Goals for 2011

Plain and simple.


1. Weight from 240lbs to 210lbs by August 1
2. Ride 2,000 miles for the year
3. Walk and ride 3 times per week
4. Take part in a 5K run
5. Get my waiste down to 36"
6. No soda, elimanate as much refined sugars as possible


January 1 is a good day to start on a journey, there's no big difference between it and say January 2, or March 14, or July 14, its just another day like any other.........


except



it actually denotes the beginning of a new year.

I tend to not make New Years' Resolutions but I have found if I dont set goals I usually dont accomplish what I want, and a significant date at that helps even more.

I want to be in Toronto by the end of August and want to surprise my sister, what better way than a newer, slimmer, fitter me...

I am also taking this opportunity of renaming my blog. Mutterings from Near and Far was just a name I came up with when I decided out of the blue to do a blog. It really didn't mean anything apart from the fact that at times I might go off on a tangent and talk about movies or comic books or the weather, basically anything that tickled my fancy. I can still do that but I wanted a title that would be inspirational and what better title than borrowing one from Nike "Just Do It" (without the swish)

So its a new design, a new name and a new mission (well, not entirely new but you know what I mean) that will lead to a better me.


Happy holidays everyone, enjoy yourselves, cherish those closest to you and make 2011 a wonderful year.

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January 2010 Goal

Ride 50 miles

Am I Lazy ??

or is it just circumstances why I havent been able to exercise consistently and get down to my desired goal of 180 lbs ?

I put in quite a lot of hours with work, I had a challenging time earlier in the year leaving WBS and settling into a new job. Money is tight after our move and my bike needs tubes......

They are all excuses, and not even very good ones at that.

In life we hold ourselves back with excuses. "Nutting nah gwan", "me nah make enough money", "me lose me job and just get another", " too busy to go back to school or "I didnt get the job caused the Personnel Manager didnt like me or had her favourite". All excuses we use to justify not accomplishing what we should, the buck stops here with US. Whenever we fail to achieve goals, we can only blame one person "ME".

I like reading about people who accomplish goals. Tom Stormcrow is one such person. He weighed in at 589lbs, he lugged around an oxygen tank where ever he went, he has lost nearly 300lbs and is much healthier now. The Clydesdale/Athena Forum at www.bikeforums.net contains tips from hundreds of people (including Tom) who have lost weight by adjusting their diets and riding their bicycle as primary exercise, and this is where I got the motivation to get a bicycle and start riding last year. It was fun, tiring, painful, back breaking, sweaty, dirty work, but the more i rode the easier it became, the firmer I felt my legs getting, the easier it was to run up the stairs at The Progressive Grocers Head-office.

I havent ridden in months because of various excuses, excuses that I have been using as justification for not getting up off my lazy ass and get healthy. I am taking my bicycle to get the tubes repaired and will hit the road bright and early on Saturday morning. I hope I can make it back to Port Royal and back, but if not at least it will be a start, a start at not making excuses for my own failures.

I want to be like Tom Stormcrowe and The Historian over at bikeforums.net, and the hundreds of people who have taken control of their life, lost weight and enjoyed themselves while doing so.

Am I lazy ??

Yes I am !!!


Not for long though.

Jamaicans get ready for Tomas

Hurricane Tomas lashed St Vincent and St. Lucia last night after roughing up Barbados earlier in the day, leaving behind billions of dollars in damage in the eastern Caribbean. Tomas has slowed in forward momentum, which is not good news for Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic or even Puerto Rico as the prediction of its path is pretty wide.

Prediction map from wunderground.com

The general consensus among the various models is that it will re-curve northward before reaching 75W which is bad news for the twin nation island of Hispaniola, especially Haiti which is still recovering from a devastating earthquake and now battling an outbreak of cholera. A late turn could also mean trouble for Jamaica as it could slam right into Jamaica, coming ashore between Morant Point and traversing the length of Jamaica. Tomas is currently a Category 1 hurricane but will strengthen significant over the next 4-5 days as it travel over exceptionally warn Caribbean waters with little or no shear to counter it. One model has it continuing west, passing south of Jamaica before curving slightly southward to slam into Nicaragua.

damage in St. Vincent (Barbados Nation)

Jamaica is ill-prepared to handle a hurricane right now much less one at a strength of category 3 or 4, as we have been having rains constantly throughout the summer and took a proper soaking last month from tropical Storm Nicole. Widespread flooding and loss of lives resulted from 3-4 days of constant rain, but we can expect even more flooding and loss of life if 150+mph winds are added to the equation.

The country is in a pickle,the damage from Gustav is expected to be about $ 20 billion. For a country under a tight economic constraints, we can ill-afford what will be the resultant destruction from a cat 3 or 4 hurricane. Prime Minister Bruce Golding is to meet with the various relief agencies tomorrow morning at 9 am after which he will announce to the nation steps being taken to prepare the country. I think it would have more prudent to meet with them today as time is precious. Plans need to be in place to evacuate people from flood prone areas and open up relief shelters before it starts raining.


Sunday October 31, 2010 11am update




This latest forecast takes into consideration steering currents as a result of a low pressure building up in the western Caribbean re-curving the storm to the north and then north-east, which is not good news for Haiti and Dom Rep.



To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

Where's My Baby ?

There she is, all alone in the washroom keeping company with a bag of Pedigree dog food and various containers - clothes basket, a mop, etc.

The past 4-6 weeks have been disasterous. We have had a couple weeks of rain, hard enough for us here in Jamaica to have some serious flood damages and loss of life. It all started one day after Andre and I started our walking so we got approximately 1 day in before the fun and games began. We are still having regular rain during the week but if I wait until the rain stop then I will never start back, so I am taking my baby out today, clean her up with a damp cloth, check her chains and brakes, pump up her tyres and go riding again.

I am not yet back up to 240lbs and I want to avoid that as much as possible. I have settled into work and am doing well so far, and a lot of the issues that have been distracting me are being dealt with.

As usual I will post my ramblings here for all to see (anyone here?)

Hope I can do Airport to Port Royal and back without getting a heart attack.

