The Race To The Bottom

Besides run-ins with cars, I have been up to some very positive developments recently. I've dropped some serious weight in the last few months. Serious weight.

On November 5th, I weighed in at 230 lbs or 104 kilograms, or better, 16 and 1/2 stone.

Today, February 24th, I weigh 195 lbs or 88.5 kilos or best, just under 14 stone.That lovely lady beside me is not Claire, mind you but Robin Lee, cyclist extraordinaire. Don't we have cool helmets? Come on Nutcase, we want sponsorship! But here, I'm around 203 lbs so it's not entirely representative.No, this is better this shot was taken up on Orcas Island last week to give you better perspective. Incidentally, this photo features my Valentine's Day present which is a "keeper" ring to hold my now very loose wedding ring on my finger. So yes, this weight loss is showing up all over and in many facets of my life.

There are all kinds of reasons for this weight loss. I was tired of breaking bike parts: two cranks, three pedals, one handle bar, numerous chains, rear wheel damage,.... the whole kit and kaboodle. I was also tired of being a slow climber and weighing 40% more than the average bike racer my height wasn't helping me get to the top of anything.

I was also phenomenally impressed with my wife, who after two kids is magically down below her pre-wedding weight and, though I won't tell you where she's at, looks FANTASTIC! What can I say, I don't want to look like the odd couple.

Even more than that, I got some pretty serious scares and scars last year, I was in the emergency room 5 separate times last year. Once for a fall that gave me a wicked scar on my abdomen, and four times to treat the case of MRSA that erupted from said visit, or as the doctors say, possibly from anywhere. I understand plausible deniability.

No, the truth is that with some pretty damning photos that I saw of myself, in conjunction startling health data I received auxiliary to my ER visits, I decided to get in the saddle and move everything southward. There was no reason why a guy who bikes ~120 miles a week pulling kids and cellos should weigh that much or more importantly, test that high. My glycemic was 106 and my cholesterol was 204 (but down from 225 four years ago). It was time for an intervention.

So here I am. I've lost 35 lbs in in just under 4 months. It feels pretty darn good. I've dropped from a very tight set of 38 inch Levi's to a new, comfortable set of 34's so I reckon I'm down about 5 inches in the waist department. I had to get rid of pair of pants in the process and now only the suit I bought in 1996 fits me. Everything else just hangs and I'm afraid to try on any of my tuxedos.

I'll keep you all posted on method and my future goals, but it has a great deal to do with this photo:
Fausto Coppi and I are the same height.

I Got Harassed And Scraped This Evening

I was riding west up 40th St. North this evening at 7:17 PM, away from the University Bridge on the way to a play performance that I'm doing (and which is gratefully sold out for the entire run). The hill is a little steep and very narrow but because it only has one light (Meridian) and one stop sign (2nd NE) drivers use it as a bypass from Wallingford. They are extremely protective of their precious rights of way and often threaten those who deign to usurp, so much so that I had not been on this road 100 ft when I was approached from behind by a 90's Cadillac Fleetwood (square single head lights). This car was none too happy to see me and proceeded to rev its engine and squeal its tires (wet road) and honk like crazy. There was nowhere for me to go so I just tried to speed up a little and make the hill seem shorter.

Well, this Cadillac with the Washington license plates 300-NNO decided to pass me, but not before there was a car coming in the opposite direction. Seeing this oncoming car, the Cadillac decided to do the only thing it knew how, not use its brake pedal, not hesitate, no this Cadillac Fleetwood decided to floor it and then swerve into my side. Oh yes it did. Luckily, it just tagged me, but it startled me so that I nearly wrecked. Yes, I am very lucky and I do realize it.

The police were nonplussed by this non-gory hit and run, took long enough to show up for the report that we were well into the first act, and tried to talk the doorman into telling me to just drop it.

Ah police, when will you ever learn? Why do you grade one assault over another? Why do you disregard the needs of pedestrians and cyclists and just let the driver off, citing more pressing and "fun" things to do?

Any of you reading this know how to track down a license plate?

The Dude Rides

It turns out that I just needed to be more patient. After all, It only took him a week and half to figure it out. I had a few stills around but Claire finally caught some representative footage. Enjoy.

