Personal

2008 Goals

Steve Bargelt — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 13:42:31 GMT

Get my weight down to 220. My first goal is to hit 228 before the 2008 STP on July 12th
Improve my eating habits
1. Continue to:
  1. track my daily food intake at The Daily Plate
  2. avoid fast food
  3. track my weekly progress in my special Excel spreadsheet
  4. take my daily supplements (Nature's Plus Source of Life Liquid Multi-Vitamin and Udo's 3-6-9 Blend)
  5. eat 6 small meals per day
  6. read Men's Health and other health and fitness related information (blogs, books etc.)
  7. drink lots of water while cutting out soda and most juices (even diet soda)
  8. blog about my progress
2. Stop buying my daily latte
  1. Buy an inexpensive coffee pot for the office
  2. Save 150 - 200 calories every day
  3. Save $5 per day
3. Eat more whole foods especially fruits and vegetables
Participate in the first DaBoyZ Fit Club Triathlon (DFCT)
- April 20th, 2008 - save the date
- Train with the DaBoyz at least once per month before the DFCT
Participate in the Ocean Shores Sprint Triathlon: Swim: .25 mile out and back in Duck Lake. Bike: 12.3 mile loop around Ocean Shores. Run: 5k run out to the beach and back.
Mountain Biking - simply do more of it. Try to hit the dirt 20 times in 2008... contrast that with 2007 where I only managed to get out 6 times (at least that I tracked at MotionBased - I may have been out a few more times without my Forerunner 305 or 60cs)
- Increase my trail riding skills
- Increase my fitness
- Have fun and bond with Derek!
- Buy a new mountain bike! Okay this is more of a reward than a goal.
Complete the Flying Wheels Summer Century
- June 14th 2008
Complete the 2008 Seattle to Portland. This year... two days... on a tandem... with Derek.
- Detailed training plan to come soon
- July 12-13 2008
Take the Marymoor Velodrome track racing class
- April 27th or May 24th - alternatively wait until after completing 2008 STP
- Participate in at least one track race after completing the class
Increase my hill ability before the end of the year. The motivation is that in early 2009 (February) I plan on doing the Second Summer Tours Maui Original Sport Edition... which includes a one-day ride with 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) of elevation gain to the top of Haleakala!
1. Ride the Chilly Hilly route at least three times in 2008 and note progress (2675 ft, 815 m elevation gain):
  1. February
  2. August
  3. October
2. Ride the Cascade Bicycle Club's High Pass Challenge: September 8th, 2008. 7500 foot (2286 m) gain. Good prep for Haleakala!
Commute by bike to work at least 10 times (25-30 miles one-way depending on route):
1. Participate in Bike to Work Day - Friday, May 18
2. At least 7 one-way trips
3. At least 3 round trips
4. Buy a new commuter bike! Again this is probably more of a reward than a goal!
Gym? I want to set a realistic goal. I think three times per week is doable. Still thinking about this one. I'd rather spend time on a real bike... so I don't want to seem like I'm not achieving this goal if I'm riding three times a week! I do not want to set myself up for failure but I am going to leave this goal on the list... as I do want to get to the gym as often as possible.
Dress professionally more often. I mean that I want to wear Dockers to work more often than I wear jeans to work. Kind of that whole look good/feel good thing going on here. This also plays into one of my rules for living - that when you go down a size you buy new clothes and get rid of the old stuff. So when I replace my old clothes I'll buy more slacks and nice shirts!

THE FUTURE:

The aforementioned Second Summer Tours Maui Original Sport Edition in February of 2009. Including a one-day ride with 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) of elevation gain to the top of Haleakala!
Climb Mt. Rainier. No hurry. Maybe 2009 or 2010. I will do this in my lifetime.

2007 Accomplishments

Steve Bargelt — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 13:41:41 GMT

