Happy New Year!

Pleasantries over, on to the resolutions then....

I will be fitter this year and will be cycling in excess of 5000 miles.
I will endeavour to get out with the club most weeks.
I will organise a long distance ride and complete it this year
Weight will be maintained sub 11.5 stone on average!

Ref the new cycling season, as per last post, can't wait till it all kicks off (quite literally) in the TDU.
Team Sky to make a massive impact and challenge for / scoop up early season victories all over the place.
The Shack to muscle in on the act too.

Still think that Bertie (even without a team to speak of) and Mr A Schleck will be tough to beat in the Tour, but my heart will forever go for Lance (could we see the old postal blue train / disco boys reincarnate in July?) and don't forget Wiggo either and his awesome support cast too.
Cav to continue where he left off, but also develop the cycling brain and get the green jersey in the tour this year.

Off the road will be interesting watching the seperate games of chess played out by Johan and Dave (Brailsford), on that note is Swifty going to Sky yet - do we know? Is Cav gonna jump ship to Sky ready for 2011?

Time to sit back and watch the action unfold, now where did i put Wiggo's autobiography...?

Happy christmas!

Hey!

yeah yeah i know, a few days too late but its a bit sad striking up your laptop on the day innit?

So roll call of pressies was great:

• A couple of Twin Six T-Shirts probably the coolest bike related T-shirts in the known universe.
• A couple of CD's - Kings of Leon and Ian Brown
• A few books - Chris Evans and Wiggo Auto Biogs, Ben Elton newbie plus LEJOG Guide to name a few
• Wii Fit Plus Game - watch this space for new fitness regime coming your way
• Others included - New Wallet, socks and sweets.

Furnished myself with a Nokia 5800 phone pre-xmas which i am loving - internet everywhere, so twittering is on the increase.

Looking forward to the new cycling season, will be making predictions just after new year, along with mileage targets etc but can't wait to see Team Sky and the Shack in the peleton, plus hoping Cav continues to obliterate all in his path and goes green this year?

Still a week of hol to go, so maybe another posting or two may surface, but for now wherever you are - A hapy christmas, and if its late i hope it was a good one, if like me you are still off work - eek it out as long as poss!!!!

Team Sky / The Shack

Wiggo to Sky then (At last)? http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/10122009/58/team-sky-expected-confirm-wiggins.html

Not sure about Swifty though (Katusha got a bit grumpy when Sky announced him on the TDU roster when he is still under (their) contract!

The Shack have a prototype shirt out - a bit Silence-Lotto isn't it?

End of season round-up

Bertie tops the UCI Rankings.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/19102009/58/spanish-dominate-cycling-rankings.html
Wiggo wins Down Under
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/58th-jayco-herald-sun-tour-2-1
Cracknell + Hot Chillee guys break 35hours for E2E
http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/cracknells-team-ride-end-to-end-in-under-35-hours-23644

Also i managed to take a low speed dive off my bike last night, after running into the verge and entering one of those drainage soakaways - road rash to hip and look what bike radar have published:
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/fitness/article/health-how-to-deal-with-road-rash-23619

Perfect timing!!!!

The answer to the important question is that bike still functions fine and no clothing was damaged in the making of this fall....

News round-up

So Team Radioshack have a Pro Tour Licence - excellent! Team Sky, still to announce another 6 riders - rumour mill still revolving on that one!

Gilbert tops off his season with back to back wins in Paris Tours & Gran Piemonte.

Only 259 days till the start of the TDF in Rotterdam - what am i going to do till then? Loving the look of the route - cycling brains needed for first week in the cobbles and definite legs / engines for the end in the pyrenees, although why is there another valley finish allowing all the gains to be chased down? No Alpe d'Huez but Col Du Tourmalet twice, plus a summit finish can't be bad.

Only 3 days cycling this week so vastly reduced mileage - starting to get dark as well, so rain and sludge soon to follow. Have purchased and fitted some Crud Road Racer mudguards, to alleviate some of the road spray etc from the forthcoming inclement weather, plus gained (not sure if that's the right word) a slow puncture mid week which was a definitive pain in the proverbial.

note that NABC saturday rides starting from thepub on the corner now fit with my days off so will be venturing out on some of those pre christmas, plus a couple of Audax rides look interesting too so who knows. Norwich 100 date has been published - June 6th so diary has been highlighted / ringed in red etc.

A potential 6 days cycling lined up for the week ahead so should / could achieve some decent mileage again for this next week - its all good.

Tour de France 2010 Route Announced

Running from Saturday July 3rd to Sunday July 25th 2010, the 97th Tour de France will be made up of 1 prologue and 20 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,600 kilometres.


These stages have the following profiles:

1 prologue, 9 flat stages, 6 mountain stages and 3 summit finishes, 4 medium mountain stage, 4 individual time-trial stage (59 km).

Distinctive aspects of the race - le Tourmalet climbed twice, a hint of the Classics and cobblestones, 2 rest days, 23 level 1, level 2 and highest level mountain passes.

Can't wait!

Dope Testers start reaping the harvest in the off season

Dope testers 2 - Dopers 0.

Bosisio and Comardo first two cyclists to get caught. The only answr to not getting caught is not to do it in the first place - idiots!

Ban the teams too I say particularly when in Bosisio was a team mate of one D DiLuca...

In other news apparently male cyclists are popular with the nations women - http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/british-women-prefer-men-who-cycle-23514

Great to be back on two wheels, and am loving that sound my new wheels make - absolute silence, just a gentle whirr of the pedals...

Repairs all done

So a week off the bike - allowing the crack in the head time to repair itself - it has pretty much healed, just a trademark scar to tell the grabndchildren about one day? Meanhile a cunningly timed pit stop was taking place in the background!

My set of wheels bought on ebay - just a pair of Bontrager Alloys (standard on a Trek 1.2) complete with brand new SRAM cassette, have been fitted to the bike, plus new chain and also a replacement rear gear cable.

Therefore bike and rider back to somewhere approaching their best, it all bodes well for an assault on mileage this next week, commencing with a club run tomorrow night with NABC - bring it on!

Currently sat here watching British Ironman on Channel 4 - always looks good and the mind often wanders about doing that inaugural triathlon, but still not sure about my swimming capabilities - particularly in open water - maybe you can do a relay team of three? - Just need to find a swimmer and a runner then!

Cycling season definately on a wind down. Franco Belge on at present and Farrar and Boonen finally get wins. All the big boys are pulling the curtains down on their seasons and pretty much only Paris-Tours yet to come. Roll on the transfer season and changes to team rosters. Where will Wiggo and Contador be in 2010, will Team Sky clinch either signature? Who else is joining Radioshack? Any other big surprises? Let's hope not but there are bound to be some close season doping scandals too.

Will be checking in next week hopefully with a decent amount of milege to report.

Laters

World Championships - don't believe the hype

As the title says, don't get carried away on the media's pre competition hype. Sadly the Brits were woefully short of the mark and lo and behold Cadel Evans wins the men's title - not the nearly man after all then?

Still can't get my head around the world champion being decided upon one race but there that is how it is - although 19 laps of a 13.8km circuit must mess with your head somewhat.

In other domestic news - i managed to crack my head open on my own car boot, making rather a mess of my head (although the boot still works!) and have been advised to stay off the bike for a few days - also i need a repair done as i am currently locked in bottom gear on the cassette which is ok on the flat but a bit of a killer going uphill. Never mind at least my new wheels will arrive this week - all exciting stuff.

I'm Spartacus

Spartacus - no not that 3 hour epic film from in the Ben Hur genre, but the pseudonym of Fabien Cancellara.

Of course i am reflecting on the TT World championships where he blitzed the opposition - caught up Wiggo by 2 mins and generally showed the rest of the world that you don't mess with the best. - all in all an awesome performance.

Word on the street is that he has his eyes set on the road race title too - so watch out world (the race is coming up later this weekend).

Commiserations to Wiggo though as a mechanical problem put paid to his chances of a possible 3rd - just where was that team car? Interesting post race interview too as he rumour mill continues to grind its conspiracy theories on his next years ride.

Keep an eye on the brit women too Emma Pooley and Nicole Cooke could feature in the womens race.

