All Over!

Well I made it.

I've been giving it a few days before I blogged to let the experience settle a little in my mind and so just record the highlights.

The journey out to Toulouse was fine - we safely negotiated our bike bags on the train to Gatwick, and the stay in Yotel was spot on. The next morning we caught our flight no problems.

BA seemed unaware that there would be a lot of bikes checked in (73 compared to the 15 the groundstaff were expecting). So there were some delays leaving, and when we arrived in Toulouse 21 had been left behind.

Ours had made it though, and we then had the long transit by coach to Pau - our hotel was the 7th of 8 drop-offs, so this all took some time.

The next 36 hours were spent really not doing very much - trying to rest and eat and drink plenty (but not any booze). I found this period very tedious - the start village was uninspiring, and it was wet all day Saturday.

During the night before the race there were thunderstorms, and the rain and low cloud met us as we awoke. Waiting in the start pens at 630 we stood like animals waiting for slaughter in the rain. We had to pee where we stood.

The ride itself was not too tough - I kept my HR under control (perhaps too much), but managed the two climbs comfortably. The descent from the Tourmalet was not fun - I'm not a descender at the best of times. We saw nothing of the Tourmalet or Hautacam as visibility above 1,000m was down to 10 - 20 m. Very disappointing.

I finished in 7:26:56 - 575th in my category, and 1585 out of about 7,500 starters overall.

This was outside the silver time of 7:05. I realised quite early that I would not make Silver - my progress on the first 100km was not fast enough.

My Garmin output is here. I accidentally switched the timer off near La Mongie and then didn't turn it on again for a few miles.

I must admit, I never really got into the ride. I just didn't feel like being there. I've ridden hard sportives in the UK, and many Alpine climbs where I have been running on empty, hugely hungover, completely de-hydrated - but I've enjoyed them. I just didn't enjoy this.

My downbeat attitude was catalysed by:
1. the weather - it was just grey and grim
2. the sitting round and doing nothing and not having a drink even through I was on holiday
3. the fact that many in our hotel did not have their bikes with them (some only arrived at 3am the morning of the ride). It seemed to bring a general cloud of depression to the whole group.

So would I do it again? Possibly, but won't be rushing back. I'd like to do some other sportives abroad - in the sunshine, perhaps not take them as seriously (I know now that I can easily get round a foreign sportive without getting swept up by the broom wagon).

I think I would also go under my own steam, and make sure I was in a hotel where there was something to do nearby (eg sightsee - we were on a major road 5km outside of Pau). I would also perhaps take it less seriously, and afford myself a few drinks the days before!

Still, I'm bike-fitter than I have ever been, and the whole thing was an experience.

Well done to all others who finished, and good luck to any who are attempting in the future. Feel free to comment and ask any questions.

A bientot !

Paul.

Last minute shopping

At work today, so just popped out at lunch to pick up some currency, weetabix and malt - meeting Harry later at the staion to catch the 1605.

Weather forecast does not look good - showers forecast for Lourdes and Pau for Sunday. This will mean inevitable rain for anywhere above 1500m.

I've opted not to take any longs or overshoes - I hope I will be ok. I have just some armwarners and a lightweight rainjacket. At least the bad conditions will help with dehydration issues. But as a tentative descender, I'll be even more anxious with wet tarmac below me. I think the large groups hurtling along the first, flattish 100km may also run into difficulties - I guess I'll have to take my chances.

Final Preparations

Just finished packing up my bike into its box and getting my bag sorted..

Done just a few gentle miles over the last couple of days. I spent last night replacing the brake blocks and trying to adjust my brakes and gears to the point where they actually worked well. Bike maintenance is not my strong point, so I may be spending much of Friday and Saturday in some further tinkering.

I am travelling down to Gatwick tomorrow after work by train and staying over in a Japanese style mini-hotel at the airport (www.yotel.com). Should be fun.

Then it's the 7:05 flight from Gatwick to Toulouse.

I'm going to try and keep updating my twitter account (http://twitter.com/gizzajob) with SMS updates over the weekend. There is actually a feed from there to this blog (upper left corner).

Obviously lots of emotions running through me at the moment - it seems to have been a long journey to get here. I must say that I have never once found the training onerous (maybe I never trained hard enough!). There have been a few occasions where I've made the sacrifice of not partying too hard because I was riding the next day, and that has been difficult. But in every case I think I enjoyed the morning ride so much it made up for not getting legless.

I feel that I'm in as good a physical condition that I could be. And this in itself feels rewarding. However I perform on Sunday, I have actually enjoyed the journey immenseley. In some respects the ride will be an anticlimax.

However, I have not really given the ride itself much thought. I love the mountains and I have not been in any large range for two years, when I last rode in the Alps. Just being there is wonderful in itself, and this will be my first time in the Pyrenees in the Summer.

The last few weeks have been so busy with work and life in general that I don't think I've prepared for it mentally. I think I will gradually unwind as I have south by train, and then plane and then coach.

I'll try and post again tomorrow before I leave work.

Cacophony in good spirits

No cycling today - Mrs G away with the girls for the weekend so I'm on babysitiing duties.

Cacophony is still in good spirits after the crash, and planning his recovery rides on the rollers.

The incident has sent shockwaves through the local cycling community though - it could have been any of us on that bend and it could have been much worse.

A few of the boys are off at the Dave Lloyd Mega Challenge tommorrow - I wish them all a good ride.

Cacophony Crashes!

Did my last long ride today, but the day has been dominated by good friend Cacophony's crash this morning.

We started off with him but then continued at their half-way point for a longer ride.

Crash report courtesy of El Cid:

"5 riders out this (Friday) morning. Harry Q and Gizzajob were heading off for a big one before tapering for the Etape Du Tour. Me, Cacophony and Rogan turned at Cavendish for an easy Friday potter.

Coming back between Beamsley and Nesfield, BAD CRASH.

It was on the 2nd blind bend. You know, the downhill before the ‘s’ bends where you can turn off for the Addingham bridge. The hedges are high on the right, its difficult to see what’s round the left hand bend, there is a small rough passing place for cars on the right hand side of the bend.

We always go single file round here. Today was no exception, Cacophony, Rogan then me. I looked across as we rode down the slope. I always look at a gateway in the wall to check if any cars are coming towards us. Today a car must have just gone passed the gateway before I looked and was coming towards the corner. It was hidden from us behind the dry stone wall.

Cacophony went round the corner. He was well on the left, brushing the foliage as you do on this corner when you take it well. The car was right there coming towards him. When he feels better he will probably be able to give us a better report of this bit. Rogan was still entering the corner and I was behind him.

Was the car coming too fast, or was it hugging the right hand side for some reason. I don’t know, but the road is very narrow at that point anyway. The timing of the meeting of bike and car was the worst it could be. Cacophony managed to miss a head-on with the car, and squeezed between the car and the wall, but he was hit in the area of the front wing/wing mirror.

I’m not exactly sure , but this looked to ricochet him between the car and the wall, with Simon ending up eventually on the floor at the other side of the road behind the car, having fallen heavily. The driver simultaneously swerved into the left bank.

Simon got to his feet , but it was obvious that his arm was broken as it was in the shape of a ‘J’ between his elbow and his wrist. There was also blood coming down his face from a cut above his forehead. How unlucky is this. Simon had washed the pads from his helmet in preparation for the Dave Lloyd Mega, and left it off. He NEVER rides without his helmet. We had just been chatting about the old days and how riding without a helmet is so liberating.

The driver was quite shocked, but we piled Simon’s bike in the back of his car and he drove off to Airedale Hospital. It seemed the best option for speed. Simon wanted to be taken home , but that is shock.

Update from Mrs. Cacophony (Miranda) - Wrist badly broken, staying in hospital tonight and having operation tomorrow. Probably staying tomorrow night as well. Been sedated - Cacophony will take a lot of sedating - he will be angry, frustrated , annoyed etc.

