Look, I keep pondering this every time I do Half is Easy. And I’ve done it 19 times.
I’m sure someone at Wahoo or Sufferfest as it was then, managed to hack my computer or something, or plant a camera in my fridge at some point and take a video of me.
Half is Easy - around 14 minutes, the man opening the Fridge in the “Easy” bits looks like what I looked like just over two years ago when I was 97kg and just starting out with Sufferfest. I still have those pyjamas. The body shape is freakily and sadly a spitting image of what I was like.
Fortunately Sufferfest reinvigorated my desire to ride the bike and I’m now down to 83kg. Thanks guys. It has inspired me. I love the Systm. Every time I do that workout, it reminds me of what I was like.
I have a way to go to get to my old race weight of 70kg, but working towards it. Now, lets talk about the hacked images. Maybe you could update them!! Unless you can tell me who is in the video, it is too close to what I looked like for me to believe otherwise.
Warning: Upsetting and disturbing images follow below:
It’s me in 1998 (in my 40s). I’m 25 lbs lighter then I was then. My wife and I both gained weight with her first 2 pregnancies, but she lost it when she gave birth. Started running to help with the weight loss and then did my first triathlon in 1999. I think she started to resent the time, money and energy I put in to triathlon in my mid 40s. Once we hit our 60s things changed when her friends’ husbands started having medical issues. Now she is supportive, although she still thinks I have too many bikes .
You can never have too many bikes. Whilst it is not a cheap hobby, it could be worse. Most middle aged men are getting Harleys, sports cars etc. So tell her to look on the bright side, you are not hankering after one of those which will also not keep you fit and healthy.
Umm, if you do the vast majority of your own bike maintenance, your perspective on that will change. While it IS NICE to have options, and it IS GREAT when you still have a steed to ride when the one you EXPECTED to ride was found sorely needing repairs, it is HORRIBLE when the maintenance and repair demands pile up across several bikes and you then have NOTHING TO RIDE!!!
But when that happens… that’s what SYSTM and a KICKR BIKE is for!!!
Alas I do all the spannering on all our bikes. I only have 3, a best and a winter bike and an mtb. My son races so I’m on top of that maintenance, plus he has an mtb and both my daughter and wife have two each. So, it can get quite busy maintenance wise. But it is also satisfying knowing you have done a good job. Not got a kicker bike, but even in summer with great weather we are having now, you can’t beat Systm for a short and beneficial workout. Half on on the road, nah, not worth it, bring me The Cure or Half is Easy any time. I’ve actually chosen it a few times instead of going out in the sun as it has been so hot. My garage is cool and with fans, it is more pleasant that baking outside.
Totally agree there! I’m about an hour from any shop so doing my own maintenance is a must, and I have for decades except when something new or proprietary has to be done, or a warranty issue. And I’ve learned that most things are better done myself, frankly. Bikes are becoming both more and less friendly at the same time to the home mechanic.
Many parts are more durable because they are less susceptible to contamination than old designs, machine tolerances are so much more precise, and materials have been developed that are better for the applications.
But along with those improvements have come less friendly methods of replacing bits, more proprietary tools needed, and a great stubbornness by manufacturers to release manuals that explain even basic information about their products. (That’s not exactly a new thing, I admit.)
Thankfully, with YouTube and other avenues, consumers often make up for what manufacturers don’t provide, and some manufacturers are getting better in that regard also.
Kudos to you for doing all the work for your whole family! Especially for a racing son! Racing generally means a lot more wear and tear, on both the bike AND the rider!
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