4 weeks to go, so we had a group training weekend. One of the team is on holiday, but the remaining 7 of us set out for Brighton on Saturday morning, then headed along to Portsmouth, and then back to Guildford via Alresford and the A31. The pace when we set off was fast, and I had a feeling that I was unlikely to be able to maintain it all day - and I didn't!
Lunch came just in time on a hill overlooking Portsmouth. What a view that was. I was pretty done in by that point, and guess that the culprit was a combination of not having done all the miles, and not really getting the nutrition balance right. Maybe going out to dinner on Friday night didn't help either!
Anyway, the real excitement was on the way home along the A31 when I noticed that there was something awry with my tyre. I had been bumping along as though I was going over cracks in the road, but there were none. Upon inspection it appeared that there was a kink in the tyre. I knew that this was trouble, but thought we could press on anyway. After about 5 miles there was a loud bang, like a rifle shot, and the tyre burst. Thank goodness for mobile phones and the trusty wife to come and rexcue me.
So I ended up with 125 miles and the others managed 147 or so.
Sunday, 1 June 2008
Saturday, 17 May 2008
How very undignified
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!!
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!!
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.
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Broken Bike
Oh dear, my beautiful new Specialized Roubaix Expert is broken! There is a crack in the frame where the cross bar joins the seat stays and the seat tube. How this happened I do not know, but for now the bike has had to go back to Specialized. I certainly hope that they will simply swap it for a new one, but as mine was an '07 model I doubt if they have any. Ho hum, maybe I will get an '08 model instead.
Thank goodness I have another bike to train on. My trusty Allez Elite will have to bear the brunt for a while now, although it is pretty mucky after a wet ride last week. I suppose I am lucky that it happened now and not on the main event. Still I am sorry that my pride & joy has to go to the knackers yard.
Thank goodness I have another bike to train on. My trusty Allez Elite will have to bear the brunt for a while now, although it is pretty mucky after a wet ride last week. I suppose I am lucky that it happened now and not on the main event. Still I am sorry that my pride & joy has to go to the knackers yard.
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
Weekend on 2 Wheels
Well, after my "weak as a kitten" ride last week, I spent a few hours on the turbo trainer since then to try to get some semblance of cycling back into my legs. It may be just me, but does time goes by more slowly on a turbo trainer than anywhere else?
Come Saturday morning, I was ready(ish) for a long weekend, and keen but apprehensive. I loaded my bottles with Zym and my pockets with bars and 4 of us headed out to Brighton on a wet and grey morning. It was just wet and grey everywhere, and within a short while I was wet through, from rain on the outside and sweat from the inside. I have yet to find a top that can keep rain out and let sweat out that will actually work for me - I think it might need a pump.
Entertainment came from the peculiar excretions of Paul's lycras. He was literally foaming from his rear!! Curry the night before? Snot wiped from his gloves? What could it be? I can only think that his shorts had not been rinsed sufficiently after washing, and the rain and exertion meant that the soap residue was foaming out. Hugely weird and a good topic for humour!
I am not a hill climber, being too heavy and not really succeeding in losing the extra weight, so Ditchling Beacon was a challenge in my mind. However, at a steady pace I made it up without reaching for the easiest gear. Then it was zoom into Brighton to see one of my sons, who at 10:30 on a Saturday was so fast asleep that he could not hear us pounding on the door and the window and ringing the bell! We never did get to see him!
On the way back home I was struggling and feeling nauseous. I think I have to watch out for what I put in my bottles, as I am obviously a bit sensitive to it. Ciaran gave me a carb drink which helped, but I really felt like stopping at Godalming, with arms and legs tingling, and getting light headed. Strangely after a few minutes (seemed like ages) it went, and although I was tired, I made it up the hills to home OK. We had managed some 108 miles in conditions that were not hugely conducive to cycling, but certainly could have been worse. I was totally soaked through.
Sunday was a 6am start! So I was up at 05:20 in time to have a bite to eat and make sure everything was ready for another long ride. This time I thought I would leave the waterproof at home, as it is great for visibility but I call it "boil in a bag" as even with zips open I still get wetter on the inside. So this time I took my A-Z top, which is great for cold days, but this was not to be a cold day! So I got wetter on the inside than the outside again.
Legs were tired, and I knew they would be, so today I put carb drink in my bottles. Oops again - this was too sweet and I got sick of it. At about half way, when Ciaran was doing up his bottle cage and Iain was tightening his loose handlebars (!!!) I mentioned bacon sandwiches. I could have murdered something savoury after carb drink and energy bars. Eventually we stopped in Slough at a Polish Delicatessen run by Indians (!!) and bought some plain water and some salty cashews. Aaah, nothing better on a Sunday morning than a bag of salty nuts.
After the fresh plain H2O and some savoury sustenance I felt a whole lot better, and the ride home showed that I need to take more care of what I put into myself, as although I clearly need energy and electrolytes, I need to regulate it more carefully. Perhaps I will go back to my previous ways of having flapjacks and trail mix. At least I am learning now and not on the main event.
By the way, I have to mention the long-suffering family, without whose support I would not be able to train for, let alone participate in, this challenge. They put up without having me around at weekends and will have to do so for the next couple of months. I know that they support what we are all doing, and I also know that at times they would prefer I was not on a bike somewhere, so THANK YOU.
