Riding My Bike A Bit....

10 Fred Whittons in 10 Days - All about People - Good People

2011-05-25T12:16:00.005+01:00

For the last three mornings, my body has been saying to me,

"What, we AREN'T going cycling today? Thank goodness for that!"

I know that it may sound a little strange, but with everything that the elements threw at me, and the fact that there is no getting away from the reality of how tough the Fred Whitton route is, from a personal point of view I had SUCH a good time. The guys who rode with me and those I met when I was in the thick of it probably saw that better than anyone.

I was asked yesterday if I felt euphoric about completing the Challenge that I'd set myself, and I said quite genuinely that I was still a little bit *close* to it for that. I'm starting to realise that I experienced that euphoria throughout the whole 10 days! And it is only now that my body and brain have started to tell me that they are in fact, VERY tired, and would like a rest please!
And what was not to like? I was privileged to be able to spend 10 days cycling around Lakeland - often in the company of really fantastic people - and I got to see pretty much ALL of the 'faces' of that beautiful area.

I loved testing myself time after time on those magnificent climbs.
I loved that no one section was the same each day - Yes, even the A66 ;o)

But you know what? This whole thing was about SO much more than Riding My Bike a Bit....

The focus was very much to do something that would challenge me with a real possibility that it would be too much - and to do it in a very simple way.
Me.
My bike.
And very little fuss.
The simplicity of it was part of the attraction to me.

When I spoke to Macmillan Cancer Support about what I was planning to do as a fundraising effort for them, I was astonished at their response. They are a large charity, and with some large organisations when someone 'small' offers to do something small, the response can be dismissive.

Not Macmillan!!!

I have lost count of the number of chats I had with them, asking how my training was going and how I was feeling, and forever having gratitude expressed for the effort I was making. Many organisations could learn a thing or two from their approach! Right from the start I was made to feel that I was almost a member of the 'family', not just some bloke raising a few quid!

And that kind of support costs nothing, but is priceless! This was to become something of a theme throughout the challenge!

A few of my running and cycling friends on the Fetcheveryone forum already knew that I was taking this on, and a few of them had said that they would ride some or all of the route with me on a few of the days, or just turn up at the roadside to wave and say hello :o)
I put out an open invitation on my Justgiving page as well, for anyone that wanted to come and join me at any time. And slowly the event started to take on a life of its own.

Now in part, that was thanks to people who quietly started to make more people aware of what I was doing. I only became aware of the work that Flip - who rode all of Day 1 with me on the strength of 200 miles training and a longest ride of under 60 miles...... NUTTER!! - was doing to raise awareness of the event as the days passed.
He contacted papers and Radio Stations and cycling clubs, and he went into Honister and Buttermere Youth Hostels to ask if they'd make me a cuppa if I needed it. There was more, but I never got to know about it!
And Sarah and Chris who between them were making sure that I was well fed, had what I needed to sort the bike out each day and, and was taking care of my body..... luxuriating in a deep warm bath was a critical part of that! :o)
In fact, although I was a guest, I was made to feel more like I was family.
Such generosity is priceless.

If memory serves, I only actually 'asked' for three things. The ability to use the Four Seasons SportIdent timing system for all 10 days so that I could record each day; Somewhere to live for the 10 days; and late on a call to ask if I could use the Cyclewise shop as a stop-off to make up more drinks.

What I GOT and what people offered to do was nothing short of incredible!
Paul made sure that the timing stuff was all sorted for me, Sarah and Chris went WAY beyond doing B&B for me, and Cyclewise not only gave me somewhere to sort out drinks, but made sure that my bike was OK, and kept it rolling for me - AND made me feel so welcome each time I arrived. I can't overemphasise just how important that was!
Friends went the extra mile either on the bike, or appearing on the course, or both; messages of support came to me from people I didn't know as well as those I did. Folk gave up their time to ride with me - sometimes just a short section, sometimes the whole route, but the support was always fantastic, and always made me smile :o)

The metaphor that it provided was really striking. I was taking on something that was tough, but the people who supported me made it not just bearable, but really made each day something unique and unrepeatable.
On the day when I punctured on Wrynose in THAT weather, I got colder and colder because I was exposed, and ALONE, and frightened.
In a past life I was on a Mountain Rescue Team and so I recognised how precarious my situation was at that time and although I KNEW what I needed to do, I couldn't because my bike was broken - it gave me what I feel was an brief insight into the the everyday lives of the people who NEED the support of Macmillan.
And once I had managed to extricate myself from there, and worried Sarah when I arrived back still mildly hypothermic, it made me all the more determined to complete the challenge and do what I could to raise as much as I could for the work they do!

Looking back now, I can see just how important seemingly 'little' things can be.
Andy's flapjack at Gosforth on one day and on Cold Fell another. It was brilliant to see a friendly face, and to also have something that tasted like the Food Gods had made it as well - it made the sun come out!! Really, it did!
Robb cycling with me over Whinlatter unexpectedly - a HUGE boost on a day where I was mostly on my own.
Alan, meeting me at Whinlatter on his handbike and riding with me to the valley in quite unpleasant conditions - It was a short ride, but one that was priceless in the context of the day.
A conversation with someone in the Cyclewise shop..
Two people each pressing £20 in my hand as a donation when I was out riding...

And the not so small things - Flip riding a whole circuit, that man has the heart of a lion; Hannah joining me for the 3 Passes and organising the PomPom moment :o)
Brian taking a whole day to ride with me, sleeping in his car and then heading home straight after we finished; Stuart coming up from Preston to do the same, on a day when my legs went into shutdown, and somehow managed to ride an 8:45!!!; Stuart and Glenn whose banter and company actually made the sun shine and the wind die down for the day, and who rode in such a way that made the day flash by; and meeting Simon on the same day, which was the start of something remarkable from the Hontster 92 guys; Amy the SuperPhysio responding to a Call for help when my body needed her expertise; Barty and Graeme after Fangs Brow - again, brought the sun out; and the final day where Honister 92 were simply fantastic. Grant picking me up in Newlands Valley, meeting up with about 6 others at Whinlatter; the bagpipes, the group of 10, and company all the way to the top of Hardknott

And THAT video!

Nothing prepared me for that level of support and camaraderie. And I don't think anything I can say will ever be able to express just how amazing that was!

And finishing it all off with Pete with the sun shining, and my lovely wife Lorna, without whose total support this would never have happened, waiting for me at the finish.

An absolutely incredible and unique experience - I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

And my overriding sense of what it was all about?

People!

I experienced the VERY best of the people that I had the privilege of meeting, riding with, messaging, and being supported by. The genuine warmth and generosity they showed me was humbling, as has been the generosity of people with their donations to Macmillan.
Many of you have left me speechless, and THAT can be pretty difficult to do ;o)

When I set out I wrote on my JustGiving blurb..

"I hope that a few like-minded people will come along and share some of this journey with me, because I know it will be tough, and support and encouragement make a massive difference.
Maybe together we can make just a small amount of difference to the lives of the people who really need what Macmillan can offer them!"

In a VERY real sense this has been a joint effort. I may have been the one that got on my bike every day to ride this amazing route, but it has been SO much more than that because of what the people around me and watching and supporting me have given to it.

So far - we have raised over £2,800 - which absolutely fantastic. Over £2.50 for every mile that I rode over the 10 days.

I am SO grateful for the opportunity to do this, and to have met so many fantastic people along the way.

And I hope that Macmillan are appreciative of what we've achieved :o)

Fred Whitton #10 - An amazing Finale to my Adventure

2011-05-22T22:25:00.001+01:00

I wasn't about to let the fact that this was the last of the ten days lure me in to a sense of - "well, it's all done bar the shouting"
It may not have come across that well, but the route is a BRUTE!
Officially 112 miles and there AREN'T 6 climbs - there are 14! It's just that the Passes get all the headlines!
There are a number of 1:4 climbs, and the steepest part of Hardknott is about 1:3 - and while they are hard enough, DESCENDING 1:4 on bumpy wet twisty roads can be a pretty daunting experience.

Add to that the fact that it's been really windy for all but one day and it adds up to perhaps something 'more' than I have given the impression!

It was fantastic that my lovely wife came yesterday and would be here for when I finished. I can't over emphasise how important this was to me!
Anyway, I had to disturb her at 4:15, my usual getting up time so that I could get my breakfast, ice my nigglesome knee, and get everything together to leave for Coniston.

I was REALLY nervous as I headed to Coniston, a little bit like on the first day! And as I sat in the car getting sorted I saw the clouds rolling in and the trees bending in the wind - I said to myself, I BET the Weather Gods are going to play their Joker today.
Then the HAIL started.
At this point I wished I'd worn my merino base layer :o/

I could have started a bit early, but I waited for a small 'window' to at least get started and warmed up a bit before the inevitable 'weather' happened.

Oh and didn't it! Strong wind and hail that HURT! - A lot! By the time I reached the Kirkstone Inn I was ridiculously cold and had to put every stitch of clothing on that I had...And I REALLY wished I'd worn my merino wool base layer!!
Apparently I still had hands and feet - must have, because I could see them, but my brain wasn't registering their existence. The wind direction meant that I'd actually made decent time to this point, but the road was awash with water coming out of some of the metal inspection covers, so I took the first bit slightly more cautiously than I have been. Only got up to 48.8mph today ;o)
The riding as far as the A66 wasn't too bad - I couldn't get warm, but I was making reasonable progress.
This stopped along the A66 - not fun in the conditions at all, and so I just had to stick my head down and grind it out.

When I got to the first turn into Keswick, loads of Triathletes appeared and headed down the road - they all overtook me - imagine that! It looked like their route took them around Derwentwater anti-clockwise.
I had been dreading the Borrowdale section - I was pretty sure that the wind would be trying to send me back to Keswick - and so it was. This was the hardest this whole section has been.
I stopped at the toilets at Seatoller to (mostly) use the hand drier to warm my hands up!
As I climbed I REALLY hoped that the wind would swing around the fell and be helpful once it opened up and for the descent....

Yeah, right. The Weather Gods hadn't finished toying with me just yet!!
So instead of freewheeling at 30+ into Buttermere, I was in 34/23 pedalling against a wall of wind. A horrible thought occurred to me - that I'd be fighting my way up Newlands too!!!
One positive point now though - the weather seemed to be clearing :o)
I DIDN'T have to fight my way up Newlands. It has been very good to me for all of the 10 days! And as I was past 10am (I got the the Buttermere checkpoint at about that time) I was fairly sure that I'd meet Grant from Honister 92 on the descent. He'd told me that he'd do that, and that a 'few' of the guys from the club would meet us later.

By the time I'd had my cuppa at Cyclewise - and let Joe and Dan know that the bike was running beautifully - there was a posse of about 6 people assembled. We headed down Whinlatter just after 11, and I'd been able to dispense with my windproof bottoms. They'd stopped me getting hypothermic, so I didn't care that they looked stupid ;o)
As we turned through the only bends on the descent I thought that the bike was wallowing a bit, but it seemed OK once we were through there. 3 miles later it suddenly got worse!
Typical! The only person to puncture was going to be ME!
The speed with which it was sorted was fantastic - so much easier when there are plenty of hands, and we were soon on our way.
As we climbed Fangs Brow - ANOTHER rider appeared, and turned around and scuttled back up the hill
That's strange I thought...... and then the most INCREDIBLE thing.

Bagpipes - They'd only gone and organised Bagpipes. I believe Ray was playing them, with support from Charlie and George!
I didn't notice them go past us, but they were there again at the top of the hill before Croasdale. What a fantastic thing to do :o)
By the time we got to the climb to Cold Fell, my climbing legs had reverted to Relax And Rest mode. That'll be SLOW, then ;o)

Interestingly the wind wasn't quite as unhelpful as it might have been and we made pretty decent progress down to Calder Bridge.
I had a little Opposite-Lock moment on the last bend before the village, but stayed upright and there was no harm done.
At this point most of the guys had to peel off as now 4 of us headed towards Gosforth. It was starting to get REALLY warm now - fantastically sunny and the wind was becoming more helpful.
I was glad that I wasn't wearing my merino wool base layer ;o)
At Gosforth we were further reduced to 3, and as we headed to Santon my knee started to give me a bit of grief. In a way the Irton Pike climb was a relief. Standing on the pedals was just more comfortable!

It was getting really warm now, so I stopped at the toilets in Eskdale Green to lighten the load for Harknott, and to remove my waterproof. I know it hadn't been raining for a while, but I wasn't taking any risks with getting cold again!!
As we got nearer to Hardknott, Barty said that he'd not do that climb again, and he headed back from the bottom. Cheers for coming out again - it was fantastic!

That left me and Paul for the climb. To be fair, he stayed with me the whole way up. If I'm honest my legs had finally realised that they were a bit tired, and so I wasn't quite as 'sprightly' on the lower section as I have been, and I used the middle bit to have a decent rest.
As we approached the steep section and the hairpins, I saw that there was a motorbike parked up in the second bend, and two figures waiting there.
I had NO idea that we were being videoed, I thought that this was another club member taking photos. But no.

THIS was posted on the interweb :-O
I am speechless!! What an amazing record of my last climb up Hardknott. Finners - it's awesome. Thank you!

'Because he can'

Paul stayed with me to the summit of Harknott, and that completed my 10th successful and bottom-to-top ascent of that incredible climb. I'm pretty pleased with that :o)

Thank to everyone from Honister 92 who made this day so incredible for me: I'm afraid I can't put faces to most of the names, But I'm told that Grant, Jim, Paul, Mike, Sams, Barty, Trevor, Irvine, Norbet and Finners were all there.
I'm completely blown away by the fact that you came out to support someone that you didn't know. It really capped what has been a truly memorable 10 days. Thank you all.
And I don't know who it was that gave me the very generous donation, but that was also amazing!
I also almost have a full set of kit now - you guys are incredible!!

The rider who joined us at the top of Honister was Pete. And he asked if I would mind if he joined me to the end.
You saw how quickly he caught me on the climb, and he told me not to wait on the descents, so I knew that he'd catch me once we were down - and so he did!
My knee was getting quite painful on the easy section of Wrynose, but was fine when I was climbing and stood up, so I did more of that than I normally would have. That seemed to work out OK!

Once we reached the main road, with just 4 miles to go - in glorious sunshine, it was time to bury myself and get this thing done - and so I did. I knew I wasn't going to post my fastest time, but well under 9 hours after the difficulty of the early part of the day, and a puncture was always going to be a good result.
So 8:45 was really pleasing.

Pete arrived about half a minute after me, but not before I'd snogged my wife :o)

Then she gave me a little trophy that Sarah had had made up for me. How lovely was that?? :o)

And quite suddenly I realised that my body hurt, and I was feeling very, very tired.

I'm going to sleep well tonight!! :o)

Fred Whitton #9 - All quiet on the route, except....

2011-05-21T17:56:00.001+01:00

... where the sportive was running around the 3 Passes!!!

I was expecting someone to accompany me today. It's possible that I misremembered that though as I couldn't find the message about it.
I had one false start too - too keen, see! As the clock in Coniston struck 6 I started.... got about 400m down the road and realised that I'd forgotten my glasses. So I popped back to get them and started again. So I was a few minutes after 6 getting away.
I got the impression that it was windy, and more from the South than it has been. I was really pleased with how my legs felt climbing Hawkshead Hill and I reached Clappersgate in what I thought might be about my quickest time. The ascent of Kirkstone also went well, legs felt good - knee was happy with the altered cleat position and riding style which was slightly up on effort and down on cadence.
In fact I was at Kirkstone a couple of seconds quicker than yesterday.

The road was both dry and empty of traffic for the descent. I MUST make sure that I don't get carried away on these. I know them well now, but a tumble at 51 mph is going to make a mess. This would be a bad thing!!
The wind direction meant that it was bouncing of the valley sides, and although generally a tailwind, it kept changing its mind as to where it was going to come from. But I made decent time along Patterdale and Ullswater.
I was keeping a close eye on how the knee was feeling, and it was holding up fine!

I'm surprised, that little mention is made of the drag north from Ullswater to the A66. It's a fair amount of climbing, and after the relatively fast section to that point, comes as a bit of a shock to the legs! Again I felt that I was riding reasonably strongly up here, and I made the most of the slight tailwind up to Troutbeck Inn and the A66.

The A66 definitely doesn't like me this week!!! ANOTHER head down and just grind it out section of 9 miles of 'A' road.
But I got a fantastic surprise just before Scales (I think it was there!) A small hire vehicle was parkined in the layby and a couple of people were looking back down the road. Helen and Liam, friends of mine from another 'world' were there. Fabulous!! I stopped for a quick chat, which was far better timed than they could possibly have known, before sticking my head back in to the wind and trundling to Keswick.
The Keswick Festival is in full swing, and I knew there was a Sportive today, the route of which was going over the 3 Passes twice. So there were LOADS of cyclists in and around Keswick...... mostly not going the same way as me! So lots of nods and waves and greetings before I reached the relative solitude of Borrowdale.

