Falling Back.

Only 1 turbo training session to speak of in the last week.

It feels like the Millennium Falcon flying towards the Death Star, and the dawning realisation of the occupants about the enormity of the task and just how under-equipped they suddenly are.

Off on holiday on Saturday, and don't get back until January. There is going to have to be a serious upping of my game then.

Getting quicker... but not on the bike

Knocked another 1min 10sec off my PB on my 7.5mile run home. I'm sure this has something to do with the max HR interval sessions I've been doing on the turbo trainer.

Have never tried interval training with any consistency before and so far I really like the results. It's nice to know that real measurable gains can be made in such short sessions (30-60mins)

Whether this translates to improved performance on the bike remains to be seen - there's a chance that I won't be cycling now until January

Too much, too soon

45 mins on the turbo trainer this morning. Meant to complete 5 max HR sprints but fatigue made me miscount and do 6. Nearly fainted when I climbed off the bike and had to spend a few minutes in the recovery position.

Perhaps I need to take it a bit easier and build up my fitness more slowly

Weight is 77.3kg. Let's see if I can keep it there through Christmas...

The Route... In 3D!

35 Minutes on the turbo trainer last night - 25mins of over/under. Knee still not right

Totally committed.

Well, I managed to secure my entry for the 2013 Etape du Tour (within 1 minute of registration opening - hope I'm that speedy on the day), so I'm actually gonna do this.

Better start training.

A new PB on my run home on Monday. Went back to my old trainers for the benefit of my knees

Time to do more work on the bike.

Another Year Older.

36 today. I'm officially in my late 30's.

Haven't been on the bike for over a week apart from one aborted turbo session due to a knee pain. Probably picked up the injury running on Tuesday - I think the trainers are to blame.

Not good.

 

Broken bits...

 

Looks like I need a new wheel (or two...)

A New 'High'

Woke up to a misty, cold morning in the Brecon Beacons, but that wasn't enough to put me off today's planned ride.

Once I'd donned of all my cold-weather gear, I headed out along the back road out of Talybont towards Brecon. The Brecon Bypass allowed for a relaxed time trial section to get the blood pumping and the muscles working, before the first climb of the day up to Mynydd Illtud. The descent from the moorland at the top would've been great fun, if I could've seen more than 5m ahead of me:

Rather than risk bending a wheel on a rogue sheep, I rode the brake back down the hill (note to self: do this hill again in the summer - it looks fun)



After that I headed north to Sennybridge, then along the A40 to Trecastle. From there I headed south and climbed up through the the Glasfynydd Forest to the Bwlch Cerrig Duon pass, the highest point of the ride at 490m. The climb itself was great - 5km at an alpine-like gradient of 5-6%. It was easy to get into a rhythm and enjoy the scenery which was belatedly appearing from the mist. The descent proved to be the most enjoyable part of the day - a snaking downhill with excellent visibilty which allowed me to use the full width of the road and really get some speed up (apart from when taking the photo below!)

This downhill was followed immediately by a leisurely climb (4-5%) back up the A4067 towards Heol Senni.

Just before the village there's a set of steep ups and downs which I'm sure were strategically placed just to empty a cyclist's tank just a little more before the big climb of the day.

The ride along the valley is lovely, but those who've been before (or studied the profile map) know what is just around the corner. After the cattle grid, the Sarn Helen road begins to ramp up to between 10-12% until you reach the 1st switchback (with a near vertical gradient on it's inside). After that, it's a evil section of 14-15% until the second switchback (where the photo which adorns the title of this blog is taken), after which the gradient eases off to the top of the climb. I'm not too proud to say that I was in granny-gear for most of this, changing to 30-25 when I could for a little out of the saddle work. I made it up in one go, which is an improvement on my only other effort, and was rewarded with a spectacular view. A quick break, and a chat with a photographer who was enjoying the same view, then it was the flying descent all the way down to Ystradfellte. The fact that I was losing height just to climb again did not humour me at this point.

After the devilish 15% climb out of Ystradfellte, it was on to Penderyn, and the climb up Cefn Sychbant and the descent through the forest to the Llwyn-on Reservoir. A short stint down the A470 to just north of Merthyr and I finally turned for home along the road which follows shores of both Pontsticill and Talybont reservoirs. Only there's one more hill in the way.

