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To be honest, I'm glad that the run is at an end.
Fuckin'ell, cheer up you miserable bastard!
Day one was good. 100 miles, and about 2000m of climbing (Garmin suggests 900m less than the event bumf). There was one long climb at the half-way point stood out ('bet it was Iron Mountain), but most of the metres passed by in a lot of rolling ups and downs. All very managable, and worthy of a thumbs up.
The terrain around here is lovely. It hasn't felt quite as wild as the North Of England, but there are still plenty of stunning views, lots of hills and valleys, and tons of very fluid, top-quality route.
Fish and chips and a plain rice pudding for tea. I might go out for a banana in a minute.
Christ knows where my recent mope-fest came from, suffice to say that it's buggered off for a bit.
Must book Yorkshire...
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Rode out to countryside for a planned jaunt to Hastings environs, didn't feel stellar, turned around 20 miles in and rode back. Hit a bump on Skid Hill Lane at 30mph, used tarmac to reduce my velocity. Didn't enjoy the experience, now need a new helmet, have a wobbly front wheel and difficulty walking or using my neck to support the weight of my head. Defintely didn't go as badly as it could have, needed some rest time anyway.
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Ouch - bad luck. I seem to have fucked up my back doing some innocuous fettling. Not sure how debilitating it is bike-wise, but am about to find out…
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Hope this is all going weel for you soon.
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Did a couple of repeats of Blouse Bump or Test Hill or whatever it's called and a couple of fast laps of the rest of Richmond Park in a useless attempt to get some power back before heading to France. I'll probably head out for a longer ride today even though I don't want to. Saw a forum jersey in the park.
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56 miler out to Epping via some hills, Theydon Bois, Ongar, couple of loops and home via Chingford to Bethnal Green. Perfect morning for it. Wheelers everywhere and all had a massive smile on their faces. Nice chats at the tea stop and thoroughly humbled on the Epping New Road on way back by some guys from East London Velo. I didn't care. I was maintaining a steady 20 at that point, which is decent stuff for this old boiler!
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Yesterday was a day on offroad with tom.
[ame]http://connect.garmin.com/activity/97991844[/ame]
At Martins Heron we saw two other cyclists who looked a little lost so we offered to show them the way to Swinley and a few trails. They were nice chaps, one does some cycling, the other was a very fit rock climber - but as is often the case fitness for one sport is not necessarily fitness for another.
While out on the trails we found another couple of guys retrueing a wheel, so got chatting with them about bike bling and Ti frames. They both had a history of freeride and downhill riding, but one had given up such malarky due to injuries so they were both on hard tails for the day. Though they did not look amazingly athletic they flew around the trains, especially labyrinth. I could just about catch up with them on the ascents, but downhill was another matter. Plus they took full advantage of the smaller wheels for quick bursts of acceleration. It was really impressive to watch. The weather held out for most of the day with a couple of patches of drizzle.
Swinley is such a great facility (barring the terrible coffee at the lookout) and I am really coming to enjoy the challenges it offers, and am becoming more confident riding there. The new bike just feels so much more confident than the soma juice, all i need now is for the 100mm travel forks and it will be nearly perfect (and a 2x10 groupset, but that can wait a couple of years).
Today was a ride with Hounslow and District Wheelers.
[ame]http://connect.garmin.com/activity/98174169[/ame]
I had checked their website and the plan was for a near 100 mile ride. Since my operation the longest I have done is 60 or 70 miles so I was a little concerned. Next week I am supposed to do the Dunwich Dynamo as well so I thought this would suffice as a training ride.
I was planning on catching the train from Richmond to Staines to save a little energy this morning. I pumped up my tyres and went to say goodbye to Missmouse. Somehow my plans of a quick peck on the cheek did not quite work to plan and we started having an argument. I then heard a ppffffffft noise and shouted "Fuck". I think MM assumed I was swearing at her, though it was the frustration knowing my innertube had just given up the ghost.
Cue frantic tube change and the realisation I had missed my train. So my well planned lazy start turned into a rushed ride out to Staines. Arriving at the Bridge and Clubman needs a hand getting his steed out of his car. He was on a 1910 bicycle - he is trying to recreate the two consecutive 100 mile rides that were done by its original owner.
