Feeling no ill-effects from last week’s epic down to Devon, I upped the commute mileage this week with a lap of Richmond Park each evening on the way home – now in full light at last. Amazing how the hills in Richmond Park seemed so insubstantial after what I’d experienced in Somerset / Devon. The monotony of riding laps of Richmond Park is as much a mental challenge now as a physical one, but I figure training in either aspect is going to be useful come June. It’s amazing how many cyclists are out and about now – in fact the huge increase in the number of commuters on the roads is actually becoming a complete pain the a***. The front of the queue at traffic lights is complete mayhem in the evenings, and there are plenty of people doing very silly things. The drivers should be praised for their patience, as many of the cyclists are showing none whatsoever.
After a late and boozy Saturday dinner with the Gilbey’s, I was slightly dreading my Sunday ride, and would have preferred to have lazed around the house, or taken the dog for a stroll. But, I dragged myself onto my bike having drunk several pints of water and a couple of paracetamol. I actually felt pretty good for the first 25 miles, out past Kingston and along the banks of the Thames to Chertsey. Stupidly, I told myself that 100 miles isn’t really very far and that I could polish off the miles quite quickly with a minimum of fuss. 35 miles in and I was feeling fairly pooped and the miles seemed to tick by incredibly slowly for the next 20 miles. Took a wrong turn south of Farnham and inevitably that directed me onto the longest hill on the route so far – but in a weird kind of way, that served to energise me. My speed picked up again at around 65 miles as I turned East near the charmingly-named Titty Hill near Midhurst and took advantage of the wind in my back. A long climb out of Easebourne pushed my heart rate higher, but offered exquisite views North East across the route home. Although feeling tired, and crawling up any incline, especially back over the double ascent of the North Downs, the tailwind meant that I was riding at 20-25mph on the flat the whole way back - helpful as the ride ended up at 114 miles instead of the planned 100. I probably pushed too hard in fact, and have been feeling sore since I got home – a lesson that I need to ride within myself on the TdF itself.
Am getting a bit bored riding by myself all the time – the difficulty is finding someone of the right standard – not too quick and not too slow – who is around at the right time of the weekend and is happy to ride the distances I want to cover. I console myself with the thought that riding alone, taking the brunt of the wind full on, will mean that it will be relatively easy once I come to ride with a group, and take shelter when I need to. Next Sunday I’m entered in the Squires and Spires sportive with Tommy, so the company will make a welcome change.
Weekly totals
Commute – 134 miles
Other rides – 114 miles
Funds raised to date £2018.
Sunday 25 April 2010
Sunday 18 April 2010
The long road to Devon
So, the week of the back-to-back long rides was here, the first real test of whether I could string together more than one long-distance ride. It started fairly innocuously with a perfectly normal return to work after 10 days away from the office, although I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the 5.15am alarm call. But by Tuesday lunchtime I was beginning to feel distinctly average – cold, achy joints, headache and an upset stomach. Not the best preparation for two mega days in the saddle, or perhaps worse still, I could be forced to cancel the whole weekend’s trip.
I had a ticket to the Chelsea v Bolton game on Tuesday night, but the thought of sitting in a cold draughty stadium did not sit well with my condition. And I know the part of the stand that my seat is in has only 2 proper loos – and those are usually occupied by smokers trying to get a nicotine fix before ejection by the security staff. Too risky. So I went home and went to bed early instead, hoping to wake up in a better state next morning. After a torrid night, I didn’t feel any better, so stayed at home in bed for the rest of the day. More out of hope than expectation, I got all my cycling clothing and gear ready on Wednesday evening for Thursday’s ride to my parents’ home near Swindon.
Thursday morning I woke to a pleasant day and feeling a lot better. Thankfully, it seemed like my illness had been nothing more than a 24-hour bug. Still, I hadn’t eaten much over the past 2 days and that inevitably meant I would be short of energy. It was also a cold day, due to a NE wind, especially when the sun disappeared behind a cloud. I rode very conservatively, with Friday’s tougher and longer ride ahead of me, but did worry that perhaps I’d got back on the bike too soon.
