Gone with the wind...

Thursday, 31 Jan 2008

Another 5:30am alarm call and out for a ride at 6am, or at least that was the plan! 5:30 soon because 5:38am before I got out of bed and though I was out of the house by 6am, I had left my light in the house, so shoes off, back in trying not to disturb everyone, and back out again. Then I find out that the handlebars on the bike are slipping, so out with the tools to tighten it up.

Set off about 6:15am in the dark, not realising quite how windy it was. It was only on the back roads to Hatfield Heath that I really noticed how strong it was. Down the hill to Pig Lane is normally great fun, but today I had to pedal hard just to maintain any sort of speed for the hill the other side! Up hill against strong wind is not a good combination - very slow :-(

Anyway the ride back from Harlow was much more fun - 35 mph at one point on a level surface with the wind behind me.

Back home about 7:45am, just in time to see the kids & Clare before they leave for school!

Another 23 miles done in just over 90 mins, but it took me till 10am to get to work again...

Total Miles for the month: 341 miles

Time pressure...

Wednesday, 30 Jan 2008

No turbo class today, I'm back in London now and getting to the class I'd planned to go to is not going to be easy. Going to investigate Gyms in Bishop's Stortford and find out if there are any spinning classes - after reading Paul's Blog it sounded interesting!

Receive the nutrition analysis forms from Julie today - will spend the next three days filling in what I eat. Maybe filling in the last three days would be more realistic - at least I won't be influenced by knowing that I am tracking what I eat!

I am getting stressed out about lack of time, and the lack of longer rides. I'm going out early tomorrow morning, and early Saturday morning, but I'm just not going to get the chance to do a long ride this weekend. The rest of the team seem to be doing 60+ miles on a ride and the most I've done so far in a single ride is 41. I'm feeling that I need to up the miles I'm doing in advance of the team ride on the 16 Feb - I'm worried that I won't keep up, and very worries about how poor I am at ascents!

I am hoping to go to Beyond Mountain Bikes on Sunday and order my bike. Hopefully I can pick it up on the 9/10 Feb and get a few rides in on it before the team ride. It's all a bit frantic and stressful...

Early start...

Tuesday 29 Jan 2008

Things are changing at work, I've been in Basildon full time for the past 3 months, but it now looks like I'm going to be spending more time in London - which usually means getting home later than I have been of late. Fitting in rides in the evening are not likely to be as easy, and the turbo sessions I had planned to do near Basildon look like they might not happen.

I think this is a good thing, I've been thinking about doing more morning rides - getting up early rather than going out late at night. So last night I set the alarm for 5:30am before waking up several times in the night thinking about getting out on the bike!

Rose at 5:30am, reassured Clare she didn't need to get up and tip-toed down stairs - trying not to wake the kids! A bowl of Ready Brek, some water, some juice, getting dressed (2 pairs of thick socks and overshoes to keep the feet warm) and out of the house just after 6am! Cold, clear, frosty and bright from the moon - lovely! Though despite long fingered gloves my fingers were cold for a while!

For those who are interested in road traffic control, I can confirm that there are a lot more cars on the road at 6am than there are at 10pm. The A120 bypass is dark and unlit - I know there are potholes in the road, but my lights struggle to pick them out, bump, bump, ouch, bump, ouch! Took me a few miles to get into any sort of rhythm, but as I headed out to Hatfield Heath on the back roads, traffic quitened down and I really started to enjoy the ride :-)

Coming back between Harlow and Sawbridgeworth I overtook another cyclist, an experience I've not had before :-) Got back home 23 mmiles later just after 7:30am, the house was still dark - is anyone awake?

The kids & Clare were just waking up, time to have breakfast! Had some egg on toast while the kids ate their cereal. A good start to the day, though I think I need to get more efficient at getting ready for work after the ride - it's going to be 10am before I get to work!

Will think about doing the same on Thursday morning, work permitting...

Don't forget...

Donate Now!

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Thanks for reading and for your support!

Click here for some facts about CHASE and the ride.

Drained....

Sunday 27 Jan 2008

After a late night last night (at Rachel & Kevin's), we were all up at 8am and in church by 9am! Good start to the day! Canon Eddie is back from his break and there was a young girl being welcomed into the church during mass - a very children friendly mass and for once the kids were mostly well behaved!

