Highlights of 2010

A quick, last post of 2010.

In the last 12 months there has been over 47,500 visitors to my blog, I am humbled by each and every single one of you, thank you for coming, reading, commenting and keeping me on the straight and narrow.

The Top 3 no, 4, post’s of 2010 are:

At number 1:

I got Hit by a Van….Seems you are all blood thirsty round here , ensuring my accident with a van was the most popular post of 2010 by a LONG way, Next time, i’ll make sure I get it on camera for you LOL 😀

At Number 2:

I have just added this, but we all like Pain, Even if it doesnt last forever. It came from nowwhere, to be the second most popular post of the year.

At 3:

Fit for 30, in 2010 I turned 30, but did I turn fit ? It was a popular post and I think we all agree that I was indeed, fit and not fat, for 30

At 4:

I went Cancer fighting and smashed my 2009 time by HOURS, raising over £200 again THANK YOU ALL…

So , Where next ??

Well, I am updating the About Me page and that should be live within a couple of weeks, there is also the revamped goal list, again, it should be live within 2 weeks, more pressingly tho, I have 4 Xmas Pounds to lose and I have also contracted Man/Swine/Pig/Bird Flu, SARS, The Plague etc etc etc, I feel much better than I did yesterday, but I had a couple of long work commutes planned, as it was, I didnt even go to work, so time to rest, im sure gain a couple more pounds, but rest assured …..It WILL get killed……:-)

And Once More, Enjoy the end of year video with some “My Way” as the background music.

Gaz

A Quick Post Xmas – Pre 2011 Cycling Update.

Just wanted to post a few pictures I have taken since Xmas Eve.

 

 

Canal - Xmas Eve

Astana, HTC Columbia and Radioshack Jerseys

 

And FINALLY

 

Went out for a short ride yesterday, was VERY Warm, so went out on my Cannondale Road bike and full team kit, I was filthy but loved every second.

 

39 stone cyclist in Astana Team Kit

 

Come back tomorrow for a brief review of the top posts of 2010.

 

LiveSTRONG…..Gaz

Ending The Year In Style, New “Before Picture” and Video !

Ok, Its almost the end of the year, A time for us to be with our family’s and friends,take a rest from work and recharge before we “Kill It” in the new year.

So, I am making this post today, but it might be a week or so before I come back, so I wanted to make it special, I am almost at the end of my journey, so I wanted to make a video to reflect that, then I found a picture I thought was long gone.

So one last Before and After for 2010 , followed by one last Video for 2010, Happy Holidays and LIVESTRONG !!!!!!

The new year will bring a few new challenges and changes round these parts.

First off, it now looks like I wont be getting my skin removed from the NHS, but I am also now at a weight that I am happy with, so there may be less updates etc, but at 14 and a half stone, I’m not sure what I can now say that hasn’t already been said ? So the outlook of this blog will change, trust me when I say, I am not going anywhere, but writing a book will take up a fair old amount of my time 🙂

My BMI Was 70, as of Sunday, it’s now 24 …….Get in there…….

At Around 35 Stone, The arms of the chair were removed so I fit, and lowered so it didn't buckle

Active, Slimmer and Happy

Assault……………!

Today, was an AWESOME Day.

So the title is a little misleading 😀

But then the whole of this article isn’t quite what it might seem 😀

So at just before 13.30 Hrs today, I set off on a BRUTAL assault course, over bridges, zip lines, nets, tunnels, holes,balls,  slides, swinging things, crawling things, things where you had to use your legs, your arms, twist, turn etc etc etc……..It lasted for almost 90 Mins

and all this, while going against some SERIOUS competition … I have bruises on my knees, blisters on my fingers and I’m EXHAUSTED …but you know what ? It was AMAZING, a great feeling being able to do it….

Wait ….You want pictures of this , manly, brutal, pain filled course ?……..Sure…..Check ‘Em Out Below !

😀

Then after that, there was a quick dash to play football (Soccer) 30 mins later I was dripping in sweat, I was going to pretend that this was something serious , like I did above, but you all know me better than that now, so here are the visual’s 😀

 

 

Stay tuned for a NEVER Seen before, Before Picture, I was around 35 stone when the picture was taken and a new video, to ensure 2010 is finished on a high ………!!!!!

Don’t You EVER Stop Rock’in !!!! (Updated, New Pics)

Thursday night, I went to see the LEGEND that is Meat Loaf, in his “Hang Cool, Teddy Bear” Tour.

I have never been able to sit comfortably in the seats at the MEN Arena, Until NOW !!!

And I even picked up a “Large” T-Shirt

I'm not really Ginger, its the stage lighting 🙂

Oh yeah, the concert and the man…..ROCKED !!!!!! WHAT A NIGHT !

