 |
| Here is my monthly update of the view of the creek on McGregor Road. I'll have to put all these together in December to get the progressive view. |
 |
| Red's Corner, located at the corner of Acton Road and Rocklane Road. |
 |
| A stream on Maze Road. I believe it is located on the Aikman Farm. |
 |
| The Brookfield Baptist Church in Brookfield, Indiana |
This was a good week for me. I had the most consistent week for exercise activity since January, and I think I've finally kicked the sickness that has been dogging me since mid-May. I rode my bike several times, and I walked in between rides a few times. One walk I'm particularly proud of was in Owensboro, Kentucky. It was a scorching hot day in the mid to upper 90s, and I'd been traveling all day, but I got out and walked over two miles!
I like to exercise, but sometimes I'm just tired. This week, I pretty well pushed through that and got my miles in anyway. Often it is hard to do that, and I do give in to the weariness at times, but trying to hit a particularly lofty goal like 2011 miles in one year helps to motivate me out of my chair or off my hotel room bed.
I've been thinking a lot about that goal...complete 2011 miles in the year 2011 by walking, running, or cycling...and I'm starting to doubt that I'll be able to get there. I made some rules for myself to make it a tougher goal to hit...only miles completed outside will count...no treadmills or exercise bikes. With that in mind, I've seen that with my work and travel schedule that limitation is a real hinderance. That said, I'm not going to change the rules in mid-stream. I'm going to hang with this program and do the best I can to get there, but I'm thinking I'll repeat the program next year and allow the indoor miles. In the second year, the primary focus will be fitness, and utilizing the tools of the treadmills and indoor bikes will play right into that.
Shifting gears...
Yesterday, I went out for a 17.4 mile ride and two things of note happened:
1. I rode south on Acton Road to start off. My plan was to ride to Red's Corner, then turn around and head back to Acton where I'd veer off for a side loop. Well, as I rode into the light southerly wind, it just seemed like it was taking way too much energy to pump the pedals. A few things went through my mind as I was grinding out the ride. One was that maybe the wind was hampering more that usual because of my weakened legs due to the inactivity last year after my Achilles surgery. Another was that maybe I'd really lost more steam than I'd thought by being sick in May. Hmmm. I kept shifting to lighter gears and pumping along...sweating profusely. I just couldn't wait to get to the turn around point.
So, I reached Red's Corner and stopped for a breather and a good drink of water. I unclipped from the pedals and stood straddling the bike for a couple of minutes, enjoying the break. When I finally decided to get going again, I went to scoot the bike toward the road and realized that my rear tire didn't want to move. I scooted it again, I guess just to confirm that I wasn't imagining it. Upon futher inspection, I discovered that my rear brake was stuck in a position where it was dragging heavily on the wheel.
No wonder I was having trouble peddling. I adjusted the brake and the rest of the ride went much better, but when I was done, my 17 mile ride felt a lot like a 37 mile ride.
2. Toward the end of the ride, I turned north on Acton Road from one of the side roads in the town. I hadn't gone far before a minivan passed me and some dufus stuck his head out of the window and made an incomprehensible comment. I say "incomprehensible" truly because I could not understand what he said. No matter what he said however, I could tell by the tone that it was supposed to be funny at my expense.
Ha ha ha.
Why do people have to compensate for their own idiocy by trying to belittle someone else? Maybe I'll send a recommendation to the mayor to put up a sign on Acton Road: "Caution. Rednecks Crossing!" or "Caution. Dufus at Play!"
Okay, here are the numbers...
Miles Completed: 317.5
Percentage Completed: 15.79%
Current Weight: 257.2 lbs (Down just a bit. Right direction anyway!)
Time to go.
See you on the road.
Mike
No comments:
Post a Comment