I had my second ride out with the Dulwich Paragon cycle club this weekend, which involved a 35 mile ride around a standard route the members do every Saturday morning at 9am on the dot.
I joined the quickest of the three groups, as I thought it would be a great indication of where I currently am, in terms of my own ability. Luckily, I managed to keep up with the group, even though the quicker members of the group did have to wait occasionally for a handful of us mere mortals. I had a moment on this ride where I actually considered dropping off and waiting for the intermediate group to sweep me up, but I managed to overcome my own mind and kept on pedaling.
The members of this group were potentially much, much quicker than I was, which shouldn't be much of a surprise considering a lot of them are active racers. But like in the Tour De Nock a few weeks back, I was amazed at how they seemed to be able to crank up the cadence and pull away when climbing and when on flats.
Once again, I tried to learn as much as possible from the two hours I was out on the road with these guys, watching out for things like the respective gear selection at certain points of the route to see if there was anything I was getting significantly wrong. I also got chatting on to a number of riders again (which I swear must annoy some of them) to work out what they did as part of their training regimes, in an effort to pick up tips. Since the ride itself, I have also taken to reading other cycling blogs, such as http://bicyclelab.com/ and http://www.cycle-faster.com/ on the importance of factors like rest days, diet and technique. All of which has led me to the following thoughts:
1. I need to build interval training into my weekly routines
2. My current plan of having a rest day after each training ride is fine
3. I shouldn't worry about building in another rest day should my quads be sore from previous rides
4. I am starting to think there is no need for my middle chain ring, and I should perhaps look to use just two
5. I need to start looking at my diet, which has improved but is still not to the level I need it to be at
6. Despite the cost, some decent deep rimmed wheels would be a really positive addition to my bike
But in each of the articles I have read, the constant no.1 point seems to be - 'What is your ultimate goal?' This is something I am yet to set in concrete, which is likely to hinder any long term progress I make on the bike. I mentioned this to Rob (my housemate) on Sunday morning. I can't seem to work out how serious I want to get with cycling. I seem to live and breathe cycling at the moment, I am in love with my bike and I live for getting out into the countryside and cycling for miles. But what I plan to work out in the next couple of weeks is whether I see cycling as a casual/social event or if I intend to attempt to try and race for a team one day.
Monday 20 February 2012
Sunday 19 February 2012
Tour De Nock 2012
It was just under £8 to enter via the website and there were three distances too choose from; 15, 40 or 60 miles. I of course chose to do the 60 mile course, thinking that it would be really good to pitch myself against some of the more serious riders from around that part of the country. I really wasn't dissapointed with any part of the day, particularly the challenge the course gave, with the first 30 or so miles made up of quick decents and the second 30 containing a few tough climbs. I really had a sobering moment, when after keeping up with the lead group for 52 miles, I then bottomed out on the final climb and lost touch with the entire group, who just seemed to continue on their merry way.
Despite also looking like a complete novice, compared to others in my distance category, due to wearing football socks and fingerless gloves on a day when the temperature was hovering around 0oC, everyone was so friendly too. I managed to get chatting on to a few triathlon athletes who were in training and a few cyclists from different teams from around Cannock.
I found out about the event through a guy called John Hibbs, who added me on twitter. I noticed John had a big part to play in the Tour de Nock, and a couple of other more personal cycling challenges coming up in 2012. After delving into why he was doing them, it turned out he was raising money for his sister, who had a so far untreatable condition called Lupus.
Lupus is something that I wasn't aware of until I actually read up on the reasons for Johns fund raising activities, but to very VERY breifly summarise Lupus - it causes the body’s immune system to go into overdrive and in turn begins to attack itself. It is believed that over 50,000 people throughout the UK suffer with Lupus of whom 90% are female.
The funds raised from the event actually went towards his charity (the Hibbs Lupus Trust). Around £1,800 was raised in total, as far as I am aware, and went toward a very worthwhile cause. Link to his website - http://www.hibbslupustrust.org/
Both the event itself, and the Hibbs Lupus trust made this event a no brainer for me, and I will definately be in attendance next year. A more in depth write up from the organisers themselves can be found by clicking on the following link - http://gorunandride.co.uk/tour-de-nock-2012/
Thursday 9 February 2012
Bike setup - What is correct?
