SouthernShred
06-21-07, 08:40 AM
Hey everyone...my name is Shannon...28 year old father of 2, husband of 1 and Clydesdale :) I posted about a month ago about bike advice and ended up buying a Specialized Sequoia 61cm and have been riding like nuts since.
I'm 6'4" and 6 months ago I weighed 284 pounds. Through exercise (lots of time in the gym doing aerobics classes and lifting weights) and some sports (tennis and ultimate frisbee with my friends), I dropped to about 264. About a month ago I started the Abs Diet and also bought the Sequoia...I'm now down to 250lbs even and hope to drop another 50 over the next year.
I've been riding on our local Riverwalk starting at a parking garage nearby...most days I ride with my 3.5 year old son in a Chariot Cougar 2 trailer and my max with him so far has been 13.9 miles with avg. speed of 12.3mph...we live in a valley so it's pretty hilly around here...hills suck with the trailer :)
Last night I had a new personal best without the trailer attached...I've been back on a bike for I guess 3 weeks now since I bought it for the first time in 15 years...I did 14.56 miles with avg speed of 14.83mph.
I'm really, really encouraged by some of the stories here. You guys have no idea how down I was about being 28 years old with hypertension and being completely out of shape after being a pretty good athlete 10 years ago. I'm not in shape yet, but seeing the progress everyone has made makes me feel like I've got some support that understands what it's like to be a big guy trying to turn into a smaller guy.
On a cool note, my blood pressure is down to 120/74 after staying at 150/95 with medication for several years. I want to be around for my little ones.
Anyway, thanks for being here and I hope I can plug in and contribute positively to the community of Clyde's
Shannon
I'm 6'4" and 6 months ago I weighed 284 pounds. Through exercise (lots of time in the gym doing aerobics classes and lifting weights) and some sports (tennis and ultimate frisbee with my friends), I dropped to about 264. About a month ago I started the Abs Diet and also bought the Sequoia...I'm now down to 250lbs even and hope to drop another 50 over the next year.
I've been riding on our local Riverwalk starting at a parking garage nearby...most days I ride with my 3.5 year old son in a Chariot Cougar 2 trailer and my max with him so far has been 13.9 miles with avg. speed of 12.3mph...we live in a valley so it's pretty hilly around here...hills suck with the trailer :)
Last night I had a new personal best without the trailer attached...I've been back on a bike for I guess 3 weeks now since I bought it for the first time in 15 years...I did 14.56 miles with avg speed of 14.83mph.
I'm really, really encouraged by some of the stories here. You guys have no idea how down I was about being 28 years old with hypertension and being completely out of shape after being a pretty good athlete 10 years ago. I'm not in shape yet, but seeing the progress everyone has made makes me feel like I've got some support that understands what it's like to be a big guy trying to turn into a smaller guy.
On a cool note, my blood pressure is down to 120/74 after staying at 150/95 with medication for several years. I want to be around for my little ones.
Anyway, thanks for being here and I hope I can plug in and contribute positively to the community of Clyde's
Shannon