Havent had time + lost password so theres been a bit of a gap since the last entry..
..alot has happened
I had a bad fall on my old bike on Sun 1/3/09 - lucky not to break my L collar bone & R leg after I slammed into a wall - the front wheel was completely wrecked
Sat 21st March 2009 - went and collected my new bike, my first ever road bike - 'Belle'
Alot of research, talk, reading & adsorbing vast quantities of information went into the choice. In the end I went for the resilience of Aluminium over a carbon bike, and alot a triple front set for those hills!
The plan was to enter as many Sportives as possible culminating with the Norwich 100 on 7/6/09 - with the decision whether to do LEJOG to ba taken after that.
early April was taken up with frequent short rides...mainly the 12.5 mile 'pylon' route that I have done many times over the years - also a Holiday to Devon.
Sat 25th April - the First Sportive - 'Cycle Oakham' 53 miles. I got there early and tentatively got myself ready for my first attempt at 50miles+. We set off in groups of 10 - A nice easy run out of Oakham and after 15 miles 'decision time' I chose to turn left on the 50 mile route...ALL my companions turned right! There was company along the way and I called in at Tim's in Medbourse for a welcome cup of coffee. The run in included some big hills (especially Uppingham Hill) but I ran down into Oakham with a little energy to spare.
53 miles in 3h48m at 14.1 mph average.
A good start, but realisation I need to be fitter for LEJOG...
Sunday 3rd May After a couple of short rides in the week I drove out to Naseby on a cold windy morning to tackle to 80 mile 'Squires & Shires' ride. So far Belle has been more comfortable than I had expected, and the lack of weight making cycling far easier. In fact much better than I had expected. This time we went off in groups of 25. I found the westward stretch to Swinford Manor quite tough and got in the slipsteam of an old fella for these miles. There was a V Dub camper fest there with many lovely splitties & Bays to see. Things warmed up but the hills & wind took its toll. We skirted round Daventry & mad for home up past Farthingstone & the Bringtons. My legs hurt as I struggled back up to Naseby - the relief on seeing the finish line was immense. I'd done it! And with only minimal training
78 miles in 5h28 at 14.2 mph - with 4700ft of climb!
..alot has happened
I had a bad fall on my old bike on Sun 1/3/09 - lucky not to break my L collar bone & R leg after I slammed into a wall - the front wheel was completely wrecked
Sat 21st March 2009 - went and collected my new bike, my first ever road bike - 'Belle'
Alot of research, talk, reading & adsorbing vast quantities of information went into the choice. In the end I went for the resilience of Aluminium over a carbon bike, and alot a triple front set for those hills!
The plan was to enter as many Sportives as possible culminating with the Norwich 100 on 7/6/09 - with the decision whether to do LEJOG to ba taken after that.
early April was taken up with frequent short rides...mainly the 12.5 mile 'pylon' route that I have done many times over the years - also a Holiday to Devon.
Sat 25th April - the First Sportive - 'Cycle Oakham' 53 miles. I got there early and tentatively got myself ready for my first attempt at 50miles+. We set off in groups of 10 - A nice easy run out of Oakham and after 15 miles 'decision time' I chose to turn left on the 50 mile route...ALL my companions turned right! There was company along the way and I called in at Tim's in Medbourse for a welcome cup of coffee. The run in included some big hills (especially Uppingham Hill) but I ran down into Oakham with a little energy to spare.
53 miles in 3h48m at 14.1 mph average.
A good start, but realisation I need to be fitter for LEJOG...
Sunday 3rd May After a couple of short rides in the week I drove out to Naseby on a cold windy morning to tackle to 80 mile 'Squires & Shires' ride. So far Belle has been more comfortable than I had expected, and the lack of weight making cycling far easier. In fact much better than I had expected. This time we went off in groups of 25. I found the westward stretch to Swinford Manor quite tough and got in the slipsteam of an old fella for these miles. There was a V Dub camper fest there with many lovely splitties & Bays to see. Things warmed up but the hills & wind took its toll. We skirted round Daventry & mad for home up past Farthingstone & the Bringtons. My legs hurt as I struggled back up to Naseby - the relief on seeing the finish line was immense. I'd done it! And with only minimal training
78 miles in 5h28 at 14.2 mph - with 4700ft of climb!
No comments:
Post a Comment