I was at work on Wednesday when I got a few urgent messages on my phone. It transpired that Frank, our timekeeper and until recently, our secretary at Kingston Phoenix had been in an accident while cycling to meet some other members of the club that morning. I won't go into specifics, but he is alive, which is a testament to his fitness and the many thousands of miles of cycling that has kept him fit and healthy all his life. He has been very seriously injured and it has shocked all of us who know him, as he has been a District timekeeper for many years and has many friends within the time trialling community. If you TT in the London South District, you know Frank. If Frank can have such an accident then anyone can, and after the recent other scares I and other friends have had, it has just reinforced the feelings of vulnerability I currently have. We have all been in shock since it happened and we can only hope and pray for Frank's recovery, which will be long.
On a much more mundane matter, my performance also took a big dip last week. After my joint pbs over 10 miles in the previous weeks, I was looking forward to consolidating my training. I had been bulking out my trainerroad sessions with some longer commute rides home, usually about one hour. What I didn't realise was that I was burning the candle at both ends and was over-training. The first indication was last Monday's threshold session, which I had done a few weeks before. I felt really uncomfortable and when I downloaded the session I was 10 watts down on the last time I had done it. I didn't really cotton-on at the time, but this was the first indication that I was not right. A few hours later I had a scratchy throat and raised temperature, my usual indicator that I am overreaching.
So Wednesday evening's tt came around and while I was not particularly in the mood for it, what with the news about Frank and the fact that it was miserably cold, I felt pretty strong, as I set out on the first leg. By the turn at Beare Green, I was still feeling ok, but not as strong as two week's before and as I headed for the finish it all started to unravel. The final hill at South Holmwood, which I had utterly nailed before now felt like the North face of the Eiger. There was no staying on the tt bars this time; instead I was sat up spinning furiously with burning quads. Dave, who I had beaten by 40 odd seconds before went past me and took and 15 out of me. My final time was 23:56. Last year that would have been grand but to be over a minute slower than my previous time, and almost two minutes slower than Dale, after being only 20 seconds behind him showed how far I had fallen. I have taken the second half of the week off as I try to get back on track.
So, no more late nights, no more unnecessary commute rides, and rest. I'm still learning
Tuesday, 31 May 2016
Sunday, 15 May 2016
PBing for fun
This week was a double header, with a Wednesday club 10 on the Holmwood course and then the SCCU 10 yesterday on the faster G10/57 course. Wednesday was almost cancelled with torrential rain earlier in the day, but my faith in the met office was restored as they predicted accurately that the rain would clear from about 3pm. What I didn't know, with my limited meteorological knowledge was that with a passing thunderstorm, high humidity and a damp road would provide almost perfect tt conditions. In fact as I sat in the car park at the start, the trees were not moving at all, with the wind dropping to nothing. So perfect conditions, feeling great. Time to go after my best 10 time of 23:41, set two years ago.
It was a rubbish 10 for me. We didn't have a pusher off, which is very unusual, and of course it took me a few seconds to get clipped in. I over-compensated and as I went up the first rise I was pushing far too hard. Two miles later a tractor pulled out in front of me on a downhill stretch just before the first roundabout and with other traffic around I had to slow up, which left me carrying a lot less speed up the next rise. It was all feeling like very hard work but I regrouped at the turn and tried to refocus as the A24 dropped back down to Beare Green. My quads were absolutely screaming and I was 'mashing' on the pedals far too hard. As I hit the last half mile I had two riders in front and I used thee guys as a target, catching one of them before the end. I felt I had completely blown it. Despite it just being a small club 10, I had gone for it too hard and I just didn't feel very fast. Bah.
So I waited for Frank, our timekeeper, to come back to the carpark to give us our times and I was thinking I might just have squeaked to a new pb. I had to blink and triple-check when I looked for my time. 22:47!! 54 seconds faster than my previous best and on a slower course. To say I was stunned was an understatement. As you can imagine, I was a happy chappy. I was beaten into second place by Dale who rode a 22:04, which was a great ride.
It was a couple of days of easy one hour rides on the way home from work before getting the tt bike out again for Saturday morning's SCCU 10; the same event and course where I set my pb in 2014. The weather was no where near as good with the temperature a very cool 9 degrees and a stiff northerly wind of about 10-15mph, so far from ideal. My plan here though was to just ride it better and engage more of my pedal stroke when compared to Wednesday's effort. I thought it might be possible to do a low 24 in these conditions.
it was a much better ride from me. I controlled my effort and paced it well and I was lucky, not having to slow down on any of the ten or so roundabouts that I had to negotiate. I have found this course pretty hard to ride in the past with a nasty climb right at the start but I felt really strong throughout. As I crossed the line and stopped to unclip my helmet and have my usual dry heave by the side of the road, I knew that it was my best ever 10. Not my fastest, but I felt that I could not have paced it any better. So I spun gently back to the HQ, got changed and had a look at the results board. Unbelievably, my time was exactly the same as Wednesday, 22:47!! The really pleasing thing from my point of view was that Dale beat me again, but he was slower and only 19 seconds ahead. I have never been that close to him before and I think it shows how well I paced it and how far my training has brought me. It is still very early in the season. One of my main goals for this season was to go sub 23. Well I have done that, and I believe that on the right course, on the right day, sub 22 is possible. Blimey. Maybe I am becoming a proper tester.
