Shifting Gear.

Moaning Works

2012-02-27T15:00:00.004-08:00

Movie Maker obviously heard me moaning and realised it had better pull it's socks up. Blogger however won't embed the video (must be something in the circuits tonight) but if you would care to cast a glance over it here: cliquez s'il vous plait that would be much appreciated :)

That has to be my favourite shot from the ride. For obvious reasons ;)

A Solid Weekend of Riding

2012-02-27T12:24:00.003-08:00

Title says it all really. I figured that as I was missing out on the Clayton Velo Spring Classic (the Northern season opener) I should probably do something a bit different this weekend.

So we (a contingent of the Uni Club) did. 3 days, 171 miles, 9 hours and around 13,000ft of climbing. Good fun, did a couple of jaw-droppingly beautiful sections of Welsh road, ate quite a bit, had a few laughs.

I am trying (and failing) to get Windows Movie Maker to perform it's intended function and collate all the videos/photos from yesterday; but so far all it's managing to do is make me want to throw my laptop through the window. Every single time I try, it crashes. Without fail. It got to 98% complete saving the video before...and crashed. Now it barely gets past the storyboard section. Honestly, sometimes I hate technology with a fierce, unbridled passion. Why is that? These things are designed to make our lives easier and more pleasant surely? And why is it always Microsoft products that do this? Why do you never hear Mac users screaming at their machines? I know. It's a conspiracy. I bet Microsoft have shares in major Pharmaceutical companies that specialise in stress relief drugs. You read it here first.

If I don't post again for a while then you can probably guess what's happened.

A Chronological Perspective On The Past Two Days

2012-02-25T13:24:00.000-08:00

Start as we mean to go on eh?

Need some atmosphere? We had some to spare on Friday.

The 'Happy Valley' today. Stunning. Absolutely stunning. This wasn't the best bit. I just couldn't be bothered stopping later on...:/

Now you see him.

Now you don't.

The following slightly dodgy video (sorry about that, it's still a work in progress getting the camera set up on my bike properly) was taken just moving off after taking the above photo.

Motivation

2012-02-22T15:19:00.000-08:00

This isn't going to be a 'humorous take on...' post, nor is it penned with the intent of providing entertainment. No. Tonight I feel moved to write about something that lies at the very heart of not only sport, but life itself.

Motivation is one of those concepts that is banded around a lot in so many different contexts, 'oh wow he must be motivated to be doing that many hours this time of year!', 'you need to have clear motivation to be successful on this course' etc. It is something that is at the very core of just about everything we do; be it motivation for sporting success, career progression, academic achievement or just getting up in the morning and making your spouse/child a packed lunch.

For many, sporting success is often the simplest to quantify. Once you reach a certain level in any sport, those without the strongest motivation fade away and for those that remain whatever keeps them there and keeps them progressing is often invisible.

It is said that there are two types of motivation: Intrinsic and Extrinsic. Intrinsic is defined by something internal, something personal to you that you can draw on to keep going, often at it's simplest pleasure taken from the task itself. Extrinsic however (as the name would suggest) is characterised by an outside stimulus or a desire to succeed that comes from elsewhere. An intrinsically motivated individual will need no goals or targets to perform at their best whereas someone extrinsically motivated will need an attainable goal to drive for.

Specific to cycling, WiseMan say that Intrinsic motivation has to be your staple diet (if you will, bear with me) throughout the long winter months and harsh interval sessions but that when it comes to competition for an individual to be successful they must be able to switch completely and 'snack' on Extrinsic goals/desires/sadism as this is what truly allows the 'killer' instinct to shine through. How does Mark Cavendish motivate himself through winter? Constantly thinking ahead to what each pedal revolution is preparing for. He won't be thinking specifically how he's going to make that final effort to stay with the lead group in the closing stages of Milan San Remo as he knows that when the time comes all he will need is the will to win, the desire to beat everyone else and be the best-and he knows that will be there regardless of what he does in winter. No, all he has to worry about is whether his body will be in the condition that will allow him to satisfy his desires. To refer back to the food analogy, if your staple diet is the 'snack' Extrinsic motivation then sooner or later it will lose it's effect as you become used to it. That is why if the balance is in favour of Intrinsic motivation, Extrinsic means can be employed as a short term 'super motivator'.

Cycling is a cruel sport in this sense, as anyone competing must come to terms with supposed 'failure' far more often than 'success'. The motivation and desire to succeed must be so firmly rooted that it can be quickly refreshed after missing the vital break or just running out of speed in the final sprint allowing yourself to go through the same motions over and over again until finally everything works out right and success is achieved.

I have had a lot of time this winter to consider the concept of motivation, and indeed question just where mine comes from and whether it is sufficient to back up my desires. I have come to the conclusion that it is important to have an idea, a sensation, an image or all of the previous to call on as active motivation when times get tough. Personally, I take myself back to the final climbs of some of the road races from last year when all fatigue suddenly evaporates as adrenaline and the simple 'I want to win. I am faster than everyone else' takes over, replacing whatever 'Oh I'll just see how I go today' with a sharp focus centered on the finishing line; and I use that as a mould, I tell myself I want to feel like that again, so I do the training. Of course, as mentioned before the 'win' isn't always the outcome (in fact, for me never in that situation!) but I hold on to that sensation, that memory and that belief and use it to rationalise what I am putting myself through. I have also realised that I have a very deep set desire to be the best I can be; and that lies at the heart of everything I do-not influenced by racing seasons, individual events, successes or failures-just always there. This is purely Intrinsic, and will not go away I fear until I satisfy myself that I have reached my Ceiling. Luckily for me, from this I can distil this down into mini-Extrinsic goals such as the ones I have for this season. So long as I perform to my best in everything-exams, races or whatever then I am happy.

I expected to perhaps better define and identify what makes me tick through writing this, but I find that isn't the case-more that I am now more acutely aware of what I am doing and why I am doing it.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this topic, and indeed where you get your motivation from/what motivates you.

Thanks for reading.

Last Time I Checked, Growth Hormone Was Banned.

2012-02-20T15:01:00.000-08:00

I came across this earlier today; a well known journalist acknowledges that top Barcelona player takes growth hormone. http://www.irishpeloton.com/2012/02/drugs-in-football-pull-the-other-one/ But no need to worry! It's no big deal right? He doesn't seem to think so.

To make sure you read the article:

'The audio snippet above is akin to a cycling journalist such as Lionel Birnie revealing on a national radio show that he knows for a fact that Mark Cavendish takes EPO, but then move swiftly along to discuss Geraint Thomas’s qualities as a lead-out man.

But this is not cycling. This is football.

So nobody cares.'

As the writer states, the non cycling media is oh so quick to report on doping stories within the sport, which let us not forget is still rather a minority one when compared to many other mainstream sports such as football, yet fails to mention something as serious as a player who has won 'all of the game's major trophies in the past four years' taking drugs that will enhance his performance.

Something's not right there. Rather makes me think; why are there so many knee injuries in football? Extra stresses and strains placed on the joint is what anyone will tell you; and I am sure it is true, but don't forget though, many 80s cycling stars had mysterious knee injuries that people alleged were down to steroid abuse. Ok, maybe I'm seeing tenuous links where there aren't any...and given the recent spate of doping stories my brain is probably just feeling extra paranoid.

The manner in which the journalist brushes aside the issue concerning Xavi does rather remind me of what it sounds like the 90's and early 00's were like for cycling if David Millar's accounts are anything to go by. Presumed acceptance, solidarity within those in the know, Omertà. Are we perhaps set up for a Festina style scandal in the football world? Certain sports do seem to be suspiciously clean compared to others, and you cannot convince me that everyone tempted to cheat to win decides to ride a bicycle.

Feel free to disagree/contradict/dismiss my musing as bo**ocks-this is merely my take on the matter. I will be interested to see how this develops, but am not expectant that anything will come out of it if I'm honest. Money=power, and God knows there's a lot of power in football.

Rest and rePOSE

2012-02-20T14:40:00.000-08:00

Rest is as important as training. Anyone will tell you that, but just how much rest you need is obviously specific to you. I found that out last week. I've stepped up my training to 12-15 hours a week recently and rather naively assumed I'd be ok keeping everything else about my routine the same (as in meal sizes, amount of sleep etc). It's not exactly rocket science, but if you increase the stresses your body is placed under you are going to have to increase the amount of time it has to rest and recover proportionally (at least until it gets used to the new load). Sadly I am not a rocket scientist (although when you think about it, the principles of rocket science are about as simple as they get), didn't increase my rest and paid the price. By the end of last week I was dead on my feet, it took going to bed at 9pm on Friday (living the student life to the max!) and sleeping until about 9:30am on Saturday, and then repeating something similar last night to get me back to feeling human.

The interesting thing was I didn't feel like the fatigue was necessarily impacting on my training (although I did end up not doing a session on Thursday-probably a direct result looking back), I was just generally feeling like I needed to curl up and snooze. I find it ironic as over the past few weeks I have been saying to a few people who have asked for advice on training etc just how important rest is! I do think the best way to learn is through experiences such as this, I pay very close attention to how my body feels during training sessions to try and catch signs of over training but now I know I also need to watch how I feel inbetween sessions to make sure I'm recovering enough generally! After all, it's no good going into a race with fresh legs if you're struggling to stay awake...

I think I may have to re-acquaint myself with the tried and tested 'cyclist nap'. I'm not sure how a 'cyclist nap' is different to a normal nap. Maybe we just have a better excuse.

Also, I'm now training with a Powermeter and using the Golden Cheetah analysis software which has a rather nifty Performance Manager feature built in which gives each ride/session a stress score and then plots those scores over time. Should be interesting to see how that develops over the next few weeks...although at the end of the day, I don't need an algorithm to tell me my legs are fooked and need a break!

Anyway. Enough of the serious stuff. Onto another 'Things That Grind My Gears'. Today it's FreeWeightRoomGymPosers.

Every time I go to pilates (don't laugh, try it first) I have to walk past the free weights room in the gym and every time I do it is FULL of the Tank-Topped-Milk-Bottle-Skin-Never-Does-Exercise-Outside-Poser grimacing away while they watch themselves lift weights in the mirror. Purlease. I am a traditionalist you see and believe that exercise is best done outdoors. I am sure gyms are fantastic. And yes, I can see that in order to 'buff up' you probably have to lift weights (why you couldn't just go swimming I don't know, has the same effect if you do it hard enough!). And of course, you are welcome to then wear tight tops to show off the 'fruits' of your 'labours' as having muscles for people to admire is quite obviously the sole reason for you spending all this time and money-nobody will think anything less of you honest; but please go about it in a way that doesn't make me think POSER. Don't swagger around campus feigning fatigue (as I can guarantee that unless you've stepped outside of a gym you don't know what true fatigue is) and taking large swigs from a rather inconspicuous protein shaker as if to say 'Hey look everyone! I just worked out so hard my body needs help recovering! Aren't I Manly!'

And whatever you do, do not walk past me saying loudly to your mate 'Oh man I did 20 minutes cardio in the gym yesterday and it KILLED me.' As I will slap you very hard in the face and tell you to man up and do some real exercise. (this happened today, just minus the face slapping. I did nearly spit coffee all over the offending brute though it shocked me that much. If I'd had a monocle it would undoubtedly have fallen into my cup.)

Fin.

Manly Man Training.

2012-02-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

Did 72.21 miles today, average HR of 137 and climbed roughly 6,400ft. Impressed? Snigger. I was in Zone 10 for like 69 seconds, and had I had my power meter in I'm sure I would have set PBs for max power. Yah. Must have been at Threshold for at least 4 hours. We saw someone in the cafe on Zipp 303 tubs. In the mist. And salty wet roads. And I complemented him by asking: 'Is that Carbon?'. I toadally had to stay in zone 2 for the rest of the ride though after seeing all that carbonny (carbon-ney? Carboney?) goodness. KOM'd all applicable Strava segments as well. On my winter bike. With my rack. I'm like, fairly sure I had a slow puncture as well. Only ate half a scone in the cafe, as I figured I'd have to do another 4 hours to warrant the other half. Got to watch the body fat %. I'm going to stop that now. That Ladies and Gentlemen was cycling bullsh*t, and I am henceforth mounting a campaign to remove as much of it as possible from the internet. Except I don't know exactly how...any ideas? Twitter Hashtag? Sandwich boards on street corners? Any volunteers?

