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