Archive for November 2011

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Detour

November 29, 2011

Ya know, it’s that time of year.  Winter is fast approaching (although, from the last few days, I would say it’s officially here), daylight is gone, and my commutes are fading into a blur of sameness.  Nothing and nobody to see on the streets, no excursions to take, no excitement to break the monotony of riding the same route in the twilight and dark, day after day.   

Until yesterday, that is.  It was too dark and nippy to stop for pictures, but I had road construction to detour around on the way home.  At Kimbrough and Walnut, Kimbrough was closed, so I had to make my way around the barriers on Walnut,  skirt the construction areas and make my way over to Hammons Parkway before continuing my normal path down Cherry Street.

I guess this time of year it doesn’t take much to make my commute more exciting than it normally is…..

God bless…

TW

 

 

 

 

Categories: bicycle, Bike Commute, cold weather cycling, Cycling, Fitness
Tags: , , , , ,

Comments: 1 Comment

Motivation

November 28, 2011

My Thanksgiving weekend didn’t really lend itself to getting out on a bike.  The best weather occurred when there’s no way I could justify sneaking off (Come on…you know what I’m talking about!), then the wheels fell off weather-wise.  I did manage to get a decent workout in every day, and two of those were on the spin bike using the DVD’s that came with it.  I’ve now been through three of the four we have, and two of them were actually pretty decent.

As “background noise” on one of those workouts DVD’s, the instructor was talking about motivation and goals.  That got me to considering what actually motivates me to work out and ride my bike.  I realized that it was pretty easy to identify what motivates me, but that I had probably never articulated the entire list before in that context. 

So…for your reading pleasure…and in no particular order….

The things that motivate me to be as fit as I can be.

 Endorphins – Believe it or not, you really can get addicted to exercise.  Pam says she’s not to that point yet, but there is no doubt that I need to exercise nearly every day or I start feeling like crap.  I have symptoms of withdrawal if I don’t burn enough calories.  I get grumpy.  I get tense and jittery.  I pace a lot, and generally drive Pam crazy.

Love for Cycling – I’ve often heard or read that the best way to ensure success in a fitness program is to find something you enjoy doing, then do it a lot.  That works for me….

A full and abundant life – I believe each of us was created with the intention that we should live a full and abundant life, both spiritually and physically.  As I grew up, my dad was nothing but a couch potato.  His idea of fun was sitting on the couch, either reading a book or watching Wheel of Fortune or some other garbage.  Now, at age 74, he suffers from high blood pressure, diabetes, multiple bouts of bladder cancer, Alzheimer’s, and who knows what else that I just haven’t figured out yet.  He can’t walk a block or get dressed without huffing and puffing.  He would injure himself if he ever tried to do anything strenuous, but he never does so I don’t need to worry about that. That’s not exactly a full and abundant life.  I want something more as I age.  I want to stay young forever because there’s a lot of stuff I still want to see and do.  The kind of stuff my dad never imagined….

That’s my list.  What’s on yours?

God bless…

TW

 

Categories: Cycling

Comments: 4 Comments

Stuff I See 11-23-2011

November 23, 2011

Ouch!  This light pole across the street from Harrison Stadium took a hit sometime yesterday.  Not sure what it is about this place, but last week the two signs on the traffic calming curb at that same location (pictured below) were flattened.

For some reason, when the city put them back up, they only raised them to half of their original height.  What’s up with that?  Are they trying to save costs on pipe and poles?

God bless…

TW

Categories: bicycle, Bike Commute, Cycling, Fitness
Tags: , , , ,

Comments: 3 Comments

Gray, Foggy, Damp, and Ugly

November 22, 2011

We’ve got a theme going on down here in the Queen City of the Ozarks.  A weather theme.  A gray, foggy, damp, ugly theme.  Every day looks the same.  Five days in a row of gray, foggy, damp and ugly.  It’s not very fun out there when it’s gray, foggy, damp, and ugly.  Kind of depressing, really.  Did I tell you it’s gray, foggy, damp, and ugly around here?

Well, it is…and I’m tired of it.  I want the sun to shine!

We got rained out of our morning run today so Pam and I took advantage of our home gym.   She wanted to try one of the spinning DVD’s, so I bucked up and did what I had to do.

Yep, I ran on the Dreadmill.  I managed to get in 5k without losing my mind.  It kind of helps to do intervals to keep your mind occupied.  Afterward, I packed my bag, grabbed my raingear and headed off on what can only be described as a sloppy ride to work.  The rain had tapered to a heavy drizzle, but there was a strong wind from the northwest to mess with your head.

As I was wheeling my bike into the building, Nurse Sally was following me in.  As I held the door for her, she said, “Sure is an ugly day for a bike, isn’t it?”.

Know what?  I had to agree with her, but in my heart I knew that the alternative would have annoyed me more….

God bless…

TW

Categories: bicycle, Bike Commute, cold weather cycling, Cycling, Fitness, rain
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Comments: 2 Comments

When I need to drive

November 21, 2011

One of the occasional issues that arises because of bike commuting is what to do when you need to leave the office for some reason during the day.  For me, that doesn’t occur often, but occasionally I will need to leave for a dentist’s or doctor’s appointment (more frequent these days because of Dad’s health issues) or an off-site meeting.  For me, when I started riding my bike to work, I determined that I wouldn’t let that be an inconvenience to  anyone.  I didn’t feel right asking co-workers for rides to meetings – although we mostly car-pool – or asking them to come uptown just because I didn’t drive that day.  Doctor and dentist appointments are a given….I can’t ride my bike to those.

That meant I occasionally have to drive simply because in spite of my opinion that life should revolve around riding my bike, it doesn’t.  It’s not a big deal, and I’ve always treated it as just part of the game.

Lately, however, things have been different.  It started last May when Pam changed jobs.  For the past six years, she had been working in a clinic on the Cox Health south campus, but is now back working in the clinic where she started with Cox Health at the Cox North Campus.  That’s three blocks north of my office!

That means I have a car at my disposal anytime I need it!  I simply bring my Prius key (or borrow hers), walk to Cox North, then drive to my meeting or appointment.  I eat lunch with Pam every day, so if I need the car in the afternoon, I just bring it back then to save a few minutes. 

You wanna know something funny, though?  It took me a couple of months to hoist aboard the fact that I always had a car parked three blocks away and drove a few times that I didn’t really need to.  Oh well…I’ve never claimed to be the sharpest tool in the shed. 

How about you?  Do you use creative means like that to avoid driving?

God bless….

TW

Categories: bicycle, Bike Commute, Cycling, Fitness
Tags: , , ,

Comments: 3 Comments

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