New Video

From MC Spandex - a new video - on my topic - Mountain Biking!

Rider Of The Day #24- Seth Godin = Inspiration

My Wife and I went to see Seth Godin. If you have never heard of him, he is a marketing and inspirational genius. Especially in this increasingly global and revolutionary time. His blog is linked to mine on the right colum called "Seth's Blog." Go ahead. Google it! On our way I was able to frame this nice shot in downtown DC.


Here is a blog post of his. This topic was a good chunk of the talk we went to see.

words and photo by Ray Heinsman

Getting unstuck: solving the perfect problem

Blog Post By Seth Godin: July 27 2010

The only problems you have left are the perfect ones. The imperfect ones, the ones with a clearly evident solution, well, if they were important, you've solved them already.
It's the perfect problems that keep us stuck.
Perfect because they have constraints, unbendable constraints, constraints that keep us trapped. I hate my job, I need this job, there's no way to quit, to get a promotion or to get a new boss, no way to move, my family is in town, etc.
We're human, that's what we do--we erect boundaries, constraints we can't ease, and we get trapped.
Or perhaps it's your product or service or brand. Our factory is only organized to make X, but the market doesn't want X as much, or there is regulation, or a new competitor is now offering X at half the price and the board won't do anything, etc.
There's no way to solve the perfect problem because every solution involves breaking an unbreakable constraint.
And there's your solution.
The way to solve the perfect problem is to make it imperfect. Don't just bend one of the constraints, eliminate it. Shut down the factory. Walk away from the job. Change your product completely. Ignore the board.
If the only alternative is slow and painful failure, the way to get unstuck is to blow up a constraint, deal with the pain and then run forward. Fast.

Fitness Week 3 - what happened here?

Well - it has been a while since I have posted - I got a little bummed at some work things that happened last week. This mindset made it hard for me to work at my health or want to share much. Has this ever happened to you?

So here is a synopsis of where I am at.

On Thursday July 15th I was bummed that all this hard work had not resulted in a higher level of riding. As a matter of fact - it was one of my most disappointing rides ever. There are many reasons why this is but they sound like excuses and I am not going to sit here and whine.


On Sunday I made an awesome Salmon Salad with cucumbers, jalepenos and greek yogurt.

I was supper psyched on Monday July 19th that I had lost 2.4lbs. I planned to blog about this, but then I didn't.

The week of July 19-26 was a bad one for exercise - I didn't get up and do any; and I had a few beers each night; I did however eat well and cook some delicious meals from the Farmer John Cookbook. If any of you get a chance to get this, there are wonderful seasonal recipes in here to create awesome side dishes and main courses. I made a beat salad as a side to my swordfish steak and on another night a stir-fry with rice noodles and bok-choy.....all good stuff.

My ride on Thursday July 22, went surprisingly well. We rode for a long time in some intense heat and our group while the slowest, rode the longest.......I wouldn't be surprised if the other groups covered more distance though.

Then the weekend came and I was all set to get back on track. Erica and I went grocery shopping at 1pm on Sunday. At 3pm we got hit with an intense Thunderstorm. It left half a million people in Mont. County without power including us. There are still close to 10,000 without power today. We got power on Monday afternoon but our fridge's perishables had perished and the freezer items that were not yet frozen also didn't make it. I then got food poisoning or a virus on Wednesday from something I should have thrown out but didn't.....booooo

I may have been down - but not out.

Rock On

Ray

words and photos by Ray Heinsman

DC City Ride to Brunch

On Sunday, my wife and I rode to brunch in downtown DC at a restaurant called The Heights. It was a nice 15 mile ride that was similar to the one we did on the 4th of July. We went south on Sligo Creek Bike Path and then rode up Maple Ave through Tacoma Park. After that long uphill it was a nice ride on 3rd Ave to Kansas Ave which is pretty much all bike lane. 14th street also has a bike lane but the church traffic was all parked in the bike lane. On that stretch I took the lane.

After brunch we went to Best Buy and picked up a DVD of Anchorman with Will Farrell. Every time we go to Camden Yards to watch the Orioles play, they have a skit on the big screen where they ask each player which Will Farrell character they like better; Ricky Bobby or Ron Burgandy. I like Ron Burgundy, but I had only seen Anchorman once and it is so often played on a commercial channel with heavy editing.....no way to watch a movie.

I am getting off topic.

After Best buy we Rode home. On that ride she captured some video of me on Sligo Creek with my phone. Enjoy!

Fitness Day 6 - Are we going to be good today?

