Although it was the Tour De France in July and a holiday in France in August that got me back on my turbo and bike, it was really September when I started to take it a bit more seriously. I had been about 17 stone 5 at the beginning of July but down to nearer 17 stone at the end of August and this modest progress was an important part of my motivation to step things up a bit. By the end of this 3 months I am down to 15 stone 10 lbs. This is a bare summary of my cycling activity for the first 3 months of more serious intent.

September:
4 x 10 minute turbo sessions, total 40 minutes
3 x social rides with the Leeds Cycle Action Group (LCAG), total 36 miles
3 x 6.5 local rides, total miles approx. 20 miles

October:
9 x turbo sessions (4 x 15, 4 x 20, 1 x 25) total 165 minutes
3 x social rides with LCAG, total 36 miles
5 x local rides (1 x 6.5, 3 x 7.6, 1 x 10) total 39 miles
1 social ride with Chris Robbins, near Knaresborough, total 14 miles

November:
14 x turbo sessions (2 x 25, 12 x 30) total minutes 410
1 x social ride with LCAG, total 12 miles
4 local rides (1 x 6.5, 3 x 10) total 65 miles

Monthly totals:
September turbo 40 minutes, road miles 56
October turbo 165 minutes, road miles 89
November turbo 410 minutes, road miles 77

The local circuit round Greengates has been lengthened into a 10 mile variant over the period and the turbo sessions have been lengthened to 30 minutes. I suspect these will stay the same now for the next 2 or 3 months with the shorter circuit being used if time or the weather are against me. I will continue to go on the LCAG social rides whenever possible throughout the winter.

Over the period of 3 months I have been on a modest calorie reduced diet aiming at the low end of 1500 – 2000 per day. My weight today is 15 stone 10 lbs. Assuming it was 17 stone at the end of August it represents a loss of 1 stone 4 lbs. If I keep this up for the next 3 months I will be about 14 stone 6 lb by the end of February. This is unlikely as weight loss will get harder I’m sure. Frankly, if I’m under 15 stone by then I will be delighted. Especially as this is my target for rewarding myself with a decent road bike!