This Morning Was Great !

It finally got off the ground, Andre and I hit the road this morning and had a brisk 45 minutes walk throught his neighbourhood and a couple laps around the playfield.

Andre felt it more as he's a big shot Accountant/Auditor, so he gets to sit in a chair all day banging a calcultor, I get to walk quite a bit while working, but we need to do more as our middle has expanded with our age and thats not good.

I did an extra 20 minutes of quick walking when I arrived home and am just about to jump into the shower. More of the same for the rest of this week plus riding on the weekend.

Let's Get It On

Andre was here today and we made plans to hit the road tomorrow morning. I havent done anything too strenuous in 4 or 5 months and Andre probably hasnt done any in years, so the plan is to hit the road and start walking.

We need to establish a routine of hitting the road in the mornings and just walking and have fun doing it. We have an opportunity of making significant lifestyle changes and now that we are living close to each other we can motivate each other. Later on the weekend I will be out at Palisadoes on my bike. Nice and easy will be my mantra as I try to assess just how far behind I have fallen.

Walking during the weekdays and cycling on the weekend with rest days in between.

As I am writing this it has started raining pretty heavily, I am hoping that this doesnt affect our plans.

The Return is Nigh!

My return to the quest of changing my lifestyle to a more physical one is here.

The quest had gotten railroaded by numerous circumstances, all of which have been dealt with, mostly. I am now back in Kingston and am in the same area as Andre (we've been friends for over 20 years) who's on the hunt for a partner to walk with in the mornings. The plan is to walk in the mornings durin the week and cycle on weekends and add some weight lifting as cross-training. We will start later on this week after we finish unpacking from the move.

The last 6 to 8 months have thrown me some serious challenges, but with support from my wife and our family and friends, I am back on track.

Just need to check my bike to make sure that it's road worthy and its "pedal to the metal baby".

My 232 lbs have morphed up to 237 lbs, still 3 lbs shy of the 240 lbs wich is the heaviest I have ever been. No concrete goals but I would sure like to get to 220 lbs by December 31st.

I'll Be Back !! (Arnie accent)

I'll be back very soon.

I have been away from riding for the past 3 to 4 weeks. I have been very busy getting my work life sorted out, changing job, settling into a new one, etc.

You will think that I am using all of this as a reason to not ride and on a level you would be right, but there are other underlying reasons that have caused me to pause, and those are about settled now, so ...............

I need to change the pedals on my bike as my new dog got at it and bit off the straps. I thought of going clip-less but am leaning more to going back to what was there before. I also need to get a new seat before hitting the road, as my ass will sure as hell complain like it did the first few weeks way back last year.

I will have to get back in and fall back into my routine, I also need to supplement my riding with mucho cross-training. I have been maintaining my 232 lbs but I really want to kick start the losses and get down to 200lbs as quickly as possible (without going overboard).

More to come

Kingston to Negril 2010 Ride is On

I am not going anywhere near this, despite my post late last year that I would.

The Kingston to Negril run have riders going through Bog Walk George up to an estimated elevation of 1,650 feet to Moneague and then down to sea level into Ocho Rios, trekking along the north coast through Discovery Bay, Flamouth, Montego Bay and on into Negril. 140 miles, that is like a 5 1/2 hours driving at decent speed, much less on a bloody bike. Wasnt it last year it was along the south coast ?

I have been chugging along doing 35 miles on my best days and need to sort out a few things on my bike, like changing the seat to a more comfortable one but right now other things take priority. Last week I didnt get in any riding as it was rainy and I ended up spending the day with my better half and the guys from school finishing off an assignment. I am now free of school and am going to really try to get my ride time per week up.

This weekend will also be a tight one, but I am determined to get a good workout tomorrow. 35 miles is the target and I am going to work my butt off with the intention of riding a 100 miles trip before the end of 2010.

The home page for registration for the Kingston to Negril ride is http://www.jamaicabybike.com/

Check em out

35 Miles last week was no fluke

35 miles again this morning.

Starting early helps and it looks like I might have to get up even earlier to get my miles in before it gets too hot. 5:30am this morning was a brighter than it was last week and I know that in another 2-4 weeks it will start lighting up by 5:15am.

On Saturday last week it took me a little over 3 1/2 hours to do the ride, this morning the time was down to 3 hours, which meant that my average speed over the 35 miles was about 12 miles per hour. I have a few 5 minute stops in there so I might actually be going faster.

On Wednesday I will be trying to get out again for hopefully a 25 miles run in the hope that I will be able to ride consistently twice per week.

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April 10, 2010

Miles Ridden Today - 35.0

Miles Ridden MTD - 81.7

Target for March - 150 miles

Needed for target - 68.3

Really trying to get into week day riding

Its hard to motivate myself to do it during the week, especially when I am under work pressure, but I know if I dont increase my workload then I will stall my weight loss initiative.

This morning was crazy, I left out hoping to get at least 25 miles in and could only manage 11.7. The wind was blustery and I had to take a break when my heart started pounding from the exertion. My Doctor has suggested that I get a heart monitor and try to remain within 80% of my maximum heart rate. Apparent you maximum heart rate is 220-your age and staying with 80% of that number.

I am 40, so my maximum heart rate is 220-40= 180. I need to stay within a maximum of 144 heart beats per minute to keep my heart from pounding, having me break out into cold sweats wondering if I am having a freaking heart attack.

Rest day tomorrow and then an attempt at 35 miles on Saturday. I hope the breeze has died down by then.

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April 8, 2010

Miles Ridden Today - 11.7

Miles Ridden MTD - 46.7

Target for March - 150 miles

Needed for target - 103.3

Breaking that 25 miles barrier

On February 13th I broke the 12 miles barrier and left it behind when I rode 25 miles. Today April 2, 2010 I broke the 25 miles barrier and took it to 35 miles. It was not easy and left me exhausted but I was so elated at the accomplishment.