Well, I should be getting back to eating well, but there is leftover temptation from yesterday evening.

I got up in the morning and went for my run. Because i had some beers the night before and I was feeling a little out of sorts, it was only the same length as my last run on Tuesday. I also did all my shoulder stabilization exercises using dumb-bells.

After my morning routine, I opened up the fridge.

This is where things went a little downhill.
For breakfast I had leftover potato salad and a slice of leftover pizza from Sunday.

For lunch I ate almost all the leftover hotdogs. That would be a whopping quantity of 3! They were delicious and I was overly full.

Then we went grocery shopping and got some good fruits and vegetables. I will be using these to make a combination of wonderful foods over the next week.
Last night we went to the Orioles - Blue Jays game in Baltimore. While there I had some good ole' fashioned BBQ. It was sliced pork on a roll with BBQ sauce and horseradish. I also had two beers while at the game and a piece of my wifes pretzel, one of the best tasting pretzels ever.

So today was more of a day off instead of being a good healthy day. The baseball game was excusable because I want to allow myself to do these things, but I could have done a lot better for the first two meals instead of letting temptations overtake my sensibilities. I am not going to beat myself up over it anymore though and focus on doing better in the days to come.

Fitness Day 5 - Day Off

So how bad was I on my day off?

I did not do any exercise besides my daily ride to work.
I ate a breakfast burrito from Qdoba for Breakfast.
This had egg, potato, queso, chorizo, habanero salsa, and cheese.
For lunch, a cheese steak and fries.
For dinner we had a little grilling action with Salens Beef Hotdogs and Jalepeno Burgers with Cheese. Being that we had a few people over we also served a spinach dip with tostitos scoops.
While we ate our delicious grilled food, I washed it down with a variety of IPA beers from Dogfish Head.

There is nothing here that is considered healthy, but the weekend is here and we went grocery shopping yesterday. Good eating ahead.

log riding is Fun

Here is a video of me riding a log on my mountain bike at Schaefer Farms in Gaithersburg MD.

Words: Ray Heinsman

Stunt: Ray Heinsman

Camera James Casey Corbett

I would like to thank my bike, MORE, and everyone who has always encouraged me to ride harder.

Fitness: Day 4 - Wings and Beer

Yesterday I had wings, french fries and beer at the dogfish head alehouse after riding my mountain bike with MORE following a lunch of water, vegetables and spaghetti succeeding a delicious breakfast sandwich which was the same as the day before.

Fitness: Day 3; Rest and Eat Well

Yesterday I awoke sore. All my muscles hurt from my neck to the bottom of my feet. Because I am going riding tonight and want to be strong and confident for that event I decided not to run or lift yesterday morning.

I got out of bed and got started making breakfast which was delicious. I used leftover fajita innards from Sundays dinner and made an egg sandwich on an english muffin. 1 slice of american cheese and some hot sauce was the topper.

It was soooooo yummy

Then I rode the 2 miles to work. For lunch I had the casserole leftovers from the night before and I was happy I made a meal that worked so well as a reheated lunch. I also drank a lot of water. I have been using water as a substitute for everything else: Coffee, Beer, Soda.

Last night, Erica made a delicious dinner.

The Numbers:

Fitness

Rode the bike to work and back - 4 miles.

Stretched that night to work out some of the soreness.

Nutrition:

Egg and cheese sandwich on an english muffin with small bits of chicken peppers and onion topped with Franks Hot Sauce

1 Cup of Coffee
6 pints of Water

1 pint Pomegranate Green Tea from Trader Joes

Leftover casserole from last nights dinner
http://www.bisonbasics.com/recipes/casseroles/bison_potato_casserole.html 

Crackers and Goat Cheese - quite a few 

Dinner was made by my wife Erica - she was very creative:

First she stir fried up some vegetables - corn, carrots, green pepper, garlic and onion and made a very thin sauce using sesame oil and soy and some spices....then she made some spaghetti and added that to the stir fry.

In a separate pan she seared some Ahi Tuna steaks and placed those on top of the stir fry on the plate and topped that with a wassabi dill hot sauce we got at Peppers in Key West.....we got quite a few of those as that place is awesome......I am sorry I did not take a picture. It was a work of art.

Words Actions and Photos by Ray Heinsman

Rider of the Day #23: Ahhh Someone cut off my wheels!

Todays rider of the day looks like he had his wheels cut off. 

Perception is 90% of reality and often misleading.

