M (that's 1000 for you non-Romans!)

1000 miles on the 2012 clock - that's about 3 weeks ahead of last year in terms of mileage already!

It has turned very cold though, and I do need to get my bike sorted out as the big ring is inaccessible at the moment - although on the up side I am perfecting my cadence!


May chance it on the posh bike at the weekend - if it's dry...?

Rediscovering My Fighting Weight!

I know that to look at, I do not appear to be overweight or fat or anything other than proportionately size for my height and age but, the pounds did creep on towards the end of 2011, so with the dawn of a new year, a challenge was born - If I was to eat more healthily, and still continued to exercise regularly as I do, would I lose weight?

Thus far I have lost 9lbs in around a month, and all that has changed is I am eating more salad, no bread or related products and very little margarine / butter, and also attempting not to snack (too much!). Weight is now a svelte(?) 11St 7lbs, and the body shape is improving all the time. 

According to Wii Fit a BMI of 22 is "ideal" personally I feel that for me that may well be a bridge too far but somewhere closer to 11St would suit me! - can't wait to take on some decent hills in the summer!

Marmite Days?!

Love 'em or Hate 'em, Wintry days are part and parcel of a cyclist's life.

I am a firm believer in the rule of three, the three being cold, wind and rain.
Any one of these elements in isolation is fine, in fact for me a cold, bright, cloudless day, all wrapped up in the countryside is almost as good as a 20 degree plus day in the summer, in short sleeves and shorts!
Two of the above together, in any permutation is do-able, but the adjectives surrounding the ride will be synonyms of grim and miserable.
All three together is definately character building territory, it is more a case of survival and sheer bloody mindedness than it is enjoyment sometimes - but then I am sure my definition of enjoyment in relation to cycling is skewed compared to the world's at large?!

Fact is that temperatures will rise and fall, winds will come and go,and rain and other precipitation will fall at will throughout the British Winter, so being prepared as Baden Powell said is the key to success:-
Dress well in layers, but dress for the 2nd/3rd mile temperature (allowing or your body temp to rise) not the feel of the air as you step out of your door.
Fit Mudguards - elementary my dear Watson
Make sure your lights work - you can never have too many lights

The other unspoken element is the dark - it looms in late October and remains until February/March - personally I love it to start with, but about this time of year, start to get bored with it - particularly travelling into work.

On balance, I think I would err on the side of loving it, but not as much as dry, warm summer cycling!!!

To be honest this winter has been incredibly mild and that is reflected in my 821 miles year to date (already 300 up on 2011).

My mate - Marmite!

First Ride Report

Technically the 3rd ride, but as the first two were brief spins around the block, not sure they count!

So with the threat of rain nullified, and the wind speed lessening, and without the usual rucksack on back (for commuting), at a little after 7.30pm yesterday evening I set off for my inaugural ride on the Cayo.

First impressions were good - nice and smooth, faintest of clicks as gears are changed, nice whirr of wheels/tyres on tarmac, loving the freewheeling souind of the Fulcrum's too. Still undecided about the ride position - seem too upright for the hoods, but very comfortable on teh drops, although this is a new position for my brain / body to adjust too - plenty of time though...

My cunning plan was to follow 3/4's of my route to work, thereby giving me an indication of how the Cayo matches against the Trek. This I duly did, comfort on uneven road surfaces was markedly better, as was straightline average speed, climbing (well pointing bike slightly uphill) felt better, and the bike was more responsive to changes of speed too. As intimated above I spent the majority of the time on the drops and also on the large chainwheel.

Stas were 19miles in just under 1hr 1min - 18.7mph average (was higher earlier in the ride but got caught in traffic for the last 1.5-2 miles).

Not sure if it was a case of road rage or whether the driving instructor whose car I undertook at speed (on a 1.5/2 lane stretch of road) just liked my bike, because he felt the need to firstly aim his car at my back wheel, then come alongside me and gestciulate / mouth some unidentifiable words in my direction before screeching off (breaking the speedlimit) then pulling onto a garage forecourt, stopping to (presumably) pursue the conversation further, although at this he was foiled as I maintained speed to glide past him. he then overtook me again further down the road and disappeared into the dusk that was then falling. - On reflection I should have taken his phone number that was liberally splattered all over his car, as I am not sure his driving technique was worthy to be passed on to others, but hindsight as ever is a wonderful thing.