My heart goes out to him, the start of the summer, loads of good stuff coming up, he has been getting fitter and fitter. And then for this to happen. "

The good news is that I have spoken to him this evening and no surgery is required to reset his wrist, and he is back home tonight.

My ride details are at: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6094327

Storiths, Cow and Calf and the Chevin...

...all before breakfast.

Starting to slow down a bit after a few heavy days but did three climbs on the way into work this morning.

Hadn't been up the Cow and Calf climb for a while and forgotten how good it was.

Feeling generally pretty good - last long ride tomorrow (definitely last one this time).

Ride home from Leeds

Had a lie-in this morning, giving the EB ride a miss, taking my bike in on the train.

Nice ride home afterwards - Cookridge, Otley, Carters Land and a fast descent back into town.

Summer Solstice Ride

A special ride this morning in honour of the Summer Solstice!

An early start at 430am saw nine of us set off for the 43 mile round trip to Kettlewell and back. Beautiful, albeit fresh conditions. Lots of wildlife - pheasant, an owl at Conistone, a dear near Barden, and hundreds of kamikaze rabbits.

We all managed to get back in one piece to enjoy a coffee at 710. I then cycled into Leeds via the East Chevin.

Garmin output at http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6073317

We've eventually discovered where we are staying in Pau - at the delightful "budget" hotel Arena http://www.hotel-arena-pau.com/though we will be eating our evening meals at the Novotel.

Langbar and Leeds

No other EBs out this morning so did Langbar and then Otley and up the East Chevin and into Leeds.

Felt pretty good all the way round.

Less than two weeks to go now!

I feel like there is not much more I can do from here - just stay injury and illness free and get a few steady miles in every day or so.

Last long one

72 miles with the early-birds - myself, Earthdreamer, El Cid and Johny Roberts choosing a long option via Norwood, Greenhow, Grassington, Arncliffe, Malham, Gargrave Skipton, Addingham.

Garmin output at http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6041606

I also put my demons to bed by climbing up and out of Arncliffe without a stop. It's a tough climb of course and my HR was over 170 but I never felt like stopping today.

We also picked up of other riders for a while, and after they had peeled off and thanked us for the tow, El Cid informed me one was the great Sid Barras (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Barras)

A great ride all round.

Easy Friday

Just a gentle ride into Leeds today, as a long ride is planned for tomorrow.

Jason Le Chat has had a torrid week - he competed in the Dragon Rode Sportive last Sunday.

At mile 5 he came off and managed to (unknowingly) break his wrist. Undaunted, he got back on and tore round the course finishing 12th out of over 1300 riders on the long course. The cattle grids were quite painful by all accounts!

He is know in a cast and will have to ride with this for the Etape (or risk taking it off).

I guess it reminds me that accidents happen. Also this week, a Pro rider, Frank Schleck had a bad fall in the Tour de Suisse, He overcooked a bend and went down a ravine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHVVgS-Gq2c&feature=related

Thankfully he got up and finished the stage and is ok apart from a few cuts and bruises.

I'm especially pleased as I've got a few bob on him each-way for the TDF at 40/1 !!!!

EB and Commute

No other Early Birds this morning, so went down past Nesfield and then up and over Langbar before continuin to Otley and then into Leeds,
Can home via Otley to log about 45 miles for the day.

Garmin output at http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6041607

Back on the bike

After a couple of days in London with work, today was an easy start back with a gentle Cavendish ride and back with Harry. I was going to cycle into Leeds afterwards but felt cold and wet after being acught in a shower and decided a coffee at La Stazione and a train ride into Leeds was in order.

Long Ride

Had a drink or two last night, but today I had a long ride planned which I decided to persevere with.

I rode out with the Early Birds, who were only doing a short one today. Out through Addingham Moorside and then the back roads round Gargrave. At Hetton, the boys were going to head back but I swung left and northwards.

Stefan had some time to kill as well so decided to join me. We went up to Malham, and out past Malham Cove on quite a challenging climb. I'd not been up from this side and I'd add it to my favourite climbs as the view of the Cove is quite spectacular, and obviously whilst climbing it gives the opportunity to enjoy it.

We then rode across the limestone landscape towards Silverdale and then across to Halton Gill.

From the top we could see Littondale with a large rain cloud in and we didn't rush towards it.

By Arncliffe it had started and carried on all the way back to Grassington where Stefan was heading off to meet his family.

I pushed on, comletely soaked, but by Burnsall the road were dry and the warmth was back in my legs. Climbed well out of Burnsall hardly noticing the ascent, and at Barden I decided to add the Eastby/Easby loop. This is another great atmospheric climb.

Through the gated road and then back to Bolton Abbey and towards home. I felt great and decided that I should do Langbar as well, and then down Carters Lane to get in an extra mile or two and get my distance up to 81 miles for the day and about 9,000ft of ascent.

My average was just over 15mph which I was pleased with, and I felt strong even at the end.

I have a couple of days in London with work so will rest till Wednesday.

Garmin output at http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5985200

Stefan is doing a 24 hour mountain bike marathon next week, best of luck to him.

A solid day

EB ride down to Cavendish, and then straight into Leeds.

After work I rode home in a little light rain, but felt strong all the way back.

Garmin output at : http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5969121

Ride back from Leeds

Took the bike into work and cycled home.

Nice 20 ish mile ride through Cookridge, Menston, and Cow and Calf.

Felt pretty good.

Gold, Silver and Bronze

Back with the Early birds this morning - some lovely weather still, although a little crisper feel to it.

Went as far as Barden with Cacophony, El Cid carrying on to Grassington.

There was some email discussion between myself, Harry and El Chat as we found this on the Etape website:

Etape du Tour Mondovélo 2008 - Pau / Hautacam
Catégories Distance Temps
Médaille "Or" Médaille"Argent"
A 169,2 05:50:00 06:30:00
B 169,2 06:05:00 06:45:00
C 169,2 06:15:00 07:05:00
D 169,2 06:30:00 07:10:00
E 169,2 07:05:00 08:10:00
F 169,2 07:05:00 08:30:00
G 169,2 07:15:00 08:50:00

So for me, as a Cat C rider to get a silver finish would need to make 7:05 - quite a ask I think, but after Sunday's performance and with a little good-fortune it might just be possible (I actually forecast a finish time of between 7:30 and 8:00 but you never know).

My rough estimate of what I'd have to do is:
.................................distance (km) - speed(km/h) - speed(mph) - time (hours)
97 km to base of Tourmalet.....97 ...........35.........22........2.77
23 km Tourmalet ascent.........23 ...........12..........8........1.92
33 km Tourmalet descent........33 ...........45.........28........0.73
16 km Hautacam ascent..........16 ...........11..........7........1.45
total hours: 6.88

Mmmm...

Jason Le Chat, who after his win at the Polka Dot was after a gold, but will have to finish in 6:05 - again, quite a challenge.

Obviously, for me the aim is to finish and not get swept up by the broom-wagon, and I don't want to chase going for a silver making me blow and not get round. However, getting a silver would be great achievement for me if I could manage it. Should I go for it? It will probably mean pushing hard from the start, not waiting too long at any food-stop and taking some chances on the descent?

Life begins...

My fortieth birthday today!

Still recovering slightly from Sunday so obviously no cycling today.

A couple more photos of me from Sunday:
Going up Norwood Edge:
http://www.derekbphotography.co.uk/photo1212757.html

Just after Stainforth and the Cattle-grid climb:
http://www.cyclingimages.co.uk/photo1203550.html

Not bad for a forty year old father of three!

The Day After

Didn't feel too bad today - some slight stiffness but generally ok.

There are a lot of people walking round with sunburn though - Harry is sporting white "socks" and a tan line just below his elbow.

I wore my blue White Rose Classic t-shirt today - bumped into Oli S and so was he - we are all proud to have comleted the full distance ride!

Pictue of me at
http://www.derekbphotography.co.uk/photo1205743.html

White Rose Classic

White Rose Classic sportive through the Yorkshire dales today.

Had a great ride and completed the 116 mile, 3,900m climbing in 7:10 - which gave me a Gold standard finish.

