Tag Archives: Cycling

An Introduction to Climbing

Until now, I have tried to make my cycling trips as flat as possible. I have focused on trying to get some miles into my legs without making the miles too hard. Although this is easier said than done in the North of Scotland, the distances I’ve been covering have made it possible.

This has been a good strategy in building my general strength and fitness, as well as developing my bike handling skills, but it’s only going to take me so far. In particular, I’m going to need to get used to some more challenging hills before I am ready to take on the “Ride the North” (RtN)challenge in late August.

Today was the first of my introduction to hills. To provide the education, I rode with two friends who will be joining me on the RtN. They are experienced cyclists and more than happy to share their knowledge (if only it was so easy to share strength and stamina!).

The plan was to head into the hills and attempt the most challenging climb we’d face during the RtN (The infamous Suie). Recognising that it’s not to be taken lightly, we took the hill on the “easy” way. This meant it would be less steep, but longer. A stiff and chilly wind, bordering on “brutal” at times, made the whole outing a bit more “fun”.

The top of The Suie… blowing a gale today!

The first two lessons of the day had surprisingly little to do with hills:

Be precise on your meeting instructions
It turns out that even relatively small towns can have more than one shop of the same brand. Our plan to “Meet outside the Co-Op at 07.45” was slightly flawed. Less than 100 metres apart, the two shops were not in line of sight from each other. Inevitably, therefore I waited outside one, while Mr P & Mr W waited around the corner, thinking I’d slept in.
Check your bike after it’s been to the shop
It wasn’t until we’d set off that Mr W discovered his seat had been adjusted while it had been in the (bike) shop. This resulted in an abortive start to our outing. Fortunately it was a simple fix, and we had the necessary tools. Today it was an amusing irritation, but t could easily have been something more material which would have ruined the ride.
Start slow, build momentum
I struggled on the first two significant climbs of the day. My heart rate shot up quickly, rocketing above my maximum level. Unfortunately I didn’t have the gears to allow me to change down and catch a breath. Instead, I had to experience the humiliation of completing some of the climbs on foot.
By the third climb I had a better strategy: Rather than pushing hard, I eased right off at the start of the climb, changing down into an “easy” gear. It’s much easier to avoid hitting the wall, than it is to re-cover from it (while still on the bike at least!).
Even with this approach, I may still invest in some new chainrings before the RtN to give me a little extra scope on the steeper hills.
Don’t expect to do it all in one go
When I did athletics, we’d describe a sudden and catastrophic loss of strength / energy as “dying”. This phrase has taken on different connotations for me over the past 9 months.
I now recognise that it’s important to stay within safe limits and not push myself too hard. There is absolutely no reason to risk hurting myself.
If this means getting off and walking from time to time, so be it. There’s always next time.,, next time I will be better prepared, and more able.

Maybe next year…

So, I’ve had my initial introduction. The big hills still make me nervous. We’ve confirmed that I have a long way to go before I’m ready to take them on, but I feel like I’m heading in the right direction. After all, I can only prepare one turn of the pedals at a time!

The Foul Mouthed Cyclist

10 Replies

Yesterday’s beautiful weather meant the countryside was a hive of activity. As I headed home at the end of my ride I passed many cyclists going in the opposite direction. Each time we passed, we repeated one of the accepted rituals of acknowledgement: a nod, a subtle wave, the occasional word of greeting.

That was until I passed Mr X:

Me: (Nodding head) “Morning!”
Mr X: (Waving fist in aggressive manner) “You @#~%er!”
… and then he was gone.

It’s perhaps an understatement when I say our brief exchange took me by surprise.

Mr X

I understand that there’s tension between Car Drivers and Cyclists. I am also led to believe that from time to time there’s no love lost between Mountain Bikers and Road Cyclists, however I was always under the impression that Road Cyclists were civil to each other… until now.

