2017 - February update

"I'm only actually moving around for LESS than 7 hours a day!"

So February ended with more of a whimper than a flourish as I didn't manage to get out and do any exercise in the last couple of days due to the amount of work I had on. The last weekend in the month saw Ali and I complete our first event of the year (a night run in Bristol - read the review here), and then I managed to get us out for a Sunday morning jog to try and stretch out the legs, although some legs were more willing to be stretched than others!!

Events

Our event calendar is slowly (alright, quite quickly) filling up with dates of various runs, mud events and triathlons for the year - with one event already done, Ali is off doing a mud run this weekend and has at least one event planned for each month throughout 2017! I'm a little less packed out with these events (I'd quite like to go fishing and watch the rugby as well!!), but have planned to take part in a summer series of evening triathlons near home, I just need to get on and book it now (and then make sure that I can still swim at least that distance required!).

We're both already booked into four Endurance Life Coastal Trail Series events before the end of the year in Exmoor, Gower, West Sussex and Dorset, but I'll leave the details of those for another post - let's just say we haven't eased ourselves in gently!

The majority of any exercise thus month has been running, as usual, as it's so much easier to go with the dogs and is able to fit in quickly around the amount of other stuff we always seem to be doing! We did, however, manage to get out on the bikes this month, and popped along the towpath of the canal, with dogs and all! If you haven't seen the video of Ali getting towed along by the dogs them head over to the video via this link and have a little look! I've got to admit that I wasn't too keen on having them on the lead on my bike but it certainly tired then put a lot quicker than a normal run - apparently 12 miles at doggie running pace is the way to make sure that both of them sleep well for the remainder of the afternoon...!

I've also had (and I still have as I haven't had time to sort it out yet) a slight problem with damp (and so mould) on my road bike (video here)... After a couple of posts on some Facebook groups the useful comments were to wipe it down, maybe give it a bit of a scrub, and then ride the **** out of it..! Whilst it would be nice to be able to follow the other comments (and Velominati rule) of just getting a new bike (because the ideal number of bikes is n+1!) I'm not in a fortunate enough position to be able to do that! :-( Hopefully, I'll get a bit of time over the next few weekends where the weather is nice enough to be able to clean the bike sensibly, let it dry and then get out and give it a good ride.

Health

Now being an accountant there was no way that I was going to go through these monthly updates without getting a few stats in! As I said in my 2017 plans post I got a Fitbit at the start of the year and so have been able to track steps, activities and sleep on that and so know when I'm hitting my targets and when I'm not! I've actually managed to hit my daily step count of 6,000 steps 52 out of 56 days this year, and am pretty sure that it was actually 53 days but forgot to put the watch on one morning so missed out a whole day! :-(

So far this year I've taken nearly 640,000 steps, which equates to over 535 miles (the distance between London and Randers in Denmark - as the crow flies!) meaning that on average I'm travelling over 9 miles a day (or taking just over 10,000 steps). You'd have thought with that amount of steps throughout the day I would be moving pretty constantly during the day, however, this doesn't seem the case - apparently, I'm spending over 17 hours a day either sitting still or asleep!! Therefore I'm only actually moving around for LESS than 7 hours a day! At least, moving on my feet so that my watch picks up that I'm moving (I'm not actually just dozing at my desk at work!)

One thing that I'm really proud of both Ali and I doing this month is keeping to our meal plans for the majority of days - if you missed the photo on the 2017 plans post then have a look here, but it's basically a two week plan of our evening meals meaning that we should be eating better and saving money at the same time as we're not having to constantly pop to the shops on the way home to pick up some food as we forgot to get ingredients out of the freezer! Most of the meals have been enjoyed, although we have now swapped out the smoked fish, new potato and beetroot salad because Ali managed to have it for a couple of weeks before admitting that it wasn't her favourite dish of the fortnight (which is fair enough considering she doesn't particularly like fish or beetroot!)