Swimming after mass & home for lunch - the kids are going to have a "home cinema" this afternoon while I'm out again.

Set off about 2pm on much the same route as yesterday (without the missed turn). The first 20 miles were ok and then I started to feel a bit drained - but kept going and managed to avoid short-cuts home! After a long slog round the ring road, I'd not just over 37 miles and decided to do a few more miles rather than go straight home, carried on round the ring road a bit and back through town and home in the dark...

At last a ride of over 40 miles :-) 41 miles in 2 hrs 50 mins, avg HR 146, max HR 164

Total for the week: 97 miles (If I'd realised I'd have done 3 more tonight!)

The end of the monotony...

Sat 26 Jan 2008

Took Joe to football this morning (after a lovely bowl of Ready Brek!) - he seemed to really enjoy himself today. Had a bacon sandwich while watching, as I'm probably not going to get time for lunch before I got out with Laurence. Brown sauce is the only thing that works for me on bacon sandwiches :-) Joe has a burger from the van after footy - he asks every week since Grandad brought him one! This is the first time I've given in!

Got home, discovered that Joe's bike and three scooters have been stolen from the side of our house and the gates hanging off it's hinges...Joe was not happy...

At least Laurence's bike was safe, I fit the trip computer and cadence sensor, plus different pedals and practised getting in and out of the pedals - a lot easier after Laurence told my to twist my shoes to get out!

For some reason, despite having an affinity for technology, things I buy never seem to work properly! Trip computer works fine, cadence sensor work fine. The only problem I have is that the cadence sensor only works when the trip computer is installed upside down and then the speedometer stops working. Give up - lets just get out!

Riding with Laurence was great! Though it took a bit of getting used to. All of a sudden you can't go at your own pace, and I felt very concious of my speed (or lack of it). Laurence belongs to Ford Cycling Club and has been cycling for a long time.

The ride itself was a little disjointed, we took a wrong turn and ended up going down some lanes cutting off a couple of miles from the loop, Laurence got a pucture after 15 miles (and the quick release mechanism collapsed when changing the tube, luckily he managed to change tube and jam it all back together well enough for us to continue!), two toilet stops, a phone call from Fiona (check where Laurence was - hope he wasn't late for the party), but we still managed to do about 33 miles in just over 2 hours which felt good.

Probably need to go out again tomorrow to get the miles in for the week...

CycleScheme is set up...

Friday, 25 Jan 2008

Got an e-mail confirming that the CycleScheme is now set up at work. Just got to choose a bike, get a quote and navigate the tricky form filling before I can take possession of a vehicle that will hopefully be half as light as the hybrid bike I'm riding at the moment! Hopefully the new bike won't run out of whatever momentum I've managed to build up so quickly going up the slightest incline!

Going for a ride with Laurence tomorrow - should be interesting!

No turbo, but I suppose I ought to do something...

23 Jan 2008

It's already Wednesday and I haven't been out on the bike this week yet. Given yesterday's trials and tribulations I haven't gone to the Turbo class with Laurence (hope he doesn't mind), and have gone shopping on the way home (thanks to Clare for reminding me as I thought about dashing home after work!).

New rear light, new batteries, new Look Keo cleats, and a trip computer + Cadence sensor.

Got home & the cleats fit (yeah!), helped put the kids to bed and them out on the bike at 9pm (I wonder if I should think about morning riding?) - oh and having dried my existing rear light out in the radiator and fitted new batteries, it still worked! So I now have a spare rear light, though I think I might put both on the bike. Not got time to fit cleats/trip computer - will leave that till the weekend...

Good ride tonight - less wind, clear skies, bright moon :-) Another 23 miles...

Nothing works....

22 Jan 2008

Had planned to sort out a few things this evening to get ready for the turbo training session tomorrow night. Sort out my shoes and go for a short ride.

I brought some Look cleats for my shoes, but I think they were the wrong sort for the pedals I have. Need to check this out and get the right ones! I'm now not going to have time to sort them out before the turbo session tomorrow. I'm going to call Laurence in the morning and put it off for a week.

