Friday.....and an open letter to Tag Heuer

Today marked my second week of tracking weight loss. Last week I lost 6 pounds....this week I lost zero pounds....and I gained zero pounds. This means that I am still hanging out way higher than where I want to be. I will take a zero pounds after a big week...and I will expect a big week again next week. I just need to get through these next few Christmas parities without eating my weight in Hersey kisses and pumpkin pie.


Now....for my letter to Tag Heuer.


Dear Jean-Christophe Babin,

It was brought to my attention today that you have dropped Tiger Woods in your advertising campaigns in the United States. I assume this relationship with Mr. Woods has been a large investment for your company. Tiger Woods is a talented golfer. His recent activity has surely been challenging. I would like to commend your company for withdrawing his advertisements. Your decision shows that Tag Heuer is a company built on integrity and that the image of the company must be held high.

The reason I am writing this letter is as an inquiry. Now that Mr. Woods is no longer representing your company, I would like to offer myself in his place. I assure you that the dollar amount I seek is considerably less than what Mr. Woods would request. He is, or at least was, a top ranked professional golfer constantly winning tournaments. I am a weekend mountain biker trying to place in the top 3 at an event in Michigan. The scales are quite different. What I do bring is an honest and ethical family man. I am quite positive that my wife would not attack me with a golf club if she ever found out about infidelity as I have never strayed. This opportunity I am offering is a way for your company to make contact with people who possibly have never heard of Tag Heuer.

Your sponsorship with me would also be an excellent way to get a grass roots mountain bike team started. I assure you that our team would display the Tag Heuer name proudly and ethically. We are not people that the press would investigate if the odd occurrence of a crashed SUV were to arise. Please take the time to consider my offer. You would pleased to know that your hard earned money was being put to good use, and not being spent on affairs or mistresses. The occasional alcoholic beverage may be purchased, but only for the team and our friends.

I understand if you find this letter as appalling. It is shocking to know that people will proudly, and ethically, display your product for less than a seven figure contract. If our team was able to land Tag Heuer as a sponsor, it would ensure your name being shown across the state at many different events. Consider it.

Thank you for your time,
Sean Evans

Getting it done

I had set a goal to lose 20 pounds in the three weeks before Christmas. Because Christmas is on a Friday, I made that my weigh in day. Last Friday I was down 6 pounds. Not bad....just under a pound a day. It is amazing to me how much exercise helps. Not only do I sleep better, I just feel better in general. Last night I rode 19.7 miles on the trainer. I know, so many people just say "go outside and ride", but I fear for my life in my small town. People barely pay attention to cyclists in the summer....let alone in the winter. If I didn't ride my trainer, I wouldn't ride at all....and that is a fact. Once spring starts to show itself and the temps are continually hanging out in the 40's I will head outside. The cool spring air is a nice change of pace from the trainer. Plus, I will want to see where I stand for the race season.

I plan to do the MMBA CPS this year....and qualify for an award. I also plan on racing Barry Roubaix in March. I need to continue to put base mileage in through the winter so I am ready for Barry and the Yankee Springs TT a few weeks later.

Anyway......one week down out of three and I got off to a good start. I doubt I will be down 20 pounds.....but I would like to be close......maybe 15 at the least. Wish me luck.

Every day in December?

I am going to try and ride every day in December. I plan on an hour for most of the rides because they will all be on the trainer. If it warms up on a given day, I might adventure out to a trail and ride....but I don't like the cold....so I am not counting on it. I missed the first, so I plan on making up that hour by riding 15 minutes extra on four days. I also know that Christmas day will be a no go so I will need to make up time there too.

I can go on the trainer with my ear buds in and my ipod loud as hell. It drowns out the rrrrrrrr of the tire against the trainer wheel. Some people cannot do this, but I hate cold...so I will do it. This spring I hardly rode over an hour. I had a few days over an hour and only two that reached the 1 1/2 hour mark. This year I plan to change that. Riding everyday for an hour should be easy. Not getting bored is another story. I have an interval workout to help with weight loss that I will do 3 days a week. This mixed in with one or two recovery rides per week should keep my sanity in check.

