August Updates

Vacationing, Reviving my health kick, and the blazing Texas heat

This is the only post that I will probably do for the month of August. I had a great time vacationing with the family and friends in Panama City Beach Florida last week. Panama City has an awesome beach which for the most part is very clear and clean. I saw lots of marine life on the water such as schools of manta rays and other fish. Sting rays and crabs are also common sights in the water.  I finally got a chance to get rid of my farmer's tan that I had developed over a summer of road biking. It was a really fun vacation, and I did everything from fishing, skim boarding, and taking long walks and jogs on the beach. On a side note, I would also like to add that Panama City is a very bike friendly place. All down the  beach strip there were bike lanes and people riding their beach cruisers down them. On the outskirts of the city there is a bike path that stretches for miles. I sort of regretted not bringing my bicycle on this trip, but we had a very packed and cramped caravan and the bicycle would have gotten rained on a lot during the trip as well. 

When I got home, I was surprised to find that the bathroom scale was not in my favor. It seems that any break from my routine, even if only for a few weeks, will have me racking up the pounds. I did eat a lot while on vacation and had at least one beer a day, so  this may have had something to do with it. Weighing in at 10 pounds heavier than I was when I left to Florida has me thinking about what I will have to do to loose that weight again. Most of my weight resides in my upper body nowadays, which has me considering returning to weight training and taking advantage of my gym's swimming pool. The gym is becoming a more sensible option especially as the hottest weather of the year approaches here in Texas. While I like waking up at the crack of dawn and getting a good bike ride in the morning I don't always have the time or the energy to do so. All summer long I have pushed myself to develop a habit of doing early morning Sunday rides of around 20 to 30 miles. I feel like I am going to have to push myself harder as my body is no longer staying in shape with me exercising 3 times a week. Maybe a change in diet is also in order, but for now, let's just say I might need to hit the gym more often.

Back to the weather here in Texas. The 100 plus degree days of bone dry heat are enough to suck the life out of anyone attempting to live here right now. Getting caught riding a bike in the middle of the day can spell danger for any cyclist, since heat strokes and dehydration can occur riding in these temperatures. There is a window of between sunrise and nine o clock to go for a bike ride before the real heat sets in. After that, it's better to ride at dusk around White Rock Lake where no cars will hit cyclists. Some of the local mountain bike trails are also an option, and around this time of year I usually transition to more mountain biking as the trails are usually dry and open to the public. The natural shade of the wooded trails provide protection from the UV rays, even if riding in the middle of the day. 

It looks like more mountain bike adventures are to come soon, and I'll keep posting updates on my fitness, my riding, and anything else of note or other current events. Stay tuned and subscribe for more posts from A Bicycle's Point Of View.