On March 24, 2009 a group of overweight cycling enthusiasts rolled up to the line for the “race of a lifetime”. As this group is affectionately called the “Velo Losers” we will do our best to keep the information we provide in an approved, cyclist understandable manner. You know, bike race lingo and slang. Anybody who happens to be following us may not quite understand, so we will do our best to help you understand as well!
The riders in the peloton include:
Alex Sheriff – This cat just bought his bike, got his first set of clipless pedals and is on his way to his first Century in the fall. He’s got a lot of miles ahead of him and thinks it MIGHT be a bit easier without some extra baggage. Alex is looking to drop about 40 pounds on his way to the Seagul Century.
Carleton Hall – Carleton is a bike racing newbie but packs the heat when it comes to enthusiasm. If the weather would ever clear, Carleton could get on the Dick Lane Velodrome and begin his track racing career. With the DLV having an uphill sprint, Carleton wants to shed 48 pounds to help in his new track career.
Casey “Ryan” Nix – Coming straight out the ATL (suburbs), this former BMX rockstar wants to drop a bunch of pounds off and get back to shredding it up at the local mountain bike trails.
Don Walker – Don is a master frame builder out of Indianapolis. Don is known both for his bicycles but also for his North American Handmade Bike Show. A true workhorse of the virtual peloton. Don enters the competition looking to lose 70 pounds and compete in the USCF Masters National Track Championships this August.
Nathan Schickel – You may know him as Naten Zeep or Big Nate. A well known member of the OEM industry, brining the good products to the big companies as well as the small. Nathan wants to shed off an aggressive 95 pounds and back to a healthy lifestyle. Nathan also looks forward to competing in the Masters Natz in Indy.
Scott Patton – He’s not just the coordinator of VeloLosers, he’s a racing along with the others! Scott’s been around bike racing as long as most people can remember. Racing on and off since the seventies, this big man of the track racing website land is trying to get rid of his weight once and for all. After a successful start in 2008, injury and stress led him back to the pie… he’s back and ready to attack!
Together we will ride into the future. No real date has been set to end this. It’s not going to be a short road for any of us, but with the support of each other we can endure and hopefully report back that we are actually ready for the real peloton, not the virtual-fattie-peloton!
Note: If you are a cyclist and would like some support in your quest to lose a few pounds – we might be able to help. This is a competition, there are rewards and a price to pay for losing – but it is a competition where losing is winning!
