Hello!

Welcome to the XLCharityriders blog.

The XLCharityriders are a group of 5 men training for a coast to coast bike ride in aid of raising money for local charity Norsaca. Supporting them all the way is me, local freelance writer Trinderella, who will quiz and question them within an inch of their lives. There will be no secrets, nowhere to hide and FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION.

The Story so far…

In late 2011 a 48 years old middle aged man named Dave visited the doctors for a check-up. Whilst there, a young nurse asked him to step on the scales, which Dave (uncharacteristically for him) complied with. As the numbers rolled up to show a 106kg reading, the nurse gave a judgemental grimace, leaving Dave to ask a question which showed his age: "What's that in paper money?"

The nurse whipped out a pointer and on a rather scary BMI chart showed Dave that at 5ft 10inches tall and 106kg (or 16 stone 9 lbs) he was categorised as obese.  Dave was astonished (to put it politely) and immediately started to think of ways to rectify the matter.

Not quite grasping the concept of getting healthy, Dave talked the matter over a beer with the guys who are now the rest of the XLCharityriders:

Sean Bailey

Mark Beldham

Richard Daniels

Lee Wray

… and someone whom Dave only knows as Chunky, but who he assures me is one of his bessies!

As the beer flowed, a number of options were discussed.  It was finally agreed to do the coast to coast bike ride in just 3 days, during the month of September. 

A few days later, I ran into Dave for a cheeky brew and a biscuit (the health kick still isn't really going well) and as we supped the aforementioned brew, Dave told me of his plans and showed me his belly. TRUE STORY! I offered to take him to my spin class, an offer which he didn’t seemed too enthralled with. To quote him, "I'd rather shove my head down the toilet!"

I took that as a no.

Knowing Dave likes a challenge, I asked a question which I knew would put him under the pressure.  "Are you doing it for a charity?"

It was a question that he hadn't really considered, and one which he felt deserved another debate with the XLs over a beer. The conclusion of this debate resulted in them deciding to raise money for NORSACA for use at Sutherland House. This is a local charitable organisation, who provide specialist education and support for children with autism under the title of Sutherland Children and Young People's Services. The reasoning behind this choice was that Dave had worked with them and my good friend worked there. Also, because it was a local organisation, any monies raised would have a great impact. 

In order to raise the profile of this endeavour (and to put the XLs under pressure) I have offered to keep an online blog of their progress. Over the next few months I will be publishing unedited profiles of the XLs which will detail their ages, weights and physical states. If they cheat, fail to keep up with the training, or get found in a local curry house, they WILL be exposed.

Keep your eyes open over the next few days for the profiles of the rest of the XLs!!!

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