A Sad Day On The Horizon

It is truly a sad day... Why, you ask? Because the LBS (local bike store) has seen the end of an era. The east side Cleveland location of Spin Bike Shop will close tomorrow, December 30th. The Lakewood location will remain open, but alas Willoughby shall be no longer.

If you're in the NE Ohio area, they have some really sweet deals going on through tomorrow. Thank you, guys, for all that you have done! If it weren't for the Willoughby Spin crew I likely would not have embraced cycling, or this blog, or any sort of anything resembling fitness. You (the Spin crew) are going to be missed in Willoughby.

Merry Christmas!

OK, so I have clearly failed in my attempt to get SOMETHING posted by now, but alas my life will not allow. So, for now I would like to wish all of my readers a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

I will be posting a quickie over the weekend, and I will be, God willing, slightly more regular starting very soon.

Thanks for your continued comments, and support over the last year, and I hope for 2010 to be a little bit more sane!

Don

Twenty Days Later

Yeah, I suck. What can I say. My life is on indefinite hold and chaotic all at the same time. Make sense? No? OK, let me try to explain here. I work HR (recruiting, benefits, etc - full scale HR) for a living, the economy sucks (expletive deleted) with a straw, because of this my job sucks hard. With that in mind I've been picking up side jobs where I can, and doing what I need to, dig? likewise the ol' lady picked up something. It all helps to get by, but it suck big time when you're trying to hold a weight loss plan, or something resembling normality. Hence the posting has suffered.

As far as the weight loss? Yeah, that has suffered too. Just when I thought I was turning a corner, BOOM! It all blew up again. So, I have been less than perfect at the whole working out scene, and forget eating well. I mean, I guess I have been eating OK, but not like I should. I have managed to keep constant at just either side of 192, but I want to be at 170, so...

Lastly, for today, I am thinking about ditching the rollers in lieu of a trainer. I just can't concentrate in my home enough to ride 'em. A trainer would be SO much easier. So if anyone is interested in trading a trainer for rollers, buying a set of rollers, or something along these lines, please message me at the "contact me" button on the upper right hand corner.

World Of Hurt

Well, after about eight months, plus or minus, of chaos in my life, and putting aside the workouts I have (kind of) started back into it. Tonight was day one of muscle building exercise. Let me start by saying I can't believe how far you can fall in a short amount of time. I felt so great early this year with my rides. Legs felt great, lungs felt great, just full of piss and vigor. Now, not so much. Add to the slow down, OK near halt, of almost all activity a great deal of stagnation and I am in a world of pain tonight.

I started in on the muscle building where I left off in, like, March-ish... Yeah, not the best idea I've had in a wile. After knocking it back a few steps I got through the workout, and am sitting here aching in places that I forgot existed. I will say this, it is a good kind of hurt. You know the kind; your muscles burn, they get tense and sore... but you sit back with a big smile.

So, from here on out the plan is to do some muscle building to get back into the swing every other day. Once I am getting back into the swing, I'll add in some intervals, until by the start of 2010 I am back into the full swing of The Lean Look: Burn Fat, Tone Muscles and Transform Your Body in Twelve Weeks Using the Secrets of Professional Athletes by Paul Goldberg and Matthew Fitzgerald. GOD! I just love to say the full title, it's just so freaking long. (Sidebar: Paul and Matthew should hook me up for how much I've pimped the book on this blog now, don'tcha think? - hint, wink)

Anyway, I lost fifty or so pounds and put ten or so back in the last six months. Just imagine where I can go from here. My next ideal weight, for 2010, is 170. There I said it, it's official. Once I hit 170, I'll see how I look and feel and decide from there how much further I want to go, or whether I need a different muscle building program, whatever.

Also, I would love to start a serious ride once a week from May (unless April is really nice in 2010) through September (unless October is really nice in 2010). Once a week, after work (or on a weekend day), whatever it takes. if you're in the Cleveland area, I'd love for you to be a part of it. If not, maybe I'll finally bite the bullet and join the Cleveland Touring Club. Who knows? They're a great group of guys and gals, it could be a lot of fun.

Bottom line, I need to get back to where I was, build from there, and get better. Physically, mentally, emotionally.

