Cycling, Crawl (front), and Crawling.

Good Timing

2012-01-16T01:38:00.003Z

What a week! Mon - Thursday were commuting days 30 miles into work at 1am! and 25 miles home every day which gave me approx 220miles then I did 2 turbo days which totalled 2.5hrs and around 56miles and finally on the Sunday the A/B SQT, although 2hrs long I reckon we only did about 30miles. So totals for the week are:

Miles ~ 310miles
Time ~ 16hrs

SO glad my commutes missed all the freezing cold weather and as from today I'll be in Gran Canaria so Ill miss the rest of the 'big freeze'. The boiler at work has packed in so I can't dry any of my stuff on the radiators. Meaning my cycle home has been miserable! Averages have been in the high 19's, both ways, apart from Thursday when the wind hit 70km/hr again. What a biatch that wind has been.

The turbo sessions were spent tweaking my TT position and I could have a very very good aero one without compromising too much on power.

I decided to apply the principles to my track bike ( open up hip angle) so saddle forward and raised. Not too sure if I could feel any difference but I seemed to be going very well and everyone else looked like they were dying. The moment of truth would be the scratch race. Only 40 laps this time and close to the end of the session instead the front but everyone looked hungry for success and glory. I wasn't too fussed but had a little plan and thought I'd execute it this time and if it totally backfired I wont do it again.

Due to the big gear I use I don't have the acceleration of the others. I've found out today my gearing is now banned from SQT's which is a right pain as I can't spin! Bradley Wiggins school of thought. If you can't accelerate with them, keep them at a tempo that makes them unable to do that! In other words take away their advantage or minimise your disadvantage.

With about 15 to go the B line had disappeared and done their thing and I was leading for about 2-3 laps to up the pace. The back of the line was about 20 places back and I slotted in about 18th as the end 2 were flagging. The pace I had set was quite high and people started to only do half laps which worked in my favour and I found myself 2nd in line with 4 to go as a couple more had dropped out. I also had to do a few big sprints to bridge any gaps that appeared which always seemed to happen right infront of me! One of the faster/est guys was leading me out and when he went back I thought this was it and hammered it from 3 laps out. Usually I'd do my lap and drop back a little bit then wind up for a sprint. Not this time. I felt great. 2 to go and I thought how long could I keep this up for? No one had attacked yet or were unable to? I kicked into the final corner before the last lap and could hear the first of a few attacks breathing down my neck. I could see someone coming over the top of me so kicked into the penultimate corner, keeping him wide. Listening to him panting and dropping off was a joy to behold. There must have been 3-4 trying to get me on the last corner but I kicked again Keeping them wide and holding my inside line. On the final straight I had my head right down to my front wheel which isn't as difficult for me as it sounds and drove hard to the line. Believe it or not, in the end, it was easy. I won by a fair margin in sprint terms ( a good wheel, maybe 2) and got quite a few congratulatory pats on the back. The guy who came second usually wins his fair share and said I did a great ride. What a feeling. Just when I thought I couldn't be bothered going as well. Would I do it again? Maybe depending on my positioning. It was my plan all night to do what I did but the way all the pieces fell into place was unreal. Max I would have gone from would be 5 laps out, 2 ideal.

See you in a week.

Scalped :(

2012-01-07T00:26:00.004Z

Hey there! For those that still tune in, and if not its still for my own personal benefit. Nearly 2 months since my last post so what on earth have I been up to? Commuting has been regular and consistant. Only 1 day in the car for those 2 months. Got caught up in a tornado when a wall of water attacked me, more hurricane style weather and virtually every ride has seen me limp home drenched and wind swept.

Averages in November were apalling to say the least. 15 - 16 - 17 mph on the downhill 22miles to work yet I didn't feel bad in my self. Rides back home weren't much better 16-17-18mph. One Saturday whilst belting down a hill, 2 spokes on my front wheel nearly sent me flying as they snapped off! So so lucky. I think the problem was that my front mud guard had been rubbing against the wheel wall and slowing the plastic was being eroded until there was nothing holding it and mangled in my wheel. Have also completed a run a week in November.

December has been amazing, training wise. All work days commuted bar one and usually end with an Sqt A track session on the Sunday. One of the sessions started off with a 50 lap scratch race and one day we were lapping at 32mph until a few guys got brought off for dangerous riding ( the B line was being lapped instead of being half a lap apart) and we were down to about 28-29mph. In fact the guys who were brought off and bollocked belonged to a club I was thinking of joining lol. This garmin data catches the end of the race and the rest of the session. I was up there up to the last lap but didn't contest the sprint as I'd 'run out of gears' in other words I cant spin my legs very quickly so when I stood up to sprint my legs were whirring but no extra power was being put down. Same story for every session. If a break went I was able to bring it back within half a lap, I would take big turns on the front and still stay in whilst others dropped out, I think the main guys sprinting didn't do too much in the line though but for me to contest that sprint, no chance and it wasn't because I was too tired ( Actually looking at my heart rate of 180 maybe I was too tired). All that and my commutes were still at 16-17-18 mph. Tragic. Actually the one day I didn't commute was in January so full set in December.

Don't understand why outside Im so slow. I have ridden out 2 bouts of illness, just recovering from one now, nothing as bad as last year. One thing I have noticed is humidity has been in the high 90's for 90% of the 2 months, wonder if that has any effect.
During the peak of my recent illness I got well and truely beaten by another roadie. I had just set off leisurely from a set of lights and whooooosh he goes past. I let him have 20m and try to catch up. Didn't want to slipstream him as that would be too easy. Ugh ,my legs wont spin, tried higher gears, nothing but I manage to claw loads of time back on any inclines. I was hoping he'd turn up this 6%er but he carried on into Manchester the flat way. I was gutted even though I could barely breathe as if I went too deep I'd start a massive wheezing and coughing fit and knew my illness held me back. Still only managed a 17mph average that day. About 800 miles in December, 600 in Novemeber.

January has seen more running, the return of the dreaded gusty wind and more bleeding rain. I missed one commute and replace it with 2 totally boring turbo sessions. I bought a sufferfest video to alleviate the monotony but I didn't end up watching any of it anyway due to looking at the floor. The second sesh I played some music which Im not usually a fan of but it deffo helped and I did some negative splits where I went faster and faster as time went on. I used my TT bike on the turbo and seem to have quite a nice position but totally wrecks my muscles the next day after hard efforts. The road bike is different as I could go really hard one day and still be fine the rest of the week.

Strava is very new to me but what a cool app/website to compare times with other guys and even get an idea what power you're outputting/need to output to be near the top. After uploading a few files I was quite surprised to see how well im doing even after only doing the odd ride here and there. Going to pay more attention to this for the coming year.

My fave beinbg this one which I've ridden once during a big sportive and has quite a few names down and I top them all :)

My Goals for the year ahead are to race and not chicken out, do a 10mile tt in 22mins but I'd only be happy with a 21, complete Liverpool olympic distance Triathlon and absolutely murder the flat bike course and do a 25mile tt with a target time of 59:59.

The goals are relying on me not to put any weight on all year as I spent most of 2011 losing excess weight and ruining training due to a possible lack of protein.

Hill Climbing Season - Tenerife style

2011-11-11T00:03:00.002Z

Garmin Stats

The hill climbing season has been in full swing and is coming to an end. The nationals were the other week with a 4miler at 3% up long hill which I have climbed before but not taken much notice of. I'm not keen on the short harp efforts just like sprint triathlons so I went in search of a climb worthy enough to actually call a hill climb. I suppose leaving the country was actually cheating but since I had the opportunity to climb a mountain I thought that it would be rude not to.

Wednesday 2nd November saw my arrive at Tenerife South airport and immediately I went on a run to scout for a bike shop. Just over 5km around Playa de las Americas but I somehow missed the bike shop I was looking for. The next day on a family walk of about 10km we found it and had a nosey on what they had to offer. www.bikepoint.com . They had Carbon Ridleys and Focus's which looked brand spanking new and barely ridden. The owner informed me that they had only been open a few weeks and were trying to get off the ground but the have an established shop in Medano. Harsh negotiations with the wifey and mother saw me able to ride the very next day!

Friday 4th November, barely able to sleep the night before I shot up out of bed when the alarm went off and readied everyone for breakfast. It was then a 1.3mile run to the bike shop and a run back if I was able to at the end but I took enough dosh for a taxi. My Garmin was pre-loaded with a 100km + route and I wore my Rochdale Tri gear. Temps were around 25 degrees and wind was very harsh, around 15-20mph with some big gusts. After quickly setting up my bike and purchasing some energy bars ( my bananas had pulped due to running with the bag on my shoulders) I was away in glorious sunshine.

UP and UP, the ascent started straight away. I overtook a german roadie who was pootling and going the same route, I deduced after a strange conversation but there weren't many others about. I started off feeling super strong but as I ascended, the temps dropped, the humidity increased, the oxygen decreased, the wind howled from the NNE and I gradually grew wearier and wearier. The climb was amazing, the roads superb, traffic so polite and light yet there was just no respite for 27 miles. All my drink had gone after 20miles and dehydration could have been a performance limiting factor as it can't be a coincidence that after 50miles I stopped at a petrol station to refuel and my heart rate was workable again.

My turn off to TF-38 was approaching and I missed it carrying on along TF 21 for a bit longer which I would come to regret as I turned around, should have carried on. TF-38 is probably the worst of the worst of all cyclists nightmares. The road looked like it was made from old volcanic lava that had been cluster bombed then nuked for good measure leaving this obstacle course for a main road! If that wasn't bad enough I also had the full force of 30-40mph head winds to contend with. Arghghghg. Luckily there was hardly no other traffic and I was able to zig zag from one side of the road to the other, sometimes purposefully to avoid the holes other times I was blown all the way across. Cobbles would have felt like silk compared to this and after 10mins my feet and hands were numb and my back was burning due to the torture although i was unsure if the bike position had anything to do with the latter. I had to descend really slow in places or the vibration got so bad I just couldn't hold on or because of the tight corners. Once off that road though the feeling was like going to the bog and relieving yourself of a massive dump.....ahhhhhh.

The mist had lifted and the air was getting warmer with every metre travelled. Once on the other side the mountainous craters separated and revealed open space, blue skies and miles and miles of banana plantations. I now had about 30miles of downhill riding and I figured that it would all be done at a considerable speed however I was terribly mistaken. I couldn't feel my legs at all for starters and those tight bends had returned along with some really steep sections in the middle of nowhere. I did go in totally blind and followed someone elses route but it all added to the fun. They had picked some really nice, totally quiet roads for the way back but on the odd occasion it looked like I was going the wrong way and they were building main roads on top of the old roads shown on my Garmin and were a few hundred feet out of position. My heart rate had plummeted to about 80 now and luckily a service station appeared on the busy coastal road of TF 47.

A couple of powerades later and I was back on track. If I was quick enough I would be able to make lunch which finishes at 3pm, I had set off about 9.45am. The drink must have done wonders as when I got back I was full of running so after saying my goodbyes and packing my bag I was straight into the run, that's another couple of kilometres under the belt.

Managed to run over 20km whilst away but was unable to get back out on the bike. Unfortunately I must have put on a stone due to the joys of 'all-inclusive'. Never having been on one before I was a bit sceptical of the quality of food but was totally surprised and ended up stuffing my face every meal time and with christmas approaching at warp speed the next couple of months will be a difficult test of limiting the self indulgence but I know I wont be the only one!

More Track time

2011-10-30T22:45:00.001Z

After a nightmare week of commutes, I just felt like I had no breath in me, I wasn't looking forward to the track SQT on Sun 30th Oct which I had booked in advance. The last couple of days commuting I took it easy so that I had a little bit of ooomph going round the velodrome but I wasn't hopeful or in the mood. Luckily the session is quite late on so I had all day to loosen up my tight muscles.

Once at the velodrome I found out, whilst signing on, I was in current World TT Champ company although he wasn't wearing his rainbow bands. After being a little awe struck I set about changing my gear ratio from a 49-16 to a 49-15 (88) as if I spin too quick I get out of breath so soon. The warmup I took it as that instead of racing around like a headless chicken trying to prove a point.

Various skills and sets followed and I was going around with relative ease for a change. It was supposed to be an A/B Sqt but 80% were A'ers. One set I was doing pursuit changes with a tandem who was very quick but stayed on fine. For the really fast efforts like that I deffo need a bigger gear!

Sprints, half laps sprints, and more laps followed until we ended doing a strange version of the 6 day points race which is strange enough without complicating matters. We had a recovery line (18-20mph - most probably higher than that) then when the whistle blew the first two sprinted all out for a lap and rejoined the line - simple. So after an eigth of a lap rolling start the timer started. I was leading for both my efforts but not sure wether it is easier to win from front or behind. I saw a couple of riders go up the banking to get a better start and out fox their opponent but I just went for it! Out of the saddle I went but I feel Im held back by the fact it feels like my cleats are slipping out. Those Keo Easys are not built for sprint work as their is no tension adjustment. However I mauled my way around in my fastest time ever.

My previous PB for a 200m sprint was about 13.5s although it was a while ago with MIddleton Cycling Club. This time I was wearing a track timing transponder and my first effort gave a 200m time of 12.921 and a 250m time of 16.273. Smashed my previous PB without a super run up or the best gear? My fox gave up after half a lap.
The next one was just as quick but I slowed the pace line right down to get an advantage as my strength is acceleration from standing. My fox was the same guy and I'm sure he must have thought I was dead after trouncing him and him having an extended rest. But I just kept the same tactic and went as hard as I could, no messing about. He was closer this time but I still did a good time even after only having a few minutes rest. 200m time - 13.296, 250m time - 16.733. Hopefully the links work.

That fastest lap time was at a speed of 55.3km/h unassisted all on my own. The total distance showed was 49km but we stayed on the blue line ( higher up) instead of the black so total distance was probably more like 53km - 33miles in the 2hr session ( riding time 1hr 20ish), average 22.3mph. Very worthwhile training indeed.

Cross Training

2011-10-30T15:52:00.000Z

Sat 22nd Oct - Running 3.86miles (6.21km) in 26mins 48 seconds which gives a 5km time of 21min 40seconds for a very hilly course.

Sun 23rd Oct - SQT @ Velodrome. Not been for about a year so was quite nervous but turned out I was one of the faster riders and for each set I was able to give my all and sufficiently recover to do it again. There was a scratch race at the end, 30laps which went faster and faster then it was every man for himself for the last 5laps. With 6 to go I found myself in the unfortunate position of lying 2nd, took my lap then dropped back but If I wanted to stand a chance I had to keep near the front and not go to the back. I was constantly looking for a gap to rejoin the line and one opened up in 2nd place. I dropped into this gap and the leader went for a solo win with 5 to go. I used all my energy to get back on his wheel and dragged the whole of the line with me. D'oh! I should have held position on the outside and when the gap appeared big enough go with the leader side by side until there was a massive enough gap to drop behind so that the line would be distanced and it would be one on one instead of one against 30!

I recovered behind the leader for 3laps and the attacks kept coming and I tried to counter each one. But it was getting too much and someone launched a mega attack as he was able to get a lot of speed up from a few places back,I was too far forward, usually I am too far back lol. The guy who was leading faded, I dropped to 5th but held my speed and I managed to get 3rd with no energy for a full out sprint and a too low a gear to stand and sprint. That session absolutely wrecked me for the rest of the week.

Tuesday 25th Oct - More running, a spare of the moment thing, no HR or Speedo. 3.9miles in around 29mins. I then swam with the tri club in the evening just to re build up my strength for a few tris next year.

Keeping the weight off

2011-10-20T23:16:00.000+01:00

I'm sure I have a bigger appetite now that when I was close to 18 stone. Those give'in moments that I seem to have constantly are a big reason why I try to commute as much as possible and push myself at the same time. Getting to work this week has been a test of my dedication to keeping the weight off and staying as slim as possible over winter as most of my summer riding was done 10kgs over what I would call my 'race weight' even though I don't really race. 4am starts combined with super cold temperatures and gusty winds with the occasional down pour and hail storm have come together to concoct my worst nightmare. Monday I just couldn't bring myself to get out of bed never mind cycle to work. Tuesday and wednesday morning were similar yet I felt terrible. I have narrowed it down to eating bread in copious amounts (gluten-I have been avoiding it for a couple of months and seem to be benefitting), the cold or actually getting out of the saddle, hammering it ( on Tuesday) which might do more damage than good.

Tuesday 18th Oct

To Work Distance 20miles Av Sp 19.8mph Hr 142 Cad 70
To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 19.8mph Hr 158 Cad 71

Wednesday 19th Oct

To Work Distance 15miles Av Sp 20.4mph Hr 138 Cad 69
To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 20.8mph Hr 148 Cad 76

Thursday 20th Oct

To Work Distance 15 miles Av Sp 19.7mph Hr 138 Cad 72
To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 21.4mph Hr 159 Cad 78

Thurs morn was 1 degree and my legs were jelly like and couldn't get going until the last 5miles. The cycle home I gave it some welly for which I nearly puked up once at home. Good feeling though. So for cold wintery weather the stats seem quite impressive.

Polocini - Winter Sprinter 2

2011-10-16T15:19:00.003+01:00

Garmin Stats Distance 60miles Av Sp 20.7mph Ascent 2800ft ( garmin wrong) Hr 157 Cad 80

The weather forecast was supposed to be decent for this ride on Sunday. However the sun took a lot longer to materialise and the rain clouds had spread all across the North West instead of being localised. That happens everytime I plan on using 'Scottie' and her funky wheels. I took her out anyway with the prospect of knowing I would have to spend ages cleaning her afterwards and I didn't want to back out as my weeks training was planned with this ride as a part of it.

'Entry on the line' (Where have I heard that before?) Yet again I hadn't pre-booked my place and but when I strutted up to the desk waving £10 notes furiously infront of the organisers faces I was turned away, saying they had no provision for 'EOL' and not enough food to go around but I was welcome to join everyone anyway but I wouldn't be insured. I have my own insurance. Hmmmm maybe because of everything on offer they only 'catered' for a certain number. They did say I could wait until everyone had set off and see how many hadn't turned up. Not a problem as they didn't have any official timing systems in place so I just readied my bike and joined the rear of the the pack awaiting 9am off time. Before that though I was approached by Chris Byrne, although I recognise the name the face eluded me. I'm sure I saw his name on another sportive recently. Had a nice chat which relaxed my mood as I wasn't very happy that I wasn't officially in and made me setting up my bike a pleasure. So after triple checking that I hadn't forget anything (there's always somethin!) I set off near the back of the pack.

There's a voice at the side of me that's at every event I do that says get to the front....NOW and I duly oblige, to the best of my abilities. I seemed to hit the front in no time using my new grinding away training method and this time my heart was out to play hitting 170 in a couple of minutes. I sat at the back, observing the other riders, making sure there were no numpties and to see how much work each was doing if any. That's when I thought I'd try my luck and lead for a bit. There was an old guy in full Cofidis get up and we exchanged places now and again whilst the others sat in. Eventually I ended up taking huge turns on the front, until about 35miles in when I took a breather for the hills. In our little group we had 3 bio-racer riders, the cofidis guy, some foreign sounding guy who looked an absolute monster on the bike a la Fabian and the obligatory doctor in full sky uniform with matching bike. There were a few more initially but were dwindled down. It was a fantastic group, very safe, everyone knew what to do and when, willing to help each other out.
Bit of a contrast to the West Yorkshire based club I rode with on Sunday.

The hills started to come thick and fast but I kept wondering where the cobbles and steepness of swiss hill were. I found out later due to the rain and the exceptional conditions we were diverted a long way round but with just as much ascent. That's why my Garmin was going mental at me even though we were following the signs. When a hill appeared longer than 20m I turned up the heat and was at a very hard but comfortable pace, really I wasn't expecting to be anyone behind me but a ginormous shadow emerged from the rear just to say he was still there. Still I was leading and we had a little chat. Turns out he's big into triathlons and came 15th in the Liverpool Olympic distance age groupers out of 600 I think and had the 5th fastest bike. Roberto ( told you he sounded foreign) said he used the Sportive as a training ride, I said I hadn't officially entered so would lead him out to glory. Turns out this guy was in Big Brother 5 or 6 ( I love the new series) heh funny. Carrying on, the hills kinda disappeared as quickly as they came with not much trouble although I did drop Rob a couple of times and waited a little while for him to join me. My heart rate was hovering around the 165 ish mark, I was killing myself for this guy, pretending to be his loyal domestique/rouleur and for what? The best training ride I've had for a while. The only problem near the end was traffic and lights slowing us down. I gave him the last mile to the finish then he crossed the line , first of the longer distance riders. We were both covered in road grime and were shocked to see how dirty the bikes were. That's gonna take a few hours I thought to myself :(

The organisers were awaiting our arrival with CNP recovery shakes and other bits and bobs. I was asked for my number then I reminded him that I hadn't entered. He offered me a shake and 'a place at his table' which I initially rejected as I felt awkward taking the freebies. He then said it was ok as there were a few that didn't turn up. I downed the strawberry shake in one. It was gorgeous! Recently I have purchased CNP stuff, gels flapjacks and the hydration drink and all have been beyond my expectations taste wise. The cola gels I could eat as snacks and even my missus loves the marzipan-esque flapjack.

Since I turned up at the Woodford community Centre I was made to feel welcome every step of the way, a credit to the way the Sportive was run and all the staff behind it. My initial reaction was a knee-jerk one, me being the jerk as the website clearly stated no entry on the line. I put the organiser and myself in a difficult position for which I apologise. The food on offer smelt gorgeous, lancs hot pot and pie and peas were the faves which I left for the other riders. Just a coffee for me, unfortunately not ground. There was a free massage being touted too. I had a great day and a worthwhile training session to boot with a big fat KFC being the icing on the cake.

Another great shot from Rick at cyclesportphotos.com

Training to be 'invincible'.....

2011-10-12T14:06:00.004+01:00

....and I will become 'invincible'. The past few months,during my commutes, I have been concentrating on keeping a high a cadence as possible as I was led to believe it was the best way to cycle or I may have interpreted it wrong. Whilst doing so I've noticed the power in my legs decrease to the point where on every hill I had to stand to get me to the top with any kind of speed. 'Chain free' days hadn't happened for a long time :( A light bulb moment happened during the 'Season of Mists' Audax.

The young kid I was riding with from 'Penine Cycles' seemed to have the power in the legs I used to possess not all that long ago. Every incline he seemed to be purposefully grinding up, the effort looking immense and he was flying but I got the impression it was a training specific ride. On the other hand there was myself, out of the saddle, doing remarkably well as I couldn't generate the power in the saddle. 'BANG' it hit me from somewhere. Why was I doing so well out of the saddle? Because that's all I had been training to do! If I wanted a chain free day I would have to train for a chain free day.

Week Commencing 2nd October, after the Audax I decided to put my plan into place starting from the Wednesday. Reading on forums that a good way to train is to whack it into a big a gear as possible and go up hills, that's what I did but also tried it on the flats. This method hurts.....alot. Sometimes your body goes through the pain barrier and it subsides, other days you fight it 'til the end. Its not a'' bad pain but a 'good' pain that doesn't injure as Cancellara described in a DVD I watched a few nights ago. Not the best week to try it as the wind was very bad this and the next week. The first day was hard and was used as a recovery ride, the wind was that bad. Felt totally crap from the Audax but things picked up pace from there. Cadence dropped big time into the 70's and it even felt slower than that most times. I was able to pace myself ( I am very good at that) and keep the effort going for the full 40+ miles each day - strictly no out of the saddle stuff allowed.

To be honest I wasn't expecting to see any results so soon but from the 2nd day I could feel the power returning as the sessions went by, speeds being nice and high, and this culminated in a 'chain free' day on Tuesday 11th October! What a feeling. You feel like you can push any high gear really hard without much ill effect, the only limiting factor was my breathing/Hr. When I started the Garmin failed to start as I was in pitch black as I thought I pressed the button. 2 miles later I had to started her up. Flying along I knew I had to make the most of it so instead of the 20miles I did 25miles and instead of the usual 'flattish', mostly up hill route I chose one with some 'long' steep climbs! ( for a commute and compared to what I usually do) - yes not just the one steep climb. So in reverse order, here are the commuting stats.

Tuesday 11th October
To Home Distance 25miles Av Sp 21.6mph Asc 1000ft Hr 158 Cad 75 - ChainFreeDay
To Work Distance 20miles Av Sp 21.3mph Asc 587ft Hr 160 Cad 76 - Really Hurt

To get the right effect of the climbing involved press the + magnification on the elevation chart as it doesn't look so impressive as it is. The big downhill near the end had a few traffic light slowdowns too.

Saturday 8th October
To Work Distance 20miles Av Sp 21.0mph Hr 146 Cad 69
To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 21.2mph Hr 158 Cad 74

Friday 7th October
To Work Distance 20miles Av Sp 21.1mph Hr 147 Cad 69
To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 21.3mph Hr 156 Cad 76

Thursday 6th October
To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 18.6mph Hr 133 Cad 68
To Work Distance 20miles Av Sp 20.0mph Hr 149 Cad 76

Wednesday 5th October
To Work Distance 20miles Av Sp 17.8mph Hr 130 Cad 72
To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 19.3mph Hr 145 Cad 76

Season of Mists Audax - 2nd October

2011-10-09T17:58:00.004+01:00

Cycle to Audax - Av Sp 18.1mph Distance 24.0miles Asc 1560ft Hr 135 Cad 80

Audax - Av Sp 15.8mph Distance 64.0miles Asc 7650ft Hr 138 Cad 78

Cycle to Home - Av Sp 18.0mph Distance 14.0miles Asc 600ft Hr 132 Cad 82

The five days before this event the UK saw the best weather of the whole year albeit very little windy so confidently I pre-purchased my entry for the princely sum of £4.50 a whole week in advance even though I could have entered on the line.

Start line was the Salem community centre in Hebden Bridge and I had a brand new Garmin 800 to get me there and navigate me around the course just in case I went solo as I usually do. I met a couple of members of Rochdale Tri club in Whitworth and proceeded to the start point via Bacup and Tod Rd. There's enough climbing in the audax without anymore! From the off it was overcast and raining which gradually got worse and worse. My choice of bike was becoming an extremely bad decision. Scottie with 60mm carbon rims, even with yellow swiss-stop pads the stopping power is far from ideal for the conditions presented to me.

