Before and After
So I just finished my final Time Trial for the Banjo Brothers Big Bad Bulky Biker Bodyfat (B7) Challenge.
The upshot? I lost 31 pounds and dropped 5 minutes off my uphill Time Trial time since January. I’m 25% faster in the climbs than I used to be.
Did I beat everyone? Nope. The results aren’t all in yet, but I figure I’ll probably have to buy about a dozen jerseys or so. And you know what? I’m happy to do it — I’m proud to have anyone who lost more weight and gained more fitness than I did wearing a Fat Cyclist jersey.
I did, however, beat a lot more people than beat me. It’ll be interesting to see how many people who lost will honor their agreement.
Humiliation in the Form of Photography
So, let’s review where we’ve been, shall we? Here’s a photo of me when I started this blog, back in May of 2005:
And here I am today:
Yeah, I could still stand to lose a few pounds. Or do an occasional sit-up. Or do something about my pasty whiteness. But still, some definite improvement, wouldn’t you say? And my legs are freakin’ awesome.
The Leadville 100 is less than two weeks away. I’m as ready as I’m going to be. Ever.
Comment by Beast1624 | 07.31.2007 | 11:31 am
Congratulations!
Comment by gian | 07.31.2007 | 11:32 am
that is awesome. I just weighed my self for the first time in a year and I have gained a significant amount of weight. 40 lbs is siginifant right?
Comment by Lowrydr | 07.31.2007 | 11:33 am
WOW!! and your shins aint pastie white anymore, what’s up with that? Borrow the wifes tanning cream did we? Good luck at Leadville on the sub 9 target.
Comment by Den | 07.31.2007 | 11:36 am
Dude, I proud of you. In all honesty, congratulations.
Now please, go put on a shirt.
Comment by Bret | 07.31.2007 | 11:54 am
Hey! You’re supposed to have a pasty white torso to go with that awesome farmer’s tan on your arms!
Comment by Bent022 | 07.31.2007 | 11:55 am
Congratulations! Awesome job! I will be doing my TT this weekend, but unless I pull off a miracle of a TT you will have beaten me. Please let me know which flavors of Shot Bloks you prefer and which CSC cap you want; Voigt’s is signed, but I could not get Zabriskie’s signed.
Good luck in Leadville.
Comment by Caloi-Rider | 07.31.2007 | 11:56 am
Nice work, Fatty! Or should we start looking for another nickname now? Quadsy?
Comment by pikkumatti | 07.31.2007 | 11:56 am
Well done.
Although your “before” and “after” pictures are a little like the ones in the Grecian Formula TV ads. You know, the “before” picture is with a frown, and the “after” picture is with a smile. Just to subliminally sell the change, you know.
Comment by UltraRob | 07.31.2007 | 12:09 pm
Congratulations!
In spite of my good intentions, I didn’t get my time trial done in May or June but I have too good of an idea of where I stand. My plan is to do my final TT on Thursday. I’ll weigh in the morning but as of 2 days ago I had gained back some of the few pounds I did lose early in the challenge. I’ll have lost about 5 out of the 25 I planned to lose.
I have no doubt I’ll be owing you something no matter how hard I try in the TT. Since you didn’t take me up on the Hammer products, I believe I owe you a gift certificate to either Performance or Nashbar. Actually you can choose a certificate from any of the over 40 stores on the cycling and outdoor gear search part of my website. Actually I haven’t checked that they all offer gift certificates.
Comment by traildiva | 07.31.2007 | 12:14 pm
I agree with Caloi-Rider — Fatty is no longer appropriate. I’ll throw my vote in for Quadsy : )
Comment by mark | 07.31.2007 | 12:38 pm
Elden, that is pretty awesome. Congratulations–you’re looking really fit. I look forward to reading the report of your sub-9 Leadville ride. Good luck, and don’t be tempted to steal Susan’s EPO just to make sure you meet your goal.
Comment by Stephanie | 07.31.2007 | 12:41 pm
everyone at work is wondering why i’m checking out some guy with huge quads instead of working
Comment by Tim. | 07.31.2007 | 12:55 pm
This post needs buffer pictures more than the one of Kenny’s head.
