Project Meatsuit – Week 0

So it has began … Project Meatsuit.

You may be asking yourself, what is Project Meatsuit? Well that is a good question, but to answer that we have to go back; back to Texas. During my younger years back in Texas I would take frequent trips to the Leaky/Campwood area to start winter training with my old team, Ambush Racing. It was there that the term, Meatsuit, was coined by my old team mate Doug Berry. The Meatsuit being the extra layer of winter “descending weight” that a cyclist carries.  It’s origins come from the era of Jan Ullrich and Dario Pieri.

A time when a cyclist could put on a bit of winter weight, show up to your team’s training camp and come out the other side ready to rock. Those times seem to have faded away in our new “World Tour” era of January racing. But I digress … back to Project Meatsuit.

So that is where the title comes from, but what is Project Meatsuit? Well it’s my personal project to drop some of the “directors pounds” that have put on in the last few years. On top of that I’m carrying a bit more muscle in my arms than in my pro days. Years spent slimming down my arms and fine-tuneing my body structure brought me to a better upper-body to lower-leg ratio, but one year of factory work brought back all the muscle.

So now my plan is to drop the Meatsuit. I’m looking to get down to a good weight, around 72 to 75kgs (154.5 to 165 lbs), in the next three months. It’s going to be a lot of work, but it’s a good way to make the hills hurt a bit less and give me a good excuse to buy some new clothes. Back in the winter I know I hit 85kgs (187.2 lbs) at one point … I have been doing a bit more riding these past few weeks, slowly giving myself some base for getting fit.

After the fitness comes I’m going to even try my hand at some local kermesse races this summer. I’m missing that burning sensation in the legs. The ‘racing high’ of going so hard that your whole body is starved of oxygen and wants to do nothing but stop, but it can’t, because your still holding the wheel and there is still another 50km of racing to go. I also would like to be able to race with the elite guys who stay here at the house. Be able to show them first hand how to navigate through a pack, follow the right wheels and work themselves to the front and into a break.

So it’s week 0, and it’s time for the initial stats.

• Initial Weight: 82.5 kg (182lbs)
• Thigh: 58cm (23 inches)
• Calf: 41 cm (16 inches)
• Waist: 94cm (37 inches)

And like any self-respecting cyclist it’s time to get those legs shaved! Now I just need to get some proper tan lines to complete the set up.