Cycling & CX

New Route in Lawton OK

2011-07-11T12:41:00.000-05:00

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=210929364124817911907.0004a7cc35ee000754fa4&msa=0

Stormy Ride

2011-07-06T16:39:00.000-05:00


Sun peaking through

I was hitting the road this morning when the weather turned sour. A storm popped up just north of my route of choice even after the weather guy said it was going to clear off. I left super early to beat the heat. I left at 5:45 am....yes AM....I was going at a pretty good clip when it got really dark. Dark I can handle but then the lightning came. Living in Kansas makes me a pretty good target for lightning. Not that many trees close to me.

I turned around when the lightning started. Right before I took this picture my phone took a tumble. I was listening to my tunes on my phone...no headphones so I can be aware of what is around me. Wind kicked up big time coming across and my bag. Velcro closure kinda opened and I hit a big bump on this shitty road and my phone bounced out and tumbled down the road. Lost my battery and I stopped...had to look for it for about 5 minutes...found my battery then found the phone. I thought it was toast but not a scratch on it. I then tried to ride in town but started feeling like crap. I just rolled home. I was hoping to get in 32 miles minimum but settled for about 15 instead.

Give Cyclist 3 feet but why not just give them the whole lane?

2011-07-01T08:47:00.000-05:00

Why not give them the whole lane? Three feet passing lane starts to day.

Check out this guy on ebay. Super deal on cycling gear..

2011-06-22T22:12:00.001-05:00

Might say PMC on it but some cool designs and good stuff. So cheap and all proceeds support the PMC or Pan Mass. Challenge. A cross Massachusetts cycling event that benefits cancer research.

http://myworld.ebay.com/drabinovitz/?_trksid=p4340.l2559

SR Road Champion Randonneur Drop Bars with levers - eBay (item 220795666350 end time Jun-13-11 14:34:56 PDT)

2011-06-12T20:55:00.001-05:00

via cgi.ebay.com

See this awesome vintage set of SR Road Champian Randonneur Bars. They only have a short time left.

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

Shoe for sale

2011-05-30T09:42:00.000-05:00

Long Ride in Kansas

2011-05-08T22:01:00.000-05:00

Today was a great day for riding. A little windy but the warmest day of the year. I took off from Newton heading west on 12th street. 10 miles with a SE tail wind out to Halstead Road. I headed south on Halstead road. I really felt great for most of the southern trip. The problem did arise that I don't know what the hell I am doing when reading a map...I read a map earlier on the computer thinking/remembering to head south on Halstead road but no...I missed it by a mile. Halstead road is a great surface for riding and was not too busy but I wanted to cut to the east at or near the Sedgwick county line or 125th street to head over to Sedgwick. Unfortunately, there is no east west paved road on 125th like I thought. I had to ride south to Bentley before heading east but could only ride east on 117th street for a mile then jog around adding many miles before I got on the right road.

I was at a little over 30 miles when I took a break and bought another Gatorade in Sedgwick. Filled the bottle and left to go fill the other with water at the park but the water is turned off there now. Finished up by heading to 81 highway and heading north with wind finally pushing me instead of holding me back. Got buzzed by a motorcycle going over 100 mph. He came about 3 feet from hitting me. The jerk did it on purpose, speeding up way back when he saw me and moving closer when he had 3 other lanes to choose from. Gave him the finger and anger powered me home.

45 miles but it took me 4 hours of real time and 3 hrs 30 minutes of ride time. Still kinda wiped out. I also told my wife, I would be back in 2 hours but was gone 4 hours. ...on Mother's day....also I figured out I am a Dick....sorry honey. Did I mention I am married to an amazing woman that I hope will forgive me soon.

This ride was the first since Thursday since I had to go out of town for a tournament. I ate way too much and will pay for it when I weigh in the morning. To bed. good night.

Training Rides

2011-05-01T08:59:00.001-05:00

I have signed up for a ride in Colorado coming up in June. 62 miles in the mountains in Castle Rock, CO.
I have never ridden in the mountains so I am looking for a way to simulate the mountains and lack of oxygen. The ride we are doing is 62 miles and starts out at 6200 ft above sea level and up to 7500 (close)
There is one section that is 12 miles of uphill climb. I am pretty sure the ride will be doable but still kinda scared. I am taking my children to visit my brother in law, Ryan. Ryan asked me about signing up for the ride and my wife said ok. I am convinced she approved only because her Dad and brother were jazzed about it. The kids will not ride but are going to do some cool tourist stuff while in Colorado Springs.
I am training with a new training partner who rides really well. Lloyd races most weekends and I am recovering from a hard Friday ride. Gardening and an easy spin ride yesterday left me pretty wiped out. Got a little sun when it was warm yesterday but now it is really cold.

Fitday is amzing

2011-04-27T11:44:00.000-05:00

This website is awesome! I have dropped 30 lbs in the last 2 months. I have 20 lbs to reach my goal....lbs come tougher now but I am hoping that I can be good the next couple of weeks. I am also training for a big bike ride in Castle Rock, CO. More post on that later when I have time. Ride today at 5:30 pm from the HS parking lot in Newton..(South Lot)

Chance Mullen's Official Website

2011-04-02T13:52:00.001-05:00

via chancemullen.com

He has come a long way from Garden City, KS...Had him in class Acting and forensics...so good then and now!

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

Augusta Awards Jan 29, 2011

2011-01-31T06:08:00.000-06:00

The Hair Piece

2011-01-19T21:29:00.000-06:00

Wayne Avery DCI Hall of Fame 2011

2011-01-09T16:17:00.000-06:00

Vickie Fellers DCI Coach of the Year

2011-01-09T16:11:00.000-06:00

DCI Coach of the Year Mark Kapfer

2011-01-09T14:45:00.000-06:00

top novice speakers 2011

2011-01-09T11:28:00.000-06:00

Bad To The Bone...and..oh the dancing!!!

2011-01-01T23:22:00.000-06:00

I Touch Myself...a night to remember

2011-01-01T13:49:00.000-06:00

Why Should You Take Debate?