Ecstatically pleased. This was 44 mins faster than I did it last year.

Lots of positives - will reflect on them more over the coming days as I'm pretty knackered now!

Felt strong all the way round, and my game plan of :
- just one water bottle (but I'll take two on the Etape)
- no solid food while riding just 7x 100g maxim gel sachets and some SiS energy drink
- keep my HR under control - no silly efforts or racing up the climbs
- did ok on the descents - keeping with the group and not bottling too much coming off Fleet Moss (a new max speed of 48 mph - fastest I've ever done!)

It felt like I always had something on each climb (I stayed in the saddle for most of them), and was able to push hard on the flats, even when I was on my own or doing big stints on the front.

All in all a great day - and lots of other PBs from the early birds so we were all very pleased.

Garmin output at: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5924296

Chapeau, Le Chat !

Rested yesterday and went to a leaving do for few beers last night.

It was a beautiful day today and I did the Norwood edge loop with Harry again.

Today I discovered that one of the Etapers, Jason, "Le Chat", won the Polka Dot Sportive on Sunday just gone. Yes actually won the whole event. Chapeau!

Jason doesn't ride with a club and does most of his miles from a three-times-per-week commute of 42 flat miles. Impressive stuff. I don't think I'll be even able to stay on his wheel in the Etape!

He interestingly said he rested for a whole week before that event, so I've decided that this evening was my last serious ride before Sunday.

Monday Night for a change

Felt too tird and stiff to ride this morning so went out with Harry for a late 25 mile loop round the classic Norwood edge loop. A ggod pace was kept up and generally managed to keep my HR in the right zone.

Garmin output at http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5851037

A pint of Guinness afterwards should help with the recovery.

Heavy rain forecast tomorrow.

A fast one

8 out this morning. Did a flattish route out to Buckden and back - even doing Langbar on the way back in.

For whatever reason, we flew out in a moderate headwind (20-21 mph when I could see) but came back even faster (up around the mid 20s mph at times).

It was a fast group and everyone was keen. It was great fun and that early in the morning there was hardly a car out so we moved at breathtaking (but at times seemingly effortless) pace.

Towards the end though every slight incline was a killer, and going up Langbar saw me firmly at the back of the group, although I was trying hard to keep my HR under control. Great ride.

Garmin output at http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5838888

Saturday EB

Good ride this morning out via Embsay abd back via Barden and the Langbar. Back in town for 830 so it was fast. A beautiful morning.

Rest

My wedding anniversary today (10 years!) so a lie-in this morning and a day of rest. Out in the evening for a moderate amount of merrymaking and cavorting with Mrs Gizz!

Cavendish, Langbar, Leeds and Back

Hard day in the saddle, about 50 odd miles with a full hard day at work in the middle.

At least the roads were dry and there was little wind.

Kept my HR in the 150s when going up the chevin climb (seated). This is the way to do it for the etape.

However, when I was with cacophony going up Langbar (albeit much faster and out of the saddle) I was in the 170s. Good training, but not sustainable for a long climb.

Wet, Wet, Wet

Up early today - no other EBers braved the rain, so I set off to Leeds in a torrential downpour.

Made it in one piece, almost enjoyed slogging up the east Chevin.

I was going to get the train home but decided at the last minute to brave the rain again and cycle home, thoroughly wet through.

The other great thing about today was that I had an email out of the blue from an old friend (Simon G). he is actually really into cycling as well - although he is a lot faster and better than me I think! It would be good to get our boys across to Derry for a ride with his clubmates or get them over here sometime.

Dead legs

Out again this morning with the EBs. We were planning to do a 75 mile route (same as I did last Saturday), but my legs were dead from the start. The combination of a day with no food after a week off ill, and then two days drinking and some hard cycling and my legs finally gave up!

I cut the ride short but ended up doing about 55 miles.

Garmin output at: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5771029

Not disappointed at all - it was still a great ride and knocking out a hilly 55 miler in the high winds when I'm far from my best is pretty good.

Rest tomorrow, and a good night's sleep tonight.

Hangover on the WYCR

Last night was Eurovision - and we had our usual party in honour of all things European and kitcsh!

Unfortunately, drinking tumblers of saffron gin at 2am in the morning was not good preperation for this morning's ride.

We had some friends over today, and Jason is planning to do a London to Paris ride in July so is trying to get some miles in. Our cunning plan was for me to cycle over to Brighouse (where Jason lives) and cycle back with him whilst his wife and family drove over to meet us at our place.

This was so I get some big miles in and we get our ride out of the way so we could do something with our families in the afternoon.

But I was still drunk setting off, and Jason ended up riding out to meet me (near Odsal), and then we headed out via Queensbury and Denholm to Haworth. We then picked up the West Yorkshire Cycle Route from Haworth and headed north and home. It actually ended up being a really interesting ride with some challenging climbs on some new roads I hadn't been on before. About 50 miles altogether.

Garmin put at: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5771030

Jason enjoyed it too, although I don't think he was too used to so many climbs - but he climbed really well and looked good.

For the rest of the day we picnicked and explored and played football in the park and had a generally top day (with the 6 kids between both families). Lots more beers and food as well.

Burnsall at speed

Did the EB standard ride down to Burnsall and back this morning. We did it at quite a speed (back for 830). Despite not having eaten much for the last few days I felt ok although obviously not at my best. Great to be back out on the road though.

Garmin output at: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5771031

Back on my bike and a 305

Today I cycled into work (20 miles) after 5 days off my bike. I also chose to not eat all day to ensure that any reamining tummy-bug was finally gone!

Long weekend ahead!

Over the last few days I have also decided to purchase a new bike computer and have opted for a Garmin Edge 305 (so impressed was I with John's out from last week).

Once I finally work out how to download the data I'll post the outputs here.

More rest

I still don't feel 100%. Not sure if it is the leftovers from my cold (which has largely cleared), the tummy-bug that has been in our house for a week or so, or just plain old hypochondria!

Still, I've decided not to take any chances and have rested for the last few days.

It's difficult to know how quickly to come back. I think until I feel fully fit I'll wait.

Monday rest

Still feeling a bit ropey today so going to have another day's rest and an early night.

El Cid strikes gold

It was the Etape du Dales today, El Cid finished in an amazing time of 6:38 - well within the Gold standard.

An exceptional result indeed - this has set the very high water mark for all of the Early Birds now.

Well done El Cid !

Long Ride

Long ride today with Richard and John E.

We did: Askwith – Greenhow – Grassington – Arncliffe – Halton Gill – Silverdale – Malham – Hetton – Thorpe – Barden – Langbar. Got round the 75 miles and 8,000 ft of climbing in about 6 hours. This is close to being the White Rose medium route.

John's Garmin output is at:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5684772

I paced myself well, and rode within myself for the whole 6 hours - something I don't normally do! It was nice to not be racing up all the hills, and when I got back I felt like I could have done it again. I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to but it was nice to at least think that.

When I got back though, I immediately went for a 7.5 mile run with my wife. I was pretty exhausted by then.

There has been some sickness in the house this week - hopefully I won't get it. I'm still struggling with a headcold though.

I'm going to have a couple of days rest I think.

End of a busy week

Woke up with my cold/hay-fever slightly worse this morning. I felt generally quite strong though, but decided not to ride into work - rather just do the Friday EB easy EB ride to Cavendish and back.

I'm hoping that I'm well enough for tomorrow's long ride. I'm sure I will be, but really don't want to make it any worse. So it will hopefully be a controlled 6 hour / 75 mile ride. Despite there being some big climbs, I aim to never really be outside my comfortable range. We'll see.

More miles

Cavendish followed by Storiths, and then the back road to Otley and Bramhope and Cookridge into work, and a similar ride back but I came down the steep East Chevin. I think I will try going up that way tomorrow as it looks a little safer than the main road (but it is 12% for a good quarter mile)!

For posterity, the ride in (shown from near my house rather than tagged on to the EB ride) is below:

60 Miles in a midweek day!

A ride down to Cavendish and back ths morning, followed by a hilly ride into Leeds via the Cow and Calf, Otley Chevin and Cookridge.