I virtually drafted the tri club duo all the way to Hebden as I wasn't feeling great at all and was struggling big time. I tried to take it easy on my commutes all week but just couldn't. On arrival there were already loads of cyclists already there all expecting glorious weather however we were in for a shock. For a change I decided to drink absolutely loads as I would be doing close to 100miles and my 1litre bottle needed filling up again.

We set off last as we waited for another member of the triclub which suited me as there was overtakes galore to be had. The first 5miles was an uphill slog to Burnley via Heptonstall which included a section of pave and in the damp made the effort quite difficult. I really buried myself for those 5miles to get past everyone and get up to the leaders who set off a good 5 minutes before me. Unbelievably I hit the front group after about half an hour and sat in for a long long time! The group was being led by a racing team CS cycles from Brighouse, a guy in sky uniform with a powertap and a young kid from VC Bradford/Penine cycles. We got a little lost in the back streets of Burnley but found our way back on track in no time. I found myself in the lead as the others must have been saving themselves for the climb at Sabden which I never knew was coming up and I went off the front.

I thought I was alone but was soon joined by the Penine cycles kid. We built up a good lead but lost a lot at the bottom of the Nick O' Pendle climb as the road was closed and we walked on the pavement as there was a pedestrian in the way. He zoomed off whilst I struggled. I couldn't get any power down whilst seated which is quite unusual for myself when climbing and has to limit my losses standing up. Infact I was doing quite a good job in the end and my cadence was nice and high. Totally the opposite seated though.

At Clitheroe I was following the sat nav's directions and even though I was following the correct route I got a 'beep' saying I was off course. Turned around and the Brighouse group rejoined us as we had messed up for a while. Next climb was Waddington Fell and I was struggling again sitting down. Just no power. I had to close any gaps by standing up but there was always the thought of 'how long will my legs last' if I kept it up.
There was an Irish guy in the group who looked 'uneasy' in the group. Always changing speed and being a nuisance. A club mate of his clipped his wheel, stayed up miraculously, and the Irish guy blamed his m8 of 'half wheeling'. Technically he was correct but the one in front I thought was to blame due to his inconsistant pacing. He'd be a menace on the track. I found myself behind this guy on the Newton climb and noticed even more his erratic style. I should have dropped back and left his wheel totally. Someone shouted at the back that he had punctured and this tosser looked back and broke hard. Cue me hitting his wheel and skidding to a halt on the tar mac. The guys behind me only missed me because I skidded forward at some speed. I shouted my discontent , some smart arse shouted back that I was going too fast. I might not be the most experienced group cyclist but you do not slow down heavily suddenly at the front of a peloton! In fact the tit did the same at a cattle grid and stopped causing another pile up as he walked across although no-one was felled this time. Luckily I was alot further back. Anyway I was bleeding from my right knee but injuries were minor and the bike seemed fine. The guy who punctured, myself and Penine Cycles bloke chased the Brighouse lot and overtook as they stopped in Slaidburn for coffee.

Thats when I stopped Garmin and forgot to restart as we tried to find out what was going on and to see who would carry on without stopping. Onward and upward, the three of us were pretty evenly matched although the PC guy deffo had the edge. The tall lanky fella that joined us had the most amazing leg speed . There were some really dangerous descents with tight bends and I came a cropper twice as my wheels locked whilst braking going in a straight line! as I tried to reduce speed before taking the bend. How I stayed upright I will never know and I wished the guy behind had a camera as it must have been something to watch.

Not far after Coldwell Activity Centre (control) was a massive climb, steepness wise. I saw guys who were on the shorter route walking it. The end was close and was looking forward to tHe food laid on. Rice pud, pizza, fruit, sarnies and a massive choice of cake downed with filter coffee made the thought of riding home into a big headwind more bearable. No cramp this time, loads drunk and a massive amount of climbing just under 10,000ft in 100miles. Low heart rate and cadence suggest I was f^&5ed before I started.

The rest of Sept

2011-10-04T01:33:00.001+01:00

Rest, recouperation and recovery.

2011-09-12T13:14:00.002+01:00

July and August saw the largest distances I have travelled ever with over 2000 miles clocked up. September could be the shortest. The TT bike ride and the Manc 100 took more out of me than I imagined ( maybe the HR was right after all) and also the weather played a part in not cycling to work.

Remarkabky though I have ran to the gym a few times and have never felt better, running wise. Once at the gym my performance on the gym bikes has been below par and the weight machine, terrible. 10mile TT on the gym bike I just about managed 20.45 (PB about 19.45) and weights wise I struggled with 50kg (PB 205kg) So whilst my aerobic functions are present I have no power in the muscles at all.

I even went swimming with the Tri club, Thursday just gone and barely lasted 30mins.

Today, the run was great but I couldn't raise my heart rate on the bike. I set about some intervals 10x2mins ( 2mins rest) 10x 1min ( 1min rest) Initially I was going to do 2x20 at threshold but I was screwed after 5 mins. This way though I was able to hold the sprint and get my heart rate to 176 every time. The resistance level was very very low but my cadence was high averaging 126. A very lazy run home awaited.

The Cycling track at Manchester Velodrome could very well be my second home over the coming months as winter sets in and I haven't been to an SQT ( structured quality training) session for about 9months so needed to gain a bit of confidence back before going on one. It so happened 'Colly' from the Cycle Chat forums was organising a track day on 11th Sept Sun.

I arrived at 2pm (session 3-5) as I needed to change a few things on my track bike like stem, saddle height and wheels. Coach didn't like my new stem lol, but then again who does. He said I should be more level and higher up and more compact. Actually, looking at the piccies I don't seem too bad at all and I was comfy. Another disbeliever of my methods. Usual warmup, some sprints, changing in a line and 'Hunters' finished us off. I had been unable to get up to speed and 'show off' hehe but the confidence gained, I'm sure, would be invaluable for my next SQT.

The Velodrome is looking very 'space age' since the new BMX bit has been added on and they have bought in new shoes and helmets which means they have leftover gear to sell. The old shoes were Addidas Race SL and I loved them, even better that they are 'pre-broken'. Mavic have now taken over the addidas range so you wont find addidas shoes, just expensive Mavic ones. Telephone Bob at the velodrome if interested £30. Hopefully I should have a pair 2moz. Size up like Sidis.

Found a massive bargain at Tescos on Friday, Garmin 500's at £50 a pop. Unfortunatly I already had one but for those that didn't I put them up for sale at a very respectable £90 inc p and p after I had cleared Tescos out! Think they retail for £130 Damn!

Manchester 100

2011-09-07T16:12:00.003+01:00

Theres that phrase again ' Entry on the Line.' Only an extra 50p on this Sportive just to see what the weather is going to be like before committing myself. Luckily, during the week and as it went on the forecast seemed to get better and better until it would nearly be perfect.

A couple of days before I readied my TT bike in anticipation of running a 'good time' for the Manchester 100. Brakes were perfect, wheels sparkling, new cables for derailleurs * ( hmm bad idea, more on that later) as I needed to extend the tri bar arms and the cables were too short. On the Saturday I actually went to see where the start line was as it was supposed to be quite close. I live junction 18 M60 and the start line just off Junction 5 at Wythenshawe Park. 20 min job.

On the day I just couldn't be bothered to get out of bed and before I knew it I was kinda running late. I wanted to be out of the house for 6am but I eneded up leaving about 6.30am. The start was at 7am and I thought that there wouldn't be many going at that time. As I exitted the motorway there was a huge queue around the park, this was about 6.45am. Oh dear, I promised the missus I should be back by lunch time :P There are a couple of side streets along the way and was tempted the park up them like a few did but decided to respect the resident's area and wait. Actually the wait wasn't so bad and after paying my £2 (£1.50 if paid in advance) I had to follow other cars across the grass to the other end of the park, along way from the start.

TT bike out of the car, fancy wheels on and off I trundled through the wet, freshly cut grass that stuck to the tyres, brakes and blocks and anything else that might have significance. Approaching the start line I could hear the announcer counting down the first wave, off at 7am whilst beyond looked like massive queues. Getting closer I realised I needn't have worried as the girls on registration were getting through everyone at break neck speed. Couldn't be bothered to pin my number on so went to the start and into the next available wave.

GO! 7.17 the clock showed as I past the electronic board. Gently pushed past the others and into the muther of all traffic jams. Didn't even bother to start Garmin off at this point as there was a couple of miles of waiting. Took a while but soon I was flying on my TT bike. Barely any wind which I don't think is ideal as you end up having to break through it and in a gentle breeze its already 'broken?' Again I thought I was taking it easy and saving myself for later but the heart rate monitor rocketed to 180 within the first 5 mins, breathing was normal. I tried to get the HR down but I couldn't so carried on vowing not to look at it again and go off 'feel'. I was passing group by group, no one deciding to latch on. I was hoping to string a few together and then have a rest at some point but it just wasn't happening.

There were a couple of steep hills near the beginning-ish and Garmin showed 11%, had to drop to the little ring a couple of times but then I couldn't shift up again. Those cheapo gear cables on ebay 10 for £5 or whatever it was do not come pre-stretched and I don't have any barrel adjusters. I thought I had totally stretched the cable when I first prepped the new cable but obviously I hadn't. Big ring all the way, luckily it was relatively flat.

Eventually a small group latched on at about 25miles and as we past other groups they tried but failed to hang on. I dropped them all on a climb which is saying something as I hadn't brought my climbing legs today, they felt crap up inclines. There was then a big descent where I reached 33mph and got stopped suddenly at lights.....Bastard. The others caught back up but didn't want to carry on drafting me. Shortly I had come across the 2nd group of about 30 riders after 40miles ish. Determined to get to the front I passed them all with ease and then was upon the lead group within minutes. Starting to get twinges of cramp appearing so downed my bottle of water as quickly as possible as I hadn't had much and ate a 'natural cereal bar'. I forgot to buy any gels for this trip which turned out to be a mistake and my bike only has one bottle holder so not enough water really.

They turned off for a feed station at 45-50miles and me and another guy carried on but he didn't last long with me. I now wish I had stopped and refuelled here but it may have been too late anyway. I was now cramping at every opportunity so had to ease off the pedals or pedal at a faster cadence. So far all my miles had been 99% in the aero position, no ill effects although sitting up help alleviate the cramp so maybe the position played a part too? Passing Nantwich I could see there was a triathlon going on and there were bikers coming in the opposite direction. Had to keep a good look out for the signs as there were 3 sets now! THe Manchester 100 was excellently marshalled by volunteeres and my chances of getting lost this time were whittled down to non existant.

Some where now the 100km crew joined onto the main route and there was a feed station at 63miles and was surprised to see it jam packed. It was nice and close to the road, I bought a banana and an energy drink. Wish I bought more now as the drink was gone within a minute. I was away again as soon as possible and the water stop lasted me about 10-15miles of gentle pedalling and you can see the little spike in the HR graph. My world then came tumbling down.

I couldn't contain/control the cramp anymore and I had one massive seizure and only just managed to clip out and get to the side of the road. A marshall came running over ( what a fantastic guy) but by the time he got to me I was away again. I thanked him for his trouble as he had run along way! Heart rate plummeted to 130 now and had to be kept low as excessive pressure on the pedals caused me to cramp again and again and again. Any incline and I was a gonna. Overtakes were now few and far between. A guy past me who was in the lead group with 10miles to go and I hung on as long as possible. He set off at 7.10am. There was noone else in the main 100miler lot to overtake thank god but my chance at a great time had gone at 45miles.

It's not that I didn't have the energy, the muscles possibly hadn't recovered from friday ( hard workout that didn't feel hard) but my aerobic capacity seemed fine as I wasn't getting out of breath, even at the start of the ride with 180 heart rate. Adrenalin kicked in with 5miles to go and I was able to go fast for quite a while but were were getting near built up areas which meant traffic lights so after an effort I had to stop then another effort required. That hurt! Just before that I was pushed up the last hill of the day which I will be eternally grateful for. Only had a quick chat with the guy then as the road flattened out I zoomed off as if I didn't care but I DID! REALLY! Thanks. THe last few miles took forever to pass by but the park was now in sight and there were peaople clapping and cheering. I held my head down as I didn't feel like I deserved the adulation, just coasting over the finishing line.

I was given a bottle of water and taken to one side to be 'interviewed' by some old woman who picked up on my Rochdale Tri club gear and started to ask loads of questions which just flew over my head. I could smell BBQ chicken and just wanted to get over to it ASAP! The announcer said that I had a 'great looking bike' heh thats all I needed more eyes on me. I did feel like a failure so slipped behind one of the tents and departed very quickly.

The first 40miles miles were amazing and I was having the time of my life but being in my aero position , something didn't want to disturb that so I didn't take sips of my drink as often as I should have and I didn't start drinking until over an hr after starting. The Geoff Thomas Sportive when I felt great all the way around I drank constantly and about 4litres with lots of gels.The feed stations were perfectly set up on that ride though, 25miles 45 miles 65 miles all with energy drink on tap, quick stop and away in seconds. I will get it right one day.

Total ride time was 5hrs 7 mins, I let the Garmin overtime as I was being 'interviewed'.

Garmin DATA Distance 96miles Av Sp 20.7mph Moving time 4hrs 36mins
Ascent 2300ft Av Hr 160!

Thinking about the ride, it was really flat but I was constantly pedalling 'hard?' Was it more difficult than a much hillier ride where there are big respites on the downhill sections? It wouldn't have been faster but I'm sure the effort required is more or am I talking out of my arse?

TT Test Ride - Fri 2nd Sept

2011-09-07T14:53:00.001+01:00

First sign of dryness and semi decent weather I needed to get my TT bike ready for Sundays Manchester 100 mile ride. I have yet again tweaked the position for the better. Can I ride 100miles in the aero position?

I was taking it fairly easy if you go by my breathing rate yet looking at my heart rate ( max 182, av 162 with a couple of stops) and its very close to anaerobic threshold and V02 max effort. So can that be possible? Is the position having an effect on the heart rate? Is the heart rate monitor wrong? Why wasn't my breathing affected?

To Work 14miles ( lots of stops and starts so garmin on/off) Av Sp 24.1mph

To Home 16miles ( lots of stops less on/off of garmin) Av Sp 22.2mph Hr 161 809ft
( Actually says 21mph but whilst at 22.4 I rode at 3-5mph for a couple of minutes in heavy traffic which was recorded) Hr less due to those stoppages.Cycling time 45 mins stoppages 25mins! Grrrr

Position feels very very comfy indeed since I swapped the 60 degree adjustable stem and replaced it with a 16cm 35 degree one. The drop measures the same but there is about 6cm extra stretch.

Commutes WE 28/08/11

2011-09-07T14:34:00.000+01:00

Wed 23rd August

To Work     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 19.8mph
To Home     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 20.1mph

Thurs 24th August

To Work     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 19.5mph     Hr 131bpm
To Home     Distance 20miles     Av sp 21.2mph     Hr 150bpm

Fri 26th Aug

To Work     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 19.5mph     Hr 127bpm
To Home     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 18.5mph     Hr 120bpm

Sat 27th Aug

To Work/Home     Distance 40miles     Av Sp 19.6mph     Hr 137bpm

Getting really fatigied so having rest for Sunday when I will be doing the MANCHESTER 100 MILES

Sportive Recovery - Monday 22nd Aug

2011-08-24T14:25:00.001+01:00

Only 60miles with 4000ft of climbing with no food/water. Felt quite good today so extended my run out. The first 20 or so miles were probably the slowest I have ever done this ride due to the bad Northerly wind which changed direction to an Easterly cross wind when I faced South so a very hard effort all round. I stopped the Garmin in Rawtenstall due to excessive road re-tarmaccing and seemed to go on for miles. The traffic did anyway. Oh and don't ride your bike on freshly laid tarmac...EVER! - was that me being dumb? Quite a low heart rate but not quite recovery rate.

Distance 60 miles Av Sp 18.6mph Ascent ~4000ft.

Geoff Thomas Sportive

2011-08-21T23:48:00.004+01:00

Entry on the line - I love it. It gives me chance to assess the weather and to pull out if anything unexpected turns up. After Saturdays ride where the PX brakes on Scottie failed again catastrophically with the same problem previously experienced ( plastic spring holder came off and lost, wheel jammed on hill and luckily came off without falling.) I had to hastily ready Jamis for an 86mile ride with 'only 5500ft' of climbing. Swapped chain with Scotties as it had stretched too much and gave her a good clean. If I had entered online it would have cost me £20 or an extra fiver on the day which is money well spent to guarentee an okish day.

Usual pre-sportive day ritual of packing my stuff (gels, drink with CNP and H5Zero and sweeties) and last minute' finding out where the bloody hell I'm driving to' routine. Gave myself plenty of time to get to Congleton High School but not too much so that I wasn't all alone.

Arrived massively early again! The organisers were just about setting up but I was able to sign up straight away and grab a few extra, complimentary gels. I had no idea of the route or what the terrain would be like. The disclaimer on the website said I should familiarise myself but I trusted the signposts which has been my downfall in the past leading to getting hopelessly lost. I didn't care too much, all part of the fun and intrigue. Jamis was then carefully taken out of the boot and my Soul S2.0 custom wheels attached. A quick once over gave the 'all clear'. There are quite a few non believers that I ride my bike how I do ( saddle pointy up and stem so far down) but it doesn't bother me.

Time passed really quickly and by the time I got to the start a small group were setting off already. Quickly clipping in I chased. My plan was to hang fire, wait for a few groups to form and go with the fastest. D'oh. Deja Vu? This time though I had my nutrition all planned out, water bottles on board and a pair of legs with all the confidence in the world. No more Deja Vu.

I had forgotton to set my GArmin off and I didn't input the course in this time just in case it fucked up again. Atfer 4-5 downhill miles travelling at an average of 22mph ish, satellite reception was intercepted and all systems go. Five of us took it in turns to lead then a couple just sat at the back whilst the three of us paced them. The first 20 or so miles were flat and someone shouted the 'MOW COP' was upon us however the sign posts avoided that road. We weren't going particulary fast and when someone shouted for me to slow down whilst not overly exerting myself I figured I would leave this group soon but see what would happen on the climbs. There were a few steep but short bits which I took easy but some other guy flew up as he'd leave my wheel at the last second and carry his momentum, but it was all part of my plan.

There was a hill between 25 and 35miles (on my Garmin), just after the first feed station which I left them but waited at the top for a couple of minutes. 'Lance Armstrong' was muttered a few times and a congratulatory pat on the back but it wasn't much really. We stocked up on 'Accelerade' and carried on after 3 minutes. I took a wrong turning but was put right quickly enough, thats why I wanted to stay with this group but although I was thoroughly enjoying their company but one by one they were being dropped.

Finally I left and that's when the hills started to appear in their droves. Smithy Lane to join on to Buxton Rd, down Wincle then up again somewhere more up and down. Before and After Thorncliffe was a long toughie which had me wincing. A lot of the descents were on thin, windy roads with a couple of switchbacks, where speed was at a premium and cautiousness the order of the day, unfortunately. Telegraph Hill was another climb but no idea where that one was. Once past Macclesfield forrest it was a 15mile slow descent back to base. I say slow as the wind was in my face yet I was really going for it as I had loads of energy left over. My ride feeding plan had worked a treat.

Got back to base, first to cross the line after 86miles, at 12.50, greeted my a lone elderly chap clapping furiously. That would put my ride time at about 4hrs 54 mins for 86miles. as I set off around 7.57 with a ride average of 17.5mph or a moving average of 17.9mph. There were a couple of junctions at major roads where I felt like I was waiting forever. I was a bit disappointed with my time but the air conditions weren't very good at all and I tried to ignore the wind and was a bit conservative up some of the climbs as I was unsure how my legs were going to cope.

I signed out and someone made me a nice cuppa and I picked up a drinks bottle. A guy came over to see what a strange position I had on my bike and heard that a few had to be picked up due to mechanicals but as I left an ambulance pulled in so hopefully as was well.

Garmin Data Distance 81miles Av Sp 17.8mph Ascent 5600ft Time 4hrs 32 moving (4hrs 42)

Big shout to the guy at www.cyclesportphotos.com for another set of great piccys.

Hmmm

2011-08-18T15:54:00.000+01:00

Winds speed = 1-2mph so why are the flags blowing like f^&*? Direction? Northerly or Easterly so why can I see flags blowing from the South and West. Useless weather shite.

Getting tired

2011-08-17T15:52:00.000+01:00

Two rest days since July 1st is just about starting to take its toll I think. Had a fairly easy week last week cycling wise but did a fair amount of running and lots of heavy and repetative weights. The session on Sunday really took it out on me and so I started this week going to take it easy.

Then came the shitty wind. My god its bad. Every morning it has started as a Southerly/Westerly turned to a Westerly then ended up NorthWesterly which basically means a full on head/cross on the way to work and back home. I thought it was really dense air that had caused the draggy feel, it still possibly is, but the gusts are really high and from North and South West/ West. Yesterday the flags didn't have a clue where they were going, left , right, forward, backwards and with some force. I think the air is super dense and the force of the wind is exaggerated. EVen a relatvietly nice day like today didn't stop the wind. Only 14km/h winds but gusts of 50km/h. Wind speed only low as it takes into consideration the direction of other winds.

Just couldn't take it easy as 1) Didn't do the time trial due to raining and the shit wind would have made times embarassing. 2) Didn't feel like I was moving.

I've really gone for it, somethimes ignorning the pain but the low heart rates compared to my perceived effort suggest I'm fatigu -ed/-ing. Fairly good speeds Wed as I was on Scottie with her nice aero position and drafted a bit. Wanted to do a Sportive on Sunday but I'm not sure if its worth the aggro from the weather.

Commutes WE 14/08/11

2011-08-14T21:07:00.001+01:00

Mon 8th August
To Work     Distance 21.5miles     Av Sp 17.7mph     Hr 121
To Home     Distance 20.5miles     Av Sp 18.2mph     Hr 138

Friday 12th August
To Work     Distance 21miles     Av Sp 18.7mph
To Home     Distance 20 miles     Av Sp 20.3mph

Saturday 13th August
To Work     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 18.4mph     Hr 132
To Home     Distance 25 miles     Av Sp 18.8mph     Hr 144 -Hilly

                  I am trying to save myself for a big ride on Sunday 21st August the Geoff Thomas Sportive but it is all going to be weather dependant. I was going to do the Tour of the Peak Sunday just gone and aim for the Gold time of 6hrs but with that wind I stood little chance so didn't bother.

Monday had the 70km/hr gusts and I was trying to keep the heart rate quite low which I achieved. Quite difficult when you have a constant force against you.

Tuesdays ride I have already written about and got a bit carried away and thought it wouldn't hamper my preparation.

On Wednesday I ran to the gym and did my, now regular, weights session. Leg presses of 10x195kgs, 30x75, 25x85, 20x95kgs and various upper body and core as well as my normal stretching.

Thursday wasn't quite a rest day but a gentle amble in the water for 50mins to loosen up stiff muscles which worked wonders.

Fridays times look fast but still kept Hr low aided by a Southerly wind but Saturday's wind was crap. I thought it would be a Southerly again but was WSW/SW which made my ride home hell. I planned the route to make the most of the wind and an easy ride home but got totally the opposite. Head/cross for the WHOLE journey. I now know what turbulance feels like if I was to pedal on the nose of an aeroplane and this was felt for the entire ride home. F$%^ing awful wind for 'only' 10mph. My heart rate reached 160 way too many times although the constant climbing for 17.5miles contributed to that. Managed to get my cadence quite high again without trying too hard as I let it drop the past few weeks.

Sunday 14th August - I ran to the gym again and 1hr on the weights. Leg presses this times were:
20x195kg, 30x95kgs, 30x105kgs, 30x115kgs, 30x125kgs, 30x 135kgs. Needsless to say I was wrecked after the first 20mins and struggled on the uphill run home in a bleedin' head wind just like Saturday's.

Possibly do Birch TT again on Tuesday depending on how I feel after an easy commute, the wind and the rain then super easy til Sunday.

I was going to do an SQT at the track on Sunday just gone but a new stem I ordered hadn't arrived so didn't bother. New stem for TT bike too as I 'need' to get lower.

One of my milestones reached!

2011-08-10T13:33:00.001+01:00

After the rest day on Sunday and taking the monday commute very very easy, I needed a good day to let off some steam in my sufficiently rested legs. They were itching to be let loose even with only 2 rest days in one and half months. Tuesday would be the day as sunny spells were predicted but also so was 40km/h gusts. Not as bad as Monday.

Scottie was the weapon of choice. Super light, super areo position, super wheels, super comfy and super looks ( debatable) make this bike an absolute bargain. The idea was to go quite hard at the beginning then adjust accordingly depending on how badly the wind was affecting my speeds.

I began by following the 2010 Tour of Britain route ( Rochdale to Blackpool) so up Edenfield Rd where there were traffic lights waiting for me so I circled a little layby waiting for the lights to change then realised I never paused my Garmin so my average could have been higher. From Edenfield Rd the route took me up to Deerplay Moor but instead of turning left towards Padiham and Forrest of Bowland I went right to Todmorden. Very cross windy but was semi sheltered by the hills unlike on Edenfield Rd which was relentless. Starting to love climbing again after I lost all the Christmas and holiday weight which seemed to take ages. No discipline. So now most of the climbing was out of the way and I could see my average getting higher and higher at an alarming rate. You can see where I started to take it a little easy as my heart rate dropped from av 150 to av 136 in anticipation of a hard final slog into the wind for the last 10miles or so and a cross from mile 30-40.

For two years now since I averaged 18.5mph on a fairly hilly 50miler up Blackstone edge and down Cragg I have tried to break that 20 barrier for the 'hilly' 50. I even took my TT bike out one day to do it but only got 19.2mph after getting 22mph at the half way point. Today was looking like that day and on the fast bits I was always keeping some in reserve ready for the gusty head wind and to give my all on the final stretch.

When that wind did come there weren't big gusts, probably hit 40km/h once all journey and since I felt really strong it wasn't bothering me and my legs were able to rip up the last 10 miles. Even the last 2 climbs, the penultimate with a bad head, last with a cross I had the power and endurance to get speeds close to if it was a calm day. I felt cold all the way around and was only in shorts and short sleeves.