A Good Week

Have had a good if not great week this wek - realy enjoying the cycling and even feel like my body is finally reacting positively to the exercise too!

Completed 143 miles on the bike this week and will definately break through the 4000 for the year next week!

Went out for my first club ride with NABC last night - just a trundle around the roads north of Norwich but good to ride in a group.

Enjoy speed? - Is that not the reason we all ride? - check this link out - http://www.recumbents.com/wisil/whpsc2009/results.htm

In other news Well done to Edvald Boasson Hagen for his Victory in the ToB - looking good for Team Sky next year, plus belated congratulations to DZ for the Tour of Missouri win and then there is the Vuelta - can't say i am happy that Valverde won but credit where its due - Evans gets a podium place too!

Looking forward to the Worlds - Britain has a strong male and female team - Come on!

Forget Fantasy Football

Much as i loved the Baddiel and Skinner show allured to in the posting title, i discovered something that eclipses that, at least in the range of fantasy games and could become perhaps the coolest virtual toy on the web yesterday:

Trek Bikes, have set up the facility on their website to design your own custom built Madone 5 or 6 Series bike - so much fun (the one pictured above would cost in the region of $8,000 but virtual bikes = virtual dollars so push your respective boat out and Go for it!)

If you really like the design you can print it off, e-mail it to friends or even place an order, the only down side appears that you have to occupy yourself for 30 days whilst it is built though - gonna be a long month...!

Don't mess...

Cyclists - and i count myself proud to be amongst their number, are a good bunch of people and fiercely protective of their own. - Never more typified than this weekend following TV chef James Martin derogatory comments about cyclists in his sunday column in a story about test driving a sports car.

Robbie McEwen and Brad Wiggins amongst many other not quite so famous cyclists leapt a one to the internet to twitter scorn upon aforementioned chef as well as sabotage his Wikipedia page and seemingly crash his website aong with setting up a i hate James Martin Facebook page.

"Herbal Tea drinking, Harriet Harmon voting..bunch of City-boy ponces in fluorescent Spider-Man outfits..." - I think not Mr Martin!

Cycling Cycling everywhere

There is literally loads of Pro events on at the moment...

The Vuelta, with Valverde, Gesink and Evans holding the top 3 - embarassingly it is looking good for Valverde at present.
Tour of Missouri with DZ (of nuts fame) in the lead, Cav got another stage before pulling out with a lung infection. then of course the Tour of Britain pedalled off yesterday - Garmin boys look good, Wiggo leads out his team mate Chris Sutton for the win. - strangely you have to really delve deep into the recesses of teletext to get race reports - thank goodness for the internet - eurosport, bike radar etc.

As for me, 127 miles completed this week, looking forward to another good week ahead.

Cycling Speak

Ok i know that every activity has its own in-jargon, and cycling is no exception - for instance peleton, half wheeling, through and off and many many more.

But today i have sen the best one yet - recall one Mr Asterloza... (yep him who failed a drug test earlier in the year) well his B test has confirmed his disgrace but the team statement reads:

"Euskaltel-Euskadi communicates that Mikel Astarloza has received today the result of testing on the B sample from the anti-doping control carried out on June 26th 2009, and the result is non-negative,"

Non-negative - WTF? is that like Non-Winner, Non-genuine or maybe Non-user of Brain?

whatever next...

September - New Term, new impetus

Hoorah, back to school and all that, and i finally get some half decent mileage in.
153 miles completed this week so a vast improvement on any other single week of the summer, and me thinks that training starts here for the LOWLE side to side escapade next Easter.

Even managed to clinch the deal with my way better half getting a bike too - a bit too upright and suspension loaded for me but nevertheless a bike it is!

Shock news from the world of cycling - Evans leads another Grand Tour albeit for only a short time at the Vuelta, Valverde now wears the Golden Fleece - please don't let him win it.

Congrats to Cav for a sterling win in Missouri, plus Wiggo creams the opposition at the British TT champs.

And finally Tour of Britain kicks off this weekend - fantastic!!!

Catching up - it's been a while

OK so the intent didn't quite match the actual output in terms of mileage and effort this last week - only around 75 miles covered.

I did fit in a trip to Aldi to purchase some Crane Sports Compression wear - £9.99 for shorts and/or long sleeved top - bargain!!! - i got both

The Vuelta has commenced and in amongst the biggest collection of stained riders for a long time (Vino, Valverde, Basso etc) Spartacus won the prologue on a shockingly wet track (Millar would have had it if it were not for the rain i reckon!) Congrats to Ciolek to for coming out of Cav's shadow to finally win a stage (oh yeah Cav isn't racing that'll be why!)

The Vuelta is always a hard one to predict, but lets hope for a decent battle and also that they eventually do get to Spain itself rather than skulking around northern europe as they are at the moment?

Tour of Britain starts in 12 days too, so more cycling action this month than you can shake a spoke at - oh and today is the last day to pre order your new Fat Cyclist gear too.

In other news I am the proud father of the holder of 9 GCSE passes, so my not so little girl can now go to college.

I'm back!

France was great - very sunny and very hot!

1731 miles completed (in the car) plus another 155 on the bike. - Brittany has just the most beautiful scenery and coastlines.

Well done to Cav for another stage win in the Tour of Ireland and also to Russell Downing for winning the whole thing - St Patricks Hill in Cork - Legend.

Also well done to Lance for winning the Leadville 100 and taking the course record in the process

LOWLE 2010

1st attempt at a route for the side to side or whatever we end up calling it.

440 miles across enland in a week - brilliant!

Sad news

Whether it be the oft irreverent yet wickedly funny viewpoint on all things cycling or the reality of the day to day of living with and caring for his wife Susan as she batted cancer. Elden Nelson aka the Fat Cyclist (Fatty to his friends) has caught the imagination of thousands if not millions with his web blog http://www.fatcyclist.com/.

I was saddened to hear yesterday that after a long battle Susan has died. No one knows exactly how you feel when you lose someone close to cancer, the maelstrom of emotions affect everyone differently but many around the world can empathise having experienced something similar.

Fatty's unstinting support of the Lance Armstrong Livestrong Foundation and his determination to make a difference is an inspiration to us all. -We have a responsibility to fight and keep fighting until a cure for cancer is found.

So fight - "Fight like Susan" and Livestrong

My very own TDF

Well not so much Tour de France as Tour de Vendee / Brittany.

I am off for 2 weeks in hopefully sunny France at the weekend and will be taking the bike, so a perfect chance to rack up some decent mileage all on the wrong side of the road!

Prsonal mileage has been pretty half hearted during July, so 2 weeks in the sun is the perfect antidote to complacency i reckon and hopefully will provide the impetus / kickstart sorely needed.

I have no idea of favourable or otherwise routes in the area so it will be a case of pointing the bike forwards and pedaling until either i get fed up or tired then turning around and coming back - a reasonable target bearing in mind, I do have my family with me too - without bikes is for me to complete 250-300 miles over the fortnight. - a swift hour or so in the mornings should cover that.

On that basis, i will be incommunicado from Sunday onwards as unsure about internet connections etc.

Have a good summer one and all...

LEJOG attempt over...

Aargh!

The brave tandem attempt at LEJOG is over due to RR's knee problems, so the record still stands.

LEJOG on a tandem

Cracknell and Romero - Olympians, achievers - yes but Tandem Riders - who knows?

They are on their way, and with absence of sleep for the next two days are attepting to break the current record from end to end of our nation.

All the best guys

Dopers v Timing

First of all dopers have no place in sport, particularly cycling. - To the uninitiated all cyclists are deemed to be dopers by virtue of the publicity around those found guilty, but whatever the rules regarding bans, so long as those cheats (as there is no other word for them) serve the appropriate ban then i guess making a comeback is "ok". Eg David Millar.

However those who get caught again should be banned indefinately as they deserve to be out of the sport. - Di Luca + others...

This does not address the culture of doping which if we believe has always been there then management, coaches, director sportifs, and even whole teams should feel the force of the rules too and take the bans as well?

As for Asterloza - i am just disappointed really, but if he had a blood test at end of June why wait a whole month before releasing the result - speed is of the essence, and embarassment for the TDF etc could be avoided.