I had to be home sharpish from work so got the train back. But I went out later with Harry for a 25 mile loop round Barden and Embsay, which includes quite a big climb.

I've paid my final balance to Graham Baxter, and had my number confirmed from the Etape organisers, so there is no going back now!

I'm number 3699 (out of 8,500) which is pretty good as I'm not too far from the front. My friend from Nottingham (Jason le Chat) is in the same group as me so we will be able to start together.

Harry and my other friend Adam are two groups behind in the high 4,000s.

Back from the Wilderness

This blog has been disabled for the last few days - it seems Blogger.com's anti-spam filters had been triggered and it had been disabled.

After requesting a restore they have decided I am allowed to carry on. Just as well as I have no back-up.

So over the weekend I rested both days. I managed to pull my lower back muscles on Saturday so have been struggling a little since.

Yesterday (Monday) I did a gentle EB ride to Cavendish and back.

Today I did a EB ride including a climb up to Addingham Moorside, and then I rode into Leeds via Otley and Bramhope. I rode home as well. ABout 55 miles.

Hopefully I'm going to carry on with EB ride and then Leeds commute both ways for the rest of the week, and we then have a 85 mile ride for Saturday.

So a big week ahead.

Another big day

Another good day today - a more leisurely EB ride followed by a ride into work and then a ride home later with a couple of big climbs (cookridge, bramhope, otley, burley, C&C).

So over the last 7 days I've totalled (approx):
- Saturday 25 miles
- Sunday 65 miles
- monday rest
- Tuesday 20 miles
- Wednesday 15 miles
- Thursday 55 miles
- Friday 55 miles

Total: 235

I want to try and keep my weekly mileage above 200 and approaching 300 for the next few weeks!

Langbar Photos (and route)

Another fantastic day of weather today. Did the early bird ride with Mark and Harry (who was carrying on to Arncliffe). We turned and did Langbar, and I took some photos (whilst cycling) to try and capture the ride.












Afterwards I carried on into work (another 18 miles) and came back this evening too. So about 55 miles and 3 hours of cycling today.

By the way, here is the Langbar route (without the trip to Leeds) mapped at MapMyRun.com (a very useful online tool):

Sunshine at last

After what it seems like 12 months of bad weather, we have at long last had a good stretch - sunshine and blue skies.

I've been out with the early birds for the last two. Today, just an easy recovery ride, but yesterday was a hrad effort with El Cid involving Langbar and Wheatley Lane.

I feel tired tonight but am going to push on with rides tomorrow and Friday.

Carnival

Rest day today - bank holiday and our local carnival.

A wet and wild Sunday

Nine riders out on the early bird ride this morning. Out to Settle via Airton and then back on the back-roads round Gargrave. (65 miles, about 4 hours)

A little light rain on the way back but nothing too bad. There was a warm south-easterly wind.

We took it fairly easy on the way out but from Burnsall on the way back the pace was pushed and we ended up racing at breakneck speeds along past Cavendish. I put in a few big attacks which I thought I'd timed to perfection but got reeled in by El Cid and Cacophony. But we interestingly left some of the other (good) riders behing so my training must be paying off. It was also fantastic fun and I feel like I am beginning to handle my new bike a little better.

We left Richard a little earlier and found out later he had crashed on the way back on a corner I know at least two other people have come off on (OA and MS). Hope it hasn't dented his enthusiasm.

Early Bird Saturday

Burnsall this morning - followed by the Langbar climb for those I could persuade to do it.

Harry was out on his down-tubed gear-changing Claud Butler due to problems with his other bike (circa 1985), and El Cid out on his brand new superlight top-of-the range Scott!

It was a beautifully balmy afternoon - I spent most of it out on the moor with my eldest and one of her friends.

Rain forecast for tonight - but we have a hard, tough ride planned tomorrow.

Storiths

Back on the bike this morning - just Cacophony and me out at 630am. We did a brisk ride to Cavendish and then the steep climb up to Storiths. It was a beautiful morning of blue sky and Spring sunshine. Slightly colder than expected - no overshoes and my toes quite cold by the end!

Spin Classes

Been in London for the last four days with work. I managed to get into the gym for all three nights I was staying over.

Did a long hard stint on the exercise bike one night and a spin class on each of the other two.

Quite a change from outdoor cycling but I think it is really good training and a lot of fun. It is just I don't have the opportunity to do it regularly otherwise I would.

In just a 60 minute session you can flog yourself (safely) and also ride with a super-high cadence which I think is good practice. It also allows to focus on techniques around riding position and posture, and getting into a steady and consistent rhythm.

Back on the bike tomorrow morning.

Nearly off and then some speed

Out again this morning - this means 7 days ridng in a row.

We just did a 25 mile loop around Norwood edge and the Washburn Valley reservoirs.

We took a few interesting side roads - past Dob Park and then back via Low Snowdon.

First time on both roads - a couple of great roads!

On the way down from Low Snowdon, I nearly came off on a tight, twisy, manured-splattered road! I was off the road, on the verge, through some rocks and then managed to pull it back on to the road and keep going without even unclipping. A little scary but all part of the fun.

On the way back from Askwith, we built up some speed and raced along. El Cid came from nowhere near the end and left me for dead with a fast turn of pace. Actually, when I say he came from nowhere, he had been sheltering behind me, Cacophony and Marat(?) who had been doing big turns on the front driving the pace. All great fun though. A plesant Latte at Costa rounded off a lovely start to the weekend.

Fat Burner trial

Not quite a full fat burner as previously described, but last night I went for a 30 minute run, and then before this morning's ride I missed breakfast. We just did a gentle 1 hour ride to Cavendish.

I think I will push it a little further the next time I do it, but this week has been my first full week of training so prudence is the watchword!

Langbar + 3

Langbar Thursday today again. It was a beautiful morning and I was beginning to feel the effects of the heavy week as I struggled slightly up the Langbar climb.
Back in town I still has enough to do 3 reps of the Wells Rd climb.

I'm not exactly sure how high each of these climbs are. But from looking at contour lines on an OS map, the Langbar climb rises from 90m to 280m and Wells Road from 90m to about 190m. So with the other smller climbs (Nesfield, Pavilion, etc), the whole ride must include about 600m (2000 ft) of climbing.

Wednesday Speed

Out to Cavendish, and then fast back this morning. El Cid, Cacophony and myself and we picked up quite a pace - I managed to get dropped up the hill past Nesfield as they powered on. Then fast again past the lido and up "Conker" hill - quite a session!

There is talk of doing this:

Date : Sat 27th September

Venue: Ullapool, very north Scotland

Event: http://handsonevents.co.uk/handsonevents/Events/Ullapool/Ullapool.htm

Not sure about it yet!

Still Feeling Good

Back on my bike yesterday (Monday) for an easy run down to Cavendish. Felt fine. This morning I felt a little stiffer in the lower quads, but we did Storiths, Hazlewood, and back home I did 3 ascents of Wells Road whilst waitig for the train.

A few drinks tonight, so not sure what I'll do tomorrow.

A Windy Day

Rest day yesterday in preparation for today's ride.

We did about 65-70 miles including some big hills - over to Settle and back via Halton Gill. There seemed to be a headwind the whole way round but for some unknown reason I felt really strong the whole way. When I returned home I felt like I could easily have gone round again, and I was having trouble reining it in when I was on the front (much to the anger of the group who berated me constantly for going too fast!).

I always struggle with keeping the right pace and today, into a strong headwind, only working at about 70% capacity I was too fast for the boys behind. Harry Q was having a bad day as well and we left him on the way back in to struggle home at his own pace. But for some reason I felt great - even big-ringing it up the final hill we often sprint up (and I normally trail up behind all the others).

It is worth reflecting on my good "early-bird" friends as this morning was the hardcore 4 of us who are the main stalwarts at the moment.

