what’s going on ?

Where to start ?

The Dragon 2 day. I love this event so enter every year. Gutted to say for the 2nd year in a row I didn’t finish the race.

Stage 1 was an unhill TT and I was towards the sharp end, 7th overall and very pleased once I saw the results, initially thought it was poor looking at time but the headwind had smashed everyone up.

Stage 2 I failed to make the break and one chap rode away, I was animated all day but never got a good group away and never got away, lost out in the sprint obviously.

Stage 3 was calm for a bit and then spikey, initially I stayed out of it but only for a lap or so. 4 of us tried to light the race at various points without success and then with a lap to go I punctured. Gutted as no service car meant no result. This is sad as I was looking at top 10 overall and possibly 2nd in my category.

After the Wales trip it was straight home and pack before heading to the airport to get to Mallorca. Now depending on your point of view I was on a training holiday with a wedding thrown in or at a wedding with a training holiday thrown in. Either was I can’t thank Matt and Sam enough for inviting Em and I to the big day.

Holiday by numbers

After a good holiday I like to do a really simple report so here it is.

Days gone – 10
Miles driven – 2215
Fuel consumption – 48.5

Achievements – no fuel bought on the motorway and finding a bicycle museum to visit on the way to the Alps.

Fail – I still haven’t seen Le Mans race circuit.

Onto the actual cycling and running and all that really matters is hours and alpe climbs really.

Hours run – 7hr 11mins
Longest run – 12.3 miles
Most Climbing in one run – 4,245ft
Time up the Alpe running – 67.59 to the TT finish 75.31 to the TdF finish

Hours cycled – 31hr 16mins
Longest ride – 71.9miles
Most climbing in one ride – 9,495ft
Time up the Alpe cycling – 50.59 to the TT finish 55.48 to the TdF finish

Achievements – biggest volume week I have ever done. Fastest time up the Alpe running and cycling.

Fail – due to snow only did 2 out of 3 climbs of Ventoux.

Interesting final point, I keep going back to the same place because Alan and Lynne at Le Velo Jaune B&B are brilliant hosts but something else struck me this time. I actually like the views when riding…..

On that bombshell it is time to end.

parkruns and mountains

Reporting in from France with a bit of a catch up.

Like all my trips to France there is always a plan and this one was no different.

Initially my on route plan included Bushy parkrun and catching up with my brother but this went to the wall so Maidstone became the place to go with the plan of arriving at the train earlier therefore making the initial drive down France easier.

Jogged down to the parkrun start with Em and discovered it was their anniversary so lots of fancy dress which made it very colourful. I checked out the course and it was a mix of terrain underfoot but largely flat with an uphill finish. My only concern was about the narrowness of the path with dog walkers and runners as it was an out and back. Why am I bothered? I had decided to have another go at sub 17. Quick chat at the start and I found 2 others looking for a fast time so off we went, about 3/4 of a km in a chap came passed me but I felt good so decided that I would push the 16.50 pace and at this point I was clear and it was a Time Trial. The twisty bridge was not good for constant pace but allowed me to see the gap I had to the others and then the canal on the way back. I’m not overly talkative when running 3.20 or so KM pace so nearly ran smack into a few runners with IPODS on and heads down. I was polite but curt in my comms. Once clear it was just a case of driving the line, I was very impressed with the sadistic uphill finish but even more impressed to see 16.46. Really think 16.30 may be possible if I can stay healthy.

Afterwards I jogged down the course to cool down clapping people in and saying sorry if I had offended anyone. I did hear somebody muttering about having fun but people have to realise fun for some is attempting to remove your heart from the body via your rib cage without surgery. Everyone has a place at parkrun and as much as I have to be aware/considerate of slower runners they should also be aware of people like me.

Great event run by a good team, I’d like to go there again and have time to sit around and drink coffee.

3 sub 17 parkruns in a row on 3 different courses, safe to say up to 5km distance I am not far from where I was in 2008 and I like that.

Onto France and I wanted to do something different so decided to travel down the other side, Le Man is a place I want to go and see either car or bike racing but for this trip I just wanted to go there. Stayed in a place called Alencon with plans to ride to Le Man and crack on but as I walked into the hotel I saw a sign for a bike museum so my ride was cut short and done in the dark early. Turns out that although no mountains it was a rolling ride, welcome to France!! The museum was small but interesting and I left with classic bike lust so well worth the visit.