It was a rubbish 10 for me. We didn't have a pusher off, which is very unusual, and of course it took me a few seconds to get clipped in. I over-compensated and as I went up the first rise I was pushing far too hard. Two miles later a tractor pulled out in front of me on a downhill stretch just before the first roundabout and with other traffic around I had to slow up, which left me carrying a lot less speed up the next rise. It was all feeling like very hard work but I regrouped at the turn and tried to refocus as the A24 dropped back down to Beare Green. My quads were absolutely screaming and I was 'mashing' on the pedals far too hard. As I hit the last half mile I had two riders in front and I used thee guys as a target, catching one of them before the end. I felt I had completely blown it. Despite it just being a small club 10, I had gone for it too hard and I just didn't feel very fast. Bah.
So I waited for Frank, our timekeeper, to come back to the carpark to give us our times and I was thinking I might just have squeaked to a new pb. I had to blink and triple-check when I looked for my time. 22:47!! 54 seconds faster than my previous best and on a slower course. To say I was stunned was an understatement. As you can imagine, I was a happy chappy. I was beaten into second place by Dale who rode a 22:04, which was a great ride.
It was a couple of days of easy one hour rides on the way home from work before getting the tt bike out again for Saturday morning's SCCU 10; the same event and course where I set my pb in 2014. The weather was no where near as good with the temperature a very cool 9 degrees and a stiff northerly wind of about 10-15mph, so far from ideal. My plan here though was to just ride it better and engage more of my pedal stroke when compared to Wednesday's effort. I thought it might be possible to do a low 24 in these conditions.
it was a much better ride from me. I controlled my effort and paced it well and I was lucky, not having to slow down on any of the ten or so roundabouts that I had to negotiate. I have found this course pretty hard to ride in the past with a nasty climb right at the start but I felt really strong throughout. As I crossed the line and stopped to unclip my helmet and have my usual dry heave by the side of the road, I knew that it was my best ever 10. Not my fastest, but I felt that I could not have paced it any better. So I spun gently back to the HQ, got changed and had a look at the results board. Unbelievably, my time was exactly the same as Wednesday, 22:47!! The really pleasing thing from my point of view was that Dale beat me again, but he was slower and only 19 seconds ahead. I have never been that close to him before and I think it shows how well I paced it and how far my training has brought me. It is still very early in the season. One of my main goals for this season was to go sub 23. Well I have done that, and I believe that on the right course, on the right day, sub 22 is possible. Blimey. Maybe I am becoming a proper tester.
Monday, 2 May 2016
Driven to distraction
Last Sunday was the SCCU SPOCO 25m tt. Four laps on a lumpyish, bumpy and gravelly course, so not particularly fast. I think only one rider went under the hour, with Dale coming very close and getting second place. It was a small field that started but I came 12th, and helped KPRC to a second placed team prize. I won a bottle of wine.
I managed to have another consistent week, mainly on the turbo with a long ride yesterday around the hills. My ftp continues to gradually creep up and on Saturday I had a really good session of 4x10 minutes at ftp. I had ridden this same session just ten days before and I had another 5 watt increase, but this time I stayed aero for the whole session. In the last two weeks I have also started doing to odd session before work, getting up at 5:15am, doing my hour on the turbo, then getting ready. I am not really a morning person so doing a hard session that early in the morning seemed like a bad idea, but it has been manageable and means I am not doing these sessions so late at night. I am also doing these sessions in a fasted state which should help with fat burning, so the theory goes. I have switched to the Trainerroad Low Volume 40km TT plan, which only specifies 3 sessions per week. Basically, one VO2 max session, one sweetspot and one endurance session. The plan is to get these ones done then anything else on top is a bonus, like a longer commute ride home or a long weekend ride.
I think another week or so and I'll test my ftp again. I am gradually closing in on 250 watts and I should invest the same effort in dropping some kilograms but I am finding it hard to do. I seem to be resolutely stuck at 72kgs, but to be honest, this is just a hobby and I like eating, so I am not going to worry about it too much.
My main distraction at the moment is my inability to find the reason for a constant creaking on my Van Nic. New bottom bracket, tightened chainring bolts, checked pedals, sprocket and jockey wheels. It is driving me nuts. Sometimes it is there; sometimes not. I am starting to lose the will to live.
I managed to have another consistent week, mainly on the turbo with a long ride yesterday around the hills. My ftp continues to gradually creep up and on Saturday I had a really good session of 4x10 minutes at ftp. I had ridden this same session just ten days before and I had another 5 watt increase, but this time I stayed aero for the whole session. In the last two weeks I have also started doing to odd session before work, getting up at 5:15am, doing my hour on the turbo, then getting ready. I am not really a morning person so doing a hard session that early in the morning seemed like a bad idea, but it has been manageable and means I am not doing these sessions so late at night. I am also doing these sessions in a fasted state which should help with fat burning, so the theory goes. I have switched to the Trainerroad Low Volume 40km TT plan, which only specifies 3 sessions per week. Basically, one VO2 max session, one sweetspot and one endurance session. The plan is to get these ones done then anything else on top is a bonus, like a longer commute ride home or a long weekend ride.