As I cycled on, I considered the potential reasons why Mr X might have behaved in this way. To be honest, I couldn’t think of a huge number:

I was flying at the time we passed each other. I was on a long descent, averaging between 25-30 miles per hour. I was on the final stretch of my ride and feeling pretty good about life. Mr X, on the other hand, was at the start of a long, slow, tiring ascent. Perhaps he was having a bad day and just couldn’t contain his frustration. I have a small amount of sympathy if this was the case.
Perhaps he had Tourette’s Syndrome and I was on the receiving end of a verbal tic. The situation was completely irrelevant to his response. If this was the case, I would not poke fun. However I would encourage other cyclists to be ready for this eventuality so it doesn’t take them too much by surprise.
The third option, of course, is that Mr X is an expert in body language and had watched me carefully as the distance closed between us. Having performed a thorough assessment, he had a couple of seconds to deliver his considered opinion. Perhaps he got it spot on!

Whatever the case, I would encourage you to be nice to each other, and if you can’t be nice, be honest!

A day of many firsts

Leave a reply

1st March 2014. The 1st day of Spring.

I beat the sun up (not physically!). Not quite the crack of dawn, but early enough for a good morning ride. Excited!

The clear, crisp morning promised an enjoyable outing on my bike. The lack of wind was almost more than I could have hoped for!

I managed my longest ride to date; just under 40 miles. I did more climbing than ever before, I even tackled what I would describe as a “proper” hill. I also spent over 2.5 hours in the saddle for the first time.

The new route featured some beautiful countryside. Spring was definitely in the air. Scotland’s a fantastic place to be on days like today!

Today’s ride through the Aberdeenshire Countryside

Overall, I feel much better about the challenges I have in store for the Summer after today’s outing. I even enjoyed the climbs. I feel like I’m getting stronger all the time. At no point did I feel like I was struggling or over-exerting myself. Being able to get outside regularly should continue to make a huge difference.

There was one first from today that I don’t want to make a habit of though…

I was about 35km into my ride, in a world of my own, keeping up a nice cadence, not pushing too hard, when out of the blue, another cyclist appeared… from behind! He just appeared. No advance notice. He was just there, and then he started to disappear down the road in front of me. How rude!

He passed me with a friendly “Morning!”. Once I had composed myself (I really was in a world of my own), I responded with a polite “Morning!” and followed up with “Of course, I would join you, but I recently had a Heart Attack.” I may have spoken a little too quietly to bridge the (fast expanding) distance between us. He continued on his merry way. Humiliating.

To be honest, I was tempted to try and stick with him for a couple of seconds, but I managed to swallow my pride and let him go. I suspect as I spend more time out and about it’s something I’m going to have to get used to, but don’t ever expect me to be happy about it!

OK, so there may be a few people that it’s acceptable to get overtaken by!

Search and Rescue

Leave a reply

Despite snow still laying in the ground, I went to bed last night hopeful that today would see my first on-road cycle of the year. I awoke from my slumber to see a clear sky, a light breeze and no signs of rain or frost. Things we’re looking promising!

The weatherman promised temperatures of between 2 – 4 degrees C. It was going to be chilly! Six layers on my upper half (two wind proof), would hopefully do the trick. Add thick gloves, a hat and a snood, two pairs of leggings and shoe covers. I was confident I would survive!

So, I headed out. Solo. Keen to test my fitness after hundreds of miles on the Turbo Trainer.

I immediately realised my judgement of the wind was over optimistic. Rather than “light breeze” I re-assessed this to be a “fresh breeze”, potentially even a “strong breeze” (Isn’t the Beaufort Scale awfully polite! I would describe the weather as being “bloody windy”. If there were a Cyclist’s Wind Scale it would have recorded something along the lines of “Liable to significantly disrupt forward motion, sideways diversions also possible.”)

However, I was out and moving (albeit slowly!). The fact that the first 20 miles of so were going to be into the teeth of the wind didn’t dampen my spirit. I was looking forward to fighting through and then flying home.

It was tough going!

Time to consider some alternative bike designs?

There were a number of options on my route. I could easily add or lose 10 miles if I wanted to. My battle against the wind resulted in me stopping to rest before the first major decision point. By the time I reached it I had decided to get the miles in and not to worry about the speed, so rather than heading home, I headed out into the country.

The road was in poor shape. Single track. Rutted and covered in debris left by run-off from recent storms. At my furthest point from home, the inevitable happened… I picked up a rear puncture. D’oh!

My options were limited. Obviously I wasn’t carrying supplies. Why would I do that? I’d never need them. Even if I had a new inner tube with me, time was against me. The conditions were far from ideal, but more pressingly we had a lunch appointment with the in-laws that couldn’t be missed!

