Pub lunch bike ride

Nicky and I cycled north to Stewkley then back to Wing where we found a good place for lunch, The Cock Inn. They do Sunday roasts for £7.99 - I had beef and was offered sausage and stuffing with it, but settled on Yorkshire Pud. I plan to call again when some Lejog friends meet up in Nov. We then had a 10 mile trip back up Mentmore hill and with a blustery headwind. 25 mile round trip making my weeks total 75 miles

Fitness Campaign Update

I've lost about half a stone now basically by eating and drinking a bit less and exercising a bit more, and it feels good! My BMI is still around 27 though so I've still got a way to go before reaching a 'not overweight' 25. It would be easier if I hadn't shrunk from 5'6" to 5'5" over the last 10 years! I'm also not sure that BMI is a realistic measure, as it doesn't take into account your muscle weight.
In terms of diet I've been loosely following the ideas of the F2 high fibre and Gi Plan diet, which seem healthy in that you fill up on fruit and fibre and keep fat intake down. I did consider the Dukan diet but decided it was crazy and unnatural. The only real modification to diet though, apart from eating a bit less, is that I have added a grapefruit drink or half grapefruit for breakfast and I suppose we eat a bit less meat and more salads. I already was eating plenty fruit, veg and fibre.
My exercise consists of cycling to/from work usually 3 times a week with one swim, one or two gym sessions and sometimes a 3 mile run. Then at weekends I usually go for a short or long bike ride or a walk with my wife. I've also been working on my allotment which can be quite energetic.
I tried calorie counting for a few days using http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ - but probably won't do this regularly. It does however give you an idea of how much food and exercise you need to do to reach a target weight in a number of weeks.
I'm not sure if I'll manage to get much below 11.5 stone, but at least I plan to keep a trim waistline whilst building up my upper body and leg muscles. Hopefully I can get down to 11 stone.

Wallingford Again

Woke up to a clear blue sky and sunny day. Packed panniers with picnic and swimming kit and Nicky and I set off for Wallingford at about 9:45. We had a coffee and snack, then arrived at sunny Wallingford at around 12. We both had a brief swim in the cold Thames, had our picnic and sunbathed for a couple of hours. We made a slight detour on our return on some minor roads and nice villages such as Brightwell Baldwin and Sydenham, with pretty churches and pubs (Sydenham church pictured). We had a stop at the Chinnor Garden Centre just before 4pm closing for an unbelievably cheap 2 teas and cakes for £5.48. Got home around 5:30, a mileage of 62 miles, making my week's mileage 157.

So the day trip has shown that 60 mile a day should be ok for planned Lands End trip. We've decided to do the trip at May half term, and just cycle one way. That way we'll still have time for 2 week somewhere hot and exotic in the summer!

Fitness Campaign

It's been dry and sunny all week, so I've cycled to work every day and went on an hours ride late this afternoon. So my week's total is so far 95 miles. I also had a swim, gym session and a couple of hours on the allotment. My wife and I are trying to loose a bit of weight and are on a bit of a fitness campaign. We're trying a high fibre low fat diet (F2 or Gi) and have lost 3 or 4 pounds in 2 weeks. Trouble is we've got 2 scales and there's a difference of half a stone between the 2, so we're not sure when we'll reach our targets.
Today's ride was over Ashridge at about 5:30 pm, past Ivinghoe Beacon (pictured), and Tring reservoirs.
Tomorrow we plan a longer ride to Wallingford, Oxfordshire .