I got rid of 20.8 pounds (9.43 kg). I am down from 266.8 pounds (121.02 kg) to 246 pounds (111.6 kg).
Went from a size 40 to size 36 jeans (damned Dockers... still wear a 38... but they are a bit big!).
I spent over 85 hours on my bikes:
1. Completed the 2007 Chilly Hilly. It sucked. I'll never do it again. Let me clarify: I will ride the course but never again on the official organized day!
2. Trained for the 2007 Seattle to Portland bike ride (one day version) and made it 150 miles in one day despite having to take several weeks (6 total?) of training off for medical reasons.
3. Completed the 2007 Dam2Dam (50 mile version) with Derek on our new Trek T1000 Tandem. In addition to a great ride and having a great time we raised money for a very worthy charity... the Mike Utley Foundation.
4. Overall I rode 1,200+ miles (1,930+ km)
5. Overall I climbed 42,206 feet (12,864 meters)
I ran 3.4 miles (5.4 kilometers). On sand. While on vacation. In the almost ever-present Washington Coast mist and rain. To ~~some~~ most this may sound like a ho-hum accomplishment but for me this is a big deal. See I can't run. I really can't. Not sure why, really. I can ride a bike seemingly forever but I can't really run for more than about 5 minutes. So in September I found myself at the beach with no bike (WTF was I thinking?) and in desperate need of exercise - so I recruited Derek to ride his bike next to me while I attempted to run a 5k. It hurt. It hurt really bad. I did walk some... or quite a bit actually but I ran the majority of the 5.4k. It took 51 minutes... but I did it. One reason this is important to me is that I want to finish at least one triathlon in my life... and I don't want to look silly doing it.
I joined a local gym. Yes the garage set up served me well for three+ years but I've outgrown most of the equipment.

Kinda Dorky Nerd King

Steve Bargelt — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 08:54:17 GMT

Yep that pretty much sums me up... a "Kinda Dorky Nerd King"

Books

Steve Bargelt — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 09:15:07 GMT

Like my friend John, I love books. I stopped by Barnes & Noble yesterday to pick up the The 4-Hour work Week and couldn't resist a few others:

Not a bad day at the bookstore - three new books for me and two for Derek. I'll try to get reviews posted as I finish this batch up.

Derek's Science Project Video

Steve Bargelt — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 20:10:16 GMT

Okay I don't expect anyone but maybe Derek's grandparents to watch the video. There are bloopers at the end, that are pretty funny...errr... yeah... again, maybe if your Derek's grandparents.

More than anything I'm just testing Windows Movie Maker (Vista), YouTube and embedded video.

Online Photo Sites and Sharing Strategy

Steve Bargelt — Mon, 21 May 2007 22:09:03 GMT

Up until now I've used both Flickr and Picasa web galleries in much the same way. That's not very efficient and it does cause confusion for friends and family looking for the latest from the Bargelt family. Up until now I've also used Flickr to host pictures for my blog - which never really fit - I'd be looking at pictures of my latest vacation only to run across a screenshot of a bug I found. So my strategy going forward is this:

Picasa = large web galleries. Stuff like vacations, holidays and sporting events. Things I will share with my family and close friends. This is more of a traditional scrapbook or photo album where almost every picture you take is displayed. The main reason that I have Picasa in this role is the ease of creating a web gallery right from the Picasa desktop application.

Flickr = favorites and special photos only. More of a photography-as-a-hobby playground. I'm thinking of the times where I'll take 100 pictures of clouds because they look cool, then get them loaded up into Photoshop and pick the single best photo. That photo will go up on Flickr. The rest will languish on my hard drive array in digital purgatory. Sure I will still post personal photos of family and vacations and stuff like that but where at Picasa I might post all 882 pictures of our DisneyLand vacation, only a very small number (0, 1 maybe 2) would get to Flickr. I will share my Flickr address with acquaintances, people I barley know, even people don't know along with family and friends. Flickr will be where I show off my favorite photos in the photography-as-a-hobby space and not a boring play by play that only Grandma and Grandpa could enjoy. In preparation I I deleted all but a few photos from my Flickr account.

Photobucket = This will be a place for me to post pictures of items I'm selling on ebay and craigslist. Also screen shots or pictures to be included in blog posts, articles and reviews. Basically stuff that I don't want to clutter up my Flickr or Picasa pages.

Does this make any sense? Anyone else have any spiffy ideas for utilizing online photo sharing sites? Post your ideas and strategies in the comments section!

MY LINKS:

Feedburner-ized

Steve Bargelt — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 18:55:00 GMT

I have finally decided to use Feedburner.

Here are a few reasons. Mostly self-serving.

Subscription statistics - FeedBurner provides a ton of of free statistics, including number of subscribers, number of requests.
If I ever want to leave GeeksWithBlogs and host my own blog FeedBurner will make it easier - I will be able to change the feed link with FeedBurner and boom - we are done.
If #2 becomes reality than much of the bandwidth (yeah - from all 5 of you that read my blog!) will be offloaded to FeedBurner.
FeedBurner has a few neat tools like adding "Digg This" links to the bottom of my posts automatically.

