The Ex-XXL Trophy
Comments
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I see some of us use turbo trainers and at least two of us have TACX I-Magic. What's your opinion of them? I like the I-Magic but for me it has a few drawbacks. I cycle non-stop on the I-Magic but that does not bear any relationship to what I do on the road, I done 20 miles today virtually pedalling all the way. The other 'problem' is that I can't seem to go for a ride - on a course that I have been on before, I chose as my opponents my previous times and then go out to beat my previous 'best'.
Apart from losing weight, I am looking forward to the day when I can get on the drops and not have my thighs slapping against my gut.
Ex-XXL weigh-in : 31 March/ 1 April
Update published : Monday 2 April0 -
<i>Originally posted by mr_hippo</i>
Mars bar and Lucozade - well you do need fuel in your tank! I should get out more, I have found a few nice circuits around here and just before the wet season starts, I plan to go to the ancient capital of Ayutthaya which is about 50 miles away.
I'd like to see photo's of group members. At the moment, I am relying on my mind's eye to picture fellow XXXL members and the only one that I can see is Vernon. This is what I imagine Vernon to look like - no offence intended Vernon - cycling through the Yorkshire Dales on a Dawes, wearing plus fours, tweed jacket with brown leather elbow patches, ginger beard, deerstalker on his head and puffing merrily away on a pipeful of St Bruno. In the summer, no jacket but a waistcoat and a woolly bobble hat. Please tell me that my mind needs glasses!
Nay lad!
You couldn't be further from the truth! There are some grains of truth in your mental image though:
I was about to buy some cord plus four from a place in Hebden Bridge but the company folded before I got around to it. I currently use a pair of XXXXL shorts which are too big for me but hey! they only cost three quid.
The deer stalker is quite close - I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of one of those wolly pervuian hats with ear flaps when my pal gets back from his S. American holiday.
I used to smoke and cycle in the din amd distant past. My wifes friends were incredulous at the sight of me doing 20+ mph with a fag in my hand on my way to work. I stopped smoking on the bike when i got some cig ash blown into my eye.
I grow a beard every now and then but sadly it is miore grey than ginger.
Winter top layers exclusively Aldi. Summer top layer - short sleeved Aldi.
Meanwhile, having packed in smoking and ballooning outwards to a peak of 236 pounds in 1993 and suffering from fluid retention and suspected heart failure before shrinking to my currently svelte 299-ish pounds with a resting pulse of 48 and a blood pressure of 115/68
I looked like this a couple of years ago:
http://picasaweb.google.com/vernonlevy/Vernon
I've clocked up around 1000 miles of cycling this year and I'm trying to ride a 100km Audax every weekend this year. I've nearly accomplished this and only missed two weekends - once because of high winds (external) and once because of high winds (internal) [:I]
The Easter school holidays are nearly upon us and I am aiming to get in 5 x 100km rides over the fortnight that I have off interspersed with domestic duties and examination marking. I might even get a one night mini cycle camping tour slotted in especially if I annoy my wife enought to want me out the house
I don't think that weighloss has happened this time as I've had a birthday and will be wined and dined tomorrow. I'll be happy to stay the same this time around.[:D]0 -
Stick me down for 17 stone exactly this time.
(Insert appropriate smiley face -- that's a stone and a quarter lost this year so far, and nearly 4 down from my peak.)0 -
Hi mr H , as far as the i-magic goes - i think it's an excellent piece of kit , i know what you mean about always trying to beat your previous times , i've really suffered a few times trying too hard.
Now if i'm just trying to have a fat burning ride i set it up with no opponents at all and just try to concentrate on keeping my heart rate fairly low .
As a training implement it really has been fantastic for me , i was in pretty bad shape - heart attack , diabetes , really overweight , i struggled to walk more than a couple of hundred yards without my legs and feet aching and cramping which made me stay in the arm chair even more .
The i magic got me to a level of fitness where i could start doing weight bearing exercise .
as well as cycling i now crosstrain almost everyday for half an hour on a eliptical trainer , a few months ago i wouldn't have believed i could feel as fit as i do now.
still a long way to go though .
good luck to all - lets lose some more fat.
cafferty
That gives me the horn0 -
Hello all , i took a few snaps while i was out on the bike today .
They are of places on the sustrans king's lynn to hunstanton route.
http://s150.photobucket.com/albums/s105/jrudland1965/
i'm no photographer but you'll get the idea of the local terrain.
That gives me the horn0 -
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by cafferty</i>
Hello all , i took a few snaps while i was out on the bike today .
They are of places on the sustrans king's lynn to hunstanton route.
http://s150.photobucket.com/albums/s105/jrudland1965/
i'm no photographer but you'll get the idea of the local terrain.
