Tourney and weigh in

I was sick today and stayed home from school. I went to the doctor about an unrelated problem. I have a spot about the size of the top a large drink at Mcdonalds (the big one:). This spot is numb on the skin. From the point of the shoulder to where my bicep/triceps begin. It is numb and the doc thinks I have pinched nerve/stinger in my shoulder. Probably from my neck or other location not determined. So I am on Muscle relaxers/anti inflamatories to see if it will correct itself. Hopefully I will not have to do anything more drastic. I had weigh in today and I dropped another 2.2 lbs. I am officially 223.2. I am 1.8 lbs away from reaching my 100 lbs lost with WW. I have not ridden since Thursday and the cold weather rolled back in. Now the weather is really nasty and I am mellow from fireplace and pills.

This past weekend we finished the debate season finally. Newton took third in 4 speaker division of 5A. Hutch was 1st Miege 2nd and we were right behind for third. We had to come back before the last round we were in 4th behind Topeka Shawnee Hghts.(last years champion) and we beat them on their Aff and they lost to Hutch's Aff wich took us from one win down to one win up. It was the coolest. I have been in Newton since 2000 and this the first four speaker trophy for Newton in last 30 years. Phillip and Katie broke in 2 speaker but lost in quarters to take fourth and just miss a trophy. We have broke to quarters or better in 2 speaker six of the nine years I have been in Newton. Overall a great week. I stayed on my diet all week and only went over tonight for my son's birthday at Applebees. I only went over about 5-9 points for the day. I am so stoked to reach my goal of 200 lbs by summer. I have to bust my ass to get this done. I NEED WARM WEATHER so I can get on the bike.

I got 2 flats the other day. One about 25 minutes into my ride on Thursday. I patched 2 places in my tube and then aired it up. I then rode about 20 minutes more just get another flat. Not sure if it was bad patch or another hole or if something was still int tire. My wife bought me some new tubes. She got  the nicest tubes that walmart had. The Bell self sealing tubes. I have not put them in yet but will do it tomorrow. More later.

Cool New Law

Read below about a cool new bike commuter law. Money for riding
your bike. How cool!

The Newton Kansan

NEWTON —
Carol Sue Stayrook-Hobbs, an employee of Prairie Harvest and
member of the Newton board of education, has been commuting by bicycle since
before her downtown job surfaced more than two years ago.
“When I worked for the Newton Medical Center child-care facility, it was a four-mile ride,” Hobbs said. “The one thing you have to consider is time. Today I drove because I was going to be at the high school, district office, here and at church. I had too many places I had to be.” But this month she’s riding her bike to many
destinations. Aside from the health benefits of exercise and the
cost-savings of not buying gas for a car, there is a new incentive for those who
want to commute by bicycle. Beginning Jan. 1, employees who regularly use
their bicycles to get to and from work are eligible for a $20-a-month, tax-free
reimbursement from their employers for bicycle-related expenses. Employers don’t
have to offer the reimbursement. Participating employers will, in turn, be
able to deduct the expense from their federal taxes. According to the
National Center for Bicycling and Walking, few employers know about the
reimbursement allowance. Rich Hanley, director of aging for Harvey County,
has made the county aware of the program. Hanley rides his bike three miles
to work between three and four times a week.
“As soon as the weather gets better, I will ride a lot,” Hanley said. “When it gets below freezing, I don’t ride as much. But we did have a woman in here the other day who is over 70 and rides her bike all the time.”
He said there are expenses that cyclists incur — which is why the reimbursement would be a good thing for employers to consider. “Throughout the year, you need different kinds of tires to adapt with the weather,” Hanley said. “One of the biggest items is warmer clothes. They need to flexible and not bulky.”
Hobbs, who at one time co-owned a
bicycle shop in Newton, said cyclists should schedule regular maintenance — an
annual checkup of the chain and bearings.
They also should keep fresh
batteries for lights. “I commute at night sometimes,” Hobbs said. “You need
a front headlight and rear lights on your bike.”
But those expenses are not the only ones employers can choose to reimburse bicycle commuters. Employers
may reimburse employees for expenses, including equipment and bike purchases,
bicycle parking, repairs, shower facilities and storage. The Bicycle
Commuter Act was part of the larger set of Renewable Energy Tax Credit
Initiatives included in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, signed
into law by President Bush in early October. Section 211 of that act allows
for a “qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement” for “reasonable expenses
incurred by the employee ... for the purchase of a bicycle and bicycle
improvements, repair, and storage, if such bicycle is regularly used for travel
between the employee’s residence and place of employment.”
The Bicycle Commuter Act is an extension of a transportation fringe benefit law that gives tax breaks to employers for setting up car pools, van pools, and other plans for
reducing traffic congestion. The total anticipated cost of the provision,
estimated by the Joint Committee on Taxation, is $1 million per year.
“There are a lot of inexpensive ways to encourage more bicycle commuting, and this
benefit could encourage efforts in that direction,” Sharon Roerty, NCBW’s
executive director, stated in a news release. “More people might give bicycle
commuting a try if they know their business supports it, even at this basic
level.” The benefit is an optional benefit — businesses are not required to
offer it in any way. “It’s still up to employers to implement the subsidy,
and up to bicycle-commuting employees to request it,” Roerty said.
The NCBW has posted a page with links to additional information concerning the bicycle commuter benefit at www.bikewalk.org/bca.php.

Hoorah!!!!

I weighed in yesterday and I am finally below 226. I am at 225.4 lbs and now I only have 4 lbs untill I reach 100 lost on W.W. I am looking forward to that. I am wanting to be below 200lbs by summer. Only 25.4 lbs more to go. Wish me luck.