Unfortunately there doesn't appear to be a way to automatically redirect this feed to the new FeedBurner link... So I guess I just have to ask nicely.

Please subscribe to my new feed at: http://feeds.feedburner.com/SteveBargelt

Unfortunately I don't plan on upgrading my brain so you'll still get the same crappy content as before.

I'm leaking!

Steve Bargelt — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 17:45:00 GMT

Please note that I do realize that this post is seriously too much information (TMI). I'm not even sure why I'm blogging about it... but I am. If you are at all squeamish... please click away now!

The weirdest thing happened to me on Saturday. My leg sprung a leak. Really. Blood was spurting everywhere.

Backstory... I've had varicose veins in my right leg for as long as I can remember - for at least 15 or 20 years. I had surgery to remove most of them(it?) almost two years ago. It wasn't for aesthetics... they would hurt when I would exercise (mostly run or walk not bike) or get hit with a soccer ball while playing with my son. I decided that I'd had enough so I had surgery to get them removed. Surgery went very well but I'm sure glad that I didn't do it for the aesthetics because now I have roughly 16 3/4" scars all over my right leg. My leg does feel better when walking and running so I guess all-in-all the surgery went well.

The majority of the varicose veins are not gone but I have a few, well, I'm not sure what they are but they are purple/red "nodules" near my right ankle. I won't gross you out with pictures... but they remind me of blood blisters. I had always assumed that they were just that - blood trapped under the skin. It had crossed my mind several times to lance them... just to get rid of them. After Saturday I'm so glad I left well-enough alone.

I was getting out of the shower (TMI in and of itself!) and I noticed blood all over my hands and my (white) towel and my left leg and the bathroom cabinets (white) and the bathtub (white) and the floor (mostly white). Immediately I freaked thinking that I was bleeding internally. I guess I'm at an age where one just assumes that one has prostate cancer or some other gross internal disease. Anyway I finally calmed a bit and felt blood hit my left leg - tracing back the blood I saw it streaming from my right leg. Yes one of these "nodules" (if I find out from the doctor that there is and "official" name for this evil things I'll update this post) had sprung a leak.

I'm not sure I can capture what all went through my mind next... here's a try:

shit. stop the bleeding. sit on bathtub edge. towel on leg. there. hmmm... lots of blood. lets look. move towel. shit still spurting. put towel back. will this stop on it's own or will I need stitches? skin scabs do veins scab? shit. 911? keep pressure on it. if Brenda comes in she'll pass out. grab shower mat and (keep pressure on!) clean up floor a bit. clean off cabinets. shit. get floor mat wet. clean cabinets. shit. PRESSURE idiot. hmmm. three layers of towel and my had is still getting wet with blood. shit. there most of the blood is just smeared on floor now instead of in pools, much better. shit. maybe it is just a big blood blister with lots of blood? remove towel and see if it is slowing down. shit. nope. must be a vein. how long till I bleed out? shit. call Brenda in here. get gauze, wrap leg tightly. shit. pad is red, first wrap is red, second wrap is red, shit, third is red, fourth is red, shit this isn't going to work, fifth is less red, tighter idiot. okay I see only white gauze now. cool. tape it off. shit... clean up a bit more. 911? shit.

I managed to get shorts and a t-shirt on. I decided to call my HMO's "Consulting Nurse" mainly because I didn't want to waste my Saturday sitting in an emergency room. The consulting nurse advised that if the bleeding didn't stop in two hours to get to an emergency room. Thanks Einstein! I put my leg up and iced it. I checked in two hours and there was no spurting... although I fully expected when I unwrapped the wound that there would be a stream of red! Kind of an anti-climatic ending... but DAMN I was scared. I wasn't myself all weekend.

I'm going to the doctor today (Monday). I'm paranoid now. What if this would have happened in my sleep? Could I have bled out quietly in my sleep? I'm not sure I really want to know the answer to that question! I'm pretty sure that unless I applied significant pressure and raised my leg above my heart (while laying on the sofa not while standing of course) that it would not have just stopped. It didn't hurt so would a "lack of blood" have woken me up? I doubt it. I wonder if I can get moisture sensors installed in my bed? Hmmm they aren't for blood (obviously!) but I wonder if they'd serve the purpose? I'm guessing I'm in for some freaking exsanguination dreams now. shit. Sidenote: I'm rather disappointed with wikipedia's definition of this term. Probably the first time wikipedia has ever disappointed me. The entry read like it was written by a vegan. I usually equate exsanguination with knife wounds or vampires not cattle slaughter.