That gives me the horn
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
looks flat. nice and easy?
winning is everything
the reason i breathe
a mans best friend
legend
roubaix
couldn't think of a stupid elephant gag0 -
one mans nice and easy is anothers idea of hard work .
it's not as flat as it looks.
i'd prefer it all to be downhill with a tail wind myself .
That gives me the horn0 -
Looks mountainous to me. I live in south Lincolnshire even the bridges are flat. Haven't seen a hill in months as I am not fit enough to battle the permanent "gale force" winds rattling across the prairie get to any. But I will get there.
Pigsail
A hill a hill my kingdom for a slight incline.A hill, a hill, my Kingdom for a slight incline!0 -
Update - http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a248/ ... 020407.gif
Sorry I have been a bit late in posting the update but I had to go to Immigration today, traffic was horrendous - even the expressway was gridlocked, it was just like an elevated car park!
Vernon and urrrrrs are still leading the pack, great work by Cafferty moving into third. For the rest of us, don't worry about it, it took years to put on and it won't come off overnight. I am pleased with all of you.
Ex-XXL weigh-in :14/15 April
Update published : Monday 16 April0 -
BMI now 30. If i lose any more weight i'll be 'overweight' rather than 'obese'. This is a great incentive for me to keep going...
Mr Hippo - this post was a great idea. I'm sure without it i would not be losing weight. Thanks
DLB
*** Why has my rear wheel just overtaken me..? ****** Whether you think you can or think you can\'t, you\'re probably right ***0 -
Guys,
I'm well behind you all!.... Finally bought my bike on Friday and collect it Wednesday, lol.... So serious cycling/commuting starts after the Easter hols.
It's a Edinburgh Bike Co Streetfinder '07 with (additionally) puncture resistant tyres and other bits and bobs, œ320 by the time I left the shop. Earlier on Friday I'd visired Lidl and they still had the shoes (in my size)/pedals and HR computer so that was lucky. Anyway, I hope it all holds it together under my weight lol....
Angus0 -
3lb lost in 2 weeks , I am quite happy with that. Keep it up by Christmas should have lost 58 lbs.0
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Well done kev.0
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Thanks for the kick, Mr Hippo. I'm glad to be somewhere off the bottom now! Unfortunately today was a bit of a relapse (stressful presentation + all day meeting = low will-power = chocolate) so I've got to be good for the rest of the week.
We (tandem pair -- I get pushed up the hills from the back!) managed a 25-miler at the weekend -- may not sound much to some, but it included about 1200 foot of climbing according to bikely.com. Given decent weather we've got two 40-odd-milers this weekend, including yet more climbs. I'm envious of cafferty -- I can't get anywhere on the flat around here! Have a look at the elevation profile of this: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Amersham-Oxford and imagine the ride home again on the second day.0 -
my aim for next weigh-in is to lose 5 lbs. now i finished building my new bike i hope that shouldnt be any problems.
so what do you lot hope to lose my next weigh-in0 -
I am hoping to lose about 6 pounds over the next fortnight, have dusted the bike off and got going yesterday.
You made a very astute point though kev when you pointed out how much an average loss of 1 and a half pounds a week would accumulate over a relatively short period of time.0 -
it sounds easy doesnt it, one pound a week equals just over three and a half stone in one year.
so tentonnehammer you are going for 6 lbs in two weeks.
i know you can do it,
best of luck mate
kev0 -
If I put me mind to it I can but thats the problem.
Weight loss - its just is not easy.
Good luck to you too mate - keep up the good work.0 -
I am hoping by setting myself some small challenges over the next two years I will get myself down to the weight I should be.
Challenges
1, lose 2 stone before Christmas
2, try and find a club to ride with
3, enter a 10 mile tt and do it under 35 min
4 , enter the dragonride0 -
Following on from Kev's post, why don't we all set goals for the next 2 years. Your goals should be attainable and realistic, if you aim too high and not achieve then you will be disappointed. 'I'm going to climb Alpe d'Huez within the next 2 years' is attainable and realistic but '!'m going to beat Marco Pantani's time of 37' 35"' isn't!
By Christmas this year
1) Weight down by about 40lbs
2) Improvement in shape - I normally wear bib shorts but I have a pair of 'normal' ones that roll of my gut!
3) Ride to Ayutthaya and back, have to be down later in the year - we are now coming to the end of the hottest season, then we will have the wet season so I am aiming for about October/November.
4) Give up smoking, I know it's stupid to smoke but it is even more ridiculous, after cycling up Holme Moss, the Snake or any long climb, arriving at the top breathless and the first thing you do is light up! People say that you gain weight but I have a theory. I was always a bundle of nervous energy before I smoked, in my childhood Mum used to say that I looked like a refugee from a PoW camp. In my pre-smoking years, I weighed a constant 144 lbs. I could possibly get my nervous energy back and that will burn the pounds off?