I forgot to say - the terminal-sounding 'CLICK of DOOM' from the rear wheel (I thought)was getting much worse, and as I ascended Honister, it was THAT loud that the two cyclists I saw actually stared!!
Well??? YOU'D creak if you'd done 1000 miles in 9 days too :-p

Interesting thing that I've noticed in the last 2 days, I'm 'micro-recovering' really well after harder efforts, so I have been able to climb strongly and it not completely trash me - OK I'm STILL keeping the effort down, but not AS down as I have been.
For the FIRST time there was a helpful wind down into Buttermere. What a difference THAT makes. WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! very nice. Maybe the Wind Gods weren't being quite as unpleasant as I thought......
I reached The Buttermere 'dibber' in the second quickest time that I've recorded during this experience - so I knew I was riding well as I had been alone all day!

There were quite a few riders on Newlands - and quite a few were walking. A group of 4 pipecleaners can climbing past me just before I reached the top, but a couple of them were a bit tentative on the descent. You can actually accelerate over it and tuck in if the road is clear. The run-off from the steep section is fantastic, and *I* was on Fred Whitton number 9! I need to use every advantage I can to cover the distance. So descents and downwind bits have been my friend!! ;o)

Climbing up Whinlatter, the Click of Doom was getting embarrassing!! Seriously!
So when I arrived, Dan and Joe set to finding out what was up.
Crank had a bit of play - but that wasn't it. Bottom Bracket was spinnning a bit fast, but not overly worn. Rear spindle needed tightening slightly.

Dan suggested that the bike could "Do with a proper service fairly soon...." ;o)

Freehub! That's where it was coming from! So that was whipped off, cleaned and greased, and the whole thing was put back together. In the meantime I'd had a couple of cups of tea and a really nice chat with a couple who were in the shop and have been following my progress :o) [waves]

So I was there for a little over 45 minutes. Awesome stuff guys!!!!

I had this niggling little doubt that the section as far as Calderbridge was going to be a bit breezy - and not in a good way!
It was!!
Oh My Goodness, was it!!!!!!

Head down - vaguely acknowledge the MANY C2C riders that were out and about - and make the most of the short bits of respite there were, and use any shelter I could.
All things considered, I made good time to the 'dibber', and again the Wind God decided to be kind from there until Little Langdale!!
Even with the long stop at Cyclewise I was making decent time overall, and I headed up Hardknott thinking that IF all went well, I might get finished before 3pm.
And I knew that my lovely wife was going to be in Coniston, So I had extra incentive not to hang about.
I didn't!
The Hardknott climb has become a little bit like an old mate - admittedly a mate with a dry sense of humour and who is happy to mock your efforts, but I have become quite fond of the old git!
And he was in good form today!
I had to rush the top section because Mr Big Black 4X4 was coming up behind me snarling, and I didn't want to get held up on the descent ;o)

I wasn't :o)

The climb up Wrynose was quite fun today - bigger gears, a bit of helpful wind, and I reached the steep bit reasonably quickly. I tired on the last tiny bit of steep stuff, but the descent was completely clear today - AND dry so I wasted no time getting down either.
And the time suggested that I'd be OK for under 9 hours!

The ride out to Little Langdale was great :o) Just a couple of non-local drivers to negotiate, and once I reached the main road I DID think I'd be pretty close to the time of yesterday - AND my wife would be in Coniston.
So I picked it up - :o)

For a day when I was alone and it was SO windy for such long periods, I was absolutely delighted to finish when I did
Yes, under 9 hours
No, not quicker than yesterday

But 8:55:53 is not too shabby with 45 minute stop in the middle

AND I get to spend more time with my wife.

All in all - this has been a superb day.

And now I'm off out to eat a plate of Farmyard and Chips :o)

Fred Whitton #8 - Tea-bag Remembery....

2011-05-20T20:03:00.002+01:00

It was a slightly emotional *me* that woke up this morning. I suspect that it is a mixture of missing my wife and family, worry about this nigglesome knee, and the fact that I've had to work incredibly hard to get to this point.

SEVEN Fred Whittons done. As I was driving to Coniston this morning, I think I started to appreciate just how MUCH that actually was. Not overwhelming, just "Blimey - Have *I* really done that..??"

And yet the job is FAR from done.... 336 miles and 9660m of ascent and descent still to do.
OK - it's still a very long way off being done.

I had a chat with Colin at Lakeland Radio again this morning - did anyone catch it when it was broadcast? Then I got myself sorted and ready to go. I left about 5 minutes late, and prepared myself for a fair amount of being on my own.

The weather forecast had suggested "some rain spotting early on, but 'brisk' winds from the South West"
Hello!! - It's CUMBRIA - Cumbria doesn't DO rain spotting!! Luckily I have spent enough time here to KNOW this - and so on went the merino wool base layer, cycle top and gilet and waterproof top.
Amy had advised me to wear shorts and not longs so that I wasn't putting extra pressure on the knee. Brrrrrrrr!!

I found at the end of yesterday that if I stood, then I wasn't irritating the knee so I decided that I'd 'manage' the route with slightly bigger gears and lower cadences and standing wherever it was appropriate - this worked WELL - more on that later!
By the time I was up Hawkshead Hill I was VERY pleased with my clothing choice - The wind was as strong as it's been in the 10 days and it was cold!! If i was worrying about icing my knee, I didn't need to, the weather did it for me until I got to Whinlatter!!!

The good thing about setting off so early is that roads that can be really busy later on are quieter - the descent off Kirkstone is a good example of that. When it's quiet it's a pretty safe and fast descent on the bike - it's altogether a different beast when there are lots of vehicles on it!
Today there weren't, so I could safely hammer down it :) And the following wind along to Patterdale and Ullswater (another road that gets 'angrily' choked with cars) was pleasant too, if a little cold and wet.

The A66 [shoulders slump and head goes down] hasn't been my best friend this week!
Today it was a case of get as aerodynamic as you can and just pedal it out. So it was a little slow - and wet, did I say "wet" yet? And windy ;o)

I wonder if the kids heading to Keswick school in the mornings have wondered why they keep seeing me - doubt it - there are far more important things going on in their heads I'm sure :o)

Today was the first time there has also been a headwind up Borrowdale, and by the time I reached the toilet at the base of Honister I was pretty cold!
Hand Dryer worked though :o) so I could at least feel my hands when I left!!
I actually climbed Honister pretty strongly - which is something I'm having trouble getting my head around. A week ago, that effort level would have had my Heart Rate in the 190's and my legs screaming at me. Today it just got me warm ;o)
I didn't hang around getting down into Buttermere - it was way to cold for that, and I also didn't hang around at the Youth Hostel 'dibber' - same reason.

Buttermere itself gave me the evidence that I needed that today was in fact, the windiest do far - lots of little white horses being whipped up on the water surface!
I was blown both up (OK I did have to do some pedalling as well - it wasn't THAT strong!!) and down Newlands.

When I got to Cyclewise, I asked Joe to take a look at the bike. From earky on it had been makng what sounded like a terminal 'creaking and tinking' noise at the back wheel. So while I made tea and had a sit down he set about working out what was wrong with it.
Crud was the answer - chain and cassette were full of it, so it was made to sparkle and given a nice coating of new oil. And it had turned into Stealth Drivetrain ;o)

Meanwhile, Alan a Handcyclist who'd said he'd meet me there turned up. Fantastic :o) We had a bit of a chat and I flitted between tea drinking, checking 'phone, and seeing what was going on with the bike
[note to self] do ONE thing at a time!!!!!!!!!!
Tea drunk, bike all sparkly and weather still foul, Alan and I headed out to descend Whinlatter. It was fantastic. The perfect tonic to have a companion after the solitude of the first 60 miles!
When we turned left after Lorton to start to head towards Loweswater, for some reason, thought of the Tracker came into my mind, and I instinctively reached around to feel for my..................

Oh!

My 'phone was still in the office at Cyclewise.
Initial thought - "[insert expletive of choice here] Lorna will be really worried :o( "

how could I have been so STUPID - because it also meant that I didn't have my emergency money either. Suddenly felt a little exposed :o(

Shortly after this, Alan and I parted company and I thought - "Right - go back or hammer to the end so that I can collect it before it get TOO late
Back up Whinlatter wasn't an option!!!!

So I rode on. And I was really pleased that my legs were feeling quite strong.
A text conversation with someone's (didn't know his name at this point) wife over the last couple of days had resulted in an expected meeting for a some company from Fangs Brow to Hardknott.
He wasn't at Fangs Brow, so I carried on for a mile or so and then saw two road cyclists looking back
"Are *you* Leon?" I was asked. How many times and people have you asked that today, I wondered :o)

And so I met up with Graeme and his Dad, Barty.

Right - what is it about meeting up with TWO people that makes the weather improve..??
I WISH I'd known that that was what it takes when I started. Anyway the ride from this point just got better and better. The cloud lifted, the air temperature went up and the sun even came out. The visibility was as clear as a bell! It was stunning.
It was fantastic to be in company again and to have people to talk to, and especially someone who knew Fred Whitton really well, and as well as this section being the best it has been all week, it seemed to pass really quickly.
I was really moved (told you this had been an emotional day) when I was given a club cap which had a donation inside it for Macmillan. AND I was told that I had to attend the presentation evening in June!!
We'll be up here then - so that will be definitely on the Calendar!!

It sounds as if a group from the club may meet up with me on Sunday too.... I'm blown away by all of this. Really - it's incredible!

It wasn't until Eskdale Green that my knee, which although I could feel was swollen, started to grumble a bit. I'm really pleased to have reached around 90 miles before it played up. This is very encouraging!

Graeme was keen to climb Hardknott and headed off while I was having a comfort and jacket removal break - luckily my confuddled brain (remember the phone thing from earlier..??) didn't confuse the two activities ;o)

I was last to set off, and didn't catch Barty until the flat section in the middle where we shook hands and he wished me luck. Top man :o) It was fantastic to meet you today!
Graeme was already at the top when I got there. Cheers, mate.
It properly made my day having these guys for company.

And YES - 8 out of 8 - the Hardknott riding record is intact :o)

The descent of Hardknott I'm getting used to now - and it was fine today as it had dried out, and I was feeling good on the ascent of Wrynose too - there were a couple of cyclists near the top, walking, and I caught them shortly after the bottom of the descent where they had met up with what I assume were their womenfolk
I overheard them saying
"Is there a pub nearby, could do with a drink?"
"What after your ride up Wrynose?" one of the women asked.
"Yeah, it was REALLY tough, that?"

I didn't actually *see* them riding the steeper bit on Wrynose, but I'm sure epic tales will be told about it ;o)

Now, I KNOW I probably shouldn't chase times, but I'd worked out that I could just about finish with a time that started with an '8' if I didn't hang about - AND I need to collect my phone so that I could contact Lorna to let her know I was fine.
There WILL be a price to pay for worrying her like that - hopefully I'll survive it!

Besides - riding a little harder was STILL easier on my knee. No, I don't understand it either!!

I 'dibbed' in at 8:54:23. All things considered I really pleased with that.

I didn't hang about in Coniston though - some of the traffic was ridiculously slow, but hopefully I got to my phone and texted Lorna before she had cashed in the Life Insurance ;o)

I spoke to Radio Cumbria this evening too. They are going to run a short item in some of the news bulletins tomorrow apparently
:o)

OK - Sarah has filled me with food - I've iced my knee a couple of times, and I have a few bits to do.

I'm not ready yet to say it's the home straight - but it's getting closer.
Looks like I'll get caught up in a Sportive tomorrow which is part of the Keswick Festival.

OI! You at the back - stop snoring :-p

Fred Whitton #7 - So THAT's where my legs were!

2011-05-19T19:11:00.000+01:00

It was all very exciting this morning - I was getting to ride with TWO folk for the whole route, and meeting a third for the section after Loweswater to the top of Hardknott.

Not only that, I had an interview with Lakeland Radio scheduled (ooh! Get me!) for 5:45 just before setting off.
Despite some faffing that I could have done without after I got up (it's a TMI thing that you DON'T want to know about!) during which I discovered that my garmin wasn't charged so I had to sort out an alternative device, I arrived in good time, and Stuart (no, a different one!) was already there and told me that Glenn would be there soon enough - which he was!
I got mostly ready then sat in the car waiting for my phone call, which duly came.

Those of you that know me well know that I occasionally open my mouth, and words come out - LOTS of them - and SOMETIMES they are actually coherent!!! I have no idea what Colin Yare thought of it - or whether my fuggy 'early morning' brain and mouth connection was actually functioning.
Colin said that he'd broadcast it after 7:30, and that he'd call me again tomorrow for more of the same!
Thank you to my 'PR Man' who made it all happen ;o)

We set off slightly later than normal, and it became clear right from the start that it was going to be a good day. Stuart and Glenn were brilliant company, their banter was a real tonic - it IS day 7 after all - and they did a brilliant job of keeping the pace manageable for me.
Glenn asked me about the interview thing and I told him that it was being broadcast after 7:30

"I think we'll miss it!" He said
"Yes, I don't think we'll be back by then," I replied

We were both right!! Imagine!

The ride to Kirkstone simply flew by, and I had realised that I had *my* legs back. I think they just wanted a day off. They won't be allowed to do that again!
And the sun came out.
I asked what it was, and Stuart said the he *thought* called 'sun' as he'd read about it on the Interweb
"What, on Wikipedia?" I asked
"Yes, so it might not be true...."

[disclaimer: I have used my editorial remembery in regard to these things - they may not be entirely accurate transcripts]

Summit of Kirkstone at 7:20 which I didn't realise at the time was 1:15.... pretty quick for me, that!!
And the descent was dry :o)
And the section to Ullswater was pretty quick
And the closed road from yesterday (the 16th according to the sign) wasn't [phew]
Couldn't really see what they'd done though....

There was a bit of a headwind along the A66, but we made fantastic progress, and were heading down Borrowdale earlier than I normally arrive at the Keswick roundabout. And I was feeling good.
I had noticed that my right knee was aching a bit in the first hour or so, but it seemed to have eased by the time we headed up Honister.

Glenn absolutley flies up the climbs - I'd love to be able to do that. Stuart clearly likes descents, I CAN do that!
Honister was DRY - YES!!!! I finally got to enjoy that one :o)

When we reached the Buttermere YH, Glenn popped in to get some more water, and one of the staff came out to have a little chat. Fantastic - it's all these little things that make such a difference during this experience.
Stuart revealed his 'nutrition' plan then.
Powerbar?
Gel?
HA! Ginsters Cornish Pasty.

Genius!! :o)

Newlands was uneventful, (loved the descent though) and so was Whinlatter.

Cyclewise excelled themselves today!
Rich offered us toasted bagels as well as tea/coffee - and they were just what the stomach ordered - before checking my bike over. :o)
It was a fantastic stop - definitely recharging everyone's 'batteries'.

Loads more 'sun' although the air temperature was still a little chilly, but I was glad that I'd done the Sun cream thing this morning!!
When we climbed away from Loweswater, we found Simon waiting for us. Simon had said that he'd do the section across to Calder Bridge, but in the end came to the top of Hardknott.
Biggest group of the week - Fantastic :o)
By now the weather was fantastic and a degree of clothing-shedding was going on. Views were great - progress was fantastic - the only slight concern for me was that my knee was getting more uncomfortable. Not when I stood up or when I put more power through the pedals, but when I was sat and keeping the cadence 'spinning'
It feels like it's in front of my kneecap rather than behind it, and I have 'kneed' my bar ends a couple of times.

I did wonder if my long bottoms might be irritating some bruising, so I took them off, exposing my translucent lower legs to all and sundry.
Any performance drop of from the guys from this point WILL have been down to that disturbing sight - Sorry!

There was one little incident along the road to Santon where Stuart warned us with a loud
"Horse", looked back and tried to paint himself on the front of a small red car
I opened my mouth and an "UHHH!" came out - no idea what it meant, but Stuart corrected his trajectory, didn't redecorate the front of said red car, and commented that the young lady driving had given him a nice smile.... ;o)

So - Hardknott - Simon and Glenn shot off, I poddled, Stuart was just behind me.
I was very pleased with the way I climbed today :o)
A full set of 7 in the bag! Nice!
Simon was at the top when I got there and was going to head back down. Great to meet you!!

The Descent was DRY - YES!!!
Most enjoyable one so far.
And today I didn't find Wrynose as tough as I have done.
Descent was DRY, and I found I was riding the ride in back to Coniston pretty strongly.

I 'dibbed' and uploaded but was convinced that we were about 8:46-8:48.

We weren't!

8:43:49 - Fantastic.

All the times are here

Thanks to Stuart and Glenn for your company today - I had a fantastic day, and it seemed to go incredibly quickly. Top Stuff!
And thanks also to Simon for his time - and the honorary cap!

Brilliant day.

Fred Whitton #6 - Legs like Soggy Spaghetti..!!