Having reached my parents’ home after an 85 mile ride I felt relatively okay, and certainly less tired than I’d done two weeks ago after battling a headwind the entire way. Didn’t sleep particularly well though – legs still seemed to be turning! Departed at 8am the following day to begin the long slog to Exeter, with my spirits lifted by another sunny day and a very welcome tailwind. The first 40 miles or so were pretty flat, or could even have been a bit downhill overall, and it was a constant battle not to get carried too away and blast along. All the same, I made good progress to Bradford on Avon, through some very pretty Cotswold villages – amazing how many villages win ‘Village of the Year’, but a new designation I spotted along the way was ‘Longest Village in England’ (distinctly unimpressive, but Brinkworth at 6 miles, if you’re interested!). Thereafter, the riding became steadily more challenging as I passed through Frome and Castle Cary on the edge of the Mendips, before stopping for a much-needed lunch in the rather plain town of Somerton after 80 miles. Refuelled and slightly rested I continued on, knowing that the really hilly stuff was still to come in the latter part of the ride.
The road started to get much more challenging around Ilminster, with some proper climbs over the Blackdown Hills, but by then I knew that I was only about 40 miles from the end – and could look forward to stunning views at the top of every climb. Strangely, and encouragingly, I almost started to feel a bit stronger in this part of the ride – maybe the tailwind was getting stronger! It was only in the last 25 miles that I started to cover the same ground as my ride down to Cornwall 5 years ago – and I was pleased to recognise a farm shop on top of a ridge near Smeatharpe that I’d stopped at on that trip – for an ice-cream. So I did the same this time – the nice old dear in the shop even offered to give me a cup of tea, but I didn’t think that would go too well with my Solero. She also repeated her advice of 5 years ago that it was all downhill to Poltimore from here – a cheering thought, but not exactly true! I eventually reached my destination some 130 miles and 10 hours after setting off – a pretty sedate pace on that basis, but about 8.5 hours of cycling and mission accomplished.
What’s really started to encourage me is the fact that I seem to be recovering from long rides much more quickly than I did before – this may be because I’m not trying to go at breakneck speeds, but hopefully it shows that my body is starting to adapt to the increased demands I’m asking of it. Given I’d feared the mid-week illness would scupper the ride completely, I very pleased to have ridden over 230 miles, which is my largest weekly mileage in 5 years.
Weekly totals
Commute – 15 miles
Other rides – 216 miles
Funds raised to date £1928.
I had a ticket to the Chelsea v Bolton game on Tuesday night, but the thought of sitting in a cold draughty stadium did not sit well with my condition. And I know the part of the stand that my seat is in has only 2 proper loos – and those are usually occupied by smokers trying to get a nicotine fix before ejection by the security staff. Too risky. So I went home and went to bed early instead, hoping to wake up in a better state next morning. After a torrid night, I didn’t feel any better, so stayed at home in bed for the rest of the day. More out of hope than expectation, I got all my cycling clothing and gear ready on Wednesday evening for Thursday’s ride to my parents’ home near Swindon.
Thursday morning I woke to a pleasant day and feeling a lot better. Thankfully, it seemed like my illness had been nothing more than a 24-hour bug. Still, I hadn’t eaten much over the past 2 days and that inevitably meant I would be short of energy. It was also a cold day, due to a NE wind, especially when the sun disappeared behind a cloud. I rode very conservatively, with Friday’s tougher and longer ride ahead of me, but did worry that perhaps I’d got back on the bike too soon.
Having reached my parents’ home after an 85 mile ride I felt relatively okay, and certainly less tired than I’d done two weeks ago after battling a headwind the entire way. Didn’t sleep particularly well though – legs still seemed to be turning! Departed at 8am the following day to begin the long slog to Exeter, with my spirits lifted by another sunny day and a very welcome tailwind. The first 40 miles or so were pretty flat, or could even have been a bit downhill overall, and it was a constant battle not to get carried too away and blast along. All the same, I made good progress to Bradford on Avon, through some very pretty Cotswold villages – amazing how many villages win ‘Village of the Year’, but a new designation I spotted along the way was ‘Longest Village in England’ (distinctly unimpressive, but Brinkworth at 6 miles, if you’re interested!). Thereafter, the riding became steadily more challenging as I passed through Frome and Castle Cary on the edge of the Mendips, before stopping for a much-needed lunch in the rather plain town of Somerton after 80 miles. Refuelled and slightly rested I continued on, knowing that the really hilly stuff was still to come in the latter part of the ride.
