CRITICAL MASS SEPTEMBER

Considering the fact that I was completely unaware of the phenomenon that is CRITICAL MASS prior to last month - I am now a two time veteran of this fun bike ride.  As always, hundreds of bicyclists converged on Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago between 5:30PM and 6:30PM.   Right around 6:30PM some bicyclists starting cycling around the big city block.... And they continued to ride around the block.  Slowly but surely hundreds of cyclists joined the parade of bicycles - until CRITICAL MASS was reached and the leaderless bike trip was underway.  Last night's ride took us to the North Side of Chicago - the part of Chicago where I live and am actually familiar with.  Last month I felt as if I was a tourist in a foreign city cycling all over the southside of Chicago.  This week I was on my home turf.

I made an effort to ride up front as I was trying to figure out who is in charge of this unsanctioned, but very highly tolerated Chicago event.  Once again, as always there were quite a few POLICE OFFICERS on bikes accompanying the riders.  I did start a conversation with someone who I heard discussing where to go. I asked him if he was in charge.  I got back the standard answer that no one is in charge.  I am beginning to wonder if this is some kind of legal defense - defense against what.... I don't know.  Anyway, what I learned is that a few guys, veterans of this ride, will just kind of take charge during the ride.  They will discuss where to turn and once agreed, they simply yell out the plans.  And hundreds of bicyclists follow along.  Many times along the ride, the leaders stop to "MASS UP' which allows those trailing behind to catch up and once again become a massive collection of bicyclists. This ride is not a race.  It is simply an enjoyable ride on city streets that takes place on the last Friday of the month. Every month. I imagine that the ride might become a bit less popular in the winter.  Perhaps I will see that for myself in the upcoming months.

I used my recently downloaded application, MAP MY RIDE, to document last night's journey.  The ride was approximately two hours and the total distance travelled was 17 miles.  One month ago I was overly impressed with myself that I could actually ride my bike for 15 miles - since this was a distance that I could not remember ever biking in all of my 57 years.  During this past month, I completed a 30 mile ride when I rode to a YMCA in the suburbs, and I completed a 40 mile ride when I rode to the Indiana border.  I am no longer so impressed with myself for surviving a leisurely ride of 17 miles.  This does not diminish the enjoyment of the ride.  It is just one more example  that my abilities and the sense of what I have accomplished physically in the past year have been dramatic. The big test comes on Wednesday.  The name of this test: HALF DOME.

CRITICAL MASS CHICAGO - SEPTEMBER 2015

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

226.8 lbs

I weigh 226.8 lbs.

I gained 1.4 lbs this week

I have lost 82.2 lbs in 276 days. Today begins Day 277.

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

I weigh 226.8 (276 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 30.34 

I had a 42.0 BMI on Dec 24 just 276 days ago (Class III obesity)

I have 5 words of MOTIVATION for myself today: HALF DOME IN FIVE DAYS 

(SUNDAY, MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, HALF DOME)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

 Friday MENU

breakfast three egg omelette w/cheese, bacon, multigrain rice cakes     855 calories
lunch      sausage, granola, ginger, spinach salad, cabbage soup           1272 calories
dinner    multigrain rice cakes, two gala apples                                       880 calories
SNACK SUPERFOOD CEREAL CHIA GINGER, date pieces, ginger 552 calories

total calories consumed 3560 calories

calories burned

YMCA PRECOR elliptical machine 125 minutes              1718  calories
132 minutes bicycling <10 mph, leisure pace                        395 calories
(MAP MY RIDE posted 1198 calories - this seems way too high - I arbitrarily reduce it 67%)

TOTAL CALORIES BURNED 2113 CALORIES

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

FRIDAY NET CALORIES 1447 CALORIES

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

fitbit day 23

25059 steps
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Bicyclists assembling on Daley Plaza, Chicago 

CRITICAL MASS

What is Critical Mass as it relates to bicycles and Chicago?   This was lifted directly from the www.chicagocriticalmass.org website:

Critical Mass is a bike ride plain and simple. The ride takes place on the Last Friday Of Every Month (in Chicago anyway). A Critical Mass is created when the group of riders comes together for those few hours to take back the streets of our city. The right of the people to assemble is guaranteed in the Constitution, and Critical Mass helps people remember that right. The Mass itself has no political agenda, though, no more than the people of any other community do. Critical Mass is open to all, and it welcomes all riders to join in a celebration of riding bicycles. Why? Because bikes are fun! 

Sure, as with any community, you'll see people of all types. Some people see Critical Mass as a forum for grassroots political change. Some people see it as a protest against cars. Some people just like to ride. The Mass, however, is just that...a bunch of bike riders. You can drive a car the whole month and ride in the Mass. You can be an anarchist and ride in the Mass. The point of the Mass is the Mass, nothing more. Critical Mass has no leadership. It is a ride where no one is in charge. At any time, riders are free to leave, stay, stop, or even help out. Everyone is responsible for themselves and the Mass. Learn how to get involved! Once you realize that, you're free to enjoy the exhilaration that is a large bike ride. It's quite a sight to be parading down Michigan Avenue with thousands of fellow riders, wishing pedestrians and drivers a "Happy Friday!" Chicago Critical Mass is a community, yet it's also part of a worldwide Critical Mass community as a whole. Critical Mass rides take place all over the world each month, and Chicago is proud to join in to proclaim our love of bicycles. If you love bikes, and you want to show others how you feel about cycling, come join us!

I will admit that I have been driving through Chicago on a Friday evening when I bumped up against Critical Mass and I remember not being too pleased about having too wait an extra long time for the bicycle riders to thin out before I could proceed in my car.  Tonight, our family will be part of the bike riders.  I am thinking that this will be a fun experience to experience once. Maybe I am wrong, and it will be the greatest experience ever.  It should be somewhat memorable - I am sure of that.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
  

 Thursday MENU

breakfast  granola, apple                                                                           672 calories
lunch        Subway spinach salad, ginger, granola, mango, corn snack  1460 calories
dinner      Mariano's spinach salad, kale crunch                                      1110 calories
SNACK    cocoa wafers, ginger chews                                                      333 calories

total calories consumed 3575 calories

calories burned

elliptical machine 65 minutes, level 20              822 calories
stairmaster  60 minutes                                      1124 calories

TOTAL CALORIES BURNED 1946 calories

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

Wednesday net calories 1629 calories

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 


I returned home to Chicago on Thursday and I used my bicycle to travel from home to my local YMCA.  My local YMCA is 3.5 miles from home.  This trip can take nearly one half hour of travel time via car with all the traffic and traffic lights that need to be navigated.  My trip on two wheels only took 19 minutes. It was a very rewarding experience. At the YMCA I spent one hour on the elliptical machine and one hour on the stairmaster. After riding home - I realized that my legs had not been challenged quite so intensely in a long, long tine.  This is probably good as a bigger challenge awaits my legs in about one month in Yosemite Park.

I must admit that until now I have not had warm feelings for all the bicycle paths painted on the streets of Chicago.   In some places, the bicycle path has been more than painted and it actually separated from the auto traffic.  My appreciation of these bicycle paths has increased rather dramatically now that I am a bike rider.