Spring has sprung!

It's 1st March, St David's Day and technically the 1st day of Spring?!

So keen was I to get out this morning, I was cleaning the posh bike at 6am! Then under white clouded skies I set off, only to be enveloped in fog 2 miles further up the road, which stayed with me until I hit the city centre on the last few miles of my "commute"

Having said that, temperature wise it is warm, and indeed as I write the sun has most definately got his hat on, to the point that I feel I may even be sans-legwarmers on the way home later today too!

Mileage for the first 2 months of the year is 1782, which is around 500 up on 2011, so progress so far is good and the outlook looks favourable too!

In other news, Cav won Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne as the classics season kicked off last weekend, could he repeat his Milan San Remo win from 2 years ago too? Paris-Nice commences on Sunday, with Brad Wiggins hopefully going to flex his muscles in the peleton for the first time this year.
John Bishop, the Liverpudlian comedian is 3 days into his 5 days of #BishopsHell - a 185mile cycle from Paris to Calais, rowing the channel and the 1st of 3 marathons over successive days done - all for Sport Relief. 2 more marathons to do, today and tomorrow - legend!

Put me back on my bike!

Back on it - not quite as swift a turnaround at the quacks saw my resumption of cycling delayed until 5.25pm last night but all good!

A fairly swift 15miles completed last night, followed by 31mile "commute" this morning and I am about to embark on a 20mile-ish homeward trip to complete my 24 hour return!

Cycling will be a bit sporadic over the next few days, as i will be sandwiching it around attending a course Friday / Saturday but still hopeful of achieving 200 miles all in this week.

You can't keep a good cyclist down! - I'm a bike rider - I ride bikes!

Today's the Day!

No I am not talking about Pancake Day, although I have experienced that proverbial "flat as a..." feeling but it's the day I get to climb back on my bike after a weeks absence!

Stitch removal is booked for 5.10pm at my GP's Surgery, and bike / kit are all primed to be ridden / worn / utilised at circa 5.15pm!

Just the 10-12 miles are planned but need to feel the road beneath my wheels, and the wind blowing against my body. I will have clocked up around 36 miles walking this last week but there is NO comparison!

Stir Crazy

Due to a small suspicious mole on the rear of my right thigh, I have been sidelined from the bike for a week, following a biopsy (and stitch to repair skin) on Tuesday.

I am currently counting down the days to next Tuesday evening when the stitch will be removed and I will be free to cycle again?!

In the meantime my cycling related life involves some or all of the following:

• Winter bike has been serviced/repaired and is ready for collection later today
• Just started reading "We were young and carefree" by Laurent "The Professor" Fignon
• Latest issue of Cycle Sport, recieved and read
• Keeping tabs on Tour of Oman, and #FantasyCycling scores
• Preparing to watch the Track World Cup from the Olympic Velodrome this weekend
• Cleaned, degreased and re-lubed Posh Bike as well as fitted crud catcher rear mudguard
• Surfing (and drooling) over potential new kit...

Need to get back on bike though as walking for all it's merits is just not the same!

Triathlons R Us?

Whether it was inspiration from Lance's Ironman 70.3 2nd place in Panama at the weekend, or my current reading material Can't Swim, Can't Ride, Can't Run, From Common Man to Ironman I'm not sure but I completed my first unofficial and completely non-regulation triathlon today.

I begun the day with a 34 mile cycle ride, before returning to the house to change and collect the rest of the family for a swim at Norwich Riverside Pool, once car was parked, and I was changed etc, I duly completed 500 metres of swimming or 20 lengths of the pool (plus a sauna for 10-15mins). The day then proceeded with lunch at Zak's (a local Restuarant) and a brief city-centre shopping trip, before a trolley dash around Tescos (the "run" stage). Hey Presto one "Triathlon" completed!!!

As you can see I need to get the disciplines in the correct order (Swim-Cycle-Run) and my transitions need some serious work as I guess I technically spent more time between disciplines then actually taking part in them, but still 3 "events" in one day is not to be sniffed at, and as essentially I am/was only competing against myself - does it really matter?

On a serious note, I really enjoyed the swim and may well do more swimming on a regular basis, as for running, I enjoyed it once but can't really get excited about it anymore so my future may well be more biathlon than triathlon...!

A Mid-Feb muse from the saddle

Glancing back at a previous post - Marmite Days i feel the need to add the comment that although cold and bright is good, extreme cold and cloud is NOT! Minus 8 degrees C my Garmin descended to yesterday morning - the feeling in my fingers (not that there was much feeling left) can only be described as Pain, and yes pain was written with a capital 'P' on purpose!
But hey every cloud as they say has a silver lining and today it was 15 degrees warmer today (the correct side of zero!) and 3mph quicker for a similar distance - Marmite indeed!

Tale of the tape reads as 1335miles covered year to date, that's already more than last year for Jan/Feb so all good there. Posh bike has had a few outings too as the Scott (of the Antarctic?!) has developed a slipping chain and rear wheel wobble so hi ho hi ho it's off to the LBS it goes!

In other news, unless you have been in outer space, you will probably know that Steak-Gate, has been resolved and with it the "winner" of the TDF2010. Bertie has been banned for 2 years from summer 2010, meaning that his results are wiped from the records - TDF2010 & Giro2011 to name a few, so congrats Andy Schleck and Michele Scarponi! - So disappointed at what a waste of time, money and effort all round it was, and worse Cycling is dragged through the mire again - the "truth" may never be known but WADA, CAS & the UCI need to get it sorted, perhaps a guilty till proven innocent charge would work better???
In more doping or not related news Jan Ullrich finally admits his doping and apologises for the same - so that's all OK then? And the case against Lance has been dropped with no charges - personally I'm glad but I appear to be in the minority amongst tweeps and other bloggers/commentators.

Back to the sport I love and real race action - Cav gets off to a winning start for Sky doing the World Champs jersey proud in Qatar with 2 stage wins before a tumble on the last stage. Tour of Oman this week, and so more #FantasyCycling action too!

Spring is coming isn't it?

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!

Situation Report Numero Uno 2012

Been very lax for a while, but need to get back in the groove of sharing idle thoughts with the occasional pearl of wisdom thrown in for good measure.

It's just over a year since I was sideswiped by a lorry, and to be quite honest I don't dwell on the past or have nightmares, but I do send up a quick prayer as I leave the house each day, to stay upright and safe (and at the moment - warm too!)
I have now reached 20,000miles since Jan 2010, and for this year so far, mileage is 577, that's already more than I achieved in the whole month of January last year - bodes well for 2012!
Not enjoying the murky, wet and cold of winter, but the more you bleed in preparation the less you bleed in battle as they say!

Cycling season has kicked off with the TDU and Road.cc have started their fantasy cycling league again so thats good, a necessary distraction?!

Have ordered Comedian Mastermind by Elden (The Fat Cyclist) Nelson, so looking forward to reading that being excerpts from his blog 2005-2007.

More next time (and maybe more regular too?)