Inservice day aka MLK day

my student teacher aka slave Cory

Weigh in and inservice

I hate inservice. I think if you have ready my earlier post you get this. I get to weigh in today at 5 pm. I think it should be good. I have behaved very well over the past week. I rode another 14 miles yesterday with Ray. 25 mph wind and almost 60 degrees was pretty good workout. This combo with the gravel/sand road did make it more challenging. The last 6 miles was on pavement so that was a breeze, especially since it was not into the wind. Good workout. I am up to about 45 miles this month. I need to hit the road today and the rest of the week while it is warm. I want to do tour of about 3 days this spring break with my son. If anyone actually reads this shoot a comment on where would be cool. Back to the meeting. More later. Happy MLK day.

January 17, 2009

Delivering the bike for Tour Down Under

Check out this link. Lance Armstrong and his bike for the Tour of Australia. It looks so cool.

The Gravel Conspiracy: The Roster

I found this today and it sounds way cool. Anyone out there interested in going and sharing a ride, it could be cool.

The Gravel Conspiracy: The Roster: "The Roster
1/14/09 Update: Registration is half full and am still getting a steady stream of entrants. I am currently with the Fam in Idaho, plotting planning and conniving on how I might acquire gainful employment next year. Some of yall have expressed interest in sponsoring the event, I will be in touch with you each individually in the near future regarding how we can put on the best possible event. Thanks for your support of grassroots racing!
Can be found Here
Is in Google Docs which I just learned how to use so bear with me.

random pic of me

Teacher Work Day.....cold

I am here at the HS for a teacher work day and they are not very exciting. The solitude is nice. I get to sit in my room and work on what I need to get done. I have made a list of items and should be getting to them sometime. This morning in Newton, KS the temperature was about 10 degrees and that is 4 warmer than yesterday but the wind is really howling. It is from the south, so warm up is emanate. It is supposed to be near 50 by Sunday and I will be riding then for sure. I read a cool blog about how to be warmer on my bike without buying actual bike gear. Take a page from the homeless, literally. Newspaper print paper. Use it to line your shoes about 4 layers. Don't ball it up but drape it over your feet and toes and slide on your shoes. It also says not to tie your shoes very tight so some insulating air can remain in between the layers for additional warmth. If your feet are really sweaty, you may need to change your paper on a regular basis. He also suggested shooting gloves/mitten combos that you could do something similar by lining those as well. I might try it. Says it helps when temps get down as low as 15 degrees.
Bike club at my school meets again on this Wednesday and I hope it is warm for that day. I want to ride today but my feet and hands get really cold on days like this. Plus the layer of snow on the ground does not help anything. I am going to the weight room today to some work on the elliptical and I know it is going to kick my ass, but I need about 30 minutes of exercise or weigh-in is going to suck. I am going to change now and get this done, so I can get the rest of my work done. I hope that Ray can ride with me this weekend. I get so bored riding alone. It is fun but conversation makes the ride fly by.

Monday Weigh-in and Results

I weighed in today and had a good week even though I had a meltdown Wednesday night. I lost 5.4 lbs and now weigh 226.4 lbs. I am .4 lbs from my lowest total since elementary school. I rode about 7 miles on Sunday in 40 minutes. The wind was a killer once I got out in the open. I tried to ride with a friend of mine but he was busy and did not call me back. I have a hard time riding very far on my own. I get bored pretty quickly. I am not tired, just bored. Especially when I it is a little chilly like low 50's. I am wanting to ride more but my feet and hands get so cold, even with gloves on. I need to invest in some more riding gear but the wife is definitaly anti-bike investment of any kind. I want to order some biking clothes to better deal with the elements but it is only going to start warming up from here. I would love to get in about 25-30 miles this weekend since I do not have a debate tournament. This would be great if the weather was not going to suck. I also have bike club Thursday and the weather is supposed to be horrible. Really cold and windy. My wife's Grandmother passed away last night and the funeral is Thursday. The kids schedule is hectic and cannot get away, so I have to stay here while she goes back. I know I am going to wish I was able to go.

Goals for my weight are pretty clear now. My next immediate goal is to get to 216 lbs. That would get me to my W.W. 100 lbs lost goal. I get a cool little pendant for my keychain that looks like barbell plate that has a 100 on it.

Debate this past weekend had a lackluster result for Newton. We had three teams go 2-3 and one team go 3-2. The kids tried but luck was not on our side. The interesting thing is the youngest kids did the best. The team of 2 freshman did the best, so I am excited for their future in the activity. The other freshman did well as did the sophomores. We have couple of Jr's and they did well.

Weigh-in and Workday

Debaters had a work day today. It went well. Hopefully a good start toward getting ready for state in about 3 weeks. I rode my bike to school today. About a mile on the bike today. Not much before the cold front came in and put us back in the freezer again. I weighed in today on a new scale we bought. It is cool. The scale says 235.4. This is about 7 lbs up from before Christmas holidays. I hope to take this off in the next week. I think some of this was water weight anyway and big lunch since I did not know we were investing in a scale. My wife and I started a group for those wanting to lose some pounds. I have been in weight watchers for about a year and a half. I am going to continue to do this also. I am also going to be teaching a "class" for this small group of our friends wanting to get healthier. I hope this acts as a motivation for me and my friends. My children also all weighed in and we are tracking these also. I hope to be a good example for them and inspire them to "want" to make healthier choices. I am going to take some before pictures to post on here also. I am going to start my weight training/cycling program while teaching this class on healthy eating. My friends are not poor but can't really afford the 50 bucks a month extra for WW and this is my way of helping them out. I will post my progress on here. I will post my before and after pictures even if they are gross. Sorry if this is offensive.