Weight update.

Well I finally fell back on the primal band wagon and this is day 3. So far its not been too bad and I had a yummy filling breakfast. The thing that steeled me to get back on it was the fact that I had got myself down to 232 and was looking at 230 and below. I have had the last few weekends where we were away and when I weighed myself Monday I was 243ish. Talk about annoyed.

Well its Thursday and I have cut out diet sodas, I have been keeping on the primal diet and I weighed myself this morning. Back to 234...WOOT. I think I finally got the hit that I needed to get refocused, for now I just want to see how I survive the weekend. *LOL*

So weigh in at 6am :- 234lbs

S

Mount Carmel excursion

Well its another week and another trip on the weekend *grin*. This time we visited Jens cousins in Mt Carmel with the goal of doing some mountain biking. It was planned that we would ride Saturday but the stupid weather had other plans *LOL*. Thankfully the weather cleared up for Sunday and we were able to get a 5-6 mile ride in. It was a little boggy but hey that's what mountain bikes are for *LOL*.

On a side note, for those of you in the know I was testing out my mountain bike after being in at the bicycle center here in Clarksville TN. I have had to take the bike back to them 5 times since I bought it last year and the issues had never been resolved. It took them charging me for a derailleur adjustment for me to get annoyed enough to talk to the right person. The bike was returned to them, the money (i was only 16 dollars but I felt it was the principle of buying a bike that works) returned to the account and another few weeks of work occurred to the bike. By the time it was finished the owner of the store dealt with the issue and made sure to ride it for half an hour to make sure it was fixed (which was all I asked every time I took it in but as it worked fine on the stand it looks like it was never done). By the time the work was completed, they had replaced the left (front) shifter, the front derailleur, the crank and the bottom bracket. Couple this with the chain and cassette already replaced quite a lot has been replace.

After the 6 miles with me putting good pressure on a few uphill sections the ghost shifting is finally gone. Props go out to the owner who once apprised of the situation took full ownership of the issue and got me a resolution (not his fault the mechanics never told him).

ok time for bed, peace out peeps.

S

Sunrise Century and weekend

Well to start off the holiday weekend Jen and I rode the 34 mile route on the sunrise century. It meant a nice 6am rise and approx 3.5 hrs of riding. It might have been a bit faster if we had actually ridden more this year but since it is 3 times longer than anything done this year I am happy with it. Had a couple of cramps during the ride but was able to push past them.

Link to Gmaps

Stats for the ride:-

• Total Distance:- 34.01 miles
• Time Taken :- 2hrs 55 mins 24 secs
• Ave Speed :- 11.68 mph
• Ave Cadence :- 51 rpm
• Max Speed :- 24.21 mph

Once we finished this we dived home, cleaned up and headed out for the weekend to Cincinnati. Meeting up with Gabe and Em we preceded to enjoy a nice relaxing weekend with a few beers and cultural things while enjoying the different foods Cincinnati had to offer. It was a welcome break for me and I really needed it. Long may more turn up *LOL*

S

Post for today.

Well I havent posted my weight in a bit, it is sitting sorta stable at the 235lb mark. I cant really complain about it but I really need to get motivated to take it lower. I am hoping my announcement (hopefully next week around Friday) will be the motivation I need to lose the rest of the weight I want to lose.

On a side note I think FEMA sucks, and specifically I think the inspector who did our inspection should find a new Job. They seem to think that 10% of what we had to pay is acceptable and every time I have to appeal they sit on it for 2 months. I am really getting to the point that I think they learned NOTHING from Katrina.

Talk to Y'all soon

Steve

Sunday morning ride

Well we got on our bikes Sunday and went for a nice ride. we didnt push ourselfs just picked a quiet route and rode it. All I can say was fun fun fun. Also , wow, its been a while and even though I have not been motivated this ride was easy, It didnt feel like I had to strain at all. When I mentioned it to Jen she made me realise that yeah it should be easier as I am about 30% less than what I was when I started riding last year.