Decided to go out for a ride anyway, but for some reason my rear light has stopped working. Took it apart and there was water inside. Need to sort that out too.

At 9:40pm I decided to abandon any attempt to ride and watch Eastenders instead.

Maybe things will be better tomorrow?

Turbo Training...

Monday, 21 Jan 2008

Went to see Laurence after work today, he's lent me a turbo trainer and invited me to a turbo session at his local club on Wednesday. I'm not really sure what I'm letting myself in for, but am going to give it a go!

My parents have their say!

I''ve just read my parent's entries on the Race for Chase web site. It sound's like they've been doing a lot of drinking! But I'm sure the support is going to be most welcome (especially with 820 miles to go Mom!)

Mom and Dad on the Race for Chase site.

3 weeks down...

Sunday 20 Jan 2008

Tim is on his way to Japan so I'll be riding on my own today, but it's great to have another chance to ride in the daylight!

Ready Brek for breakfast, 9am mass with Clare and the kids, back home for 10am, a couple of slices of toast and some water, get changed and off out about 11am. I really need to work out the best way of warming up before I go out...

I've extended my longest loop so far to take in Great Dunmow and The Rodings. I've also decided to do the loop the other way round! It's interesting doing it backwards, different challenges, different hills, different wind directions - that said, regardless of which way I do it, the last few miles are up hill!

The ride was good, and I felt much better than on Friday night - I think being less tired, and having more food inside me helped a lot! 37 and a half miles in just over 2 and a half hours, and home in time for Sunday lunch - lovely! Chilled out for the rest of the day, and now looking forward to my first evening with my wife for a whole week!

Looking forward to more miles next week and turbo training on Wednesday...

37.5 miles; 2hr 32mins; Avg HR n/r; Max HR n/r

Total miles for the week: 86.5

Latest thoughts...

I've just read Iain's blog and he did a 55 mile ride today - that's fantastic! Though double the longest ride I've done so far! I'm aiming for about 35 miles tomorrow, life permitting, though I really wish I had someone to do some of this training with! I'm sure having other people out on the ride with you helps keep you going and assess how you are doing. I have far to many negative feelings at the moment...

Lessons learned?

Friday 18 Jan 2008

Tonight's ride was not the most enjoyable ride I'll ever do!

I've not really spent much time with Clare this week, Monday she was doing thank-you cards for Amy's birthday, Tuesday I was out on the bike, Wednesday I did my tax return (I'm still angry about this!), Thursday I was out at the Alpha course and last night I was out on the bike. It won't be any better tonight as Clare is out babysitting. I'm looking forward to Sunday night! I hope she knows how grateful I am for her support!

I think it's starting to dawn on me how much training for this ride is going to take over my life for six months...

Anyway, my ride tonight? Well apart from the wind, which was incedibly strong, I wasn't in the right frame of mind at all. I didn't want to be out on the bike. It's Friday night, I wanted to be at home with Clare having a nice meal and a glass of wine! But, as I have only been out once this week, I needed to get out...

Having taken Joseph to football, got back about 7:45pm - put him to bed - which took till 8:30pm, had a sandwich, drank some water, got changed, stretched, it was gone 9pm. Getting on the bike I just could get comfortable. I felt scrunched up, feet slipping all over the place (I must sort out my clip-in shoes, hamstring was tight (despite stetching), no energy in me at all.

It was a slog, an hour and a half of me thinking I don't want to be on the bike, I want to be at home. I kept thinking;

"What can I get away with?",
"where can I turn back early?",
"I can't face that hill at the end of the ride"

Even the down hill runs on the ride were against the wind and not that enjoyable. I felt like I was riding at about 2 miles an hours, and was worrying about whether I'm going to be able to go at an appropriate pace for the rest of the team. I've still not riden with anyone from the team and has no idea what it's like to ride with others!

Despite my negative attitude, I kept thinking about what I was doing this for, for CHASE, Fraser, and for Iain and Jules. This kept me going and avoiding the easy decision to give up!

Getting back home, after a lovely shower I sat down in front of the TV for the first time this week.

So what were my lessons learned?