The climb up to the waterfalls was an absolute brute. I was out of food, and I couldn't take the spare energy gel I had brought with me as I was out of water too! So I just ground it out, watching the metres climbed slowly increase on my Garmin. When 2000m rolled around I had a temporary feeling of euphoria. But only very temporary.

With one last effort I was over the top, and descending towards Talybont. I gave the bike a victory pat as I entered the village, then it was time to get off the saddle and eat the contents of my Dad's fridge.

In all, I had ridden 110kms and climbed 2080m. These were the only stats I could get however, as my new Garmin computer refused to play ball. I'm not having much luck with bike computers at the moment.

It feels great to have completed this ride, and I'm refusing to let the fact that the etape is longer and climbs higher temper this. For a start, there'll be feed & water stops when I finally get to the Alps!

Weight. A cyclists obsession...

I keep finding myself looking at very expensive carbon-framed bikes and imagining how much better they'd make my cycling performance. I have to keep telling myself that it's easier to lose the weight from my body than to find the money to upgrade my bike.

Plus the winners of the Tour de France were using bikes of a similar weight to mine all the way up to the late 1990's.

Plus I cannot justify upgrading a bike which is 3 months old.

So I won't be buying any improvement in performance just yet. Shame - those carbon bikes look so pretty.

Another 9.5 miles run this week, and the promise of one or two days riding in the Brecon Beacons to come.

2013 Diary.

It's going to be a slovenly Christmas with a 3 week holiday to Burma over the festive period, so to make sure I get back on the bike in January, I've put together a preliminary sportive / training calendar for 2013:

March 17: Burgess Hill Springtime Classic (115km)

April: 160+km ride in Brecon Beacons

May 25-27: Tour of Wessex (540km over 3 days)

May 31-June 4: Trip to Provence (inc. ascent of Mont Ventoux)

I may try to find one more sportive to top off the training in June, but Tom's wedding may get in the way of this.

30 min interval session on the turbo trainer this morning - 4x 30sec full sprints (too many excuses in my head for not doing the 5th sprint - need to work on my turbo trainer mentality)

So many shiny new things....

...so little time (and money) to buy them all.

After my Cateye computer gave up the ghost last week, I decided to spend the refund on an upgrade:

Yes reader, you can look forward to lots and lots of meaningless stats, analysis and comparisons now. You never know, it might even improve my cycling!

No work on the bike since Saturday (bad), but a 9.6mile run yesterday in a new PB (good). Why do I measure rides in KMs, but runs in miles?

Need to watch the consumption of 'nice food' too - winter can have a detrimental effect on the waistline.

Cycling for fun.

A really enjoyable spin through the Surrey hills today with my friend and 'etape veteran' Tom

The route took us on a nice warm-up spin from Cranleigh to Ewhurst, then a steady climb up to Peaslake. Another climb along Radnor Rd and a short flat-ish section brought us to the foot of White Downs Lane. Managed to stay on the middle chainring all the way up today, which was a improvement on my last attempt.

Below is Tom winching his way up the final 18% section:

A fun, if slippery descent down Ranmore followed, then a leisurely ascent of Box Hill.

A happy Tom, Lee and their reward:

Descending Box was great fun - the surface they laid for the Olympics is super-grippy. After that, it was the long climb up Ranmore, and just about every bump in Surrey. The final climb up Hound House Rd had both of us on our chinstraps and desperately looking for the top of the climb.

After that, it was a lovely descent in the afternoon sun back to Cranleigh for tea and medals.

Stats were: 63kms ridden and 1100m climbed.

But it wasn't about numbers today, it was just about getting time in the saddle and enjoying it. Because come the new year, training won't be quite as much fun.

Scare tactics.

The article below was written by Rob Harris, a sports physiotherapist who has completed numerous etapes, and advises on the training and conditioning required to get you through the event:

"The last couple of years I’ve helped friends get through the event, one was a first time Etape-ist – in fact they were really a first time cyclist and started at the back of the field – and ended there as well! For the other, I cycled back down Ventoux to give them a bit of support and I’ve never seen such carnage at a sporting event in my life!