Words and photo by Ray Heinsman

Fitness: Day 2.....Moving along

Yesterday was a good day. I awoke feeling pretty good and I felt strong through my morning run. Even though I was winded at the top of the hill again, I made the decision to push it harder and then went 1 block farther. Each day I hope to go another block. When I got home it was time for some push-ups and crunches. I didn't do many push ups, but my shoulder didn't pop out behind my shoulder blade either. Success!

I was a little stressed at work. After waiting for a week to get the info I needed, I got it on the day the project was due. After being good for 2 days, I felt it was time to have a couple of beers. This is where I want to re-emphasize that I am nudging myself in the right direction; this is not a makeover. I am trying to find a healthy sustainable lifestyle. The beers hit the spot and I look forward to my next couple after tomorrow nights ride with MORE.

I made a delicious casserole for dinner. Each serving was about a 1/4 lb of meat and the rest of the food was potatoes and vegetables....which I added a few more then are listed in the recipe below. There was probably a bit more cheese then is "healthy" but it was so delicious. I cannot wait to have it leftover for lunch today. The one thing that is great about cooking for yourself is you know where the ingredients come from. The zucchini were locally grown without pesticides or genetic modification. The potatoes were mass produced/organically grown in California which is OK. The bison was grass fed without antibiotics or steroids in Wyoming. Grass fed bison and beef have more omega-3 then fish. Most beef eaten in this country is corn fed. Corn fed beef is bad beef. The food chain is important to human nutrition.


The numbers:

Fitness:
Ran 1 more block then yesterday including the park and the hill.
3 sets of 5 pushups
3 sets of 10 stomach crunches
3 sets of 10 curls with 12 lbs
Bike 4 total miles to and from work

Nutrition
Breakfast: Pumpkin seed and flax granola with skim milk
1 cup of coffee
4 pints of water
Lunch: Leftovers from yesterday
http://rayslifecycle.blogspot.com/2010/07/fitness-day-1run-lift-eat-ride-cook.html
Rainier Cherries snack at work
4: 1" x 2" stone wheat thin crackers with a small spread of herb goats cheese while waiting for casserole to bake
Dinner: Bison potato and zucchini casserole
http://www.bisonbasics.com/recipes/casseroles/bison_potato_casserole.html
3 dogfishhead 90 minute IPA.....mmmmmm

Words actions and photos by Ray Heinsman

What is this a picture of?

Fitness: Day 1......Run, Lift, Eat, Ride, Cook

Yesterday morning I got up at 6am and went for a run. Not a long run, just around the large block through our little park. It includes 1 very large and very steep hill. I was out of breath pretty bad after the hill and almost slowed to a walk, but after cresting the top pushed it a little bit and was able to really feel it by the time I got home.

After I got home I did a series of shoulder strengthening exercises with dumb-bells. I have some serious shoulder problems and my left one is especially unstable. Using 12 pounders, I did a military press, a front lift and a side lift. Afterwards I did a bench press using elastic bands attached to the railing of the stairs. I did each of these in series, 10 reps, 3 sets.

You may be saying to yourself, "12 lbs isn't much".
You're right.
I have some serious shoulder issues though having dislocated them many times and had broken collar bones and yadayaydayada......The list goes on, but I am determined not to let this continue to hinder me any more. First stabilize, then strengthen.

I'm using all the knowledge I have ignored over the years to send myself on the right path.

After finishing with my shoulders, I made breakfast. This consisted of a Trader Joes English Muffin, a schmear of Cream Cheese, some smoked salmon, black pepper and a cup of Green Tea. This meal could use a fruit of vegetable.I will see what I can do about that tomorrow.

Then I rode my bike to work which is 2 miles almost all up hill.

For lunch I walked over to whole foods and got a few items for tonight's dinner as well as some lunch.
Lunch consisted of 2 bbq ribs, a bunch of roasted potatoes and a vegetable medley of  carrots, onions, broccolli and peppers. The vegetables were the majority of the content of this lunch.

After work I rode home. What goes up, must come down....but this trip down I peddled hard and braked hard and I had a huge bag of dog food and a bag of groceries in my trailer.

Dinner tonight consisted of 2 mahi mahi fillets with a blackberry hot sauce that Erica and I bought at Peppers in Key West. I also made a blueberry, carrot, banana pepper, green onion, lemon juice, seaseme seed and red pepper salad that I roasted slightly before serving. It was delicious.

Good day. Got a lot done. Felt good about doing it.
Now for my next magic trick..........

