When You Fall, Get STRAIGHT Back On , Video Update Ahead.

Been laid up over the last few days, so this update will mainly consist of 2 videos of me, one where I laid the camera at the side of the road a few times on the way up Chunal , for those of you (99.9%) that have never seen me cycle, this will be a rare insight.

So Chunal, Lets look at the elevation first.

Ok and the speed profile ?

Mile 9 was AWESOME Fun, 45 MPH at one point 🙂

So, the first video then, from last weekend.

So, thats all well and good and I hope you enjoyed it, the final (Typed) word from me is to introduce my next video, I was in New Mills by this point (and towards the end Joel Lane) I confess to something in this video and also get pretty emotional too, if you do Fail, its OK, just dont leave it 2 years before you try it again.

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

Easter Sunday Training Ride & & A Video During Ride.

Sunday I headed out for a “Couple of Easy Miles”

I ended up on the Top of Chunal:

Now THATS a View !

Its a nice 1000ft – ish (from my house) climb to the top, very enjoyable actually, approx 4 miles from the bottom of Glossop to the top of here, lots of motorbikes and “Chavs” in Crosa’s with rather large “Zorst’s” though.

With time constraints on me, I had to turn around and head home.

The great thing about this was there was a rider approx 45 seconds in front of me, I stuck it in the biggest gear and “Gave it Balls” hitting 45 Mph at one point, I averaged 30 mph on the way down.

Passing the other rider on one of the bends, it was AMAZING, if a little dangerous

Chunal and Back

The ride was just under 16 miles, and just under 1600ft, I managed to average 15,1 Mph,hitting 45Mph on the way down.

I set myself a goal of 400 miles in March, I am now on 410 Miles , I also set a goal of 100 miles this week, I did 168 Miles…………Think I need to re-evalute my challenges.

Finally, here is a video from the top of Chunal and the 3rd climb

Enjoy

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

Goal Achieved – Feel The Fear, Do It ANYWAY.

Sheesh, its been a rollercoaster of a week 🙂

Last year I REALLY wanted to get the goal “Ride a rollercoaster” I didn’t !

yesterday however, I visited Alton Towers, a place FULL of rollercoasters and Thrill rides, I think its fair to say a good day was had by all, when I decided to lose 26 stone (or 350 Pounds) one thing I said to myself was “Feel the fear, Do it anyway”, Yesterday, I followed my own advice.

It was 9.45 Am, I was ready to go in, I stopped for a snap:

Scared ? Me ?

Feeling The Fear, Doing It Anyway, Old McDonald's Tractor Ride !

On the ride, my fear got even worse:

Arghhhhhhhh

At 40 Stone (Or 550 Pounds) There would have been NO WAY I Would have ridden this !

Pretty much as the caption says, At 40 Stone (Or 550 Pounds) There would have been NO WAY I Would have ridden this , while im sure if there was no-one else in the cars I would have been fine, it would have been too humiliating to have to ride on my own !

As it was, it was fine:

Next up was the ADRENALINE filled , Riverbank Eye Spy in Old MacDonald’s Farmyard

Riverbank Eye Spy in Old MacDonald's Farmyard @ Alton Towers

Now, again, I wouldn’t have been able to ride this when I was 40 stone, The boat would have hit the bottom as its very shallow.

STILL Feeling The Fear, STILL Doing It Anyway - Riverbank Eye Spy in Old MacDonald's Farmyard

Right ENOUGH, Rollercoaster time, I used to  love Intamin built rides, so I headed for the BEST one:

Intamin Built Goodness, Right - Ready to Feel that fear ????

Yeah, I was ready, I looked for the que line…..Wait a second, I’m not sure if that is safe to ride ? I’ll move on to the next one “Just In Case”

On the way , I noticed a climbing net, I have, somewhere, a picture from 1998, at the top of one of these in Spain, so as soon as I saw it I got excited and got to the top ASAP

I looked for the pic from 1998 today, couldn't find it 😦

Argh, I have a tropical illness on my foot, or is it UV lights ?

Charlie, You and your chocolate factory don't scare me

Another water ride, The boat DIDNT sink with me in it, BONUS !

Another WET ride:

Alton Towers Log Flume 2011 - Is That Fear In My Eyes ?