I think another week or so and I'll test my ftp again. I am gradually closing in on 250 watts and I should invest the same effort in dropping some kilograms but I am finding it hard to do. I seem to be resolutely stuck at 72kgs, but to be honest, this is just a hobby and I like eating, so I am not going to worry about it too much.
My main distraction at the moment is my inability to find the reason for a constant creaking on my Van Nic. New bottom bracket, tightened chainring bolts, checked pedals, sprocket and jockey wheels. It is driving me nuts. Sometimes it is there; sometimes not. I am starting to lose the will to live.
Sunday, 17 April 2016
On the upside
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| Skinny ankles and hairless |
So, like I said, fairly rubbish conditions, very early in the season and not really feeling the cycling love. But it's the same old thing. Stick on number and it is game on. 25 minutes or so of very hard work and see what happens. The outleg was very tough. I had cooled down waiting for my start so the first hill out to Beare Green left my legs feeling completely fried, but gradually I got into it, just trying to hunker down and keep as aero as possible in the South Easterly cross/headwind. At the top turn I had recovered a bit and thought about really trying to use the tailwind a little and I could feel myself getting stronger as the ride progressed. The really good moment was the hill at 7.5 miles. For the last 5 years this has been my nemesis and I have always struggled here but this time I felt extremely strong going up, staying on the aerobars and in the big ring; something I don't always achieve. The last mile was a hoot and as I got to the curry house 600 metres from the finish I gave it everything. It felt good. And it was good. 23:56. A course pb in April and only 15 seconds off my pb on a slow day. Vindication for me for the work that I have done on the turbo over the winter. If I can keep the consistency going over the next three months and get onto a faster course or two, sub 23 should be a realistic target. I am very happy with that.
Saturday, 16 April 2016
Cyclists are made of people too.
I think the thing I like most about cycling is, it makes me feel young; I actually feel like a thirteen year old boy, free to roam and let my front wheel point the way. Back in the day, when I had my first bmx I used to cycle with friends from my home in Kingston over to Teddington Lock where there was (and still is) an old bomb crater. I used to while away hours with my mates dropping into that hole, attempting to emulate Bob Haro, perfecting endos, tabletops and 180s. I was utterly rubbish, but I loved it. I moved onto my trusted Clements racer a short while later which I used to cycle the 5 miles to school from my house, down to Canbury Gardens, over Kingston Bridge and along to my school, again in Teddington. With the odd detour to friends' houses I was probably riding 60 odd miles per week without even realising it.
The fact was, even looking back through 30 years of rose tinted spectacles, it seemed a lot safer. I cannot recall ever feeling 'unsafe'. True, I did have to cycle home from that bomb hole one time when I went over the bars, my head bleeding profusely, which ended up with 8 stitches in Kingston A&E, but that was utterly self induced. Cycling felt safe. Now, despite me being much older and a much more experienced cyclist, I feel a great deal more unsafe. Maybe, it's partly me getting more cautious, more aware of the potential dangers, just, well, more scared. That probably has something to do with it, but it definitely is not the entire reason. I have had a bit of a revelation this week that there are people on our roads who genuinely don't care about whether I, or other vulnerable road users, get injured. Although it started well, it's been a bad week.
A fellow member of my club was knocked off his bike. This is a rather bland statement, a bit like saying, 'Ooh, I've dented my bumper.' Unfortunately it was more than a dent. G was descending a hill in Bookham when a car turned across his path. Apparently he had time to register that it was a bit close. It was at that point that the second car who tried to sneak across with the first one ended up across his path, leaving G with absolutely nowhere to go, except off the bonnet and windscreen and then onto the road. Yes, he was 'knocked off his bike'. That bland statement again. Except it left him with concussion, three broken vertebra, a broken rib and a broken hand. Had it not been for a lady coming out of her house and making sure that he stayed still and didn't move, he may well have ended up paralysed.
A colleague at work was 'knocked off her bike' on the way to work on Thursday morning. Again, a car turned across her path, leaving her with nowhere to go. Thankfully, her injuries were relatively minor although she has had to take a few days off work to let the bruising go down. I saw a picture of her bike on Facebook and I have never seen anything quite like it; her aluminum framed Trek has taken the full impact head on. remarkably the head tube is intact but both the top tube and down tube are bent by about twenty degrees. It seems that the bike frame has absorbed enough of the impact and dissapated the force through its frame rather than through her body and bones.
last Monday I took a longer route home from work to spin out some tiredness in my legs. Sometimes, when you are on your bike, you can just feel when a car is going to past too close to you. Even though they are behind you and you can't see them, you can tell by the engine note, the movement of air almost a split second before, that you are being left with absolutely no room. I braced myself, closed my eyes, hunkered my head down and waited. I felt the wing mirror of the car disturb the fabric of my top and my bars gave a small lurch towards the kerb. It was close. Very, very close. There was absolutely no need for the driver to pass that close either. The other carriageway was completely clear and he could have given me two metres of space very comfortably. But do you know what REALLY wound me up about this one incident? As I looked up, in this driver's rear window was a 'Caution: Children on Board' sticker. This person was happy to let every other road user know that his most precious of cargo might be contained within his very well built, tested to destruction, steel box (and why not, that's his prerogative) yet at the same time he was happy to risk my life; someone who happens to be a son, brother, husband, uncle and father. The irony of that moment left me shaking my head in utter disbelief. Maybe I need a sticker on my bum too? Unfortunately, I think this driver wouldn't take the same notice that he expects everyone else too.
