I did the full 30 minutes this morning, followed by 150 sit-ups and 30 bicycles.

I’ll probably also work some push-ups, tricep curls, and shoulder lifts in the coming weeks.  One of the biggest problems I face every year is upper back, shoulder, and neck tightness and soreness.  The additional upper body exercises will hopefully alleviate that this year.

For my Christmas present, Peggy hooked me up with a nutritionist/personal trainer. I met with her last week about the nutrition part and I start work-outs Monday morning. So far the diet is easy. We’re focusing more on how to get the nutrients I need, rather than portion sizes (for now).

So I finally went grocery shopping today and stocked up the fridge with healthy food. I’m looking forward to this new, healthy lifestyle!

My goals are simple – I want to lose that 30 pounds and get into shape so that I can hit the ground running (pedaling) when bicycle season starts. Every spring for the past three years I have had to start basically from scratch with the bicycle training, and it seems like it takes half the season to get up to speed. I don’t want that to happen again this year. I’d like to be able to do a century in May instead of September.

Wish me luck!

Cyclists who wear protective helmets are more likely to be knocked down by passing vehicles.

This could cause me to rethink my previous statement. Now the question is, together with the ugliness of those helmets is the increased safety risk enough to make you not wear them? Personally, I think this is somewhat less relevant that the “But then I can’t see where I’m going” argument that motorcyclists use with their helmets.

Read the article, it’s funny. Particularly:

Dr. Ian Walker was struck by a bus and a lorry during the experiment.

I’m sorry – no, it’s not funny that he was struck.  Luckily he had a helmet on both times.

I wanted to take a longer ride this weekend, but things didn’t work out. I had about an hour this afternoon so I decided to just sprint my old 10 mile loop. This loop is pretty hilly and when I started training four months ago, I could average maybe 14 or 14.5 mph on this loop. I since graduated to longer and longer distances (although also flatter), and after awhile I quit doing the 10 mile loop altogether. So it’s probably been a couple months.

Today it was raining and 55 degrees, but the ride was surprisingly comfortable. I’ve been pretty fortunate this summer and haven’t gotten caught in the rain, so I was also intrigued by the idea of some poor-weather riding. I finished the ride in less than 40 minutes and averaged 16.4 mph (you road-bike riders keep in mind this is on a mountain bike with fat tires). The hills seemed a lot smaller than I remembered them! In the past, I would climb the hills slowly and at the top I was out of breath and coasted down the back side. Today, my legs pumped me up those hills like they weren’t even there, and on the backside I cranked up the gear and shot down to the next uphill.By the end I was quite out of breath and my heart was racing, but my legs felt perfectly fine (though slightly shaky as I got off the bike). I realized that this was probably the first ride this summer that my heart got a better work-out than my legs. It was a neat feeling. I’m going to have to do more sprints like that in the future.

This was really my first ride since the century last weekend. That ride took a long time to recover from. But I think I have just experienced the benefits of those longer trips. I must have put on a lot of muscle mass.

Also keep in mind I was a flabby couch potato at the beginning of the summer. I guess I still am, but I’m starting to replace some of that flab with muscle. And it feels real good. I really hope I can keep up with some kind of exercise routine through the winter so that I don’t have to start from square one with my riding next summer again.

I have always felt those bike helmets were the most ridiculous looking things. I put off buying one until recently, frankly because “we never had to wear helmets when we were kids, and we turned out just fine!” Preparing for my 100 mile trek, though, gave me pause and I decided it would be better to be safe than sorry.

So I guess I have joined the “goofy looking safe bicyclists club”.

Iron Donkey is one of many companies organizing tours of Ireland. They handle everything from bike and equipment rental to luggage transport and accomodations. So if you’re looking for a “vacation” that’s probably a good way to go.

On the other end of the spectrum, Rednels over at My European Bike Tour is planning a self-guided tour across Northern Europe in about 9 months that sounds like a lot of fun. If you’re interested in learning from his planning and experience, keep an eye on his blog.

If only I had done it when I was in college, had more disposable income, and no dependents. Maybe I’ll still get there one of these years. Here’s hoping.

At most stops I wrote a little bit about how I was feeling, the weather, and anything interesting that happened since the last stop. It was a very fun trip. I think I will try it again next year, but I will definitely try to build up to it a little more before I go. If I have a road bike next year, that will make it a lot easier.

If you like, you can read the journal of my trip, and there’s a few pictures thrown in that I took along the way…

6:05am – departure

6:45am – stopped to stretch. Just saw a couple deer on the trail, doe and fawn (sorry no picture). The doe stood broadside on the trail and watched me approach. I didn’t see the fawn until they took off. I feel good, back is a little stiff, but not bad. My wrist is good. I got some annoying sniffles and no Kleenex.

7:41am (19.5 mi) – Just past Cedar Grove, off the trail now. Weather is gorgeous, sun behind the clouds, very little breeze. I’m stopped at the I43 memorial. Stretched out, wrist still good, back getting tighter. Had first equipment failure at 13 miles. Bad omen? I went over some railroad tracks and the pack fell off of my rear rack. My camera was in the bag and was damaged. It still works, though. I rigged the pack up a little better so it shouldn’t be a problem again.

8:38am (30.7 mi) – Back is really stiff now. Stopped at gas station to stretch and use facilities. Sun is out now and getting warmer – 70 degrees. Legs still feel good.

9:41am (40.6 mi) – First glimpse of the lake since I left this morning. Just stopped to stretch and snap a picture.

10:53am (54.5 mi) – Should be about halfway. Had to take a slight (8 miles or so) detour because of a bridge out on LS between CTH-X and CTH-F. I’m back on course now, should be to Manitowoc by 12:30 or so. Back and neck are really stiff. I don’t see how I can make it another 50. I’ll take a nice long break in Manitowoc. Legs are starting to feel it now.

11:44am (60.8 mi) – Beginning of the end, I’m afraid. I saw a park bench and couldn’t say “no”. I’m just south of Manitowoc at “Silver Creek Park”.

12:40pm (62.9 mi) – Made it to Manitowoc. Made a couple phone calls, grabbed some lunch, going to hang out down by the lakeshore for awhile before tackling the last 40 miles.

1:22pm – Just about to take off from Manitowoc. Took a little nap on a park bench. Sun is high, no clouds in sight. Took a few pictures of the lake:

5:23pm (100.0 mi) – Had to stop at this momentous point in my journey to take a picture of the speedometer. I’m just north of Kewaunee, way behind schedule, and tired beyond comprehension. Since Manitowoc I have had to stop every 5 miles or so to stretch out my back and neck. I think I have about 10 miles to go. I’ll make it!

6:15pm (111.5 mi) – Arrived in Algoma, exhausted but alive!

Here’s leg 1, Saukville to Sheboygan (30 miles so far):

And here’s the second leg, Sheboygan to Manitowoc (this should be about the 60 mile mark):

And here’s the last 40 mile leg from Manitowoc to Algoma:

Wish me luck and say a prayer. Check back on Tuesday for pictures from the ride.