Arrived home with lots in the legs and an 'unofficial goal' achieved. Had to do a couple of laps of the estate as I was only at 48miles. Towards the end of my journey when it was looking that I'd break 20mph quite easily I held back so that I could make the most of a run/ weights session the day after as the weather was going to be atrocious on Wednesday.

DISTANCE 50miles AVERAGE Sp 20.3mph ASCENT ~4000ft

70km/h GUSTS B%&^%&

2011-08-08T18:47:00.004+01:00

Monday Commute, I'll save for the end of week roundup.

Commutes Week Ending 7/08/2011

2011-08-08T18:47:00.000+01:00

Wednesday 3rd August
To Work Distance 10miles Av Sp 17.4mph
To Home Distance 21miles Av Sp 18.4mph

Thursday 4th August
To Work Distance 10miles Av Sp 18.1mph
To Home Distance 21miles Av Sp 19.9mph

Friday 5th August
To Work Distance 20miles Av Sp 20.8mph
To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 20.4mph

Saturday 6th August
To Work Distance 16miles Av Sp 18.7mph
To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 19.0mph

Wednesday commutes was after my Time Trial on Tuesday and my legs were like jelly. Also not much rest between that and my next ride. Getting stronger as the week wore on. Tuesday and Wed were really humid like 90% and allegedly the air density is at its lowest as water molecules are lighter than the o2 and n2 it 'replaces' but I reckon it does't replace them but co-exisit in the same confined area so density is high. It felt thick.
Finally had a rest day on Sunday 7th August as I was getting mentally tired and just couldn't be bothered.

BIRCH 8 mile Tuesday Time Trial No.3

2011-08-02T21:47:00.004+01:00

Monday 1st August - Still feeling mighty fine!! After an epic July which I still haven't rounded up August seems to be continuing in the same vein. Nothing too strenuous today however any sort of running I do basically kills me. I ran 2.6km to Middleton Leisure Centre, did a 50mins weight session and ran uphill 2.6km back. Progressing very well with the resistance work and I do believe it is this that is helping my cycling the most although it could have something to do with the fact im under 11 stone again. Managed to leg press 195kg x 10 ( not the best of form) then just did some smaller 60kg x30 reps with perfect form. Did a little upper body work to try and get my arms used to swimming without actually swimming. Tried to go on the abdominal machine but I'm still aching there from 3 weeks ago. Couldn't press 15kg :( Have done 60 in the past.

Tuesday 2nd August - Woohoo TT time. Birch 8mile TT from The Gardeners Arms run by ABC Centreville. Haven't done one in a couple of months! It was warm, very humid and the wind was swirly, 8-9mph. The air actually felt quite bad but the course has been re tarmac'd since the last time I did it and the course organiser, who is very experienced at 67 said it should give us a couple of free seconds. Pantani was there already after I had done my warmup of 8miles. I signed on 4th, he was 2nd, there were 5 altogether. Remember it is a very undulating double circuit with a very steep bit ( for a TT course of about 5- 6 % for a couple of hundred yards). I brought the TT bike down using the new 60mm clinchers instead of the 88mm prolites due to the wind and the hilly nature as the prolites weigh 2.5kgs! compared to 1.6kgs for the 60mm.

GO GO GO I zoomed off and into the tuck position within seconds. The first turning put us into a bad cross wind then the fastest part was a head wind then a slight cross/ tail on the hardest uphill part. My heart rate was close to max within the minute but knew I could hold it for the entire course. I had the split time shouted at me....10.02, very good going that! Could I keep it up? It did feel like I was slowing but kept my composure, slowed the cadence down without losing too much speed and got my breath back, repeat a few times. After all the mad training this past month I should have been shattered? but actually felt very good indeed. I really was at my limit most of the course. My heart rate never touches 170 in training. yet I averaged 174 max 179.

Crossed the finish line thinking I had done 19.22 but that was the time of day LOL. Official time was....................20.02!!!!!!! Thats 24 MPH

Split for 2nd lap was 10mins dead. Great pacing.

I beat my previous personal best by nearly 1 minute! ( PB 20.59 22.88mph) Wow what a ride. Garmin had the time at 19.59 and I stopped the clock a few seconds after the finishing line! I think i'd been done! Not to worry. I did an official 10 miler a few days before my PB time which was 23.40ish so hopefully that bodes well for my next official 10miler, whenever that will be. There was a racer guy, quite young in full kit ( Base2Race? somet like that, I wonder if that was the same kit that guy on Blackstone Edge was wearing on Sunday?) hmmm) with a very expensive Felt TT bike and zipp 808's Tubs he splitted 9.33 then blew up lol and retired.

20 miles completed today. Back to the commute tomorrow but the weather isn't looking too promising for the rest of the week.

The JULY MEGA roundup.

2011-08-01T01:37:00.000+01:00

Never done one of these before but as it's been a special month here's the first.

TBC

100 Miler, 2nd of year.

2011-08-01T01:29:00.001+01:00

Distance 100miles Av Sp 19.1mph Ascent 6600ft

A few days ago I tried Slattery's Ultimate choccy challenge that Trio had previously attempted. It's a bit of a 'posh' place yet I didn't feel out of place with my baseball cap and jeans and t-shirt amongst the wannabes. Did I do it? NO! but I was close. It wasn't that I was full as I drunk 4 glasses of water afterwards just so sickly. I craved salt afterwards which could be a secret weapon to finish the lot off. Anyway I couldn't bare to put another bit of chocolate in my mouth. I devoured the whole of the American fudge cake , 3 scoops of choccy ice cream, a portion of whipped cream, my fav the melted white choccy and half the melted milk choccy. THe containers were made out of choccy and left them as well as a bit of the hot choccy. I needed to work all those calories off!!!!

Struggling to get out of bed at 6am I hit the snooze button a few times before finally arising. My 6.30 out time had passed. No milk in fridge so no cereal, just a banana and black coffee. The 100miles wasn't planned at all. None of my rides are planned really just go out and see where they take me, usually the same old routes as I can get lost very easily and normally on my own as no one wants to ride at 6-7am. I grabbed two lucozade gels and a handful of sweets for the journey along with a litre of ribena light.

I headed East towards Holmfirth Rd and HolmeMoss for a bit of sustained climbing. The flags were blowing against me ( Easterly and Southerly) and my speeds started off quite slow. The Easterly faded but still present and the wind was fairly gentle. Before the bottom of the first climb I suffered a 'mechanical failure' on 'Grotton' Hill. My rear wheel came off, How I dunno? Good job I was only going slow and I stayed upright. I thought it was the new lightweight titanium skewer I had used as Ive heard things about them but I found that my planet x brakes, the metal spring bar, had popped out causing the brakes to apply and jam the wheel awkwardly. Took a little while to sort and I was off again.

The sun was out in brief spells which lifted my mood. The intention of this ride was really to see how my new 60mm carbon clinchers would climb and how good the yellow swiss stop brake pads really are. Because the brake blocks were new they were very close to the rim and I would have to undue the cabling which I wasn't prepared to mess with at this moment. The wind was getting stronger by the hour. Climbing Holmefirth Rd felt like the good old days of last year. Full of energy but staying under my limit and staying seated to conserve energy I was up in no time. The wheels climb brilliantly, accelerated quickly, nice and stiff, the hubs (same as PX light) are terrific and with my tyres pumped up to 130 psi fairly comfy.

Turning to face the climb of Holme Moss was a bit of a killer as I had a big head wind that was getting bigger. The Southerly was picking up pace. I had the legs but there didn't feel much point in fighting the wind too much so speed was very respectable for a 9-12% grad. Descending is my worst nightmare especially when Im being thrown from side to side. The Easterly was back. The brake blocks on the carbon track felt very reassuring, not quite as good as alloy but not far off. Heading West now towards Denton and Manchester, cross wind was hard work but slightly assisted by that Easterly. Came to loads of traffic light stops Denton ish. Going very well averaging about 18mph at this moment for 50miles. I knew to save the legs I had to head North which is the direction of home.

Same mechanical problem happened again. I think its because Im using a 16cm 45 degree stem which is over stretching my rear brake cable slightly or may be just the bumps. After that time it didn't happen again. It did eat quite a big chunk into my journey time though as its a very fiddley job. Not come across many cyclists yet until later on but as I neared home I still felt strong so decided to carry on and get another good climb in, this time Blackstone Edge. My gels, sweets and drink had long gone by now.

Theres a set of lights at the bottom which I had to wait at. Just cutting off at a slight tangent whilst I remember. I got caught red light jumping by a copper at 4.30am on Thursday HAH. Bastard pulled me over and gave me a stern warning. Normally I'd look around but for some odd reason I didn't this time. So boys and girls its very naughty to red light jump, just dont get caught :) only joking.
I got joined my some guy on a very nice bike in sponsored racing kit and some old guy. I was in the zone so didn't notice what bike and who the club was but I let him lead for 10 pedal strokes until I realised he was going too slow for me. He kept up with me chatting/gasping about my wheels and my bike then said he was dropping back as I was going too fast for his weary legs. I motored up the climb but still keeping some back as I had 40miles to go. At the bottom of Cragg it would be a ferocious head wind all the way home.

Hit the bottom averaging just over 19mph and I was using all my energy keeping it at that all the way home. Dehydration was setting in so stopped at the garden centre in Walsden for a lucozade and a coke, not enough money more a sausage butty :( The wind was all over the show and gusty yet I fought on. I had a couple of miles reprieve as I got joined by a guy on LOOK bike with Assos clothing. He drafted me and I politely asked him to lead as I was coming to the end of 100miles. He did a stirling job for about 2.5miles until his phone went off and stopped whilst I carried on.

Cannot believe that I made it, the whole 100 hilly miles at a very good pace. Didn't think I had it in me as most of the time Ive done 40-50miles, coming to the end Ive not had much left and done much slower. Loving the new position on Scottie as I can pull on the bars and stay very aero. I think there are some very fast rides to come from this bike in better conditions.

The Weekly Commutes W/E 30/07/11

2011-08-01T00:00:00.002+01:00

Monday 25th July
To Work Distance 21miles Av Sp 19.4mph
To Home Distance 20 miles Av Sp 20.4mph

Tuesday 26th July
To Work Distance 21miles Av Sp 20.4mph
To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 19.6mph

Wednesday 27th July
To Work Distance 21miles Av Sp 19.6mph
To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 21.6mph

Thursday 28th July
To Work Distance 20miles Av Sp 19.3mph
To Home Distance 21miles Av Sp 19.0(ish)
Swimming with Tri Club - 2.4km Worst ever session. I dont know how I kept going and wanted to give up so many times. Just didn't have the energy.

Nice consistent week. Wind has been a bit of a night mare as usual. A cold wind from the North. Wednesday was noticeably different, a much warmer, kinder wind. Thursday was awful. Head/cross in all directions. Weather stations had the net speed at 2-4mph yet a 60mph in one direction and a 64mph in the other gives the same result. Used TT bike on Monday. Didn't feel good on it. Just a small tweak makes a big difference. Scott was used on the flyer on Wednesday.

Friday 29th July

Just used to get the legs going and to put another notch on July's post. The wind was the same as Thursday and very swirly nasty. Feeling a bit drained as the wind removes all momentum and you have to put a constant effort in which ever direction.

Distance 45miles Av Sp 17.3mph

Saturday 30th July

Just a token 10miles to help complete my July with only 1 rest day ( 3rd July I think it was)

More Wheels hehe!!!

2011-07-29T23:13:00.001+01:00

What can I add that the pictures don't say :P Yes they are even more sexier up close than on the photos. The wait has deffo been worth it. Now do I leave the carbon weave on the rims as it is? Or add Bontrager Aeolus 6.5 stickers?

3 1/2 weeks, one rest day.

2011-07-24T22:14:00.000+01:00

Since returning from my hols I have been in such a determined mood to regain my fitness, lose lots of weight and
improve. It has also, coincidentally , been the same month the TdeF commenced. With my new supplement the effects are astounding. 'Chronic' tiredness has disappeared, don't get that heavy feeling in the legs, no tingles or niggles in muscles, less tightening, can pedal standing on demand even when tired they are the major effects. It's not a miracle drug as I still get fatigued, heart rate can plummet, need recovery rides but I can keep plodding on regardless.

Just started at the gym again to strengthen my leg muscles as 2 years ago Im sure it helped alot,not been for ages. Pressed some heavy weights 170kg 10 rep (used to do 220 in reps of 30 2 years ago so need to keep it up) and DOMS has been negligible for the first few days and still able to cycle with va va voom.

Mon 18th July - Nice 50miler into work, hard work though as it was pissing it down just like the Sunday before. Still recovering from run 2 days ago. Cold night easy ride and air resistance felt negligible!

To Work Distance 50miles Av Sp 17.7mph
To Home Distance 21miles Av Sp 19.1mph

Tuesday 19th July - Strange night at 2am. Difficult to raise HR yet air resistance felt high and wind nowt too, cold. Relatively fast ride home considering. Lots of standing = low cadence. I fought tooth and nail to raise my HR and tried to hammer it. At the end I gave it my all in a final Sprint and HR hit 140 ???? I dunno its like my body had put a ceiling on it.

To Work Distance 20 miles Av Sp 20.2mph
To Home Distance 21miles Av Sp 18.7mph

Wednesday 20th July - Since my commute was 2am I counted that as my Wednesday cycle.

Thursday 21st July - 15min warmup on gym bikes then big session of weights on legs and medium/light on upper body. Abdominals are aching 5 days after, legs fine. Swimming with Tri Club was very hard but got stronger towards the end until I thought I could take everyone on and died :(

Friday 22nd July - Another long cycle but BEFORE my commute to work with 2000ft climbing and a head/cross wind throughout although the wind has been coming from multiple directions again negating the full on head wind effect. Easy ride going to work Av HR 135 good speed. Going home I had that annoying 'still air' wall effect. Totally different to Tuesday night. Unable to raise HR to a satisfactory level and Av 125 very easy ride but still able to get out of the saddle.

Morning Ride Distance 33.5 miles Av Sp 17.2mph
To Work Distance 21.3miles Av Sp 18.8mph
To Home Distance 20.0miles Av Sp 17.1mph

Sat 23rd July - First sign of a decent day so took Scottie for a spin and to set her up again as i broke the seatpost and had to replace without taking down measurements. Very bad swirly wind coming from the West and slight;y hillier than normal so how on earth I acheived a good speed I will never know. Coming home I just caned it.

To Work Distance 20 miles Av Sp 21.3mph
To Home Distance 20 miles Av 19.9mph grrrr

Sunday 24th July - Again Sat night commute counts as Suns cycle but I did go to gym again. Row for warmup and more Leg presses and upper body work. Only just managed to press 145kg which is pitiful so went down to 50 and repped it 30 times.

Burn off that Pizza.

2011-07-18T10:22:00.001+01:00

SUNDAY 17th JULY

Saturday night I really fancied a Pizza as I haven't had one for ages. Ended up having a starter, main and dessert. Ugh. I thoroughly recommend a Smoked salmon, buffalo mozzarella and cherry tommy pizza on thin base - not available at your local Dominoes and un'believably' cheaper.

Knowing the weather is going to be atrocious all Sunday, for some odd reason, I still set my alarm for 6.15am for a ride. Missus got me out of bed and said 'get out there or you'll be a miserable sod all day'! Fair enough. SUN! wow it was sunny but by the time I was ready, about 30 mins, it had already started drizzling.

After the run the day before, usually I'm hurting bad, tight muscles etc but after a couple of minutes of easy stretching I was away. Just going to take it relatively easy with a few big hills thrown in depending on how my legs were. Turned out I was relatively fresh but as no Garmin I was determined to keep the heart rate low. I read recently that the best way to train is to keep your easy rides easy and hard rides, well just kill yourself or you'll end up like a diesel engine, strong but not fast. Good description of me.

No idea where the wind was coming from all day as it was swirly again and the only tail wind was half way up Blackstone edge, the bottom half was blustery the middle section was calm and the top was 'gale force'. Heavy rained absolutely drenched every inch of clothing and I must have been carrying an extra 2 kilos. I was enjoying it apart from the wet gloves. Ended up doing 50miles in 3 hrs with 4000ft climbing so average was about 16.7mph. Not too bad for a hilly ride, taking it easy in bad conditions. Pizza duly burnt.

Just been informed that another custom wheelset should be with me by the end of this week and I am sooo excited. If all the promises made come true then the wait will be worth it and I will be the happiest cyclist that week at least until it starts raining again.

ROUTE

Entering the final week of the ToF there is still everything to play for. Most impressive rider so far? Hushovd? I really disliked this guy, not really a team player and his style is annoying. He does have a motivation for riding like he has done recently though.....his contract expires this season and he lives in Monaco need I say more? I detest him even more :P The way the GC is going Cadel has his best chance yet if the stalemate continues. I think Contador could be saving everything for stage 18, Portes, injury up played and will play a big part. Navarro also resting as much as possible. Stage 19 too short and a humongous decent after the big climb to catch up lost time easily. Maybe Contador will attack again on the Alpe d'Huez if he hasn't got much time back. He might also put all his eggs in one basket and do it all on the TT but can't see it. The race in on!

The TT that wasn't.

2011-07-16T23:40:00.000+01:00

Tuesday 12th July - TT bike all ready and the wind is howling like a little girl who's lost her teddy. After 5 mins getting to the start of course I hit a big pot hole and punctured. That wasn't the end. Nope. The rubber bung from my valve extender which screws into the presta valve of the inner tube got lost in the deep rimmed Pro-lites. After mucho fiddling I managed to half fill the tube and carried on towards the course making sure I missed every bump. It was going to be an UBER slow day as the wind swirled and picked up. Pantani and I with 3 others turned up but no marshalls or time keepers. NO TT! 20miles done no Garmin data.

Wednesday 13th July - Tampering with my seatpost height again on Jamis. I know the problem is that actual saddle and that I need another Fizik Arione CX ( tried a planet x style arione and it was terrible) but when I bought a brand new one for £45 a couple of months ago and the cheapest now are 90 quid I just cant justify it. I know I spend a lot on shit but its good value shit. Can only use one position with this saddle now, its like an Aliante :( 2am commutes are nice but cold. My supplementation is working a dream and although I still get tired my legs feel miles less pain/niggles.

Going home I took a hilly, long route home but was forced to suffer a head/cross wind for all the course.....no joke. Infact the best times were when I was heading North from Manchester to Bury which should have been a full on Northerly wind and therefore my slowest time. Possibly because I was still fresh but by the time I finished I was wrecked. Understandably slow average.

Thursday 14th July - More early morning madness but much more colder. 6 EFFING DEGREES in the middle of SUMMER. Theres a massive low pressure area sitting over us with a close high pressure above and below us which is creating havoc. TT bike today and again I adjusted slightly and I think I have found 'THE ONE' as in the one position that is most aero, most fastest and most comfortable all in ONE. Going to work was fast , wind just brisk. Going home I was flying into a massive head wind/cross again but although I didn't record my fastest time I know it was my best commute ever, power wise! I had to stop more times than an Ice Cream van/bus on a housing estate but that didn't prevent me from sprinting off and being able to go flat out for all the course. Not sure what the position looks like but it feels fantastic and I notice the difference in wind resistance/lack of it instantly. Saddle is a bit back, tilted up to stop me from slipping forward with the bars angled upwards which supposedly flattens the stomach. Also widened the bars a little. It allows me to pull on the bars which I have never been able to do before except on Pantani's setup but its not aero enough for me. Throwing my cards on the table, I reckon I could do a 22.?? 10mile TT right now. Hah.

Friday 15th July - No Garmin data today as I needed to take it easy and just can't do it knowing what speed I am going at. Quite tired in body and in mind. Still made good progress either way but the wind is getting worse and more swirly by the day. Just the straight 40miles.

Saturday 16th July - Woke up at 2am but due to the rain stayed in bed til 4.15am thats when the rain stopped but needed the car to get to work on time. Came home and went on a run. Thought I followed the same course as before but screwed up somewhere and didn't. Thought I'd beaten my last time by 3 mins but in reality it was only just over one. previously I ran at 7.56min/mile today was 7.36min/mile. Im positive running helps with my cycling as I can get my heart rate higher when rested.

TT prep.

2011-07-11T22:22:00.001+01:00

Saturday - just a quick 15 miles to correct some positioning issues on my TT bike.

Sunday - 35miles TT bike ( 25miles on Garmin), a couple were warmup and a couple warm down and some miles lost were downhill miles at 35mph as I stopped Garmin at traffic lights and forgot to restart ( GPS-only takes ages to reach zero once stopped). Felt quite fast ( good air) but still waiting for those perfect conditions to appear.

Distance 26 miles Av Sp 21.9mph

Monday - 32 miles TT bike. Bit hillier than yesterday and the wind felt awful. 3mph? Bollox. Set off quite early and it was fairly cold. Wish I held off til later on when it was warm and sunny. Came back home to see gusts of 30km/h but it was blowing in 3 directions. Head wind up the first hill nearly killed me and had to ease off a bit instead of power through. Opposite direction saw a head/cross wind too which really annoyed me. Get a bit of a tail then a gust would negate any gains I just made but mainly was a cross.

Distance 32 miles Av Sp 19.9mph

8 mile Club TT on Tuesday. I was going to say its looking like it could be nice but there's a bleedin' thunder storm predicted for 5pm. FFS!!!! Just as most of the course had just been relayed as well. Must be the nicest TT course in the country :P Now I will be F*&$$'d off if I can't ride my TT bike on it.

Don't you think this years edition of the ToF has been super exciting for a change? Giro a bit boring, but the new points and sprints and KoM has got more people competing and more often. TTT so close, Contador miles down ( is he bluffing the injury?) Sky winning a stage, Thor actually doing some work, some big names keeping anonymous, hidden alliances, millions of crashes, doped riders, Cav 2 Griepel 0, Voeckler doing a trademark, Gilbert doing his trademark, not even halfway yet and more stuff I could say. I'm sure the excitement will die down once in the mountains. Cadel possibly too old to keep up with the big climbers? Kloden looks in a good position and no Lance to work for although possibly too old too? Could Voeckler go on another rampage, catch the other guys out and get more time? Andy Schlek seems to have it in the bag and the bookies agree, I hope he doesn't win it. Have I really written off Contador? Basso was my favourite until his crash before the Tour......very very anonymous.hmmmm

So far so good.

2011-07-08T12:39:00.001+01:00

It's been a week and a half ish since I came back from Florida and Hamburger Heaven. The weight I put on was immense and could tell the difference on my body after only 2 days. On arrival back in England I have been eating very healthily, limiting calories and trying not to miss a day's exercise. Gradually getting there as the hills are getting slighly easier. What is a bit startling is my rate of recovery. Its quite quick. From the first cycle to now is 9 days with one rest day and I have gone from knackered to wrecked to nearing full fitness. I'm basing this not by average speed but on the feeling in my legs. Could a single, very cheap food supplement be the key? Can you geuess what it could be? I'm building this up and could turn out to be totally rubbish but it cant be a coincidence?

Thursday commute was a bit rushed as I usually set off a couple of hrs early just in case I puncture and to get the 20mile in. A lot of faffing around later and 15miles is all that I could manage. Took it relatively easy and a hillier than normal route, still managed a good speed and was able to get out of the saddle too.

I much prefer the route home than the downhill 'trek' to work for some odd reason. It just doesn't feel like Im going downhill. So even with more than double the climbing I average similar if not better if going home. Like all week I was able to pedal with considerable force and sprint up the slight inclines, without going over my limit so little recovery needed before I could go hard again. The air was very 'draggy' tonight and any extra force used to try and go faster resulted in a blast of air saying 'don't do that again'!

To Home     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 19.2mph

To Work     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 20.3mph

Friday morning - Been dismal all day witht he threat of heavy rain looming so I went out for a quick run with Garmin as I've never ran with it before. Stats below. Heart rate was constant as was my breathlessness and don't think I could have put much more effort in. Also thats probably going to be the maximum distance I can run regularly without any ill effects to my left knee. Much happier in myself after the run knowing that I've not left today as a complete rest day.

Distance 4.05miles     Av Sp 7.6mph    Av Pace 7.56min/mile Time 32.09mins

I Don't Wanna Quit ( Cause of problem found?)

2011-07-07T00:23:00.001+01:00

Last week made me feel really disheartened and dejected. People have written how they have taken time off training and come back feeling like Superman. On the otherhand I might as well be Mr.Muscle ( the old one not the new one :) ) If I remember correctly I was on the verge of collapsing again during my commutes last week, ok not that bad but not far off.

The alarm woke me up Monday morning to another dispiriting day.  The last of the sun for the week was upon us and usually I'd be looking forward to it and encouraging myself. Taking the TT bike out to work was a touch of genius, I am at one with this bike. Never lets me down. Only for good weather though, so I set off 3.5hrs early to get a few miles in. The position was changed from Landis position back to my comfortable position with hands scraping the front wheel. Just a nice easy pootle to get me used to her again, nothing too strenuous. That's how it started anyway until the first 5mins had elapsed. Actually it felt like I was taking it easy but the heart rate says Im lying. I was going quite fast up the hills, able to stand for long periods and on the flat no pain, no tingles just power. High cadence was low priority and don't think it suits my style. Garmin says I only did 41.5miles but I barely stopped. I restarted her up when I realised it had stopped on me and I lost about 7 downhill miles. The first mile was missed out due to 'acquiring' too. Great ride out but must be a blip, fluke or some super tail wind right? The commute home was very very quick however my Garmin just wouldn't lock satellites for half the journey, so I didn't bother in the end, wish Id waited until it got the signal. My legs were as good as the morning.

Tuesday mornings commute I took a bit easy but a slightly hillier route back on Jamis now. Still don't have the fatigued feeling and am able to push the pedals with some force. Going home that night was the same great feeling I've had all week. Being able to push on the pedals on demand, not been able to do that for 2 months! Never mind 2 days in a row.

