Meeting Goals and Dr....NEW GOALS!!!

Met December 2017 Goal'

Nice! Achieve on Christmas Day!

Met 2017 Yearly Goal 

Achieved on 12-26-17

2017 Yearly Goal was increased many times during Oct-Nov. time span.  I think I found a sweet spot for my Monthly Goals at 250 mile or so during the winter and more during the summer months.  12 X 250 = 3000 Miles...HERE WE GO!

A1C Blood Glucose Goal Met

Visiting my GP today and had another A1C test, and it was 6.3 NICE!  A hard fought fight won by through Exercise and a Healthy Mostly Vegan Diet...WHAT!

Doctors visit was interesting, he said things like:  "What did you do?  How did you do this?  You should be on our brochure."...WHAT!!!NICE!!!!!

Now on to the next one!   My next intermediate goal for weight and a new Yearly Goal for Cycling...Keepin' my wheels turn'in!

January 2018 Goal = 250 miles

2018 Yearly Goal = 3000 miles

Weight Goal (Intermediate by March 15th) = 250lbs.

Summer 2018 Weight Goal = 215 lbs.

Strava Goals Snippet:

Behavioral Plan:

• Use MyFitnessPal to log food again, and keep track of calories and food intake values.
• Ride longer in my fat burning zone than in intervals until March.
• Continue to eat Vegan or Ovo-Vegetarian Diet.  Homemade foods not from processed, and low in sodium content.
• Be more active in the evening by working on a home project or getting to the gym for Yoga. 

Let GET IT!!!🚴

Weight Gain and Blood Sugar Up....NO!!!

Yesterday I ate poorly, first by eating 5 guys french fries, and then ate Chinese for dinner.  The sodium alone with those two items is the culprit for my weight gain...Ouch.

On my way to Cycling Concept for our 1st indoor ride of the season, I bought some Vitamin C gummies as I had run out of regular Vitamin C.  Not a good idea.  I ate like 10 of those bad boys, as they tasted awesome...but they are loaded with sugar.  My blood sugar was 140 this AM.  NOT GOOD!

Tomorrow I go to the Dr. to check my A1C, so this was not a good time for this, although one day should not effect my overall number for the 90 days.

Footnote:  Blood sugar normal this morning at 101, and weight is down.  Those darn 5 guys Fries.  

TSS and Stuff...

OK today was an interesting day.  Started off poorly with my computer taking about 1/2 and hour to update, and lost my bluetooth signal on TranerRoads.  Finally got Garmin Ant+ to work, and was able to use it on trainerroad but never did get bluetooth to work. After my ride, I check TrainerRoad online and found an interesting bit of DATA in Graphic Format!  NICE!  My TSS averages for YTD.

The first thing you will notice is the lack of data from April to September, well that would be OUTDOORS, and I was very sick in April.  Next is the definite upsurge in TSS of the past three months....NICE!  Rides are getting longer and my wattage is going up during the ride!  NICE! again.  I did have a spike three weeks ago, OH yah that would be THANKSGIVING!  More days off translates to more riding time..YES! (notice I did not say NICE! but wanted to)  Have the morning off today to go to the Dr.  Needed it bad, had a bit of bed sweats last night. 
Bought a new kitchen gadget for Air Frying stuff without oil...NICE!  Worked great for making baking potatoes last night and for cooking my homefries perfectly this morning.  The best thing is I can put it to cook, ride indoors, and I don't have to worry about burning or over cooking anything...TIMER!  When I get done riding I can cook my eggs and have them over home fries...NICE!  Plus my dad will love that I am cooking with NO OIL!  :)

Meet my Air Fryer!

Healthier more convenient and safe!  NICE!

Ride ON and Keep those wheels turnin'

Loosing more weight and riding more inside....Correlation?

As you see from the graphic above, weight is going down, except last night, as I bonked yesterday and ate poorly at Matt's Birthday Party.  While my weight goes down, my riding is going up.  There are 7 straight day posted, with the pattern of longer then shorter continued throughout the week. Seems to me there is a direct correlation there, but who knows.  I also ate mostly at home nightly, and made my hummus wraps all week for lunch...These thing all matter in the short term, but more so long term for my overall health. 

For me eating home means eating health, as I have not junk food at home, what so ever.  I also do not add any salt, maybe a bit sometimes, but not nearly the amount as when I eat out.  I enjoy eating my own cooking but there are times when eating out means I do not have to cook, or clean up. 

