25 - Plan:Pyrenees and being insecure about weight

Table of Contents

• Plan:Pyrenees

  • What am I going to do?

  • Be a part of the trip!

  • Next trips

• Being insecure about weight

• Discounts

• Things I like

As you might have seen is this another platform. I used to publish on SUbstack but wanted more customisation in my newsletters. That is why I have switched to Beehiiv. If you have any feedback on this let me know!

Plan:Pyrenees

I just launched my new series. When I crashed a few weeks ago I realised that the way I was approaching cycling did not cut it for me. My trip to Calpe was one of the best things I ever did, and I wondered: Why not do that again?

So that is where the Plan series comes in. I have made a bucketlist of places I want to go to such as Japan, Colombia, Canary Islands and Slovenia. Places to show and work with amazing brands. Basically have a cool vacation while also sharing the best content I can deliver.

What am I going to do?

First off, my journey starts with the picking up of the NIO ET5 Touring. An amazing car which I will be using to drive to and in the Pyrenees. As this is an electric car I will be challenged to make sure I do not get an empty battery. A challenge on it’s own.

My first stop will be the Tour de France. The etappe to the Hautacam and the time-trial the day after that. Currently I am trying to find entrances to teams and work together on some amazing content. If you know anyone let me know!

The next stop will be Andorra, a country I know nothing of. A mini-state in the middle of the Pyrenees. Going there is an experience on its own. Which will be fun.

The final stop is Girona, the one of the Meccas for cyclists. In Girona I want to challenge a few pro cyclists and relax a bit at the end of the trip. The pressure is on at the first few days so the last week is going to be chill.

After Girona I will be (sadly) bringing the NIO ET5 Touring back. That will be a sad moment.

Be a part of the trip!

As I am still working out the details I have time to meet up with a few of you. I am also looking for people that want to make content with me. I have been thinking of doing YouTube to give a better view into the trip. If someone is willing to talk about this and maybe work together on the trip that would be fun. I do have a place left in the car ✌️

Next trips

As mentioned I want to keep expanding this journey. Talking about Texas, Japan and the Canary Islands is just an amazing way for me to keep enjoying this sport. No pressure, just fun.

Got any ideas or people I should be speaking to? Let me know!

Being insecure about weight

As I fell off my bike a few weeks ago in a race I have been thinking a lot about cycling. One of the things that bothered me in the last months is me gaining a few kgs. When I went to Calpe I weighed around 84 kg and now I weigh around 88kg. I have gained 4kg in the last few months, without actually gaining fat. It’s just muscles.

The big number in cycling is Watts per KG. And I was a bit too much fixated on that number. Trying to be a better cyclists because I had a higher W/KG. When I gained weight my W/KG obviously dropped because my Watts could not keep up. I got bigger legs and could push harder but my W/KG just dropped.

As I am 1.92m and 88kg I am not a climber. So I need to get rid of the stamp of me needing to do a certain amount of W/KG, because this currently makes me insecure. Am I a good cyclist? Are my friends getting faster? Do I need to focus my whole life on obtaining a w/kg of 5 while it deeply makes me unhappy?

No. Cycling for me is going fast and doing big efforts with the body I have. I am not Tadej Pogacar or Jonas Vingegaard. I must be happy with the body I have been given. Outside of cycling being tall and big is never a disadvantage, it’s most of the times something good.

But in cycling I feel like a monster sometimes. Seeing friends talk about themselves weighing 70kg and going to 5 w/kg.

Bottom line, I am working on being more insecure about my weight. I eat right, I am still a strong cyclist and perhaps I should be riding Time Trials or Gravel Races where the W/KG matters less. Life for me is about having fun on the bike, not working myself to death for no result at all.

Discounts

Things I like

Let’s tell you more about the things I found the past month. This could be interior, gadgets or entertainment.

Entertainment

• Been watching Andor, which is one of the best Star Wars series I have seen so far. Watched it? Let me know!

• Have been trying to start a new Fantasy Book series. Reading On Basilisk Station by David Weber. ChatGPT recommended it to me.

Interior

• The joy of having a dishwasher is insane. I just got one last week and it’s so much better than having dirty dishes 90% of the time. I have been washing dishes for 2.5 years. Now the time has come to relax.

  • Going to buy an IKEA water sensor and connecting it to my Home Assistant to make sure there is no leakage. Be smart.

• IKEA also sells Sensors for your home. I have bought the Door, Movement and Plug sensors. Making my home smarter and energy efficient. For example my Movement Sensor only works after sunset as I don’t need light in the day.

• I installed a network-wide Ad blocker with Home Assistant. Now my devices on my network do not get ads anymore. Love Home Assistant.

• Oh and making a storage solution for my SSD (NAS) to download movies and stream them to my TV. I have been using put.io for this solution but want to take control of my own streaming service. I am going to buy a Synology NAS which I will also be using to store client videos in the cloud.

• I bought some new rare plants from Marktplaats. For €40 I got 6 different plants which are all thriving now at home. Making it even more cozy. If you want to know where I got them send me a DM on Instagram!

Cycling

• Since last week I became a Wahoo ambassador. I have never used Wahoo, and really like the design of it. It always was a big improvement from my 2020 Garmin. Now I can easily see the power and heart rate zones on my screen and train more efficient. I am using the ROAM.

• And a Shokz ambassador. I did have to crank up the volume on my iPhone but I like that I can also hear traffic.

Thanks for reading!

Thank you for reading this instance of Interesthings. As always, have fun in life and keep on inspiring others. I see you on the next one!

If you have any things you want to see in the newsletter or want to share, send an email to [email protected].

‘till next month!

Mark