How many hours?!

I've done far too much exercise this week and I don't say that very often!

Sunday - 2 hour 16min ride with trailer and son in tow                                                                 Monday - Rest day                                                                                                                               Tuesday - 45min short spin                                                                                                                 Wednesday - 1hr 48min interval training on bike (hills, fast spinning and speed-work)                            Thursday - 1 hr 26min medium intensity ride with trailer and son                                                           Friday - 2hr round trip commute to nursery/work with backpack, trailer and son                                     Tomorrow - 3 hour medium to high intensity road ride

Total (projected) 11hours 15mins !! A record !

The kiddy trailer is an excellent training tool and probably gives me double the workout! However I do notice that I have to be careful when pushing up hills so as not to strain my knees. Yesterday I did an excellent loop of Milton Keynes which included a long steep drag up to the city centre and a great view of the city and surrounding countryside as a reward. You can't beat that absolutely shattered feeling followed by a rest! My son, however remains completely oblivious to all the hard work his mummy is putting in and sleeps peacefully throughout the entire bike ride! Typical!

Tomorrow it's going to be 20 degrees and sunny so I'll be out there somewhere in Buckinghamshire on my road bike totting up the miles - give me a honk if you see me! :)

Go By Bike

I know it doesn't sound like much of a big deal, but I rode into work today. "Ha, easy", I hear you say, "I do that everyday." No, it probably doesn't impress you that much and quite rightly.

But think about this: getting up at 6am to get all my kit ready, get washed and dressed, make breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. Get my 20 month old son up, get him washed, dressed, fed, teeth cleaned, helmet and shoes on. Sort out my bike and the kiddy trailer. Load it and me up with his kit for the day and mine in a huge backpack. Then cycle the 8 mile journey to nursery. Drop my son off, then cycle the remaining 2 miles to work - all by 8:30am.

Now, it's impressive. Well, it is to me.

There are several reasons why I'm happy I made the effort this morning:

1) I didn't contribute to the huge amount of traffic on the roads or the nasty emissions                        2) I didn't sit in any traffic jams and was completely in control of my journey                                       3) I saved petrol and money (increasing amounts daily, it seems)                                                        4) My son got fresh air and fun - and a sleep in the latter stages of the journey                                   5) I got even more fresh air and a strenuous workout                                                                         6) I burnt 600 calories and will burn another 600 more on the way home                                              7) I feel great, energized and ready for a day of work

Now my journey by bike is really worth it and I hope to be making the effort more on the days I work. You could benefit too.

Go by bike.

Great Expectations

Saturday saw the beginning of my 2008 mountain bike race season: it was the first race of the British National Points Series held in Thetford Forest, Suffolk. And, ouch, it was a hard welcome back.

However, I owe a lot to my coach who had not only prepared my legs for this but, more importantly, had encouraged me to see a tense and nervous situation positively and with more calmness.

I love mountain biking; I really do. I love being on my bike and enjoying the freedom it brings. I needed to apply this love to my racing too. And, I did. Thetford should have been my most challenging course – it demands a lot of continuous power - but when it hurt, which was from lap one onwards (there were five), I consciously reminded myself why I enjoy this sport so much. The quick, flowing Thetford single track did help.

This isn’t just true for racing. There are days when the weather is grey, grim and ghastly. There are times when my legs don’t want to turn the pedals anymore. There are moments when effort is needed to even leave the house! However, what I have learned this weekend is that can’t won’t.

From now on, when I’m on my bike and it’s starting to hurt, I’m going to think about happy things: hot summers’ days; blue skies; my lovely bicycle; my garden; my cats; my husband (sometimes!) – not necessarily in this order. I need to remember what it is that mountain biking gives to me: I’m not stuck in a classroom teaching 11.4 or sat at my desk marking papers, I’m outside pushing my body … and now my mind.

Where's there snow pain, snow gain

I can't believe it snowed this morning. Well, actually I can! The weather in this country is so unpredictable and crazy that nothing surprises me anymore. When snow falls in the UK (even just a small flurry) chaos ensues on the roads and we don't know how to deal with it. It's a shame that we can't adopt the practices of other countries and how they deal with these kind of issues.

I lived in Japan for a number of years and out there they've got it down to a fine art. Just slap the chains on the front tires and away you go - I used to go up mountain and down dale with these wonderful inventions. That got me reminiscing. Wouldn't it be fun to do some snowbiking? Obviously there's not enough snow in the UK, but in many other countries, snowbiking or icebiking is a regular sport. You can buy special tires with studs to help you grip in the snow and ice, but more often than not you can get away with just lowering your tire pressures. It's really great fun but you need different skills when you're riding on a very slippery surface - stay low, keep your balance centered and don't turn the handlebars!!!

If you ever get the chance to snowbike, take it. You never know, it may even snow 'properly' before the winter's out!! If it does, I'll be heading for the white stuff.