Thanksgiving and Fitness

Heh, heh, heh... I had to title it that. I know, you think the two have nothing to do with each other, right? Couldn't be more wrong. So, first off, I'd like to take a minute to wish all of the stateside readers a very Happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful for all of my readers around the world, and would certainly be in a different place right now without you guys. You give me a reason to write, hold me (and one-another) accountable, and inspire me. Thank you for taking the time to check my little ol' blog!

As far as the link from fitness to Thanksgiving? Well, it's pretty simple, really. You get out of your body what you put into it. Fill it with a bunch of crap and you get, you guessed it, crap! Fill it with good wholesome things, you get power, strength, energy, and the like. So, this year I cut way back on my Thanksgiving intake. I had a few beers, but cut the food way back. I ate mostly turkey. Good, lean, protein. I did have some stuffing, about a tablespoon of mashed potatoes, a tablespoon of green bean casserole (not as good as straight green beans, but...), and a table spoon of sweet potatoes. I also had minimal in the way of desert. Just enough to taste it.

You see, the key in watching what you what you eat is not to starve yourself. Rather it's to think out what you're taking in, maximize the healthy portions, and limit the "less than healthy" junk. As an example, one thing that I did early on was to take my favorite foods and modify them. I LOVE burgers, but burgers could be murder on a diet. Buns, cheese, bacon, mayo, and on, and on, and... You get it. I took my favorite burgers and turned them into something special. I took the best and lowest fat meat that I could find and I fried them up. I sautéed mushrooms, onions, and peppers and put those on top, then sprinkled some blue cheese crumbles on top. The blue cheese, being so strong, was flavorful with a minimal amount. I served it with a healthy salad, with some raw nuts (extra protein and good fats) and veggies.

Get the point? It's all about modifying the input. Of course you still need to exercise, and whatnot, but watching what you eat sure goes a long way.

Weight Loss Week Two

So this whole "not having a computer at my disposal" crap is killing me! When I have the time to get out a post, I don't have to computer to do it. With that said, this weeks weight loss post will, still, be a bit lame.
As you probably know by now; myself, Bluenoser, Munky, Clyde, Lily, and Trio have all agreed to do something for the time being about some extra weight in our lives. My first week started at a 193 weigh-in on Monday of last week. This week I was still at the same 193 as of Sunday morning, and forgot to weigh on Monday. I have started some very minimal exercise, but have not had the opportunity to get out on the bike as I said I would.

I am, however, back on the Muesli Diet. Last time I did Muesli I lost a ton of weight. It was Sprocketboy's Muesli that he recommended. I started Muesli-fest today, Monday.

Going into Thanksgiving on Thursday I plan on cutting back food, and no beer except on Thursday. I also need to pull out the workout routine I was doing out of "Lean Look". For anyone looking to drop a few pounds, I highly recommend this book.

Would love to hear what you're doing, if you're trying to keep the pounds off during the holidays. Leave me a comment, and check back soon!

Cheers, for now!

The First Week Of Weight Loss. So Far, Uh, So Far?

Well... Hello to Bluenoser, Munky, Clyde, Lily, and Trio. Where to begin? So the first week started at a 193 weigh-in on Monday. Since then, two thirteen plus hour work days have given way to poor eating, lack of exercise and being completely wasted-tired by the time I got home. So the bottom line is as of Wednesday morning, still a not-so-svelte 193.

I did not manage, due to time and lack of planning, to get my muesli made, so I have not kicked back on the Muesli Diet. For those of you who may be new or not remember, I lost a ton of weight through exercise and a diet of Sprocketboy's Muesli. I will be going back to Muesli starting Monday.

I also hope to get a, roughly, twenty-five mile ride in on Saturday and a shorter fun ride, mountain bike, on Sunday. I will also be getting back in the habit of doing some of the "Lean Look" exercises.

How about you guys? Also, anyone else who is interested in joining else on the fun, feel free to jump in. Just leave your info in the comments section.

Cheers, for now!