I didn't actually ask him if it was Carbon, but there really was a guy on his eye wateringly nice Cervelo with Zipp tubs today at the cafe today. In the mist. And the salty wet roads. As you do! Must have been last year's Zipps; you know-Training Zipps. <Insert withering look here with rolling eyes>

It is interesting to note however (and you probably already noticed), that nearly 6,500ft of ascent in 70 something miles is quite a lot. But then this is Aberyswtyth. You really have to ride here to realise just how goddamm hilly it is. I'll tell you something, after the pain I experienced in that final hour-it had better pay off come the racing! As I remarked to Max (Strava for today) we went through 3 or 4 noticeable layers of pain today:

Standard Pain that comes from chasing a whippet on a Race Bike up a hill.
Pain that comes from splitting off from the group to do more miles.
Pain that comes from then doing over double the miles done with the group up more hills.
Pain that comes from doing a hilly loop that is in itself a standalone mid-week ride with legs that can only be described as f***ed.

So yeah. Not much more to say really. No actually there probably is. I just can't remember. Oh well! Got some nice photos though:

Quote of the day goes to Max: 'I think that's water' (taken out of context for literary effect.)

It was actually frozen solid.

Atmospheric much?

They were all taken at the Pendam Reservoir up in/by/aroud the Nant-yr-Arian forest. One 'eck of a climb up/ descent whichever way you do it. Fast becoming one of my favourite sections of road ever. Seriously.

Reverse Timewarp to my ride yesterday. Got up. Felt like crap. Abandoned my planned route fairly quickly but decided to ride the Ystwyth Cycle Trail back into town. Boy am I glad I did! Simple pleasures and all, but bombing along a deserted cycle trail at 20mph is really quite exhilarating, and reminded me why I shunned tarmac for so many years. Did get a bit hairy when I ended up on a Bridleway for about a mile though. Steep gravelly ascents and descents on a road bike with slick 25mm tyres isn't to be recommended (but was quite fun if I'm honest). I got back home with a big grin on my face, and isn't that why we all started riding bikes in the first place? Who cares if I didn't complete the planned session. I certainly didn't! I challenge all you bicyclists out there, next time you go out do something that will make you smile. Something that will make you think: 'ahh yes. I'd forgotten how much I loved just messing about on a bike'.

Just realised how high off the ground this looks. Approximately 6 feet and 4 inches to be exact!

That is one awesome bike. Carried me over some properly nasty roads these past few months! Thanks to the team boss Mr Bill Nickson for building it up so well!

Ystwyth river unless I am mistaken.

I've been learning levitation as well as French and German.

Sneaky food shot! Made this when I got in. Phhhwwoooarrrr.

Feels so good to have done a properly draining session after an up and down week health wise. Amazing what a good ride in good company with good banter, good cake, good roads and good refuelling food does for the spirits.

No summary this week. Don't really feel like it :D

The Gorilla Hunts Small Marsupials

2012-02-10T13:05:00.000-08:00

Imagine there's a small furry mammal in the road there, and the title might make more sense.

I find it interesting how every year there are the 'Ohmygosh he's going so well in January! Cav/Schleck/Cancellara had better watch out in the tour' comments flying around the internet this time of year. Every year it's different people and it's the same right up from the lowliest of amateur ranks all the way up to the Pros. Herr Greipel certainly looked in slightly scary form at the Tour Down Under, then there's Andy Fenn with his Neo-Pro double of stages earlier in the week. But let's not forget the World Champ's recent ever so slightly impressive recent double at the Tour of Qatar:

Of course people will already be saying 'Oh Cav's sure to win the Olympic RR title with the form he's in. Oh he's sure to win a Septuplet of Tour stages blahblahblahblahblah'. But the simple thing is, and this applies to anyone who rides a bike regularly, everyone has peaks and troughs in fitness. You have good days and you have bad days. The big difference between us and the Pros is that they know their bodies well enough that they can train and prepare in such a way that nine times out of ten they will be going as well as they can on specific days for specific events. But that doesn't mean they don't have off days. It's easy to forget sometimes, one bad day in the mountains in the Tour de France can write off a GC contender, while a good day combined with the right stage/terrain can produce some inspiring performances. Think back to Andy Schleck's epic solo Galibier stage win in last year's tour. That is the sort of thing that will be written about in the future.

You probably already know all this, and are thinking 'Well? What else have you got for me?' and the simple answer is that I came up with the post title first and then had to invent a post to go with it. Sorry about that.

I am...

2012-02-09T12:14:00.001-08:00

I am Daniel Oss. My jaw gets stuck like this whenever I sprint.

I am Mark Cavendish. Sprinting is easy. Look, I'm not even out of breath.

Things That Grind My Gears Part 2: Manners and MegaBallaches

2012-02-09T12:10:00.000-08:00

Manners are a completely non-cycling related thing that's really getting under my skin at the moment. Simple consideration for your fellow human beings is not a difficult or complex concept. The worst thing about being at Uni here is that people seem to forget their manners. I'll be walking down the hill or something, on the pavement, and be faced with a group of say 3 lads coming the other way. Now, back where I come from (and where most people come from as well I'd wager) the polite thing to do when in the bigger group is to move out of the way slightly (yield for the smaller group if you will) and allow them to walk past on their part of the pavement. But no. Here everyone seems intent on making me sidestep into the road while they walk however-many-abrest in their groups. Sometimes knocking into me if I dare to try and stay out of the stream of traffic. It really pisses me off. And I mean really. I *detest* bad manners. They cost nothing, and can create lasting impressions for the right or wrong reasons.

I also get the impression that the locals think we're all similar manner-less cabbage heads and treat us as such. Just this afternoon, I was in the queue to pay in the Co-Op heard a terse 'scuse me' and barely had time to move my feet before they were nearly run over by a woman furiously pushing some poor old lady in a wheelchair through the queue. What was wrong with a pleasant 'Hello, sorry do you mind if I squeeze through?' or a 'Sorry to bother you, can I just get through?' oh sure, she might have been having a bad day, might just have lost her cat or something but since when where manners the first casualties? I should stress that I am generalising massively, and I am talking about the minority in both cases (although it is happening more and more). But then again, whenever my Mum and Dad have spent time in town whilst visiting they have remarked on more than one occasion how everyone seems to push past on the pavements and not really take others into consideration.

So next time you see me, please don't let the door slam in my face or not say thank you when I hold it open for you-or don't say thank you when I let you (in your car) go through some traffic lights before me (on my bike). Because otherwise you might find yourself the unwitting star of a subsequent blog post :D

So I've rambled on about manners and bullsh*t. Now time for something else everyone can relate to: internet speeds and heating. Quite contentious here at Aberystwyth Uni.

When we started in September the heating was regular as clockwork, getting a warm shower or enough hot water to wash up was never a problem. Since it's got colder however that's not the case. Why? Search me. Maybe everyone does their washing up more now. Logical conclusion to be drawn am I right? ;) I mean, c'mon...what do you want when you come in from a few hours in the cold and wet on the bike? A warm shower. What do I seem to get most of the time? A lukewarm one at best.

We've worked out that if the water coming out of the taps in our rooms is hot, then the shower is to be avoided. Explain that one to me if you will!

And onto internet speeds. Again, I was pleasantly surprised at the start of term at how reliably quick the connection was here, perfectly acceptable for watching videos/Skyping/TROLOLOLing at lolcats.com and all that-but again something has changed. Over the last few weeks it's got baaaaad. Yesterday it took me about half an hour to watch a 15 minute video. Rage much? It got so bad last week I tried to do a speed test on speedtest.net (imaginative) and would you believe it it couldn't even load the page! Such wonderful, painful irony.

Fairly sure that isn't my problem, but you can never be sure.

Now just to end on a more reader-engaging note:

And to sum up the past two waffle-ridden posts:

Moaning can be quite therapeutic no?

Things That Grind My Gears Part 1: Two Wheeled Nonsense

2012-02-09T11:23:00.000-08:00

I'm not one to moan normally, doesn't achieve much (as I learned when I was younger) but I felt a need to get a couple of things off my chest. Not necessarily cycling related, but I need to keep this blog thing fresh right?

Bullsh*t. Unfortunately I have found that social networking increases one's exposure to bullsh*t by an approximate power of 100000000. General bullsh*t is everywhere and doesn't normally register with me, but cycling bullsh*t is another matter entirely. I am talking about the whole:

- I'm better than you

-Why's that?

-Cos, well, errr, you remember that ride we did approximately 67 days ago where I accelerated out of that junction faster than you? Yeah that.

-Yeah but I completed the cafe loop 6 seconds faster than you.

-But I was on my winter bike and you were on your summer bike.

-Yeah but my summer bike is heavier than your winter bike.

-LOL yeah that's true :D my bike's awesome.

-STFU...why do you keep going on about it?

-You brought it up!

-Let's see who brings what up next cafe run shall we, after all it's the legs that do the talking!

-Speaking of which, I did accelerate out of that junction faster than you.

-Yeah but I did the cafe loop 6 seconds faster...

You get the idea. Some may call it banter, and I suppose it could be interpreted as such but when you read the same things over and over and over and over (ad infinitum) it does get slightly...what's the word I'm looking for? Answers on an e-postcard.

Then there's the whole, dropping not so subtle hints at how many manly hours of Manly Man Training you're doing. Before anyone says anything, I may do exactly that on occasion (although I don't call it Manly Man Training). but usually if it's something I'm quite proud of-such as 5 hours in the rain or something. But then again, I try my best not to ram it down everyone's throats like 'HEY. HEY YOU. LOOK AT ME, I JUST DID THIS MUCH TRAINING. AREN'T I AWESOME. BOW DOWN AND ACKNOWLEDGE MY AWESOMENESS.' No. I will put up a summary of my week on here most Sundays but that's more because I intend this blog to be a sort of scrapbook for the coming season, allowing people to look back through and see how I prepared for whatever I achieve in the coming months.
Going back to the Manly Man Training point, another type of exchange I've observed is something similar to:

-Hey, how are the squats coming?

-Oh good thanks man. Did 60 reps with 150kg on the bar last night. And then the same again this morning. Y'know, not much.

-Oh cool. I was thinking of doing that, but won't it like, wreck your legs for your daily evening sprints session on the turbo?

-Nahhh man it's cool! It's like a warm up innit!

-Oh yeah, I mean...hell yeah. By the way I tried going 80 reps last week and felt a bit tight in the morning so you might not want to try that...

-Oh no it's fine. I'm in layer 3 of my weight pyramid at the moment so I'll be fine with 80 by tomorrow. You know, you should try a training plan like mine. It really works.

-Hmmm I dunno...I prefer the more 'specific' programmes. Less gym work more bike time y'know.

-You mean like spin classes?

-Oh yeah, done like 6 of them this week.

-I don't find them that helpful really, I mean...the instructor never takes me past zone 2!

-Oh tell me about it! I actually had to put clothing back on last week they were just *so* slow.

Ok that might be a slight exaggeration but you know what I mean. Here's a thought, if testosterone was removed from this universe do you think any of the above would occur? The conclusion I have arrived at is that in order to avoid exchanges like this, partial or complete self-removal from social networking is required. After all, if someone you're riding with starts spouting sh*t you can just drop them. Simples.