On the other hand if an A sample and B sample system is in place why do we alwys get the news after just the A sample, and then have to wait and endure the whiny excuses from the protaganist for a day or three - why not go straight to the B sample = conclusive evidence = punishment / clearance.

To clarify my stance - Dopers Suck - no excuses - race clean or don't race.

Any ideas?

Right - just had an awesome 3 weeks following the tour, so what does one do with oneself for the next 49 weeks or 343 days?

Sadly i guess there will be some doping recriminations, plus there is the Vuelta yet to come.

Team Radioshack will start to court riders and team members, as will Team Sky.

Personally i need to lose about half a stone, and with a challenge in the spring need to keep the wheels turning significantly over the winter this year.

Talking of wheels - would love a new pair as mine are shot, also in the market for new kit...

Super 6

Cav is the man - who needs a green jersey when you can win 6 stages and the one that counts on the Champs?

On current form, and with such a loyal / organised team, Cav will continue to win sprints for years and the green jersey(s) will come.

10 stage wins in 2 tours, broke the british record in the TDF for a sprinter, most wins in a single tour since the war - i could go on!

As for the rest well, the final stage is a bit of a parade, so no changes to overall etc

Doesn't Lance look great on the podium though! - team radioshack - can't wait!!!!

And it was all yellow... a look back

So Monaco - remember that? - 22 days ago, with Cancellera taking the golden fleece on temporary loan before the real GC contenders did their thing.

So far as predictions go - this is what i predicted before the start:

"I will go for Contador to take the stage on Saturday, and also for the Yellow Jersey overall, as for the other two podium places to be Andy Schleck and "a n other" from Astana. Astana will take the team prize and again Schleck for the White Jersey. Green Jersey has to be Cav."

Barring catastrophe, or someone dying en route, looks like my top 3 selection is spot on as well as the white jersey, and team prize. Green jersey looks like Cav will finish 2nd, but i bet he wins on the Champs.

Best performance on the tour, is a 3 way split Cav for his 5 (soon to be 6?) stage wins. Wiggo for his transformation from TT / breakaway specialist to genuine GC contender and Lance for proving that you are never too old?

Looking forward to Team Radioshack and 2010 - watch out for a lot of musical teams going on as those that have performed well this year are courted to ride on other teams, plus Team Sky (the british team are due to take to the stage - intersting times ahead...

Victory at Verbier - Bertie blasts to victory

As widely predicted, Verbier would be the stage where the GC boys strutted their stuff. At the foot of the climb the lead of the breakaway was all but extinguished and the front pack was quickly reduced to only a dozen riders this split further before Bertie launched himself up the climb, followed by Andy Schleck.

Bertie held on to win and take the Maillot Jaune, with Lance hanging on for 2nd place despite finishing down the field. Schleck moves into the white Jersey and Wiggo is up to 3rd! (does someone need to remind him he is British anytime soon?).

Astana still look strong, and Johan will be planning the tactics for the next few days over the rest day.

As for Cav's disqualification in Saturdays Sprint, someone neds to remind Hushovd and the race commissaires that sprinting is a man's game and yes you might experience a bit of bumping and barging. Suffice to say that even with the green jersey looking unlikely Cav IS the best sprinter in the TDF and the world and he will be a very popular winner on the Champs Elysses next weekend!

As for me i almost managed a whole weeks cycling even if the mileage was decidedly average - but the leg held out. The aforementioned Lowestoft to Land's End ride is firmly pencilled in for next Easter (April 2010) which should avoid me getting fat this winter for a change. - Targets on mileage and fat reduction etc will be posted soon. Also looking at the Brighton 50/100 as a possibility at end of Sept.

Communication to resume after the Rest Day...

Columbia and Cav get 4th Stage

So lightning obviously does strike in the same place a minimum of 4 times then?

And maybe number 5 today too?

On the verge of becoming the greatest british sprinter in terms of stage wins and back in Green - its all good

Cav makes it 3!

3 stage wins thus far, and allegedly a further 4 targetted and to win at least 2 of them including the Champs Elysses.


Just for the rest of the peleton, i have reproduced a picture of him as all everybody normally sees is his rear view disappearing in a cloud of dust as opposed to his face!

TDF - Reflection on week one

Never before has there been so much going on in the first week of a TDF.

A Brit in Green, (Cav) a Brit in the top 10 on GC (Wiggo), a leadership contest dreamt up by the media (Astana) and i hope you are all sitting down... Cadel Evans attacks, not once but twice!

GC looks pretty much a who's who of Astana, and with the Aspin and Tourmalet today albeit ollowed by yet another massive downhill, could see a few more moves by some of the big boys, early on, but i reckon it will be another breakaway win, and i don't think AG2R will keep the jersey - but who knows what Bruyneel is thinking? Relatively easy to defend the jersey as we travel across to the alps, but more Kudos if it is seized once we get there?

20 years ago was the epic LeMond / Fignon tour with 8 seconds between them - this year is equally exciting at the moment - Vive le Tour!!!

Stage 5 Report

Ok ok, pride before a fall i know, but still Cav came in 3rd - leading the bunch in so i nearly got it right (Didn't I?)

Stage 6 Girona to Barcelona gonna be a breakaway i think so who knows who will win - how about Jens Voigt - there said it no idea if i will be right but hey.

Stage 7 to Arcalis got to be a mountain goat as winner - i would love it to be Contador or A N Other Astana rider obviously and i think he will be in the mix but could easily be another GC Contender (oh yeah that is the Astana team!!!!) but i don't think there will be much between the big boys - although some of the teams may be re- assessing their leadership come Friday as i definately believe that a lot of people's tour could be all but over by then.

Personally my bike is ready and so will collect tomorrow, just need my muscle to repair and then i can get back on it!

New cycling pundit? - pick me!

On a roll - I know i hedged my bets with a double guess but as my two names came in 1st/2nd i reckon i deserve the points anyway!

Prediction: Garmin or Astana, Actual Astana- 1st, Garmin 2nd

Astana were awesome - who said anything about a team split? Lance millimetres off yellow - it's all good. Garmin were still pretty hot, with only 5 team members staying together, Columbia off the pace after their big pulls yesterday maybe.

To sound like a cracked record i am going to stay with the manx missile and predict a hat trick for Cav tomorrow in stage 5, although surely one of the other sprinters will put up a bit of a fight, sometime soon?

Predictions running at 75% success - move over Sherwen, Liggett, Duffield, Kelly et al - you have been warned!

2 out of 3 on a crazy day

Ha ha! Bring it on I say. 3 stage predictions 2 out of 3 correct:

Stage 3 Prediction - Cavendish, Actual Cavendish.

Columbia blew the peleton away in the last 30km and got a break. Plus best of all Lance is up to 3rd on GC after spotting the move.

The TTT is going to be a race for a new man in yellow - could be a number of riders in the mix. Full marks to the tour organisation for the race so far. - Is it really only 3 days in?

Crystal Ball, running at 50%

Predicting a future event is always tricky - ask a weatherman, but i reckon that 1 out of 2 predictions (so far) is pretty good though isn't it:

TDF Stage 1
Prediction Contador, Actual Cancellera (Contador in 2nd though)

TDF Stage 2
Prediction Cavendish, Actual Cavendish.

Prediction for Stage 3 - Cavendish (again)
Prediction for Stage 4 (TTT) - Garmin-Slipstream or Astana (slight revision on previous prediction)

Watch this space....

As for me - still feel like an old crock. shoulder still painful, and calf muscle very sore.

Bike is in for a repair to the rear axle, although think it is only a matter of time before i will need a new set of wheels.

More later in the week

Another slack week?

Must be getting old - left leg not working properly - think is probably a dead leg so have now strapped it up and applying copious amounts of deep heat to it, plus elevating when given a chance etc. - therefore no real mileage to speak of for the past week.

Have also managed to twist my left shoulder over night which is literally a real pain - creak creak...snap!

C2C Sponsor money is creeping towards £900 which is excellent and a planning meeting is set for the "its the width that counts" ride this weekend.

anyway onto other news and unless you live your life in a vacuum, you will know that the TDF starts on Saturday, with a hilly prologue around Monaco, - great chance for the GC contenders to flex their muscles from the off.
As for a prediction, I will go for Contador to take the stage on Saturday, and also for the Yellow Jersey overall, as for the other two podium places to be Andy Schleck and "a n other" from Astana. Astana will take the team prize and again Schleck for the White Jersey. Green Jersey has to be Cav. For the team time trial i am going to plump for Garmin-Slipstream, to avenge their defeat by Columbioa in the Giro - but it will be desperately close between those two. Other predictions for the ITT and Mont Ventoux stage to be announced once the race is under way.