2011-05-18T17:20:00.000+01:00

I looked out of the window this morning and thought
"Top to toe waterproofs!"
And it seemed like that was going to be the order of the day as I headed to Coniston.
I was meeting Stuart who had driven up from Preston to come and cycle the full route with me. :o)
The first climb up Hawkshead Hill made it clear that I wasn't going to be climbing quickly today.
You know how cyclists develop these legs that are like Steel Hawsers..?? I don't seem to.
Soggy Spaghetti is a far better description - well that's how they felt!! By the time we reached Clappersgate, the rain had stopped, but the wind hadn't, and it was clearing up nicely and I was getting much too warm, so off came the waterproofs, and amazingly it stayed that way all day!
As the climbs progressed to the top of Kirkstone, I did wonder if Stuart might get a bit frustrated by my slowness, but if it did, he didn't let it show :o)
I descend reasonably competently though, and there was a tailwind to Ullswater, so that section was very pleasant.

Remember I said that the road at the Troutbeck Inn was going to be closed on Monday? Well that IS what the sign said!
They lied!
They were in the process of closing it as we approached!! I DID ask if it was only going to be closed for today, and was told that it was......... I'll work out a workable diversion ;o)

A66 - strongest wind so far!!!
I was one of those days when I was very pleased to have strong rider whose wheel I could follow - without it I'd not have worked any harder, just been much slower!!
Even in Stuart's wind shadow, I still couldn't stay with him on the slight inclines. Spaghetti legs just didn't have it in them!!

That said - we made really good time to Keswick, and the ride up Borrowdale with the skies clearing and the sun coming out was spectacular in the extreme :o)
i insisted on a toilet stop at the Toilets at the bottom of Honister. I expected the National Trust Man to try to get me to join again - but he didn't. I'm already joined :o)
Climbing Honister was OK. Not quick or spectacular, but adequate. It was very windy on the second part out of the shelter of the trees, and the descent was also wind-retarded.
But we made Buttermere Youth Hostel and in pretty good time.
I was also OK on Newlands - still slow and if I'm honest, I was REALLY feeling the fatigue in my legs - and was focusing on the Cuppa tea at Cyclewise :o)
The descent was brilliant - a tail wind and no brakes from the top today.
I have just checked my Garmin, and it reckons today's top speed was 50.9mph :-O

Shhhh! Don't tell the wife ;o)

The climb up Whinlatter I took very easy! And the guys at Cyclewise were as friendly and welcoming as they always are.
Rich asked me if the spoke he replaced was OK - and I said it was, but I thought I'd knocked the wheel out of true - so off it came and he checked it out for me while I was making tea for me and Stuart.
It was one of those days when one cuppa wasn't enough for me - so I had two and a couple of bits to eat. So we were there a little longer than normal, but to be honest, *I* needed it!
As we were leaving Rich told me that he'd also adjusted my indexing as it was slightly off.

See!!! Amazing.
I hope they realise just how much I appreciate their support, because it IS phenomenal!!

By now it was a glorious day and the next part of the route simply flew by. I was much revitalised by the Cyclewise Refuelling Stop, and as you know, I really like the rest of the route.
Fantastic surprise on Cold Fell - a car I thought I recognised was parked on the top section, and in it was Andy with more Flapjack. It's things like this that have made this whole experience so much more than a simple endurance event.
It has become a complete experience, and one that I'll never forget. With any luck it will also benefit Macmillan Cancer Support too :o)

Anyway - Andy, that flapjack absolutely hit the spot when it was eaten at Calder Bridge. :o)

The ride in to the base of Hardknott was lovely. A bit of helpful wind, AND the cloud base was OFF the Fells.
I mused whether I'd keep my 100% record for continuous ridden ascents of Hardknott, and so did Stuart :o)
We both did!!
Actually - I was very pleased with the way that I climbed it today.
The descent was nicer too, because the road was mostly dry. I caught up with Stuart after the bridge at Cockley Beck, and we rode the flat bit together chatting :o)
He whizzed off up the climb again, and I just poddled my way to the top, and caught him up again near the bottom.
The ride out to Little Langdale was very pleasant again. More traffic today than there has been up until now, and only ONE impatient BMW driver. I've been quite lucky on that front, and most of the drivers on the minor roads have been very friendly and thoughtful!!

As we climbed up to the main road and back towards Coniston, I glanced at my watch. "Blimey," I thought "We'll be under 9 hours - I really didn't expect that!"

We were! 8:45 in fact, which is my fastest time around the course to date! And on Wet Spaghetti legs!!!

Thanks to Stuart - you were fantastic company and made what has been physically the hardest day so far a really memorable one.

:o)

Fred Whitton #5 - What a difference the weather makes!

2011-05-17T18:26:00.001+01:00

Today I was meeting up with Brian, someone I have know in a virtual sense for a while, but never met. The Internet is a very useful thing sometimes!!
When I arrived in Coniston, having sent a text to let him know I was coming, Brian was already parked up and ready!
Looking at the early morning skies, I wasn't sure that it was going to brighten up, but there was no wind to speak of and it was noticeably warmer than the last few days have been.

I still set out with a full set of waterproofs on! ;o)
The lack of wind was BLISS! No really - it was. Although not completely still, compared to what HAS been about for the last few days, it was still!! :o)
Brian is a much more experienced cyclist than me (but then who isn't!!) and he is also clearly a lot stronger. He was having some trouble with his gears though, and he was a little worried that he didn't have small enough gears for the steeper climbs.

The section to Kirkstome went in a flash - well..... 1:19 actually, which is the quickest that I have done that section.
By this time I REALLY needed to shed some clothes, so all the waterproofs came off. I'm glad I did that because it was way too warm to be wearing so much.
For the first time, the section along the A66 only had the slightest of headwinds, and we made fantastic time to Keswick.
I was thinking a little that I was riding a little hard, considering that I wasn't even half way through the challenge, but the legs seemed happy enough, and were feeling good.

I must qualify "good" at this point.
By good I mean "working and doing what they are supposed to"
They are actually quite tender to touch, and when I've been sat down for any length of time, they take a bit of getting working again.

Oh - and the feel like they've gone a few rounds with a meat tenderiser.

So pretty much what I expected really ;o)

The ride into Borrowdale was lovely, and it almost looked like it was going to brighten up. It didn't, but it was a nice touch by the Weather Gods :o)
Honister:- That bottom bit is quite hard isn't it?! But another successful no-stopping ascent of it. This was the first time that Brians lack of small gears showed itself and he had to walk a short section.
It was lovely getting to the flatter bit and not having to contend with a face full of breeze.
It was also fantastic being able to descend that Pass and not HAVE to pedal downhill just to keep moving. Wonderful :o)
We arrived at the Buttermere Youth Hostel checkpoint in 3:43 - also quite a bit quicker than I have done so far, and my legs were feeling good!

The climb up Newlands was very atmospheric! The cloud base was covering the tops and the view up the valley was stunning. I love the way that the same piece of ground viewed from the same place at the same time can be SO different when you are 'out there'.
The descent was most enjoyable again, and the climb up Whinlatter uneventful. We were almost at the top when Brain asked
"So, is THIS Whinlatter then?"
When I told him it was, he said "well, you could have told me - I was thinking that this was quite a long drag if the Pass was still to come" (or words to that effect ;o) )
We popped into Cyclewise for a cuppa, and I mentioned to Craig that I'd had to do some running repairs to my chain yesterday, and he offered to have a look while I sorted out my drinks.
He then stuck his head around the door and said "are you OK to stay a few minutes, because your gear cable is full of **** and I'm going to change it"
These guys have been INCREDIBLE in the way they have supported me. Friendly, helpful, encouraging, and they make great tea :o)
If you are in the area - go see them !!!

I may have mentioned that I really like the 'second' half. It breaks down into short sections, each with a climb and a descent, and once you get to the Hardnose Massif you are virtually back - kinda! ;o)
Once again this part seemed to go pretty quickly.
We were a little unlucky with the weather on Cold Fell where the cloud base dumped itself on us, making the visibility the worst I've had so far, and there was some heavy rain for a while - I was driven back into my waterproof top, I'm not messing about with the weather in these parts!!
I suspect it was more difficult for Brian who didn't know the route, but although it was a slight irritation, I found it OK.

Checkpoint Calder Bridge was at 6:56 Not quite the quickest I've get there, but riding time was about the same. And as we headed out to Gosforth it looked like the clouds were lifting!
Just outside Gosforth we passed a car and the occupant wound down his window and said something that I didn't catch.
My, you've ridden 90 miles, brain didn't immediately recognise him, but it was another friend, Andy, who'd popped out to say Hi and brought 6 pieces of the most fantastic flapjack. :o)
I ate one and kept two for later :o)
What a superb surprise! It really made me smile (even more!)

By the time we reached the base of Hardknott and the Red Telephone Box Of Doom, it had warmed up again, and only the top of the Pass was still in cloud.
Brain said something that I didn't catch, but I took it to mean - That Looks a Bit Steep.
Yup - it is. ;o)
He told me he'd ride what he could but expected to walk some of it!
I'd already said that it was a point of honour for me to ride the whole thing, but that I was quite slow :o)
I felt really strong on the lower section today, and again used the middle it to rest.
My unblemished record was 'almost' wrecked by an impatient young driver on the second bend of the steep bit, but I didn't stop, and I didn't fall off :o)
Result.
I'd check back to see where Brian was and saw him on the middle section, so I headed to the top, found somewhere to shelter, and feasted on Andy's two remaining pieces of flapjack.
Now THAT'S the way to do it.
I had a little chat with some walkers who'd come from Harter Fell "but couldn't see anything"; checked my 'phone' as it had been informing me of messages for ages, and saw the @Mr_eL_Bee Mentions on Twitter. Some interesting ones on there!! Brian appeared then, having broken his chain lower down.
I realise now just how quickly he sorted that - Respect!!!!

On the descent an outdoor instructor with a group of small children pointed at us as told them we'd just cycled up Hardknott - so I gave them a cheery wave and a "Hiya" then very quickly replaced my waving hand on the brake as I'd suddenly got a bit quick :o)
Took the descent quite easy and the same with the first bit of Wrynose.
I took the descent of Wrynose a little quicker as the road was dry, the visibility was good, and the sun was trying to come out :o)
And the ride back to Coniston was great!

Absolutely fantastic day. It was brilliant having company for the whole round, and again people have shown me incredible kindness and support which I'm more grateful for than you know!!!

And now the lovely Sarah has made a mountain of food, which it would be rude not to eat.
Oh - and the weight experiment - I was exactly the same on my return as I was before breakfast :o)

Fred Whitton #4 - I think Wrynose hates me...

2011-05-16T18:06:00.002+01:00

I know I *do* bang on a bit about the weather, but in this case I think it can be justified!!
The various forecasts that I look at said "It'll rain - quite a bit, and there will be some wind - West'ish' but with some South in it."
This just about the worst direction!!
On the back of my experience yesterday, I dressed warmer and MORE waterproof. This was to prove a good decision :o)

I should do a quick physical run down of how I am.
Legs - calves are fine - quads are a little tender, but mostly they are getting more defined. The wife will LOVE that :o) - hamstrings, fine, feel like they've done a bit of work. Glutes - now they have clearly been working!!

Other things of note:
Triceps are getting a good workout, more than anything else in my arms
Heels of my hands are a little bruised and wrists slightly 'clicky'.
Considering the state of some of the road surfaces - that's not too bad :o)

It was NOTICEABLY windier today than yesterday, and raining quite hard to start with. I'm finding that it's taking until the 3 Passes (Honister, Newlands and Whinlatter) for my legs to start working properly, and I have to be pretty gentle with them to start with. I think I'm getting that balance about right!
Although much of the section to Ullswater had a not-headwind, I couldn't really use it as I would have liked, and the crosswind up to the A66 was a little tedious, although with the wind slightly in the South of West, I did get a bit of help in the last mile. Interestingly the Road Closure didn't seem to have happened by 8:30, so I didn't need to take to the fields or any such nonsense :o)

The A66 was TOUGH.
In still conditions it's reasonable to see 25-30mph for the long declines, doing hardly any work.
17 was the best I could manage, on the steepest bit, and the ups were in single figures. Hard Hard Hard!
Borrowdale wasn't too bad, and the first part of Honister is sheltered, so was fine in a This-Is-Still-25% way ;o)
The flatter bit above the trees was actually harder!
And I almost didn't have to use my brakes on the first part of the descent. It was one of those days where, if you had a coat with pockets and were confident enough to stick your hands in them and hold the coat out like a little sail, you WOULD have been blown up to the top of the Pass from the West side!!!

OK - so it did mean that Newlands was more benign and the descent from there was fantastic :)

I was fully expecting this to be a completely 'solo' day. And you know what? Even when you enjoy your own company, 9-10 hours 'out there' is a long time!!
But as I got to Brathwaite I saw a little slip of a bloke on a bike - wearing an OMM Kamleika smock - and cycle shorts.
Now that's 'ard!! ;o)

My first thought was - "He'll climb well"

I was even more surprised when he asked "Are you Leon?"

Turns out that Robb was planning to accompany me over Whinlatter to Lorton - and offered me the hospitality of his house and food if I needed it.
Now - how AMAZING is that..??
In a very real sense it completely made my day.

Oh - and yes, he's an effortless climber :o)

It was a fairly short stop at Cyclewise today - but that cuppa always tastes like the best thing on earth.
I can't overstate just how fantastic everyone has been there, and how grateful I am for their support!

The descent of Whinlatter was not quick - again. The most not-quick it's been since I started, and I had guessed that I now wasn't going to get any assistance from the wind until after Calder Bridge - I was right about that :o)

Robb had to leave me at Lorton, but I may see him again at some point, which would be fantastic :o)
You know - it's the little things that have made this into SUCH an incredible experience. People who've gone out of their way to do things that they feel would be helpful (Oh and they so ARE!!!)
People who have given up their time to give me some company or to turn out somewhere on the route just to wave and say hello.
People who I don't know messaging me just to wish me luck.
People who have heard about my adventure and have been moved to make a donation to MacMillan on the strength of it.
There is far more, but I have a terrible memory so apologies for missing out anything :o/

All of these things, big and small, are keeping me smiling and even more convinced that taking this on for Macmillan was a Good Idea!!!
Thank you all.

Goodness - that was a bit of a tangent, wasn't it!!

Anyway..... I really like the next bit. It seems to go really quickly, possibly because it breaks down into short sections quite nicely, and it is always interesting. Even in the weather today
The many faces of Lakeland are ALL beautiful - some are just a bit more brutal than others ;o)
I don't know what it is about the section from Ennerdale Bridge on, but I start to really get my legs back along there! And it does make me chuckle the way that I have accepted these big mileage numbers as 'normal'
"86 miles - FAB, only 12 'til Hardnott" was a thought today. Most odd!
And it was interesting to see a 4x4 with two specimens of lovely carbon bling on the back (you know the kind that has wheels and you have to tie down or it'll float away!) being driven to the bottom of the Pass.
Hope they had fun - I suspect they were quicker than me on my carthorse bike :o)

Hardknott was awash again today - MORE rivers but I rode it all. This really is a bit of a point of honour for me now!
I was very cautious on the descent too, it was wet and slippery and the potholes were rendered invisible by rivers - and I didn't want to repeat the experience of yesterday.

Wrynose double-bluffed me though!
I thought "HA! you'll not break my bike like you did yesterday"
Instead, just after I turned from Fell Foot, my chain slipped.....

"Odd", I thought "that's a new chain, it CAN'T be worn out already.
When it did it for the second time, I stopped to have a look - and found that a link was in the process of shedding a side-plate.

[note to self - when something doesn't feel right - stop straight away and check it out]

I had a quick firtle to get it useable for the last 9 miles and set off. And it behaved itself on the climb, and again I was super-observant on the descent.
As I've said before, the run in is great!
And it was most enjoyable today, even with the headwind into Coniston.

All things considered, I'm really pleased with 9:46 for today.
It was a really tough day.
Tomorrow I have someone doing the whole thing with me - REALLY looking forward to that!!

You still awake...????

Fred Whitton #3 - An Epic...

2011-05-15T20:37:00.000+01:00

The weather forecast suggested that there would be precipitation today - and wind.... OK, so dress for that, no problem :)
I'd woken feeling a little fatigued, so I'd already decided that I'd take it easy on the legs today.

When I set off I realised that my legs were feeling a little 'empty'. That's OK, I thought, I was expecting that to happen - it'll pass (in the next couple of days!!)
And even though I WAS being gentle - I was at Kirkstone in about 1:26, and feeling good for it.
Just after I turned away from Ullswater, I was passed by a Lotus - and then another..... in fact 10 identikit Loti ans one that was a bit different.
Boy playing with their toys I thought!
I saw then 3 times during the day, so they were obviously playing with the Passes!!
I was slightly later into Keswick than I'd told Hannah I'd be and it was a really nice surprise to see Norna and Dave, a friend of mine who has a Bob Graham round coming up shortly.

