The Fat Runner becomes the Fat Cyclist

The Fat Runner used to be a cyclist before he was a runner. A childhood spent racing BMX bikes at regional level, and then graduating to a bit of mountain bike racing before deciding to get a road bike (as mountain biking in London can be a little pointless...)

But since he moved out of his house and into a second floor flat, his bike has hardly been used.

That was, until last weekend, when he bit the bullet and decided to give his bike an overhaul (inspired by a conversation he had with a colleague while waiting for a plane to Madrid).

Six hours later (there was quite a bit of work to do) he took his bike down to Richmond Park for a lap. The whole ride was around 20 miles, including the 7 mile lap around Richmond Park which he did in 24 mins 30 seconds. This is quite a way off what he was able to do (around 22 mins 15 seconds) and still short of what is seen as the unofficial target for Richmond Park of 20 minutes.

But he's quite happy - this being the first time he had been out on a bike for over a year. But clearly there is room for improvement!!

He'll be trying to finish work early over the next few weeks to see if he can get any more rides in while the nights are still relatively long.

While the cycling is unlikely to improve his running directly, he's hoping that he will have increased fitness and more weight loss so that his running will at least improve indirectly...

I'll keep you updated on how he does!