I have issues that have prevented me from riding every Saturday and I am not going to sweat it, I am going to keep plugging away as often as I can and enjoy myself. We are on the first day of 4 days off from work, its the Easter weekend here in Jamaica and I am going to try to get 4 days of riding in and hopefully complete 100 miles for the weekend, something I have not been able to accomplish over a one month period.

I started earlier this morning as with the approaching summer the mornings are a little bit earlier and the sun a hell of a lot more hotter. My first circuit (12 miles) was a bit of a struggle, but the next 12 miles was easy, by the time I started tackling the last stretch the sun was scorching and I was glad I had carried extra water.

The road was nice and quiet as most people seemed to be sleeping late today and only 2 other cyclists showed up, I had to stop on the last stretch to help someone who had gotten a flat. He had a brand new tyre on and it looked like it had a hole and somebody had stitched it, he was not amused as he couldnt get in his miles and with today being a public holiday he cannot get the tyre replaced until tomorrow, so he cant do his regular Saturday morning run. I had to ride on the last 2 miles to get his car for him.

April is off to a good start and I am hoping to do another 35 miler tomorrow as Wayne had already planned that for us. If I can keep this up I will get to my goal off riding 100 miles in just 4 days.

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April 2, 2010

Miles Ridden Today - 35

Miles Ridden MTD - 35

Target for March - 150 miles.

Powers - Excellent Comic Book Series

Every now and then I will read a comic book and just be blown out of the water by the type of story and the artwork. When you have been collecting comics as long as I have it takes something special to hold my attention, I mean most of the times I feel like I have "been there, done that", not so with Powers.

Powers is a crime drama comic book that takes place on an Earth populated by Superheroes. They soar above people in brightly coloured costumes and clash with Supervillians in epic spectacular battles like Gods while down in the streets normal citizens try to go about their lives in a dirty crime infested city. Police Detective Christian Walker (a former Superhero) and rookie Deena Pilgrim are teamed up and investigate crimes (mostly murders) related to Powers (the name given to people with........well powers)
Creator Brian Michael Bendis, a writer who made his name in the independents before becoming Marvel Comic's star boy, has stated that he really wanted to write this book as Alan Moore (Watchmen) and Frank Miller (The Dark Return Returns) told all there was to tell about Superheroes, and he found these types of stories more interesting. There are times when Bendis' obvious Mamet's style of writing irritates, but thankfully the substance of the stories usually make up for it

The artwork by Michael Avon Oeming is simple and reminiscent of Bruce Timm's style from the Batman Animated Series of the 90s and actually enhances the scripts greatly. His clean dynamic layouts have made me an instant fan.

If you were/are a fan of Hill Street Blue, NYPD Blue, CSI, heck even Law and Order you will enjoy this. It is serious, funny, irreverent, smart and damn good comic writing with stunning art.

I have a friend that I supply with what I consider exceptional comics, right now he's devouring Bendis/Maalev's excellent Daredevil run, I think I will give him Powers next and watch as his head explodes.

Powers - copyright Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming
Trades available at Amazon at this link

Mileage already going well this year

I got my bike in late 2009 and started riding, not as much as I would like to but at least I was getting some exercise.

On January 2010 I decided that I really needed to take this lifestyle change seriously and really ride more consistently if I wanted to hit 200lbs by December. There was no way a half ass attempt was going to get me there, so I have been out more, I can still get out more and will.


Total miles for 2009 - 51. 03 miles
Total Miles for 2010 - 177.20 miles (YTD)


In January 2010 I rode more miles in one month than I did the entire 3 or so months in 09. It helps that I am already down 10lbs just from eating better and the doing more, but can you imagine the strides I could make with consistency ??

October is the date for the Kingston to Negril 142 miles bicycle trek and I am still working my way to taking part in it, it is a goal that I have set for myself and want to see just how much of that journey I can complete.

Stay tuned for more updates on my consistency.....

I have seen my mortal enemy and it is ...........

the wind.

The blustery incessant wind that pops up every now and then while riding. It saps your energy, makes your heart pound and turn your legs to silly putty. It makes you feel that all the months of heavy riding suddenly means nothing and you are back to your old self , huffing and puffing away , helping to make you doubt your ability to finish and fueling the nagging thought in the back of your mind "maybe I should quit early today"

I had no intention of backing down from this beeeeyatch, she wasn't going to dry hump me and leave me wanting more, no sireebob. I was going to conquer her and walk off with a smirk on my face, and that is exactly what I did.

I paid no attention to the breeze while getting ready to ride, I just hit the road and cycled like my life depended on it. I started 10 minutes earlier than usual and rode out and back. Going out was fine, coming in was not, but I just gritted my teeth and steadily fought the wind and was genuinely very surprised at how quickly the ride seemed to be, it was not actually, but not bitching and moaning and just riding, concentrating on form, breathing properly, costing when I felt exhausted (never stopping).

I was wasted after 25 miles and after 10 minutes rest and some water and gatorade I actually felt like I could do another 6 or so miles, problem was that 6 miles would take me to Port Royal and I would have to ride another 6 in the wind again back to the car, and the sun was already out in all her glory and Wayne was wasted.

Next week I will start another 15 minutes earlier and go for 3 circuits - 36 miles. That should be very challenging as I have never ridden over 25 miles before

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March 13, 2010

Miles Ridden Today - 25

Miles Ridden MTD - 55

Target for March - 100 miles.

Quickie 5 Miles to Golden Spring

Need to ride more often.

Although I have lost weight riding one day per week - Saturdays and watching what I eat, if I can get myself up to 3 times per week and keep off the Pepsi Cola I should shed lbs more quickly.

Its not easy motivating yourself to ride up here in Temple Hall as the road is narrow and busy. On Ash Wednesday a couple weeks ago I rode to Golden Spring and back and it was a good ride. I have been riding for 20 plus miles in Kingston on a relatively flat road, but the slope up to Golden Spring is very challenging and is exactly what I need, so this evening I came in a little early and just got into my padded shorts, grabbed a bottle of water and off I went.

Back and forth at an average of 15MPH, it was grueling going and fun coming back. I know I probably did 6 miles as I rode an extra mile to the gas station to cool off, but for my recording purposes I will cap it at 5.

