Just for the sake of it

Most blogs start this way and mine is no exception….
“It’s been ages since it was updated and it’s about time I did it.”

A little update before the meat and bones-
Following my accident in May the healing is going steadily, my back is a little stiff but I’m certain it’s going to be OK, my collar bone is still not fully knitted in yet but I have a good range of movement. It’s plated up with 7 screws. In short, I’m bloody lucky. I’ve been able to get out riding but being in pain, unfit and overweight is not a good combination. Mentally I’m a lot better, I was somewhat fragile following the crash as I had a lot of other stresses at the time especially as I had bitten by HIV+/HEP C+ drug addict.

I had decided to give up road racing as my current job was in jeopardy and I didn’t want to take too many risks especially now with 3 kids to feed.

I thought I’d stick with time trialling until my Wife and I heard the terrible news of Karl Austin being killed. Karl was very well known on the local time trial scene and his death, well, it’s just incredibly sad, so pressure from my wife made me decide to stop TTing too. Karl’s Funeral was very moving and there was a tremendous turnout from the cycling fraternity. I’ll never forget that day. It was my first ride out on the bike since the crash and the physical pain was forgotten about. It would be a while before I was able to ride again.

I’d had to stop being coached by Adrian Timmis in the short term due to financial constraints however the lack of racing meant that this sadly became a long term thing. However he had opened a new shop, Cadence Sport in Barton under Needwood in late May/Early June so I went along to see him there.

The shop itself is very nicely appointed, he has some really great memorabilia on display from his racing days and (worse for me and my wallet) some very nice bikes and kit for sale.

We had a good chat, comparing injuries (Ada had broken his collar bone and elbow 18 months ago but had lots of problems with it). It was then he advised me to sell my Powertap, ride on feel and most importantly to remember why I started riding in the first place.

The decision to get rid of the powertap was pretty easy due to the financial issues of being off work however I then had to get to grips with the idea of training without power. This should not be an issue whatsoever but I had become mentally reliant on those figures. However my reliance also translated into misery when my numbers weren’t what they should be or I was hoping for. For a rank amateur this is not a good thing.

I don’t miss it. Not at all. Having used power for every session and in particular doing intervals my legs have learnt how each effort should feel. I’m pretty confident that when doing intervals I can be pretty consistent.

But that’s not important anymore. Here’s the crux- I’m just riding for the sake of riding. I’m not ‘training’. It’s incredibly liberating and in fact the thought of not racing has been almost like a weight off my mind. I still get pangs when I think of racing and look at my trophies but I also feel my wounds and look at my kids, they soon go. I’ll still do my turbo sessions due to time/family constraints though, an addiction to The Sufferfest will ensure that. (New video out, review to follow)

Last Friday this liberation hit me enormously. I possibly had the best ride of my life. I was in full summer gear as it was beautifully warm but the autumn colours added an extra vibrance to the peak district. I’d picked a great route and there was no pressure for me to ride at a certain speed/heart rate/power output. It was, quite literally, just a bike ride.
I even didn’t mind stopping to take a few snaps, here’s my favourite of the day, you can see the road going back over the hill in the distance-

One thing that struck me was that I was able to ride several hours now without back pain. Thinking back to all the niggles I used to feel, one of the biggest factors in the enjoyment of the ride was the fact my bike fits perfectly. You can’t enjoy that ride if you are in pain or have niggling soreness. Bike fit and riding enjoyment go hand in hand.

Forget spending any money on new bike bling, the most important purchase after a bike, in my opinion, is a bike fit from someone who knows what they’re doing. The biggest ‘upgrade’ you’ll ever get. Even if you don’t get any ‘niggles’ or discomfort, you could be losing power through an inefficient position. That’s free speed. Racing or not, free speed is nice.

This brings me back to Adrian Timmis. You owe it to yourself to pay him a visit. Then get out and REALLY enjoy your riding…

Progress

Went to see the surgeon today to discuss whether or not I have a plate put on my shoulder. I say ‘discussion’, the consultation lasted about 3 minutes as we both wanted it!
I’m going in on Thursday.