Would Wednesday be my downfall. No, but my speed was very much affected by wind today especially the commute home as there was a constant 20mph cross/head wind. When I was heading South I felt I had more of a tail wind even though it should have been a full on head. Weather has deteriorated but I have a smile on my face but how long will it last? What was/is my elixir? I'll let you know after I have experimented for the next few weeks just in case its not what I think it is.

Monday 4th July

To Work      Distance 50miles ( garmin says 41.5)     Av Sp     20.1mph
To Home     Distance 20miles ( garmin says 0)          Av Sp    >20.0mph

Tuesday 5th July

To Work     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 18.9mph
To Home     Distance 20 miles     Av Sp 20.6mph

Wednesday 6th July

To Work     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 19.5mph
To Home     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 19.7mph

I wanna Quit!

2011-07-02T23:45:00.000+01:00

Back to work and back to the commuting. Just the Friday and Saturday. Very similar days climate wise. Little wind but so cold at 4.30 in the morning, about 6-7 degrees. Felt close to freezing. I've been out in winter in those temps and its felt warmer, alot warmer. In the afternoon it didn't feel to get warm until 3pm yet the sun had been out all day and the air felt really dense.

First morning I started full'o beans or so I thought and capitulated after 10mins if that. Heart rate plummeted to an average of close to 100!! if you ingnore the beginning. There was nothing, couldn't get out of breath but somehow I plodded on the complete the 20miles. That was the first sign that I wanted to stop cycling for a month or two even though Ive just had 3 weeks off. Going home the sun was blazing and I actually had a little smile on my face. Still nothing from the legs but heart rate was able to get quite high. When I was doing my gym session on holiday there was a Greg Le mond Trainer bike thingy with power meter and compared to the gym ones down the road I must have been about 70-80 watts out but there was no explaination why! Couldn't face doing 20 so cut it down to 15.

Second commute was a little better but not much. Started to fade badly towards the end. My ride home was probably the most fun. Managed to keep a fairly good pace and heart rate constant at 160. About 10 miles in I could see myself catching another roadie ahead. I just had to have a go to prove to myself that I hadn't totally lost it. About 10m before catching I rested then let loose and eased past. This guy had sky bib shorts on and a Great Britain top with Fire Service or somet written on. I hit some lights and he caught up, I then sprinted off, whoa didn't think I could do that. I heard him breathing down my neck so chatted a little bit. The pace was quite high and just thought if I blow I dont care, just go for it. Then another set of lights and another which I sprinted off from both. I got the gap after the sprint but had to ease off dramatically as the legs just wouldn't push. It was my turn off and we said our goodbyes. That showed me there was a little spark there and so Im gonna give it another 2 weeks before going to the doctors and then a long layoff. So Im going to take Sunday off then start again Monday, fingers crossed.

Fri

To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 16.2mph

To Work Distance 15miles Av Sp 17.5mph

Sat

To Home Distance 16miles Av Sp 17.4mph

To Work Distance 21miles Av Sp 18.6mph

Pantani helps with my comeback.

2011-07-01T03:25:00.001+01:00

I'm Back! After a superb time in Florida in which my 16month old surprisingly thoroughly enjoyed herself, I think I have got over my 'depression' and possible overtraining.

Distance 50miles Av Sp 17.8mph

Desperate to get on the bike again I recruited the services of Pete 'Pantani' to give me an easy ride to get back into form with the goal of getting another 10mile TT under my belt. He suggested a long ride to Southport but sensibly ( unlike me) declined and opted for the halfway point of Haigh Hall nr Wigan. 25miles either way. We set off with a blustery Westerly head wind and I instantly knew it was going to be hard going when trying to draft Pantani I can't even keep up! He was flying, very unusual. What was also difficult was clipping into my pedals, must just be outta practise but it lost me 15 secs at every set of lights and made a hard job impossible. Pete's wheel was getting a bit boring as I sucked and barely held on up to the half way point. We averaged 17mph, uphill into a bad head wind. What happened to slow bastard? or is that me.

At Haigh Hall I bought the brews then listened to Peter Andre doing his sounds checks in the distance. Wasn't looking forward to the trip home. Saddle height was raised and I decreased cadence and somehow I managed to increase my heart rate. It was my turn to open up the gaps however Pantani doesn't really try unless he is leading. We expected an almighty tailwind but was greeted with a cross wind from the North which was building up speed as the sun appeared between clouds. So many stops along the way constantly disrupted our rhythm and the average would have been well into the 18's. My lack of fitness was starting to show and cramp was setting in. Really, I dont feel any better than before my rest,possibly worse and the fact Im writing this at 3am without sleep suggests recovery is going to be slow.

Is away enjoying 35 degrees in the SUN!!!!!!!!

2011-06-14T20:09:00.001+01:00

ENGLAND SUX!

AT times it was 40-44 degrees. Managed a 30 min spin sesh, 30min on running machine and 2x 25min runs on International Drive and Universal Blvd before I twisted my knee getting out of the swimming pool. Hah. That'll teach me for not resting.

Day after 'Spud' commute

2011-06-08T09:50:00.003+01:00

My picture from Spud Riley. Second photo of the day. Not a great photo. And here's me chasing the leader :) in the background. Memories I'd like to forget as soon as possible. Checked out the sport timing website, my actual time was 3hrs 47 and the 'winner' 3hrs 16. Oh what could have been. Going on holiday at the end of the week and a much needed break. The only problem is limiting the amount of weight Im going to put on as Im already 8 kgs over my lowest at Sept last year.

Monday afternoon commute to work I didn't know what to expect from myself. Just go for it! It was windy, warm and the air pressure low. Good combo? Cadence quite high ( 96) and heart rate (155) not as high as expected. One of my fastest commutes of the year!

Going home was a total contrast. Cold, no wind, low pressure. Went as hard as possible all the way around. Looking at the heart rate graph is very amusing.Starts off at 160 going hard and I thought I was on the limit all the way around ended up at 130 when I felt I was giving my all. My toes were completely numb, not seen since February.

To Work Distance 20 miles Av Sp 22.2mph

To Home Distance 20 miles Av Sp 19.4mph

Polka Dot Challenge

2011-06-06T10:26:00.005+01:00

'Scottie' showing off her new wheels.

My Route

Rain! Where did that come from? 'The sky' my missus muffledly mumbles out. 'Go back to sleep!' I scream without trying to sound too pissed off. Straight to the computer to look up the days forecast and it is supposed to be dry when the rain passes. I removed the wheels from Scottie and rammed everything into the back of the car then emptied the contents of my backpack on to the front seat for easy pickings later. There was soo much stuff in my super XL saddle pack that there must have been at least an extra 2 kilos to lug around the course. Quickly loaded the course up to Gamin and got the sat nav working on my new el cheapo but feature packed phone. ( until new Iphone appears. A treat as my last phone was 7 years old and just about does colour) Start line was only 30 mins down the motorway. Result, thought it was miles away.

Arrived 6.45, possibly second there, at Woodford Community Centre. Had a nice chat with one of the organisers. ( Always seem to attract their attention as I never try to go out of my way to talk to anyone :(, just me being me.) Sign on was 7.15 but was able to collect my number straight away. The rest of the time was spent waiting, looking at bikes and going the the toilet several times. My new wheels didn't seem to attract as much attention as I expected and I proceeded to the start line anonymously. The rain had stopped by now but had left a nasty chill in the air. I covered my top half with my rain jacket but left my legs exposed.

Set off at the rear of the first group and already a split appeared. Two blazed ahead, one from Janus RC and another from Bury Clarion. Easing past the bunch I went on the chase without commiting myself. I caught the Janus guy just before the first climb due to traffic lights and he led for a while. He was skinny and slight and thought I'd struggle to keep up with him on the climbs but I was doing well and keeping in touch. By the brickworks climb we had caught the first guy and at the start of Windgather had left him for dead. Janus guy tried to shake me off and succeeded on one of steepest points but I regained my composure and caught up again before the top.

It was at this point he realised he wasn't going to get rid of me that easily and we had a chat and got to know each other and started to work together. He's a TT'er, just getting into road racing. His best 10miles is 21min30! Jesus. Then it hit me that I'd forgotten my water bottle. The other guy offered me one of his but I declined as then I decided to do the shorter route. Goyt valley was next and into a blazing head wind made life difficult. We looked back and could see quite a distance, there was no one near us. Flash came and went, another tough climb but taken within our stride and the photographer took a few snaps. I dont really know how I was keeping up as my legs were not good at all, I couldn't stand up which I love doing as I can fly up climbs but this time when I tried I kept losing ground so in the saddle it was all the way around - not my style. The past month they have been constantly stiff even with all the stretching I do. Wasn't too sure if we were going the right way as we hadn't seen a sign post for ages. I looked on Garmin but the route wasn't being followed and it turned itself off and then it froze so I couldn't do anything with it. Useless pile of crap.
'Crowdecote' signs appeared, that rung a bell then a 20% sign for 3/4 mile hid round the corner. Janus guy overtook but once in my rhythm I started to claw back the lost ground.

The first feed station was ahead on a slighly less steep incline just before the top of Crowdecote. The marshalls confirmed we were the first and I had a flapjack and cake. A lovely woman found me a bottle to put some water in so I could carry on. Still doing the 54 mile route as the swiftness I downed the water suggested I was already dehydrated. The stop only lasted a minute or 2 and we carried on. This is where things started to go wrong. Our turnoffs were supposed to be 1/4 mile after the food station, looking at a map afterwards. We didn't see anything so carried on forward til the A515. There were arrows all over the show which looked like they were all in the wrong direction. I knew there was a left turn somewhere so thats where I went after a 5min deliberation and Janus guy went straight on to do the 100mile loop in reverse!

I ended up in Buxton, thats when I got my phone out to try out its capabilities. Must have stopped for 15mins +. Asked a few guys and eventually I was back on track climbing the Cat and Fiddle.

Cramp was setting in now. Just getting a few niggles and tingles but was going at a good steady rate. Over took another 'Spudder'. He must have been one of the first, then I saw two more in the distance and went to chase them down. Once I passed them I realised that they didn't have the same timing chips and numbers as me, they were doing the 'Evans Ride it' Sportive which was being held in the same area and our courses overlapped. 'Dead mans hill' was next and that's were I really suffered pain. So close to the top, if I could just get over..... but no. Cramp got so bad I had to stop and get off for another 5 - 10mins. The cold didn't help one bit and must have played a big part in my muscles seizing. My leg was unable to complete a revolution of the pedal as it felt like my tendon would snap. I got re overtook by the guy on the Cat and Fiddle. I went to chase him down once the pain and tightening had subsided, which never reoccurred. Caught him about 3 miles from base and drafted him for the whole lot.

Soo happy to get back in one piece. The free coffee and juice helped alleviate any residing 'hypothermia' and dehydration. Hopped straight in the car and went home as soon as possible for a Sunday lunch. Before doing so I got my time for the route.

3hrs 50mins, 60 miles, 6000ft climbing, which, considering I did 6 extra miles and stopped for about 30-40mins isn't bad. One of the fast,' pro looking' guys got 3hrs15 so I wasn't far off really.

Generally the route was excellent, however I didn't enjoy most of it due to the ferocity of the wind, cold and dullness and possibly also due to my fragile mental state on the bike.

CHickened out?

2011-06-01T16:40:00.000+01:00

I'll just get straight to the point. Rossendale Triathlon is on this weekend and entries closed last week. The past 2-3 weeks my mood has been terrible and combined with the weather my bike milage is less than half of what it should be. Swimming has progressed gradually doing the same number of open water swims as indoor which is a bit pathetic. Running is truely non existant. The course is only a sprint distance (400m Swim, 10miles bike, 5k run) and part of my excuse is that the bike and swim are too short for me now to feel like it would be worthwhile doing. Event not entered. I might do one later on in the year though.

Instead I have entered the Spud Riley 100mile Memorial ride as the closing date was this week and I manged to get a quick peek at the weather forecast for Sunday which is warm and a bit sunny.

Saturday I swam at the reservoir, first lap wasn't too bad then near the end of that lap the wind picked up dramatically and so did the waves. Still did 2 laps but got pounded to oblivion.

First commute for close to 2weeks on Wednesday 1st June. Didn't feel too windy although 13mph is being shown but the air was just like a December mornings.

To Work Distance 21 miles Av Sp 19.1mph

To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 19.7mph

Need to remember to take it easy so I have the legs for Sunday.

Sneaking Out

2011-05-26T23:16:00.000+01:00

Rest Week has been broken up by a Wednesday commmute to and from work. Dry dry dry so took TT bike out for a spin. The first 2 miles being wind assisted but many many stops negated the advantage. Saddle much too high all the way to work as I didn't want to stop and waste time but my legs kept getting annoying tingles and aches. All in the name of being more aero. Still didn't feel all that great though. Maybe I shouldn't have bothered. Way too many stops this time as normal ruins a good run out as I didn't feel up to sprinting 20 times in one commute.
So saddle lowered, pointy upwards so that I sit back in the seat with arms spread outwards so more aero? A little unconventional but comfy and no tingles. As I was getting changed it started raining hard! and it was still blowing a gale, none of which were supposed to happen. Not happy. Set off not in the best of moods but seemed to fly with little effort. Changed direction, still flying, and again, still flying. Against the wind? Flying. I heard thunderstorms were best conditions for TT, maybe its true or my legs suddenly came back to life after a long layoff. Only problem this time is that the bars were so close to the front wheel that I couldn't grip the tri bars, just rest on top or my knuckles would get rapped/ fingers get chopped off in the spokes. Good ride.

To Work Distance 20 miles Av Sp 20.6mph

To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 21.5mph

Burnout?

2011-05-21T23:25:00.000+01:00

Thursday 19th May - Swimming with Tri club. 2.5km in 1hr 10x50m, 10x100m, 10 x 100m with a warmup and warm down. Thought I was fully swim fit going to three sessions within 2 weeks or five in 5 months. Went really hard until the last 100m of the first set of 10 when I got cramp and had to take the rest easy.

Fri 20th May - Been feeling crap all week, well not crap but energyless. Dont think I'm ill. Barely got any power in the legs so had to speed up the legs and what a speed! Average cadence to work 106!! AV speed was good to0 but it missed out a mile of downhill as I pressed the wrong button so would have been better. Totally breathless for the whole journey. Another roadie joined me at the bottom of Victoria Av, I was infront for the climb and span my way up. He held on about a quarter of the way and when I turned around about a mile down the road he was nowhere to be seen except when I waited for ages at the next set of lights. After the lights he held on the flat and looked like he was gonna have a heart attack at the next set. He said that I was putting a lot of effort in and what was I training for. Hmmm Do I have a major goal this year? Beat my first ever 10mile TT time? Do a triathlon? It's a bit mished mashed training. That gave me a bit of extra motivation to push myself even though I was hurting.
Going home. Av Cadence 108! Nice Av spd again. Can't keep this up any longer. Its as if Ive just done 150miles and then I need to do a 20mile TT.

To Work Distance 20miles Av Sp 20.8mph Av Cadence 106

To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 19.5mph Av Cadence 108

Sat 21st May - The forecast for today changed so much. One minute its gonna rain all day next minute its gonna stay dry. I waited 'til I got out of bed and re checked the forecast which was going to be dry so I got out TT bike. I adjusted the position from a near perfect ride last time. Big mistake. Very awkward and the fact that my muscles were tight didn't help even though I've been doing loads of stretching. My legs couldn't peddle for more than 30secs then I needed a rest, over and over again. Nothing to do with positioning. Just glad there wasn't too much stopping today. Didn't think I'd make it to work. Cadence was about 60. Nothing in the tank at all.

Couldn't face doing 20miles home so cut it well short. Before I set off I sorted my positioning out again but this time much more comfortable. Again though, after every burst of peddling, I needed to rest. The wind was super gusty, all over the place however the bike was sooo much easier to control than previous days when the wind didn't feel as bad. That's it. I've had enough. Can't carry on like this. Lots of rest coming up. Told my missus to chop my balls off if I go anywhere near my bikes for the next week. The thing is I planned to up the riding hours for the next 2 weeks before I go on holiday. 'Over the Edge' sportive/charity ride was on Sunday which I will be spending in bed then doing some gardening. Grrrrrr.

To Work Distance 21miles Av Sp 19.1mph

TO Home Distance 12miles Av Sp 19.9mph

Bit of a toughie

2011-05-18T22:05:00.000+01:00

Distance 40 miles Av Sp 18.5mph Av Cadence 99

Hoping for a relatively longer ride today to make up for the lack of miles recently. Just needed to wait for some decking to arrive which took longer than expected but was worth the wait as my back garden has needed doing for years. Anyway by lunch time it was still wet and damp so took out Jamis for a spin. The trees in the fields opposite were swaying violently and put me off a little but I was desperate. Todays aim of the day was to spin as fast as possible and try to get it feeling as natural as possible which will take a bit of time. I never thought Id ever get used to my TT position but its second nature now.

Straight away I wondered why my legs weren't up to much today. I'd just had 3 days off from all exercise and ate myself silly so I should be motoring? There wasn't much choice but to pedal fast as there wasn't much power so had to compensate. Barely got out of the saddle which is highly unusual. Pedalling so fast constantly makes me breathless and thought my heart rate would be higher. Kept getting tingling in my legs with the new technique but I was winning the fight with the wind. Always in the little ring except for the big descent down Bacup Road. How I made it up there in the first place is beyond my comprehension and at a reasonable rate, well, baffles.

The sun came out on the final drive for home and the leg speed was dropping or so I thought, the graph says otherwise. THe only other major problem I find with the improved cadence is that the saddle feels uncomfortable, I may have moved it too far forward so I can use the drops more easily. In the end I was happy with todays progress and average speed. Could easily have been a lot worse.

Just got confirmation that my 'winter' wheels have been built up and ready for shipping which are going to replace the bontager race lites where the spokes kept snapping so I ordered a wheelset with easy to source and replace fancy spokes.

Rest days

2011-05-17T23:28:00.000+01:00

Since Saturday I've not done anything due to wind and rain and generally feeling down, possibly ill as the missus and baby have been. Today I really really wanted to do the Birch 8mile TT on TT bike but rain pulled the plug on that one. At least my enthusiasm has returned. Food wise I have tried to eat sensibly during rest days but all I can eat are bags and bags of sweets. Some bigger Asdas do some 600g of Jelly filled foamy sweets and they are delicious! 2000 calories of yumminess. Bollox. Cycling most days help keeps my weight in check and have started to eat anything and everything I want. Hope I don't put too much on in 3days. I hate to think whats going to happen in June when I go to America for 2 weeks :(

Wednesday 11th May Commute

To Work Distance 20 miles Av Sp 21.2mph
To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 21.2mph

Thursday 12th May Commute (Fri home)

To Work Distance 15miles Av Sp 20.0mph
To Home Distance 20 miles AV Sp 20.8mph

Weather report for both days suggested thunder storms. Nothing when I set off so I risked it and it paid off as no water fell on me. Wind was horrendous during the day and about 10mph during the night time journey home. Most of my leftover energy was used on the first commute, cadence lovely and high and with 11 mins worth of stoppages! Bloody traffic. Thats a lot of sprinting. That nights journey home I absolutely gave it my all. No time to recover, no time for a breather. Cadence still high ish touching the 100 mark but when I stand it drops quite dramatically.

The last trip to work was murder. No energy and battling through gales. really low cadence due to me not thinking straight and just hammering it out. Friday mornings trip home I was wrecked especially after 10miles. Needed to change tactic and pedal quicker than I usually do and things felt easier, just doesn't feel natural....yet, still putting in the strategic out of the saddle efforts.

Saturday Open Water Swim

Five Hours sleep later and I had to have a fight with yards of neoprene. Stupidly I thought I could emulate last weeks effort, however, then I was fresh, it was warm, and there were no waves. Spent the first lap straddling Jamie's wake. The outward leg was fine, just a gentle cross/head current but by the other side of the reservoir that had built up to 6inch waves. After lap one I ended about 10m behind Jamie but he was getting out and I was braving a second lap. I didn't want to do it at all but I had 35 mins to do it as we started a little early so ahead I went...alone. The conditions were getting a lot worse. Super windy. The return leg of the 2nd lap was like swimming in an ocean. Waves were close to 1ft+ high coming from the side. Breathing was getting difficult which Im usually strong at and I was swallowing a fair bit of water. The canoeists commented on how bad the conditions were and were struggling themselves to get anywhere and contol themselves. They called me mad for going out for another lap! Needless to say I was the only one.

Next bike ride is hopefully wednesday.

Birch 8 mile Time Trial No.2

2011-05-10T23:50:00.001+01:00

Distance 8miles Av Speed 22.4mph Time 21.26

It's a really great way of building up your high end speed and the competitive nature takes your heart rate places the sunday ride just can't touch. That's the idea anyway so Im trying to do as many as possible after a really crap 2010. So even though it was blowing a gale I ventured out for my warm up on my Time Trial bike and went back home after getting to the end of the street. Swapped the bike for Jamis and TT bars which I had already prep'd for the inevitable and set off again. Getting fed up of the winds and not being able to use my TT bike, thats 2+ weeks now. A couple of quick trips round the course should be alright but I punctured at the end of the first lap. I am getting so bloody fed up wit punctures too!. About 15 in the last month on different wheels/tyres/tubes. There's no constant, just bad luck. This time there was a slash in the tube about an inch long but nothing in the tyre. There was only one spare in my bag but luckiily I took 2 C02 carts as after the first inflation the innertube popped out over the rim. 12miles done and 10mins 'til the start. Only 2 of us there. At least it was sunny.

I was off first, a guy from ABC Centreville next and another guy from West Pennine came just after 7pm. By the first corner, 300yrds up the road the wind picked up ( as if it wasn't bad enough already) and it suddenly started to lash it down. Could it get any worse? It didn't thank god except it stopped raining as soon as I finished. The corners had to be taken with extreme caution. Today I was mainly concentrating on pacing myself and limiting the losses of speed on the climbs as it reaches 7% ish in two seperate places. After lap one I got a split time shouted at me of 10mins 48secs. Second lap felt harder as I tired but managed to keep on the aero bars despite being flung side to side. 21.26 was the final time so second lap just a little quicker. My previous best was 20.58. The other two came in and were really disappointed with their times. Over a minute down on what they are used to. One guy got 22.04 and the other 22.30ish. I kept the speed up due to having aero bars this week unlike last time and I felt stronger on the climbs and also got held up by two cars behind a slow cyclist. Very happy with my time on a very technical and slippy course.

Total distance cycled 25miles

Just a Quickie

2011-05-09T12:32:00.001+01:00

Distance 34 miles Av SP 19.6mph

After the all out hard ride yesterday ( you'd never have guessed looking at average) I wanted to keep loose and the best way to do that is to go out and ride. Wind just as strong and unpredictable today and I reckon I got a big long gust close to 40mph on the way home. I had to more or less stop which I've never done before. Going North up Queens park Rd I should have flown ( according to bbc weather and accu) but got cross/head winds. The hill has a big gradient and I only hit 25mph. Same story all the way around. Definitely worse heading South not just because of the Southerly wind but a N.Easterly too! Even sheltered areas didn't escape the wrath. Forgot my heart rate monitor but I was close to threshold all the way around witht he odd recovery bits. Could probably have made it to 50 before blowing up.
Cadence only dropped when I was out of the saddle which was every positive gradient I came across.
Putting tri bars on Jamis must have helped :) Another crap riding day. Oh, Traffic lights on Birch TT course have been removed so fingers crossed for Tues.

75miles of Crap

2011-05-08T18:15:00.000+01:00

Distance 75miles Av Sp 15.2mph Ascent 6000ft

Cross wind out, full on head wind and cross wind back. The day started off overcast but lovely and warm. As soon as Jamie and I hit W.Yorkshire the wind picked up and felt cold and glad that I wore long sleeves and bib longs. Hebden Bridge road to Oxenhope and Haworth and most of the trip to Keighley is above 1000ft and highly exposed to super winds. The only thing I'll say about the return trip is 'hell', no the whole ride was 'hell'.

Open Water Swimming - 1st of year!

2011-05-07T21:45:00.000+01:00

Three times? Maybe Four? That's the number of times I have been bothered to swim this year so far. Every time Ive gone there has been no motivation and once there I've ended up at the back or in a slow lane when I usually lead. When It was announced that Rochdale Tri Club had secured a new venue at Elton Sailing Club in Bury, Sat 9-10am, there wasn't much hope of my good self bothering and am thinking of packing in triathlons for good. The last time I swam in a pool was only 2 weeks ago and that sparked a little renewed interest as I went fresh and despite my arms aching my general fitness/lungs were in top condition and I managed to do much better than anticipated.

The last time I donned my wet suit was August last year and remember the first session of 2010 in May. The water was 7-8 degrees and people were coming out of the water disorientated and blue. The air was warm and the wind was too today. There were around 30 of us, a good mixture of male and female. £5 for registration and first swim then £3 each week after. Open to non-members too. Got there early to allow for wet suit fitting time. The organisation was top class. Everyone needed to register, sign in/sign out and wear a numbered fluorescent wrist band. There were 4 canoeist to keep an eye on everyone and we were all briefed on the course and what to do if we needed assistance. Water temperature was announced as 14-15 degrees.

Before setting off we were kinda grouped and I thought I would draft Jamie as he has been very strong in training. Setting off, over taking a few, I found myself in the lead and I expected people to come past. I aimed for the bouys. White one then orange one then white one etc....By the forth where we were going to regoup I stopped briefly and saw myself 'miles' ahead so carried on. The reservoir was quite shallow due to lack of rain and you could quite easily stand up where ever you were. Doing one lap which someone measured using a GPS watch was 2km. We set off at 9am and when I reached the finish I shouted what time was it? 9.30! Hmmm that was quick. I felt very quick, the wetsuit fitted as if it was a second skin. Compared to Cowm Res in Whitworth the water at Bury was lovely and calm and flat. Perfect open water conditions. My missus shouted at me to carry on and do another lap so off I went. Arms hurting a little but the legs propelling me forward with ease. The arm issue ill disappear with practice. The second lap was a little faster. I messed about a bit after the first lap deciding/arguing whether to go again and the time I got back was 9.58. There were quite a few dog walkers and Im sure I was swimming faster than they walked. Thats 4km (verification required) in an hour ish taking away the time I needed to remove seaweed, get organised and 2nd lap deliberation.