For now here is the information from my phones gps software.

Comment: nice 13 mile relaxed ride

Name:		Sunday morning ride
Date:		Aug 22, 2010 8:01 am
Map: (valid until Sep 21, 2010)		View on Map
Distance:		12.7 miles
Elapsed Time:		1:10:50
Avg Speed:		10.8 mph
Max Speed:		19.1 mph
Avg Pace:		05' 33" per mile
Min Altitude:		391 ft
Max Altitude:		538 ft
Start Time:		2010-08-22T13:01:57Z
Start Location:
	Latitude:	36.570298º N
	Longitude:	87.288641º W
End Location:
	Latitude:	36.570101º N
	Longitude:	87.288619º W

stress levels = high, thanks WALMART

I swear I will be glad to see the back of the house flood issues. we are getting close but there seems to be little things that are driving up the cost. I know they are not fluff items though and are needed hence why I accept them being done, I just wish I knew about them earlier.

On things that are annoying me (see total tangent LOL) I had to have the clutch replaced on my car. 860 dollars paid out so far and another 200 to go to make it 100 percent. It is drivable till I can get the last fixed (leak on the reservoir that allows it to be driven as long as I keep an eye on it). I would have grudgingly accepted as my car is getting older and is close to its 200K birthday. As I said I would have grudgingly accepted it if it were not for the fact that It was the incompetence of a Walmart "mechanic" that caused this issue.

How, I hear you, do I know its Walmarts fault? Simple In the last 60-100K miles the only company that has topped up my fluids (during oil change) and did my oil changes has been Walmart. How do I know its their fault. Simple the mechanic who worked on my car found the cap of a DOT3 fluid bottle lodged in my reservoir which had blocked the fluid from getting down the hose. Their words, "this is what caused your clutch to fail".

I am going to email Walmart corporate and explain what happened and see what they say. I don't think they are going to say anything but I am going to make clear that this is the last straw for me and that they have lost my business and that I am letting everyone know what happened. Also I am pointing out that this is not the first instance of incompetence, the list is long that I let them away with :-

1. not balancing a new wheel, as soon as I hit 50 mph it started wobbling like crazy
2. taking car in with dying battery and indicating that If dying please replace. they replaced with WRONG battery.
3. leaving the oil cap off after an oil change (oil every where)
4. leaving cable disconnected to air filter (old car)
5. leaving tools sitting on engine when completed.
6. selling a wheel that was faulty (out of round) then blaming it on alignment (finally another store looked and agreed it was a tire issue)
7. the last straw - the clutch issue.

While it would be great if they came back and apologised and offered to pay the costs because they are just that type of company I am not holding my breath. Have a google of "walmart car problems" or similar and you will find that Walmart is prone to fobbing issues off to their insurance company who then find ways to deny it (you took your mechanical issues to a mechanic instead of bringing it to our guys who only do minor things like oil changes tire changes etc.). I hope that Walmart will prove me wrong and will report on anything I get back.

More unrelated news - weigh in Sunday 237lbs

crazy times - still

So we are still fighting with issues after the May 1st floods. The end however in the case of AC is I hope close. Getting FEMA to assist well that is another matter. Work has also been contributing to the crazyness but I am hoping with the hiring of someone within the next 4-6 weeks that will be alleviated.

Now down to the real stuff you visit here for. What have I been up to in the battle of the bulge!!! Well weight is down around the 237-240lb mark. This weekend was crazy and I never got to weigh in hence the average. Cycling wise I have been getting on the bike. 2 times in the last 4 days. Not long rides but acceptable. About 5-7 miles on Saturday and then 2.5 miles last night. I know, I know no where near where I need to be but I'm on the bike. We also walked the Clarksville Greenway Sunday and had 5.2 miles of walking goodness so it was not a sloth like weekend (including the 4-5 hours of working on the front yard Monday).

I will have a minor announcement coming soon. Some of you already know what it is about but for others just watch this space *LOL*

OK going for now.

S.