Update-

I had a marvellous plate put in to stabilise it…

I’ve had enough.

Raced yesterday at Birmingham Circuit races.

Fantastic circuit and great organisation.

Big field of about 60.

There had been a few squirrely moments with people braking for no reason at all. Saw a particular lad cut people up at one of the roundabouts a couple of times and doing the dreaded bombing down the inside on the approach to a corner.

1.5 laps to go I was feeling really strong, ready to sprint. I was keeping out of trouble near the front, on the outside of the bunch (exactly where I wanted to be) and I saw same lad do his stupid bombing down the inside on the approach to a left hand bend. He had no room at all and knocked into two others.

I thought FFS, they are going to crash, thank god I’m over here.

Cue one of the riders shoot out over to the right on the ground, right in front of me.

Cue me going over the handlebars right up in the air.

I landed on my head/left shoulder/back

I felt my helmet explode as I landed and as soon as I got up (lucky I wasn’t hit from behind) I knew I’d done my collar bone.

The lad that in my opinion caused it said ‘never mind your shoulder, this is the first time I’ve used these wheels and they’re wrecked!’

Anyhoo, I’ve got 3 fractures to my left collar bone and a compression fracture to my T11 vertebrae.
I’ve got a career that relies on me being fit and healthy. I have 3 kids (one of whom is 10 weeks old) and a wife to support.

For that reason, I’m out.

From now on I’m just training on the turbo to keep fit and *may* do local 10s.

As an aside, I had a crash in Dec where I banged my head and was concussed. My helmet was ok but a little cracked. Obviously you are supposed to replace as they won’t work properly but I had just been thinking ‘sod it, I’ll be ok’ but after Wouter Weylandt’s crash, even though it didn’t help him. I discussed it with my wife and despite being skint I thought it best to buy a new helmet, so on Thurs I got one.

I’m sooooo glad I did. It really did it’s job.

It may all come down to Wednesday

My club 10 TT times this year have been getting better and better, the start of the season I was at 26.12, last week was 23.32. I’m hoping for a miracle on Wednesday and getting into the 22s, hopefully this will secure me enough points to win the club handicap championship… We’ll have to wait and see!

I ended up doing a 23.21. I also ended up winning the club handicap TT championship and 100 quid too! Very happy!

Before and after…

Before Cycling (BC)-
Sweaty fat boy.

Beached whale, 17st 10lb...

Nice Pits - 17st 12lb

After Diet (AD) -

Still a way to go… But 4 stone lighter. Been on Barry’s nutrition plan just under 6 weeks, Adrian’s training plan 8…

Should have put my shades on...

Coaching update

I did this fantastic event on 2nd May after being hoodwinked into it by a forum member from BikeRadar…

http://www.beaconrcc.org.uk/open_races/lmtt/index.html

The organisation was excellent and the route was fantastic, challenging climbs and some great descending. The scenery was beautiful (when I could actually take time out to look!)

There were loads of marshalls and quite a few spectators cheering on too.

I will definitely be doing this next year…

There are seperate competitions for overall and road categories as well as women and men. There were also prizes for best in category, best in age category, best team and the fastest overall climber of the two timed climbs.

This was at the top of a very steep hill. Honest!

I finished the 39.5 mile course in 2.13.14 as a ‘Road Man’ (Normal bike / wheels / helmet), not bad for an overweight asthmatic! I was about average in the road category, coming 18th out of the 35 road entries. The overall was won by Richard Bradley of Shorter Rochford RT in 1.43.56 in full TT regalia.

I managed to speak with the organiser – Ruth Eyles – she looked rather intimidated by a 6’2″ tangerine overstuffed sausage but she coped I think, she was a very pleasant person indeed.