Calling Out To The Fitness Geeks

OK, OK, OK... So it's been a hot minute since I've posted regularly. Likewise since I've seriously been turning cranks. Furthermore an eternity since I've had any serious level of fitness. I have a feeling that is all about to change. Recently I have been stressing out, and have been at home a lot more often. One major problem with that comes the serious problem of grazing. If you are not familiar with grazing, let me explain. You walk past the kitchen, do a double-take, go into the kitchen. Once in the kitchen you take ice cream, crush cookies on top, keep looking, grab the whipped cream and throw a dollop on, then move that concoction on a brownie that you warmed in the microwave, and finally cover it with chocolate. Disclaimer: I haven't done this, it was just an example I got carried away with... But now that I think of it, I wonder how much of it I have here...

Digressing... So I have a serious problem being in my home, for extended periods, stressing out, and around food. With all of that said, I have gained about 10 pounds in the last three months or so. I am officially back into the 190 range, and need to drop back to the sub 180 range. The lowest I have been in the last two years has been 180, so I think that will become my new goal. With all of the holiday's coming up, and all of the engorging that will occur, my goal will be to drop to 180 lbs by year end. Anyone on board with me?

Here's what we'll do... I don't have the time or money to do a prize this time around, and since we're publicly embarrassing Don; I still owe Bluenoser his prizes from last December. My suggestion is accountability. Set a fitness and/or weight loss goal for year end, and push for it. I don't care what you are eating, I don't care what your exercise is, so long as you're growing toward your goal. If you're not reaching the goal I will ride you, like my Rockhopper, until you do. Likewise, I'll expect that you do the same. Anyone up for it? Drop me a comment and lets get cracking. We start Monday! Hope I could get 3-5 of you to get on board, I'm sure that I can at LEAST count on Bluenoser, right? C'mon, it'll be fun, and we'll all be a bit better for it going into 2010.

I SO Want To Try This

There are so many different things in life that I just want to try to say that I've done them. THIS is one of them. I've always wanted to try to unicycle. While I was watching TV today, I saw something really cool, more on that tomorrow, and it got me to thinking.

Have any of you guys ever tried the one wheeled wonder? I would love advice, then just need to find someone with a unicycle that would let me try it out... I totally don't care enough to buy one...

Ugh...

Just in case you were curious how slow it has been around here, as if you couldn't tell by the current state of the blog, I wanted to just keep you all in the loop (vent) about what's been going on. I am still sans my main computer, business is still way down, and I haven't turned a crank in well over two months now. Just to reiterate, if anyone out there has a power supply for a 1.42DP G4 Mirror Doorthat you could give up really cheep, or free!... preferably free, please message me. A college career might depend on it. Yeah, I still need to recover the wifes colleg work from it, and the clock is ticking. I've been that crazy.

As far as riding, I would LOVE to do a Black Friday ride in Cleveland I was thinking maybe of the Ohio Erie Canal Toe Path Trail for a leisurely ride. Cleveland south, and back. Likewise, it'll probably pause on the way back at the Winking Lizard for a few beers and a late lunch. Any takers? I need to get one good ride in this year, and this could be it.

Weekly roundup October 29, 2009

The aforementioned G4 Power Supply go boom story is still effecting what I can and cannot do. I have had almost no time, it seems, to my computer since I am now forced to share it with my wife who is in college. That, combined with the ridiculous amount of work I’ve been doing, and the added house work with said wife in said college… Ugh. I actually was debating which is likely to happen first; lose my freaking mind or have a massive heart attack. No kidding. So, for now I’m going to get out what I can. please enjoy a Weekly Roundup, and my apologies for keeping you hanging… I’ll try to get better about keeping current here.

Fat Cyclist: I’m just going to leave Fatty at this; check out Fat Cyclist’s Blog! Fatty has been writing about the awesome Austin LiveStrong Challenge, and the Ride For The Roses. Congratulations Fatty on having the record for most money raised by a team at more than three-quarters of a million dollars! WOW! I guess if we must be exact $773,874.30… Give or take a few bucks. That’s a LOT of cancer fighting, and a lot of people being helped. Check out his blog, the last week is pictures of the Austin events, stories, videos, and pictures of the Team Fatty members who were able to make it out to Austin. Congratulations Fatty on doing a wonderful thing. God bless, man!

HighwayMunky: My buddy across the pond the HighwayMunky has me worried lately. First he posts a blog about the pros and cons of wearing a helmet now this, Slipping The Traffic. That’s right, he’s taken to the risky behavior of playing dogems with the metal monsters on the road. PLEASE Munky! Please be careful man. I have, however, decided by reading his blog that I really need to get to England and ride. It sounds awesome and beautiful. By the way, Munky… Arm warmers are AWESOME!

