Energy Cannot Be Created or Destroyed - It Can Only be Transferred!
The laws of thermodynamics describe the basic properties and behavior of energy. The first law of thermodynamics, often called the law of conservation of energy, states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, so the total amount of energy remains constant. Energy can, however, change its form.
Food is energy. We all consume food and drink to bring energy into our bodies. That energy is converted by our body into a form that can be used by our organs and muscles to perform different functions - some involuntary - pumping blood, breathing - some voluntary - sitting upright, walking, climbing stairs..... or riding a bike..... with 60 lbs of gear loaded on it.
With the amount of extra weight I have on my bicycle, I can comfortably average about 10 mph and I can maintain that pace for up to 6 hours.... that's about it.... I did something around 80 miles one day when I went from Rosenberg to LaGrange.... and I was seeing pink elephants and spiraling multi-colored lights at the end of a long tunnel.... yeah I was delirious.... I won't do that again..... so 60 miles @ 10 mph is about it.
There are a lot of calculators and charts for figuring how many calories are burned while exercising or cycling at a given speed at a given weight. Here's a link to one of them:
http://www.nutristrategy.com/activitylist.htm
Here's the problem - I'm a 195 - 200 lb guy but I'm hauling 60 lbs of gear so I'm really a 260 lb guy.... you can extrapolate the charts or do some calculations but in the end, based on the data I've looked at I'm probably burning about 1000 calories / hour when I'm going 10 mph with my body weight and the 60 lbs of gear on the bike and the 2 bottles of water (about 3.5 lbs) and the bike which is about 20 lbs.
.... so what does all this mean.... I have to eat ..... and I have to eat every hour ..... and I have to eat at least 500 calories per hour on the days when I'm doing 60 miles (which I'll be averaging between here and Muleshoe).
Hang on.... I'm burning 1000 calories / hour but I'm only planning to take in about 500 calories per hour..... where do I get the other 500 calories / hour? Raise your hand if you know the answer!
There.... you in the back row..... what's that? Yes, that's right, I'll get that extra 500 calories per hour from the fat that's on my body. My body will convert that fat into energy.
Let's make this easy - let's say I pedal for 7 hours per day with a 500 calorie per hour deficit between what my body burns vs what I take into my body from what I eat.
I'll end up burning 3500 calories per day more than what I take in from eating.
Now, a pound of body fat contains 3500 calories..... so I should burn 1 lb of fat / day.... over the next 7 days my body should burn 7 lbs of body fat..... so I should be 7 lbs lighter when I get to Muleshoe Tx.
Do I care or worry about all this?
Hell No! - I just sleep, eat and pedal!
Friday, January 1, 2010
Here'a a Quick Gripe to start the New Year off right!
I don't have a Harley and I don't have a pet.....God bless those that do....
But here's a little gripe for you....
Have you ever been in a beautiful, quiet place like a state or national park or a scenic byway on a bluebird day just soaking up the sounds of nature.....and heard in the distance the rumbling of thunder..... only it's not thunder.... it's a pack.... a herd.... a group..... a gaggle or whatever the heck you call a number of Harley riders approaching ..... now don't get me wrong.... some of the Harleys I've heard are properly mufflered (if that's a word).... in other words they're not loud.... but the majority of them have to be over 120 db which is bad enough going down an urban street.....
But IMHO they have no business being in a state or national park.... they ought to have a freakin' decibel reading meter at the gate of every state and national park.... you pull up and your vehicle or whatever your mode of transportation is.... has a reading over a certain obtrusive and peace defying level..... they don't let you in.... it's that simple.
Oh and pets - dogs in particular - Don't bring them to the park!
The folks next campsite over to me left their dog in their motor home .... they left about 9:00 am.
The dog has been barking non-stop since 9:00 am and its 2:00 pm now - how does a dog bark without pause for 5 hours? Don't they get hoarse or something? Don't they lose their voice or their bark?
Is a dog's bark worse than his bite? I'd have rather been bitten by the son of a gun this morning and have him shut up than have to listen to 'em bark for 5 hours.
I can't even hardly think.... I'm loading up my Netbook and heading to the Park HQ and then into Mineral Wells to get something to eat and find a quiet place to do my blog..... it's too noisy at my campsite - Thanks Dog Owners!
But here's a little gripe for you....
Have you ever been in a beautiful, quiet place like a state or national park or a scenic byway on a bluebird day just soaking up the sounds of nature.....and heard in the distance the rumbling of thunder..... only it's not thunder.... it's a pack.... a herd.... a group..... a gaggle or whatever the heck you call a number of Harley riders approaching ..... now don't get me wrong.... some of the Harleys I've heard are properly mufflered (if that's a word).... in other words they're not loud.... but the majority of them have to be over 120 db which is bad enough going down an urban street.....
But IMHO they have no business being in a state or national park.... they ought to have a freakin' decibel reading meter at the gate of every state and national park.... you pull up and your vehicle or whatever your mode of transportation is.... has a reading over a certain obtrusive and peace defying level..... they don't let you in.... it's that simple.
Oh and pets - dogs in particular - Don't bring them to the park!
The folks next campsite over to me left their dog in their motor home .... they left about 9:00 am.
The dog has been barking non-stop since 9:00 am and its 2:00 pm now - how does a dog bark without pause for 5 hours? Don't they get hoarse or something? Don't they lose their voice or their bark?
Is a dog's bark worse than his bite? I'd have rather been bitten by the son of a gun this morning and have him shut up than have to listen to 'em bark for 5 hours.
I can't even hardly think.... I'm loading up my Netbook and heading to the Park HQ and then into Mineral Wells to get something to eat and find a quiet place to do my blog..... it's too noisy at my campsite - Thanks Dog Owners!