I have recently been watching a few stages of the tour of Qatar, and have started to feel a little unsure around the set up of my bike.
I have never had the benefit of someone filming me cycle, or even take a photo of me in the saddle for that matter. But I cant help but think if I look right when I cycle and for that matter, whether or not I am getting the most out of my quads and calf's and actually burning them out sooner by not being in the right set up from the off.
It is something that I plan to go into my cycle retailer for advice on, as there is so much information available on the internet it is actually quite difficult to assess which set up is best for me. I guess that is the important question "which set up best suits me?". There are many methods of saddle height alone; the 109% rule and 26o knee angle at the bottom of a given pedal rotation appear to be the most common. But when I watch the lads on TV, I am sure that their legs appear to have less than a 26o angle at the peak of each rotation. Their seat height seems to be so high and that has led me to believe that mine is too low.
I also don't feel completely comfortable when I am down on the drops, which has added to my cause as I always think the drops are an effective way of improving time by increasing a riders streamline.
I am 6ft 4, and have a 61 inch frame which is obviously not all that common in the pro tours (that is a complete guess and I could be very wrong). So going into long distance rides with that burden, as well as the weight disadvantage that accompanies a 6ft 4, pizza loving chassis, I am super keen to pull back as many seconds as possible through setting up my seating position and bike as effectively as possible.
Feedback on this topic will follow, but opinions are very very welcome too.
Monday 6 February 2012
Contador Tests Positive
I was fairly disappointed by the news that Alberto Contador was handed a 2 year ban for testing positive for the performance enhancing drug clenbuterol. I really do not know a lot about the drug itself, but from what I read it is designed to control weight, which is pretty essential for a mountain climber. There are still a lot of questions around the verdict handed to Contador, particularly as only a small amount of the substance was found in the sample. But I read a very interesting opinion on one of the sports websites today, which correctly highlighted that a sportsman competing at the level Contador is, should be in complete control of what he is taking in and for that reason there is no excuse.
As a result, Contador lost his 2010 tdf (tour de France) title, which in a way, I do see as a bit of justice for Andy Schleck, as Contador was catapulted toward victory that year by an 'ungentlemanly' attack up the mountains, when Schleck had a mechanical problem (his chain jammed) with his bike (see video below).
Andy Schleck has already come out and said he does not see the award as a victory, and would rather win the tdf outright (a statement that was expected, given the circumstances).
For a guy like me that revels in the sheer ability of each tour de France rider year after year, it is very sad to see the verdict handed out today. I hope that the damage this is likely to have on a sport plagued with doping scandal in years gone by will be limited by the time the 2012 tdf rolls around. That is very unlikely though.
As a result, Contador lost his 2010 tdf (tour de France) title, which in a way, I do see as a bit of justice for Andy Schleck, as Contador was catapulted toward victory that year by an 'ungentlemanly' attack up the mountains, when Schleck had a mechanical problem (his chain jammed) with his bike (see video below).
Andy Schleck has already come out and said he does not see the award as a victory, and would rather win the tdf outright (a statement that was expected, given the circumstances).
For a guy like me that revels in the sheer ability of each tour de France rider year after year, it is very sad to see the verdict handed out today. I hope that the damage this is likely to have on a sport plagued with doping scandal in years gone by will be limited by the time the 2012 tdf rolls around. That is very unlikely though.
Friday 3 February 2012
London to Brighton
Following the success of my London to Paris experience, I decided to embark on a shorter distanced ride to Brighton the Saturday after we arrived back from mainland Europe. It is 'only' 52 miles, but there is one daunting task that I just had to try - The Beacon. A category 4 climb. I had never attempted a category 4 before, and I knew that it was going to be tough given the amount of stories I had heard from numerous colleagues at work.
The one thing I did notice as soon as I was outside the M25 was how lovely the countryside is. It is very easy to forget how beautiful England actually is, by living in London. However, the lovely countryside was outdone by the state of the country roads. They were shocking, compared to those in France. My hands were still shaking days later, following the turbulent time they received for a solid 30 miles of rugged tarmac.
