as i have shared previously i have been dieting for my trip down south. my goal was to take progress pictures and i had hoped to diet myself down to 160 lbs.
when i start a diet things appear to be go along swimmingly and suddenly i'd hit a plateau. the first time i stalled, i made a slight dietary adjustment and increased my cardio by five minutes and that worked. the second time my weight loss stalled i added yet another five minutes to my cardio and again i was successful.
i started my quest at 170 lbs and i was pretty damn pleased to be weighing 161 lbs. last week from thursday through to sunday. there was no cheat meal, there was no variance in diet but my weight did go back up to 163 lbs. is the sudden weight 'gain' a reflection of my stress levels? it could be because yesterday morning i was able to don a pair of jeans that i can't wear any other time of the year. basically i keep them in my closet to have something to wear when i get lean.
basically, i've lost a couple of inches of my mid-section, i can see a lot more definition when i train and i have lost anywhere from seven to nine pounds.
on to other news. in late july i went for a ride out in the country on my bike and to my shock and horror the bike stalled. luckily i was able to get her going and what should have been a 2 hour ride turned into a 5 hour trip as the bike stalled several more times. when i was able to get the bike into the shop they told me that the tank lining was breaking down, getting into the fuel line and plugging the jets. since the tank had be coated or lined twice previously they suggested that it was time to replace the tank. i attempted to take the bike out on short trips while i waited for the replacement tank but she was just too unreliable.
by late september it was time to start thinking about winter storage and as much as i love jade, i just couldn't fathom going through the expense of storing what was essentially a 400 lb paperweight. so after a lot of deliberation, soul-searching and bouts of guilt i realized i was bike shopping. i found an 2006 ninja 500, essentially the same bike just several years younger. jade is a 1993 ex-500. if i remember my kawasaki history correctly the ex-500 was renamed the ninja 500 a couple model years later.
i am purchasing the '06 from a bike dealership and unfortunately they had no trade interest in my '93. everyone suggested i try to sell the jade on kiijiji but as i don't have a winter storage options at home, private sale is not a viable option. consignment sale at my bike shop would cost me $250 plus 10% of the sale price. no sale? i would still owe them $250 for winter storage. so i looked into bike salvage.
the guy at the bike salvage place started talking about possibly buying jade, fixing her tank issues and re-selling her to someone else. i was excited by that plan, the knowledge that the old girl could bring some joy to someone else really eased my mind. they just needed to bench my bike to assess her value, to see all that they needed to 'fix' and what kind of shape she was really in.
the call came last night it seems that the v.i.n stamped into the bike frame was altered to match the v.i.n on record. what does that mean? it means that someone who owned the bike before me made the switch. since i am the fourth owner of that bike it could have been done at any time in the bike's history. was the bike stolen? i don't know and i guess i will never know. clearly buying used bikes off of other riders is not the way to go and from now on it will be dealerships for me. sure i will pay a bit more than i would with private sale but at least i would not find out something like this.
so there has been a little bit of drama in my life of late but then who among us doesn't have a little drama from time to time.
i will see you when i get back!
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