Tim.
Comment by Nick Hawkins | 07.31.2007 | 12:59 pm
Tanning bed, my friend… tanning bed…
Congrats on losing the weight.
Comment by BotchedExperiment | 07.31.2007 | 1:04 pm
A few thoughts:
I really think you should have taken the picture with your bike shorts hiked up as high as they would go. That would have been priceless.
In the “after” picture, are you trying to make yourself turn purple again, or is that just the strain from trying to flex your entire body at once?
I think you looked better back when you used to put a black bar over your eyes.
You know what really makes me mad? You. That’s what. You had the most legitimate excuse(s) to bag trying to lose weight and gain fitness. And yet you did. Lose weight and gain fitness, I mean. As for me, with no excuse at all, wel, I lost weight and found it. Lost it and found it. Lost and found. Oh, actually, I just remembered I had A BUNCH of excuses. . .
Of all the years I’ve known you, I think this could be your best chance for the sub-9 Leadville.
Comment by DOM | 07.31.2007 | 1:07 pm
Congrats, FC. Send me a PM and I’ll get my wager shipped out. I assume you don’t want to put your address on the web. The throngs of fans would disrupt traffic for miles. There should be a jersey set aside for me that I will order. Should I go through the normal link above?
Thanks for hosting. I’ll be interested to see just how much tonnage was shed by the group.
Comment by bradk | 07.31.2007 | 1:07 pm
holy crap! nice pics. could you also post some pics with your bibs up no shirt and maybe some arm warmers on? and while you’re at it tie a sweatband around your noggin. seriously, like i said on saturdays ride, you’re looking like a pro-level cyclist these days.
Comment by Rick S. | 07.31.2007 | 1:13 pm
You’ve got the single speed arms now. Will you be wearing sleeveless at Leadville?….I must know.
Comment by Susan (another one) | 07.31.2007 | 1:32 pm
Quads look great.
However, you have cyclists’ abs. As do I.
Expecting great pics from Leadville.
Comment by Eufemiano Fuentes | 07.31.2007 | 1:33 pm
I love that vein in your left elbow area. I would transfusion the hell out of that thing.
Comment by miles archer | 07.31.2007 | 1:38 pm
Boy you look angry in the before pic.
Perhaps you’ll need a new goal of only gaining half of it back this winter.
Comment by James | 07.31.2007 | 1:46 pm
Yo Elden-
Congrats. When I get old, I hope I look as good as you (sorry, couldn’t resist!)
Any time you want to come get the 10 lbs you seemed to have magicked from your waist to mine, let me know.
Comment by Mike from Melbourne | 07.31.2007 | 1:57 pm
Well done Elden, get out in the sun when you have that trip to Italy.
Comment by AMG in Texas | 07.31.2007 | 2:17 pm
Do I see any PhotoShop magic in those pics??? NOT!!! Way to go! You still inspire us fat cyclists. Next we will be seeing you on those infomercials selling us all sorts of cycling apparatus (or maybe your secret drugs…:-).
Congradulations Fatty. Win Team Fatty!
Team Fatty chant:
“Hey baby baby”
“we are team fatty”
“putting on the weight”
“aint no way”
P.S. – Congratulations to your coach and his awesome training routine. Any book or advice for us not in Utah???
Comment by Yukirin Boy | 07.31.2007 | 2:47 pm
Congratulations Fatty!
Good luck with Leadville. I’m looking forward to your story.
any chance of crazy diet routines (eating only yogurt all day) again, or has coach made you tow the line with regards to diet?
Comment by Lins - Aust | 07.31.2007 | 2:53 pm
That’s quite a comparison. Good luck for Leadville. Ride fast (but safely).
Comment by Born4Lycra | 07.31.2007 | 2:55 pm
Sue’s got herself a new bloke. I can see another flicker site coming on with reader submitted before and after pics.
On another note is it possible to give us an update on sales of both the tops and a general idea of the destinations. I do remember you said after the USA the next most popular destination for the orange tops was Oz. Is it the same in regards the Pink tops?.
