I have a few goals to work towards this next 10 months or so.
I have been fairly successful in a weight loss quest but have gained back about 10lbs. I started out at 207 got down to as low as 157 but hovered at 160 for a while then over the course of last year I got lazy. I am at 170 pretty solid right now. I’m putting this on paper so to speak that I will try my hardest to get to 150 over the course of the next 3 months. This is not an option for me I have to finish what I started.
After riding the Flint Hills Death Ride I really. really want to ride in the Dirty Kanza 200 race.(200 miles in gravel through flint hills in 1 day) I have plenty of time to save and get a decent 29er to ride gravel on. I really like riding the gravel over road these days. I also found I like my mtb over my cyclocross bike for the gravel as well due to the handling and comfort. So a 29er would be all the better.
I am also just crazy surprised on how far I have some cycling in general. I did just start cycling again since a kid last Feb(2009). It’s been a little longer then a year now and I feel pretty decent about my progress. The thing for me I need to get out of my head is lately I have got it in my if I can’t go get at least 50 miles in then I usually just skip a ride all together. This is stupid who do I think I am. I need to get the high intensity 15-20 milers back into my daily grind if I think I’m going to lose the rest of this weight. I have stopped commuting to work since switching shifts and usually too tired to ride home afterward. I love riding and need to be doing more so.
Last but not least as far as news on a life change I have flipped and gone Vegan It has been a little over two weeks now and my desire to eat any kind of meat is, well its gone. Originally I told myself I would still eat fish but when pondering the thought it actually just doesn’t sound appealing. I am not going to turn this blog into a animal rights blog but this will be my lifestyle here on out and my posts may reflect it time to time.
I guess this post was just as much for me as anyone. I’m drawing my line in the sand and committing to a few things here over this next year.
See you on the road
Well like I said previously in my post after getting back from BAK I was anxious to do something else cool. I had heard about the Death Ride and didn’t really jump on it until I seen a few friends were going to sign up for it. Eric Benjamin of Adventure Monkey and the machine himself, Kevin Collings.
Big thanks to Kevin for driving and Eric and Jen for letting us crash their packing party and feeding us for the night.
Having problems with my hand I was hesitant to ride too much and was kind of babying it but felt I would be more then fine for the mileage considering it was a one day shot.
What I didn’t know and either missed it or it wasn’t talked about on the official site was that if you didn’t hit the sag stops by certain times you would be redirected on a shorter route thus not getting the full ride in or a medal. I of course was the only one out of our group that didn’t get the full ride in because I missed a turn that I swear was not marked. Of course I was not paying attention to my map so I had no idea where I was. I popped out my phone and was just going to head back to the car when I found the party again. Unfortunately too much time had elapsed and I was redirected.
It was crazy I was rounding the end and skipping the last muddy turn and here comes Kevin’s crazy ass!! Asking why we weren’t turning … haha he found out. But he caught me and I had a 20 mile shortcut. Needless to say he crushed everyone else in the full distance ride.
None the less I probably rode a good 60 miles considering, which is nothing to laugh at in those conditions of the hills and the mud. Yes mud there was plenty of it thanks to the rain the night before. There was also an element of danger due to the farms in that area being open range. I seen some guys almost get run over by some startled cattle.
Over all I had a decent time, because well I just love to ride no matter what. I love it!
Picture Time
the Following images copyright Eric Benjamin
Click photos to see more of this ride and many others. Truly amazing photos!!
The following images well hell lets be honest who would steal them 
Pics I took with cellphone / some of these images are Kevins also!
After getting back from my ride across Kansas I was trying to figure out what to do next. First I thought I would go after a full marathon since I had previously done the Wichita Half Marathon this year. If I started training immediately I might be able to accomplish this before the years end. Then I seen a link some where about the Flint Hills Death Ride and with my new found love of gravel riding I pretty much tossed the marathon idea out the window and decided to register for bike ride instead.
First I thought I would just ride my mountain bike and only be concerned about finishing the ride. It is said to be approximately 80 miles in the hills fun and sun. Then I got to thinking why not actually try to train for this ride I have almost a month and the distance is no problem but I am curious how fast I could get the ride completed in. I think I will opt for my cyclocross bike since I am most comfortable with it and have the most mileage on it over the last few months. I will probably map me out some gravel near by and gradually increase my distance as well as intensity during the ride.
My main fear right now is acclimating to riding hard in the heat as well as I am still having problems with some shoulder pain, and hand issues I have left over from BAK. My right hand 3 fingers are still pretty numb and I have hardly any gripping power. These came right back to attention my first ride the other night. I am going to work on stretching, strengthening my core and get another set of gloves. I will probably throw some more tape on the bars for more cushion.
I also hope to lose another 10{ish} lbs before ride time. I checked in this morning @170.00 updates coming soon.
Click image for actual website and registration.
Biking Across Kansas “the movie” is in progress, I am trying to find a good converter so I can convert all the video to a usable format in which I can use my favorite editing program. So far no luck.