Lunches and breakfasts have been much better than last year as well, with a bit of pre-planning and bulk cooking meaning that the lunchtime shopping spend has decreased quite a bit for me, and the baked and sweet potatoes with a variety of toppings have kept me full for the rest of the day so not so much snacking during the working day… Another thing that I've been working on are homemade Nked bars, and I think I've got the Cocoa and Orange ones nailed! After seeing one version of the recipe online I gave it a go, tweaked a few things to make it taste as I wanted, and have been rolling out a batch each week. I'm going to write up the recipe and post it on here during the next month or so, so keep your eyes peeled for it!

Blogging

So one of the things I said I was going to do was to only write additional posts when I felt I had something to add, or if I felt strongly about that particular subject and wearing a helmet is one of those such subjects - if you haven't read my post on helmets and why I think people should then click here to go and view it. There was one thing that I didn't put into the piece - one reason was that I forgot about it (so it's a subconscious reasoning that drove me to write the piece), and the other was whether I actually wanted to write it...

I have a permanent reminder of why a helmet is a potential lifesaver - the scars across my knuckles mean I don't forget a bike ride out over 10 years ago - going down a steep hill and getting the handlebar shakes, slamming on the brakes and finding it was all gravel, and then doing the following 10 metres on my knuckles and the front of my helmet all down the asphalt! The overhanging couple of inches on the front of the helmet had been worn back by the time I had stopped, and it was going to be my face that met the ground next. I'm pretty sure that if I didn't have the helmet there would be plenty more scars in worse places, but I'm also counting myself lucky with it!

I've also managed to make sure that I write the first monthly update post (you're reading it right now!) so I'm counting this as a success, and so should you if you've got down this far! Thanks for sticking with me!

The one thing that I haven't managed to do this month is put together any video blog pieces - I was going to put up a video of one of the runs that I did with the dogs the other day, however when watching it back it made me realise quite how much I lope along when out running and the whole experience made me feel a little seasick! By the looks of it, the video footage is going to be a more long-term thing and will be more of a montage of different events rather than individual runs. Saying that I think I'll be taking the camera along to the Coastal Trail Series events, and trying to get a bit of the footage before, during and after the race so each one of those might have a video to go with it, and when I'm along supporting Ali at any of the events that I don't do I'll be taking at least one of the cameras then and getting as much footage as possible (with a couple of dogs in tow!)

'til next time

One Life - Liv 4 It, Love It

Rob 

Keep your head - Wear a helmet!

"But it'll mess my hair!"

I know I have posted about this before, although the last time was a bit more morbid and included a number of names of people who had recently been killed whilst out cycling - from what I remember it was a significantly large number of people in a very short space of time that had meant that the mainstream papers were running stories about it as well!

With the advances in technology and style, it still amazes me the number of people who still don't wear a helmet whilst out cycling, surely coming home from a ride has to be the most important part of a ride even behind having fun?! You never quite know what is going to happen when you set off and so wearing a helmet goes a long way to making sure you arrive back safely.

Source : Mirror.co.uk

The number of excuses that people use when you ask them why they don't wear a helmet really is baffling at times! It can range from them being uncomfortable to not being cool, the ever popular "it'll mess my hair up" or the fact that "it's only a training ride/commute". With the sport becoming more and more popular by the year it's down to those already in the sport to ensure that newcomers, especially youngsters, keep themselves safe whilst out on the ride before they make themselves look the coolest!

I think the old concept that pro riders don't wear helmets when they are not racing is beginning to be quashed as most of the material you can see online which involves media of the pros training you will be able to see them with helmets on, I even remember that a number of the riders I've seen signing on at the Tour of Britain or Tour de Swiss have their helmets on when riding between the buses and podium which I'd hope will encourage others to wear a helmet even if it is for a short ride out to the shops or into the office.

Source : Scotbycycles

Another thing that's helping to make sure that more people wear a helmet when out on the road is that club rides are telling riders that they will not be welcome on the club rides if they aren't wearing a helmet - so even if you turn up on the flashiest bike with the newest kit, if you don't have a helmet with you you're going to look pretty silly when you are asked to leave the ride before it's even begun! It's also very common for sportives or other events to require you to be wearing a helmet when taking part, which is a great idea especially with the wide variety of skill levels who are all out on the road at the same time often taking on challenging routes where they are less likely to be familiar with the roads (so never quite know what's going to be around the next corner!)