There was a field of 82, weather held off just enough but it was still bloody cold. Nice home made cakes and a cup of tea at the end.

The event was well sponsored so all entrants were provided with a Torq bar and a bottle of ‘For Goodness Shakes’ milk shake.

Right – Training update!

Start of coaching

Weight 92kg, quite high body fat %

Functional Threshold Power (FTP) – 271 (2.94watts per kilogram)

Peak 5 min power – 341 (3.7w/kg)

Peak 1 min power – 516 (5.6w/kg)

Max (Quad) power – 1109 this season. (Before I broke my leg it was approx 1200 I think)

All from road bike

Races – 3, did crap in them all!

Club 10 mile TT best – 26.14

After 6 weeks

Weight 87.5kg, lost a lot of fat, put on some muscle. Muscles much more defined.

FTP – Due a test…

Peak 5 min power – 361 (4.12w/kg)

Peak 1 min power – 518 (5.92w/kg)

10s Power 1018

Max 1180

All above done on TT bike which I have been having power issues with!!

I think I am approx 5-10% stronger on the road bike.

Races 1 – Came in top 10 and scored 1st BC points

Club 10 mile TT best – 24.12 (2min 2s better)

Power for the last TT was 302watts… My Previous best 20min effort was 281, this was for 24.12!

It’s been a while!

It’s been about 12 months since my last update and I thought it was time I wrote on here!

Since then I have passed my Inspector’s exams, got a new job at Manchester Airport, got two new bikes, have raced and have an even bigger penchant for cycling.

Rides like a dream!

Comfortable all day long!

I recently had a bike fit from a guy called Adrian Timmis at Cadence Sport.

Adrian is was a pro cyclist at the highest level and he exudes experience and enthusiasm.

The tweaks on the bike were fairly small but the revelation was the introduction of moulded foot beds and cleat shims. The foot beds are moulded and produced there and then, plonk them in your shoes and prepare to be shocked. A comparison with the shoes without footbeds was a real eye opener. My feet rolled around in my shoes without the beds in and this was causing discomfort and eventually pain over longer rides, as well as causing power loss. Adrian also found that I had one leg longer than the other. This was corrected through the use of cleat shims which also had the benefit of correcting the poor tracking my leg went through. The result was instantly a smoother, more efficient pedalling action, and a big smile on my face!

The club TT season is very fast approaching and I recently tried a ride on my TT bike to try and get some miles in on it. I felt so uncomfortable on there and I couldn’t get any power down at all! So…

I went back yesterday for a TT bike fitting. The result was the same as the previous fit I had, magic! Rather than having to sit up every two minutes I was able to stay in the aero position for a full hour of intervals, unheard of previously!

The biggest change for me though is during this fit, I also had my initial consultation for coaching.

I had been umming and ahhing over coaching for a while, I thought it seemed expensive but when you put it in to the context of all the cycling bling it seems very good value. The clincher was when I raced, I realised I was a million miles from where I want to be and I was obviously not training effectively.

I will be documenting my experiences on here so people can see what, if any, benefit it brings me and may help people decide whether it’s for them.

One of the big things that Adrian has impressed on me was the importance of nutrition. I will be seeing a nutritionist he recommends in due course.

So, current stats as of 30/03/10 -
Weight 90.5kg, quite high body fat %
Functional Threshold Power (FTP) – 280 (3.09watts per kilogram)
Peak 5 min power – 363
Peak 1 min power – 516
Max (Quad) power – 1109 this season. (Before I broke my leg it was approx 1200)

Races – 3, did crap in them all!
Club 10 mile TT best – 26.14

Food, famine and the double yolker.

Occasionally something comes along that changes your outlook on life. When you first hold your newborn child and, even though you’ve known them literally seconds, you just know you would do anything for them. Anything. When you have a major accident or get over a serious illness, a new mantra, carpe diem, becomes an integral part of everyday life. I have been fortunate enough to experience the first scenario and unfortunate enough for the latter two.