We headed off into the murk of Borrowdale and after a quick toilet stop at the foot of Honister, started heading up. Hannah sprinted off up the first bit of the climb :-O
I didn't - just did my normal thing and put in the effort that I knew I could sustain!!!
I waited for a minute at the cattle grid for Hannah to reach me, which gave me the chance to eat some food, and we headed up the easier bit, but into quite a strong headwind. I yattered away, but I think Hannah just heard noise ;o)
As we neared the top, a very strange sight appeared

"There's some odd bloke waving at us, and WHAT is he wearing," said Hannah (or something like that)
"That's Flip," I said

He was wearing a wetsuit ;o)

Anyway - he'd chatted to the Youth Hostel folk and had a cuppa waiting for us!
Brilliant.
The wetsuit? He was heading back down to Buttermere for an Open Water swim with a mate..... Makes COMPLETE sense, doesn't it.. :o)

As we were approaching Buttermere YH - where Flip had been in to speak to the folk there about the challenge adn who, he informed me, would make me a cuppa anytime I wanted one, what brilliant bloke :o) -

I heard

PANG
tink tink tink tink

Somehow I'd only gone and broken a spoke.... this did not bode well!
I had a quick firtle to straighten the wheel up a bit, and hoped that no more would go!! And worried slightly about the climb and descent of Newlands!!
They went fine, as did the climb up Whinlatter, and we were bang on the pace I was expecting in terms of arriving there :o)

Rich at Cyclewise set about fixing my wheel and trueing it back up, and so I was at the shop for about an hour.
Not too bad, I thought, I have plenty of time.
It was fantastic to ride that section with Hannah - it was really enjoyable! And by the time we got to Whinlatter my legs were feeling much more 'mine' again :o)
I'm very fond of her and Norna - lovely people :o)

Today was one of those days where the wind conspires to be in your face even when it SHOULDN'T be!!!
But the section past Loweswater and over Cold Fell seemed to pass quite quickly - and I FINALLY got some help from the wind as I turned towards Gosforth!!
As I approached the base of Hardknott, I'd worked out that from there I would probably end up with 9 hours riding time - And I was happy with that. The delay wouldn't have made me too late, and I'd get to see my wife before she headed home, as I knew she'd be stalking me on the Tracker, and was planning to be in Coniston for when I arrived.

Hardknott was awash!
No - really - the road was a river, and the wind had picked up, nd the cloud base was down to the easier middle section. The Weather Gods had clearly decided to have a laugh!! The ascent was workmanlike and unspectacular, but again I rode the whole way - 3 out of 3, really pleased with that :o) - and the descent was more difficult in the wet and the rain.
Wrynose was very much the same, and I was looking forward to the last section.

Just after you reach the top, the road drops off to the left and there is a RH bend straight after it.
I picked up a bit of speed, and hadn't noticed the puddle that was the whole width of the road.
"Oh [insert word of choice here]", I said, and had to guess where the pothole wasn't

And didn't

The sound of TWO rims on road surface and the PSSSSSSS that followed, and the bizzare thought that I had
"I'm sure my bike isn't made of marshmallow!"
left me with a bit of a problem.

2 punctures and 2 innertubes, one of which I knew had been repaired before

And the wind howled
And the rain fell.

Sometimes the Mountain Gods like to spit us mere mortals off the hill. If that was what they were doing, then they made a grave misjudgement :-p

Two tube changes later and a great deal of "please don't be punctured" chanting to the 'new' tubes, and I was COLD.
In a previous life I was an Outward Bound instructor, so I'm pretty used to being on the hill, but I'm also pretty good at spotting the onset of mild hypothermia - And I needed to get off the hill FAST.

Which was a bit difficult because the roads were treacherous and there were potholes EVERYWHERE trying to eat my tyres....
And I was concerned that Lorna would be getting twitchy at my lack of appearance.
To be fair, the rest of the ride was uneventful, if a little adrenaline-fuelled, and Lorna was just coming out of the Garage as I arrived :-D
She'd even bought me a present :o)

I'm afraid I was a little unhusbandly, because all I could think was, "I NEED to get warm"

So I headed straight back to Sarah's and my 'Ice' bath to warm up.
36-40°C is SO the way to go.

Chris and Sarah were BRILLIANT in sorting out my wet kit and feeding me with cake and tea while I waited for my body temperature to rise in the hastily run bath.
And my gorgeous wife arrived shortly afterwards for a hug :o)

This evening, after some (read LOTS OF) dinner I've had to change my back tyre and replace the innertube again... so I have quite bit of stuff to do before I can go to bed.

Now - THAT was a bit of an adventure!!

Fred Whitton #2 Brilliant support and PomPoms

2011-05-14T17:22:00.001+01:00

There was 'weather' last night - so my lovely wife told me. Funnily enough, I slept through it - imagine that!

This morning I was far more efficient getting ready - I can see this becoming a slightly OCD routine - but it IS a half hour drive to Coniston from Oakdene.

There was a light drizzle when I arrived at Coniston but it had all but stopped as I rolled up to Hills Garage. I was a little bit early, but as far as I knew no-one was joinging me from the start this morning.

That reminds me:

If you are planning to ride with me from Coniston, can you leave me a message either here,
on 10FW@faster-feet.com,
or a text on 07795551099 so that if, like today I'm early, I don't set off without you
Thanks :o)

The wind today was a little stronger and the was a touch of 'North' in it which made most of the section to Kirkstone reasonably OK. Somewhere on the way up Hawkshead Hill, my speed/cadence sensor parted company with my chainstay - which left me 'blind' for number - I LIKE my numbers :o(
A quick fiddle with the Garmin 310, and I at least had a speed readout :o)
The descent off Kirstone was great today - no traffic which surprised me - and the road was only a bit damp - so cautious but quick was the order of the day.
The section then along to Ullswater was lovely to ride.

When I turned left to head north to the A66, I realised just how strong the wind was
Note to self: Don't let go of your handlebars in a cross wind - you are very likely to fall off.
I didn't but it was something I only did ONCE ;o)

OK - there is a possible problem with the route on the 16th - there are Road Closed on 16th for 1 day signs close to the A66 junction with the A5091 at The Troutbeck IN.
Is there anyone locally who knows whether I'll be able to duck down the small road that goes to the Gill Head Campsite, or will I have to do something more radical?
The sign for the road closure is just before that turn in the direction that I'll be going :o/

Anyway..... turning on to the A66 was like hitting a (slightly soft) brick wall.
No making up time on THAT section today!!
As I neared the roundabout for Keswick, I saw a cyclist waiting on it.
Turns out it was Dave, who made a comment on an earlier blog who'd ridden out from Borrowdale and rode with me to the top of Honister.
Apparently his family were watch the tracker so that he knew where I was. :o)

THAT was fantastic, Dave. Thanks for coming out today. I really enjoyed that section :o)
The wind slowed me on the Honister descent too - but positively blew me up and down Newlands. And as I approached Whinlatter Visitor Centre, I saw Sarah (who will henceforth be known as *Mum*) and Chris (my lovely hosts who are looking after me splendidly) and my friends Hannah (who ISN@T riding today, but tomorrow) and Norna who were waving PomPoms and stuff (I'm SURE I saw that, and wasn't hallucinating........ ) ;o)
BRILLIANT :o)

I headed to Cyclewise for a cuppa tea and to sort out my drinks and the everyone congregated in the shop.
I can't tell you how fantastic the Cyclewise folk have been. It's SUCH a help as I'm otherwise doing this thing unsupported!
(Apart from the people who give up their time to ride with me, and wave from around the course, that is ;o) )

So - adequately watered and stretched, I headed down Whinlatter - slowly! The wind wanted me back at the top.
Of course it DID mean that after Lorton there was a short section where it was helpful :o)
I really like the section after Whinlatter, past Loweswater, Lamplugh (how DO you pronounce that?) Ennerdale and Calder Brige. And the ONLY section that I'm not that keen on is the 2 miles on the main road to Gosforth - but hey, it's TWO miles!!

And the run in to Hardknott and Wrynose - somehow this came out as Hardnose when I was thinking about it around Eskdale Green.... most odd - is brilliant for having a bit of a rest but without dropping much pace before the passes.

It's funny - but I really enjoy those climbs. And for the second time in two days I rode all of both passes.
It's interesting though, that Wrynose in a way feels harder - I guees becuase it comes so soon after Hardknott, the descent of which is almost as hard work as the ascent.
That reminds me - I've nearly melted my rear brakes - must change the pads tonight!!

Another section of this ride I really like is the run in off Wrynose back to Coniston. It's a really satisfying ride.

And looking at the distance on the Garmin, and the time, I CERTAINLY didn't 'try' to finish under 9 hours - Oh no.... that would be silly ;o)

[AHEM]
8:51:06 is my Sportident time ;o)
I'm actually really pleased with that.
I'm more fatigued today than I was yesterday, but that was to be expected. And I think I'll take it a little easier tomorrow.
Burning out is NOT in the plan

:o)

Ice Baths

2011-05-13T23:02:00.000+01:00

I subjected my body to an 'Ice' bath today.

I reckon that 36-40ºC is the optimal temperature for therapeutic treatment :o)

A big Thank You

2011-05-13T20:53:00.000+01:00

I have only just had a chance to look at my JustGiving Site, and I really must say a huge thanks you for the incredibly generous donations that have been made today while I was out riding.

I continue to be humbled by people, and their generosity.

I will do everything that I can in my efforts over the next 9 days to do justice to you all

Thank you

Fred Whitton #1 - What shoes..??

2011-05-13T20:11:00.005+01:00

Unusually for me, I didn't sleep that well last night - and I faffed more than I ever have before an event! I rearranged kit multiple times and couldn't decide what to take and what to leave.....

And I was SURE that I'd forget something important

The morning routine went well. I had pre made up the drinks for the bike so I didn't have that to worry about. And Sarah was up and about - very pregnant - needed the loo! - as I was doing breakfast which was fab :o)

I was ready in plenty of time and loaded everything into and on the car, and headed out to Coniston, stopping off at a cashpoint as I realised I had no money to carry with me. I got kitted up, took the bike off the roof, helmet on, glasses on helmet, drinks on bike

Right - shoes..............

Errrrrr shoes...???

Yup - they were still at Sarah's

I sad something like "oops - that was silly"
Left a message on Sarah's phone suggesting that I was slightly irked at my own stupidity, and asked her if she or Chris could meet me with them "somewhere"

I then went to meet Flip and we set off just before 6am

Can I just say that inov-8 f-lite 230's are fantastic shoes!
They are not really ideal for pushing SPD's up Kirkstone - in the rain ;o)

Sarah 'stalked' me on the Tracker and texted me - I called her back and she said she'd meet us at Keswick.
That'll do nicely, I thought.... I can cope with this til Keswick.

And we'd made decent time to there too - arriving at about 9.

OH WHAT A RELIEF to be clipped in to the bike on shoes that are designed for it!

I LOVE the climbing bits of the Fred. They are fantastic - no really, they ARE!! And the descents are fun too - have to be careful, especially when it's wet.

I am a little lighter than Flip - and so I found the climbs easier than him, and out average pace started to fall.
By the time we arrived at Whinlatter we were on 10:30 pace - but my legs were strong and fresh - all very pleasing :o)

many thanks to the folk there for the EXCELLENT cuppa tea and the lend of tools to do a bit of bike tweaking :o)

Here Flip said "Oooh - my longest ever ride to here"
And he STILL wanted to finish the ride!!! Fair play mate! That took some bottle!!
I really like the section from Whinlatter past Loweswater, Cold Fell and to Hardknott. The character of it is completely different to the rest of the ride, nd although there was some wind to contend with - the earlier rain had cleared away and the sun even came out for a bit!!

A number of times, Flip had encouraged me to head off on my own, because he was worried that he was holding me back. And although this MAY have been true, it was also true that I was enjoying having his company, and I was using today as a 'sighting' lap, and it's better to under-do things because you know how much more you can do subsequently, than to over-do it, where all you know was you over did it!
On the other hand, I also didn't want to be out too long as my legs would need to recover!
So at the bottom of Hardknott (a climb which a friend has pledged 20 Euros for each time I RIDE it) We agreed that I'd head off back to Coniston, where I'd wait for him to arrive.
I do like Hardknott! It's tough in two places - the bottom and the top - the middle is much easier - the descent is a beast though. i have to adjust my bike a bit for that. Bottles behind my bum stop me getting back off the seat in descent - and this won't do. I need to stay safe on those!
And today showed me that I'm fine using just two 800ml bottles on the bike.

The finish to the ride is a peach too - once the scary bit of Wrynose is done, the last section is a brilliant ride :o)

So today gave me loads of info for the next days - I didn't overwork my legs - I mustn't forget my shoes - I need to take the seat bottle holders off.

I took 10:29:48 - which included almost an hour of stops, but I now know the whole course as a single entity, and I know where I can make up LOADS of time both in not stopping, and on the course iself.

Tomorrow will be interesting. I'm setting off on my own, and I'm meeting Hannah at Keswick. I also think there might be some Keswick cyclists joining me somewhere along the line.
Wonder what the weather will do.

Yes, yes, I know "There will be weather"

Interesting geeky stat.
Mr Suunto altimeter watch makes the total ascent and descent 3280m
That agrees with Google Earth and the corrected elevation on Garmin!!

:o)

EDIT: GAH! It's impossible to remember everything in one go.
BRILLIANT moment as we came through Clappersgate - Sylvia a friend of ours, whose hubby is doing the Brathay Challenge, was at the road junction to wave and take our picture.
It was SUCH a nice surprise. Thanks a million :o)

Garmin Connect

The journey up

2011-05-12T17:18:00.000+01:00

Goodness it's been a busy day!
I left early so that I could fit in everything that I needed to today.
A visit to Team Nutrition to finalise the fluids and recovery plan and to stock up in the things I needed.
Then headed across to see Paul who organises the Fred Whitton to pick up the timing cards and have a chat about LOADS of stuff. It was fantastic to meet him finally. He very generously gave me A Fred Whitton T-shirt. Once I have completed at least one circuit, I'll wear it with pride :)

Then I hammered (carefully on Cumbrian roads!!) to Whinlatter to poke my head in at Cyclewise and say hello - drop a couple of things off. And on top of what they are ALREADY doing for me, they gave me a Buff (I LOVE Buffs!!) and a couple of drinks bottles.

I'm becoming a mobile advertising hoarding ;o)
And I'm very happy to do that!!

Then I headed to Oakdene where the gorgeous Sarah was baking some fresh cookies. Wonderful :o)
Work is never far away, and I had to run down to the Post Office to post a couple of parcels that needed to go out today, before I could finally sit down and relax!!

I have loads of sorting out to do so I'll keep this short and sweet.

Here is a link to the GPS tracking thingy that I'm going to use.
I KNOW that there is very poor phone coverage over Kirkstone, and after Loweswater, so when the virtual *me* doesn't move, it's more than likely a technical issue :)

Here is the LINK
Can you check that it's working and shows me on a map somewhere and let me know if it isn't working

Thanks.

Some thoughts...

2011-05-10T10:37:00.000+01:00

Since I started cycling more, I have gained far more of an interest in all things to do with cycling. It is all new to me, although I was introduced to it at a young age, as a couple of my cousins had a brief foray into the world of professional cycle racing when I was a youngster.

And I have marvelled at the incredible skill and bike handling skills of the top riders, and their ability to completely strafe their bodies day after day. And they seem incredibly tough too. Leaping up after what look after really horrible crashes to check if their bikes are still rideable, and just getting on with it.
OK, the occasional broken collar bone or arm happens, and lots of painful looking road rash, but really serious injuries are rare.

So it was really shocking and saddening to read of the untimely death of Wouter Weylandt on a fast descent during Stage 3 of the Giro d'Italia yesterday.

A timely reminder that as cyclists no matter how good we are, we are vulnerable and fragile.

In two days, I'll be heading to the Lakes to start my challenge. I'm excited about it, and nervous too. There are lots of questions that can't be answered - but as long as the bike and body hold up, it's going to be quite some adventure.
I'm lucky too. I have fantastic friends who have been incredibly generous in their support, some of whom will be joining me for a day, or part of a day. Others will head to points on the course just to be there and give me a cheery wave.

I am also hoping that a few cyclists will have heard about what I'm doing, and just turn up for a toddle around Lakeland.

I'm also hugely grateful for the support of Team Nutrition who are providing me with my hydration and recovery drinks. This will be pretty important!!
And the guys at Cyclewise who have offered me the shop as a stop off point for sorting drinks and the like for the last part of the ride, as well as to make sure that the bike is in working order.
And I'm particularly looking forward to being the guest of Oakdene B&B which is without doubt the plushest B&B accommodation in the world, and run by friends of mine who are also really excited about my challenge :o)

A quick "Thank You" to everyone who has donated to Macmillan so far. We're up to £600 which is now 53p per mile.
Fabulous :o)

I have regular calls from the Fundraising folk at Macmillan, and they are incredibly grateful for the sum we have raised so far.

Not long now!

Fred Whitton Challenge

2011-05-08T09:55:00.002+01:00

The VERY best of luck to everyone riding the 'Fred' today.
:o)

Ask and...... well, you know.....

2011-05-05T12:12:00.000+01:00

It's amazing how the Collective mind of people can make more things happen than an individual on their own. Well, I suppose it isn't, but it does go to show that even when you have a project that is essentially 'yours', it can be hugely improved by the input of other people.