On Tuesday I left home for work as usual on the Van Nic. About twenty metres from my front door is a T junction and as I cycled past it, having right of way, a car approached the give way lines, wanting to turn right into my path. All they had to do was wait two seconds for me to pass, which i swhat they should have done anyway, being on a give way line, but because I am a cyclist, the driver decided (with plenty of time to think about it) that they would come out into my lane anyway in their desperation not to get held up. You know that move that some drivers do when they think they are giving you loads of space but actually they're not, as they swing into your lane? She missed me by inches. Had I not moved my bike right into the gutter she would have hit me. I am not a sweary, ranty type of person but it didn't stop me throwing my hands up in desperation and shouting. The irony of this one was that 100 metres later she was stuck in a queue of traffic while I sailed past in the only stretch of cycle lane on my whole commute. It was absolutely pathetic.
The next day, this time cycling home. Approximately 300 metres from my house just after I had exited a very busy roundabout and another junction where this time, a car wanted to turn left into my lane. This was very scary. A young driver in a blue saxo approached the give way lines at speed, so fast that he wasn't there and then literally out of nowhere, there he was. I caught him in my peripheral vision and I was quite convinced that he was not going to stop in time, as he was doing the classic thing of looking at the big empty space behind me but he hadn't registered that there was a cyclist right in front of him where he was about to put his car. All I can say is, thank f##k for good engineering and anti-lock brakes. He stopped in time; but only just. He sped around me and blasted off down the bit of dual carriageway that we were now on, me in a cycle lane and him undertaking another car. I am sure that he thought he is one of the world's greatest drivers. I thought he was a dick.
This is starting to sound like a self-righteous, 'us against them', 'cyclists against cars' type of rant. I don't want it to be, but as I read more and more cases about fatalities to cyclists and other road users and my ever-increasing experiences of near misses, it's difficult not to become more polarised in my position. I have always believed that I am a pretty good, considerate rider and road user and that I would always be able to pre-empt any situation where I might get hurt. I have also changed my riding style considerably over the last few months since I have been doing so much more turbo work. Now, commuting by bike is commuting; it's not training. I've dropped my speed and therefore my chances of an accident. That said, I still feel at the moment that it is not a case of 'if I have an accident' but 'when I have an accident' and that is just wrong.
I ride around 5000-6000 miles per year. I drive more than that and yes, as a driver I've made mistakes, but I would like to feel that I have never made a decision in my car where I deliberately put another road user's life in danger. At the moment, there is a small, but significant minority of drivers who don't care and who are going to really hurt or kill someone and it's happening too often.
I read a great tweet a few weeks ago, written by a Dutch cyclist who was riding in London for the first time.
'Don't drivers realise that cyclists are made of people too?'
Too few don't.
The fact was, even looking back through 30 years of rose tinted spectacles, it seemed a lot safer. I cannot recall ever feeling 'unsafe'. True, I did have to cycle home from that bomb hole one time when I went over the bars, my head bleeding profusely, which ended up with 8 stitches in Kingston A&E, but that was utterly self induced. Cycling felt safe. Now, despite me being much older and a much more experienced cyclist, I feel a great deal more unsafe. Maybe, it's partly me getting more cautious, more aware of the potential dangers, just, well, more scared. That probably has something to do with it, but it definitely is not the entire reason. I have had a bit of a revelation this week that there are people on our roads who genuinely don't care about whether I, or other vulnerable road users, get injured. Although it started well, it's been a bad week.
A fellow member of my club was knocked off his bike. This is a rather bland statement, a bit like saying, 'Ooh, I've dented my bumper.' Unfortunately it was more than a dent. G was descending a hill in Bookham when a car turned across his path. Apparently he had time to register that it was a bit close. It was at that point that the second car who tried to sneak across with the first one ended up across his path, leaving G with absolutely nowhere to go, except off the bonnet and windscreen and then onto the road. Yes, he was 'knocked off his bike'. That bland statement again. Except it left him with concussion, three broken vertebra, a broken rib and a broken hand. Had it not been for a lady coming out of her house and making sure that he stayed still and didn't move, he may well have ended up paralysed.