The road started to get much more challenging around Ilminster, with some proper climbs over the Blackdown Hills, but by then I knew that I was only about 40 miles from the end – and could look forward to stunning views at the top of every climb. Strangely, and encouragingly, I almost started to feel a bit stronger in this part of the ride – maybe the tailwind was getting stronger! It was only in the last 25 miles that I started to cover the same ground as my ride down to Cornwall 5 years ago – and I was pleased to recognise a farm shop on top of a ridge near Smeatharpe that I’d stopped at on that trip – for an ice-cream. So I did the same this time – the nice old dear in the shop even offered to give me a cup of tea, but I didn’t think that would go too well with my Solero. She also repeated her advice of 5 years ago that it was all downhill to Poltimore from here – a cheering thought, but not exactly true! I eventually reached my destination some 130 miles and 10 hours after setting off – a pretty sedate pace on that basis, but about 8.5 hours of cycling and mission accomplished.
What’s really started to encourage me is the fact that I seem to be recovering from long rides much more quickly than I did before – this may be because I’m not trying to go at breakneck speeds, but hopefully it shows that my body is starting to adapt to the increased demands I’m asking of it. Given I’d feared the mid-week illness would scupper the ride completely, I very pleased to have ridden over 230 miles, which is my largest weekly mileage in 5 years.
Weekly totals
Commute – 15 miles
Other rides – 216 miles
Funds raised to date £1928.
Sunday 11 April 2010
Fun week
Combining Easter weekend with a few days off, I managed to get a full 10 days away from the office at the expense of only 4 days of holiday. Bargain. We’d considered flying off to somewhere warm and sunny for a week, but in the end decided to stay in London and spend the money saved on flights /accommodation doing fun stuff with the kids. Turned out to be a great decision, as we had a great time and the weather was actually pretty good too. The girls had two riding lessons each, which they loved – what have I let myself in for there? Although I’ve yet to hear any pleading to have their own ponies…
Highlight of the week’s action (for me anyway) has to be the trip to Woburn Safari Park. We’d intended to go to Longleat initially, but luckily checked the website beforehand, which revealed that the monkey enclosure was closed. Travelling all the way to Longleat to find the main attraction closed would not have gone down well. We arrived in time for the Park opening at 10am and were one of the first cars through the gates. This is a good thing. First, the queues are shorter; second the carnivores are fed at 10am and so they're all near their food which is strategically placed close to the road for optimal viewing. So we had awesome views of the black bears, a wolf stealing food from a bear – it was just like a wildlife TV programme – the wolf using cunning and speed against the ferocious size of the bear. But, of course, the bears, rhinos, giraffes and lions were all just the pre-amble for the main event – the monkeys. Initial disappoint at an apparent lack of monkeys soon turned to hysteria inside the car as our patience finally paid off when a troupe of Patas and Barbary monkeys launched a sustained assault on our motor. Cress very nearly found out the hard way why the Park suggests you keep your windows closed…in the end I think we got away quite lightly, with part of the rear wiper and a bit of a wingmirror missing after their attack. Highlight of the trip, kids and parents loved it.
Had a decent ride out in Surrey on Friday, covering off 100 miles as planned. It was a beautiful day with a light wind, clear skies and temperatures nudging into the high teens. What a difference it makes, everyone seems to smile a little more and are a little more accommodating: no, please, after you, I insist. My average speed also improved along with my demeanour, although I never felt like I was really pushing it – perhaps I am starting to see some progress after all. The views from the top of Leith Hill and Box Hill were awesome again. I was speaking to a fellow cyclist at a dinner party on Saturday evening, who’d been up to Box Hill that morning – he estimated that there were about 100 riders at the Box Hill café, and counted over 150 coming up the hill as he rode back down afterwards. Perhaps we’re no longer a minority sport.
