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Weigh in night last night and I have lost a pound so only 20lb more to lose for my target of 21lb loss by May 3rd. I must admit that I was not feeling that positive about the weigh in, what with the take-away on my birthday and a couple of cakes earlier in the week, but that is how it goes with me, I have had times when I thought I had done well only to see I had gained. so all in all I am happy with that.

The title does not mean I have got all clever (if anything I have got dafter), it is just the main points of this weekend. We went cycling on Saturday in -6 degree temperatures, Saturday was my 50th birthday and 28 is the total mileage I have cycled this weekend.

As I have set myself a target for weight loss I wanted to make sure I got out for a ride this weekend. Now I must admit the cold was not my first concern, my first concern was the ice on the roads and trails etc. Having had a fall on Christmas eve on black ice and already suffering with dodgy knees a fall on ice was the last thing I wanted so I decided on a fairly flat ride to Hurn forest. The downside to this there a large element of road cycling (3.3 miles in one direction) and the road fairly busy single carriageway for some of the route. On the up side to this at least it clear from ice and snow.

Well thankfully the ride went fairly well, we (the wife came on the ride with me) used the pavements where possible, decided I rather risk an icy pavement than an argument with a car! The first section of bridleway is tarmac and that was a sheet ice, over the common the main paths were snow (as in a couple of inches nothing like the foot or so found around the rest of the country) and ice. On one footpath we found our path blocked in the narrowest section by a generator and its fuel tank. Seem the local electric company had to use some generators to provide power so decided the best place to put it was on the narrow footpath. After a quick trample through the undergrowth we were able to continue.

The path through the forest was a simple affair, I knew where most of the major puddles (now ice) were so was able to avoid most of them. In the end we had an uneventful ride to the gate at the end of the forest. Now we had a choice, ride back the roadway, or go back the way we came, we had a little debate about it, wife wanted the road route I wanted to go back the way we came. In the end I used “its my birthday” card (its my birthday so you have to do what I want) and we went back the way we came. I was surprised to find when we got home that the ride had totalled 18 miles (going back the road way is a 16 mile route) no wonder the wife was complaining her knees hurt.

During the ride at no time was I cold, in fact the coldest I was was when I got home and put the bikes away in the shed, it only took 10 minutes but I was bloody frozen.

With the forecast of more snow I was not expecting to ride on Sunday, but the forecasted wind and snow were not to be seen, it certainly was not as cold as the previous day so I opted for a short ride over the local heath. While it is a shorter ride than the previous days ride, it is certainly not flat ride though. There one particular hill which I can normally complete in the saddle, but not today, not when the entire path is covered in 3″ thick ice, so that was a careful walk along its edges. One of the hills I enjoy riding down was also covered in ice from top to bottom with the exception of about 20ft section half way down so again that was another little walk. The rest of the ride was made up of riding through rutted frozen paths and carefully riding over large creaking frozen puddles. I made it safely home without damage to me or the bike, so hopefully the 28 miles of riding will help with tomorrow weigh in.

As I mentioned earlier it was my birthday yesterday, the ripe old age of 50 and I had this thought as I was riding across Parley Common, how many 50 year old’s come out on there birthday in minus 6 degree temperature and rides and bike across there local heathland, answer on a postcard please.

Decided that I will carry an old camera with me when I go out riding, while the mobile phone has a camera it is not the best, I have an old point and shoot digital which I will take with me in future. Would like to carry my SLR but can’t risk damaging it if I fall off.

Fire Trail through the trees

Path across Canford Heath

My bike having a scenic rest

Well it was weigh in night tonight and for once it went my favour, half pound off, not a great amount but then again it has been Xmas holiday period and it is not like I did not have my (small) share of the goodies, looks like all that cycling may have helped.

So I have started the new year going in the right direction, I have set my first target 17st 7lb by the May 3rd weigh-in. I make that 17 weeks (or weigh-ins) so I need to average over a pound a week weight loss between now and the 3rd to hit my target, keep your fingers crossed.

