What not to do?

This is part of the weight update series.. So lets say that last week I was doing great..! Was controlling my portions.. Burning more then what I was consuming.. Drinking plenty of water and eating fruits and vegetables...
I was a good boy.....!!! Then Sunday came along...

You know one of those Sundays when you have a BBQ, hell I was the one cooking to begin with..! So how you can stay away from the delicious food?? Specially if it is a BBQ..! that is my weak spot..!!! MEAT..! 

Come on..! Tell me you are not wishing you were there with me last Sunday? On top of all this yummy sausages and meat there was plenty of stuff to go around and snack on.. Cheese, pickles, chips/crisps and who knows what else... So by the time the food was actually ready you were snacking away about 1000 calories..! And now was lunch time..!!?? 

So I was almost full by the time the first piece of meat left my grill.. And the owners of the house never let my cup be half empty.. Every time I turned around someone was filling it with nice Spanish cold beer...

This means that I had at least another 1500 calories just from drinking beer..!!! Are you keeping track of the calories? Good..!!! I didn't..!

In a normal day I am suppose to eat no more then 1600 calories during the day in order to lose my 1 kilo a week.. I am not going to lie to you most of the time I am over that amount but I compensate by going for a walk or riding my bike.. so everything is in check..

But Sunday was a special day and when you are a guest at a party and the food is crazy good you can't be rude and say no.. You have to eat... Well you don't have to but I love to..!!!

Besides these meat is something I really love.. Argentinian Asado..!!!

So my wild guess is that I ate about a kilo or more of that beef.. and is another like 2500 calories.. So I was way over my budget for the day.. And to finish it up there was chocolate cake and other sweets followed by more beer and stronger stuff for the ones that like that sort of thing.. I had more beer..

To culminated today's report let me tell you that the scale said I was 97.9 kilos on Monday morning.. That was an increase of 1.5 kilos from the week before..!!! It only takes one day of eating out of control for me to gain what cost me so much to lose..

Now is time to restart (I did Monday already) the battle and cut back on all the good stuff to reach my goal of 90 kilos at some point in life..

Hope you enjoyed the what not to do post.. Share if you know someone struggling with this..

See you next week?

Pablo 

The Weekend Report Guy

The Weight Update.

It has been a hard week for me... The beginning of a journey is never easy.. To break the routine and bad habits is hard... To get away from those things that bring us comfort is even harder.. With all this in mind let me tell you that I managed to drop some weight..!!!

Seems proper to post a picture celebrating this achievement 

How much weight did I actually lose?

2.1 kilos in a week..!!! It was not easy... Took a lot of self control.. And exercise.. As I started last week I was at 98.8 kilos and was doing my eating the wrong way when it comes to numbers.. After a quick look at the numbers from previous days I knew something was wrong..Something had to change..!

So I went to +MyFitnessPal and checked all my numbers... Soon after that I realized that I had the wrong set up..!! I wanted to lose 250 grams a week instead of my (high) goal of a kilo a week.. So as you can imagine I was eating way too much and not moving around enough to burn all the calories I was taking..

Once that was changed it was time to have a talk with myself.. This has to stop..! You have to control the way you eat..And so I did...No more of 1600 calories a day was the goal... And to be honest I don't think it was a single day I was able to eat only that many calories.. I really enjoy eating.. And most of the days I was just under 2000 calories a day...

Wondering why...????

But that was already a treat after a long day in the saddle..(I really love riding bicycles) So are you seen what I did? You need a bit more of explanation? OK is coming.. But believe me most of my lunches during the week looked like this...

In order to eat as much as I do and still lose weight I was really active last week... And here is a short list of my physical activities:

Monday to Friday I walked an average of 10 km a day.. dropping and picking my son from school walking has a huge impact..! I burn close to 1000 calories with these walks.
Saturday and Sunday are my long ride days..Or at least I try to make that happen.. So I rode between the 2 days close to 7 hours...

So you see is simple to lose weight you have to eat only what your body needs.. Do you do that or you eat what you want? First do that and then you will see the body get all the extra weight off by itself..

Thanks for reading and sharing (?) 

See you at the next weight update

Pablo 

The Weekend Report Guy

The MTB debut

I am not going to explain much today... I will let the pictures do most of the talking.. But lets set something clear... It was a truly different day on the bike..

My ride for the day?? Que bici use hoy? Gracias/Thanks to Juan from Zurich's bar in Coin..!!

What did the routes look like? Las rutas de hoy??

And there was a river crossing.. Y cruzamos un río..!! I think this is my favorite shot of the day. Mi foto favorita del dia...

And we also went across a tunnel.. Y tambien pasamos por un tunel..

The view heading to the mountain in the back.. La vista camino a la montaña alli atras..

We even saw some farm animals... Y hasta vimos algunos animales en el camino..

