Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I'll be participating in the Deloitte Ride Across Britain 2011 to raise money to support the British Athletes competing in the 2012 Paralympic Games.

So please dig deep and donate now.

And while you are here, you may want to read my “training log” – I will be updating it every week to chart my weekly progress …. or lack of. :-) 

 

Week 1

My first thoughts on hearing about the Deloitte Ride Across Britain 2011 to raise money for the British Paralympic Association were, cycle 100+ miles in 1 day, I’m reasonably fit, it doesn’t sound that difficult, it’s for a good cause and I’m sure it will be fun.

So, early one March morning, I dusted off my 10-speed Raleigh Winner (for those sniggering at the back, it’s not junk - it’s a classic!), pumped air in to the tires (replaced an inner tube and tried again), oiled the chain and pedaled off towards the Old Severn bridge.

A very steady 80 minutes and 12 miles later I had bruises where I never thought I’d get bruises and was thinking – ok, this may be a little tougher on certain parts of my anatomy than I had thought!

However, I was not going to let a short bike ride and a few bruises stop me from having fun! So, the following day I jumped (more figurative, than actual) back on to the bike and set off for a repeat of day 1.  A much faster 65 minutes for the same 12 mile route and my competitive side kicked in, as I wondered whether I could complete the 12 mile route in less than 60 minutes?

 

Later as I racked my bike and waddled towards the house (my tender parts were now extra tender), I realized that this challenge had become personal!

So, that evening, with fresh determination and a few new bruises, I used my extensive Google-Fu to track down a training plan for people looking to participate in a Century ride (100 miles).  

Armed with “a plan” and extra confidence (the plan I found, is a 10 week plan and as I have 13 weeks before my ride – if I stick to the plan, I should be in good shape) I was even more certain that I could tackle the 100 mile ride.

After all I only had to deal with fresh bruising of my butt-bone, while maintaining 12.5 mph for 9 hours – how hard could that be?

Total mileage for the week: 60 miles.

 

 Week 2

As the main principle of training for a Century is to increase your mileage gradually over a number of weeks, I was certain that with training plan in hand and newly-purchased Gel cover on saddle, I was in much better shape for tackling my now default training route over the Old Severn bridge.

By mid-week and having seen the Lycra-set whizz past me going both uphill and downhill, I surmised that cycle technology had probably come a long way since my Raleigh Winner rolled off the production line in the 90s and that perhaps my struggling on the hillier sections of my route was more about my choice of bike and less about my fitness than I had first thought.

Remember: it’s always the tools never the craftsman. ;-)

So, laptop in hand I Googled around and found that I was right (it seems you can find any answer you need, if you look long enough) and that I could expect to be 20%-30% faster on a modern bike than on my current cycle of choice. At least 20% faster, I was instantly convinced – I needed a new bike.

Needless to say, my local Bike Shop was happy to help feed my new addiction and an order was placed for a 2011 Specialized Secteur.

Total mileage for the week: 49 miles.

 

Week 3

Not a great week for getting out on the bike this week.

I was away from home all week, so the only cycling I could get in was at the hotel gym. It was surprising to see how many people were in the hotel gym at 6am!

If I'd have known that all of the running machines, x-training machines and bikes were going to be in use at 6am - I'd have probably stayed in bed for an extra 30 minutes.

 

I did however purchase my first pair of padded-shorts - no more sore butt-bone for me. :-)

 

Total mileage for the week: 65 miles

 

Week 4

My new Specialized bike had arrived and as I wheeled it in to the garage it seemed much heavier than I had remembered. I rested my new bike against the garage door and went to move my Raleigh Winner, it was at that point I realized just how heavy my Raleigh was – blimey!

Next day, armed with my new bike, I set out to tackle my route across the Old Severn Bridge. The weather was perfect, after 50 minutes and 12 miles I arrived back home, having smashed my 1 hour goal for the route and achieving an average speed of 14 mph.  If I could maintain this speed (and ignored down time for bio-breaks and food) I would complete the ride in around 8 hours!

Confidence got the better of me on Saturday and I went “off plan”, tackling a 54 mile ride rather than the 40 miles I had scheduled. Good news, I can cycle 54 miles (the furthest I have ever cycled in my life – go me!) at an average speed of just shy of 14 mph. Bad news, I was stiffer on Sunday than I hoped and my planned 20 mile ride became my standard 12 mile ride over the Old Severn Bridge.

 

Oh, and the butt-bone - much better with the padded shorts but the only cure for a sore butt-bone would seem to be .... spend more time in the saddle - ouch!

Total mileage for the week: 87 miles.

 

Week 5

Not sure if I’m still recovering from the 54 mile cycle or whether I "did too much" while clearing a permanent space for my new cycle in the garage, but my legs still ache ... something which I hadn't noticed in earlier weeks.

Perhaps it's the cycling shorts .... or the rather attractive way I waddle when I wear them? 

 

Hmmmm ..... I may be subconciously trying to limit my time on the bike in front of my neighbours, in an attempt to save what dignity I have remaining. :-D

 

Despite the great weather, the long Easter week-end .... and the shorts ..... real life took over and I didn’t cycle as much as I had intended to - 2 quick spins to keep me in the saddle but nothing of any real note.