And another thing, opinions. As Lord Eastwood himself once said: 'Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one' One hell of a quote. Speaking of quotes:

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes. Opinions. Opinions are fine, you're welcome to them...but pleasepleasepleaseplease do some background reading before you express ones on contentious subjects. Specific example being the recent CAS* ruling against Alberto Contador; loads of opinions flew around the interwebs as soon as people read the headlines...but I just wish they would have paid attention to the wording of the CAS report (ok, not all 4000 or so pages of it...) before using it as justification or 'proof' for their opinions. Which is in no way to be interpreted as me being in favour of Contador or what he has/hasn't done-it's obvious that at the very least he has been exceptionally negligent-at great cost to himself. Whether he actively sought to cheat or not is a different question, and not one the CAS report categorically makes a judgment on:

The Panel concluded that both the meat contamination scenario and the blood transfusion scenario were, in theory, possible explanations for the adverse analytical findings, but were however equally unlikely. In the Panel’s opinion on the basis of the evidence adduced, the presence of clenbuterol was more likely caused by the ingestion of a contaminated food supplement.

(http://inrng.com/2012/02/contador-cas-verdict/) [very good for further reading around this subject]

So that's worth bearing in mind. The CAS decision merely upholds the UCI/WADA* appeal against the Spanish Federation not suspending Contador for his doping violation; and does not prove/disprove whether there was deliberate intent behind the adverse analytical finding. At the end of the day, he had a banned substance in his body-albeit in a stupendously small amount-and under the rules that=sanction. Those are the WADA rules, and they have been upheld. That is perhaps the biggest positive outcome in my opinion, anti-doping integrity has been upheld.

Feel free to continue branding him a 'doping cheat' if that is your opinion and what you wish, just don't suddenly claim it's been proven. Ta. And always reference your opinions. Student Pro tip right there :D

Stay tuned for part 2!

N.B: Any similarities to anyone living or dead, or acts past present or future in this post are unintentional. Or are they?

*CAS: Court of Arbitration for Sport
UCI: Union Cycliste Internationale
WADA: World Anti Doping Agency.

On Clothing (again?) and being a Tourist.

2012-02-05T12:19:00.000-08:00

It's been very cold recently. Just in case you hadn't noticed. I was lucky enough to have a new pair of winter longs dropped off by my Mum and Dad when they came to visit last weekend, and I can say I have been ultra appreciative these past 7 days or so. They're Giordana Body Clone ones, so rather posh (although no way near as posh as Assos...just saying ;D) They've got a double layer of Super Roubaix fabric on the knee and upper part of the thigh, and let me just say, that is heavenly in the cold and wet. The major thing that's been bothering me whenever it's got really cold or cold/wet is cold knees and thighs...cold knees always make me instinctively go for smaller gears than necessary and cold penetrating your thighs just makes the whole act of riding a bit grim. So I am rather happy to report after having worn them in very cold and wet conditions that my legs stay toasty warm! In fact, wearing them has made me realise just how inadequate other clothing choices have been this past week...moving on to today.

It was forecast to be about 6 degrees by 12:00 today, light winds, not so low overnight temperatures-in short a world away from what the rest of the country was expected to suffer. I dressed accordingly, knowing from past experience that 6 degrees is the point where I can't wear full winter gear without seriously overheating. Long story short, it was a mistake. It was really quite cold. Down to about 2/3 degrees by the time I met the club and it didn't really climb much higher for most of the ride. I attempted to rectify my slight faux pas by riding on the front, which it must be said was successful in that it kept my core warm, but did sod all for my fingers, toes and ears. I don't like cold digits, I'm a bit particular about that. I'll tough it out if there's not other option; but I spent the first 30 miles berating myself for not at least putting my liner gloves on. Ho hum. You win some, you lose some toes. Or something. I suppose I was due for some karma after being smugly warm last week in my new thermals while Max frozzled his way along. next to me.

Costa Del Aberdovey was our ultimate destination once again today. Not much more to say other than we got there, had a little fun doing some through and off coming back through Borth, I added a couple of loops in to make the 5 hours I wanted and the shower was lukewarm at best.

One thing that did make me smile today was somebody remarking that the worst part about me dropping them on the hills (I was practicing my attacks y'see) was not that he couldn't keep up-more that all he could see was a pannier rack disappearing up the road. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the reasons I put it on. Well, not a big one-it is very useful for tying stuff to. (what do you mean what stuff? Well, how about waterproof? Roadkill? Impulse side-of-the-road purchases? Exactly.) but I do quite like how it lulls people into a false sense of security. 'Oh he's got a pannier rack. Obviously a Tourist. Probably slow.' :D

Hopefully might have the race Steed with me next week. Seriously cannot wait. Especially as it's coming with a little surprise this time. Not for me, as I already know-but I still see it as a surprise! Maybe a pic will help explain:

It's coming avec Crud Roadracers, hence the black tape on forks and seat stays. And yes that is a Powertap.

Where's the summary we have come to love and look forward to I hear you cry! To be honest, not much to summarise really.

It took me 13.8 hours on the bike to do 134 miles. No, I'm not that slow, over half the bike time this week was on the turbo! What fun!
Digits lost: At one point I thought most! Although actually none.
Treehouse Brownies consumed: 3. (The Treehouse is probably the best place in the world, and certainly Aberystwyth, to get a brownie, or a Jacket Potato, or salad, or those little Curry Pasty things they do, or Wholefood-y things. I could go on.)
Pointless Summary lists compiled: 2. I deleted the other as it really was utterly pointless.

I'm fairly sure there was a lot more of interest I was going to talk about; but I have this habit of being out on the bike and thinking: 'Oh wow! That would make an excellent blogpost!'. And then promptly forgetting it by the time I've showered, eaten, washed up, washed all my kit blah blah blah.

On an unrelated note (unrelated to the above) I was reading about Cancellara's E3 Prijs Harelbeke victory from last year again and was reminded about just how jaw droppingly crushing he was that day, so just in case you'd forgotten/not seen it/don't know who or what the fook I'm on about-here is a video that might explain. That man is one hell of a bike rider.

First race is in 4 weeks :O

EDIT:

Oh yeah, I also got all nostalgic yesterday when me and Max started planning/discussing how to tackle the BUCS events this year. BUCS HC you are mine son. Just, maybe minus the cheesy music.

Everyone Loves Winter!

2012-02-01T15:01:00.000-08:00

Tangibly continuing a theme from my last post I suppose (to the extent that the title is similar)...the difference today being I'm actually going to way lyrically about how good the weather was! It was very very cold and very very clear and sunny. The perfect winter day if you ask me. I do not like the wet, dull, grey, cold days-I am much more a fan of crisp, refreshing, invigorating sunny winter weather and today delivered just that! I did my Bontgoch-Tal y Bont-Borth loop to get a few easy hours in and got rather lost in the scenery (so to speak). A fresh, ruler straight, snow line on the hills further inland from maybe 900/1000ft up observed from nearly 800 ft really did warrant a pause...

Little bit of art for you Sir?

You may recognise the view from previous post photos as I do have a habit of stopping there quite a bit :/ Anyway, phone camera really doesn't do the view justice; it was piercingly clear and sharp and-well, a bit difficult to describe if I'm honest, but imagine brilliant winter sunshine combined with fresh coastal air. Yeah like that.

I am slightly in love with Bontgoch, if you ever get a chance to walk/ride/drive through on a nice day you will see why.

On a completely unrelated topic I am currently in the process of removing a massive oil stain left on my carpet after my in-room turbo session yesterday. (D'oh!) That'll teach me not to put anything under the turbo...I'm using white spirit (sparingly), so if I randomly post nonsensical nonsense or just never post again it's because I've either got high off the fumes...or the Uni Accomodation staff have found it and I'm in the Kühler. Gulp. ;D

In other news, I got two posters through the post yesterday. One of Mercx en jaune (bien sur) and the other of The Classic Anquetil-Poulidor Puy de Dôme duel. The latter is one of those shots I can look at for hours...a great example of what happens when suffering meets an iron Will. You can really get an impression for the fierce rivalry that existed between the two:

I love old cycilng photos like this. Black and White adds such an atmosphere.

Brush up on votre Francais! http://www.ina.fr/sciences-et-techniques/medecine-sante/video/I00007448/duel-poulidor-anquetil-au-puy-de-dome.fr.html

Speaking of Black and White!

Oooo depth of field.

Last photo for today, view towards Machynlleth (over the hill...kinda)

Hope you enjoyed today's pictorial edition. I just wish I'd had a proper camera with me to at least go some way to capturing some of the sheer visual feast presented to me!

Ciao.

Everyone Loves Spring!

2012-01-29T15:10:00.000-08:00

It's true. Just a shame today wasn't especially 'springlike'. The temperature never got above 3 degrees (we had a GarminMan with us, we knew exactly what the temperature was. And Gradient...'over to Wojtek for a Gradient check' is going to become a standard of our rides I am sure.)

But first, rewind 24 hours. Saturday morning. I met up with Max and Wotjek (new Uni cycling compatriots-awesome guys, say Hi if you see them) and as it was such a nice morning (sunny-no wind :O) we decided to take a trip to the seaside. That is to say we decided to leave our seaside town, and travel to a renowned coffee shop in another seaside town via a route that took in a seaside village. Imaginative or what?! Destination: Aberdovey which turned out to be ever so nice, and rather reminiscent of the latter stages of Milan-San Remo as Max pointed out. Just without the Poggio. Or Italian weather. But seriously, the road from Machynlleth to Aberdovey is one you have to ride at some point. Diary it, or write it down on a post it note and stick it to the mirror-you'll thank me sooner or later!

View from Aberdovey back towards Borth.

Same again, but from outside the cafe.

So yesterday was lovely, plus the parents were down for Friday/Saturday so I got a couple of free meals and a massive food shop done as well! Rather pleased about that...especially with the homemade crumble Mum brought with her :D that's going down an absolute treat...

But back to today. The forecast was for heavy rain pretty much all day. It didn't turn out quite that badly, but it wasn't exactly balmy. Like I said, sub 4 degrees for the whole ride climbing into snow showers, descending out of them, seeing ice, (thankfully) missing ice on the road, getting cold digits. In fact, allow me to elaborate on that last point. The last descent we did, involving about 1000ft of height loss in a few miles left us all lacking sensations in feet, hands, faces, brains...and I can honestly say I have never experienced pain like the pain I experienced when my fingers finally thawed out back in the flat. It was exccrrruuucciiiatttting. I'm not normally one to moan, it never achieves much. But fook me! That hurt! Of course in true student style we managed to make the ride a bit more interesting on the climb up to Nant-yr-Arian:

What more can I talk about...rather ran out of time to do stuff this evening as was sorting out a rather interesting purchase that should make training more in depth, more specific and give me more to talk about on here in the future. Watch this space ;D

Weekly Bullet Point List:

Less miles and hours than last week, which I think is due to post exam (which went well by the way!) feelings of euphoria/fatigue. Or maybe that's just an excuse. Either way! Felt a bit tired this week, but still got 10.5 hours in.
I now have my turbo with me. Which I am positive my flat mates will come to loath. I'll just have to be considerate when I use it I think!
Got some food for my Bonsai tree, but it doesn't look good :/
Ebay is addictive and should be banned. At least for half an hour every day.
Brain is starting to 'fart' instead of produce eloquent acts of writing awesomeness, so I'll call it a night there.

Winter Version 2.0

2012-01-22T13:05:00.000-08:00

Bet you've been waiting for this. 'I remember a post he did called Winter Version 1.0...how long until it becomes ver2.0?' well here it is! Nothing that exciting to be honest, first full week of the new training plan, went well...usual training babble! As I mentioned the other day I've started doing intervals again now and managed to recover sufficiently from Thursday's 'interesting' session to do another 3 days since then-so it's all good!

