June 2015 was the watershed moment. 2016 was a year of tremendous physical progress. 2017 was a year of fun and adventures. 2018 is going to be a most excellent combination of physical progress and fun and adventure.
I am absolutely determined to reach my desired target weight of 178 lbs (80.7 kg). Based on what I was able to lose before and knowing how difficult it is, I'm thinking now that a realistic date to achieve this is probably in the spring of 2019, by which time I will be 52 years old. Along the way, I am still pursuing these major accomplishments:
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Passing within 5 miles of Mount Hood (at Government Camp) while on my summer vacation, August 2017 |
- Hiking 100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail in southern Oregon to Crater Lake in a week.
- Riding my (pedal) bicycle 600 miles from Portland back to Montana (wherever I happen to be living at the time - probably Missoula). Should take about two weeks.
- Climbing to the 11,250-foot high summit of Mount Hood in Oregon.
My plan is to share my story and use it to inspire others to achieve similar results.
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Enjoying riding my Honda Rebel 500 |
To do this, I am going to continue with the earlier activities which I enjoy: walking, hiking, backpacking, cycling, snowshoeing, swimming. Along the way, there will be some new activities (which I've previously mentioned in this blog): boxing, T'ai Chi, and dancing. In addition, there will be some time for non-fitness-related hobbies: photography, motorcycle riding, astronomy, watercolor painting, joining a trivia quiz team and (a new one for me) improv comedy.
I recently read the term "Renaissance Man", and while I can't aspire to be as great as Leonardo Da Vinci or even a modern one like Brian May, Viggo Mortensen or Steve Martin, I can try to be good at a number of different things and above all have some fun doing them. If any of my friends want to join me, you are welcome.