 

However, I have entered myself in the Dean Bluebell Doddle Audax ride. For those that don’t know, Audax rides are non-competitive rides around a set route. This one is short for an Audax at 54 km, but it is billed as “Possibly the most challenging 50k Audax in the calendar” – I expect it will be hard riding as the course climbs 1200 m – so that should be interesting. :-)

 

Total mileage for the week: 23 miles.

 

 

Week 6

I was determined to make up for my poor efforts last week and get back "on plan".

 

Easter Monday was the best day out of the week, the weather was good, despite the heat the insect life was minimal and I managed a comfortable 25 miles. With the whole week before me and a favourable weather forecast, I planned my route for Friday - a steady 51 miles to be completed in just under 4 hours.

 

The day of the Royal Wedding arrived and as the Royal couple walked down the asile, I took advantage of the inevitable quiet roads and set off on my "big ride" of the week.

 

The first half of the ride went well, especially as I wasn't being forced off the road by horse trailers pulling in too quickly or by people who had decided to rent-a-van for the w/e but hadn't quite worked out that the rented van was a few feet wider than the 3-door hatchback that they usually drove .....my next bike probably needs a swear box. :-D

 

The second half of the ride was a mixed bag, the numpty heads had arrived (they had clearly been glued to their TV-sets earlier) and the 14 mph side wind which had plagued me on my outward leg, had shifted to become a 14 mph head wind.

I had to work a lot harder than I had intended on my way home and despite what Newton had told us about gravity, I seemed to be pedalling just as hard going down the hills as I had been when cycling up them in the first place.

Although, the headwind was probably a Karma thing for missing the wedding in the first place. ;-)

 

Total mileage for the week: 92 miles.

 

 

Week 7

On Saturday, I completed the Dean Bluebell Doddle Audax 54 km ride.

 

Basically an Audax is an organized ride with a set route but the route isn’t signposted, you follow a route card and there are checkpoints on the route where you get your “brevet card” stamped as proof that you have followed the route. There is no support should you experience difficulties, other than that which may be offered by fellow riders and there is a maximum time limit for completing the ride.

 

Having completed the event, I have a much better idea of what to expect during the Ride Across Britain in June and will be making a couple of “must have” purchases.

 

As for the Dean Bluebell Doddle, unsurprisingly it wasn’t a doddle …. but it was a very enjoyable day out  – especially as I don’t mind cycling in the rain - which is good news as I have the Carlisle to Manchester section of the Ride Across Britain, and we all know that a typical June day in the Lake District can often bring a shower or two. :-) 

 

Total mileage for the week: 80 miles.

 

Week 8

As I had struggled a little on the climb up Leys Hill during the Dean Bluebell Doddle Audax last weekend, I decided that I needed to practice a few hills – so mid-week I found myself a small circular route of just over a mile long consisting of 2 short but steep climbs “doing circuits”.  The circuits were punishing but the boredom was worse and I really struggled to keep going for more than 25-30 minutes at a time – it was worse than going to the gym without my MP3 player. 

Speaking to people “in the know” I decided to buy myself some clipless pedals and cycling shoes. It seems that short of fitting an electric motor to my bike or learning to pedal properly (http://triathlonresource.com/index_files/Page2937.htm), this will be the biggest improvement I can make to my efficiency on the bike as the rigid soles of the cycling shoes will maximize power transfer to the pedal.

The main concern I have in adapting to the new pedal/shoe combination is that my cycling shoe will be fit with a cleat on the sole, which locks into a mechanism in the pedal and thus holds the shoe (and my foot) firmly to the pedal. I now have visions of falling off my bike at junctions as I struggle to unlock myself from the pedal before the bike stops ….. and the concrete they make today seems much harder than it did when I was a kid.

Whether the circuits and the new shoes/pedals will pay off will show next week as I’m joining a few riders from the Royal Dean Forest Cycling Club for a short “social” ride of 40 miles.

 

Total mileage for the week: 82 miles.

 

 

Week 9

I bought my cycle shoes and clippless pedals from my local bike shop and to try and build some “muscle memory” after they were fitted and before I risked life and limb in the real-world, I spent 10 minutes on their “rolling road” clicking in and clicking out of my new pedals.  It wasn’t difficult to get the hang of things once the pedal mechanism was adjusted to allow my right shoe to click in/out smoothly and the cycle home while buttock-clenchingly tense (for the first few junctions) was largely uneventful.

The 40 mile social ride with the RDFCC riders on Sunday was hugely enjoyable. The new shoes/pedals didn’t cause me any issues as once I mentioned to the 5 other riders that this was my first proper ride “clipless”, they reminded me as we approached every junction to “unclip”.

Needless to say, I joined the club by paying my club fees at the half-way point (a café just outside Monmouth) to the club treasurer.  How could I not, when cycling is a great excuse to eat more cake. :-)

 Had a great ride on Thursday evening – the best yet – everything was going well, until ….. I almost fell off my bike at a set of traffic lights. I had successfully unclipped my left foot and slowly rolled up to the red light, as the bike stopped my weight shifted and my bike began to lean to ….. my right! A moment of panic and a quick yank of my right foot and I caught myself mid-fall, unfortunately while I avoided the face plant, I seem to have wrenched my knee and can’t push my pedal without experiencing a shooting pain from my knee – not good. :-(

Total mileage for the week: 86 miles.