I feel good and will try to do another run tomorrow and take Friday off in anticipation of a 25 miler on Saturday. I have included a couple of pictures so you all can see how narrow the road is.

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March 10, 2010

Miles Ridden Today - 5

Miles Ridden MTD - 30

Target for March - 100 miles

Back with a Bang !!

Apparently nothing motivates more to lose weight than losing weight. Nothing gives you more energy than positive results, if you don't set a high targets then you results will be mediocre.

In my last 2 posts I talked about losing 10lbs over the past 8 weeks and the extra work that I had put into my riding, I was riding more days, going at it harder and longer. I had also adjusted my eating habits slightly, cutting down on rice and flour, consuming more complex carbs, stop eating before I am full, etc. but I still had the Pepsi habit.

Well the Pepsi habit is no more, I have been off it for the past week and I don't miss it. I have been drinking a lot more water and a product here call Cran-water - bottled water with Cranberry added. The best thing about Cran-water is that it has half the sugar of Pepsi and is not carbonated and not as addictive.

This morning was a 25 miles trek along my regular route by myself. Most times I prefer riding by myself as I can concentrate totally on my ride without being distracted with conversations. I am not anti-social but sometimes its hard riding and trying to keep up a conversation. Occasionally though, riding with a partner motivates you to continue even after you feel like you must stop or die.

This morning I felt good, I was rode at an average of 12.5 miles, which might seem slow to some of you, but for me is quick enough. I am not training to be a racer, I am riding to lose weight, so I concentrate on keeping form, breathing deeply and to keep soldering on. I also rode in a higher gear which made the pedalling more difficult but with less rotations.

At the end I felt good not wasted as usual, and that is probably a good sign that my body has adjusted reasonably well to 25 miles. I went for a quick 30 minutes walk after-wards as this guy I known suggested just as I was finishing that a brisk walk would be good just to mix things up.

Good start to March, on Tuesday and Thursday morning I will try to do a 5 miles quickie to Golden Spring and back.

March 6, 2010

Miles Ridden Today - 25

Miles Ridden MTD - 25

Target for March- 100 miles

No Riding this weekend

I really wanted to ride this morning, I wanted to celebrate my losing a whopping 10lbs over the past 8 weeks by hitting the road and powering my way to 25 miles and for the first time ride in excess of 60 miles for a month, alas this was not to be.

On Tuesday night I went to bed and started watching tv in an unusual position, resting on my left shoulder. My better half wasn't feeling well and she was taking up half the bed and I couldn''t bring myself to move her as she looked very comfortable. Long and short is I fell asleep in that position and woke up 6 hours later with a searing pain in my left shoulder (cuff? ) I couldn't raise my arm to even put an a shirt.

I tried relaxing all week, applied some stuff that I found in a drawer and just prayed that my arm would feel better by Saturday morning, but that was not to be. My arm would not extend properly to hold the handle bars without aching painfully, much less gripping while riding and putting part of my body weight on it..

Very very disappointed, but this evening I feel the pain easing somewhat. If it continues I will drag my ass out of bed on Tuesday and Thursday morning a do some quickie runs to Golden Spring and then plan for a real 25 to 30 miler for next Saturday.



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February 2010

Miles Ridden Today - 0
Miles Walked MTD - 5

Miles Ridden MTD - 55.5

Target for February - 60-75 miles



Target for March 2010 - 75 miles

Woo Hoo: I am down 10 lbs.

I work on the road and my job has me interacting with all the major supermarkets in Kingston and St. Andrew, the temptation of eating all the sugary and starchy crap and drinking all the soda I want is in front of me on a daily basis, yet over the past couple months I have lost 10 lbs.

In January I quit my job with WBS. I loved my job and I could see myself working there for the next 10 years and enjoying the heck out of it, but sometimes things happen and you move on and you are surprised at how much better you feel from not having the constant stress on you, the stress to over-perform, over-achieve, yadda yadda yadda.

I decided that I wanted less stress, to try and start by own business, spend more time spent trying to live a healthier lifestyle and trying my best to forge an even closer relationship with my wife, (I have a tendency of being a work-a-holic and sometimes spending way too much time on the job or on the internet) and the it has been trying as day to day challenges and bills come in, but working together as a team really helps, instead of me taking on everything, bottling it up and trying to solve everything myself, Antoinette shares the burden with me.

I have been riding on and off (more off than on actually) for the past few months and you can look back through all the entries here and follow my (mis ?) adventures, but at the end of January I decided that I really needed to commit to upping the intensity, so 2 Saturdays ago I rode 25 miles and this Saturday I did 23.5. I am also trying to do 2 in the week 5 miles ride, but I haven't consistently followed through on that yet. The result has been pleasing - I am down 10lbs.

I have not put myself on a strict diet or anything. I am eating better since moving further from Kingston, more bananas, yams and potatoes and less rice and bread, I have cut Pepsi consumption but not totally eliminated it, and I eat my dinner before 6pm and in slightly smaller servings (I don't eat until I feel full, I stop just before)

The address of this blog is target190lbs for a reason as a weight of 190lbs is my ultimate goal. Way back when I started this blog I was 250lbs, I am down to 240, the next step is 230 and knowing that I am well on my way is motivation enough to really crank out some miles on Saturday and beyond.

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Weight

October - 250 lbs
February - 240 lbs

End of 2010 Target - 200 lbs

The Heat is On !!

Did 23.5 miles today.

I really wanted to try for 30 miles, but my riding partners upped the pace on me this morning and I was exhausted after 23.5 miles.

I didnt drive this morning, I had my better half drop me off and the intention was to ride 23.5 miles and then the rest from the route back to my mother-in-law, but the guys were really feeling their oats this morning and set a serious pace. I remembered last weeks lesson and concentrated on breathing but it was still harder completing the route.

At 8:30am we called it quits, the sun was really pelting and it felt like July or August. Wayne had to go off to the hospital as his Uncle had been admitted suffering from a heart attack, and he thought I looked pretty bushed and was reluctant to leave me there, so I just barely nodded as he loaded up the bikes.

