Who ya gonna call? GutBusters!

If you know me you'll agree I'm not the smallest, thinnest, lightest, racing snake cyclist on two wheels. While I have dropped a fair amount of flab in the past 4 years (30kg) it's really tough to get rid of the tummy.

I have cyclists calfs but a sumo stomach.

I'll be 47 in a couple of weeks and my goal is to get down to around 90kg before I'm 48. I'm not in a great hurry... although I wish its would go faster.... I know that it comes back as faster that you loose it.... if it takes a couple of years, so be it.

I'm fit and healthy (My Doc says I have the heart of an 18 yo athlete - pity I don't have the matching body) and 150km per week on the bike at around 22-24km/h average. That's 6-7hours of strenuous cardio (70-80% maxHR) every week and I'm getting stronger, faster and going further all the time.

But THE BLOODY GUT WON'T BUST!!!! I've given up weighing myself and use my belt as my guide but it's still inconsistent. Heres a good article that may help those of you afflicted with Toomuchbellyitis.

Fred Matheny is a cycling coach and you can find his eBook (downloadable) on year round road cycling improvement here.

Here's an extract from his book, Complete Book of Road Bike Training, on loosing the extra KGs.

It's important to do "core" exercises like crunches to keep the abs toned and reduce lower back problems. You can do them at home on a carpet or exercise mat. No health club needed.
 
However, remember that strong abs won't reduce the size of your waistline. You can do crunches from now till doomsday and all you'll get is an extremely strong abdominal wall covered with the same layer of fat that presently exists.
 
Here's why: Fat is lost at the same rate from all over the body. Further, it's lost only by increasing the number of calories burned and reducing the number taken in. There's no such thing as "spot reducing" -- exercising a certain part of the body to take fat off that specific area.
 
Crunches alone won't burn enough calories to help you shed fat. To lose weight, continue to cycle. Two rides a day may be more effective than one ride of the same total length because your metabolism is boosted twice.
 
Ride longer weekends, too, to incinerate more calories. The longer you go on Saturday or Sunday, the better. Include hills or friends who push the pace for even greater benefit. Combine your cycling with a sound nutritional plan and you should see steady weight loss.

Over the hills and far away...

Ebony and ivory on the Naqali bridge


Over the hills and far away... Well not that far, just to Naqali and back. Sunday morning was just right. Not too hot. A little overcast. No rain. The route has a few rolling hills and a couple of nasty ones. I got half way up the nastiest hill and a little brown Fiji dog came tearing out of the undergrowth at me. I don't usually react to dogs... just give 'em a squirt from the water bottle of they get too close. But this one gave me such a shock that I nearly fell off the bike. I lost all momentum and had to walk up the rest of the hill. To tell you the truth I would have probably ended up walking anyway, but the dog was a good excuse :)

By the time I got to Naqali bridge the rest were on the way back so, I only got one pic. See ebony and ivory above... not a bad pic seeing as it was on the self timer.

:D

Velocity Fiji Group Stats

Our first group report from My Cycling Group log. 448.6km to date....Check it out and sign up.

My Cycling Log

I did a quick 10k this morning to try and build up some Ks on My Cycling Log.

This is a free website where you can log you distances, heart rate, route, bikes used (if you have more than one) and you can view your progress as bar charts. I has a section where you can set yourself a weekly, monthly or annual target and log your rides on My Cycling Log and it will take care of all the calculations.

Here's a pic of one of the pages. You'll notice the loooow Ks for the past two weeks... not good :( ... although I didn't cycle last week coz I couldn't move more than 5 metres away from a loo :(

I've set myself a modest target of 150km per week (around 21.5km per day) ... sounds easy but if you miss a couple of days it can be hard to catch up. There is a facility in My Cycling Log for a group log so if anyone is interested let me know and we can set it up. I've put the link in the "Bike Suff" column on the left... check it out!

While we're on training. I was going to TRY and do a few days a week at the USP gym. Those of you who haven't seen the USP Gym, it's well worth checking out. If there's enough people interested in becoming a member we should be able to get a group rate... again, let me know.

A VERY quite weekend

Only three people turned up to the Saturday morning ride... but despite the low turnout it was a beautiful morning... and the coffee was good.

Sunday ... I think everyone (except one who turned up at 6.30am) was in extra-malua mode.

Saturday Cycle

Surprise, surprise.... I turned up a few mins late to our Saturday morning coffee ride... and there's actually a GROUP to ride with. The last few weeks only one or two turn up.

Here's the gang after the ride having a coffee or three at Esquires.

Weekly Rides in Suva

Saturdays
RAIN OR SHINE... Get on your bike this Saturday morning.... come and join the easy pace of regular RoC (Esquires) Ride... and enjoy the best coffee in town after the ride at RoC1... err.. I mean Esquires 1.

You don't have to be a Velocity Club Member... You don't have to own a fancy bike... Just bring your helmet, your bike and a smile and enjoy the ride (and the company).

Meet at Esquires Coffee House Cnr Victora Pde and Loftus St. at 7am and cycle around Nasese, Muanikau and along the seawall... nice and easy.
Duration approx 45mins with a break half way
Pace fast, slow, snailpace... it's up to you.
Recovery Espresso, Iced Mocha, Muffins, Croissants

Sundays
Velocity Group ride. Usually a longer distance 30 - 80km, sometimes more.
Every now and then there's breakfast (small donations welcome but not compulsory) at Dom's place after the ride and a chance to watch some cycling (spring classics like Paris - Roubaix or Tour de France DVDs).
Longer rides are sometimes supported but you should bring enough drink, spare tube(s) and tools for the ride as transport cannot always be guaranteed. The group usually splits so if you don't want to try and keep up with the testosterone at the front you can hang back with me and take it (reasonably) easy. Sunscreen is essential as it can be pretty hot even on a cloudy day. Remember to drink regularly .

Weekdays
Monday and Wednesday we have our After Work Rides (if it's not pouring)
Start around 5 -515pm from Esquires 1 (RoC1)

The wonderful sport

I hope this works... I'm still trying to work out how to embed videos. The guy who made this must be a Lance fan 'coz every second shot is of Armstrong. But there's some pretty inspiring moments. And a couple of sad ones, like Erik Zabe admitting to doping and Joseba Beloki crashing in front of Lance in the 2003 Tour de France. Beloki was in second place in the Tour and smashed his leg, elbow and wrist in the crash. He never regained his form and in 2006 was implicated, and was cleared, in the Spanish doping scandal. The video ends with some memorable victories. Most, if not all are TdF stage wins. Enjoy!

Cycling pics

Send me your cycling pics and I'll post them on this page.

Simple Rules:
1. The photo should be a cycling related pic taken by you.
2. There MUST be at least one bike in the pic.

There'll be a prize for the best pic.

Let's'av'em!

2008 Velocity Jerseys

Happy New Year Everyone!

I'm going to try and keep this blog updated with news and pics. You can help by sending me stories, and photos if you have them, of your rides.

We have just produced a small run of our new 2008 Velocity Cycling Jerseys (see sexy cyclist and male model Prance Arsewrong, above) and they went like "hot wheels"... and we're in the process of organising another run. So, if you missed out or just want more, email Dom. Sizes: S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL. We've added another colour, Black/White (as modeled by Prance) to go with the Black/Orange and Orange/White (below). Cost FJ$45 and international postage is available (contact me for cost of postage).

Remember to take your camera with you when you ride and send me the pics to post here.