"El Cid", is a dead-ringer for Tom Boonen. A leader and a man's man. Big and strong and yet amazingly elegant on his bike - beautifully balanced on climb, flat or descent. His style is strong and steady, but has a an amazing turn of speed when needed. He often booms out a "fucking slow down" to keep us youngsters in check.

"Cacophony", the other leader of the group, is our Marco Pantani, both in looks and riding style. He had potential in his youth to be a true great, but lost his way to a lifestyle of excess and wild partying. His riding style is erratic - not well balanced like El Cid's, but he can climb like any one of us. You never know what you are going to get with him - some Sunday's he is like a Spring chicken full of life and exuberance. Other weeks, suffering from drunken debauchery from the night before he will stop at the roadside to be ill.

"Harry Quinn" looks just like David Millar. He is tall, long-levered and has a quiet introspection. Like David he plays guitar, and is similarly tortured by inner-demons which prevent from his hitting his best. He is too tall to be an out and out climber, but is steady and measured in all things. He is the voice of common-sense to Cacophony's wildness.

To show how much they look like each of their famous lookalikes, Ive put a recent picture of each of them below.





Not sure who they would see me as being?

Talk of Time Trials

Easy 1 hour ride this morning. That's the 4th day in a row I've cycled, and 5 in the last 6. Including the Lakeland Loop, about 150 miles. Rest day tomorrow, and then a tough 65 mile ride planned for Sunday.

I'm thinking of doing some local time-trials this Summer. I've got a very old TT bike - I showed some photos of it to my friends and they thought it quite amusing, and perhaps a little dangerous.

It is a early-80s lo-profile Basso. I bought it on ebay a few years ago and did a fair few Triathlons on it. It is an amazingly aggressive riding position, and has beautiful thin steel tubing.

The picture on the left is when I first got it - it now has bar-end shifters and is 14speed!

The picture on the right is me riding it in the 2005 Nottingham Triathlon.

I must say I'm quite looking forward to getting out on it - but it is very uncomfortable!

Langbar Thursday

Another easy one this morning - cavendish and home via Langbar. A couple of hill reps when back in town.

It's funny how this is now an easy session - despite climbing about 400m before breakfast!

Wednesday Cavendish ride

Easy ride out to cavendish, Storiths on the way back and then an extra 20 minute hill-reps whilst waiting for the train.

Back to Cavendish, and training discussions

Back on my bike this morning - down to Cavendish and back. I actually felt ok - no signs of the hardship I had been suffering less than 48 hours earlier.

Picture of me taken on the ride by Digitalfeel:



During this morning's ride, and later in the day, there was some talk of the right training for competing in 6 hour + sportive rides.

My thoughts on it (taken from an email) follow:

For the first two things mentioned:

* To build strong muscles where they are needed - primarily legs, but also to a lesser extent core body fitness.
* Heart and lung fitness

I agree can be trained from short-term exercise. For muscle building to increase strength and power, you need to push the muscle fibres past their limits which then tiggers a response by the body for them to be repaired and their size and density increased. This can be achieved through exercise within our 1 hour timeslot.

Similarly, for heart and lung fitness, you can stress your heart (which is muscle) in the same way, and by pushing the limits of your cardiovascular system you can increase its efficiency as your body will adapt to cater for the demands. Again we can achieve this in our 1 hour slot.

However, it is the third of your list that is the issue:

* Stamina / endurance.

Looking at some basic physiology helps here. From wikipedia:

"Glycogen forms an energy reserve that can be quickly mobilized to meet a sudden need for glucose, but one that is less compact than the energy reserves of triglycerides (fat).

Glycogen debt and endurance exercise

Due to the body's inability to hold more than around 2,000 kcal of glycogen, long-distance athletes such as marathon runners, cross-country skiers, and cyclists go into glycogen debt, where almost all of the athlete's glycogen stores are depleted after long periods of exertion without enough energy consumption. This phenomenon is referred to as "hitting the wall" or "bonking". In marathon runners it normally happens around the 20 mile (32 km) point of a marathon, where around 100 kcal are spent per mile,[citation needed] depending on the size of the runner and the race course. However, it can be delayed by a carbohydrate loading before the task.

When experiencing glycogen debt, athletes often experience extreme fatigue to the point that it is difficult to move."

What we suffer in our longer rides is glycogen debt. This is the only things that slows us down as our bodies efficiencies in strength and heart/lungs abilities don't depreciate.

We start off with about 2,000 kcals, but I use about 500kcals per hour when cycling (about 800-1000 when running).

So after about 4 hours I am out of glycogen. Now I can supplement this by taking more food, but even with Clive's magic gels my body can only metabolise about 250 per hour.

So I can last about 6 hours overall.

This actually ties in with my riding (and running) experience. It is that 6-10 hour period where things go wrong.

So how can this be improved?

The body also uses fat reserves for energy. This process is a lot less efficient than glycogen use, but the body holds a lot of fat (enough for days of effort).

So the key is to train your body to use it's fat reserves more efficiently, and this can be done by forcing the body into glycogen debt and carry on exercising.

The best way is to ride for 6 hours plus, as this is similar to race conditions. But of course this is hard to find the time for, even on a Sunday.

The other way is to start with as little glycogen in reserve when you start.

This can be done, and has been done by runners, through this:

Evening: go for long steady run of 2 hours (or cycle 2-4 hours)
After: Eat nothing, but re-hydrate.
Sleep.
Morning. Don't eat again and go for another long ride/run.

The theory is that you then start in the morning with lowered glycogen reserves - perhaps as low as 500kcals. So after just 1 hour of cycling or 30 mins of running, you are in glycogen debt, simulating the point that a 6 hour ride would normally put you in.

This will be a tough session, of low speeds and hardship, but will train your body to burn fat efficiently. It also an amazing way of losing weight, albeit especially taxing.

So I am thinking of doing this once a week in the run up to the etape, especially as it's getting lighter in the evenings.

I'll do a 2 hour run or ride in the evening, no food, and then a long ride in the morning (probably a EB Cavendish Ride followed by Keighley Gate/Canal into Leeds). This morning ride will likely take me 3 hours, but will be simulating the period I will hit in the Etape and White Rose between 6 and 8 hours.

Clive didn't actually think that your body can be trained to use fat very much more than it does naturally, but this approach is used by Ironman triathletes and ultra-distance runners (or so the magazines say).

I could always do the Sunday ride on an empty stomach and take no food, but that would spoil the enjoyment of the group ride, and I may get dropped towards the end of it.

I think I'm going to start from next week. So my schedule will be:

Sun - 4-5 hour quality ride
Mon - easy EB 1 hr
Tuesday - EB hilly+ extra hill reps - 1.5 hr
Wednesday - EB fast + extra hill reps
Thursday - EB hilly (optional, maybe rest)
Thursday night - 2 hour run on moor
Friday am - EB easy + moor/canal to work (fat burner)
Sat rest.

The only modification to my current training plan is the evening/morning fat-burner combo.

I'll try and throw that session in as often as I can, but not more than once a week.

We'll see how it goes.

The Day After

Results are now out for yesterday's Lakeland Loop.

I was actually surprised how high up the field I came - 65th out of 301 finishers in 04h-56.

Given I struggled up the climbs, it implies that I went quite fast on the earlier sections and had nothing left for Hardknotts and Wrynose.

But as I said yesterday, I felt ok in myself, even whilst climbing - I just didn't seem to have the peak leg strength for those couple of minutes when I needed it.

I also felt like I was psychologically not in the game.

I normally embrace climbs - it is great to be staring at a road in the Alps and seeing the glints of cars all of the way to the top.

But yesterday when I saw Hardknotts, it just seemed TOO steep to climb. Maybe I convinced myself it was before I even started.

When I used to rock-climb, we often talked about our relationship with the rock. Some people saw it as their friend, it working for them, helping and coaxing them up. Offering them holds when they needed it and friction when it counted. A holistic relationship of love.

Others saw it as a battle - climber versus rock or ice. The climb is trying to prevent you from getting to the top and you must beat it into submission and claim your victory. I used to think of the Ali picture of him standing victorious and comtemptous over the fallen and beaten body of Sonny Liston.