I fell asleep as soon as I sat down at my mother-in-laws and got up an hour later with a fierce neck ache (from sleeping in a chair in the living room).

I think 25 miles will be the limit for the next month, although I will be striving for 30. I probably need to start out another 20 or so minutes earlier in the mornings as the dawn is coming up earlier now than in November and December. By about May to June it should be light out by 5:30am, by then I will be hoping to outfit the bike with bright lights so I can ride before sunrise.

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February 2010

Miles Ridden Today - 23.5
Miles Walked MTD - 5

Miles Ridden MTD - 55.5

Target for February - 60-75 miles

Quick 5 Miles this Morning

Quick dash to Golden Spring and back.

Well it was quick because I was on the road for an hour, but it wasnt quick going to Golden Spring as I was riding it for the first time. The undulating road made for an interesting ride as I had spots of overexertion followed by relief and I didnt get too winded making it to Golden Spring, I did work up a great sweat though.

It flashed through my mind briefly to go another half mile or so up towards Stony Hill, but one look at that hill dissuaded me until I get fitter. So the routine now will be Palisadoes on a Saturday and Golden Spring/Stony Hill on a Wednesday.


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February 2010

Miles Ridden Today - 5
Miles Walked MTD - 5

Miles Ridden MTD - 32

Target for February - 60-75 miles

I Just Kept Going on and on and on and ...................

Today while riding I had a bit of a breakthrough.

I have been riding very infrequently for the past 6 months and have only been able to consistently ride about 12 miles on any given day. I usually get tired, my heart would race and I would be panting like a hound dog in heat. After riding only 2 miles on Wednesday and almost dying from exhaustion (see post below) I was determined to ride more than 12 miles today.

Started riding by myself at 6:15am and inhaled very deeply as I started out and hit upon the breakthrough idea, I will specifically concentrate on my breathing today, no extraneous thoughts on how tired my legs felt, no thinking to myself that its a long way back, nothing, just concentrate on my breathing and ride. And that is what I did and in the process completed 25 miles.

I usually go nearly 6 miles straight to Port Royal, take a break and then roll on back to the car, but this time I was really feeling good. I kept a steady pace, concentrating on form and breathing and just soldered on. On reaching Port Royal I just spun around and started back without stopping and went straight back to the car park.

I still felt great so I had a drink and went off for another circuit, back and forth and then on down to the airport and along the road towards The Gunboat Beach and back. I didnt feel exhausted, didnt feel like I was dying or anything, I felt great - well apart from a sore ass after siting on it for the past 2 1/2 hours.

Wednesday is a holiday and I am going to try Temple Hall to Golden Spring again. The last time I tried it I almost had a heart attack from riding up the incline, but if I apply the same principles - breathe deeply, pay attention to form - I should be able to make it.

Wish me luck


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February 2010

Miles Ridden Today - 25
Miles Walked MTD - 5

Miles Ridden MTD - 27

Target for February - 60-75 miles

The King is Alive - Long Live the King

If you have read any of my postings here, you will already know that I am a big comic book fan and I especially love good comic book art, although I really consider myself a bit of a "writer"(sort of), I just love seeing purty pictures.

Just today DC released an image with gorgeous David Finch art that tells us that "The King is Back, Long Live the King." Aquaman The King of the Seven Seas is back !!

I have always been a major DC fan and as a kid got in the usual kid arguments of "Who's better DC or Marvel" and although many fans often think of Aquaman as the superhero with the silliest power ever (dude, he speaks to his fishy friends) I always thought if handled properly he had the potential to be a star.

In the early 90s Peter David was tapped to chronicle the adventures of Aquaman and a star was born. David infused the character with a real personality and purpose and populated the series with interesting characters that complimented and also provided conflict for the main character. King Orin was a leader of his people and his bearing took on the arrogance of a King and the excess baggage and problems that went with such responsibilities. He also radically changed Orin's personality and had his hand eaten off by piranhas (ouch) and replaced with a hook (Arhhhh, me maties), got him involved with Dolphin ( a girl named dolphin, not a real one) and had him communicating with various aquatic lifeforms fishes, dolphins, etc. (the dolphin Pom - his adoptive mother, and sharks - damn, they are pretty dumb you know)

Fans either loved it or hated it, they accused David of making Orin a carbon copy of Marvel's Namor the Submariner, but David just seemed to gleefully go off on plots that stretched for issues on end and plot twists that had fans laughing menacingly like evil dictators trying to rule the world.

Eventually irreconcilable creative differences between himself and the editor (was it Dooley or Raspler) led to his departure and a wretched 12 issue run written by Eric Larsen, followed by a wonderful under-rated run by Dan Jurgens and Steve Epting could not prevent the series being cancelled against the doldrums of low industry sales in 2001.

Since then Aquaman fans have had to get their thrill from Orin's appearances in books like JLA and on Warner cartoons. There was a revival of the series in 2003 by writer Tom Veitch which ran for 39 issues before morphing into Aquaman:Sword of Atlantis which gave us a blond blade wielding Aquaman who was certainly not the original character (if you dont ask, I promise not to tell), but the series fizzled and really couldnt hold on to its readers.

Aquaman was eventually killed of in some silly "event series" that DC and Marvel seem forever wanting to heap on fans every couple months, and it has taken Geoff Johns' runaway hit Blackest Knight and the upcoming Brightest Day to restore a character that has so much potential, but which nobody seems to be able to get a proper handle on (except Peter David).

I have been on a break from buying comics as I try to get certain things in place for 2010, but rest assured I will be following the adventures of one of my favourite character to see how he's being handled and whether someone/anyone has finally gotten a proper handle on him. (PAD ! Where are youuuuuuuu ?)

The Aquaman covers shown were all accessed at the Grand Comic Database and are the copywrite of DC Comics Inc.

Video: Our Ride on Saturday

Video: Saturday Ride

Uploaded a video to Youtube of Wayne and a girl riding last Saturday morning, as I posted before i had a flat and did a fair amount of walking and ended up with a serious ankle ache that lasted until the next day, but everything's ok now.