50K Loop NS: Poor Bluenoser’s cross season seems to be over before it started. He took a header before, and apparently it was pretty damn bad. Well, now apparently it’s official, It’s Over. Yup, the fat lady has sung, and he’s calling it dead. Sorry bout the shoulder, Blue… I’ve been there YEARS ago. When I rode dirt BMX I was on pavement and went over the bars… It sucks. I hope you’re better soon!

Harp Rider: There are two reasons I am posting about Harp this week… One is I, too, Need More Singletrack. I think I might not remember how to ride, it’s been so long. The second reason is that he MIGHT just be more geeked out on Kevin Smith than I. Way to go, Harp! Hope you get at least one more epic ride, before the white stuff.

Cozy Beehive: Finally, today, Ron touches on a subject near and dear to my heart. Mainly, Velo Taboo: Wearing Underwear Inside Shorts. I had a friend who was talking about lycra, and was asking how I could wear them without underwear. First off, I wear boxers… Yeah, big baggy pants under tight? Second, I had a friend wear tighty-whities under jeans for a 25 miler… He called me, nearly in tears, because he had blisters from the rubbing. This is a GREAT point, Ron! Keep up the good work.

Well, that’s all I have for this week. Snow will be here soon, ride while you can! I’m the Phun Cyclist, stay classy Cleveland.

Time, Time, Time... Where Has It Gone? Where Can I Get More

So you may have noticed that I've been kinda MIA lately. I promise that I will be here, I've just been consumed by "the new project." By that I mean The Art Of Brew. That's right! It's been a long time coming but my brewing confidante, Thomas, and I have officially launched the craft brew blog.It's long been a passion of mine, and I have been wanting to get it out for some time. Well, now is that time. I found the right person who had a very similar idea, and similar passion and, as they say, the rest is history!

We still have a few kinks to work out, but the site is live, and we've started to populate! Please take a minute to stop by, check it out and let us know what you think. We'll be opening up to comments very soon. I will also still be here, doing Phun, so keep checking back here as well.

CHEERS!

Spin Bike Shop Presents: The 2009 Cross My Heart And Hope To Die Willoughby Cyclocross Spectacular!

It's that time of year again in Cleveland. There is a chill in the air, the leaves are changing, and a bunch of psychopaths are readying themselves for thirty minutes to an hour in hell. That's right, kids! It's time once again for the Cross My Heart And Hope To Die Willoughby Cyclocross Spectacular (CMHAHTDWCS). Last year was an amazing race. Great turnout, technical course, hill that made people wish they were dead, what more could you ask for? Well, it's all happening again, this Saturday!

Saturday October 17th cyclocross, again, returns to Willoughby, Ohio as Spin Bike Shop brings back the Cross My Heart And Hope To Die Willoughby Cyclocross Spectacular. (I just love typing that) The registration for the event will be from 11:00 am - 1:15.

A's (Novice/JRs) group will start at 12:00 noon and will run thirty minutes.
B's (Intermediate Men/Women Open) at 12:45 for forty-five minutes.
C's (Expert/40+ Open) at 1:45 for one hour.

Entry is $20 and you'll need a USCF or NORBA licence. One day permits to be had for another $10 USCF permit pending.

If you need more information on the race you can find it one of sixty two places. You can Visit:

Spin Bike Shop
Team Spin or HERE for a PDF of the specifics of the race, or go HERE to acess the actual PDF with a map to Todd Field in Willoughby.

Sadly, this year I will not be at the race, I will be covering the Fat Head's 1st Annual IPA Fest for The Art Of Brew. I will, however post a listing of the results from the race, so stay tuned!

Weekly roundup October 09, 2009

So I have to admit. I’m burned out this week. The final straw in the week was the G4 (see yesterday’s post) going BOOM! So, for now, I’ll let you you enjoy a Weekly Roundup, and I’m going to try to source a 360w Mac power supply.

