I've been busy. REALLY busy. As a result, I've been eating like crap.
Stress? Probably.
Eat like crap, feel like crap. Garbage in... you get the idea. I feel horrible lately.
Time to wise up.
Actually, it's time for a mini-vacation.
A vacation from the ordinary... road, that is.
In pursuit of R-12 number 2, this time I head north to Weston, MO. via KCK and Leavenworth. This route is a bear, hill-wise... at least, it is compared to what I normally ride. Especially when compared to my commute, which is effectively flat. So, if I recall correctly there is something like 6,000 ft. of climbing on the menu. That oughta loosen the legs a little!
Only five days after that it'll be September 4th, which puts me in Liberty, MO for another 200km ride to Platte City and back via Edgerton, Camden Point and Plattsburg.
It's a great route - the first route I ever rode as a brevet, and still one of my favorites. Hilly. Yes. Probably another 6-7K feet of climbing spread out over countless rollers.
That one is an organized, official brevet -- visit the KC Ultra-Cycling for more information on registering if you wanna come out.
One of my favorite sections of that Liberty route would make a killer time trial: Plattsburg Road from highway C to I-35. Only if they could close the road to cars, though. Still... shudders.
"Favorite" is a relative and subjective term, however... while I do love this particular section, it's a downright evil way to wrap up a 200km ride.
I digress.
400km in a five day window plus commutes makes for an interesting challenge, and while I don't want to make it official or try to stretch myself too thin (too late?), that will make for a nearly 350 mile week.
I think, however, and I know I've said this a dozen times or more in the life of this blog -- it should kick off a nice metabolic shake-up, just in time for fall.
I managed to get most of the way to my goal weight this season, and there is still cross-training to be done to help hone things -- but it's been a good year.
Now, all I have to really do is start eating RIGHT again, and find another way to deal with stress at work instead of visiting the corporate cubicle candy fairy.
Come holiday season around here there's enough candy in convenient "snack size" in this joint to start a Mr. Bulky franchise.
Beer? Octoberfest? C'mon.... just a TASTE. Yeah, I'm not giving up on anything - but I am limiting myself to single servings within any 24-hour period and ensuring I stay active.
This combination of efforts, I hope, leads to a fall/winter 2010/2011 wherein I *don't* gain a ton of weight. With age, it's just too hard to work it off the following Spring - so it's time to eat right and stay active all year. That won't always mean cycling, but there is a lot out there to do. Combined with a return to advancing my personal education, kid stuff, and maintaining two jobs - well, I certainly won't be sitting still.
So, stay tuned for two ride reports for the 2nd R-12 run, editions seven and eight, nearly back to back.
The calendar pages are getting thinner, and thoughts will soon turn to challenging weather, careful planning, and crossed fingers.
I don't see myself with the budget or means to travel to warmer climes if something blows in - and what a bummer to have to flush potentially 11 months of rides come December!
These summer-time brevets and permanents have been harder than the first R-12 run from 2008, and I expect that trend to continue in the last quarter of 2010.
Honestly, not even October is a "gimmie"... we'll see. Not that I didn't "earn" the 1st R-12... regardless of weather, I still had to pedal all 1,500 some miles of it. But, this year - it might be a stretch to assume I can get all 12 rides in the same general geographic location.
Hey, look.... December 31st is a Friday, and January 1st is a Saturday.... a mid-winter three-day weekend with back-to-back 200km permanents may be in store... wrap up the whole thing in 48-hours time!
Heck, I may schedule that NOW.
Thanks for reading , and stay tuned!
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