Happy 75 Birthday Dad!

My dad is one of the most amazing human beings I know. At 75 years young, he is probably more fit and more strong than many who are half his age—and that’s even after a massive heart attack seven years ago. My dad has always been a pretty amazing individual, and I don’t think I could write enough about the lessons he has taught me through his work ethic, his patience, his respect for others, and through his rich faith.

I remember when I was growing up, he would drive me to school EVERY DAY and pick me up EVERY AFTERNOON when school let out. He would ALWAYS find time for me no matter how busy his day was. He would be up early getting ready for work, and he would work late on projects around the house, in the garden, or helping our neighbors—at least on the occasions when we weren’t going fishing! On those days, him and my uncle Russell, and my cousin, Jo Ann would load up in Russell’s van as soon as he was off work, and we would venture out to see who could catch our limit of trout first. We wouldn’t stop fishing until the sun was going down.

We did a lot of fishing, me and Dad. Sometimes, when we would go fishing, he would reach his hand across the cab of his pickup truck and say, “Ol’ Billy Williams, used to be my buddy…” and every time, I would reach my hand out to give him a high-five, and say emphatically, “Still am!” And to this day, my dad is not only my dad, but he is my buddy as well. At my wedding, I had two best men, Willie (My best friend in the whole world) and my dad. My dad has been there for every important moment in my life, and it only made since to have him stand by me on my wedding day.

He used to take me to the PHS field-house every Sunday morning to play basketball for at least an hour. We would shoot free-throws, and he would teach me how to properly execute a hook shot. After a shoot-around and warm up, we would play a few games of horse or play one-on-one. I loved those mornings of us just hanging out. I loved them as much as the evenings fishing and the evenings practicing my fielding or my batting for baseball. Recently I was hanging out with one of my childhood friends who didn’t grow up with his father, and he told me that he always thought it was so cool that me and Dad did so much together. Growing up I just figured it was that way for every kid. Boy was I wrong!

My dad has one of the most intense work ethics of anyone I know—and he’s always looking for ways he can help others. Sometimes when he visits me, he will notice that the grass needs cut, and while I’m working, he’ll fire up the mower and cut the grass. When I had more trees around the house with low branches, he would come up and help me trim those branches too!

We don’t get to see each other as often as either one of us would like, but when we do, we always have a good time and great adventures. Whether it is going on long bike rides or hiking to the top of Seneca rocks, Dad definitely keeps you moving. I love that we get to explore so many parts of this world together, and I love that many of my friends have also had the privilege of meeting and spending time with my dad.

One year, I was able to save up to buy tickets to almost every WVU home basketball game for him to sit/stand in the student section with me. It was so much fun to be able to share some amazing times with dad at the WVU Coliseum to cheer on the Mountaineers. On top of all of the amazing character qualities my dad exemplifies and I strive to emulate, he is a HUGE Mountaineer fan! Part of my memories growing up consisted of listening to Jack Fleming, the Voice of the Mountaineers, giving play-by-play for WVU sports on my dad’s old transistor radio, while Dad prepared home-made pizzas for supper. And now, every once in a while, we will land a couple tickets to a WVU football or basketball game. And both of us have the same perspective on the games—as big of fans as we both are, the company we get to enjoy the games with means way more than our seats in the stadium.

Dad and Mom both taught me a lot about appreciating people, and appreciating the quality of time shared as much as the quantity. During my childhood, we would take bicycling ‘adventures’ from our house and ride to “The Point” (where the Ohio and Little Kanawha Rivers meet) and then make our way along the floodwall to explore some of the places along the river where he and his siblings would play and swim when he was a kid. The ‘adventures’ were always as much about the company as they were the location.

And today, on his 75^th birthday, my heart is overflowing with gratitude for a lifetime of memories like these that he has made with me—I know that just about everyone he knows well has a long list of similar memories made together.  And, for every one of us, we are filled with eager anticipation for the next set of memories we will make together.