2010-12-29T17:25:00.001-06:00

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

I just made a karaoke recording: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under The Bridge check it out at http://www.karaokeplay.com/recordings/under-the-bridge-3944836.html

2010-11-23T21:00:00.000-06:00

I just made a karaoke recording: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under The Bridge check it out at http://www.karaokeplay.com/recordings/under-the-bridge-3944836.html

Facebook | I just don't understand

2010-09-05T21:20:00.001-05:00

I like to think that I am a fairly smart person and that I keep up on politics and current events really well. Not just what happens but the reason for it. Sometimes, I even read political science articles on different subjects on my own, I know it is nerdy, but I like to know things. That's just part of my personality. Sometimes I can be arrogant in my views on politics and on law, I know I shouldn't but my ego isn't always under control. Still, I try really hard to know as much as I can about the world. I try to be aware.

Having studied political science for four years now and being an international studies co-major I feel like I have pretty well informed political views, I try to read from numerous news sources and not just stick with only one or two. But recently I have been having a really hard time understanding the recent movement in America called the Tea Party and the republicans and conservatives that have either joined or are riding the band wagon. I have seen a tremendous amount of hate, real vicious hatred, that is pointed at the President, lead Democrats and just liberals in general. I have also heard of taking back the country, of taking back the civil rights movement and of getting back to the way the country use to be. And it scares me a little, it really does. More than once I heard of people saying we need to return to the way that our founders did it, turn back the clock 100 or more years. I feel like people who say this are mostly not in the racial minority category. Which is to say those that I have heard and seen are white. I don't believe that the Tea party movement is all white or all republican, because I've researched it fairly well. But what I do think is that the majority of this movement is massively angry, sometimes misinformed and far too accepting of people with very bigoted beliefs. Again this scares me.

Through out my life I've always known I wasn't white, but I grew up in a small town in Kansas and I assume I led a fairly normal life in America. Yes, sometimes my family celebrated the Chinese New Year, but we celebrate the other one too. We celebrated the 4th of July and Christmas too, they were always my favorites. We went to church, it was a United Methodist church. I was swim captain my Junior year. I am half-Chinese and half-caucasian. One hundred years ago I would not have been accepted in this country. My parents would most likely have been shunned and hated, as would have my sister and I. Please understand this, when this country was founded only people considered White were free, not the blacks, not the Asians and not the Native Americans. Please don't take back this country. Please don't turn back the clock. I like living here, in this country, in this America. I don't want it to turn into what it was, I don't want to have to hate Muslims, or gays, or whites or blacks. I want to be able to understand this movement, I want to believe that it is only about less spending, only about smaller government and not about fear and hate, but right now I can't believe it. I have never in my life felt scared to live in this country as a mixed race person. Never. Not even when students at my high school talked about burning down my house because I let the gay club use it for meetings, not when a one time friend wanted to fight me because he thought I was gay. That ruined my senior year of high school. I wouldn't have gotten through that with out my family and friends (both gay and straight) and support from members of Trinity Heights (my church). But I wasn't afraid then. So would someone please tell me when all this became ok? When arson at the future site of a mosque in Tennessee, when signs and shirts with hate-filled racial remarks were acceptable, when any politicians were ok with ANY of this, when reporters for the most watched News Station in the US would allow hatred and bigotry to be aired over and over again, to wish and pray for the death of the President, to vandalize the offices of Congressional Representatives because you don't like their vote, WHEN DID THIS BECOME OK? SOMEONE JUST TELL ME. SOMEONE JUST EXPLAIN IT TO ME! Please, I don't understand and it scares me. I really mean it, I need someone to explain all of it to me. Because if all of this is now mainstream, all of this is let slide, to hate people because of what religion they practice, or because they are on the opposite side of a political issue, then it is ok to hate me. Then this really isn't the country I thought I grew up in. Someone please… I don't understand.

Thank you to anyone who reads this and to anyone who responds. I appreciate that you took time to consider my note and thoughts.

via facebook.com

Cole Hwa Davis wrote this in his note on Facebook.

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

Crazy Guy Sings Carrie-Oke

2010-08-22T14:03:00.001-05:00

via youtube.com

Proud to say this guy performed somewhere near Wichita, ks. I think he needs medication and I feel sorry for his....partner? Who ever "he" is in Before he cheats...

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

Beatbox Political Debate

2010-08-21T13:18:00.001-05:00

via youtube.com

This is funny. Debaters, this is pretty good example of "performance" debate. Your performance can make arguments.

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

First Day of School!!

2010-08-20T20:34:00.001-05:00

via youtube.com

Here it is the long awaited video...well not really I just finally made another video.

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

Massive ice island breaks off Greenland

2010-08-07T09:25:00.001-05:00

via cnn.com

Don't worry, global warming isn't real....right....??

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

Around the Circuit: The Academic Benefits of Speech & Debate | Extemp Central

2010-08-06T15:30:00.001-05:00

via speechgeek.com

You would think that schools would encourage academically competitive students to participate in debate and Forensics. Want to get into that elite college? Debate is the key. 10% of Harvard's Freshman class each year are debaters while over 50% of those with perfect SAT scores are rejected.

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

Drunk History.

2010-07-26T22:46:00.001-05:00

via youtube.com

Amazing actors paired with a totally blitzed historiian narrating the story. FUNNY>>>

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

Cameron DIaz and her two GIANT DOUCHE'S

2010-07-24T17:06:00.001-05:00

via cyclingfans.net

Contidor is an Ass. Winning without honor....he sucks...

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

Baaahhhhck of the pack....

2010-07-22T13:16:00.001-05:00

via cyclingfans.net

Sheep...and bikes do not mix..

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

Health Benefits of Cycling outweigh risk

2010-07-09T19:38:00.001-05:00

via scopeblog.stanford.edu

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

TDF rider runs into race official after stage 6, Pissed off...

2010-07-09T13:25:00.001-05:00

via sporza.be

Tour rider runs into a race official and boy is he mad. German website for the video and they bleep nada!

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

Angry Driver, why?