I feel the solutions that are being developed by the cycling industry are also giving people less opportunity to give excuses - what with the new helmet styles that are coming out all the time it's surely more cool to have a helmet like the pros (which are developed to keep a rider going far faster than the majority of us do when we're out on the road), and also the air helmets that are also available - providing a way to make sure that hairstyles are not ruined during the ride.

Source : Pinterest (Bzemer)

Give me my trusty Specialized helmet any day of the week, I don't think that there is a ride I've been on since I took the sport up again nearly five years ago (whether it be the current helmet or the old one), and even along the cycle path by the canal last weekend when pottering along with the dogs it was securely on because you can never be certain what's going to happen whilst you're out on a ride...

One Life - Liv 4 It, Love It

Monthly Update - March 2016

And just when I thought that I'd managed to catch up with some of the distance lost over the first couple of months (at least with the running side of my challenge), it's all gone a bit Pete Tong again!

However the good thing from the month is that I have actually been out on the bike, it's not been much but I have been out pottering along the canal on the mountain bike which certainly made the ride on the road a lot tougher but did mean that I could ride pretty much anywhere even though it had been chucking down with rain for the previous couple of days! The weather seemed to be my main excuse for not getting out running or cycling, the swimming excuse was that I just didn't want to get out of bed! Haha

The other excuse I managed to give myself was Ali injuring herself in the middle of the month, which is definitely not the thing to do given that she had her marathon in Paris right at the beginning of April - because I'm a nice person (and I seem to find nearly every excuse) I didn't exercise very much at all after that because it would have meant going out without her which for her was on a par in annoyance of being injured in the first place!

April's a new month though, and is the being of events for the year for me, and the major sporting event of the year for April with the Paris Marathon. Let's just see what it holds!!

One Life - Live It, Love It 

Duston Triathlon 2016

After Ali and Emma have successfully got through the Paris marathon, it's now my turn to take part in an event that I've been (supposed to be) training for over the winter - the Duston Sprint Triathlon!

I was hoping that Ali was going to take part in the event as well, along with her brother James, but since she buggered (that's the technical wording!) her hip a couple of weeks before the marathon, and then battled around the roads of Paris it's just going to be me v James in the family battle!!

James is taking part in the event with one of his fellow directors of the Mr Smith Group, Paul Smith, and they are hoping to raise as much money as possible for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Head over to their JustGiving page (via the link below) to help them reach their target!

As with the Paris marathon there will be plenty of other posts, pictures and updates leading up to the event (even if it is only next weekend!) and during the event (Ali's in charge of the camera this time!!)

James and Paul do a Triathlon JustGiving page

One Life - Live It, Love It

Monthly update - February 2016

Am there I was thinking that January had to be the worst month for training, but I had to go and prove myself wrong didn't I?!

Whilst I did manage to tick off a number of kilometres by foot and a few hundred metres in the pool I still just failed to hit my running distance, am a long way behind in swimming, and haven't even passed over the start line on the bike!!

It hasn't all been doom and gloom though - whilst I might not have completed the distance running I think I made it up to myself by pushing the pace I've been running instead. Since the triathlon is a sprint and only a 5km run I'm trying to aim for 25 minutes or less for that segment, which is why a few of my run have been getting close to 5 min/km over a distance of more than 5km just to see if I can still last it after a longer "warm up".

My fastest pace wasn't actually reflected by the upload to Strava though, and we all know that this is the law don't we!? I had the big dog with me that time, and she decided that she would spoil the pace by relieving herself multiple times during the 10km which meant I had to stop, clear up and then find a bin to put it all in...! However I was able to prove to myself that I should be able to do 50 mins for 10km on the right day, I'll just have to go out and do it again without a running companion!

The main problem I had this month was motivation, which seems odd considering the post I wrote at the beginning of the year - a full day of work and then a commute are not a good way to prep up for exercise, and whilst others might be able to do it I've had to change tactics a little to get any exercise done. Lunch time and running at work once I've finished are beginning to be the norm to get runs in midweek and then I just have to keep the motivation up at the weekend to keep Ali and the dogs company.

