L'homme Avec Sept Maillots Jaunes

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This video is a very supportive statement on the Lance Armstrong situation when you think about it. It's humour at his expense but really says there is no one to pass on the 7 Tour crowns to, doping was rampant. A clean rider in the peloton was probably as likely as a mountain bike.

Is all this bad press for bike racing going to squash my enthusiasm? Maybe for the tour or watching it but for riding, I don't think so. Other than a few hours on a stationary bike I haven't put butt to saddle all winter. Every trip to the basement has me thinking about getting back on two wheels. For right now walking is working. 2013 me knows that I have to lose weight but biking doesn't have to be the only way. By the time the weather is bike friendly I hope to be down 30 pounds and then two wheels can take me the rest of the way. Right now biking is more of a carrot I'm dangling in front of my self.

20 and Counting

This morning's weigh-in saw me down 20 pounds since January 1st. What's better than the news from the scale is that my clothes are starting to fit much  more comfortably. I've only had a few lapses where cravings had me wandering to the kitchen but I've stuck to 60 calorie pudding, carrots, crackers and 100 calorie bags of popcorn. I'm finally walking at full speed. I really wish the weather would stay a little cooler than this morning. Walking in a wet mist on packed snow that is crumbling underfoot is tough on the hips.

Northwood playoffs kicked off yesterday with the last place team in the regular season dumping the first place squad 4-0. Brandyn's fifth place Leafs team tied 0-0 with the second place team and a 2-1 nailbiter closed the day. This could be the closest playoffs we've ever had.

I finally had some time to go out with my camera and try to take some pictures. Other than a quick run to Mission Marsh without even cracking open the manual and a couple of hockey team pictures it hasn't left the case. I dropped Sal at work and headed out towards highway 130. I was thinking some farmland with the Norwesters in the background as the sun went down might be interesting. But the farther I got the less promising the sun was. It started into some clouds and the western horizon was heavily overcast. I have trouble 'seeing' what's around me. I always wish I was in Banff or somewhere more photogenic than Thunder Bay. I'm strying to train myself to see past the familiarity of everthing and appreciate it. And then the sun goes out an hour before sundown and everything just goes flat. Patience is something I have to learn as well. I took 4 shots in 2-1/2 hours.

Ginko's Ninth

Our oldest grandchild had his ninth birthday yesterday, doesn't seem possible. We went for dinner to his choice of restaurants, Tokyo House. On walking in the door the money spent to overhaul the building was obvious. The service was excellent. Unfortunately for me the quality of the food didn't quite live up to that first impression. A good selection of items on the buffet none of which were overly hot. Don't let the little chili icon on the menu fool you, spicy isn't. The sushi that was delivered to the table was the best part of the meal, I particularly liked the crab hand roll. Brandyn had a small serving of rice and lemon chicken and a few bites of sushi. Jen brought a red velvet cake and the staff played a recorded version of Happy Birsday (not a spelling mistake) as they stood by to watch him blow out the candles. He opened his gifts and it was back out into the cold.

My gift came later as Tokyo House became diarhea-ville.

   

Another Northwood Season in the Books

A cold afternoon at the Gardens saw three exciting games close out the 42nd regular season. With just 13 points between first and last it was a tight season. Three teams had a chance to finish in second today and the eventual winner took the spot with a narrow one goal victory over the last place team. Playoffs will kick off next weekend and everyone has been commenting on just how close it will be.

NHL Hits the Ice

My prediction for this shortened season is that it will feature more groin pulls than fans pulling for their favorite teams. And by the looks of the Habs and Leafs game, fighting will be used to draw the crowds to the rinks.

The Cullen Show

Nanny and Brandyn tuned into the Cullen Show.

Lost It

10.2 pounds in 11 days. I know the first ten are the easiest but it still feels great.

Losing It

After months of heading back towards the dark side of my weight issues I finally decided New Year's would be a great time to get things in order. I found an app that provides a program to 'Lose It.'

You start by putting in your age, weight, goals and how much you want to try and lose each week. The program then calculates a calorie intake that will help get you to your goal. I started with 2163 calories allowed per day and a goal of 2 lbs. per week, the maximum loss the program allows. A database of foods is included or you can enter recipes, ingredients, custom food (Canadian) or scan barcodes with a barcode scanner which I have on the phone. It has been 100% accurate with the packages I've scanned. You also enter any exercise and get extra calories back by burning some.

I started walking a mile on the 1st and have done so daily, getting 3 in yesterday. I normally only weigh myself once a week but the program kept reminding me to enter my weight so I finally gave up and punched in my 1.8 lb loss. When I logged my breakfast it had already reduced my daily allowance by 12 calories and after walking to work I was rewarded with 2 less calorie credits for the same effort. Ouch.

There is a linked website with a lot of other components. Badges for accomplishments, reports, forums and facebook links but the basics are all I'm looking for.   

I know it's only day 4 but I feel better already. Here's a couple of screenshots from my phone.