I had another mini-epiphany whilst devouring the mountain of literature I had bestowed upon me by the very kind visitors I have been receiving over the last few weeks. Most of the books have been cycling related and I still have a meaty stack to get my teeth into however, one of the books I read, which had absolutely nothing to do with riding a bike by the way, was possibly one of the best books I have ever read. It is called ‘Star of the Sea’ by Joseph O’Connor and the premise is very simple. It is about a voyage on a ship from Ireland to the US set in the mid 19th century. My Mum recommended it to me and my initial thoughts were that it looked somewhat dull but seeing as I had so much time on my hands I thought I may as well give it a go.

I was hooked from about the 3rd page, O’Connor’s writing is sublime, the book  devotes half it’s time showering the reader with juicy details the protagonists’ personal history and some of those backgrounds are very interesting indeed. I’m no book reviewer, all I can say is the book was a marvel, the characters had been brought to life and consequently the ending was excellent but what really struck me was how little I knew about the famine in Ireland. I was privately embarrased about my ignorance and consequently read a little more about these rather horrendous times .

Learning about the blight really made me appreciate how good we have it nowadays. The news today is full of doom, gloom and miserable facts however this all now seems irrelevant. Here is what I thought – I’m here, alive, I can provide for my family and life is all, thankfully, a million miles from Ireland in the mid 19th Century. I think more people need to think like this rather than spend their entire day complaining about the state of the economy and ‘tutting’ at the latest bit of bad news that doesn’t, in the grand scheme of things, make a jot of difference to their existence.

This unimaginable suffering so close to home and not too long ago also made me think about the state of some of the people I have met at work and furthermore the state of many teenagers I see coming out of the nearby comprehensive school.

The ‘obesity epidemic’ has been well documented in the UK and the US but I seem to notice it more now. There appear to be more than a few rather portly schoolchildren, part of the reason has to be upbringing, part advertising but also the fact that we are so well off. What I mean by this is eating for a lot of people is not about simple sustenance but some simple pleasure to gorge on. I know of children who ‘will only eat sausage or burger with chips or potato shapes’, Jamie Oliver has tried to remedy this in the UK through education, shock tactics and a rethink on school dinners but the rot has already set in for several generations. Junk food looks exciting, is easy to prepare or ship in and kids love it. Especially those that have known nothing else.

Surely the parents must see what they are doing?

At work I often go to families’ houses and see that the kids there are out of control. The parents frequently put it down to ‘ADHD‘ however when I see how the kids are brought up and the sheer amount of rubbish they eat and drink it’s no wonder they appear hyperactive, I’m sure a change in lifestyle would be much more beneficial than taking medication. I see a huge difference in my kids if they have had sweets or a bottle of pop. I don’t stop them having it, it is just always given in moderation.

Then there is the other side of the coin, there are some kids, particularly girls in their late teens that are shockingly thin, again, this has been well documented in the media. This is possibly more difficult to control for a parent due to the immense psychological issues surrounding illnesses such as anorexia and bulemia, it is also easier for a sufferer to avoid eating or regurgitate their food. There is help out there but the bottom line is the sufferer must want the help.

It is said that cycle racing is a very expensive form of anorexia – cyclists become obsessed with weight. Every calorie counted in order to improve the power to weight ratio. I got swallowed up by this whilst training and did notice an improvement, mainly because I had plenty to lose. However, for a more accomplished athlete there is surely a trade off here too? Lose too much and there will be a reduction in muscle power, furthermore the body requires some fat, some reserve of energy after 4 hours in the saddle otherwise the body will start to feast upon the cyclist’s muscle, or just stop.

Compare Bradley Wiggins, Double 2008 Olympic Champion who since eschewed track racing in order to concentrate on the 2009 road racing season now and how he was last year…

2008 - Looks lean but powerful

 

2009 - Errrrm

 

I was quite shocked when I saw the second picture, I can’t help think the mud accentuated the emaciated appearance but still, his body fat must be ridiculously low.