Another thing that we've got this month has been a canicross belt, so that we can run "hands free" with the dogs rather than getting elbows pulled out of joints for the full run distance - for anyone who hasn't run with one of these it does take a bit of getting used to and making sure that it's set up right to pull along by your bum rather than the bottom of your back! Although when on your back and the dog has a sudden surge of pace there are some true comic-style running styles on display!

#onelifeliveitloveit

Pro tour update - January 2016

2016 seems to have gotten off to a great start if you're an Aussie, or if you support an Australian team - with the first UCI World Tour event going to Simon Gerrans on Orica Greenedge - although some people might just call it home advantage! Aussies have even more to celebrate with the top three in the UCI world rankings all being them as well! (see below)

Simon Gerrans in Orca

With the Australian Championships also taking place in January it's being going off with a bang Down Under, and both the men and women's road races being crackers from the footage I've seen... 

The new Australian Road and Time Trial champions are as follows:

Women

Road : Amanda Spratt

ITT : Katrin Garfoot

Men

Road : Jack Bobridge

ITT : Rohan Dennis

Caleb Ewan of Orica particularly impressed again at the beginning of the season, in winning the National Crit Championships and then 2 stages of the Tour Down Under. If you haven't seen this guy sprint then it really is something you must do - he gets so low over the bars when sprinting it's crazy how he manages to still get the power down on the road!

Caleb Ewan Celebrates

UCI road rankings as at the end of January are:

Men

1. S Gerrans (AUS) 775 points
2. R Porte (AUS) 485
3. J McCarthy (AUS) 370

Women

1. N/A (season not started yet)

One Life - Live It, Love It

Monthly update - January 2016

I can safely say that January hasn't started off with the training 'bang' that was my New Year resolution - kicking 2016 off with a great start and setting the rhythm for the rest of the year!

As it turns out, I've managed a grand total of 0km on the bike, 0m of swimming, and am 17km behind the pace already when it comes down to running - which is almost a weeks-worth of distance! I'll blame it on a number of things - the weather, work, and trying to fit food around training... What it actually comes down to is being rather bone-idle (despite the last post on training partners!) especially when they send you out to get the fish and chips whilst they are out for a run!!

Despite the laughably poor looking stats above, where I've only actually managed to meet the distance planned one out of four times, two of the others weeks have been within a couple of km of the target (as I pointed out to Ali as she sniggered at the stats over my shoulder!). This has definitely been an 'easier' month in terms of running, as a lot of it has been done along the canal or through town meaning a lot less elevation gain and quite often a lot less mud!!

However, February is a new month, so I can only hope it's onwards and upwards! The plan is to get out on the bike for the first cycle in 2016 on Saturday, so I can at least get off the block with that target, however swimming might have to hold off another week as it'll be a busy one at work!

If you missed out on what I've challenged myself this year then either click on the link to the right as this is the featured post at the moment, or go via this link - 2016 - What I want to do.

One Life - Live It, Love It

2016 - What I want to do...

It's a new year (in case you hadn't seen from the training posts I've been putting up!), so it's now time that everyone is setting targets for the coming twelve months.

Interval Training

Threshold Training

Recovery Training

Endurance Training

Hill Training

I'm no different, but it's always difficult to set things that I'm going to have a chance of achieving, but still difficult enough to give me a proper challenge...

As a base mark I'm setting three distance goals to complete for the end of 2016:

Cycle 2,000km

Run 1,000km

Swim 50km

Now for a lot of people this might not really sound like a proper challenge, but if you have a look at my Strava activities over the past couple of years then you'll see that the amount of exercise I've been doing has been heading in the wrong direction as work and home life seem to get in the way!

Creative Commons

The swimming aspect of this will be even more of a challenge as I have done very very little of this since I even left junior school, and when I say very little in mean only two proper swimming sessions (of around 400m) and a couple of splashing sessions when on holiday in the past six years!!!

So for those who were paying attention will have probably worked out that I need to roughly swim 1 km, run 20 km and cycle 40 km a week to hit these targets - good luck to me with this as well!!

I have a few events that I'm already signed up to during the year that'll help with the distance and motivation during the year so I'll be sure to mention them as they are coming up.