Poor old Clare had a rough ride on Sunday. I got a call from her at about midday to say that just outside Staines one of her front wheel spokes had snapped, punctured her tyre and ripped a hole in the sidewall, leaving her unable to carry on. Her ride mates continued on their ride, while she waited for a taxi. I got another call from her about an hour later, just a touch animated. The taxi had turned up, but the driver didn’t know how to get to London, how to speak English or how to operate his sat nav. Result? They’d travelled 3 miles in 30 minutes. Frustrating end to a ride, to say the least. Worrying failure of the wheel too – I could imagine that happening on a rear wheel perhaps, but this had gone on the front wheel, and after only about 400 miles from purchase. We’ll see what wiggle.com have to say about it.
Spent Sunday afternoon mapping my route for Friday’s ride from Swindon to Exeter. Nothing like getting the big Ordnance Survey maps spread out on the floor to feed the anticipation of a big trip. Looks like being a ride of about 120 miles and 2,500 metres of ascent, a day after 85 miles and 1,650 metres of climbing. Should be a tough ride – the 2008 Etape was only 2,440 metres of vertical and 105 miles by comparison. Still, fingers crossed the wind’s in the right direction – current forecast suggests a decent tailwind, hope it stays that way.
Weekly totals
Commute – zero
Other – 126 miles
Funds raised to date - £1,928
Highlight of the week’s action (for me anyway) has to be the trip to Woburn Safari Park. We’d intended to go to Longleat initially, but luckily checked the website beforehand, which revealed that the monkey enclosure was closed. Travelling all the way to Longleat to find the main attraction closed would not have gone down well. We arrived in time for the Park opening at 10am and were one of the first cars through the gates. This is a good thing. First, the queues are shorter; second the carnivores are fed at 10am and so they're all near their food which is strategically placed close to the road for optimal viewing. So we had awesome views of the black bears, a wolf stealing food from a bear – it was just like a wildlife TV programme – the wolf using cunning and speed against the ferocious size of the bear. But, of course, the bears, rhinos, giraffes and lions were all just the pre-amble for the main event – the monkeys. Initial disappoint at an apparent lack of monkeys soon turned to hysteria inside the car as our patience finally paid off when a troupe of Patas and Barbary monkeys launched a sustained assault on our motor. Cress very nearly found out the hard way why the Park suggests you keep your windows closed…in the end I think we got away quite lightly, with part of the rear wiper and a bit of a wingmirror missing after their attack. Highlight of the trip, kids and parents loved it.
Had a decent ride out in Surrey on Friday, covering off 100 miles as planned. It was a beautiful day with a light wind, clear skies and temperatures nudging into the high teens. What a difference it makes, everyone seems to smile a little more and are a little more accommodating: no, please, after you, I insist. My average speed also improved along with my demeanour, although I never felt like I was really pushing it – perhaps I am starting to see some progress after all. The views from the top of Leith Hill and Box Hill were awesome again. I was speaking to a fellow cyclist at a dinner party on Saturday evening, who’d been up to Box Hill that morning – he estimated that there were about 100 riders at the Box Hill café, and counted over 150 coming up the hill as he rode back down afterwards. Perhaps we’re no longer a minority sport.
Poor old Clare had a rough ride on Sunday. I got a call from her at about midday to say that just outside Staines one of her front wheel spokes had snapped, punctured her tyre and ripped a hole in the sidewall, leaving her unable to carry on. Her ride mates continued on their ride, while she waited for a taxi. I got another call from her about an hour later, just a touch animated. The taxi had turned up, but the driver didn’t know how to get to London, how to speak English or how to operate his sat nav. Result? They’d travelled 3 miles in 30 minutes. Frustrating end to a ride, to say the least. Worrying failure of the wheel too – I could imagine that happening on a rear wheel perhaps, but this had gone on the front wheel, and after only about 400 miles from purchase. We’ll see what wiggle.com have to say about it.
Spent Sunday afternoon mapping my route for Friday’s ride from Swindon to Exeter. Nothing like getting the big Ordnance Survey maps spread out on the floor to feed the anticipation of a big trip. Looks like being a ride of about 120 miles and 2,500 metres of ascent, a day after 85 miles and 1,650 metres of climbing. Should be a tough ride – the 2008 Etape was only 2,440 metres of vertical and 105 miles by comparison. Still, fingers crossed the wind’s in the right direction – current forecast suggests a decent tailwind, hope it stays that way.