Everyone else had got out after one lap. There was a guy who I over took on my 2nd lap, doing breast stroke. It was his first time and the canoeists were there to make sure he was safely home which I was pleased with. Cuppa and Bacon butty finished off the morning. My' love' of swimming has been reingnited. Ever since I was 5 I have swam, which helps. Just wish I started that early with my cycling.

Demoralising = less effort? 40 miler.

2011-05-06T22:46:00.001+01:00

Distance 40 miles Av Sp 19.0mph

Is it just me who notices the strange behavior of the wind and its killer effects? Trawling through a few forums revealed I'm not. I wonder if it occurs all over the country or just isloated areas.
The idea of todays ride was to get a tail wind for 70% of the journey by riding the opposite route to my last ride. Hmmmm.
Heading North for the first 15miles should have been really fast with the BBC showing a Southerly wind. It was fast but hard work fast, I could feel a cross wind and then a head/cross wind at Walsden, still heading North, the flags changing direction.

Heading up the severe climb of Bacup Rd 'in reverse' saw a head wind and the occasional tail wind for seconds at a time which would indicate a Westerly and Easterly wind. I carried on heading west and had a big head wind for the first half about 4 miles and a big tail wind with cross winds for the second half. Head wind heading South East up Edenfield Rd but unusually felt some thing pushing me forward against the head wind, must be that Westerly which shouldn't theoretically exist? Guess Ill have to grin and bear it.

Due to the nice weather I have been using a lot of Scottie and TT bike but used Jamis today as there was a potential rain problem. I did a few small adjustments before settting off which enabled me to ride in the drops all the way more or less which I found impossible up to now.

Possibly......The Hardest 50miles I've ever done

2011-05-05T06:54:00.000+01:00

Distance 50miles Av Sp 18.1mph

Not done much the last week and a half due to the bad winds and being on a recovery cycle. The news today said the strong winds would die down so I stuck my 88mm Prolites on Scottie to see what difference wheels actually make. Didn't set the Garmin off to work as I was in a rush and managed only 10miles but arrived really early. I reckon it was under 30mins total journey time. It was freezing too!!! 40f.

It was about noon when I set off home, very sunny but deceptively cold. Wind chill? Headed North towards Bury and Rawtenstall and the flags were blowing across me suggesting and Easterly.Dried leaves swirling in little pools suggested what I was up against from the start but legs were strong today. It is all uphill for 25miles with little respites inbetween. I absolutely hammered it from the off. Speeds not as fast as I hoped due to the wind but still going at a nice pace. Drafting a little, unintentionally, helped with averages but the effort was still there.

At the top I headed East and copped a big head wind from Rawtenstall. Normal speeds of 20mph+ were reduced to 16mph and could have been a lot less f I hadn't been trying so hard. Up Bacup/Tod Road I realised the rest of the journey was downhill/flat so went close to all out. Although quite sheltered near the bottom the leaves were being blown towards me. Near the top was hell. I just wanted to get over the edge for the 'easy descent'. Once over the hill the conditions were worse. Head wind picked up and there were side gusts attempting to swipe me off my bike. Usually 40mph quite attainable but just about 20mph. It looks really sheltered too with high 'cliff faces' either side.

Next up was a turn to face South. Guess what? Head wind again! Leaves blowing towards me as well as flgas. Not as bad as when facing East, able to maintain some speed but at a big cost. My legs were hurting. I was so tempted to turn around and get the benefit of a tail wind back to Rawtenstall but couldn't face going up Bacup Rd which reaches 16 % near the top.

Going West still managed to get gusts of a head wind! Flags going with me for a change but was being blown backwards too. I'd see the flags quickly turn in the opposite direction then back again. My mood was close to depressed with everything sucked out of my soul. Shaw Rd is quite possible the worst pot holed ridden rd ever and when I saw traffic built up I nearly cried. However I realised they are taking up the whole road and properly re-laying it all and that made me grin.

North, up Heywood Old Road saw more cross winds and had very little left only a couple more miles to home.

When I set off initially I was aiming for a 20mph average. I was actually quite happy 'only' doing 18.1mph. I have done the route in reverse, albeit more hilly and averaged 19mph easily. I didn't get a choice of starting point today though. Actually the 100miler a couple of weeks ago was soooo much easier than today. Double the distance, more than double the climbing and the same speed. Cramp is something I haven't suffered from for ages and only occurs when I go very hard for sustained periods and I was fighting it today.

I have used Schwalbe Ultremos R.1 with new cheapo innertubes and I haven't had a pucture in 4 days of riding! The ride quality has to be ridden to be believed. Sticking my neck out I'm going even as far to say they could be better than tubulars. The softness of the tyre flattens out rough surfaces but the life of the tyre could be very short indeed.

Since my last post I have done about 4 commutes but cant be bothered to post them now.

Tuesday was BIRCH 8 MILE TT day. TT bike time! I did a 10mile warmup then went home to change the bike as there was no way I could ride in aero position safely. Wind picked up as the evening wore on. Got to registration and the event was cancelled due to some shitty traffic lights protecting a 1m by 1m hole near the pavement. Went home after another 10miles.

Quite a fast 'un

2011-04-27T16:06:00.003+01:00

Distance 53miles Av Sp 21.5mph Ascent ~4000ft ( Im sure thats not right, i used ele corr)

Two days worth of headaches, diarrhoa and tingling joints kept me off the bike even though the legs were itching to turn some cranks, until today. Another puncture!! Jeez man have pity on me. Just ordered 20 tubes to keep me rolling. Ribble stuff finally arrived after some stuff came from China! ( seatpost) I was 5mins from a bike shop in Hebden Bridge when it happened so purchased another 2 to get me home. Head wind all the way to Halifax as it was a NE wind and when I hit the top averaging 21mph I figured I could be on for a 23mph total average but no! The flags turned on me as usual when I visit West Yorkshire and swirly head wind for most of the way home. I was sooo gutted that my effort decreased as the HR shows and just wanted to get home ASAP. The amount of stops didn't help on the way home. To compound my bad luck my custom made Garmin mount fell off. Firstly one of the cable ties snapped on the utterly disgraceful roads from Hebden. I rescued the Gamin then the whole thing disintegrated. I forgot I had the quarter turn mount on as well and left it in the middle on a pot hole somewhere. Fast ride but not enjoyable.

Pendle Witches Vintage Velo '11 Edition

2011-04-24T22:12:00.016+01:00

Starting off my quickly giving details on Sats commute. Only 10miles into work as I was soooo tired from having to get up soooo early. Soooo tempted not to bother but knew how nice it would be later on for the home leg. The 187 heart rate spike is an anomaly...I think I theres no way I could get up to that the way I was. Hr Av of 145 sounds about right as I couldn't put much effort in but still averaged 22.3mph on TT Bike. Got to my bike for the home leg and PUNCTURE!! Fully investigated this time and the rim tape was out of line so hopefully no more! Again fairly easy ride home as I had a big ride planned for Sunday. Av HR of only 149 this time and only really spiked when I stopped and had to sprint off to get the speed up. Lots of stops but ace Av Sp of 20.8mph.

To Work Distance 10miles Av Sp 22.3mph

To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 20.8mph

PENDLE WITCHES VINTAGE VELO SPORTIVE

Distance 100miles Av Sp 18.1mph Ascent ~7500ft

A few days before I was unsure whether I would be riding alone or with the Tri Club possy. I txt our event and website organiser who said he'd see what he could do as no one had mentioned it at the practice sessions. This event has been going for a few years, a bit earlier last year, beginning of April. Although weather was a bit rubbish it was enjoyed by around 100 peeps.

This years edition was located at an ideal place on the calender, not too early in year and not interfering with any other local events but was unsure whether being an Easter Sunday what effect this would have on numbers. Forecast was cloudy but warm so Scottie was prep'd for what should be a challenging ride with lots of climbs! My plan was to emulate last year and get in my century which nearly killed me last time as I had cramp for 50miles. Only having one spare innertube I searched high and low for patches or anything that could get me home just in case. There was a discarded latex tube behind my cupboard, wooo result. Normally all the spare gear is stuffed into my commuting backpack but shoved it into a saddle pack as knew a photographer was on scene so needed to look my best...sunglasses a must! Couldn't find my long sleeved tri top and wasn't risking a short sleeved one so opted for my old faithful Decathlon jersey with bib shorts.

On setting off second thoughts of continuing clouded my mind as it was bleedin' raining. That effin' fine rain. Plugged on just see how the day would unfold. It was so cloudy that my Garmin couldn't lock satellites for 10 mins. Nice and easy as there was a long way to go. After 5 mins you can just tell how good or bad the legs are going to be for the ride. Actually just a quick trip to the toilet up the stairs can be a good indicator and I knew it would be a productive day.
Climb 1 was Edenfield Rd, traffic lights still there, still raining and still getting warmed up. On hitting the other side the rain dispersed and was suddenly non existant on this side. This lifted my spirits and spotting another roadie further up lifted my speed. I quizzed on his ride intentions then told him of the Sportive. He was tanned like a pro and told of his recent cycling holidays and ones coming up too. He used to road race at Birch as well where I did my last TT. The Craven Heifer pub was upon us and we said our good byes.

The place was crawling with carbon. Just a handful of vintage steel glimmered through the eager crowds. Was I late? No. An hour early! The registration area was well sign posted which bode well for the whole journey. I was merrily greeted by the race organiser in typical 70's retro get up with matching and compulsory beard....all his own. Impressed how he took time out to direct everyone and still mingle with aplomb. Whilst signing on I met Jenny from Rochdale Tri club who now lives in London and did the ride with her last year. Did the obligatory 'catching up' then informed me that Jamie, Jacko and Martin would be turning up. Woohoo nice fast group. Complimentary coffee was downed cup by cup whilst the others turned up. The number 157 was cable tied to the front of Scottie. The eventual numbers exceeding 200. The oldies were called up to the line first then the rest of us were set off in groups of 25.

Climb 2 was upon us from the off, up to Burnley and the speed was bordering on slow to steady as the hour wait had cooled us down. Padiham was the location of Climb 3 to Sabden then ascending to the Nick o'Pendle where the Photographer was lying in wait for his prey. The flashes of his 6-shooter confirmed copious amounts of kills and the expended gigabytes scattered for collation later. 'He climbs like Pantani' I overheard in the distant rear as I carried on with the overtakes, I just smiled to myself.
Climb 4 otherwise known as Waddington fell is where I had most fun. I peeled away from our group and had
Jacko on my wheel. Jacko is no slouch. He competed last year in the ITU Triathlon World Championship Age-groupers in Budapest. I dragged him up the climb and dropped him near the end for a few seconds which I was unaware of as I thought he was shouting at my terrible gear change so eased off a little on a flatter section just before the final steep bit which allowed him to get back on. We waited a little while for the others and then whizzed down towards the feed station. The descents could be taken very fast as there's a good view of the road ahead and the bends are relatively gentle with little traffic. Our group were holding together very well and got many an overtake. There was one guy, out of many, who decided to hog the whole road so after a quick deliberation I darted on the outside of a right hander, giving lots of room as he was virtually on the other side of the road, not saying anything that could upset or startle his nervous flow. I thought nothing more of it.

Jacko felt he should have a turn at the front and led us out for a couple of flat,fast miles to the food stop at Dunsop Bridge where we had goodies awaiting. Sweeties, flapjacks, bananas, high 5 gels and drinks and as much water as we needed were on offer but the star of the show were humongous piles of homemade banana cake supplied courtesy of Rileys Butchers in Burnley. Jamie had at least 4 slices that I know of, myself 3. Just in case were were being too greedy I enquired to what the supply situation was. She piped up that they had a super special cake for reserves. I didn't have any more but took 2 gels for the journey. The best thing about the food stop was that it was always well stocked and riders only took what they thought they needed nothing more. Out of the blue I got a tap on the shoulder. 'That wasn't the best piece of riding you've ever done was it?' Knew instantly what he was referring to and he explained how I shit him up, once I had passed him. He concluded to say he was about to move to where I was coming from. Being the sincere person that I am I apologised and told him to enjoy the rest of the ride ( not being sarcastic or patronising). I nearly said that before he moved he should really have looked but decided against it as I admit my move was a little dodgy.

Before setting off again the others made a unanimous decision to relegate me to the back for the rest of the ride, no idea why. I was then 'volunteered' to chase down groups of riders. We approached, caught and flew by many groups, some of them tagged along at the back. Looking around I could see a peloton, all strung out, of about 30riders behind me being drawn. What a feeling. Up some of the inclines a couple of our group were slowing so I waited then brought them back to the front again. My Garmin 500 breadcrumb trail function was working admirably until one right turn where I was advised to go straight on then 'beeped' at me that I was off course. About 15 followed me and the rest stopped before the turn and followed the correct route. A quick U-turn later and we were back on track and at the front. At this point last year my body was giving up but I sallied forth with all the confidence and energy in the world.

Climb 5 - Whalley Old Rd. Another nice climb surrounded by trees and vegetation which cooled the steaming air around us. There was quite a big head wind so once again the others grabbed their ropes and latched on. I was going quite easy, HR about 153 then one guy decided to sprint past. Fair enough I thought and let him go. I queried with the lads whether they thought that was an attack, of sorts, on us, unsure I carried on at the same pace and caught up within minutes. This guy upped his game possibly to save face and it was my turn, at last!, to get a free ride. There's a fantastic picture which I will buy from the official photgrapher which shows this. Everyone had dispersed by now with minutes seperating individuals. We regrouped at the top.

Homeward bound and only 13miles to go, just one more big climb til the end of 'The Trial' as the organisers had named the route. This caresses the outskirts of Blackburn before heading East towards Haslingdon, aptly named Haslingdon old Rd. Martin decided that he'd saved enough energy to have a go and zoomed off at the start. He gained about 10metres then eased off, waited for Jacko and I then led at a more steady pace. We got a massive helping hand from a tractor just about going above our pace and once on its shit laden wheel we flew up to Haslingdon. Jacko got dropped as Martin and I powered on but kindly waited on a more sedate gradient. Martin wanted for me to 'push on' and leave Jacko but I came out not to ride on my own. Last couple of miles were a gentle pootle downhill back to base. A job well done. about 69miles completed with an average of 17.4mph.

A sea of cyclists covered the melting tarmac the beer garden was sat on, all stuffing their hungry faces with yellow, green and brown stuff otherwise known as pie ,peas, chips and gravy. I think we set off with close to the last group and with all the overtakes was surprised to see so many people back. It goes to show the numbers that actually took part. Downing a pint of coke and scoffing meat and potato pie gave me the conviction to finish off the 100miles. Martins rear wheel had 4 possibly 5 broken spokes, no idea how he made it round the course in one piece. Some crappy Omega wheel he said he just bought from Surosa. After signing out, collecting certificate of completion and obtaining free raleigh t-shirt we all set off together towards Whitworth.

Sittting on Jamies wheel we accidentally dropped the other three, he then turned off for Whitworth and I carried on for the Bacup Rd Ascent. My aim was now to hit over 18mph average, which seemed a tall order but was going to give it as much as I could without killing myself. 10-11mph going up which I barely do on a good day. I had bonked this time last year and ascended at 5mph. So far so good and was still strong all the way back home. Just about hit my goal of 18mph for 100miles.

Thought I would learn from last year and not try too much on the Nick o'Pendle and Waddington fell climbs as they finished me off way before the end of the ride. Today I was 1 year stronger and the all the climbing was a piece of cake. Cramp was non existant and my fuelling strategy more comprehensive. Heart rate only hitting 180 at the final sprint at the peaks. The elation from the day, overall, was tremendous. A legal high. So perfect. A little held back but needed the camaraderie and competition which inspired my confidence and more than made up for that. Also I thrive in the hot sunny weather just as long as I have enough to drink. Absolutely love the heat.

The bike. What can I say? Near perfection. The ride was completed being in the drops for around 90-95% of the time. No punctures either. Comfortable.

Big thankyous for the organisers, volunteers, the Tri Club gang and my missus for letting me out. Initially I was a bit dubious about Sportives, their chosen beneficiaries and how much actually goes to them ( ALL proceeds donated in this case, not true in most) and the escalating costs to enter. However for pure entertainment it beats paying a fortune going to the footie. Possibly my next one will be Polocini's Kegs and Legs at the end of May. £25 for hot food, chip timing, KOM time and for a 70mile hilly route. Was tempted to do Manc-B'Pool again just to get a faster time than 2009 and also the Manc100 which is flat ( so Ive been told) and easy to break 20mph?

Grrrr

2011-04-22T20:57:00.000+01:00

PUNCTURE!!!!! On the way home. Rear yesterday ( pinch flat) Front today. This one went with an almighty BANG! Good job I wasn't flying downhill. I'm having a lot of problems with innertubes on the alloy rim/carbon prolite wheels which need special brake pads to stop over heating. THe innertubes Im using are super super cheapo ones which cannot be obtained super super cheap anymore. This series of flats has coincidentally occurred in time with this hot weather. Hmmm. Took the tube out and it was hot and very strectchy like Mr Armstrong ( not the cyclist :) ). Good job I had my spares and a little old woman in the allotments next to me, separated by razor wire, kept me company for a while, thanks deary for the concern.

Supposed to be 13 degrees this morning, just before the sun decided to peep above the horizon. During sunlight that would feel warm. At night time it feels very cold. Yesterday afternoon I did nearly 30mph coming up to the motorway roundabout, this morning I could only manage 19mph. Yes I was trying. The wind was painful as it was in the evening. 12mph winds? no way. Back on the TT bike again and made some slight adjustments. Didn't feel right this morning even though it was amazing yesterday without tweaking. Possibly as I was a little stiff and only had 4 hrs sleep if that.

I ordered some new tyres and tubes from Ribble on Sunday. They eventually despatched today and will not get 'til Monday. I desperately need tubes! Just 2 spares left and none in the house. I wouldn't have had this problem with CRC!

To Work Distance 20 miles Av Sp 21.3mph

To Home Distance 20 miles Av Sp 21.8mph

Not a Rest day

2011-04-21T21:12:00.000+01:00

HAHA, Something out there doesn't want me to have a rest. I didn't cycle to work! expecting a nice relaxing day. I finished work a little early and the missus suggested I go out whilst she did some girlie stuff. How could I refuse? TT bike was re adjusted and felt smashing today. I was rushing and rushing to get out as soon as possible to enjoy the sunshine. A 20mile TT on good legs! Here we go. Wow I felt fast without over doing it. Where was the aching? the lethargic energy? the tiredness? Totally disappointed with the usual easter traffic and stops and slowdowns but I was expecting that anyway. My new TT'ing technique seems to be coming along and should be 'perfected' with a few more TT's under the belt. I was just coming up to a bit a hill then the fastest bit of the course I had planned.

Suddenly I had to take evasive measures as the back wheel had punctured. The tell take snake bike marks confirmed a pinch flat. No problem, Ive done this a thousand times, just change tube and away we go. In fact I've had about 5 punctures in 3 weeks so Im an expert. So i've taken the 'broken' tube out and getting ready to put a new one in when I realised I hadn't brought any with me. Bollox. I always take 2 with me. Not today. A lovely cyclist on an even nicer Bob Jackson bike passed and I flagged him down and stopped but was unable to assist so I thanked him for his time. I was only about a mile and half from home which was a stroke of luck but it was up a huge hill so I put the tyre back on and trundled home.

Distance 9 miles Av Sp 23.8mph

Needed Rest

2011-04-21T04:43:00.000+01:00

This time last year the weather painted a similar story. We had many a BBQ in the early spring months then BAM! Hopefully the pattern will change this year and we'll continue to have the glorious weather but Im not holding my breath. The past couple of weeks my cycling has been super enjoyable but there comes a time when , after going hard for so long, the body needs to recover and get ready for the next bout. For me this is one of those times. Close to 2 weeks of solid commutes, the odd  leisure/training ride and 2 timetrials hasn't quite finished me off but I want to be on good form for Sunday's Pendle Witches Ride when it is due to rain :( Just looking at the forcast I was going to take a few days off but I think one will be enough to get the last sunshine of the year in. My stomach needs a rest too. I can eat normally instead of gorging for a couple of days to keep energy levels up.

Wednesdays commute was fast both ways even though I've felt really exhausted, well the muscles took a while to respond. It was cold in the morning :( .Pedalling whilst seated yielded minute amounts of power so standing up was the way to go. My legs must be used to this as I was sprinting here there and everywhere on the way home and wasn't getting tired one little bit but as soon as I sat down....nothing from the legs. I reckon I could have had the fastest Average speed that I have ever done on the way home 22-23mph - uphill but its amazing how stops ( lots coming out of Manchester) and slowing due to traffic can impact on this. For this reason I will struggle to get over a 21mph average. I tried to stop Garmin on extended periods of slowness but always forgot to restart so didn't bother again. Thats why sometimes it registers that Ive done uner 20 miles and theres a funny altitude spike. I must have been 2-3mph quicker in most places on my ride too!

I commuted on Scottie today, good job I can leave my bike inside :) Absolutely perfect set up.

To Work     Distance 20 miles     Av Sp 20.5mph

To Home     Distance 20 miles     Av Sp 20.8mph

Birch 8 mile Time Trial

2011-04-19T22:03:00.000+01:00

WoW, I'm really getting into this TT malarkey. Whilst at the LBS having my tubulars properly glued I was made aware of the above TT taking place every Tues 7pm at the Gardeners Arms for 2 laps of a 4mile heavily undulating course. Also I was advised not to use my best bike just in case I beat him, I mean because of all the pot holes on one section so I used Scottie. This was a sensible choice as I would need quick access to gear changes and Im not 100% on my TT bike positioning.

The start is minutes down the road from my house and was warming up on the course in no time. Pantani met me there and who else did I see? Mr Foley! from Rochdale Triclub and Middleton CC. We roped him and his mate into doing the TT and paid our quids to sign on. I was 13th on or so I thought and Pete 12th. The first guy set off and Pete was getting ready to go, OOooops Im 3rd off. The start was on an incline but was up to 20mph straight away. I think I need a different technique for TT'ing and found it on my 2nd lap. Less cadence, more power, lots of push and pull on pedals. My cadence was quite high which got me out of breath quick. THe 2nd lap I was losing it until the change in technique and I manage to super sprint uphill to the finish.

8 Mile TT Birch Course 20mins.59secs Av Sp 22.88mph

Still going strong (ish)

2011-04-18T13:05:00.000+01:00

Distance 40miles Av Speed 19.0mph

Another day, another ride. Not quite in the league of the guys cycling 30 days of April as I missed a few days at the beginning but now wish I went out for them. Nearly didn't go out today as my body was telling me to rest and the sun had disappeared and it looked like the wind was picking up. After walking around the house for an hour it had brightened up, my legs loosened but the wind still getting worse. Out I went.

Todays mission was to sit in the drops as long as possible! Two sets of temporary traffic lights are still situated in the most inconvenient positions on Edenfield Rd climb. Building those stupid retaining walls. Excuse my ignorance but is this a massive waste or what? My journey came across many more sets of temporary lights but my focus was being concentrated on the Easterly (main), Northerly and Southerly winds gusting around 17mph. The wind helped me put more power down and I was thinking alot more about technique. All the climbs were done 'Pantani' style , not my mate Pete but the real Pantani where he ascends in the drops. Infact around 95% of the trip was done 'aero style' and it was so comfy on Scottie.

Had a puncture at Rawtenstall where I found a massive gash in the Michelin Pro Race 3 tyre. Don't think Ill buy these again. Ive had them for a while but not used them too much. They are supposed to be 23's but are more like 25's, disintegrate quickly as the rubber showed loads of cracking and wear and the red colour looked grey after a couple of rides. I guess they are for racing only with a short shelf life, a seasons/half a seasons worth. The contis on the other hand have lasted me close to a year and half, a Gp4000s which gashed last week and a Conti Attack which is going strong after thousands and thousands of miles of commuting and sunday riding. Actually it was a Bontrager tyre that gashed last week after a few days usage ,the Gp4000s had a gash for a little while longer but never puctured with them. The contis are still in use on my pro lite 88mm clinchers which I have TT'd to work on.

All in all a good ride without going too hard, just glad of the lack of climbing compared to Sunday. Tuesday, tomorrow will only be a around 20 miles but 8miles of them will be a Time Trial. Its lumpier than L101 and it will hurt....alot.

An early one

2011-04-17T21:38:00.001+01:00

Sunday 17th April

Distance 55miles Av Sp 17.3mph Ascent ~4500ft

'Spring into the Dales' was an Audax starting in Hebden Bridge today that I had a slight glimmer of hope of attending as a few Rochdale Tri club guys were attending but the missus scuppered my plans and I had to renegotiate my cycling time. Instead I will be doing the 'Pendle Witches Vintage Velo' on Easter Sunday, weather permitting.

Part of the mediation process enabled an early morning ride just as long as I returned before baby woke up. Alarm set for 5.30am and thankfully everyone stayed asleep. Took me a while to set up my gear as it was scattered everywhere due to my TT yesterday. The sun was barely out and it was still quite cold outside. I tried to ram the left overs of last nights takeaway down my throat, succeeded but the stomach turning and a little worse for wear.

Set off and I could barely move. My heart rate took a while to raise above 100 but once in my stride there was no stopping me. Ok there were two huge mountains in the way, one know as Holmfirth Rd and the other Holme Moss summit. Wind was negligible when I set off but my general speed wasn't there and had to make do with what reserves I had. The first mountain was upon me and I was doing ok. Going easy and not going too slow. A roadie ahead made me put a little more effort in and I overtook by halfway. Not had an overtake for months. Stood up the rest of the way and increased the speed. The descent gave me a nice rest, but it didn't as I saw 2 roadies at a junction before the top and thought they were going the same direction so pedalled all the way downhill. Never looked back and didn't see them but I think they took the other route.

The second climb killed me. 4.5mph near the top was pitiful. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't muster up any more to put down. My previous worst here was about 5.5mph with servere winds. Just needed to hit the top and I was virtually home and dry. I kinda chickened out when the big descent came. There are a couple of big bends but I'd say you could take them at 40mph. Im not keen at going downhill and kept hitting the brakes but I did stay above 30mph. The rest of the ride home was simple enough and didn't take too much out of me.

