A century?

My colleague Rich and I are up for a century tomorrow - we're training for the Dragon Ride, the thing is,  what constitutes a century in the UK today?

Are we up for the full 100 miles? or will a mere 62 miles (100 km) do?
We could do a 100 furlongs but it would be only 12 odd miles.

Hey ho we'll set off at 11 o'clock and see how far we get, my training needs are a lot less than Richards, he's signed up for numerous 24 hour mountain bike endurance races as part of the 69er Collective, the Dragon ride and not forgetting the the Etape du Tour and the Megavalanche in the same week!

By the way he needs some geeing up to succeed at all the rides he's committed to - if you sponsor him he'll have to finish every one and obviously MacMillan Cancer is a truly worthy cause.

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Update

We made it, and it was an honest full Imperial one too.

Probably the hardest thing I've done on a bike, over six hours in the saddle is tough, it was a good job we stopped for a pint at half way.

Here's the map of our ride, just in case anyone else is daft enough to give it a go.

Century Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

The Value of History

This is kinda 'The Folding Stuff' pt. 2, but really it covers something that has a wider relevance than me poking fun at an old folding bike. As I said in the earlier post, there is a story to go with the bike which started me thinking about how these stories imbue an item with more value than the mere cost of the item itself. Intrinsic v. historical value. In the video below, you get a sense of what I mean- the shop guy is looking at what the bits that make up the bike may bring in dollars, while Chad, the bike's owner reacts in a way that shows it's true value.
It happens frequently in cycling, you've probably experienced it yourself. You have an old mountain bike or road bike that took you faithfully through some tough rides or happened to be a companion in hard times. The collection of metal tubes, bearings, tyres etc, take on more value because of what both you and the bike have experienced together. If you come to sell that bike, it comes as a surprise how little someone else is willing to pay for your memories, but that's not what they're buying- they're buying the tubes and wheels and the bike has yet to take on the stories from that rider; the slate's wiped clean, ready to start again. Enjoy the video, poke fun at the odd bike but know that we all have similar stories and that someone else will return the favour.

The Folding Stuff

It takes an open mind to work as a product manager for a bicycle company. New ideas can come from anywhere, so everywhere is a good place to look. This doesn't preclude the product managers from having a favourite piece of inspiration though, and on this trip to Madison to talk web sites with the US team, I came cheek to saddle with the Hybrid bike product manager's.

The bike has a pretty cool story to go with it as it belonged to Chad's uncle, bought for him by his wife so he could put in his Porsche to use when he got to where he was going. On one occasion, the bike took it's owner to see Mr. Gorbachev speak when he was over here. Chad inherited the bike after his uncle died, and has remained an inspiration to him since.

I was a little disappointed as Chad took first a Soho 4 then a 7.9FX out of the car for himself and Brian, (Euro Marketing guy), then the Bridgestone folder for me. But as the ride around the town of Madison unfolded (sorry, couldn't resist), I began to appreciate the 12" wheeled wonder. Sure it was heavy, had the frame stiffness of a wet noodle and comfort a long way down the list of priorities, but it was fun. It could take kerb hops, keep up with the other bikes on the downhills, (although potholes were interesting), and was obviously a talking point for almost everyone we passed. 

Quirkiness has it's moments and if all that it achieves is to raise a smile then that's enough, but when it gives inspiration too, it's gold and worth every penny.

Straining camps!!

I'm feeling particularly smug, you see just as a week long weather front of really terrible wet weather hit south of England myself, wife and a band of bike mad friends boarded a plane to sunny Majorca for a week of nothing better to do than ride our bikes......bliss!

If you have never been on either a training camp or to the Spanish Island of Majorca well i can highly recomend both. I've been a few times now, along with the other 35,000 other cyclist that need to escape the cold winter of northern Europe, believe me it's not just your fitness that gets a boost from the trip it's also the mental boost that riding your summer bike (if you are prepared to risk running the bagage handlers roulette) and letting your bare legs and arms feel the sun again after months of being covered in layers of windstopper and winter lycra gives you.

