So I joined a gym

I joined a gym last week. I had avoided doing so for 44 years, but there you go.

I tend to have an obsessive personality. The dark side of this is that for many obsessiveness can lead to addiction. I've been able to avoid this, despite the fact that alcoholism runs in the family. My parents never took up drinking for this reason, and it's a decision I certainly respect. Like most American males, I did take up drinking in college and had a lot of fun with it. I also didn't give it up after college, and consumed a lot of beer during my 20s and 30s. But I eventually grew out of it around the time of 9/11.

Unfortunately, my waistline also grew. It's safe to say that the kind of full-bodied lagers that I was so fond of give one an excellent base for the classic beer belly sported by so many of us 40-somethings. When you add in a lack of physical effort and the kind of food readily available to us in our society, you can easily end up topping the scales on the north side of three bills like I did.

The best way I can put this in perspective is to chronicle what I did this week. I rode my bike Sunday and Monday. Then it started raining. Instead of sitting around lamenting the weather, I went to the gym Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and worked out an hour each day. Heck, I might even go back this afternoon if I cant' get a ride in.

When a personal trainer was showing me the equipment at the gym we came to the stair stepper. I intimated to her that two years ago I avoided any physical effort whatsoever. I would troll the parking lot for the best parking spot. I would take the elevator if I could avoid even one flight of stairs, because I'd be winded like nobody's business pulling my wide body air frame up to the second level. When not working I sat around all day and did nothing. Now I am was on a machine that was created for the purpose of mimicking the very thing I avoided most. And enjoying it.

People close to me know my story. They know how I was a few pounds overweight through college. How I got back into shape in my 20s for a while when I was flirting with high blood pressure. How I really let myself go after Colleen died. They know about the illness that almost took my life and had me flat on my back for six months.

I could feel sorry for myself, but that's not in my nature. It amazes me that so many people don't realize that it's not the events in one's life that shape it: It's one's attitude about them.

I have not felt this good since college. The cycling has certainly led to that, but the gym workouts have been the icing on the cake. If I have any regrets, it is that I could have accomplished more during my 20s and 30s if I had as much energy as I do now.

When you feel really good like I do right now, the blue sky is a little bluer, your son's or daughter's smile makes you smile a little longer and music even sounds better.

Somethign to think about

I want to pass this on from the ADA, because I think it is something important to think about during this election year. Two years ago today Congress passed health care reform, which has had a significant impact on the ability for diabetics to obtain insurance. Again, I pass this on without comment for or against, because I think it is something that is important to consider.

Click here for information about health care reform and diabetes.

So Proud of Team Red

This year I am fortunate to be Team Red Captain for the Kansas City Tour de Cure. I wasn't sure I wanted to take on the duties of a team captain, but I'm sure glad I did.

I am so proud that our little team has already grown to 15 members. Nationally the goal is to get 25 members for every Team Red. We are well on our way. And, not that I have much to do with it yet, but our team is currently the top fundraising team in our category. Great work folks!

With the tour kickoff still 10 days away Team Red is only going to get bigger and better!

Team Red was started by Colorado rider Mari Ruddy. Mari has been a type 1 Diabetic for more than 25 years and she started the team as a way to recognize diabetics and friends and family of diabetics who ride in the Tour de Cure.

I have personally discovered what Mari already knows - riding is a great way to control blood sugars and be as healthy was we can be. It's also a heck of a lot of fun.

Here's more about Mari and Team Red

The Olympics are only 140 days away

With that in mind, here are links to the London Games Road and Track cycling.

Road Cycling

Track Cycling

I enjoyed the road race from Beijing, but as I recall I had to watch it online. Anyway, I know the players better now, so I'll be excited to watch this summer.

I remember during the Los Angeles games in the '80s they televised  lot of cycling. Even the track cycling. I think that was the Olympics of the NBC triplecast, but maybe that was Atlanta. It's hard to get into track cycling because you just can't find much of it, even on the Internet, though I'm sure I could if I spent a little time trying harder.

In the cycling forums the topic of a cycling television network often comes up. There is a tennis and golf network after all. There are a million reasons not to start one, but nonetheless somebody should. Heck, you would make tons off the home shopping and infomercial possibilities alone.

Your iPhone as Cycle Computer

Why go out and buy an expensive cycle computer when you can turn your iPhone into a powerful fitness computer, GPS, music machine and, what else? Oh! A phone of course.

Wahoo Fitness – Connecting iPhones to Fitness- ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart sensors for running and cycling, such as heart rate monitors, speed and cadence and stride sensors

Say it an't so: wider tires roll better!

I read this little blurb in Velo that astounded me. I had to do more research, and apparently it is true. A Finnish company that independently tests tires has concluded that wider tires offer less roll resistance. The real culprit is deformation of the tire. Racers like thinner tires because they believe they roll better. I suppose this is due to the fact that there is less opportunity for a thinner version of the same tire to deform. However, a better tire in a wider size will roll better than its thinner version.

It does confirm something I've found, and this is something we all know from our motor cars. Tires make a world of difference.

I was amazed when I dumped the cheap tires that come with my Specialized Allez for better ones. I run 23mm Continental GP 4 Seasons. When I switch over to summer tires I will run Continental GP 4000s, which is universally considered one of, if not the best bicycle tires ever made. This article certainly has me considering 25mm tires over the 23s, assuming they will fit on my frame.

In any case, if there is one thing I've learned it is that your dollar for dollar your money is better spent in tires, wheels and the correct spoke pattern than anything else.

For example, my Allez also has cheap wheels, but, they are serviceable. My real problem is that given my weight I should be running 36 spokes on the rear wheel instead of 32. My rear wheel keeps coming out of true owing to the fact that I am a Clydesdale rolling over some pretty rough bike path half the time. Since I'm not a racer and not a hill climber, the extra spokes (even a three-cross pattern back there opposed to the more common two-cross) is not going to make much difference. A few more dollars for decent DT Swiss wheels with the correct number of spokes will make my bike that much better.

I would be remiss if I did not sing the praises of my Allez. I bought the cheapest set-up Specialized makes - a double chainring with Shimano 2300 components. All of this is decent stuff, especially for the money. The frame is excellent as far as aluminum goes and given upgrades such as the aforementioned and a SRAM Rival groupset, it will be a long time before I outgrow this bike. I'm also glad I bought an aluminum bike. The stiffness makes it fast and I can handle the rough ride. It is an excellent speedy ride.

The Allez has also proven to me that when I buy a touring bike I want steel, say a Trek 520 or Jamis Aurora. When I buy a gran fondo bike I also want the suppleness that steel provides, say a Bianchi Vigorelli. When I earn a go-fast sports car of a bike I'll go with a carbon fiber frame, and I'll stick with Specialized, probably as good a Tarmac as I can afford (or talk the wife into).

So, I love my Allez.

Here's that article.

Tech Feature: The Work Of Wheel Energy | Cyclingnews.com

Great article on the benefits of cycling

This is a great article about cycling (despite the fact that it's from the University Daily Kansan and I went to Mizzou). All kidding aside, it raises some good points about why cycling can be a lifelong activity unlike its cousin in suffering - running. It quotes an interesting study from South Africa that found riders only begin to lose speed at age 55 compared to age 32 for other action sports.

So, not that we need another reason to just get on the bike, but here's one anyway:

Start Cycling Now! Or, In 30 Years | Kansan.com