Riding has increased, and I am getting used to the new Kinetic Rock and Roll smart trainer at bit more.  I no longer need a stool to get on, and don't notice the balancing as much either.  I really like the heavy fly wheel and the spin down effect.  Getting water is not nearly the problem it used to be on the Magnus.  I also think it is a better workout, and the wattage is more road like in comparison.  Although my AvgMPH is down somewhat,13 miles an hour is 13 miles an hour with similar difficulty as road riding. Me likey....

I also think my FTP has risen significantly in a month or so, was working out at 165 this morning in the last 1/3 of the ride, and even higher a points, and it did not bother me nearly as much, (Although yesterday I bonked doing 195 watts for 2.5 min.).  Definitely getting more fit...NICE! 

Just keep those wheels turnin'!!!!

Kinetic Rock and Roll Review...

I have been a Kinetic Road Machine owner for a decade now, and last year I went with the Cycleops Magnus as a Smart Trainer.  The Magnus is a good low cost alternative, but when Kinetic had it's sale on the Rock and Roll Smart Trainer, I had to make the plunge. 

The box showed up on my door a day early, kudos to Kinetic for fast delivery!  It was a wonderful surprise.  I took the box inside, and began to dismantle my current setup, bring my R5 upstairs for the winter month...G3 PowerTap Hub to provide accurate power readings, and mainly to match the GREEN of the Kinetic RR.  I also bought the G3 Bluetooth cap so that I can be more versatile with my device choices when viewing Zwift, TrainerRoad, and Sufferfest.

The RR build up was easy, until putting the Flywheel on...Not a one person job as the unit is quite heavy, but I managed with a little ingenuity.  Once built, and the bike was on the training, next was connecting to TrainerRoad, my preferred program for training, simple and accurate. 

Connecting to TrainerRoads with their new interface for devices it was a breeze, literally a 1 minute job.  Sufferfest was the same...Simple!  Now for Zwift, not so simple...

I should first explain my setup for displaying on my flat screen...I bought a refurbished machine for 100 bucks on NewEgg just to use for indoor riding programs, with Window 10.  I have a Bluetooth Dongle and Ant+ Stick.  The computer then connects to the TV via HDMI, with an add on Video Card for upgraded graphic capabilities (Zwift in HD).  With the Magnus this setup worked great for Zwift...The Magnus is both Bluetooth and Ant+, however the Rock and Roll is only Bluetooth...:(. 

My first attempt to connect via Bluetooth and the native Windows Zwift program failed.  It would not recognize my Dongle...:(.   The good news is my Bother Nick has an RR smart trainer already and went through this process last year.  I gave him a call, and he walked me through the process.  Basically, you have to connect the phone via Bluetooth to the computer, then use the Zwift Mobile Link app on the phone (have it opened on the bike while riding) and then the Bluetooth connection to Zwift via the Windows Zwift App will work.  NICE! :)
Nirvana Achieved!

I then road both Zwift and TrainingRoad programs about 2.5 miles each as a test.  Then this morning I road the RR using TrainingRoads only to a TV show.  TrainingRoad puts a nice bar with graphs and stats on the bottom the screen and the movie plays in the background!  Sweet.

The Rock and Roll was tough for me to get on, being inflexible.  I had to get a stool to step up to it.  Once on I had to get used to balancing myself with the rocking motion and the moving front wheel.  You have to really focus, somewhat like being on a set of rollers, but not quite that difficult.  I really like the RR's realistic road feel and the spin down of the heavy Flywheel, something I really missed when using the Magnus (It's only drawback).  I know the RR will help me with my road riding come spring, Goal!!!  On a scale of 1-10, I give the RR a 9.  -1 for connectivity.  The connectivity issue is really Zwift's programming issue and not the RR or Kinetic, but they could have added Ant+!!! That would have solved the whole issue. 👀

Ride On!

*Update: 1-10-18
Love the Rock and Roll, the spin down and heavy counter weight are awesome!  After a bit of adjusting to the new height and wobble, I hardly notice the change, and need to correct the wobble is non-existent.  I believe it has made my pedal stroke smoother, and has help my core strength as well.  The positive out weigh any negative of connection difficulties during setup might have caused.  LOVE IT!