Fat Cyclist: Mad props going out to none other than the Fat Cyclist! Fatty wrote An Open Letter To [Himself] About 24 Hours Of MOAB. A great race deserves a great post. Along with a full “to-do” list, list of things he’ll need for the race, and as always that typical Fat Cyclist humor. Best of luck Fatty, and happy riding! Kick some butt.

HighwayMunky: The HighwayMunky posted a great thought on the pros and cons of wearing a helmet when cycling. It covers it from a whole new perspective though. ”To Wear, Or Not To Wear, That Is The Question”, covers the legal side of helmet use. So many focus on the health or annoyance factor, I think this might be the first time I’ve seen it from a legal perspective. Nice one Munky!

50K Loop NS: Bluenoser go to meet one of his longtime blog friends, none other than Bikes Gone Wild in a regular East Meets West event. Keep up with Bluenoser, as he’s going to be starting year two of his Cyclocross addiction shortly.

Ray’s Racing Adventures: Finally, today, Ray. First off, thanks to Ray for the link from his blog. Promise I’ll not make you regret throwing it on your blog, man. Mind you, I need to ride more so as to be more relevant, but… Ray left a post about Photo Credits, Blogs, And A Little Story . The photo credits are, well, photo credits. The blog portion is about Cleveland blogs, did I say thanks? The little story? About cross… a cool story about cross, seemingly true to form, and passionate. It really gets across the beauty and hell that is cross.

Well, that’s all I have for this week. Get the hell out and ride before the snow hits. The leaves are changing already! Phun Cyclist, stay classy Cleveland.

Wednesday Randomness

Ugh... I am going to apologize right now for the lack of posting that is going on and that is sure to come. I woke up yesterday morning to my baby, read that as 1.42DP G4 Mirror Door, has bit it.Total... unadulterated... sadness. I actually feel worse for my wife than I do for me. For me it might as well be a big toy, for the wife... Her college career. Yeah; Epic sucks! So, I would like to use this time right now to say that I will get posts in as quickly as possible, but there may be a lag time. Example, tomorrows post will likely be around dinner time. Further, and more important in my mind, if anyone has a mirror door with a 360w power supply that they need to get rid of; I could use your power supply or the entire unit for parts.

Alright, I need to bail from this right now. I will throw together a Weekly Roundup tomorrow. For today I will leave you with the entire idea behind my blog. Courtesy of none other than Target. I love Target. They have had some great boxers recently, and I promise you this was not staged. I walked down the isle to run straight into an end cap. This is what I found.
That's right, beer & bikes, the epitome of Cycling Phun. Have a goodnight, all, catch you tomorrow!

Everybody Else Is Doing It

You all know where this is going, right? Drugs! Everyone else is doing... OK, I'm kidding. But it almost sounds like drugs the way people talk about it. Of course, as you've likely guessed, I am talking about cross! That's right, cyclocross has swept the nation. People everywhere, it seems, are getting these road bikes on steroids, and getting out in the ungodly weather to abuse themselves. This should serve as an explanation of cross to those who are new to the cycling world.

What cross is, is an opportunity to abuse yourself far beyond anything you could possibly imagine. The bikes look like a road bike, but the tires look like a hybrid tire. They are 700c but wider, like a mtb tire. The goal is simple; be the first to cross the line without getting killed. Simple enough, right? Have I mentioned that the courses can combine any number of the following; paved course, grass, dirt, sand, water, mud-pits, switch-backs, hills, stairs, and foot to foot and a half tall barriers? I'm probably missing something there too, that you are allowed to call me out on. Further, the only time to race cross is about September to about December or January. Yup! That means cold, rain, snow, sleet, and generally disastrous weather.

So why do people do it? Call 'em crazy, call 'em hardcore, you'd be right! These are the die hards. To do a cross race you have to be in shape. Likewise, if you do a few of these you have to maintain fitness. It just comes from pushing yourself so hard. The spectators aren't far from this either. That's half the fun. People ringing cowbells, drinking beers, handing beers off to riders as they fly by, passing off dollars to the riders, and generally going rasp yelling. The only thing I can say is if you've never been to a cross race, you need to get to one this fall. You race> Try your hands on a cross race. Use a cross bike or a light weight HT mtb and try it out this year. They're amazing!

