Mayday!
May tomorrow. 2 months to go to the big one. Aaaaarrrrggggghhhhh!!!!
Stats for April:
Time on bike: 27 hrs 14 mins
Distance cycled: 670km (485km on the road)
Total climbing: 6,724m
Weight: 75.8kg
Tuesday 30 April 2013
Sunday 28 April 2013
Grimpeur
115km ridden with Emily on Saturday, with 1,250m climbing. Also gave the climb of Box Hill my all - felt like my heart was going to pop out of my chest - and managed a new PB of 7mins 33secs, so really happy with that. Felt good to stamp on the pedals and gun it coming out of each hairpin.
95km on the turbo trainer as well this week. Good stuff.
115km ridden with Emily on Saturday, with 1,250m climbing. Also gave the climb of Box Hill my all - felt like my heart was going to pop out of my chest - and managed a new PB of 7mins 33secs, so really happy with that. Felt good to stamp on the pedals and gun it coming out of each hairpin.
95km on the turbo trainer as well this week. Good stuff.
Sunday 21 April 2013
Century
Hugely upped my game yesterday with my first ride of 160km (100 miles).
Went out over Epsom to the back of Box Hill, then turned south onto the North Downs to Crawley before looping back to Leith Hill. Never done this climb before, and it wasn't too bad. Took the direct route from there to White Downs, which is still an absolute beast. After that it was the descent down Critten Lane (love the surface on the 2nd half of this road) and then the A246 towards Guildford before turning back along the A25 to Dorking.
I'd ridden 100kms by the time I got to Box Hill, so I fully expected it to be a grind, but I flew up at an average of 18km/h, passing lots of cyclists and having no-one pass me. Was hugely tempted to stop at the cafe at the top, but I pushed on through to Walton, over Epsom and back to Morden. Fitted in a lap of Richmond Park to finish (the deer are back - yay!) and then rolled home in massive calorie-deficit.
Stats were 160.4km ridden, 2,000m climbed and an average speed of 25.8km/h, which is really pleasing.
Found myself spinning at a high cadence for most of the ride, which seemed very comfortable.
Need to work on my nutrition though. One-and-a-half energy bars, an energy gel and a small pack of Haribo is not ideal for getting you round a circuit like this.
Despite another day of sunshine, am taking a day off the bike today. Might wash it though.
Hugely upped my game yesterday with my first ride of 160km (100 miles).
Went out over Epsom to the back of Box Hill, then turned south onto the North Downs to Crawley before looping back to Leith Hill. Never done this climb before, and it wasn't too bad. Took the direct route from there to White Downs, which is still an absolute beast. After that it was the descent down Critten Lane (love the surface on the 2nd half of this road) and then the A246 towards Guildford before turning back along the A25 to Dorking.
I'd ridden 100kms by the time I got to Box Hill, so I fully expected it to be a grind, but I flew up at an average of 18km/h, passing lots of cyclists and having no-one pass me. Was hugely tempted to stop at the cafe at the top, but I pushed on through to Walton, over Epsom and back to Morden. Fitted in a lap of Richmond Park to finish (the deer are back - yay!) and then rolled home in massive calorie-deficit.
Stats were 160.4km ridden, 2,000m climbed and an average speed of 25.8km/h, which is really pleasing.
Found myself spinning at a high cadence for most of the ride, which seemed very comfortable.
Need to work on my nutrition though. One-and-a-half energy bars, an energy gel and a small pack of Haribo is not ideal for getting you round a circuit like this.
Despite another day of sunshine, am taking a day off the bike today. Might wash it though.
Tuesday 16 April 2013
Monday 15 April 2013
Springtime in Surrey
Despite a resilient wind, spring appears to have arrived properly so Emily and I headed down to Surrey on Saturday. Of course, by claiming she 'didn't know the way' she cycled behind me and used me as a very effective wind-break for most of the ride. It was Em's first time cycling on the Surrey Downs and as I waited for her at the top of Ranmore, I was expecting her to be cursing my name (again), but instead a smiling Emily came round the corner and carried on past me without bothering to stop!