I actually felt both feelings depending sometimes on the climb (I loved pocketed limstone and hated gritstone), but more often than not, my attitude was based on how I felt. And in fact how I was feeling about life in general.

So was I looking for love on Sunday when I should have been beating those climbs into submission? Alpine climbs at 7-10% that last for 25km have been long, pleasurable encounters for me. Short British climbs at 30% pehaps need a more Ali approach?

Lakeland Loop

Today was my first sportive ride of the year – the Lakeland Loop. About 70 miles around the Lakes, with about 2,500m of climbing.

Obviously riding in the Lakes is generally tough, but in the spirit for the ever-increasingly popular sportive ride, this was intentionally hilly.

The sting in the tale were climbs over Hardknotts and Wrynose passes, were each rise to a stupidly steep 30% incline.



It was a glorious day – a beautiful spring morning. Five early-birds were travelling together and it was good fun in El Cid’s van. Sad cyclists’ talk of energy-bars, shaving our legs and gear ratios!

I felt good on the few early climbs but then did a fairly long stint on my own – I chose to take it quite easy as it was truly beautiful whizzing along the lakeside road.

The EBs caught me up and we rode together for a fair while, working well and getting a good pace going.

However, once I got to Hardknotts, the sheer sight of it did me. I chose to let the others go on and take a few minutes to enjoy the view (well, actually have a rest). I thought that this would then fortify me for what was going to be a tough climb. But my training had been going well, I was on my new lightweight bike and I was wearing my new white bling shoes. It should have been easy!

But for reasons I still don’t quite understand – I was defeated. I had to stop two further times going up Hardknotts, and again near the top of Wrynose. I just didn’t seem to have the leg strength to be able to push the pedals on the very steepest sections. My heart and lungs seemed fine, I was not full of lactic acid and I had eaten well - it just felt like I didn't (or ever could) have the leg strength to get myself up there.

So it was a great ride and wonderful experience, but I was disappointed with my overall performance.

I had hoped to do all climbs without having to stop on them, and I was expecting to get round quicker than my early-bird buddies (in fact I came 4th out of the 5 of us).

Cacophony did a great ride, getting up the climbs and finishing 5 minutes or so ahead of me. He of course is a great rider with a lot of experience, but he is 7 years older than me and 3 stone heavier! On any sprint or flat section he could leave me for dead, but on climbs I should be ahead of him.

Well done Cacophony! Chapeau!

Also riding well is a new cycling buddy called Roentgen who, beat us all with a fair bit to spare.

Two other friends had interesting rides - Stefan's bike broke on the first climb and I think he retired, Bob stopped to fix a friend's puncture, later managed to fall off at high speed but of course still breezed up the climbs.

More analysis tomorrow.

Pre-Race Prep

A rest day yesterday, and today perhaps best not described as rest but at least an easy day.

We had the in-laws up for the weekend, so Mrs Gizzajob and I made the most of the on-hand babysitters. My dear wife has just started running again, so we went for a very pleasant 6 mile run at an easy pace.

This evening we went out for a few drinks and dinner at a local hostelry. I was probably best having an alcohol-free day and an early night but it was great to get out for a few hours.

Turner's Lane

Nice ride this morning. Addingham and Turner's Lane. Quite a long hilly ride but we we did it in less than an hour which is quite a pace. Poor old El Cid was struggling and went back early - he was accusing me of giving him one of the gizzajob viruses but I'm not sure.

It is the Hell of the North on Sunday - both the Paris-Roubaix and the Lakeland Loop!

Spring has Sprung

EB ride down to Cavendish this morning - just Richard out with me. Last hard ride of the week planned tomorrow and then two days of rest planned before Sunday's Lakeland Loop.

Barden and Langbar...and Gerrard and Torres

No other early-birds out this morning so I opted for a longer ride out to Barden and then back via Langbar.

Tonight saw Liverpool overcome Arsenal in an epic Champions League quarter-final encounter.

Rest

No riding today. Too much beer last night. It was great to have a night out with all the early-birds though.

More bad weather forcast for the next few days, but it is my first sportive of the year on Sunday (Lakeland Loop) so will be tapering my training for that.

Two Rides over the weekend

After having 5 days off the bike, I've had a good weekend - riding both yesterday morning and this morning.

A nice gentle 25 mile ride (in torrential rain albeit) yesterday, and about 45 hilly miles under glorious blue skies this morning. Felt great this morning - came back on my own and big ringed it all the way - I'm thinking of doing the odd time-trial in the summer.

This evening is the Early-Birds second birthday party which should be good fun!

A week's rest

I've been off my bike since Sunday's ride - in fact I've done no exercise to speak of.

The chill/cold/virus or whatever it was that I was suffering gone has finally lifted, and today I feel almost 100%.

Tomorrow morning I aim to go on the 2 hour early-bird ride, and hopefully it won't cause any problems.

The Horror of Littondale

Today was a tough, tough ride and for once I was off the back, cast adrift in a place of despair, pain and suffering I am not used to!

It was a long early bird ride - Arncliffe and then over to Malham - a road I did not know. It was also the "a" team out - probably the fastest group of early-birds (well, fastest considering we are all middle-aged fathers-of-many).

There was a strong headwind all the way out, and by Arncliffe, after having done a couple of hard stints on the front, I was dead. This was not helped by not wearing my rain-jacket and being thoroughly soaked through.

A quarter of the way up the climb, the headwind was so intense that I had to stop and unclip, and push for the final section of the steep bit. The ignominy!

And in case you aren't sure what ignominy means, from dictionary.com:
1. disgrace; dishonor; public contempt.
2. shameful or dishonorable quality or conduct or an instance of this.

I felt awful from there on in, and struggled home to suffer for the rest of the day.

I'm obviously not feeling well, so a few days off the bike is planned. Which is a real shame as I have three days off work and the weather is starting to look good.

The other day I waxed lyrically about why and how I felt so strong, and today I don't know why I felt so bad.

The above text is littered with excuses though, which is a bit of a kop-out.

Perhaps it was just a bad day at the office.

A hard week catches up with me

Struggled out of bed to the sound of torrential rain and made it down to the meeting point for 630am to meet the other Early Birds.

Everyone else saw sense and chose to stay in bed, so I cycled down to Cavendish and back. There were strong winds and driving rain on the way back and I went straight to my train cold, wet and very weary. Spent the rest of the day trying to warm up.

Still, it's been a good week's training. Over the last 7 days I've ridden 5 times (in total maybe 11 hours of riding, 160 hilly miles) and ran once (5 miles).

I've come though it with no mishaps.

Tomorrow is rest day and then a longish steady ride planned for Sunday.

Stan Ogden

Out with the Early-Birds this morning - 5 out - a good turnout.

We did the Langbar climb followed by a ride out to Cavendish and back. It's quite tough doing the big climb first thing, as there is no chance to get warmed up. Still, I felt really good on the climb, even leaving Bob a little behind. I hadn't actually clipped in one of my cleats to the pedal as I was having problems with a torn overshoe!

However, we all rode well, as we were back home within an hour. I then had some time to kill before my train so I went up with El Cid and then carried on the steep climb to the top of the tarmac near Silver Wells. I amazingly found it quite easy, getting nowhere near my lactate threshold as I normally do on that very steep climb.

I bombed down without a stop to admire the view, and then did another loop round Wells Rd and Queens Rd again, at pace, and without getting out of breath.

So after having quite a tough week following Saturday's epic ride, I was amazed to see me riding so well.


I was trying to figure out if I'd done something differently in preparation, and was reminded of an old (from the 70s) episode of Coronation Street. Stan Ogden, a classic anti-hero of British Soap has a dream in which he sees a horse winning a race. The next day the horse wins, but he doesn't back it. The rest of the episode shows how his missus, Hilda, and best mate Eddie Yates try to re-create the conditions of the day before hoping he will have a similar dream and forecast another winner. He has to do the same things in the same order, the same food and so on.