What is on fellow club members' 'wish list'?
Ex-XXL weigh-in :14/15 April
Update published : Monday 16 April0 -
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by pigsail</i>
Looks mountainous to me. I live in south Lincolnshire even the bridges are flat. Haven't seen a hill in months as I am not fit enough to battle the permanent "gale force" winds rattling across the prairie get to any. But I will get there.
Pigsail
A hill a hill my kingdom for a slight incline.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
I did a 100km Audax on Sunday which included 1900' of ascent and a headwind for most of the way. I was looking forwards to a wind assisted homeward leg but the wind shifted during the ride and the best it could manage was an oblique side/tailwind for around 10 miles.
The highlight of the ride for me was the first 20 miles. I arrived at the start of the Audax late and saw the bunch set off. I set off with a 10 minute deficit and casught up with a tail end charlie who had a puncture. He caught up with me and pulled ahead only to stop at an information check, my breakfast porridge then kicked in and I sailed past memorising the info to record it later. The next fifteen miles were done at an average speed of 17 miles per hour despite the headwind and I had the benefit of the company of the tail end charlie who I vaguely knew from other Audaxes. He was gobsmacked at my pace and couldn't believe it when I outclimbed him on a short sharp climb over a railway line. Sadly couldn't keep up the pace and dropped to a more sedate 13mph and a lot slower than that when the route became 'scenic'.
Still, I managed to do the 102km in five hours of cycling time.
Pigsail - I don't envy your flat terrain. It doesn't afford the hapless cycless one second of respite - there's no hills to coast down. One of my most tiring rides was from Lincoln to Selby last year. I couldn't believe how such a flat ride could be so challenging until I realised that I'd pedalled all of the way.0 -
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by mr_hippo</i>
What is on fellow club members' 'wish list'?
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Targets for this year:
<ul><li>3000km of Audax rides by the end of the season (31st October) - 1220 km done so far. </li><li>3 or 4 x 200km Audax rides completed by end of the season </li><li>3 or 4 AAA rated (1800m of climb per ride) 100km Audax rides by the end of the season </li><li>A long (1000km) cycle camping tour </li><li>Dropping three stones to weigh in at 19 stone by Xmas would be good </li><li>Getting my hands on my mate's dad's Bates BAR bike</li><li>Doing an Audax on my Trevor Jarvis Baines' 'Flying Gate'replica once I've restored it to a geared bike</li></ul>
And for next year
<ul><li>10 x 200km Audaxes </li><li>4000km worth of Audaxes for the season </li><li>A cycling tour tour of the Pyrenees </li><li>Lose a further 3 stones </li></ul>0 -
My wish-list:
(a) Down to 15 stone by Christmas
(b) Complete a 50-mile local (i.e. hilly) ride, either on my own or on the tandem
(c) Be forced to buy a whole new set of clothes!
I've already achieved one of my long-term goals: about 7 - 8 years ago I bought some 40" waist trousers so that I could wear them "when I lose some weight". I can now fit into them comfortably.0 -
ok mr hippo,vernonlevy and srw647 how many lbs are you aiming to lose by next weigh-in.
tentonnehammer is aiming for 6 lbs.
i am aimin for 5 lbs
better still i will challenge the 3 of you to lose 3 lbs each, are you man enough to [?]accept the challenge.[}:)]
kev0 -
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by kev2b3</i>
ok mr hippo,vernonlevy and srw647 how many lbs are you aiming to lose by next weigh-in.
tentonnehammer is aiming for 6 lbs.
i am aimin for 5 lbs
better still i will challenge the 3 of you to lose 3 lbs each, are you man enough to [?]accept the challenge.[}:)]
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I should think so.
....especially since my weight (17st dead) was taken on Friday and by Sunday I'd got down to 16st 12lb.0 -
if i could get to under 15 stone, and maintain it, i would be happy
*** Why has my rear wheel just overtaken me..? ****** Whether you think you can or think you can\'t, you\'re probably right ***0 -
ok DLB i lay down the same challenge to you. by the next ex xxxl weigh- in you must lose 3 lbs. well do you think you are up to it
kev0 -
I would love to take you up on it (and would have responded to your challenge) but i'm goin on hol on saturday for a week and won't be able to do any cycling [:(]
*** Why has my rear wheel just overtaken me..? ****** Whether you think you can or think you can\'t, you\'re probably right ***0 -
You don't need to cycle to lose weight (heresy!) We once went on a fortnight's holiday to Italy (Rome and Siena), ate out every night and a lot of lunchtimes and both came back half a stone lighter. Just be active and don't eat and drink too much.0
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100km ride by july, down to 15 stone 10 by xmas (13lb to go),support wife giving birth to second daughter in august.
winning is everything
the reason i breathe
a mans best friend
legend
roubaix
couldn't think of a stupid elephant gag0
