Dirtbag Surfer

Hi, I am reasonably certain that this is the group that I fall under - although I most certainly would never join a group that would have me as a member.

Regardless, greetings from Ocean Beach, San Diego, fellow larger than average cycling enthusiasts!!

Well, I finally worked up to and conquered the grade known as the Terror of Torrey Pines, towards the back end of my personal record setting 51 miler today. Pretty stoked, and what a great ride! Not exactly at a blazing pace, but there are a few good hills in there- I swear!! I was really beat when I got home, but feeling pretty good about now once I got a good amount of chocolate milk and a peanut butter sandwich in me. The afternoon nap didn't hurt either

It's been a great month since I got my new bike and I am up to 374.84 miles since I began riding again on April 18th. Haven't lost much weight, but I am sure it will start peeling off soon and I will be ready for bikini season by the time I hit Hawaii in September for my annual trip. At 6'4" and 248, I am aiming for 210 to 220 by that time. I think if I keep at it with all the riding and eating right, I will make it!

PS: I don't really wear bikinis, it's to look good for the ones that do...

scottydoesntkno

Congrats bro! I know that ride... kinda, well.. I know that hill as I have driven it a couple times and thought people were nuts to bike it.. That was before I got into road biking in the first place. Then I'll admit I started to road bike on my old road bike I got (old as in my new one that got stolen out of my downtown apt... doh!) and took off with some friends from a Dog Park at the end of the 8 near the Beach, and found our way through PB up to UCSD which was a killer for me when I was used to flat downtown and point loma rides of around 17 flat miles... Finally got a new, and better road bike so I'm about to get back into this.

Trying to finally rededicate myself and drop the weight I got into this for.. at least get rid of my top 225 and get down to 180 if possible.

But seriously, I digress.. Props on that ride! It's going to be my goal once I get through finals and start riding in about a week on a daily basis.

Mazama

Hey, DS!

I was once an Obeacean myself. Lived right there on the corner of Cape May and Bacon. I miss it, a wonderful place to live. Spent way too much time at the Sunshine Co. eating chicken strips and JoJos

Good job on the ride and welcome to the board.

Missbumble 

Great ride! It was fun to see your GPS posts as well. What type of GPS do you have? May I ask how much it cost? How hard is it to post the info as you haev done??

THANKS,
Miss Bumble

Dirtbag Surfer

Thanks! I actually use a Blackberry Pearl phone with Sprint and the GPS application is from Trimble Outdoors. With Sprint Blackberry, the cost is 39.99 a year, but the prices and phones supported vary and most have monthly plans at around 5.99/mo.

I have the phone mounted on my handlebars with a mount from The Mount Guys. I had first tried it numerous times with the phone in my pocket but it didn't work too well. Since it is not a directional GPS (it doesn't tell you were to go) you don't need to see it, but regardless I have found it to be very useful mounted on the bars. It gives you much the same constant read out as your basic cyclocomputer; trip mileage, current mph, average mph, top mph, estimated calories burned, etc. It also keeps track of your rest, which it automatically starts calculating after you have been not moving for a couple of minutes, such as stopped at a long light, and starts back up again as soon as you get moving.

Using it is extremely simple. You basically just select what you are doing (cycling, walking, jogging, etc), wait a minute for it to locate the satellite, hit "start" and you are off and running. When you are done with your ride and you hit "stop". it automatically uploads the info including the map to your account on the website. From there, you can do whatever you want to the route; add pictures, add a summary, description, comments and points of interest (or necessity, in the case of bathrooms, water stops, etc). For the pictures, I have a very small lightweight point & shoot Nikon that I throw in my pocket or bag. I just started with the pics and will be adding more to future rides.

Anyway, I find the GPS thing to be really fun and pretty cool. l love being able to map and track my rides and then share them (you can keep them private if you want). In addition, it also gives you a wealth of info as far as total mileage for all your rides, etc, etc. Kind of a geeky thing, but I love it...the technology is really amazing.

terbennett

Congrats! I've done that ride from OC to San Diego quite eleven times and I still dread that hill. It's great to hear another survivor talk about their story. It's not easy but rewarding. Mr. Beanz can probably climb it with ease since he climbs Mt. Baldy periodically but the rest of us suffer. You can't imagine how many people bonk on that hill. I've even bonked a couple of times on it. Again congratulations and mark that down as a triumphant moment.

Pamestique 

Climbing hills is like riding a bike, the more you do it the easier it gets. Torrey is actually a lovely climb (provided its not too hot out), one I have enjoyed on many an occasion. So now you did Torrey, go do Palomar!

terbennett

Maybe you're right Pamestique. I've only ridden that hill between the months of May and August. Palomar is out of my league right now but one day. Still Anyone that looks at Torrey Pines as just another hill is a good rider. I've always been a bit weak on hills- even when I used to race in Juniors 20 years ago. I was good at best back then. I was also 60 lbs lighter and 17 years old.