Who is (im)deebers?

In May of 2008 I came to three disturbing realizations: 1) in four months I was turning 40 years old, 2) I was (roughly, and probably generously) 40lbs overweight and 3) gas had just reached $4 a gallon. I decided I had to do something. I couldn't control the price of gas or my imminent mid-life birthday but there was a way I could avoid buying $4 a gallon gas and at the same time shed a few pounds so I didn't turn 40 looking like I'd spent the last half of my life sitting in a Barcolounger with a TV remote in one hand and a bag of pork rinds in the other. Long story short (this will never happen again btw) I bought a mtn* bike on Craig's list for $200 and parked my car for the summer.





One of my buddies tried to tell me to get a road bike "You're working way too hard" was his argument. I tried to explain to him that the working too hard was the point.

I dropped 25 lbs in the four months before my birthday, gained 10 that winter, dropped another 15 the next summer and that Fall (October 2009) my youngest brother dregger challenged/invited me to ride LOTOJA with him, the one caveat I had to get a road bike. I tried to tell him I was much faster on the mtn bike since I had dumped the nobbies and opted for thinner road treads. He got an exasperated look on his face and said something like: "I'm done listening to you, we're gonna have to ride 206 miles in one day; you need a real bike." And the rest is ... well it's the fodder for probably most of the blogs you will find on this blog site. Big ups to Rodzilla for letting me crash it.

My buddy Matt tried to tell me I that I was working way too hard, that I should buy a road bike instead. I told him "working hard is the point". I dropped 25 lbs before my birthday, gained 10 back that winter, dropped another 15 the next summer and in October of 2009 my youngest brother dregger challenged/invited me to ride LOTOJA with im in 2010. "But" he said "you're going to have to buy a road bike". I tried telling him how I was much faster since I had pitched the nobbies and substituted road slicks on the Gary Fisher. He gave me a look that was more than exasperated but not annoyed enough to dope-slap me and said something like "we're riding 206 miles in one day; you're going to have to buy a real bike." And the rest is ... well, fodder for most of the posts I'll contribute to this blog-site I would imagine. Big ups to Rodzilla for letting me crash it.

blog/talk soon,

(im)deebers

Realization #4, biking is by far the funnest, most efficient and surest way to to get rid of the extra junk in your trunk. Despite my best efforts, despite gym memberships, Eliminating gfast food, not eating before bed, running on treadmills and 3-4 spin cycling classes a week** as soon as the snow flies and I hang my bike up the pounds find me again. dregger is fond of pointing out that no weight is ever 'lost' you will always find it again, or it will find you. It generally finds me when I move indoors and stop riding my bike. I'm an easy mark at that point, but not when I'm riding.

*I originally opted for the mtn bike because I thought road bikes looked uncomfortable and the guys on them looked like sissies, and no way was I going to wear spandex.

** 'Zilla says spin cycling classes deserve their own blog entry and that we (pretty sure by that he means me) should write one. We'll see.