your daily bicycle log

but never again, that's for sure

On Saturday I beat my best time for three laps of Richmond Park - 63.31 (it's 20.4 miles I think). Anything under the hour is impressive but I'm a million miles away from that!

cycled out to the rents' at the weekend, much slower going out than coming in cos there was a hellish headwind: out 36 miles in 2hrs30, in 33.5miles in 2hrs4.

16.2 pace vs 14.4, big difference

Been over to Germany for a few days visiting my brother. Took my cycling stuff with me, but no bike (just hand luggage on a budget airline) - just my trusty eggbeaters. Fitted them to his road bike and made him ride his time trial bike. Great countryside, good roads, not much traffic. About 90 miles over several days. Did a few sprints for signs / tops of hills, but obviously he was a bit disadvantaged being in a low-profile tuck all the time.

I planned today to do a 45-miler in the Essex/Suffolk border country in the window of opportunity between dropping my daughter off at nursery and picking her up again. The weather didn't look good at all: the forecast was for an unseasonable 14C (57F) at 1pm with dark skies and strong winds, with the sky suddenly clearing and the temperature shooting up to a much more reasonable 21C by 4pm (by which time I would have long stopped cycling). However, I don't have much holiday time left, so I've just got to take the opportunities I have.

I drove up to Thaxted and set off on this route:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3926624
The riding wasn't great. It was cold, miserably grey and extremely windy (as predicted). I took my rucksack out again (with some lunch and an extra top in case it got even colder) and was surprised to find my back getting wet after about ten miles - this was odd, because the previous time I'd done a ride with it I hadn't felt unduly sweaty. I stopped at the picturesque village of Clare and reached into my bag for my camera, only to discover the reason for the wetness: my spare bottle of diluted energy drink had largely emptied itself into my bag, which in turn had emptied itself over my back and shorts. Disappointing. A party of wasps found themselves attracted to my energy drink-soaked bag - some decided to get inside.

I rode on and narrowly avoided eating a wasp (it bounced off my lips and tongue, fortunately without stinging me). A few miles later a wasp got stuck under my helmet and suffered a serious injury as I tried to shake it loose - in the end I had to stop and remove the helmet and then remove the dying wasp from the helmet. The last few miles were a fairly joyless experience riding into a pounding headwind in the joke of an August day that could easily have passed for October.

I got back in the car at 2pm and drove back to London. On the way, the sky suddenly cleared to a cheerful bright blue and the temperature shot up to a much more reasonable 21C, but this was no use to me.

http://img.skitch.com/20100816-qjawhk7s248dmdigiirdij39cj.jpg

finally got my bike back today - woot, just in time for tomorrow's club run

Back from week MTBing in Morzine. Mixed bag. Pretty bad weather, only one rain free day, trails hugely muddy, thorough bike and gear washing required at end of every day. Morzine's very much tailored to the hardcore downhiller, not so much in the way of swoopy singletrack or epic cross country rides. And the trails are so afflicted with braking bumps it's ridiculous. Into the berms, through the berms, out of the berms, along the straights... just everywhere. Doing one single red run down from the top on the last day killed my arms.

However we had a fantastic guide who was really friendly and funny, knew the area inside out, and was a good judge of everyone's ability, and tailoring the rides to suit. Plus, the difficult trails and stupid conditions almost certainly made me a better rider.

Braking bumps on berms = wankers trick. That's where you want swoopy smooth flowing more than anywhere else. Kind of missing mtb-ing right now after I dug out the old steel Marin this afternoon so I can turn it into my winter commuter bike.

Well if you ever fancy a trip to Leith Hill of a weekend, gimme a shout.

140km. started flat, then major climb of the day, then big descent, then rolling countryside, then flat with some unsealed path thrown in. one puncture, one magpie attack; massive hunger flat about 8km from home made the flat bike path harder than the 8km climb.

yay finally got back out on the bike today after it being in the shop and recent inclement weather

quick 18 miles with some hill repeats in the middle. ow ow ow

found a hill that takes roughly just over 1 min to go up, with 1 mile spinning at the top and roughly just under 1 min to go down and did it 5 times

am I doing it right?

a hill that takes roughly just over 1 min to go up [...]and roughly just under 1 min to go down

Are you sure that's not flat + wind?

signed up to a 150k sportive in a month. ack. i hate training. also it's a hilly route, taking in leith hill & pitch hill.

xp
shut up

it's a short hill, only about 400 metres at 7%

Cozen - it kind of depends what you're trying to get from it. Are you trying to get fitter, or to prepare for racing, or to get really good at climbing hills, or...?

get fitter and better at climbing hills and just generally be able to stay with the fast riders on the hills

I've kinda given up the idea of racing atm

I'm no expert, but a climb that only takes a minute might be a bit too short to be useful training for what you want (assuming the climbs on your clubruns are much longer than that). I'm sure it will make you fitter, and probably make you better at climbing in short bursts, but you'll probably need to work on something longer than that to get better going up the kind of hills that you can't just punch your way up.

