Yet another long overdue post. Not what I expected, I suppose...

Well, yeah, it's been a while since my last update.  Not a whole lot to report either.  Haven't been riding the bike nearly as much as I thought I would.  Kinda lost the desire for it.  Plus, I've been having trouble with my knee and leg again.  My knee, it's just shot.  Have to start getting these lubricating shots again.  And my leg, it's just not getting it's strength back.  Trying to pedal a bike is just too much, the muscles in my leg just are not cooperating enough.  Walking and hiking isn't too much of a problem, but trying to pedal is too much.  O'well, so there's a summer's worth of goals that didn't happen. 

 

That's alright though, because i've been in the gym a lot more.  I have lost over 50 lbs. now since April.  And I can tell a big difference.  I feel better, my clothes are fitting better.  Having to get a size smaller pants and stuff, which is good, but can be expensive replacing the clothes I have.  But that's alright, that's a good burden.  Been doing a lot of walking, hiking, weights at the gym, and eating a lot better.  So, yeah, doing pretty much everything better.  Of course I cheat on the eating here and there, but kinda have to.  Keep from going insane.  lol  Or at least from falling off the wagon.

 

About the only other thing, I have my last (hopefully last, anyways) P.E.T. scan in December.  Doc said that as long as that one is clear, it will be the last one.  All I'll have to do for the next few years will be blood work.  God, what a good feeling! 

 

Other than that stuff, not a whole lot to report. Just enjoying life as much as I can.  Yeah, I have my down days, but who doesn't?  Some other good stuff going on also, but we'll save that for another day.  ;-)

 

And thanks for those of you that read this.  I've gotten some feedback from others, and it helps to know that I can help someone else out.  I said in my last message I wanted to get more involved with stuff, but haven't had much chance to do it.  Yeah, lame excuse, I suppose.

Mid June heat

Not a whole lot new going on.  Just working on getting in shape.  Which is coming along alright.  I really got serious about losing weight and getting in shape about the beginning of April.  I've lost 30 pounds so far, and losing more each day.  Have the right motivation now.  Some different personal goals that snapped me out of that rut I was in.  I've been riding my mountain bike more, a lot more than I before.  And I've also thrown in some hiking, for a good mix.  I'm wanting to go backpacking some also.  Probably no time soon, seeing as how there's a lot of stuff I'd need to get.  Like a good backpack, tent, boots, etc.  So, for now I've just been hiking around Kennesaw Mountain, on top of riding my bike of course.  As far as my bike, I've already had to replace a few parts due to them just not being tough enough.  lol  I've been riding at the usual places.  Blanket's Creek, Big Creek.  There's also a new place I'm going to start riding more frequently, Allatoona Creek.  It's just right for me right now.  It's 4 miles long, and it's just about the right amount of difficulty to be a good challenge for me.  Now, for most other people who ride, it wouldn't be much.  But for me, it's just right, right now.  I'm doing really good at building my fitness back up, relatively speaking.  I'm also getting better with my diet.  Been eating a lot better, and feeling better because of it.  I do allow myself to cheat every once in a while, but because I've drastically changed the way I eat, that when i do cheat, it usually means an upset stomach.  lol  Guess that's not a bad thing though.  Just my body telling me I shouldn't eat that crap to begin with.  So, not much else to report on other than the weight loss.  I'm proud of myself, and others are starting to comment that they can tell I've lost weight.  That makes me feel good about what I'm doing and what I've accomplished so far.  Barring any injuries or anything, there's no stopping me now.  :-) 

 

As for my goals this year, I mentioned before about some places I want to ride.  Haven't gotten to ride any of them yet.  At the moment, I'm just working on getting in the best shape I can so I can actually enjoy them instead of suffering through them.  But I will ride them before the end of summer.  Which, by the way is starting off way too hot.  Goodness, it's already getting up well into the 90's.  It's been so weird, because just two weeks ago, it was getting down into the 40's, and barely getting about 60 for a few days.  Freaky weather. 

 

Anyways, thanks to those who have commented and all.  The encouragement is great, I appreciate it.  I'm still struggling with things involving the whole cancer thing.  I read so much about other survivors who are real gun-ho about doing fundraisers and raising cancer awareness and all that.  And that stuff is great.  I support them 100%.  But for me, I don't know.  Part of me is still at a point that I don't want to be constantly reminded of everything I've been through.  Then there's a part of me that wants to help others out in some way.  To show them that there's others out there, to give them some hope.  I guess I just haven't found my place yet.  Don't know if I ever will.  I'm still trying to figure all that stuff out for myself.  I'm not worried about it though.  I'm just wanting to enjoy my life right now.  That's kinda the whole point of suffering through all of that crap, right?  To have a life? 

Pics of the new bike, finally

Sorry about the delay in posting a follow-up.  Had good reasons though.  The doctor found that I had "elevated liver enzymes" in my bloodwork about a month and half ago.  The problem with that is, the elevation could be a sign of liver cancer.  Although the chances of it being liver cancer were fairly low, they wanted to get a better picture of what's going on.  Well, after an ultrasound, and about a quarter of all the blood running through my veins being drawn, turns out it's just a "fatty liver".  Basically saying I'm just overweight.  Well doc, I could have told you that.  Anyways, thankfully it wasn't cancer, because Lord knows I DO NOT want to go through all of that again.

So, on to bigger and better things.  I still haven't made any concrete plans as far as some kind of "epic" ride or anything.  I think for this year, I'm just going to work on getting in shape, and riding as many different places in the area as I can.  There's a lot of trails here I haven't had a chance to ride yet, like Ft. Yargo, Bear Creek, etc.  A lot of places that sound fun.  So, I'll do that, and maybe next year do something crazy.

I also promised a few pictures of the new bike.  Here they are.  It's a 2011 Trek Xcal.  29er wheels, 2x10 drive train, Rock Shox Reba RL fork, and other cool tech type things on it.  I know I need to worry about just riding more, instead of getting all the really nice components for it.  It's hard not to though.  I am going to try and hang on to this one for a while.  It's a great bike, fits me just about perfectly, and is fun to ride.