How cycling changed my life...
Police officer Steve Pellowe, 48, from Ashford, Surrey swapped the beat for the bike and rode off four stone in the process…
THEN 15ST 4LB (97.7KG) NOW 11ST 4LB (72.3KG)
WHY DID YOU NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT?
“I’m a policeman and I was working shifts, including some nights, and I was constantly snacking. I really couldn’t be bothered to do any exercise. As a team, we would often go for a drink after work and even if we didn’t go out I would drink beer at home most evenings. The combination of all of these things made me balloon up over a period of about five years.”
WHAT CHANGES DID YOU MAKE TO YOUR DIET?
“First off, I stopped drinking alcohol during the week and I took a packed lunch to work. I would intentionally come to work without any cash or my debit card so that I couldn’t buy any more food, even if I’d wanted to.”
HOW DID THE BIKE CHANGE YOUR LIFE?
“I moved offices at work and I was told there wasn’t any parking available. To be honest, I didn’t fancy a two-hour commute on public transport so I got myself a hybrid through the Ride to Work scheme. The commute was 10 miles each way, so it wasn’t too far. However, when I first started to do it, it took me about an hour, including some stops and rests. But after a few months I’d managed to get this time down to 45 minutes.”
WHAT OTHER CYCLING DO YOU DO?
“As well as my daily commute I also started riding longer distances on a Sunday, probably around 30 miles, and it didn’t take long before the weight just started to fall off. Within a year I had managed to loose 25kg. Now, whenever I carry a holiday suitcase I realise that I was lugging that amount of excess weight around.
“I now race quite a few disciplines, CX, road and MTB. To top it off, I am lucky enough to have represented Team GB in the World Gran Fondo Championships in Poland on 1 September 2019. Putting on the GB kit for the first time was quite something. I managed 155km in three hours 57mins.”
GET IN TOUCH...
Has cycling changed your life? Email us at cyclingplus@immediate.co.uk
I DIDN’T FANCY A TWO HOUR COMMUTE ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT, SO I GOT A HYBRID...