We then moved to Volvic, yes that Volvic and I can honestly say I may have to visit the region for 3 or 4 days at some point as my limited ride told me there were roads and Cols to get lost on. Em also got her second taste of running with me. (Don’t worry we can run downhill for 20 mins then back up) :¬) It went well and I plonked a few kms on the end as well. What a fabulous hotel and view. Popped to the source of Volvic and did the Le Puy de Dome which had an electric train therefore stopping cars going up the mountain. Done to protect the mountain but just made it a great way to enjoy the view over time.

It was time to head “home” after that which was less than 4hrs in the car. The drive down had been nicely broken up and very relaxing. Home in France is Le Velo Jaune where Lynne and Alan always make me feel very welcome. Obviously on arrival there is only one priority and that is the first ride up Alpe d’huez. There is no easy way up AdH on a bike but by bend 2 I noticed I was putting out good power and decided to keep the effort up. I only had a rough idea when I started as I didn’t reset the watch but by halfway I knew a PB was on if I held form. Last year I blew somewhere after half way from a similar start but not this time, even strong winds could not stop me as I finished way inside 53 mins for a HUGE pb and I felt so good I carried on to the official finish going sub 59 mins to there as well. I shall try again on the last day to see if mountain work improves me a little more or if I am too knackered to put the effort in :¬)

Looking at the numbers afterwards proves the value of power to weight, all this just so I can race better this season, I can live with that. I say all this as my weight monitoring is obsessive if I am honest but I know how badly I can eat so until I get true balance I feel I have to do this.

Exciting times ahead for sure.

Science experiment to do with Widgets

I was going to write about weight loss and holidays. I may even have made some comments about the past and how I am looking to the future. There was the chance to write about cycling and my lack of a calendar this year.

In the end this is an untagged post just to see if the widget updates.

Seriously, the most pointless blog I have ever written

Forgive me father for I have sinned

It has been too long since I last blogged. About 6 weeks and that may as well have been a lifetime ago.

Why is that? Simply put Rach and I finished about 3 days after my last blog was written. The best part of 8 years of my life were snuffed out in less time than it will take me to write this blog. I don’t want to dwell here as I know that as unhappy as I have been the future is very promising and every day that goes by I get happier.

So lets cover the gaps.

I weigh 71kgs which is my running weight from 2008 and it feels good on the bike.

I have run a 17.xx 5km and am now wondering if I can run a 16.xx. At this weight anything is possible but I will not commit to any more running so if it happens it happens.

I live closer to work, saving money on petrol but still training with the lads has been awesome, the extra mileage on the bike probably helping my weight and overall fitness far more than I could have hoped for.

My relationship with my daughter Bobbi is looking much stronger than it has done for a few years. I am now free to spend entire weekends with her and may even race in her part of the world sometimes.

Early season TT form had been pretty spectacular, again weight being a major player on this.

I finally have the start of a race calendar, it is only a start as due to a mix up I didn’t get entered into the first MSTINA event so may not do the series this year but instead take a more erratic approach to my schedule. So far I have entered a fews TT and some of the races I know I enjoy. Track is nearly here so I have ordered a transponder. I need to spend some time thinking about how much I will do on the track. Last year has left scars and even though I trained hard in the winter the LVRC event still saw me badly schooled at everything which was hard to take.

I have booked my training holiday to France where I will stay at Le Velo Jaune and look forward to the awesome hospitality of Alan and Lynne in my favourite holiday destination. There may still be snow so I am even contemplating a day off the bike and on the mountain!!!!

Remember everything happens for a reason so even if initially you are devastated you may as well look forward to a new future.

I know I am.

Gobi

ps. I am back in the game now and will be blogging on a more regular again from today so watch this space.

Saturday was interesting

Lets deal with the good bits.

Went to see MiniG as it is her birthday next week and I will be in France, it is also Easter so lots of presents to buy.

To start the day though we had decided to do Kings Lynn parkrun. Flat fast course so I heard and boy did that turn out to be true. As quite often happens on a first visit to a run MiniG and I decided to run together, WELL she was game on from the start and set off at a pace that concerned me enough to comment. Calming down the pace settled in the mid 5s per km. As we went through 3km I started running the numbers and pointing out that an all time PB was on. At 4km she told me to shut up :¬) With 300 metres to go I spoke again pointing out that 300 metres inside 90 seconds would bag her a monster PB, all hell broke lose as we stormed to the line in 26.46 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All time PB, the girl did good. This cost me more presents. I am so glad she wants to run and is attending a running club. Although not running much myself now the desire to stay run fit enough to help her is there.

