Weight Loss Tuesday, Part 9

Bike stats! In the last week, I rode 224.38 miles. I lost 3.8 pounds – I gained weight last time, and I did want to reverse THAT trend, thus the two hundred miles of riding in a week. I didn’t lift but. . . 224.38 miles on my bike in seven days! Forgive me that “lapse!”

In the coming week, I won’t get much riding done.  I messed up the XStream a bit – the problem with fiddling with things is somethings you get in over your head.  The bike isn’t damaged, but if I ride it in its current state it could become damaged, and since I’m going to be leaving Thursday for InConJunction. . . well, it won’t get fixed until next week.  My workout next week will be light.

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Presenting my new ride: the Rans XStream

My, aren’t you a sexy beast!

And, now, for the Rans XStream. First, I include pictures because the X-Stream is a fine looking bike. Note the Zipp 404 wheel in front! It’s also got Q-Rings and a low-profile, aero front brake with the Shimano 105! That bag behind the seat isn’t just convenient to hold things, it also makes the bike more aerodynamic, saving about 7 watts at 24 miles per hour! I can even GET to 24 miles on hour on this bike! The seat angle is about as low as it can go on this bike, which is about thirty degrees!

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Fare thee well, Cruzbike, adieu, adieu

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I. . . got another new bike. Well, a new used bike. A Rans X-Stream.

One might be asking, “Kit, what happened to the Cruzbike Sofrider v3?” Good question! Here is my review of the Cruzbike Sofrider v3.

I rode the Sofrider for almost exactly four weeks. During that time, though, I rode it thirty times for a distance of approximately 650 miles. Without a doubt, it is a faster bike than my Sun Bike EZ-Racer, which I rode before it. I can claim without hesitation or reservation that, indeed, Cruzbikes are climbers. I saw increases uphill in the 30% range, and the Sofrider was just faster everywhere else, too. Like all recumbents, it is a comfortable bike, too, though it wasn’t until the end that I got everything dialed in. Pro tip: if you’re not comfortable on a recumbent from day one, seek advice!

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Weight Loss Monday, Part 8, with weight GAIN!

I crossed a couple of thresholds this workout period. Since starting this experiment eight weeks ago, I’ve ridden over a thousand miles and burned over one hundred thousand calories on those rides. Which means I’m riding an average of 132 miles a week! I think that’s pretty cool, even if. . .

This past week, I rode 132.2 miles, worked out for 120 minutes, burned 15,780 calories and GAINED, yes, gained 1.8 pounds.

It is an object lesson on the importance of diet. No matter how much you exercise, you can sabotage yourself with diet.

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Weight Loss Monday, Part 7

The best news is that when taking my blood pressure and pulse, my BP was 106/72 and my resting pulse was 62.  Not only am I losing weight, my cardio fitness is great!  It’s weird to me that I don’t have the body of an athlete (albeit a weekend warrior), but the abilities of one.

Last week, I rode 118.3 miles and lifted twice for a recorded time of 120 minutes, which burned 13,235 calories according to Map My Ride. I lost 2.6 pounds, which is 1 pound for every 5,090 calories.

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Weight Loss Monday (Back to Monday!), Part 6

Well, I’m getting back to a Monday schedule for this!

I rode 78.94 miles. I know! Under a hundred! But this is just Thursday to Sunday, not a full week, right? Right. Also, with the Cruzbike, I’ve decided to “ease” myself into the rides a little, let myself get more used to the bicycle, so I’m not jumping back to sixty-mile rides immediately. Anyway, that amount of riding used 7804 calories theoretically.

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Dracula vs. Cthulhu: Vampires in Spaceships

When discussing Dracula vs. Cthulhu, people seem surprised when I say it’s science-fiction and then talk about spaceships and time travel. So I’ll say it, again! Dracula vs. Cthulhu is science-fiction horror! So, yeah, don’t be too surprised if it has spaceships and time travel.

This is part of the reason to do such a story, right? If I was going to write a story where Dracula was just another Gothic monster, who would care? But the je ne sais quoi is the “vs. Cthulhu.” And Cthulhu? He’s on the sci-fi end of Lovecraft’s works. Further, I process both Cthulhu and Dracula through the lens of my interpretations and preferences. I think Lovecraft was at his best when he was at his most science-fiction-y.

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