Progress so far...

June 30th 2009 - 22 stone 4Ibs. Current weight - 17 stone 1Ib. Weight loss - 5 stone 3Ibs. Commuting miles - 3389.
Non commuting miles - 359. Mileage this week - 101 miles. Total mileage - 3748 miles.


Friday 23 April 2010

Oooops!

It seems Rugby Tours and no pedalling, do not a healthy lifestyle make!

Scales do not lie, a 6Ib gain. After 6 weeks static weight I guess something had to give. And it did. Just in the wrong direction.

The weird thing is, my clothes are still getting baggier and people are still saying that I look like I'm still losing the pork plus I feel like my pedalling is getting better.

But the main thing is I'm really looking forward to Monday now. Bring it on!

New Bike Radar Blog here by the way.

After reading poor old Les' tale of woe yesterday and obviously reading Joby's many and varied opportunities for suicide I suddenly remembered a brilliant piece of advice I was given when I was learning to ride a motorbike. It may or may not be of any use but here it is any way.

It was my bike instructor John (ex Cop bike instructor) who said that when riding up to a junction it is always good to make eye contact with drivers around you, he conceded that most of the buggers never look anyway, but by staring at the driver of your nearest threat does make the driver think about your presence. I always eyeball vehicle driver's very intently at junctions and some of the looks I get back (surprise mostly) do tell me that it does at some level work. As we are clearly the bottom of the road user food chain we need every bit of help we can get, so if that little snippet does come in handy then job done.

Simon (aka Fat Man Slim) asked me a question yesterday about the gear I carry on my commute. So here goes.

My Road Bike and my Ridgeback commuter are equipped pretty much the same. Water Bottle holders x 2, a saddle bag containing a multi tool (including chain splitter) a spare inner tube, a puncture repair kit, tyre levers and a couple of pound coins just in case! Both bikes have pumps on the frame and I musn't forget front and rear flashing LED lights too. But they're not in the saddle bag obviously!

On Mondays I cycle in with a daysack (with Joby's kindly donated daysack cover on it)





















containing my laptop and various work stuff that I needed over the weekend, plus any kit swaps I need to do. I do try to do kit swaps when I'm driving. The laptop and daysack usually stay at work until Friday when they come home with me.

My Marin MTB has no kit whatsoever bolted to it and I carry everything in a Camelback mule which is a top piece of kit. The piccy below is the one I've got.


I must mention the fact that I wear a Muvi Cam on my helmet too. It's a pretty fun thing to do as form of record keeping, but as Joby is proof of, they're quite handy in a deterrence kind of way.




Usual trip to the Dodford tonight, only not. It's the Pubs re-opening first Birthday celebrations this weekend and we're camping out in the field around the pub so we can join in properly, there's a BBQ, a band, St Georges Day festivities and a real ale beer festival so in all fairness there probably won't be any post from me tomorrow as we'll be back home late and have shed loads of family stuff to do. Have a good weekend everyone.

13 comments:

  1. Can I join the weight gain club as well please :(

    Agree with Camelbak Mule, very compact with plenty of storage compartments, quality bit of kit

    Don't know if you saw this but though you and your followers might like it, it just down the road from where I live

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1267554/Britains-barmiest-bike-lane-wide-rest-road.html

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  2. No you can't join! You get some weight off and I'll join your club!

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  3. Clive lest you forget..muscle weighs more than fat :-)

    Satisfy yourself that the weight gain is indeed more muscle :-)

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  4. Or the eleventeen pints of Guinness I sank in Torquay!

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  5. For the commute I opt for just a small pump and a spare tube. I don't carry any tools or water.

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  6. Thanx for the mention Clive I did stare at the driver but from the ground while shouting obscenities at the moron, before he drove of as if nothing ad appened

    Enjoy ure night out and av a good weekend mate

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  7. The problem with your advice mate, is that to eyeball a driver, you need to be at the side of them when really you should be in front or behind them :op

    I'm constantly trying to make eye contact through their mirrors if I am behind them - most people notice - which is good. Its the pricks on their mobile phones or people that are genuinely blind and don't have a driving license that are the issue.

    And well done on your weight gain - only 6lb is pretty good considering the week you've had!

    And thanks for the three mentions :)

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  8. Another good Bikeraider Blog mate excellent stuff matey
    Oh how I wish I had a Muvi Cam wen the accident happened I possibly would of had footage of the c**t driving of and his number plate

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  9. Les, you can pick up cheap ones on ebay for under a tenner - I posted notthewowy a link on my blog a while ago.

    Always worth the investment, as that guy could do the same again, and next time it could be an 8yr old kid - not someone with experience behind them.

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  10. Red, all my years in the military taught me that if you're prepped for something it very rarely happens. Forget a bit of kit once and that's when the shit hits the fan.

    Jobywoby, it's not too bad considering Guinness is a very heavy drink!

    Les, get a cam, it's a pretty good thing to have. Anyway, we all want to see what you get up to. Er, on your pedals that is...

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  11. Clive wont be peddling for a little while but can't wait to get back on me bike mate

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  12. The weight will go down soon, especially with that plan of yours.

    Interesting reading about what kit people carry. I might post on my blog about what I carry as a newbie to see if I'm doing the right thing.

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  13. Hi Clive

    Dont worry too much about the gain it happens I think one bad week 6lb heavier is certainly better than 6 weeks of continuous gains! Hope you have a good weekend and that you get back on track next week.

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