I felt helpless and frustrated. (In reality I guess it was more along the lines of being hopeless and frustrating!)

Perhaps it’s time to get a dog?

Having quickly assessed the situation, I did what anyone would have done in my situation… I called home for assistance. I was getting close to desperation by the time that the phone was answered on my third attempt. I had got Louise (my wife) out of the shower. (I think the girls will need some more training before manning the phones in an emergency response unit. It could have taken hours before they got off the sofa to answer the phone!).

Louise: …
Me: “Yes it is an emergency.”
Louise: …
Me: “No, not that sort of emergency.”
Louise: …
Me: “I have a puncture.”
Louise: …
Me: “I’m in the middle of nowhere.”
Louise: …
Me: “Can you please come and get me?”

Fortunately the promise of a Sunday lunch with the family had put her in a good mood, and with little persuasion Louise kindly agreed to come to my rescue.

I felt better immediately, but I was conscious that I would get cold quickly. I wasn’t yet out of danger! Putting my survival skills into action I found a nice bench to sit on, in the sun but out of the wind. Perfect!

After what seemed like an eternity, Louise found me. Still conscious. In good spirits. Safe. My hero!

***

So what will I do differently in the future?

Well, firstly I guess I’ll have to practice repairing a rear puncture again.

And I guess it’s about time I started taking the repair kit and tools I received for Christmas with me when I head out. I really don’t fancy having to test my workmanship out on the road, but at least it’ll make me a (little) bit more self-sufficient (little being the operative word!).

Of course, avoiding getting punctures would be a good move too!

Surf’s up!

Leave a reply

There was a window earlier today… I was sitting in the office, looking out of the window at a perfect February morning, sun shining, a clear blue sky, not a breath of window and bone dry roads. After the miserable weather of the past few weeks, it was ideal conditions to get out on the bike.

I felt like screaming “Surf’s up!” and heading home. Screw the four o’clock Friday, it’s stopped raining and the sun’s out! A spontaneously extended weekend…

But I didn’t… and the window was a short one.

A momentary glimpse of spring in Scotland!

Having spent part of the afternoon planning my weekend cycling route, I met the girls for a Valentine’s Day trip to see a film. After a couple of hours in the dark, we emerged into a torrential storm! To make matters worse, by the time we arrived home the precipitation had turned to snow. Marvellous!

Momentum is starting to build to the Euro City Cycle now. Having got the “all clear” from the cardiologist, I’m keen to break free of the shackles of the Turbo Trainer, get some wind in my hair and some real miles in my legs.

Recently I compared my performance today against what I was capable of in October – I’m so much stronger now. I’m able to do more than 40% more distance in the same time now as I was then (following the exact same video workout). I’m really keen to see how this translates onto the road, but unfortunately it looks like I’ll have to wait.

The view from our front door… and the snow keeps falling!

As the snow falls outside, I feel I need an injection of something to keep my spirits up. My “Nordic Noire” Christmas Box-set didn’t really seem to fit the bill so I’ve cracked open my BBC “London Olympics 2012” extended highlights DVDs. That should do the trick!

C’mon Chris (Froome)! C’mon Bradley (Wiggins)! C’mon Mark (Cavendish)! I know it didn’t come off last time, but maybe there’s an alternative ending on the DVD version!!!

Back in the saddle

2 Replies

I’ve been out of action for three days since my toe trauma*. I’ve been fighting through the pain, hobbling from place to place, putting on a brave face. Sympathy has been hard to come by. It seems that comedy toe injuries demand laughter rather than sympathy, sniggers rather than tears, giggles rather than concern. So be it!

Time to “Man Up!”.

I’ve been getting lots of sympathy from the ladies in my life!

After three days of enforced rest, today was the day to get back in the saddle…

Over the past week I’ve “connected” with people doing both the Euro City Cycle and “Ride the North” events. It’s all feeling a lot more real now. There’s less than 3 months to the start of the Euro City Cycle. Time to start getting focussed!

It’s clear from early interactions that people are at different stages of readiness and very different levels of experience. I guess that’s always going to be the case. Everyone will be starting from a different base level of fitness and stamina, Everyone’s preparation will be different. So I’m expecting a real mix of fitness levels for the event.