2010-07-09T09:30:00.001-05:00

I left this morning at 6 am like most everyday of the summer. I left to get my fix for my bike riding addiction and the morning was amazing. Very little wind, cooler than normal and I was off and on my way. I was taking my normal Newton, Sedgwick, Valley Center and back to Newton loop that I ride some version of 4 days a week usually. The ride is about 38 miles or so and I had an amazing ride...until....

I love that our city is putting in bike paths but I think a few citizens out there do not understand the use of bike paths. I say few because in the 3 years I have been cycling in Newton and surrounding area, I have never had an issue with the path. Of the 38 miles of my ride bike path runs along my route for 1 mile plus about 150 yards. It winds in and out of a couple of subdivisions and of course is interrupted every few hundred feet with a street entering the subdivisions. I never ride on this path when I am on my route. I don't ride on the path because it is actually more dangerous than riding on the street or shoulder where I rode today. Cars do not stop at the bike path cross walk and I like most vehicles wanting to get where I am going, I don't want to slow and stop at every cross street. So I stay on the street.
Today as I was coming up on the intersection near walmart and Newton Medical center, I notice in my rear view mirror a car coming up behind me not making any attempt to move over. In fact he was on the white line. I was trying to be hospitable and considerate and moved over onto the very rough shoulder that is covered with road trash, big pot holes and glass in order to give him plenty of room. This was during the part of my route with the short section of path running along side. The man pulled beside me and slowed way down and rolled down his window and proceeded to yell at me about how I should not be on the street and that "See that Fucking path right there, that is there so you don't get run over!" He went on to say, "Stay off the road you dumb shit!" Meanwhile a large line of cars are behind him. HE is holding up traffic to yell at me about how I am being unsafe.
Newton, KS sits on the Transamerica Bike Route and cyclist from all over the world come through our little town. I saw two yesterday looking for a resteraunt as I was waiting for a train.I hope people like this person who yelled at me don't make a habbit out of it as it could tarnish our town's image as a small hospitable place The Tan/Brown small suv hatchback Accura I think with Harvey County tags and The gentleman was overweight (but who isn't?) balding with light brownish blond hair with a beard (his hair could have been a redish color) I hope you enjoy your day and feel better about whatever was irritating you, but I have a right to ride my bike on the road. I was not breaking any laws nor was I rude to you in anyway. I hope I see you in the store or in a parking lot sometime when you are not in your vehicle so we can have a more evenly balanced debate about the rules of the road. Hey if you don't want to debate, I could just kick your ass. See you soon.

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

Walmart Bike Horror Story

2010-07-08T19:49:00.001-05:00

via youtube.com

Be careful where you buy your bike. You might get this one...

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

TDF10_cobbles_11.jpg (JPEG Image, 615x442 pixels) - Scaled (93%)

2010-07-08T12:42:00.001-05:00

via bicycling.com

50 seconds down to Contidor and out of the top 12...looking bad for superman...

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

2010 Tour de France Stage 2 LIVE | www.cyclingfans.com

2010-07-07T10:51:00.001-05:00

via cyclingfans.com

Team Lampre pulled it out at the sprint but without HTC Columbia and Cervelo pushing he would not have caught up.

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

TWILIGHT SUCKS! Emo Vampire Song : The Key of Awesome #3

2010-07-06T21:18:00.001-05:00

via youtube.com

If you are a Twilight fan, then you will probably hate this, but will laugh anyway.

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

bikejournal.com

2010-07-05T21:06:00.001-05:00

2010 Total Distance Stats

Rank Rider Location Distance (Miles)

954 dpbogey Springfield, MO 2384
(+1)

955 gfdbiker Loveland, OH 2383
(+0)

956 misterbee.. Newton, KS 2383

957 Husky65 Mountain River, Australia 2379
(-4)

958 nogas
Wakefield, MA 2379
(-4)

via bikejournal.com

Chugging along 2383 miles since January 2010.

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

Want to Ride in Newton?

2010-07-03T14:41:00.001-05:00

Want to Ride in Newton? (Newton, KS)

Date: 2010-06-30, 7:38PM CDT
Reply to: sale-zr8dt-1819936835@craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

http://www.velocal.org go to the website and search for Newton KS clubs. Find Newton HS faculty/Staff bike club. If you are near or in Newton and want to start being involved in a regular ride then sign up. If you are not in Newton but like the idea of a ride calender for your club, then you can use this tool to schedule and communicate rides with your club members. I get nothing out of this other than some people to share a ride with and get some exercise. Request membership and I will be in touch.

via wichita.craigslist.org

In Newton, KS and want to ride with a group?

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

Exclusive: How Giro Made Lance Armstrong’s $15,000 Custom Helmet | Playbook

2010-07-03T12:58:00.001-05:00

via wired.com

$15,000.00 for a helmet? Amazing technology!

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

2010 Tour de France Prologue LIVE | www.cyclingfans.com

2010-07-03T10:37:00.001-05:00

via cyclingfans.com

Tour de France is starting. Prologue is already going.

Posted via email from davidjwilliams's posterous

2010-06-30T08:47:00.002-05:00

2010-06-30T08:47:00.001-05:00

New Bike gadget

2010-06-23T22:28:00.000-05:00

I took the Miyata into the bike shop yesterday. Cool new stuff got a Plane Bike Blinky Super Flash LED rear light. Cost a little more than the one here but I don't mind supporting my local bike shop. I also had John check my bottom bracket and the ORIGINAL grease was still inside. It had never been opened up at all. The grease was almost dried all the way out. The bearing races had pitting in them where the dried grease let the bearings cut into them. Here is thebottom bracket or a really similar one. I needed an English thread and he had it in stock. He also trued my wheels and the combination of those two things made a HUGE difference. Felt like a different bike, especially on the downhill/downwind side of my ride. I was MOVING really fast for me. I got a bell also since my really lame airhorn scared the crap out of the old people on the bike path. I got a bell that is very similar to this one but black. With the wheel truing and the othe new stuff it came to just under $100 bucks. HOT RIDE today but so much fun with the new stuff! Early ride tomorrow.

