Finally I decided to get a real bicycle, one I could ride outdoors in warmer weather, and a trainer, a little gizmo with a roller that the rear wheel rests on, which lets it spin but also provides friction. A heart rate monitor/cycle computer gives me feedback about how well I'm keeping my heart in the target zone, and will stay on the bike when I ride outside.
The final piece of the puzzle is a complete set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs. Most weekdays I visit Marsha after work, go home, set up my notebook computer on my desk, get on the bike, and watch one 45-minute episode. That's a good solid exercise session, long enough to accomplish something, short enough to be doable.
My heart rate monitor claims I burn up 400 to 500 calories, and I'm usually less hungry afterward than I otherwise would be, so I ought to be losing weight. The scale says maybe half a pound a week, but it's really too early to tell. And it's too soon to be confident that I'll keep this up long-term, but I'm hoping to, with one or two break days a week. (Eeek! What am I going to do the week of Witchcamp and other out-of-town trips?) If I do, I'll run out of Buffy and the related Angel series in six to eight months. Presumably I'll watch less and ride outdoors more in the warmer months, but even so...
Let's see: When Marsha and I watched TV together, we sometimes watched Babylon Five, and I've always wondered what it would be like to see it all the way through in sequence. And some of the other shows we used to watch are probably available and relatively cheap. And I hear good things about Veronica Mars and Battlestar Galactica.
And there are always, er, reruns.