We stayed as we always do, on the north side of the Island in Port De Polenca, it's nice and quiet in March as the holiday season has yet to started, so thankfully not an England football shirt in sight and the bars with their all day English breakfast and day old copies of 'The Sun' are still closed for the winter. You can also get into the mountains with a great network of quiet back lanes that apart from a few locals, no one uses.

You can mix your rides well, with flat recovery rides to places like Petra for some great expresso and cake, as well as big mountain rides over to places like Soller, which will have you climbing up switch back turns and up great the slogfest which is Puig Major, at 1500 meters it long enough to get you feeling great to pants and back again!

Now it's not just the racing crowd that use the Island, if you have a summer of Sportif rides or maybe you have got yourself a place in the Etape then you could get a great start to season by coming to Majorca, it's tolerant drivers, big climbs and quite roads are a perfect way to get you ready for any cycling goal you have planned and it also works out cheaper than staying at home.  At 30 euros per person Dinner (each as much as you can buffet) Bed and Breakfast(buffet again) it's a bargain. http://www.pollensapark.com/pollensahoteles/hotel_park_ing.htm

Contact Pedro the manager for bookings and further information.

Trust me, you'll come home feeling smug too!! 

Injury - but the game still goes on

Being a sports person can be the most frustrating things of all times.  Not only do we put ourselves through immense pain for no reason, but we also get angry and upset at the first instance that we can't torture ourselves.  For me I am experiencing this mixed set of emotions at the moment.  After a great holiday of skiing, two months down the line I still have this indescribable niggle in my leg.  This is hindering all running as the impact brings out the pain.  I can walk, cycle, and swim fine...but of course, due to my having secured a spot in the London Marathon, the running has been the worst effected by my clumsiness.  Everyday I think “today is the day that the pain will stop”...but alas it is still there reminding me that I am human and injuries are just part of the sporting world.

So, instead of moping in my misery I need to explore this opportunity to work on all other aspects of fitness levels.  As I am trying to focus on triathlons this season, now is the time to finally force myself into the pool to work on my swimming which I enjoy the least.  I don't know whether I despise swimming due to the fact that I am hopeless in the pool or whether I just don't enjoy the thrill of jumping in a pool when it’s cold and dark outside.  Swimming in my past only occurred when I couldn't face the heat of the sun anymore...not an actual form of exercise.  But recently I have attempted to embark on this new challenge that has been forced upon me.  I have even joined a club in an attempt to motivate and encourage me.  This, to my surprise, has actually worked.  Although still in the slow lane and practically drowning after the warm-up laps...I feel a sense of accomplishment and most of all, confidence.  It is somewhat addicting as I can see the results almost instantaneously.  My breathing has eased up and I am not choking on every breath I take.  I am a born again swimmer (or just evolutional swimmer).

The other major leg of the triathlon, the one that actually takes up the most time, is the cycling.  The weather teased us earlier this year with the sun shining almost everyday, but now it seems back to the dreary winter days.  I spent the weekend cleaning the bikes, getting them ready for their next ride...but let’s hope the weather agrees with my plan.  Considering I am a warm weather rider, I have taken to in the indoors with spinning classes.  These classes are a great way to exhaust and challenge yourself.  Every class I walk into I feel like I am a decent cyclist...but every class I stumble out of, I am reminded I have a long way to go.

So, although my training is tainted and my motivation slightly altered I am trying hard to make the best of a bad situation.  I think this is some sort of blessing in disguise to force me to other methods of training and challenge me to my fullest potential.  I will, however, welcome a run...but until then its back to core training and technique building.

Do the test

I just found this superb website and had to share it.

It contains a short movie with sound (which you don't need to hear) and is completely work safe.

Do the test and then get your friends and colleagues to do it - just don't tell them the answer first ;-)

Our village bobby

Yes ok, Milton Keynes is a large town (waiting for city status) not a village.

