My Bike Dreams Are Coming True!

So, I got some old bonds my parents had bought for me every year from '86-'92 that before interest totaled up to $750 which was awesome in and of itself, but with interest it came to a little over $1,200.  I've had my eye on the Public V7 bike, so I called up a dealer for them that's based in Auburn, CA.  They didn't have any in stock, but brought one in for me to try out.  Today I made the drive, (traffic was terrible...) and test rode it and it was great!  Road very smooth, turned nicely, and felt great riding mostly upright.  I could see very clearly all around me, and I suspect I'm easier to see.

 As the pictures show, yes I did get it!  I also needed a new helmet, as mine got cracked from sitting out in the sin too much.  So I went to REI and got a Bern Brentwood, that looks awesome!

Also picked up some nice lights, the Urban 500, and the Vis 180.

I also ordered a rear rack that is painted to match the bike, and I got a Timbuk 2 pannier that removes easily and will make a great bag for school, and make it easy to bring stuff with me to work.

 Needless to say, I'm super excited and can't wait to ride everywhere!

Also progress, not good this week as I suspected, spent the week drinking with my bro, not eating great , and my exercises were spotty.  I'm rededicating myself this week, and will kill it.  Plus adding in all the bike riding I plan to do things should continue nicely.

Progress!

Alright!   This week was great!  Ended up at 215.9 pounds!  My measurements were about the same as last week, but I think I'm looking better all around so that makes me happy!  Quick post, this week will probably not be great, weekend has my awesome aunts, and the rest of the week has my brother, so good food and beer (I know, that ship has sailed)  But this is the long haul, and I still have to enjoy life.  Without further ado, the photos!

Other progress type stuff!

Today was a really fun day!  Audrey got out of working today, so we spent the day together.  Went and got some delicious fresh fruit from the farmers market, got some of my new favorite cookies from Sugar Bug.  Had the Burger (sort of) I've been craving, though I ended up getting the dirty bird grilled chicken burger, which was a blackened chicken breast with pico de gallo and chipotle mayo on it.  Very tasty!

After lunch, we took my bike to REI to see what it would take to get it up and going again.  Probably a few hundred dollars.  So that sucked, but I knew it needed a lot of work.  So I'm going to look for a decent used or cheap new bike to get me up and running again.  We're going to check out a swap meet and see if there's anything there.  I had a classmate tell me he found some bikes for a good deal there a few months ago.  I'm a little afraid anything we find might be stolen, but I don't really know what to think about that or how I would know.  I'm also going to check out craigslist, but I'm not sure what is good, or what is garbage, and it seems like it will be tough trying to figure that all out.  I've got about 6 weeks or so until class starts, so I'd like to get a bike going by then.

We also went to see Inside Out this afternoon, and it was great!  Very funny, with a few sad moments.  Very entertaining and well done, I highly recommend it.

After that, we went to Home Depot, and checked out some plants.  We ended up getting a cool hanging basket, a spiky tree and some lavender.  If we can keep these things alive for a couple of weeks, we're gonna get some more stuff to purtty up the homestead a bit.

The spiky tree is pretty small right now, but Audrey's grandparents have one that has grown very big and it pretty cool.  So hopefully it survives our black thumbs.

Progress! July 11th

I know, I took some of the excitement out of it, but I still hit my goal!  Right after my run this morning, I weighed in at 219.3, and about an hour later I came in at 218.7.  So that feels pretty damn good.  Still sitting at about 25% body fat according to my gizmo, but I'm sure that will trend down soon.  I really think adding the running back in is helping a lot.  The down side is that my right calf is super tight and a little painful, so for today's run, I stuck to the flats and just maintained a 10 minute mile pace, I'm hoping the calf loosens up by Tuesday when I run next.  I've also added in the Pull up, Lunge, Push up 60 day challenge, and today will be day 3.  I'm excited about this one.  I've also talked with Wayne about my future workouts and dieting stuff, and it all sounds really cool.

This week I kept my eating very clean, and I plan on keeping it up, with the exception of today where I want to get a delicious cheese burger from Burger Me!  I've been craving one, so I'm gonna have one!  I'm especially proud of last night, we went out to Red Lobster, and instead of getting a big lobster with butter sauce and fried shrimp, I went with some grilled salmon and sauteed shrimp.  Very delicious, and not too unhealthy, especially when I knocked off most of the butter from the shrimp. I also am going to stop drinking beer until the family camping trip.  I know, that will be a tough one, but I got this.  New goal of 210 by August 8th, means I gotta kick some ass.

Without further ado, my photos!

I think I'm looking better all the time!  Wish me luck!

Unofficially hit my goal!

I finished my workout, and jumped on the scale as I do most days, and I was 219.5!  I even double checked just to be sure.  I say unofficially since Saturdays are my official weigh in days and when I take my measurements, but I have faith it will be a similar result and I'm too excited not to make a quick post!  New goal, 210 by my Birthday!  Wish me luck!

Progress-ish and 4th of July

So, I didn't make my goal for the week.  I'm down less than a pound for the week.  The one bright note is that my body fat% monitor went from 27.5% to 25.5%.  Although I take that with a grain of salt since it fluctuates quite a bit depending on how hydrated I am, but it's a win, and I'll take it.  Most of my measurements came back about the same as last week too.  I figured out that I wasn't going to hit my goal sometime around Thursday, so I decided to add in interval training on my off days from strength training to see if that will pick up my progress a little bit.

 On the bright side, I think I am looking a little better this week, so at least there is that.  Next week with the addition of interval training will be better.  I feel comfortable saying I will be sub 220 next week.  I'd like to be looking good and trim by the family camping trip coming up in August, so here's hoping!

On the down side, today is the 4th of July, so my food and beverage choices aren't likely to be too good today, so I'll be extra good for the rest of the week.  Happy 4th everyone!  Don't start any fires, I have it on good authority the west coast is pretty dry, particularly eastern Washington, so stay safe!