Might go for an early one Saturday morning...

You beauty!

After what feels like a lifetime, I finally took reciept of my new bike yesterday. - The Focus Cayo 105 Triple 2010.

Aren't Wiggle just brilliant? - Bike arrived fully assembled, just had to fit handlebars to stem and affix pedals (which I had sourced seperately but arrived in perfect sequential timing!) and Wiggle supplied the multi tool and pedal wrench with which to do it all too!

Fiddled with the set-up and went for a spin around the block - silent gear changes, lovely click/whirr when freewheeling. Got back amended the handlebar position and repeated the procedure. - Strangely on my Trek I favour the hoods as my riding position and with the aero bars fitted, hardly ever use the drops. With the Cayo, the drops feel really comfortable albeit for the short amount of time that I spent riding yesterday.

Still awaiting some Bontrager Race Lite Bottle Cages due next week and in the market for a pump, saddle wedge bag and aero bars.

Full initial ride report to follow....

Training Update Week 27

Right, so that's 11 days to go then - how excited, nervous,apprehensive am I?

This weeks stats:

301miles completed, longest day in saddle 63 miles, thats 5354 for the year to date.

Weight is hovering around 11st 1lb ad Wii fit age is 23 (amazing!)

Rider packs have all arrived - see below, plus lots of info / timings etc - Seeing it all on paper makes it seem so real and maybe a tad daunting?

New Saddle bought, awaiting delivery, also will be buying 2 new tyres and tubes this week.

In other news Spain win the World Cup and deservedly so, quite how Holland finished with 10 men is amazing could easily have been only 8!
TDF has had a cracking first week. Petacchi with 2 stages, Cav with 2, Hushovd, Chavanal and Schleck (yes Schleck) with 1 apiece. On reflection sad that sgate 2 was effectively nullified but loved the cobbles and 2 days of mountain sages have shaken up GC with the big boys coming to the fore.
Lance's aspirations are now pretty much gone, and Wiggo would appear to be going backwards, but Evans, Schleck & Bertie all look strong, with a couple more days in the Alps and still the Pyrenees yet to come - watch out for more excitement on the roads of France - oh and have i mentioned i will be there to see the finish?!

Rider Packs Arrive!

At long last the rider packs were shipped and received this week. They include the fabled jersey (now white as opposed to the original blue design), rider numbers, map, luggage tags, timing chips and final information.

13 days to go and the excitement is growing, adrenalin pumping and reality biting.

Bring it on...

Training Update Week 26

Phew - 6 months and still going! 18 days to go to my own personal Grand Depart

Massive milestone broken this week - see post below, weather on the whole has been awesome, if not a tad on the warm side, excepting the drenching I got last Tuesday, on with the stats:

205 miles done this week, thats a big 5053 for the year to date! Longest day in the saddle 54 miles. Weight according to my friend the Wii Fit is around 11st 3lbs, with my age consistently stacking up sub 30 - can't be bad?

Also had a week of "cross training" this week, helping to deliver a sports based activity in a local high school for 30 plus teenagers for four days - in a word - Knackered!

L2P24 pack should be with me any day....
Sponsorship up to £2,110 plus around £50 to come from the local school too, also I have bought a 2nd hand bike bag from eBay, complete with wheel bag to protect the trusty steed on the return from Paris.

In other news:
England Football Team - FAIL
Andy Murray - FAIL
England Cricket Team - SUCCESS

British cyclists - JURY OUT -

yes the TDF is upon us, after 11 months of anticipation, The prologue was on Saturday in Rotterdam, with Spartacus doing what comes naturally, Lance placing 4th ahead of Bertie. WigGO became more of a WigNOGO, after a disasterous tactical decision to switch start time for his prologue run - right in the middle of a downpour.

Stage 1 promised much with Cav eying up his 11th stage win in 3 years, but after crashing on a sharp right hander, his race was done, two further pileup's occured to gift the stage to Petacchi, with Renshaw taking 2nd. - Thought the carnage was due on stage 3? Oh well. Classics type routes and cobbles over the next couple of days should keep the excitement up.

More soon...

Training Update Week 23

38 days to go to Paris!