So, as to me re-creating my form from this morning, it is interesting that I ate quite differently last night and this morning from I normally do. For reference, and for my own fading memory, I had:
- tea of filled pasta with pesto and a tomato salad at about 7pm
- chopped banana with single cream (slightly on the turn)
- at about 10pm I had the munchies and had 3 weetabix with full-fat milk
- this morning, there was no bread for my normal toast, so I had a giant bowl of Weetos with milk, and two cups of coffee

Is this a winning formula? I will try again one day, but not for tomorrow.

I don't think Stan ever had the dream again, or at least they couldn't interpret the dream he was having, and kept picking the wrong horse. So for me, was it the banana, the weetabix or the weetos which did the trick?

Easy Run

No cycling today, but back to work.

Got off the train a couple of stops early and had a gentle run back (about 5 miles) at about 7:20 mins/mile pace.

Langbar, Carters and Wheatley Lane

An early post for a change!

Another glorious morning in Wharfedale! Bright blue skies above the residual snow lying high on the moors.

It is still sub-zero, with icy patches on some roads.

El Cid, Cacophony and Richard joined me on the Early Bird ride.

The others did Cavendish and back as there were some tired legs and work commitments to attend to. I did Langbar, Carter's Lane and then up Wheatley Lane. My new bike climbs well and it felt like I was fast on the climbs but it's hard to tell when you are riding alone.

I have some cable adjustments to attend to on the bike, which will tax the outermost extremes of my bike maintenance skills over the next few evenings.

I was back before any of the family awoke, and we have a trip to a local Farm Park to look forward to for the rest of the day (I'm off work).

A Perfect day.

Bank Holiday

I did the early bird standard Monday ride down to Cavenish this morning - on my own. I wasn't expecting anyone else to be there but somehow it suited me to be out at that time.

Perhaps my body is now so used to being up and out for 630am that I'll never ride at a sociable time again. I also knew that El Cid and Cacophony would not be riding so it felt somehow right that we had some representation out in case anyone else showed up.

In the afternoon we drove across to Liverpool to visit my Mum and Dad and went out for a nice lunch, and then visited my sister and her family before returning. We also had the chance for brisk walk along the seafront at Crosby where my sister lives.

It is a rugged and atmospheric stretch of sand, blessed currently with Antony Gormley's "The Other Place". It is my favourite piece of installation art - an amazing array of lifesize cast-iron figures looking out across the Irish Sea.

Easter Snow

A rest day today - I was going to go for a long fell run, but woke to find several centimetres of snow.

Instead of going for a run, my eldest two children and I went for an early morning play in the snow.

Great fun.

As it was Easter, the day was then filled with a combination of wine, chocolate, roast lamb, more wine and more chocolate.

A good chance for my body to recover after yesterday as well.

Blizzard

Well, we made it.

5 riders set off at 7am. There had been some snow overnight and it was bitterly cold (the view from our house is to the right showing the conditions). I know it doesn't look too bad, but we are at 100m asl and that is the lowest we'd be all day, climbing eventually to the highest road in Yorkshire at the top of Fleet Moss (565m).

I was joined by our spiritual leaders El Cid and Cacophony, and Harry and Stefan.

El Cid's suggested that as we would be heading into a 20mph headwind all the way to Hawes, that we should proceed single file with a 1 mile turn on the front each.

As soon we headed past Cavendish and headed due north the snow started. We then had about 10-15 miles or pure tortuous riding into a blizzard.

When on the front the snow blinded us so we could hardly see where we were going. Our speed was dropping to single figures, even on the flat, and the uphills into the wind almost brought us to a standstill.

Still, we kept our shape well apart from a few times when I broke rank to take an early turn on the front. Shouts of derision from the pack and a stern talking to by El Cid soon showed me the error of my ways - I was only trying to help though!

I was on my new bike and after a few posts ago saying we needed to have some adventures together, then we certainly had one today. It performed really well in the conditions and I felt comfortable on it, apart from the saddle which I need to adjust.

By the upper reaches of the river Wharfe the snow had ceased and then we just had the climb to the top of Fleet Moss to contend with. I pushed hard and tried staying with Stefan, managing to stay within spitting distance to the top.

There were some fantastic views - it was like being in the Alps in Winter (well almost).

At the top we said our goodbyes to Stefan who was heading back home.

We then just had the long steep descent to Hawes which was keeping us from our breakfast.

However, the snow and ice were lying on the road and we had to gingerly descend giving way to snow ploughs. The conditions were treacherous but we all made it down in one piece - just one fall as Cacophony decided to go through a 2 foot snow drift (soft landing though).

After a greasy breakfast and lots of tea to fortify us, Harry and I set off east along Wensleydale, while El Cid and Cacophony headed west towards their destination in the Lakes.

We then had a lovely stretch on the back road through Askrigg to Aysgarth, and then swung south and along and up Bishopdale. The snow descended on us again, but the wind was not in our faces and not quite as bad.

We made it back to Wharfedale and our home territory and arrived home at about 2pm, about 82 miles since we set off.

At the end, both Harry and I felt good, knowing we had conquered what are probably the worst conditions either of us have cycled in for a while, put in over 80 miles and 6 hours of cycling, but still felt pretty strong at the end.

(A photo from the top of Fleet Moss and of Aysgarth Falls follow - courtesy of Harry)

Good Friday

We had a nice gentle ride this morning, down to Cavendish and back.

The weather is turning wintry again as some strong Northerly winds are bringing in sleet and snow over the next few days.

Our long ride is still planned for tomorrow, but it's going to be tough. We are planning on heading mainly north along the Wharfe and then over Fleet Moss to Hawes. As well as climbing to 565m asl, we will be heading into a 20mph wind bringing sleet with it. It shall be an experience.

I have just received some (encouraging?) texts from El Cid:

"Ready for action men! I have a plan for us to take on and master the headwind. Tomorrow, we ride!"

"Eat, service your woman and sleep. For the trials which await us promise hardship and danger. We must be ready"

"Bade farewell to the kinder"

A fast descent

Out with El Cid and Harry this morning - Cavendish followed by a detour through Addingham Moorside on the way back home.

It's a really nice climb and I felt strong all the way. I even managed a fast descent from the top which is something I rarely have the belief in my bike handling (or my bike) to manage.

It's Maunday Thusday today, so a long weekend off work ahead of me.

Big ride still planned for Saturday, but the weather looks grim.

Of bikes old and new

Out for a glorious ride this morning - beautiful blue skies above Wharfedale as we rode out to the Cavendish and back.

And more importantly, I finally got out on my new bike. I am very happy with it and it performed really well (better than I did as my new bike is Shimano and all my other bikes have been campag, and I struggled a little shifting gears).

It felt fast and effortless at times - very responsive cornering and braking which I'll have to adjust to!

Picture of the new bike in the front room, to the right.

The bike is a Focus Cayo Expert (2007). I think we are going to be good friends.


But as pleased I am to have my new bike, it is sad to relegate my old "Graham Weigh" to summer hack.

My Graham Weigh was bought some 6 or 7 years ago, and feels like an old friend and we've been through some great adventures together.

The 10-15 triathlons
The 3 trips cycling in the Alps
The commutes, the leisure rides, the holidays
20,000 mostly happy miles

It was with me when we crested Alpe d'Huez just a few hours before watching Armstrong take Basso to claim a 6th Tour De France.

It was with me when I looked deep into my soul cycling the Col de La Madeleine (for the second time that day) in the fading light knowing I had to get to the top as I had the car key!

It was with me when I beat Kelvin on the Ashbourne Duathlon.

It was with me through all the bad falls (Huddersfield 2006 - ouch!).

It was with me on those early morning commutes from West Bridgford to Derby with Nip and James, hurtling along in a 3-up in the wind and rain.

It was with me on the Leeds-Huddersfield rides, getting lost and discovering West Yorkshire.

It was with me on the great rides with Nip and Stefan over Snake and Holme Moss.

It came on the Ferry to Zeebrugge, discovering Genever in the morning and happy times drinking beer in the afternoon.