My goal is to lose this poundage I have found in recent months. All this time trying to get the weight off....and I gained.....a bunch. So....the only thing I need to do is work it off and eat better. On day 3, I am hanging in there. I am being more conscience of what I am stuffing down my gullet. I have until Christmas to lose the weight.......and I am off to a good start!

Fall at Fort Custer

Fall is a great time to ride. The trails at Fort Custer have been ridden enough that the leaves are all beaten down leaving a nice looking ribbon of mushed leaves. I took my 12 year old son out for his first trip to Custer. We headed down the red loop and he did quite well. We cut out granny's garden and the amusement park, but he rode everything else. His bike is terrible but he managed to make most of the hills by pushing hard. It was a fun day with temps in the 60's. We rode about 6 miles and headed home. Now that I have taken him there and given him a glimpse of awesome trails, I know that he can handle it. You know what that means?

More riding in 2010!!

Down, but not out....

This last week has presented itself in the worst way. I was really excited last week to have the opportunity to hit Ray's and blow off some steam. What I didn't want was the sickness that I found starting Saturday evening. Scratchy throat and soreness started to show their ugly heads. It it now Friday and I am still congested. My chest hurts when I try to do anything. I am coughing a little less today and I am starting to feel better.....but nowhere near 100%. I start feeling worse when I think about the school work I have due in the next two days. I was hoping to get out and ride at Fort Custer since the temps are going to be in the 50's, but I fear that I would collapse and die if I tried.

anyway, I am in my corner......resting for the next round......here we go...

*DING*

Ray's MTB

I was down in Cleveland helping out my brother-n-law. I looked at a map and figured out we where 5 miles down the highway from Ray's. We got done early on Wednesday and that is where we went. I was surprised by the location. It's just an old industrial park...and a sign that says "Rays MTB" with a bike hanging in front of it. I was then excited when the door handle was a mountain bike fork. Nice touch. Sheldon and I went in and looked around for a few. We met Ray and chatted with him for a bit then I dove in. I rented a bike and headed to the beginners room. I rode most of the lines in there and then went to the sport section. There is quite a difference between the two. The sport section has an easier portion with low stuff and then a good mix of tests in another section. Nothing is real high....but it would still suck to fall off of some of the stuff.

This place is sweet. You can pick your challenge and just move around. There is an XC route that goes around the whole place. Pump track.....which I was not a fan of.......but only because of the exit. It was straight up to get out and I couldn't carry any momentum to get back out. I did two loops and was done. I rode around for a while and then I would take a break. Sheldon was on the phone taking care of business and then he was watching the high fliers do their thing. It's cool to watch....but I am scared to death to try and fly. There was one section in the beginners room that I started flying over....but it was short with a flat landing. Next time I want to try and clear a table top....because it just seems like fun.

I will definitely go back and have some more fun. Its just a cool place.....and I was so excited that I didn't take any pictures....lol.

Dear Depression: EAT SH*T

Gas bill, unemployment, house payment, lack of singletrack, daily monotony, water bill, rain, lack of sunshine, ect.

These things all can add up to one very nasty summary: Depression.

I normally get a little down this time of year because the weather is turning colder and I know the opportunity to ride is diminishing. The thought of everything added up with all of my bills and lack of income snowball and turn into me being a jerk about everything. This week I was hoping to ride a day or two and the beautiful days were denied because of lack of babysitter. Oh well....(down down deeper in depression)

BUT!!!!! Thursday I was going to see "Race Across the Sky" and that really made me want to ride....so I did. I had Yankee Springs all to my self for a nice fall ride. It was 57 degrees when I got to the trailhead and 46 when I left 1:45 later. It was a good ride with the leaves crunching under my wheels. I was so happy to be riding that I zoned out a bit and missed a corner. Went straight off the trail into the woods.....good thing it was an open area and I have no injuries to speak of. I felt better....instantly. This ride pulled me out of the depression I was sinking into. Thankfully!