Everyone else was on modern bikes most 10spd a few with 11spd setups. Chris has a bike that weighs possibly 3 times my bike and only 3 speeds and rod brakes. He is an utter legend, sticking with the main group of us for the first 60 or 70 miles of the day.
The weather could not have been better, mildly overcast but no showers. The ride was fairly flat, which was great considering I was using this as a benchmark as to whether I would be fit for Dynamo. H&DW wheelers know all the good cake shops, so we had 2 proper feedstops and then one stop at a convenience store.
I had a scary moment. I am meant to carry an epi-pen as I am hyper allergic to wasp stings. Today the air was full of flying insects, committing mass suicide against us. I had them regularly splatting on my glasses and anyone with a white jersey seemed to be picking up fly corpses. Bombing down a hill something large flew into the corner of my mouth and exploded against my teeth. I spat it out but clearly it managed to sting me, as my lips started to swell. Typically I did not have the epi pen with me, also I had no idea what had actually stung me. I can only assume it was a bee and not a wasp because now my gum is almost back to normal size. I was a little panicked but luckily the person next to me in the bunch has some first aid training so I just warned him that I was not sure what had stung me but if anything bad started to happen I gave him instructions as to what to do.
I had an utter blast riding today, feeling strong enough to do some of the leadout, and also finding myself attacking hills. I was actually finding some of the group hill climbing difficult at the slower speeds so made a note to stay on the outside of the peleton in order to be able to peel off and attack rather than stay in the bunch for those moments.
My bladder as ever was my enemy, needing a natural break about every 90 minutes or even more frequently. Towards the end of the day we had been told that if we felt like breaking away it was not going to be a problem. I had no intention of leaving the bunch but on a hill decided to do a dash to the top so I could have a quick piss stop. Two others saw this as an attack so decided to counter. While I was at the top of the hill relieving myself they flew past and then the first people in the main pack started to go past. I hopped back on the bike, got past most of the main pack but could not catch the two in the breakaway, but also lost sight of the main pack.
At this point I thought I may as well navigate home, and was getting ready to put earphones in when Rob turned up. Rob is a wonderfully loud, opinionated man who rides fast and hard. He slightly reminds me of fiddy, as he has a collection of near perfect bikes, today he was on a Pinarello Dogma with Super Record. Though unlike Paul, Rob can really fucking ride, he also has an impressive collection of perfectly matching lycra kits, so actually wears appropriate clothign for long rides. So for the last 12 miles back to Staines he followed my wheel and we hammered it back to the bridge.
At that point I had done 100.3 miles but somehow still felt there was something left in my legs. I had been promising myself a train ride back from Staines but the buzz of the ride to Staines was still in me and I decided to pedal all the way home, to add an extra 10% to my distance did not seem like too much of a challenge.
I now have the warm elated exhaustion of a man who has probably done more than he ought to for the day. To say I am surprised at how well my leg has handled it would be an understatement. On the 22nd of April I was having muscle and nerve carved out of my leg. so to have ridden a 111 miles today feels like a miracle.
This weekend has been motherfucking awesome. To get in 2 substantial rides, one offroad and one on road has been great. I love riding bikes.
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Yesterday was a day on offroad with tom.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/97991844
At Martins Heron we saw two other cyclists who looked a little lost so we offered to show them the way to Swinley and a few trails. They were nice chaps, one does some cycling, the other was a very fit rock climber - but as is often the case fitness for one sport is not necessarily fitness for another.
While out on the trails we found another couple of guys retrueing a wheel, so got chatting with them about bike bling and Ti frames. They both had a history of freeride and downhill riding, but one had given up such malarky due to injuries so they were both on hard tails for the day. Though they did not look amazingly athletic they flew around the trains, especially labyrinth. I could just about catch up with them on the ascents, but downhill was another matter. Plus they took full advantage of the smaller wheels for quick bursts of acceleration. It was really impressive to watch. The weather held out for most of the day with a couple of patches of drizzle.