From there we looped back round to Box Hill and I revved up for an attempt at my PB. For a change no-one passed me on the climb and there were plenty of rabbits to chase down. 8 minutes to the top meant 30 secs off my PB and the promise of a reward. Arrived at the cafe to find about £1m worth of carbon bikes and a very long queue for tea & cake - obviously we were not the only ones taking advantage of the weather.
After refuelling, and with the wind finally at our backs, we easily knocked off the 30km to home, even cruising the roads around Morden at about 40km/h
83km done, 1,250m climbed, and at a decent pace too. Good ride.
Despite a resilient wind, spring appears to have arrived properly so Emily and I headed down to Surrey on Saturday. Of course, by claiming she 'didn't know the way' she cycled behind me and used me as a very effective wind-break for most of the ride. It was Em's first time cycling on the Surrey Downs and as I waited for her at the top of Ranmore, I was expecting her to be cursing my name (again), but instead a smiling Emily came round the corner and carried on past me without bothering to stop!
From there we looped back round to Box Hill and I revved up for an attempt at my PB. For a change no-one passed me on the climb and there were plenty of rabbits to chase down. 8 minutes to the top meant 30 secs off my PB and the promise of a reward. Arrived at the cafe to find about £1m worth of carbon bikes and a very long queue for tea & cake - obviously we were not the only ones taking advantage of the weather.
After refuelling, and with the wind finally at our backs, we easily knocked off the 30km to home, even cruising the roads around Morden at about 40km/h
83km done, 1,250m climbed, and at a decent pace too. Good ride.
Saturday 13 April 2013
Mercury Rising
A temperature in double figures for a change, and only a stiff breeze to contend with, this morning was a good time to ride to Richmond park and put some laps in. Managed 4 laps, including a 3-lap TT effort which resulted in a new PB of 64mins, 3secs.
Total distance ridden was 63km at an average speed of 28km/h, so pretty pleased with that. Spent a lot of time at maximum heartrate too (and occasionally above it) - average HR during the TT was 97% of maximum, so the interval training on the turbo seems to be working.
Pretty inspiring to see David Weir munching up the miles around the park.
Still no deer. Oh dear.
A temperature in double figures for a change, and only a stiff breeze to contend with, this morning was a good time to ride to Richmond park and put some laps in. Managed 4 laps, including a 3-lap TT effort which resulted in a new PB of 64mins, 3secs.
Total distance ridden was 63km at an average speed of 28km/h, so pretty pleased with that. Spent a lot of time at maximum heartrate too (and occasionally above it) - average HR during the TT was 97% of maximum, so the interval training on the turbo seems to be working.
Pretty inspiring to see David Weir munching up the miles around the park.
Still no deer. Oh dear.
Tuesday 9 April 2013
It's Called The Peak District For A Reason
A long weekend in the the Peak District meant I could get some climbing in on the bike, this time with Emily.
Given it was Paris-Roubaix weekend, it was nice to see some pavé. Pity it was only the driveway of the house we were staying in:
The problem with staying outside the Peak District park, and then going for a ride in it, is that there's a lot of climbing first up. The first 10-15km included a lot of short, punchy climbs of between 10-18%, and we were beginning to wonder if we could manage the planned 65km.
Fortunately the steep gradients eased off, and we picked up the pace en route to a welcome cafe stop in Whaley Bridge. Immediately afterwards the two main climbs loomed into view. Both were long, but at gradients of 3.5% and 5%, were actually quite enjoyable. The second climb from the Goyt Valley reservoir was one of the best cycling roads I've ever been on - a nice gradient, one-way, no traffic and a great surface. Even hitting a patch of ice and crashing couldn't spoil my enjoyment. Road-rash is a badge of honour, right? Here's Emily staying upright and enjoying the road:
Towards the top there were a few snowdrifts which required walking through, then it was rolling home and a pub lunch.
Back to London today, and 38km on the turbo-trainer at a very decent pace.
A long weekend in the the Peak District meant I could get some climbing in on the bike, this time with Emily.
Given it was Paris-Roubaix weekend, it was nice to see some pavé. Pity it was only the driveway of the house we were staying in:
The problem with staying outside the Peak District park, and then going for a ride in it, is that there's a lot of climbing first up. The first 10-15km included a lot of short, punchy climbs of between 10-18%, and we were beginning to wonder if we could manage the planned 65km.
