic. The mapping function even has street level views of the route you pick - very cool. I also researched bike lights and picked a couple of reasonably priced ones based on the reviews on Amazon. For the rear light I got a Planet Bike Blinky Super Flash 1/2-Watt Blaze LED Plus 2 Xtreme
It runs on 2 AAA batteries for up to 100 hours

For the front light I got the Planet Bike 3044 Blaze 1 Watt LED Headlight. It runs on 2 AA batteries for up to 20 hours. I plan on getting some rechargeable batteries eventually and then we'll be set.


Ryan and I clipped the lights on his bike the other night to see how bright it was at night. I had him ride it to the end of the street and back. 2 words - Retina Burn! These lights can easily be seen for a half mile - I need to get Ryan a set for his bike.

My old bike got stolen a while back, so I decided that I would get a beefy lock to make the would be thieves at least have to work up a sweat. I got a U shaped bar style with a heavy cable so I can lock the frame, wheels & chain.

I rode my daughter's heavy metal mountain bike to work this past weekend for a test run.
It took about an hour each way which is doable. We'll see how much faster the new bike is. It should be here by the end of the week - I can't wait!