A few thoughts on cycling around Seattle

​Was just reading through a bunch of articles about cycling, all centered in the Pacific NorthWest. Urban cycling, bicycle touring, city planning, healthy living and how cycling fits into a sustainable culture; filling my brain with ideas. A big thing: I need to get out and ride more. Of course, it’s been been quite chilly here around Puget Sound. And such things challenge my desire to ride. 

I’ve become much more of a fair weathered cyclist. At one point, the notion of being such horrified me. I was committed to riding, bike commuting, cycling as urban transport. A few accidents with cars (with broken bones and other fun) and myriad close calls, my tolerance for urban riding waned. Plus, moving back home to Seattle’s suburbs threw me deep into car culture. Riding became a weekend hobby. I hate this. 

The desire to return to deep immersion into bike culture hits me regularly. It rebounds off of the suburban car culture, but bounces back. The overcommitted life, which is only manageable with a car, my 20 mile commute, the geographic spread of suburban life all factor in. 

I’m also weary of the challenge of getting exercise. I need to block time to get to the gym, versus just walking/riding all the time. There’s a community around cycling that’s pretty amazing. So many benefits to the cycle-centric life, and I miss them. 

Healthy Living : Changing Lives

I remember reading Scott Cutshall’s story a little while back (read it here). My thoughts on running, fitness, and all that over the past few days brought it back to the front of my mind. Part of what connected me was his journey, but not just the effectiveness (massive weight-loss). No, what really struck me was a simple truth: he gained health by finding something he loved and letting it pull him along. I’ve long felt the way to a healthy life was to find something physical that you loved. That, even was dripping sweat, feeling exhaustion, facing your next appointment, you keep thinking “can I squeeze just a few more minutes?”

Passion, joy, that’s really what makes this happen. Go and find yours!

More Running Thoughts

Yesterday I had a brief post about a new online community for runners. A side note was about my attempts to recapture my love of running. Running, now, is a significant amount of work. 20 years ago, it was fun; meditation in motion. I thought about it and hit one key thought: weight.

I weighed about 175 in my running/cycling heyday. When I started reclaiming this lifestyle, I hit 208. Now at 194, things are more pleasant. But those 20 pounds will still affect my feelings. I’m sure that getting my weight closer to an ideal will really help. And getting my fitness level up will, too.

The other thing I noted: a lifetime of terrible eating habits. Since I lived physical activity and would run/bike for hours, I never paid attention to what I are. At the point in life, eating a good diet is crucial to accomplishing my goals. Actually, I think I need to focus in a great diet.

My fitness tracking tools show a nutrient breakdown of my diet. Truly, it’s sad how pathetically few nutrients I get from food. I need to take a multivitamin to get crucial elements. I want to develop a diet that gets me my fully nutrient load, while also not jamming me full of sugar.

Clearly I have work to do.