And for those people (you know who you are - and I won't try to name you all) who have supported me, suggested things, given me advice, and the like I want to thank you :o)

I have an email today from the folk at Cyclewise at Whinlatter. A number of people had mentioned them, some of my 'fat-tyre' friends have obviously used them quite a bit and have been incredibly positive about them, and I followed up the suggestion to call them and see if there was any mileage in asking them if I could use them as a stop off point to sort out drinks and the like, but also to glance over the bike as it will get quite a hammering over the 10 days.

I had a chat with them on the phone, and the response that I got was really positive, and I was asked to email a few details about what I'm up to. I did that last night, and this morning I had a reply!

They are more than happy for me to use the shop as a drinks stop and somewhere to have a bite to eat. But more than that, they have offered to check the bike over both before I start, and during the 10 days and make sure that it doesn't let me down. They have been incredibly generous with the offer they have made too. Brilliant!
AND they are hopefully going to put something in their next newsletter....
AND they are going to see if they can get some riders out to give me some company.

Considering that they've never met me - I am totally blown away by this.

There's a clicky link thing over there --->

I am collecting a fantastic group of people who are going out of their way to help me on this endeavour, and I can't really express how grateful I am. I hope that it'll come across in the things I write as the days pass.

Just a week to go.

Exciting, isn't it! :o)

Useful Stuff!

2011-05-04T18:29:00.000+01:00

I phoned Robin at Team Nutrition today for a chat, and some pointers for my drink/recovery strategy for the 10 Freds. That was really useful. I'll drop in on my way up to the Highest Quality B&B in the Lakes to sort out the last few bits and pieces.

Thanks to a suggestion on the 10 Freds thread on Fetcheveryone (Thanks Andy - GREAT idea) I called the guys at Cyclewise at Whinlatter. Had a quick chat about the possibility of being able to pop in and say Hi and sort out my drinks bottles there and perhaps have them cast an experienced eye over the bike a couple of times as it's going to get a bit of a battering over the 10 days.
I've pinged off a detailed email about what I'm up to and hopefully they'll be up for supporting me in that way. Hope so - it'll make the logistics of the second half of the ride SO much easier!!

I just have a few little tweaks to sort out on the bike now, and I should be good to go. Life got in the way of riding today, and tomorrow it looks like I'll be a bit delayed too - but that's OK :o)

It's all coming together nicely!

A windy ton

2011-05-03T19:06:00.001+01:00

I suppose I was being a little ambitious yesterday with winds forecast to be 30kph with stronger gusts from the East - to ride a route that was 104 miles and would only have a 'helpful' wind direction for about 30 miles..... when I left the house at 13:30!!

OK - so I did know that I could cut it short to 86 miles it time and daylight conspired against me.

But in the end they didn't.

[Note to self] When strong winds have been blowing, watch out for half-fallen trees. It smarts a bit when you plough through them at 25mph ;o)

Once again I went through a slightly sticky patch from about 50 to 65 miles. But then my legs came back to me and felt a lot better for the last section... which was initially hillier and there was another 10 mile section of strong headwind.

Because I had planned to do the 100 miles, I took a couple of solid food things with me (and plenty of coinage to buy stuff should the need arise), and because they were in my jersey pocket, and the sun was shining on them, have found that anything with a chocolate coating is asking for trouble! :o)

I also thought about fluids too. With only the capacity to carry 1.3L on the bike at the moment - I'm steadfastly resisting the idea of carrying a pack with a bladder, mostly because I'm most comfortable riding on the drops - I consumed 500mls of Carbo-Loader just before I left, and with it being sunny, opted for Electrolyte Energy on the bike. If it had been hotter I'd have been completely happy with this mixture. As it was cooler I think I'd have been better with one of each on the bike.
And I need more for the longer days on the Fred Whitton course!

Working on the principle that I'll not have support - I'm going to have to find a way of carrying a couple more bottles - ideally without having to use a pack!!

As a longish training ride, I was happy with it. 104 miles in 6:22, and feeling really strong by the end. Just need to work out how to avoid the 'dip' I get after about 3 hours. Although with any luck, the Fred course will keep my legs and brain from going to sleep :o)

Today I planned to rest - more by default really - there was a STACK of work that had built up over the Bank Holiday which had to be done, and important house 'stuff' happening too.

The weather for the next few days looks excellent though - so an opportunity to get in some solid miles before I allow my legs a couple of days R&R before the Challenge begins!

Still fiddling with things

2011-05-01T23:31:00.000+01:00

It was pretty windy out there today!
So I was pleased with a 60 mile ride in under 3:30, and having loads of juice left in my legs.
I've fiddled with my riding position again.
i felt like I was over-reaching, so I have put a 20mm shorter stem on. It felt LOADS better today, but the knock on was that my seat was slightly too far forward. So I've tweaked that this evening and I'll give it a go tomorrow!

Less than 2 weeks until I start circulating the Lake District :o)

And I'm feeling much more confident about it now. I'm knocking out reasonable mileage without getting too tired, and I'm pacing my longer rides far better. That, and I'm simply feeling much stronger.
I've been having a think about what I'll need to take with me for essential bike maintenance, although my lovely hosts at Oakdene have bikes themselves, and there are plenty of decent LBS's about the place :o)

2011-04-26T19:58:00.000+01:00

It was quite windy today! And (to borrow a phrase someone else used this morning) the temperature was unexpectedly seasonally normal! :o)
So Long arms and windproof gilet were the order of the day - and I was SO glad of them!!
For the first 42 miles said wind wasn't at all helpful, but I was pleased with the way I was riding, averaging around 17mph, and not having to work hard for it.

About 30 miles from home I was informed by my lovely wife that she had arrived safely in Scotland. And from shortly after that I was treated to a few sections of tailwind.
Because of a plethora of jobs that I had had to do this morning, this ride was the one that best fitted in to the time available.

Suffered a slight 'chafing' at the seat/undercarriage interface. This is not something I've had before, so I'll keep a bit of an eye on it. A slight seat position adjustment feels like it is needed!

Hopefully having a short ride in company tomorrow - that would be excellent

Sweet Spot

2011-04-24T19:52:00.000+01:00

The wife booted me out of the door for a LONG ride this morning. I had loosely planned to do just over 100 miles, which is a route that I do with a little extra bit added in.
I had it in my mind where the turn off was, but when I got there, I realised that the last time I'd done this variation, it was in the opposite direction.... OOPS!

So I carried on on the 86 mile loop that I was on :o)
Besides, I've not seen the wife for a week - family stuff - and if I'm honest, I didn't want to be out for all of the main part of the day.

It's an undemanding ride (as long as there isn't any wind) for the most part, and today the conditions were great. Cooler than yesterday but there was a slight breeze that seemed to be in my face all day.

The thing that was most noticeable was the sheer numbers of flies that were about. The biggish ones that look to have a hook (like jets have when they land on aircraft carriers) hanging under their abdomens. They are clearly not very aerodynamic, because the fly slowly - but they still smart a bit when you hit them at 20+mph!! There were THOUSANDS of them out in the country lanes today. And the greenfly obviously thought I was a plant :-O

I've been noticing all sorts of things as I do more riding. I'm not an experienced cyclist, so many things are new to me.
I'm more comfortable riding on the drops than the hoods or the tops for the most part.
I find that maintaining a high cadence is also easier in that position.
There is a 'sweet spot' with cadence, where is all smooths out and feels 'light' for want of a better word. For me, that is around 95 rpm. Drop below 90 and the timing seems to go, and it feels a 'bogged down' - much higher than 105 and I also lose the smoothness.

And the odd phenomenon of legs fatiguing progressively, and inexplicably 'coming back' to me. This seems to happen at around 70 miles or 4 hours. I'm fascinated by this and wonder if there is an explanation for it

There were loads of riders out today - wonder how many were avoiding their families or hyper-manic-chocolate-fuelled children..??
:o)

I can't believe...

2011-04-23T16:08:00.001+01:00

... this weather!
For goodness sake - It's April, it's Easter, and there are more Bank Holidays than there are Banks*

I'm sure that those who are genetically predisposed to moaning will find fault with it, but out on my ride today I saw a large number of faces held in a slightly unaccustomed smile.
Way too much milky white skin on show though ;o)

I had a window of opportunity for about a 60 mile ride between doing a whole load of important household and work things, and the imminent arrival home of my wife, who I haven't seen for what seems like an age!!

It was a brilliant day for a ride, and had time allowed I would have made it a much longer one.
I am being supported in the 10 Freds from a Fluids and Recovery perspective by Team Nutrition and today was a perfect opportunity to give the Durafuel Electrolyte Energy a go.
You haven't heard of them, right?
Well that's because they mostly provide products for professional athletes, and they haven't really broken into the market of 'ordinary' athletes like you and me.
I hope this changes at some point!
The thing that I really like about this particular product is that it has all the bits and pieces in that you need - and isn't sickly sweet like some can be.
Robin of Team Nutrition tells me that is because they don't cut costs by using certain (very cheap) ingredients. You know what - you can tell!!

Being, as it was, in the 20°C range of sunny temperature (and warmer than that in the sun) 3 and a half hours on the bike was going to need some fluid.
I took two bottles of 650mls - both with the electrolyte energy in them.
And by about 55miles they were both gone!
And they were very pleasant to use. no sticky aftertaste - didn't get bored of them. Actually I wish I'd had a little more. There are very few drinks on the market that I would say that about.

Fluid management and recovery are going to be KEY in the 10 Freds, and Robin and I have come up with a plan for optimising things. It'll be really interesting to see how it goes. In the meantime, I'm testing everything out on my training rides to make sure that they agree with me!

So far so good!!

I had a really nice surprise today.
A couple of days ago I saw a tweet from @roadcc asking for people doing the Fred Whitton (it's on the 8th May) who had an android phone and might be interested in taking part in a tracking experiment to contact them.

Now I'm not doing the 8th which is the official sportive day - but I emailed them anyway to tell them what I AM doing, and if they wanted more data, I'd be happy to help.

I got a response which started:
"i'm sorry, i thought you just said 'ten freds in ten days' :-\

that's mental..."

And asking for a bit more info! They don't normally cover charity rides - but imagine how made up I was to see this on their site this morning :o)

Thanks for that guys. If we can let more people know about my little jaunt, then hopefully we can raise a little more for Macmillan Cancer Support.

If you are new to my blog, there is a justgiving widget thingy on the right hand side, if you are able to spare a few pennies :o)

Right - need to de-salinate before the wife gets in! :)

*this MAY be an exaggeration!

Decent days training

2011-04-22T19:20:00.000+01:00

I have been doing physical stuff since 09:30
A long coaching session with a new person which went very well, but is pretty exhausting if I'm honest. And then I got the nod that I wouldn't be driving to Scotland tonight, so I took the opportunity for a decent ride.
I slightly misjudged the heat though, and didn't take enough fluids with me. So when I ran out at 35 miles - I decided to cut the ride short to a little over 50 miles rather than thrash myself too much.

It was a cracking ride 53.4 miles in 3:02 and despite it being a Bank Holiday, there was surprisingly little traffic, and very few Irate Idiots on the road. In fact the closest I got to any sort of 'interaction' with other road users was a Mr Very Fat Bloke On A Big Suzuki, who misjudged his width as he came around the outside of me on a Left Hand bend, and got way too close for comfort.

So only one Near Death Experience in 3 hours. Around here that's a quiet day :o)

Busy Busy Busy

2011-04-21T22:25:00.000+01:00

OK - when did 'Life' forget that I am training for something that I'm going to find very hard?
Can someone please inform it that I would appreciate the time to get out and ride my bike a bit ;o)
It's been a mad busy week with one thing and another. All really important stuff revolving around family, work, and the small mater of trying to sell our house. And I really don't know where some of the days have disappeared to.
So I have done less training that I would have liked - but have managed to pick it back up again in the last two days.
Shorter rides - 42 miles and 31 miles - which I have ridden a little harder, and have concentrated on maintaining a high cadence and keeping the pedal stroke really smooth.

Riding my bike regularly, which is pretty new to me, has proved to be an exponential learning curve. It seems I learn something new every time I go out, and I feel that I am riding a great deal better now than say, a couple of months ago. This is all good stuff! And considering that the start of my 10 Freds Challenge is only now 3 WEEKS away, that is a good thing.

Time to ramp up the miles and do some back-to-back long rides, and do finetuning of my climbing technique.

It's come around pretty quickly!

Real Life - and Training

2011-04-14T18:03:00.001+01:00

I set out on todays ride with a plan to be out for no more than 3 hours. There is some pretty important and significant family stuff going on at the moment, and it is very much the priority.
A 3 hour ride would give me plenty of time to get home before my lovely wife came home for lunch, and I turned the volume up on my 'phone so that I could hear if it rang or 'pinged' to tell me I had a message!

It didn't ring - but it pinged 6 times. All emails - no texts :o)

I decided to do my 42 mile circuit and add in what I thought was a 10 mile extra loop. I realised too late that it was more like a 25 mile loop - and that definitely wasn't in the plan. So I worked out an alternative that I had looked at in the past but not ridden before which I reckoned would save me about 10 miles.
In the end it didn't - my total distance was 61.6 miles - but I was riding well, and it only took 3:30 riding time - 3:41 with stops to check the phone!

As rides go I was pleased with this one. Although it was further than I planned I wasn't out too long, and I was riding reasonably well!
And I got back in plenty of time to make Lorna some lunch which I put on the table as she walked in through the door.

The life stuff continues, and is really quite worrying. But it's not anything that we can do anything about. That said, supporting my wife is far more important than training is :o)

Lakeland Loop - The Longer version

2011-04-11T12:12:00.005+01:00

The alarm went of at 03:25!

Yes - that is 0(O.M.G it's early)3:25!!

I was pretty sure that the roads would be clear in the early morning and also that it was a 3 hour trip to Little Langdale. I was right on both counts, and I arrived at New Dungeon Ghyll just before 7am while the guys from epicevents were still setting up. But it meant that I got my pick of the parking spaces ;o)

I got chatting to the folks parked around me - what a friendly lot these cyclists are :o)
I faffed more than I have in a very long time, and although the sun was waking up, it was still pretty chilly. But I went with shorts, Short-sleeved jersey and windproof gilet
They were setting groups of 15 off at 5 minute intervals, and I got underway at about 8:15. It was predictably chilly until the first climb at Red Bank and the descent in to Grasmere - but once we'd headed over Dunmail raise and round the back of Thirlmere, it was warming up nicely. I had been with a group of about 8 until the back of Thirlmere, but they were going a wee bit quick for me, so I let them go and had a short section where I was on my own - being overtaken at ridiculous speed by some proper racing snakes!!
The descent in to Keswick was great fun, but when I got into the town I felt like I was riding through treacle. A quick check of the bike idenfified a sticking back brake. Very odd. Although in hindsight I had noticed that my left brake/gear lever was slightly loose! Didn't put 2 and 2 together then though!!
I adjusted it and suddenly riding was nice again!! :o)

I caught up a group of 6 on the flat section to Braithwite, and was astonished at just how many riders were almost stationary on the Whinlatter climb. It's really not that steep!

I love the descent from Whinlatter to Lorton. Fabulous.

When I got to the Lorton Food Stop I had also caught Becky, one of the folk who I'd been chatting with at the start, but who'd dropped me at Thirlmere. We headed out from there together and along the flat section to Loweswater we rode togther. By now the sun was shining brightly and the Lakes look amazing. Loweswater was reflecting the fells in its surface. It's somewhere I'd never been before and it was stunning. There are SO many stunning places in the Lakes :o)

As we headed back up again, Becky was having trouble with her gearing and dropped back to a group of 5. I headed on and clawed back a group of 8 on Cold Fell and stayed with them until the second food stop at Santon. Interesting to see that some of the guys running compacts had lower ratios than me on my triple! I only wanted a quick toilet break and to refill my water, so I didn't hang around. Besides, it was only 5 miles to Hardknott which I was REALLY looking forward to.

Nearing the top of Wrynose Pass

I rode this section with a bloke from Edinburgh who was REALLY not looking forward to the upcoming climbs. The 33% section on Hardknott fully deserves its reputation. It was a bit hard. But I rode the whole climb which was very pleasing. There were quite a few riders who didn't!
My brake lever had moved again when I reached the top, and in hindsight I should have stopped and tightened it up. Descending the 25% that followed with a 'mostly working' rear brake and a properly working front brake was probably a bit silly with cars coming at you in the other direction. And in a way the descent is harder work - it certainly needs more concentration!

Wrynose is LOADS easier! I even managed a smile for the photographer!!
THAT descent is a beast though! 25% and bumpy, very poor road surface and lots of sharp bends!
I had plenty of energy left for the final little drag up to Blea Tarn and the 25% descent back into Little Langdale was empty, so most enjoyable to speed down :o)

As a day it was brilliant. Really well organised and I only encountered friendly cyclists. There was surprisingly little traffic given just how gorgeous the weather was. And I was really pleased to finish under 5 hours. 4:56:07 according to the website!! I didn't really have a time goal, as this was mostly a fact-finding mission for the second part of the Fred Witton course, but I had estimated between 5½ and 6 hours.

I then had time to go and visit friends in Bowness before a meeting with someone who is supporting my 10 Freds (there will be a separate blog about this) in a very practical way.