Another thing that'll really help with the motivation is if you guys can join in with me on this - in order to compete the weekly distance on the bike I'm going to have to swap the drive one day a week for a cycle, and whilst there are the obvious things like going for my target and getting fit again there is also the benefits of less environmental impact. I'm tracking this on my DoNation campaign and would really like it if others could pledge alongside - each one only lasts a couple of months, but do it for a few months in a row then you could make it a habit of a lifetime!

Click here to view the campaign page, and comment below or on the social media pages to let me know that you've joined in!

One Life - Live It, Love It

Riding the seasons - Winter

Winter is the hardest time of the year to motivate yourself to get out on your bike. Cold and dark mornings and evenings make it much more attractive to stay in bed for that extra hour before work or to curl up on the sofa to watch TV or films at weekends.

This is all before the party season that's sure to take a bit of a toll on waistline, liver and general fitness. Ice and muck - both of which make riding surfaces treacherous, are more ready-made excuses for staying in.

What you do in the winter can be crucial - riding regularly will help you consolidate the progress you have made in the warmer months and will give you a head start when the season gets underway again in the spring.

Events

20/02/2016 - Wiggle Super Series No Excuses Sportive
28/02/2016 - Kentish Killer
28/02/2016 - The Rawlinson Bracket
Evans Cycles RideIT Sportives - Various locations and dates (see here)

Clothing

A jacket is the single most important piece of clothing in your winter cycling wardrobe. It should be windproof and waterproof, but still needs to be breathable - the trick is to wear breathable layers underneath too. It's always good to start your ride feeling a little bit cold, as you will soon heat up once you've got going - if you start the ride all warm and cosy then you're almost certain to overheat during the ride.

A pair of gloves comes in close second to a jacket in terms of importance in winter. Your hands are virtually stationary when you ride so can end up getting extremely cold - especially your fingers. Again, the best gloves for the job will be windproof and waterproof.

Bikes

People take particular care protecting their body from the winter weather, and should have the same philosophy for their bikes. Your first job for the winter (so therefore should already be done) should be to book your bike in for a service before the weather gets too bad - with the balmy mild weather we have been having you'll still be ok!

Switching to wider tyres and reducing the pressure by 10-20psi will give you that extra little bit of traction of mucky, wet and icy roads. Extra grime on the roads means you should clean your bike more often and more carefully than in other seasons to ensure that this doesn't affect the performance of the bike. Extra attention should be paid to your chain which should be cleaned at least once a week (assuming you're out at least once a week!!)

After cleaning, give the bike frame a squirt of hydrophobic spray and the chain some water disperser before lubing it up. Finally, don't scrimp on a good set of lights - they could save your life.

One Life - Live It, Love It

Merry Christmas Everyone!

A seasons greeting to everyone!

I hope you all have a wonderful festive period, get to relax and spend time with those you love, and don't worry too much about training and keeping off the indulgent food and drink (that's what the New Year is about!)

If you want to spend the time planning what not to each, and how to kick start your training then check out the quick training guides below!

Hill Training

Endurance Training

Recovery Training

Threshold Training

Interval Training

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

One Life - Live It, Love It

Interval Training

So as we count down the days until Christmas, it's also time to count the number of days left in the current year - and therefore look forward to the new year and planning what events to take part in and how to tackle them.

In this short five-part piece we'll look at the five key training areas to concentrate on to get through any event!

Interval Training

Why?

Interval training involves short and regular bursts at alternate speeds from low to high. It's an important training tool used for building up cardio fitness and maximising your aerobic capacity, also know as your VO2 max.

Everyone's VO2 max is different and it's largely determined by genes and age, and therefore it's not possible to increase it, just to make sure that you are maximising your potential. The other good news is that training at your VO2 max also increases your endurance and strength.

What?

Beginners

Three intervals of 3 minutes at high intensity, with 3 minute recovery periods between. No more than one session a week.

Advanced

Three intervals of 5 minutes at high intensity, with 3 minute recovery periods between. No more than one session a week.