My heart would love to see LA do it for an unprecedented 8th time, and there is no way he can be ruled out - expect a few non-pc attacks and a stage win or two if nothing else.

Coverage begins 4.30pm ITV4 and then its on every evening for three weeks - can life get any better?

A new challenge...

What is it about cycling challenges? - You know when someone idly mentions an (invariably stupid) idea along the lines of "Hey - let's cycle from A to B" (A & B usually being either distant from each other/seperated by crazy terrain or both!), Well there i was minding my own, when my mate Simon suggests that we do another Coast to Coast - but this time from the most westerly point to the most easterly point of england i.e. Lands End, Cornwall to Ness Point in Lowestoft or LENP for short.

In under 24 hours we had both independently scoped out a rough idea of a route and attempted to assign a number of days to it all - 430 - 460miles ish so between 5 & 7 days i reckon? Just need to book it in the diary then and decide which way we want to travel!

The other alternative is that seeing as we will be in the area anyway, is to incorporate the most southerly point - Lizard Point in Cornwall which from a mnemonic point of view makes it LELPNP or a working title for now could be"Coast to Coast via all points South of North" - ok not really snappy but as i say it is a working title.

As for the Huff and Puff - see below, still deciding whether to do it or not as although i am back on the bike with avengeance (140miles last week) have a sore muscle behind my left knee which admittedly whilst cycling feels ok but don't really want to aggravate it un-necessarily - so do you follow your head or your heart - answers on a postcard please...

Huff and Puff - Come on!

The inaugural Norfolk Huff and Puff Cycle Challenge http://www.cyclenorfolk.co.uk/events.html takes place on 28th June and comes in as a fine replacement for the Norwich 100 that i was unable to participate in due to a family wedding.

There are a variety of rides / distances going on - 25, 50 or 100.

So there's the next challenge that I was after, just need to decide whether to cycle from home as well as doing the ride which will add about 45-50miles on to the days total - hmmm get back to you on that one!

Back on the bike and the legs feel knackered - hopefully in 10 days time i will be through that and fighting fit and flying - can't wait!!!

Also - fundraising total for C2C hits £867 - Brilliant!

zero, zilch, nowt, nada...

yes that's right no miles, no exercise nothing in the past week.

Initially i would like to attribute my fat boosting activity to a horrible cold type thing i had for about 3 0r 4 days, and then after that, no excuses really just the classic - C B A or couldn't be A$£%".

New week, new desire - so it is back on 2 wheels tomorrow with an evening jaunt planned for Weds, aside from the usual "commuting" so that will be good.

Still need a real challenge -plenty of sportives and challenge rides are coming up, just need to book and get on with it.

In the Pro world - Valverde (cheat or cheated?) won the Dauphine, with the eternal no.2 Cadel Evans and Bertie hanging on to third. Congratulations to LA on the birth of his new son - Max.

TDF only 3 weeks away - Predictions will be published shortly.

Recovery week?

An excuse? Reality? The heat being off? Or maybe just a bit lazy?

Whatever the reason, only clocked up 85 miles on the bike this last week - probably the least miles for months, but maybe i deserved a rest week...?

Definitely need another challenge though so that the training has some direction and focus. The Norfolk Huff and Puff, at the end of the month looks favourite for the next one - a choice of 25, 50 or 100miles in North Norfolk.

Fundraising continues to grow - £857 - not far to go for target. - Tell your friends!

Currently at home with a stinking cold - so all sympathy to be directed my way, plus its raining and so the bike is firmly ensconced in the garage. - Boo hiss

75% - 3/4's full or 1/4 empty?

Fundraising off the back of our now successful C2C attempt has breached 75% of the original target of £1,000.

Looking backwards we have raised a fantastic amount of money, looking forward it is slightly daunting - can we scrape together the last £250 from other sponsors? - in the words immortalised by Bob the Builder himself:

"YES WE CAN" - Come on!

C2C - Been there done that!

So 36 hours off the bike and i could feel myself twitching so it was back on the bike for the shortened trip in today.

My only brief contact with the bike yesterday was a well earned clean and polish.

C2C was great - everyone should do something like this at least once! - For anyone who is interested i have posted a few photo's on facebook. There will hopefully be more to come too.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=552453633&pwstdfy=8e7d9cb403c7294bfa40b0fa74101992#/album.php?aid=86705&id=552453633


So in keeping with previous weeks the stats are:
Mileage: 237, that's 2873 year to date.
Hours on bike: 16.76

Probably lot's of other stat's too, but less is somehow more - don't you think?

Right need another challenge then...

C2C - Day 2

Did i mention the weather yesterday - beautiful (some day all cycle trips will be made this way!) Another cloudless sky greeted us and once breakfast had been consumed Ivor appeared over the hill from Alston and we set off.

as we had eaten in Alston the night before we had spotted the start of the route for today - all of about 300 - 500 metres before we again took off for the skies - phew. In fact as i twittered at this point over 800ft climbed in 2 miles. but again the reward is a crazy downhill and we obliged by topping the scales with another 30plus on the clock into Nenthead.

The fabled Black Hill was next, highest point on the route. Trouble is climbing is quite a personal thing you just focus and zone out everything else, so i reached the top closely followed by another cyclist who came up with the quote of the 2 days - "F*%$ - i am getting too old for this" and the Ivor arrived very closely after that. A couple of mins later Simon rang me so fearing a mechanical breakdown or worse i answered the phone to discover that Simon was at Black Hill and Ivor and I had missed the left turn and were actually atop Killhope - at a similar altitude.

After a quick map consultation we decided to meet up again at Allenheads, even though Simon gallantly offered to come back down and up again to join us. - think we definately chose the short straw as although a great downhill towards Copthill. it meant another up and over to meet up with Simon again.

Allenheads to Rookhope was more of the same up and up (and just for fun up some more) passing littered bodies on the verge's before downhill to the Rookhope Inn and some more liquids (tea and coffee - before you assume!)

Got chatting to a fellow cyclist who judging from his near incomprehensible accent lived in the area. He regaled us with various tales including the fact that we had another climb up to a cattle grid and then the road flattened out -still climbing but a lot shallower then it was downhill all the way. - Sure enough we climbed, negotiated the cattle grid, road flattened and after a brief pause on the top of the hill, we blatted our way down the other side into Stanhope - almost wiping out some walkers as the max speed for the trip was reached.

Now remember the Rookhope cyclist's tale? We did as the hill he was talking about turned out to be NOT the one we had just gone over as we still had the monumental Crawleyside hill to get up - 17% gradient, blood sweat, tears - the works.

Again mountain bikers going backwards spinning their legs helplessly with little forward momentum were passed and we reached parkhead another Cafe - being hardened to the rigours of the day by now and also knowing that it was efectively down hill all the way now we made contact with the Support Team who by now were in Consett and informed them of our intent to arrive in about an hour.

The track was a bit gravelly but relatively solid, particularly as it was dry, but we flew down to Consett, in a little over 40 minutes and after 3 hours on the road grabbed some well earned lunch, in the car park of a KFC - needless to say we went for a more healthy option - various carbs surrounded by bread and pastry plus more water taken on board.

So the final assault - 25 miles to go - mostly traffic free, on a mixture of tarmac and cinder tracks - if it wasn't for the gates periodically appearing (presumably to prevent local scally's from riding mopeds up and down) and the dubious signeage, we may have gone a bit quicker, but hitting speeds of up to 25mph at best was great.

We entered Sunderland and glimpsed the Stadium of Light knowing that it was only a mile or so to go, and finally rounded the final turn for a run in to the Marina. Our support team were there clapping us in and taking more photos. As for the trophies, we must have picked the wrong day because no one was there in an official capacity but we knew we had achieved a massive feat in 2 days and best of all we had shared it together.

Our final feat was to scoot around to the beach, just to prove we had actually gone sea to sea and then after a quick shower at the marina (very nice) it was pack up load up and head for home.