I have found that when talking about the pink tops amongst other riders the ladies are right into them straight away. They don’t need the background info “just give me the website and I will check it out” and they are promising to get the top as well.
Oh yeah my girls reckon you have a good looking navel.
We are all looking forward to Leadville and in particular photos like last time of the FC support crew.
Comment by Mrs. Coach | 07.31.2007 | 2:58 pm
AMG- If you’re interested, Bob does coaching mostly via email and phone, so location isn’t an issue.
Also, feel free to visit the website and email him if you have a specific question, he loves to help, just tell him you’re a friend of Fatty’s and he’ll take care of you.
FC- you look at least a decade younger, I’m looking foward to see how you fare in leadville. Good luck.
Comment by Mrs. Coach | 07.31.2007 | 3:00 pm
Did anyone else notice the change of belly-button shape?
Comment by CurryCricketer | 07.31.2007 | 3:02 pm
Have you been photoshoping dude?! lol … jokes. Great stuff.
Your leg muscles must be pretty strong now ey .. keep it up sir (one day you WILL beat everybody!)
Pingback by RocBike.com » Links Of The Day: 31 July 2007 | 07.31.2007 | 3:22 pm
[...] Before and After [...]
Comment by KeepYerBag | 07.31.2007 | 3:37 pm
You STUD! Congratulations.
I’m feeling the sub-nine vibe. I can just feel it.
Comment by msk | 07.31.2007 | 3:56 pm
great job boss – impressive tt improvement
and almost a 4 pack peaking it’s way out
but i must ask – where is the shirtless pic of kenny (purely for the ladies of course)
cheers
msk
Comment by Jill | 07.31.2007 | 4:12 pm
Nice legs! You’re giving Kenny a run for the designation of sexiest photo on fatcyclist.com.
Comment by Mike Roadie | 07.31.2007 | 4:39 pm
OK……..you can exhale now. Holding your breath that long made your hair fall out!!! I’m not sure what you are taking, but apparently something that made everything north of the waistline take a transfer to the Quadular region. How do you power those things???
Congrats on the great results, however you did it—and please stop returning Michael Rasmussen’s posts….I’m not sayin’……I’m just sayin’
I really think the sub 9 is imminent….we all have tremendous faith in you, don’t we.
Best to Susan…and my own www wishes to my old friend Terry, who I just found out is fighting the fight too!!!
Please help fight cancer: http://austin07.livestrong.org/mlevin
I still promise to get a pink jersey–so save me an XL
Comment by KatieA | 07.31.2007 | 4:42 pm
Fatty, I bow down to your wonderfulness. It’s an awesome effort too.
I also owe you a package in the mail. Do we have where to send them??
I have kept pretty much the same weight, but I’ve gone down a size, and improved my running time, so I count it as a “kind-of result” on my part. My first marathon is two months away, so I should actually FINISH it, as opposed to collapsing in a blubbery heap.
Awesome work everyone, and let’s see the photos!!
Comment by formertdffan | 07.31.2007 | 6:12 pm
Hey fatty,
Those enormous legs might pose a problem…
from cyclingnews.com
Vinokourov told the French sports daily L’Equipe in Wednesday’s edition that he had not cheated. “It’s a mistake. I never doped, that’s not the way I see my profession,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “I think it’s a mistake in part due to my crash. I have spoken to the team doctors who had a hypothesis that there was an enormous amount of blood in my thighs, which could have led to my positive test.”
Comment by MAJ Mike | 07.31.2007 | 6:41 pm
Well, I feel like a tub of goo right about now…
Comment by Big Mike In Oz | 07.31.2007 | 7:23 pm
About 3 sit ups should do it since your abs are already showing a bit. On the other hand, my abs are working deep under cover.
I’ll concede my bet. With a weight loss score of 52 I need to do something pretty special in the TT. With the original TT average speed at 21.8mph I need to average around 64mph to make up the difference.
Somehow I don’t think that’s do-able. I averaged 43.5mph for about 2 miles on Sunday but I don’t think I can find that extra 20mph. Ever.
