Way to go Lizzylou!

Hi, Jenny here. Mike is unable to post for a few days and has asked me to stand in for him.

Lizzylou was the big winner for the week of Friday March 6 to Friday March 13. She lost a whopping 1.79% last week. AWESOME. In fact everybody did great! Of the reports received, nobody gained any weight this week.

Success for all.

Now, the rest of us realize that when there is a biggest loser there has to be lesser losers. All of you~ Please join Mike and I by going to Lizzylou's Livestrong page and donating $5-15.00 to cancer research. You choose the amount depending on how badly you feel about getting beat.

The Official Weightloss Throwdown will be taking a break this week as it is Mike's 29th? birthday. (He's actually considering changing that number to 39 this year which might or might not be actual.) He's doesn't think weightloss will happen for him this week. You see, I have big plans. (Well okay Mike requested big plans but when it's your birthday you get to make requests!)

Eggrolls and Worlds Best Cake. I'm also trying to find a perfect gift but when he see's the best cake in the world it won't really matter because he won't notice anything else.

He may still lose weight anyway since we also have plans for "The best bike ride of the year so far" on his birthday. Oh how I hope for sun that day. My toes couldn't take another cold wet one. We're planning on an awesome 67 mile route through Granite Falls and Monroe that we rode last time we were training for the STP. (please pray for sun)

It's a very big week at our house.

Mike turns 29 on Thursday. You should all commemorate this day with a bike ride. Then come here and tell Mike all about it. What a great present that would be. Please be sure to make many comments that day. He needs at least 29 comments in honor of his BIG day. He also needs much trash talk in recognition of the aging process. You know, things like natural blond highlights speckling his head.

It is also our oldest daughters 16th birthday on Friday as well as the day of her first date. Any thoughts on how we should deal with this situation? Our friend has every boy who takes one of his daughters out on a date sign their own bullet. That's an idea...

Watch my blog this week, too. I plan on posting a step by step recipe for making Mike's Eggrolls. I will probably make them on Wednesday since I will be riding my bike (Kleetus) all day on Thursday. I think I'll also ask The Fat Cyclist if I can do the same with the best cake in the world.

Your assignments this week:
Donate to Lizzylous Livestrong Page
Continue with your amazing weight loss
Make a plethora of comments on this blog on Thursday
(write a birthday ballad?)
Try Mike's Eggrolls from the recipe I will be posting on my blog
Share creative ways to recognize our daughters escort Friday night

That should keep you busy for a little while. After that get on your bike and let the good times roll.

The Big Day

Today marks the end of the weight loss throw down. For me it wasn’t a great eating week but I was able to do a lot of riding to make up for it. All in all I was able to log 74 of miles on the bike this week.

So now for the big announcement. I was able to lose 0.59% of my total body weight this week.  If you can't remember the calculation it's your total body weight divided by the weight you lost.  ie.  1/168 = .0059

Now it’s your turn to really give me a beat down on the challenge. How did your week go? Feel free to leave a comment or send an email to mikeonhisbike1@gmail.com with your percent loss or gain for the week. Gloating is also encouraged if you had a good week. No need to include your weight unless you really feel compelled to.  If your week didn't go as planned you can also just report a scratch for the week.  No reason to feel bad.

It’s been a fun week. I hope you found this competition helpful in reaching your goals. I’ll post the winner of the challenge tomorrow morning.

My Salute to Chip Seal

The other day as we rode on Chuckanut Dr I noticed that most of the roads were covered in chip seal 

If you haven’t done much cycling you are probably asking yourself what the heck is chip seal.  I don’t blame you.  Chip seal isn’t something that comes up in your normal everyday conversation unless you’re a cyclist.  If you’re among cyclists you’re liable to hear things like “That chip seal made me feel like I was riding in sand all day”, or “I curse the day chip seal was invented.”  

So what exactly is chip seal you ask?  It’s a cheap way to pave a road that leaves the final surface very rough and not friendly for cyclists.  Here’s the better description if you’re really curious.  Also, if you take close look at the background photo of my blog you’ll see a prime example of chip seal.  As I rode on this terrible surface the other day I tried to think of some good things about chip seal.  To be honest I couldn’t think of any at the moment but since then I’ve come up with some.  Here’s my positive spin on the dreaded chip seal.  

It gives you a better workout.  Runners run in sand for a better workout. Cyclists ride on chip seal.  No need for a head wind.  

It tests the structural integrity of your bike.  If you’re ever curious if all the components are securely fastened on your bike take a couple hour ride on some chip seal.  It’s sure to knock things off of your bike.  