At 40 stone I wouldn’t have needed to worry about sinking as

1: I wouldn’t have been able to FIT into the boat

and

2: It would NEVER have got up the lift hill

And Finally, time to whip those horses into shape 🙂

Sadly, that’s all the pictures I have, however I did ride MANY other rides , don’t worry, I felt the REAL fear and I did it anyway 🙂

Goal Achieved:

18. Ride a roller coaster again – 23rd April 2011, Alton Towers, Many More To Come !

Feel the FEAR, Do It Anyway, LiveSTRONG.

Gaz

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

I’m Poop’ed – A Quick Few Comparison Photo’s – Who Can Guess Wht Goal I Went Looking For Today ?

The Pic That Started It All, Gaz @ 34 Stone

Before

Here I Introduce a SCARY-ASS Water ride, AKA The Farm:

(More Videos On The Way)

We Have A WINNER , Training Ride Stats & I’ve Got A Goal In Sight

Here is me, yesterday just before heading out on a training ride:

Anyway, never mind that, I entered a competition to win a Neil Pryde , Diablo Carbon Bike, Check out my video below showing off me and my “prize”

That was taken at the highest point on a training ride yesterday, here are the stats:

So that’s now 150 miles in 5 days, Im pretty pooped, the second half of the ride was much slower as my legs literally died, there was a headwind from hell and it was a little uphill, actually scratch that, the elevation isnt something I can claim beats me anymore, it was fatigue and wind (Not mine)

Today I am treating myself and I’m off hunting a Goal, What could it be ? I am more excited about this than many of the others and its NOT bike related, you can be sure if I get it (and I FULLY intend to) there will be pictures here pretty soon !

Me at the end of the ride, see the pain in my face ? No ? Thats why I wear sunglasses

Liv-in Strong & Riding For Lance.

Fatty:

Thank You to Elden for publishing my “About Me” Story over on Fat Cyclist, If you haven’t seen it, then pop over there and don’t forget to thank Fatty for getting my story out there, I had over 3700 new visitors , his readership must be HUGE !!!

Edit: I also noticed a comment on there from a former Biggest Loser contestant, a comment about ME , It was the USA version of Biggest Loser that kick started this process and in turn saved my life and now contestants from it  are talking about me, I cant begin to tell you how humbled it made me feel.

This Week’s Jaunts:

Oh boy, last week I was a little low, due to the RLJ’ing and accidents, This week, I was out to prove a point

I proved that point, Today I was going to write

” I have not suffered so much on a bike since my first rides” but that would be WRONG I tell you.

For this week , I have “Never ever suffered so much on a bike EVER”

I hurt myself REAL bad, but this wasn’t a bad kind of hurt, this was the most awesome suffering on a bike ever , I have done 123 Miles and 8000ft of climbing, today is a Public Holiday in the UK (For my readers that don’t know) so I wanted to get as many miles in before today I could, I also wanted HARD miles:

The above image shows just one leg of my commutes this week, a 9 mile, 850 foot climb to start, followed by a couple of 15% hills, oh the joys 🙂

Wednesday was an amazing day, I arrived at the 14 Mile point, behind a guy in full Cofidis kit, I of course was looking like this

Pride.Passion. Desire  :

So , In front me is someone in Cofidis kit, the team that DROPPED Lance Armstrong when he was ill with cancer, behind him is me, in Full Shack kit, the team of Lance Armstrong, There was only ever going to be one victor in this tale, however, I had to work for this one, work like NEVER before, we were powering along at 25-30 Mph, I had 85 miles in some tired legs , it was BAKING hot, I had just done around 900ft of climbing, but I wouldn’t  quit, for this one was for the PRIDE of Lance !!!!

2 Miles later still at a blistering pace, the road raised slightly, I took my chance and pulled off his wheel and kicked from 25 to 35 Mph, he responded and I thought he would hold me, but 30 seconds after it started , it was over, he sat down, I didnt , I wasnt going to give an inch until my eyes bled, my heart exploded and my bike submitted, for this was my chance to give something back to Lance after his disgraceful treatmnt by Cofidis, neither Lance nor Cofidis will ever know about what I did, but that didn’t matter to me, I’d done it for Lance and I was proud of every , single, second !!!! I have given something back to someone who has given me sooo much over the past 2 years.