Dad, I hope you have an amazing birthday! I am so grateful for every moment we have been able to spend together, every heartfelt conversation, every adventure, every Mountaineer victory (and loss), and every long hike, fishing trip, or bike ride. Even more, I’m grateful for all of the ways you have been such a solid example of the kind of man I aspire to be! I love you very much!

Acquiring a Bike Trainer Part Four: Cultivating a Habit

This is the last of my mini-series of blog posts on my acquisition of a trainer. In previous posts, I gave some of my reasoning for why I purchased a trainer, some basic research on trainers, and then how I took the plunge on Craigslist.

Now, I have had the trainer for about two months, and I have been riding 5-6 times per week for 30-40 minutes per day. And this is where discipline has been important.

The hardest part of starting any new habit is carving out the time to add it to the daily routine. My solution has been to rise earlier to insure I get a ride in. Most of the time (but not always), I’ve been getting up between 5 and 530AM to insure that I can get my ride in before going to the gym and getting started with my work day. 

It hasn’t been incredibly easy. After not riding or running for a while, muscles in my legs were not conditioned for the new exercise. I knew that if I was to make this a habit, I would need to be disciplined—especially during the first week when I would be sore. I pushed through, and now I’m starting to reap some of the benefits.

Because I have cultivated this habit, I have been able to increase the duration of my rides. I have more energy throughout the day. In general terms, I feel better. I used to run 4-6 times per week, but fell out of the habit a few years ago, and I’m starting to feel like I used to feel when I was running regularly. Instead of being completely exhausted at the end of a run, I feel refreshed. Instead of riding being part of the discipline of cardiovascular fitness, I feel like riding is now a means for me to clear my head and regain focus.

Of course, these changes don’t happen overnight. And without an attitude of discipline, any cultivated habit can quickly disappear if I ‘get to busy’ or allow my circumstances to distract me from the habit.

Separately, since the beginning of the year, I’ve enjoyed watching my wife cultivate a similar habit with running. She has a goal of running a marathon this fall, and since the beginning of the year, she has been slowly and deliberately been building a solid foundation in her running to help her train without injury and prepare her body to be able to run 26.2 miles.

I hope this series of blogs has been helpful for you if you are considering a trainer, or if you are making steps to cultivate a healthy lifestyle in general. Thanks for reading, and happy riding, running or whatever you do to increase your health and well being for the long haul. 

Acquiring A Trainer Part Three: Craigslist

As I continued the process of acquiring a bike trainer, my friend Derek presented me with a dilemma. Do I buy a new trainer or a used one? My first thought was that since he was the only cyclist I really knew, it wasn’t like I could just find a quality used trainer. It was then that Derek started telling me about Craigslist.

Of course I had heard of Craigslist. It is a highly successful venture started by Craig Newmark and essentially serves as a free online bulletin board for selling goods, finding roommates, and giving away unwanted items, and a number of other activities. While I knew that this was a tool used by many, I had heard bad stories about people getting scammed, acts of fraud, or even advertisements of trafficked people. As with any tool, or anything either online or face-to-face, it is important to use a degree of caution and discretion when entering into a new venture.

So for the first time, I checked out Craigslist. Some of you are reading this and thinking, “Welcome to the twenty-first century!” While many times I am an early adopter, I try to proceed with caution always, and so I was slow to check out Craigslist. At first, I looked at listings in Morgantown WV, and found nothing. Then, realizing I would be in Pittsburgh four different times to pick-up and drop-off friends at the airport, I began to expand my search area. I found two trainers in Pittsburgh.

Then came the debate of whether it was better to pay more money for a new trainer that I could return at any time if unsatisfied, or buy an almost new trainer for about half the price, with no return policy. After some debate, I searched both options. I met with someone who had posted an almost new trainer for a low price on Craigslist, and proceeded with caution. Just because I met with the seller didn’t lock me into buying. And from the details the seller had left online, it appeared they were being equally cautious.