In need of sleep as a result of that-and still have an essay to finish off and revision to do (maybe tomorrow), so I'll leave you with:

Saturday's route-http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/35057862
Sunday's route was similar, except we took in the climb up to the Nant-y-Moch reservoir, so was about 13 miles longer.
Video from a selection I took on Saturday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-k25SehPh8&feature=g-upl&context=G2c5d799AUAAAAAAAAAA

So Stats for this week:

12 hours,
190miles
15.8mph average
Approximately 15,000ft of climbing (told you it was hilly!),
Roughly 150bpm average HR (maxed out at 197bpm a couple of times on hill efforts, sounds high-and it is-but still a good few below my maximum)

I won't be posting particulars of sessions up here obviously, but that should give you a rough idea of the week!

Couple of things I've realised;

even a 'recovery' ride round here seems to entail more climbing than a 'hilly training' ride back home.
It's sooo easy for average speed to drop. Especially when you have to climb back up a rather large hill, tired, at the end of a ride. The same one that you hurtled down with gleeful abandon, fresh, earlier in the day.
If your rear mudguard clip brakes within the first 10miles of a ride, you will want to rip the thing off and throw it asunder before the end.
Caffeine gels have no effect whatsoever on me. Which is a bit of a disappointment if I'm honest; took one as I ventured off alone into the wind for the last hour today and if anything it lowered my heart rate and made me go slow! Could be down to hydration, but I think I covered that. Oh well, best experiment with freeze dried coffee ;)

I'll be back next week, sans essay and revision and hopefully with the race bike here! Can't wait :D

Bonne nuit a tous.

Interval Exam Training

2012-01-19T14:59:00.000-08:00

I've started training properly again this week. Or at least, I've tried to. To be honest I've been trying to since the 1st of Jan but Uni work has rather got in the way. Still the case if I'm honest, but I've got my exam on Tuesday so latter half of next week should be good fun! No lectures, no work, no pressure :D Always important to get the priorities right as well, one thing I am not is a Pro! Cycling is a hobby (ok, passion verging on obsession) but that's all it is at the moment.

I tried to do a hilly interval session on Tuesday but was feeling a bit run down, I think it was the Uni equivalent of the sniffly 'back to school' bug that seems to circulate Primary Schools. Either way, it rather messed me up on Tuesday. I couldn't get my heart rate anywhere near what I needed and eventually crawled home to a phenomenal, competition creaming average speed of just over 13mph. So I had yesterday off, had a lie in (bliss) and resolved to try to do the planned session for today. Which I did. Long story short. 4 sets of sprint-ervals didn't seem like much of a task last summer...but boy was it interesting today. For a start it was windy, properly strong onshore wind and I'd chosen (ok not chosen as such-it's the only flat road around here) a coastal road. So that was fun. Unfortunately I didn't quite have the horsepower necessary to capitalise on the tailwind when it was there. Then there's the winter bike; which don't get me wrong is an awesome piece of kit-it just isn't made for sprinting. All that really just exacerbated the fact that I'm not sprint fit at all. By any stretch of the imagination. Riding shed loads of hills does wonders for your strength and threshold power but doesn't really do much for speed or those super short sharp efforts. The good news is, I can only go faster from now on-and progress is something we all like to see!

Also it was unseasonably warm today. I rode in a base layer, jersey and gilet and was too warm for a lot of the time. What's going on? Suppose it could just be the Aberystwyth Micro Climate again. I heard it hailed back home, so yeah...I'm not complaining!

Sorry this is brief, but I've still got an essay to be doing! I'll check in again at the weekend perhaps, plan on getting some ride footage with my handlebar camera again.

I hope you hang around for that :)

Revving It Up.

2012-01-09T13:19:00.000-08:00

Was back at the Manchester Velodrome on Saturday, sadly not riding but there to watch the latest round in the Revolution series. I was the lucky recipient of a pair of free tickets after I won a Twitter competition run by Richard @PedalPrecision. Not only was he kind enough to run the competition, he then went to a lot of trouble to help solve the potentially disastrous problem of the tickets being lost in the Christmas post! So many thanks to him, he really did a lot more to help than I've come to expect in situations like this. The racing itself was fast, furious, engaging-everything track racing should be! Saturday's round had the addition of a tandem omnium with 2 Brit pairs squaring off against 2 Dutch crews. Now that was fast. Really fast. My Mum and Dad ride a tandem (as did I when a was younger) so I know first hand how fast those things can go; but bugger me. A tandem match sprint is definitely something to put on your 'to see' list! Luckily there were no mishaps-as you can imagine-they can be a bit hairy:

It was also an opportunity to meet Mr.danoh1 and Mr.lougo98 and have a chat. They were kind enough to give me some food, which as any self respecting student will tell you, is never something to refuse. :D

Onto the second part of this rather interesting weekend. I met some team mates bright and early Sunday morning to ride into Preston to meet up with a group that normally does a ride from the Withy Trees pub. We ended up meeting the rest of the team there...and about 25 others. Honestly the biggest normal Sunday club run I think I've ever been on. Too big really, considering the traffic and road system up here. But still, always an experience being in a massive group. Good to see @1leecarter again as well, even if it was just to exchange a few words. I always find it weird riding with people you race against, all too easy to forget they ride normally as well!

I knew it was going to be a fairly big ride, as I'd already done an hour before getting to the Withy Trees and knew it would be at least the same again to get back-wasn't quite expecting it to be quite what it turned out to be though! Let's just say, name pretty much any decent sized hill in the Trough of Bowland area and we did it. Jubilee Tower, the Trough itself, Waddington Fell, Birdie Brow, Jeffrey Hill...quite a bit of climbing to say the least. The height gain itself is quite impressive, working out at over 4000ft vertical ascent but that coupled with the small group that forged on to tackle the second half of the ride after Dunsop Bridge made it sting a bit! It was good to to the Bowland climbs again, and it was...interesting...to finally do Birdie Brow. Those of you that know it will know why I chose that word. For those of you that don't, trust me when I say this (as someone who really rather likes climbing): it's horrible. Unrelentingly steep, it just goes on and on and on and on and on. It's been said it's reduced grown men to tears...or maybe that was just sweat, either would be applicable. Good to tick it off mentally though.

Oh I nearly forgot, we stopped at Bashall Barn for a break. Bit of a mistake that. We were wet and a bit cold and they appeared to have left the thermostat on low :( that wasn't my biggest problem though, £6 for a coffee and beans on toast!!! :O Now, I wouldn't complain if it was Cedar Farm level coffee, or the Best Beans on Toast ever (I do that by the way if you were wondering :D) but it wasn't. Sadly. Not even close. I'm not sure when toasting a (yes, one) slice of bread and dumping about 10 beans on it warranted charging £4, but I obviously missed the memo. Not impressed at all Bashall Barn. Big black mark against your name in my book. Speaking of which, how cool would it be to do a Beans on Toast almanac? I could tour the cafes of the world (or is it just an English thing?! Say it ain't true!) and grow old and fat off the royalties! Or not. Probably not. Where was I? Ah yes, Bashall Barn. To be honest, Hugh did get a decent looking bowl of soup, but where's the fun in soup? Exactly :(

Garmin file here courtesy of the Soupmeister himself: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/139962358 I completed 102.20 miles in 6:07 minutes. Pretty decent average considering the climbing involved, it only dropped below 17mph for the last couple of hours. Good way to kick start the body again after an easy week. One thing's for sure, I appreciated my lie in this morning, and was very glad I didn't have to be in work or college bright and early this morning like some people (naming no names of course) :D

Did I mention we got rained on for about 4 hours? Nope? Well we did. I'm honestly not surprised, I feel somehow cheated if I don't return with soggy socks these days. I'd love to mention the impressive vistas that we were treated to on the tops, but sadly the weather had other ideas and visibility was down to maybe 30 feet or so for much of the ride :/ But all in all a very enjoyable ride, and special thanks to Routemaster Hugh for the second half!

Weekend Summary:

Samosas eaten: 1
Essays finished: 1 (Yay!)
Beans eaten: Approximately 15. Pah. Can you tell that's narked me off?
Brand new brake blocks worn: 2 (seriously, brand new Sunday morning, nearly fully worn by the end of the ride. That's winter eh folks!)
Fellow riders without mudflaps: Too many! They know who they are ¬_¬ (seriously, it's just plain antisocial)
Number of Pannier Rack assisted tows given: 1. (Good resistance training that, worth further investigation :P)

Sadly no pictures/video or anything other than words from this weekend, oversight on my part and I apologise. I'm back down to Aberyswyth on Thursday, so expect lots of ride footage coming your way!

Ciao.

I Met Jesus

2011-12-30T13:03:00.000-08:00

Or at least I expected to out on Tarleton Moss yesterday. The weather was Biblical. I half expected to see our Bearded Saviour himself cruising along some of the puddles they were that big. Or at the very least somebody laying the first timbers of an ark.

You see, yesterday was the long awaited 'Biketreks RT+Me+Simon' reunion ride and nosh up. We'd first mooted the idea a few months ago when we realised how much we'd enjoyed the 'social' aspect of the racing season-as in sitting around in the HQ before the races and just chatting about how much it was going to hurt, what lap 'x' was going to attack and solo to victory or what lap 'y' was going to be dropped. You know, usual banter :)

I was to get to Simon's for sometime before 10am, and I nearly succeeded. A combination of getting slightly lost and the stop-start nature of being dumped on by massive rain clouds resulted in a slightly inaccurate journey time estimation. They were the sort of rain showers that were that heavy I had to stop and put my jacket on to avoid getting completely soaked-and then stop and take it off again about 5 minutes later once the rain stopped and I started to get slightly hot (read: boil in the bag symptoms). I arrived to find Nic and John of Biketreks RT fame already enjoying Simon's hospitality. I plonked my slightly damp, not so lost self down on a couch and thought: 'how bizarre. They've not got cycling kit on'. A slightly irrational thought given the circumstances-they had driven down and can't be expected to live in lycra! It's funny really, I get to know people on the bike and it's almost like my brain says 'I decree that these people are not allowed to be 'normal'. They must always be holding a bicycle and be wearing lycra and a helmet' Ignore me, I've just done a ramp test. Lactic acid does funny things to one's brain.

Anyway, so we went for a ride. It was wet. It was windy. Seems to be a recurring theme, I should probably rename this blog 'I ride in wet and windy conditions and then tell everyone about how wet and windy it was whilst pretending I enjoyed it'. Or not. No, it was seriously windy yesterday. And we decided to go out on Tarleton Moss for a few miles. That was fun. Not so much echelons, more each person's bike at an angle sufficient so that if we had wanted to we could have 'stacked' up whilst riding along. If that doesn't make sense, just trust me when I say it was windy :D
It was still an enjoyable outing though, we introduced the Biketreks Duo to Ashurst Beacon, Moss winds, Wigan drivers and all that good stuff. Well I enjoyed it anyway! Even if my jacket weighed about double what it normally does by the end of it thanks to the rain. The best bit was when we got back we not only had the intense satisfaction of returning to a warm house-but we had food! Simon had done a homemade Quorn (yours truly appreciated that!) Chilli. It was, as I am sure Nic and John will attest, awesome. Not sure a critic would describe food as 'awesome'-but this was. So food, some more breeze shooting, putting the world to rights, discussing how the 1988 Giro stage over the Gavia Pass had nothing on today (yesterday)'s weather:

Ok, maybe that is a slight exaggeration.

So to summarise, great to see Nic and John again and sorry it wasn't much of a way to experience the roads round here!

I had my camera with me yesterday and filmed the first few miles of the ride...until it started to rain properly. Then I managed to get it out of it's bracket and into my pocket without stopping or, more importantly, dropping it! Considering the diminutive size of the thing, and the fact that I was wearing gloves, I'd say that was an achievement personally:

In other news, did a ramp test today. While I won't disclose the actual value achieved (that's secret ;D) it was about 10% higher than the last one I did in May last year. And the Watts/Kg value was more than a little surprising! In a good way.
Oh and I stumbled across this earlier, some rather useful (if old UI wise) programs: http://www.machinehead-software.co.uk/index.html worth a look!