And then the serious climbing started.. At least to me was serious Y luego empezaron las subidas serias.. Bueno por lo menos para mi fueron serias..

And now my friends started to leave me behind... Y ahora mis amigos comenzaban a distanciarme.. But always keeping an eye on me... Pero siempre mirando donde estaba..
But as they ride away it creates shots like this... Pero cuando se alejan crean estas fotos..

And the climbs got worst..! Y las subidas se pusieron peor..! At least for me.. Por lo menos para mi..

With some of my companions at the top of El Santo.. Con algunos de los compañeros en El Santo

The view from the top.. La vista desde arriba..

Coming down.. Bajando... I was slower then climbing..! Estube mas lento que subiendo..!

Stairs into a cave.. Escaleras a una cueva..

Coming out of the cave..(barely) Saliendo de la cueva..(apenas)

My friends were doing downhill MTBiking... I was hiking with a bike.. Mis amigos estaba haciendo descensos por la montaña en bici.. Yo estaba descendiendo "con" una bici...

But at least there is a picture of me riding.. Pero por lo menos hay una foto mia en la bici..

I am beat..! Estoy molido..!

STRAVA said we did this.. +Strava dice que hicimos eso.. A different day for sure.. Un dia diferente seguro..!

Thanks for reading and sharing... Gracias por leer y compartir

See you next time... Te veo la proxima vez

Pablo

The Weekend Repor Guy

The ride that almost didn't happen...

One of those days... You know when you struggle to get out of bed... You are running late to the start of the ride.. You are spinning around the house and can't find your cycling gear...Even when you know where it is..Even when you had most of it sitting on the table from the night before.. Somehow you still manage not to get ready quick enough..

But it doesn't finish there..!!! You manage to get ready, you somehow get to the start of the ride on time.. And what is next??? No one is there..!!! You have to be kidding me..!!

I did stay and wait around for a few minutes...(20) and no one ever showed up so I decided to turn around and go home... I was not happy and wanted to be home since it was a bit chilly... As I worked my way home up a nice local climb I started thinking... I am already out.... I am all kitted... I am warmer now... What a hell I am going for a ride..!!!

So I started heading out of town looking for some exploring and easy riding.. Since I need to work on my endurance.. My speed will come up one day but if it doesn't oh well... As I was heading down a hill I spotted an old iron bridge that looked great to stop and take some pictures around...

The sun provided some great lighting for the pictures... Not that I understand anything about all that but it looked nice and made a nice contrast of dark and light... As I decided to go with the black & white look for some of this pics.

There was a nice little water stream running under the bridge... That you can see on the next picture..Also you can see the surrounding hills that are a registered mark land around here...

On the picture above you can also see some of what me look like single track MTB lines on the bottom right of the picture.. ( I am trying to convince my wife to let me but one) There is lots of trails around here and seems extremely popular...

After the little break to take some pictures was time to leave the "Iron Bridge" behind and keep heading up the road to see what else I could find....

I kept going up the road that is not steep but is constantly going up...So while cruising on the small chain ring working on my cadence and on keeping a steady tempo (according to my HRM) deep into my thoughts, most of them related to how bad it feels to be out of shape and how hard it is to get back into it... Oh while all this was going on in my head saw a sign that reming me of a friend from Geneva... He loves his cows so I took this one for him...

The wind was blowing sort of hard from one side and at the same time cross... It was uncomfortable but manageable going up hill... The concern in my head was when you hit 50 km/h going downhill... Hmmmm.... OK time turn around and head back home or closer to it..

Where am I living now?

 
Coín is the name of our new town... A really nice one in the middle of lots of mountains and water streams that make up for great views and riding all around...

After all the stopping for pictures waiting around and whatever else I did during this ride +Strava tells me that I rode 26 km and climbed 500 mt during like one and a half hour... Mission accomplished..!

So to resume the day? Got out..! Did some exploring..! Took some pictures..! And had fun..!

Hope you enjoyed the reading and see you at the next post..!

Thanks for reading and sharing

Pablo

The Weekend Report Guy

Get to know a bit of Málaga City..!!

Yesterday we had to travel with the family to Málaga Centro (centro meaning capital) to look at some requirements and information to get the necessary paperwork to start a "normal" life here..

So we took the bus into the city… A lovely bus ride of about 1:30 hour and you go across lots of different small towns and cities that are beautiful.. Along the route you have this sort of views ….

Is so nice to be in a sort of warm weather… Surrounded by mountains and routes that are not heavy congested by traffic… (there is some traffic still) where you can dream of riding your bike all the time.. I saw a few riders along the way.. So riding in this routes is an option that I am hoping to start doing at some point..

We finally made it to Málaga City (is not the name but I will call it like that) where one of the first things that hit me was how clean it was.. Is a city and I am used to big dirty ones.. This is a smaller one but clean and guess what??? They have a bike sharing program..!!!

