Saturday, August 25, 2007

Pedal Power


In the ever present “Battle of the Bulge” I am pleased to report another milestone - 30 pounds lost. I have a phrase cut out and posted on my bulletin board at work..it says “it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen”. That seems to be my mantra as of late…I am taking the plateau’s and riding them out…trying to eat healthier, keep up the exercise, and not be so “scale fixated”.

The need for keeping things interesting exercise wise has made me fall back on an old standard…I now have a new addition to my arsenal. Introducing my new Mongoose Mountain bike. Your immediate question….”should a man in his 40’s be riding a mountain bike” The jury is still out on that one.

The old adage at last for me does still hold up: “it’s like riding a bike” you never forget. Its true. For me the last time I rode a bike with any kind of consistency was during college. Once the bike was checked out, tires filled, water bottle ready – I did something else I never did back in my good old college riding days – I put on my new bike helmet. May I say this now, most people look dorky wearing a bike helmet – my new silver one makes me so much past dorky.

Here is the part I forgot. I think more than forgot, I simply pushed it from my mind choosing not to recall at all and move on. But like the flood of memories returning to an amnesiac the moment I pushed the pedal down and rode my first 3 feet it all came back to me……the seat, that numbing, genital crushing piece of torture…that’s why I didn’t ride my bike after college and drove everywhere…I wanted to not walk funny and have sensation in my groin.

So as you can imagine since college..certain parts of my anatomy have…well grown and expanded in an outward direction..hence the reasons for my fitness plan…so imagine fitting all of that volume on a seat shaped like a banana. My first ride was a success…felt good to ride…legs were strong, hands got tired, but overall really enjoyed it….but the next morning and for a couple of days following….I felt like the eraser that had been jammed down on top of a pencil…ouch.

I now have a cushioned gel seat to assist me. It helps some, but some reminders of days gone by will always be around. But on I go…if you see me out there say hello..I will be the dorky guy in the silver bike helmet with the grimace on his face.

1 comment:

Geoffrey said...

Thanks for the inspiration. I love riding my bike too, but I cannot do it in this heat. I'm waiting for mid to late Sept to pick it up again. Where do you ride?