Follow the cast of today's post:

And with that I bid you a good rest of 2011!

Ho Ho Ho Cough Cough Cough

2011-12-26T12:00:00.000-08:00

Boxing Day's great isn't it? Lie in...fiddle with presents, eat a big lunch of leftover Christmas Dinner, maybe watch a film, eat some more and generally just chill out. Sadly, cyclists seem to not understand this version of Boxing Day. We seem to inhabit an alternate Universe were non-white Christmasses are the dream and Christmas Dinner is seen as the ultimate Carbo-loading opportunity. To make it even more bizarre, we often go out on Christmas day itself. Or Boxing Day. Or if we're really keen, both. Judging by the looks I got off some pedestrians today, they must have thought I was 'keen'. Boxing Day Time Trials/Comedy Races/Group Rides are a bit of a tradition, with many long running events being found up and down the country. Whether or not this is true for Southport CC I am unsure, but one thing I do know is that this is my 3rd Christmas with the club, and I've done two Boxing Day TTs in that time. First one I came Nth. Which translates roughly as I can't remember. Last year it was called off due to 'weather'. Not just any weather, proper Northern Winter weather. Just as well really, I wouldn't have been able to get down my road let alone get myself to Southport and do a TT.

This morning I got up, bummed around killing time for a bit 'I've got loads of time' I said to myself. Error. It was windy. Very windy. Exceptionally windy. 25mph gusts or something. And I had to get myself out over the Moss to Southport. To those of you who don't know the Moss, trust me, you do not want to have a strict time frame in which to drag yourself across on a day like today. Well, I got a good warm up anyway that's for sure!

The Bike was looking particularly festive today, in addition to the Tinsel that has been hanging around for a couple of weeks now it was today sporting a rather fetching set of Tesco Battery powered Fairy Lights. Sadly (or not?) it was too sunny to see them. Sadface. I calculated that these modifications would probably cost me at least 5 Watts over the distance, so decided to offset that loss by wearing my skinsuit. Tongue ever so slightly in cheek there. But I actually did wear the skinsuit; largely because I've only worn it twice and wanted to wear it again, and it does feel fast. What can I say? Marginal gains central here.

So to the competition (I don't like calling TTs races, but that's just me). It was windy. Oh boy was it windy. Boyohboyohboyohboy was it windy. You get the picture. That translated roughly into PAIN on the way out and PAIN on the way back. Basic TT equation really. Human Engine+Bike+TT=PAIN. I must admit though, the return leg was completed rather faster than the outward. A steady 33mph compared to a steady 18-20. So yeah, posted the fastest time, tasted blood, coughed a bit, admired some Christmas Bike Porn, was happy. Tested out my new Christmas Pressie as well! I got a mini bike camera-y thingy. Prepare yourselves for some ride video bombardment :D Good morning's work! A win is a win as they say...

Yuletide Thoughts:

Felt good to do my first proper effort on the bike for a few months, pleased to say there was more than a little there to be used!
If you want to go faster, just add Tinsel.
Thorntons Chocolate Reindeer do not put up much of a fight, mine was destroyed in less than 2 minutes yesterday.
Black Country Communion on Vinyl (Pressie from me to my Dad...that I will directly benefit from as well :D) sounds even better than on CD (predictably).

Oh I almost forgot, I got a Bonsai tree for Christmas! How cool is that? Love it :D

Hope everyone has had/is having a good holiday/Christmas/Booze-up/Film overload/Lego Construction marathon etc.

It's nearly 2012. Let's make the most of what's left of 2011!

It's Chriiisssttmmaaaaasssss

2011-12-24T08:31:00.000-08:00

First off, I apologise for the lack of pictures or anything other than text-I wasn't best prepared for this one. Soz if it's a bit boring.

Christmas. It's true. It's that time of year again. Sellotape, tinsel, Santa hats, mince pies, Yule Logs (of the chocolate and other kind), dodgy jumpers, socks and family time. The only time of the year when it's considered acceptable for old men with big bushy beards to sit small children on their laps and say 'So Billy, have you been a good boy this year?'. I mean that would just be weird at any other time. I must admit it works though, I asked one of those Santas in Formby Garden Centre for a Scalextric set one Christmas many years ago and lo and behold there it was under the tree come the 25th! No coincidence that my Dad had just as much fun with it as I did for the next month :D

I've been home now for nearly a week. Not achieved much, slept a bit, done a few rides with my good friend Simon. Ate some cake, got drunk on the Squadra night out. Got a trophy for 'Mechanical Genius/Best Excuse of the year 2011'. I would elucidate and enlighten you, but it would make you laugh at my expense.

Oh all right then. Horwich Festival of Racing some time in June (the week before my first win as it happens), Cat 2,3,4 Crit. Not a bad course, one 90degree bend that had one guy fail to even attempt to deviate from going straight on. Not recommended. Especially at the front of a big bunch. But yeah, loads of potholes (it is Lancashire after all) about halfway through I felt (or at least thought I felt) the bike fishtail a bit coming out of a bend after a big bang. Felt exactly, and you'll know what I mean, like a rather dramatic quick loss of air from the rear tyre. So I stopped. Checked it, nothing...and I was now off the back. And then I remembered you could take a lap out for mechanicals in the pits. FACEPALM. That did not go down well with The Boss let me tell you. I knew it would come back to haunt me.

So what do I have to say about training/riding at the moment? Not much really, winding down a bit in anticipation of January. Where it all gets serious. I have noticed though that the hills round here are a lot smaller than I remember. They're not necessarily easier (ok, they are), but I'm just at a different level to before I went to Aber. I've only been riding there properly since the start of November...which leaves me rather looking forward to what will happen over the next few months when I start doing more than just going out and riding for 3 or 4 hours a few times a week.

Got the Southport CC Boxing Day '10' coming up on...Boxing day. Last time it was on (cancelled 'cos of ice last year) it was a 10km one. But apparently it could be a full 10mile 10 this year. Savage with the wind that'll undoubtedly be coming off the sea. I've still got my tinsel on my bike, might put some battery powered fairy lights on as well just to brighten it up a bit :D Rather tempted to wear my skinsuit under my thermal stuff. Partly just to wear it again, (only used it for 3 events this year) but also for the comedy factor: rider in skinsuit, winter bike with tinsel and fairy lights. Would hopefully show how I'm not taking it tooo seriously...having said that, competition is competition.

So for my weekly 'Things I've learned this week' sum up:

Cedar Farm coffee shop does seriously good coffee.
A full 3 course Pizza Express meal seems DECADENT after a month of student living. Was rather nice mind.
Southport Moss winds have not decreased in strength/intensity while I've been away.
If you get a bunch of cyclists together, and then get them drunk, they will constantly refer to Gianni Bugno's 1991 season. I'm not sure why, but then again the only thing I was doing around that time was being born.
Mr.Nickson a.k.a The Boss/The Don will remember all the embarassing gaffs his riders make and remind everyone else about them in a scathing, inventive but ultimately good natured way.
I really need to wrap my Christmas presents earlier next year.

I hope you have a good Christmas, wherever you are, whatever you do. Eat lots, drink lots, be happy, appreciate what you have all year round not just what you get as presents, get out somehow on Christmas day/Boxing day and soak up the lack of traffic (ignoring the Boxing Day sales traffic-but those people don't really count in my eyes ;D). And don't forget to watch the Queen and The Great Escape.

Joyeux Noel and a Ho Ho Ho to you all.

On Looking My Flandrian Best.

2011-12-17T06:22:00.000-08:00

Apparently I failed in my attempt to 'Look my Flandrian Best' today as per the Velominati: http://www.velominati.com/blog/look-pro/look-pro-flandrian-best/ I wore my lobster gloves and thermal tights with stirrups. But do you know what? I don't care. I had toasty warm fingers for the whole ride for the first time in months, and I'd like to say warm legs as well-but sadly that would be a lie. It must be said however that had I been wearing the shorts/knee warmers combo as it is suggested-I would probably still be up on the top of some cold snowy Welsh hill right now with legs resembling blue blocks of ice.

If I had to summarise today's 2 and a half hours I would use the following words: snow, slush, hail, sun, wind, atmospheric, cold, isolation, thought provoking, cake. You can see the route here: http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/31418801 It took in part of the local Tour of the Mining Valleys Road Race circuit, including the (in)famous '49er' finishing climb. Can't wait to race up it let me tell you. Below is a selection of shots taken on the main valley road:

Above is a short video taken on the same road. It was quite windy. The road was quite noisy due to all the slushy haily snowy stuff, so feel free to turn the volume down if you so wish ;)

Once properly up on the tops, there was that much slushy stuff on the road my speed ended up close to the 10mph region than the usual 20mph region...as it turned out, if there was any ice there I didn't come across it-but better safe than crumpled in a heap against a Welsh fence somewhere! It was properly wintery up there though, nice and festive :)

This is approaching the top of the '49er'.

Rather wish I'd had a proper camera with me :(

Luckily the Nant-yr-Arian cafe was open upon my arrival today, so I treated myself to coffee and a flapjack.

Got to have a shot of the food now haven't we?

Tomorrow is the planned Ystwyth CC 'Xmas Run' up to Dinas Mawdwy, Bwlch y Groes and then back via Dolgellau. Should be interesting providing the roads are clear; as from what I hear, it's a bit of a monster. Interestingly, Bill Nickson Snr (side note: I race for the Bill Nickson Cycles RT) won the 1976 Milk Race that went over the Bwlch.

That's Bill in yellow. Back in the days when men were men. And shorts were 'chafy' (or so my Dad says)

Legend has it that Bill climbed it in 53-15. Or something. Wouldn't surprise me.

No matter what happens I'll be out at some point tomorrow for my last ride round here before going back home for a few weeks of Xmas R&R, eating and essay writing.

Watch out for a video of some clips I took whilst out the other day...should be up when Windows Movie Maker decides to stop being an arse. So maybe make yourself a cup of tea.

Thanks for reading!

Weather.

2011-12-11T09:42:00.001-08:00

I have experienced lots of weather this weekend. You name it, and any associated sensations, and I've put up with it, enjoyed it, struggled through it, cursed it or just ignored it. Yesterday was a properly wintery day with all that entailed and today was distinctly damp. In fact, after experiencing what I did today I am moved to say it was perhaps (at times) one of the most acutely unpleasant rides in recent memory.

Let me make one thing clear, I like rain. In fact, within reason, I can think of nothing nicer than a nice leisurely pedal on a damp day for accentuating all the things that I love about cycling. Today however was not so much damp; more, what fell from the sky felt like the overflow from the good Lord himself having an energetic scrub in an over filled bath. Slightly dodgy metaphor, but we'll stick with it.

I awoke with the intention of doing the Ystwyth CC Sunday club run. I looked out of my window at 8am and quite quickly realised there would probably not be anyone foolish enough to venture out, at least not for 9am. It was bathing it down (to continue the metaphor). Not 'chucking', not 'bucketing', not 'throwing'. No, it was 'bathing' it down. 'No problem', I thought, I'll just wait an hour or so and go and do a few hours on my own when it dies down. Sadly it didn't look like it was easing, so I decided to waterproof myself as much as possible and brave the conditions; after all, as I said to myself-'it's only water!' What I hadn't reckoned on was that this was Welsh water. Renowned for being just that bit colder and wetting than normal English water (or at least, that's what I'm led to believe). I was kitted out in my good old Lusso 'Max Repel' tights (they used to be water repellent. Not any more. As I later found out), my newly acquired Craft waterproof jacket, Endura Merino Wool vest and PRO Neoprene overshoes. Can't beat a bit of product placement eh? A pretty solid setup, or so I thought. To be fair though, I think only a full body Dry Suit would have done the job today. Basically, I got about 2 mins away from home and my legs were soaked and cold. Everywhere else fine, but legs cold. Never a good way to start a ride. It's (largely) unavoidable though as anyone who has cycled in the wet will understand; as soon as anything skintight gets wet it soaks straight through and then obviously makes whatever area of skin underneath rather wet and cold. Luckily, the affected areas went quite numb within about 10 mins, so I wasn't quite so aware. Although that did mean that for the rest of the ride, whenever I reached anything more than a slight gradient (which was most of it) I had that wonderfully horrible feeling of very cold muscles labouring to work and slowly and painfully warming up; only to chill again as soon as the road pointed down. As for my feet, well they lasted a bit longer; it was at least 15 mins until water began to soak downwards through the tights and pool in the shoes. I then had that lovely sensation of water sloshing around my feet whenever I changed pedalling angle. To be fair though, my jacket did put up a spirited defence, and I only noticed slight water ingress on the arms once I got back. Which is quite impressive given how wet it got. I'm not even going to mention my gloves. Even with squeezing them out multiple times mid ride, they still felt like they weighed about a Kilogram when I got back.