Weight has been of concern for me which gets back to the kind visitors I’ve been having. I’ve been trying all sorts of novelty biscuit selections and concoctions of confectionery. I spent the whole winter trying to lose weight with both eyes firmly focused on getting down to 85kg before the racing started. I had an excellent training programme that was giving me fantastic results. I was highly motivated, I had the right equipment, I had challenging but achievable goals and everything was going right.

Since the accident 6 weeks has elapsed and my recovery is going well. I am hobbling around the house with one crutch, I have been on the turbo trainer and today I actually got outside and managed 35 minutes on the road. It was a wonderful feeling. I have obviously lost all my power and fitness and I have put on a fair amount of weight, I was being overtaken by a variety of slow-moving cyclists and I didn’t care. I was cruising at 9 mph and I was having as much fun as I do in a group ride at 25mph. In fact today has been a great day, forget the economy, forget not knowing about my position at the airport, it will all look after itself. I’m going to enjoy the small pleasures. For today not only have I ridden my bike, Jenson Button has won another GP, one of my favourite riders, Andy Schleck won a great race today but above all that I was able to sit in my lounge in my underpants and have my 2 poached eggs on toast without any real care in the world and, get this, one of those eggs was a double yolker! Sweet.

I don’t regret the weight gain one little bit. The friends visiting and bringing me treats has been integral to my recovery. I am never going to be a top racer where 0.1 watt per kilogram will make all the difference. Why sacrifice social booze-and food related engagements that I so enjoy, or those occasional little cheeky treats for what is a hobby, not a profession, when one incident can undo all the hard work? 

Yes I will be training hard, yes I will be watching what I eat, but I’m going to bloody well enjoy myself too, I have come to realise I just plain and simple love riding my bike!

After the storm – the difficult second blog.

It’s amazing how you manage your life – how you fit work, kids, family, friends, time to relax and all those hobbies into a week. You do it though. It’s hectic and sometimes even gets stressful but certainly since I had kids I still get to do most things I want, with some compromise, of course.

The difficulty I’m facing at the moment is entirely the opposite. I’m trying my hardest to fill my life with quality time so I don’t become a daytime tv zombie hermit within the next few weeks.

It’s hard. I never knew about the prospect that there may be cash in my attic. I can’t get up there to check though. The dilemna of ‘to buy or not to buy’ is entirely straighforward in my current financial situation, particularly since I found out the material cost of my crash. The title ‘Loose Women’ piqued my interest a little but alas I was woefully disappointed. Woefully.

If I ever fancy engaging with the public I so miss from my job in the custody office in South Manchester I can always switch on Jeremy Kyle, if only things at work were as simple as hooking someone up to a lie detector. I lasted about 10 minutes before I swore at the telly and turned it off. When I was the response sergeant at Wythenshawe you knew without looking at your clock when Jeremy Kyle was on. You had no new incident logs. Like the surge faced by power companies at the end of Coronation Street when the masses put their kettles on, at the conclusion of Jeremy Kyle at 10.30am every weekday the non-working folk from Wythenshawe turned from their 42 inch Plasmas and re-enacted the ridiculous arguments they had just been watching, resulting immediately in calls to the police. “Yes sir, it’s terrible that your pot noodle wasn’t filled up to the fill line.”

So, how have I been filling my time? I have been watching many a DVD, playing on the PS3 and Wii (not Wii fit obviously), browsing the internet and reading. I have not had many visitors, possibly because people envisage all they’ll see is me lounging about whilst my wife is pulling her hair out running after the kids, cleaning, cooking and going to work.

