Senior Olympics

"Edward Dolan" wrote in message
...

So then, you did eat like a pig and never moved a muscle in order to gain
those extra 60 pounds? But we here on ARBR would like to know your mind
set
while you were doing this.

Ed I doubt you will be satisfied with this answer (nor do I really care) so
this is not directed to you but to others who might be where I was then

2 years ago I was 260 pounds and yes I ate like a pig and never moved a
muscle for most of the previous decade, the mind set is simple in that it
was much easier to do nothing than something. I sat on my ass at work and
sat on my ass at home on the computer, do that long enough and you too will
be up there (if you aren't already). I saw the extra weight and figured it
was all part of the age process (I was 42 then) and that is just the way it
went and the fact I didn't own a scale and therefore never realized (or
really cared) just how bad off I was. I would walk the halls at work and be
out of breath. Order a pizza and have it half devoured by the time I got
home, burgers fries etc, its a lifestyle that was very easy to get into....

While visiting my brother in Denver mid June 2002 I stopped by one of those
GNC stores which had a scale where you inserted 50 cents and it gave you a
slip of paper with your weight and what your optimum weight should be. The
paper said I weighed 259 pounds and was 89 pounds overweight, this was what
finally shocked me enough to do something about it. (I still have the
paper...framed)

Problem was I was too lazy to jog, tried rollerblades (couldn't figure out
how to stop), walking was boring and I knew I'd never consistantly go to a
health spa so biking was the only alternative. I'd tried that 5 years before
and got a cheap mountain bike that lasted about 2 weeks however this time
(in Denver) I noticed a guy riding a wierd looking bike (turned out to be a
Vision R42) up the Rocky Mountains (yes THE Rocky Mountains) and it looked
kinda neat and I figured my fat ass could handle that seat instead of a
standard bike seat, went on the net and looked up recumbent bikes and liked
what I saw with Vision the best (looked better than the others). Turned out
the local shop had an R50 that I could afford but even then I had to think
about it a while until I told myself if I didn't buy it I'd be dead in
another 5 years at the rate I was going (My guess is if I hadn't purchased
that I'd now easily be 300 pounds +)

Ended up doing 2200 miles on the Vision and lost 50 pounds, bought the
Optima Baron July 2003 and so far have lost another 30 and looking to lose
another 10 or 15 (65-170). This year I've done 3 centuries (on the Baron)
and just turned over 4,000 miles, this past weekend I rode 40 miles on
Saturday and 35 miles Sunday at 20+ mph average (21.5 Sat and 20.5 Sun), I
ride between 25 and 30 miles almost every day and blow the doors off of 99%
of the bikers in my area (its my current kick), my goal now is to ride from
Dallas Tx to Hot Springs Arkansas and back (700+ miles) and I have all the
confidence in the world I can and will be able to do it, these days I love
it when I get home with sore legs and I feel guilty if a good day goes by
without my riding, buying the bike transformed more than just my body

This message contained run-on sentences, improper punctuation, no periods at
the end and way too many commas but to be honest I could care less nor do I
really care what your response will be however I also hope you never get to
where I was back then, its not a fun place to be although its been damn fun
getting away