Thanks to Ivor, Tricia and Ellis - the Cambridgeshire part of the project, and especially to Lynette and Sian for being all that anyone could want in a support team, but most of all thanks to Simon for initially maybe humouring me by agreeing to take part, but being there to share in the literal ups and downs of 2 days on a bike and to come out the other side smiling and still talking to me!

Day 2 Stats:
Stats for Day 1
Mileage 61.13
Time on bike: 4Hrs 59mins
Ave Speed: 12.2mph
Max Speed: 37.7mph
Total Ascent: 4673ft
Total Descent: 5789ft

So what next - plenty of roads still to ride, plenty of time to ride them - watch this space...

(Photos of the C2C coming soon.)

C2C - Day 1

Whitehaven - not exactly centre of the universe, probably wouldn't come here unless you were aiming on leaving shortly afterwards. So after a full english, cereal, and copious amounts of coffee and OJ thats exactly what the three of us did.

The first 15 miles were on reclaimed railway track type cycle paths, so we rolled along quite nicely - signeage a bit iffy as turns were marked at the turn, not in advance. We did dive off piste for a couple of miles at Rowrah as the surface turned a bit gravelly, but then re-joined the route at Lamplugh, and paused for a few minutes to re-fuel and admire the view.

The terrain then took a turn vertically as we rounded Loweswater and headed up towards High Lorton and Whinlatter - killer hill just kept going up and up but on the basis there were loads of people on mountain bikes ahead we had to keep going didn't we?

We had a bit of a breather at the top and then took the road route through whinlatter pass and then screamed down the other side at 30mph plus - bit hairy on some of the hairpins. - Keswick just ahead and Lunch!

Lunch was ably supplied by our very attractive support team, so a quick bite, water bottle refill, shame there was not the time to spend investigating Keswick but there was a job to do.

Straight out of Keswick we took what we latterly discovered to be an alternative route via Castlerigg Stone circle - lovely circle, but tough straight after lunch going up another hill - short sharp shock i think they call it? We then roughly followed the A66 albeit on cycle paths and farm tracks alongside it, through Threlkeld, taking time to admire Blencathra to our left (and very thankful that we weren't ascending that today!).

A left turn away from the A66 took us on towards Greystokes where we took a well earned rest and had a cup of tea / coffee at the Cycle Cafe - highly recommended, very friendly especially to cyclists. Water bottles again refilled we set off towards Penrith.

We flashed through Penrith, after a little bit of sussing out the right route and then again the road went straight up towardsand around Beacon Fell, the map showed further gradients which were preying on our minds - fortunately on this occasion it was a superb downhill, but what do they say? - What goes down must come back up again...?

Langwathby came and went and our minds slowly turned towards the impending climb of Hartside. After some more undulations (some bigger than others) we arrived at Renwick and started to ascend.

Reminiscent of some of the TV pictures of a tour climb we zig-zagged our way up the hill for 2 miles or so towards the A686. At this junction there is a great big sign that states "Think Bike" - this is code for: Watch out someone on a 1000cc beast is going to pass your elbow at 60mph.- I often think the world would be a better place if those on Bikes (the motorised kind) would actually think about others too? Anyway Hartside Cafe could be seen on the brow of the hill, but there was still about a mile and a half to go. - More zig-zags, although not as steep, and finally the mythical peak was reached, and we had a series of photos taken with the sign displaying our achievement of 1903ft above sea level - aargh! Support team were very welcoming and made lots of encouraging noises.

Note to Hartside Cafe owners - Is it possible that you could actually stay open beyond 5pm - i mean it is summer, and cyclists get thirsty too.

Being atop the summit, we were looking forward to the well deserved downhill - Ivor branched off for Alston and Simon and I headed on to Garrigill and a stop for the night. So as expected descending was great - amazing the faith you place in 4 small pieces of rubber that clamp around your wheels - again well over 30mph reached and with still 3-4miles to go the road went up rather more than it went down into Garrigill which i think was a little unfair frankly after our day's exploits but we arrived at the Eastview B & B for a long hot bath - seperately of course!

Stats for Day 1:
(Battery died atop Hartside so approx details are shown in brackets)
Mileage 69.64 from GPS (76.14 Total)
Time on bike: 5Hrs 30mins (6 Hrs Total)
Ave Speed: 12.6mph
Max Speed: 37.2mph
Total Ascent: 6729ft
Total Descent: 4945ft

More of the same to come tomorrow...

We're off (well driving to the start anyway)

Excited, doesn't quite cut it.

Bag is packed, bike is washed and sparkling and just need tomorrow to arrive. Sponsorship has also nudged up to £592 - come on!

Weather forecast is perfect - nice and warm, but not too hot - still unsure of wind direction but can wait for that!

Dog goes to kennels soon, and kids to grandparents then we will be leaving in around 3 hours for the long haul up to Whitehaven. - Lots of counting bridges, Eddie Stobart lorry spotting and general joie de vivre ahead for the journey.

Looking forward to meeting up with Ivor again after a year, since our attempt on the Norwich 50 - a scorcher! Hoping Simon's knee (he dislocated it last weekend!) holds up for two more days? As for me think i am in better shape than my bike - must be time for a new one surely - maybe i could treat myself as a reward... hmmm could I swing it, could I?

I have corrected everyone who i have spoken to that it is a ride and not a race, however a friend asked me whether there were at least two people taking part, to which i replied yes there are thre of us, his response - well it's a race then isn't it? - Deep down I know he is right, the "race" may never be acknowledged by the participants but it still exists and lurks under the surface.

Dedicating the ride for the next two days to my Dad, who would have been 65 yesterday, but was taken by cancer almost 4 years ago - LiveStrong Dad - you are in a much better place now.

48 hours...

It's astounding.
Time is fleeting.
Madness takes it's toll.
But listen closely (Not for very much longer)
Let's do the C2C again!

Serious countdown now. it's just hours away - bike has an appointment with a sponge and bucket tonight and then it's carb load up time - my favourite bit of the whole event!

We load the car at around lunchtime with eta in Whitehaven at about 6pm, before an evening of cycling stories, both good and bad, comparing calf muscles and putting in our respective two penneth on the world at large. Then it's off to bed before brekkie and 2 days of riding.

Yesterday's Giro stage was good, Menchov still in pink, Lance had a bit of a dig on the climb but Pellazotti was away and gone Di Luca grabbed a few seconds back so could all be down to the final TT?

3 Days to go!

As per the title suggests, time is closing pre the epic(?) ride this weekend. Kit is washed, and in a pile ready for packing, energy food/drink has been obtained and the last 100 miles are being pedalled.
Weather report for the start is reproduced below:

High 17°C - Sunny
Wind - From East South East at 26 kmph
Maximum Humidity - 71%
UV Index - 6
Chance of Precip - 0%
Sunrise - 04:48

Looks good to me! - Hmm i wonder if the B&B will do brekkie at 4am to allow us to start with the sunrise?

Looking forward to the Giro Stage today a climb up the monster Blockhaus - can anyone dislodge Menchov, let's hope so

Map for the weekend

Quick reminder then. We start at Whitehaven on Saturday morning after breakfast, then work our way across to Garrigil / Alston for an overnight stop, then on Sunday pick off the rest of the miles and finish up in Sunderland.

Profile for the weekend

Looks pretty in blue doesn't it?

Rolling first day with a killer hill (Hartside) to end with, then a few short sharp ones before downhill all the way to Sunderland!

Bring it on.

The things we do

Hey

Just a thought, but have realised for the privilege of doing 140 miles next weekend i shall be travelling around 550 in the car to do so - madness? Probably but its got to be worth it. - Hasn't it?

Darren

Progress Report Week 18

6 days and counting till C2C - Another good week on the bike, in terms of mileage / performance and lovely weather to boot. Sponsorship has gone through the hakfway pont of £500 too - hopefully we can add to that over the next few days - come on everyone!

The Stats:
Total Mileage: 235miles, 2636 year to date. (Think thats the most mileage in one week this year, plus i have smashed through the 2500 target)
Longest Ride: 31 miles
Hours on Bike:13.63Hrs
Weight: 72.5Kg
BMI:23.74
Wii Fit Age:34

I am now taking 2 days off the bike, then will cycle a more direct route to and from work say 50-60 miles-ish over the next three days before travelling up to Whitehaven on Friday for the off on Saturday morning.

