HOW CYCLING CHANGED MY LIFE... From cycle paths to 100-mile events, 34-year-old Ross Serdet has dropped over eight stone as he’s clocked up the miles
I started seeing all the road bikes flying past me, which got me hooked
Heaviest: 140kg (22st 2lb) Now: 89kg (14st)
HOW DID YOUR WEIGHT LOSS START?
“At first, cycling was the only exercise that I could do that wouldn’t hurt my joints or muscles. I was 312lb – over 22 stone – when I decided I needed to make some changes. I researched what I should and shouldn’t be eating and started by restricting my calorie intake, then cutting out things like fatty foods and processed meats and sugars. The key, I found, was to change how I thought about food and realise how what I’m eating affects my body. Once I realised I could control my diet and started to drop a few pounds I looked at adding some exercise.”
HOW HAS YOUR RIDING EVOLVED?
“When you’re at that sort of weight just doing a little bit of exercise really helps so I started off using my mountain bike and cycling up and down the paths along the Thames. I began to enjoy it and once I’d got a little more confident and fitter I started increasing the distance and doing laps of nearby Richmond Park. That was when I started seeing all the road bikes flying past me, which got me hooked!”
WHAT BIKES DO YOU RIDE?
“I went out and bought a second-hand Felt and after that you couldn’t get me off it. I have since built my own bike around a Scott Foil frame and I’m now out riding at least three times a week when the weather is good and on the Wattbike at my local gym over the winter.”
WHAT HAS CYCLING HELPED YOU ACHIEVE?
“Currently I’m down to around 200lb (14st), which is close to where I want to be being 6ft 2in. It took me around 18 months to lose the bulk of the weight and now I’m just strengthening and toning. I have done a few events too – last year I rode London-Brighton (the night ride) but I decided to cycle there and back, so it was 125 miles through the night. I have a 105-mile ride in Wales coming up and I’m also cycling the London-Surrey 100 in August with a view to riding to Paris later in the year with some friends.”