Thanks for hanging in there on this story. Sorry for the amount of information I shared. If I learn anything significant from my PCP (primary care physician) I'll post it here. I'm sure you can't wait!

Dam2Dam Thumbs up! Bike Tour 2006

Steve Bargelt — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 09:53:00 GMT

Okay I did it. I registered for a 100 mile ride on September 30th. Yes THIS year... 2006.

http://www.mikeutley.org/biketour.html I have about 38 days to get ready to ride 100 miles. I don't know what I was thinking - but at least I don't have much time to worry! I'm going on my first training ride today. This bike tour is to benefit the Mike Utley foundation. If you don't remember Mike Utley here is a brief reminder:

"It was November 17, 1991 the Detroit Lions had scored in a crucial game against the Los Angeles Rams. Mike Utley felt he was invincible at 6' 6" and 315 pounds. He was at the top of his game, a champion, and thrilled to be doing what he loved, playing football. Mike Utley was attempting to throw a block during a pass play when he went down, Mike knew immediately that something was wrong. An eerie silence descended over the stadium as Mike lay there motionless. When they wheeled him off the field Mike gave the crowd a Thumbs Up! to let them know that he would return. Mike Utley #60 was paralyzed.

Mike's courageous Thumbs Up! gesture has come to symbolize his fighting spirit. In his own fight to walk again Mike has focused all of his energies towards others suffering from spinal cord injuries. The Mike Utley Foundation was founded in January 1992 and is committed to providing financial support for rehabilitation, education and research for spinal cord related injuries."

Now here comes the sales pitch! I can really use your help. I have set a personal goal to raise $2000 for the Mike Utley Foundation and I don't have much time to meet that goal. Donations are fully tax deductible, of course.

You can donate online with a credit/debit card at: http://www.mikeutley.org/shop/product.esiml?PID=4 - please make sure to put my name Steve Bargelt, in the "Rider's Name" field! If you would prefer to write a check please contact me via the contact form on this site, enter your correct email address and I will respond with details of how to get the check to me.

I will try my best to keep daily updates pumping out to my blog with information on how my training is progressing and how my fund raising efforts are coming along.

Did You Know?

There are approximately two million people worldwide living with spinal cord injury; 11,000 new injuries are reported every year in the US with a new injury occurring every 48 minutes.
Lifetime costs incurred by SCI individuals average $900,000 and can reach as high as $2.7 million depending on the level of injury.
Vehicular accidents cause 50.4% of these spinal cord injuries. one-quarter 11.2% are the result of violence and 23.8% are the result of falls. Sports injuries account for 9.0% of these injuries. the remaining 5.6% of spinal cord injuries result from work related or other accidents.
More than half (55%) of the SCI population was injured between the ages of 16 and 30. 80% of SCI individuals are male and approximately half (47%) are married at time of injury. 10 years after spinal cord injury, 58.1% are unemployed.
The nation currently invests less than 1% of the costs of spinal cord injury into research that has the potential to restore function and substantially reduce the costs. Current annual costs of injuries: $9.7 billion; current research investments: less than $100 million from all sources- Federal, industry, foundation, and private donations.

tags: charity, plea, mike+utley, foundation, dam2dam

Astro Photography

Steve Bargelt — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 10:55:00 GMT

This is a very cool photo and excellent accompanying how-to article from Mike Fedler’s Focus on Photography:
http://www.fedler.com/scope.shtml

Parts needed for Astro Photography (assuming you have a camera and telescope!)
T-Rings (for Nikon or Canon DSLRs) (http://www.telescope.com/jump.jsp?itemType=PRODUCT&itemID=57) $17
Meade: T-Adapter (http://www.telescopes.com/products/Meade_64_T-Adapter_for_ETX-90_ETX-105_ETX-125_6389.html) $35
Bushnell: T-Adapter: (http://www.telescopes.com/products/bushnell-1-25-inch-format-camera-adapter-12253.html) $19.99
Optional, but very useful:Nikon Remote Control (ML-L3) (http://www.adorama.com/NKMLL3.html?searchinfo=ml-l3&item_no=1) $19
or Canon Remote for YOU people: http://www.adorama.com/CARS80N3.html?searchinfo=canon%2020d%20remote&item_no=2) $50