This was my average speed over the last mile of our Duel

Yes, that’s right, we AVERAGED 29.3 MPH , it was the proudest moment I have ever had on a bike !

So for now, I am going to rest, but later, I might go out, hunting for Mr Cofidis again, it’s fair to say, I have my “mo-jo” back.

LIVESTRONG & Ride For Lance

Gaz

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

Urgh – I feel like I am having a “Cavendish” Style start to the year !

Strange week this one, its kind of like the straw that broke the camels back.

On the face of it the year is going amazingly well, I am cycling furher each week/month than I have ever done before, 90% of my rides are now done at an average speed of over 16.5Mph , Heck, this week I managed to average 25.5Mph over a mile , though it was a wee bit down hill, so I wont claim it. I am at my lightest  weight since I was about 10 years old, I am fitter, stronger and happier than ever.

So what’s the problem ?

Mr Under Pants Call Out: 

Well, last week, I was called out by some Underpants for jumping 2 red lights, this behaviour is unacceptable and one I ask NO ONE to follow my lead on doing, I am NOT in the habit of doing it, it was a stupid thing to do, there were reasons (Not excuses) behind it, but at the end of the day, after 87.000 hits here, I need to realise that people out there on the roads MIGHT just recognise me & if I am not doing anything wrong then its not an issue, but sod’s law states that when I did do something out of charter , I was see. Now I could have made the comments by Mr Underpants Vanish, but I didn’t, I think that shows that I know it was a mistake and that I will learn from it, if I did it all the time, then surly I could have just deleted the comment ?

Unclip Baby:

I left work early Thursday, feeling rough as a bears behind, It was warm but I was in a coat, long sleeve jersey and lycra pants. I was motoring along at a  good 20 Mph when a pedestrian stepped out , now I would have been in my rights to have swerved round her and it was safe to do, but thinking about what Mr Under Pants had said the day before, I didn’t, I braked, REALLY hard …I kept it together, and stopped in time, the pedestrian didn’t  acknowledge I was even there, it was at this point I knew something was wrong…………..I had forgotten to unclip my SPD’s , ARGHHHHHH I toppled over to my left, where about 30 people were stood away from me but all looking in my direction.

I jumped up, trying to laugh it off, I had my MP3 player on but still heard a chorus of laughter , I went round the corner and consoled myself , before heading home, still managed to average 16mph, even with a bloody knee 🙂

Rear Ender:

Then, who can forget the maiden commuting voyage of  my Chi-Done, I’d made it to within half a mile of work when the traffic conspired against me and I ended up, glancing the back of a car and ending up on the deck again.

and to compound things further I failed to hit one of my weekly goals a few weeks back for the first time since last summer (the goal was 120 miles commuted in 5 days)

So, its been a hard year, like I say, I am super quick, super fit, slimmer than ever and enjoying cycling more than I have ever done in the past.

What it has shown me is,I have been bloody  lucky in the past 2 years, I  have also been lucky in the past few weeks with the accidents, I will learn from this, like I learn from all the other mistakes I have ever made in my life, its not killed me, so mentally it WILL make me MUCH stronger.

Friday Morning, I was SOOOO ready for it:

18 Miles, 1000 ft of climbing, averaging over 17 Mph, no crashes, no red lights jumped 🙂

Oh yeah, I have also moved offices, I poped out to get a drink of milk, seems we moved to where Shameless used to be filmed (and based upon)

Till next time, Stay SAFE, Ride HARD

LiveSTRONG

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

Remember, Embrace & NEVER Forget, Your Beginners Spirit !

Go back to when you first got your first bike as a child and was charged full of excitement and that “Beginners Spirit”

Back in your childhood when that bike was the whole world to you, I’m sure most, if not all, can associate with those feelings, we would ride and ride and ride, till we wasn’t allowed out no longer 🙂

I wanted to be reminded of that childhood beginners spirit and also the beginners spirit of 2 and  a half years ago.

So I got a sticker, every single time the going get tough, and my head drops, I will see this

 

The child-like font and letter placement is deliberate:

 

I am gonna look to play around with different fonts, colours etc.

