The Last Spinner Saturday of 2005!

This Saturday is not onlt the last day of 2005, it's the last "Spinner Saturday" of 2005 as well! Let's roll out the old year with a fantastic 100% participation in this event and make it a literal GLOBAL RIDE We have participants around the world, in Istanbul, Australia, and the USA! The title of this post is of course a redirect to my new blog over at MSN!

This Is a Redirect to my new blog! Click me!

Here's a surprise, # 1 on Technorati!

Much to my surprise, on Technorati as of today, I am rated by authority on the followng places in the entire technorati standings!
Morbid Obesity, Surgeon Info, Weight Loss surgery:#1
Nutrition: #10!
Weight Loss: 17th
Diet: 14th
Recovery: 11th
This is out of MILLIONS OF BLOGS! Holy Cow!

Motherstormcrowe: TRIBUTE TO THE AMAZING SHRINKING MAN

Motherstormcrowe: TRIBUTE TO THE AMAZING SHRINKING MAN

Morbid Obesity and Bariatric Surgery as an Option

Morbid obesity is classified as a level of obesity that is life threatening. I have a link to St Vincent Hospital in Carmel, Indiana. All you have to do is read my archives here and look at my new blog over on msn to see what they did for me! The link to my new blog is embedded in this headline!The in hospital pictures are March this year, the bicycle pic is 2 weeks old.

I have a new address over at msn space

Click the headline to go to my new blog over at msn space

Morbid Obesity, Cold Weather, and Weight Loss!

Note: I have updated the "Spinner Saturday Chart to reflect Caloi Riders miles
I am trying out this font color as apparently the default font is hard to read against the background. I'll be posting in various text colors here and you guy's tell me what you like best against the current template! I don't want to change the template because if I do, I'll have to reset all my links and lose ALL the old comments. Well, riding in cold weather after losing as much weight as I have, I've found my resistance to cold is signifigantly less! I used to be able to sit outside in Minnesota in January wearing T-Shirt, Shorts and sandals! Now I FREEZE! While I'm riding, I generate enough heat that I'm OK, other than the sappy grin frozen on my face as I can't move my face anymore! When I show up at Panera's with my Cycling clothes(Sweats) and Windvest and Helmet, they basically think I'm nuts! Lets see, checklist here:
Windvest: Trucking Co. Windvest, polarguard fill
Sports Band for the ears:Merino wool, Thinsulate(tm) and fleece, 3 layers
Polar Gloves: 1500 gram Thinsulate(tm)
Fleece sweat pants(2 pr), from Walmart
Thermal T/ Regular Long T
Fleece hooded Sweatshirt
Thermal socks
Lycra compression stockings for circulatory problems
Cross Training shoes from Walmart again
Helmet.
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Winter Hydration and Health:
Hydration pack rides INSIDE my wind vest, at 16F, it freezes otherwise! I also carry energy food like Granola or Clif Bars(tm) because food=warmth! Cold air saps your energy as well as dehydrates you faster, believe it or not. Another thing you need to watch for is frostbite. You also need to consider a breath warmer mask if you are pushing hard enough to wind up mouth breathing. Air at extremely low temperatures can damage your lungs!
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Essentially, I want to convey that winter riding is not only possible, but fun! You just need to take certain environmental factors into consideration. The caloric burn is the same or higher, and it is healthy! Go for it, and have fun!

ps- I should mention, I just started a frappr thingamy! The link is this headline!

Cycling to fight Morbid Obesity and Spinner Saturday Graph Results

Cycling is a low impact exercise that burns MASSIVE amounts of Calories. The only better exercise for aerobic and cardiac health is swimming and they are both FUN! There are difficulties with cycling when you are morbidly obese, as I was. They are surmountable obstacles, though. See the link sidebar and there is a calculator over there, or just click this headline for the WVDA CALORIC BURN CALCULATOR engine. Physical activity is important for both physical and mental health and fitness. There is no better antidepressent than exercise, at least that's what I've found! Start in moderation and if you have health issues I can't stress enough to CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN before starting an exercise regimen!
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As to the graphing, I understand Caloi's lack of data due to terrible weather and Big Mike is wrapping up the semester! I only have 7 miles in this week and Tayfur is at the top this week with 16 miles........Good on ya Tayfur!
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Spinner Saturday is technically a global event and if you want to participate, feel free to post your miles in my comments and I'll add you to the party! The current participants are in Australia, Turkey, and two in the USA: Indiana and Idaho! Join in and spin!

This site doesn't give medical advice and should not be construed as other than common sense advice in general terms

Dealing with the After Effects of Morbid Obesity

Something you need to know! As we know, I had the Roux-N-Y procedure gastric bypass performed in March this year. There are some surprising side effects of this process. The best one is that as your metabolism ramps up from losing weight, you just plain feel better and FAR more energetic. If you've been following my blog, you know that as late as April this year, I was in a wheelchair as I couldn't stand or walk any length of time due to my weight. Just a little reminder here as to where I was and where I am now in the pictures I am posting here. They are both me! My before and current pictures as a comparison.







Before is above, This was in March this year





After is below, this was Thanksgiving this year

If you are considering Bariatric Surgery, you should be aware that there are risks associated with it. Weigh these risks carefully and decide if you want to continue the path you're on, or get your life back and do more than just exist! Research your surgeon and don't be afraid to ask what their mortality rate is, this is one of the risks! It's about 1 in 200, incidentally. There are other aspects as well, such as being on vitamins and supplementsd the rest of your life. To me, it's a small price to pay though, because I've gone from a wheelchair to a mountainbike and college to study nursing. I am thankful for this each and every day. If you are reading this and you either need to consider this OR know someone who does, I encourage you to get them to read my blog from front to back and see the story. If you are thinking about the surgery, I can only encourage you! Be responsible to get your life back.