I went for a quick ride this evening, I started off at 4pm and was back by 5, trying my best not to have a heart attack. The main road from Annotto Bay all the way to Stony Hill is really one long incline and it gets extreme at Golden Spring, but all through St. Mary and onwards through Temple Hall it is an incline, and after riding for months on the relatively flat road of Harbour View and clocking close to 12 miles per ride, I figured Temple Hall to Golden Spring and back would be a "cake walk" (5 miles) - but I didn't consider the friggin' incline.

Riding towards Golden Spring with the incline is like riding in heavy wind on the Palisadoes, it makes you feel like your heart is jumping out of your chest and you have to find somewhere to sit and take deep breaths until the feeling of puking your guts out while dying passes.
I did just that and drank some water and then reversed the course - NO !! I did not make it to Golden Spring. The best part of riding an incline going, is riding the decline coming, and that was fun and I am sure I was topping 30 mph at one point.


My adventures on Saturday told me that although I have been riding a little more and feeling better, I am still very very out of shape and I need to increase the frequency of my aerobic activity, I definitely will be riding this road more. The traffic wasn't that bad, a bit nerve wracking as buses and trucks raced past, but I had more than enough room to ride.

I called my good friend Andre this evening, we used to walk together and do the gym about 20 years ago, he was always heavy in high school and has dropped weight in the past, but with the approach of his 40th anniversary of his life on earth and the type of job he has (Accountant), he has really packed on some excess pounds, so I invited him to go walking on a Saturday morning while we are riding. He has expressed an interest in getting a bike and joining us, so I am going so see if I can get a suitable bike for him. Its not going to be easy dragging his ass out of bed at 5:30am as he is used to going to sleep late at nights, but I have to push him, or I might end up losing one of my best friends to a heart attack or something.

This weekend coming up I will try to record us while we are riding, so you all can look out for it

Peace

Billy Joel: We Didnt Start The Fire

WE DIDNT START THE FIRE BY BILLY JOEL

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, "The King and I" and "The Catcher in the Rye"

Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

CHORUS:
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser aand Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc

Roy hn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, dacron
Dien Bien Phu falls, "Rock Around the Clock"

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland

Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Krushchev
Princess Grace, "Peyton Place", trouble in the Suez

CHORUS:
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, "Bridge on the River Kwai"

Lebanon, Charlse de Gaulle, California baseball
Starkweather, homicide, children of thalidomide

Buddy Holly, "Ben Hur", space monkey, Mafia
Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go

U-2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, "Psycho", Belgians in the Congo

CHORUS:
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Hemingway, Eichmann, "Stranger in a Strange Land"
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion

"Lawrence of Arabia", British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex
JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say

CHORUS:
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodsto/ck/, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

"Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide
Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law
Rock and roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore

CHORUS:
We didn't start the fire
But when we are gone
Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR-A4QFHZBA

-------------------------------------

I have always loved this song and find myself listening and singing a lot last week

Feeling Flat Flat Flat !!!

with apologies to Arrow and his great soca song song (Feeling hot hot hot !)

I didnt get to ride on yesterday as I had a flat.

I have been riding for a while and have gotten used to having to stop to put air in my tyres occasionally, so I know which gas stations have air hoses attached to their pumps at 5am in the mornings (very few). Unlike the Boys Scouts though I was not prepared on Saturday morning.

Usual routine on Saturday morning and I headed out probably 10 minutes later than usual, I knew I had the flat and knew it wasnt just normal, as my tyres normally wouldn't loose a lot of pressure, this time it was flat ! I left it until reaching Harbour View and that is when I realized that there might be a big hole in the tube as the pumping wasnt helping and Wayne had neither patches or extra tubes with him today.

I was determined to exercise and went off for a brisk walk towards Port Royal. I had quite a few people asking me "where's the bike?" accusingly, as I if I had murdered it and hid it in the bushes, but the walking was good and very different from riding. I found it much more difficult and will concede that it and running is a better aerobic workout than riding, but man its hard on the joints. I completed a little over 4 miles and ended up the a serious ache in my right ankle that has eased only somewhat nearly 24 hours later.
No doubt about it though, I got a very good workout, the hear rate was up for 80-90% of the walk and I worked up a great sweat, I could feel the muscles getting pump and was sufficiently exhausted when I returned to the parking lot.


On the way home I stopped by the bicycle shop and picked up a small patch kit and an extra tube to carry around in my car so I will always be prepared, I couldnt find the air pump here and need to check my by my mother-in-law's house today as I am sure it was left there. I havent patched the tube yet and need to learn how to do that quickly as flats are part of the day to day routine of cyclists, also getting a pump that can be attached to the bike is a given.


I am off to a class in another hour or so, my ankle is still aching but has eased a bit, and I can only hope that it will be fine for work tomorrow

Ramping up the work out

It occurred to me today " I need to really ramp up the workout"


The facts are that between work, school and a couple other endeavours that I am looking into, it is going to be hard to get more than one full day to get any kind of heavy aerobic work-out done. Where I live makes it inconvenient to do my Port Royal Ride any more than maximum 2 days per week and school has now come along and cut that down to one day. My better half had stated an early morning walk with our next door neighbour but she and I wont be able to continue until maybe next month when the mornings are not so damn cold up here.

I really wanted to ride in excess of 15 miles today but realized very quickly that it was not going to happen as on getting out of the car at 6:10am I was greeted by very blustery breeze, and the effort needed to ride in blustery breeze is like trying to breathe with someone standing on your chest.

The ride out was brisk, but the ride back in was a chore and I got winded very early. Its pretty easy to throw your hands up in the air and take a break, especially when your heart is trying to jump out of your chest from exertion and I was tempted to stop and take a break, when up rode this guy I didnt know, he obviously knew me as he called me by my name. A friend of mine in Atlanta (Jackie) who knew I had taken up riding told her friend who rode and pointed him to my blog, so he knew what I looked like and what I was riding.