For those who are concerned about the details of averaging 43.5mph. Yes, it was human powered on a flat road. Yes, it was on a conventional diamond shaped bicycle frame pedalling a 53×12. Yes, it was behind a cement truck.
Comment by Not So Skinny Cathy | 07.31.2007 | 7:39 pm
Not bad, Fatty. Not bad at all. You will have to change your name to Not-So-Fat Fatty.
But in two weeks, the hard part comes. You will be done with your big event and you will want to reward yourself with food. And rest. And more food. And a mountain goat or two. This is the voice of experience here – be careful or you will look like picture one by spring.
On that cheerful note, once again – Good Job! You look great! You can let your breath out now.
Comment by Rocky | 07.31.2007 | 8:34 pm
Eew. And double eeewww.
Comment by Rocky | 07.31.2007 | 8:39 pm
You make-eh the sexy time? You take-ah the picture in red water panties?
Seriously, nice work, but get some sun. Or buy some fakey boy sun. In a can. With a sprayer.
I’m just sayin’
Comment by chtrich | 07.31.2007 | 9:26 pm
Great job Fatty! And thanks a TON for the motivation. It’s been a fun contest. My final results should be in tomorrow.
Pingback by Fat inspiration » señor taco’s travels | 07.31.2007 | 9:36 pm
[...] First is the Fat Cyclist, Kenny. He’s got before and after photos posted. It’s inpiring to see what he’s done and all the while helping his wife battle cancer. He’s an guy like I hope to become and I enjoy reading his posts. [...]
Comment by highwaymunky | 07.31.2007 | 11:54 pm
Dude, You look ripped! Well Done. Now a shirt wouldn’t be out of the question but if I was you I’d never wear a shirt again to show off the great achievement!
Comment by usimpto | 08.1.2007 | 5:06 am
Wow, look at those fabulous legs! And arms. And stomach… Best of luck in Leadville–can’t wait to read the post-race report!
Comment by bikemike | 08.1.2007 | 5:27 am
in the imortal words of flight of the conchords…
it’s business time!
good luck on leadville mate. sounds like you’ve also
got the best support group.
Comment by TB | 08.1.2007 | 5:29 am
WOW!!! You look great!! Congrats on the weight loss and the improved fitness.
Comment by TB | 08.1.2007 | 5:29 am
WOW!!! You look great!! Congrats on the weight loss and the improved fitness.
Comment by dailytri | 08.1.2007 | 6:18 am
So riding does pay off? Imagine what a lil weight training would do for those arms?
Comment by kenny | 08.1.2007 | 7:44 am
You,re like the man with the golden gun, except instead of an extra nipple you have an extra belly button. Way to go. You look MARVELOUS.
Comment by Bitter (formerly known as Lissee) | 08.1.2007 | 7:55 am
Hey Fatty, those shins are lookin’ good!
On a side note, I’ll be in your hood this weekend to attend my mom’s wedding. Unfortunately, there’ll be no time to go riding.
Comment by David | 08.1.2007 | 7:56 am
You’re all right. Fatcyclist isn’t quite the right name any more.
How about Baldcyclist?
:)
Comment by rz | 08.1.2007 | 7:56 am
Way to go, Fatty!
Sub 9 all the way @ Leadville.
Seriously, though, (and here’s my Italian mother speaking through me) you need to hit me up with an address so I can send you some Bronx Ravioli to fatten you back up with.
Comment by Philly Jen | 08.1.2007 | 7:57 am
Way to go, (not-so-)Big E!
I remember a couple of years ago when you asked, “Well, how did I get here?” You mentioned that your life leading up to the “Before” photo had been eventful: Susan had a bout with breast cancer, you had a job change, and your family had a move across state lines.
Your life leading up to the “After” photo has been equally, if not more, eventful (to say the least). I think it’s really a measure of how far you and all of the Team Fatty family have come that your response to everything is to live healthier, stronger, and more vividly than ever. If that’s not grace under pressure, I don’t know what is. Congratulations, well done.
Now go sub-9, and if you happen to pass Lance or Floyd, be sure to give ‘em a little azspritzen-pat from Team FC.