The trainer had hardly been used. It looked new. It was still in the original box. The seller told me that he bought it, kept it for a year, and just couldn’t get into the habit of moving things around to make consistent use of it. I bought the trainer, and proceeded home with my purchase, feeling like I had acquired a bargain tool that could be used by both me and my wife.

After my experience I would say that Craigslist is a solid tool, but as with any sites online, proceed with caution. Craigslist even gives some tips to avoid getting scammed.

And then a few days later, I set it up in the living room and started riding. It has been about a month since I started. More on that in my next (and final) post.

Acquiring A Bike Trainer Part Two: Research

In a previous post I mentioned the reasons why I began looking for a bike trainer, and then I began researching different types of trainers, brands, etc. For the core of my research, I poured over multiple blogs, but relied most heavily on the counsel of a trusted friend and one time competitive cyclist, Derek Roberts.

My dad and brother had told me about a cool site called Nashbar and that’s the first place I began researching different trainers. Of course I also visited sites like REI as well to look at benchmark prices. You can buy a trainer for as little as $119 and you can also spend several hundred for one.

So here are the three types of trainers listed the least expensive first. All three types have their benefits and if you are going to use it, any trainer is better than none at all.  All are essentially a tool that allows you to convert your road/mountain bike into a stationary bike.  As such, be mindful that they will wear tires just like riding on the road, and you also need to be careful to keep your tires inflated properly.

Wind Trainer—This is most simple and least expensive form of trainer. The faster you pedal, the more wind resistance is picked up by the fan on the trainer, and so your pedaling becomes more challenging. The negative of this type of trainer is that the faster you pedal, the louder the trainer becomes. If you live in an apartment complex, you might get complaints from your neighbors with this one. The real benefits are that they are simple and inexpensive.

Magnetic trainer—This type of trainer is slightly more expensive, and utilizes magnets to create resistance and change tension for you as you ride. One of the criticisms of this type is that there are occasions during which riders applied enough force as they pedaled to break through the tension of the magnets. This means minimal resistance as you pedal. These trainers are more quiet than the wind trainer, and so could be beneficial if you live close to others.

Fluid trainer—The most expensive of the three basic types, these trainers rely on resistance created by an enclosed flywheel spinning through a viscous fluid that does not expand significantly when heated (as when someone pedals quickly for long periods of time). These are the quietest of the three types of trainers, and come the closest to simulating riding on the road. As one shifts through gears, the resistance increases, and many consider these to be among the most long lasting types of trainers as they are an enclosed system.

So as I visited websites and listened to the counsel of others, my friend Derek suggested that I consider taking a look at Craigslist. He thought I might be able to find a quality trainer at a reasonable cost, and also might be able to help out another person who bought a trainer but never really used it.  I was a little skeptical of Craigslist, but more on that in another post.

Acquiring A BIke Trainer Part One: Why A Trainer?

My dad and brother have been riding bicycles for fitness for quite some time now. In fact, in late January, my dad visited my brother and they spent multiple days riding around southern California on bicycles. One day they actually ran into my friend and boss, Jake Harriman while riding along the coast in Orange County.

During the winter, my dad usually rides for 20-30 minutes 2-3 times per week at the local YMCA. During the warmer months, he is out 2-3 times per week and usually rides a minimum of 10 miles but has pushed around 30-35 on some longer rides.

After hearing them share some of the fun they had, it made me feel a little sad that I’ve gotten out of the habit of riding, or almost any form of intense cardio. Although this year I’ve been consistent about going to the gym (to lift), and I typically walk 30-40 minutes per day, I just haven’t been disciplined about stepping up my cardio.

I visited the gym with my seventy year old dad this winter, and after joining him for one of his 3 hour workouts, I felt pretty tired. I decided I needed to do something to step up my fitness beyond weights and walking, so I started looking into bike trainers.

