Well, I got tired of no change in my weight.  I upped my riding to 120 miles a week and more climbing.  Hills provide a pretty darned good workout. Going along with that, I also increased what I was eating as I was feeling weak and didn't have much energy. I figured I didn't have enough fuel for the rides.  This kept me from loosing weight.  What a fine line it is!

A week ago I got tired of it and cut back again. Especially on lunch and a little less on dinner. I'm loosing weight again now, down to 171 this morning. I'd really like to get to 160.  I think at that point I'll be feeling much better about it, though when I get there that might change.  I just don't know! 

I also discovered today that my resting heart rate is down to 59 beats per minute, from a high of over 80 when I started this in late April. So my heart is getting stronger and I'm really starting to feel better. 

Yesterday I went for a ride with some cycling friends that I've made.  We started in Vacaville and rode a loop out to Lake Barryessa and back. This loop incorporated a climb known as "Cardiac Hill," which didn't turn out to be the hardest climb on the ride.  That award went to one earlier on the route where there was a good pull up a 12% grade.  I was unable to catch my breath on that and had to pull off to rest. As luck would have it, this occurred at the top of the climb!  The highest grade on Cardiac was 9% according to my Garmin 305 cycling computer.  The total distance of the ride was just shy of 59 miles and 3000 feet of total climbing. I'm taking today off for a rest.

I'm also starting to think about what I want to do during the winter when it's rainy.  I am just not going to ride in the rain, that's not fun. Instead I need some option for inside. We have a trainer, where the back wheel gets mounted in to a resistance unit and you just pedal. It turns your bike into an exercise bike. But this is mind numbingly boring. So I'm thinking about getting some rollers. On these, you actually ride. The back wheel rides between 2 rollers and the front wheel has it's own. There is a belt connecting one of the back rollers to the front one so that it spins under the front wheel, causing that to spin too. These are available with a resistance unit and are much more interesting than the static trainer, however they do require some balance in order to keep upright on the rollers. The bike rolls free.

I'll make the decision when the time comes. In the meantime, I'll keep exploring road routes around here so that I have some options to keep from getting bored by riding the same path every day.

Incidentally, the new shoes are fantastic! I'm still trying to get my pedal cleats in just the right position, but I'm making progress on it.