AMAZING BIKE RIDE

CRITICAL MASS. CHICAGO. The last Friday of the month. I was not sure what to expect. My family arrived at Daley Plaza in Chicago at 5:30PM.  Over the next hour, hundreds of bikes (and their owners) arrived.  There was some some wild looking bikes congregating on the Plaza.  One guy rode a replica 1900's bicycle with the giant oversize front wheel.  Other bikes were decorated so that they looked like the bicycle Pee Wee Herman rode in 'Pee Wee's Big Adventure."  I was pleased so see Police Officers (on bikes) at the Plaza. There would be Police Escorts along the entire route.  The Police helped keep riders on the right side of the roads and control traffic.  The ride traversed perhaps 15 miles of Chicago streets.   It was like a bicycle parade.  All night long, the bicyclists shouted out "Happy Friday" to pedestrians and to folks stuck in their cars. I may have noticed some drivers annoyed at being stuck in a sea of bikers, but they were in the minority.  It was much more common to see giant smiles on the faces of people as a thousand bicyclists passed them by.  It seemed that everyone was shooting video of us on their cellphones. It was a great freedom to ride bikes in the streets and not have to stop for a stop sign or a traffic light.  The ride lasted from 6:30PM until about 8:45PM.  It was truly an amazing experience.  I will definitely do this again.  Meanwhile back on the scale, I am personally approaching critical mass.   There is no way that I want to pop up over 230 lbs.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

226.6 lbs

I weigh 226.6 lbs.

I gained 2.8 lbs this week

I have lost 82.4 lbs in 248 days. Today begins Day 251.

I will always be at the beginning of a journey that never ends.

I weigh 226.6 (248 days ago I weighed 309 lbs)

I have lost 26.6% of my weight since Dec 24.

I have a BMI, body mass index of 30.31 

I had a 42.0 BMI on Dec 24 just 234 days ago (Class III obesity)

I have nine words of wisdom for myself today: ONE CAN NOT EXERCISE ENOUGH TO COMPENSATE FOR OVEREATING.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

 FRIDAY MENU

breakfast    oatmeal, bacon, poached eggs, cherry vanilla granola   834 calories
lunch          baby spinach, asparagus, apples                                     376 calories
dinner        turkey, sausage, date pieces, granola, ginger                 1089 calories
SNACK     ginger chews, No Cow Bar Mint, toasted coconut          830 calories

total calories consumed 3129 calories

calories burned
HOME ELLIPTICAL 65 MINUTES, MANUAL SETTING, LEVEL '20'  1174 CALORIES

Friday net calories 1955 calories
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

.

still 30 minutes to go before the start of the ride... Daley Plaza, Chicago