This was a proper grin-enducing day

Lakeland Loop

2011-04-10T22:04:00.000+01:00

The short version
So, my first ever organised cycle event!
I honestly couldn't have picked a better one!

69 miles of Lakeland with 1910m of ascent, and the kind of day that really did show the Lakes at their best. Sunny with little wind to speak of, and there even wasn't too much traffic on Hardknott and Wrynose passes.

Hardknott deserves its reputation. It's a bit of a brute, but cycling it was successfully completed :o)

I got to ride and chat with some really pleasant people, and I REALLY enjoyed the climbs.
When I'm at the PC, I'll blog more completely

10 Freds suddenly became MORE of a focus

2011-04-07T18:40:00.000+01:00

Running isn't that important in the greater scheme of things.

Well?? It isn't. We no longer need to run to catch food or survive, or escape our tribes dreaded enemies (who would have been as far away as, perhaps, Slade Road in days of auld)

So it's a hobby.

Something that we do outside of our everyday lives, for the vast majority of us. In a way it is an unnecessary and frivolous escape activity. And there are PLENTY of those we could choose to do

We could waste our lives 'liking' things on Facebook or spend all day Twittering to anyone that will listen.
There are loads of things to do to fill the time until we die!

Now I've never been one of those people who HAD to run or else I become suicidal or impossible to live with. I LIKE it, and I DO think it's important to keep our bodies in decent condition.
Use it or lose it, I say. And I fully intend to be active until I draw my last breath.

So I have my Slightly Perturbed face on today - because one of the things that I like doing looks like it is going to have to be changed a little.
To be fair, I have got completely out of the habit of running since my knee went pop 16 months ago. And yet I'm fitter and stronger than I have been for a long time.
I have discovered that I'm still a pretty decent climber, and although I'm a real beginner of a cyclist, I'm getting better at that too.
And I DO like what it's doing to my leg shape!!

I had my 6 week appointment with the surgeon who tidied up my knee today. And what he said had the effect of making me think - so what else can I do regularly and consistently to keep active?
He told me that Justine my physio had already been in to see him to report on my progress (and, so she told me, to prompt him to tell me that I really should do more stretching - thanks Justine :-p ) and we had a good chat about what he'd found and what I could realistically continue doing.

Torn cartilage was tidied up and not a problem - and recovery was good
50% tear to ACL was "at least" 10 years old so the best option was to keep my legs strong and fit to give the knee stability - and skiing would be fine as long as I was strong etc
Climbing is fine - it's not a dynamic activity.
Cycling - he didn't bat an eyelid at the reports of 80 and 90 mile rides this week - in fact he said that was probably the best thing that I could do for my knee, and to do more of it!

As for running - there is a long crack in the articular surface of the tibia, and dynamic impact is only going to worsen it. He said that playing squash was a bad idea - the face I made told him that *that* wouldn't be a problem
He also said that most runners would not take kindly to being told that running could accelerate the onset of an arthritic knee.

I 'hmmm'd' a bit.

He knew what kind of volumes of running I had previously been doing, and the fact that running marathon distance and more was relatively 'normal' for me - so these things are all relative. And at the moment I'm focused on getting fit enough to survive 10 Fred Whittons
(please sponsor me - this is going to be REALLY tough - much tougher than 10 marathons was :o/)

So I'm not even thinking about running at the moment. I'll see how I feel about it, and if any useful advice comes my way in the interim, once I have done the 10 Freds. Because there is no point in running before that anyway. And I have some coaching sessions coming up that will show me how well my knee responds to doing 'a bit' of running.

And it may be that I just need to change my running focus away from the longer stuff!

So a few things to think about over the next few months!

But more immediately, there is the small matter of the Lakeland Loop Sportive on Sunday!
REALLY loking forward to that :o)

Today has been a slightly impromptu 'rest' day. I had planned to get out for a 40 mile leg turner, but I had way too much stuff to get done in the house. And tomorrow is going to be busy too - So it'll have to be an early one while the dawn chorus is still chirping!

Early start! And a slight oops!

2011-04-06T16:38:00.000+01:00

Because of the way that this week is panning out, I wanted to get out for another longer ride today. And with LOTS of other things to do, I dragged my carcass out of bed reasonably early, and was on the road and out of town before the 4x4 School Run brigade were out - always a good move that!!

This was a new route - it has bits I've done before, but not connected up the way I did them today, and I reckoned that it was about 95 miles - although it is easily extendable to around 105 miles when the roadworks that forced me to reroute today have been finished.

It started off a little overcast and the forecast wind was as strong as they said it would be, and from the direction they said it would come. This meant that the first half only had a short section where I was heading in to the wind, and it was a reasonably hilly section with plenty of trees and woods to provide a bit of shelter, so that worked out rather well. Better than I could have hoped for in a way!
Part way through this bit I got a call from someone that I needed to call back, so an impromptu stop in a gateway was needed. While I was making that call I noticed that the early morning cloud was clearing and the sun was starting to come out. It being nice and warm, I was only wearing a cycling top and shorts...... and I hadn't done the sun cream thing. That was to become the Oops!!

Now I've started to notice a pattern on these longer rides. By about 55-60 miles my legs have become progressively more tired, and yet by around 70 miles they seem to come back to me and they actually feel much stronger.
Anyone have any idea what that is all about? Or is it just similar to the 'Bad Patch' that many runners experience on longer runs and Ultras?

I decided on a very short off-the-bike rest at 65 miles. It was gorgeously sunny and warm, and it was a food and drink opportunity with a nice bench to sit on and a bin to get rid of my accumulated rubbish :o)
There was another 'new' section a short while after this, and it was a cracker - I'll use that again. It cut short by a couple of miles a slightly contrived section that I normally ride when I'm in these parts, and it was much nicer tbh!!

Although the last 20 miles were still mostly into the wind, with my legs coming back to me, it was really enjoyable.
Funny moment at 92 miles where I passed and older bloke on an older bike only for him to (obviously) go "Harrumph" and stand up and bat past me
I contemplated some testosterone hurling, but instead just sat on his wheel while he struggled up the hill. Well..... I saw him come out of his house, and I had done 90 miles, and if he wants to regale heroic stories of how he dusted this bloke on his fancy-pants bike (it's not!) wearing tight lycra - then he can. But he was looking very grey when I peeled off at a traffic light junction ;o)

So a decent ride!

96.8 mile in 6:21

More decent endurance work :o)

But, if I am going to be out for that length of time, I MUST remember the suncream. Comedy tan lines (well to call it 'tan' is stretching the truth a little) abound.

Oops!

Some decent miles

2011-04-05T18:33:00.000+01:00

First - a quick and MASSIVE thank you to the folk who have donated to Macmillan Cancer Support through my Justgiving site. EVERY penny helps and people have been fantastically generous. Thank you all :o)

I had a few jobs to get done today and a decent window of opportunity to get out for a longer ride.

A quick squizz at the weather report showed a 6-7 hour window of windy but not wet weather - so I set about planning 'something' to do within that.
Because of where we live there was no option to head out into the wind so as to benefit from it on the way back. So I chose the circular route that is about 86 miles - but in the opposite direction to that which I normally ride it.

This would give me a reasonable stretch of side/back wind in the first half, and after that it would be side/front and headwind to get back. It was going to be a pretty hard ride, I thought.
I was right!!

I DO like this particular ride though. It diddles around lots of country lanes, it has a few half decent inclines to wake my legs up, and it's a decent distance without any long draggy boring bits.

I tweaked the drink and food strategy a little bit too - first food at 20 miles and then every 15 miles thereafter. This seemed to work quite well!
I also decided on a five minute off the bike and stretch out stop at the 50 mile food window.I'd had a text from the wife a little while after that, and I knew there was a cafe at the Cannock Chase Forest Centre which was at 66 miles, so I had an impromptu coffee and cake stop there as well so that I could call her to get updated on the goings on. Serious stuff - but not relevant to this blog :o)
By this point I'd been riding into a stiff headwind (weather report reckoned 30-35kmh) for 25 miles, and it had been quite hard work. And I knew that the next 20 or so was much of the same - but with a bit more 'side' in it.

Odd thing happened at about 75 miles - legs seemed to suddenly wake up again, and they felt loads stronger. Food and rest? Or something else? I don't know. It was nice to be riding both stronger and faster though.

So it was 87 miles and a few pennies in 5:49 riding time. Total time including stops was 6:24
Pretty pleased with that as a training ride. It IS tough when you are on your own in the wind and can't share the work with anyone, isn't it!

OK - Justine my physio has ordered me to get to work on stretching out various bits of my legs - so I'm going to do some of that now.
For those who know me well - I know, I know :-p

Not sure how the rest of the week and the weekend is going to pan out - possibly another long ride tomorrow - a shorter one on Thursday as I have hospital and physio appointments to fit in.
Maybe another longer one on Friday. Not sure about the weekend yet, although I'm supposed to be doing the Lakeland Loop Sportive on Sunday followed by a trip to see Robin from Team Nutrition, who has pledged his support for the 10 Freds!! Top bloke :o). I'll see what happens in Other News before I plan out the weekend!!

Sunny Scotland

2011-04-02T17:40:00.001+01:00

It's a gorgeous day up in Ayrshire today. The roads were still a little damp from some overnight drizzle, but it was clearing up nicely.
I didn't get away quite as early as I should have and the windiness was from a direction that made it was mostly from the side on the way out, and I was mostly riding into it on the way back.

The view from just after Knockenden Reservoir across the Firth of Clyde was spectacular.

I did the same route as I did last weekend so I knew what was coming throughout it.
Unfortunately the conditions delayed me by over 10 minutes, and so I arrived back almost too late for an important family visit, causing stress that really wasn't needed.

A case of getting priorities wrong that! :o(

Not sure what I'll do tomorrow, because that's put me in a bit of a tail spin

Some random thoughts while riding...

2011-03-31T19:13:00.001+01:00

The weather people predicted sunny spells and wind - LOTS of wind. 40km/h of wind.
They were right on the money!
So todays ride of 56.7 miles in 3:27:30 was a real mixture. Some wind assisted WHEEEEEEEEE, and quite a lot of URRRRRGH into said wind!
Still - there WILL be weather in Cumbria in May - so I'd better get used to it :o)

Today is my Mum's birthday!
Happy Birthday Mum :)

If there IS anything that happens after we die, she would have been looking down on me as I rode in the sunshine and strong winds today, and I think she would have been smiling, because I'm training for this challenge!

1120 total miles
30,000+ total METRES of ascent and descent
all done in 10 identical and consecutive daily circuits around Lakeland.

There are some who think it's bonkers - and others who think I'll not be able to complete it.

But I'm doing it to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer support.

Why..??

The statistics say that 1:3 of us will be affected directly or indirectly by cancer in our lifetimes.
I have experienced that 3 times already!
My Mum almost certainly died from an undetected bowel cancer, which means that she didn't benefit personally from the input that the wonderful Macmillan Nurses provide.
She HAD benefited from that support when she was caring for her own mother who died as a result of pancreatic cancer though.

This morning my lovely wife was in another country, while *her* mother was in theatre. She had done a home test which had picked up the fact that she had an asymptomatic bowel cancer.
Hopefully it was caught really early, and she won't need the input of Macmillan!

The local fundraising manager called me today. We had a fantastic chat about the 10 Fred Whittons challenge and what Macmillan could do to help me.
The bottom line is, I am well and preparing to take on something that I KNOW is going to push me to my limits. Their support and the fact that they are clearly incredibly grateful for my little effort is enough to be honest. For a big charity, they act like a very small one. I have been absolutely blown away by their input. I couldn't ask for more really!

But what is 10 days of self-inflicted hardship compared to that which some people live with daily and will do until the end of their lives?

It's a chance to put something back - just because I can. And because I want to.

I set a target of £10 per mile on my JustGiving site - it's a random kind of round number.
I'm currently up to £0.21 per mile!
My most heartfelt thanks to the folk who have supported me thus far :o)

Funny old day. Not quite sure how I feel about it..
Satisfied.
Worried.
Happy.
Sad.
Frustrated.
Grateful.

All of those things.

I would love to be able to hit my random target - because many of us, at sometime will be affected by cancer either directly or indirectly - and will be very grateful for the work of Macmillan then.

But I'm just one very small person in the greater scheme of things. I'm not well known. I'm not in the public eye.
So I will do what I can - and that will have to be enough! :)

ouch... Ouch!... AAAAAAAAAAARGH!

2011-03-24T19:39:00.001Z

If you were to meet Justine my physio, you would be fooled into thinking that she was a quiet gentle little thing who couldn't possible hurt anyone or anything.

Seriously - you would!

You would also be gravely mistaken.

I thought that a nice 24 miles in the morning sun would warm my legs up nicely and get the unhurty juices flowing around them.
I also thought that with the work I've been (secretly) doing over the last couple of days, that todays World Of Pain would turn into "Ahhh! That's nice, please do it some more"

Wrong.
Wrong.
and WRONG!

I should have known better. I got a message asking me to come in a bit early if I could and that should have set alarms ringing straight away - but did it? Oh no! Not a bit.
Silly boy!

As it was I couldn't get there much earlier - but I was soon to regret the extra 30 minutes that I had afforded the Queen of Hurt!

To be fair - she DID say that the hurty area was loads better than on Monday - this was the good news.
I knew I was in trouble though when she LOWERED the treatment couch.

Word to the wise - any time your physio lowers the coach - it is to HURT you more!
They can apply more bodyweight ;o)

So - the application of more bodyweight ensured that I didn't just sweat more - I actually made the blue roll dissolve!
And Justine, kept on saying Sorry - but I KNOW she was loving every minute of it!

And she had an extra 30 minutes........ which *I* had given her! :-O

Silly silly boy!!

Oh! And then she covered my in half-a-hundredweight of ice!

Not only did she separate most of my tissues from the bone - she also deep-froze me!!!

Can't wait to see what she has in store for me next week ;o)

On the positive side, I'm building the mileage back up nicely and the knee is coping fine with both longer AND harder, so something is going right.

I have decided to do the Lakeland Loop Sportive on the 10th April as an event-specific training ride. It's 69 miles and involves most of the second part of the Fred Whitton Route, which is the part that I know least well. So doing that, and probably checking out most of the route from Lorton onwards in just over a weeks time will give me a good idea of what to expect of that part of the route! The rest I know quite well anyway :o)

Right - need to see just how bruised I am this evening!!

Elementary Errors

2011-03-23T19:38:00.000Z

It was a lovely day again for a decent ride-out. A couple of delays - another unexpected Taxi(EvilStep)Dad occurrence, and some work things that had to be done this morning meant that I left later than I had planned to.

I'd looked at the 64 miles route that I've done a couple of times in the past, but thought that it would be a little bit far at this point, so I worked out a shorter version. There are more climbs on this ride, and in the direction that I did it today, more miles that are uphill.
I also misread the wind direction on the weather forecast, and ended up with the majority of the ride into it. All good endurance/climbing training by stealth ;o)

There were quite a few cyclists out and about today too, which made a nice change.

And so the elementary errors. 50+ miles is going to take me over 3 hours. So I'll NEED to take drinks and some emergency rations - makes sense doesn't it!

I forgot!

Very silly - and I've spent most of the rest of the day playing catch up!

Now - a question.
My rear derailleur isn't indexing the gear changes very well. I'm having to over-push to change down, and clicking up works mostly OK apart from between the 6th and 7th sprockets (it's 9-speed cassette) I've cleaned it all up and squirted GT85 through the cable outers, and I think it's moving OK - could it be that the derailleur pulley wheels are worn (there is quite a lot of play in the upper one) and they are the ones that came with the bike over 3000 miles ago.

If it is that, what would be a decent replacement?

One of my arbitrarily set goals was to start knocking out 50 mile segments in under 3 hours , and today I did that - 2:51, actually. So that was quite pleasing. And I seem to have recovered reasonably well too!
I'm seeing Justine my physio, tomorrow. She wants to do some work freeing up my hamstrings.

It's SO going to hurt!

Lots going on tomorrow too, so I'll only get in a short ride in the morning

That's better :o)

2011-03-22T20:51:00.000Z

It was another lovely day here in the Midlands. I was a little delayed getting out this morning due to an unexpected Taxi(EvilStep)Dad moment, but in a way that was quite fortunate, because it had warmed up perfectly for a Shorts and Short-sleeved cycling top ride.

I decided that I'd try my knee out on my 'standard' 42 mile circuit. It's not challenging and is a great time-in-saddle kind of route. I planned to work slightly harder than I have on the last couple of rides, but still focusing on keeping the cadence pretty high and the effort on the lower side.

There was a bit of a headwind on the first section to 6 miles or so, and it is nett uphill, and I was really surprised to be averaging about 18mph at the roundabout where I take note of such things. Dry roads and not too much traffic helps though ;o)

By 21 miles I was batting along quite nicely, thinking that my altered riding position was not only kinder to my knee but also letting me get more power down for the same effort. Mostly it was just enjoyable though!

It ended up as 42 miles in 2:11:25, an average of 19.1mph.
I'm not sure where this pace for effort is coming from, but I'm not complaining.

Physio does the [rolls eyes] thing!