Missed out on the other parts of this New Year training? Check them out from the links below:

Hill Training

Endurance Training
Recovery Training
Threshold Training

One Life - Liv 4 It, Love It

Threshold Training

So as we count down the days until Christmas, it's also time to count the number of days left in the current year - and therefore look forward to the new year and planning what events to take part in and how to tackle them.

In this short five-part piece we'll look at the five key training areas to concentrate on to get through any event!

Threshold Training

Why?

Your lactate threshold is the point at which your muscles start to become overcome by fatigue, therefore stands to reason that increasing the amount of work you can do before your reach it is extremely important.

In sportives this is likely to occur on long steady climbs, and in races having a higher lactate threshold will enable you to stay with breakaways or smash those time trials. Training at 15-25% below your maximum heart rate allows you to increase your threshold, as this will be slightly above your current lactate threshold.

What?

Beginners

30 minutes at a constant intensity of 81-85% of your maximum heart rate once a week.

Advanced

20 minutes at a constant intensity of 85-90% of your maximum heart rate three times a week.



Missed out on the other parts of this New Year training? Check them out from the links below:

Hill Training

Endurance Training
Recovery Training
Interval Training

One Life - Liv 4 It, Love It

Recovery Training

So as we count down the days until Christmas, it's also time to count the number of days left in the current year - and therefore look forward to the new year and planning what events to take part in and how to tackle them.

In this short five-part piece we'll look at the five key training areas to concentrate on to get through any event!

Recovery Training

Why?

Recovery is as important, if not more so in some circumstances, for getting fit as exercise itself - only when you've completed your training session or race can the body repair damaged muscle tissue, refuel muscle glycogen and prepare for the next level of physical exertion.

Recovery rides are a key component of this. They need to be flat and ridden at a comfortable pace - you should be able to have a conversation with your cycling companions without struggling for breath. Just don't forget to keep hydrated though, just because you're not training hard doesn't mean you don't need to take on liquids.

What?

Beginners

60 minutes once a week.

Advanced

120 minutes once a week.



Missed out on the other parts of this New Year training? Check them out from the links below:

Hill Training

Endurance Training

Threshold Training
Interval Training

One Life - Liv 4 It, Love It

Endurance Training

So as we count down the days until Christmas, it's also time to count the number of days left in the current year - and therefore look forward to the new year and planning what events to take part in and how to tackle them.

In this short five-part piece we'll look at the five key training areas to concentrate on to get through any event!

Endurance Training

Why?

Road cycling, for the most part, is an endurance sport so it goes without saying that you need to spend more of your training time at endurance intensity than anything else. Ideally an endurance ride should be between 60 and 120 minutes and undertaken at 35-45% below your maximum heart rate.

This will increase your aerobic capacity and help you burn fat more effectively. We all know that hot summer days are more attractive for long rides, but if you want to improve sportive time during the year the best time to build up your endurance is in the winter months - before the season starts.

What?

Beginners

Two 60 minute rides a week at 55-65% maximum heart rate. Include one intense interval session too.

Advanced

Three rides of 120-plus minutes a week at 55-65% maximum heart rate. Incorporate one intense interval session per week as well.



Missed out on the other parts of this New Year training? Check them out from the links below:

Hill Training
Recovery Training
Threshold Training
Interval Training

One Life - Liv 4 It, Love It

Hill Training

So as we count down the days until Christmas, it's also time to count the number of days left in the current year - and therefore look forward to the new year and planning what events to take part in and how to tackle them.

In this short five-part piece we'll look at the five key training areas to concentrate on to get through any event!

Hill Training

Why?

It's all about power - you need more of it in your legs to fly up those inclines comfortably without leaving all your energy behind. Gym sessions that strengthen your leg and back muscles do help, but you don't want to put on too much bulk as this will end up slowing you down on the bike.

The best way to get stronger on your climbs is to target your training. One key is to avoid the temptation of standing up in the saddle as it uses more than 10% extra energy according to research. To much of that and you'll have nothing left for the remainder of the ride.

Creative Commons: Flickr

What?

Beginners

Choose a hill that takes 2 minutes to climb in a comfortable gear while seated. Climb twice with a 2 minute recovery between.

Advanced

Choose a hill that takes 4 minutes to climb in a comfortable gear while seated. Climb three to five times with a 4 minute recovery between each effort.



