Cycling Sportive Review : Tour of Wessex - Day 2

"One. more. push... Just. one. more. push... Got... to... be... nearly... there..."

It's 45km into day two of the Tour of Wessex, my Garmin 500 has decided it's had enough, I'm on the hardest climb of the day with no idea how much further up the hill to go, and I'm nearly at the same point as the Garmin.

If you've read the review of day 1 of the tour (if not, then why not?!) then you'll know that I was in a really sorry state at the end of the day, and only just managed to roll over the line - mainly due to the weather but in part due to the severe lack of training... Come 6am on the morning of day 2, just as my alarm was going off I was very much as the picture below suggests - dead to the world and not in a mood to leave the warmth of the duvet!

Creative Commons licence : Hibernation

It is amazing what a bite of food and a glass of fruit juice can do, especially when served as an appetizer to the fresh feeling of being out in the English countryside on a late spring morning. By the time the bike was loaded on top of the car I was starting to feel a slight bit better and three bananas later I was even (very slightly) looking forward to the start of the day!

Spirits were slightly knocked when we got to HQ to find that the car parking had been moved a mile round the corner - a sensible decision due to the usual car parking being torn up by cars on day one in the rain, but due to my still slight fragile feeling an extra distance on the event wasn't something I was looking forward to!!

Day one war stories were already being shared by people when we started unloading from the car, and from the chatter that we could here most people were sensible and stuck to the shorter route in the terrible weather. My bike was definitely the muckiest that morning, due to the fact that I hadn't even thought about cleaning it the night before, and really stood out as I wheeled it very quickly past all the other gleaming machines in the hope that I would be going past so quickly that it wouldn't be noticed...

If you've read some of my other blog entries then you might have seen the one about bananas, and I'm pretty sure it was me looking like the monkey this time around! I had the best part of a punch stuffed into my pockets and up the inside of my jersey along with all the other energy bars, gels and free pieces of flapjack that were being handed out by the sponsors on the way to the line. I was determined not to fall foul of what happened the day before again and with scattered sunshine at the start line I was hopeful that the weather was going to allow it as well!!

From the start we managed to slip into a larger group of riders, something that we failed to do on the morning of day one, and for anyone who hasn't felt the difference it makes of being in a larger group - the facts you hear about saving at least 10% energy when travelling at speed are very much true. We managed to keep latched onto the back of this group for the first 20km or so, just until we swept into Yeovil before I was spat out the back and didn't want to expend the little amounts of energy I was still recovering from the day before.

Creative Commons Licence : Leading the Peleton

Once out of Yeovil we carried on heading further South East in the direction of Wareham and Corfe Castle, but before we get to the first feed station I'm starting to struggle - Black Hill is the toughest climb of the day (for the "short" 80 mile course at least) and I'm starting to go the way of my Garmin which gave up the ghost about 2.5km ago after being treated the same as the bike the previous evening and not getting charged. Although the climb is only officially 1.27km in length I was at the muttering stage long before the steepest gradients of 18% and only the crazy pace of the drums beating near the top were keeping me going at all. All too soon though, the gradient and my condition got the better of me, along with someone else also giving in to the climb, as soon as I had to give up the tiny amount of momentum I had the game was up and I was then leaning on the handlebars trudging up the final part of the ascent in cleats (no easy task in itself!)

I'm not sure that a decent had ever been quite so welcomed, but it sure was for glorious to sweep down the other side towards Cerne Abbas and feed station number one! Once reloaded with the other half of the banana tree I ate that morning, and fully stocked with fig rolls and electrolyte drinks it was back on the road again, not long after the feed station the routes split and I was joining with riders I didn't know to take the quick way home. The great thing about cycling events like Tour of Wessex are that you don't need to know anyone to have a great time, I spent the best part of the next 40-odd km chatting to random people as we kept similar pace before either one moved off or stopped for a rest as there was no need for competition!

Creative Commons Licence : Milton Abbas Village, Dorset

The next climb of the day was through the picturesque village of Milton Abbas, which (so was mentioned as we rode through) where they film some parts of the TV series Downton Abbey. This was the longest climb of the day at just over 6km in length, but when you can ride through parts of the British countryside with views as wonderful as the above then you can't really complain can you?! Once we'd reach the top it was then a ride through the woodlands that surround the area and as you can see from the picture below they look superb when covered in bluebells!

Creative Commons Licence : Bluebells in Delcombe Wood, near Milton Abbas, Dorset

After rolling down to the second (and final for the shorter route) feed station of the day, and stocking up of more food and drink the remainder of the day was just wonderful rolling along in isolation apart from the increasing number of groups of faster riders doing the full 187km route that we flying past me the nearer I got back to HQ in Somerton. The energy was starting to really sap in the final 30km and my knees were in agony (more on that in the day three review) but somehow I got back, and in another show of the support that you get in events like this one of the individual riders who flew past me just before the last climb up to Somerton gave me some encouragement and therefore moral support that was greatly needed at that point (so a MASSIVE thank you to that person!)

