With some people its beer or wine, others chocolate or sweets, some like burgers and pies but for me, its bread. I like food in general but I can put most of my unwanted cuddly bits down to bread.Hot buttered toast made with thick white bread, croissants, chunky brown bread with soup, ham sandwiches, fruit loaf, pita bread, cinnamon bread, cheese toasties and malted brown bread still warm from the over - to name but a few.
I'm pretty sure that if I'd never eaten bread, I'd be the svelte person I've always wanted to be. So after the disastrous two weeks following the Devon trip of eating and eating and being injured, I had to regain control and at least keep the weight off before the Fred Whitton.
The easiest and hardest solution is no bread. Easiest in that it will produce results, hardest in that I just can't do without bread. Its now been 4 days with not a slice in sight. I've not even nibbled the crusts off my daughters school packed-lunch.
18 days to go and I can taste the 9 slices of toast I'm eating on the Monday morning in the B&B after the Fred. Yum.
(I can't tell you how hard it is just looking at these pictures)
4 comments:
Nipped back to see how you were getting after posting my comment in Jan (after the entries were accepted).
Looks like you've got plenty of good prep under your belt aside from your recent setback.
I've been attempting some longer rides and have done all the passes (except Whinlatter) in recent weeks, and have done Kirkstone and Hardknott (the ones nearest to me) a few times. I can tell you, they're not going to be easy strung one after another!!
Nonetheless, I'm quite optimistic I could get around 8hr if conditions are OK and I don't dally at the feed stops - not bad considering I only got back into biking last autumn!
Fantastic Stuart. Glad its all gone well. I imagine doing most of the passes will have prepared you really well. At least you know what's coming (or is ignorance bliss?). I have no time goal, just to finish and not walk any hills if at all possible. It is all very much an unknown. I've not really done anything like this before. The Autumn Epic is closest but FW has 3000 extra feet and 20 more miles. And then there is the 33% hill.
There's a knack to doing the long steeps and with your level of fitness it shouldn't be a problem if a couple of simple steps are followed.
First have the right gear - the last two times I did Hardknott I managed with a lowest gear of 34x26, but for the event I'm getting a block with a 29 sprocket - after 99 miles there's no shame in a granny gear.
Second, really take it easy at the bottom - go immediately to bottom gear and about 4-5 mph. Especially on Hardknott it's all about saving it for the top. After the flatter midsection you really need to have your breath back because the second steep part to the top is a killer.
Oh - and the descent off is as bad as they say. Last time I averaged about 15mph going down. That was on a dry road and still my wheels were locking! And you have that sensation you could be over the bars at any time because of the steepness! Enjoy!
Thanks for the advice. I have a 34x27 as my lowest. Hopefully that will be enough. I will follow your advice and go slow. The decent does worry me.
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