Clothing/games and sweets later we settled at a Wimpy for a spot of lunch and a chat. Lots of running chat and observations that the weather was getting worse.

Took MiniG home and had a coffee while watching the weather some more. Made the decision to head home before the snow settled, this turned out to be very wise as I was later told how bad the snow was but also the dumbest thing I have ever done.

The details on the bad bit

My route took me in the direction the snow was coming from so as I drove towards Peterborough it got worse. Decided at this point to head down the M1. A wise move as I didn’t really have to do anything but ride. That said as you see snow settling around you 60mph feels like 300. Spent most of the time riding slowly and wiping my visor. Suddenly south of Luton there was nothing so I booted it home.

These were the worst conditions I have ever ridden in and something I don’t wish to do ever again !!!!!!!!!!

Got home and had a bath purely so I could just relax :¬)

Winter is truly here

Chilly down south

Walked in at 2115 last night !!!

Thank god for Heated Clothing :¬)

Be safe out there.

In other news MiniG has been on the bike again, she is a natural which means I will be spending money on little bike gear as she can’t do 100 odd miles in mine.

Newbury parkrun plug now – check this out

You might even see me

Questioning my social media use

I’m not a celeb so why do I blog?

My life certainly isn’t exciting and can’t be that interesting for other peole really.

I guess in some ways I use it as a diary and reference point but then why do it publically when I could keep a diary ?

With that in mind I’m not saying I will stop but I am down scaling it. I may even start keeping a diary.

Twitter – again I am not sure what the point of it is so without really trying I have been less active on it. My life is not that exciting so why report it.

Facebook – I understand why I use this as it allows me to arrange things with lots of people in one go so I will carry on using it quite actively.

Maybe just maybe with all the options available it is just too much ?

So having said all that

Verbals with a goalie last night at hockey training about defensive positioning. Maybe next week I will just let the player run straight in on him :¬)

-5 as I came across the elevated section this morning. Heated clothing still rocks.

Living with the Triumph Tiger

Half way through my contract at the GSMA and The Trumpet has done 11000 spotless issue free miles.

Costs so far – 2 services and 1 rear tyre
Damage – 1 broken indicator, cause unknown but looks like walked into in the carpark here in London
Near death moments – 4 , I will take the blame for 1, there has been 1 draw and 2 where I was just the victim.
Riding style – evolving each week as my road awareness improves, in some ways I don’t ride as well as I use to but I am safer.
Comfort – initally was impressed with the suspension but not the seat, now it is broken in the seat is very comfy. I could spend many hours on the bike for sure.
Clothing upgrades, some expenses here:
Richa heated gloves, what handwarmer do on the inside the glove does on the outside. You don’t even notice you hands are warm until you take the gloves off.
Oxford heated waistcoat, hahahaha, never laughed so much on a cold ride, great feeling, beyond happy. so good I am taking layers off and not using the highest setting.
Gortex Daytona boots, the best things that have ever been on my feet. Solid to ride in, comfy to walk in and WARM.

Thanks to ProBike in Newbury for looking after me.

So what about the bike ?

Comfy – yes as discussed
Power – has enough for what I want
Geabox – Silky smooth but finds the neutral sometimes
Handling – I got the pegs down so it handles ok
Commuting – almost the perfect bike, position gives great all round visibility, it is smooth, eats miles and is small enough to get through most of the taffic.
Fuel consumption – not quite 50 plus more like 47 unless I ride like a tosser(happens sometimes)

So all in all a pretty good bike that is doing everything I need but there is something missing.

How do I know ?

Bike envy, I keep seeing this Red Triumph Sprint 1050 with those 3 exhausts sittng under the rear seat and thinking oh I want one of them :¬0

Maybe if I treat my bike to a fruity nice looking pipe I will feel better :¬)

Birthday boy

Friday was my birthday

I am fat, old and grumpy so it is with that to Rach that I had a party at all. Joined by 10 of my friends for pizza and donuts. What more can a fat lad ask for?

Strangely enough most of the conversation was about sport.

Special thanks to Talia for my hand made card and Jaffa Cake donut and to Rachael Elliott for pulling it all together despite my grumpiness. I look forward to lunches spent reading Sebs Autobiography and evenings shooting people online.

I have an Xbox !!!!!!!!!!!!