None of this will be new to anyone who rides in the rain, and it isn't knew to me either. To be completely honest, the first half of the ride was actually not too bad. I got rather wet rather quickly, but knew I couldn't really get any more wet-so figured I might as well make the most of it! I took a wrong turning however that sent me up a previously unknown but fiendishly steep side road that had me rather wet inside the jacket as well by the top. Nice. Unfortunately, the top was a farmer's gate. So I had to turn around. That's when things got really uncomfortable. Up to that point, my speed hadn't really gone that high-maybe maximum 22-24mph. Howling down this descent at 30-35mph and trying to keep on top of the speed (it really is amazing just how long it takes to slow down in the wet) I became rather aware of just how fecking cold the wind was. By the time I reached the bottom, I had altered my previous plan of climbing up to the Nant-Y-Moch reservoir and going to the Nant-Yr-Arian cafe (I was certain I'd find a table today!) and instead set my mental GPS for home. It was grim. My legs were so cold every rise was a bottom gear affair, and I was on the small ring (bearing in mind I'm on a compact as well) at times on the flat. Not good. I can deal with cold fingers, I'm used to that normally (I'm convinced I'm actually cold blooded). I can deal with cold feet. I can deal with cold ears. None of those directly hamper your efforts to keep moving. Properly deeply chilled legs however are a different story.

And now for something completely different to break this up a bit:

What a dude.

So anyway, I got back, managed an hour and a half in total and then had one of those showers that feels like it's burning you. You know what I mean, it's hot-but you're cold, and it feels too hot but somehow cold at the same time. Since then, I have eaten lunch, snacked, slept, snacked again, had a cup of tea (that's a first for me) generally done sod all. I reckon it's yesterday catching up with me, a deep rooted desire to graze and sleep that I'm quite happy to satisfy! I'm not complaining, it's all part of the fun! Pushing yourself and your limits and then enjoying the after effects!

I've also realised I eat a lot of money. To illustrate, as my flatmates will testify, I eat a lot. My dinner tonight consisted of 200g of pasta, a veg stir fry, pitta bread, a bag of salad, 2 cookies, 2 welsh cakes and a bowl of yoghurt. I bought most of that stuff today. Not very economical. But very satisfying it must be said!

So for my blog-postial sum up:

Welsh roads are still awesome.
If you go out in the rain expecting to get wet, you will get wet. No amount of fancy clothing will prevent that.
I need a bigger room. I've got that much kit strewn around, hanging up, drying out etc it would take me at least 5 mins to navigate my way to the door in the event of a fire.
Tinsel doesn't rust.
Mudguards are a winter cyclist's best friend.
This has been a rather dour, serious post. So here are some Yorkshireman jokes to make up for it:

Yorkshire man takes his cat to the vet.

Yorkshireman: "Ayup, lad, I need to talk to thee about me cat."

Vet: "Is it a tom?"

Yorkshireman: "Nay, I've browt it wi us."

A Yorkshireman's wife dies and the widower decides that her headstone should have the words "She were thine" engraved on it.
He calls the stone mason, who assures him that the headstone will be ready a few days after the funeral.
True to his word the stone mason calls the widower to say that the headstone is ready and would he like to come and have a look.

When the widower gets there he takes one look at the stone to see that it's been engraved "She were thin".

He explodes: "'ells bells man, you've left the bloody "e" out, you've left the bloody "e" out!"

The stone mason apologises profusely and assures the poor widower that it will be rectified the following morning.

Next day comes and the widower returns to the stone mason: "There you go sir, I've put the "e" on the stone for you".

The widower looks at the stone and then reads out aloud:

"E, she were thin".

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. And next time you're out driving and you see a soggy cyclist going the other way, spare a thought :)

Cwmystwyth Adventure

2011-12-10T12:53:00.001-08:00

Well. Quite a ride today. Or perhaps I should call it an 'adventure', as this was not your ordinary 'bike ride'. No, this had it all. 30 minute climbs, short sharp gradients, wind, snow, ice, sleet, rain, sun, moors, woodland, wildlife, desolation, isolation, suicidal sheep, lakes, chocolate spread sandwiches, cafe stops that didn't quite work out, mars bars, numb fingers and many of those moments where you suddenly realise the insignificance of humans in certain areas of the world. Yep, this was a Ride among rides. I am sat here munching on some cheese and biscuits in my ongoing attempt to refuel. So if I suddenly stop writing (not that you'll know), I'm having a nibble. Do excuse the interruption.

I suppose I'd better start from the beginning (always helps eh?). My Dad has been saying for AGES that I need to ride through the Mystic Cwmystwyth 'It'll be the best thing you've ever done' 'It'll beat the pants off the so called roads back home' (Ok, those may not be his exact words-in any shape or form, but you get the idea). So I decided to do it today. I did myself an extra round of toast this morning (you read correctly! Pushing the boat out there!) and rather made a chocolate spread sandwich to take with me that Mother would have been proud of. I would have done the old Audaxers favourite Jam butty but didn't have any jam :( life of a student eh? I knew I'd be traversing some pretty remote proper Upland roads, so I put my waterproof in a plastic bag (no shortage of initiative here) and strapped it onto my pannier rack and managed to avoid taking too much tinsel off. Did I mention my bike now sports some rather fetching silver tinsel? Yup. Mr Festive or what? Anyway. So yeah, I took the main road out of Aber and headed deep into the heart of Wales...or at least I did after getting up to Nant-Yr-Arian. 20 minutes of climbing from cold, wrapped up in full winter gear. Yeah, you get the picture :/ bit 'damp' to say the least.

So I eventually climbed into the snow line, or above the snow line. Or through it? Whatever. This was a bit unexpected and a bit unnerving as I knew I was going to be going a lot higher later on! With this there came a new level of chilliness and I soon couldn't feel my fingers. Luckily, I'd also brought a nice pair of liner gloves with me just in case! Quick stop sorted that problem, and before I knew it it was onto the main road heading in the direction of Rhayader. I don't remember much about the 10 miles before Rhayader as I was feeling a little grim. My back was a bit sore/cold/stiff, my fingers were numb again, I couldn't feel my face (it was only after my shower after getting back that I became convinced it was still there and hadn't dropped off somewhere) and my legs hurt. All in all a little worse for wear! I blame Pilates on Wednesday, soothing and comfortable my arse! Those weird movements and stretches left me feeling a little battered this week. Good workout though, I recommend giving it a go, especially as it really works the areas cycling neglects.

Finished my cheese and biscuits :( was perhaps a little optimistic expecting them to last the whole of this session.

So yeah, Rhayader. I stopped in a bus shelter for 10 mins to give my back a rest, eat my butties and avoid a little rain shower. It was at this point that I realised I'd already done over 2 hours and hadn't even got onto the meaty filling of the ride yet. Rhayader is a lovely place, well worth a visit if you're around here. Holidayed there many a time in my yoof-and throughly enjoyed it! So then I joined the road signposted 'Aberystwyth Mountain Road'. This was more like it. I'd ridden parts of it before when I was about 10, on a mountain bike, in about 30 degree heat. It couldn't have been more different today. The actual climb out of the town is really quite severe, climbing about 1000ft in maybe a mile? Anyway, I had to weave quite a bit unfortunately-although not as a result of being tired, more in an effort to avoid the various icy patches! That was slightly ominous.

The view back from the top of the initial climb.

Then it was along the top of the mountain road and then down towards the Elan valley (kinda)-again, really nice place and well worth a visit if you're ever around.

The view from the top of the mountain road, snow capped peak in the distance. I think. Camera is a bit sh*t. Could be a smudge for all I know!

I was stood there snapping away, turned, saw that and thought: hey that's coming this way. It was Snleety hain. Yep, snow, sleet, hail and rain all mixed up. Very strange.

What can I say about the next bit; it was a bit 'grippy' at times. Big patches of stuff that looked like ice, and sometimes turned out to be such, but more often than not were just water. Bit hairy. There are some truly phenomenal roads though around there though:

Let's hear it for Google Street view!

And again! Weather wasn't that good today...

Ideally, I'd copy and paste all the Google street view images, but that would probably be a fairly major copyright infringement in some form or another. Anyway, I highly suggest you have a look at this in street view, and travel along the B4518 a bit to just get an impression of how amazingly remote it is up there. Rhayader in google.
Here's another pilfered shot, just descending into Cwmystwyth properly:

Ride safe indeed.

Unfortunately I found the headwind once I got into the valley, soooo it was quite a chore to get down. Saw some frighteningly low numbers on the speedo, but then again-it was a stupendously strong wind. Honest.

Pic Overload. Some of the old mine workings in Cwmystwth.

Looking back the way I came.

Sun!

I was acutely aware of suddenly being among trees and 'proper' grass again at some point. Interestingly, the wind dropped, the temperature picked up-and so did my spirits! I had survived the legendary Cwmystwyth! Ok, so I'm probably making a much bigger deal of it than is absolutely necessary, but it really has to be experienced to be appreciated. After that it was a simple matter of getting back to Devil's Bridge and then potentially the biggest decision of the day:

Go left, and be back home in about 30-40 mins. Or go right, and get to a cafe in about 30-40 mins.

Bearing in mind at this point I was on about 50 miles, and a good 3 1/2 hours. I went for the cafe option :D as, I said to myself as I made the turn, I would subsequently be able to do more, maybe another hour or so after the stop-thus nullifying any adverse training effects of cake. (as if there are any I hear you cry!). Long story short, I got back to the Nant-Yr-Arian cafe...only to find there were no tables free inside :( and to make matters worse, they had no chocolate cake! :O I hung aroud in the queue for about 10 mins looking forlorn and cold (which wasn't that hard to be frank) hoping some nice old couple would offer me their table and maybe buy me some lunch-but alas, to no avail. Instead I bought a take out coffee and a Mars bar. Rock and roll. I downed the coffee in about 5 minutes outisde, nearly making myself choke in the process; why is the stuff in the bottom of the cup always so much hotter than the rest? And set off again. I decided to add another loop that's quickly becoming a favourite of mine, going up onto the hill tops again out of Ponterwyd to Penrhyn Goch via the Pendam reservoir. None of that will make any sense to 90% of you I'm sure, but just so you know :) I got to Penrhyn Goch and decided I may as well chuck another loop in. This one goes through Bontgoch. A truly gorgeous valley, literally 5 miles out of Aber. I've done it every time I've been out this week it's that good. Interestingly, the timer ticked over 5 hours at this point-and in all honesty I felt waaaay better at this point than I had in the first two hours! My slow and steady build up of training load over the past few weeks seems to have worked-as this was without a doubt the hardest 84 miles I've done route/terrain wise-but paradoxically probably the easiest in terms of actually riding them. Bodes well eh. Shame there aren't many 5 hour 3rd Cat races.

Just about to descend into Bontgoch.

The reverse view of above: back down towards the sea, Aber off to the left out of view.