2011-03-21T21:02:00.001Z

I've been a little frustrated with the progress of my knee this week. After my ride on Monday it was a little tender. OK, I *did* have my seat a little high, but I didn't think that I'd done any mischief.

A couple of long drives and a busy week meant that I didn't cycle as much as I'd planned to, but even with that rest, I went to my physio appointment today a little disgruntled. There was discomfort in the back of my knee,it really doesn't like any twisting, and has become slightly tender to touch in the same area that hurt before.

I pointed out the areas that I was concerned about, and Justine set to working out what was going on. The back of that knee was a bit swollen.
Hadn't expected that!
And she set to 'work' on a specific area - you know what I mean, the kind of work that makes you actually break out into a sweat.
Physios DO seem to enjoy doing that, don't you think?

"Soft tissue stuff," she said "I'm going to have to have a PROPER go at this"

I'm sure I heard a whip crack then ;o)

I was also given a stern talking to about not having worked on my flexibility and range of movement - oops!

I have 'til Thursday to rectify this - and I'm preparing for a World of Pain!

As for the part of my knee that has been operated on.... she told me that I'm "ONLY 3 weeks out [rolls eyes] and I'm happy with your progress"

So the good news is that I tweaked something because of an incorrectly adjusted riding position, and my knee is making reasonable progress.
It's not a problem on the bike at all. The last couple of rides have been 20 and 30 miles at 19+ mph and not having to work hard for that. So that is really encouraging.
The warmer days with more daylight hours undoubtedly helps too - it's nice being able to ride in shorts and a short-sleeved cycle top again!

Riding in the sun

2011-03-13T18:27:00.000Z

On Friday I took the bike back out on the road. I chose to do my standard 30 mile circuit and to keep the effort level down.
It was a really nice day: sunny with a bit of wind and it was just really nice to be back outside on the bike! I realised fairly early on that my seat was a little high, and the slight toe-down position put a bit of unwanted stress on the outside of my recovering knee. So once I got back it was a little tender and really didn't like being twisted even a little bit.

So I had a fiddle with the position. Down a bit and back a bit, and decided to have a no-riding day on Saturday. Work was busy anyway, so that ended up being a good decision!!

Today I decided to do the shorter 24+ mile route. The altered riding position felt very comfortable and I was spinning along quite nicely. And for the effort level quite quickly - I assumed that there was a tail wind!!
I was really surprised to look at my average speed at about half distance and see over 18mph - I rarely see that on my training rides, and certainly not at that easy effort level!!

So today was 24.4 mile in 1:18

That's the fastest I've ridden it by a full minute, and 8 minutes faster than the last time I rode it! Either the altered riding position made a huge difference, or the bike is just rolling far better!!!

More importantly, my knee didn't grumble at all afterwards, so I'll stick with this position for a while and see how it pans out.

All systems GO!

2011-03-10T14:08:00.000Z

OK - 2 weeks down the line from the procedure to finally sort my knee out, and I went to see Justine for a bit of Physio-derived ear-bashing.
She was on great form today, but more importantly was very pleased with the progress that my knee is making.
She did a little bit of work on the medial wound site which has been a bit tender, and otherwise just told me to keep working on my strength and flexibility stuff.

I asked about the ACL, and she said that the best thing I could do was keep my legs muscles strong, because THEY are the support structure, and that the ACL had probably been like that for years.

She has told me to get back out on the bike and start building up my endurance again, although not to do any hard-core sessions for at least another couple of weeks. A little more probing from me and I was able to tie her down to what she meant.
She's happy with longer easy effort rides and to just keep an eye for any reaction, and adjust things accordingly. And I can gently up the effort level if things are OK over the next week.
NO eyeballs out hill sessions or leg-busters for now.
And absolutely no activities that introduce dynamic twisting - so running (as I expected) is out for the moment.

Better put my bikes outdoor clothes back on then.

This is great news!

Physio and good news

2011-03-03T13:06:00.000Z

Today I saw the physio for my first post-op appointment. I've been given a few exercises to do as there is a bit of muscular atrophy on the operated leg - VMO and calf most noticeably - and have been advised to get on the Turbo trainer for up to 40 minutes at a time, but no more in a single session for the moment.
I've also been advised to avoid deep squats while the new edge of the Lateral Meniscus is settling down.
The fact that there is only minimal swelling in and around the joint was remarked upon, and so my recovery so far is going well.

Todays physio - a triathlete - was interested in the 10 Freds Challenge, and he said he was confident that I'd be fine in terms of getting back to training and timescale for that. Yhis is a good thing!

He was also pretty sure that the tear in the lateral meniscus was the most likely culprit for the problems I have had with running.

So - so far so good.

Next weeks appointment is with Justine again. I'm sure she just wants to see the back of me!
:o)

6 days After my Knee Arthroscopy

2011-03-02T17:07:00.001Z

A quick update on the state of play with my knee and my enforced 2 week rest...

It is very clear that Mr Different Knee Surgeon did quite a lot more firtling with my knee this time (I had an ineffective procedure back in the Summer) because I ended up with a bruide and swelling that extended almost down to my ankle, and the main insertion site has remained slightly tender.

That said, it has never been painful, as such. My knee doesn't like being knocked or twisted, so there is still some swelling inside the joint.

I've been keeping it mobile, perhaps doing slightly more than I should have, but I'm very pleased with the progress so far. It's fine to walk around a fair amount and I'm contemplating turning the legs over really gently on the turbo a little to see how it is doing. The good thing about being on the bike is that it moves in a single plane and there is no twisting.

I DO have my physio appointment tomorrow though, so I'll see what I'm advised then.

If I compare the recovery to last time, it's looking very similar, so I'm reasonably confident that the 2 weeks I was told is likely to be pretty accurate.

Whether or not the procedure has done what it should have done remains to be seen, and is something that I'll not know for the best part of a couple of months

Knee arthroscopy

2011-02-24T21:02:00.001Z

The reason for the enforced 2 week break!

The reason that I have been cycling and not running is because I have had an issue with my knee since last January which curtailed my running, but was fine cycling. It is also the reason why the whole idea of a cycling challenge came about as a replacement for the running one that I had been planning to do.

Now it may seem like this is badly timed in terms of training for this - but it had always been factored in to my plans! A fortnight of enforced rest now will be beneficial. I've trained well and worked hard up to and including today (also part of the plan) knowing that I'll have time to completely recover without losing too much conditioning before I can ride again!

The findings today were: A tear on the posterior horn of the medial meniscus *edit* this was tidied up */edit* - Good spot, Amy Bateman of Active Physio Someone who I would recommend that anyone with any sports-related issues goes to see!!!!;
a 'crack' in the articular cartilage (I need to find out what this is all about);
The ganglion seemed to have been a red-herring;
Grade III oA (on the backside of my patella) which had a Chondroplasty (knew about this too);
and slightly unexpectedly.. a partial ACL tear :-O

How on earth did THAT get missed in the summer?????

I haven't spoken to the surgeon yet about it, but I'm expecting some pretty intense physio and stabilisation work to protect that, and I shall quiz the surgeon at length at my clinic appointment

So - plan is to work like a demon with my rehab stuff so that I can get back on the bike as soon as I can, and find out what the bottom line is with my running when I see the surgeon.

The anaesthetic has wiped me out - so I'm going to bed REALLY early tonight!! :o)

Enforced 2 week break!

2011-02-24T10:20:00.000Z

I knew this was coming and so have been loading my training somewhat this month.

Today I have to have an arthroscopy on my right knee.
There is a ganglion cyst that needs decompressing and the suspicion of a small tear or damage to my Lateral Meniscus which needs tidying up. By this evening I'll know for sure (hopefully) and whatever it is that's going on in my knee which has stopped me running but not cycling - no, I can't work that out either! - will have been sorted out.

As for the 2 week break... The surgeon was pretty confident that I'd be back on the bike in two weeks although running would be about 6 weeks. I recovered from another arthroscopy last summer in that timescale, and the physio who will be doing my post-op rehab is VERY keen to get me sorted as soon as possible.

Either that or she just wants me off her books ;o)

I'll be heading to the hospital fairly soon, and my cruel children are making themselves loads of nice smelling breakfast, and my youngest son just offered to make me a cuppa...

I suspect that I'll be chewing my own arms off by the time I wake from the anaesthetic!!

Longest ride....

2011-02-21T19:48:00.001Z

..... ever, I think!

I had planned for today to be my long ride, and a chance conversation with a friend who lives in Loughborough and had some kit for us had me scurrying to the Mapping Software to see if a route of the requisite length could be done.

It could - quite easily actually - so I planned a sort-of circular route of a little under 120 miles.

When it came to it - there was quite a bit of wind, from the East - which meant that 40 miles of the outward journey were in to it - and most of that section is a gradual climb!
It was hard work! And those first 62 miles took me 4:14

A cuppa tea and some excellent homemade flapjack really hit the spot, and we had a decent natter before I needed to head back.
I changed my mind about the route - the planned one would have also been into the wind for all but the last 15 miles, so I chose to retrace the way I'd come.

Good decision! Apart from a bit of a 'low' point at around 80 miles, I was pleased with the way I was riding - and I actually started to feel stronger in the last 20 miles. Most odd.
The return was almost 60 miles and took 3:47

The rear mech needs some work though - it became unbelieveably stiff, and shifting to smaller gears almost impossible. Was fine up-shifting though - most odd!

121.87 miles
8:01:22

Last one of the week - and what's this....

2011-02-19T15:25:00.000Z

... "Does that sound like RAIN to you?" I asked Lorna when we eventually woke up.
She concurred, and on checking the forecast (looking out of the window) confirmed that it was indeed, precipitating quite a lot!

Judging by the conditions I found out on the road, it had been for quite a while. The rivers on the main roads had clean water in them, and once I got to the minor roads, there were plenty of Across-The-Whole-Road puddles. And some of them were quite deep!!

I don't know about you, but I find splashing through deep puddles strangely satisfying and unclipping the SPD's to lift my feet like you did when you were a kid, never fails to elicit a smile :o)

The deepest of these had a couple of drivers looking at it and wondering whether they could, in fact, safely drive through it. Me - I accelerated - unclipped - and ploughed through it.

A "Wheeeeeeee..." might even have escaped :o)
It came up to the bottom bracket!!!

Although it has been quite a big training week (for me!) I was quite pleased to be feeling strong if a little fatigued in the last few miles - and to catch and pass quite quickly a group of 6 or 7 cyclists out for a group ride.
The other thing I'm really enjoying about cycling is how friendly the vast majority of fellow pedalists are. It's rare for someone to do the ignore you and stare straight ahead thing, and more often than not the folk who you pass or who pass you will have a little chat.

I like that :)

So today was a wet and windy Scotty Dog 42 and it took 2:32.
Pleased with that

Some geeky stats for the week because I have a date with some houses in Cumbria tomorrow and won't be riding!!

5 rides
258 miles
15 hours 49 mins of riding time
Average pace: 16.31mph

It's been a decent week :o)

Inviting yourself for a cuppa....

2011-02-18T19:50:00.000Z

I had identified today as a decent day for a longer ride, and I gave myself a couple of options.
For a change I decided that I'd ride so that the nice hilly bit that is often towards the end of my rides was nearer the start. It's actually harder in this direction as the climbs are longer!
I planned to simply programme in to my brain 86 (or 105) miles on terrain that I know reasonably well, and let it (my brain) work out how much effort I could expend. It's generally pretty good at that :o)

The first 15 miles or so were into the wind so a little slower than the terrain would otherwise have suggested, but I was lettting Mr Brain dictate the effort/pace level. It was nice to give my legs something to get their teeth into early on with the updulations and corresponding downdulations. I DO enjoy the bumpy bits :o)

As I was pottering along the flatter section heading north, and at about 36 miles, I saw a road sign to the village that a friend of mine lives in.
"I wonder if she's in..." I thought.
So I gave her a call

"Where ARE you?" she asked, "in the middle of nowhere?"

"Kinda - I'm about 6 miles from yours, fancy a visit and a cuppa?"

"What? On your bike? That'll explain the noise!!!! I'll get the kettle on"

"Fantastic - I'll be [does rough calculation] about 25 minutes!"

I hadn't seen Kim for ages, and it was fab to be able to just pop in effectively unannounced for a quick cuppa and a chat.
I DO have a tendency to yatter occasionally, and so I stayed longer than I had planned to - which meant that I was a little short of time for the longer verson of the ride.

The next 25 miles was really nice. Small roads, no traffic, a slight tail wind, and super scenery. A little flat, but you can't have everything, eh?!
Last time I did this route it was in the other direction, and I was slightly flummoxed when the GPS 'blue line' pointed me the wrong way up a one-way street - but it wasn't too hard to sort out.
The miles 60 -70 were a bit more hilly, which was good. Enjoyed that. And when I got to 70 miles I possibly could have taken the longer option, but time was tight - so I decided on the shorter - but with a tweak to add in a couple of miles.

This last section also had a headwind, which I was expecting, but I was very pleased with how strong my legs felt.

In the end it total distance was 88.4 miles and the riding time was 5:40.
Riding over 100 miles would have been perfectly feasible today, and my legs seem to have recovered very nicely. This is all good.

Two Rides ;o)

2011-02-17T21:15:00.000Z

I wanted to be home when Lorna got in at lunchtime, so I said that I'd do an appropriately short ride this morning. The Scotty Dog circuit takes about 2½ hours, so that was perfect.
I already knew that there was a section of closed road to I'd planned a detour that gave me an extra climb - so that was good!!
There was slightly more headwind than I was expecting in the middle section, but it didn't hold me up too much, and this was a pretty regulation ride.

I had a little firtle with my saddle position once I got back. Back a bit and down slightly. Once Lorna went back to work I thought I'd have a slightly quicker and shorter blast around the short loop (20.8 miles!) I was happy with the altered seat position and with the pace of the ride. It's not often that I average over 18mph, and I was feeling pretty strong.

A reasonable days training given that it was going to be an easy day!

Planning to go longer tomorrow!

You have FOUR hours....... GO!

2011-02-16T17:04:00.002Z

Today was one of those days where there was a window of opportunity to get in a brief climbing session with Lorna, as long as her morning didn't over-run, and I got my training ride done efficiently!
What Lorna actually said was, "I'll aim to be home by 1pm, but don't let that stop you having a decent ride!"
I'd done a little bit of 'fettling' with the bike last night, so it wasn't quite ready to simply jump on and ride into the morning sun.... so I didn't get away until 9. But I reckoned that the 65 mile circuit was 'on', but the 70 would be just a little too long.

Although there was ice on the car, it was a decent enough morning, the sun was out and it didn't look as if there was much 'weather' about the place. Slightly damp roads, but otherwise great riding conditions!
I was almost on auto-pilot for the first 20 miles, because it's a section that I do very regularly, although I was slightly perturbed at the Road Closed sign along a section that I NEEDED to ride if I wasn't going to have a long and tedious diversion.
The road was being resurfaced! But I saw a group of cyclists coming the other way and surmised that I could get through.
Technically this was true - although I think the guys doing the road were slightly bemused at the sight of me wending my way through their vehicles! I'll plan to avoid it tomorrow and Friday after which they should be finished!!

The section of this ride that I have only done once before was a little on the muddy side! In that it wasn't possible to see the asphalt at all, and it was somewhat slippery. Still - all good practise!

Once again on reaching the hilliest bit, my legs woke up and started to enjoy themselves. I'm going to have to persuade them that getting 'bored' on gently undulating terrain is not on!!
I'm getting to know that section quite well now, and it becomes easier to picture just how far is left to go.

I was quite pleased that I finished the ride strongly.

Distance: 65 miles
Time: 3:56:35

A decent time-in-saddle/distance ride :o)

Unfortunately he climbing session didn't happen - but instead we discussed some 'organising' that I could get on with this afternoon, which I have now done.....mostly. Just waiting on a couple of 'phone calls.
Looks like we may be popping to the Lakes for a flying visit quite soon!! :o)

3 Passes....

2011-02-13T22:43:00.001Z

After a really cracking day yesterday, the plan was to do a little figure of 8 circuit out of Keswick, taking in Honister, Newlands and Whinlatter Passes - then after the descent of Whinlatter, head back up to Buttermere and redo Newlands before heading back to Keswick.
The forecast had accurately predicted some Cumbrian Sunshine and a gentle breeze, so we knew we were going to get a little bit damp, and slightly blown about!
Lorna was running the Keswick/Buttermere 34k, so we headed to registration in the Cricket Pavilion just before 10, and we met up with P who was coming cycling with me, and A who was also running the race!

We set off at 10 in fairly persistent 'sunshine' and something of a head-breeze that was clearly going to be slightly more robust higher up! As we rode along the side of Derwentwater, P told me that he wasn't confident about the climbs on the bike he'd brought and that if he had to walk I should carry on. That wasn't going to happen though ;o)
We caught up with 3 Mountain-bikers at the foot of Honister, exchanged a few pleasantaries, and I started up!
If you know the Pass from the East, you'll know that it is straight in to 25% gradient through the first couple of bends, until you emerge from the trees. I was slightly surprised to find myself not working that hard, but leaving the MTB'ers in my wake. I decided to carry on until the gradient eased and wait there. This was a very encouraging start!