A mediocre week in terms of mileage - just under 202 miles complete, but felt very weary last week , plus 2 punctures (yes TWO!) did not help proceedings. So that makes 4259.77 for year to date. Now somewhere else - think it was facebook, i proudly stated that i would hit 5000 by the end of June - hmm watch this space - quite a hill to climb, pardon the pun but going for it!
Longest day in saddle a paltry 50 miles!
BMI back up to 24, thats 11st 8lbs

Back to L2P24 specific news, Coltishall Primary are doing a red and white muftie day to tie in with the England-Algeria game on Friday - proceeds to scope.

In other news, Brajkovic wins the Dauphine, from Bertie, and the Tour De Suisse is well underway. Nicole Cooke also churns out her first win of the season. Team sky invited to the Vuelta, Radioshack are not!

TDF countdown is on, (18 days) and i believe i twittered my thoughts but here goes with the predictions:
Yellow - Bertie
Green - Cav
White - Schleck A
Polka Dot - Schleck F or A!
Podium for Wiggo

Hopefully a dope free race, but Mr Landis has ensured that the rumour mill will be festering well throughout....

PB's for 2010 (Update)

Personal Bests for 2010 (Post Norwich 100 update)

One hour      19.94 miles (Was 19.75)
10 miles        26m:08s     (No Change)
20 km           35m:20s      (No Change)
50 km           1h:32m:37s (Was 1h:38m:49s)
50 miles        2h:42m:38s (Was 2h:42m:59s)
100 km         3h:22m:06s  (Was 3h:38m:06s)

Life in the old dog yet huh?

Training Update Week 20

143 days worth of training done, 60 days to go to L2P24, only 13 before Norwich 100...

The stats:

258 miles completed this week, including participating in the VfC ride 2010 on Sat 22nd May. That's 3,497 ytd. Longest day in saddle 80.92

BMI changed overnight between 23.31 and 24.13 - 6lbs in 24 hours - not convinced!

L2P24 Fundraising at £2,040.20. Curry night was a great night and brought in a few quid too!

New shorts courtesy of 30 days of Wiggle sale, plus a new gilet recieved as a free gift after subscribing to Cycling Active, am now also in the market for a new bike - poss a Boardman Team Carbon after being gifted some money last week.

In other news its all go in the Giro - mid week stage caught everyone on the hop as 56 riders broke at 20km and destroyed the field and GC temporarily. Mount Zoncalan lived up to its reputation yesterday with Basso establishing his credentials, but Evans and Vino still in touch. Mountain TT tomorrow should be epic. In the ToC Cav won the initial stage, before a couple of stage wins for Sagan mid week, with yellow going to Mick Rogers, DZ and Levi making up the podium.
In the Tour de l'Aude Emma Pooley is wiping the floor with em - go girl!
F
Finally Floyd (cheat) Landis finally admitted what we all knew 4 years ago that he was and is a doper, but now wants the world to suddenly believe he is now telling the truth as he attempts to tarnish LA, Big George, Johan, most of US Postal past and present, plus BMC amongst others. Once a liar....?

Out  for a night ride tonight and some hills...

Training Update Week 19

Rushing towards L2P24 at pace now - only 68 days to go! Jersey design released, updated route and profile, instructions coming thick and fast oh and an SiS freebie too!

Funding target has been surpassed - £1,896.26 is the lastest total, with the curry night still to come- come on!

So on with the stats, just over 250 miles completed this week, the most for a few weeks, thats now 3,239 for the year to date. Longest day in saddle 51 miles.

BMI 23.58, Wii fit age 36.

Under 3 weeks to the Norwich 100, and may do a fundraising ride next weekend for Voice for change, cycling 39 miles around the Wensum Valley

In other news, the Giro is under way, with crashes spicing up the first couple of stages in the Netherlands. Wigo in pink day 1, but then falling victim to the crashes, Evans, Vino swapping the maglia rosa until Liquigas stored the TTT, and then Evans wins a stage on a hideous rain and mud soaked day yesterday with vino grabbing back pink. Millar in 3rd. First Mountain stage today - watch GC change again.

Tour of California kicks off today - watch Cav and HTC blast their critics, letting his legs do the talking - also watch out for Big George and The Shack too.

Curry night tomorrow and plenty of miles planned for the week. More next time...

L2P24 updates and stuff

OK so as official Cyclist A, we now have the splits of mileage that we are to do each:

We also have the profiles of the route, firstly the UK section:

then the french bit:

How cool is this?

