While preparing for our 2023 tour, Drew taught me skills from his years of backpacking. When you have to carry everything you need, weight matters. And you’d be surprised what things weigh!
That, coupled with years of cycling, watching cyclists spend thousands of dollars to save grams, I knew weight mattered. But I’m just a recreational cyclist. I don’t need to be at a 7% body weight nor do I want to! Not only would I look gaunt but at 64, I’d look like a ballon that had been inflated/deflated/inflated…you get the picture…like the ones you see on powerlines. Not a pretty site!
As recreational cyclists, we’d often refer to those super weight conscious riders as “weight weenies”. I suppose when riding and winning is your livelihood, it makes sense but nobody is paying me to ride. Those cyclists have the most chiseled lower torsos packed with quads and glutes that would make any bodybuilder cry. From the waist up…basically, skin and bones. Kind of like a T Rex (another fond name we call these super athletes!) While maybe not your image of health or athletic, they are riding machines. It is mind boggling their cardio fitness. But I digressed.
Back to prepping in 2023. I weighed everything that went on the bike…toothbrush, vitamins, sports bras…all of it. And when all said and done, my bike fully packed came in at about 75 lbs. (I carried the food but more on that later). We watched all kinds of YouTube videos about long distance riding/hiking and how to shave weight off. I was becoming an expert! But I’d never ridden a fully self-supported bicycle tour over 3 months. This was uncharted territory.
In 2023, I left behind many ‘luxuries’ like my lipstick. And my hairbrush because a comb was lighter. I stuck to the basics- sunscreen was substituted as a moisturizer, Dr. Bronner’s worked for laundry, body soap and shampoo. I was as lean and mean as I could get. And scared of the unknown.
Your mind takes you to interesting places when you spend day after day, traveling by bike. While we were basically ‘homeless’, I didn’t want to look like a tired, scruffy cyclist. And hygiene is super important as well on journeys like this (Thank you Ann Keegan for the tips and tricks!) By the third week, I had become stronger. Could I take on an additional 4 ounces and still make it up the hill? I took a chance! While the Northern European heritage gives you beautiful, fair skin, without lipstick or cosmetics, your face is like a white sheet of paper. Blah! And while I am still quite a ‘tomboy’, I love looking like a girl, a woman. Especially when someone says “You just got chicked!” For non-cyclists, that means a female just outrode you. It makes me giggle inside like a 3 year on a red bike!
So I decided to ‘walk on the wild side’ and I bought ruby lip gloss. It not only had SPF to protect my lips from the mostly constant sun, but it became quite obvious when there wasn’t any left and time reapply-unlike clear Chapstick. And I really went off the rails! Yep. Nail polish too…in a matching color. I may be ‘homeless’ but I’m goin’ to look good while I’m there!
So fast forward to 2025 prep. Drew and I are watching our favorite YouTube cycling channels and see an episode where the couple is riding up a steep incline. And they’re working really hard. That’s going to be us. I am reminded of the day we traversed the Continental Divide four times. Boy, is the air thin up there.
And then, Drew drops the BOMB!
He casually mentions two sections…their distance and elevation.
Holy S&!%! Show me…I’m visual…don’t just tell me.
Suddenly my brain goes on overdrive.
Shave weight.
Shave WEIGHT.
SHAVE WEIGHT!!
But my lipstick!! (Elephant tears). What am I going to do?!
And like the Grinch eyeing his dog, the idea appeared!
The answer was right in front of me…in the mirror. Me! I can ‘cut’ the handles off of me instead of the toothbrush! And so the journey began. Could I trim 20 lbs? How bad do you want the lipstick?
I needed to make this real. What does 20 lbs. feel like? Off to Walmart. I picked up a container of cat sand. OH MY GOSH! I don’t want to carry that around with me and especially not up hills. Game on!
October 22, the decision was made. 138.7 lbs. Dieting…not really. Meticulously choosing good food…yes. By February 13th, my weight was 122.8. Now the teeter toter, weight versus muscle challenge begins. I know ladies…we don’t generally talk about our age or our weight but if I can inspire one person to make a change and their life is better, it’s worth it.
You see, life is about choices: I could ‘suffer’ a little overtime to lose the weight or suffer a LOT in a shorter span to get over the climbs. I chose weight loss because of all the side benefits like blood pressure and joint wear. I made the right decision for ME.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and I took the one with lipstick!
April 7, 2025