Chip seal increases your bike handling skills.  If you’re like me you’ve found that if you ride on the white line on the side of the road it’s smother and thus faster and a lot slipperier.  By riding on this thin white line for miles it increases your bike handling skills.  

Chip seal encourages alertness.  Another tactic I use while riding on chip seal is to ride in one of the ruts of the lane that car tires make.  This is obviously a smoother portion of the lane because it’s worn down.  Of course I only ride there when cars aren’t around.  Because I’m riding in the middle of the road it forces me to be on the alert for cars so I can move over as they approach.  Most of the time I’m successful at this.

Finally, chip seal keeps me from going too fast thus keeping my bike under control.  This really isn’t my favorite thing about chip seal but you could say it’s a positive.  

So next time you’re out on a rural road and you come across some chip seal try to remain on the positive side and enjoy yourself.

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Friday is the big day for the weight loss challenge report out.  I’ll post my results first thing in the morning.  Feel free to either send me an email or post a comment with your results.  It’s been a fun week in that regard because it’s forced me to train harder than normal and eat a little more rabbit food.  

Chuckanut Ride

A couple of weeks ago Jenny and I rode over to get a hot chocolate and while we were hanging out we talked to a fellow cyclist who told us that he mainly rode his bike north of where we live and really talked it up. Right then we decided that the next place that we needed to explore on our bikes was Chuckanut Dr. I did a little research and couldn’t figure out where the name Chuckanut came from but I’m thinking it either came from someone who has a heck of a sense of humor or a local indian tribe.

Last year through an incentive program at the company where I work I got a Garmin Edge 305 so when we decided to try out a new route I did my planning on www.mapitpronto.com. This is a free site where you can plan out a bike route just by clicking along a map. Once you’re finished you can download the route as a course into your Garmin. My Garmin doesn’t show you street maps but it does show you a line of your route and where you are on that line. This works well enough to follow along while trying out a new route and you never have to pull out a street map. I really love that feature. I’ve never been much of a fan of pulling out maps on a ride but we’ve been know to do that far too often in the past.

The route was actually very nice with plenty of hills and very few cars. Once we passed the half way point we rode onto Chuckanut Drive which follows the Puget Sound shoreline and looks out at the San Juan Islands for 10 miles or so. For the record you can also see Canada from here as well.  I hate to be outdone by the Alaskans who can see Russia from their back window so as far as you know all Washingtonians can see Canada from their front window.  The sights were so nice on the route it was hard to concentrate on the road. Here are a couple of the pictures that we snapped.

Before we got back to the car we road passed a house with a white fence which isn’t all that uncommon but take a look at what the fence was made out of. This is my kind of fence.

Next time we ride up north we are definitely going to take this route again. It was a good one.

Weight Loss Throw Down Update
We have some additional contestants for the weigh loss throw down and they promise to put up some stiff competition. They are Linda and Larry. Both of them have assured me that they will be winning come Friday so they are very determined. Welcome to the throw down!!!

Let The Games Begin

Today marks the beginning of the Great Weight Loss Challenge  

And the contestants are:

In this corner, hailing from the state of Utah, an avid cyclist who has competed in the LOTOJA multiple times and will be competing again this year.  It’s Rob.  Rob’s plan for this week’s competition is to use the Prof. Harold Hill think system to think his way to thinness.  Good luck with that one Rob.

And in this corner, from the state of Pennsylvania, a super bike commuter during the week and distance cyclist on the weekends all while holding down a job as a librarian.  It’s Lizzylou.    Lizzylou’s grand plan for the competition is multifaceted.  Here are the steps.  Step 1: Buy a scales. Step 2: Delete Papa Johns from speed dial. Step 3: Drink water, not coke.  Step 4: Cut off all of her hair (She’s sure it adds at least half a pound).    With a plan like that the competition should be scared.

And in this corner, originating from the state of Idaho but now residing in Washington, another avid cyclist and super mom (no capes) is Jenny-Jenny.   Jenny’s plan includes drinking as many spinach smoothies as possible in order to scare the pounds off of her body.  I’d be nervous if I were her pounds.

And finally, in this corner, from the state of Washington, recently a very bored indoor bike trainer rider with aspirations of one day riding outdoors is Mike J.  Mike’s plan is two fold.  1.  Eat Less   2. Move around more.  He might even resort to eating rabbit food in his quest for this title.

On your marks, Get set, Go……..

I’d like to thank everyone who is participating in this challenge.  The winner will receive a $5 gift card to Starbucks.  Since there is one on almost every street corner you should be able to ride your bike there to redeem your winnings.  I’ve never had coffee there before but their hot chocolate is incredible. 