You hear the horror stories that in the last 3 Etapes around 2500 of the 10,000 cyclists don’t finish, but to actually see it is something else.

Try to imagine 2500 cyclists, that’s like an entire UK Sportive not making the finish line – it can be for various reasons – they get swept up by the Sag wagon because they are not fast enough or they physically just cant make it but as I came up Ventoux in 2009 and the Tourmalet last year, the roadside was littered with bodies of people walking; lying in gutters asleep; people seeking shade; people who had just fallen off their bikes with exhaustion.

It may not be what you want to hear, but so many people are ill-prepared for the difficulty of the Etape or their simply not fast enough to avoid the Sag wagon – the Sag is a series of coaches filled with Gendarmes and they hold no mercy for those deemed too slow. If that’s you, you get dumped off your bike, it get chucked in the back of the truck and you have quite possibly the most depressing coach ride of your life…

So let’s not be amongst them because the Etape should be one of the greatest experiences of your life. It is truly a memorable and prolific event that I would urge everyone to experience but with ill preparation it can be one of the longest, hardest most horrible days you could have as well."

So now you know what I'm up against.

Miles to go.

Another interval session on the turbo trainer. Wrong frame of mind as my computer is up the spout and spent a good 40 mins trying to fix it before starting, so only did 4 sprints.

No power in the legs. Need time in the saddle.

Riding to stand still

Interval session on the turbo trainer last night: 45 mins with 5x 30 sec sprints. Went dizzy on the sprints a bit too quickly for my liking - hoping that will get easier.

Weight 77.9kg. Don't think I've been this light since high school. I'm wary of setting a goal weight as it could be demotivating if I fall behind.

Killermathon  

Completed the London Kilomathon on Sunday - 26.2 kilometres in 2 hrs 9 mins 15 secs and a respectable 55th place.

Training on the bike from now on, but will keep up the running as it helps with shaving the weight.

Feels like ages since I was on the bike...

The Stage Is Set.

The route for the Tour de France 2013, and more importantly (to me at least!) the Etape du Tour has been released. The course is a 130km loop to the south of Annecy, finishing on Annecy Semnoz:

As the profile shows, there's very little flat on the course, and just over 3,000m of climbing.

Honestly, my first reaction to the announcement of the route was disappointment.

With this being the 100th Tour de France, and the grandeur of some of the other stages in the race - Mont Ventoux, Alpe d'Huez, Col du Glandon and Col du Madeleine, I thought we were in for something spectacular. A real 'must do'. Instead this route seems to be an after-thought.

After I had mulled my initial thoughts however, a re-evaluation brought the positives to the fore:

1. The course is a loop, meaning that providing I can actually secure an entry, the logistics of competing are far easier.
2. The course is indeed short but the lack of flat km's means this is still a real test of fitness
3. This is the last stage of the Tour before Paris - surely there's a challenge there somewhere? And there is:

The final climb, although short at 11km, averages 8.5% gradient, with some really nasty bits on the way up. This will have a lot of under-prepared riders blowing after 120km - there'll be little chance of getting into rhythm and is likely to be an out-and-out grind where every turn of the pedals will be a battle against common sense.

A final plus point for my participation of the Etape 2013 is that I have found someone willing to undertake the challenge with me. So providing we can both secure entry, Jon and I will be loading up the car and driving to Annecy for our first etape on the weekend of 7 July 2013.

Time to put a training plan together...

Lance

So that's it, Lance has been scrubbed from the record books.

All that's left is the teary 'confession' with Oprah which will follow the well-trodden route of many exposed celebrities of "yes I cheated, but when you look at it I'm the victim..."

I'm not angry, or surprised. Just let down.

What is my motivation?

The realisation hit me this weekend that unless I can find someone to join me in attempting the 2013 Etape, then I'll be training on my own throughout the winter. That'll require a fair bit of motivation - 5 hours in the saddle on cold, wet winter weekends with no-one to hear my insightful social commentary. I may go mad...

Tour de France and Etape routes are disclosed on Wednesday. There's a fair few rumours about the route, but words such as Ventoux, Alpe d'Huez and Tourmalet are being whispered with reverential tones.

My Partner In Crime

I guess I should give some airtime to the bike I've chosen for this escapade.