Missed out on the other parts of this New Year training? Check them out from the links below:

Endurance Training
Recovery Training
Threshold Training
Interval Training

One Life - Liv 4 It, Love It

Tour de France 2016

Pop it in your diary now folks.. 2nd - 24th July 2016 - Its the 103rd edition of the Tour de France, and as always it's likely to be a banger!!

As usual 21 stages make up the route, this time covering 3,519km. A total of 9 flat stages for the sprinters (including the final 'procession' on the Champs-Elysees), 9 mountain top finishes and a welcome return of 2 serious individual time trials (of 37 and 17km in length).

The Grand Departe is from Mont Saint-Michel in north west France, and then the route will visit Switzerland, Andorra and Spain (as well as a bit of France!) before returning the capital for its classic finale.

Time bonuses are back this time as well, with the top three on each stage gaining bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds respectively. This is the first time that this has featured in the Tour for 7 years, and as in other races only counts for 'normal' stages (not mountain-top finishes!).

Check out the official route in 3D below, and over the coming months we will explore the route and where it's visiting in more detail!

Enjoy!

Cycling Sportive Review : Tour of Wessex - Day 3

"How you feeling mate?"... "Still recovering from day one, knees are f***** and I'm knackered already...!"

Usually saying this sort of thing wouldn't be quite so bad, especially on the final day of my first three day cycle event - but the problem with this was that I was only 6.5km into the 95km route, and this was supposedly the hilliest of the three! Even though I was 'only doing the short route' it still had a rather testing climb in the middle of my day and as you can see from the elevation mapping on my Strava route it wasn't completely flat all the way to the bottom of that climb either!

From what I can remember of the day (and this can't be too bad considering I'm typing this up nearly FIVE months down the line) it was one of those "normal" British days - not too hot and not too cold, even so I was still in my hi-vis waterproof for the start of the day just to make sure that my body temperature didn't drop too much quickly when I pottered over the start line. We'd managed to get ourselves into the first group to leave that day, which may have felt like a blessing as we set off with people still cheering - that bit of added enthusiasm - but once I'd been swept up by the third group within the first 5km I was beginning to think that maybe it wasn't such a great idea!!

After I'd managed to warm up my legs and had the chat the the motorcycle outrider (see above) I did find myself being caught by a group that I was more able to keep pace with, and whilst I was in no fit condition to contribute on the front of the group (bad form I know) I'm not entirely sure whether they would have wanted me slowing them down anyway! The route was a lot more open that the previous two days and meant that we did keep on getting split up as crosswinds broke through the mini-peletons.

Talking to peletons, I got a good feeling of what it must be like to be in the middle of a pro field going through some twisty town streets after I got caught by another group who all seemed to be competing together just as I got to Bridgwater. Ladies and Gents - it's a frightening experience when you have no idea where you're going, the other group is going a lot faster than you, and all you want to do is potter along and get to the end whereas they are hell-bent on getting to the finish as fast as they can! The shouting and gesticulating went on for what seemed like an eternity until I got spat out the back of the group and into peace and quiet again.

Once we'd left the town the road started to climb as we headed more towards Exmoor and to the before-mentioned climb of the day. With the experience of the day one evening (read more here) still fresh in my mind I was very keen to make sure that I was topping up my fuel reserves on-route, but also due to my knackered knees and general tiredness I didn't seem able to eat on the move and so spent quite a bit of time at the side of the road like a monkey with a banana in hand. Thanks to all those who asked whether I was ok as they wizzed past! I was fine, just a bit incompetent at the time!!

The hill started in ernest just before I hit the 40km mark and as seems to be the way when you're in a national park or around farming land the obligatory cattle grid was sat just as the slope ramped up - luckily the group I was in at the time managed to get to here just as a kindly passer-by decided to hold open the vehicle gate to the right of the grid to allow us all to flow through on the loose gravel instead! Some people did still decide that the cattle grid was the way to go but I'm pretty sure that I heard a great deal of swearing in the preceeding seconds as they wheelspan, lost all momentum and toppled off their bikes!