Words actions and photos by Ray Heinsman 

Fitness Article 1: The Plan

     This is my first article on my fitness. In life, I have partied plenty hard. It is now time to prioritize and treat my body with the respect it deserves. In the past year I have gotten married which included an intense series of fun events which surrounded this wonderful moment in my life. I have also participated in birthday celebrations, beer pong competitions, anniversaries, sports event celebrations, BBQs, flip cup competitions, happy hours, pub crawls, and general festivities. Sure it is a great time to eat burgers & wings and drink whiskeys & beers; and I am not saying that I will never do this again. What I am saying is that I am going to sway my day to day lifestyle in a healthier direction and not make this my way of life.

     Am I on a diet?
                                                         No

     Am I training for an event?
                                                         No

These things are temporary. When people "go on a diet" or "train", if/when they reach their goals they usually stop. What I am doing is making my health a more important part of my life.

Here are some numbers:
Weight: 223.8 lbs
Height: 5'-11"
Age 36 
Blood Pressure: 130/90

These numbers are not good.
Over the next few months I will be cataloging what I eat and what I do each day in this blog thus hopefully resulting in changes to my weight and blood pressure.

I will post two different types of Fitness articles.
1) Nutrition Related
2) Activity Related

If you have been following my blog you have probably read a couple of articles about my re-entry into mountain biking and the results of this effort are marginal at best. The reason for this is my lack of commitment to my health.

I feel tired, fat and old.
There is way too much life ahead of me to constantly feel and look this way.

Illinois Passes Law To Protect Cyclists

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7538674&status=ok

Click on the link above to read the comments. It is amazing how hostile people get when they are hiding behind a keyboard. Would they really talk this way face to face?

Article from WLS_TV:

Quinn signs bicycle legislation into law

July 5, 2010 (ARLINGTON HEIGHTS) (WLS) -- Ill. Gov. Pat Quinn signed new legislation Monday aimed at making Illinois roads safer for bicyclists.

The signing took place at Campbell Street Bicycle Shop in suburban Arlington Heights.

Under the law, it is illegal for drivers to crowd or threaten bicyclists by driving too close to them.

The governor says the new law will also remind drivers to be alert for those riding on two wheels.

Governor Quinn said he wants "to make our state the number one state in the union when it comes to bicycling and having fun on a bicycle and participating and having trails that are well done all across Illinois."

A second piece of legislation will create a new 'Share the Road' license plate. Proceeds will go to fund education efforts.

(Copyright ©2010 WLS-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

My comment to this:

Everyone needs to learn to obey traffic laws as I see most users (bicycle and car) behaving too aggressively everyday. The world would benefit greatly from some understanding and compassion. Roads are there for everyone; not just automobile drivers. The comments submitted here are extremely aggressive and hostile. It is this attitude that pushed your governor to pass this legislation. Be safe. Be calm. Share the road. Share the world.

If you feel as strongly as I do that everyone needs to calm the heck down when using the roadways, please let it be known. 

July 4th Ride

Sorry for the long span between posts. After going strong for a few months, I decided it was time to take a small hiatus to celebrate my 1 year wedding anniversary, my birthday and the 4th of July; but now I am back and will be posting regularly again.

My wife and I went on a fun ride the July 4th. It was my first time on the bike in a couple of weeks. The sun was hot with temps in the high 90s. We rode to the Wonderland Ballroom to meet up with some friends in the evening for some food and drinks before heading farther downtown to watch the fireworks. It was a great day and I really enjoyed spending the evening with my wife riding around DC.

For our route, we took the Sligo Creek bike path to the town of Tacoma Park on the border of Maryland and DC and then continued on 3rd Ave to Kansas Ave. These streets had intermittent bike paths and were easily navigable through the city. Because of the high temps, we had to take a little breather in the shade after climbing a couple of larger hills on Kansas in the blazing sun. Once we cooled off a bit, we continued on looking forward to the cold beers that were in our immediate future.

Sitting at the table on the sidewalk facing 11th ave, we saw dozens of people riding down to the mall to watch the fireworks. We ordered some BBQ wings which were saucy and well cooked with a fairly decent blue cheese dip. Then I ordered a foot long chilli/cheese dog and my wife ordered a sandwich and fries. Pretty decent food, good service, great beer selection and a real chill atmosphere is how I would describe this off the beaten path establishment. Having heard good things, we were happy we made this our hangout spot to celebrate our countrys break from Great Britain.

We then went to Cordozo High School to watch the fireworks. It was a great view. To the left is an image I made of our trip up 14th street which was exploding with fireworks everywhere. Every block there were people having fun and celebrating. Below is the short video excerpt of the show from Cordozo High.

Happy Fourth of July Everyone.

words, video and the last photo by Ray Heinsman