This is the first full calendar year I have had as a cyclist and as a serial weight lost addict. I felt it apt to celebrate the moment with a quick review of the year. I haven’t had everything my own way this year by any stretch of the imagination, and December especially has been extremely trying for me. However, in all, 2009 has been a good year for my weight loss and cycling. The weight hasn’t come off as quickly as I would have liked – as at the start of December I had lost just shy of 3 stone year on year. However, December ruined that.
Here goes…
January
I started the year at 18 and a half stone, and much less of a cyclist than I am now. Back then I was still running what I called the “10 Mile Quest” – my own 10-mile time trial on the turbo trainer as an attempt to gauge my own fitness. My time then was 21 minutes 58 seconds – I might well do one in the near future just to see how far I have come. The furthest I had cycled was 40 miles, and that was also on the turbo trainer, not outside. Lance Armstrong had made his competitive comeback debut at the Tour Down Under, and I was now fitting into 38” jeans!
The furthest I had cycled was 40 miles, and that was also on the turbo trainer, not outside.
February
February was a quiet month, but it did see me take 51 seconds off my 10 Mile Quest, knocking my time down to 21 minutes and 7 seconds. The furthest I had ridden outdoors was still only 13 miles, and 40 inside!
March
March 2009 was probably the most important month so far, and it was responsible for shaping who I am now and who I want to become. I watched my first ever time trial, the Barnesbury Hilly 21. It was at this event that I first saw Lucy Sill, who would become an extremely important part of my journey and a valued friend. Although we didn’t speak, she was there racing with her father, Richard Sill.
It was here that the time trial bug bit. Seeing all the sleek, sexy time trial bikes and listening to the noise of the carbon disc wheels had a profound effect on me, and I vowed that in 2010 I would start racing. Little did I know how differently things would turn out on that front!
I also joined the Tyneside Vagabonds, the cycling club that has been at the heart of my cycling progress this year. I’ve met many wonderful people, too many to mention them all. I actually got in touch with 3 different North East cycling clubs explaining my position as an overweight cyclist, and only Roger Clark got back to me, making the choice very easy.
I also joined the Tyneside Vagabonds, the cycling club that has been at the heart of my cycling progress this year.
It was also in March that I took part in my first ever club ride with with the Vags, out to Kirkharle. Elaine Dey was the first Vag I met, who looked after me in those early rides. This was also where I first met Lucy Sill, who it turned out, was already a fan of the 22 Stone Cyclist blog!
On the weight front, I dipped under 18 stone for the first time, and discovered my maximum heart rate of 195bpm!
Most notably, as a marker of fitness, I took in 2 10 mile rides outside at time trial pace – both taking over 36 minutes!
April
In April I watched my second time trial – this time the Ryton Tri 2 Up. This was a time trial were riders go round in pairs – taking turns at the front. Lucy was there with her sister Annabel, as was various Vags. I’ll be racing this event next year with Peter Schultz from the Vags…
The day after the TT I rode the course myself. The 18 miles took me 58 minutes, which I was pretty pleased with until I discovered I was over 4 minutes slower than the slowest pair the day before!
After telling everyone about my 18 mile time, they all decided for me that I should enter the Tyneside Vagabonds’ Club 10 mile time trial. The idea was to lay down a baseline time, so I’d know how far I’d come the following year when I intended to start racing. I was sceptical at first, as I wanted to lose weight before racing. In the end, my arm was twisted and I agreed to give it a bash. What’s the worst that could happen?
May
I had my worst ever day on a bike in May. One Sunday, after already riding with the Vags on the Saturday, I decided it would be a good idea to ride the Tyneside Vagabonds Mountain Time Trial course. What happened is referred to in cycling as “the bonk”. The Bonk is essentially a nickname for hypoglycemia, in other words your body’s reserves of glycogen are exhausted, and you have no energy to continue. What ensued was pure torture – no drink, no food, a fall, and a 30 mile limp home. I learnt a valuable lesson in nutrition and hydration, as well as learning not to bite off more than I can chew!
I had my worst ever day on a bike in May.
I also met 2 new girls - initially they were known as “Giant Lady” and “Cannondale Woman” due to their fabulous taste in bikes. They are of course, Cath and Lisa. It turned out they lived around the corner, and we have since become very good friends.
May was also my first ever time trial. The Tyneside Vagabonds Club 10, which runs from Ponteland out to Ogle and back isn’t a particularly fast course (like the spine road course) but neither is it super hilly (like the Derwentside 10). The last time I’d raced was a round of the NEMBA mountain bike series back when I was at college. I went round the 10-mile course in 31 minutes 25 seconds, placing me 28th out of 42 starters. It surprised a few, not least myself. A fortnight later I raced the club 10 again, and took 22 seconds off my time, finishing 34th out of 43 starters with a time of 31 minutes 3 seconds. The bug had well and truly bitten me.
June
In early June I raced my first ever Club 25 mile TT. The course leaves Ponteland and heads out to Kirkwhelpington on the A696, U-turns and heads back to Pont. Make no mistake – it’s horrible. I hate it. I finished the course in 1 hour 14 minutes and 55 seconds, placing me 29th out of 38.