The Perfect Combination Of Bike And Beer

This may be the perfect combination of bike and beer. You've seen Saturday Night Live "On A Boat", right? Now the crazy cool guys over at New Belgium put together "On A Bike"! Arguably the perfect combination of bike and beer.

Weekly Roundup September 30, 2009

I have been so busy with life I cannot begin to tell you. As you’ve probably read, the new blog launches on Monday, October 12th. A collaboration between me and Thomas, my partner in brewing. I also have been working two, well two and a half, jobs, a couple of things I volunteer for, and have even had time to hurt myself (more on this tomorrow). For now, I’ll let you you enjoy a Weekly Roundup. A special Cross Edition!

50K Loop NS: If you’re a regular here, I’m sure you’ve seen the 50K before. Well, Bluenoser got bit by the cross bug last year, and now The Build is on! That’s right, BN’s newest steed has arrived, and is built up for cross. A great story with some cool photos of Bluenosers Trek Cross bike. Have fun and be safe, BN!

Ray’s Racing Adventures: Ray, another great Cleveland blogger and racer, reports on what I am pretty sure was the second cross race of the year in Cleveland. From what Ray has to say is was One Hard Ass Race. I have to admit, from his report, this race sounded fun as hell, but I’m still NEVER doing a cross race again. It looked like the perfect mess of grass, dirt, mud, rain and pain… Just what makes a Cleveland Cross year!

Miles And Madness: Even Judi and Dominic are getting into it and wonderin What The Hell Was I waiting For?. Judi and Dominic got out for the first time on their new toys, and for their first ever cross race. The story is great, but the real treat here is the awesome pictorial. Looks like you guys had fun!

HighwayMunky: Finally, the HighwayMunky IS alive! He’s doing well, wait… Oh Dear!, maybe not?! Just kidding. But the story is great. It’s about a race of sorts that he kinda lost. I won’t say anything else, you have to read it!

Well, that’s all I have for this week. Get the hell out and ride before the snow hits! Phun Cyclist, stay classy Cleveland.

A New Venture

For those who read regularly, you know I have dropped a few hints about some things to come. One of those things is a new blog that I've created with a very dear friend. Thomas and I have started The Art Of Brew. Right now we are in the final process of getting the site up and running, but we are a mere two weeks out from the bad boy going live.
I will continue to blog here about cycling and most, if not all, of the beer posts will be going to The Art Of Brew. I would love to see all of my regulars that I have grown to become attached to to join me over at The Art Of Brew, and would love to hear your comments.

You can also keep up with what's on tap at The Art Of Brew's Twitter site.

Cleveland Beer Week

For those f you who are regular readers of the blog you know a few things. One, I like to ride my bike, and had a great chance to finally get out and ride late this week. Two, I am a die hard Clevelander. I've had the opportunity to leave before, and just cannot imagine living anywhere else right now. Finally, three... I LOVE good craft beer and home brewing.

With the later in mind, er the second and third I suppose, if you you want to be more accurate I want to take a minute to push a breakthrough event in Cleveland. October 16th-24th Cleveland will celebrate, for the first time ever, Cleveland Beer Week.clevelandbeerweek.org
Throughout the city events will be going on to promote craft beer and beer culture in Cleveland, Ohio.

Too many companies to mention here, too many venues to mention, too many times to mention... Get the point? If you need info on what events are going on where, you can check out the Cleveland Beer Week Calendar. This is going to be HUGE! Cleveland's own local breweries will be teaming up with national craft brewing companies to promote the craft brew industry and the passion that comes along with it. It will bring in the likes of Greg Koch of Stone Brewing in CA, Jim Cline of Rogue Brewing, Chris Trogner of Troëgs, and many, many more.

Cycling and beer have, for years, gone hand in hand. So break out the fixie, road bike, commuter, whatever and get out to the venues to sample some amazing creations. For more information you can check out Cleveland Beer Week. There you can find out about the Cleveland Beer Week (a not-for-profit, collaborative celebration to raise awareness of and education for the strong American and imported craft brew industry, while promoting patronage at local establishments. Also all proceeds from the Grand Reception, "Brewzilla" on Saturday, October 24th will be donated to the Malone Scholarship Fund which is managed by the Cleveland Scholarship Program.), event info (times, dates, ticket prices, etc), and everything you need to enjoy this monumental Cleveland area event.