He was out racing with the Spinners Club - you know the group of riders who barrel past you at about 28-30 miles an hour shouting out "RIGHT" so that everyone in the pack moves to overtake as a group. He had seen me and turned back to say "Hi" and ride with me for a while. He was a tremendous help as he gave me advice and riding along with someone really motivates you to not quit, I did stop for about a minute to get a drink but completed the route. Back at the car I chatted with a couple of more experienced riders and listened to their sage advices, the majority of riders that I have met so far have been real gentlemen.

Before coming back home I decided to hit Chancery Hall and tackle a steep hill that I used to walk on regularly maybe 10 or 12 years ago. It's a 1 mile hike straight up what I call "The Mother of all Hills", pretty steep, no flat area as such. I used to struggle over it when I was 27 or so and wanted to do this right after riding on a Saturday. I managed to do about 1/3 of it before nearly collapsing, I know my legs will be tired after riding, but I want to really overload them and then give them a couple days to recover. The entire hill up and down is 2 miles, so more work for me.

Chancery Hall told me how much out of shape I was. Cycling is good, but adding hill climbing will probably get me in shape quicker and help me to get my distance and speed up on the bike - so it should be a win/win situation.

So from now on it will be bicycle ride and then hill climbing. Let us see how that goes.


--------------------------------------
January 30, 2010

Miles Ridden Today - 11.7 miles

Miles Ridden MTD - 56.7 miles

Target for month - 100 miles

Miles Needed - 43.3 miles

Time to Step Up Nehemiah Perry

The Jamaican cricket team has been dominating West Indies regional cricket for the past 5 years and seem likely to continue the dominance this year, as they have easily dispatched the Leeward and Windward Islands and currently have the Guyanese team staring certain defeat in the 2010 Four Day Regional Competition. However there are serious flaws in the makeup of the Jamaican team and it is obvious that the Panel of Selectors are aware of them and are actually support these shortcoming.

Looking at the XI that face the Islands over the past 2 week, the Jamaican team seem to be unbalanced, with a bowler short and playing the extra batsman, when you have an all-rounder in David Bernard Jr. opening the bowling with either Darren Powell or Andrew Richardson, you know something is wrong. It is obvious the Selectors have reasoned that our strength lie in our spin bowling duo of Nikita Miller and Odean Brown who have, over the past 2-3 years run riot over all and sundry to the extent that Captain Tamar Lambert seem to use his pacers to get the shine off the ball quickly before turning to spin, and it has worked, so the Selectors are probably saying to themselves “Why mess with Success?”

Continued dominance in cricket depends a lot on the reserve players that we have waiting in the wings, and the amount of opportunities given to them to learn how to cope at the higher level. Stacking the team with batsmen and depending on 2 bowlers and an all-rounder to consistently bowl out the opposition can backfire if there no real bowlers to back them up, what happens if both spinners are unable to break a partnership ? Instead of playing Darren Powell who seems incapable to getting wickets at this level, and has next to no chance of getting back into the West Indies test team, we should be blooding young pacers like Jason Dawes, Krishmar Santokie, Andre Russell and Ricardo Dacres and giving them an opportunity to learn at a higher level.

The quartet of Xavier Marshall, Brenton Parchment, Shaun Findlay and Danza Hyatt have all failed to give Jamaica reasonable starts at top of the order and we have had to depend on Lambert, Nash, Hinds and Baugh to set us good scores, what happens in the one or two matches that Hinds and Baugh fail with Nash away on West Indies duty in Australia ? A perfect opportunity exist for Mr. Perry and company to blood one of or both batsmen Zeniffe Fowler and Horace Miller and achieve two tasks, one - to expose two new players with enormous potential and two - to drop from the system chronic under-performers who have been given more than enough opportunities to show that they belong.

The Trindadians, Windwards, Leewards and Guyanese have all been “blooding” youngsters, while the Jamaican team has correctly allowed players time to settle in and perform, but methinks that Messrs. Marshall, Hyatt, Parchment, Findlay and Darren Powell have had more than enough opportunities to prove that they belong, and unfortunately the verdict is NO - THE DO NOT BELONG !

The Selectors seem to be playing it safe because we are currently winning, but if they wait until we start losing to get new players into the team, we will be running the risk of taking two steps backward before taking one step forward again, and erasing the advances that have been made in our local cricket programme.

Pictures: Andrew Richardson, Donovan Pagon, Nikita Miller, Jerome Taylor & Nikita Miller
Copyright to their respective holders

12 more days before its back to the daily Grind

I have been on vacation since the 3'd of January. I decided late last year that despite all the important issues that are demanding immediate attention in my life, I needed to make certain lifestyle changes that would ensure that I live beyond the age of 4o, and the main one was to eliminate stress. I loved my job and the career path but I also know it is important to balance my work life with personal time, hence the change. I just signed my contract with my new employer and come February 1st will be off on a new adventure.


One of the advantages of having 3-4 weeks of down-time is that it makes you think a lot, and I been thinking of various ways I can go into business for myself. While brainstorming over the past few days I hit up on an idea and after consultation with a couple of my friends, we have decided to take the plunge. We all work full-time and the business will demand very little in the way of Capital to start up but we think it has enormous potential and will meet on the weekend to finalize everything. This will have little or no effect on my main job as the other partners in this venture will be available to help guide and grow the company.

Being on vacation also gives me a lot of time to catch up on my reading and movies and also comic books. I havent been buying for the past 8 or so months but I still read a lot inline and look at pretty pictures.
Today I ran across someone who had uploaded pages upon pages of DC Style Guide artwork of Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and I just had to share it with you all. Why would any of be interested in this ? well if you have ever bought your son, nephew or cousins Batman or Superman PJs or Wonder Woman t-shirt for your daught or neice or Super Friends bedsheets then you alreay know his art. JL's art has been used on millions of licenced products world-wide.


JL is a Spanish born Argentine artist who lives in the US and works for DC Comics. He has been acknowledged by many of his peers as a master draftsman and is admired by millions of fans worldwide. I consider him my favourite Superman artist and have yet to see any work from him that I dislike.

