Just the way to get into the weekend - go for a ride on Friday (which was a pretty OK 95 miles) and then get into the bath and yell. I had worn a raw patch on my behind, and broken the skin - OUCH. I treated it nicely but it was uncomfortable walking, sitting and lying down.
When I got on the bike on Saturday, fully hoping to do the 150 miles, I found I really couldn't do it. It hurt sufficiently to worry me that maybe I could make it worse, which at this stage is not a good idea. So I wimped out of a training ride and went home. I did get to the gym for a while though.
So, I now have to treat it very carefully, because if you can't sit down, you can't ride a bike for 10 hours a day. I have some surgical spirit, which stings like you would not believe, but hopefully will prevent any nastiness and then toughen the skin a bit.
Let's hope this works, or I am in big trouble!!
Saturday 17 May 2008
Monday 12 May 2008
West Country in the sun
Sunday 11th May, Ciaran and I headed down to Bath to ride with Henry. We set off by car at 6a.m. and were on the bikes by about 8:15. We did pretty much the same ride that Henry and I had done a few weeks ago when it was wet and VERY windy. Today though, it was sunny and warm, and hardly any wind.
I am still not fast up hills, but I do just keep going, and we made much better progress than last time. Although we did not have to contend with wind and rain, the temperature was something we have not really had to deal with yet this year. It was noticeable when going uphills in the sun, and with what little wind there was effectively disappearing. So hydration was very important. I had a mixture of dilute carb drink with a Zym tablet in it and that seemed to work in my 750ml bottles.
In addition, food - energy bars on the go are just not enough all by themselves and we stopped for sandwiches and a cold drink on the way into Bristol. It will be important to make sure that on the main event we stop for a proper break and something to eat. That will be 40 minutes or so (at a minimum) I reckon.
Henry suffered on the hill to the airport, as he was getting too hot and was hungry. This is another of the lessons we learn in training, which of course is why we do it.
We did a good 85 miles in average temperatures of 24C. My computer said that I used 2800 calories. I felt that it was not a bad ride, considering we had to get up so early and then travel by car. Had we left the house on bikes at 06:00 I think it would have been a different session. Anyway, thanks to Ciaran for joining us, and well done Henry.
I am still not fast up hills, but I do just keep going, and we made much better progress than last time. Although we did not have to contend with wind and rain, the temperature was something we have not really had to deal with yet this year. It was noticeable when going uphills in the sun, and with what little wind there was effectively disappearing. So hydration was very important. I had a mixture of dilute carb drink with a Zym tablet in it and that seemed to work in my 750ml bottles.
In addition, food - energy bars on the go are just not enough all by themselves and we stopped for sandwiches and a cold drink on the way into Bristol. It will be important to make sure that on the main event we stop for a proper break and something to eat. That will be 40 minutes or so (at a minimum) I reckon.
Henry suffered on the hill to the airport, as he was getting too hot and was hungry. This is another of the lessons we learn in training, which of course is why we do it.
We did a good 85 miles in average temperatures of 24C. My computer said that I used 2800 calories. I felt that it was not a bad ride, considering we had to get up so early and then travel by car. Had we left the house on bikes at 06:00 I think it would have been a different session. Anyway, thanks to Ciaran for joining us, and well done Henry.
Friday 2 May 2008
Henry in the papers
Henry made it into the press! The Bath Chronicle has a piece about him this week together with a photo of him in his Zym cycling jersey. I hope his training is going well, and we shall see when we meet up for the 3 day event - a long weekend of cycle training in 2 weeks time.
Today I get my replacement bike. It was accepted that the fault in the 07 frame was a warranty job, so I go off to collect a brand new one later today - I hope this one has no problems! Still, good on Evans and Specialized to have got the whole thing sorted in only a few days.
Today I get my replacement bike. It was accepted that the fault in the 07 frame was a warranty job, so I go off to collect a brand new one later today - I hope this one has no problems! Still, good on Evans and Specialized to have got the whole thing sorted in only a few days.
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