There are various fun dirt paths accessible off of the Coyote Creek trail, and today was a nice day to check them out. I rode for a total of about two hours, maybe an hour of that on unpaved or gravel trails. These are good at my skill level, not too technical. One of the … Continue reading Some Fun Off-road Riding →

People say, “What is the sense of our small effort?” They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time--. Dorothy Day I think the great social activist Dorothy Day meant this in the context of changing the world. It reminds me of the story of an … Continue reading Tiny Steps Add Up →

With my BP now under control I was confident to go on a brisk long ride. That and the fact that sunny weather is back, at least for now, prompted me to visit Coyote Creek trail for the first time in a while. Cruising on a Crisp Spring Day. Loma Prieta and the Santa Cruz … Continue reading Nice Long Ride on Coyote Creek Trail →

I learned of this interesting study on Alex Hutchinson's column "Sweat Science". It it soon to be published in Plos One but here is a link to a preprint. If you do one set of strength training, once a week, on several exercises that cover major muscle groups, it will lead to significant strength gains … Continue reading Once A Week Strength Training Can Be Effective →

I saw my doctor on Friday and got my test results. Most of the usual "lipid panel" results were great, like total cholesterol, hdl, and Triglycerides. Ldl was 107, slightly above target of 100, But here is where some of the extra tests my Doc had run came in handy. Oxidized ldl was low. The … Continue reading Blood Pressure and Other Health Markers Revisited →

I claim to be an average man of less than average ability. . . . I have not the shadow of a doubt that any man or woman can achieve what I have, if he or she would make the same effort and cultivate the same hope and faith. --Mahatma Gandhi This is remarkable coming … Continue reading Anything is Possible With the Right Effort →

No longer are we required to be the "aging athlete". From now on, we can choose to be the "master athlete"- Shane Eversfield This is from Shane's inspiring book Kaizen-durance. Kaizen (Japanese ) or Gai-shan (Chinese) is the concept of lifelong improvement. It is well known that in any athletic activity, we reach our peak … Continue reading Be A Master Athlete, Not An Aging Athlete →

As I mentioned in a recent post, I've been trying some nutritional steps to naturally lower blood pressure, with some success. But overall I'd say I'm disappointed. As I mentioned, I tried the suggestions in the book Thirty Days to Natural Blood Pressure Control: The “No Pressure” Solution . To be fair, I haven't given … Continue reading Blood Pressure, Nitric Oxide, and Nutrition →

Lush green meadow on lower slope of El Toro Today I went riding on the west side of Morgan Hill. I haven't been hiking much lately and want to get back into it, but my recovering piriformis still doesn't like downhill that much. So I stayed on the road but walked up the steep hills … Continue reading Biking and Walking on West Side of Town →

I just finished reading the fascinating book Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding by evolutionary biologist Dr. Daniel Lieberman. His main point is that humans evolved doing physical activity as part of their daily lives, hunter gatherers walking a lot, digging for tubers, climbing trees for fruit, or running … Continue reading Don’t Be “Exercised” About Exercise →