Posts Tagged → being a michigander-burgher-ite

It’ll Do

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Wow, what a shit week for doing stuff and for making progress on Fit to Fat & Back. I got out Tuesday for a pain in the hip flexor filled ride, then Wednesday brought several inches of snow, followed by ice, rain, and school cancellations all over the mid-Mitten on Thursday. I rode the trainer in an attempt to keep from going ape-shit mental, and then spent Friday hunkered down getting work done on a new web site that I am building for B’s soccer club.

As much as I wanted to drink a bottle of gin and take a rope to the attic, I know full well that this is spring in Michigan. One day you could be running around in Daisy Dukes, the next day you’re shoveling wet snow and praying for the Lord above to deliver you from wintry evil.

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The Storm Before the Storm

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Monday was more productive than usual for me since I’ve taken on the (volunteer) duties of redoing the website for B-Man’s soccer club and I was soccer balls deep into putting the finishing touches on a locally hosted version of my ideas to present to the board that night. I got a 3 mile treadmill run in, got the temp site done, got it approved at our meeting that night, and now I am up to my fatty pelvis deep in creating the real website. It’s been a lot of work, but I’ll be happy to see the club get a way better site (in my opinion) and do my part to help the club. God knows I have nothing else to offer them other than annual fees and a son who is an awesome player.

If nothing else, the club project is the continued learning/self teaching/self loathing of stuff that I was never taught in a crap two-year art school–’cause Web design classes weren’t around in 1990–and who knows, it might lead to some cash paying/bartering jobs in the future. I’ll post a link when it’s done… if it’s ever done.

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While it Lasted

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Last week was an optimal early spring week for getting time on the bike and continuing some mild success with the Fit to Fat & Back process. Sadly, this week has been crap. The weather was rainy, blustery, and cool; riding was limited and time spent indoors “doing stuff” was high. On top of that any potential weight loss is unknown do to my scale in need a new battery and me being too forgetful stupid to remember to buy one. Add to that my “cheat day” came earlier than expected due to a mind funk and you have the makings for a more unsuccessful week in my life than usual.

Thankfully on Friday the storms had finally moved out of the area, the high wind warnings receded, and I finally got out on my bike for a ride. A ride in cool 35˚ “spring” temperatures, but a ride nonetheless.

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East of Omaha

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During the week as I did several Better Than The Trainer Rides™ I had an eye on Saturday and the hope that it would bring warmer temperatures, dry dirt roads, and some extended miles on said dirt roads. As it turns out the temperatures weren’t going to get warm until late afternoon, and the dirt roads remained muddy messes. On top of that Wifey was going to be back in Pittsburgh for the weekend, which meant that I was solely in charge of the boy until she arrived home Sunday. Since I don’t like to stray too far away from home–in case my mad parenting skills would be need to be called into action–I headed back to the paved roads of the B.T.T.T.R™ yet again.

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Seven & Eleven

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Despite having legs that felt as heavy has a two sacks of haggis, I got out for a ride on Thursday. Right now, I’m not so concerned with the length of the rides, just trying to get consistent time on the bike. So I headed out for yet another Better Than The Trainer Ride™, but this time ventured off of pavement for a bit and reintroduced some dirt, er I should say mud, to the ride.

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Stupid vs Stupider

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A fecal laced recipe of heavy snow, strong winds, little time, and the slap in the face realization that I need to lose a toddler sized amount of weight forced me into the Stankment™ to ride the trainer for three days in a row this week. I think it’s been two years or more since I rode the trainer that many days in a row! Ever since I picked up the Fatterson there’s been no need for such stupidity. Why do something stupid like pedal a bike to nowhere in your basement, when you can do something equally as stupid–yet oddly more fun–like ride a clown bike on snow covered dirt roads in 25˚ weather.

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Pre-Snow Walkabout, Etc.

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After a weekend that featured back to back rides on the Boone, I haven’t been on a bike since. Other than some borderline useless Stankment™ based workouts, pre-moving chores, and some free design work for B’s soccer club, I’ve been a slug.

Wednesday I was jonzing to get out on the bike in the morning, but a winter storm was barreling down on Michigan and I didn’t want to get caught out in the snow storm, so I opted to attempt hiking in the woods again.

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A Reprieve From The Girth

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Last week was a strange beast indeed; one day I was riding snow and ice-covered roads in 25˚ temps, the next day it was 50˚ and I was watching debris fly by my kitchen window as winds gusted from 20 to 50 MPH. The next two days I was riding my bike on snow free roads with a grin on my face. Well, at least on Sunday I was grinning, because for nearly half of Saturday’s ride I seemed to be pedaling directly into constant headwind thinking that I should have just stayed at home watching crap FA Cup footy instead of riding.

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A Temporary Return

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It seemed like forever since I last rode outside. I am fully aware that in reality it was 11 days, but it might as well have been 1,100. As mentioned in a previous post, that time was well spent doing my best to become a Tub-O-Goo. A fatter, rounder, dumber me. Just what the world needs.

Today however I was finally able to say “Goo be damned!” and get out for a ride. Not a long ride, but a quick short 20 mile snirt road ride on the Fatterson in 25˚ temps is better than nothing, and since it was on the Fatterson it felt 50% harder, and was 40.23%  slower than when on a “real” bike (stats based on feel rather than some whacked out witchcraft like math). No offence to fat ridin’ , winter lovin’ folk, but I can’t wait to ditch the heavy fatty and get back to riding real bikes while wearing less than four layers of clothing on.

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