The wife journeys have come and passed. The first trip was pretty unsuccessful and Anita did a pretty good job. She's not exactly the "most" athletic person but is willing to put forth an effort in most things!

We left my Dad's house and I already had a route mapped out in my head. Things went pretty smoothly and I was trying to tell her about shifting, momentum and cadence, but honestly I'm still learning the same thing as well!

She struggles a little bit right now with the longer climbs. I should also note she has suffered from asthma from birth and her lung capacity is probably limited some. She felt like it was more being out of shape than the asthma, but she did fine. At one point she stopped and I peddled onward, and picked her up on the flip flop. I then ventured a right onto a gravel road, which unfortunately, made for some rough peddling. She eventually stopped and went back, giving me the wave to keep going.

I made my route, with a little stoppage on the long Hopkins ascent, but eventually made it to the top and ventured on towards Dad's, mostly downhill! Anita had made it back and rode even further back South down the blacktop and seemed none worse for the wear!

The next day I had planned another route and was upping my distance to 8 miles. Yesterday I had rode just 4.5 miles, but felt like today would be a good day to go further. I had just got home and changed when Anita called. I hadn't said a thing to her about riding,and wondered if this would be the old "go ahead without me" call, but she was asking "if" we were riding.

I waited, of course, for her to get there and off we went for day #2. Today's journey I had laid out in Somerville. I planned to go 8 miles or bust. The trip was all along decent blacktop, with some hills, but nothing to serious. The first long hill is were Anita bailed on me, but I kept going. I made out to about 4 miles and reversed my route. I wasn't really tired, but was happy when I received a call on the cell about some construction work at my mother-in-laws lot. It was a short conversation, just long enough to catch my breath and grab a little water and I was off again.

Nothing real eventful, but as usual my calculations were off and I only made an official 7.8 mile journey. Tonight the wife is working in Evansville so I'm loaded and ready to roll after work. Going to do at least 8, maybe 10 miles. We'll have to see!

Somewhat proud of myself, and Anita for that matter. I rode everyday this week so far,and she has ridden twice. I feel like I'm continually getting stronger and that's what my goal is.

Food has been OK, not good, but just OK. I ate out at lunch everyday so far. Once at Subway, twice at Gatti-Land and yesterday at Shyler's. Shyler's is coming off the list. Seems like every time I go there it gives me the diaroo! Not good when biking, I think! Gatti's is decent and I load up on salad then have a bread stick or two and some pasta. Dinner has been about the usual, just trying to make more decent choices.

I feel like I'm doing good, and at some point soon would like to weigh,just to see if I'm doing as good as I think.

Back home again in the old stripper pits!

Day two of the riding seemed like a good idea. I was determined to keep riding, so I ventured off to my old stomping grounds today for a little nostalgic ride through the pits. Most people don't know what "stripper pits" are, but when the coal mines strip, or dig up the earth to harvest the coal, they used to leave mounds or spoils of the dirt. Over time, they become re-forested and provide a lot of enjoyment for outdoor enthusiast, who like to fish, hunt, four-wheel and dirt bikes, etc...

Back in the late 70's and early 80's when I rode out there it was all owned by the mining companies. Since then they have sold or leased these many acres of land to individuals, corporations and so forth, so now all of the land is private property. Fortunately for me, my brother and some buddies have leased 600+ acres, which they hunt and fish on.

I parked at the old Coleman Cemetery, I believe. There are a few cemeteries the mines stripped around in the area and I always get the names mixed up! This particular spot is well know for the parties back in the day and more so for being the dump site of a local double murder. In 1986 a young couple murdered her parents because they wouldn't let her marry this gentleman. Anyway they killed them one night around Christmas and dumped their bodies over a highwall, or cliff, to be found later by a guy scrounging through some junk. In these pictures, it would be just about right of my seat! Awesome huh?