Bicycle and Rider Overloaded
I knew when I left North Richland Hills that I was overloaded.... I had added quite a few items for this leg.... I thought I could handle the extra weight.... I was wrong.
I found myself laboring up the hills between NRH and Lake Mineral Wells State Park in 2nd and sometimes even 1st gear of my 21-speed mountain bike.
As I said in an earlier post, I didn't weigh my pack and the items in the Action Packer for this leg... probably for good reason.... I didn't want to know.... but I have hiked into the back country of Yellowstone with my back pack weighing 53 lbs and I know it weighed at least that much now.... plus I was carrying at least another 5 - 7 lbs in my Action Packer.
My planned route to Santa Fe NM has me leaving Lake Mineral Wells State Park and going due west on Hwy 180 through Breckenridge then Anson then Snyder where I'll turn northwest on 84 to Lubbock and then to Muleshoe Tx - staying in motels in each of those. I then plan to cross into New Mexico by cutting over due west @ Muleshoe to camp at Oasis State Park in Portales NM.
Bottom line is that I won't be camping out for the next 6 - 7 days so when I leave tomorrow I'm stopping at the Mineral Wells post office and mailing all my camping gear - tarp, sleeping bag, inflatable mat, remaining food stuffs and cooking related items forward to the Muleshoe Tx post office where I'll pick it up when I go through there a week from now. I've also went through my clothes and taken out a few items I don't think I'll need and I'll mail them home.
All totaled I should shed at least 10 - 12 lbs in this process.... may not sound like a lot but when you're hauling it up and down hills on a bicycle for 6 - 7 hours a day, it's a real big deal.
Anyway - that's the logistical plan for now.
I found myself laboring up the hills between NRH and Lake Mineral Wells State Park in 2nd and sometimes even 1st gear of my 21-speed mountain bike.
As I said in an earlier post, I didn't weigh my pack and the items in the Action Packer for this leg... probably for good reason.... I didn't want to know.... but I have hiked into the back country of Yellowstone with my back pack weighing 53 lbs and I know it weighed at least that much now.... plus I was carrying at least another 5 - 7 lbs in my Action Packer.
My planned route to Santa Fe NM has me leaving Lake Mineral Wells State Park and going due west on Hwy 180 through Breckenridge then Anson then Snyder where I'll turn northwest on 84 to Lubbock and then to Muleshoe Tx - staying in motels in each of those. I then plan to cross into New Mexico by cutting over due west @ Muleshoe to camp at Oasis State Park in Portales NM.
Bottom line is that I won't be camping out for the next 6 - 7 days so when I leave tomorrow I'm stopping at the Mineral Wells post office and mailing all my camping gear - tarp, sleeping bag, inflatable mat, remaining food stuffs and cooking related items forward to the Muleshoe Tx post office where I'll pick it up when I go through there a week from now. I've also went through my clothes and taken out a few items I don't think I'll need and I'll mail them home.
All totaled I should shed at least 10 - 12 lbs in this process.... may not sound like a lot but when you're hauling it up and down hills on a bicycle for 6 - 7 hours a day, it's a real big deal.
Anyway - that's the logistical plan for now.
Don Price - local Historian....and 80 year old Hiker
I went to the Park Headquarters yesterday to pay for my 2nd night at Lake Mineral Wells State Park and met an interesting gentlemen who was visiting with the Park Ranger on duty.
He was wearing an old straw hat and was dressed like he was going hiking. I noticed he looked very fit.... he had the face of an older gentleman but the body of a younger man.
We got to talking and it turned out he was an avid hiker.... he related that he had gotten an award 6 years ago for completing 5000 miles of hiking on Texas Trails.....and he was turning 80 years old in 2 months!
He also told me proudly that he had no computer, cell phone or TV. He writes a column for the local paper and is known as an expert on this area and its history.
It turns out this area is the west part of the Cross Timbers area. Because of the rocky terrain, this area was not cleared for farming and contains some of the oldest original forests in Texas.
These old grown Blackjack and Post Oaks are known as the Cast Iron Forests.
According to Mr. Price, Washington Irving, the author of Rip Van Winkle, once described this area of timber as "impassable".
Here's a link to a book on the Cast Iron Forest:
http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/fracas.html
....and a Wikipedia write-up on the Cross Timbers region:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_Timbers
I spent almost an hour talking to Don Price and was entertained by his historical anecdotes and minimalist philosophy of life.... what an amazing guy!
He was wearing an old straw hat and was dressed like he was going hiking. I noticed he looked very fit.... he had the face of an older gentleman but the body of a younger man.
We got to talking and it turned out he was an avid hiker.... he related that he had gotten an award 6 years ago for completing 5000 miles of hiking on Texas Trails.....and he was turning 80 years old in 2 months!
He also told me proudly that he had no computer, cell phone or TV. He writes a column for the local paper and is known as an expert on this area and its history.
It turns out this area is the west part of the Cross Timbers area. Because of the rocky terrain, this area was not cleared for farming and contains some of the oldest original forests in Texas.
These old grown Blackjack and Post Oaks are known as the Cast Iron Forests.
According to Mr. Price, Washington Irving, the author of Rip Van Winkle, once described this area of timber as "impassable".
Here's a link to a book on the Cast Iron Forest:
http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/fracas.html
....and a Wikipedia write-up on the Cross Timbers region:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_Timbers
I spent almost an hour talking to Don Price and was entertained by his historical anecdotes and minimalist philosophy of life.... what an amazing guy!
Follow-up on Frogg Toggs
New Year's Resolution
Happy New Year!
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