Last long training ride completed, now for the real thing!

Completed my last 50-miler before the C2C yesterday... didn't feel like going out, especially as I was starting off with an ascent of Streatley hill, but managed to get out and ride.
Felt lethargic for the first 10 miles, but gradually got into it and was enjoying it by the later stages. Three Cat 5s and a Cat 4 (the 5s were harder!!), a lovely long downhill, and back home. Nice.
That took me past 1000 training miles too, which feels good!


Training from now on means lots of pasta between now and next Friday I reckon :)


Good luck everyone... I'm sure the work we've all put in will bring its rewards when we arrive triumphantly in Bridlington, but don't forget to enjoy the journey as well! :)

Uptonogood

Had a rellay good MTB ride on Saturday with Gary and my mate Andy, we took park in the 2012 Uptonogood MTB event. 25 miles of ups and downs and more ups followed by bogs and puddles up to your knees.... all in all a really good laugh and good training.

The cider and burgers afterwards helped out with the recovery!

great week

The Mortors Etape Part Deux was excellent (for those who could make it anyway!) Great route, great company, great hills! Very envious of Dave and Jared's 50+ mph. I need to eat more pies!

Very much looking forward to the C2C now. Have managed about 136 miles this past week which included a 7am 63 miles route from my house out into the Notts countryside and back on Sunday, broken up nicely with a bacon buttie in Newark. I'm away with work all of this coming week and my bike will be coming along so I'd better get plotting some rides in Swansea and Truro.

back to the muddy stuff

Switched back to some off roading for a couple for weeks before the trip just to break up the training a bit and keep my interested but I admit how much I've forgotten about offl roading.
I've booked in a mtb event for the weekend so I went out for a scouting trip yesterday to check out the course and see what I'd let myself in for.
Took a 9 mile ride to get there and then carried out 20 miles of the 25 mile course before taking the 9 mile ride back home. Absolutely shattered when I got home.....
The hills are brutal, not only because of the steepness of the incline but the surface isn't exactly consistent or stable. Need to keep all your body weight over the front end to keep the front wheel on the track! The downhills are either fast and loose with a danger of loosing the front end or single track where a bounce of the front will have you in the hedge. Tree roots prevent any traction, flooded sections of track, rain worn gullies filled with sand and mud enough to stop your bike in full flight are other obstacles to overcome. 24 hours later and my arms and legs are still numb from the nettle stings..... but to be honest it's been the best days cycling I've had in a while.
Looking forward to the event tomorrow but a sub 3 hour time for 25 miles is optimistic....

Really positive week...

My trepidation (see last post) about this week's challenges proved unfounded...
Starting on Sunday with a very challenging 64.5 mile Evans Ride-It event, through to Tuesday's freezing cold outing and Wednesday's Etape pt II (which was hugely enjoyable - good hills, new top speeds for me and Jared (51.7 and 51.4mph respectively!), drafting with Ollie over the last few miles - and a high-speed ride in this morning (world record attempt spoiled only by a slow truck stuck behind a slow cyclist for a mile :( ), I've covered a total of 174 miles and climbed 4400 feet since Sunday morning, and I feel great right now!!
I'm finally starting to feel confident about the C2C, and am looking forward to it with great anticipation!!!

fulfilling weekend

Had a very fulfilling weekend. Tried out a gas barbecue for the first time and must say I'm very impressed. I've always frowned upon them believing them not to hold the same flavours as charcoal but I take it all back. Burgers were gorgeously succulent and by far the best barbecue burgers I've ever had. Sausages were equally impressive and I'm most definately converted, I'll never go back to coals.
All washed down with copious amounts of beer made for a satisfying weekend.
Really looking forward to the Upton ride next weekend where they have further barbecue opportunities and a beer tent.....

Little and unoften....

Had a relatively small weekend, did a quick 25 miler on Saturday which included my favourite run downhill where i managed a max speed of 45.6MPH, i've got a plan to break the 50 barrier next time i'm up there. On Sunday did a little 15 mile MTB ride, felt pretty good but not helped out by having to do it on my brothers MTB which is a smaller frame and has a broken saddle meaning it was pointing upwards (gents i'm sure you can feel my pain!)

Looking forward to the team ride on Wednesday, hoping the weather holds out....

gentle weekend

only 36 miles done this weekend but quite hilly. looking forward to weds ride.