Bring On The Winter , Stud !

So with snow, rain and ice I have still managed to cycle on though

 

 

Tho at times it was SCARY, now I am fully prepared for it

schwalbe snow stud

Done the “Bedding In” Ride, hard work, but thats nothing but a good thing when I am trying to lose the last few pounds and build some muscle 😀

Returning To The Scene Of The Crime (Accident)

On Wednesday morning, I NEEDED to do extra miles, I was getting all pent up, see I have been doing the road commute as the off road one was far too icy , though I now have studded tyres, so all should be good again.

but I got to the scene of the accident and just froze, weird as I have passed there about 8 times since the RTC, so in a autonomous state I parked the bike where I ended up and took a picture, now the Cube is parked when I landed, the white car is heading in the direction I was headed in and is also where I was hit too, I stood there for about 5 mins, saw a few vans turn and wondered just how fast the one that hit me must have been going ????

 

I thought I had put this to bed, but 6 months on, its still an issue (my knee tells me that EVERY Day) but maybe NOW I can start to move on from it.

It’s Time The Shack Attack , Gaz FINALLY Gets What He Wants.

2XL……….XXL……Sure 3XL would have looked better on me for now BUT this isnt for now, This is my gift to me , for the SUMMER and boy I promise every single time I wear it I will Attack, I might not always win but I will Livestrong and Fight hard, I might be attacking a PB, a fellow commuter, traffic, it doesn’t matter, I have wanted this since the day Lance previewed it and now I have it, after previously being too fat to wear one:

I FULLY intend to honour the shirt with PRIDE, PASSION , COMMITMENT and a HUGE Amount of DETERMINATION

Lance Armstrong , because of this jersey I have tripled my effort this year, THANK YOU

Team Radioshack !

I have NO Problem admitting that I was emotional writing that, with a lump in my throat , I know that I CAN DO THIS !

Radioshack , PASSION, PRIDE & DETERMINATION

How Good Is This Light ?

AMAZING !!!!……First Picture is of the Canal with my Blackburn (HONEST, Its not just a Blank Picture) Second with the Magicshine P7 MJ-836.

Blackburn 3.3

Magicshine P7 MJ-836

What you cant see in the picture is that it throws light at least 100 meters further down the path…….One of my best cycling purchases (Apart from the bike that is LOL)

Now, come back tomorrow, around lunch time, for what I feel is the best update I have ever done, It sure will be the one that means the most to me anyway …..

Excellent Week, 112 Off Road, Snow Filled, Frostbite Inducing Cycling, Miles :-)

I love cycling, anyone who has been here for longer than 5 mins knows that, but this week, WOW, things have just got so much better, I remember thinking how good I felt,  back to April when I did my first 115 mile week of the year, that was on road, on a road bike, pretty much easy roads too and here I am , in December, cycling off road, in the snow and ice, on a MTB doing the same amount of miles .

Snowy Manchester

Thursday evening was a watershed moment for me, my pace was SHOCKING, I thought that I didn’t want to do this any more,my legs were dead, i didn’t have any energy and my bottle had gone (Remember the last time it snowed, I ended up in HOSPITAL)  but then I realised , things have changed, I have a bike for the conditions, I am a MUCH better cyclist and I WANT THIS, I want it so bad right now I cant even begin to tell you…I started to think that last weeks trip to hospital might be the culprit…but then I thought, that’s just an excuse man !

Still doubting myself after Thursday night, Friday morning it was Minus 11 !!!!!!…I decided to go on road to work, however, by the time I got of my road and onto the main road I had come off, nothing major, I wasn’t hurt, bike is fine but then, combined with Thursday evening I knew what I needed to do….and that was get off road and get back to fighting and having fun…. So I did:

And WHAT A View I was greeted with:

Cycling In The Snow ! (Looking Back at where I came from)

Its been a while since I was down there in the day light, this reminded me of what its all about !

Coming upto a bit where you are foced to get off to get though the gate I thought I’d snap the SEXY Cube.

Cube Ltd Team 2011 in the SNOW !

The next 4 miles were pretty hellish TBH, I was , Minus 11 when I left, the Canal always feels colder than the road, mainly due to lack of car emissions etc ,my feet were in so much PAIN I couldn’t think straight , the last mile was on road and was again, more slippy than the canal and I hated it,the driver (like they have been all week) were SHOCKING,  but the sense  of achievement once I got to work was AMAZING.

My Hat & Scarf had become victims of the weather however and had frozen to death 😀 and my water had that much Ice in it, that it had turned to SLUSH !

Frozen Scarf and Hat

Friday night I snapped some pretty great beam shots of my Magicshine, will post them up next week, but for now, I am sitting back and relaxing after a great week.