Although sorely tempted, i have declined the opportunities of additional cycling kit, and so will go with what i have! - the long range weather forecast looks good which is a bonus too.

In the Giro, Cav gets his hat-trick and is then pulled by Columbia to prepare for the tour, Levi got beat on the TT, by Menchov (is that really the same bloke who normally cycles so anonymously on the big occasions?) who had an absolute flyer on the day. Lance also performed well for his first competitive TT since return from retirement. Team Astana continue to perform well overall on GC too. They have also paid some of the owed money to their team this week , but future name andsponsorship of team is still in doubt.

In other cycling news, Graeme Obree is having a pop at the hour record again later this year - no "superman" bikes alloed anymore, but it will be intriguing to watch - wonder if Boardman is interested in having a crack again to revitalise the rivalry of the 90's?

Will probably post some meandering thoughts a couple more times before the weekend. Will probably get organised and post updates from the road over the weekend on Facebook / Twitter too. www.twitter.com/djw92

Cheers for now

Progress Report Week 17

A fortnight to go - can you sense the excitement in my typing?

Fundraising has taken a leap forward as well which is great - £477 (and rising?)

The stats:
Total Mileage: 153miles, 2401 year to date. Should eclipse the 2500 target a week early (at least!)
Longest Ride: 40 miles
Hours on Bike:9.18Hrs
Weight: 73Kg
BMI:23.84
Wii Fit Age:33

Took a couple of days off (slightly enforced as my back brake had seized plus had bike serviced) so that accounts for the lesser mileage - big push this week before slackening off next week in final preparation for the challenge to come.

Felt like St Swithin was up to no good on Friday - boy did i get wet coming in, which (coincidentally?) caused my back wheel to start its creaking noise again - maybe subliminaly i am being told something here? - No new kit (as yet..) to report although ever watchful!

In cycling news, the Giro has been intersting watching - Ali-Jet dominated the sprints early last week, with the peleton taking part in some crazy descents thereafter, and a Rabobank rider having a really bad crash as a result. Stage 9 was then a largely uncontested affair until the final few Km's when Cav got his first sprint stage win, making it three in a row for Columbia. Astana (with or without a sponsor!) continue to lurk in the top ten of GC.

Finally am most jealous as Simon, my riding buddy got a new bike - a ridgeback panoramic tourer - v.nice - can i have a new bike too? - please!?!

Progress Report Week 16

Sweet sixteen! and another good week was had

The stats:
Total Mileage: 200miles, 2248 year to date. - Well on target for 2500 pre-C2C.
Longest Ride: 36 miles (down a bit)
Hours on Bike:11.68Hrs
Weight: 73.7Kg (hmmm - fatboy?)
BMI:24.03
Wii Fit Age:38

Fundraising is up to £402 - excelent!

Shopping update - 2 new hard case tyres bought plus spare inner tubes, bottle cage and bottle, still hankering after some new kit and in the utopian world of Darren some new wheels but we will see!

Bike has gone in for a service, so no cycling today, but back with avengeance tomorrow...

In Cycling news:

• Cav and his Columbia team made a great start to the Giro, winning the TTT - but very early days and with mountains on stage 4 the GC should get a shake-up on Tuesday, with teh big boys coming to the fore. - Go Lance / Levi.
• The future of Astana hangs in the balance as the Kazakh backing has not been forthcoming with the readies to pay the masseurs, mechanics et al all the associated gossip is about LA or Johan Bruyneel taking the team on - Team Livestrong? - watch this space.
• Sadly Tom Boonen has been caught for cocaine again, hopefully the authorities will do the right thing for cycling whilst encouraging TB to seek help.
• Also the slur of Operation Puerto lingers on as Valverde is banned for competing in Italy based on his alleged involvement with this scandal.

More next time...

Progress Report Week 15

Under a month to go - bring it on!

Another Puncture sustained even after the post below. -New tyres will be purchased forthwith.

The stats:
Total Mileage: 188miles, 2048 year to date.
Longest Ride: 46 miles
Hours on Bike:11.1Hrs
Weight: 72.75Kg
BMI:23.77
Wii Fit Age:33

All looking good - just need to control the snack cravings!

Fundraising is up to £370 - so thanks to all of you who have sponsored so far.

In other news Levi and Lance did a one-two in the Tour of the Gila in Mexico representing Mellow Johnny Team (Astana in disguise!) and the Giro is rapidly approaching this weekend - Cav has been named as Columbia Team Leader - can't wait...

Punctured

I hate punctures!

Once is forgivable, twice is ok, but three times in a little over a month - aargh!

Guess the Bontrager hardcase tyres need replacing - They must have had 4-5000 miles done on them so not bad.

Progress Report Week 14

Sorry but it appears that the post for last week is a tad late so here it is:

Best mileage achieved in a week so far: 220, making it 1860 year to date. By my reckoning, that's just 740 to complete pre-C2C - easy!?
Other Stats:
Longest Ride: 40 miles
Hours on Bike:12hrs 24mins
Weight: 73.75Kg
BMI:24.10
Wii Fit Age:30
Wii Sports Age:28

Ripped up the tarmac last week as the distance above shows - still loving the good weather although am sure it can't last!

In LanceWatch it appears that LA will be back on the bike today in the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico after recovering from collarbone surgery - "We can rebuild him..."

No recent purchases ref bike kit, but keep watching this space.

Hoping to top the 200 mark again this week - concentrating on conditioning the legs for 1.5-2hr stints on the bike, will also look to get some decent hills in - when i find them in Norfolk!!!

Cheers

Progress Report Week 13

Week 13, 6 to go - downhill all the way huh?

Well firstly onto the numbers:

Mileage: down a bit - only 120 miles, making it 1640 year to date, leaving a mere 860miles to cover pre C2C.
Longest Ride: 40 miles (3 times!)
Hours on Bike: 6hrs 42 mins
Weight: 74Kg
BMI:24.16
Wii Fit Age:31
Wii Sports Age:25

Had a week off work last week so was DIY-ing and doing family stuff hence the slightly reduced mileage, but did enjoy doing the same route twice and was gutted to be slower on the second occasion by 3 seconds! Then the 3rd ride was a different route - more hills but same mileage and I blitzed the previous two times by amost 4 minutes so felt better heading into the weekend!

Main emphasis other than the commute and being as creative as possible in mileage / routes covered wil be to vary the intensity and terrain of my once or twice wekly jaunts that have no goal other than to cover as much road as poss in as short a space of time. The sunshine can keep going too - loving the not having got wet feeling when you finish a ride.

Back to work this week so more opportunities for miles to be covered. - Bike reliability is holding up at present so thats good. Have bought some new mitts as old ones were ripping at finger spacings. Still fancifully watching the odd 8 or 10 items on eBay on a regular basis - one can never have enough cycling kit I always think...!

On the C2C front have booked the B&B's, plan is to travel up on Friday 29th, and then spend the evening getting massages and other usual pre-event preparations (otherwise known as a pie and pint) cycling to Garrigil / Alston area on Day 1 - approx 70-75miles and then leaving 60ish miles for day 2 into Sunderland.

In other news looks like LA may well be starting the Giro after all - with or without a bionic shoulder blade. The classics continue with more cobblestones than you may care to shake a stick at but they do make good watching - it's a bit like downhill ski-ing and motor sport - you don't want anyone to get hurt, but the crashes are spectacular!

Progress Report Week 12

Come on! 7 weeks to go and loving the training - southerly wind all week so directly behind for initial part of every ride participated in this week. Only 1 wet morning, which endeared me to my work colleagues as the office smelt like someone had died with all the wet clothing hanging around!

So this weeks stats:

Mileage: 185 miles, making it 1520 year to date, leaving "only" 980miles to cover pre C2C.
Longest Ride: 36miles
Hours on Bike: lots!
Weight: 74.5Kg
BMI:24.36
Wii Fit Age:40

Muscles have felt a bit sore this week, but after 185miles in 5 consecutive days i guess that is to be expected - taking the weekend off and then back into it again next week. Back wheel making a bit of a graunchy noise which i guess is bearings so just might have to buy that pair of Mavic's after all!!!

