Day 179-Weigh-in Day: 316.4lbs

WEEK 25

Start Weight: 365.4

Last Week's Weight: 317.8

Current Weight: 316.4

This Week’s Weight Loss: 1.4lbs

Total Weight Loss: 49lbs

Miles Biked this Week: 107.45

Total Miles Biked: 1555.95

Miles to Go: 5944.05

GEOGRAPHY (Where I'd be on the map having started at my house in Salt Lake City, Utah, heading for Tokyo):

Pacific Ocean (850 miles off the west coast. I am heading for the Hawaiian Islands)

WEEK’S MILEAGE

Monday: 7.85

Tuesday: 8.25

Wednesday: 28.49

Thursday: 7.73

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 55.13

TODAY:

This morning I got up at 4:15am and got ready to take on my first 50-mile ride! I knew I could do this ride, it’s just that I wanted to know how bad it would be on my knees and butt. I met a couple of my buddies at 5am and we took off to the Jordan River Parkway. It’s a paved bike route that travels pretty much the length of the Salt Lake Valley.

The first couple of hours we rode in the dark, which was a little annoying, but next year doing the Fuji ride, I’ve got to ride in the dark for 5 hours. So it was a good taste for me. My bike light that I bought 6 months ago has never really worked right, so I took a cheap ole LED flash light and duct-taped it to my handle bars. Worked like a charm until hitting a bunch of bumps, then it would flicker on and off with each bump.

We rode through a few sprinklers that were watering the pavement---that was nice and refreshing at 6am! I really like the bike path. It’s pretty level and doesn’t pose too many hills. It’s just a great endurance ride. We got out to about 13800 South (about 20 miles from our starting point) and the path was closed due to some construction. We tried to find a way to get past it but they had it blocked really well. The only way to get past it was to ride through some brush and then turn on to Bangerter Highway. That is not something you want to do on that busy highway. It’s more like a freeway. So we turned around and rode 35 miles back down the path. I got a flat tire on the way back and when I looked at the tire there wasn’t just one thorn, but 2 thorns in my tire. I think that came from off-roading it when we were trying to get past the closed section of the path. We stopped to fix that flat, which I am a pro at now. I think I’ve had 7 flat tires over the past 2-3 weeks. As I was fixing the flat, I nice older gentleman rode up to us with a bike pump and asked if I’d like to use it. I have a little mini hand pump, and so his regular sized pump made it really easy. We chatted about him being a retired WWII vet and pilot. He was very friendly and has recently been dealing with cancer. What a nice man who showed up out of nowhere, and came and made life easier for me! He was riding a Beach Cruiser-type bike. It was like he was sitting there waiting for us, and then showed up to offer service! Cool dude. He was gone as quick as he appeared.

Well, about 30 miles into the ride I could feel my knees really starting bark. Nothing serious, but I could feel the pressure. Taking the 10-minute break to fix the flat helped. Then my knees started feeling better again, but my butt was starting to get a little sore. I was riding my “bleeding gel” seat that I’ve covered with duct-tape and a plastic bag. It still works, but I really need to get a new seat.

I drank a 32oz Powerade during the ride, ate a Clif Bar, and a few pretzels. I didn’t ever feel hungry, or thirsty. Everything went well. It was good to get home and get off that bike seat. I had to immediately shower and head out the door to a special occasion my friends were having. My legs and knees are sore I tell ya. I hope I can walk tomorrow.

It was a great experience and again, if someone would have told me 6 months ago that I’d be doing a 50-mile bike ride, I would have laughed. It showed me that I am on my way. I’ve put in over 1500 miles so far…it’s paying off for something…I think.

The ride from Tokyo to Mount Fuji is 60 miles, and has a steady but not too bad incline. If I can do a 50-miler right now at 317lbs, what will I be able to do in a year from now, at 210lbs!

I think one of the biggest things I needed to do today was see how long I could stay in the saddle. We were on the ride for 6 hours. We probably were off our bikes for no longer than 20 minutes during that time. But I was grateful that I survived for 6 hours. But, again, it was nice to get off that seat today, and rest the butt.

LEARNED:

There are 2 interesting things to consider today. 1) This time next year I will be riding in Japan, and 2) I have lost 49lbs…almost 50! I sure hope by next week I can get past this “50lbs lost” mark. It’s going to take some more serious riding, and sticking to my good eating to not just get past that mark, but on to others. Consistent commitment! So this coming week…let’s hit that 50lbs mark…then the next mark will be hitting the 299lbs mark. Once I hit that, I will be out of the 300lbs Club!! 16 more pounds to go!

EATING:

This was another good week of eating, but I would like to start coming up with some recipes for things. I need some variety. If you’ve got a good “bikers” recipe, let me know.

FILM:

Got a few clips filmed this week. Good things happening!

MOTIVATION TUESDAY TEASER:

It looks like I got some good comments about Motivation Tuesday! Thank you for reading Swim Bike Mom’s interview. I hope she motivated you, as she motivated me! This coming Tuesday, I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine that Lives in Washington DC, who has been doing some Triathlons, and has made biking part of, not only his own life, but his entire family’s life. He took his wife and two daughters to Germany and they all biked 100 miles over a week. His daughters are 6 and 8 years old. Stay tuned to learn about his adventures and what keeps him moving. You’ll really like Mark!

I’m going to put in another good week. Let’s both make it a great week!

Don

I wann grow up to be like these guys!

This is what it looked like biking at 5am on the Parkway

This was about as far as we could go today on the Parkway.

They don't want you to go past this point.

Bike Helmet Head