I used to do those big hills every Sunday last year and I am either out of practice or fatigued. Most likely the latter as my average heart rate was only 139 and getting over 145 was difficult.

Looking back at the Garmin Calendar I have ridden 10 consecutive days at a total of close to 400miles. Woahhhh.

First Ever Official 10mile Time Trial

2011-04-16T19:03:00.001+01:00

I phoned Pantani up around 11am to find out what kind of time I should be setting off at so that I have enough time for a warmup up and to view the course, which I considered to be very important. He sounded very rough indeed and my suspicions were confirmed when he announced he was pulling out after a ride in the morning. He still went up to meet me which made me much more comfortable.

The meeting place was Catterall Village Hall, near Garstang, which is about 10mins cycle from the start point, about an hours drive down the motorway. Some big bloke approached me and introduced himself as the organiser and said that I must be Simon. How on earth he knew I dont know but he then explained that the conversations with my wife painted a spectacular picture hah. Met Nick from the tri club who is a seasoned veteran and has done numerous TT's, quick chat later and Pantani arrived and showed me to a 'secret' meeting point.

Pantani had his bike in the car and rode some of the course with me, which I am so grateful for as it put my mind at ease. Heard so many horror stories of newbies going off course and ruining a good day. The sun was out but the wind was annoying, a swirly left and right cross wind. After doing the course we went back to his car where other TT'ers had parked up and were on their turbos/rollers or on the country lanes warming up. After my warmup I just about managed to get to the start line in time. I was off at 15.14 and arrived at 15.12 after waiting at lights for ages.

One minute to go..... bike held and clipped in, in position, 30 seconds called...all ready and waiting for the off. 10 seconds, 5 4 3 2 1 GO! I was in the right gear but totally forgot to turn the cycling computer on so had no idea what speed I was travelling at. All the sweeties I had before hand must have contributed to a stitch for most of the course but due to positioning it wasn't as bad as it could be. The course was lumpy as hell, I was expecting it to be pan flat as I've heard some good times can be achieved. Went off a little quick but settled nicely. Had to stand up a couple of times to keep up the speed, now where was that roundabout? Negotiated it at around halfway with no problems and still in the aero position, only another 5 miles to go.
Pantani had said that the home leg is harder than the out stretch but I thought it was the other way around. I managed to hold my position quite easily on the ascents but the extra effort required was killing me and had to hold back to get my breath back on the descents. Every breath was painful due to the stitch and tried to ignore it and just pedalled. Hours were passing me by that were actually minutes. Towards the end the man behind me had just about caught me but I hadn't caught anyone. He passed the tractor easily but when it was my turn I had a car infront, a bleeding traffic island and traffic coming in the opposite direction. Took ages to get past but the finish line was only 200metres ahead and sprinted to the end.

Got lost, as I usually do when travelling back to base so had to phone my 'team' who appeared very quickly. Treated myself to a brew and muffins whilst I was awaiting my time to come in.Numbers 1-10 were in and times were around the 21-22-23 mark, was told it wasn't a fast day so my expectations suddenly dropped. The missus came out whilst I was putting the bike away and said I got 27.04. OMG I thought...CRAP and my heart sank but at least I beat my previous time. She then said she was joking.

10 mile Time Trial L101.........23.46 Av Sp 25.25mph

I said before this that I would have been ecstatic with anything under 24mins and anything between 24-25 would have been a good day at the office but although happy something at the back of my mind wanted a 22. I know if I keep doing them with specific training I should improve alot so hopefully I get the time to do some more. Theres a club TT just down the road thats just recommenced, a timed 8 miler every Tuesday night.

More TT practise

2011-04-16T17:50:00.000+01:00

Distance 36.6 miles Av Sp 16.7mph

Not ridden with Pantani for months so called him for an easy ride to get used to our TT bikes, the big day TOmorrow! He was zooming off every where especially Edenfield Rd where I went super easy at 6mph. Any sort of gradient and I just span up it. Thought I would feel terrible but seem to recover fine and was really trying my best to hold myself back towards the end. Quite a fast speed since I barely tried and spent most of the ride drafting Pantani. He was going quite well too considering he was still recovering from illness that I had weeks ago.

Sensory Overload

2011-04-15T10:31:00.003+01:00

When I purchased the Garmin 500 I had every intention of using all the bits and pieces in the box to monitor my performances however I just haven't been bothered to install them on the bike or take with me. Not anymore. Stats galore here we come. Okay so I've now got cadence, proper speed ( not gps speed) and heartrate up and running and used my last commute of the week to test them out.

To Work Distance 20 miles Av Sp 19.3mph

The winds psychological effect on me is quite big and I tend not to overdo it as I think that any excess power used is wasted so try to maintain the same tempo/workrate. The wind had changed to a Southerly with blasts from the West so Head/cross all the way in. Heartrate is quite linear just to prove the above and only increased on steep sections sor decreased when stopped. Cadence is around 90-100 when pedalling normally but to be honest I felt I was pedalling slow into the wind and you can tell all the points when Im out of the saddle. I think the first 3.5miles took 20-25mins because of traffic and temporary lights. Average started at 21 for a few miles and went down to 18 in no time.

The climb at the start of Victoria Av is a nice section to analyse. This is at about mile 11 on the graphs. I had thought previously I was only going about 11-12mph but today I was going 14-15mph without feeling I was going faster than any other time this month so the speed sensor must be working better than the GPS. Cadence for the climb is at 80+rpm which surprised me and quite good/high, again it felt slow. Heat rate only topped out at 166 so not exerting myself too much but still putting the effort in.

To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 19.3mph

Woahhh, I don't think I stopped once all the way but had to slow down a few times. Wind was gentle from the South and East tonight but the cold air 5 degress with real feel of 3 made it difficult or was it the air? Im sure it played a part but looking at heart rate it is quite low throughout the journey, heavily decreasing towards the end. I'm sure thats showing how fatigued I was ( or was it the temperatures effect on my body?) getting as the week wore on. The thing is I thought I was working very very hard, one last big effort before the restdays, before TT day. Average cadence similar to earlier on, at 85, as wind was less but its 'all uphill' so expected it to be like that.

Thursday - Just a quick 25 miles without the computer so that I would go slow.

Countdown 'til TT Saturday

2011-04-13T13:52:00.001+01:00

Rest. A few weeks ago when I planned to ride Saturdays TT event I had envisaged this week to be a nice, easy, calming and relaxing affair with a couple of 'recovery/maintenance' rides just to keep loose and to keep my legs reminded of how to pedal. Stretching has helped my muscles immensly and try to do 20-30 mins a day, a session at work and one when I get home. My muscles used to get really tight after a hard ride and could take 3-4 days to recover. It's taken about 2 months of stretching to feel the benefits as I was extremely sceptical but stuck with it as a trial.

This week my legs have been aching ( due to numerous sprints up hills on Sun) as I previously said but movement has been unrestricted. Once a quick 5min warmup has been accomplished Im firing on all cyclinders and the aches disappear.

What else I think has helped is the height of seatpost. Theres normally alot of discussion on forums over pictures people send in where other peeps have said saddle too low when I think its about right. The pros seem to have their saddles at an extreme height which us mortals try to emmulate. Having it too high can overstretch the muscles which causes them to do more unnecessary work when you come to contract them and from experience took me longer to recover. I beleive I have read that some pros do extended stretch sessions of 30mins to 1hr just holding one position for that time which is why they are able to have such a high position in comparison to the leg extension. I could be totally wrong though.

I started off by adjusting saddle using the heel to pedal method, which does feel low but has worked for me. Got less tired and recovered quicker with a negligible loss in speed ( Could possibly be due to the excess of food Ive been consuming). I have been able to gradually up the height week by week, milllimetres at a time, without ill effect possibly due to the stretching  so that I get more aero. Used to get all sorts of odd tingling sensations as if the circualtion is bad which have gone.

Tuesdays commute saw winds of 25km/h and 'in'accuweather had gusts of 65km/h. Westerly with less fierce Northerly too. Down Victoria Av with the 'tail wind' I reached 24mph, not for long. Pantani said he managed 31mph which, theorectically, should have been easy for me too. Average slightly lower due to a climb I put in at the beginning and the Garmin kept on counting for extended periods once stopped. All the riding had to be done sat down because standing instantly lost a few mph.

Going home at 2am there was a Southerly 7 km/h. A section where I head North I can do 21mph with a head wind with this 'tail wind' I managed 19mph. The air felt like it was gusting at me as fast as earlier on, in reality there was only a slight breeze.... the dreaded cold dense air. My fingers and toes were numb after 10miles ugh. Average only good because the legs were in good condition and was able to get speed up using energy zapping standing efforts, or did that slow me down.

To Work     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 18.3mph

To Home     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 19.3mph

Effin' Wind

2011-04-12T03:37:00.000+01:00

Woke up feeling mega achey, thighs, glutes, hamstring. I do remember doing a super all out sprint near the end of my ride yesterday, up an incline against the wind. Nightmare commutes today. Super super windy. To work I had to stop at mother in laws so I did do more climbing than usual. Legs loosened up very quickly and reached a rhythm within minutes, that was a quick recovery. Massive Westerly wind 18mph with big gusts. Im sure there was a counter wind of a Northerly and maybe a slight Southerly too. Victoria Avenue is a good stretch heading East so the tail wind should be just as humongous. I started climbing at 18mph for a good distance then suddenly a big gust dropped me more or less instantly to 12mph. On the flats I'd get a good speed but could also feel being pushed back or rather getting pushed into something stopping me? gettit?. School had just finished everywhere and I was being obstructed by traffic so just had to be patient.

Back home and due to the direction of wind was extremely hard work. Again Westerly but with large Northerly gusts 25km/h and 42km/h. I probably went normal speed up Oldham Rd, no tail wind felt, then I just hammered the pedals constantly and as fast as I could. No respite, even turning South at the top of my journey didn't reveal a tail wind. Head/Cross all the way. I'd put so much effort into it that my stomach was retching and my head pounding to my heartbeat. 4 degrees with real feel of -2!!!! Oh yes!! Where was my reward for the effort? In the form of a luxury Bakewell tart I saved earlier on and a nice brew.

Ummmm Im supposed to be resting for TT on Sat! Arghghghghg.

To Work Distance 20miles Av Sp 18.6mph ( more climbing)

To Home Distance 20 miles Av Sp 18.2mph

Sat/Sun Sun

2011-04-10T16:19:00.000+01:00

Saturday 9th April

So determined to do well at my second ever 10mile TT that im commuting on TT bike again. My arm position looks mega strange but aero, nonetheless. Infact the aero bars are millimetres from touching the front wheel and Ive rapped my knuckles against spinning rubber a few times. That should tell you how short my legs are. Little bit warmer at 3am, about 6 degrees. Little bit weak this morning so thought Id save myself for an all out attack for the way home.

I left work and stop, sprint, stop,, sprint stop, sprint, stop,sprint, stop, sprint, stop and thats the first 2 miles over and done with. Lights grrrrrr! I'd love to know what I could average without all these stops. Again I could feel myself being blown sideways but went hard all the way. Every downhill section my speed was cut short by lights or buses or traffic. Wasn't expecting a good time but was pleasantly surprised.

To Work Distance 20 miles Av Sp 20.4mph

To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 20.7mph

Sunday 10th April

Was going to use this as a rest day but as soon as I saw the forecast for the rest of the week I just knew I had to go out. I went with Rochdale Tri club and the first 5miles were painfully slow, we were doing about 11mph for flat sections. It took Blackstone Edge to get some power to the pedals and were going the same speed as we were previously....bit of an exaggeration, not far off though. Went through some gorgeous twisty lanes with superb tarmac'd roads, always on the look out for oncoming cars coming in the opposite direction. From mile 15 to 25 average was fast only because there was an almighty tail wind which we pootled through. They stopped at a cafe in Hebden when our average was about 14.9mph and I soloed home, in a head wind. I enjoyed the climb to Crown Point, although in a headwind I barely went under 10mph then the descent to Rawtenstall zapped my strength as I powered through the strong wind. Same story for the rest of the journey. That head wind was hard work but managed to up the average from 14.9 ( 30miles) ish to 16.7( 30miles)mph
More climbing involved than I anticipated too.

Distance 60miles Av Sp 16.8mph

TT Tweaky

2011-04-08T14:00:00.000+01:00

As the weatherman said it wouldn't be raining today so I hopped on TT bike to get some practise in for next weeks 10mileTT. I Have done one previous Time Trial in May 2009 on the PETTS course and scored a reasonable 27.08s or close to which is 22.1mph This was on a road bike with clip ons and the worst possible position ever! My commutes to work at the time were a quick 7 miles and averaging 16mph. How on earth does that work out I do not know. Pantani averages 16mph for his rides yet scored a great 25min 50s which equates to 23.3mph! There is no way he can get over 20mph!??? Why do I struggle getting fast times for a 20miles commute on a TT bike going down hill ( 2am and 4celcius).

I needed to mess with position a few more time as going to work didn't feel right, coming home the position felt miles better just kept sliding forward a bit which can be sorted. Also coming home there was only supposed to be a 6mph wind so why were the flags blowing like mental and why was I getting blown from one side of the road to the other ( not that bad but I couldn't go faster than 26mph down a massive hill where I hit 30mph easily on roadie) Seem to go faster uphill than down too :P I couldn't count the number of stops on way home on fingers and toes there were that many!

Stats for Monday

To Work Distance 20 miles Av Sp 21.4mph (ignore last 0.78 at 45mph)

To Home Distance 20 miles Av Sp 20.5mph

Playing Catchup

2011-04-06T16:16:00.001+01:00

Bit behind this and last week, didn't do too much last week as still recovering from illness and the weather wasn't too fab.

Wed TT ride - Distance 45 miles    Av Sp 19.2mph (hilly)

Just been out ( Wednesday) to try out my TT bike as the weather looked nice. I seemed to think the sun reduced the effect of the wind and boy was I mistaken. 20mph winds with gusts of 30+mph and I climbed up to  2.5 open moors! On a TT bike....daft head?. The start was horrific! The first major climb of the day, the start of Edenfield Rd and it instantly kicks up to 12 % with a set of temp traffic lights half way up. Baasstarrdddss! Stopped, unclipped and managed to get going again with 2 pedals of the right leg, instantly clipping in and flying off again, could have been nasty. Half a mile up the Rd another set of temp traffic lights! This time on a less steep gradient and then to top it all off another set at the end. HOW ANNOYING.

Once at Rawtenstall I should have been flying along with a tail wind? Speeds were slight head wind speeds of 18-19mph when I should have been at 22 -23mph. Must have been another cross wind blowing. My favourite climb up Bacup Rd was next and did feel a tail wind, briefly. The descent into Tod was an absolute nightmare. I was struggling to control the bike all day as it was but this cross wind was extreme. The brand new cork style brake pads looked well worn at the bottom. There wasn't much point of bringing TT bike because there was no way I was able to get in the aero position as I felt soo unstable due to the wind. The last leg was definately a fight against traffic, more lights and more wind. I got so mad I kept starting and stopping the Garmin when stopped as my average was counting down very quickly from 20mph so I have ridden 45miles not 41 as I forgot to start a couple of times.

Positioning wise I think Im nearly there. Maybe the odd tweak here and there and might even try the much touted 'Landis' position. Legs are good today, able to stand up and climb effectively and the odd sprint was possible too.

Monday Commute

To Work     Distance 20 miles     Av Spd 19.2mph
To Home     Distance 20miles     Av Spd 19.1mph

Total contrast today. Freezing icy cold in morning, nice in afternnon. Going to work was probably the best I have felt in over a month but limited myself to spread the effort out across the week so that was a very very easy 19.2mph and hardly got out of breath once. On the way home, bleedin' heck I had nothing! What was wrong? I'd eaten quite a lot that day but my stomach felt empty. This is the worst I had felt on over a month. Very strange. I seemed to get better and better as the ride wore on though and in the end it was a fast ride considering the number of stops and the state of my legs. The wind didn't feel like it was helping but it must have done.

PREVIOUS WEEK

Friday

To Work     Distance 15 miles     Av Sp 17.8mph
To Home     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 19.9mph

Strange! on on the way to work had 2 punctures due to massive gash in tyre I was unable to spot. Luckily I was near LBS at time but had to make up time to get to work and still get some miles in. I had to pedal against the very strong wind virtually all the way to work instead of zig zagging across it. Stops all over the show didn't help. So its a bit of a rogue figure that 17.8mph

Thursday

To Work     Distance 20 miles     Av Sp 18.6mph
To Home     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 19.9mph ( slightly hillier than normal- very good ride)

Wednesday

To Work      Distance 20 miles     Av Sp 18.7mph
To Home     Distance 20miles      Av Sp 19.1mph

Why? oh Why?

2011-03-27T19:51:00.002+01:00

Distance 47miles Av Sp 17.9mph with some big climbs.

Why did I bother to go out to ride today. Maybe it was because I had taken a few hours the night before to get the best bike, 'Scottie' ready for a thrashing and didn't want to let her down. Maybe because I have something(s) to aim for and don't want to let myself down.

The night before I barely got any sleep due to coughing, head aches, difficulty breathing that felt like my asthma had returned after a 15 year absence. I needed to go out! It was dry and wind was negligible although again it didn't feel like it. Once again the motivation thing came into play, I was sooo up for cycling hard and no idea why. I met the Rochdale Tri club at 10am and set off shortly afterwards. Four of us dwindled to 2 after 15mins as the two of us at the front wanted to keep a good pace. I led for 95% of the way, miraculously and powered up any climbs. An 18%er wasn't much of a hassle. This year I have done very little climbing compared to last year as Im concentrating on TT'ing but I dont think Ive lost too much. THe only problem is that my lungs felt tight,cramped and at half capacity as I kept coughing up liquid and spluttering it out. I love climbing standing up but for the 3rd week in a row was unable to. Today though, sitting down, on a climb the power was there, as was a high cadence and a rhythm was easy to achieve.

The bike was amazing, shame about myself not able to take full advantage. Super comfy and accelerates like a Ferrari. Jamis with the same wheels feels sluggish compared. Ended up sprinting downhill into a fairly bad head wind to catch up a few cars but took longer than expected and I couldn't hold onto them once there. At that point my chest nearly exploded but still pushed on til home. Was very cold at home and it took a good 25mins under an extremely hot shower to stabilise. Two days to recover until next round of commutes.

Motivation?

2011-03-25T21:51:00.001Z

Monday 21st March
To Work     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 18.9mph
To Home     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 19.5mph

Tuesday 22nd March
To Work     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 19.4mph
To Home     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 18.8mph

Wednesday 23rd March
To Work     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 19.2mph
T0 Home     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 19.6mph

Thursday 24th March
To Work     Distane 20miles     Av Sp 20.8mph
To Home     Distance 20miles   Av Sp 20.2mph

What a fantastic week to have to commute by bike. Every day was as glorious as the previous but all is not so hunky-dory. Notice how I said every 'day' however I have been starting at 3am!! Bleedin heck! For some odd reason I have been sooo determined to go out, do my full 20 mile commute, come back and repeat for the rest of the week. Bed for 5-6pm and up 12-1am. When these daft shifts come around I can usually muster up enough energy, enthusiasm or passion for 2 days/nights at best and try and get as much sleep inbetween as I possible could. Not this week, not even a hint of backing out, even when I stepped outside to see my breath crystallise infront of my eyes or when avoiding the frost as it glistened like glass. What kept me going?

Generally the wind has been favourable speed wise but direction wise it has been all over the place. Easterly, Westerly and Southerly combined all week to create a treacly mess. It would have been sooo easy to give up especially as the week went by as energy was dwindling and muscles hurting more and more. I found it difficult to eat enough which is strange but just didn't have enough time to do so. I replaced all the healthy stuff for choccy bars and sweets to perk me up. After the first day, sprinting was out of the question and hills appeared as snow capped mountains but by the last I dug deep to the reserves at the bottom of the tank to put in a solid ride. That last day, Thursday, on the way home, the sun was belting down and wind negligible but I was being blown left and right, left and right in quick succession down some stretches and at times thought I may lose control. It felt like 25mph+ gusts but when I got home to check most sites had the speed as only 4 or 5 mph. Eh?

On Thursday morning I got the dreaded tingle on the back of my throat and wondered how long or bad the inevitable illness would be. This week has really taken it out of me trying to achieve consistant rides throughout. Friday morning I was coughing and spluttering with a sore throat but otherwise in good spirits. Recovered for Sunday? Plllleeeaaaseseee.

Time Trial season has begun and I aim to better the number of rides I did last year. I have applied for one on the 16th april L101 course which is a Sat and most TT's are unfortunatley on Sats which I find difficult to get off work. Attending that one will double my record of TT participation! Woohoo.

Going well

2011-03-19T23:24:00.001Z

Same old, same old. Same route, mileage and unrecovered legs. Since my interval session on Sunday with a dodgy wheel I've not been anywhere near 100% and when climbing it feels like Im being pushed back. There's a nice climb where in Autumn last year I would be disappointed if I dropped below 15mph and regularly hit 16-18mph. These days its more like 12mph. I am 6 kilos heavier though!!I can't see that making that much difference as Im sure my power has gone up. The position I have deffo seems to give me the consistency I've been craving as I haven't totally blown up yet. The air feels thick again today but managed a good 20mph average going to work.

On the way back the sun had disappeared and a chill descended very quickly. The air was quite still and put a series of road blocks along my way home. It gives that strange feeling of going downhill whilst at 10mph but using miles more effort. A bit more colder and I think my muscles would have given up. Nevertheless I was quite fast without actually believing that I was. I was thinking of pushing it but was going to ride on Sunday and any extra effort would have been fruitless in those conditions. Don't think I will ride on Sunday now as it looks like it could rain all day so will use it as a rest day and see if I can recover. Really wanted to hit the TT bike too as I have further tweaked my position and I think even Graeme Obree would be proud of it.

To Work Distance 20miles Av Sp 20.0mph

To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 18.9mph

That concludes the weeks commuting and although I'm not doing the distances I would like to due to time and family constraints I would say I'm using what time I do have quite productively and effectively.

Missed the sunshine

2011-03-19T00:02:00.002Z

Thursday night I swam with tri club and boy did it hurt. Not usually my style but I had to draft the 3 guys ahead of me and I was still struggling. Maybe this is the turning point and I might actually swim a bit more regularly.

More commuting today. Set off around 8am and it was very cold and overcast. Took me ages to warm up, even had my ski gloves on and balaclava! Still unable to climb how I would like to due to no power being available so my speed was all cadence today. Going well at 19.7mph average until I got near the centre of Manchester. Traffic had built up so missed my turn off and carried on down Deansgate but the road I needed was closed off due to bridge repairs from Food Court Arndale to Marks so I headed into unknown territory stopping at every set of lights and my average plummeted. At least I got to see the sun for 5 mins. The end of the speed graph will give me nightmares tonight.

On the way home I had a bit of bad luck and had a slow puncture in the front wheel which held but also had one in the rear which went on me a mile or so in. Cue average plummeting from 18.8mph to 18.0mph as the timer kept on starting and stopping as I moved the bike to the pavement. Changed it nice and quick and was off again.
Before I set off I had 4 chocolate bars some jelly tots and 2 big macs. My legs were good, not great but I could climb a little bit again. The difference gave me some enthusiasm to get a good time but decided I wouldn't push too hard but keep the cadence high. Happy with the end result. Even though it was cold I didn't feel it as much as this morning which was supposed to be warmer.

To Work Distance 20miles Av Sp 19.6mph (not including last 2 miles)

To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 19.2mph

Ooooo

2011-03-16T13:38:00.000Z

Quick reply to Chris's msg as I can't use the comment thing?

Yeah. Heard of them - Will's Wheels, Thankyou. Need to be cheap, well, good value! Debating whether to respoke ( £200 ish for the spokes I want) or to just buy a new set. I will never buy a wheel set with straight pull spokes again ( no matter the advantages, if any) as they are non existant in this country ( spokes)!!! My dura ace are bleedin' straight pulls too, bugger and the hubs needed adjusting straight away from factory. Great until something goes wrong.
I've heard it all before that hand builts are the way to go and I ignored advice. Next sets will deffo be hand builts using traditional J's. Maybe I could change hubs and get the spokes I want for cheap but I love my Bontrager xxx carbon hubs (DT 240's) and any new hub wont be anywhere near as good. Arghghggggghhhhh.

TUESDAY COMMUTE

Hamstrings, hips and glutes are all aching like mad. Did not get out of breath once because my legs just wouldn't let me. Climbing was excruciating and slow however on flats and slight inclines I was zipping along. ....

Guess what? I changed my positioning again and again.....My findings are that I can use virtually any position when fully recovered and have a good ride  but when fatigued, with a higher saddle height, I struggle badly. I have been studying pictures of pros in a cycling photography book by pro cycling magazine. I had to figure out which photos the riders were coasting and ignore them as the leg were usually dead straight and gave no clues to technique or saddle position. Then I had to find pictures where riders were at or near the bottom of pedal stroke and putting some effort in. I have heard of this before but I found that a lot of riders had their heel dropped lower than the cleat/front of foot, which meant that the saddle height had to be lower than I was expecting. Also On my shoes the left cleat is further back than the right to relieve stress in my left calf but as I was pedalling I have felt the right leg going around 'quicker' than the left even if I put more effort on left leg so that rules out power difference, I think. The pressure on left leg gets relieved the further back in the saddle I sit so needed lowering more a bit and using the drop heel pedalling technique there needs to be enough room to sufficiently drop the heel at the bottom of the pedal stroke ( lower saddle) so no discomfort on left leg.

Amazingly on the cycle home, with a Northerly head wind, my pedalling was smooth, cadence felt ultra fast and virtually no discomfort. I still couldn't climb ( sit or standing) or sprint due to fatigue so hopefully that rules out muscle recovery. A few months ago I do remember having one of my best weeks cycling consistency wise with a lower saddle ( 200miles and every day averaged 18-19-20) but was convinced a higher saddle would give me more power. So despite being tired I had some very good averages.