Anyway, riding home in the rain the other night I bumped into (no, not literally) our areas Police Community Support Officer and as he was on a bike too we started chatting about bikes.
His colleagues mostly patrol on foot but he knows he covers more ground, catches more people doing naughty things and probably most importantly is seen by loads of local people - local  people seeing their local bobby on a bike is a good thing in my book.

During our chat I complained (as usual) about the amount of broken glass on the cycle paths of Milton Keynes and suggested that a lone officer was unlikely to be able to sort it out, but here's his answer:

Milton Keynes Council  has a 'Street Care Report Form' on line for reporting broken glass, graffiti etc. and once it's reported the council quickly sort the problem out. I wouldn't mind betting that every local council in the country has similar facilities on their websites - go have a look now and hopefully save yourself a fortune in punctured inner tubes.

Winter is great

Winter is great, let me elaborate.  There’s the snow, or rather the English climate’s pathetic attempt at this most magical of meteorological conditions; there’s hibernation and migration, though admittedly only animals really benefit from these; and of course there’s Christmas…and New Year…and the holiday period in general, now who doesn’t love that.

However, it is for all these reasons and more that winter is anything but great for us cyclists, a rare breed of people whose favourite pastime is cruelly susceptible to every aspect of ill weather and climate that winter has to offer, not to mention the short days.  Even if you aren’t an avid devotee of the bicycle, hitting the hills (Boxhill, Surrey in my case) at every opportunity, it does not take the greatest stretch of imagination to understand that it is simply not pleasant cycling in the rain, or the dark, or the nipple devastating cold, or worse, a combination of all these.

Put simply, when training, we all know motivation is key, and even the most disciplined struggle to find such motivation when looking out the window to see a rapidly diminishing sun, obscured by the dank drizzle of a miserable February afternoon.  As motivation is the key to training, so a rewarding goal is to motivation, and what’s rewarding about cycling for 82km’s through those conditions?  Well, quite a lot you might say, but not nearly as much as doing the same when the weather is diametrically opposite, or in other words, on a nice, pleasant, sunny day.

The more discerning of you may have picked up on a few things relating to my personal training which I’ve cunningly mentioned, seemingly in passing.  With the Reading Half Marathon looming only a matter of weeks away, my weekly 82km ride across the Surrey Hills, Boxhill to be exact, grows ever more important.  Now, the Boxhill scenery is beautiful at the worst of times, a prime example of Home Counties countryside, and cycling through it always a joy, but 82km’s even through all that still requires motivation, something which I have found has been very hard to find during the winter months.  If you’re reading this thinking that conditions have no effect on motivation, then I’m afraid you are not human, sorry!

However, with winter drawing rapidly to a close, and the much missed conditions of spring being hinted at, such as lengthening, warmer days, the desire to train is becoming easier, and easier to find.  I have to admit, it’s been a battle up to now, today being a prime example.  Compared to the past few months, today was glorious:  The sun was shining and didn’t give way to the evening until 5.30pm, thus taking the chill off the day, the wind was a perfect hint of a breeze, and there wasn’t a drop of rain - All in all, a lovely day.  Today was the start of a new training year for me, and I suspect, for many others.

With new seasons come new rewards.  Cycling, running, whatever your chosen form of torture, the completion of a grueling training session is made all the better when winter has finally given way to spring.  The only factors remaining which still hinder my progress are no longer in the realm of the climate - I have a knee injury, my first for the best part of a year, sustained whilst skiing in France during the Christmas holidays.  While this is only really apparent when undergoing impact exercise, such as running rather than cycling, it is still a concern.  Winter brought with it the Christmas holiday and with that the skiing injury, yet more evidence of the detrimental effect of this season on the active.  Even the best of us still can not help but use the holidays as excuse not to stick to our programs 100%, it is human nature.

Still, winter is now passé, spring is the new black, and with it comes the boost in motivation that will make training infinitely easier.

Riders WAGS!

Cyclist WAGS now where do I start, sitting in the Cafe today during a club run the usual subject of our partners came up. You see our Club runs are more like a weekly counciling session for it's male members. Its a chance for us too vent our home troubles over a large americano and sticky bun.