Scary week coming up!

Kicking off with the Evans Ride-It event on Sunday - 64 miles, 2800+ feet of climbing, including two cat-4 climbs one after the other, and four cat-5s.
After a brief respite for a tennis match on Monday, I've got Tuesday afternoon off for cycling, so will try to do 60+ in the day, the motors l'etape part II on Wednesday and finally another tennis match on Thursday...


I suggest you don't ask me for anything complicated on Friday!!!

Reality hit home

I went out with Jared and Garry on Monday and managed a hilly 58 miles, which was down to the support of my co-riders and some energy bars otherwise it would never have happened! as at 30 miles i was done. Very pleased in the end to get 58 miles under belt. but reality has well and truly hit home at just how hard this is going to be, to get up the next day and do 70 miles and the following day 60 miles it feels a world away.

Bank Holiday training

40 odd  miles done this eveing, wrong choice of clothing towards the end. must buy some arm warmers. 20 ish miles done on saturday. not the most of miles done but not bad to say the weather has been rubbish. 4 weeks on Friday...

like the wind!

WOW, I was riding like the wind this morning. Admittedly it's only a 7.5 mile journey into work but I covered it in just over 15 minutes at an average speed of about 29mph. Unfortunately there's no hill like Streatley so I only managed a snail like top speed of 52mph.......
Perhaps my burst of performance was due to watching the tour de nugget last night?

Busy weekend, 26 miles on Saturday, 18 miles Yesterday with 3 cat 5 hills and a cycle in to work this morning with Jared. the legs are feeling it, but please to get 3 days back to back. Legs are hurting this morning though.

Longest route this year

Beautiful weather, 81 miles knocked off on Saturday. Feeling good!. It doesn't get any better than this!
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/96919945/?new_route=1

Woo-hoo!!! Fastest time in the world this year!!

I was fixing that puncture this morning and thought while I have the tyre off, I might as well swap my 28mm winter tyres for 25mm summer ones... and the difference it made was immense! I knocked 3 minutes off my best time this year for the ride in to work, making the 12.6 miles in 38'58" for an average of 19.4mph!!


Not much use getting up a hill in a 68 mile ride, but most enjoyable and very gratifying :)

Tired legs and sunburnt arms.....

I had a half day yesterday and so went for a little bike ride. I haven't ridden for 2 weeks so thought a 30 miler would be a good ride. It was glorious weather although the temp indicated on the bikes computer said 98 degrees!! this made it a little tougher than normal and i easily consumed all of my 2 bottles of water i'd taken with me.
I felt good to be back on the bike but next time will remember to apply liberal amounts of suncream.....

Daves are faster than Jareds! :)

32 miles on the way home last night, including an ascent of Chain Hill which, with two heavy panniers and what turned out to be a soft back tyre (started the day at 90psi, was 55psi when I got home!) was significantly harder than last time with a relatively unencumbered bike!!


The final stages included a dry-weather descent of Streatley hill, and before I chickened out and hit the brakes, I did get up to 46.4mph!! Felt quite quick on a bike :)

mid week cycling in the sunshine

Got out last night in the glorious sunshine and knocked off 30 miles. I managed it in 1hr 37mins. Avg of 18.6mph. Think I might see if Mark Cavendish needs a new lead out man! First time this year I have been out in short sleave jersey and short bibs! long may it continue...

Hydration and nutrition

I have just orderd some of these. Could be worthwhile some of you getting together to spread the cost for the big day.

Gels
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=36986

Eneregy bars
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=36973

Electrolytes
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=42650

May 19th weekend

My first contribution! better late then never...
62 miles in 3hrs 42mins on Saturday. felt great afterwards but now worried I may have peaked too soon! got a 75 mile circumnavigation of Nottingham planned for Saturday with 1000m of ascent. My wife did it this weekend so I have a time to beat!

pleased with route choice today

I couldn't quite decide which route to go for this weekend. I've got a hilly 45 miler which I've been meaning to do for a while which has a total ascent of approx 2300 ft. I've also got that 60 mile target looming which I should've crossed off by now, but I find that without the hills in they're really quite boring, so best done with somebody else. There's also a 50 mile route with a grade 4 hill in it. That would be nice but the rest of it is pretty flat.
I compromised and completed a 50 mile hilly route with a total ascent of approx 2100 ft so all in all quite pleased.
I do need to get back into midweek cycling as leaving it all for the weekends is a but of a challenge.
Lets see how the week goes......