This was the beginning of my adventure! I took off down an old road I had traveled probably a thousand times on dirt bikes, but everything had changed. It was all grown up and briers were everywhere, including my unprotected, fleshy legs! I eventually made it to a old ditch, where unfortunately another guy had perished several years ago as well in a car wreck. My brother had made a bridge over the creek but was made for 4-wheelers and the pipe were just wide enough for a bike tire to drop in to. I walked the bike across this section! The section ahead of me was heavily grown over and I could hardly see the old trail. It eventually ran in to a hairy section of briers, and I retreated back across the rickety bridge.

I then ventured off towards what used to be "The Highwall"! We used to climb these steep embankments, but the State has came in and leveled most of these areas down. Safety concerns I guess? It was a pretty good climb and I made it, only stopping once because of a tree on the trail. I decided, it would be more fun to ride backwards, or in the opposite direction next time...all down hill! It was pretty cool to again see the areas I had spent so much of my youth in riding. The "highwall" itself is no longer, just a gently rolling hill, not as perilous as it was back then, but still an awesome site.

I took off down the old trail, which was gone and now replaced with a ton of black locust trees, the ones with the big ass thorns! More ripped flesh! That trail evidently had become flooded over the years and was now about 4-6 inches of soft gooey mud! I made it through most, determined to make it back to the old haulage road unscathed!

I encountered a big branch and tried to pedal over the stick, but lost traction with the bike and my foot and the pedal. The back of my calf ripped across the gnarly pedal teeth, tearing even more flesh. This one actually bled a bit. I cussed a little, and trudged onward.

I finally made it out to the road, stopped for some water and took off down the road towards the old "Junk Pile" road. It too was all grown up, but the boys did have a gate there and I could easily climb over or under it and take off down another memory lane so to speak.

I chickened out! Hell I was beat and bleeding and still had a mile or so back to the van! I leisurely pedaled back to the transporter,wiped some blood off my leg and cracked into a Gatorade. A beer sounds better, but Gator Juice and water was all I had!

I plan to come back often and explore my youths playground, but tonight may be the biggest challenge of all...riding with the wife!

Pyshoholic breakdown

My bike came in last week, which I was really excited for, but the strangest thing happened on the way to Henderson. Probably not strange in an addicts world, but I often wonder, or know, I'm addicted to food of some sorts.

I stopped at KFC for no reason other than seeing the new "boneless" chicken grabber things advertised and had two, on the way to pick up my "healthy" mountain bike. I then stopped immediately afterward at Dairy Queen in Henderson for burger, onion rings and a blizzard, with my new bike in tow!

I really wish I understood addiction more than I do. I read the Heroine Diaries by Nikki Sixx a while back and it's amazing to see how others handle and deal with addiction, or not handling actually. Granted, I'm fighting off burgers and rings, while Nikki was a drug fueled mad man, but still the concept of an addiction is mind blowing.

What made me just suddenly snap, with no self control, to do what I did. I'm sure it's a psychological imbalance of some sort, but still, you have to wonder just what triggers shit like that.

I had the bike for over a week before I actually rode it. Makes you wonder right? Well. Kody was prepping for a LL qualifier all week and I was busy getting the van, bike, etc... ready for that, plus the weather wasn't cooperating too much either. I decided this week was going to be different!

Last night I stopped at Bluegrass and rode the 29er for 4.8 miles, in just over 35 minutes. Not too bad I guess, but I actually never got too winded, but did stop and walk for maybe 75 yards up a incline.

The bike itself is pretty bad ass, and I really like the way it looks and handles. An $800 bike ought to look cool and work, right? I got my bike at Breck's Bicycles. They all are a pretty cool bunch, but while I was there, they had a couple customers come in with road bikes. The one guy picked up a custom set of Zipp wheels, which go for about $800 each, just for the rim! I just thought Mountain bikes were expensive I guess!!

Anyway, I'm planning on hitting it again tonight, not the DQ, but the open road! Remarkably my back and hip didn't hurt any, unlike now while sitting here typing away with a dull pain in my butt cheek. Weird, it usually goes away after I'm up and moving! God's sign to get my ass up and move I guess!