A colleague at work was 'knocked off her bike' on the way to work on Thursday morning. Again, a car turned across her path, leaving her with nowhere to go. Thankfully, her injuries were relatively minor although she has had to take a few days off work to let the bruising go down. I saw a picture of her bike on Facebook and I have never seen anything quite like it; her aluminum framed Trek has taken the full impact head on. remarkably the head tube is intact but both the top tube and down tube are bent by about twenty degrees. It seems that the bike frame has absorbed enough of the impact and dissapated the force through its frame rather than through her body and bones.
last Monday I took a longer route home from work to spin out some tiredness in my legs. Sometimes, when you are on your bike, you can just feel when a car is going to past too close to you. Even though they are behind you and you can't see them, you can tell by the engine note, the movement of air almost a split second before, that you are being left with absolutely no room. I braced myself, closed my eyes, hunkered my head down and waited. I felt the wing mirror of the car disturb the fabric of my top and my bars gave a small lurch towards the kerb. It was close. Very, very close. There was absolutely no need for the driver to pass that close either. The other carriageway was completely clear and he could have given me two metres of space very comfortably. But do you know what REALLY wound me up about this one incident? As I looked up, in this driver's rear window was a 'Caution: Children on Board' sticker. This person was happy to let every other road user know that his most precious of cargo might be contained within his very well built, tested to destruction, steel box (and why not, that's his prerogative) yet at the same time he was happy to risk my life; someone who happens to be a son, brother, husband, uncle and father. The irony of that moment left me shaking my head in utter disbelief. Maybe I need a sticker on my bum too? Unfortunately, I think this driver wouldn't take the same notice that he expects everyone else too.
On Tuesday I left home for work as usual on the Van Nic. About twenty metres from my front door is a T junction and as I cycled past it, having right of way, a car approached the give way lines, wanting to turn right into my path. All they had to do was wait two seconds for me to pass, which i swhat they should have done anyway, being on a give way line, but because I am a cyclist, the driver decided (with plenty of time to think about it) that they would come out into my lane anyway in their desperation not to get held up. You know that move that some drivers do when they think they are giving you loads of space but actually they're not, as they swing into your lane? She missed me by inches. Had I not moved my bike right into the gutter she would have hit me. I am not a sweary, ranty type of person but it didn't stop me throwing my hands up in desperation and shouting. The irony of this one was that 100 metres later she was stuck in a queue of traffic while I sailed past in the only stretch of cycle lane on my whole commute. It was absolutely pathetic.
The next day, this time cycling home. Approximately 300 metres from my house just after I had exited a very busy roundabout and another junction where this time, a car wanted to turn left into my lane. This was very scary. A young driver in a blue saxo approached the give way lines at speed, so fast that he wasn't there and then literally out of nowhere, there he was. I caught him in my peripheral vision and I was quite convinced that he was not going to stop in time, as he was doing the classic thing of looking at the big empty space behind me but he hadn't registered that there was a cyclist right in front of him where he was about to put his car. All I can say is, thank f##k for good engineering and anti-lock brakes. He stopped in time; but only just. He sped around me and blasted off down the bit of dual carriageway that we were now on, me in a cycle lane and him undertaking another car. I am sure that he thought he is one of the world's greatest drivers. I thought he was a dick.
This is starting to sound like a self-righteous, 'us against them', 'cyclists against cars' type of rant. I don't want it to be, but as I read more and more cases about fatalities to cyclists and other road users and my ever-increasing experiences of near misses, it's difficult not to become more polarised in my position. I have always believed that I am a pretty good, considerate rider and road user and that I would always be able to pre-empt any situation where I might get hurt. I have also changed my riding style considerably over the last few months since I have been doing so much more turbo work. Now, commuting by bike is commuting; it's not training. I've dropped my speed and therefore my chances of an accident. That said, I still feel at the moment that it is not a case of 'if I have an accident' but 'when I have an accident' and that is just wrong.
I ride around 5000-6000 miles per year. I drive more than that and yes, as a driver I've made mistakes, but I would like to feel that I have never made a decision in my car where I deliberately put another road user's life in danger. At the moment, there is a small, but significant minority of drivers who don't care and who are going to really hurt or kill someone and it's happening too often.
I read a great tweet a few weeks ago, written by a Dutch cyclist who was riding in London for the first time.
'Don't drivers realise that cyclists are made of people too?'
Too few don't.
Tuesday, 5 April 2016
A short paddle
A one hour paddle with Jamie this morning, just to remind myself what it is like to paddle a kayak. Jamie was in his Tor while I stuck to a laance. All in all, it wasn't too bad, although quite slow, with quite a bit of flow on the Thames. We just did a lap of Desborough and then most of the way down to the portage at Walton. Jamie looked relaxed and lazily fast while I felt right and achy. I really must spend a bit of time looking after my back as it will help everything. The club have a new Marsport Epsilon, so after I put the laance away I had a sit in it. It's about the same wobble factor as Jamie's Tor but it was a bit too much for me at the moment. I think I might get back out in the club Hobby and work up to the Epsilon when the air temperature warms up, as I am bound to take a swim in it at some point.
Anyway, a beautiful morning to be on the river. Back into the shed this evening to start the Trainerroad 40km TT speciality plan and my first 10m tt at the weekend.