The bikes? Well they do not look as the most inviting ride you could get…. They are used a lot.. (good sign right?) and with this comes good users and bad users.. So they must be reliable and probably well maintained for everyone to use them in regular bases… But with so much use the bikes look like someone dragged them on the street or felt down the side of a mountain…

And if happened to be in Málaga and don’t know what to do or where to go here is a list of interesting places you can visit…

And when is time to return your bike there is a map of where the nearest bike station is…So just look at where the closest one to you is and ride the machine there...

Forgot to mention that the bike lanes and cycling structure looks safe enough to ride in the city… The side walks are split for walkers and bike users… Looks very neat but I failed to take a picture of this… Maybe next time..!!!

Hope you enjoyed the Tuesday Trip..!!

Thanks for reading and sharing 

See you at the next adventure

Pablo

The Weekend Report Guy... Working extra for you in a Tuesday ;)

Goals? Plans? Dreams? Bring 2016..!!

We all have them right? So do I...!!! But this is why I wasn't sure on how to name the post... We should start by knowing the difference between them...

Using my own words to define each one..

Goals: list of things I would like to achieve over a determinate period of time.. They have to be real, easy or hard to accomplish is up to us.

Plan:  they are more like a structured way of accomplishing a pre-determinate idea. Is making a way to reach this plans.

Dreams: anything that comes to your mind real or not... Fiction or reality... Everything that you would like to reach or do in life... Just remember sometimes you can reach them and make them your reality..!!

Lets start by naming what I consider goals for this year:

- I am riding 15.000 km.
- Climbing 150.000 meters.
- I am going to weight 85 kilos, and STAY THERE...!!!
- Write more often in my blog... and better should I say...

What about the plans? 

- We are moving to Málaga, Spain.
- Find a job that allows me to follow my dreams.. Is coming...
- Rent a nice big house for the family... And future guests.
- Go to Argentina to bring my older son, time for him to join the family.
- Start offering my cycling guide services to people in Málaga.
- Start a B&B business to go with the cycling services.

And the dreams??

- Buying a nice BIG HOUSE..!!!
- Have the B&B running in our big house... Did I mention it has a pool?
- Promote the already established cycling guide services all over the world.
- Meet thousands of new friends while enjoying the mountains and the Mediterranean sea.
- And last but not least... Make sure my family and I are as happy as possible..!!

Bring on the 2016 and lets start working on all those goals, plans and dreams..!!!

As soon as we are there you all will know about it..!!! 

And as soon as we are ready we will be waiting for you all...!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

Pablo & Family

See you soon

Thanks for reading and sharing

Pablo

The Weekend Report Guy

My Strava

Our Strava Club, join us..!!!

It stopped raining...!!! Hurry up..! Lets go for a ride..!

I rode outdoors...!!!

Since work and life messed up with my training this I decided to actually slow down and back up a little with all the training… I was very tired all week legs felt made out of lead and I wasn’t enjoying the training anymore… That said… yesterday I had a complete lazy day where all I did was wash my commuter..

Today was a nice cold day where the rain gave us a break so I went out for a ride..!! Or maybe 2 rides?
First since I was planning to take it easy I took the CX bike and joined the B team at 7:30 to head out for a steady ride with some fair weather..

The boys before sunrise

I got the feeling people was chasing me today….

But this one has to be my best shot of the week… Sunrise..!

Finally sun light..!!!

And as I was riding by Samson and Goliath I had to try to take a picture..

So my ride became two rides.. as I joined some of the other guys on what they called a little more after the traditional Sunday Ride… Next time I have to ask what a little more means… At this point I had like 40 km on my legs at a nice steady pace.. Now it was time to go for a little more..

The little more involved all climbing..! over 800 meters in less then 60 km.. I haven’t climb that much in who knows how long.. Add to this all I had was a sandwich and a cup of coffee for breakfast.. Only a small water bottle and I was riding the CX bike… PERFECT RECIPE..!! To what you are asking? To meet the guy with the hammer…!!! No it wasn’t Thor.. It was Mr Bonk.. around 80 km I felt like shit and couldn’t pedal anymore… Well fast anyways.. And we were still going up and down the Black Mountains… Pedaling squares and seeing cakes and empanadas in my head…Till we reach the final point up, then I had a little to drink before the downhill and it was some sugary stuff that helped with the final push home for a nice 105 km and 1139 meters or so said +Strava 

Now I am ready to go to bed and sleep till Tuesday...

Thanks for reading and sharing

Pablo

The Weekend report Guy

True Belfast weather

Hello friends..!

Has been a while since my last post right? Well is sort of hard to find motivation to write anything lately...

Life is getting better and we are all healthy... We are all working and the kids going to school.. So life is falling into the normal category... I was off work for a long time and that was not good at all...

