For whatever reason, the expression "magic carpet" popped into my head yesterday. I bet at its core, that is a concept really rich in Indian culture, but something we are only shown a little bit of in the west. I think we all remember various cartoons as kids, with the magic carpet. But few of us have ever read any of the fiction surrounding it. Maybe some have. 1001 Arabian Nights is a classic. Yet I have never read it.
This is the next step on the journey for me. So for those of you who were looking for some non-blogging threads, go ahead and change the channel now. I'm not going to put much in the way of training here. But I will ride bikes, inevitably some of those rides will be harder/faster than others. But typically at this time I dial back the intensity and do some other things with the words. Hopefully it is entertaining at some level. We also promote races, you may have heard of them?
I am not going to blog only once per day. I am going to put whatever up whenever I want. I will try to focus on whatever the topic is at hand. I will try to post pics. I will likely fail at both. I do appreciate the long-time readers, @ChrisG I think is one of the true originals. It's entirely possible that Chris has read every word of every one of my blogs. More power to you, my friend.
Win Detergent
We were at the Marty's cross race and someone commented how much @pearl smelled like laundry detergent. After some discussion we came to the conclusion that a) bike clothes freaking stink and b) we both use these Arm & Hammer super-scented tabs that mask the odor but smell way, way too strong. Post-wash bike smell is a real problem, something many of us have experienced in the summer. Nobody has this in the winter. But in the summer, I have washed my clothes multiple times in a row to get the stink off. It never works.
Enter @Dominos with the suggestion of WIN detergent. @Dominique quickly jumped on the Amazon Prime train and before you knew it, we had 2 leaking bottled of WIN at our doorstep. In the end the packaging was bad and both bottles broke. But the manufacturer gave us a refund on both and we ended up losing only a little. So we got most of this for free. A free experiment, as it were.
First pass was 1 cap and the results were...not perfect. It was better than the scent-free detergent, but I could still smell my stank. I had erred on the side of too little so for loads #2 and #3, I went 2 caps each. If you have a small load I think 1 cap is fine. But bigger loads you need 2. The instructions say as much but I was going in to see how well 1 worked.
Loads 2&3 were a pass. I cannot smell my stank nor can I smell detergent. Since D is a fragrance-free person I have come to really dislike the heavy scented stuff. It bothers me now where it was once the norm for me. So it's tough to get this right. Wash out the stink yet not leave an additional stink. And fabric softener is kinda out. I mean it's not supposed to go on bike clothes to begin with. Plus it smells too much.
So far I'm good with this.
Goals
Just to clarify some stuff. Confusion, as it were. I am not going Porky Pig with this winter. I think most people got that I do not intend to get overly fat again in the next 6-8 months and repeat this cycle again. The goal is to stay where I am and move downwards. The goal is to catch @UtahJoe on the scale, then pass him. Right now, for the sake of this thread, that is my only goal. So I will be riding, watching calories, and trying to enjoy the rides.
The goal of this thread is 10 pounds. Ideally 5 is by the new year, and the next 5 is by the first short track race. That's February 28th, by the way. Today I woke up at my lowest weight yet again in this version of myself. So I am pointed in the right direction.
As for fitness, and potential, that will be a future discussion. I do appreciate @seanrunnette and his confidence in my ability. I appreciate it a bunch. But for right now I am trying to fly that magic carpet to another 10 pound loss. Wish me luck.
New Bikes
I just couldn't pass up the Boone that Vic had for sale. I bought it for D. She has had a great cross season and I want to see her keep enjoying it in the years to come. With this bike, I think that should be easy enough. I now no longer have the nicest cross bike in the house. I have no problem with that, as my bikes are hardly the limiting reagent in my race game.
This is the next step on the journey for me. So for those of you who were looking for some non-blogging threads, go ahead and change the channel now. I'm not going to put much in the way of training here. But I will ride bikes, inevitably some of those rides will be harder/faster than others. But typically at this time I dial back the intensity and do some other things with the words. Hopefully it is entertaining at some level. We also promote races, you may have heard of them?
I am not going to blog only once per day. I am going to put whatever up whenever I want. I will try to focus on whatever the topic is at hand. I will try to post pics. I will likely fail at both. I do appreciate the long-time readers, @ChrisG I think is one of the true originals. It's entirely possible that Chris has read every word of every one of my blogs. More power to you, my friend.
Win Detergent
We were at the Marty's cross race and someone commented how much @pearl smelled like laundry detergent. After some discussion we came to the conclusion that a) bike clothes freaking stink and b) we both use these Arm & Hammer super-scented tabs that mask the odor but smell way, way too strong. Post-wash bike smell is a real problem, something many of us have experienced in the summer. Nobody has this in the winter. But in the summer, I have washed my clothes multiple times in a row to get the stink off. It never works.
Enter @Dominos with the suggestion of WIN detergent. @Dominique quickly jumped on the Amazon Prime train and before you knew it, we had 2 leaking bottled of WIN at our doorstep. In the end the packaging was bad and both bottles broke. But the manufacturer gave us a refund on both and we ended up losing only a little. So we got most of this for free. A free experiment, as it were.
First pass was 1 cap and the results were...not perfect. It was better than the scent-free detergent, but I could still smell my stank. I had erred on the side of too little so for loads #2 and #3, I went 2 caps each. If you have a small load I think 1 cap is fine. But bigger loads you need 2. The instructions say as much but I was going in to see how well 1 worked.
Loads 2&3 were a pass. I cannot smell my stank nor can I smell detergent. Since D is a fragrance-free person I have come to really dislike the heavy scented stuff. It bothers me now where it was once the norm for me. So it's tough to get this right. Wash out the stink yet not leave an additional stink. And fabric softener is kinda out. I mean it's not supposed to go on bike clothes to begin with. Plus it smells too much.
So far I'm good with this.
Goals
Just to clarify some stuff. Confusion, as it were. I am not going Porky Pig with this winter. I think most people got that I do not intend to get overly fat again in the next 6-8 months and repeat this cycle again. The goal is to stay where I am and move downwards. The goal is to catch @UtahJoe on the scale, then pass him. Right now, for the sake of this thread, that is my only goal. So I will be riding, watching calories, and trying to enjoy the rides.
The goal of this thread is 10 pounds. Ideally 5 is by the new year, and the next 5 is by the first short track race. That's February 28th, by the way. Today I woke up at my lowest weight yet again in this version of myself. So I am pointed in the right direction.
As for fitness, and potential, that will be a future discussion. I do appreciate @seanrunnette and his confidence in my ability. I appreciate it a bunch. But for right now I am trying to fly that magic carpet to another 10 pound loss. Wish me luck.
New Bikes
I just couldn't pass up the Boone that Vic had for sale. I bought it for D. She has had a great cross season and I want to see her keep enjoying it in the years to come. With this bike, I think that should be easy enough. I now no longer have the nicest cross bike in the house. I have no problem with that, as my bikes are hardly the limiting reagent in my race game.