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| Jamie in his Tor |
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| Thinking about trying the Epsilon. Deciding against it. |
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| The chuckle brothers back on the river. |
Monday, 4 April 2016
Missing in action
Firstly, apologies to anyone that's bothered, about changing the blog template again. I've been trying to do a bit of housekeeping on the blog so that I can archive posts into some sort of order using tags and that sot of stuff, and I just didn't like how it all looked; I still don't. But I'm going to have a tinker with it over the next few weeks and hopefully make it easier to read.
Yesterday was a bit of an anticlimax as I had arranged to meet Dale and cycle over to the start of the SCCU 25 tt at Broadbridge Heath on the A24. I have started countless time trials from there in the past 6 years or so and never missed the start of a race. Unfortunately, yesterday I did. The way time trials work, you cannot just slot into another position, well you can if there is another dns, but the clock effectively continues to run from your actual start time. So had I started 5 minutes later, then my time would include that extra 5 minutes. I had 2 upped with Dale all the way there and rather than warmed up, I was more 'worn out' by the time we got there. Dale made his start with 30 seconds to spare. I sat at the HQ and drank tea.
After Dale got back we 2 upped from Broadbridge Heath, with me dragging Dale home. He was pretty wiped out after his 25, posting a 58:xx in the process, so I used it as a chance to get some faster miles in the bank, while Dale freewheeled behind me. This is an unusual occurrence because Dale is an absolute machine. So while not racing, I got a solid 50 miles in which left me tired and achy for the rest of the day. Speaking of achy, my back is not what it used to be. Hopefully, Jamie and I are meeting up for our now annual post DW following paddle, My core was never in as good a condition as when I was paddling ( even though the rest of me was in bits) but maybe a gentle paddle now and again will help me get my core strength back a little.
Yesterday was a bit of an anticlimax as I had arranged to meet Dale and cycle over to the start of the SCCU 25 tt at Broadbridge Heath on the A24. I have started countless time trials from there in the past 6 years or so and never missed the start of a race. Unfortunately, yesterday I did. The way time trials work, you cannot just slot into another position, well you can if there is another dns, but the clock effectively continues to run from your actual start time. So had I started 5 minutes later, then my time would include that extra 5 minutes. I had 2 upped with Dale all the way there and rather than warmed up, I was more 'worn out' by the time we got there. Dale made his start with 30 seconds to spare. I sat at the HQ and drank tea.
After Dale got back we 2 upped from Broadbridge Heath, with me dragging Dale home. He was pretty wiped out after his 25, posting a 58:xx in the process, so I used it as a chance to get some faster miles in the bank, while Dale freewheeled behind me. This is an unusual occurrence because Dale is an absolute machine. So while not racing, I got a solid 50 miles in which left me tired and achy for the rest of the day. Speaking of achy, my back is not what it used to be. Hopefully, Jamie and I are meeting up for our now annual post DW following paddle, My core was never in as good a condition as when I was paddling ( even though the rest of me was in bits) but maybe a gentle paddle now and again will help me get my core strength back a little.
Wednesday, 30 March 2016
A lightbulb moment
I did my fourth 20 minute ftp test yesterday as I had felt that some of the Trainerroad sessions were getting easier, which meant that somewhere, my aerobic fitness was improving. It had been the best part of two months since my last test owing to having serious manflu ( a mild cold) when I should have conducted the last one. This one was slightly different on a couple of counts. Firstly, I did the test in my rather cold shed, the thinking being that I would not get so hot as I normally do in my well-insulated kitchen and therefore this might help me push out a couple more watts. I also spend more time upright, rather than down on my aerobars, which is how I had conducted the test before. After listening to the Trainerroad podcast, they advocated that you simply have to try to get as many watts out as possible and if that means being in a more 'road' position instead of a tt one, then that should be the way to go.The test this time felt much harder, I guess because I am starting to bump against my limiters a little bit, and I had a definite fade in the middle part of the test, but the result was good. 240 watts, compared to my last test at 230. That's not too bad at all and I can now power a pretty standard domestic lightbulb for an hour (in theory anyway). Along the way, I also improved on my best power averages for 2,3,5,10 and 15 minutes.
So using some back of the envelope mathematics I have done approximately 70 Trainerroad sessions and increased my ftp by 35 watts. So every session is helping me to add 0.5 watts to my ftp. OK, I know it's not as simple as that and that there or other factors in play, but the numbers work quite nicely and at least for the time being it is pretty motivating to still see the numbers creeping up. 250 watts plus is an obvious target now and my watts/kg is now up to 3.33. This weekend sees me start my first 25m tt of the season. Not a fast course but I am hopeful that with some ok conditions, I should be very near the mark I set last year.
Sunday, 27 March 2016
My usual Easter......
spent watching the DW tracker, following a couple of crews with personnel that I either know or have followed via blogs or the DW facebook page. As I write, there is a crew who have paddled the heaviest plastic tub down the course and they are currently holed up at Teddington waiting for the second tide; they have been going for over 30 hours already and will have another 2-3 hours paddling once they get back into the water. I have serious respect for that kind of endurance and downright dogged perseverance. It almost makes me want to do it again. I was in the pub with friends last night and text Jamie to have our usual 'Let's do it next year' conversation. Hmm. We'll see.
