Both – but with a careful eye on the diet as the first priority…

I tried to do it through the “exercise more” approach for years. Weight steadily climbed from circa 14-14.5 st, up to 15.75 st.

The more I rode, the more I put on weight – a combination of bigger appetite to sustain exercise and bigger frame from combination of calorie intake and increased exrercise.

Taken a markedly different approach this year. Have combined cycling (actually less, but better targeted – mtb and some road) with gym (cardio and strength).

BUT crucially, have also taken a detailed look at my diet. I don’t feel that I have been “on a diet” – just cut back on some of the crap, and tried to getter a better balance between sugar / complex carbs, protein and fat. I try to maintain fat to about 25-30% (although some weeks it is higher…) 50-60% carb and 15-20% protein.

Has worked a treat. Turn of the year I was at 15st 8lbs. By Mountain Mayhem I was 14st 4lbs, and now down the 13st 4lbs.

That’s probably the lightest I have been since I was about 19-20 (and at 45 that feels cheekily good 😛 ). Much fitter on the climbs now, but not sure there’s room for much more weight loss.

Astonishing. Would be a good programme to show in schools. A more balanced view than the standard history, as told by the Allies…

Isn’t the Millook Climb on the Cornwall Tor sportive?

Grew up in Cornwall – so know full well that it’s a land of short steep climbs

Some good stuff on here – thanks!

Getting some interest back from the “prospective team”…

Still the SOs to be convinced

7 in South Wales to tackle this weekend

C’mon then – which ones… the S Wales contingent need to know 😉

I can just about make it on 53×25, but would be walking if it was wet.

53…? You running a single?

molgrips – that ride over Cefn Onn looks like a struggle. Wrong side of the Taff for me really, never seem to get onto the ridge above Cardiff…

Went home this way last night
Was doable on 39/25

tomc – yep, logistics at each end do look like a pain…

Hmm,

I was thinking a week off work, plus the four w/e days on each side.

Feels like 9 days, including logisitcs is a bit “keen”

There’s a lane near Cardiff that has no chevrons but it’s so steep that when I did it I couldn’t stop because I didn’t know how to without falling over and tumbling down it.

Whereabouts moly – can’t b too far from me. Sounds like a challenge!

Well, commute home included the Gwaelod pub climb. It’s a double chevron on the map, with a steep switchback – not sure how long and what gradient on the ground. Was certainly a grind on 39/25, but I now know that I can ge the bike up that sort of gradient!

Ah yes, gearing… Ive recently attached a new cassette – now have the ability to change down – all the way to 39:25

I stand corrected…

>> = steeper than 20% 1:5

> = between 14% and 20% 1:7 to 1:5

arse – a quick gander at the map shows that the climb from Ponty up through the Graig isn’t even “>” and that’s a bitch on the road bike 🙁

Might stop at the Gwaelod pub to collect my thoughts….

And, not ignoring the OP…

If she has moved on, emotionally, is there much that can be done?

ETA

Probably, but I doubt whether it’s gender specific. Womens and mens minds aren’t that different, they’re just trained to be different. This training would’ve been all the more obvious in previous generations.

That’s the rub though – nature vs nurture etc, and why I specifically framed it in emotional terms. Men and women are programmed differently when it comes to some biochemical responses – especially those to do with gender / sexuality etc??

Women have affairs for a bit of Love and Attention

Hmmm – have often wondered about this sort of emotional level stuff…

Longer ago than I care to admit to, and older (female) relative explained that:
– women tend to only love one person at a time, and would “fall out of love” before being able to move on…
BUT
– that some men were able to love more than one woman, deeply & equally, without necessarily falling out of love with one or the other…

… Now, this was an older relative, referring to the “indiscretions” of an even older relative, so, way, way out od date in a social context. But I have often mused on the emotional meaning. It wasn’t meant as a blase justification for an extra-marital affair. I was genuinely surprised that such a repressed, conservatively minded, anti-sex before marriage / out of wedlock person could have utterred such a view – but it was as heartfelt as it was out of character – a real begrudging admission that some things didn’t tally with her own world / religious / social view.

Any validity in this?

A bunch of us at work have signed up for the Land’s End 100
…

Route is here

– the start looks like a long time head to wind 😯

Doing my first roadie 100 on Sunday 14th October.

I think Im looking forward to it!
Not sure the road bike is going to be very comfortbale for that amount of time. 1-1.5 hours is my normal road ride length. More used to long days on the HT

Cheers all – few things to look at there.

The brakes seem to be a little loose on the forks anyway – so the bolt through the fork crown could do with tightening…

There is an adjuster screw on top of one of the caliper arms – so I’ll also have a play with that

And the 20 year old grease in the wheel bearings would justify a strip, clean and re-grease….

Wouldn’t take ours to a trail centre, but have taken one of them around the local FC forestry “unofficial” trails…

Can understand the rant – but to the ranters – you do know that these aren’t exclusive* mtb trails don’t you??