To Work     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 19.3mph

To Home     Distance 20miles     Av Sp 19.2mph

More days off :(

2011-03-14T23:44:00.001Z

My last cycle on the Tuesday when I averaged 19.1mph for 70 miles, on the hills I was getting blown all over which doesn't happen alot. THe rest of the week saw 20mph winds with regular super gusts and the clouds never seemed to make their mind up wether to drop their load or not. Didn't commute once last week!

Sunday - Brightened up nicely as the day went on so with the thought of needing to make up for last week off I went ...on a mission. I was putting a lot of effort in but not getting anywhere. Well I started off doing an average of 22mph for the first few miles then it plummeted to 18mph due to constant stopping and starting and the swirly wind. I wanted to turn around after 10 miles but figured I'd do 50miles then call it a day. I got my wish in Littleborough when a spoke on the front of my Bontrager race xxx lite wheel snapped at the nipple. Grrrr. I wrapped it around the spoke next to it and opened up my brakes to stop rubbing then limped home. Maybe I shouldn't use such a wheel set for my winter riding :P

I thought I'd get the two wheels rebuilt with some nice new spokes and nipples since they have been ridden on for 4 years but no one does any good and cheap straight pull ones! Dt swiss Rev were 0.7 euros each and would have been perfect but only in j bend. NEED IDEAS!

As the trip back home progressed I got more confident in my metal work repair so did lots of sprints and hard ones at that. Got home and didn't feel like I had been out.

Distance 20 miles Average 19.mph

MONDAY - commute

Arghghghhh Didn't think a few poxy sprints on Sunday would kill my legs. The icey cold morning was a big hindrance too. Actually managed the odd sprint to work but other wise I crawled and can't believe I rode that fast.
Back home was similar but the wind was all over the show. Theres a swirly wind going anticlockwise in the middle of the country so ESE wind by the time it got to Manc land and this swirl is being pushed NE by some annoying git upstairs which results in brick walls being thrown everywhere. If you stand still you can't feel much wind even though its 11mph but as soon as you do 1mph its right in your face Not nice. Feel of 1 degree, felt colder.

To Work Distance 20 miles Av Sp 18.7mph ( not as many stops but moving av affected badly)

To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 18.4mph ( lots of stops but didn't affect my moving av?)

Super Legs!

2011-03-08T20:26:00.001Z

The last commute of the previous week was on Wednesday. Going to work was fine but couldn't find the energy to get home nevermind do 20 miles. Mind numbing number of stops at lights. It was -2/-3 on the cycle home and I couldn't move.

To Work Distance 21 miles    Av Sp 19.0 mph

To Home Distance 10miles     Av Sp 15.8mph

So I took Thursday off as well as Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday and stuffed myself silly. Soooo tired just couldn't bring myself to straddle Jamis at all. Tueday came and it would be the last day of glorious sunshine for a while so had to get out. Blustery swirly shitty wind SW 15mph. A quick 40miles turned into a much longer ride as I was in excellent shape for a change. A good amount of climbing but again millions of stops at lights would have put average down a bit. 50 miles passed and I was still going strong but I knew it was all up hill from Manchester and to keep my average high I would have to put loads of effort for the last 20 miles. I had nothing to eat the whole ride and about 500ml of Ribena. If it wasn't for an uphill sprint to pass a slow lorry at mile 55 ish and the last 20miles murdering myself, 100miles would have been a cinch today. It was getting late and colder so I finished at the 70miles. Probably my best ride since I started cycling, average wise apart from my 150miler to Wales and back

Distance 70miles     Average Sp 19.1mph

'Not looking forward to rest of the week...'

2011-03-02T02:34:00.000Z

Were my last words from the previous post. Well I didn't think my very next ride would cause a few problems. The past couple of days riding have seen me pushing myself to the limit and it was only a matter of time until I had a very bad ride. When I awoke I could just tell it wasn't going to be my day however the beaming sunshine persuaded me to give it a go. Usual NE wind we've seen all week, no help whatsoever. If you look at the speed graphs for my commutes to work there are spikes and ups and downs all over the show but going home the line tends to be fairly level for virtually the same route but backwards and uphill! It's just annoying me. The route to work looks harder going downhill than the return trip according to the graphs. Plodded to work, couldn't even spin the pedals fast, glad that was over.

Wasn't looking forward to cycling home and constantly was thinking of it for 8hrs whilst at work. I had a plan of taking it easy and doing the full 20 miles and just forget about my average speed for a change. I must have recovered quite well as even though I never really got out of breath my pace was good. I was feeling better and better but restricted the effort I was putting in, just enough to keep warm, keep the chill away and save energy for rest of week.. It was cold!

To Work Distance 20 miles Av Sp 18.1mph

To Home Distance 20miles Av Sp 18.3mph

Bring on Summer!

2011-03-01T03:19:00.000Z

Going to work, I thought I might have a go at record setting as There was a NorthEasterly wind. Initalliy I had to travel NE against it and thought it shouldn't be too bad. Wrong! Travelling South W I should have a super tail wind..Wrong! Next section was a bad cross wind but the final leg, 3miles ish, downhill was fast, a little stop/start so practised my sprints. Still nowhere near as fast as I have done in the past with a tail wind. Speeds were all over the show and I kinda gave up on the record 5mins after setting off.

Going home there was no wind what so ever, well just a slight NE again (Although a head wind shouldn't affect me too bad) Wrong! What ever the direction and whether I was travelling slow up a big gradient or trying to get some speed on a down hill the wind resistance felt like I was doing 60mph down a cliff face. The air pressure this week is very high and the cold air probably makes it dense too as well as being close to sea level ish. Considering the low average compared to last week I think this could have been my best ride yet as I was able to put in a 'perceived' very hard sustained effort for most of the course. I was really hurting but seemed to recover from bigger efforts quickly. Not looking forward to the rest of the week :(

To Work Distance 20 miles Av Sp 19.2mph

To Home Distance 20 miles Av Sp 18.3mph

Crappy weather and wind, as usual

2011-02-27T11:46:00.003Z

Distance 40 miles Average 18.2mph

The night before I was sure the weather was going to be cloudy early morning and then turning to bright spells late morning. Set off early ish but not as early as I would have like and the drizzle started almost instantly. I convinced myself that it would calm into nothing even as the drops got heavier and heavier! Soon the rain was blowing fast and hard into my eyes and could barely see anything from Edenfield Rd into Rawtenstall. So tempted to head straight back home but I decided to climb Tod/bacup rd and the wind and rain subsided until the top. Was expecting a tailwind heading East but I was getting slower and slower. A tailwind would have put me at 21mph ish but I just about hit 14mph to Bacup. The climb told me what kind of form I was in. 53/25 was the lowest I needed and managed to stand for most of it. These multiple winds with 'bad air' are real killers. I think there was a Southerly/Northerly and a Westerly. BBC had the wind direction do a 3/4 circle over the whole day so I dont think I was far wrong, just depends which wind is blowing strongest. Its getting an obsession of mine! My head contained angry thoughts and I needed to let off some steam and pedalled as hard and as quick as I could.

There were quite a few other cyclists about today, wish I had some company most of the time. Drenched and cold I arrived at Rochdale Baths to see who was riding with the tri club and to get some more miles in. Hot Choccy warmed me up briefly and as soon as we went outside I was shivering again. The pace set was excruciating as I wasn't getting any warmer so I turned off and headed for home.

Distance 10miles Average 17.6mph

Once there, Jamis could easily have found herself wrapped around my front door until I was greeted by my ickle daughter. She stared at me, no joke - the rain then stopped and I was just glad to be back. Going all out for little reward is nooo fun.

Great final commute of the week

2011-02-27T11:40:00.000Z

Think the stats speak for themselves.

To Work: Distance 20 miles Average 19.6mph

To Home Distance 20miles Average 20.2mph

whooops

2011-02-22T23:58:00.001Z

Alarm set for 2.30am for a 5am start but I must have subconsciously turned it off when it started buzzing and fell asleep til 7am. Had a fab sleep but no commute today. Instead I went to the gym.

A quick Warmup on the gym bike turned into an all out 10mile TT as legs kept pushing and pushing without hurting! Heart rate went to my highest ever of 181 ( Alot lower than I'd expect). Just wish I started as well as I finished as I was close to 1min25s/mile pace for the last half mile. 10miles in about 19.30secs.

Next up was a row then I figured a nice easy 30min run to finish off before an hours swim. Set the computer for a 2000m 'sprint' and away I go. 1min49sec/500m pace for the first 500m then I drifted off to 1min50pace and ended with a 1min53/500m End time for 2000m was 7mins 24 secs which I think is a PB. Not bad as I haven't had any arm muscle training for close to a year.

Run time but I lasted 8mins before my knee started to give me problems so stepped off immediately to avoid further pain. I went back to the bike for a high resistance, low cadence session and the knee was fine.

The swim was terrible as my arms were literally dead and couldn't pull. Only managed about 60 lengths with most of the time chatting with guys from the tri club.

New position, old problems

2011-02-21T18:28:00.001Z

Mon 21st Feb

A day doesn't go by where I haven't tampered with my bike in one way or another and today I raised the saddle height. Saddle is kept tilted upwards and as far back as possible. I have refrained from doing this in the past because of my left calf, it doesn't like being stretched.
This morning the alarm was set for 1.30am and I was out for 2. Nice and dry with the usual swirly wind. The left leg just doesn't like the position but Im gonna keep at it. Its as if the blood is being restricted. At the bottom of the pedal stroke I can pull harder at the expense of a fast cadence, much slower now. This position suits the climbs and its been a while since I've seen some of the speeds on the ascents.
The route home saw much of the same but the power I was putting down was affecting my dodgy left knee and it nearly keeled over and died. Gentle pedalling for 5mins seemed to cure it and I was away again but making sure I was pushin all the way down to the bottom of the stroke before pulling back. It did the trick. With the new height and saddle pointing up, its very difficult to get in the drops when my muscles are tired and
tight.

To Work 20miles 19.6mph (Had to edit to change mileage as I forgot to set the garmin off)

To Home 20miles 19.3mph (Very pleased, look at all the traffic light stops!)

Northwest Passage Audax

2011-02-19T12:02:00.000Z

Wind, rain, snow ( flakes the size of my fist), sleet, more rain, ice. Needless to say I turned around and came back home after doing 50 miles. There's no fun going down a hill slower than you go up it with no feeling in fingers or toes. ( ACCu weather had feel of -10!)

STATS

FRI Commute - 30 miles total av 17mph.

Not as easy, the cold zaps me

2011-02-18T01:05:00.001Z

Commute to work was in pure sunshine with nice temperatures albeit with a wind against the grain. The air just felt right, cut through it with such ease which made pedalling fun and effortless. Good news for my legs for Sat then....? NO!

Going home was a total contrast to the above and to last nights ride back. Wind was with me however the cold air pus a brick wall right in my face which ever direction I turned to. I used my legs way too much but my averages were quite good so using my silly reasoning I wanted to keep it up. I kept telling myself that I can rest tomorrow instead as I dug deep for each and every turn of the crank. Keeping as low as possible didn't seem like it was making a difference but Im sure it must have been so persevered. Roads were getting very slippy and my back wheel twitched on more than one occasion.

Don't think I mentioned this in my blog previously but I had a bad recent experience with such conditions. It was only about a month or so ago and the air felt much warmer than it was. Was not expecting ice and as I went downhill at 20+mph into a 90 degree turn both wheels went at the same time. I was only 1 minute from home. It seemed like a lifetime until I eventually hit the deck and then slid for about 10metres, stopped by the pavement. Miraculously damage was minimal, did the speed help me? or was it pure luck? The bike? Rear skewer was heavily grazed and shifter had small cosmetic scratches otherwise it was fine. I just grazed my knee and was back on the bike in 2 days although it was a little stiff.

Due to that incident my cornering has suffered badly and I just can't trust my tyres or under wheel conditions. I stopped at Middleton Leisure centre to see if any of the Triathlon lads were doing the Audax on Sat. Turns out quite a few are going so I'm happy. Got home and found the temperature to be -1. My body hates the cold.

To Work Average 19.7mph Distance 20miles

To Home Average 18.7mph Distance 20miles

Easy does it!

2011-02-16T23:11:00.000Z

Back to work after 10 days off and its commute time again. Gorgeous sun mid afternoon. The next 3 commutes will be nothing too strenuous, easier said than done when your legs feel amazing.

Its the North West Passage Audax on Saturday run by West Pennine Road Club and usually Rochdale Tri club like to offer their support for this event as it starts and finishes in Rochdale! Since I haven't been to any Tri club training sessions for 3 or 4 months, not sure if any will turn up. I participated in this event last year, well the 'mini' version anyway as the full hog is 200km! Too cold to do something like that. £5 entry with free pie and peas at the end. What more could a cyclist ask for? Good weather!?

Whilst on my way to work it was great going at a sedate pace ( but keeping cadence high) and I soaked up the rays, only thing missing was my pair of Oakley's. The UCI track world cup is being held now/soon and as I passed the junction of Oldham Rd with Alan Turing Way ( which leads to Velodrome) I saw about 10 cyclists in a black kit with a stripe(s) across the chest, stopped at the lights. I heard them shouting to me or at me but I was going too fast and just about managed to get a glance.

Going home was just as easy but I really wanted to floor it as I don't feel like I'm getting any benefit out of going slow. Begrudgingly, I managed to restrain myself and found staying in the drops for 90% of the journey quite comfy. Legs just wanted to push further and harder but I treated them to a fast cadence instead. Need to install that cadence sensor thingy ideally. Also forgot my heart rate monitor. Beating fast due to the pedal speed but I'm trying to save the legs for Saturday. Speed was excellent, mostly uphill, barely trying. Must be being in the drops.

To work Average 17.7mph Distance 20miles

To Home Average 19.1mph Distance 20 miles

More Miles....

2011-02-14T22:26:00.001Z

Only so that I can keep on gorging on my lovely home cooked food. My appetite hasn't declined since I was 17 stone+ and could probably eat more now than I could then. The one month - ish between Decemeber and January where bike riding was impossible/dangerous I put on close to 10 kilos. Tonight I ate 2 huge platefuls( the oval steak plates) of stir fry and noodles and rice, lunch was a massive carvery. I'll call it carb loading for an Audax coming up on Sat where I should be doing close to 100 miles. The thing is I drink loads so that I don't confuse the signs for thirst/hunger. I was 63 kilos, my lightest, for the club hill climb champs and was over 73 kilos last month. I'm about 68-69 now. This time last year I was 67kilos. My aim is to get under 60kgs, that sounds kinda low but I am small. So small I think my 51cm frame is too big or my legs too short.

Anyway, just a quick 40miles today. Well, not all that quick, just a steady and gentle ride to keep on testing my position. I tilted the saddle back so that my back side wouldn't keep slipping forward and I liked it, alot.

STATS 40Miles, 16.6mph average, 2000ft climbing.

Omnidirectional 36km/h gusts

2011-02-13T10:03:00.001Z

I have just killed myself doing this.

So what prompted me to go out in howling winds and drenched roads with the possibility of myself getting heavily sodden or thrown off a cliff?

Well the night before I struggled to sleep as I dreamt of positioning on my bikes, especially TT bike then I watched videos of Marco Pantani and saw piccies of Merckx. They had their saddles set right back but their bars weren't much lower than the saddle height but their arms quite stretched forward. On my TT bike my arms were stretched forward ( very comfy) and I was being forced back into the saddle ( needs setting back a bit or/and lifting) So I lowered and set right back my saddle on Jamis and really wanted to test out my new position. Also ordered a 160mm stem with 35 degree fall/rise!

That night/morning I checked the weather forecast to be fine until about 10am on Sunday where it would then piss it down. However I got woken up by the pitter patter of water at 2am! That pissed me off no end so I stayed awake waiting for a break in the clouds, unaware of the strength of wind awaiting.

When I stepped out side at 6.15am I instantly changed and shortened my planned route due to the severity of wind. Up to Greenfield via Oldham and Lees and back to Manchester via Mossely and Audenshaw. SSE wind saw a nice tail wind for a couple of miles but I was travelling across the wind....strange. What I tried to do was focus on riding, technique and keeping my position rather than on the external factors, keeping a mental note of any alterations that might need doing.

Legs were amazing and for the first time in ages I was able to stand for long distances on ascents without ill effect even when being constantly being pounded backwards or sideways. Every metre was a struggle especially at 30-35 miles in when I was travelling downhill slightly, allegedly with the wind directly behind me, 30mph+ should have been easy but I just about hit 20mph :(

My outstrectched position was fine initially but my back was under a lot of strain due to the permanent excess effort required today and was aching a little for the last 10 miles. Usually can look in car windows etc to see how aero I am but due to darkness and lights on the helmet I was unable to. Super, super happy with today's effort.

Quick Time Trial before dark

2011-02-11T21:56:00.002Z

Stats

Living so close to Manchester in a commuter kinda zone makes Time Trialling a difficult task, made exponentially worse at home time, slow traffic, traffic lights and being not particularly flat plus loads of other things I can't be bothered to think of.

At 4pm I had the opportunity to either go to gym for a couple of hours or a quick bike ride before it got dark. Since I have never had a proper ride on my TT bike and the roads were generally dry I chose the latter. After getting changed in super fast time I was hoping my bike speed was just as fast and headed out as soon as. \i couldn't be bother to change the Continental Supersonic 19mm tyres ( no puncture protection and weigh only 120 odd gramms) and prayed to the puncture fairies for leniency.

I started with a bit too much enthusiasm, left my heart rate monitor at home and had to ease off after 2 mins as I was trying too hard. Very soon after starting I was stopping and sprinting constantly, not the perfect tt route, i'll confess but good practise ( or is it with a c?) Garmin was in back pocket as I hadn't had time to fix a mount and totally forgot I had no magnet on wheel so my other bike computer wasn't working either. Route was made up as I went along and even doubled back on myself at one point!

Positioning was quite good and surprisingly comfortable but I think the length of bone between shoulder and elbow is very short as my arms were nicely stretched low in an aero position but my elbows were nowhere near the pads. I felt I could tuck my shoulders in close and achieve good breathing as I wasn't too restricted.

Comments from passing motorists, kids at bus shelters, runners and fellow cyclists kept me highly amused and entertained and gave me the cycling high I tend to miss out on riding solo all the time.

Happy with my averages? Maybe.... 21.3mph for 22miles. I'd say it was an easy 23mph, possibly higher, with all the stoppages. 800ft climbing, felt worse than that not sure what a typical TT course has but I have certainly got the bug and can't wait for the season to begin and actually do some TT's. Went no where near flat out, apart from the first few minutes and legs very good, hopefully, for a ride tomorrow.

Decent ride out

2011-02-08T17:51:00.004Z

Tues 8th Feb

Stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/67272130

How on earth I averaged 18.2mph with 4000ft climbing I will never know. Started in a foul mood with legs to match and just couldn't get going or feel like it. Suppose the running I keep doing is having a big effect with muscle 'recovery' The wind was a Southerly 10-15mph and a lot gustier on higher ground as I came to find out. So the first 20 or so miles I had a good tail wind? Well I couldn't tell but I could definitely feel the head wind for the rest of the trip especially up the climb near Crown Point to the highest mark on my journey on Burnley Rd East. Going quite hard all round the course as my heart rate is constantly around the 165-170 mark. Last 15 miles my averages were really difficult to maintain due to stopping at red lights constantly and the strain of sprinting after each one to get my speed up was tiring me out very quickly. After 55 miles I got a '2nd wind' and felt I could go on again for much longer, that coincided with me changing direction and having a funny tail wind again. Once home I got off the bike and could actually walk with no problems, a few weeks ago after a fairly short ride I cramped up so bad I couldn't get off the bike or up the driveway to my front door.

Wed 9th Feb

For some reason I just felt like I needed to run. Never had that feeling before. Off to the gym as it was getting cold, windy and dark outside. Started off at a steady 7mph and went to 7.5mph after 10 mins. 8 mph was reached with 5 mins to go followed by a few mins sprint then 6mph warm down for 5mins. Roughly 6km in 30mins.
Next was gym bike. Wasn't expecting miracles as I wasn't too fresh. I used level 14 instead of 12 this time and did 10miles in 23.30, made it up to 30 mins with about 12 miles.
Swimming is usually my strong point but the last time I went was absolutely ages ago and wasn't expecting too much from this session. Only had just over 40mins and was just going to do 50 lengths, just over 1km until some kid got in and started racing me. Gave me the lift I needed as I could tell my heart rate was now above resting! Not quite fair but I still beat him apart from 1 length but anyway I ended up doing 100 lengths! which is 2.5km.

Mileage not adding up

2011-02-07T19:55:00.000Z

Fri and Sat were supposed to be commutes but the wind and rain put me off completely. Not good! Sunday wasn't good either. I had to do something to keep/improve my regained fitness so in desperation I had to dig deep to the bottom of my gym bag to find the pass with 4 months free on it due to a screw up at their end. ( supposed to be cancelled in Nov)....Noooo not the GYM.

Started off without a warmup and with my adrenalin pumping double time just hit a 10 mile tt straight away on the gym bikes. First 5miles were easy enough, keeping just under 2min/mile pace. I had a time of 19.46 to beat and kinda went flat out the rest of the way. Heart rate was close to 180 and had to ease off a little now and again. I was pedalling frantically ( for me) at over 120 revs/min and everything just felt right. Ended up with a PB time of 19 min 16 secs and close to 300watts average.

A quick dry down, sip of water and I was away on the running machine. 6.5mph, nice and easy...... OH OHHHH cramping up badly after 2 mins. Quickly dropped to a paltry 6.0mph where I had to control my breathing through my nose as I was in agony with my usual running stitch also. ( That'll teach me from stuffin my face with sunday dinner and rushing to gym before clsoing time) within 15mins I was good to go again and upped the speed every five minutes as my knee was holding up well. So well in fact that I lasted a whole hour on the treadmill and therefore was able to end with a good all out sprint. 7miles in 1 hr.

Weather supposed to be good Tuesday... maybe a nice ride is in order.

Bits and bobs

2011-02-02T14:06:00.000Z

The start of the post is going to be a brief section as to what I have done the month before Christmas and the month after as my posts ended and started, coincidentally, on 24th Nov 10 and 24th Jan 11.

My Targets for 2010 were:-

10mile TT 24mins

25mile TT 1hr 5mins ( not a single time trial done FAILED!)

5km run 23 mins ( I did a good 22mins, very hilly at Rossendale Tri)

Hilly Sprint Triathlon 1hr 18 mins. ( Rossendale Tri 1hr 09mins)

Do a road race hopefully lots. ( Does Ashton Crit count?)

Get accreditation at the Velodrome. ( WOOHOOO Done this one!)

I will post 2011 targets at a later date.

As we all know the terrible weather had put most peoples riding into hibernation for a lot longer than anticipated and I was no exception. The first few weeks of bad weather saw numerous trips to Manchester's Velodrome and some well needed fitness and sprint training. Mince Pies and the thought of the weather improving saw my cycling and fitness dwindle away very quickly and couldn't face any pounding of the wooden boards. The turbo trainer has been firmly locked away with my time trial bike, both sights such a rare occurrence. Each cold, miserable and wet day passed and my enthusiasm was only being kept alive by impulse purchases in the pre and post Christmas sales and also the promise of 'nicer' weather.

Jamis has had a 'New Year' make over with the replacement of saddle ( fi'zi:k arione cx) , bars ( White Cinelli palm) wheels ( borrowed pantani's 40mm white wheels as per profile picture) Red Sti grips and some new lights too!
TT bike has a new saddle ( fi'zi:k arione Tri 2)
Scottie has new White cables, chain.
Track bike has new wheels ( Pro lite Vicenza 90mm with 2 in 1 hub)

Also bought the Garmin 500 and a BBB Everest helmet to look a bit cooler and match Jamis. In the pipeline are more wheels! Pantani, after having his bike stolen within arms reach, has been on a buying splurge too. 3 sets of ebay special carbon wheels including a set of tri spokers! Hopefully that will give him the kick up the arse to enter some TT's. All in fairly good nick too, just the odd bearing needing changing really.

The commutes started again around mid January and I have no record of them. I remember struggling to average 16mph and my muscles burning. Oh yes before that, another reason for not riding was the dreaded flu that everyone seemed to get just before Christmas, got it afterwards too. The symptoms were really bad for a couple of days then I was just coughing for 2 weeks. Same again just before I started cycling again in January.

ON my recent commutes I have been paying close attention to my heart rate. When Im getting changed and it goes over 100 I know Im going to have a bad cycle! For example last night when changing , heart rate was 85 ish and I had a good ride home ( 18.5mph 21 miles, 1000ft) and the wind was very bad.
Some rides my heart rate refuses to budge over 140,others 150. My better rides it holds a constant 160-165 and won't go higher no matter how hard I go but recovery after a hard effort is super quick and some rides Im constantly max'd out at over 170. I'm not sure how to interpret the findings but I would love to know why my body feels the need to put a ceiling on how fast my heart will beat.

Another example, Monday morning I rode nearly 60 miles fairly hard ( heart rate about 155 max 175) but felt slow. 2hrs later I cycled to work 16miles ( heart rate about 160 max 180) felt super fast and would have averaged over 20mph ( sprint up to 26mph - red light STOP! , repeat 10 times) . Cycled home 20 miles, mostly uphill ( heart rate 155 max 165) felt absolutely like superman and mega fast and I could feel the power I was putting down ( av 19mph) but heart rate very low compared to my perceived effort.

My knee has been giving me a few problems for the first time in ages, probably because I ran last week. A few days off should do the trick but I find I can lose a lot of my cycling legs in that short time. Any chance of some nice weather this year?

Body Collapsed

2011-01-30T12:33:00.000Z

Climbing out of Manchester, towards Bury and Haslingdon was great, fast and into a head wind although I encountered every single traffic light on RED! As soon as I hit Rawtenstall thts when it all started to go wrong, a vicious circle. It was very cold exacerbated by the head wind (NE). My body did not like this one little bit, the sweat had made it worse and you can see my heart rate plummet. Heart rate struggled to get over 120 so I couldn't get my body warm, core temperature must have been very low, which in turn stopped my heart rate rising. Tail wind for the last part but couldn't do anything with it, just went with the flow and floated home unable to pedal.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/65795120

Behind the times

2011-01-28T13:14:00.002Z

Got a Garmin 500! Miles behind most of you lot who got Garmins years ago. No idea why I never had one. Just some stats from todays commute. COOOOOOlllllllllllDDDD! THe time if the commute is correct! and its the day after I did a muscle spasming 8km run, the first for months. Felt terrible.

