More Goals Come A Tumbling – The Sad Goodbye Was A False Dawn !

Goal’s

In a week where I wasnt even thinking of Goals , I manage to achieve 4 of them.

The first I spoke about on Saturday was

34. Promote cycling and weight loss to a room of Morbidly Obese adults

Then on Saturday evening I noticed I had done a few others, they are:

32. Cycle 15000 Miles — Now over 16000 Miles

24. Get my sprint speed to over 40 Mph (Current Best 36.8Mph) —Now 43.3 Mph (YES it WAS on the flat)

37. Try something I really didn’t like, for a second time— Being the Biggest Loser Bars last week

WOW, That took me by surprise TBH.

LiveSTRONG “Madone”

Last week it was on eBay, it reached the minimum i’d hoped for in a couple of days, after 4 days it had over 1000 views and 130 “Watches” BUT I had advertised it with a 105 front mech, now I had ordered this the week before, but it seems 3 items that I have ordered from separate sellers have gone missing, including the Mech, So, I took it off auction when it became clear I had an issue.

Then on Thursday, owing to the most horrendous “Noise” on my Cannondale I was forced to ride it to work, I didn’t want to , it was raining…. A LOT but still………On that ride to work I had the time of my life, I only used the “Small Ring” new territory for me as im ALWAYS in the big ring, but I didn’t want to push it too hard just yet, I averaged over 18 Mph , over 10 miles, in the SMALL Ring !

Then Friday came, wow wow, I left a little early, I have not done any monster rides since coming back from illness but Friday was my “Ride a marathon a week” day, on the 3rd mile , after being warmed up, I used the big ring for the first time…….43.3Mph, I was flying past cars, it was amazing , then as part of a new route I had a 5 mile climb at an average of 7% into Oldham, I passed a bus on the way up, this bike is TOO god, my average speed is around the same but my miles are much more consistent.

When I first rode this bike I was a little….Meh yes its good… but Fizz was right, it’s not just good it’s on ANOTHER PLANET !

Feeling Gulty, Looking All Wet N Dirty !

My Tribute to Wouter Weylandt

Wouter was one of our own, he died doing what we all  do and love, it could have been any of us, I decided to do something, not anything over the top, but to keep his memory alive.

First off is these

Wouter used to ride for Quick Step, so as a nice “understated” gesture, I got a couple of these.

Then we have

Check what is on the TV

Yup, I got me some Trek Leopard team kit, actually for kit that is “Boring” it’s actually pretty classy, It will be my honor to ride in memory of Wouter, the question is, do I ride in this or my Black Radioshack kit on the way to Blackpool ?

New Uniform

I have my new works uniform

Skyride

it’s just a shame I cant do this job 5 days a week to replace my current role, it would be such a dream.

On the theme of new kit, some people say I can, at times, be a little “Camp”, well, I have NO IDEA why….:)

And FINALLY

My Cycling Tattoo:

I have wanted this for around a year, but I also wanted to wait to make sure I got it right, had I done this when I first got the idea, I wouldn’t have added the bottom line, but because I waited to make sure, I got the bottle line added, anyway, here it is.

and on the inspirational note

Here is another chance to check out my speech.

If this or I have inspired you, then PLEASE sponsor me for the 2011 Manchester to Blackpool charity ride, together, we CAN beat cancer.

http://www.justgiving.com/the39stonecyclist

Gaz Does Motivational Speaking , Goal Achieved, Video Inside !

The Goal was

14. Promote cycling and weight loss to a room of Morbidly Obese adults — 28 May 2011

So, the whole room wasnt full of morbidly obese adults and I wont go into personal details, but this goal has now been achieved.

My speech (Video further down) lasted 10 mins, I didn’t memories it, I SHOULD have done, I messed up the start and missed quite a chunk out at the end, but I really do think it went well, there were many people who had a tear or 2 in their eyes and I felt on top of the world !

I’d change my stance next time, but I stand like that to counter nerves, truth be told, the nerves went about 30 seconds in, but I kept the same stance…….Lesson larnt along with memorizing what I have to say.

BUT all that said, I want to do it again, in fact, I’d love to turn this into a profession , to be able to bring home a salary and promote weight loss……..ideal !

So, if you have a company and you want to promote weight loss to the ranks or you are the NHS or a private medial company and want to offer me a job then  get in touch

Here is the video !

A Very Sad Goodbye !

***A note from Gaz: The final paragraph asks for YOUR input on how this blog is run, if you don’t read anything else, please read that and let me have your thoughts, thanks, Gaz***

The Long Goodbye:

Well, 2 Very sad goodbyes actually.Nooooo, not me, you can’t get rid of me so easy.

First was Wouters, never before have I welled up watching the sport I love, as much as I did when Trek Leopard and Tyler Farrar crossed the finish line in unison after the death of Wouter and then (in the correct thing to do) left the Giro.

The Second Goodbye:

I have purchased a new bike, it’s the most special of specials, I was close to getting a Trek Madone, but I didn’t, as much as I’d have loved one, I’m not a fan of the “None Project One”paint jobs, and the Project One, ones mean I will end up paying more than I did for my car. That said, the bike I did order ran a project one Madone close when it comes to cost, as such I need to move on a bike in order to not overstretch myself, as such , the “Custom Carbon” has to go…..:-(

Want to own something owned by me? Feel free to let me know in the comments, I have done my sums and I spent £995 in total (original estimates were lower as I didn’t count the wheels and sundry parts, I only counted Groupset and Frame) I am hoping to get around £900, someone out there is going to get a stunning bike, that’s only been rode 3 times, with a “famous” history/owner

You Think That I am Cooler Than You ?

