Reflections

Having had a few days to recover, I've been able to gather some thoughts about Sunday's ride:

• My right hamstring continues to be an issue. Felt it twinge after about 30km on Sunday, and had to stretch it regularly during the ride. Still stiff today. Not sure if it's to do with bike set-up, or my technique, but it's noticeable that there's more wear on the right side of my saddle than the left.
• Going up Cobb Lane, I didn't feel the fatigue as much in my legs as in my arms. When out of the saddle, you support the majority of your weight with your arms, and they really began to ache then. Need to work on core strength with the Semnoz up last on the Etape.
• Due to the weakness in my arms my triple chainring was a godsend, allowing me to climb even at 20% whilst in the saddle. They may be uncool, but I'm sure there were a few jealous walkers on Cobb Lane as I trundled past.
• The triple also lets me have a better ratio for downhilling (52 x 11)
• Definitely felt the benefit of my new wheels, and despite the black braking surface rubbing off already, I'm really happy with them
• Never, ever make major changes to your bike in the couple of days before an event. I hadn't indexed my gears and adjusted my rear deraillieur correctly for the new cassette, which resulted in the chain jumping off twice