Personally I’m keen not to hold anyone back on any of my rides over the summer. I also want to make sure I’m fit enough to enjoy them. This will obviously require me to be able to complete the events without pushing myself too hard, or putting myself in any physical danger.

I’ll be seeing my Cardiologist on Monday. It will be our first meeting since I was discharged from hospital in June (technically it’s my 3-6 month check-up). I’m looking at this to trigger a change in focus for me from “laying the foundations” to “getting ready to ride”. I realise I need to spend more time on my bike, and get outside.

My preparation approach is:

Start now. Don’t delay any longer.
Build up slowly; there is no need to go nuts. It’d probably do more harm than good.
Don’t panic!
Make a preparation plan. Set targets. Do your best to meet them.
Re-plan if necessary. There’s still time.
Enjoy it!

Personally, I’m really looking forward to the switch in focus. Bring it on!

***

* I could show you, but you may find it too distressing!

Making connections

Leave a reply

I’ve found Sunday mornings are much more enjoyable with a warm glow of satisfaction from some early morning exercise inside me. This morning, having managed to drag myself out of my warm bed I spent a productive hour in the pool.

I may be deluded, but the pool seemed quieter and more business-like than it has done in recent weeks – perhaps the impact of New Year Resolutions is already being diluted. We can only hope! The fact that it was almost light at 8am also made a positive difference… roll on spring!

This morning my fire has also been stoked by increased levels of Social Media activity, which is always exciting…

The arrival of February saw the start of “Heart Health Month”. The Press & Journal, North of Scotland’s local quality newspaper, kindly marked the event with a feature on my Heart Health story looking forward to the Euro City Cycle in May.

(Unfortunately at time of writing the Press & Journal online “Lifestyle” section is “down”, as is the British Heart Foundation Healthy Heart Month web page. I’ll update the links when they’re up and running.)

The Press & Journal article was picked up by the “Ride the North” team and publicised on their Facebook page (which is up and running!) and has resulted in some fantastic publicity, and some sponsorship for which I’m really grateful!

“Ride the North is a two day, 170 mile cycle challenge through the beautiful scenery of the Grampian Highlands in the North of Scotland.” It’s a fantastic and highly sociable way to see the area. Given it’s held in Scotland in August, perfect weather is almost guaranteed!

The event started in 2011 with a group of 38 cyclists. Since then it’s really caught the imagination of the North East Cycling community – this year there will be over 600 cyclists taking part. The event works closely with its Charity Partners and Sponsors to raise some serious amounts of money! It’s amazing what a few good people with a common goal can achieve, and I’ve a suspicion this is only the start!

Spaces for this year’s event are sold out however there may be some Charity places available if you’re interested. If it’s the same as this year, entry for next year’s event will go on sale in November.

For me, “Ride the North” will be the third, final, and, I suspect most physically challenging cycle of the summer. I’m hoping by that stage I’ll be over the feelings of “can I do it” and be able to focus on “doing it”! Can’t wait!

It’s all up from here!

4 Replies

So, it seems that the Euro City Cycle will not be starting in Trafalgar Square. We will not have the privilege of rolling out of Buckingham Palace in a regal procession. We will not even be getting clipped in to our pedals in the 2012 Olympic Park in Stratford.

No, it appears that after what I can only imagine was an intense and competitive bidding war, the honour of hosting the start of our great European adventure has been awarded to… wait for it… the Holiday Inn, Brentwood, Essex.

It’s not only distance that separates Brentwood from Central London!

While being very practical, convenient even, for our Day 1 cycle to meet the ferry in Harwich, it doesn’t quite have the glamour of other possible departure locations. It’s the equivalent of starting the Tour de France somewhere random like… Leeds!

Selfishly, Brentwood is also a bit of a trek from the Station that I’ll arrive at in London, so my trip will be a little more “interesting” than I had anticipated.

Still, we need to start somewhere, and I can understand why being responsible for a group of novice cyclists in Central London isn’t an attractive (or safe) proposition.

Hopefully our rather more cycle friendly cousins on the continent will make their major cities a little more accessible. It’d be a shame to leave Amsterdam without seeing a canal, or to depart Brussels without seeing a little boy peeing!

