Registered for KCMBC Spring Classic

Registered today for my first organized group cycling event – the KCMBC-organized Spring Classic. 

The ride (which is non-competitive, i.e. not a race) has 26, 46, and 70 mile routes.  I opted for the 26, which will be plenty challenging for me.  I’ve done over 26 miles only a couple times to date, and those were in good conditions and favorable terrain.  This would be a big accomplishment for me.  I am nervous but excited to participate in this thing.

My First 5K

Participated in my first-ever 5k today – the KC-area Rock the Parkway.  I only walked, not ran – I’m not yet at a fitness level to run a full 5k.  Walked with a friend for the enjoyment and experience of the thing, versus trying to compete.

This was an absolute blast – couldn’t have been a cooler experience for my first 5k, just like my “mentor” Linda B said it would be.

I’m planning to participate in more of these 5k’s this year, mixing in some jogging – with a modest jogging/walking ratio to start but increasing with time.

As mentioned in this post, this blog is about cycling, and cycling remains both my focus and the site’s focus; but for me, riding the bike, eating healthier, walking/jogging, getting into better shape, are all different facets of the same thing, and accordingly I’ll use this single location to update progress in that entire area.

Powerful Beyond Measure

Had to share this.  Extremely motivational.

Randonneuring

In the early days of my interest in cycling, I would, in the course of my reading, run across the terms “brevet”, “randonneur”, “randonneuring”.  I had only a vague understanding of these, but they seemed sufficiently alien and distant from my capabilities – even my interests – that I didn’t devote much attention to them.

But with any hobby/interest, the passage of time paired with the exposure to an ever-wider view of the territory, serves as a lens, as a tool to aid you to better learn, or define, what is particularly interesting or meaningful to you.  That’s certainly been my experience.  And, so it is with me & cycling.

With time I’ve refined some aspects of my interest in cycling:

Quote of the Day for 4/8/2012

Pain is merely weakness leaving the body.

My First Century! …well, sorta…

In one of my first posts on this site, January 9th, I was happy to announce that I’d ridden my first “half century”, but quickly clarified that this was tongue-in-cheek and that I’d only had my first 50-mile week of cycling, not 50-mile day.

Three months of not-always-consistent bicycling later, I’ve accomplished my first “century week”.  Put over the top by my current personal best 41-mile ride, I logged 104 miles on the bike this week, which strongly improves upon my previous best of 84.3 miles from late January.

With my recent re-dedication to cycling and resolution to continue getting more fit and accomplishing various long-term cycling goals, I expect to continue improving my daily, weekly and monthly personal bests.

New Personal Daily Distance Best (40.8 miles)

Bicycled 40.8 miles today, exceeding my previous personal best for ride distance of 29.3 miles set in mid-February.

Hi, My Name is Bill, and I’m an Addict.

This is a blog created to chronicle my adventures with the bike, so I don’t want to broaden the scope of it.  That being said, for me riding the bike and losing weight/getting into shape are intertwined and inseparable.  As I describe on my About page, riding the bike was a critical piece of the puzzle I put into place in order to lose weight.

Accordingly, I’ll allow myself a very brief detour from the primary subject matter.