Reading has mainly been in the form of cycling literature. There are not actually that many books on cycling, certainly compared to more mainstream-in-the-media sports as pro bull riding or windsurfing. I thought, however, I would compile a brief look at those that I have read for your delectation. I’m not going to prattle on about each one like some people do on their Amazon review, I’m no book critic! There’s just a couple of thoughts jotted down, click the title for a link to the book on Amazon…

The Rider by Tim Krabbe

Probably my favourite cycling book ever in the history of me reading cycling books. It is a work of fact-based fiction that is wonderfully written, inspiring and entertaining. Every cyclist with even an interest in racing needs to read this book. It’s as simple as that.

A dog in a hat by Joe Parkin

An autobiography of an average (American) pro who moves to Belgium very early in his career and just about manages to hold his head above water, although he was the first American to actually finish Paris Roubaix. This is a frank book with doping exploits of team mates a regular occurence and is at times actually quite depressing, however it is an interesting read about an interesting situation.

Blazing Saddles by Matt Rendell

An entertaining history of the Tour de France, more a tale of the characters and their stories than dewey eyed regalings of attacks on the Galibier but this is far from a criticism. It is more of a great coffee table book, you can just pick it up, look at some picturs and read a brief synopsis of a couple of tours. Again, this is not a criticism, fans of the Tour or those with some interest in it’s history will enjoy this, just don’t expect great accuracy or earth shattering revelations!

Heroes, Villains and Velodromes by Richard Moore

I first got a copy of this when it came out shortly after the Track World Championships in Manchester 2008. It documents the rise of Great Britain as a track cycling force from the lowly depths of the ’80s to the highs of 2008, it also seems to concenrate on Chris Hoy. If you are interested in track cycling then this is worth a read, if not then you will probably not find it too compelling. I got an updated copy when Chris Hoy came to my Dad’s studio to be photographed for Kellogg’s (I just so happened to have a Macclesfield Wheelers skinsuit with me, don’t know how that happened!) which included the Beijing success story, signed by the man himself. The update was clearly just cashing in on the success and didn’t really add anything extra to the book.

The death of Marco Pantani by Matt Rendell

There are three books I have read about racing cyclists that are clearly well researched, well written, entertaining and informative. This is one of them.

In search of Robert Millar by Richard Moore

There are three books I have read about racing cyclists that are clearly well researched, well written, entertaining and informative. This is one of them.

Put me back on my bike: In search of Tom Simpson by Wiliam Fotheringham

There are three books I have read about racing cyclists that are clearly well researched, well written, entertaining and informative. This is one of them. Crikey, how lazy am I? Actually, this is really good, very balanced it certainly doesn’t shy away from the less savoury aspects of Simpson’s racing preparation. Another must-read.

In pursuit of glory by Bradley Wiggins

Mr Wiggins has clearly done very well for himself and is obviously a talented rider. He’s definitely not a talented writer though (unfortunately that’s the only similarity between the Modfather Cyclist and I!). I was quite disappointed with this effort, I started off enjoying it but ended up finishing it purely because it was there. Sorry Bradley! You time trial like Keats, Wordsworth and Milton in full flow. You write like a 6th former full of teenage angst…

Rough Ride by Paul Kimmage

This is a real warts and all tale of life in the pro peloton in the ’80s, it certainly doesn’t pull any punches with it’s description of endemic doping and team politics. It wasn’t an ‘enjoyable’ read as such but I found it eye-opening and informative. I felt it also carried a hint of bitterness about it, that Kimmage never did that well as a pro despite being a top amateur. No wonder it caused quite a stir when it first came out in 1990.

There are many more I have read, such as the Lance Armstrong books, the Johan Bruyneel autobiography and several training books but I feel most people will have read these as they are the most mainstream cycling characters. There are also many I have still to discover. Please let me know of any glaring omissions that I or other blog-lookers should read.

Back to the Real World

In terms of my rehabilitation I returned to hospital yesterday (9th April) and had some new X-Rays taken. The bones appear to be healing nicely although the breaks are still clearly visible.

I have managed to get on the trainer in the last week, the first attempt was just to see if I could get on the bike. I felt like a child trying to get on a lilo in the kiddies pool, I gave up humiliated and in pain, I didn’t think it would ever happen.