So then I went home. Chucked in a sprint or two-I am training after all. Felt good. Lay on my bed for about half an hour afterwards feeling rather empty. Funny how you can feel fine up to the point where you stop riding. Suppose the easy answer is just not to stop! Or not.

So 84 miles in 5 and a half hours. Some of the most remote and quite frankly epic roads I've ever done. This wasn't just a training ride, this was an adventure.

Vital Statistics and other stuff:

Food consumed; 1 chocolate spread sandwich, 1 'Honey Stinger' Strawberry Waffle thing-Gorgeous, give them a try, 1 Mars Bar, 1 cup of coffee (that counts right?).
Kit shortcomings noted: cold ears, numb face, cold wrists, chilly chest in full on wind at times, cold ankles (bizarrely, even though I had shoe covers on).
Stops: 15 mins in Rhayader bus shelter. 20 mins at Nant-Yr-Arian cafe (10 of those spent in queue ¬_¬), many hours fiddling with my phone to get it to take pictures with numb fingers.
Suicidal sheep count: 2.
Insignificance in the Bigger Picture realisation count: 1.
Lights taken with me:3.
Lights used:3.
Time spent writing this piece that could have been better utilised sleeping or eating or something: 1 hour.

And I leave you with this thought: 'It truly is by bicycle that one really understands, experiences and bears witness to a landscape. You cannot intimately know or appreciate the true nature of an area until you have cycled through it'.

I came up with that believe or not, right then. And with that I'm off to find some more food and sleep.

Wind.

2011-12-08T14:25:00.001-08:00

It's windy at the moment here in Aber. It's also rather windy elsewhere in the UK according to reports; although as anyone who has lived here will tell you-it is sometimes easy to forget there is a world outside of Aberystwyth. Nice place, worth a visit. Good roads. However, it is definitely not as windy as below:

Speaking of good roads...actually, I don't have enough time to go into detail on that subject! Safe to say, for someone used to the population density and topography of the North West the roads down here are truly wonderful to witness on two wheels. I'm beginning to find my way (so to speak) now, and have enough routes in my mental GPS for me to do some decent hours on my own now. Last week I did almost as many hours as I was doing mid season, which was a bit of a surprise when I totted them up. It seems the key at this time of year is to not rush it, to build up gradually and not push too hard too soon. Looking back over the weekly totals, that's exactly what I've been doing over the past 3/4 weeks. Interestingly, I've hit my summer race weight again. Which is yet another surprise, as I'm not doing anything other than eating fairly well (and enjoying it I might add :D) and riding my bike! Lost a good 1.5-2kg since late November, so I'm not complaining there. If only the power was there eh ;)

I spent £5 on decorations in Poundland yesterday, I've got a mini tree, some tinsel (put some on my bike as well) and a sneaky set of fairy lights. I say sneaky, as they're technically not allowed in Uni accommodation. Scrooges. I've got 3 language assessments next week, then the parents are coming down for a few days and then it's back home for Crimbo! Really quite looking forward to:

Showing the 'rents some of the roads down here
Going home
Christmas
Mother-made food
Seeing everyone back home again

It is interesting just how much being away from places/people etc makes you appreciate them! Awwwww.

Oh and I seem to be developing a mild toast addiction. Can't seem to get enough of the stuff. Need some more cake stops. That'll sort it.

Things I've learnt since I last posted:

Average speed means nothing round here. Scenery and hills are much more important.
Porridge+granola+sultanas+omega mix+honey followed by toast=Best Breakfast Ever.
Flatmates can (supposedly) come in rather drunk at some godforsaken hour and shout 'let's see if John's awake...JOOOHHHNNNN' without causing me to break my slumber. Awesome.
A 1 hour German lesson can (and sometimes will) turn into 40 minutes of Maths while the lecturer bravely attempts to explain the marking and grading system to 20 languages students. 'Well you see, we mark out of 85% when it's actually 100%. So your mark is out of 100%, but we change it to out of 85% for your grade. What do you mean that doesn't make any sense?'
Buying Xmas presents for the family will make your eyes water when you see the total, but is is definitely worth it. Much prefer spending on others...guilt free!
Listening to Heavy Metal just before going to bed is perhaps not the best way to mentally prepare, but it works surprisingly well.
Pilates can hurt. In strange places you thought couldn't hurt.
I need to plan these posts beforehand, as I always seem to end up rambling.

So I'll leave you with these guys I came across earlier in the week. They're Danish, they play guitars and sing and I really rather like their style. You may not, but why not have a listen and see?

A bientôt.

Winter Version 1.0

2011-11-27T13:50:00.001-08:00

Well it's started. My winter campaign is underway and I am now into the second week of what I have dubbed Winter 1.0. It was nice to have a few weeks off after the Nationals, and by off I mean have three or four caramel slice runs in my week back home (one of them was a double as well, slightly gluttonous) and then do a 7 hour epic with the Southport CC. Hmm. I hadn't expected it to be quite as long as it was, but it was great fun-new roads, big group, real sense of actually travelling somewhere as opposed to just doing endless loops. Have a look at the report here: http://southportcc.co.uk/ClubRuns.html

Those 3 weeks of beer, curries and chocolate passed rather quickly and I had originally intended to only start Winter 1.0 in December; but a Saturday club run with the Ystwyth club, a few spritely fellow students and resident Team UK Youth Pro Gruff Lewis gave my body an unexpected but not unwelcome kick start last week...so I figured why not start now! I'd been getting a bit bored forcing myself to not ride too much and was really rather looking forward to getting back in the routine and eating properly again. Sunday was a bit dodgy though, a combination of having shredded legs after around 3,000 ft of fast climbing on the Saturday (and the distance, a modest 68 miles-but these are Welsh miles. I.E. nothing flat) meant I was swinging a bit after about 20 miles. It wasn't helped by having the resident Aberystwyth GearMonster being the only other one out on the post club dinner ride...(think Bert Grabsch cadence and gear choice and you've got a good comparison).

I knew I'd seen him somewhere before...

Normally I would have relished such a motor-pacing opportunity, (22-23mph into a headwind on a rolling road anyone?) but not last Sunday. Long story short, still did nearly 60 miles, very nearly got the fringale, cursed my Uni accomodation being at the top of a f**k off big hill, napped, felt like sh*t for the rest of the day, slept like a log, felt great come Tuesday's night ride!

These two weekends have largely followed the same template: Saturday, feel good then not so good. Sunday, feel ok then definitely not good. Luckily this week both days were more 'good' than 'not so good'. I could definitely feel the benefits of last weeks unpleasantness. It is interesting how quickly I feel the fatigue now though, I can go from feeling comfortable to struggling in less than 15 mins. Very strange. But then again, I wasn't expecting to start winter with anything approaching race fitness! So yeah, looking forward to seeing what two months of this does!

Things I've learned recently:

A cup of Big Maggy's coffee is perfect for getting a tired and weary John back home over a couple of nasty 25% gradients at the end of a ride.
Welsh roads=FANTASTIC
Flat roads and 'recovery rides' are a relatively alien concept to Aberystwyth cyclists ;)
I am very glad I specced my winter bike with a compact chainset! Need it round here...
If you put me in the position where I can buy cake in a cafe, even though I am now 'training' I will buy said cake.
Merino wool base layers can take a lot before they begin to smell or feel nasty-student's best friend!
I am already sick of washing all my cycling kit in my sink and then having it drip dry for days on my airer in the middle of my room :/
I now need a lot more sleep than your average student.
And more food.
I really should go to the Uni library more often.

Speaking of winter miles, interesting riding companions and cake have a look at this, I expect you'll find it rather amusing: http://traumradfahren.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/base-miles-in-winter-base-on-base-off/

That is the end of tonight's stream of consciousness.

Fin.

Season Review Part 2.

2011-11-25T12:48:00.001-08:00

Then I started at the University of Aberystwyth. And thesecond weekend I was there, did the Fibrax-Wrexham RC Open Hill Climb up theHorseshoe Pass in Llangollen. I went into this just as the dreaded ‘Fresher’sFlu’ kicked in, and awoke the morning of the competition with a horrendouslythick and catarrhy head. Still after a decent warm up I didn’t feel too bad. Ihad been seeded 87^th out of 90. I did what I still believe to be a‘perfect’ ride. Got the pacing spot on, gearing just high enough and emptiedmyself sprinting for the line. I was pleased my pacing was accurate, as we’donly driven up it the day before and I hadn’t had time to ride it. I placed 3^rd,17 seconds behind Richard Handley (Team Raleigh-lovely guy) and 6 (I think)seconds behind Dan Evans (Rhos On Sea CC). I was rather surprised at thisresult if I’m honest, I hadn’t really been able to do any training in the runup what with the craziness of Fresher’s Week and all. However it now seems likeI was properly rested coming into it and that my road form was still very muchpresent! Either way, seeing my name 3^rdout of 90 was ratherspecial, as was the medallion and £20 prize money!

Told you I could gurn.

Trust me when I say this, there was a dog on the roof. Seriously.

Yeeeahhh.

Things then quietened downfor a few weeks. Tried to get into a training routine and failed, largely dueto dodgy weather and not lectures getting in the way (or is it the other way round...)Either way, the weekend of my birthday came around and with it a manic few daystravelling back home, doing two hill climbs and then getting back to Aber. OnSaturday it was the Nelson Wheelers HC up out of Barley near Pendle Hill. Iwondered whether this climb really suited me, yes it had a steady gradient butit was rather short as the course record from the previous year was around 4minutes. I set a time of 3:53.6. And held the new course record forapproximately 57 seconds! I ended up 5^th behind Mike Cuming (Twenty3C Orbea) who set a new course record (he held the previous) of 3:30.2. Thatwas a lot of time to be beaten by over such a short distance. The next day (mybirthday incidentally-20 years young!) was the North Lancs RC HC up the InfamousNick O’Pendle. Interestingly, this event attracted the likes of TejvanPettinger (Sri-Chinmoy Cycling Team and a bit of a Legend this year) and PaulJones (Bristol South CC and fellow competitor at all my Open HCs this year.Also a bit of a Legend...) which tells you something about the nature of thishill. Again, I didn’t pre-ride it due to time constraints more than anythingelse (seems to be a recurring theme this...) and paid the price subsequently. Iposted a time of 4:23.3 which was good enough for 8^th, 50 secondsdown on Tejvan (who was if memory serves me correctly 7 seconds off ChrisBoardman’s record). On reflection I think forcing myself to ride a higher gearby using a fixed gear would, providing I kept the cadence, yield asignificantly quicker time.

Barley HC. Cheers to Paul Jones for these two!

Nick O'Pendle HC. B*tch of a climb. Think my bar tape needed changing no?

So that just left me with another double weekend ofcompetition left, but this was the big one. The BUCS Uni champs on Saturday 29^thand then the Nationals on the Sunday. I remember talking to Jim Henderson atlast year’s Southport CC club dinner and asking him if it was a realistic goalto try and ride the Nationals this year. He said it was, but it seemed likesuch a big step (at that stage I had probably done fewer than 10 competitiveevents on a bike-not forgetting two hill climb wins of course :D...). I thinkthe weight of what I was undertaking had been lost somewhere in the intervening11 months (perhaps the fatigue of a long season catching up on me?) but Istruggled to really motivate myself for these two last, and admittedly ratherlarge, hurdles. As a result, I kind of got the week in-between my birthdayweekend and the Nationals weekend wrong. Where I should have tapered andrested, I did a couple of hard rides and only had one day completely off thebike before the weekend. Not perfect preparation, but with a good long warmup (which for a change included a rideup the hill) I felt ok for the Uni champs. I was seeded 145^th out of150 riders and came joint 13^th with two other guys at 6:11.00 withthe winner coming in at 5:37.00. This was a bit of a disappointment if I’mhonest, as despite not knowing the hill at all, or having any idea of the levelof competition, I’d quietly been hoping for at least top 10 and possiblybetter. Unfortunately in terms of accurate results, times were only recorded to00.01, whereas normally timed events such as these are done to 00.00.01 whichresulted in a huge number of joint placings. Next year I plan to target thisevent properly, come back and recce it a number of times beforehand and used afixed gear-as again, I can see big time improvements being made with acarefully selected fixed gear.