Weekly totals
Commute – zero
Other – 126 miles
Funds raised to date - £1,928
Monday 5 April 2010
Wind, wind, wind
Just a three day commute on the cycle this week, but I have now started to add in more distance to my ride home, with a lap of Richmond Park tagged on the end. My timing was not great, as on each night I got battered by strong winds and drenched by persistent rain. All good character-building stuff I suppose. Nah, just unpleasant.
For the Easter weekend I’d planned to do my first back-to-back of serious distance, riding to my parents on Easter Sunday (85 miles) and then to some friends near Silverstone on Easter Monday (75 miles). Riding long distances on consecutive days is something I’m going to need to get used to for the TdF, so I was really looking forward to seeing how I would get on. As it turned out, our trip to Silverstone was cancelled, so I never did the second ride as planned.
I set off for my parents on Easter Sunday at 6.30am in slight drizzle, but feeling confident about the ride – my aim was to cycle at a gentle pace to save energy for the following day’s action. But it became clear pretty early on that the trip was likely to cost me a bit more energy than I’d originally bargained for. The reason? Wind. I was cycling 85 miles into a strong headwind. Initially this has little noticeable effect other than a slightly slower speed, but after a couple of hours it really started to sap the energy in my legs, and then the mind games began. Long before the end, I was desperate to stop and seek some respite from the unrelenting buffeting. I had a tremendous sense of relief when I saw a sign to Highworth 4 miles, meaning I was only 6 miles from the end of this self-imposed torture – and comfortably in time for lunch. At least on the TdF I should be able to shelter behind some other riders if it’s windy, so things shouldn’t be as bad as this (famous last words). Encouragingly, I recovered relatively quickly and actually felt pretty good for the rest of the day – no doubt helped by a delicious Easter Sunday lunch of roast lamb and all the trimmings. Positives were brief stops by the side of the River Thames in Windsor and Henley early in the morning, just as the sun was breaking through – and some strange, but very happy bloke trying to feed bananas to the ducks.
For the Easter weekend I’d planned to do my first back-to-back of serious distance, riding to my parents on Easter Sunday (85 miles) and then to some friends near Silverstone on Easter Monday (75 miles). Riding long distances on consecutive days is something I’m going to need to get used to for the TdF, so I was really looking forward to seeing how I would get on. As it turned out, our trip to Silverstone was cancelled, so I never did the second ride as planned.
I set off for my parents on Easter Sunday at 6.30am in slight drizzle, but feeling confident about the ride – my aim was to cycle at a gentle pace to save energy for the following day’s action. But it became clear pretty early on that the trip was likely to cost me a bit more energy than I’d originally bargained for. The reason? Wind. I was cycling 85 miles into a strong headwind. Initially this has little noticeable effect other than a slightly slower speed, but after a couple of hours it really started to sap the energy in my legs, and then the mind games began. Long before the end, I was desperate to stop and seek some respite from the unrelenting buffeting. I had a tremendous sense of relief when I saw a sign to Highworth 4 miles, meaning I was only 6 miles from the end of this self-imposed torture – and comfortably in time for lunch. At least on the TdF I should be able to shelter behind some other riders if it’s windy, so things shouldn’t be as bad as this (famous last words). Encouragingly, I recovered relatively quickly and actually felt pretty good for the rest of the day – no doubt helped by a delicious Easter Sunday lunch of roast lamb and all the trimmings. Positives were brief stops by the side of the River Thames in Windsor and Henley early in the morning, just as the sun was breaking through – and some strange, but very happy bloke trying to feed bananas to the ducks.
I was buoyed by the thought of a tailwind on the planned ride to Silverstone – how good was that going to feel in contrast with Sunday’s torment! But on Sunday evening we cancelled the trip to see our friends, so instead I decided to ride round Richmond Park – partly because I couldn’t be bothered to plan another route. But after 3 laps, heavy legs, boredom and more wind meant I just couldn’t face going on any further, and I bailed after 25 miles. More work to be done, clearly!
Weekly totals
Commute – 80 miles
Other rides – 87 miles
Funds raised to date £1778
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