Comment by MTB W | 08.1.2007 | 8:31 am
Way to go! While I will not beat you in the B7 (unless some miraculous flu hits me making lose many pounds and, at the same time, I get leg muscles like yours for the TT all by tomorrow when I do the final weigh in and TT), you have inspired me to continue to lose weight during the rest of the summer to hit my goal. You have been disciplined (despite all the obstacles thrown in your way) and overcame all the odds to make the weight and become faster, despite the temptation of M&Ms, donuts, ice cream, mountain goats, etc. My crystal ball says Leadville – 8:52, particularly with Susan cheering you on!
Now about that pasty whiteness (including where your tan line stops at your pasty white hands). . .
Comment by Gillian | 08.1.2007 | 9:37 am
I always thought Fat Cyclist was supposed to be sarcastic. I didn’t start reading until the middle of the game, when you were already a slip of a man. In a big, burly, manly, complimentary kind of way.
Way to go.
PS I’m part of a cancer fundraiser at work called Relay for Life. Your wife’s first name is up on the wall along with lots of other people who I know who are struggling with the disease (sadly, there’s about 300 up there right now). So people in North Carolina are saying prayers and sending wishes for the continued improvement of “Susan,” I hope it helps!
Comment by Natalie | 08.1.2007 | 10:38 am
This will be my 8th year crewing for Kenny @ Leadville and I must say I have never been so excited about a race! Leadville is always the most fun race of the year, but this year is going to be even better because Susan will be there to cheer her hubby on to his first sub nine finish. Woo hoo! Susan, I was so happy to hear about the great results of your test. I’m looking forward to hanging out with you at the aid stations on race day.
Comment by Clydesteve | 08.1.2007 | 11:25 am
Great job Eldon. Prayers for Susan & Good luck @ Leadville.
BTW, not to be a downer, but since you are still sub 50 yrs old, you need to know this – In addition to the increased allure of food and sedentary ways, gravity actually gets stronger after 50. Sucks for man-boobs and ascending, but it is great for descending.
Comment by GenghisKhan | 08.1.2007 | 11:38 am
Well, I’m glad I just sat the B7 out or I’d be out of something! Great job and good luck at Leadville. I suggest two handlebar notes. One on the left, “For Susan” and one on the right, “Cancer Sucks!”.
As to new names, how ’bout Quadsimodo as a variation of that which has been already suggested?
GK
Comment by ibisss | 08.1.2007 | 1:24 pm
My two-year old daughter is standing right beside me, and she asked when she saw the pictures: ‘why does that man have nipples?’
Feel free to discuss.
M Burdge
Comment by dawn | 08.1.2007 | 4:49 pm
Went back and reviewed my bet – $100 to your favorite charity or for your and Susan’s favorite restaurant – just need to know your choice and where to send it!
Comment by Amy | 08.1.2007 | 6:38 pm
ibisss- if I had been drinking milk when I read your comment, it would have come out of my nose.
Comment by Stomper | 08.2.2007 | 4:37 am
Fatty… Your before photo looks like what I’d like my after photo to look like!
Stomper
Comment by IAN | 08.2.2007 | 1:21 pm
You now have the legs of Jan Ulrich, the torso also (off season). Maintain the progress.
Comment by SpikeBlue | 08.3.2007 | 5:20 am
WTG (previously known as) Fatty. You have a lot to be proud of.
Why do some cyclists end up with the large Quads, and some end up with legs like Soler? I, too, fall in the first bucket and this has always intrigued me.
Grats on Susan’s news too. I will be proudly wearing my pink jersey this weekend.
Comment by Tim | 10.30.2007 | 6:25 am
You look great – you should rename the blog “The Svelte Cyclist”.
Pingback by Fat Cyclist » Blog Archive » How to Postpone Resuming Your Diet | 01.23.2008 | 12:35 pm
[...] Christmas time, I hit an important personal landmark: I finished gaining back all of the weight I had worked on losing during the Spring and Summer of 2007 (Warning: photographs of pasty-white middle-aged male in that [...]