Starting The Journey...Moving Forward Means Looking Back

Buried Touring Bike

Slept way late today...a cold that was softly creeping finally caught me in my sleep so found myself this morning feeling more than a bit under the weather...still, wanted to start on my 30 day journey, did not want to see myself pushing it off, procrastinating until I lost my momentum to effect a change in my own personal appearance.  

On one level, this all seems pretty straight forward  Get your product, use your product and 30 days later be a product of the product.  Poured myself a shot of Ionix Supreme a bit ago, waited about 15 minutes and had a chocolate shake...not bad, reminded me of my youth when I would have chocolate malted milk for breakfast.   In the past half an hour have drank two glasses of water.   Can almost hear a drill sergeant calling out cadence...left, right  left right left.

Making a decision to pursue something like this makes you (deliberately or not) look backward on some of the things that got you too where you find yourself right now.  193 pounds (at least 30 pounds over weight) with a gut measuring some 45 inches around.  As a part of my journey have decided I need to do some exercise, which in turn saw me look into my storage room where both my bike and biking machine have sat ignored and lonely for far too long which then saw me asking myself, "Why"?

If you look over on the right side of the picture you'll notice the handlebar of a beautiful LeMond bike that I purchased several springs ago.  All these years later, and that bike has seen maybe all of 30 miles put on it...Why?

I hate crying...can almost hear my father saying, "big boys don't cry so stop your crying or I am going to really give you something to cry about.

Shortly after I bought that bike I was attacked.  I was kicked down onto steps, my right arm landing on the edge of a step just above my head.  A second kick struck that arm snapping the bone.  Was in a cast for six weeks, and then because the bone did not heal right so the bone was re-broken in surgery, a four inch titanium rod holding everything together, a second cast and another eight weeks of being a one left handed man.  Once the cast was taken off I was fitted with a wrist support and started into physical therapy.

Sitting here today after looking at the bike it is hard to realize that I have not been on that bike and gone out for a bike ride since the day of that attack, hard to realize that said attack and its aftermath is when I started putting on weight, and in many ways started hiding myself from the world, feeling safer locked behind closed doors.  That attack changed me...

New goal...as soon as I am done with this cold, need to put air in the tires of that bike and go for a ride.

Some Measurements:

Neck         16.5 inches

Forearms   12 inches (L) 12 inches (R)
Chest         40 inches
Diaphragm 40.5 inches
Waist         45 inches ...no wonder those size 38 feel so tight.
Buttock      39 inches

Thigh         23 inches (L)  23 inches (R)
Calf           16 inches (L)  16.5 inches (R)
Knee          15.5 inches (L) 15.5 inches (R)

Total Inches 356.5

4:00 PM  First Day Update

Made myself get on my bike machine and do a half hour workout.  Burned off 168 calories in what was clocked as a 7.18 mile stationary ride.