Cursed

I think i'm cursed when it comes to bikes, after having my bike fixed the other week i now appear to of buckled my back wheel... another trip to Halfords i think!

A small rest for the legs

I've not ridden my bike for 4 days and i must say riding into work today took my legs a little while to warm up.
I plan on riding 3 days in a  row this weekend just to see where i am, 2 small rides today and Saturday and then a big 60 miles with Gary on Sunday including 3 trips up Chain Hill in Wantage (a fun CAT 5 climb). This could prove to be my undoing as i'll be attempting it on my mountainbike!
I'll update you next week on how it all went!

Happy cycling

busy bank holiday weekend

40 miles on Saturday, followed by 30 miles on Sunday was tough but encouraging. Shouldn't have gone for a brief run on the Monday, that was definite mistake which I was paying for, for a couple of days.

Looking forward to a long ride next weekend incorporating a bit of off road as well, back to the muddy stuff - should be fun!

waterproof jackets

I was going to add some information about waterproof jackets here.....

I currently have two ill-suited jackets. One is a cheap Lonsdale windbreaker which is ok, it's a bit big and flappy, it's a windbreaker so anything more than a brief shower just goes straight through it.
My other jacket is one of those cheap bright yellow construction style jackets which I've ripped out the quilted liner. It's a bit bulky, is waterproof but is in no way breathable so anything above 2 degrees and I'm sweating so much I may as well not be wearing a waterproof at all.

I've been looking at commuter style jackets from Bontrager and Altura, and I've been looking at lightweight stuff sack ones from Madison & Montana. I was due to get one this month but I've unfortunately blown my waterproof budget on a new tattoo, doh! Oh well, chances are it'll outlast the jacket anyway. Perhaps next month ;-)

Motors L'Etape

Really looking forward to our first team outing tomorrow, will be good to ride in a big group for the first time. Lets hope the sun shines on us and we get a rain free ride!

not much training this weekend

Absolutely awful weather this weekend. Went out with Jared Saturday morning, the wind and rain were relentless up on the ridge so decided to head for the flats but was so cold at that point that we called it a day and headed home. Instead of a 45 mile hill climbing route only managed to cover about 20 miles with less than half the intended climbs. Disappointed but can't be helped, pleased we did actually get out there and at least cover a few miles.

training on course

Another good weekend and pleased with my schedule so far.
Thanks to Jared for insisting we strike off a 50 miler, I may well have kept to some local hills otherwise. Thanks also to Dave for introducing me to Streatley Hill, not likely to go at it again but glad to strike that one off to be honest.
Plan for next weekend is to introduce Jared to a few hills.

Worlds fastest Jared

Got to 41.6 MPH this weekend

That is all.....

Nemesis? What nemesis?

I joined Gary and Jared at the bottom of Streatley Hill, 15 miles into their 50-miler this morning...
I'd been worrying about the hill all week, and was feeling the fear as we started the ascent, but I made it to the top! Almost fell over when I got off my bike as my legs had gone, but Streatley Hill is no longer my nemesis - I ate it for breakfast!! :-D


We continued together for about 23 enjoyable miles before we went our separate ways - me to return home for a 45 mile round trip, them to finish off their 50.
As I cruised down the B4494 to Hamstead Norreys, I began to get concerned that my next destination was not mentioned on the signs, which all told me I was heading for Newbury... well as it happened, after 38 miles I did turn up in Newbury, 15 miles from home - I needed a turn-off I wasn't even looking for to follow my planned route! D'oh!!


I felt fine though (just the usual sore knee and foot), so set off for home in positive frame of mind, though admittedly wondering how I'd cope... I needn't have worried! I felt fine all the way, and when the torrential rain started 5 miles from home, I put my head down and upped the effort, loving every second! I made it home in one piece (despite coming down Streatley Hill in the rain, almost blind from the water and at 20mph despite having the brakes full on all the way!!!), very happy and very tired after 53 miles today, and 134 miles in the week!


This cycling lark is getting to be fun!

Getting ready for 50....

I'm strangely really looking forward to hitting the 50 mile mark this weekend, Gary has a ride planned in that not only covers 50 miles but also has 3 CAT 5 climbs!