There are also two category 5 climbs along this trip, which are there purely to wear you down before you arrive at the beacon. They are the equivalent of a boxers jabs, slowly wearing you down before he hits you with a big right hand! The two hill climbs are quite well spread out in terms of distance though, which gave me enough time to recover, but I had still put some effort in and they both certainly had an affect once I had reached the monstrosity that some call the beacon.
You can see the beacon as soon as you begin to make your way down through the village of Ditchling. It dominated the horizon, and I looked at it and let out a small noise along the lines of 'bugger'. I have since read that the key to climbing, is to remain calm. I remember been anything but calm at this stage. For some reason I got butterflies in my stomach, and became very short of breathe, which made it all the harder. That all disappeared once I began to climb though. I was actually very surprised as to how close cars are too you throughout the climb. Infact, a que soon formed behind me, almost as though they wanted to see if I would make it to the top! That, along with a fellow cyclist who decided to catch me up and then chat to me on the way up got me through the climb. I have never felt such a sense of achievement as I did once at the peak of Ditchling Beacon. I could taste the sea and as the law of gravity dictates, what goes up must come down!
Once at the top, it is a lovely decent into Brighton from there. A just reward for all the effort to get to the top without getting off.
My total time was just short of 4 hours I think, but that was mainly down to stopping constantly to check the route (I had no GPS). I fully intend to do it again very soon, hopefully with Rob and Josh in tow this time! Let battle commence again!!
Route map can be found by clicking on the respective hyper linked words
The one thing I did notice as soon as I was outside the M25 was how lovely the countryside is. It is very easy to forget how beautiful England actually is, by living in London. However, the lovely countryside was outdone by the state of the country roads. They were shocking, compared to those in France. My hands were still shaking days later, following the turbulent time they received for a solid 30 miles of rugged tarmac.
There are also two category 5 climbs along this trip, which are there purely to wear you down before you arrive at the beacon. They are the equivalent of a boxers jabs, slowly wearing you down before he hits you with a big right hand! The two hill climbs are quite well spread out in terms of distance though, which gave me enough time to recover, but I had still put some effort in and they both certainly had an affect once I had reached the monstrosity that some call the beacon.
You can see the beacon as soon as you begin to make your way down through the village of Ditchling. It dominated the horizon, and I looked at it and let out a small noise along the lines of 'bugger'. I have since read that the key to climbing, is to remain calm. I remember been anything but calm at this stage. For some reason I got butterflies in my stomach, and became very short of breathe, which made it all the harder. That all disappeared once I began to climb though. I was actually very surprised as to how close cars are too you throughout the climb. Infact, a que soon formed behind me, almost as though they wanted to see if I would make it to the top! That, along with a fellow cyclist who decided to catch me up and then chat to me on the way up got me through the climb. I have never felt such a sense of achievement as I did once at the peak of Ditchling Beacon. I could taste the sea and as the law of gravity dictates, what goes up must come down!
Once at the top, it is a lovely decent into Brighton from there. A just reward for all the effort to get to the top without getting off.
My total time was just short of 4 hours I think, but that was mainly down to stopping constantly to check the route (I had no GPS). I fully intend to do it again very soon, hopefully with Rob and Josh in tow this time! Let battle commence again!!
Route map can be found by clicking on the respective hyper linked words
London to Paris
So, it has been a very long time since I did this ride. All that you need to know was that it was incredible. I would recommend it to anyone. Even Josh grudgingly admitted the ride was worthwhile.
A map of the route we took can be found on the Bike Rides page of this blog. It appears in two stages, the first being our rigorous ride from London to Calais on day one, and the second part been the French part of the journey to Paris from Calais.
We averaged about 70 miles per day, doing 85 miles on each of the first two days, and a mere 60 mile leisurely journey from Beauvais to Paris! According to the mapmyride data, there were 14 'category 5' climbs on our route, which disappointed me in a way, as I swear a couple of them felt worse. Despite how little mileage we all had under our belts at that point in time, all three of us (my housemates Rob and Josh included) were able to successfully climb the hills put in front us. I would say with ease, but in all honesty I fell off my bike on one of the bigger climbs, and there were a number of times when we all felt like giving up and walking.
The 1st day was very hard, as it involved cycling along an 'A road', which was both dangerous and very VERY boring. But I would definitely say the 3rd day was the toughest, as it involved cycling along some fairly flat, but exposed terrain and after hours of cycling against the wind it did begin to wear us down. But frequent (too frequent) stops at the local 'boulangeries' kept spirits high.
