What motivates you?

[Vikeonabike]

Reasons

I started to save cash, get fit and lose weight.
Mrs Vike spends the cash I save, I'm bloody knackered all the time and now I'm too skinny according to friends and family!....

The first three reasons are why I started. Now I ride because
I can
I love the freedom
My route is great whatever the weather
I feel I belong (thanks to the likes of CC)
It's a great stress buster
It helps me catch bad guys
A two am ride home on a still night is a great tonic for a stressfull shift
A two AM ride home in sh!tty weather is still better than driving
Riding into work and watching the sun rise/set over the big east anglian sky is awsome
The price of a litre of fuel
And more reasons than I can think of!

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Needing to stay fit enough and fast enough to ref Colts and University rugby games

 

[GrahamG]

The fact that I'm 88 kilos (14st) and am going to France for four days riding (including Ventoux weather permitting) with two mountain goats.... I've got 9 weeks to drop at least 9 kilos. A week of that will be in the US for a friends wedding, that could be testing.

 

[Bill Gates]

I'm finding the motivation to train is getting harder and harder. I went out on the road today and although I had the energy to do more I came home early after an hour as watching Andy Murray on TV seemed more appealing.

See how I feel tomorrow.

 

[dynamick]

This is a great thread and I've actually got quite choked up reading some of the "why we do what we do posts"......so here's my two penneth on the subject.....it's quite long but it's a long story!

I was (for many years) grossly overweight (technical term was morbidly obese) weighing in according to the local doctors scales at 27 stone (although I can never remember being that big).

I was unhappy because I ate and I ate because I was unhappy...which is an all too familiar cycle (no pun intended!) People are cruel when you're overweight....I had abuse screamed at me, I had kids no older than 8 years old throwing stones at me and I had someone the same age as me spit in my face and call me a name which is far too disgusting to post on here. This was still not enough to get me to lose weight though.....my doctor did that for me.

I went (a few days before my 34th birthday) for a check-up for my diabetes, high blood pressure, depression and basically my doctor said if I didn't do something about my weight - I'd be lucky to see much past my 35th birthday. Something just clicked, I didn't want to die - I had to do something!

I joined Slimming World (according to their scales I weighed 24 stone), joined the local gym, lost just over 1 1/2 stone in the first month and just over a year later I'd got down to 14 1/2 stone....and although I've had a few blips since then.....I can say happily that I am back in my target weight and I really don't want to lose anymore.

I suppose what re-enforced my need to carry on was the fact that my friends nephew (aged 18 and full of life) died from SADS (cardiomyopathy). A life taken away at such a young age.....and there was me slowly killing myself.

Well I ran 3 x 10km road races and the Sheffield Half Marathon - with other fund raising events, charity dinners etc - our charity we set up raised just over £30,000.

I've had cubital tunnel surgery on my left arm....I'm recovering from cruciate ligament damage to my left knee and I suffer with a condition called Behcets disease. I got my first cheap bike 4 years ago (£50 Stirling House Special!), upgraded to a Giant Boulder a year or so later....and I'm soon to be getting a Revolution Country Explorer.

I train 4 times a week in the gym.....2 hours on cardio and 45 minutes a day on weights.....I'm 38 now and I cycle everywhere.

I'm lucky to be alive I guess and I have 3 words "NEVER GO BACK" above some damn awful pictures of me when I was at my heaviest weight.

To give you an idea of before and after......here's a few photos.

Take care.

Mick

 

[rh100]

This is a great thread and I've actually got quite choked up reading some of the "why we do what we do posts"......so here's my two penneth on the subject.....it's quite long but it's a long story!

I was (for many years) grossly overweight (technical term was morbidly obese) weighing in according to the local doctors scales at 27 stone (although I can never remember being that big).

I was unhappy because I ate and I ate because I was unhappy...which is an all too familiar cycle (no pun intended!) People are cruel when you're overweight....I had abuse screamed at me, I had kids no older than 8 years old throwing stones at me and I had someone the same age as me spit in my face and call me a name which is far too disgusting to post on here. This was still not enough to get me to lose weight though.....my doctor did that for me.

I went (a few days before my 34th birthday) for a check-up for my diabetes, high blood pressure, depression and basically my doctor said if I didn't do something about my weight - I'd be lucky to see much past my 35th birthday. Something just clicked, I didn't want to die - I had to do something!

I joined Slimming World (according to their scales I weighed 24 stone), joined the local gym, lost just over 1 1/2 stone in the first month and just over a year later I'd got down to 14 1/2 stone....and although I've had a few blips since then.....I can say happily that I am back in my target weight and I really don't want to lose anymore.