These troubles can range from 'I'm being dragged off to Milton Keynes shopping later, how many bloody cushions does one house need??' to our Club Pesidents problem that his good women is convinced he is the only binge drinker in Luton! To be fair to her, this is the same man that on the very first night of our Majorcan training camp last March, drank a bottle of Cava to himself then hit the Brandys cos I quote ' well it's cheap here!!', needless to say a hunt for Nurofen was needed next morning before any riding could be done.

But the most common problem with the guys is trying to keep hidden all the new bike kit. I always thought that it was the wifes having to hide the new shoes from the husband, but not with this lot. A gem of a story was when my mate Bronzie thought he had it licked when he hid his new frame in the garage rafters, 'its well out of site' he told me 'she will never find it! The only floor in this plan was not remembering to close the sun roof in the car. You see while pulling the car out of the garge his son spots the said frame through the roof and asks his mum why dad has put a bike in the roof?

The story I can't wait to hear is when James gets busted trying to get his new bike out of the loft. His latest pride and joy is only weeks away from being ridden but is currenty stored nice and warmly next to water tank, I even have photo graphic proof ( don't worry Jimbo i'll sure she won't read this???)

It's amazing what you can get for £500.....cough!

Working in the bike trade does help in the fact I don't have to hide any new parts that I bring home, in fact because my wife rides and races too it normally means I get greeted with 'so where's my new Oakleys then?'. But the thing is having a racing wife brings its own problems, our shelves at home have been over run with Trophies and winners medals but sadly not that many are mine. Yep i've unleashed the devil when told my then girlfriend that she should stop trying to do all the sports she was currenty doing and just concentrate on bikes.........you could do well I said.

Next week sees us at the annual British Cycling awards dinner, yep Theresa is going to collect her Trophy for winning the 'British National cross county mountain bikes series' last year and of course there isn't any jealousy on my part at all.............................honest!

Motivation.

Now we are into February and this evil westerly wind that has been battering us here in Bedfordshire for what seem like forever, my motivation to go out training for the fast approaching race season is up and down like a roller coaster.

Grinding my way up the A6 into Luton to meet up with riding buddies I couldn't help to ask myself why is motivation as short lived as a Big Brother winners career in TV? I mean I got home from Saturdays ride full of it, I'd had a good ride, felt strong and was climbing well and when I rolled up to my garage I felt like I could have done another hour easy.

So why was when I slung my leg over my trusty Trek Pilot training bike this morning it felt like I'd rather be licking road kill than riding my bike again? I mean what could have happened to my motivation while I slept, did the anti motivation pixie visit me in the night and stole it while I was sleeping??

To make matters worst, just as I was heading off when my phone rang. As pulled it from pocket my heart sank, it was my mate Simon calling. Now normally I wouldn't feel so glum to get a call from Si but the thing is he is really quick. Not only did he win the Archer GP road race last year but he also rode both the Tour of Ireland and the Tour of Britain. And now he wanted to come training with me........oh great, not only will my legs hurt from grinding into the block head wind for hours I've now got to try and hang onto Simon's wheel and try my best not to get dropped. My motivation dropped another notch.

Well after four very painful hours later I was hanging my bike back up in the garage feeling completely drained mentally and physically, but thats when my motivation suddenly started to come back. You see I had to move my new race bike, a Madone dripping with carbon Bontrager gear to get my training bike back on the hook. And thats when it hits you, you see its funny how its the small things that get your mojo back. Because you know that come the Spring when the roads are dry and the sun is shinning, pinging along on my Madone will be bliss. My mojo meter was starting to climb again.

Later while laying on the sofa with a nice double shot espresso and the latest copy of Rouler and ROAD to read my mojo click again up another notch. Reading about races like the Tour of Flanders and seeing images of the pro's in a whole world of pain as they fly up the Bosberg got me all excited about the fast approaching season and yep my motivation meter was back too full!

You see thats the great thing about it, your motivation my disappear over night, especially in the winter but it doesn't take much to get it back, well not for me anyway.

What a looker!!