Come Saturday morning, I was ready(ish) for a long weekend, and keen but apprehensive. I loaded my bottles with Zym and my pockets with bars and 4 of us headed out to Brighton on a wet and grey morning. It was just wet and grey everywhere, and within a short while I was wet through, from rain on the outside and sweat from the inside. I have yet to find a top that can keep rain out and let sweat out that will actually work for me - I think it might need a pump.
Entertainment came from the peculiar excretions of Paul's lycras. He was literally foaming from his rear!! Curry the night before? Snot wiped from his gloves? What could it be? I can only think that his shorts had not been rinsed sufficiently after washing, and the rain and exertion meant that the soap residue was foaming out. Hugely weird and a good topic for humour!
I am not a hill climber, being too heavy and not really succeeding in losing the extra weight, so Ditchling Beacon was a challenge in my mind. However, at a steady pace I made it up without reaching for the easiest gear. Then it was zoom into Brighton to see one of my sons, who at 10:30 on a Saturday was so fast asleep that he could not hear us pounding on the door and the window and ringing the bell! We never did get to see him!
On the way back home I was struggling and feeling nauseous. I think I have to watch out for what I put in my bottles, as I am obviously a bit sensitive to it. Ciaran gave me a carb drink which helped, but I really felt like stopping at Godalming, with arms and legs tingling, and getting light headed. Strangely after a few minutes (seemed like ages) it went, and although I was tired, I made it up the hills to home OK. We had managed some 108 miles in conditions that were not hugely conducive to cycling, but certainly could have been worse. I was totally soaked through.
Sunday was a 6am start! So I was up at 05:20 in time to have a bite to eat and make sure everything was ready for another long ride. This time I thought I would leave the waterproof at home, as it is great for visibility but I call it "boil in a bag" as even with zips open I still get wetter on the inside. So this time I took my A-Z top, which is great for cold days, but this was not to be a cold day! So I got wetter on the inside than the outside again.
Legs were tired, and I knew they would be, so today I put carb drink in my bottles. Oops again - this was too sweet and I got sick of it. At about half way, when Ciaran was doing up his bottle cage and Iain was tightening his loose handlebars (!!!) I mentioned bacon sandwiches. I could have murdered something savoury after carb drink and energy bars. Eventually we stopped in Slough at a Polish Delicatessen run by Indians (!!) and bought some plain water and some salty cashews. Aaah, nothing better on a Sunday morning than a bag of salty nuts.
After the fresh plain H2O and some savoury sustenance I felt a whole lot better, and the ride home showed that I need to take more care of what I put into myself, as although I clearly need energy and electrolytes, I need to regulate it more carefully. Perhaps I will go back to my previous ways of having flapjacks and trail mix. At least I am learning now and not on the main event.
By the way, I have to mention the long-suffering family, without whose support I would not be able to train for, let alone participate in, this challenge. They put up without having me around at weekends and will have to do so for the next couple of months. I know that they support what we are all doing, and I also know that at times they would prefer I was not on a bike somewhere, so THANK YOU.
Sunday, 13 April 2008
Weak as a kitten
Well, after my ride with Henry in the wind and rain, I caught a cold, which was bad news as I had just booked a dive holiday in the Red Sea. So all the way to the airport I was wondering whether I should cancel the trip, as my ears were blocked. As it was, I missed the first few days diving because my ears would not equalize, and it was painful testing them!
The boat was fab (lived on it for a week) and we stayed on it whist we were moored off a tiny island in the middle of the Red Sea where there was nothing on the horizon for 360 degrees apart from a smaller island about a mile away. When I eventually could dive, the first thing I saw was a shark - yipee! There were 2 wrecks on this island, of which one was difficult to see as it was coral encrusted after about 100 years.
As a way to clear my ears, one of the guys suggested snorting salt water up my nose. OUCH. Anyway, it helped me dive, but I did get a bit worried when I saw blood in my mask! Think of the sharks!
It was a great time, but not best for cycle training, as there was little to do but dive, eat, sleep and read. I also think that the drugs I was taking to clear my head probably had the effect of suppressing the cold, and when I came home I felt lousy for a couple of days, and also had the after effects of too much fruit and tamarind juice!
So the net effect is that today I felt as weak as a kitten and then got a terrible headache to boot! It can only get better from now on in - can't it?
The boat was fab (lived on it for a week) and we stayed on it whist we were moored off a tiny island in the middle of the Red Sea where there was nothing on the horizon for 360 degrees apart from a smaller island about a mile away. When I eventually could dive, the first thing I saw was a shark - yipee! There were 2 wrecks on this island, of which one was difficult to see as it was coral encrusted after about 100 years.
As a way to clear my ears, one of the guys suggested snorting salt water up my nose. OUCH. Anyway, it helped me dive, but I did get a bit worried when I saw blood in my mask! Think of the sharks!
It was a great time, but not best for cycle training, as there was little to do but dive, eat, sleep and read. I also think that the drugs I was taking to clear my head probably had the effect of suppressing the cold, and when I came home I felt lousy for a couple of days, and also had the after effects of too much fruit and tamarind juice!
So the net effect is that today I felt as weak as a kitten and then got a terrible headache to boot! It can only get better from now on in - can't it?
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