I had intended to ride my first organised meeting this coming Saturday (my birthday) but with the impending weather I am not so sure, it is only a short route so the distance is not a problem but I have never ridden the area so I am not sure what the terrain will be like. I think this may be a last minute call on Friday night.

That is the end of the Christmas break, around about 6:30am tomorrow there should be an audible groan across the nation as we all awake and realise that we can’t just turn over and go back to sleep like we have for the past 10 days.

As with most Monday’s it is my weigh in night, the day of reality, when the illusion of the the past weeks diet is confirmed or broken, I think in my case it will be broken, but the bigger question will be by how much.

Not only is it the day most people go back to work it is the day that the battle of the bulge starts in earnest for 2010. And for the first time I have set myself a target, I am hoping to have a weekend away in May this year with some online friends and I have already stated to them that I intend to be 17st 7lbs or lighter by the time we meet. So the line has been drawn I just need to work at it to make sure it becomes reality.

I don’t weigh myself at any time during the week apart from my weigh in night, I did it a couple of times in the early days but there no way to ensure that the scales I used will read the same as those used by Slimming World. Finding out that I have lost weight on my home scales only to find I had gained on the Slimming World scales is very disheartening so I soon gave that idea up.

Today ride (as suggested yesterday) was only a short ride but it take my Xmas break total to over 91 miles. Would really like to do more but really only cycling two days a week make it difficult unless some nice company want to donate me a nice set of light to test…hint…hint

Well I managed to get a picture of my trustee steed today, though I better get a picture of it as it may be going (more on that in a later post). Yes it still has the pretty reflectors, I have a deal with the wife they stay on the bike until they fall off……………boy are they stubborn things!!

Not the most inspirational of titles but it was the best I could do

So there I was Jan 1st 2010 having my breakfast when I came across a news story on Bike Radar web site about a guy called Clive Chapman, I won’t cover the story here but suffice to say he is the same size as me. Having read his story and visited his blog I found that there are quite a few of us large guys around returning to cycling. A few days earlier I had come across Frank Kinlans web site, he has lost over 7 stone which he achieved with the help of cycling (and diet as well).

These two site got me thinking, my weight loss is not moving a long as well as I wanted (and yes I know that is down to me), and with the thought that I wanted to do something with this blog I decided that I would use this blog to catalogue my weight loss and my bike riding and hopefully this would spur me along. To be perfectly honest I had kept by diet not secret but quiet, although those around me at work had noticed the slightly slimmer me. Not sure why I had kept my diet quiet but sticking it on this blog is making it public and if it helps me lose weight I am not going to argue.

So lets back up a couple of days, I had intended to do as much cycling over the Christmas and New Year holidays as I could, it was my intention to use the cycling to help balance out the extra intake of food over Christmas. Not a perfect system by any means but I wanted to ensure that I did not have a weight gain over Christmas like I had last year. Well I have up to and including today, I ridden on 6 of the 10 days and totalled 84.3 miles and I still intend to ride again tomorrow although this is likely to be a short ride as I normally have wife and son with me. On two of the days I did not ride I went for a walk and totalled 13 miles so I think the exercise side of things is working. I tired to keep my intake of food down, in part this failed as at my last weigh in night I had gained weight.

While Clive is fortunately enough to be able to ride to work I can’t, 240 mile round trip does not make for a good cycle ride, well not at the speed I cycle anyway. So my riding is done over the weekends. In the summer months I intend to get out and do so evening rides which I can’t do at the moments as I have not got any decent lights.

Well I am going to end on a funny, you see I am not the only large arse on my local cycling trail, but at least I don’t block the entire path

Apparently they are Long Horn Shetland Cattle, they are used to control the heathland. They can seem a little imposing stood in the middle of the track and there is you and your mountain bike trying to get past!