For those of you who don’t win we will also be donating to LizzyLou’s Livestrong page. 

You just can’t go wrong with this contest.  

If you’re reading this and still want to be part of the action there’s still time.  Just leave a comment or email me at mikeonhisbike1@gmail.com

On another note, Jenny and I are going for a ride on a new route today.  We’re going to ride up north on Chuckanut Drive.  We've never ridden there before but this route boasts some great views like this one of the San Juan Islands.  I’ll let you know next week how the ride went.  

Enjoy your week of loss and get ready to lose to me.  I will be triumphant.  

Double Century Carrying Donuts

So, today at work I was the recipient of an all day meeting notice. Since I knew I was going to be sequestered all day in a conference room I came prepared with a gynormus 44 oz glass in order to remain hydrated, my laptop, and a turkey sandwich. I had everything I would need in order to survive.

I showed up a little early to get a good seat and settle in for the duration. A minute or two after I sat down in walked into the room a fellow team mate carrying two large boxes full of donuts. I quickly did some math and figured out that there were 24 donuts for the 12 of us. Oh yeah, 2 donuts a piece.

Once the boxes were opened and the smells filled the room a person showed on each of my shoulders. On the left shoulder was Fat Boy Mike and on the right was Fit, Trim and Fast Mike. Boy did they have a compelling debate. Here were some of the highlights.

Fat Boy Mike
- Come on man, be a team player and eat your two donuts you sissy
- What if the donuts don’t all get eaten? Don’t you remember your mother telling you if you didn’t eat your food that kids in 3^rd world countries would starve?
- Oh man, can’t you smell those maple bars? Those smell awesome. You better get one before they’re gone.

Fit, Trim and Fast Mike
- Dude, do you really want to carry those donuts with you ALL the way from Seattle to Portland when you ride the STP in July. All 204 miles. Think about it!

It is now after lunch and Fit, Trim and Fast Mike is winning the argument. I’m going to be incredibily fast come July.

We’ll see how I’m holding up at 3 this afternoon.

Update: It's now 3 and no donuts eaten yet. The outlook is looking good because they've gone stale

Weight Loss Throw Down Invitation

Since the beginning of the year I've occasionally posted about the
weekly weight loss challenge that Jenny and I have. Recently I've
received some interest from others that would like to join in on the
challenge. I thought about this for at least half a second and decided
that if you're interested in participating you're on.

Let the weight loss challenge throw down begin.

I guess some official rules are in order. Here's what I've come up
with so far.

The initial challenge will last one week and will start Friday morning
March 6th and end Friday morning March 13th.

Here's the process, you weigh yourself on the morning of March 6th and
document your weight. If you're like me you'll actually need to write
it down somewhere so you don't forget the number in the space of a week.

During the week
You do what ever you do to lose weight.

Here are some ideas.
Eat lots of green food such as salad or anything else a rabbit would eat
Go for tons of bike rides
Eat more rabbit food
Talk all the trash you want on my blog to discourage all other
competitors into giving up and eating their weight in chocolate and
fried food
Drink so much water you consider moving your desk closer to the bathroom
at work
Go for more bike rides
Finally eat more rabbit food

On Friday morning weigh yourself to determine your weight loss or gain
for the week.

The final weigh in will be based on percent of weight loss in relation
to your total weight. So for instance last week I weighed 170 lbs and I
lost 1 pound. So my weight loss percent would have been calculated as 1
divided by 170 which equals -.588%

I'm not an engineer so correct my math if I'm wrong. I've been known to
miscalculate things before such as my age.

Once you've figured out your weight loss percent post a comment on my
blog some time during the day on Friday or if you're not comfortable
with going public with your information you can send me an email at
mikeonhisbike1@gmail.com

I'll give you all day Friday to send in your reports then on Saturday
I'll announce the BIG winner.

What will I win you say? Well, this contest has two forms of winning.
If you win the weight loss challenge for the week you will receive a
REALLY BIG Prize that I haven't figured out yet. Suffice it to say it
will be in the neighborhood of a $5 gift card unless someone else wants
to donate a prize before then. But wait there's more. In addition, if
you are not the weight loss king/queen of the week you will be required
(have the privilege) to donate to LizzyLou's Livestrong page
to benefit cancer research. Your donation should be somewhere in the range of $5 - $15 depending on how badly you feel you got beat.

If you would like to be part of the throw down either send me an email
or leave a comment to this post and I'll officially log you in as a
contestant. Also, feel free to send this to others who might be
interested in the big challenge.

This should be fun. Let the games, trash talking, and weight loss
begin.