Trainerroad continues to be going well. A bit of a quieter week this week after a heavy week and the SCCU SPOCO last week. I am coming to the end of the build plan, so I intend to do another FTP test on Tuesday, followed by the start of the 40km TT plan the week after that. Slightly less volume but I think a lot more hurty. Can't wait.
Trainerroad continues to be going well. A bit of a quieter week this week after a heavy week and the SCCU SPOCO last week. I am coming to the end of the build plan, so I intend to do another FTP test on Tuesday, followed by the start of the 40km TT plan the week after that. Slightly less volume but I think a lot more hurty. Can't wait.
Monday, 21 March 2016
I am the resurrection
It was the SCUU SPOCO 21 mile TT yesterday. This was the third year on the trot I had ridden this event and it is not an event I have enjoyed. In 2014 I had ridden my TT bike for the first time but I had not really trained at all over the winter, so it was a very rugged and diffivult day out. LAst year was much the same, but compounded by truly awful weather, with the temperature only just above freezing and sleety rain. As a result I rode the Van Nic instead, just to feel a bit more sure-footed on the tricky descents. Both times I rode were decidedly average (1:05:xx and 1:10:xx). So yesterday was all about seeing how far my turbo work in the last 4 months had actually got me.
So, two laps. Half of it a bumpy, twisy, downhill section that has you hanging on for dear-life at times, followed by a long drag uphill back to Bletchingly, with three steep and short climbs that have you down in the granny ring, spinning away. The first lap also includes a long climb right from the start and I really tried to keep a cap on my rpe, knowing what was to come later on. I was overtaking a fair few riders in front of me and managed to keep most of the guys behind me as I approached the first of the climbs. I got held up by traffic here as a car could not get past a couple of riders out on a training ride, so I had to bide my time as I waited to overtake and lost 30 seconds or so. It probably helped as I hit the first climb with my heart rate a bit lower than it otherwise would have been. I still felt pretty rough by the end of the climbs as that is one thing I am most as practiced on, owing to the mainly turbo sessions I have been completing, so I felt that maybe I had gone out too hard on the first lap.
The second lap was much the same, this time with a couple of the fast guys going past me. I decided to aim to be as fast as possible between the hills and then let the hills just take care of themselves, and accept that I would not be that fast up them. I was pretty done in by the end and had the usual dry-heaving in someone's driveway. Sorry.
So after much tea and bread pudding the results came in. 1:00:57, a solid 5 minute pb for the course! And that included the hold-up on the first lap. I am really pleased and shows that a little bit on consistency goes a very long way. Happy days.
So, two laps. Half of it a bumpy, twisy, downhill section that has you hanging on for dear-life at times, followed by a long drag uphill back to Bletchingly, with three steep and short climbs that have you down in the granny ring, spinning away. The first lap also includes a long climb right from the start and I really tried to keep a cap on my rpe, knowing what was to come later on. I was overtaking a fair few riders in front of me and managed to keep most of the guys behind me as I approached the first of the climbs. I got held up by traffic here as a car could not get past a couple of riders out on a training ride, so I had to bide my time as I waited to overtake and lost 30 seconds or so. It probably helped as I hit the first climb with my heart rate a bit lower than it otherwise would have been. I still felt pretty rough by the end of the climbs as that is one thing I am most as practiced on, owing to the mainly turbo sessions I have been completing, so I felt that maybe I had gone out too hard on the first lap.
The second lap was much the same, this time with a couple of the fast guys going past me. I decided to aim to be as fast as possible between the hills and then let the hills just take care of themselves, and accept that I would not be that fast up them. I was pretty done in by the end and had the usual dry-heaving in someone's driveway. Sorry.
So after much tea and bread pudding the results came in. 1:00:57, a solid 5 minute pb for the course! And that included the hold-up on the first lap. I am really pleased and shows that a little bit on consistency goes a very long way. Happy days.
Sunday, 13 March 2016
Long week
Somehow, and I don't know how, I have managed a pretty big week of training with over 9 hours on the bike, not including commuting. That's made up of five hours on the turbo and the rest was a chaingang session and a slow, hilly ride this morning. I was meant to be riding a club 25tt but I had to cancel it at the last minute,which was pretty stressful and frustrating. So a slow forty miles instead, slogging my way up Leith Hill. I spent the first hour trying too hard and not really enjoying it, being surrounded by packs of fellow mamils. As I turned up Raikes Lane and found myself on my own. My mood improved, but my legs didn't. They were just spent from the ftp work that I had done during the week but hopefully that will stand me in good stead in a few week's time.
The next few weeks are pretty stressy for me at work, so it may be just about maintaining some training time rather than worrying about improvement in power or increasing tss numbers. That said, I'm enjoying the process of using trainerroad and while the first few time trials I will be riding will be about training rather than racing. It will be in the summer when hopefully I will see how far this work has taken me.
The next few weeks are pretty stressy for me at work, so it may be just about maintaining some training time rather than worrying about improvement in power or increasing tss numbers. That said, I'm enjoying the process of using trainerroad and while the first few time trials I will be riding will be about training rather than racing. It will be in the summer when hopefully I will see how far this work has taken me.
