It Starts

I actually started training for the upcoming Bike MS event a couple of weeks ago. 

About that same time I had my annual physical and the doctor said "You could stand to lose a little weight" (and understatement in my never to be humble opinion).

During last year's ride there was a point in the gentle hills where I could not keep up with Michelle and her new fancy pants lightweight road bike so this year I bit the bullet and purchased a fancy pants recumbent trike with those same skinny wheels and those same fancy components.

All of those things come together with another decision I made while trying to choose between a Bacchetta two wheel recumbent or the Catrike that I ended up choosing.  While making the decision I knew I preferred the trike but the two wheel Bacchetta didn't weigh as much (I guess that's a big deal for people who ride bikes a great deal).  Both recumbents weighed less than the bike I was currently riding. but the Bacchetta was 10 pounds lighter than the Catrike.  Offsetting the lower weight, the trike was going to be safer on the road and frankly much more like a go-cart so probably more fun.  I had myself a genuine dilemma. 

At some point I decided that the weight of the bike was only a factor relative to the total package going down the road.  If I included myself in that total package (and it would be just plain weird if the bike I was riding in the Bike MS event went down the road without me) then I could make up the ten pound difference by reducing my personal weight by that amount.  Moving forward with that train of thought I contemplated the upcoming bike equipment discussions that commonly include the question "So how much does that thing weigh" and I decided that if I lost the total weight of my trike I could reasonably answer "By itself it's about 34 pounds but when I'm sitting in the seat it doesn't weigh anything"

So that's where the goal came from.  I started out with a decision to lose the total weight of my new trike but after thinking about what would be left I decided it would be possible, perhaps even wise, to loose twice the weight of my new Catrike Expedition.

So it starts.  I've decided to lose the weight of the bike before the end of this year (this year being next year because I can't dump 34 pounds in 15 days) and lose the weight of the bike again in 2013. 

Who knows, maybe I'll even lose the weight of the bike a third time before I ride this thing coast to coast when I retire.