Zack, Chris and I went to the movie and now I am super excited about racing next year...in like 6 months....lol. Anyway.....Depression.....EAT SHIT!

Busy weekend....

Saturday was a very busy day. Soccer at 10:30. Home for lunch, then back to the field for more soccer around 2:00. Megan mentioned that she wanted to go ride even after her game. I was thinking about taking her to Fort Custer to ride the trenches and just get a small dose of the trail. We ended up wasting enough time that the opportunity passed. Ron and Barb have a nice .85 mile trail behind their house so we decided to head there. Meg is still getting the hang of her clipless pedals so this is a good spot to work on technique. We did two laps and Megan was done. I am glad that I didn't drive 45 minutes to Custer...even though it would have been fun! Instead we had a 1.75 mile ride about 5 minutes from home. I don't have any reason to ride as I my next race is not until next April. I just want to get out and enjoy what dirt I can before the snow flies.

Reality....

I realized last night that I am sitting near 1000 miles for the year. Not a ton my many peoples standards, but a good year for me. I don't get to ride as much as I would like. Family has and will always come first. My two older kids are to the point where I can take them more, and I surely plan on that for 2010. I will talk about goals for next year in a post down the road. Right now I think it is a realistic goal to hit 1500 miles before the end of the year. I have two and a half months. 200 miles a month for November and December and another 100 for the rest of October. That is only 50 miles per week. I should be able to accomplish this goal with little issue. I am also going to start jogging at least one day a week....maybe more. I gotta get rid of this weight so I can kill it next year!

Cross....but not what you think....

I have never done a cross race. I am not the biggest fan of running. It hurts and I can think of every excuse to not do it. After watching biggest loser for the past 8 seasons it is very obvious that running is a good thing to do. They are always running on the treadmill or running outside. I remember hearing one time that running is the best overall workout for your body. My response was "haha...yeah right". When I run my shins, heels, and knees hurt so I can't do it. But then I see these 400 pound people running and I start thinking. Maybe I can.....what if I did.....and kept at it? Could be good cross training.

So, Monday I decided I was going to do it. My oldest daughter has soccer practice for an hour and there is a 1 mile track around the sports complex. I walked over to the paved path and looked around for a minute. "Don't Do it" kept bouncing around in my mind. I took one step. Then another. And another. Walking. Baby steps right? Well, then I bolted off on a slow shuffling jog. This was it. I was like Forrest Gump.....I WAS RUNNING. lol. What I found out was exactly how bad of shape I am in. I ran as far as my lungs could take it and then I walked. When I got my breath back, which I was clearly outrunning, I started to jog again. When I needed more air I stopped and walked. One lap down.....maybe I will walk another....NO. I started jogging again and made it a bit further this time before I had to walk. I repeated this walking and jogging process for two miles. Overall I think I ran about 1.25 miles and walked the other .75 mile.

My knees do not hurt....but nearly the rest of my body does. Abs, shins, quads, hamstrings, back, etc. I will never run again. I am designed to ride a bike. I can ride, slowly, for long periods of time and not hurt this bad. I love riding my bike....it is the main exercise I get. I have my trainer set up already because of time constraints....but I am still getting to the dirt when I can. I do need to lose more weight and need to find something that helps.

Tonight Megan has soccer again. Anyone wanna run?

RE-BOOT

This blog is going to be a continuation of my other one. I didn't really like the name of the old one and I wanted a blog which had a unique name and had mountain biking involved in the title. I was given lots of great ideas such as:

Pedal til you're purple!
Riding the Ribbon
POS~Pedaling on Singletrack (this was my one of the best!)

The title I arrived to came to me tonight when I was watching television. I think it will be good to catch the eye of other riders and people who are just curious. To both of my faithful readers, Thanks for following along!


Idea: This blog will be mainly about mountain biking with a mix of weight loss progression thrown in for good measure. It will have cycling related topics generally 98% of the time and other worthless information to rot your brains for the other 2%.

I hope you enjoy!