Well, that’s because I am , for this week, I got some new “Bins” or Glasses, being as blind as I am, its hard to get wrap around’s as most only go to -6 and im -9 and -8, however, I found a semi-wrap pair and stuck a mirrored tint in them

The AWESOME thing about the Mirror is that you wont be able to see the pain etched on my face when I am riding myself into the ground and vice versa, if I am racing someone and I am fresh, I might drop back, making them think I am struggling as they can’t see, only to fly past when the moment is right 

This Week:

I finally got back into the grove, by the end of the week I was averaging 19 Mph over 10 miles and on Friday I put in a huge number of miles , almost as many as I’d done in the 4 days prior.

Weight wise I am now back to where I was.

and I have a new, cycling related tattoo, will post pictures next week , once it has settled down a little as I only got it done today.

So all in all, things are SOOO much better than they were a little over a week ago.

STRIKE !

and finally.

I was contacted by a travel company who offered me a holiday in exchange for promotion of them, on here, as it was, the holiday would have suited, but it got me thinking, getting over 12k hits a month might be attractive to some corporate brands.

If I got an official bike partner and an official holiday partner, it would then give me the chance to save money for my skin operation,heck I could even look for an official “cosmetic surgery” partner.

Do you think it would be a bad idea to do such a thing ? the content and message I promote here would NEVER change, but It would give me that chance of “Finishing this journey”

Would love to know your thoughts.

LiveSTRONG

Gaz

I’m Bacccccccck !!! :-)

As of Wednesday Morning , I was BACK !

What the medical profession suspected to be something pretty darn serious, actually “Seems” to have turned out to be fixable with a few drugs, Fingers crossed the results of the test confirm this.

April:

I never did an “April in Review” so keeping in mind I missed a week due to holidays and illness, how did I get on ?

Distance  477.21 mi
Elevation Gain 24,219 ft

Calories: 33,412 C

Max Speed 44.5 mph

Avg Speed:15.1 mph
Avg HR:145 bpm

Am I happy with that ? You bet yer-ass Im happy with those stats in 3 weeks worth of commuting.

My One Project, Custom Trek Madone:

This week I managed to get it finished (Or so I thought) , adding yellow tyres, bartape and a brand new SRAM Force chainset to replace the faulty one, I have not rode this since the fist week I built it, The other thing left to do now, is order longer reach drops and a better front Mech & get the steer tube cut.

Again, Im HAPPY with that result too

The Last 3 Days:

Since being back, I managed to cycle 55 miles, average 19.1 Mph on one commute and ever pick up a new set of Mavic SPD shoes

Friday night was horrendous, VERY nearly being hit 3 times on the way home, once by a bus, my nerves were shattered by the end of the commute , but Im ready to go again, its rare I get days like that/feel like that, Just need to put it behind me now.

I did put a “few” pounds on when I was off, but I have managed to get 80% of them back off this week, the rest should fall into line next week.

On the bike front, there is something VERY VERY Special headed my way……..
Finally I wanted to end by saying, RIP Wouter, I have a tribute headed your way.

If this or I have inspired you, then PLEASE sponsor me for the 2011 Manchester to Blackpool charity ride, together, we CAN beat cancer.

http://www.justgiving.com/the39stonecyclist

RIP Wouter Weylandt

Its times like these THAT really highlight your own Mortality, Days like this put this great sport we love into perspective:

I'm shocked and saddened. May he rest in peace

I can’t really say I know/knew much about Wouter, I have only been into Pro Tours for 2 years, Heck this was the first time I have watched the Giro d’Italia, but to see another human laying there like he was, it seems from reports he peddle got stuck in a wall and he fell 60 meters, coming down the other side of the main climb at approx 50Mph, the TV pictures would seem to back that claim up.

I also understand to add to tragedy his girlfriend is pregnant.

yesterday we all lost one of our own, RIP Wouter !

RIP Wouter Weylandt

100K – THANK YOU !

I am currently laid up with a nasty and worrying illness, lets hope the following couple of weeks provides an answer that isn’t as scary as it could be, LiveSTRONG !

So here we are, 17 months after I started this blog, we have hit 100.000 visitors, what an amazing achievement, thank you for spreading the word, without readers posting my link here , there and everywhere It wouldn’t of got to that number so quick, so thank you, you have been an integral part of it.

In celebration I found a random picture and Errrm, Borrowed it:

Some other numbers i’ll share is the rate at witch readership has grown:

It’s been an amazing 17 months, here is to getting much stronger:

SED:

A quick update on my  SED.

I Spoke to my Doc yesterday about this (amongst others)

He’s someone who himself is pretty overweight (maybe even obese) and has ALWAYS taken a keen interest in my weight loss, when I told him I had SED he couldn’t believe it

( as an aside, oh how times change, years gone by the medical profession wasn’t aware of SED, Yesterdays conversation was all about what I couldn’t eat, since when, why etc etc)

HE said “if you had of told me you could lose 26 stone on Crisp I’d say it wasn’t possible, but you have done”

So there you go, there is a 12 Month waiting list for an initial consultation, so I will still try to beat this myself but, now, I have the support and expertise that I need, headed my way and it actually feels good to have asked, as opposed to how I used to feel, dirty etc.

I’ll leave you with a visual representation of how many of you have been here, it humbled me !

LiveSTRONG !

DVD Footage Of The 2009 Manchester Be-Proud Awards

I’m still laid up (and throwing up, I know, Too much Info) with a gastric infection, So I thought it about time I post this video, its only 18 Months late

I was Approx 22 Stone from Memory at this stage of my Journey and DAMN was I fat THEN, never mind at the start, Presented by Gordon Burns.

I trust when the time comes you will all vote for me in this years awards ? I need to get a chance to do a speech this time