There was only really one scare throughout the entire journey, which is really accredited to the quiet route Rob managed to find. I was nearly wiped out by a truck at a junction on the third day. If it hadn't of been for Josh yelping 'DAANNN' at a pitch I have never heard before, I wouldn't be here today. It happened primarily through sheer exhaustion and partly down to the traffic driving on the wrong side of the road. But luckily, I managed to avoid certain death by pulling out at the junction through a combination of the driver's very good awareness and braking, and me putting on the boosters on, which were powered by fright.
Moving on, Northern France is absolutely beautiful. The lack of English spoken by locals made the adventure more fun, but could have been an issue had one of us not spoken 'pigeon' French. Our stop off points were Calais, Abbeville, Beauvais and Paris totaling approximately 280 miles. In each place we stopped at very low cost hostels/F1 hotels (including Paris). This kept cost down too a minimum, and the hotels were actually really nice. Josh didn't really appreciate sharing a room with Rob and I, which is understandable, but the rooms were made up of a single and a double, with three duvets. So for those sharing the double bed - do not fear.
I wont go into anymore detail , as I think I have covered the essential parts. But I will summarise by saying that this ride was an amazing adventure. We had a GPS system to follow, which is absolutely essential when cycling abroad, in my opinion. And although the daily mileage can be tough, it was made bearable by great company and some fantastic scenery.
I would recommend this cycle to anyone. As I kept saying to myself throughout my stay in Paris, "I got to Paris......on a bike".
If you require any more detail information, please feel free to comment below and I will happily get back to you.
A map of the route we took can be found on the Bike Rides page of this blog. It appears in two stages, the first being our rigorous ride from London to Calais on day one, and the second part been the French part of the journey to Paris from Calais.
We averaged about 70 miles per day, doing 85 miles on each of the first two days, and a mere 60 mile leisurely journey from Beauvais to Paris! According to the mapmyride data, there were 14 'category 5' climbs on our route, which disappointed me in a way, as I swear a couple of them felt worse. Despite how little mileage we all had under our belts at that point in time, all three of us (my housemates Rob and Josh included) were able to successfully climb the hills put in front us. I would say with ease, but in all honesty I fell off my bike on one of the bigger climbs, and there were a number of times when we all felt like giving up and walking.
The 1st day was very hard, as it involved cycling along an 'A road', which was both dangerous and very VERY boring. But I would definitely say the 3rd day was the toughest, as it involved cycling along some fairly flat, but exposed terrain and after hours of cycling against the wind it did begin to wear us down. But frequent (too frequent) stops at the local 'boulangeries' kept spirits high.
There was only really one scare throughout the entire journey, which is really accredited to the quiet route Rob managed to find. I was nearly wiped out by a truck at a junction on the third day. If it hadn't of been for Josh yelping 'DAANNN' at a pitch I have never heard before, I wouldn't be here today. It happened primarily through sheer exhaustion and partly down to the traffic driving on the wrong side of the road. But luckily, I managed to avoid certain death by pulling out at the junction through a combination of the driver's very good awareness and braking, and me putting on the boosters on, which were powered by fright.
Moving on, Northern France is absolutely beautiful. The lack of English spoken by locals made the adventure more fun, but could have been an issue had one of us not spoken 'pigeon' French. Our stop off points were Calais, Abbeville, Beauvais and Paris totaling approximately 280 miles. In each place we stopped at very low cost hostels/F1 hotels (including Paris). This kept cost down too a minimum, and the hotels were actually really nice. Josh didn't really appreciate sharing a room with Rob and I, which is understandable, but the rooms were made up of a single and a double, with three duvets. So for those sharing the double bed - do not fear.
I wont go into anymore detail , as I think I have covered the essential parts. But I will summarise by saying that this ride was an amazing adventure. We had a GPS system to follow, which is absolutely essential when cycling abroad, in my opinion. And although the daily mileage can be tough, it was made bearable by great company and some fantastic scenery.
I would recommend this cycle to anyone. As I kept saying to myself throughout my stay in Paris, "I got to Paris......on a bike".
If you require any more detail information, please feel free to comment below and I will happily get back to you.
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