There's a strong argument that this article shouldn't be here.this is global cycling network, and what I'm about to write about is not in particular Cycling related. I'll write it anyway and hope I can get it past the editor-in-chief (pick a slow news week).
I'm 43 now and have been sitting on my butt for the most part. Unfortunately, I used to sit on the bike saddle for 20-30 hours a week, but now it's on the couch. So instead of buying a Porsche for my midlife crisis, I decided to change a few things in my lifestyle. The aim is to stop aging, to slow down the aging process, which I have been quite successful in accelerating recently, and to extend life as much as possible. I'm doing this in hopes of inspiring or at least encouraging some of you to join me.
My attitude towards cycling over the years
At least let this one do some cycling. I loved riding and racing bicycles. I can't tell you how obsessed I was with being the best I could be. In that respect, I'm like most current or former pros. Without that kind of determination and drive, it would not be a great sport.
Unfortunately, I didn't have the genetic predisposition to succeed on the level of Mathieu van der Poel, but I was fortunate enough to turn pro and compete in many of the world's biggest races. was talented enough to do so. That included his 2010 Tour de France, which I took full advantage of. I had a full four hours more fun than that year's (eventual) winner, Andy Schleck.
Two years have passed and I am no longer a full-time cyclist (not by my own choice, but probably by the team manager at the time). But I remained in the “industry”. I've been here with his GCN since its inception, and over the 12 years since, I've had the privilege of providing commentary and commentary on many of the world's biggest races.
During that time, I learned a lot about myself and my relationship with cycling and exercise in general. I love talking about bikes and looking at them, but my love for riding faded as soon as I stopped competing. If you have a goal, you can push yourself hard, but if you don't have a goal, there's no point in doing anything.
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It's interesting to see how much former pros do horseback riding after retiring. At least that's the case for me. It's one of my weird interests, along with finding out the age of just about every celebrity I see on TV (yes, that's weird; no, I don't know why). There is rarely a middle ground on this. Frank and Andy Schreck are good examples. Frank continued to ride over 15,000km a year after his retirement, while Andy took up the wheel and only recently started riding again. Most former pros either continue riding or don't ride at all.
After thinking long and hard about the reasons behind this difference, my conclusion is that, after all, why ride a bike in the first place?
For me, I loved the process of getting in top shape for competition. I loved having a training plan and loved sticking to it and checking the boxes. Very few times in my life have I gone out for a bike ride just because I wanted to ride and have fun. Each had a purpose and a plan.
But it's not the same for everyone. Some people simply love to ride bikes and happen to be some of the most talented cyclists in the world and end up making a career out of it. That's not to say they don't follow training plans or check boxes either, but their love for riding stays with them even after the paychecks stop.
This was a very long-winded way of explaining why I haven't ridden much for the past 12 years. It was another check on my professional career. I may not have reached the heady heights of a huge victory, but I've made more progress than I expected.
I got back into serious riding when I fell in love with riding my local singletrack trails using Strava KOM. It took me about 6 months to get it, and then I stopped riding again. It's sad, I understand. I also dabbled in running. That was great. I had no running background, so I might be the best runner ever. I was back to checking boxes again…until I got injured.
So what happens next?
Fast story (and it might be a long story at this point), I haven't done much consistent exercise for the past 12 years. What I did a lot was work, sit, drink, light a candle at both ends, and… smoke. I had never publicly acknowledged that last part before. Mostly because I'm embarrassed that I kept doing something so stupid for so long, but I smoked quite a bit from 2012 to 2020 before I finally quit. I still use nicotine replacements to this day, at least for the tobacco part.
It was late last year that I realized I was on a slippery slope. This series of videos is sponsored by My Whoops, and my sleep scores during my Grand Tour coverage in particular were enough to make me want to make a change. Terrible sleep, HRV only in double digits, resting heart rate 10-15 beats higher than without alcohol.
At the same time, I was listening to a lot of podcasts about longevity, reading a lot of books, and all the little things you can do to give yourself the best chance of living a long, healthy life. It's time to start implementing some of the things you've learned.
And we'll be documenting it in a new series on the GCN YouTube channel and on our website. In the first episode (which you can watch at the top of this page), we were lucky enough to have a thorough baseline test done at the Nuffield Manchester Health Performance Institute. I plan to make some small but important changes to my lifestyle and repeat those tests towards the end of this year. It's about exercising more, sleeping better, drinking less (I'm not sure I want or can completely eliminate alcohol from my life), and generally focusing on a healthier life.
I'm sure there are many people reading this article or watching this series who have little things they want to change in their lifestyle for the better, or just want to know exactly. think. what We can strive to live as long and as healthy a life as possible. It's not about living like a monk or trying to make perfect choices every day, it's about the small changes we can all make if we really want to.
What is your final goal? Live longer, live happier, live healthier. Yes, it's all cliché, but I truly believe that I and we can achieve it.
You can keep up to date with Dan's progress on the GCN website and on the GCN YouTube channel. If Dan has inspired you to adjust your lifestyle, let us know in the comments below. We look forward to hearing from you.
