Things have been pretty quiet from this end with regard to my adventures in beginning adult cycling. I’ve been steadily improving and am charging through those local hilly circuits, recently expanding my usual route to include a steeper climb and forcing myself up that mofo for 30-minute circuits. I’m also trying to get used to reaching down to pull my water bottle from the cage, but that’s been touch and go at best, and it needs quite a bit of work still. My hand signals are also iffy, though I’m trying to strengthen my control of the bike so as to avoid swerving whenever I raise an arm for a left or right turn signal.

Other than those, not much else to report. Until the Tour de France goes underway, of course. Then it’s geekery at its finest.

Since I can’t ride my bike everyday, I’ve been trying to whip myself into incorporating high intensity cardio workouts on those days when I have to work – or those days when I skip riding. Weight training would be nice, frankly, but I just don’t have the discipline (and the interest) to do it consistently. In fact, even my cycling has taken a minor hit lately because of my erratic work schedule (I’ve been putting in extra hours here and there because of new accounts and the fact that I’m about to go on vacation). This weekend my energy levels were pitifully low, and I didn’t have the motivation to do anything of substance, activity-wise.

So I’m trying to get myself back into my old cardio routine, which is high intensity interval training using the jump rope. Compared to weight training, I’m a lot more motivated and interested in doing it. Here’s an example of how it can be done with different variations for both jumping and recovery:

I have a speed rope, but I can’t jump as quickly as what’s shown on the video, so I double the time and increase the actual jumping interval and decrease the recovery (40 seconds on, 20 seconds off, for 20 minutes total). On the whole it’s been good, and as of late, I’ve gotten a lot more self-conscious of my physical appearance. Call that added motivation. Cycling’s great, but it takes a hit because of work, and it makes me even more paranoid about my health when I skip a day.

Today, for instance, I wasn’t able to get on my bike. I got up late, felt horribly tired, and had to drag myself through the day, ticking off items on my to-do list. It wasn’t till almost an hour ago when I finally got a bit of a second wind, pulled out my timer and my jump rope, and worked out. I’ll be back on the bike tomorrow since it’s an open day for me, and hopefully the daily cardio routine will continue without interruptions.

Of course, it all boils down to me and that collection of gray matter in my skull. To get with the program, I guess everything has to start from there.