I am Michael, 45 years old, married and we have been living in Steenwijk for two years now. I work as an account manager in construction, and therefore travel all over the country. My wife and I both grew up on the Veluwe.
And less than two years ago, we became parents for the first time. At the same time, we were busy renovating our house, which meant that I had less and less time to exercise. But also because of my sedentary job and unhealthy diet, my weight increased considerably. Six months ago, I was shocked by my posture in a holiday photo and decided that I had to drastically change my lifestyle. I almost touched 100 kg on the scale. This photo was confronting.
My passion and sport
For as long as I can remember, mountain biking has been my passion and outlet. I lived in Switzerland for a few years and discovered downhilling there. Now that I live in the Netherlands again, I can't imagine a holiday without downhilling. In the Netherlands, due to the lack of mountains, I mainly focus on cross country racing. We have a large selection of MTB trails in the Netherlands.
Singletrack
My job takes me all over the Netherlands and I often take my mountain bike for a ride. It's great to end a hectic workday with single tracks, preferably on the Utrechtse Heuvelrug. You can follow my rides on my Instagram profile: @buressiemtb78.
In addition to cycling, I do strength training or walking several times a week. The results are impressive; six months later, I weigh 16 kg less.
Now I can't imagine my life without running. Hot or cold weather, alone or together, in Almere or on holiday... I have to run! My whole life has changed since I started doing this.
Enjoy every ride
Despite my age, I am getting fitter and would like to participate more often in various organised tours, with the ultimate goal of Bartje 200 km.
During long training rides, Kalkman's nutrition helps me enormously. If I do not take enough minerals, electrolytes and nutrients during or after my ride, it has a big impact on my body. I can start to feel REALLY bad.
But it is incredibly difficult to find healthy, responsible and tasty food. There are added sugars in almost everything and that is exactly something I want to avoid. The natural and responsible products of Kalkman have proven themselves to me and it has not been at the expense of a delicious taste.
My main goal is to enjoy every ride and be fit for myself and my little family.
Of course there is the focus during the competition, you have worked hard for that and then you go for it 100%. To achieve this everything has to come together on the day itself.
The vision and mission of Kalkman appeals to me very much, the combination of performance and enjoyment, this is exactly what I try to do every day, with my work, as a family man and as an athlete. Nowadays there are many 'unnatural' products in our food, I do not think this is a good development. That is why I am happy that I also get healthy and natural food during healthy sports, and this is precisely possible with Kalkman products.
In the coming years I want to continue to get the best out of myself, continue to run PRs, also run a marathon abroad every year... but above all enjoy all the kilometers on the way to the finish line!