Well done Bertie - first place in the tour of the Basque country (2nd year running).

On LanceWatch apparently he will be back for the Giro? Also the French have found a way of putting a spanner in the works for his return to the Tour as apparently he didn't fully comply at a recent dope test and so could be banned for the tour although I understand that Pat McQuaid has spoken out in favour of LA which must be a first - watch this space.

Here's to another good week of miles and maybe more sun?

Progress Report Week 11

EEEK!

8 weeks to go - creeps up on you doesn't it?

Stats for last week:

Mileage: 126 (no cycling for 3 days), so thats 1335 year to date, leaving 1165miles to cover pre C2C.
Longest Ride: 31miles
Hours on Bike: 7.4hrs
Weight: 74Kg
BMI: 24.2
Wii Fit Age:34
Wii Sports Age: 22

The buckle in my wheel, was merey that the whee nuts had worked loose so got them all tightened and now no lateral play in the rear wheel - brilliant! Did sustain a pouncture on Monday which is the first for 2 years, so i guess i was due one but am now quite happy not to have one for a further 2 years!!!!

Road kill has magnified in its numbers this week - rabbits, partridges, pheasants and even a fawn this week.

C2C plans are starting to firm up - still need some sponsors though Maybe Simon and I will manage to merge our diaries and even get a ride together in before the event!?

Tour of the Basque Country has kicked off so good luck to the Astana boys, also anticipating a good battle in Paris Roubaix this weekend.

Progress Report Week 10

So Spring lasted a week then? 1o weeks in and 9 to go, over half way and the mileage is keeping consistent.

149 miles covered this week, which makes 585 for the month and 1209 year to date, that leaves me 1241miles to cover pre C2C, at an average of 139 a week so could well eclipse the target?

Other Stats:
Longest Ride: 28.4miles
Hours on Bike: 8.8hrs
Weight: 72.8Kg
BMI: 23.71
Wii Fit Age:35
Wii Sports Age: 48 (must be a bad set of results?)

Think i may have developed a small buckle in the back wheel which is a bit of a pain, but easily solved. Weather forecast for this week is dry (hoorah) but still fairly cool temperature wise, but once you get the legs spinning you dont notice the cold.

Mixed set of results from the Track World Champs for the Brits, think the girls outdid the boys in the end, but Dave Brailsford remains philosophical and the Olympics are still 3 years away.
Congrats to Levi andAlberto for their 1-2 @ Castilla y Leon, and apparently Lance is back on a (stationary) bike - Twitter is a wonderful thing! Looking forward to the Tour of Flanders at the weekend too.

bye for now...

Progress Report Week 9

10 weeks to go - nearly half way in the regime and finally mileage is rising.

The stats are:
167.6 miles completed this week, which brings me up to 1060 for the year so far, so a mere 1,440 to go...
Longest Ride: 26miles
Hours on Bike: 9.7hrs
Weight: 73.25kg
BMI: 23.93
Wii Fit Age:36
Wii Sports Age: 33

As reported below, i have MY BIKE back! Trying to get used to the different (yet usual?) riding position and the apparent smallness of the bike but hey.

Congratulations to Mark Cavendish for his first classics win in Milan San Remo on Saturday - he really is the fastest man on 2 wheels in the finsl few metres of a race. also comiserations to Lance as he suffered a broken collar bone on Monday in stage 1 of the Vuelta Castilla y Leon - hurry back soon...

I love my Trek 1200...

Oh yes! I have my bike back!!!!

Rang bike shop yesterday all ready to go on the attack to hear that it was all done and so picked it up and cycled home on it last night - only 10 miles, but hey.

One slight drawback is getting used to riding it again after a three week break on something else, but that will come - it does feel like being reunited with an old friend though - my only feeling is that it feels small which is only a comparison i know but an adjustmnet i need to work through.

Fitted new pedals and corresponding cleats to my shoes last night and took it out again this morning - loving it.

Now for some serious mileage....

Progress Report Week 8

Eight weeks in, Eleven to go.

The Stats:
No of Carbon Fibre bikes ridden this week: 1
No of own bikes ridden this week:0
Frustration level: Code Red!
Mileage Covered:126miles (892 year to date, 1,608 to go = 146 per week!)
Longest Ride: 24 miles
Cumulative Hours on Bike: 7.5 Hrs
Weight: 73.5Kg
BMI: 24.03
Wii Fit Age: 39 (not so bad i guess as it is my real age!)

Fundraising Target limping along but now up to £210.

Have enjoyed the distinct lack of rain over the past week or so - long may it last - the legs could come out any day! Really want my own bike back now as i feel i will have to get used to riding it all over again which is annoying...

After a gallant assault on the jersey, Bertie finally relinquished Paris-Nice to Luis Sanchez but the grand tours are still to come and Lance takes on Milan-San Remo this weekend.

Progress Report Week 7

No self titled week 6 report as week 6 did not really happen anyhow life has been good on the Carbon Fibre bike, but boy do I want my own bike back now! - Latest estimate is sometime this week ho hum.

The stats:
Mileage covered: 142miles (766 year to date - 1734 to go!)
Hours on bike: 8+
Weight:74.75Kg
BMI: 24.39
Wii Fit Age: 25 (as at this morning although did hit 43 at one point this week!)
Wii Sports Age:28 (no change)

Fundraising Total up to £200 which is good.

Well done to "Bertie" for grabbing first place in the Paris-Nice prologue. Now down to Astana to control the race onwards south.
Chris Hoy to miss the World Champs which is a shame but probably sensible.

And finally the badger is still there too!

Every cloud has a carbon fibre lining?

So the saga of the bike continues - i decided to go into shop rather than ring up as I thought I might be able to apply some leverage? Bike was not ready, but without me uttering a word I was offered a Giant TCR C3 to ride in lieu whilst i was inconvenienced. I thought about it for all of about 3 seconds and accepted the kind gesture. Full Carbon Frame, Shimano 105 components - £1,500ish worth of bike - come on!

Having tried the TCR, liked the lightness of it all, but being a compact frame it is a totally different riding position which would take me some getting used to, but hey beggars can't be choosers can they?

Fitness Stats:
Weight - 76.5Kg.
BMI - 24.9
Wii Fit Age - 36.
Wii Sports Age - 28.

Other news:
Most interesting roadkill spotted this week so far - A badger!
Loved the new kit when wore it yesterday.
Tesco are selling Lucozade energy drink at 25% price.

Frustration!

Not sure that frustration truly describes the overall feeling at present, anyway since the broken chain incident, my bike has been at the bike shop and as reported below needed a new bottom bracket - so imagine my despair / annoyance / boiling anger (delete as applicable) when not only did they not have the correct size in stock they also managed to then order the wrong part in as well so here i am 5 days later still awaiting the return of my trusty steed.

Hopefully tonight I will regain posession and will be able to stretch my unexercised legs over the weekend. For purposes of statistics week 6 will be null and void and any scraped together accumulation of miles will be carried forward into the week 7 report.

As an additional carrot i have decided to do what i did for my London to Paris trip in 2007, that is set myself a target of miles to cover pre-event. Now 2 years ago i fell slightly short of my target to hit 4000 miles in the first 6 months of the year including the L2P trip. Indeed compared to then my current mileage since Xmas of 624 is some way adrift of the 903 i had covered in 2007. SO in an effort to balance a realistic target against a figure that is still a challenge i have plumped for 2500 miles to be completed inclusive by 29th May, which leaves me 1876 miles to doing 13 weeks which is 144.3 average per week. Further to my earlier post on all things euro you will be interested to note that i make 2500 miles roughly 4000 kms (see what i did there?)

Now based on work, family, weather and other issues my mileage will not be a constant 144.3 every week but will vary considerably but it gives me a personal challenge within my training to achieve. In amongst all this i will be varying my routes covered both in terms of length of time / distance / hills etc.

Finally on the basis I have almost certainly become something of a fat boy this week, I will be psoting my weekly weight and the net gain or loss thereof - as it's Lent I have also given up biscuits at least for the next 40 days or so which having checked with the official adjucating body excludes me eating cookies / rich teas / digestives et al but not energy type bars which will prevent me hitting the proverbial wall whilst on my bike.