So I'd managed to get over halfway through the event, (even if the Garmin hadn't) and for a look at the first part of my ride just click here and have a look on Strava.

For more details on the charity that we rode the event for click on this link.

And for my review of the final, and fantastic (if a little painful) day of cycling on the Tour of Wessex, make sure you keep your eyes peeled!

Keep 'em Spinning.

Robo

Tree Hugging

"aw, aw, aw... dead leg, dead leg, dead leg!!"

It's funny how things always come in three's isn't it?... bouts of bad luck, Bradley Wiggins' Tour de France bikes (see later)... and in this case- tree stumps..! Only thing is that it is the first of three that my partner Ali is currently hugging (she obviously hasn't read the script).

We're out mountain biking in Leigh Woods on the outskirts of Bristol, and it's obvious that neither of us are

very used to these bikes on this terrain and the lack of cleats. Ali has only been road cycling for 6 months now, and whilst I don't have that much more experience on the road than her we're both much more used to dodging potholes and puddles instead of slippery rocks and trees. Being out on the MTB's is great fun, but

also what I'm hoping to make quite a key part of my winter training- it's much harder work and really helps to improve bike handling so I'm hoping that when I do hop back on the road then I'll see a difference!

I've actually been out on the MTB quite a bit, what with the threats of an early Arctic winter for the UK I'm quite happy to get on with the hard work of riding HUGE tyres on the ride to ensure that I'm staying upright for the off-season. I'm hoping that this'll help with strength training for next year- only time will tell I suppose (and Strava times!)

In other, far more national, news- how many people saw that one of Sir Brad's 2012 TdF bikes was up for sale? If you've kept an eye on the BBC sport pages then you might have seen that one lucky chappy one one of these and has just sold it through the London Bike Exchange, now whilst some people have apparently given him a load of stick for doing this, saying that he is ungrateful etc etc most people must be able to see where he is coming from? I mean, how many people can afford to keep a bike that they don't ride at home, and if so then how many of us have space to fit a bike up on the wall?!!

Copyright: London Bike Exchange

Hopefully in the next week or two I'll have more chance to get out on the bike(s) and get some more training milage under my belt- even if it is on the turbo trainer!

Keep an eye on here, every Tuesday between 7 and 8pm (UK time) for the weekly blog post. And please share with anyone else who you think would enjoy reading!


Keep 'em Spinning!

Robo.

New beginnings...

Here I go again....! I tried to write a cycling blog sometime in 2012, but somewhere along the way I got distracted and now that blog seems to have got lost out there in the expanse of the WWW!

I'm hoping that this blog will help to give me the extra motivation to keep on putting the kilometres in in all seasons and conditions, and hopefully it will inspire some of you guys to get out on your bikes as well and enjoy the beauty of being out in the great British countryside.

Before I continue, I'd just like to make it clear that I am not sponsored by anyone, nor in anyway am I being asked by anyone to endorse or promote their products or services. All opinions and reviews posted on here are my own and not those of the manufacturers/brands that I may use or write about.

Now, I'm 23, 6'2" and most definitely not the typical build of a road cyclist! My legs are more the size of those that you expected to see thundering around the pine boards of the velodrome in sprint matches rather than out on the asphalt of the open road.
I'm also an accountant, which means that I spend most of my working time sat at a desk on my computer or in meetings. I know that this is something that a lot of people suffer from (sitting at desks, not accounting!) so I'll be sure to add to the blog anything that I see of here that helps office prisoners such as ourselves to keep fit and flexible even when we are not out on the bike.

Food is another thing that I love, as most people I know will agree with- it's not often that you don't see me nibbling on something when I'm not working away (and to be fair even when I am working away!!). So of course I'm always on the lookout for little tips for the kitchen from the TV and magazines, and hope to share some great little recipes with you all whether pre-, post- or during your rides and training, or even just a tasty (and sometimes naughty) meal to enjoy at any time.

I also wouldn't be much of a cyclist if I didn't point out all the great cakes stops that I encounter when out and about on two wheels!

Finally, I'd just like to mention Strava if I may... I know that for some people Strava is now the bane of their lives - "Look how fast I just went on xyz segment" and "Oh no, abc just stole my KOM!!"
I have to admit that at times I can be one of those, but I also think that this website has certainly helped me keep me motivated over the past 12 months and contributed to my improvements on the bike! I'm planning on posting a quick summary on here every week to show what I've been up to on my bike, and if you want to see my activities on Strava as soon as I upload them then just click on the link below and 'follow' me!

Rob's Strava Profile

For now, keep 'em spinning!

Robo.