1. Eat well before I go out on the bike, or I'll have no energy
2. It's not always going to be fun!
3. It's going to be hard work!
4. The reason for doing this ride is worth the effort!

I'll give Tim a call tomorrow and see if he's ok for a ride on Sunday

23 miles; 1hr 35mins; Avg HR 150; Max HR 165

A sad day for British Cycling...

16 Jan 2008

While driving in to work this morning, I heard the sad news that Jason MacIntyre had died in an accident yesterday. Jason was a triple British and Scottish champion time trial cyclist.

My thoughts and prayers are with his wife and his eight year old twin girls.

For further details see the BBC Sport website.

Spare a thought for his friends and family: Jason's Blog

It's a wild life...

15 Jan 2008

I surprised myself a bit this evening, I really wasn't looking forward to going out. It's been the wettest day of the year, there are 73 national flood warnings in place, it's still blowing a gale, but how good do I feel for going out and getting on with it? I feel great!

People have been telling me it's not about speed, it's about long, slow miles. So I thought I'd do the slow bit, ride in lower gears and try to reduce my average heart rate (aparently the lower you can get your average heart rate, the more fat you burn, reducing the rate at which you burn glycogen, helping you ride longer - I can't claim to understand this - but I do intend to learn more!).

I was intending to do a 17 mile loop (as it was 9pm before I managed to get out!), but forgot to turn left at Sawbridgeworth! Anyway, I felt better going a bit slower, and the weather wasn't bothering me that much so I thought I might as well go further!

Out past Harlow, towards Sheering, a deer charged across the road just in front of me, just before I go to Hatfield Heath a car stopped me to check the way to Harlow, at Hatfield Broad Oak the pub looked very inviting, towards Takeley a rabbit, temporary traffic lights and the view of planes taking off and landing at Stansted Airport. I have never been so pleased to stop at temporary traffic lights in the middle of nowhere with no other traffic in sight, after answering a call of nature I felt much better!

The ride was blustery to say the least, but turning left at the traffic lights in Takeley was like hitting a brick wall! Head-on into the wind - last 6-7 miles is all in the same direction! And the last 2 miles is all up hill. OK - so it was slow, hard work, but worth it!

Got back about 10:50pm and Clare was just starting to wonder where I had got to! A bit slower, a bit further and a lower average HR - so all in all, I think this has been my best ride yet!

26 miles; 1hr 50mins; Avg HR 150; Max HR 165

All are not well...

15 Jan 2008

Over the past few days my son, Joseph, and my wife, Clare, have not been well. High temperatures and time off work/school.

I didn't do a ride yesterday, deciding to leave it to tonight. Though I am a little apprehensive due to feeling a slight strain in my thigh since my last ride. I'm going to take it easy tonight and see how it goes - don't want to do any serious damage!

I have been getting lots of advise and support which is great. Stuart from Street in Somerset has suggested I need to train my body to burn fat as well as glycogen by training at a slower pace than I might be inclined to do. http://www.bicyclecoach.com/article.php?articleid=19

Another friend, Lawrence, has offered use of a turbo trainer - I really should give him a call back!

Will post an update about my ride later...

Cycle To Work?

Sunday 13 Jan 2008

No ride today - we were visiting the in-laws for lunch, great food! I've e-mailed Rob (my boss) the details of the www.cyclescheme.co.uk, so hopefully he will do his bit next week so that I can go out and buy a bike! You can spend up to £1000 of your gross pay on a bike (spread over 12 months) - hopefully Rob won't make me pay the VAT either!

Lawrence has suggested I go to his training session on Tuesday nights at Ford - though I don't think that Tuesday's are going to work very well...

Not really sure what my plan for this weeks rides is yet, but maybe Wednesday & Friday? Have to fit things around the rest of a busy week; football training on Monday (should I still do football?), Clare's out on Tuesday, my Alpha course on Thursday...

Looking forward to a longer ride on Sunday next week. I'll give Tim a call - see what his plans are...

Change of plan and cold toes...

Saturday 12 Jan 2008

I wasn't intending to ride today, I washed my kit last night, fortunately it had dried! Though my shoes were a little damp.