On the upside - total funds raised so far are up to £180 and i have obtained some new Discovery Channel Kit (Shorts / Jersey) reminiscent of the 2007 TDF where they had a green kit rather than the traditional blue.


Thanks for meandering through this post with me? More next week

Progress Report Week 5

Mileage is up but due to a busted chain and logistical issues only checks in at 95 for the week. (although that was all in 3 1/2 days)

Mix of weather this week but on the whole warmer which is good. Have given bike (minus chain) a thorough clean too - even got the pressure washer out!

Bike is in for a new chain plus mini service - need new bottom bracket and bearings tightened in back wheel too. Wii Fit has taken a back seat to Mario Kart - completed two sections, now on third...

Astana boys have come good too - Levi wins ATOC and Bertie wins in Portugal - come on! - Lance is also confirmed for Tour of Ireland in August - might have to pop over?

Paris-Nice is next up I think - Bertie to win (again!)

Go Cav!

Mark (Billy Whizz) Cavendish does it again - two straight stage wins in the ATOC. - Is it too early in the season to be in such form, or is it ideal preparation for the classics and then a realsitic attempt on the Maillot Vert in Le Tour? - Watch out Boonen the Manx man has your number...

So it's the Solvang Time Trial next for the boys in California - watch out for Levi, Lance, Rogers and Cancellara - Sticking my neck out i will go for Levi to win, with little or no change in the resultant top 5 on GC (that is unless Lance has a flyer on his newly re-acquainted TT bike - See pic above.)

Breaking the Chain...

Does exactly what it says on the tin:

There I was a mile from my destination and coincidentally just under a mile from my original departure point (home) albeit that i had cycled 17 miles in the interim 50-odd minutes and all of a sudden snap and then no drive. - Yup, the Chain had gone.

Being a decisive kind of guy, I decided to clunk my way back home (clunk - sound of cleats on pavement) ditch the offending articles (bike and chain) a quick change and then hot foot it (literally) into work.

So 3 months to go, and the bike is going under (minor) surgery again - bang goes my mileage for a few days.

More soon.

PS - Good news Lance has got his bike back - woohoo

Long live the Euro?

Hey never let it be said that i am not a englishman through and through, but i was musing last night on all things cycling and in particular the impending C2C, and realised that 140 miles sounds far better when it is expressed in kilometres - 225ish!

Continuing this thread of thinking i also realised that expressing speeds attained on 2 wheels in Km also make me sound faster too.

Therefore i remain english in all things except when talking about cycling and related achievements...

Progress Report Week 4

Hmmm - confession time...

Started well - 67 miles completed in two days (commuting?) then it snowed on Thursday so based on previous performances i took the easy option and didn't cycle, felt knackered on Friday and only managed 11 miles and then it was valentines day.

Ok the quick witted amongst you are thinking - yeah 78miles that's fair but how does valentines day affect cycling progress?
Ah-ha because i got Mario Kart for the Wii and so have ensconced myself for two days in front of the tv racing all manner of different cartoon characters around wierd and wonderful tracks.

Anyway all that is behind me - only 3 months ish to go so must focus.

Oh bought some new Kit - Green Discovery Channel a la TDF 2007 - very chic?

On the sponsorship front we are up to £155! including support from a local MP - fantastic :-)

In other news, i hear Lance had his TT bike nicked from the Tour of California, pretty desperate attempt by the other teams to slow him and the Astana boys up but it won't work. come on Levi, Jose, Lance et al.

Oh and finally Chris Hoy had a mixed return to the track - won the team sprint and then crashed in the keirin - hope all is fine soon?

Progress Report Week 3

Progress - more like regress this week - only 71 miles covered.

A cold, wet and miserable week all round really. my back brake blocks locked on my wheel one day and would not free themselves - guess it was the freezing temperatures, which foxed me slightly as i felt that the heat produced from the friction on the wheel would have prevented that but hey.

Had my birthday on Friday and have finally given in and bought a pair of winter gloves with my birthday money - lovely warmth back in my fingers - just need to solve the overshoes issue too.

Sponsorship is up to £65 for the C2C which is a great start - £935 to go.

My Wii fitness routine has been sporadic at best this week, managed to get Pro status on Tennis, and also tweaked my fitness age as low as 25 at one point but it was back to 32 at the end of the week.

Next week i have to find a different route in so will increase the mileage earlier in the week and get some miles in the bank - must also go out with Simon again and get some hills in...

Cycling for Cancer Research

On the basis that a coast to coast trip does not occur every day, then what a perfect opportunity to raise some money too. So we have decided to do it for Cancer Research UK - a very worthy cause as i am convinced that there is no-one who has not either been affected by Cancer or is one step away from someone who has.

If you are reading this and feel compelled to donate - we would really appreciate it, just follow the link below:

http://www.justgiving.com/c2c2009

Thanks

Progress Report Week 2

2 weeks in and mileage takes a dip - only 91 miles covered - weekend away plus inclement weather could be used as excuses but don't really cut it do they? anyway a total of 380 miles for the month of January - aiming for more in Feb!

Wii usage has increased this last week - loving playing Tennis and Bowling in the comfort of my front room and have also become a proficient slalom skier to boot! - Still unclear though as to how my Wii fit age is directly linked to my ability of standing on one leg without wobbling ho hum.

The start / finish points (Whitehaven and Sunderland respectively) have been set for the C2C assault, the route will mainly be the Sustrans one, although wherever possible tarmac alternatives will be sought to off-road ones.

Weather report for the week comes in at about a 3 out of 10 - cold, wet, mainly miserable and murky and to add to it all my halogen light battery needs charging up every other day which is a right pain.

In other news, Bradley Wiggins won the opening stage of the Tour of Qatar and Astana are gearing up for the Tour of California

Progress Report Week 1

OK here it is, the first epistle to the world on the trials, tribulations and other thoughts of my training towards the C2C. (Only 18 weeks to go...)

A most respectable 145 miles covered, and I managed to cycle every day this week -despite the best efforts of the weather! Keep resisting the temptation of buying some new winter gloves, but might have to bite the bullet if it keeps on being so rubbish.

Only fell off once this week - a near stationary collapse in the ice early one morning - no-one around so jumped up and was off again fairly quickly.

Injury status - slight twinge in right ankle / lower leg although getting better. nothing else to report.

No mechanical issues, other than frustration at the lack of time my battery stays charged for my halogen front lights - although Simon had a puncture on our first jaunt out on Sunday.

Ref the C2C it seems pointless doing it without exploiting the situation so will be getting some sponsorship ideas together pretty soon - mosy likely candidate is a Cancer Charity details to follow...

On the world of cycling LA, made it through the TDU and finished respectably 49secs off the pace, so looking forward to the Tour of California and Astana's future assault on all fronts. - Heard Landis is making a comeback too? Hmmm - discuss anyone?

more next time

Breaking News...

I know it's still winter, but it still hardly seems fair that the very week the plans are laid for an assault on the north of England C2C that it lashes down with rain every day - oh well guess it ought to break me in for the weather oop north in May!?

Progress on C2C arrangements is that we are now up to a team of three - hoorah!

I have also decided to perform my cross training on the Nintendo Wii Fit! so along with miscellaneous stats of mileage covered etc you can share in my weight loss (7-8lbs target) journey too!!!

Ciao

C2C - Dream becomes a reality!

Ok I'm back - 2 months without posting is unforgiveable, I know my only excuse is that i managed to break my hand in a cycling incident and got thoroughly miffed as a result, but normal service is resumed and i a mback on 2 wheels again.

Good news - The C2C is a go-er 29th May - 1st June 09, finer details yet to be decided but at least two of us are currently included on the team roster.
Having a reason to get out on the bike is a great motivator - cycled both ways up and over Ringland yesterday just to celebrate (if you don't know where Ringland is suffice to say there are not many hills in Norfolk but this is one of the shortest/sharpest there is!

Check back for weekly updates for the thrills and spills associated with my training regime over the next 4 months as well as a sneaky peek at the world of cycling and a comment on the stories therein.

PS Great to see Lance back in the saddle and in competition again. Wishing him and Astana all the best for the Tour Down Under and the forthcoming season, also the brits are again holding there own in Beijing in the World Track Cycling competition. - even without Hoy and Co!