Rain Rain...go away

2010-06-07T16:53:00.000-05:00

The rain is annoying. It started with a giant clap of thunder at about 3 am this morning. I would love to ride but lack some rain gear for my bike These two would make excellent Father's Day presents kids. I have a touring bike but lack many of the commuter accessories. This fender would be great if you have braze on bosses on your frame already Some of us out there are not as lucky as that and will need clip on fenders
I have 27" wheels but 700c is the closest size for fenders to fit my bike. Well some of you may have noticed more of a "commercial" approach to my posts. I am doing this mainly to inject more
dynamic content. I have also added a donate button for the Newton HS student faculty bike club. I have many special needs kids and lower income students in the club who cannot afford bike repairs and supplies. I also hope to someday raise enough money to purchase decent bikes for the club to ride at school. Would be awesome to get a sponsor that can help us travel to local and regional races and other riding events. So if you want to help kids get exposed to the lifelong joy of cycling then think about donating. If you stumble upon this and are interested, then shoot me a message to find out more info.

2010-06-06T14:20:00.001-05:00

2010-06-06T14:19:00.001-05:00

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

2010-06-04T13:03:00.001-05:00

New Lake cycling shoes pedals. thank you ebay

2010-06-04T09:31:00.001-05:00

Sunrise in Kansas!

2010-06-01T19:20:00.001-05:00

pic test 1

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

New Gadget

2010-05-31T14:49:00.005-05:00

I just got a new "horn" for my bike. Two rubber bands and a one dollar air horn from Dollar Tree. LOUD>

Saturday Sedgwick Valley Center Loop 5-22010

2010-05-22T15:52:00.002-05:00

Morning was VERY windy. South wind was cranking out at about 25 to 35 mph. The route is pretty simple and once I turned north, the ride was cool. About 4 miles south of Hwy 50, I passed 6 cyclist headed north on Ridge RD. They said something but were flying with the wind and I was working my ass off against the monster wind. When I took my restroom break at the convenience store, I saw another cyclist talking to some guy on a motor cycle. Turns out he was a part of the group I had passed. He had a flat and told them he would meet them in Sedgwick since he was driving his truck. I asked where they were headed and he told me Salina. He was waiting for his buddies. I had to break the news to him that they were way ahead of him. He was off to catch them in Hesston (in his truck).
View sedgwick in a larger map

2010 school year closes

2010-05-20T20:32:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is the last day of finals and the last day for kids to attend at usd 373. I am looking forward to relaxing bike filled summer. Not sure if my Wife thinks I am going to have a vacation. I usually get a summer job but my steady gig for the last few summers is a no go this year. I worked a couple summers mowing grass for Restcare Inc. here in Newton. They own/run several group homes for adults with developmental disabilities. Last summer's recovery from spinal surgery kept me out of that job and doctors don't want me doing that job again. Riding mower was very rough on my back since it had no suspension.
I am doing some video editing for the school district that will last about 3 weeks with only about 30 hours of work. I am spending a week in KC, MO. for the national speech and debate tournament. Taking four brilliant students who make me look like I know something. I am also spending 2 weeks in Lawton, OK at Cameron University's Speech and Debate camp. I will be assistant coordinator for Advanced CX debate week one and assistant coordinator for Intermediate Div. for week 2. I am really looking forward to this trip. I get to take my bike and I am going to ride in the Wichita Wildlife preserve. I am toying with the idea riding to the top of Mt. Scott. Not a huge climb and not what most people would call a mountain but it is cool ride. I have a couple of riding buddies at camp and we are going to get in as many miles as possible. Best part is nobody will be there to tell me I am riding too much or ignoring them. I won't have to drop everything to sit at home with my wife while she plays FB games. I can't go ride since that is ignoring my family, but it si perfectly fine to play, Farmtown,Family Feud, sorority life or whatever annoying new game is pumped out by FB.

Well, I gotta go take my daughter for a practice driving lesson, or as I like to look at it, Screaming Father yelling at daughter to STOP....GOOOOOO....or not so hard on the brakes or gas....I wouldn't miss it for the world...

After School Ride

2010-05-14T07:57:00.005-05:00

I emailed Ray Olais and Lu Ann Zook yesterday about riding after school. They were up for it but Lu could not make it after all. So Ray and I headed out. North wind was refreshing on an absolutely PERFECT day for riding. The wind was light enough for me but Ray is very sensitive to wind. Not sure why I like riding into the wind but I seem to make better time than my riding buddies when riding into the wind. I am about 75 lbs heavier than Ray so that is probably why. We rode north on K15 out of Newton on the normal route for us with a north breeze. We ride north to Old Dutch Ave and hang a left to Hesston. It was sunny and bright but still very cool. The warmed us but the breeze cooled us down. Normally the traffic on K15 is heavier than I prefer but most folks are very considerate and move way over. The shoulder on k15 is a good size. It is about 3 to 4 feet across and the surface is very smooth. Seems like all the quality surfaces are paired with heavier traffic.
The ride was overall a great time. Ray had tvo stop at a garage sale in Hesston but nothing cool. Bikes and robots are his passions. He is an artist and art teacher at Newton HS and is always looking for something to inspire his students. We turned south on Ridge Rd. and flew for about 7 or 8 miles to 12th street Newton. Only two negatives occurred on the ride, I ate about 10 bugs because I talk too much and a car almost ran into us on 12th. This tan old person car driven by an young person. You know the car type, four door, tan, mercury marquis type sedan. This woman was ON HER CELL PHONE and didn't give us the required 3 feet. She passed us so close, I really thought Ray was going to get hit. She had the entire left lane to pass. No other cars were coming but she chose to buzz us and stayed in the right lane barely. I try to be a good cyclist. You know, I try to follow the road rules/laws, be polite, make sure motorist are aware of me and be an ambassador for the sport. I have not flipped anyone the bird in a long time. I did however wave at her and say some select words. 22 miles at 15 MPH average was a great workout and I survived another wild ride in south central.....Kansas.