Swinley is such a great facility (barring the terrible coffee at the lookout) and I am really coming to enjoy the challenges it offers, and am becoming more confident riding there. The new bike just feels so much more confident than the soma juice, all i need now is for the 100mm travel forks and it will be nearly perfect (and a 2x10 groupset, but that can wait a couple of years).
Today was a ride with Hounslow and District Wheelers.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/98174169
I had checked their website and the plan was for a near 100 mile ride. Since my operation the longest I have done is 60 or 70 miles so I was a little concerned. Next week I am supposed to do the Dunwich Dynamo as well so I thought this would suffice as a training ride.
I was planning on catching the train from Richmond to Staines to save a little energy this morning. I pumped up my tyres and went to say goodbye to Missmouse. Somehow my plans of a quick peck on the cheek did not quite work to plan and we started having an argument. I then heard a ppffffffft noise and shouted "Fuck". I think MM assumed I was swearing at her, though it was the frustration knowing my innertube had just given up the ghost.
Cue frantic tube change and the realisation I had missed my train. So my well planned lazy start turned into a rushed ride out to Staines. Arriving at the Bridge and Clubman needs a hand getting his steed out of his car. He was on a 1910 bicycle - he is trying to recreate the two consecutive 100 mile rides that were done by its original owner.
Everyone else was on modern bikes most 10spd a few with 11spd setups. Chris has a bike that weighs possibly 3 times my bike and only 3 speeds and rod brakes. He is an utter legend, sticking with the main group of us for the first 60 or 70 miles of the day.
The weather could not have been better, mildly overcast but no showers. The ride was fairly flat, which was great considering I was using this as a benchmark as to whether I would be fit for Dynamo. H&DW wheelers know all the good cake shops, so we had 2 proper feedstops and then one stop at a convenience store.
I had a scary moment. I am meant to carry an epi-pen as I am hyper allergic to wasp stings. Today the air was full of flying insects, committing mass suicide against us. I had them regularly splatting on my glasses and anyone with a white jersey seemed to be picking up fly corpses. Bombing down a hill something large flew into the corner of my mouth and exploded against my teeth. I spat it out but clearly it managed to sting me, as my lips started to swell. Typically I did not have the epi pen with me, also I had no idea what had actually stung me. I can only assume it was a bee and not a wasp because now my gum is almost back to normal size. I was a little panicked but luckily the person next to me in the bunch has some first aid training so I just warned him that I was not sure what had stung me but if anything bad started to happen I gave him instructions as to what to do.
I had an utter blast riding today, feeling strong enough to do some of the leadout, and also finding myself attacking hills. I was actually finding some of the group hill climbing difficult at the slower speeds so made a note to stay on the outside of the peleton in order to be able to peel off and attack rather than stay in the bunch for those moments.
My bladder as ever was my enemy, needing a natural break about every 90 minutes or even more frequently. Towards the end of the day we had been told that if we felt like breaking away it was not going to be a problem. I had no intention of leaving the bunch but on a hill decided to do a dash to the top so I could have a quick piss stop. Two others saw this as an attack so decided to counter. While I was at the top of the hill relieving myself they flew past and then the first people in the main pack started to go past. I hopped back on the bike, got past most of the main pack but could not catch the two in the breakaway, but also lost sight of the main pack.
At this point I thought I may as well navigate home, and was getting ready to put earphones in when Rob turned up. Rob is a wonderfully loud, opinionated man who rides fast and hard. He slightly reminds me of fiddy, as he has a collection of near perfect bikes, today he was on a Pinarello Dogma with Super Record. Though unlike Paul, Rob can really fucking ride, he also has an impressive collection of perfectly matching lycra kits, so actually wears appropriate clothign for long rides. So for the last 12 miles back to Staines he followed my wheel and we hammered it back to the bridge.
At that point I had done 100.3 miles but somehow still felt there was something left in my legs. I had been promising myself a train ride back from Staines but the buzz of the ride to Staines was still in me and I decided to pedal all the way home, to add an extra 10% to my distance did not seem like too much of a challenge.
I now have the warm elated exhaustion of a man who has probably done more than he ought to for the day. To say I am surprised at how well my leg has handled it would be an understatement. On the 22nd of April I was having muscle and nerve carved out of my leg. so to have ridden a 111 miles today feels like a miracle.