* “dedicated” deliberatley avoided

make sure you have the same gap to rim for each brake block

Is there a tension adjuster or some such?
Brakes are pretty old, but I guess road brakes haven’t changed much….

Headset check is good advice. My stack did rotate the bars 90 degress from “normal” so the steerage has taken a loosening up knock. Previously they were too tight to undo / adjust

Brakes just about visible in this pic

Scandinavia.

I was fully expecting that…

After all it’s those things we haven’t done that are supposedly goths cause of most regret?

You’ve got to love phone spelling fiddlers – I’m sure I typed “life’s” cause of most regret.

Where did the goths come from???

edit – hmmmm, burglars and a classifieds rip off merchant; not the place for such a personal out pouring

Not quite sure I follow your comment – are you suggesting one shows courage and one cowardice?

What about work / relationships? Opportunity of something new and exciting versus plugging away at the old? Courage to say “I’m going to go for that” or cowardice for not sticking out the old???

Conversely – courage for sticking at it, or cowardice for baling out, jacking…. After all it’s those things we haven’t done that are supposedly goths cause of most regret?

I bought my first “proper” (adults) bike in 1992. A year in to my first professional job, living in a small regional city with good access to the countryside.

It was a road bike, as to me mtbs were heavy and expensive. By 1994 I’d bought a lovely Gary Fisher Tassajarra 🙂
I loved riding the road bike, but wanted absolutely no part in the “closed” club scene that was an integral part of road riding. My job required late nights / working away and the whole club structure was never going to happen.

I don’t see that things are any different today. Many, many riders just don’t want to do their riding as part of a club – just witness the popularity of sportives – road riding without the rules (mtbing without the mud?)

This is one of the main appeals of mtbing for those that choose mtb over road riding

Tucker – agreed, and that’s why I used that example…

Brakes – the sit tight and keep your head down scenario?

Depends on who’s Navy
😉

Might have to try a few longer rides on the Paganini 8)

… Although the riding position is a bit extreme

Sodomy & the Lash 😯

Going to ride to 20 year old steel road bike 😯

Did 55 miles on the HT last weekend – 3hrs54 incl stops. Not sure how comfy (or not) the roadie will be fo that long

HeHe… 🙂

Never had any probs seeing the old man 😉

Very few folks have noticed that I’ve lost any weight. At 6’3″, I didn’t look fat at 15+ st. At 13 st 5 I’m close to my 19 YO weight, and feel as fit (apart from aching afterwards…)

6 pack is coming along 😉 Tis true what they say – built in the kitchen, not in the gym !

Will keep going as long as I’m getting faster on the bike.

At 13 5 at the moment – BMI of 23.4
Thinking of aiming for 13 2, which is BMI 23

Yes, and yes it is real eye opener!

Been using since May. Have lost more than 2 stone overall. 15st 8 down to 13st 5

Haven’t even been on a “diet” just cut back on the crap. Still drinking wine and beer. Still have chips etc …!

Always possible, I suppose….

Hey, I’m not overweight!

To be fair, neither am I. Probably the fittest I/ve ever been

Was thinking more of the way middle aged men are perceived 😐

Being attracted to a beautiful girl who’s around thirty years younger than you are.

30 😕

That would be rather sad – er and illegal…

Being attracted to a beautiful girl

would seem to me to be entirely reasonable and normal…

But, it’s the thinking that such thoughts might be reciprocal that I really can’t get my head round. Over 40, we’re all sad middle aged, overweight losers, right? Any flirtatious content is to humour us or be polite???

How do I tell the MiL and FiL that they both need hearing thinking aids?

For me, anyway

How do I tell the MiL and FiL that they both need hearing thinking aids?

For me, anyway

Coming back to the veracity of Hamilton’s testimony / book….

Never trust a word of a lier and cheat.

Common sense?!

Agreed, Hamilton is not the most reliable witness.
But the ‘revelations’ in his book (which I haven’t read) seem to be consistent with the rest of the jigsaw

Previous liar / unreliable or not? – I’d say (and did quite a few pages ^^^) that the account in Hamilton’s book has now got to be taken very seriously…

If the book differs significantly from his Grand Jury testimony he is likely to have the FBI on his case…

Surely Motoman was popping to the team bus, hotel etc when required not into the peleton. The idea being so it wasn’t stored on team premises.

Makes sense – my mis-read 😳

ianc – white can look nice!

Are you going for same as before / new version? They certainly look good in white.

Used to have a sporty Pug 309 in white – looked good with a sprinkling of black trims etc.

White isn’t as bad as everyone makes out with the dirt either. Summer dust (ok, so that’s a distant memory) doesn’t dirty a white car anything like as much as a black one…

So – Hamilton’s book is out in the US today…

Most of the online coverage goes straight for the “Motoman” EPO drop off courier allegations – ie LA’s gardener popped in to the peloton with some EPO when required…

… seems quite a remarkable claim. I wonder who’s trawling through their ’99 TdF coverage at the mo to see if it is verifiable