Skype

2010-05-05T20:10:00.002-05:00

Skype is cool. I do not really know how to use it so add me and hit me up if you want to talk bikes or find out about when and where I am riding. User misterbeefenator

Finally I know

2010-04-23T07:18:00.004-05:00

My Miyata 610 that I am so excited about now for sure has a year tied to it. It is a 1981. I thought it was an 80 but I found catalogs from 81 through 89. My bike is black and so it is limited to an 81, 82 or 83. Not sure if 83 is included but I know after that 610's did not come in black. The dead give away is the brakes. In 82 and on the brakes changed away from the center pull cantilever to the side pull. So it has to be an 81. I cannot find an american/english catalog from earlier than 81 but the Dutch versions from earlier catalogs do not even have the same numbering/name system. Not sure if a 1980 English Miyata cataloge exists online but would love to see it.
Now the final mystery that I can tell is the issue of the shifters. The 1981 610 came with Stem shifters while the 1000 model came with downtube shifters. My bike has downtube shifters. Everything else is the same exactly from the stickers to the brakes. I am thinking downtube shifters were considered higher end at the time and whoever purchased the bike or someone later modified the shifters.
I am not a purist although I am keeping the original equipment I have changed. I added a stem conversion to threadless, new stem to increase angle and I have added new drop handlebars that are wider and lighter than original. New bar tape and brake levers. I also added a Bontrager Saddle that I am very used to from my previous bike. I also changed out the pedals to a higher end/lighter pedal with toe clips. I hope I can post picture.

Kansas Solitude

2010-04-05T09:10:00.003-05:00

I love cycling in Kansas. Sure we don't have giant mountains or large flowing rivers or an ocean view but we have something that is a cycling challenge, WIND. I am acually growing to like the wind. I know that sounds stupid as I am usually cussing under my breath for the first 15-20 minutes at it. The tougher the climb the cooler the ride down.
Friday, My son and I went to Wichita to look at a bike a cycling/facebook/twitter/blog friend of mine had. Robert Garcia of RiverCityCycling had an amazing Koga Miyata 610 from 1980. Almost showroom quality. Not sure what that is since I was looking at it in a garage. I took my 52/54 cm(not sure) Raleigh Capri. I got it from a friend who did not need it and so I worked it into shape. I was looking to trade bikes and Robert obliged me. AMAZING how much the right size bike matters for speed and endurance. The Miyata is a lighter and much better bike. I consider Robert's "trade" as more of a gift. Thank You Robert again. Someday when I get a new bike, I will make sure someone who needs a cycling boost gets this Japanese wonder bike. I spent 2 hours in the garage getting it ready for me to ride it. Lights, cages, and bags. I took it for a short spin and ended up riding 20 miles. I could not stop. I felt like a kid on Christmas who got the new bike and would ride circles under the street light for hours after dark. The difference was not freezing to death. I averaged 14 mph on my 20 mile ride. I thought, surely my speedometer must be off. I checked it and no it is correct. I went up over 2 mph on average. WOW. I feel like the ankle weights have been lifted.
Saturday I did 32 miles. I have never done more than 24-25 miles in a single ride. I rode to Sedgwick from Newton on Ridge rd and then to 81 on county line road. 81 highway was a racetrack on the way home. I averged 14.2 mph for the trip but hit 30 mph many times and never dropped below 20mph. I did another 20 on Sunday and averaged 14.4 mph. I did another 12 this morning at about 14.3 mph avg.

Hard to believe that it has only been a little over a year since my neck surgery. I am loving life and HIGH on cycling and this new to me bike.

Sunday Ride

2010-03-28T20:54:00.002-05:00

The day was amazing for riding. North wind about 15 mph could have been better but we have to get some kind of workout. Ray Olais and I rode 23 miles in 1 hour and 45 minutes. We averaged 12.8 mph. We rode north on K15 to old Dutch Ave. and rode west to Hesston and then took ridge south to 12th street. We cycled back into Newton. We only avg 10.4 mph. On the ride south we ran 19 mph minimum but most of the ride was 22 to 26 mph. Legs were burning the whole way. Got some new Pearl Izummo road cycling shorts and they made the ride really nice. No drawstring feels odd but I guess I just need to do some more sit ups to flatten ma belly...I burned over 1500 calories on the ride. I took in maybe 2500 calories in today if not a little more. Damn big brunch and then pasta for dinner. I plan on riding for an hour tomorrow morning. I hope that means about 12 to 13 miles. I plan to do 25 tomorrow afternoon from 3:30 to 5:30.

My debaters are getting their State Debate trophy photos tomorrow night. Red Room Studios here in Newton, KS. I hope the kids all show up.

More Snow

2010-01-30T14:05:00.000-06:00

I got the camera out and tried to be a photographer.

COLD AND SNOW!!!

2010-01-30T11:30:00.003-06:00

Other than the extreme cold and the 8 inches of snow, it looks like a perfect day for riding. The sun is super bright and makes me want to go outside and ride. That is till I actually get outside into the cold. I guess maybe I have become a wimp as far as the weather. When I was much heavier, I did not have a problem with the cold. Now I get cold really easily and since my neck surgery last spring, I am incredibly sensitive the low temps.
I have heard them all. "Cyclist make their own heat." Yep we do but the first 20 minutes of cold kicks my ass. The problem is I over dress for the first 20 and then I am too warm and sweat like crazy followed by being very cold.

Winter Motivation

2010-01-24T14:53:00.001-06:00

Sitting here about to get my butt off the couch. Motivation to go out into a very cool 42 degrees with a north wind about 15 mph....ideas? Report back when I am finished...

National Winter Bike to Work(school) Day

2010-01-19T18:29:00.005-06:00

Newton HS bike club is meeting tomorrow during seminar and hopefully we will have a good day for the ride to school. I am trying to think of some alternative club activities other than a ride if it is raining during club time. I am not sure how many people read this but those who do not understand NHS's club system. We are not a normal bike club that mainly rides and does some other fundraising or events. I teach HS and will have 50 minutes or so with the kids inside. If we ride then great and we can get back late as it is at the end of the day. We just continue our ride after school is out.

I need to plan an indoor bike activity. Here are some possible options.