Some great times I will never forget. But I'm sure my new bike and I will form a similar bond once we have the chance. We have the Tourmalet to look forward to, and Hardknott and Wrynose in a few weeks time!

Below are some of those memories, and yes, the road sign at the bottom of Madeleine was the reason for the photo!

Well Again!

So after my last post on Friday, I was feeling like a stinking cold was coming on.

Well it did, and on Saturday I woke up feeling pretty rough. However, I made a great decision! Rather than ignoring how I felt, taking some ibuprofen and going out on my bike, I decided to rest.

So I took it as easy as possible on Saturday and Sunday.

On Monday I was feeling a lot better - and although I was back at work, generally felt stronger through the day.

Today (Tuesday), I ventured back on my bike for a "storiths" ride with the EBers, and felt really great - 100%.

So a couple of 1-2 hour rides over the next few days and I'll be fit and well for our planned big ride on Saturday.

And the lesson learnt?

IF I'M NOT FEELING WELL - REST DON'T RIDE!

Not Again!

Can't believe it - I have another cold!

I curtailed my ride this morning and just did a gentle 1 hour ride, but I have steadily felt worse all day. I was going to have my long ride tomorrow morning but not sure I will. What is best - to rest or keep my legs turning?

Another tough ride

A tough ride with the EBers this morning - fast back, Curly Hill and then Wheatley Lane with its stupidly silly 16% gradient.

Bob was out again, and his cheerful enthusiasm seemed to spur us on to go fast - maybe too fast. I for one am hopeless at judging pace.

Recovery and some other blogs

Wintry weather again today - I had a gentle run, getting off the train a stop early. Still feel a bit tired after yesterday's ride, but I'm planning on going out again in the morning.

By the way, here are some other blogs which I've come across:

My old friend Harry is keeping a similar one to mine: http://harrys-2008-training.blogspot.com/

Bob, a local fell-runner and cyclist of many an interesting tale: http://www.cyclosport.org/members/myBlog.aspx?mid=2647&size=5

This is one from another first-time Etape'r who I've come across and communicated with (lots of technical stuff and interesting metrics on this one): http://etapedutour2008.blogspot.com

And this is one I came across from last year's etape - the posts about the race itself make interesting reading: http://www.etapeorbust.blogspot.com/

Langbar, and a man called Torres

Six early-birders out this morning, in blustery but dry conditions. Cavendish Pavillion followed by the wondrous climb past Langbar, just below Beamsley Beacon.

Felt great on the climb, but think I'll give tomorrow's early-bird ride a miss as I think it took it out of me. What also took it out of me was several more pints of black sheep (leftovers from the christening) whilst watching the mighty reds despatch Inter Milan at the San Siro.

Attached is a picture of the great man himself, Fernando Torres.

Back to normal

Back to work after the long weekend. Had a terrible night's sleep last night - 3 pints of Black Sheep, two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon and a table full of rich food at yesterday's party was the main problem.

Also, the excitement of watching West Brom get into the FA Cup Semi-final with my mother-in-law who is die-hard Baggies didn't aid my digestion.

A gentle run along the canal at lunchtime helped sort me out.

I'm hoping to cycle Tues, Wed, Thu and Fri with the Early Birds, and then a long ride on Sunday.

Le Chat and Harry Quinn

Well, today was my youngest daughter's baptism - and a chance to catch up with some old friends.

You can find the christening photos on facebook, but the one here is of a couple of buddies who will be joining me on the Etape. Harry Quinn(Lilac) on the left - (he's a HMHB fan) and Jason "Le Chat" on the right of the photo.

Today we swapped tales of not quite doing enough training.

I'm in the middle - can you see how small I appear? This has got to be a benefit when climbing up mountains on bikes, surely?

The Red Kite with the Early Birds

4 keen early-birders out this morning.

An old favourite ride up Norwood edge, round the reservoirs and back.

We saw a Red Kite which was skirmishing with a rook about 20 metres from us.

I felt strong despite the efforts yesterday, and we all rode well (all 4 are doing the long White Rose Classic ride - for John and Richard it will be their first attempt, but I think they will do well on June 8th!)

Day off tomorrow! My youngest daughter's baptism so it shall be a special day.

The Beauty of Littondale

Well, I managed the ride.

Despite it being quite wet setting off at 630am, I felt keen to keep to my plan of doing my long ride.

After waving goodbye to the early-birds at Cavendish Pavilion at 7, I set off in good spirits. There was a stong headwind all the way out along Wharfedale and Littondale to Halton Gill. I rode well and kept it solid all the way.

The climb out of Halton Gill is one of my favourite climbs - the view back along Littondale is a marvellous site. Today, especially, it was beautiful. The sun broke through the clouds and illumited one side of the u-shaped valley. The Skirfare also caught the glint of the sun and looked like a silver serpent as it wound its way across the bottom of the valley. Amazing.

At the top I was accosted by 200-300 sheep. I think they were expecting some food from me!

Once under Pen-y-ghent, the wind was a devilish cross-wind which buffeted me all along silverdale.

I punctured on the steep descent into Malham and enjoyed the respite as I leisurely repaired it.

I did the whole ride in about 5 hours, which was a pretty good effort. I was pleased as I finished feeling really strong - I could have done it again (or so I thought!).

Right now the Tourmalet and Hautacam hold no fear for me.

Lambs and Deer

Back with the Early Birds today. A nice 20 miler with a steep climb towards the end up Addingham Moorside. Saw a field full of Spring lambs on the way out (and an unfortunately dead deer on the side of the road on the way back).

I felt quite strong for a change, although Mark dropped off the pace early as he wasn't feeling well, Cacophony's chain fell off and El Cid was at best heavily hung-over and at worst still drunk! It was nice to be on a lighter bike, but my new one is still wrapped up (despite having it since December - a tale for another Post!)

Tomorrow I have a day off work and am planning a longish ride (~70 miles) with a few nice climbs - it is effectively the Route 2 ride of the White Rose Classic, minus a bit at the start.

Back in the Gym

Working away in Swindon for the last three days. Managed to spend a couple of hours on both Monday and Tuesday night in the gym - yesterday I managed a 1 hr 45 min session on the exercise bike which was tough.

Today I travelled back and had a rest day.

Back on the (real) bike tomorrow!

Lost Weekend

Managed to sleep in and miss the ride I was going to do on Saturday. Today was Mother's Day so it was breakfast in bed for my wife, lovingly made by our daughters.

Long ride

Did a long ride into work this morning. EB ride followed by canal ride. Hard work but a good effort.

Back with Early Birds

Back with my EB chums for some local early morning fun. Did a long hard 80 minute ride - I was way off the pace having not cycled for over a week and the fell race still in my legs, but felt good to be back on my bike!

Swindon..and the gym

Spent two days working in Swindon, but managed to do an hour in the gym Monday night - a 40 minute uphill slog on the bike and 20 mins core stability. Not bad as I felt tired after Sunday's exertions and had two long days in the office (or travelling).

Ilkley Moor Fell Run

Despite celebrating my friends 40th birthday with a wine-tasting party in Nottingham last night, I ran in the Ilkley Moor Fell Race.

I managed to better my time by 2:30 (about 5%) compared to last year, so well pleased.

Canal Run

Good strong run on the canal towpath at lunchtime. Sub-zero tempearatues finally gone and replaced by wind and rain again.

It feels like we have had some extremes of weather this winter. I'm not sure if there really has been or whether I'm just more aware of the conditions as I'm trying to be out running or cycling at all sorts of unsocialable hours!

Attached is a photo from the recent frosty period which is the view from the front of our house looking North-West along the Wharfe Valley.

Frost and Mist

This week has been dominated by some extreme weather again. Freezing conditions (down to -9 C) and mist.

Not been on my bike but managed a couple of runs, one over the moor,

Rest today, and a long day working in London.

Will run tomorrow and then try and cycle Friday or Saturday.

It's the Ilkley Moor Fell Race on Sunday which I'm hoping to race in.