For the first time on the ride by legs actually felt ok as we climbed, and I came to realise that it was probably the height of the seatpost that was doing the damage to my legs rather than just the riding since when I stood up I was ok - now sensible people would have then stopped the bike when they reached the top and then adjusted the seatpost wouldn't they?... I'll still keep with blaming in on the tiredness!

Now, the decent from top of the moor?..... OMG!

I have never been quite so frightened of a decent in all my life I don't think, I'd been warned on the climb up not to go too crazy as it was a steep decent but wasn't quite sure how bad until I saw the 20% signs...

Creative Commons Attributes: 20% Sign

Brakes on. Hold on.

Well that method is all good and fine, until the brakes heat up so much that they stop working, and instead of slowing down when you squeeze the levers harder you start speeding up again!

The part of the decent that was even more frightening than this (yes, it got worse!) was watching one bike sail past me, then a loud bang ("change of cycling shorts please!!") and watching said bike skid to a halt in front of the rockface at the 90° bend at the bottom as his tyre had blown from the heat of the brakes...

Thankfully for me and the other riders who had done the decent doing our level best to pull the brake levers through the back side of the drops, the feed station was just around the corner and I joined in the scrum to bag some savoury treats before heading back onto the road again.

The next 10km were glorious - a bumpy 2.5km gave way to a supremely steady decent of around 7km where I was able to let my legs flow and make up for the agony of the morning - from somewhere they'd managed to lose the pain of earlier, although in hindsight I have a feeling it was more to do with the fact I was enjoying the ride so much I just couldn't feel the pain at that point. A sudden left hand turn in Bishop's Lydeard put me back on the flat and lumps - and much to my annoyance the knees where hurting again...

The rest of the route passed without much incident, apart from a very minor detour after missing a turning, and then being made 'leader of the pack' once I'd been shouted at by the Garmin to get back on route, and finding a load of other riders who had also lost the route but hadn't got it loaded onto their bike computers! You talk about the blind leading the blind eh?! I was just trying to have a quiet ride back to save my knees and suddenly there is a load of people relying on me to return them to base!

Creative Commons Attributes: Long Sutton, Langport

Due to my knees playing around again I ended up dropping out of the back of the group (once they'd established I wasn't leading them on a wild goose chase!) and we'd found the route signage again. I'd assumed the next time I saw them would be a chance encounter as we all wandered around looking for cake and medals but as I rounded a bend on the high street in Langport there was a flouro group with wheels waiting for me on the pavement - they'd missed the signs again and so had to put up with another 2km of snail pace before all disappearing off again as I stopped to stretch my knees out.

Now this is where I'd like to apologise to Ade (sorry mate, again!). He is friends with one of the guys I ride with from back at my parents and happened to be part of the group that kept on relying on me for navigation. He'd also had to put up with my moaning for a good part of that distance about my knees and how I was only just going to manage to get back to Somerton (if indeed I was ever going to make it back!) He was also part of the group who kept on waiting for my navigational skills on the way back and after my final stop and stretch I'm pretty sure he was expecting to just see me once he'd crossed the finish line and collected his tea and medal!

I know I am a stubborn git sometimes (some people call it stupid..) but once up the final drag and with only a kilometre or so to go I have the rather genius plan to leave the final remnants of my legs on the road and went for a balls - out TT effort and sprint to finish. With only 500m to go I hammered it past Ade, and didn't even slow to help tow him along... He was a damn good sport about it but I am sorry!!

Creative Commons Attributes : WessexSportive-5240152

After crossing the line with a stupid grin on my face I have to admit I was so glad to get off the bike - even though I hadn't pushed as hard as some of the other participants my legs certainly let me know that I'd done enough for the time being...

Thanks to the organisers of the Tour - it was a cracking event (even if you couldn't quite get the weather on the first day!), well signposted and marshaled (thanks to the motorcycle outriders as well). I'll be back at some point, even if it's just to do the full 2nd and 3rd days to start with - there is some unfinished business now! 

A special thanks as well to Robin, he was the guy who helped to push me all the way on day one and then give me the motivation to get on the bike days two and three! Between us we managed to raise over £1,800 which is amazing! Thank you to everyone who sponsored us!

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.