Well when it comes to riding let me tell you that I have a nice commute every day when it comes to riding to work.. Is 10 km each way where most of it is on cycling lanes or even cycling paths.. The infrastructure here is very nice and seems like a lot of people uses bikes to get around.. Lets face it is faster then the car in a lot of cases.

Everything is great right? Almost..! The only problem is that is raining every day...!!! No I am not exaggerating.. !! Is really wet here..!! OK we have different kind of raining here.. Light... Drizzle.. Hard... And biblical proportions..!

What you don't believe me??? Look at this..!!!

Man and I had 3 mini lakes this day that I had to cross that day... As you can see it goes from side to side of the street and over the side walk (is a cycling path there as well)

To all this lovely weather you need to add the wind factor.. Yesterday coming from work felt like climbing invisible hills for 30 minutes.. And you had to keep in mind the wind while riding in between buildings or a car go by you.. It was very interesting..

Did I mention that it seems to be always dark? I leave the house at 7 am... (dark this time of the year) and leave work somewhere before 5 pm when is also dark... Good thing I look like a Christmas tree on the bike and this helps riders see me right away.. (and I prefer to lose a minute here and there and no my life in a minute)

But Sometimes it stops raining and you can enjoy the place a bit more and spot some great images...

Thanks for reading an sharing

Pablo

The Weekend Report Guy

Dodging showers in Belfast

First then anything let me all tell you sorry... It was a long week this one and is not even over yet..!! But on the bright side, always look at the bright side..! I am working and supporting my family.. We all need some money to support our love ones right? And I enjoy my job.. Is a bit on the heavy side but not that much..

Well all week was rainy, stormy and windy..! so everyday I took pics and they all look bad or not clear enough to post.. But lets say that everyday this week started like this..

As you can see the rain pants had a lot of activity during the week.. So did the rain jacket and the booties... I kept dry from the rain..!! (sweated like a pig in the oven)

And as I am riding to work everyday I started to look at the different things around me... Like...

If it happens that you are in Belfast and like to go for a ride but don't have yours... Consider the bike sharing program.

The infrastructure for cycling is very nice, but you do have to deal with traffic and know how to ride in it..

And as shown in the picture above... Be ready to clean your bike and have the right clothing for riding around here.

LOVE the traffic lights for cyclists and pedestrians... Respect to be respected.. Remember that one.

Sometimes stops raining long enough for you to look around and see how beautiful this place is...

This is right before my work place.. Look at how peaceful it is... Looking that way.. On my back was trucks flying by..

One more because is just a nice opportunity to take it in.. That in the back is call Cave Hill.. Great place that I recommend if you like zoos, castles and hiking..

I wanted to show you how nice Belfast is and the infrastructure you have for cycling... This is a cycling path.. Nice and protected from traffic... BUT..!!! You always have "some" people that think that is OK to park either on the bike lanes or like this one blocking half of the cycling path... DUDE..!! #ITISNOTOK

Thanks for reading and sharing.

Pablo

The Weekend Report Guy

No is Not OK..!

Another beautiful day in Belfast, Northern Ireland..!

It was windy... It was rainy... It was dark.. But hey..!!! It was warm..!!!

So i woke up like every day at 6 am... Had breakfast.. Talked a little to the Mrs.. Got the little man ready and off I was to my job...

Did I mention is dark, wet and windy?? Just checking..

And as soon as I hit the bike lanes guess what I found?

And I noticed this is not the first time I see this van parked like this... Some people at least try to be less wrong to call it some how and park only (only..!!) half a car on the bike lane... This one? You can see it yourself right?

I found many more along the way but I decided not to take so many pictures because they pissed me off and all I do is get upset..

Thankfully the ride got better as soon as I left the crazy part of town.. Into a bike path that brings me very close to work..

Then finally at work was time to change clothes and set the other ones to dry... I have a full rack all for me at my work place..

So after 8 hours at work on my feet and doing some heavy lifting was time to head out and face the other people hiding behind a steering wheel..

There is a section of my commute when I get out of work that is heavy on trucks.. And most of them are professionals behind the wheel and I really trust them... But the las few time there was a few "idiots" that after they passed you at a nice speed decided that is cool or funny to return to the line I am riding on and coming really close to make me stop. or fall.. Oh well (is not ok)

And as I got close to the city guess what happened?

.
On top of the conditions not to be the best either for riding or driving you have this individuals that were not educated in the art of sharing and respecting others..

One more?

Is not a funny thing when you have to get in the middle of other people trying to get home and looking at you like you are stealing their precious time with the TV at home.. 

Well that was my commute today.. Ups and down but after all I made it home in one piece..! 

Thanks for reading and see you soon..!

Don't forget to share..

Pablo.

The Weekend Report Guy