Why acquire a bike trainer instead of just using a stationary bike at a gym? Well, there are a couple of reasons. The first reason is that I really don’t like to spend more than an hour total at the gym—I want to be in and out quickly and early in the day so I can get started with work. Also, having the trainer at home allows me to get a bike workout in whenever it fits my schedule. Lastly, being on a trainer allows me to closely simulate actual riding, and since I want to be able to enjoy riding as the weather gets warmer, what better way to get my back, core, legs and arms prepared than by riding on an actual bike. 

And so, after discussions with my dad and brother, I began to dive into researching trainer types, costs, and brands before making the commitment of the purchase. More on that in a future post.

Parking Lot?

Parking Lot?, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

I've got quite a few blogs to write, but for tonight, a little food for thought.

While I was at the University of Michigan I saw this "parking lot" in the middle of the law quad.

It's pretty cold in Morgantown right now, but I've seen an increase in the number of folks using bicycles to make their way around the campus.

What would happen if more of us took the initiative to start riding our bikes around town to run errands. Or better yet, what if we started walking.

I have some friends who are living in a community of 5,000 people in Kenya right now. That's about the size of Buckhannon, WV. There's only one car in the entire community. There's a handful of bicycles. Most people in the community live on less than a dollar a day.

We've got the privileged life here in the states, and it's very seldom we realize it. Imagine the positive environmental impact we could have by not taking advantage of some of these costly privileges.

What if our parking lots were smaller because there were more people on bicycles?

What if traffic was less congested, and folks were more fit because they rode bikes and walked more often?

Just a few thoughts I had while contemplating this little parking lot in ann arbor.

Earth Day

Earth Day, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

Well, yesterday was Earth Day, and I took a short afternoon trip with my old friend Matt Thorn and his friend Tuyen. This lioness was posing so perfectly I had to take a picture.

So since it was earth day yesterday, I thought I would share a few practical ways you can practice better stewardship.

1) Practice Sabbath. It's good for your soul, and it's good for the earth to take one day each week and chill out. There will always be more work to do, so take a break one day each week and live simply.

2) Walk, ride a bus, or a bike. Of course this is sort of a no brainer, but it needs to be mentioned. If you live in town, even a small town like Morgantown, there's bound to be a bus route nearby. BIking and walking are great exercise too, and they sure beat sitting in traffic for a long time on warm spring afternoons.

3) Carpool. Here's a nifty idea. Next time you are going to a big event with other people you know, and you can't really walk or ride your bike, go together. Are you really that busy that you can't just enjoy the company of others, and let go of the independence that driving your own car offers you? Here's some great places to carpool--church, The Pittsburgh Zoo ;), sporting events, concerts, lectures, dinner, coffeeshops, and parties at friends houses. to name a few. Save $ and save on your footprint by carpooling.

4) Give the electric a rest.. Turn off lights when you aren't in a room. Set your entertainment center up so that it is on a power strip that is turned off when you aren't going to use it. (DId you know that stereos, TVs, etc. are using power all of the time so your remote will work when you point it at em--eliminate that waste of power from the "phantom charge.") You can also save a lot simply by switching to Compact Fluorescent bulbs. (Look at that One Billion Bulbs savings link down the sidebar). Switch out your bulbs, and join our group!!!

5) Give the heating and cooling a rest. Our ancestors didn't have a constant indoor temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Drop it to 65 or lower in the winter, and raise it to 71 or higher in the summer. You will reap dividends in savings, and you will help reduce energy waste. I'd even recommend getting a programmable thermostat. Then you can save even more because you can program it to shut off when your home is empty.

6) Get a reusable bottle. There's a lot of debates out there about Nalgenes vs. glass or metal bottles. Here's the deal. Regardless of what you use, if you aren't buying previously bottled water, you are reducing the amount of plastic that needs produced (most of which ends up end landfills!). So start using a reusable bottle, and make sure you keep it clean!

7) Recycle!!! It's not that difficult, and most towns are starting municipal pick-up. You will be amazed at how little waste you produce when you start recycling. It's kind of fun to take stuff to the recycling center too and see how much waste is being prevented.