TO work

Home ( bleedin' windy)

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/65469344

I can't be arsed to POST!!

2011-01-24T23:47:00.002Z

Enjoying Training

2010-11-24T22:10:00.000Z

Tues 23rd Nov-

Went to gym before my membership runs out as I have just cancelled it, could be a mistake as really cold weather is due for setting in for a few weeks/months. Went on gym bike for a 10mile TT to see how much I am progressing or not. Usually I go on level 13 and have a cadence of about 106 but today for some strange reason I went on level 9 and cadence was about 121. Heart rate was 167 for 10 mins then 176 for the last 10 mins. Speed was averaging 29mph for first 10 mins and 31mph for last 10 mins.

10 miles in 19mins 48seconds.

Running machine next. 7.5mph for first 5mins and incrementally increased speed when I felt like it. Sprinted last 0.5km at 10mph.

5km in 23mins 38 secs.

Its not just the fast times that I'm surprised at but how quickly I recovered to do a run afterwards, which is fairly swift for my standards. Only had 3 mins rest inbetween.

Swam with Tri club after. About 2km in 1hr.

You gotta be kiddin'?

2010-11-21T23:47:00.001Z

ROUTE

Very quickly, headwind for first 30 miles into Holmfirth. Turned around expecting super tail wind which I got for 5 miles, uphill on Holmfirth Rd, slowest 14mph on the steepest bits up to 20mph on less steep and close to 30 just before the big drop into Greenfield. Fantastic. Nope, as soon as I hit the descent head/cross wind all the way home. Looked at wind direction on bbc weather. South/East Manc, Hudders, and North Manc all had WILDLY different directions and I know for a fact the speed was higher than 12mph (in places) as shown on website. Good training I suppose.

Toes were freezing all the way around and I did a little experiment by putting one latex glove on one of my hands then put glove on. No difference. Didn't even sweat or crinkle up as I expected. Both hands fairly cold.

Distance ~65miles+
Ascent 4500ft
Average Sp 17.1mph

Children In Need

2010-11-19T22:36:00.006Z

Lets start by giving an update on the 3-4 weeks since the last post. Super Super busy.

Commutes have been regular, just the odd day I've not bothered. Averages have been between 18.8 and 20.2mph with a rogue 17.2mph due to a very strong South Easterly and my commute to work tends towards the SE. I changed the saddle height on one day so it was higher and I have now decided raising it absolutely screws up my muscles where it can take ages to recover. The saddle now is lower and much much more further back and my speeds are very consistent over 4 days commuting. Positioning is less relaxed but more comfy and can I pull on the bars/shifters for more power. Also riding much quicker on the 'all' uphill commute from Manchester to home than the 'all' downhill to work. 140-200 miles a week. One of my spokes came off one night which had corroded at the nipple and I was very lucky not to get thrown off the bike as it could easily have got caught in the derailleur! That night it happened the wheel was rubbing againt the brake block very badly for 15miles as I was unaware of the incident and I just though I could feel a very bad wind! - the air was still. I went as hard as poss and still managed 19.4mph.

Swimming at least once sometimes twice a week but nice and easy. Running just once, yesterday.

A couple of Sundays ago was the Middleton Cycling Club hill climb champs. I cycled to Blackstone edge for a warmup and went up it to get a feel for the gradient and the terrible head wind. Didn't feel great at the start but once my time had come I was doing 15 mph just like that and thought I had better slow down or my adrenalin would get the better of me. About half way up there is a sheltered section for a couple of hundred yards which I used to my advantage and went a bit harder. The last part was the steepest and the toughest due to the wind but I saw my minute man ahead and sprinted to try and overtake him on the line but just missed out by centimetres. New club record, something like 7mins 40 seconds or was it 6? I dunno.. Cant wait for a favourable wind next time. Last year I did it in nearly 10 mins! After the meal I carried on cycling to do 50miles and was looking forward to the tail wind on the return leg from Walsden. Can you believe it, the wind direction turned 180 degrees within minutes of me reaching it. How do I know? there is a Nissan garage with flags and whilst travelling to the start line was a head wind, on the way back it had switched to a head wind again. Didn't have average speed as I put my front wheel on 'the wrong way round' for the sensor and couldn't be arsed to change it.

Thanks to Lost Sheep and bro' for all the support.

Bargain of the century didn't turn out to be that and the order got cancelled :( Boo at ChainReaction! heh. Had a feeling it would though.

Tonight, just been at the Middleton Arena (gym) to do a sponsored gym bike race against the staff for Children in Need. Now Im not a charity kinda guy and despise all these expensive Sportives 'for Charity' aka lining own pockets ( disclaimer - not all Sportives are run this way) but I had another motive (booo hissss). The missus would let me do this ( not usually as its my day off work) and I could get an hour of pure threshold training in. The night before I booked my slot 5.30pm to 6.30pm and we just had to get as many miles as possible in that hour. Managed just over 27 miles and I was hurting. Heart rate was a constant 166bpm which is probably right on the edge of the zone and speed didn't fluctuate from 27mph too much. Last 5minutes, heartrate was 176 bpm and speed ~48km/hr ( top sp 53km/hr) These are just stats that I cant compare to anything else other than gym bikes so wont translate to 'real world' performance. Apparently, I climbed the equivalent of 4000m too. My bike didn't have a bleedin' power meter on either grrrr. The previous record was 18 miles :P Thoroughly good workout. Here's to the relatively 'good' winter weather continuing but less wind please! ( i h8 the turbo!!!!!)

Loadsa Miles - Quick Weekly Roundup

2010-10-29T04:36:00.001+01:00

Thursday 21st, Friday 22nd Sat 23rd.

After concentrating so hard this week, I can't remember what on earth I was up to last week. Did I cycle to work? No idea. There's no way I'd miss 3 days. Ahhhh Thursday wasn't a work day.

SQT 'B' session at the velodrome. What a super,exhilarating 2hr session for £9.80. There were 40- of us on the track and it was my first go. Sooo nervous as I didn't want to screw up or cause some massive pile up. Turns out the ability was mixed from regular super fast racers to sunday clubber's but I did notice they were all experienced and knew exactly what to do. Some of the tasks/skills/training looked quite advanced and I was shoved at the back to observe then copy and when it was my turn I generally knew what to do and when apart from one time ( always happens) and I got a little word down my ear. Would definitely do again as much as possible. 30-35 miles.

Went swimming with Tri club 30 mins after the SQT finish, just to get the arms used to pulling. Got cramp near the end but did go quite hard up til that time.

I must have cycled Fri and/or Sat. Ill have to ask the missus when she wakes up.

Sunday 24th

SQT 'A/B'. Not as many, maybe 25 but there were a lot more inexperienced riders and the coach just did some simple exercises. Didn't feel as fast as Thursday and was more of a chore, by the last exercise I just wanted to go home as my bum was killing me. I think the mileage was quite high with this one as the breaks were very short. In between sets, sprinters would come on and do their thing then we'd go back on. I'm sure one of them was Jason Queally, He had a superman sticker on his bike. 35miles.

This week's commutes

Monday 25th

(work) Distance 30miles Speed 19.3mph
(Intermidiate) Distance 20miles Speed 18.1mph
(home) Distance 20miles Speed 15.6mph

Sunday's SQT finished quite late and I was shattered from the interval work we did. Bike fit felt terrible as I have been fiddling with it recently. Post way too high and all the leg muscles were being overstretched. Couldn't get comfy on the drops or tops. The commute home wasn't fun. The first 5 uphill miles were done at 19mph then I bonked. As the rides went on I was fading fast into nothing. My position on the bike was quite far forward and I'm sure that combined with the height my muscles deteriorate super fast.

Tuesday 26th

(work) Distance 20miles Speed 19.2mph
(home) Distance 20miles Speed 20.0mph

Used mainly as a recovery day but felt quite snappy. Tempted to over do it and I might have done so. I put the saddle back and lowered it loads. Oh my! What a change. I felt I could keep going forever and that the wind didn't exist at all! Got a feeling that I'm going to be exhausted for the rest of the week? Quite windy today 10-15mph and its going to get worse through the week.

Wednesday 27th

(work) Distance 20miles Speed 20.0mph
(home) Distance 20miles Speed 19.8mph

Just to prove Tuesday wasn't a fluke I go and do some more fast commutes. This time though I was really feeling every pedal stroke and really feeling the wind too.It didn't feel like I had attained 20mph. I am not going to change my bike setup at all now. It is a dream to ride. Shame I have to give Pantani his Pro-Lite wheels back. Talking of wheels I might have ordered bargain of the century, thats if I dont get my money refunded and told that a mistake was made. No info until I get the wheels or a refund :) Wind speed was 15-18mph and was more blustery and continous than Tuesday where there were breaks of no wind. Can I carry on the speed into Thursday?

Thursday 28th

(work) Distance 30miles Speed 19.3mph
(inter) Distance 20miles Speed 19.8mph
(home) Distance 20miles Speeds 20.2mph

Looks like there's no stopping me. I'd have thought that I'd be a bit fatigued at the end of the week but seem to be getting stronger and stronger. Dehydration has been a major problem of mine and could be the reason behind some poor performances so from Tuesday I have been drinking loads. I have done so many changes Im not sure which has had the amazing effect on my cycling. Wind speed 21mph + ugh not nice at all. The intermediate cycle was kinda like a circular circuit so balanced out the wind and gives a better idea of true performance. On the commute home I started off by thinking Ill only do a short cycle as the muscles were burning, tight and achey but they loosened up very very quickly so I carried on. With a couple of miles to go I couldn't stand up because I had totally worn my legs out but was able to put the power down whist in the saddle which I have never seemed to be able to do until this week. Nearly puked up at the end as I pushed my self hard due to having a couple of days off, or not? Might run fri/sat and possibly do the Rochdale Tri club Championships Triathlon on sun depending on weather and knees after running. Going to try and get bike fit on tri bike, similar to Jamis.

Total miles this week Thurs - Thurs = 280ish (not including fri/sat as Im not sure if I did cycle or not.)

Track Accreditation

2010-10-20T22:02:00.001+01:00

As posted previously, on Sunday I was booked in the Velodrome to hopefully pass the full track accreditation exercises. There was about 15 of us, many of whom I had seen before or knew due to having to do all the tasters, taster improvers, skills and induction lessons. Thought I'd look a bit smarter than I had done by wearing the full Rochdale tri club kit instead of the cheapo Aldi stuff I like to wear. Emily from Rochdale Tri club was there and also 'Kingcutter' from cycle chat forums. Made me feel alot more comfortable and less nervous with a few friends about.

The 'test' was split into 3 parts which I can't remember but it was something like warmup, skills and speed/racing. Not sure if the warmup counted and if the speed/racing were seperate. Anyway, we had to get in a long line and hold on to the wheel infront without drifting too far behind or above/below and hold an even pace without 'kicking back' to slow down and do some changes every lap then every half lap.

The skills was also a fitness test as it lasted quite a long time. So we got up into our line again being paced by Chester, one of the velodrome staff. We'd do a lap on the bottom, blackline, red line, blue line and top of the backing followed by more changing after full laps then half laps and then 5 or so laps of lumps and bumps ( moving up and down the banking), 2-3 bike lengths apart making sure we moved at the same point Chester moved at and not at the same time. Pairs was next and changing in pairs, moving to the back. Lastly in this section was the 'box move' 2 lines one on the blue and one just above, side by side. The lower line sprinted through and joined the front of the higher line, the back of the higher line dropped down to the back of the lower line, one by one and repeated. It was great to do all the skills without any hiccups and it proceeded sooo smoothly.

The speed work was quite simple, 2 lines on the blue, half a lap apart and the front guy would drop to the black line and sprint to the back of the line infront. 3 sprints each.

Finally was the mock race. 12 laps 'warm up' and changing then 12 laps racing. I led and screwed up straight away by leading on the blue line and not the lower black one. A loud shout from coach corrected that and the first twelve laps were up. I was leading as we crossed the line and the 'elite' Surosa rider had just dropped back so I started the race straight away and upped the pace. After the first lap and half the line was strung out considerably by myself but Surosa guy was with us so I dropped back to let someone else lead and recover a little. We all took our turns at the front and with 8 laps to go we were whittled down to 4. A guy from Wakefield tri club took some very hard and long turns at the front, probably because he couldn't sprint but he did cause a little panic as we chased. I shouted to leave him but the others sprinted to follow his wheel so I had to go hard to get back. Four laps to go and still 4 of us. Surosa guy was taking very short stints at the front, with 3 to go I led and went slowish for a lap hoping for someone to overtake. Tri guy sprinted off again and again we gave chase. He was caught and dropped and with one and half to go the other rider led. One lap to go Surosa guy over took the leader and I was still behind but slowed myself on the corners so that I was still behind Surosa guy which might have been a mistake and should have just carried the speed on til the end. On the last straight I pulled out and was slowly inching forward but Surosa guy got it by a wheel. Loved every second of the 'race' but the main concern was that we were all safe whilst doing it, otherwise a big FAIL would be written by our names.

Play time ended the exam and the Derny was brought out. I had increased a tooth on my sprocket from last time so was glad when Coach said max would only be about 45-50km/h. I think I did 64km/h previously. Was also quite tired by this point but managed to hold on well.

We were all invited to the rider's D for our results and we had all passed. Deffo the correct result as the group assembled was to a very high standard compared to some of the taster's and skills sessions. The new way of accreditation works a treat I think instead of the one all day session where you could do it even though you've barely ridden before. So what does that mean now?.... I can now participate in SQT's( structured quality training and some races, even though most racing doesn't require accreditation). First SQT is booked for tommorrow! its only £10 for the 2 hrs. Wish me luck :)

About 30 miles ridden

MONDAY commute ( 4hrs after the above!)

Work Distance 20 miles Speed 19.3mph
Home Distance 15miles Speed 17.2mph

WED running

Distance 10km Time 44mins 45 secs

Flat batteries...or is it running on fumes?

2010-10-16T15:29:00.000+01:00

Commuting

Wed 13th October (work) 20miles 19.9mph Legs dead due to running but good speed.
   (home) 30miles 19.7mph Feeling better, gettting cold at 9pm.

Thurs 14th October (work) 20miles 18.3mph Drained, wind quite still.
   (intermediate) 20miles 19.5mph Hammered it, going to pay later
   (home) 30miles 18.0mph Still, but feel like getting blasted backwards.

Fri 15th October (work) 30miles 17.2mph If it wasn't for N wind I'd be much slower.
   (home) 30miles 18.5mph Started off easy but getting strong near end.

Quite cold at 2am-3am in morning and my body is struggling to get a reasonable heart rate up to keep myself warm. Also noticing I'm not getting out of breath, not that I don't want to but just incapable of pushing myself probably due to exhaustion/no glycogen so my body shuts down to fat burning mode? I'm only guessing.
Getting home on Friday night I was so tempted to stop off and get 2 pizzas but somehow managed to resist. I did intend to commute on Sat but just couldnt do it.

On Sunday I have my final accreditation assessment at the velodrome, woohoo, fingers crossed I do well. If I pass it I will be able to ride the SQT sessions, just in time for Winter.

More running than cycling, HAH!

2010-10-12T22:29:00.000+01:00

Hehehe, Didn't think I'd see the day where I have done more miles in a week running than on the bike but don't worry that will soon change when I'm back at work.

Another 10km over and done with and I am actually enjoying the runs. Problem this time is that I had a stitch ALL the way around the course and muscle a bit achey. Time was respectable 46minutes 30 seconds. No major hiccups with the knees either ( fingers crossed and wood touched etc.)

Went swimming at Middleton Arena, not too strenuous tonight. Used a pull bouy and paddles most of the set. 500m warmup, 4 x 100 easy 30s rest, 4 x 100 easy 20s rest, 4x 100 pull only 15s rest, 4 x100 IM 10s rest and 100m warmdown. 2.2km swam.

Running, jogging....crawling.

2010-10-11T11:32:00.001+01:00

After the run on Friday I was going to do the Heaton Park run on Saturday as it was going to be another fab day. However I was aching like mad and reallly tired. Still haven't recovered from my week of very early starts. Same for Sunday. I didn't swim due to the above reasons. Monday arrives and the superb weather continues so I'm determined to go out for the full 10km run.

Instantly I could feel that my leg muscles were getting used to running again and I made it effortlessly down the street. I quickened the pace to try and beat Friday's time. After 10 mins I could feel a twinge in my right knee and after 16 mins I was in agony and had to stop. 'Turn around and walk home' someone kept telling me. I didn't listen and jogged very slowly. The 'Crawling' in my Blog title is very apt, have never been a good runner, even though I did cross country for the school team. After 5 mins of slow jogging the pain was disappearing so I carried on at the same rate until eventually the pain subsided. If I was to go a bit faster I would get' the twinge' so had to limit myself initially. The pain went totally after few more minutes and I was merrily trundling along at a decent speed. By the time I was able to run again I knew that I was no where near a good time for the 10km. I think I could have done a lot further than 10km today, even after the dodgy knee episode, but I was nearly home so virtually sprinted the last 500m. There was no ache at all in the muscles and its just a matter of time before my confidence returns.

6.22miles in 51mins 30s but I arrived home in one piece, no niggles to report and feeling very fresh.

Super sleepy commutes

2010-10-08T17:27:00.004+01:00

Sunday 3rd October Dreadful weather followed by worse weather. There were quite a few hard core cyclists out today, me not being one of them. Swam at Rochdale baths with Tri club. 1km ( 40 lengths) warmup up then 6>5>4>3>2>1 lengths, one set normal, one set pull, one normal, one pull. 6 lengths warm down. 130 lengths in under an hour. Not bad since I'm a bit rusty. It's going to be difficult to get out of bed for the week's commutes as I start about 4am everyday bar one 3.25am!!! I will do it!!!

Monday 4th October Not had much rest from all the action last week and I can see myself not getting much this week either so I can see myself skipping a day or two. Going was at a relaxed pace but the body was tense and tight. When that happens I just concentrate on nice smooth pedalling and getting as aero as possible. As normal I liven up in the afternoon.

(to work) Distance 20miles Av Speed 17.6mph (head/cross wind galore)
(to home) Distance 20miles Av Speed 19.3mph

Tuesday 5th October Going well so far. 2nd day 2nd commute. Have to get up at 2am to allow myself time to get in, in case of puncture ( x1 last week) or if I have to travel really slow. Today was really slow day, well the morning run was. Seemed to take forever to get anywhere but there was a huge bonus. Going so slow you don't feel the wind as much hah! Might have to try it more often. Afternoon cycle was greatly extended due to the superb weather and I did a deal with the missus. I had inside info it was going to be nice all week so If I was allowed ( fitness permitting) to extended cycles home I would not cycle any day on my long weekend off, coming up. She agreed but little did she know I was taking a rest week anyway heheheeee. The first 15miles of the commute home were a cross/tail wind all uphill gently and I got lulled into a false sense of security as I thought I could keep the frantic pace I had initially set. As soon as I turned East it was a cross/head wind all the way home virtually for 35 miles! Average dropped like a bomb but still pleased with my effort as I must have stopped at 20 traffic lights plus.

(to work) Distance 20miles AV speed 16.4mph (head/cross wind galore)
(to home) Distance 50miles Av Speed 18.6mph ROUTE

Wednesday 6th October This one would be the test of my commitment as I had to get up at 1am ish and unbelievably I awoke full o' beans. When the legs feel good the wind is less noticeable even though its unwanted prescence was definitely blowing against me, 'Lance calls it a chain free day' Didn't quite feel like that. I have been reading a book by Paul Kimmage 'Rough Ride', the first book I have read in ages since Robbie Fowlers Autobiography. Its about life as a pro cyclist in the late 80's and doping etc but he mentions multi vitamins and caffeine to aid recovery. I seem to be eating enough calories and sometimes it can take a weeks rest to get back to best so on Tuesday I took 2 vitamin tabs swilled with diet redbull. This week I might as well had no sleep, ok not as bad as that but it has been difficult which should mean very slow recovery if at all...best day yet this week.

(to work) Distance 20miles Av Speed 19.4mph (head/cross wind galore)
(to home) Distance 30miles Av Speed 19.9mph (millions of stops grrrr)

Thursday 7th October Two more vitamin tablets last night and a relatively good nights sleep meant good legs in the morning, but not ideal. I'm nowhere near my best fitness wise and all week for the past 3-4 weeks I am feeling muscle tightness. Have been doing lots of stretching recently but hard to tell if its doing any good. Nice fast ride to work, against the wind again, generally, and another big ride home to boost the weekly mileage. Had a Starbucks Blueberry cheesecake which was a mixture bewteen the Tesco new york and the softer chocolately base of Harvester's. Tangy aftertaste but the melt in the mouth crumbly texture and just a hint of blueberry so it doesn't spoil the taste of the cheesey bit.

(to work) Distance 20miles Av Speed 19.7mph ( blah blah windy)
(to home) Distance 40miles Av Speed 17.7mph (ROUTE)

Much more difficult long commute home as the wind has changed to a Easterly from a Southerly so all the route is a cross/head wind with virtually no tail, loads of stops as coming home school time just like Tues. Wooohoo, did all 4 days and topped it off with a swim at Middleton Arena with Tri club where I went full out. Lungs are up to it but arm muscles still need some conditioning as they went very quickly. 32 lengths warmup with drills then 400m, 2x200m, 4x400m, 8x50m and finally 20 lengths warm down. 118 lengths :(

Friday 8th October FIVE DAYS REST, well off the bike anyway. I went for a run instead to see how quickly I had lost form. Very rarely do running out side but the nice weather prompted my change in attitude. Just over 6miles in 43 mins 30 seconds, thats nearly 10km. Left knee held up immensely but right knee gave up 20m from home....how lucky. It felt I had a trapped nerve and the pain shot down the leg from my knee.

Obtained a chocolate cheese cake from the 'Slattery' which I knew would be a mistake and was. Sickly rich Chocolate moussey thing on top of the strangest crunchy biscuit base ever like it had very cheapo malteasers in it.. Also got a Strawberry tart. The pastry casing is utter tosh, dry, almost stale, tasteless even with a thin chocolate layer. Not a one off but to their recipe. Filled with plain whipped cream with strawberries on top. Boring, plain and boring. Chocolate and Orange Torte was last, looked amazing and actually did taste quite good, very 'jaffery' Sponge was too light and dry though.

Miles for the week 220miles

Mmmmm Cheesecake

2010-10-03T00:26:00.000+01:00

Tuesday Commute (to work) Distance 25miles Av Spd 18.2mph
   (to home) Distance 25miles Av Spd 19.3mph

Took a bit of a beating Tuesday night, got drenched. Doesn't usually bother me but I set off unprepared ie. no waterproof, no overshoes etc so was very miserable.

Wednesday and Thursday were work rest days and cycling rest days. I was allowed out Thursday but declined the offer, went swimming instead with the Tri club. Starting to be a cheesecake connoisseur. Nutters restaurant had done the best white chocolate one but recently, absolutely love Harvester's. A chocolatey softish base lacking crunch but compliments the melt in the mouth, crumbliness perfect cheesy bit, not bitter and not too sweet, with just the right amount of raspberry coulis baked in the top. At £3.99 for a small slice it aint cheap! I hit the supermarkets to try and find a cheaper alternative. This week was Tesco's turn in the form of Extra special Newyork Vanilla Cheesecake for £4. I expected great things but was let down. Didn't feel cheesy but had a cheesy bitter aftertaste and the bicuit, a little digestivey. I still ate 1500calories worth to make sure my taste buds weren't lying. Next was the ES Millionaires Cheesecake on offer at £3.60. Comes with a gooey chocolate topping, small amounts of liquid caramel, with a mild caramel cheesey taste but was disappointed at the lack of a 'short bread' base just the super sugary and buttery digestive tasting one. Again 1500 calories worth eaten! A lot nicer than the ES Newyork but still looking for the 'ONE' Might have to pop down to some independants. The Slattery has a good reputation in Whitefield, the big cakes are nice and fancy but the little desserts are supermarket standard so not sure I'll bother with theirs.

So in 2 days I must have consumed 6000 calories in sugar alone. Lots of energy for cycling?

Friday Commute (to work) Distance 25miles Av Sp 16.4mph
   (to home) Distance 30miles Av Sp 19.9mph

Felt terrible Friday going to work which was worsened by the Southerly wind as my commute zig zags to the south so a permanent head wind which died down come to the evening cycle which I extended so that I could get in over 200miles for the week.

Saturday Commute (to work) Distance 25miles Av Sp 20.0mph
   (to home) Distance 30miles Av Sp 20.1mph

Impressed with the work cycle as there were lots of traffic light stops, actually all this week there have been loads of traffic light stops going to and from work as I have started late morning and finished early evening. Also had that nasty Southerly/SW wind again. On the way home I did what I try to do on my commutes and do a few intervals. Some sprinting from traffic lights, some long straight less intense but very hard and the sitting hill climb where I am totally zapped at the top. Recovery inbetween was quick so rest periods were as short as possible. Enjoyed my mini hill climb today as I concentrated on a super smooth and fast-ish pedal motion which worked and speeds were very good in the wind. Nice mild temperatures this week resulting in copious amounts of sweat as Im in my winter gear.

I have been tweeking my saddle positioing again. I have the nose pointing slightly upward ( not too uncomfy) to sit on the edge when doing hard efforts, raised the post which does hurt the bum more and set the saddle back a bit more which helps when climbing. I seem to get most power to the peddles when Im on my tippy toes. Just realised that as when I did leg presses in the gym my toes would always be pointed as that's where I get the most power from but ideally Im sure the feet are supposed to be flat. Problems are my bum is really hurting due to it smashing down on the saddle and my calves dont like it too much.

Plan for next week is to have a relaxing Sunday ride followed by 4 very early commutes and then Ill take a big long rest for a week where I might do some running. Last winter I did a lot of core work and has benefitted me loads with the unusual bike positioning I have but recently, after neglecting my core I can feel the odd ache and twinge so will need to do more this winter.

Total mileage for the week just over 200miles.