So, mark and I are doing the midnight ride to whitstable tonight. 72 miles (plus 8 or so to get to the start) may not sound a lot to the mile munchers, but hell, it'll be my distance Pb by about 30 miles or so..... Fortunately it's stopped pissing it down and it's brightening up. Big load of carbs for lunch methinks.

ace! was that the profile you sent to me via fb? looks great if so, jealous!

That's the feller, only around 1500ft of climbing in that distance which suits me as last week highlighted my need to lose around 6 stone to help get up hills.

Why is it at night?

Apparently some people think night riding is the business! I am a bit nervous about this as well, as by and large I like my sleep. The only night riding I've done was my relay race last year and that was 45 minute chunks - which were fine, as I was basically time trialling away with but one focus, whereas tonight it'll be more relaxed but much much longer. I'm concerned about the cold most of all - fine while riding (I assume) but whenever we stop for any reason 10 degrees is going to feel really chilly.

Chris, carbs AND protein, don't forget!

Good luck tonight, you two

It's even looking nice out! Simpsons sky over Soho. Thanks Jamie :)

Bib tights, sportwool jersey (ugh don't wanna be a Rapha ponce but it's the most comfy/flexible jersey I have) and some kind of jacket, as yet undecided. I don't own a waterproof, apart from a ridiculously waterproof boil in the bag jacket I bought from a camping shop, but I'm not wearing that. Big question is whether to carry civvies around in my rucksack for 80 miles so that I can return to London on the train not wearing sweaty bibs.

3/4 here with baggies, still undecided over what to wear up top, could rapha it up too but am going to boil in any jackets over that.

Now considering scrambled eggs on fat toast vs pasta

both I'd say

steel cut oatmeal with cinnamon and brown sugar imtho

bananas

Went with the eggs on wholegrain and a third banana for the day.

Wish I'd thought of the oatmeal though, we have some in the cupboard too.

plus fried eggs on toast then pasta

80 miles is what 5 hours? never too late to pop that oatmeal

had my first energy gel the other day

absolutely boggin

They are indeed, for emergencies only.

holy shit dudes i snapped my bottom bracket spindle wednesday
stocking up on tools now yo: lockring wrench, pin spanner, crank puller (also chain tool and bench vise)

I don't mind energy gels. I mean, I wouldn't eat a load of them for dinner, but they're useful on a bike ride. I use the Torq ones.

They're rank - though the last one i had was slightly less rank. They serve a purpose, I'll give them that.

Saw a nasty nasty crash on my club ride today. I think it started when I guy put his wheel in a parallel crack between concrete and asphalt and got sideways, taking 4 people with him. The dude behind him who did an endo into a total faceplant was laid out on the road with his glasses shattered, and his face all cut up from the broken lenses / asphalt. Got taken away in the ambulance on a back-board and neck brace. That ride really really needs to be more selective with riders. Too many people just barely hanging on and then making up gaps at stoplights / downhills and causing chaos in the pack. That's club rides for ya, I guess.

here's the profile of the ride Mark and I did last night, in the space of 5 days my distance pb has gone from a previous of 40 mile, to 50 mile and now to 80 mile (rode 10 mile to start of this).

Now just to lose 6 stone or so...

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/94652

keep that up and it'll fly off in no time, maybe don't follow any of my dietary advice :)

xp

that sounds like a nightmare, slp, take it you were unscathed?

hey folks.

sorry for my non-attendence over the last few weeks. Work has been crazy busy (also I have been slightly embarrassed by the slow work rate on my fat mantis graphic designer thingy). Anyway I am back now for two reasons:

1) Vuelta
2) My surly was stolen over the weekend whilst I was in chicago. I blame me and my complacent attitude to Pittsburgh. Appears to have been boosted with a biro. Fucked off, checking CL, eBay etc.

Seriously bummed out.

holy shit ed i saw a surly cross check where i lock my bike during my dayjob on monday! was it black with an easton front rim? it wasn't there today tho

mine is green and has salsa rims.

funny, i was in chicago this weekend. and i just got a new surly

just kidding about the surly, but i'm thinking about getting a pacer

This really is a bad week, someone boosted E's saddle last night.

somewhat appropriate first ride in rapha belgium jersey - drizzle within a minute of leaving the house. windy, too! packed it in after half an hour.

Did 50 miles solo in the hills today. Absolutely no clouds, and I got a late start, so I was pretty cooked by the last 15 miles. From that point it was mostly flat, into a pretty stiff headwind, I was out of water, and I had Eddie Amador's 'Rise' ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5vsWhSaZpc ) stuck in my head on a loop. Torture.