Good morning 2012. You came in quietly in my house and now Im getting ready to go help everyone soak up some of the partying from last night at Rise and Shine Biscuit Kitchen. This first post is a promise to myself Ive been meaning to keep for a while, as well as the fact that I havent made a "Resolution" in years. So, I figured Id do it and hold myself accountable by make blog posts daily, or at the very least weekly, so that anyone who actually wants to keep up with my goals, can hold my feet to the fire if I become a bit slack down the road.
Its also the start of a "brainchild" I had after a post, and comments, on Google+. Ive been purposely treating my body like crap, and not riding my bike, for at least 3 months now. Due to a very intense 2011 year, and some circumstances that life just throws at you, id lost my "Umf" when it came to riding. I made a comment about this over on G+, which has been an awesome experience so far, and others made comments back in regards to their own wants/needs to see their bodies come back to them in the New Year. I got to thinking..."would anyone be into a place where others can share their goals/resolutions there and people can keep up with one another, offer encouragement, suffer together through the hard spots or just simply read along?". After asking if anyone would, I was surprised at how many people said they were game. The only problem was coming up with a name for it. Names are so hard. Ive never been good at them. If it werent for my wife's girlhood dreamings, we'd probably still be picking out names for our boys, but her book came in very handy!.
The idea was there, and there was enough interest from cycling peeps, that I got a little bit of help from a friend of mine on twitter, Mike Osbourne...aka...@egggman. So, New Year Revolutions was decided upon. You can click on the name and go to our G+ page. There's also a Twitter account, @NYRevol, and hopefully the hashtag #NYRevolutions will catch on as well. Simply put, I want as many people who are into it, to keep daily, or weekly blogs(either online, or email posts to NYRevolutions) and we'll put them up on our G+ page. Send photos, stats, training rides, anything you want. Even if a handful of people do it, that is going to be a success to me! I always wonder with many of us having jobs, families, LIVES, how they keep up with a goal and training throughout the entire year! I hope this will shed some light on it, and give others, especially myself, to stay on the path we envision for ourselves at this time of year.
That being said, if you'd like to share your journey, then please email me your blog links, or posts and photos via email at NYRevol@gmail.com. Ill post them on the page for everyone to read. Id also like a little bit of background info from you, name, age, what you do for a living, and your "specific" goals/resolutions. Personally I believe writing it down, and stating it, makes it that much more tangible of a thing.
Now, my goals...ugh, this is gonna hurt, but a little bit of catharsis is a good thing. My name is Chandler Snyder. Im 38 years old, and live in Denver, CO. Im married, have 2 little boys, and one on the way which is due in July. As far as "career" goes, Ive been in the cycling industry as a mechanic for almost 20yrs now. Ive raced road, track(briefly), cyclocross and mountain. I was also a year round competitive swimmer growing up, and into college. I started a non-profit in college with 2 friends to advocate for alternative forms of transportation. At one point in my racing/training life(i wont say career cuz it was never consistent enough) I couldve made the decision to take it to a more "professional" level, but squandered it in return for lots of fun and a more "no-responsibility" outlook on life...needless to say I passed up some good chances. When we got pregnant with our first son, I told myself Id not let myself go, as I was getting back into some decent riding shape at the time. Well, that didnt work out. I just quit thinking about myself in any sort of way that would keep me fit. I started eating like crap(ive a fondness for fried food, im a southern boy afterall), and my riding pretty much went in the pooper. Im also over 200lbs, when my "fighting weight" from back in the day was always around 160...you get the picture.
Fast forward 4 years down the road, and 3rd child on the way, Im tired of feeling like complete crap, and seeing/hearing friends/customers of mine talk about their riding and me, secretly in my brain, telling myself "I could beat that guy", but then going out on the bike and getting my ass handed to me. So...its time to change, and by putting this down on "paper" I plan on changing it.
This year I plan to lose weight, clean up my eating practices, and ease up on some vices which contribute to all of the above. Typically I throw myself right into something and make all the changes at once, knowing that its gonna hurt and I probably wont make it last. Sorta like throwing darts at the dart board blindfolded and hoping you hit the bullseye. It always failed and I got discouraged. Id be hard on myself about it, harder than anyone really knew...until now.
So...this year my motto is "baby steps". Im aiming to race some cyclocross races this year, which means I have some time before I have to start "base miles" on the bike. I plan on starting with my diet and some basic physical strengthening. Afterall, if my engine isnt running clean, all the physical work I do wont matter for shite. So, for the next couple months I plan on putting away the McD's, candybars, fried foods, and aiming for a more balanced diet. Also, ill be starting my old habits of daily pushups, situps..etc...basic strengthening exercises so that when its time to put miles on paper, I wont feel AS bad the next morning as when I was eating all the crap and just getting off the couch expecting it to "just take".
In the coming weeks, Ill share my experiences and put them out there for others to see. As I said, even if a handful of people stay the course, this will be a success for me. So, bare yourselves with me, and lets make 2012 a great year for our riding, no matter what it is...racing, tours, group rides...whatever!
Hope to see you on the flip side!
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