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At the end of week 1, my job will be moving up to London, and I've decided to follow my job which is going to be a big change in my life. I'll be going from a short drive to work to over an hour on the train each way, I'll be working in a new office with new people I don't know, the work itself will likely be changing (although I've got no idea on the plan or timescales for that). It's going to be a busy month, but I want to keep a challenge running to keep me from going off the rails, and also to give me more excuse to keep up with you wonderful people. Going to try and keep it simple and just keep checking in. Forewarning that this may not be the most upbeat or cheerful thread this challenge, so if you don't like listening to people whine it may be one to avoid. Keep Lifting - Lift 12+ times this challenge - 15XP This one shouldn't be too hard, I really enjoy my lifting program so I should be able to keep up with it. I will need to cancel my gym membership and join a new gym in London, because the current place doesn't open early enough for me to go there before I would have to get on the train. So gym shopping in week 2 could be fun! Don't drink like a dickhead- 15XP Since I found out my job was effectively being sold, I've been depressed, stressed and so very very angry. Unfortunately I do have a tendency to drink my feelings when things aren't going well. Add into that that insurance, and particularly the London market, is an area where heavy drinking is actively encouraged as part of building professional relationships. Then add in working with new people and needing to get to know them which will undoubtedly lead to office drinks. All in all the best outcome if I drink like a dickhead is that I make myself ill, and sad, and fat. Worst case I do that plus I do or say something so stupid I live to regret it. I have a vague mental list of things that count as drinking like a dickhead, including drinking at home (either before or after a night out), drinking beer that I'm not enjoying. If I have more than 5 pints I may well be drinking like a dickhead. If I have more than 6 I almost certainly am. If I find myself getting morose or getting angry I am to stop drinking and take myself the fuck home. Skill Work - 12+ times this challenge - 15XP I've been kind of inspired by the handstand stuff going on with NF at the moment. I haven't bought the programs, but I do want to work on wall walks and crow pose this month as progression towards a handstand. I've also been looking for a chance to work on L-sits for a few months now, so that will count too. Please send me any resources you have on these things. I will definitely be referring to these two: https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2016/10/17/a-beginners-guide-to-handstands/#more-1342745 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUZJoSP66HI (floor l-sit progression) Bullet Journaling - Daily - 10XP I really like the idea of this, it looks to be a simple way to keep track of life (and of challenge goals!), to keep a to-do list running, and hopefully make me a more productive human. I played with it last challenge before everything fell apart a bit, so I thought I would make it a goal this time to see if I can stick with it. That's all folks, wish me luck!

Hello! I am looking into a new (or used) road bike. I currently own a 15+ year old mountain bike, and I've used it the past two summers to commute to work 1x/week (14 miles each way, all paved). My main objective in buying a road bike is to make my commute time shorter and less draining so that I can bump it up to 2x or 3x/week this summer. I went in to a LBS and they had me demo a Specialized Dolce (the base model). I had never ridden a road bike before, so it will take some getting used to, but I didn't find it too terribly different/awkward. However, I would like to spend less on it as we've been trying to really focus on our budget in th past 6 months. A few questions for the knowledgable scouts here at NF: 1) What are your opinions on buying a used road bike? 2) Do I need to look only at women's road bikes? I am 5'7'' 3) Is it worth it to drive around to a bunch of different bike shops that carry different brands (Giant, Trek, Schwinn, etc)? The one I went to only carries Specialized and some Raleigh. Will the prices on entry level bikes vary greatly between brands? The quality? The Specialized Dolce I demoed was $769. 4) Any other advice for me as I continue researching? I would like to purchase in the next couple weeks; do have some time because it's still pretty chilly here but once it's nice out I'd like to get riding asap . Thanks in advance for your insights!