My planned ride with Lawrence has been postponed due to unforseen circumstances, though Fiona let me know in time for me to change my weekend's training plan. By going out tonight, I can go with Clare and the kids to see Clive and Teresa for lunch tomorrow (subject to Joseph feeling better - he's slept most of the day today - most unlike him).

Clare is going out tonight so I only had about an hour and a half or so available - went for a slightly extended loop stretching to Harlow and Sheering, giving a total distance of about 24 miles.

I was feeling a bit tired before getting on the bike today, which I feel a bit embarassed about! Surely I should be able to do two 25 mile rides in consequetive days by now? Anyway once on the bike, things weren't that bad, after the first mile or so I got back into things - enjoyed the extended loop, a couple more long but gentle hills added some variation to the ride. Took a detour through Birchanger on the way back - won't be doing that again - road is rubbish, slow and only adds about half a mile to the route. I'll stick to the main road next time.

The long hill up the A120 back towards home was very hard work tonight - and there was a lot more traffic than usual (I guess I'm out earlier and it's a Saturday), and my toes were cold - those damp shoes and the cold weather are not a good combination! Oh, and I was busting to go to the toilet! This happened earlier in the week too, despite going before I went out on both occasions!

Still, back home now, toes are tingling, Joseph is in bed, the girls are out and it's time for Tea!

24 miles; 1hr 36 mins; Avg HR 149; Max HR 163

Total miles for the week: 68.3 miles

Friday night out...

Friday, 11 Jan 2008

The end of a busy week at work, but home early today to take Joseph to football! He had a great time, but it finishes at 7:30pm and I still had to get home and put the 3 kids to bed before I could get out on the bike! When I got back, Isobel was singing to her little sister having read her bedtime story!

Clare is out for a Chinese tonight with friends, so we organised got a babysitter from down the road to sit from about 8:30pm while I go out on the bike.

Answered the door in my fetching bib tights and appologised to the babysitter for my state of dress! It's rained a lot today (the M5 is under water again), and the roads were very wet, but the rain had eased off. I did a 17 mile loop, but felt like doing a bit more, so did an extra 6 miles or so...

23.3 miles; 1hr 29 mins (I had to wait for train at a level crossing in Sawbridgeworth AGAIN!) ; Avg HR 156; Max HR 172

Looking forward to a ride with Lawrence on Sunday - it'll be different to ride with somone else!

Thinking about blogs and sponsorship...

8 Dec 2008

Had a hospital appointment this morning, an abdominal ultrasound scan, a follow-up investigation following a lot of negative allergy tests recently! This gave me the time to start pulling together e-mail addresses and an e-mail about our ride to send out asking for sponsorship.

Sent out an e-mail to IndigoBlue staff about the ride, Rob (my boss) has said that IndigoBlue will sponsor me, but I haven't followed that up yet - decided to wait until Iain and Jules have decided how they want to pitch requests for corporate sponsorship.

Looked at a few blogs and found this one - was easy to set up and get a nice URL so I thought why not! Though it's not linked in to any sports or cycling site, which may affect who reads this! My objective is to keep everyone I talk to about sponsorship up to date on my life and progress!

Hopefully when people see how much effort is involved in getting ready to do such a challenging event they may be prepared to sponsor that little bit more! Thanks to Stuart P and Chris W for being the first to sponsor me though the Just Giving site:



Got home from work and Clare had made tea, not a usual experience! Sausage & mash - yum! Gave me time to put Joseph to bed, we are reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at the moment, let my tea go down and then go out for a ride. The training schedule says 10 miles, but I want to do more than that. I did a slightly shortened version of the ride on Sunday, but felt good a couple of miles from home and took a detour to take in a few extra miles!

21 miles; 1hr 31 mins (I had to wait for train at a level crossing in Sawbridgeworth) ; Avg HR 156; Max HR 171

Happy Birthday Amy!

Monday, 7 Jan 2008

Lot's more presents and wrapping paper! Though Dad has to go to work! No ride today...

Daylight? What's that?

6 Jan 2008: Amy's Birthday Party!

Sunday morning, a time most people take it easy - not going to be like that for us today...

Clare was up till late last night finishing off Amy's birthday cake, ready for the party - I think there are about 18 five year olds joining us at Coconuts.