Its my hobby and I am excited to discover these pages, and I am determined to own a copy of DC Style Guide in the future (the cost be damned)

I did not ride this weekend, for some strange reason I woke up with a pretty bad headache and my wife felt so nice and warm and cozy that I just couldnt resist snuggling back into her arms. I also have the constraint of having to watch my money as I have another month or so before I get paid plus I have to attend classes on Sunday. I will be making a real effort this weekend to hit the road.

All characters in this post are the copyright of DC Comics Inc.

The Ladies are right: An Inch Does Make A Difference !

An inch makes a big difference, so anytime a lady tells you that size doesn't matter - AH LIE SHE AH TELL !!


So I adjusted me seat by an inch and what a difference it made. I always knew it needed adjustment as it felt uncomfortable when I rode, like I was cramped for room. The seat needed to be raised and also it sloped slightly upwards. All of that was fixed and now it feels a little better. I will have to adjust the handlebar as I get a slight backache while riding.

When will I ever learn ?? Everytime Wilson tells me that he wants to start early, invariably he will be late. Yesterday it was overcast the whole day and Antoinette and I were in Mandeville looking at some properties, we came back in and ran straight into friday kingston traffic and rain. But rain be damed, we will still ride.

The plan was for 5:45am start. I was there at 5:50 but Wilson was still home, and I just set up and started. It was still pretty dark and I dont have lights on the bike but I was sure it would light up enough before I end up under a truck. Its really nice riding early and I saw Paul riding with his group. The ride to Port Royal was great, the ride back was not. It was a windy blustering morning and it really took a massive effort riding against it. I had to stop to catch my breath and get some water three quarters of the way back as my heart was really pounding from the effort.

It was a good ride tough and I saw a business associate of mine who rode up, pack away his bike, took on some fluid and went off for a run. He said he was training for competition, I need to ask him what exactly he takes part in, but he really inspired me and made me realize that riding alone wont work with me, it will have to include walking, running and weights training.


------------------------------------
January 9, 2010

Miles Ridden Today - 12.3 miles

Miles Ridden MTD - 45 miles

Target for Month - 100 Miles

Miles to be Completed - 55 Miles

Enjoying the break and putting in more miles

As I intimated in my last post I need to make major changes in my life and maybe the first one is the job, so I did it, I resigned.

..........and I feel good. I loved my job, I was dedicated to it and gave my all, but over the past 12 months I had become dissatisfied and knew that eventually something would have to give. I gave notice and was told that notice wasnt necessary, so I have a 3 week vacation before starting my new job.

This morning I decided to hit the road again, with so many days free it is entirely possible to do 100 miles for the month, so that is my target. I drove down to my regular spot this morning and did 11.7 miles. My wife surprisingly accompanied me and went off in the other direction for a brisk morning walk and we met up back at the car about an hour later. The ride out was good, but back in was a struggle as usual. I am sure my seat and handle bars need adjusting as I get an ache in my lower back after about 40 minutes and will need to address that by weekend. I enjoyed having my wife along although she's insistent that she will not be riding a bicycle, the thought of cars and buses passing her while she's riding terrifies her.

She will be up at 6am tomorrow to do a brisk 2 mile walk and I will be joining her, the more exercise I get in the better for me. My next ride is Saturday at which time I will try for 15-20 miles.

------------------------------
January 6, 2010

Miles ridden today - 11.7 miles

Miles ridden MTD - 32.7 miles

Target for month - 100

Miles to be completed - 67.3 miles

Great Start to 2010

21 Miles today

I have been riding infrequently, I have been busy with work and school and a number of other issues. Where I live the road is very busy and as far as I am concerned not conducive to riding, so I occasionally ride when I can get up early on a Saturday morning to get it done. My job invariably interferes and it seems like 50-60 hours during the week is not enough for me to at least have Saturday mornings free.

My life needs changes and the first change is the job. I have been at my current place of employ for the past 6 years and although my passion is high and my dedication is more than 100%, there are times when one must make an honest assessment of what is happening. Am I being treated fairly ? are my opinions valued ? are we just cannon fodder to make the numbers and nothing else ? do I have peace of mind ?

I have made some promises to myself for 2010:

1. I need to have peace of mind while working
2. My dedication to getting fitter and healthier has to be prioritized
3. My family must take priority
4. I must assist my wife as much as possible to ensure her new business venture succeeds.

This morning I did 21 miles. I have never ridden more than 12.3 miles before and haven't ridden since the middle of November and was determined to ride today and tomorrow. A friend who rides a lot suggested that I work on fear of riding near my home and just get to it. He rides up here regularly and has never really had a problem. The advantage to riding up here is that the roads are not flat, and about 3 or so miles away there is a steep climb to Stony Hill. I am under no illusions that I am ready for Stony Hill but I know fighting my way up that slope on a regular basis will benefit me tremendously. So tomorrow its Temple Hall to Golden Spring and then eventually up the hill incrementally until I can do it.

Today was a big challenge and I copped out before finishing. I met with Robert a co-worker of mine and we did Airport to Port Royal and back in good time. On the way back I saw Wilson my regular riding partner heading out. After the ride Rob and I leaned against the car and chatted for a while when up rode Wilson. We chit chatted for about 20 minutes before Wilson convinced me to go another round. I wasn't totally sold on the proposition but I need to really push myself. I didnt carry any Gatorade this morning so that might have contributed to my being wasted, but I soldered on gallantly to Port Royal, on the way back though my legs gave out a couple miles from the car. It was about 10:30am and the sun was very fierce. I was thirsty and probably a little dehydrated but I really couldnt continue on. Wilson rode on and got the van.

I didnt finish the ride, but I am glad that I was able to get in 21 miles, which is a wonderful start for January and for 2010.

Sunday morning at 6:30am will see me doing Temple Hall to Golden Spring and back. Shouldnt be more than 5-6 miles, but its not flat and that should be an entirely new challenge. Maybe I'll even tackle a little bit of Stony Hill

----------------------------
January 2, 2010

Miles ridden Today - 21 miles

Miles Ridden MTD - 21 miles

Target for month - 100 miles