Remember when we were talking about CrossFit?  Just do a search here or head to the fitness category to your right to refresh that groggy memory. 

Red River CrossFit is offering a free Saturday morning 9:00 workout at AC Steere Park in Shreveport. 

The organizers, who are fit and not cross, say they’ll accomodate all ages and all levels.

I’m considering whether I can get up that early, but may give it a shot. 

Oh, Mel, thanks for letting us use the pic of your bicep here.  

So, I’m in the ER today in a hospital gown and a male nurse says to me, “Hey!  You doing the Firecracker 5K in the morning?”  I paused and said, “I might sit this one out…you know, since I’m here and all..you know, like, right now and stuff…and all.”  I didn’t know how to respond, so in my search for the right words, somehow I came out with Valley Girl lingo.  But who can fault the guy for asking a question to which the answer is obvious…This guy rides his bike to work!  He can do no wrong. 

Anyway, this is an awesome race/run/healthwalk!  All the proceeds go toward the American Cancer Society.  It’s become such a cool tradition here.  Some 3500 people show up and crowd the streets of South Highlands.  Sportspectrum’s goal:  more than 4,000 participants tomorrow!

The details:  It starts at 8:00 a.m. in the parking lot of Mall St. Vincent.  If you aren’t already registered, it’ll cost you $20.  Great t-shirt, great post-race party, great cause!  For more details, go to www.sportspectrumusa.com.  

Got peeps in town?  Get ‘em up early and go meet your neighbors. 

KTBS 3 Meteorologist Joe Haynes came in 17th last year!  The first 100 males and first 60 females get cool beer mugs.  I have two in my freezer from previous races.  This is an event that’s fun to watch, run or walk. 

Happy 4th of July!

Check out this story from AdAge.com on how Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and others are expected to take a hit as consumers have less money to spend on losing weight.  

Weight…I mean wait!  What if we saved money by biking to work and in the process, lost weight?  What if fat gas prices helped us make gains in the fight against the obesity epidemic and turned out to actually save lives? 

It’s one way to turn pain into pleasure at the pump!

Harassment is still ensuing when I ride my bike to work.  Morning Guy Ed Walsh thought it would be funny to put a big basket on my bike so I would be ready to do laundry down by the river in Indonesia. 

I know.  I know.  The panniers (or saddlebags, as you people like to call them) are not my style and very noticable.  More safety, Dude.  And this is not about fashion!  It’s total function.   But, I may give in to peer pressure and get different ones because even Chris Redford said they just weren’t right. 

I’m getting the hang of this now.  I’ve invaded Fletch’s clothes closet for space to put extra clothing.  I’d love to hear what you like/dislike about commuting to work on your bike.  Me:  When I run, I can tell my legs are getting stronger from biking.  When I take off for work, I feel so free.  It’s a great way to start and finish the work day.     

I’ll be keeping a total soon of how much $ I’m saving by doing this.   Anyone have employers who are making it easier for you to commute (providing a place to put your bike, offering shower facilities)?    

I’m working on trying to get some signs put up around work that encourage people to be nicer to people who commute to work on their bikes.  Any ideas?  Maybe something like, “People on two wheels need love, too.”  If you think some news scripts torn into shreds and taped to my handlebars to look like streamers are going to keep me from being environmentally and economically conscious, well…just…just…think again.   Yeah.  That. 

You’ve probably seen these Share The Road yard signs around town.  Ian Webb at River City Cycling and Fitness bought a bunch for $10 each and is selling them to anyone for $5 each.   You can also get commuter tips here.   

Here we go.  Day one of commuting to work on a bike.   After paying $70 for a tank of gas yesterday, it’s worth the effort!

Here’s bike guru Ian Webb, showing you how to trick out your bike for a safe commute.  All of these toys are important because we don’t have cycling lanes (future post–efforts are underway–city council has been approached).

Wow!  This bike makes me feel like a kid again.  Ian was right.  My tri racing bike was awkward and causing me to crash–not built for commuting. 

I’ll keep you posted.  If you try this at home, please report back here and let us know how your commute went.   

A very strong, fit girlfriend of mine just told me about CrossFit.  It’s being offered at my gym.  After much research, so far, I like the concept.  What do you think about it? 

In this month of Father’s Day, what inspiration there is from this father and his son.

Barack O’Bama smokes.  He’s admitted to the vice, saying he’s trying nicotine gum.

Maybe he needs to call my sister.

Suzie Talley is the only person I know who can quit vices faster than you’ll notice Kim Kardashian’s backside.  

It’s been a month since Suzie gave up caffeine, sugar, alcohol and processed food…all at once.  I tried that.  I caved after two days (and at the begging of co-workers and The Boyfriend who said, “I liked the toxic Sherri”).  I thought we’d never hear from Suzie again.  I was wrong.  

Have you tried to give up something?  Are you up for the challenge?  Here’s Suzie’s report: 

‘”As my month long experiment ends…(no coffee-caffeine/sugar or alcohol/white or processed food) I highly recommend it! 

At first, the caffeine withdrawal was awful.  I almost felt sick for the first 2-3 days.  This just confirmed to me that I was addicted to it.  It was by far the hardest of all the things to give up.

Sugar was the second, but something really awesome happened.  Before giving these things up, I felt roller coasters in my energy level throughout the day.  On this experiment,  my energy level is constant throughout the day.  My 5:00 p.m. everyday blood sugar dip went away as well.  This was the most amazing.  For example, this morning I got up at 6, went to gym and lifted weights, washed Scott’s car, cleaned out the garage and was on the phone by 9:00 for my first conference call.  At noon, rode my bike for an hour and 15 minutes and will do a run after work today.  My energy level is amazing now!!

Giving up alcohol had some effect on me.  My resting HR in the morning is 40 bpm.  At night after dinking wine, it was 55 bpm.  So no more heart racing which I attributed to alcohol.

I also noticed I sleep like a truck.  No waking up in the middle of the night and when I do wake up at 6 a.m., I am really up.

At first life seemed rather bland without my vices to spice things up, but after about 3 weeks, other things took their place, like the spike in my energy level.  I have felt the best I have ever felt.  I lost only 5 pounds, but weight loss was not my goal.

I can’t say I will give these things up for life, but it was a cool way of getting to know your body better.”

Would you ride your bike to work on a regular basis.  Why or why not? 

I tried that once.  Gas prices weren’t that high then.  It was Ride Your Bike To Work Day.  I was sweating profusely when I got to work.  I had helmet hair (the people in this picture should be wearing helmets–trust me–I know this).   The weight of my backpack with all the stuff in it I needed for work threw me off balance on the bike.  Traffic was terrible.   

On the bright side, I felt envigorated when I got to work.  I felt industrious and more independent (I didn’t need no stinkin’ car!). 

What if we had cycling lanes?  I would make the effort more often to ride for the purpose of transportation if we did. 

What if there were a place at work to put your bike?  What if there were showers there?  What if we as a city, residents and employers made the necesssary changes?