DAMN Sploggers!

I take my word verification down for a few hours and I get nailed by SPLOGGERS! It's back up, so if you want to SPAM my blog, you better do it yourself, SPLOGGERS! Your machine readers won't work again! Next time Bloggers verifacation server locks up, I'll just be patient and wait for bloggers tech staff to clear the logjam. A message to you sploggers........I don't want plastic surgery, I don't want penile enlargement, I don't want or need Viagra(tm).......I'm quite satisfied with what God gave me and I don't advertise for FREE! If you want to buy ad space on my blog, approach me and I'll consider it IF the product is appropriate, by MY standards! I choose the content of this blog and no one else! This blog space is my property and I am willing to share it with those that respect the space and intent. I don't like or hold with thieves or tresspassers, and if you spam MY property, you are nothing more than a graffitti spraying vandal. I have the delete button here and I will use it for spammers as well as flagging their blog as objectionable content to the attention of Blogger management. consider this fair warning to you sploggers!

As a postscript: If you want to copy the ERROR MESSAGE image and place it on YOUR blog, feel free to do so. You are welcome to use it!

It's Spinner Saturday Again!

Yup, it's "Spinner Saturday" yet again! Due to Finals and bad weather the miles are down signifigantly! I got one ride in this morning, 7 miles, over to West Lafayette for breakfast at the Triple XXX Restaraunt! I earned these hash and eggs! 24F when I took off! That's -4.4 C for those of you outside the USA! Wind chill is about 0F, or -18C! My face was frozen in a HUGE GRIN! We have a storm rolling in this afternoon, so more riding tomorrow doesn't look promising! I must say though, the Geax Evolution tires that Hodson's bay got me to put on my bike are working very well on slick roads! They're like snowtires for the bike! Now for an announcement, My Mom is now an active blogger! The headline to this post is a link to her blog, "Motherstormcrowe"! Drop by and welcome my Mother to the Blogiverse!

Support Your Local Bike Shop!

Over on the left sidebar you'll see a link to my Local Bike Shop. No not mine as in I own it, my as in I frequent their services. Today, I had to put a new bottom bracket in my bike, the crank got loose and rattly. Hodson's Bay is my LBS. I have a ride planned for tomorrow and I can't ride with a crank bearing shredding. I can tell ya! My bike rides like it's brand new after the service they did! Above and beyond is what I say, above and beyond! The got me in and out in about 45 minutes.......same day service! They wanted me to be able to do my ride. Dan down at Hodson's Bay has been a huge supporter of my quest to get my life back along with all the other guys there! They made sure everything was right, even checked my tire pressure! If you are in my area, Tippecanoe County and surrounding area here in Indiana, you could do far worse than to take your bike there! When ya go in, tell'em "The Amazing Shrinking Man" sent ya. It won't get me anything, but what the hey! It at least let's Dan know I appreciate the great help he and the guys have given me!
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Three reasons to support your LBS:
1) The service.......sure you can get a cheap bike at Walmart! You can even get a decent inexpensive bike at Walmart! Matter of fact, I ride a cheap bike! It's a Royce Union. At Walmart, you get a bike that probably won't shift right, you get bottom end components, and will require a tune up (at your LBS) to ride right!
2) Service! You often get free tuneups the first year after buying at your LBS
3) You are supporting a business that has local roots and NOT exporting your hard earned dollars to Bentonville, Arkansas!
OK, I lied, there's a fourth reason!
4) After it's all said and done, you'll wind up spending as much money buying a department store bike as an entry level bike at your LBS after you get done tweaking and tuning it and upgrading it because you're not happy with the performance of your bike as you would have in the first place going to your LBS!
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The reason I ride the Royce Union is because My Grandfather gave it to me. I enjoy it because of that reason! I've sunk $$ into it upgrading the crank and other components and tweaking and tuning it til it rides pretty nice. It was a used bike to start with, but it'll stay around as long as the frame holds up. It'll stay around as long as I can keep it rideable, and I don't care how much I spend on it. I'll get other bikes later, my dream MTB is a Banshee Chaparall for example. My dream touring road bike is a Specialized or a Cannondale. I'll eventually be able to afford one but not now, as I'm a starving college student! But as I said, there'll always be a place under my butt for the Ol' Royce Union!

I just found an Incredible Blog!

Stop by and visit George Geid's blog! I'm embedding the link in this headline, because George is on an AMAZING ride! He's riding a bike from the tip of South America to Prudhoe Bay in Alaska! Talk about your epic rides! That's literally almost half a circumnavigation of the globe! Helmet's off to George!

#%$@ SNOW!

I was all mouth watering to ride this morning and it SNOWED! The roads were slick and I was gonna do it anyway, but my wife locked the bike to the closet door and hid the key while I was grabbing a cup of coffee this morning........something about not enough life insurance on me yet for me to kill myself!::GRIN:: Maybe before dark, roads are only wet now, if I can just find the KEY! In the meantime, the Governor of California wants to issue a statement on my blog, important social tool that it is! Update on my weight loss: I am now down by 305 pounds! How's that for cool!

I foung BIG Cycling Togs!

I embedded a link into the title of this post, so just click the headline here to go to the site and shop for your Big and Tall cyclist needs. Just a hint for XMas to my family!::GRIN The Long tights are up to XL, and STRETCHY, the cycling shorts are up to 3X(My size!), and the Jersey's are up to 4X(I wear 2-3X Depending on how it's cut!