Hybrids and Distance

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Originally Posted by Kano

Mary, have you let the folks at the bike shop know that you'd love to thank the person? Maybe leave a small gift of some sort and maybe a note for the donor, just in case s/he doesn't want to be revealed!

Karen in Boise

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I try to pry the information out of Jimmy every chance I get. LOL. He's not budging. From the way he talks it was done over the phone nearly completely anonymously. Considering there is only a couple places that the person would have even KNOWN I put the bike in layaway, I post those places often thanking the anonymous person especially when I break a new barrier or hit a new milestone! I hope if nothing else, if the person(s) is still following, that they read just how much it means to me.
Mary

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Originally Posted by pooks

Mary, you are the bomb.

Where can I read more about your journey? What you've done besides cycling (diet? other sports?) to reclaim your health?

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I'll be writing up something new here real soon to celebrate my anniversary with the bike. I've been trying to diet (lower fat, lower sugar, whole grains, as much veggies and fruit as I'm able) I was doing better until recently with the fresh foods, but some days are better than others. Keeping fresh fruit and veggies are NOT always an easy affordable option.
We don't have chips, cookies, candies etc in the house anymore. I do have a thing about having some ice cream periodically, but try not to go overboard. Since I'm watching 2 grandchildren now, getting and keeping them on a schedule is something that I'm still working on. Last summer, I was walking the older grandson 1-2 miles a day in his stroller early in the morning. My son and DIL don't have a double stroller so we're not getting that exercise on top of my cycling this summer and my weight loss (or lack thereof) is suffering along with poorer eating habits, eating whatever I can get my hands on sometimes and worse eating later in the evening than we should. It's frustrating, but I keep at it.
I'm a stress eater so there are days I really SLIP and just have at it, but I get right back on that wagon and try again. We don't do much red meat anymore (used to get the cheapest hamburger for pasta dinners) now we eat ground turkey, turkey sausages, chicken burgers. Leaner meats and try to limit size of portions.
I usually try to start my days with a bowl of cooked oatmeal with a spoonful of peanut butter cooked into it for protein. This is DEFINITELY how I start my riding day. I try to stay with proteins when possible while on my ride as it's what seems to work best for me. I have however found that even though it's not the HEALTHIEST thing to eat, that when I'm approaching my 70-80 mile mark or even on the way home for my metric centuries, that a small hamburger kids meal is just enough to hold me over until I can get home and possibly have a better meal. There isn't nearly as many calories in the kids meal with smaller portions and I get a good mix of protein and carbs. By that time of day, I'm starting to get hungrier again.
Main thing is experiment a little at a time to see what works for you on your rides. We ABSOLUTELY MUST EAT on ride days and get good hydration and solid food the day/night before a long ride.
Mary

Mary, I look forward to your "first year" report! You might try low fat cottage cheese and blueberries or some other fruit with your oatmeal and peanut butter. I know it sounds gross, but it's really not! And it really will boost the protein!

Okay, so I couldn't find pics online of my tires and finally just took one. Is this a combination of slick and dirt bike tire?

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5...20Eurotour.jpg

It's a Kenda Eurotour.

That looks remarkably like my Continental tires. Slight difference in the tread pattern, but very much the same style.

Oh, good!

You know, I'm knew to all this, and simply ordered the bike online with whatever components they put on it and when I read about changing tires and such, I am never sure whether the stuff on my bike is okay or whether making a change would improve the ride!