Project Fatass Heads Into Spring

Now that I have finally broken the 50 lbs lost point and Project Fatass has made it through winter, it’s time to move on to another goal.  I won’t say what it is because I’m still too embarrassed by the numbers, but it’s 8 lbs away.  Sound easy, right?  Yeah, not really.  Having already done 50 lbs another 8 lbs should be a breeze.  Except, it’s not.  I’m stuck.  I’ve not been going to the gym like I should be because, well… I just don’t like it!  I hate exercising for the sake of exercise and I don’t like an audience.  I thought I could get over it and become one of those gym bunnies, but that’s not gonna happen.  If I am going to exercise it will be at home or out doing something fun that makes me momentarily forget that I’m actually working out.  I still have the gym membership and want to try to go, but if I don’t get myself there I need to find other things to do instead.

Today Sheldon The Wonder Fiets and I went off exploring.  I wasn’t sure how far I was going to go or how long I’d last, but I went prepared.

My bag, my point and shoot camera and a bottle of water.  Let’s roll!!

My mission was to find out if there was anywhere relatively close to home where I could bike sort of off the beaten path.  Not like through the mud type of off the beaten path, but more like out of the path of cars, trucks and trams.  Living in the city means biking in the city, not something I’ve been a big fan of in the past.  So I wanted to see if I could find an area where I could bike without worrying about intersections, traffic or a lot of other cyclists.

I found it!  About five minutes from home there is an area where I can cycle to my hearts content.  I reached a cross ways and had a choice of where to go, left or right.  I chose left because I saw a tunnel under the motorway (which meant hill) to the right.  I may have been out biking, but don’t be fooled, the lazy is still strong in this one, people!

It turned out the path on the left wasn’t all that long so after a while I had to do some city biking.  It wasn’t so bad and I didn’t mind exploring a bit.  I wasn’t able to cycle as leisurely in the city as I was out on this path, so next time I’m definitely taking the path on the right, tunnel and all.  I had a look on Google Maps and that path appears to go on for much much longer.

Speaking of  Google Maps, while I was out I tested out a new application I got for my phone.  It’s called My Tracks, which works beautifully on my HTC Hero.  I started recording my tracks before leaving my house and turned it off when I got home.   When I’m done I can upload it to Google Maps and Google Docs to keep track of how far I bike, the speed etc.  This can also be done for any other mode of transportation if you want to keep track of where you’ve gone.

Almost 10.5 kms!  Look at me and my bad biking self!  Not a far distance for a lot of the people who live here and bike regularly, but for me it is. It SO is.  My ass isn’t even all that sore, surprisingly, so it seems I’ve managed to break it in!

As fate would have it, I hit two of those tunnel hills on my way back around and mother of god they just about killed me.  I pedaled as fast as my little legs would go before I hit the downward hill, building up speed so that I could fly down one side and get a boost going up the other, and then WHAM!!  Tunnel wind!  It was like hitting a brick wall and any speed I built up came to a screeching halt.  I huffed and puffed into the amplified winds and it was almost a relief to go up the hill on the other side, just because I was out of the tunnel.

Nobody told me about tunnel winds!  Why didn’t anyone warn me about tunnel winds?!  Argggh!

The worst one was just around the corner from home and by the time I got up the other side you’d think I was doing an iron man or something.  I was wheezing and panting like they were my last breaths and then feebly pedaled the last few hundred meters home.

People often ask me why I don’t bike into town to other places to meet people.  Here’s why…

RED FACED MUCH?!!

After getting off the bike and forcing my gumby legs up three flights of stairs, I was shaking so badly I could hardly get the camera to stay still to take this photo.  I’m smiling, but it was all for show.  Inside I was pretty sure this was the last photo anyone would ever see of me alive and for my mother’s sake I wanted to at least look like I died happy.

Dieting and losing weight is hard, and after losing 50 lbs it’s no more fun than when it started.  Carrying around almost almost two entire people worth of weight makes everything twice as difficult.  I spent 35 years eating for both of them and now I have to exercise for both of them too.  Karma really is a bitch.  Only one of us is getting out of this alive though,  and it’s not going to be that fat cow I’ve been carrying around with me all these years.

Now I just need another sunny day so I can find out what is on the path to the right… other than more tunnel wind, I mean.