Lets hope the rain lets up and allows us to have a really good morning riding,

Jared

what's all the fuss about road bikes

After hearing to all the jibber jabber about how much better road bikes are, i thought i'd give Karens' road bike a trip into work today.
Admittedly the weather was particularly rubbish, but yesterday was as well so I believe I can make a comparison.
Overall it wasn't that much quicker although it is easier to swap down on to the drops for the hard slogs. The steering is no where near as responsive, the brakes are rubbish, the pedals are far too slippery and too reliant on the straps, there's nowhere for my luggage, the handlebars may have more positional options but due to the shape there's no comfort and the extra weight on the hands and arms due to the body position adds even more points against.
In summary, a lot of these niggles can be tweaked to improve the comfort of the ride, and it's only a matter of time to get used to the different riding styles, but to be honest, I prefer my mtb. I know where I am with that, the brakes work when I want them to (I'm sorry but there's no excuse for old caliper style brakes these days!), oh and I've kind of got used to my mtb gear range.....

More miles.....

Went for a good ride on Saturday with Rob and Chris, tackled a fun hill coming out of Botley which i rode up twice for the fun of it!
In total i managed another 40 miles so feel on course with my training plan.

Wet ride home

Last nights commute home was a fun journey! it rained all the way back to Abingdon and i must of looked a right state, absolutely drenched!
People must of looked at me oddly as i was smiling and laughing my way home.... better than crying i guess!
Anyway, i'm off to the shops for some mudguards to prevent another wet arse like last night!

Managed to do my first 40 mile ride at the weekend, there was a couple of hills but mainly a very flat ride. I could of done without the wind and rain which at one point had me sheltering in a bus stop!
Took me two and a half hours to complete minus food stops so pretty good going... looking forward to getting the 50 miles complete now...

100 mile week!

Well, that was my first 100 mile week - 104 to be precise.
Commuted to work Monday and Tuesday, and had a very leisurely 13 on/off road miles with the kids yesterday, and today tackled 41 miles in quite cold, grey and occasionally slightly wet weather including two cat 5 and one cat 4 climbs - the latter coming at the 30 mile point which didn't make it any easier!! It took 2h 41m (counting only riding time - had to stop to look at the map a few times too!)
Feeling quite tired now - so I'm off out painting the town red until 2am tonight!!!!


Next week is gentler before I look to push on again the following week. 
So far, so good - training going extremely well.

just giving page

our team just giving page is now up and running at:

just giving

My trusty steed

Following on from Gary's show and tell, here's my mount for the challenges ahead:

It's a Trek Pilot 2.0 - a "sportive" bike designed as a cross between racing and touring bikes, and ideal for long all-day events (we shall see!).
I've added a rack, clipless pedals and switched from the standard racy but vicious 23mm tyres to more a comfortable 28mm to cope with the shocking state of the roads between home and work. What I lose in efficiency, I more than make up in comfort, and with 1500 miles of riding still ahead before we set off from Morecambe, comfort is all!! 

So many miles, so little time...

Just 60 miles last week, I had my kids at the weekend and as they had a race on Sunday morning I couldn't wear them out with cycling, so a weekend rest.
Next week I have them again for a few days over Easter, so if I cycle to work both days I'm in and add 40 miles at the weekend that'll be 90 for the week... then I have them again the following weekend, so again I'm restricted to commuting!
Somewhere within all this I have to find time for pre-season tennis training with my doubles partner (and then of course, tennis matches)... and a bit of dating too!!
Looks like I need to be commuting three times a week, and combining that with evening activities too if I am going to have any chance of hitting my targets. Busy, busy times!!!

tough day

A really tough day today, managed another hilly route which was about 3 hours 45 mins, bum's sore, back's sore, legs are sore, legs are really sore, and I'm shattered. Glad I didn't bottle out of the last hill, the brain wasn't really functioning properly at that point so forgot to stop and reconsider it.
Tried out a cold bath when I got back and it seems to be doing the job, happy days!

my bike for the ride - cube analog

Here's a shot of my bike. It's a hardtail mtb with a few adjustments for the road, including a comfier saddle for distance, ergo grips with bar ends, strapless toe clips for when the legs get tired, front suspension's dialled up to the max, and most importantly I've swapped my 2.25 full on knobblies for a set of 1.3 slicks which make it run and run, but they do make it a rock hard ride, hence the suspension is not set to "off" ;-)

Should be set for three days in the saddle .... I hope!