That night I had a brainwave as to how to mount my steed, the next morning this proved succesful and I managed a couple minutes of turning the pedals with no resistance. I decided it would be far better to change to my spare enormous flat mtb ‘remedial style’ pedals for next time so I swapped them, much to the exasperation of MrsNapoleonD.

Since the pedal change I did 5 minutes at 45 watts average and yesterday managed 10 minutes at 55 watts average, so there is resistance going on! I was almost in tears of joy yesterday as I was pedalling. I’m going to go for 15 minutes next time…

Folks, next time you are out on your bikes getting some fresh air and good exercise, please don’t take it for granted!

Errrr, hello?

Oh my, what is all this? It’s all a bit new to me….

I haven’t a clue what I’m doing but I will learn as I go along and believe me, I have enough time on my hands over the next few weeks.

The reason for setting up this blog was twofold-

1 – Someone suggested I do it.

2 – Boredom.

It is supposed to chronicle my switch from settee bound fatty with one working leg to road riding heaven. In an exciting new development (for me) you can hover over or click on the highlighted text for pictures and videos and ting.

On Friday 13th March 2009 I was on a training ride with another roadie, Dan (known on the bikeradar forum as Spanielsson). We were happily following the hilly section of the 2009 Cheshire Cat route when during the descent to Lamaload reservoir I slid off my beautiful bike and broke my leg. In 3 places.

It looked like a piece of rubber because it was all bendy but with bits of bone sticking out, I turned my knee and my foot stayed where it was, it was quite a mess! I had road rash and bruising all up my right side too. It took 40 mins for the ambulance as we were in the middle of nowhere with no mobile signal. Dan couldn’t leave me because I was sprawled in the middle of the road on a very quiet country lane on a blind bend, so he had to wait until a car came round the corner to warn it to stop. It took 10 mins to wait for a car to come and thankfully she was going slowly! I was getting really cold as we were up in the peaks and I was only in cycling shorts and long sleeved jersey, I started going in to shock and by the time the ambulance came it had started raining and I was literally blue!
I had the op the day after on Sat 14th, had a big nail put down the length of my shin and bolted into place.

It could have been a hell of a lot worse though…

I have posted a couple of gore pics here and here, some people would rather not see them so I have put it as a link rather than show them straight away…

The problem was that on this particular day I had attained the highest level of fitness I had ever achieved.

 

Now for a bit of history…

I have always watched cycling on telly but funnily enough it was an accident that pursuaded me to buy a road bike. This was in 2002, I was a Traffic Officer in Stockport. I dealt with a bump whereby a wily 65 year old cyclist had been knocked off his bike by a Dr turning right into him. The gent suffered broken ribs, a broken collar bone and a punctured lung and it was his enthusiasm to get back on the bike that made me giddy enough to go out and buy a road bike. It was a great deal, a nice frame with decent enough kit on it for 350 quid. The reason I got it so cheap was it was the last frame and I eventually came to realise it was far too small for me!

I would ride that bike very infrequently, in the meantime I joined the Tactical Aid Unit. (I’m first in from the right).

I started getting a bit fitter then but it was mostly weights for the upper body due to the nature of the job, lots of lumbering heavy door opening equipment about and bashing doors down. All good fun! I occasionally rode my bike in to work but the journey was horrible, travelling on a bike through Longsight and Levenshulme late at night was literally dicing with death, the traffic lights were very much a rough guide for the drivers of the parish and as for the speed limit, well…

In July 2007 I got promoted after much hard work and became a Sergeant at Wythenshawe. This meant cycling to work was very much on the cards. It also tied in with the Tour de France starting. One of the most inspirational things I saw was Fabian Cancellara winning stage 3 to Compiegne whilst in Yellow. It got me really excited.

That was that, I was hooked.  I had started cycling properly in July 2007, I was 18 stone, with no idea what I was doing but by jove, I was going to have fun doing it!