How to adjust your brakes
How to adjust your rear derailer:
How to change a flat tire
How to patch a tube
How to repack hub bearings
The how to change a flat is probably the best bet but they might already know to do that.
What to pack in your seat bag and why you should have a seat bag.

The seat bag discussion is pretty important especially if on a longer ride. Extra tube is a really important part along with a pump and tire levers. A patch kit is also important. Sometimes we get more than one flat. Patching a tire successfully might be the difference between a long ride and long walk.

Mechanical Problems

2009-11-03T08:33:00.007-06:00

I love working on my bike when I am not riding it, but come on! Saturday night I repacked my bearings on hubs of my old steel rims on my road bike. Need new ball bearings to really make improvements but some grease is better than NONE AT ALL. Only thing is I still have not mastered how tight I should tighten them after I am done. SO I am rolling along headfirst into a killer south wind but it is warm and beautiful so I don't care really. I am downtown Newton ready to ride south till I am bored, tired, or in Wichita. (LOL yea right) I love riding in Kansas, as you never know what will happen next with the weather. My back tire/wheel started feeling odd and fighting against me more than normal. I got off and pulled it up on the sidewalk and checked and it was like the brakes were locked even though the pads were not touching at all. I had tightened the bearing cups or whatever they are called a little too much and they worked into being WAY TOO TIGHT.

Went in the afternoon on Sunday to meet with Robert Garcia of Rivercitycyclist about a bike trade. I gave him an old girls trek I had and he gave me some aluminum shimano rims with a single speed cog on them with some decent tires. I thought I could fix it myself, but changing the cassette was problematic. My old freewheel was not compatible but John Hobbs from Great Plains Bike Repair/Bike SHop is truing my rims and switching out for a used cassette I bought from him for 10 bucks. This guy is super nice and very reasonable. Way cheaper than the bike shops in WIchita. No offense to those guys in ICT but they have way more overhead. So I should get it back today and switching cassette, buying cassette, truing 2 rims and making it all work. $35.00 to $40.00 bucks. I could not touch this job for less than 100 in Wichita at Bike Exchange. Plus this way I am sure the parts he puts on are what he says. Got a shifter "replaced" at bike Ex. and it looked JUST like the old one with the same scratches and all. I hope I have my new improved road bike by this evening's ride.!!!

Weather what?

2009-10-28T18:16:00.002-05:00

I rode my commute plus this morning. I am only 1 mile from work but I want to get a workout in before I start my day, so rolled out about 6:10 am and did about 50 minutes. I hit the sandcreek bikepath on 10th street here in Newton and rolled south into the hefty 20 mph wind. Rode south to 1st street and turn west for a bit and then south again through the "not a public road" BNSF railroad yard. It was pretty cool in the dark and turned east on SE 14th to Old Main. Took that back to first to Main street all the way through downtown to North 12th and then stumbled around a couple of miles and then headed to school. 10 miles to start the day really wakes me up. I really wish my commute was farther just so I could get more miles in each morning. I took the Raleigh but I have got to get another set of rims or true the heavy bastards that I have now. Feels like I am dragging rocks behind me...more later.

Riding Goals

2009-10-26T17:31:00.003-05:00

I have had a great month! October has brought me closer to my yearly goal of 1000 miles. I hit 200 miles for the month and now I am over 600 miles for the year. Rode 23 miles yesterday in cold spitting rain. The 20 mph north wind was a killer for the first 11 miles. The NW wind kept us from going very fast and also kept us in low gears. We avg less than 10 mph for the first half of the trip. We went north out Newton toward Old Dutch Ave. 6 miles north of town and then took turned west toward Hesston, KS. We were still into the wind but not just in our faces. Temperature dropped 9 degrees or so in the first hour of riding. We turned south at Ridge road and WOW the flight took off from there. We avg over 20 mph the next 6 miles south. Only problem was the cold for as it was easier to ride, it took less effort we got cold. Turned back to the east on 12th street rolling back into town. Today we were both really sore and needing a day of rest. Now, I want to go ride just thinking back over the ride yesterday. I rode with Ray Olais. I was on my 84 Raliegh capri and Ray rode his cannondale r400. This was the first time to ride this route on rode bikes for us. More later.

Putting It All Out There

2009-10-09T22:31:00.000-05:00

Putting It All Out There

WOW cannot believe this.

Bike for Sale $80.00

2009-10-08T17:25:00.002-05:00

I am offering this bike for sale on craigslist. If you came from craigslist. welcome to my blog read or just see the bike pics. I got this for my son but he doesn't want to ride or learn to ride. Could be so much fun for him but oh well.

Bikely

2009-10-06T06:08:00.004-05:00

I found another cool mapping java base bike mapping site. It doesn't do a lot with the workout info but the mapping feature is easy to work with on my netbook.

Newton Outlet Mall Loop

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Ride details

2009-10-04T15:50:00.003-05:00

Hello all blogger fans and random folks stumbling onto my ramblings about whatever pops into my head. So in this blog post I plan on talking about the debate results from the past couple of tournament, recent ride details and my new baby...ie laptop netbook.

So Newton debate is having a great season so far. We have 2 dci (debate coaches invitational) bid invitations. This means at very competitive tournaments we have broke to elimination rounds and one team all the way to finals. I have only qualified 1 team ever to DCI and now we have two. We have broke at both big tournaments and this past weekend was my day off. I got a call from Tyler B. and told me he and Anna E, went 4-1 and got 2nd at the Lyons invitational. This is Anna's first open tournament and she has been a little slow to get going this season. She has also had some other distractions but I was so happy to see these two have success. It is great when some of the kids that have always done well excell but these kids have struggled in several ways. Tyler has really tried to get better and he has. He has really improved at Lay judge adaption. Anna has an attitude to say the least but she is very passionate about whatever her position is. She needs to work on the flow but Tyler is better at that now while she is better pure speaker.