Half way there

I plan on doing 88 miles in a week. It started Sunday with 24 miles in the countryside. I was then stuck down by man flu. but managed to cycle in to work today which was 17 miles.
Part 3 is 17 miles ride home after work
Part 4 is 30 mile ride with Jared on Saturday.
I will be very pleased with myself if i manage to complete it.

Clocks have gone forward... chance for an evening ride!

When I got home it occurred to me I had an hour before sundown - just enough time to attack the two hills I have out the back of the flat on an out and back route... 40 minutes later, 10 miles of up and down with almost no flat bits and I feel very worthy, if a little knackered!


This is the course profile... the second hill is the hardest yet - long and for the first half-mile or so, very steep! 

very encouraged

Very encouraged with the riding this weekend. Concentrating on building up the miles in preparation, and very pleased with the hills we managed to cross off.
Already planning my ride for next weekend, incorporating distance and a few peaks aiming for about 4 hours in the saddle.

Busy weekend

Successfully managed a 30 mile route on my road bike on Saturday which felt pretty good, managed it in 1 hour and 50 minutes. After enjoying the weather on Sunday morning i decided to go for a 20 mile ride on my mountain bike, despite the pain in my legs the views from the top of Wittenham Clumps made up for it! My next plan then is 2, 30 mile rides next weekend maybe.... legs permitting!

Long Sunday morning ride

Joined Gary for 36 miles around Wantage this morning...
I was worried about the hills and the distance, but managed both and felt really good! The pace was gentle, and that made the distance much easier to achieve.
Thanks Gary!
First proper week of training for me, and 85 miles ridden... a long way to go yet, but a very positive start.

Week 2 - 23.4 miles

I was keen to push myself over 20 miles this week, and managed it with 23.4 miles. it was hard going as lots of hills on the route. my timing was 2 and half hours, so i need to get the speed up. Very pleased with what i managed but it makes the task of 180 miles seem extremely hard. going to have to step up the training to 3 times a week to stand any chance of completing this.

New top fits a treat

Training week 2

After the reality of the task in hand last week after a 10 mile ride. this weekend am going to push myself to 20 miles and may even catch up with Jared on his 26 mile ride if time allows. if you dont here from me by Tuesday please send out a search party.

Good week

I've had a good week this week, i've rode to and from work twice and am planning a good 50 miles of riding over the weekend... just hope the weathers good!
Might even give the team shirts a run out!

cycling tops

Very impressed with these cycling tops, they look awesome. Glad I stuck with the XL though.
Well done Ollie.

Training update

33 miles today - 12½ to work, and 20½ back home again. Quite slow, a bit tired, but not bad at this stage.
Not entirely sure Gary's 35-mile hilly weekend route won't break me on Sunday, but I've got a bit more confidence now than I had before! :)


If you want to see the routes, you'll probably need to befriend me on mapmyride.com (I reckon we should all join up there and share routes and maybe inspire each other over the next 3½ months) - I'm Purpledog64
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/77270638
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/77270572

Training

For anyone wondering how to approach training, this site​ gives some decent ideas that look appropriate to our schedule... we all need to be taking it seriously from about now!

routes in mapmyride

As promised, here are the links for the 3 days in mapmyride. You'll probably need to add me as a friend to see them. My profile is ge1098.

Day1
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/75831582
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/75831582

Day2
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/75838014
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/75838014

Day3
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/75843320
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/75843320

busy weekend

A busy 2 days for me this weekend (19/3/2012). Completed a 30 miler with Jared on Saturday. It was pretty flat, just wanted to get a few miles in the saddle. Went out on Sunday for a 20 miler, this time with a few hills in it which was tough.
Also added the charity ride into mapmyride. It's spread over the three days to give a good indication of what's to achieve. Will need to go through the route with Olllie as he may have altered the route slightly. I'll post links later.

welcome

Welcome to our blog!

A few of use are planning a charity cycle ride following the coast to coast "Way of the roses" route from Morecambe to Bridlington, covering approximately 170 miles over 3 days.

Here you'll find hints, tips, the highs, and the lows encountered while training in our run up to the event.

The event is due to take place July 7th - July 9th 2012.

Bye for now, Gary