My noble steed is a Cube Peleton Pro:

The observant cyclists amongst you will notice this is a triple, which I will happily admit is a lovely thing to have right now (although the bottom chainring is quickly becoming a 'safety net' rather than a legitimate option). I would hope that by next summer I'll have no need for a triple, but I doubt I can justify such dramatic upgrades to my bike so soon after purchasing.

A new set of wheels would be nice in the spring though.

The longest day. So far...

Really I should be training for the 26km run I've signed up to do at the end of the month, but the combination of a free Sunday and a beautiful late Autumn day persuaded me to get out on the bike for a spin down to Surrey.

Even without the couple of minor wrong turns, it proved to be my longest ride on the bike, so here are the stats:

Distance: 95.2km
Time: 4hr 22min
Total Climbing: 1,160m
Average Speed: 21.8kmh (13.5mph)

As well as going over Epsom twice, the 3 main climbs were:

White Downs Lane - they're not lying with that 18% gradient sign. Made it to what appeared to be a WW2 bunker before dropping onto the smallest chainring. Wonder if I'll ever make it to the top on the middle chainring...

Crocknorth Road - just a lttle longer than is comfortable. Could've stood on the pedals but wanted to save some energy for the last climb.

Box Hill - still the best road surface, despite the speedbumps. Everyone seemed to pass me on this today.

Other plusses were improved nutrition habits - ate and drank regularly and even learned how to open an energy bar on the go without falling off.

My feet were frozen though. Hopefully some kind soul will buy me overshoes for my birthday!

The thought of doing twice that distance and 4x the climbing scares the bejesus out of me, but hey, little steps...

A Line In The Sand pt. II

Weight: 78.4kg (for those reading in black and white, that's 12st5lb)

Resting heart rate: 47bpm (not sure how much I can improve this!)

A Line In The Sand

Now seems as good a time as any to establish a baseline for my fitness and lay down some markers that I can measure improvements against, so...

Longest ride (distance): 80kms - a ride down to Surrey incorporating two ascents of Box Hill
Most climbing on a single ride: 1350m - a 76km ride in the Brecon Beacons
Richmond Park 3-Lap TT: 64'15"

I will divulge my weight shortly, as soon as I can get my bathroom scales to work after my nephews 'adjusted' them.

A lesson in blogging...

...the number of views greatly increases when you include the word 'X-Factor' in a post.

OK, now I'm officially a blogger and a new cyclist.

I think that means I'm the most 'faddy' I've ever been. I'll be watching X-Factor and tweeting my every thought next...

I've been cycling for two months now and, as many before me, have been completely bitten by the bug. I've followed pro cycling for a long while, although mainly limited to watching the Grand Tours and reading the odd biography of some hero of a bygone age, but have always resisted actually participating in the sport.

The reason for my reluctance to join the lycra-clad hordes until now is a simple one - I know that I cannot simply enjoy it. I'm quite aware that I'm unable to do any sport 'recreationally' and for fun. I have to immerse myself in it completely: measure my performance, read every bit of information and opinion on the subject, and perhaps most significantly, spend a lot of money on it. And cycling is a sport that you can spend a lot of money on. I don't particularly believe that the best and most expensive kit will make me better per se, but I find some kind of beauty in the precision and the technology of high-end kit, and it's that that creates the want.

So now here I am, I own my first road-bike and have found that I have taken to the sport to such an extent that every morning I look longingly at my bike and try to work out when I can next ride it. But already fun rides aren't enough. I need to test myself.

And that is why I will hopefully be attempting the Etape du Tour in 2013.

Which brings me to the purpose of this blog. Firstly, I'm hoping that logging all my training (or lack of it) will be a motivation to keep going. It's easy to lie to yourself that you're doing enough when it isn't written down to be analysed. My other reason for creating a blog, rather than just keeping spreadsheets full of stats is that this will be a mental as well as physical challenge (please be aware this will be the first cliche of many). I'm very aware that I have an acute fear of failure, often to the point where I won't even attempt some things because I have already convinced myself that I cannot succeed. If that happens at the foot of a 1500m climb, then I have no chance. Therefore this blog is my reference that I (hopefully) have done the work and have prepared correctly, and is a place where I can articulate my fears so that I can manage them and learn to overcome them.