The “About Gaz” Page Has Been Updated.

I did say, that I would write this at the end of December, but I didn’t, so its almost 4 months late, sorry 😀

So the “About Gaz” page has now been updated with information covering from July 2010 to the start of 2011, you can either click the link to read the WHOLE story from start to finish,or you can simply scroll down and read the bit I have just wrote, either way, enjoy.

Gaz

Disaster:

Just a few days  after the finished the above, I was on my way into work, on my new MTB, I had climbed Joel Lane, and was pushing for around 20 miles , I am tired, I join Wilmslow Road, because its been such a long  journey I check my helmet camera at the next lights, the battery is dead, I pop it in my pocket and carry on.

A couple of miles later, I notice the road (Wilmslow Road) is quiet, I look behind me, there is nothing, I look in front, there is nothing, its weird, almost like its been closed off. 45 seconds later, I approach a green light, there is a van on the other side of the road, he can see me, after all there is nothing in front or behind me and I am on a bright red and silver bike, for a reason I will never know, he pulled out infront of me and caused a serious accident, See below:

https://theamazing39stonecyclist.wordpress.com/2010/07/20/i-was-hit-by-a-van-ended-up-in-ae-pictures-of-bike-and-rider-enclosed/

Going for the Casual look !

Cube Ltd Comp After Accident

We are almost 12 months on from that accident and yet I still suffer sever pain in my back/hips and knee, I am fighting through it, but its a struggle, mentally and physically.

Manchester 100, Fight To Make The Start Line:

I was booked in for the Manchester 100 in September, however I didn’t think I could ever make the start line, everything hurt, my confidence was shot, my ability seemed shot, my will and desire was shot to shit, I was depressed and angry , I needed to get out of the rut, so I did the only thing I know , I ATTACKED the situation

I created something called “Comeback 3.0” and I set off on my second ride since the accident

After that, I managed to fight and struggle my way to September where I made the call the night before the ride that I was going to ride it, however I had wanted to do the 100 miles, but I was in no fit state, so I did the 100Km, I raised money for charity , whilst also fighting my own mental daemons, there was still a HUGE amount of work to do, but I finished that ride, fighting, with a sprint finish

MTB’ing on the Canal

My new MTB was a write-off, I was back on the road, it took months to get paid out to replace the MTB, however, it happened and just before winter, I spent a few commutes getting mudy as hell on my new MTB

Cube Ltd Team 2011

Getting Through the Snow and Ice

The snow came and I knew that I needed to make sure that I didnt have any issues like last year, I loaded up my Cube with studded tyres and commuted on the canal, through snow and ice I was having a ball, most days my water bottle had frozen over by the time I get to work, I was wearing 6 layers of clothes yet I was still COLD, it seems losing 25 stone + of insulation really does make you cold, for when I was 39 stone I could walk about in the snow, in just a t-shirt and shorts.

Not Any More

Peak Forest Canal – Xmas Eve

Frozen Scarf and Hat

Snowy Manchester

Weight Loss

Coming towards the back end of 2010 and the start of 2011, I really kicked things up a gear, I learnt so much more about weight loss, about what I was eating and about how to make it all work in harmony, TBH up till that  point it had just been done with brute force beatings, but now I am more informed, its like racing (as I do every, single time I’m on my bike) I used to get infrot and get as big of a gap as I could as soon as I could, now I bide my time, watch the other rider, find his weakness and then exploit it, I found the weakness in the hold obesity had on me…..and I blew the mother-f***er apart 🙂

I am now 13 Stone 12 Pounds, or for my American readers I weigh 194 Pounds, Down from 39 stone 13 pounds or 559 Pounds

At 6 foot 3″ that gives me a BMI down from over 70 to 24.2………for the first time In my entire Adult Life, I have a normal BMI, I have, as an adult ALWAYS been obese (or worse) and yet now at 30 I am “Normal”

From here, it just gets harder though, the road to successful maintenance isn’t an easy one, but Pain doesn’t last forever, however quitting does.

Pain Is Temporary…Quitting Lasts FOREVER…. DON’T QUIT , Taken in Nov 2010

Team Kit

One of my “Goals I didnt think I’d achieve” was to wear team kit, Deano my good friend and colleague wont mind me saying (I hope) that despite  being someone with no body fat takes a XXL in team kit

So how was I , someone with excess skin that used to hold 26 stone of fat inside it, ever going to be able to do the same ?

Well, It wasnt easy, I had to fight and fight and fight to get into a 4XL but In Oct last year I FINALLY managed it.

It Might be 4XL But I Cant Tell You How Proud I Am To Wear It !!!!!

That then started my fire up again and I went for it with EVERYTHING I had, I now own Team kit from The Shack, Discovery, Livestrong, HTC, BMC, and the famed Discovery 7 Stars Jersey, In fact, i’ll shut up and let you watch this video for proof.

Weight Gain

At the end of 2010 I got struck down with a SERIOUS case of the Flu, no, not man flu, REAL Flu, I have never felt anything like it in my life, I was off the bike for 3 weeks OVER XMAS, What a nightmare that was, feeling sorry for myself, not able to exercise and with all the Xmas temptations, I thought to myself,”I shouldn’t, but” and that was that.

Flu Riddled

I ended up gaining about 6/7 pounds in that 3 weeks, It wasn’t a good time, BUT I knew and I recognised what I was doing and I always had one eye on recovery, in the end, I got rid of the weight gained in a week and a half of cycling  , we all need time off, we also need to recognise when we do something we shouldn’t but as long as we have succession plans for getting back on that wagon then DON’T Beat yourself up.

It still served as a very powerful reminder to me that, my journey, will NEVER be finished, I will ALWAYS have to keep on eye on myself.

2011

The year started with me beating myself up for the weight gain and getting the job done to get it off.

First ride back was a beating up Joel Lane

First Joel Lane of 2011

and the year was going with a bang from there onwards.

I was setting PB’s (Once the snow and Ice cleared) almost every single ride, pushing harder and further than ever before.

While I still struggle each and every day in pain (and take a fair few pain killers) because of that van “Mowing” me down, I wont quit, I dont know how to and I wont allow one IDIOT who wasn’t paying attention, despite driving on a main arterial road in a huge mental killing machine , ruin what I have achieved and built up.

The Media:

Check out Aprils “Cycling Active” for a 6 page interview with your’s truly

Photo Shoot 2011 – Cycling Active

I also did an Interview with Take-A-Break in an attempt to raise awareness , while the article was nowhere near as good as the one in Cycling Active, fingers crossed that it might inspire just one person. There are TOO many negative  Obesity story’s in the press, I see my role as someone who needs to tell the “Other Side”