A Call of the Card

4 months out from the Alpine Classic now. Good a time as any as to see how this whole journey is tracking.

So in July 2021, when I kicked off the blog, I weighed in at 103 kilos and had ridden a total of 36100 km. At last weight in I was 96 kegs and had ridden and my career total is 42200 km. For those doing the maths, that's 6100 km ridden (435 km a month) and a stone of weight lost.

I'm also riding hard and am neck deep in the CSIRO diet at the moment. I'd like to think I'll lose at least another 6 kilos and rack up another 2500 km by the Alpine.

I am though going to have to shift to Zwifting in the not too distant future. It's not crazy hot at this stage, but it's gotten a bunch hotter in a short space if time up here. Riding after 9am has become rather unpleasant. 

I'm also yet to punch out a longer day on the bike than 80 km. I need to get a 100 out very soon, and continue to build on that. I am though really struggling with saddle soreness at the moment. Hopefully I'll work though that. 

So by lots of measures things are going well: down a stone in weight, and this is already my biggest year on the bike since 2018 (I've done 3900 km this year), and I'm on track to do perhaps my biggest year on the bike ever (5800 km in 2018). I am though still concerned. It worries me that I'm struggling to do 100 km rides, and I'm still not that far under the century in weight. I don't like forward booking things like kilometers or kilos. They are easy to say & write about, harder to deliver.

Fortnighly update: Altitude Training

Last 2 weeks summary:

Distance: 167 Km (longest ride 62.5 Km)  

# of Rides: 5 rides

 Weight: 96.0 Kg

 

Ok, so it wasn't a big fortnight on the bike. Hardcore altitude training. Which is another way of saying I sodded off to the snow for a few days.

So as you can see, I actually got a bit of snowshoeing in. T'was good fun and a decent bit of exercise. But as a non-skier/boarder, I think the key for me was keeping clear of the après set, and the booze & food that comes with it. Mission accomplished.

Snow trips aside, the big news of this fortnight was my weight. Down to 96 kegs. The CSIRO diet is working. Excellent outcome given I basically had to park the diet while I was away (it's too damn hard to do on the road).

The CSIRO diet is a bit shit really. Brekky is OK, lunches are decent, dinners are sad. But for 12 weeks, I can hang with it, especially if I start peeling the weight off.

Hopefully with a full fortnight on CSIRO and a solid fortnight on the bike, I'll be even happier with the scales come next post.