That should do for now. I might write some more at a later time--we can all use frequent reminders, right? The most important thing to remember with all of these steps and more is that we do these things as an act of worship. We practice stewardship remembering that this whole world belongs to God, and when I take steps to care for it, I show my appreciation for the Maker of all things.

Happy belated Earth Day!

And also, if you have some practical tips you would like to share, leave em as a comment on here. If you start one of these practices, like joining my CFL group, let me know!

Blowout!

tire_pit, originally uploaded by Travis Nelson.

This isn't my tire or bicycle, but it conveys the story well.

This morning, I hopped on my bike for the first time in SEVERAL months, and I encountered a few problems. To start, a couple of the spokes were loose. So I tried to tighten them. Then one of the nuts fell into the rim, and I couldn't tighten that spoke. My buddy said it would probably be fine, and so I hopped on my bike and road down to the morgantown rail trail.

When I got off my bike there, 3 more spokes were loose. I tightened them with my fingers and proceeded to ride. (I'm still committed to a vigorous fitness routine, but I may have tendonitis in my right foot, so I need to chill on walking/running a bit for a few days--but riding a bike is fairly easy on the ol' tendon).

So I make it about 8 miles up the rail trail with my buddy Josh Drake, when I hear air leaving my rear tire at a very fast rate. My tire had a nice hole in it, and while josh and I deliberated on what I should do, I held my finger over the hole (kind of like the dutch boy and the dike). Neither of us had a patch, a pump, or a tube, and we definitely didn't have a replacement tire. It's a rail trail, I mean, what could possibly happen? hahahaha.

Because we were really far from ANYTHING, I rode my bike standing up, and leaning forward over the handlebars all the way back down to morgantown, and it is now in the shop.

I just finished walking back from downtown, and I couldn't help but remark that this was worth telling the story. My bike should be completely renovated by Thursday, so it looks like I'm going to have to find another form of cardio/fitness for the next couple of days.

Any suggestions?

Bicycles

Bicycles, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

I took this picture a couple of years ago while on a short term mission trip in Amsterdam. I am fascinated by the fact that the dutch have such a developed transit system that includes bikes. There are 900,000 people who live in Amsterdam, and about 500,000 bicycles. My friend Jeremiah sent me this article that was recently featured on the digg.com site.

And maybe the trend is changing here in Morgantown. Sunday I was approached by two friends who offered me an opportunity to go on a bike ride with them. It is such a healthy form of transportation. Cycling is ecologically sound, and it is a great form of exercise.

The challenge is time. We are in a constant rush. This past monday, I rode my bicycle out to a friends house for a little gathering we had for our faith community here in Morgantown. The total distance was about 22 miles, and it was mostly uphill.

Being that I haven't really been able to ride either of my bikes most of this year, this probably wasn't the wisest decision. I was extremely exhausted, sweaty, and late when I arrived in Preston County. But, i realized that if I were in better physical shape, the ride would be more doable.

There are some limits to cycling in Morgantown though. Travel out to my church offers one challenge. While the multiple mile downhill to the church would be a blast, the trip back would not be much fun at all.

A few of my friends are actually riding 150 miles in a race to raise funds for multiple sclerosis this weekend in the southern part of the state.

What if more people started taking to the bicycling trend of amsterdam. What if more people in your town started taking a bicycle to the store for groceries, or to run errands around town. What if we rode our bicycles to visit our friends, or to do in town travel. Sure it might be a little slower than travel by car (depending on the distance and the traffic), but think what an impact it could make.

I think our top challenge is time. We are in a hurry, and cycling requires us to slow down a little bit. Some of us just aren't in physical condition to ride a bike or walk instead of taking a car--but most of us are. Will you consider beginning a healthy change today?

Slow down, ride a bike, practice good stewardship, and enjoy the good earth God has given us.