With the challenge laid out in front of us, I’m sure the Holiday Inn Car Park will take on new significance, and be etched on our memories as the starting point for our trip of a lifetime.

I can’t wait!

Hopefully thing are only metaphorically “all up from here”!

E-minus 100 (days) and counting…

2 Replies

in exactly 100 days time I will be setting off on my Euro City Cycle ride to Brussels. I’ve been trying not to get too caught up in all the details as it’s seemed such a long way off, but I guess now it’s time to get myself organised.

By my reckoning, there are four things that I need to arrange:

Logistics: I need to get from Aberdeen to London (and back). My preferred travel option is by train. Although this will take about 7 hours, it seems to be the simplest option, not least because it avoids the need to take my bike apart (and more critically re-build it at the other end!).

One of my current challenges, however, is that I don’t know where the cycle starts. I therefore don’t know where exactly I need to be. This issue is countered by the fact that I can’t book the train tickets until 3 months in advance, so I just need to be patient for a few days.

I will also need to stay in London overnight both before and after the cycle. I’ll select a cheap hotel that’s close to where I need to be. Again, a problem not knowing the cycle departure point!

So, not much I can do right now on Logistics other than try to get some more details… I guess knowing where you need to be, and when, are always key elements of good logistics!

Kit: This should be the easiest of to address. I can hear the advice now… “Throw a Credit Card at it!”.

Although I have a “Kit List”, the range of cycling clothes, accessories, dietary supplements, etc. to choose from is huge. Being a relative novice to cycling and a complete novice to cycling longer distances, there is quite a high probability that I’ll select poorly (non-functional, impractical, over-priced, superfluous, etc.).

Green Flash were not cool when I was at school!

I’d like to avoid the schoolboy nightmare of turning up in the wrong gym kit (for example, wearing Green Flash when everyone else has Adidas). Until I arrive on that first morning, there will always be that niggling concern that I’ll spend four days with people giggling at me behind my back! Of course I’ll be grown up about it, but these are feelings that I don’t think ever completely go away, no matter how confident you are!

I’d also like to avoid the situation where everyone else turns up with the one essential, secret item that is the difference between having a safe, comfortable, enjoyable trip… and not.

As things stand, I’ll just have to rely on luck however some advice would be helpful. Any suggestions?

My kit (and luggage) obviously has to work with the logistics. Once I’ve worked out where I need to get to in London, I need to be able to get there safely with bike, bags, etc. I suspect this is a situation in which less is more!

Sponsorship: When is the right time to start fund raising? There is an argument for “as soon as possible”, but if people are like me they will recognise they have plenty of time and do nothing. I could wait until the last minute, but that doesn’t leave much scope for reminding people.

Having pondered this for a while, I’ve reached the conclusion that right about now is a good time to start. 100 days before the event, Christmas is out of the way, everyone’s in need of the feel good factor that giving a little money to charity will provide… the timing couldn’t be better!

Sponsorship will be a feature of the run-in to the cycle, but I’m not going to obsess about it. I am paying for the trip myself so every penny raised will go to the British Heart Foundation. I’ve set myself a target of raising £3,000 but that’s just a target… it’s all good!

Incidentally, my fundraising site is up and running, you can access it by clicking here.

Thanks again to everyone who’s already sponsored me!

Training: So that just leaves training (which I also equate to Health and Fitness). So far so good I’d say. I’m cycling over 40 miles on a regular basis, and around 120 miles a week. I need to ramp it up as we get close to the event, and do more outside on the open road, but I have time. The key thing is that I look after myself.

I also have the small matter of a check-up with the Cardiologist in a couple of weeks. It’ll be the first time I’ve seen him since I left hospital in June so it’s a reasonably significant event. I’m not exactly sure what the check-up will entail. Hopefully it’ll be a formality. Fingers crossed!

***

So, that’s it. I always feel better when I’ve made a list. Now all I need to do is start crossing things off it!

I spent a few weeks working in Norway last year. Every day on my way to work I passed this road sign.

I came across it on my phone today. It makes me smile each time I see it… the things we cyclists have to put up with!

Apparently today is the most depressing day of the year. If this doesn’t help get rid of the blues I’d suggest a few miles on a bike, but mind your head!