Out for mass at 9, party at 11, back home for 2pm. Phoned Lawrence - agreed to do a ride next week rather than meet up today - I want to get out in daylight!

Got out about 2:30pm, lights charged (just in case!). Used the heart rate monitor for the first time. Not toally sure of the route I am going to take, head off round the rig-road, south to Sawbridgeworth, out to Hatfield Heath, through Hatfield Broad Oak (nice little village, went past a cyclist who was taking a break, only for hime to pass me about 5 miles down the road!), on to Takely, and then back along the old A120 towards home. Google maps informs me this is about 21.7 miles.

Got home the living room is full of wrapping paper and opened birthday presents!

21.7 miles; 1hr 26mins; Avg HR: 160; Max HR 176

Total miles for the week: 43.7 miles - happy to have started!

Extra padding helps!

4 Jan 2008

Friday, last day of the working week :-)

Clare know's I want to do another ride after work (I want to make sure I get 2 outings in this week). I'm going to do the same ride as yesterday, another 11 miles, I'm just keen to get used to the bike and get used to the routine of coming home and going out for a ride.

Not totally sure what I'm doing when it comes to diet! I'm trying to make sure I don't eat too much just before I go out and drink a reasonable amount of water before I go. I'm only taking water out on the bike at the moment. I don't feel the need for energy drinks on such short rides - and I don't have any yet!

Put re-charageable batteries into my lights, seemed ok when I set off, but a couple of miles into the ride they died. Did the rest of ride without front lights - dangerous, but I didn't want to go back having just got out.

Cracking night weather wise: sleet, wind, cold, wet, puddles, rivers across the road. Got back feeling much better than yesterday, though my shoes full of water (I hadn't put overshoes on - doh!), and clothes are dirty!

That said ,another 11 miles done and the realisation that two pairs of shorts are much better one!

Pedalling in the right direction?

3 Jan 2008

Back to Decathlon after work, picked up lights and asked about heart rate monitors, found them - there are so many different sorts, why didn't I read about this stuff before I got here!

Anyway decided that I didn't need the £250 GPS one that tracks your heart rate against your route so you can download it onto your computer analyse it and, and what? What would I do with all that information, when, with three kids, work, and trainnig would I find the time to do any analysis! I opted for a simple one - records how long I exercise for, my average heart rate and my max heart rate. I still don't really know what I'm supposed to do with the information anyway!

Got home, helped put Amy to bed, left Clare to do Joe & Izzy while I got changed, got the bike out of the shed, didn't bother with the heart rate monitor and went out for my first training ride!

I did 40 min ride round Bishop's Stortford, I don't have a cyclometer of any sort, so I don't know how far I went! I went out in the car to measure the distance after - then realised I could have used google maps to measure it and save myself a few litres of very expensive petrol!

11 miles, more that I've done on a bike in years, so I'm pleased that I've started, despite getting cramp in the last few hundred yards, and having a sore bum. Oh - and I know know where some big pot holes are, I'm not sure my lights are bright enough!

200 miles in a day seems a very long way!

Kit dilemas...

2 Jan 2008

Back to work today - stressed!

Laurence suggested going to Decathlon at Lakeside to get some kit, not far from Basildon where I am working at the moment. Got there after listening to the news about the epidemic of sickness and diarrhoea - I don't need that at the moment!

Got bib cycling tights, shirt, jacket, warm socks, over shoes, shoes - can't find heart rate monitors, not sure shoes are right! - arrgghhh! Do I buy lights? I need some to train in the dark, but I know we've got some at home in the shed somewhere! Decided to try and find lights at home!

Got home - found lights! Lights don't have appropriate bits to fit onto the bike.

I'm annoyed, wished I'd brought some lights in the shop. I can't ride without lights and the training plan says I'm supposed to do 10 mile ride today - could do the ride and I feel a bit depressed about not getting started

Is this just too much hassle? - I'll sleep on that - and go back to get lights tomorrow...

Happy New Year!

1 Jan 2008 - Happy New Year!

Not much to say really, despite having a bike, it's cold and I still don't have any decent kit. Will go shopping tomorrow and get some stuff...