This weekend has been motherfucking awesome. To get in 2 substantial rides, one offroad and one on road has been great. I love riding bikes.
good write up.
makes me wanna go riding. -
nice write up Prancer,
I got stung today, by a wasp that flew in the car I drove for 4 hours...
but anyway,got back and dumped the car, jumped on the fix and flew out of the door, the steady controlled rhythm of a bike felt divine after hours of pedal pushing,
so dropped into the track, swapped bikes, and did half an hour of various laps in the evening sun, warned the longboarders that if I hit them it would be their fault so watch the fuck out, it is a cycling track.tired of using the banking for the adrenalin rush of dropping down on to the red, so
picked up street bike again and rolled down to the beach through Meyrick park, the dregs of todays pride march were still in town as I hit the seafront, whereby some brakless fixie skidder caught me up and proceeded to shoot the shit as we rode, like most of the lads here he reckons hes really keen on doing a proper track session sometime, until hes got some money a cheap brakless will have to suffice...the low rays kept warming me as I rounded sandbanks and past the multitudenous bbqs of the kitesurfers chilling on the beach. only a few miles,
but leaving all the road stress behind and being back on the bike wiped the slate clean again. bring on summer holidays -
Rode down to a campsite near Hastings with a couple of strangers from the internet on saturday, bit of a circuitous route but ultimately a good 'un - some flat, some hilly. Rewarded with awesome views near Bodiam and sweeping lanes in the evening. Left campsite (resisted lure of pub) and rode home to a tasty barbeque and fluffy white sheets at my folks: 12 hilly miles of almost-bliss in the evening light. It was fantastic. I rarely find myself knackered on a bike and still wanting more but on Saturday I did.
Turned around this morning and did it again, solo. A little quicker - not much - but unfortunately the views were less splendid heading back into London. I did, however, see loads of cyclists which brought a smile to my face. Titsey made me want to cry at the end of a good weekend but somehow I gurned my way up. Certainly the longest and hilliest riding I've done on ma fixeh (or anything for that matter) so I am not-so-secretly chuffed with myself.
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smiles reading these everyone. james and oli repped
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Tom! Shit dude, bad luck. Mebe a *little *rest up is no bad thing, as you say; though what crap circumstances to it bring about.
Today was 2 of 2.
It hasn't felt quite as wild as the North Of England.It has now. The surroundings were gob-smacking, and the route was as good as any I've experienced.
We had four or five *ace *climbs, plenty of lengthy fast-and-flat sections, and some absolutely brilliant descending from the high passes. At times the view of the road stretched out for such a distance that it was possible to blast along without any fear of meeting anything that might slow a person down. Zoom!
120 miles, this one, and just over 3000m of climbing.
Over the course of the day I ate two bowls of Alpen, five flapjacks (one big, two medium, two small), three nutrigrain bars, two fig rolls, a few mittfulls of jelly babies, two and a half bananas, two yoghurts, a fruit salad, a takeaway tub of chickpea curry and a roti.
A top weekend, if ever there was one.
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40 miles, that took forever. Arundel to Petersfield via the coast and the South Downs Way.
When I stopped pushing up the bastard hills, I drank in the view.
London > Arundel, via Box Hill, Coldharbour and Fittleworth. Was meant to be a pleasant stretch in the hills but turned into a bit of a mission. First 45miles was great, but last 15 miles completely shagged me - much of it shouting "f*ck you" at the headwind - hills at the end were tougher than expected. Had planned to have lunch in Arundel then cycle back, but I was spent... I'm a wimp, I'll be doing this geared next time.
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Rode to Brighton yesterday, about 75 miles in total with getting a touch lost and the regular jaunts around London town. I was on a mere 42X16 and the Beacon beat me... gutted. My left knee is proper fucked now though... one day I'll the get that cleat in the right place.
Jon.
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Tell us about your weekend ride
Posted by
nice part of the world
how do you mean the wrong way,
when you leave Castleton theres the old road that collapsed when you drop right, or just straight up? cant see what you mean.