Sunday, 28 February 2016
I've had a really solid week's training with five sessions all told with the aim of getting a solid three week block of sessions in before my first 25 tt in March. These consisted of three sweetspot trainerroad sessions, a chingang ride with KPRC and then a 50 miler today with Simon. The sweetspot sessions were all fine, if a little dull, being long intervals of between 12-20 minutes at 85% of ftp. The chaingang ride was hard with three of us out for the first time and had me well over threshold for a significant proportion and included the an enormous wood screw leaving the most enormous hole in my tyre on the warm down loop. Lee and Gavin were kind enough to wait while I changed it but the temperature dropped rapidly and obviously that meant I completely ballsed- up getting the new tube in.
An early start this morning to meet Simon and the plan was to go out and ride most of the G25/47 route which we will be racing on in two weeks' time. As we headed out to the A 29 and down to Broadbridge Heath, all was good and we were clipping along at a really good tempo effort and I have to say Iwas feeling really strong in the cold and windy conditions. When we got back on to the A24 for the last five miles of the tt course I just ran out of gas and Simon pulled away effortlessly into the strengthening headwind, so I took the decision to knock it back, rather than going into the red to try to stay with him. It is dawning on me that I am getting older, and whether I like it or not I need to rest more and these relatively big weeks will take their toll. I can't keep burning my matches all the time.
An early start this morning to meet Simon and the plan was to go out and ride most of the G25/47 route which we will be racing on in two weeks' time. As we headed out to the A 29 and down to Broadbridge Heath, all was good and we were clipping along at a really good tempo effort and I have to say Iwas feeling really strong in the cold and windy conditions. When we got back on to the A24 for the last five miles of the tt course I just ran out of gas and Simon pulled away effortlessly into the strengthening headwind, so I took the decision to knock it back, rather than going into the red to try to stay with him. It is dawning on me that I am getting older, and whether I like it or not I need to rest more and these relatively big weeks will take their toll. I can't keep burning my matches all the time.
Tuesday, 23 February 2016
First race of the season
As a way of getting me off the turbo and back into the real world I entered the Kingston Wheelers' Gil Jessop Sporting 14, a 14 mile (obviously) sporting time trial over two laps in Ripley. I find these sporting courses pretty tough; I have never ridden one that has made me think afterwards that I had really nailed it, usually because in the early season I have not laid a decent enough aerobic base during the winter. With my trainerroad sessions I have been hoping to remedy this and this was going to be my first test of this.
I decided on the argon with full deep section wheels as it was not a particularly steep course or climb. The roads were wet from a good soaking the night before but the morning was pretty dry. I just didn't feel on it on the first lap. My legs just felt heavy and The were well alight after just a few minutes' riding. Maybe a lack of a proper warm up or just not enough actual road riding on hills? Whatever it was, it was a rude introduction to the racing season, especially when my minute man caught me after only half a lap. The second lap was slightly better and I was really pushing hard over the last mile on the downhill section. A long 37, which on this course was decidedly average.
Over the next couple of days I started to feel more rough as a cold developed, which meant my week off for half term only saw me ride 3 times and feeling rough each time. The highlight was 40 miles out with Simon which included an ascent of Pebble Hill in Reigate, which left me absolutely in bits. I really hate that hill; I guess I should ride it a lot more.
I think I am now finally over my cold and I am going to attempt to get 3 really good weeks in before the next Sporting TT, focussing on sweetspot and threshold work. My other main focus is weight loss, with me currently at 73kgs I am a good 2kgs overweight and ideally, I should aim to get down below 70 kgs. I'm cutting out the rubbish, reducing my carbs, eating more fruit, drinking more water and upping my protein. Sounds simple, but I like a bag of crisps and a chocolate bar, so I think this is going to be tough.
I decided on the argon with full deep section wheels as it was not a particularly steep course or climb. The roads were wet from a good soaking the night before but the morning was pretty dry. I just didn't feel on it on the first lap. My legs just felt heavy and The were well alight after just a few minutes' riding. Maybe a lack of a proper warm up or just not enough actual road riding on hills? Whatever it was, it was a rude introduction to the racing season, especially when my minute man caught me after only half a lap. The second lap was slightly better and I was really pushing hard over the last mile on the downhill section. A long 37, which on this course was decidedly average.
Over the next couple of days I started to feel more rough as a cold developed, which meant my week off for half term only saw me ride 3 times and feeling rough each time. The highlight was 40 miles out with Simon which included an ascent of Pebble Hill in Reigate, which left me absolutely in bits. I really hate that hill; I guess I should ride it a lot more.
I think I am now finally over my cold and I am going to attempt to get 3 really good weeks in before the next Sporting TT, focussing on sweetspot and threshold work. My other main focus is weight loss, with me currently at 73kgs I am a good 2kgs overweight and ideally, I should aim to get down below 70 kgs. I'm cutting out the rubbish, reducing my carbs, eating more fruit, drinking more water and upping my protein. Sounds simple, but I like a bag of crisps and a chocolate bar, so I think this is going to be tough.
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