Debate has been eating up so much of my time, my riding miles have suffered. I need to do a better job of balancing family, debate and my riding/healthy eating program. I did about 31 miles this weekend but that is not nearly enough. I need to start getting 10 miles a day no matter what. Rain or shine, early or late tired or not. I have to try do a little each day so I can try to reach my 1000 mile goal. Yesterday's ride was so beautiful I could not wait for my riding buddy since he had errands to run in Wichita. I put in 15 miles on an amazing fall day in Kansas. Hardly any wind and sunny with a temperature of about 65 degrees. Rode my Trek 3700 south to the golf course. Sand Creek Station is a great course and one section has a bike path running through it but most of paths are for "golf related activities only" in other words no bikes. From the golf course hit the road through wheatridge housing edition and then to Walmart to Kansas Ave. or 81 highway. Took 81 north to the access road by Dillon's south store. The 14th street access road connects to Spencer via under I-135. Took Spencer north to 24th street north in North Newton. Some of this was on gravel road. I also saw a couple riding their bikes at the SPencer/24th street. He was riding a sweet Fuji mtn bike and she was on a trek hybrid of some kind. We talked for a second. They were in town for Fall Fest at Bethel College. There was also a HUGE auction going on on Cyprus near Anderson rd. Everything was for sale. That was about the end of Sat ride as I cruised the last mile home. Felt great.
Today I called Ray Olais and he was up for a ride so I cruised over to his house. We road south to the bike path. Here is a link to mapmyride map of my route I took today. It will make it clearer what route I took. Sunday's ride is almost the reverse of my ride Saturday. Cool thing today hit my all time fastest speed. It was going downhill and wind aided but I hit 36.6 mph. I want a road bike so badly so I can start racking up more miles with less effort. My mtn bike is great but the tires are wide and nobby. I am trying to talk the wife into letting me order new slick tires foor the mtn bike. I will also be able to ride on a trainer this winter if I have slick tires. If I get my road bike then I can ride that. I want an old Schwinn varsity or Raleigh. I like the older Bridgestone, and Centurion's. I need a 55 to 58 cm frame. I prefer the handle bars to be a little higher than the seat level. I hope i can find a project bike to fix up. Of course I would like to pay nothing for it but that is not very likely.
I am typing this post on my new Asus Eee Pc netbook. I love it. I am still getting used to my smaller keyboard but I am adjusting. It has a 40 gb sshd. This means it is all flash memory with no moving parts and does so well on battery life. I get about 8 hours of battery life. It also came with Lynux operating system. The xandros version was aweful. I put ubuntu for netbooks on it and I love this thing. This is not for saving music or video. Small Solid State HD (sshd) prevents those applications but for flowing debate rounds and for doing grades it is perfect. It also has 1 GB of memory that runs pretty fast. Still getting used to Ubuntu but after a bit, I didn't miss windows at all. Wow I have typed for too long. I now need to start linking. So more later maybe.

RIdes and debate work night

2009-08-27T21:05:00.003-05:00

Well another day is in the books. Rode with Ray Olais yesterday. His wife joined us about 8 miles into the ride. We ended up going 11 miles and it was a pretty mellow roll. Some of it was on our new bike paths that the city and the corp of engineers just finished. Pretty nice setup now. Getting ready for Bike Club coming up. I hope to design a tshirt asap so we can get our names out there. I have an assistant or two and I think it will be really fun this year. We have several riders who could be very competitive if they ever chose to but most of the club is made up of recreational riders. The club could take a new direction this year for those kids who want to be more bike activist rather than becoming more competitive. We are looking at teaching bike safety and the rules of the road to elementary students, but that would mean the HS kids would need to know it first. It is all we can do to get them wear helmets. More later. Need to get back in the swing of posting more often.

Bike...no none for 4 months

2009-02-08T20:23:00.002-06:00

I have cervical spinal stenosis. This is a narrowing of the spinal canal due to a disc bulge. The disc bulges in toward the spinal cord instead of out. I have a space of 4 mm instead of 15 like I am supposed to. I am now going to Wichita to get my wife's phone we forgot in the restaraunt. I have to have surgery on March 9. I will be off work for 4-6 weeks and in a neck brace for 3 months after that. So no bike riding of any kind till after I am out of the neck brace. I am super pissed. I am glad I am going to get it fixed but I am bummed about not being able to ride my bike. I am pain meds all the time and I seem to want to eat nonstop. The pills seem to make me hungry and I am sort of stoned all the time. More on this later.

2009-02-08T18:58:00.001-06:00

I got a new pepper grinder. I swear!

Tourney and weigh in

2009-01-26T20:33:00.003-06:00

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

2009-01-20T07:15:00.002-06:00

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!!!!

2009-01-20T07:10:00.002-06:00

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

2009-01-19T12:53:00.001-06:00

my student teacher aka slave Cory

Weigh in and inservice

2009-01-19T12:24:00.002-06:00

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.

2009-01-17T18:32:00.002-06:00

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

2009-01-16T10:23:00.002-06:00

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.

2009-01-16T08:23:00.002-06:00

random pic of me

Teacher Work Day.....cold

2009-01-16T07:54:00.000-06:00

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

2009-01-12T19:59:00.000-06:00

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

2009-01-03T18:59:00.000-06:00

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.

Food

2008-12-31T18:46:00.001-06:00

Too much food and not enough riding. I vow to be better in 2009. My goal is to lose 15 lbs in January and ride 100 miles during the month. I recently started a group with my friends to work at losing together. I am trying to get them to start riding as well. Small steps. I want my wife to start riding with me. It would be so much more fun if we could do it together. I mean riding together, we have no problems in the other area. Have a happy new year.

Sick

2008-12-30T20:18:00.000-06:00

I cannot get over this freaking cold. It keeps hanging on no matter what I do. I have not ridden in quite a while. It has either been too cold or I have been sick. Now I have a hard time wanting to ride. I need to go somewhere to ride where it is cool other than my old rides. I want to go to Wichita and ride around the river on the trails or maybe go to quivera heights and ride the trails up the hill. I hear it is pretty cool. El dorado lake trails are really cool I hear also. I will go tomorrow if the weather is good. I will try tomorrow.