This is the (long awaited...) design of the FREE jersey that all participants in the L2P24 raising money for Scope will receive. Team colours would appear to be based on the old Discovery Channel Team colour scheme, complete with Livestrong-esque yellow banding. Obligatory sponsorship logo's plus our team name will end up resplendant on the left breast. Loving the Keifer Sutherland numerals too!
Rather flattened I admit in its current pictorial state, but nonetheless still looks pretty dandy - huh?
 
Now how about a pair of matching bib shorts - or could that just be a fashion statement too far?

Training Update Week 18

75 days to go to the start - reality sinking in.

A great week - where do i start?
Mileage not awesome but consistent at 203miles, longest day in saddle at 52 miles that's a massive 2988 for the year to date.

Quiz night fundraiser was a great success with fundraising jumping to an equally massive £1,658.24!

But maybe best of all is the Giro prologue result - First Grand Tour for Team Sky, and first stage win. Wiggo blitzes the Prologue TT course and ends up in the Maglia Rosa (Pink Jersey) see below:

That's 2 years running with a Brit in pink after stage 1! Sky now need to defend the jersey for a day or two before the TTT where they will look to win again!

More next week...

Training Update Week 17

Under 12 weeks to go - eeek!

A good week this week I feel:
243 miles completed, that's 2785 year to date.
Longest day in the saddle only 47miles but still ok.
BMI 23.54. Wii Fit Age 31.
Fundraising up to £1,193.44 - creeping up. Quiz night next weekend - hoping for 10-12 teams, just need people to book in!!! - 4 weeks to go to hit Fundraising Target of £1,800.

In other news - gotta love Cav don't ya?

A simple point (or two) made to the watching critics and he gets slammed. Surely he was only telling us he had now won his 2nd race of the year???

Anyhow he is still is the best sprinter in the world, regardless...

Emma Pooley wins again, Levi still leads the Gila, and the Giro starts next weekend - cant wait for Sky's debut in a Grand Tour.

 

More next time...

Another century?

Just in case the Norwich 100 is not quite enough, there is another opportunity to complete a century this side of L2P24.

Huff and Puff Cycles at Kelling Heath are again organising the ride opposite, on Sunday 27th June with an option of 25,50 and 100 milers up for grabs.

Why not make it a family day out? - Download a booking form and maybe see you there?

Training Update Week 16

Sweet sixteen? Not an earth shattering week, but still a good one. Weather beautiful and dry - could be a bit warmer in the mornings but legs out ad fully on show now regardless!

The stats:
215 miles for the week - down on recent weeks, but enforced day off at start of week, has led to only 5 cycling days, so not too bad. That makes 2,543 for the year to date - Over halfway towards my "annual target" - revised aim is definately at least 5000 miles pre Paris in July. Revised annual target in negotiation!
Longest ride - 50 miles, a lovely ride in the norfolk countryside in the sun, holding out for a smidge under 18mph pace - even if i didn't recognise the roads for 15 miles of it! - 3 deer decided to appear momentarily in the road in front of me. but progress was not hindered too much.
Wii fit age peaked (troughed?) at 25, but i finished the week at 28, so still pretty good, and my BMI has dropped to 23.3 that's around 158lbs or 11st 4lbs - all good!
Fundraising for L2P24, up to £1,163.44. Quiz night and Curry night open for participation and a school assembly tomorrow at Simon's son's school to rase awareness and request donations too!

In other cycling news, Evans takes Fleche Wallone (with an attack to beat Bertie), Emma Pooley takes the womens version from Nicole Cooke.
It was a case of ex-dopers reunited at Giro del Trentino, with Vino taking the overall, Ricco taking a stage and ending up 2nd, and Basso also top 5. Sad to hear of Frei and Li Fuyu both being suspended for failed drugs tests - but the fight goes on and is being wo - slowly (On the doping front when is AV gonna be banned across the world not just in select countries?)
Last classic today with LBL - looking forward to that one.
ToB route was revealed this week - Sept 16th, stage 6 and the route goes from Kings Lynn to Gt Yarmouth - day off already booked!
Tour of Romandie kicks off on Weds. May is looming fast and with it comes the Giro and the Tour of California to name but a few.

Favourite sign off on a cycling forum - "Cycling is like church - many attend but few understand"

More next time...