Fortunately the steep gradients eased off, and we picked up the pace en route to a welcome cafe stop in Whaley Bridge. Immediately afterwards the two main climbs loomed into view. Both were long, but at gradients of 3.5% and 5%, were actually quite enjoyable. The second climb from the Goyt Valley reservoir was one of the best cycling roads I've ever been on - a nice gradient, one-way, no traffic and a great surface. Even hitting a patch of ice and crashing couldn't spoil my enjoyment. Road-rash is a badge of honour, right? Here's Emily staying upright and enjoying the road:
Towards the top there were a few snowdrifts which required walking through, then it was rolling home and a pub lunch.
Back to London today, and 38km on the turbo-trainer at a very decent pace.
Monday 1 April 2013
C'est Bradley Wiggins, n'est ce pas?
Awoke in Wales on Friday morning to an alert on my phone telling me that there were 100 days to the Etape. Scary.
Friday was a great 30km ride with Emily to tackle Llangynidr Mountain. A 3km warm up preceded turning straight towards the mountain and watching the road ramp up in front of us. The first part of the climb rose at 5% so it was easy to tap out a good rhythm. Soon the gradient went up to 10%, so there was a bit of out-of-the-saddle work but I still managed to keep up a good pace. Around the hairpin the gradient eased a touch, so I was able to take in the snow-covered views. The descent to Llangattock was a lot of fun as the speedo nudged the 60km/h mark and then it was an easy spin home with 600m climbing under our belts.
On Saturday I struck out westwards alone towards the Black Mountain. I managed 800m of climbing before reaching the mountain, but climbing it was a real joy - 7km long, an alpine-like gradient and a perfect road surface.
Again I kept a high cadence and good speed up the road, and it was a bit bizarre to find people taking pictures of me as I crested the pass (hence the title of post)
After that it was a slightly scary descent in a gusting crosswind, before turning for home in Ystradgynlais. Unfortunately that meant turning into the wind for the next 50km, which made the climb back over the beacons even more difficult. When I eventually arrived home, my computer was registering 120kms ridden and 2150m climbed. With the wind in my face, it was a tough, tough day. Refuelling in the pub that evening probably isn't in the Sky Procycling training manual, but it was a good reward.
So that's March done.
Stats for the month:
Time on bike: 20hrs 5mins
Distance cycled: 525km (327km on the road)
Total climbing: 5,139m
Weight: 75.8kg
Awoke in Wales on Friday morning to an alert on my phone telling me that there were 100 days to the Etape. Scary.
Friday was a great 30km ride with Emily to tackle Llangynidr Mountain. A 3km warm up preceded turning straight towards the mountain and watching the road ramp up in front of us. The first part of the climb rose at 5% so it was easy to tap out a good rhythm. Soon the gradient went up to 10%, so there was a bit of out-of-the-saddle work but I still managed to keep up a good pace. Around the hairpin the gradient eased a touch, so I was able to take in the snow-covered views. The descent to Llangattock was a lot of fun as the speedo nudged the 60km/h mark and then it was an easy spin home with 600m climbing under our belts.
On Saturday I struck out westwards alone towards the Black Mountain. I managed 800m of climbing before reaching the mountain, but climbing it was a real joy - 7km long, an alpine-like gradient and a perfect road surface.
Again I kept a high cadence and good speed up the road, and it was a bit bizarre to find people taking pictures of me as I crested the pass (hence the title of post)
After that it was a slightly scary descent in a gusting crosswind, before turning for home in Ystradgynlais. Unfortunately that meant turning into the wind for the next 50km, which made the climb back over the beacons even more difficult. When I eventually arrived home, my computer was registering 120kms ridden and 2150m climbed. With the wind in my face, it was a tough, tough day. Refuelling in the pub that evening probably isn't in the Sky Procycling training manual, but it was a good reward.
So that's March done.
Stats for the month:
Time on bike: 20hrs 5mins
Distance cycled: 525km (327km on the road)
Total climbing: 5,139m
Weight: 75.8kg
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