Stress

2008-12-02T08:16:00.000-06:00

I have been unable or unmotivated to ride my bike outside over the past days. Mainly due to the snow, ice and freaking cold weather. I did take my bike with us on our trip to OK, and rode then. I did about 15 miles of trail/cross country riding. I got 1 flat and a big thorn in my other tire but my slime stopped that leak, but my rear tire did not have enough slime in it. So my wife came to pick me up as we were about 3 miles from home. I could have patched it on the road but needed something to pull the thorn out of my tire. It was tiny would have just punctured my tube again in another place. Weather in OK was great. 70's and almost no wind. 50 degrees at 8 am is pretty nice at the end of November no matter where you live.

I am stressed about debate related things. We host NFL in less than 2 weeks and we are struggling to get judges. Following NFL is the regional tournament. I wonder how much my debaters want to succeed? I see some of them working like mad but on what I am not sure. Some of them work but only for personal gain. They do not see this as a team activity. Selfish would accurately describe both of these debaters. If it does not effect them directly, they do not care. They do not expect help and no one is willing to give it because it is not reciprocal. I am stressed and with the weather starting to turn foul, I am not sure but wonder if I am getting depressed a little. I rode the indoor bike today and it was a good workout. I think doing that when I am depressed will help since I cannot ride outside. Riding outside really perks me up, provided it is not 20 degrees with 20 MPH wind out of the north.

The indoor bike I ride sucks. The seat is super large and really uncomfortable. I want to get an indoor trainer for my bike. I like that seat.
This Friday we have 3 tournaments and a debate demo at the middle school. Can't wait.

School Bike Ride

2008-11-18T19:55:00.000-06:00

So tomorrow Newton High School Bike Club. I am the sponsor of the NHS bike club, and I have a group of about 25 kids who are currently in the club. Right now, we are just doing short 40 minute rides during the during school club time. We have a mix of kids who are solid cyclist who commute on bikes by choice, kids who ride occasionally, and special needs kids who are riding in a group for the first time ever. It is quite a challenge to keep all the kids happy with what the club is doing. We are going to have elections for officers the next club when the weather sucks. Tomorrow the weather is going to be high 60's and sunny. Tomorrow is the teachers meeting after school where we have to do some sort of school improvement activity. One of our goals is to be a healthier school. I have been losing weight pretty steady since last October (07). I am at 97 lbs lost at this time as Monday at my weight watcher meeting. So the school is offering many different options for tomorrow's meetings dealing with wellness. I asked for an option for us to do a group bike ride instead of the lame choices they were giving us. I know I have about 5 people who are going to ride. It is only an hour but it is an hour riding when I would have to be inside doing something lame. That makes about 100 minutes of riding and depending on who shows up it could be a rocking 100 minutes or at worst a slow mellow time to ride and visit with my friends. I like cycling so much. It is hard to describe how cool it is. I rode this morning in the freaking cold for 40 minutes on the way to school and it was amazing even in the cold. It makes me feel awesome whenever I ride. The more I ride the better I feel.

On the Debate side of my life. Freaking stress starts now. I think I will ride more, it helps with stress.

Debate Tournament

2008-11-11T09:14:00.000-06:00

Newton is hosting the 10th annual Newton HS Alma "Momma" Moore invitational debate tournament. This tournament is Kansas Debate Coaches Invitational qualifier in the Varsity division. One bid at quarters and 2 bids for finals. We are looking for judges. Experience is not required but preferred. We are short Friday night rounds.
dwilliam@newton.k12.ks.us
Email me if you are in the Wichita/Newton ,KS area and want some free eats and to watch some good policy debate.
On the bike front. I rode 30 miles (2 hours 35 minutes) this past weekend. Weather was sunny and cool Saturday with a little wind, but Sunday was terrific with very little wind and even warmer. Ray and I did 30 miles total about 15 each day. I woke up Monday morning to rain and cold, so I did not bike to work. I also woke up to an incredible pain in my hip/lower back. If I overdid the ride, I never noticed being tired or an injury of any kind. It sucked yesterday as I hobbled around in pain all day. I got some heat on it and some aleeve and feel much better now but still rainy. I also had weigh in on Monday and lost another pound.
I am now at 227. Down from 365 (spring of 2003) and down 94 lbs since last October. I am trying to get down to 220 before Thanksgiving, but with the hip issue, it may be impossible.

Election

2008-11-05T06:14:00.000-06:00

The election is satisfying to say the least. I stayed up watching the results, and I really enjoyed how most everyone knew what was about to happen. I think even the republicans knew. Weather they will admit it or not, many REP. are excited about the historical significance involved with election 2008.
I really like John McCain. In a another situation, he would have been my choice.

We are heading out to Valley Center and Moundridge for Debate this weekend. I have many students wanting to attend tournaments now. It is good problem to have, but several kids have waited too long to attend their tournaments. Now I have kids who have attended who want to keep going. I told kids to get out and travel with the team early as I reserve later tournaments for those kids who want to travel more extensively. Should I let some debater who will never be in debate again take the spot of kids who want to get better for the years to come.

Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind.
- E. B. White

Election Day Eve

2008-11-03T20:06:00.000-06:00

I am really excited about the election tomorrow. For the longest time, I thought that McCain would have been an awesome president when he first started running. Of all the Republicans running, I knew he was the only one I could vote for. As a democrat in the world of Red state central of Kansas, I feel like my vote may be wasted no matter what I do. Let me finish. McCain changed so much since he started running for president. I liked how stood out in the sea of republican hopefuls.
Unfortunately, what made me like him, made many republicans dislike him. In comes the great republican election machine to mold him into someone the great conservative base could live with.
Now I cannot vote for him. I am not sure who he is. I like Obama. I always have. I like his message and his stance on Education. As a teacher, I just hope he can do something about this No Child Left Behind fiasco given to us by the Bush administration. So tomorrow morning I will cast vote for Obama and be a part of History. It is time for this change. I hope whoever wins, can turn around this crazy economy and put us all back to work. I will be commuting on my bike to go vote as well as to work tomorrow. Now for the really important stuff....I can't forget that it is trash day.