18.2 Miles

That's how far I rode my bicycle today. My friend Josh Drake talked me into going for a bike ride with him around Mount Morris, PA. As we started off, I realized that my seat was about four inches low, but I didn't let it discourage me. Josh rides for the cycling team. I don't. But my goal riding wasn't so much to keep up as it was to keep on the bike. I plan to move my seat next time we ride, and I plan to be able to go at it a little more too.

18.2 miles. What was I thinking? I am praying that tomorrow as I walk to class I don't have sore legs. The longest ride I have taken up to now on my bike is about 4.5 miles. But I do a nine mile loop every time I ride out to the church for meetings (when it isn't raining, and I am not in a rush).

I feel like being in Morgantown is going to be a great thing for me both physically and spiritually. It will probably be good mentally and emotionally too. For the first summer since 2001, I will be in town. For the first summer since I bought a home--I will also be in town. I think it will be good to establish roots.

I think it will also be good to down some NSAIDs before I go to bed tonight. Maybe some Naproxen Sodium, or vitamin I.

Ik Fiets

I'm sure my spelling is atrocious, but I rode my bike for the first voyage of 2006. It was an uncharacteristically warm 60 degrees today in Morgantown so I rode to the gym and worked out. My roommate Nic (who is living in Martinsburg for the next month) would be so proud of me for going it alone. It was kind of odd though. I raced over on my bike, and started going through the circuit. I was going really fast through the workout and I stopped for a minute to talk to this guy Jeremy who has been coming to h2o off and on for a while. As we were talking I had a strange feeling come over me. I started to get dizzy like I was going to pass out. I had to excuse myself from the conversation, and get some water. Then I slid down the wall by the water fountain, and just chilled for a bit.

I started thinking about those warnings about stopping exercise when dizzy, and consulting a physician before starting any fitness programs (stand warnings for everyone in the United States). I started wondering about my own mortality as I sat there light headed. I think I just went at the workout a little to zealously, and on an empty stomach.

It was great to be able to start off the year with a little cycling. As long ast the weather holds out, I hope to make it a little more of a routine. Over the last few months, I have been thinking about stewardship in some pretty broad terms, and I think that biking gives me exercise, and it also allows me to be more financially frugal (no gas money) and not pollute the earth.

It takes a little more time to get around town, but it is well worth it I think.

If only Morgantown had bike lanes like Amsterdam.

Cycling in Nederlands

Well, a trip to netherlands wouldn't be complete without riding a bike in the city. Tuesday night, after the red light district, and dinner at todds, I rode "amsterdam style" on the back of todds bicycle. We went across town with me on the rack on back.

Later in the week, I did the same thing with melissa. It was with melissa that I was able to successfully attempt the running jump onto the back of the bike. This is said to be a dangerous feat, but I like a little danger from time to time.

What is really cool about the city is that Bikes have their own lanes, and their own traffic signals, and it even appears they have their own right of way across busy streets.

Dutch people typically aren't obese--maybe its from all of the cycling that happens in the city of bicycles.

Riding a bike in 30-40 degree weather is cold, but also invigorating. I'm glad that my friends allowed me the privilege of riding in this style.

I also was able to borrow a bike to ride to the grocery store on Sunday to purchase gifts.

Climbing and Cycling

Yesterday was just a great day. I am already experiencing many of the joys that come with better physical conditioning and alternative travel. With the new bike, I can zip through areas near campus that would often leave me stuck in traffic during busy times of day.

I am also starting to feel my legs and my grip come back from climbing. We had four guys out for a climb at Sunset Wall yesterday evening, and we are planning another big excursion monday afternoon. It's starting to remind me of the good times me and my buddy Steve used to have when he first introduced me to the sport.

If it weren't for the biker unfriendly nature of Morgantown streets (and the hills everywhere) this would be a perfect alternative to driving. As it is, it isn't too bad though. I save money on fuel, I get exercise, and I am being a good steward of God's great creation in the process.

Cycling has been providing me with an added perk of solitude as I travel through town. It's good to be able to reflect a bit as I journey to and fro through town. Maybe more people will follow suit, and Morgantown will have some more biker friendly routes develop.