200

I'm back from Virginia!  Sorry, last week I was sick and didn't feel up to blogging or doing pretty much anything.

For those that don't know, I was working towards the goal this year of riding my 200th roller coaster, and I was able to hit that goal September 28 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg!

Photo via rcdb.com

Verbolten, shown on the left is a great coaster and Busch Gardens is my favorite park so I couldn't have asked for a better 200!

The coaster launches you into the "black forest", really a building with cool effects and many twists and turns in the dark.   Before leaving the building, you drop VERTICALLY!  This is something that's never been done on a coaster in America.  Pretty cool.

After the drop, you are launched again up to the bridge you see in the photo on the left, before a fast couple of turns back to the station.  It's a great ride, and not too intense that kids wouldn't be able to enjoy it.

And to clarify, yes that means I've been on 200 different roller coasters so far.  It took my 33 years to ride my first 100, and 7 years to ride my next 100.

So that brings me back to the blog, first the positives: No denials the whole trip.  Didn't have any coasters or rides that I wanted to ride that I wasn't able to.

That being said, I still have some motivation besides my desire to ride El Toro, because I had to ride the "big boy" seat on Alpengeist and I barely fit in the regular seat on Griffon.  I also had to move one seat over on Busch's drop tower for a bigger seat.

So that brings me back to reality a bit and helps me re-focus after vacation.  I must say I was a bit disappointed I had ride the big boy seat, but that was a good reality check that I've still got a long way to go and this is not the time to get lazy.  So it was back to boot camp last night and Jason kicked my butt for sure, but that's what I need to get the rest of this weight off by my trip to Canada next year!  I want to be able to just hop on a coaster next year and not even think about if I fit or not, that would be pretty sweet.

Finally before I go, I also wanted to give a shout out to this guy, I don't know him personally but he's recently lost  130 pounds  and one of the things he wanted to do after the weight loss was ride a coaster!  Check this out.

Until next time, please sit on your sandals!

24

You may think this post will be about Jack Bauer, but sadly no.  As much as I'm a fan of the show 24 this is about another thing entirely. Since August 2 I'm down a total of 24 lbs!

It's incredible and crazy all at the same time to think I've dropped so much so quickly all thanks to Body by Vi and some hard work.

Last time I mentioned the genesis of this whole process, my denial from riding El Toro which is located 10 hours away in New Jersey

El Toro figuratively and literally has become my goal in weight loss.  The coaster is incredible, its one of the steepest wooden coasters and fastest on the planet and has just been named the best wooden coaster yet again, in the Golden Ticket Awards (an amusement industry award).

So when I was denied my ride back in 2010, I wasn't just denied a credit (coaster enthusiasts call it a credit, any time we ride a new coaster for us), I was denied an experience that thousands of coaster enthusiasts have already been a part of since the coaster opened in 2006.

So that brings us to today.  You may look at the 24 lbs and think, wow that was easy and in some ways you'd be right.  The nutrition part has become so much easier using the Body by Vi shakes.  But the journey has not been an easy one since 2010.

There were nights when I didn't want to go to boot camp, I just wanted to sit in the recliner and veg out.  But I didn't, I went to boot camp at Mt. Harmony each Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30 and tried to work my hardest.

One night recently I literally thought that if I ran another step, I'd probably drop dead.  Which sounded pretty good at that moment, no more boot camp!  But I digress.

At this point, if you are thinking about joining this journey, go for it!  That sounds all motivational speakerish, but really what have you got to lose (besides some weight)?  You may stumble a couple times on the way, you may struggle to find your path, but if you just make up your mind to not give up then with God, you can do all things!  God loves you so much, and wants you to join Him in His work, but to do that you've got to be healthy.  So many people have cut their life short because of poor health choices, but don't let that be you.  You are robbing this world of the blessing of YOU if your life ends prematurely!

I've heard studies that basically say it's never too late to start living a healthy lifestyle.  You may be 60 years old, but it's still not too late!  You can do this!

And last time I promised you the story about  "Please sit on your sandals!": sometime back, I was visiting my favorite amuseuemnt park, Busch Gardens Williamsburg and riding Alpengeist.

The driver of the coaster (the operator at the front of the ride that releases the ride to dispatch) was a bit emphatic about safety, which isn't always a bad thing.  But when she would go through her safety speech, when she got to the policy about riding on your sandals, she would basically scream it:  PLEASE SIT ON YOUR SANDALS!  This was a bit hilarious to us, to say the least.  So I never forgot it and now I will sign my blogs the same way.  Be enthusiastic about the ride of life!  If you have to scream to the top of your lungs!  And until next time, please sit on your sandals! 

Denied: The day it all started

Our story begins back in 2010.  After many years of wishing and hoping to ride El Toro, considered by many to be one of the best wooden coasters on the planet I made the trek to New Jersey.

My good friend Leo and I, who I had the pleasure of hosting at the Westate on two occasions and showing around Carowinds, was my host for the day.

The day started well, I got in rides on Superman: Ultimate Flight and Kingda Ka without any problems.  Then came El Toro.  First I tried the test seat, no go.  Leo tried with all his might to get a green light on the test seat, but it just wasn't happening.

I figured though, since I had driven all this way for this beast I would at least try it in the station.  So we waited about 10 minutes (a short wait for El Toro too) and I got in the seat.  Well, I got the seatbelt on all by myself, with a little struggle but I got it on.  Then I pulled down the lap bar, it was locked.  However, I saw her coming.  The ride attendant had gotten the signal from the "driver" of the coaster that my restraint wasn't down far enough.

So, the ride attendant doesn't even do more than a gentle push on the restraint and tells me I don't fit, and I won't be able to ride.  I knew this was a possibility, but I was more upset that the park wouldn't even allow their employees to TRY and assist guests on the ride.  I was disappointed to say the least, but I knew even before leaving home that I may not fit on the coaster, and I didn't.

I say all that to say this, that was a day that has stuck in my mind ever since.  I knew at that point I had to do something about my weight, I didn't know what but I had to get my weight back under control.  I guess at that point I was in denial, considering I had only been denied about 5 coasters in my life, 2 or 3 of them on that very trip.  To give you the complete story on my trip to Six Flags Great Adventure, I did fit on all the other coasters in the park, some though were very tight fits.

So for many months, I prayed for God to give me direction, I didn't want to be this weight for the rest of my life.  And along came Rhymer Fitness.

About 2 years ago I started working out with Jason Rhymer at Mt. Harmony Baptist's boot camp workout.  This was going to be a long slow road to where I wanted to be, but God knew what He was doing.

The first 2 years, for me, was about building endurance.  And boy did I need it.  Not only was I out of shape just being overweight, but I had no strength at all.  No strength left in my arms, legs or more important my core.

The first workout at Jason's boot camp was beyond what I'd ever done in a gym or own my own at home, when I was in shape.  I sweated like I was about to die, when in fact I was on the road to life again!

I've started this blog to share some of my victories and struggles along the way and hope it will encourage some to get on the road with me.  Don't think about that 20, 40 or 60 lbs you have to lose, just get on the road with me and see where God takes you!  All you have to lose is some weight!

Until next time, enjoy the ride of life and please sit on your sandals! (I'll tell you about that story later)