Oh yeah, I went back to the Dr. Etherton and my blood work was good, my BP is doing much better and he really liked my iPhone apps i use to send him updates. I lost right at 9 lbs as well, since Feb. 13, so something must be working!

One month in!

Well it's been a month since I started all this and I'm proud to say, I'm still doing pretty good. The problem is, when I started I weighed on 3 different scales and they all had different numbers!

I believe when I started I was in the 331 - 336 lbs. range. I weighed at the Surgery Center last Thursday and was 326.7 lbs, so I know I have been losing weight! I settled on saying 331 pounds as my initial weight, that's what the digital scale at Tri-State Ortho said, so I'm a believer!

Now another "problem" of sorts; we have quit the Surgery Center cleaning gig! No place to weigh again. Anita started a full time job, with benefits this past Monday, so we are no longer cleaning 'til 8 or 9 PM most nights!! I'll just have to find another weigh in spot. Hooray!

I really disliked working there, but I really disliked having my wife there till 10 or 11 PM every night by herself. I loved the people working there and will miss them all, but I was never comfortable with her taking trash out to a dark dumpster and the thought of some crackhead scoping the place out in search of pain meds coerced me into helping. Thankfully we never had a single issue, but I felt better knowing at least I was the one now taking the risk of getting conked in the head!!

Anyway the healthy eating has really not been a problem. It's almost always plain oatmeal, a banana and apple for breakfast. Healthy Choice at lunch, then a sensible dinner somewhere! I can honestly tell I'm losing weight too. In the face, arms, etc.. and especially the chest or "man boobs" seem to be getting smaller! The Livestrong website has made it fun to track food and has really opened my eyes to better choices. My sodium intake was astonishing sometimes as to what I was eating. We went to Denny's one Sunday morning and I had my usual Lumberjack Slam. Almost 1,800 mg. of sodium right there on one plate. That was 186% of my daily intake right there. Pretty amazing, when you start paying attention.

I have also noticed my blood sugar reading have gone down quit a bit as well. My blood pressure has not been so lucky! It seems to be still running high and I have another appoint for that next Thursday and I expect a medication change.

I finally ordered my a bike too! I had hem hawed back and forth on several different bikes, but eventually decide to stick with what I've had in the past, which is Specialized! I had a Hard Rock a few years ago and sold it, but always felt like they made awesome bikes. I had actually offered to buy a Rockhopper 26" bike from some dude of eBay. Actually he didn't receive any bids and I offered him $435 shipped for the bike. He never seemed to receptive to shipping the bike, and I now wonder if it was stolen or what. Anyway, I looked at the 29er's at Dan's in Mt. Vernon and would have bought from them again, but the guy I was dealing with just didn't seem to want to "deal"! My Dave Ramsey teachings was ready to offer a cash for the deal, but he just didn't want to talk. They would have had to ordered the bike anyways, and maybe once it arrived they would have been in a dealing mood, but it made it easy for me "just walk away".

Anyway, I called every Specialized dealer in the area, hoping to find one in stock, but to no avail. I even convinced myself to go with a Cannondale in Bloomington, IN and even started that way, but waffled back to the Spez!

I ordered it from Breck's Bikes in Owensboro, KY, got a deal and awaiting it's arrival as I type. It's black with some brown accents and looks pretty sweet to me, especially considering the other color choice is sea foam green!

I saw Dr. Whitacre this week as well and it seems like my back/leg problem is getting better. I do still have some pain at times, but just in the upper part of my butt cheek! I really think once that pain radiates down towards my leg, the epidural injection blocks it there. I'm not a doctor, but that's my diagnosis! I asked him about biking and he felt it probably wouldn't be a problem, but hell, who knows. He said they also "last" from anywhere from a few weeks to even years, so I'm optimistic it lasts a while.

If the new velocipede makes it here by the weekend, I plan to do some riding to just see how much pain I have. Hopefully none.