I can't believe I have come this far.

This week I passed a milestone in my recovery from the sorrow and seeming hopelessness of morbid obesity.  I surpassed the one-thousand mile mark on my bicycle.  Since I got back on a bicycle in February for the first time in thirty years, I have been using a GPS to keep track of my speed, time, distance, calories and heart rate during my rides.  This week, I surpassed one-thousand miles.  Just to put that number into perspective, it's about one-thousand miles from my home in Youngstown, Ohio to Disney World in Florida. Some of the last few miles included a 27 mile ride between Akron and Cleveland on the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath bike trail.  My wife and I took the easy way back to Akron... on a train.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu
Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC

For two dollars, the train crew will load your bike onto a car of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway and you can ride back to your car. It was a perfect day for a ride along the trail that wound its way along the Cuyahoga River through a national recreation area.




"Don't go too fast, but I go pretty far"
Brand New Key - Melanie

I can't say that riding one-thousand miles was ever a goal of mine after weight loss surgery. My goal was to just shed enough weight to get back on a bicycle without crushing the spokes. Since February, my average speed on the bike has increased from about two miles per hour to 12 miles per hour.  My body fat percentage is down to 14 percent. My lean body mass has increased 15 pounds. I know there are lots of people that ride farther and faster than me and that's okay. For someone who once weighed more than 500 pounds, I'm grateful for my progress.  I just want to say that this journey began with one small step. I mean one step both literally and figuratively. Even before I was rolled into surgery, I started to take short, unhurried walks with my wife. Over time, we walked further and faster. I started losing weight even before my surgery, making the procedure less risky.  I feel blessed to have found an activity that's fun and healthy.. something that I don't consider a boring exercise.

As the days grow short again and the sun sets earlier, I realize that I'll have to start going to the gym to use a stationary bike.. although I'd rather be out under blue skies and in the fresh air.  But then again, the relative scarcity of summer days makes me not only appreciate those days, but it makes me value living a full life a lot more than I used to.

Herc from one "old fart" to another one you sir are a fine example of what WLS can do for a man.

Great job!  I'll buy a treadmill for the winter to keep my exercise levels up. 

Great job!  

Excelent!

Very nice. Thanks for sharing!

Herc congrats! that is quite the accomplishment, you are living a different life now!

 OUTSTANDING!!!!  You are an inspiration to us all!

Gosh I remember when you first started posting and your goals and determination.  You have progressed from wanting to to living the life.  Welcome to being and example for others to strive to be like,...thats quit a FART there you healthy, stealthy fellow geiser!!!
:O)