Soon afterwards, I took delivery of a Trek Equinox time trial bike. Up until recently, Trek had been my dream bike, and I was excited at the prospect. It’s first outing was a training ride over the club 10 - the time was 29 minutes 50 seconds - some 1 minute and 15 seconds quicker than my official personal best. A week later I raced my second club 25 – and finished with a disappointing time of 1 hour 17 minutes and 30 seconds, 23rd out of 27 riders. I was completely gutted.
July
July saw the family holiday to the USA, and I put on 7lbs. 2 weeks of no cycling and eating crap had taken it’s toll. However, when I got back home and into the swing of things, the weight began to drop off again.
July also saw the addition of another bike to the collection. There had been many bikes shortlisted including some lovely bits of carbon fibre from Trek, Scott, Orbea, Giant, Boardman, Felt, Specialized and Cannondale. It would take something special for me to part with the money and in the end I rode away with a stunning Giant TCR Advanced, by far and away the prettiest carbon bike I’ve ever seen.
A new PB and the ghosts of June laid to rest.
I also had the chance to make up for my miserable showing in the last 25 mile TT, albeit because the 10-mile course was closed so our Club 10 was cancelled in lieu of a 25. Against my better judgement I raced on my Trek Equinox and finished with a time of 1 hour 14 minutes 51 seconds, placing 22nd out of 26. A new PB and the ghosts of June laid to rest.
August
In August, I took part in the Great North Bike Ride. This had been the initial aim of my weight loss, but the 54 miles seemed a little of an anti-climax. They would not be as challenging as originally anticipated because of how far I had developed as a cyclist over the year and the fact I’d ridden 86 miles on a Saunday club ride a few weeks beforehand. Still I had a great day out and raised £365.00 for the Chris Lucas Trust and I will be doing it again next year.
My weight had dropped below 17 stone and I was relishing the final Club 10 of the year. When it arrived, I did the best preparation I could, and went round in 28 minutes 50 seconds, putting me 43rd out of 53 starters. I had blown away my previous personal best of 31.03 and shocked a few people in the process. It would prove to be the catalyst for my Winter training.
September
My weight dropped to 16 stone 6 in September, leaving me just 2 lbs off losing 6 stone. I also dropped another waist size to 36” – meaning another new wardrobe!
I also began commuting in twice a week from Belsay to Rothbury in the morning, and from Rothbury to Belsay via Elsdon on an evening – basically following the Mountain Time Trial course. This continued until I deemed the dark nights and weather too dangerous. That’s what the turbo trainer is for, afterall.
September also saw a great reunion of most of the Vags cycling club on the President’s run and also a great day out for Cath, Lisa and I as we went to watch a stage of the Tour of Britain together.
October
October saw me start my Winter training programme, which started out great and, as you’ll see, took a bit of a detour. My weight dropped to 16 stone 2 (over 6 stone lost) and my cycling was getting stronger all the time.
November
In November, I started to get even more serious over what I was doing. The food starting getting weighed, calories religiously counted, and a lot of miles got put it. I also launched my own Facebook page to try and get a few fans to the blog that way. At last count I had over 114 fans!
November also saw me take delivery of my new time trial bike. The Trek and I just weren’t getting on, and in the end I felt it best to get rid and get something better whilst I still had time to get used to it for the new season. A shiny new Felt B2 was dropped off at Lazy Grace towers and even the non-cyclists were impressed with it’s beauty. My position on it is already better than the Trek and I’ve not even ridden it outside yet!
December
In December everything came off the rails. Despite having dipped under 16 stone at the start of the month, the effects of what had obviously been over training hit me. Tired, stressed and full of cold, I was off the bike and eating whatever crap came my way. The net result was a gain of 5lbs, knocking me back up to 16 stone 4lbs and putting my training back at least 4 weeks if not more. I feel fat, deflated and thoroughly pissed off. It’s a pain, but it’s not the end of the world. It just means that I will not be ready for March as anticipated, and I won’t have lost as much weight by then as I intended. But anyone who reads my blog or knows me personally will know I am a fighter, and this is a mere speedbump.
Tired, stressed and full of cold, I was off the bike and eating whatever crap came my way.
So there we have it. A year in the life of the 22 Stone Cyclist. There’s a lot of people out there who help and encourage me on a day to day basis, and I wouldn’t want to attempt to thank them all for fear of omitting anyone. Having said that, there are a couple of special mentions.
Elaine Dey - for coaxing me through my first club ride and always having time to listen to my moans.
Andy Fuller – for being the one who believes in me, even when I don’t listen.
Alan Holmes, Danny Winthorpe, Roger Clarke – always reading, always commenting, always offering advice and words of encouragement.
Carrie Foster – for being my #1 fan by a country mile!
Steve Gilligan – for being a great riding partner and having the balls to do the GNBR with me.
Lucy Sill – for being a great friend, a carrot in front of my face on race day, and for always being able to put stuff into perspective for me.
Cath and Lisa – you guys are awesome and everyone should have friends like you.
And to Suzanne – for putting up with all the bikes, the Saturday mornings, the tantrums, the obsessive compulsive behaviour, the piles of bike mags in the loo and the bedroom, the kit washing and generally being a good sport about the whole thing!
On a final note, I’d like to say Happy New Year to everyone. Hopefully, 2010 will be an exciting year for everyone. I for one can’t wait to get my hands on it.
Happy New Year!