Warming up for the BUCS Uni Champs. Thanks to Colin from the club for the plain skinsuit loan!

So, onto the 2011 National Hill ClimbChampionships. At 4.44 miles long and an average gradient of 3.2%, this wasn’texactly a hill, more a ‘slope’, but as people have rightly pointed out thisjust gave some of the more powerfully built riders a shot at the title. I set atime of 14:44.4 (which works out at an average speed of 18.5mph). I apparentlyhad the fastest halfway split time for much of the race, but as people rightlypoint out that’s only worth noting if you actually maintain it all the way.Unfortunately I didn’t, but I attribute this more to my lack of aero kit thanshoddy pacing!

This is my scary face. Gurn #3?

As you can see, my kit and bike set up was same asbefore: skinsuit, cotton cap, lightweight handbuilt wheels, lightest tyres andtubes possible, bottle cages and bolts removed, haircut (ok, maybe for nextyear) which has worked admirably. However, comparing this to the standard of atthe very least tri-bars, and often extending to full TT bikes and even discwheels I began to get a bit suspicious. You know it’s not your average ‘hill’when deep section wheels and TT helmets massively outnumber lightweight wheelsand cotton caps. Not that I’m bitching or making excuses. I got my trainingwrong, routine was wrong in the weeks leading up and to be honest, I was a bitfed up of all the hassle by the end of it! So that was my first NationalChampionship. Next year I will be back and better prepared, onwards andupwards!

I honestly don’t think there’s any more I could write ifI wanted to. Fin.

Season Review Part 1.

2011-11-25T09:49:00.001-08:00

Well that’s it for 2011. No more races, no more competition (apart from maybe a Boxing Day TT),no more zipping round on the good bike. Now begins the slow but inevitabledeparture of ‘form’ and the slow and thankfully inevitable march of timetowards spring where it all starts again.

I started off this season back in February (the 27^thto be exact) with the Clayton Velo Spring Classic Handicap. That was one hellof a race to start with. Still, it was better than starting last season withthe Eddie Soens! Although to be fair Idid the Soens the week after this year...and finished in the bunch! This was followed by the first few CDNWraces. The second of which, Capernwray (a brute of a circuit) I got my highestever placing in an event-13^th.

Post Soens.

Pimbo. March. Bit nippy.

Bashall Handicap. Tongue out cornering obligatory.

Capernwray. I missed wearing the red gloves in summer.

Last year, while technically my first season, resulted in no top tenplacings. No BC licence points and not much experience (as I only did about 5races). This year I was up for it. And a decent placing on a hard course wasencouraging as early as Capernwray. Anyway, not much else happened for a while. Tried doing some Crits toimprove my ‘sprint’ and ‘cornering’ etc, but without much success. I reallyseem to struggle with them. Maybe I’m too tall? Maybe I just don’t have thatpunch. Maybe I just can’t make myself hurt like that. Who knows? What I do knowis that I had my first crash in one. It resulted in mild concussion, a crackedhelmet, quite bad roadrash and a slightly relieved me; as you see I knew I’dcome off/be brought off eventually so it was kind of a relief to have it happenin the relatively ‘safe’ environment of a crit and not hurtling down someremote descent somewhere at 40mph. I also switched to racing for the BillNickson Cycles RT from Southport CC at this time, got a shiny new race bike and then didn’tdo any races for a while. Until the Horwich handicap that is. Me and 5 other 4^thcats stayed away for the whole race minus 1km, where we were caught by 4Elites. I won our ‘bunch’ sprint and got myself some licence points!Wahey! They were 4 very painfullyacquired points though. I then went along to a Crit and picked up another 2points! Rather unexpected...and then. Well, I got my first win on the road.

Litherland. I was beginning to realise crits and I didn't get on well.

The Calthwaite Road Race is known for always coming downto a bunch sprint. So I wasn’t really sure whether it was worth riding, as I’mnot really your archetypal sprinter. Rather spindly and tall. But I thought itwould be a good one to ride aggressively just to see what happened! It was arubbish evening, really cold, heavy rain, mud/cow poo on the roads and I spentthe whole race nervously watching for the crash. Luckily it was a good bunch,no cowboys, and everyone played it sensibly. It was clear it was going to comedown to a bunch sprint (not for lack of anyone trying to get away-it was manicthroughout with people jumping off the front left right and centre). Me and mymate Garth found ourselves at the back with about a mile to go and joked ‘Well,now’s the bit where we get our arses kicked by the sprinters’. Quite. I’d beenplanning (if it came down to a bunch kick) to go up the outside (as you do) butsaw a mini train with last year’s winner on the back moving up. Instead oflatching onto the back of that I decided to go up the inside instead. Cav canapparently remember the details of all his victories, and I can understand whathe means. All my movements and decisions in that closing 2 mins or so are stillcrystal clear. A gap opened. I started to move up. I squeezed through a tinygap between a rider and the verge. I shouted ‘INSIIIIDDEEE’ at another guy, andto my amazement, he moved aside for me, seems to be a 4^th Catphenomenon that. He ruined his own chances just because (I presume) I soundedlike I knew what I was doing...anyhoo, that put me at the front of the bunch.One guy had gone for a long one and was a few seconds off the front of thebunch with about 200m to go. Doing my best impression of a ‘sprinter’ I jumpedout of the bunch and got on his wheel, left it late enough to ensure nobody hadtime to come round me-and nipped round him to take the win. Phew. It was a lotless tiring at the time. The strangest thing was the sprint didn’t hurt. Frombeing at the back of the bunch to crossing the line was one looong anaerobiceffort, but seeing the line flicked a switch inside that just seemed to make mylegs impervious to pain. I seem to only be able to access this ‘reserve’ onspecial occasions. Used it twice more this season, once when I was going for 2^ndplace at Smithfields and would have got it (just one of those things, I wouldhave-trust me) and then got blocked in one of those amazing Chopper moves wheresomebody suddenly decides in the heat of a sprint that they don’t like the linethey’ve chosen and decide to switch across to the other side of the road. Thatpissed me off big time. The second time was at the last RR of the season, butI’ll get to that later. So yeah, first Road Race win! And I didn’t even get myhands in the air...to be honest, I had to check I’d won after. It’s illogical.I had crossed the line first. I had beaten everyone and I knew it. But Istill had to get somebody to tell me, as it’s the sort of thing you reallydon’t want to get wrong! So, £50 prize money, 15 licence points (enough to getme my 3^rd Cat) and the ability to say ‘Yep, I’ve won a road race’good evening’s work. Still makes me smile thinking about it. But I didn’t getmy hands in the air, something I plan to rectify next year. Then it went arse-over-heels again (quiteliterally) when some prune decided to fall off in front of me in the next race.It was one round Pimbo industrial estate. It really is the sort of course thatyou really shouldn’t have to use the brakes on. And yet someone managed to falloff, towards the front of the bunch (not always the safest place to be it seems) on thelongest straight on the circuit. He brought about 6 of us down in a big mangle.The annoying thing about that was I was keen to use my sprint again, (Pimbo isalways a sprint) and the more annoying thing is that the guy who won it was theguy I’d just nipped round at Calthwaite! But fair play, it was good to see himwin. If I’d been riding though....well, ;)

How cool is that? :D

My socks had been white before the race. Still, cheesy grin :D

Then came Dolphinholme. The word on its own is enough tostrike fear into the heart of many a North West racer. It’s a great course,properly hard. Climbs galore. Unfortunately I felt like crap on the day, butdecided to bluff my way through by following a few attacks and never being anyfurther back than 3^rd wheel. It paid off, even if it was grim at times. I began to feel stronger towards the end, and hatched a plan.Unfortunately the super strong Mike Ashurst had gone up the road halfway roundthe last lap. He was just in sight as we started the final climb, and Irealised it was going to require perfect timing to pull this one off. If Ijumped out of the group too early, I risked blowing and coming in 99^th.If I went too late I risked not catching him. I waited, and waited. And then myintuition told me it was time to go. Unfortunately, as a relativelyinexperienced racer my intuition isn’t that developed and as such I got towithin a cat’s whisker of Mike, blew and got pipped by my mate Garth on theline. Still, 3^rd place on what is reckoned to be one of the hardestcircuits out there was more than a little satisfying. It really, really, and Imean really hurt. I was redlined a long way out from the finish and apparentlypulled some impressive gurns. If there’s one thing I can do, it’s gurn.

Dolphonholme: Nearly got him!

Bugger....not quite. Nice one Mike!

Thencame Oakenclough the week after. Another properly hilly circuit; I wasconfident but not complacent, if there’s one thing I've learned from thisseason it’s that a lot of little things need to click in place to get a result.It’s simply not enough to have good legs on the day. Unfortunately that’sexactly what happened at Oakenclough. I had the legs, but somehow missed thebreak. To be fair, all the ‘favourites’ missed it; one rider had a seeminglyfutile dig off the front, then another and another. And before we knew it abreak of 4 had a minute on us! It’s no good just marking those you believe tobe a threat...I tried to bridge, attacking multiple times up the main climb forthe next couple of laps (apparently causing much pain in the group-which isalways good to hear!)-although sadly, to no avail. As a result of these franticattempts to salvage something, I then had very little left for the bunch sprintand came nowhere. On reflection, it probably would have been more prudent tohave saved it all until the last lap and attacked then, inexperience once againgetting the better of me. Still, you learn through making mistakes!

Quite like this photo. Horwich Festival of Racing.

The next week was the Southport CC organised Bickerstaffe road race. An event Ienjoyed last year, as I had finally found some form. Unfortunately this year itwas not so fun. Sub 10 degrees C temperatures, torrential rain and inadequateclothing resulted in one of the worst experiences I’ve had on two wheels. Ilooked like Elvis doing his famous leg jig thing when I got off the bike I wasshivering that badly. Lessons learned, more appropriate merino wool base layersbought for next season. Luckily the final race of the season went a littlebetter. The Bashall Eaves circuit is one of those ones that doesn’t feel toohilly, doesn’t have big climbs, but is never flat and you definitely feel it inyour legs afterwards! I now only needed to get 3rd place or better and I wouldhave my 2^nd Category licence. No pressure then. Long story short Ididn’t! It came down to a bunch kick, I was (as I thought) perfectly placed.Rider in front of me went with about 500m to go. I hesitated. My reasoning: ‘ifI follow him the chances are it will be a big effort to stay on his wheel,we’ll probably be brought back and then I’ll have nothing left’ so I let himgo. Unfortunately that left me on the front of the group, reasoning #2: ‘if Iease up to try and get on someone’s wheel, I might just get swamped’ so Istayed where I was. So I basically ended up doing the last 300m on thefront...and being overhauled with about 20m to go by a couple of guys. Fairplay! I shouted a rather rude word when we crossed the line as I really thoughtI’d done it, but alas. Lessons learned once again.

C'est moi, on the right. About to shout f**********CKKK ;)

So I did a few more Crits in an attempt to find the 3points I now needed, but with little success. I won’t go into details, but safeto say it wasn’t through lack of trying. Inattentive commisairing coupled withsome rider’s inability to understand the rule that you are not allowed to jumpon the back of a group that laps you did however deny me at least one or twopoints. Not that I’m still annoyed about that or anything. Moving on. To makeup for it though, I got my 3^rd Hill Climb victory, up Jubilee Tower!I’d won two club ones last year, but this was a bit bigger. Still cluborganised, but open to any club-although not a proper ‘open’ event. I’d alsoplaced 4^th in another ‘semi open’ Hill Climb behind winner MattPilkington a couple of weeks prior...

Before anyone says anything, I always wear a helmet...except when doing Hill Climbs :D

Stay tuned for Part 2...