I suppose what re-enforced my need to carry on was the fact that my friends nephew (aged 18 and full of life) died from SADS (cardiomyopathy). A life taken away at such a young age.....and there was me slowly killing myself.

Well I ran 3 x 10km road races and the Sheffield Half Marathon - with other fund raising events, charity dinners etc - our charity we set up raised just over £30,000.

I've had cubital tunnel surgery on my left arm....I'm recovering from cruciate ligament damage to my left knee and I suffer with a condition called Behcets disease. I got my first cheap bike 4 years ago (£50 Stirling House Special!), upgraded to a Giant Boulder a year or so later....and I'm soon to be getting a Revolution Country Explorer.

I train 4 times a week in the gym.....2 hours on cardio and 45 minutes a day on weights.....I'm 38 now and I cycle everywhere.

I'm lucky to be alive I guess and I have 3 words "NEVER GO BACK" above some damn awful pictures of me when I was at my heaviest weight.

To give you an idea of before and after......here's a few photos.

Take care.

Mick

You've achieved a lot, great stuff.

 

[tyred]

This is a great thread and I've actually got quite choked up reading some of the "why we do what we do posts"......so here's my two penneth on the subject.....it's quite long but it's a long story!

I was (for many years) grossly overweight (technical term was morbidly obese) weighing in according to the local doctors scales at 27 stone (although I can never remember being that big).

I was unhappy because I ate and I ate because I was unhappy...which is an all too familiar cycle (no pun intended!) People are cruel when you're overweight....I had abuse screamed at me, I had kids no older than 8 years old throwing stones at me and I had someone the same age as me spit in my face and call me a name which is far too disgusting to post on here. This was still not enough to get me to lose weight though.....my doctor did that for me.

I went (a few days before my 34th birthday) for a check-up for my diabetes, high blood pressure, depression and basically my doctor said if I didn't do something about my weight - I'd be lucky to see much past my 35th birthday. Something just clicked, I didn't want to die - I had to do something!

I joined Slimming World (according to their scales I weighed 24 stone), joined the local gym, lost just over 1 1/2 stone in the first month and just over a year later I'd got down to 14 1/2 stone....and although I've had a few blips since then.....I can say happily that I am back in my target weight and I really don't want to lose anymore.

I suppose what re-enforced my need to carry on was the fact that my friends nephew (aged 18 and full of life) died from SADS (cardiomyopathy). A life taken away at such a young age.....and there was me slowly killing myself.

Well I ran 3 x 10km road races and the Sheffield Half Marathon - with other fund raising events, charity dinners etc - our charity we set up raised just over £30,000.

I've had cubital tunnel surgery on my left arm....I'm recovering from cruciate ligament damage to my left knee and I suffer with a condition called Behcets disease. I got my first cheap bike 4 years ago (£50 Stirling House Special!), upgraded to a Giant Boulder a year or so later....and I'm soon to be getting a Revolution Country Explorer.

I train 4 times a week in the gym.....2 hours on cardio and 45 minutes a day on weights.....I'm 38 now and I cycle everywhere.

I'm lucky to be alive I guess and I have 3 words "NEVER GO BACK" above some damn awful pictures of me when I was at my heaviest weight.

To give you an idea of before and after......here's a few photos.

Take care.

Mick

 

[slinky malinky]

Motivated by losing 3 stone with 9lb to go, I had always been fat (hate that word) even at school not massive but enough to be the butt of all the jokes, don't know why but 9 years ago met the wife (she had a six pack while I had a keg!!) something clicked (i think that happens to alot of people), I thought enough is enough and I got on my bike, lost about a stone and just sort of stuck there, then and don't laugh got to watch the TDF, im affraid the MTB got dumped (just use it for work and shops now)and I caught the road riding bug big time, after all these years I have found a sport I love and with a bit of hard work YOU can get good at. Although the wife thinks I now have lady legs and in the summer when the miles pick up I do look a bit drawn in the face I can't stop it must be like smoking (never done it) I even like the pain after a ride!!! my only regret I feel I wasted my early days trying sports that I was never going to be good at or enjoy (you can only sit on the reserve bench so long)
What ever your weight is if you have a goal and YOU really want it then (as the advert says) JUST DO IT this is not a test ride you only have one shot don't have regrets.
And mick that weight loss is outstanding!!!!!!!!!!!!! (don't know about running though I think its the work of the devil I'll stick with the bike.