Spills, Thrills, Hills and Fundraising

Spills 

Greetings fellow blogarians.

An update on my crash injuries… thanks to Johnson & Johnson’s “Tough Pads” (EVERY cyclist should own multiple boxes of these magical squares of medical loveliness), the leg is healed but for some icky looking scabby residue. I’ve ridden over a hundred miles since the crash and no issues whatsoever.

The Goat seems to have benefitted from the fall as he has a renewed sense of Jensness*.

* = “Jensness” having the qualities of Jens Voigt; qualities including but not limited to: ferocity, tenacity, endless endurance, the desire and ability to inflict pain on fellow riders, going faster than you should go, going harder than you should go, telling your legs to shut up. 

The Goat now idles impatiently at stop lights, snarls at me during rest stops, and sits by the door at night waiting to pounce the second it’s open. All is good in Fizz’s cycling world.

Thrills

The weigh-in… so after tipping the scales at 200lbs, I was hesitant to weigh myself the following week. So I didn’t. What if I failed (again) to crack the 200 barrier? I figured I’d ride and ride for another two months and then weigh myself… after an hour in the sauna.

But I knew that would not be in the spirit of this project, or my 2012 being accountable commitment. So yesterday I stepped on the scale.

199.

I did it.

BELOW TWO HUNDRED! Hazzah!!! Blow your trumpets, ring your bells, open up your windows and scream to your neighbors “Fizz did it! He got mad as hell and wasn’t going to take it anymore! He did it! He did it!”

Or maybe just crack a smile as you read this.

Hills

Seeing that 199 at my feet inspired an epic ride yesterday. I wanted to ride far and fast, and climb. And I did. 47 miles with an average speed of nearly 16mph, and an assault on Babler.

Those of you who’ve spent some time around here remember Babler – it’s a national park near me that has several miles of beautifully paved, barely trafficked roads… that are all either way up or way down. Nothing flat. And I mean up and down.

My fastest descent ever came at Babler when I hit over 54mph on one of its long 10-15% grade descents. And the climbs? Yikes.

The main climb inside Babler is about a mile and half and averages 13% with three pitches to 17%, including right at the start of the climb. It’s not long by any means, but it’s nasty.

I set a personal best on Babler. Also hit PB’s on three other segments of my ride. All in all, it was an Epic August ride.

Fundraising

Another reason I attacked Babler was because it is part of a 75-mile course I will be riding in October. As you know, I am a big supporter and fundraiser for Livestrong, and pretty much anything that hates cancer. This year I am riding PEDAL THE CAUSE – a local St. Louis ride that raises funds not only for the Siteman Cancer Center (one of the top in the country), but for St. Louis Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Cancer Ward.

The best thing about Pedal The Cause is 100% of all funds raise go directly to Siteman and StLCH. 100%.

My 9-year-old son will be riding 50 miles of the ride with me, which is awesome. He lost both his grandparents to cancer in the past year and wants to do something special to honor them. 50 miles at age 9 is pretty freaking special.

If any of you feel the urge, we would love it if you would donate to our ride:

DONATE HERE

We truly appreciate any help you can give, and you could WIN some cool prizes, too!!! Checkout the link for more info.

And please feel free to forward our link on to any friends and family, post it on FB, Twitter, you name it. Thanks for the support!

199.

Feels good.

If you’re reading this and you’re 350lbs, work to hit 345. If you’re 250, work to hit 245. If you’re 160, work to hit 150.

I lack discipline and love to eat and be lazy. And I dropped these pounds without it adversely affecting my day-to-day enjoyment of life. And the reward of seeing those numbers on the scale is worth giving up a year’s worth of yummies. Not that I have, but you get the pic.

199.

I can’t type that enough. For the first time in… forever, I truly believe that my original “in a perfect world” goal of 185 is attainable and not just a pipe dream.

It’s all in the head, folks. Seriously. That’s probably why so many people always called me Fat Head… right?

Eat better.

Ride your bike.

Dig deep.

 

 

Fair winds and following seas, Willy