I’m not religious, but Halle-freakin’-Berry! Or lujah, or whatever. The record high heat has finally peaked in Central Texas. We had 80 days of 100 degrees or more this summer, and the average highs were higher than ever. Weather patterns mixed with global warming definitely made it a miserable time. The good news is that the triple-digit days are over for a while. Fortunately, this week we’ll be getting some much needed rain and sustained highs in the 80’s for the first time in four months. Weather is definitely a major factor that influences one’s bicycle-riding. Adn let me tell you there were a lot of nights full of sweat, suffering, and struggle. Nevertheless, your dude A Dude Abikes has somehow persisted to pedal.
September in Texas is still pretty hot. Avoiding the sun’s harmful UV rays is more important than ever. One thing that has helped me do that is going to the gym and using the indoor trainer aka stationary bike. I was required to change abodes (move) again, but at least I’m nearer to the gym for a little while. The trainer is boring as heck, like watching a drill making a tunnel, but the air conditioning, fans, and watching videos make it tolerable. There are no hills, just a knob to adjust the resistance, but also no trafffic or getting slowed down by riding sidewalks. Instead of my usual 10-11 mph, I’ll get to 13-14. I always feel like I’m cheating, except I know I’m not, because I sweat like a CEO at a Congressional hearing.
In July and August I rode 407 and 406 miles minus about 40 miles walking each. I did pretty well to make up for the hot months by totalling 596.9 miles in September (again, subtract 40 in walks). That’s a pretty substantial increase. Lower temperatures certainly helped, although I still do most of my riding at night, and it can still be in the 90’s “real feel” temperature counting the humidity.
Another help was the loss of some weight. I’d put on some pounds for several reasons: avoiding the heat meant less exercising and being inside with the air conditioning meant food was nearby. Food is fuel… except when it isn’t. Being a fathlete (fat athlete) is not easy; I do my best to make good dietary choices, but after over five years of that not accomplishing much, I have to remember that genetics, health challenges, and access to high-quality food, also make life challenging. Plus, I had the stress of finding new rental housing in Austin’s exorbitantly priced market and the moving, so stress eating does happen.
Luckily, peer pressure from the new housemate and a smaller place means less late-night cooking. I also have been watching a lot less television by not having a TV in my bedroom and have lost access to several streaming services. I’m still having a salad most nights, but often am not hungry for much else. These are all small, but good things–marginal gains–that hopefully will accrue into better habits and health. It’s not a linear progression, and just like you, I’m a work in progress.
Whether on a trainer or on the streets of Austin, the time and effort that my daily walking, yoga, and especially more bicycling takes is… a lot. I wrote complained about that in my previous post, When You Can’t Get Your Drug of Choice: Bicycling. In fact, in September I exercised for 92 hours, which is over two work weeks. The math is pretty clear: I really should simply quit cycling and get back to work full time. In 2016-17, the first two years of my biking and blogging and journey, I totalled to 10,000 miles on the bike. All but one of those months I was employed full time.
However, we humans are not always rational robotic machines, are we? Also, I suck at math. But there is one formula I’ve seen the last three months which I do fully understad: less exercise = more fat. My weight was up a lot, and after about 200 more miles, it’s back down by almost as much. So while I definitely need to get smarter about time management, I’m not ready to quit. My resting heart rate shot up due to stress, and now it’s down even lower than it was before. And by the way, I just saw my cardiologist and he approves.
In 2020, the first year of The Pandemic, my monthly average was about the same as last month: 550 miles. (Read all about that at A Devil of a Year: 6,666.66 Miles Bicycled…) I’m older now, but it’s nice to know can still throw down and ramp up if I need to. Hopefully, I can keep it up. (“That’s what she said,” according to one Mr. Michael Scott, a paper company manager in President Joe Biden’s hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
So, the first three quarters of 2023 are in the bag. October will bring my big annual ride and four years of consecutive daily cycling (not verified by Guiness–neither the Book of World Records nor the dark Irish stout). Autumn also has more rain and temperatures falling, and then we have the cold of winter. Milder than many sure, but Snowpocalpyse and ice storm power outages could return. If more trainer rides are forecast, so be it. I’ll continue to strive towards my goal of 5,309 miles. Don’t ask me why, that’s just the way it is. And hey, I’m doing my tiny part to reduce my carbon footprint.
How were your first three quarters of cycling or other activities? Feel free to share your thoughts below. Thanks for reading!
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