Close Encounters Of The Cycling Kind

This is the Talequah ferry dock in the fog in the early morning. It erupts out of the nothingness and engulfs us to the point where we can...... disembark.
If you are on Vashon Island for a bike ride, you have not truly sampled the terrain until you have ridden this road. Oh yes, northbound is much trickier than southbound. Do yourself a favor and hit it at the end of the ride when you are just about to the ferry dock.
I got there a little early, and though I saw what looked like Jon Muellner bouncing around in the cold, I preferred to enjoy my hot chocolate from the confines of a closed mexican restaurant behind this glass.
The boys rolled in with the ferry and I made my way out to the dock where Kent Peterson was showing off his new ride. Mmmmm, Chrome. Mmmmm, Cunningham brakes.
Mark Vande Kamp sporting his recently reviewed and adulated rando bike. Don't believe what you read in Bicycle Quarterly, Mark is super fast.
Jon, explaining the finer points of Italian cooking to Mark Canizaro, that very same Mark Canizaro who showed me the way to Vancouver this summer.
Tom and Liam. Liam lives just few blocks from me and is a fellow devotee of Kent's Quixotic Writings. Tom recently moved from Kansas. As he says this, we just hope that he means the hilly eastern part. Tom subsequently recognized me while I was pushing my kids down the street a few days ago. I usually don't recognize people without their bikes under them. Good on Tom!
So you get out to 204th and Vashon Hwy and walk behind a mobile catering trailer and there you have it, the ostensible reason why we are out here.
Mark, reassuring me that this really is the place.
The close up shot of the bike. Non-pneumatic tires and full fenders make this bike an excellent entry in the child rando category.
Now time for snacks. I will remember to ride with Jon whenever I can.
We all sit around in the frost, in the shade, shooting the shit.
Mark, explaining where Sea-Tac is. Yes, frosty wood planks are a little slippery, but we had no mishaps here, only while going uphill, thankfully.
Getting my vitamin D allotment.
They really are more religious in the rural parts of this country.
I had to get one really nice shot in during the ride. This is Mark and Jon after a great little uphill corkscrew from a beach road full of ice.
And the second shot.
These are the standard road surfaces on Vashon. 32mm tires are a minimum on this type of chipseal. Thankfully, I have been appraised of the situation from my riding in Seattle to know what is needed.
Blocking a nice view of Rainier. Jon's Heron in the background.
The Talequah ferry dock from the dock side.
My bike, much smarter, finding refuge inside.
And at last a gravel pit with a nice view, converted into a golf course/public space somewhere between University Place and Steilacoom.

Big Man, Little Bike

T. isn't so taken by the idea of pedaling right now since he only got the bike on x-mas, but I thought I would give it a try.


A. shows some interest in the matter and I'm lucky that I didn't hit her.

Is there a zoobomb in Seattle?

The Sublime And The Ridiculous

Hard to tell which is which, but I'll let the photo below speak better.
They've really fixed the old bird up since I last biked through Chehalis. Last time, someone had poked a big hole and tried to empty out all of the pinata treats stored inside. This time, the dear Yardbird sports a fresh coat of paint and a charming sidekick in my red Surly.
To keep this thread going, you are currently witnessing the best view of Mt. Rainier from Dupont WA (exit 121, I-5). Sprawl defines us.
Next, Tenino WA when you pop out at the end of the Yelm-Tenino Trail and ride up to the main drag to find your way to points south, you are met by a very charming commercial building wherein the new tenants have no desire to show you their wares. Wouldn't it be better if everyone just left their curtains down and went about their business?
A statue commemorating WW1 soldiers that has since told the real story of the only labor riot in WA in which anyone lost a life. Some middle schooler sleuthed it out for us all.
The new movement in tree decoration, celebrate not the branches and growth but the stump. Strict constructionist arborists?

My Son Doesn't Read This Blog

And how could he? He doesn't turn three until April, but boy can he ride that bike on the right. He flies over and into stuff, can balance for whole city blocks (much to his mother's consternation) and looks just plain cute as heck. The new one, that super shiny bike on the left, well, that is T's new bike. I haven't given it to him yet.
So when he started telling me that he wants a bike "with pedals, like daddy" and "red, like daddy's" well who am I to deny him? By golly, as a bicycle addicted wonk and doting father, I went out and bought him the nicest bike I could find, indeed, I bought the only children's bike to be reviewed by Jan Heine in Bicycle Quarterly.

The Specialized Hot Rock 12. Oh baby, 12 inch by 2.125 tires, fully adjustable stem and handlebars, aluminum frame, coaster brake for gnarly skids; it's the bike I would have wanted, period. I don't know how I'm going to wait until Christmas to spring it on him because my heart pumps just looking at it, just thinking about all the crazy fun this little dude is going to have. Or should I just give it to him today?

Living vicariously through my children in Seattle, Washington; Brad Hawkins signing out.