It’s ALL About The Carbon….(Not Really)..Training Ride Report

…..Bottle Holder…….My Carbon bike is off the road (Issue with the second hand crankset) , Yesterday, my Carbon bottle cages arrived, after ordering them approx 5 weeks ago.

I thought it RUDE not to then take the CAAD9 out to, “Test” the cages 🙂

My Official “Training Ride” Jersey is my 7 Stars Discovery Top, I donned it and I was ready.

The last time I went on a weekend training ride, it was all about climbing, this ride I wanted to make all about speed, and boy did I do that, the weather was amazing , 23 degrees , bright sunshine, clear blue sky, for the UK this was as good as it gets.

I left the house and I NAILED it, the second mile was done over 20 Mph, in fact, let me show you.

The ride was a shade under 40 miles, the last 15 Miles included 2000 ft of climbing and Manchester City Centre, so my speeds did drop from the above, before I Hit Manchester I was averaging approx 18.5 Mph, by the time I got home and had done a NASTY ass climb at the end of a hard and fast ride I had still managed to average 16.5Mph, I was done tho, I have NEVER EVER suffered on the bike as much as yesterday, I kept on the drops and just kept pushing pushing pushing, I got home and I was done in, but I loved it.

Sunglasses, Making Me Look COOL & Hiding The Suffering On My Face

Another point to note is that, because it was so warm, I was pouring in sweat, I have not been sweating while riding for at least 18 moths , mainly due to me not feeling warm, at all, ever , any more , So that felt good.

Hey-Fever:

Before I started my journey, I was so hot at 40 stone that during the summer i’d do anything I could NOT to leave my house, now I am out every day, last year I suspected I had Hey Fever, this year, within a couple of nice days, I can confirm I DO have it, without question, so I need to look at that and put something in place to deal with it, strange side effect of losing weight though.

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

I Miss It….So Much ….!…BUT, I Wouldn’t Change Things Now

Now, I sit here,at goal weight, thinking , I miss it………

What am I missing ? The weight ? NO, what I am missing is the thrill of the weight loss “Chase” I still weigh myself every day, I know at 6 foot 3″ and 13 stone 12 Pounds, I CANT lose any more, but I still hope for a loss and I prey for no gains. Chasing a “No Weight Gained” isn’t half as fun and motivating as chasing a “2/3/4 Pound loss”

I have to come to terms with the fact I am no longer chasing that weight loss, for 2 years, every single week I would lose between 2 and 8 pounds on the scales, now I might do half a pound, or nothing, but I just have to get that to become the “norm” , I never thought I would be able to get used to the “norm” being such big weight loss, I dont feel I can get used to the new norm, but if I can keep going, It will eventually become my new norm.

I’m A Pro:

A while ago I mentioned that I was now a “pro” cyclist, well, I now have my certificate, just waiting to get the Government to confirm that I am not a criminal , then I can get paid for riding my bike……AMAZING !!!!!!

Climb Baby Climb:

This morning I rode my longest commute of the year, well over 20 miles, 1500ft of climbing , all before work.

but what stood out most, I was lost, climbing a hill that looked like it was never gonna end, I got dropped by another roadie, at the time I didn’t counter attack, I was lost, checking Garmin to ensure I was headed in the right direction, the hill was a 12%’er, I was in the Small ring (SORRY) anyway, Garmin confirmed I was on the right road, I put the chain to the Big Ring (MUCH BETTER) and I stood up and I gave it HELL, the roadie was on the horizon by this point, he was quick, but I suspect he had gone a little too hard to ensure I didn’t counter him, about 5 mins later I had caught up (the hill was about 2 miles long, at 12%) the road was a little busy, I sat down and was ready to drop him, I stood up……..went for it…..Then…..Argh I did an Andy Schleck (My Chain Came off) his face however was well worth it, he was sooooo shocked to see me again, he looked exhausted and deflated to see me again, I have never seen such despair on another riders face (its normally me that looks like that) , sadly he went the other way and I had to stop to put my chain back on.

The new route I had taken took me to work via some AMAZING country lanes, something I didn’t even know we had in Manchester, it was like cycling round the village where I come from, i’ll be taking that way to work more now the weather is on the up.

Trying to look focused at the top of the last climb.

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