On the easier section we chatted and I was admonished for not riding on (not happening, mate!!) The top section again gets slightly steeper and the descent starts again at 25% on a rippled, worn and (today) wet surface. It was OK though! Once that section was negotiated safely the lower part of the descent is just loads of fun. Good visibility, no tricks, and a chance to let it fly!!
Newlands is a nice climb too - a 20% start which is reasonably short then it eases right off before steepening to the last corner which is the steepest bit. We also have a tail-wind, so this was just fantastic to ride.
P found his steed a little troublesome on the steeper sections again, but we made pretty good progress. The view of the huge volume of water coming off the hill at Moss Force was outstanding. We stopped to have a good look before heading down towards Braithwaite. This is another fabulous section of road. The fist bit is slightly steep, but after that you have the best part of 5 miles heading (mostly) downhill. Awesome.

I'd not climbed Whinlatter from this direction before, but it really is the baby of them all. No need for little gears on the 15% gradient. Part way up we were passed by a couple of lads who I recognised. We'd seen them descending Honister when we were climbing - so they weren't hanging about!
When I had planned today, I'd factored in the fact that I've done a lot more cycling than P, and although I was still aiming to head down to Lorton and back to Buttermere, I'd also contemplated simply heading down from here. But there was much enthusiasm for the Whintatter descent - Buttermere - Newlands option. So we did that!

There was a bit of a headwind on the undulating ride back to Buttermere, and the road was clearly far less used. That seems a shame, because Crummock Water is absolutely stunning.
The race marshals were out in force at the water station at Buttermere, and told us that "about 40" had gone through already of the 70-odd starters.
I did some calculations and thought that if Lorna was having a good run, she'd have been through already.
P headed off up the first part of the climb while I was still chatting to a Marshal, and I thought that I'd see how I got on climbing it in 42:28 (or 24).
Fine, as it happens.
I decided to power up the last bit just to see what it was like, then descended back down to do that steepest section again. I really was enjoying myself!

On the descent we passed A who was having a good run - but not seeing Lorna meant that either she was having a bad one, or she'd decided not to run at all I surmised.
We saw another couple of folk we knew (Hi, Andy!) as we headed back to Keswick, and we headed straight back the cars to put the bikes away.
I saw Lorna's Kamleika hanging on the back of the seat just before I spotted her heading to the car. So I was able to shelve the idea of heading back out on to the course to find her. And then I saw her text which told me that she'd pulled out and would meet me at the finish! :o)

It was an excellent ride, which I really enjoyed. I'm very happy with my climbing legs, so I just need to make sure my endurance legs are nice and strong! I'm getting happier with my descending although I may have to look at my brakes - unless that was just the wet and crud that made them slightly less secure than I would have liked (Couldn't make the rear lock no matter how hard I tried!)

Good day!!

The route and stuff is HERE

Quality days with your spouse

2011-02-12T18:13:00.001Z

Sometimes you just have to do certain things.
Like - when there is good weather in the Lakes and you want to go for cycle ride with the wife rather than Do Some Training :o)

When we were here in November we did a really nice ride on our Mountain Bikes. Entirely appropriate on the roads given the weather and the state of the roads which almost had more Fell on them than the Fells did ;o)
But this time we had our road bikes, and simply gorgeous weather. Warm and sunny with a light cooling breeze..... :o)

I like planning routes that avoid the busier roads, and here in the Lakes it is always a good plan. It is impossible to completely avoid them, of course, but you can still find some absolute pearls if you are imaginative enough.
This particular route I can see becoming one that we do regularly when we are cycling. It's a nice distance and there is a superb Tea Room that deserves plenty of patronage because of its fantastic welcome and service, and food that is astonishingly good quality at a price that is (IMO) ridiculously good value!
We will visit Mae's Tea Rooms in Uldale whenever we are up this way. And although it's a little off the beaten track - it's well worth a visit!

Anyway - the ride itself.
We set off from Keswick having been fed to the hilt by the lovely Pauline, who has been our regular host since we discovered her little B&B a few years ago. She clearly thinks that we don't eat enough and makes it her mission to give us at least a months worth of fantastic food every time we draw breath ;o)
We headed past Castlerigg Stone Circle to Thelkeld along the back roads, and then after a teeny bit of A66 headed into the hills from Scales. We happened across Grandad Grockle in his JAAAAAAG (you have to imagine Jeremy Clarkson saying that) who was driving slower than we were riding - and on this uphill section we were averaging 8mph!!!!!
We passed through Mungrisdale and Mosedale and headed up to Caldbeck, and from there to Uldale for a planned break, cuppatea and some high quality homemeade nosh!

They also has some magnificent artwork and photography which is for sale - and a multifuel burner which will defrost the coldest of cyclists :o)

Adequately refreshed, and with a little tweaking of Lorna's bike gearing, we headed down towards Bassenthwaite so that we could ride past Ling and Sale Fells towards Buttermere and up Whinlatter Pass from the West.
That climb is just really enjoyable - helped on no small part by the fact that the views up towards Buttermere were spectacular and the riding was not particularly taxing!
The descent gave out forearms a bit of a work out, and we discovered that the bridge at Little Braithwaite had been rebuilt since we were last here, so we got to ride the tiny road past Ullock this time. Nice!

The entire route was 44 miles and we took 4:06 and it included 1150m of ascent and descent.

More importantly, it was a wonderful day out with my wife. REALLY enjoyed that!

Here is the route

Hill Work - NOT by Stealth!!

2011-02-10T21:02:00.001Z

The plan was to get a reasonably early start and head over to Church Stretton so that I could do some 'hill reps' over Long Mynd.
I'd discovered that the climb up The Burway was included in the 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs book, and when I looked at the map, I also found that there was another decent climb on the other side of the hill which was steeper for longer, but shorter overall.
And the base of the Burway to the base of this climb over the Mynd was a few pennies over 5 miles in distance.

A plan started to form.......

My initial idea was to park at the top of the Burway, ride down and back up again 6 times - but thinking that it might get a bit tedious I decided to link the two climbs as they are on the same road - and climb them both 3 times.
This gave me a nice section in the middle which, although not entirely flat, gave my legs something else to do - and gave me a chance to practise cycling on bumpy narrow hilly roads. Nice and event-specific :o)

I still parked at the top of the Burway, and decided to head to the 'other' climb first to warm up the legs.

I'd forgotten how steep 25% is in descent - and was VERY cautious the first time. Glad I've been climbing a lot though..... you need pretty robust forearms to maintain control!!
The first climb was great! Slow! But just a case of pedaling it out and not falling off.

[note to self - wet grass in the centre of the road doesn't give you any traction when you are climbing 1:4!!]
I met my first car on this section, which is only just wide enough for..... one car. But I negotiated the restart and clipping back in fine!!!
The meat of that climb is 160m of uppage in about 690m of horizontal distance - and when it eases off it still climbs for another mile - just much more gently. And I had expected a tail wind from the forecast.
There wasn't one - so I was climbing into the wind on the exposed ridge of the Mynd :o)

The descent down the Burway was much less scary! There is better visibility (apart from when you are in the cloudbase, which came and went all morning) and although it's easy enough to get to 35mph, for the most part it is also pretty easy to control your descent.
I realised just how much easier this climb was by the fact that bottom gear wasn't actually necessary, and once the steeper section was done, the rest of the climb could be done comfortably on the middle chainring.
Yes - I have a triple!!! I could start hurling testosterone about and use a compact or a standard double - but I'm not doing Fred Whitton just once - so I need to be able to treat my legs with some respect!!!

I really enjoyed that climb. the 100 Climbs book gives it a 9/10, and for the views down into Cardingmill Valley alone I have to agree. The drop off to the right is very severe though. Not one to fall off!!

And so it continued.... I became more confident with my bike handling on the descents as the session went on - although it DID give my forearms a decent workout!
The cloudbase hugged the top of the Mynd for most of the time, and there was one surreal moment where, having climbed past a Mountainbiker, I happened across a number of mountain ponies and their foals who had chosen the road to stop for a quick cuppa! I was a little wary of the the Boss Pony who squared up to me at one point, but I gave them plenty of space and was able to carry on my merry way!

All in all this was a good workout. I confirmed to myself that I climb pretty well, and I'm improving at descending. The bumpy roads might need a slightly lower tyre pressure though!!

Here is todays session

Hill Work By Stealth!

2011-02-09T20:15:00.003Z

The weather forecast presented me with a great opportunity today.
Riding the Scotty Dog route in reverse would give me a greater proportion of uphill miles (less gradient but longer) and all of the 'easy' flat and downhill sections would be into a 16km/h wind.
I also had time to add in a little extra loop to make the miles up.

It was another very nice morning. One thing I hadn't factored in was the fact that I would be passing more schools at "Little Johnny can't walk 400m to school" time so it was very busy until I got out of town. But after that it was great - really quiet.
And I achieved what I set out to do - simulated climbing for the majority of the ride

One thing that I DID notice was that my left hand got a little nerve-numbness at times. My gloves are pretty old now and a bit threadbare, and I've been thinking for a while that my bar tape could do with being replaced. So a couple of little jobs.

The ride today was a little over 47 miles and took just under 3 hours.
I'm thinking that as a training pace on *this* terrain, 50 miles in <3 hours would be a reasonable goal over the coming weeks. I know that it is fairly meaningless in terms of what I'll be able to do over the Fred Whitton course - but it is a reasonable one for me to measure myself against, I think!

I think that tomorrow I'll have a change and head over to some steeper hills and bat up and down them a few times.

Weather!!

2011-02-08T18:22:00.000Z

People may have noticed a small amount of breeziness about the place over the last few days. That, combined with a fairly busy weekend which involved loads of indoor climbing and being sociable, meant that the bike stayed firmly on the Turbo Trainer, and got some serious servicing! And I'm actually pretty sure that the overall strength conditioning that climbing gives me is beneficial to all the other activities that I like to do!!

Anyway - this morning saw a return to some lovely bright and clear weather and hardly any wind. Some, but nothing like that which has been whipping around the place for the last week or so! I planned to do a route that is a little longer than my 'standard' 42 mile circuit, but that was scuppered when one of the kids missed the bus to school.
Ah well! Still had time to get the 42 done! So I decided to up the effort level a little.

I knew that the direction that I was doing it in would see me heading in to the wind on the flatter and slightly downhill section - but that pretty much fitted the "Work A Bit Harder" plan. And it was a really nice day to be out riding. Even the traffic was behaving itself! I'm happy doing this particular ride (clockwise) in 2:30 or less. When it takes longer it's normally because the wind is whistling across the flat bits, and not in a helpful way!! There are a few places where it funnels straight at you, and with more than the prevailing force. Still, I guess it's hill-work by stealth ;o)

I had a chat with the lovely people at Macmillan Cancer Support too. They have kindly put a bit of information about the challenge on their website, and I needed to chat to them about another matter as well. They are a fabulous group at the local fundraising office - really friendly and helpful :o)

A friend of mine from the 'running' side of my life had heard about the challenge and has pledged to sponsor me €10 (she's from mainland Europe!) for each time that I manage to cycle up the section of Hardknott Pass that has a gradient of 33% (1:3 in old money) - now THERE is a motivating challenge!
I wonder if she also means when I'm doing a training rides on it..... ;o)

Hoping to get up there soon to recce the sections of the route that I haven't ridden before, and I will do the whole route as a training ride before May as well!

Longer ride... and loose plans

2011-02-03T17:40:00.003Z

I need to start building up the long rides in preparation for this challenge, and for the moment I'm planning to stick in one decent long ride a week, pad out the rest of the week with 40-50 mile efforts, and have one day when I seek out some silly steep hills and do lots of repeats on them to get used to, and strong enough for the climbs on the Fred Whitton.

I can't really mimic the gradient locally, so I'll use bigger gears on the climbs that I do use.
I had a look at the forecast for the next couple of days, and it seemed to me that the best window of half decent weather was going to be today. So I had a play with my mapping software and came up with an 86 mile route that seemed to fit the bill. It was also going to be a good opportunity to work at the food/drink strategy.

I had previously thought that I would have a quick off-bike 5 minute break ever 20 miles - but that translates to 25 minutes of not riding on the Fred Whitton. So today I thought I'd seee how I went with a 40-mile stint between rests.
I knew that it meant that I'd possibly stop quite close to the end, but these things need experimenting with!!

Once again the roads were really mucky - some were more mud than tarmac! But as a whole this was a fantastic ride. There were a few more easy climbs than on the 70 mile route I did the other day, and the hilliest bit was from 55-70 miles - and again my legs seemed to perk right up then!
So - a planned 5 minute break for food and wee stop at 40 miles. Found a lovely little sun-trap for it, and it WAS nice to get off the bike, albeit briefly. Coming to a village at 77 miles, I had been thinking that I'd just ride through..... but I was actually getting stomach-knawingly hungry, so decided that I would stop there as well. I'd also been riding into the wind for the past 6 miles!!
It was a good decision!

Overall I was really pleased with the way this went. It's the longest ride that I've done in a long time, and I got the pace/effort about right, because there was still some oompfh left in my legs even though they were a little fatigued. One thing that I may have to look at.... I was feeling slightly cramped on the bike, especially cycling into the wind, so I may put a slightly longer stem on.
All in all - an excellent day.

86.5 miles in 5:43

Terrible wind..!!

2011-02-02T17:14:00.000Z

Same route as yesterday!

For the first 6 miles I was thinking "This is impressive - averaging 19mph uphill..." i should have known better.

Nope I wasn't "Riding like a Lion" - more like a very small kitten with LOTS of assistance

Turning IN to the wind brought me back to earth :o)

When the "Ear Thunder" suggests that you are doing at least 35 mph, and the cycle computer tells you that it's actually 14mph - you know that you are in for a bit of work!!
With my 'general' rides though, I'm riding to perceived effort, so a headwind just translates to smaller gears and lower speeds.

This was in fact, another very enjoyable ride. A little slower than yesterday, but the training is all about getting the miles in, at the moment.

And then Lorna and I went to climb ourselves to arm-oblivion. Great day :o)

Some proper riding

2011-02-01T16:57:00.014Z

The roads are pretty mucky at the moment. With farmers doing farmer'y things and seemingly loads of things requiring large lorries driving on mud then back onto the roads - I found myself regretting having removed my bikes winter garb, because it got ridiculously dirty.

I had another fiddle with my riding position too.

Today I decided to potter around the Scotty Dog 42. My plan was to just use easy effort and see what happened.

The start of the ride was wet and mucky - spray off the vehicles overtaking me was particularly muddy and gritty. And I got absolutely filthy!!
But about half way around, that all changed. The sun came out, and it was gorgeous. I almost regretted having limited time for todays ride....... but climbing with my wife is just as important!!

I was really surprised that I finished the route in 1:24, the fastest I've ridden it by about a minute, and with far less effort.

Enjoyed that!!

Back to it

2011-01-31T16:49:00.010Z

The viral Lurgy hung around a little longer than I had hoped, so with the symptoms steadily disappearing, and the weather being a little dark I decided to just do a simulated steep hill-climbing session on the Turbo.

So big gears and resistance set so that sitting down wasn't an option.

30 minutes of that was enough - and showed that you don't need heating in the house when you exercise!!!

Day Off

2011-01-27T12:10:00.000Z

Well it has to happen occasionally.

Riding yesterday, although very pleasant, was ill-advised. So I'm not riding today. Viral thing IS improving rapidly, so a rest day can only help that on its way I think.

The importance of riding position

2011-01-26T12:31:00.000Z

I spent some time firtling with my riding position last night.
I felt on the long ride the other day that I'd probably worked my quads relatively harder than I should have, suggesting that my seat height was a little low - so I set the bike up on the turbo trainer and grabbed my camera so that I could video myself in the 4 hand positions that I use.
The camera is great, it has a normal frame rate of 30 fps, but if you want loads of detail, it can record at up to 1000fps!!
I did want more detail, but 210fps was plenty!!

I reviewed the clips in Kinovea - a fantastic bit of software that you can do all sorts of whizzy stuff with - including drawing lines and measure angles.

To start with I had a knee angle of 38° at bottom dead centre.
Too much!!
That'll explain why I have been slightly over-working my quads!
So some fiddling with seat height and fore/aft position and I'd got it to 26-27°, and I was happy with how it generally felt. I also raised the bars slightly

So today's ride was all about trying it out.
It was not going to be a speedy ride - because I was hit by a head-splitting sinusitis last night.

But the really easy effort churned out a very decent ride.
17mph average over the 24 miles. And considering that I had half a head full of cotton wool, I was pretty pleased with that!!!!
And my legs hardly felt like they'd been used.
I'll see how it goes with it set up this way for a few rides.

A Longer ride and waking the legs up!

2011-01-24T17:12:00.001Z

Monday? Long ride day?
Well, in truth it was more to do with the fact that Lorna and I will climb tomorrow, so there just isn't time for a long ride in the morning, and when we have finished climbing, it's almost dark!

So I proposed to get up and out early to give me enough time for a decent Long Ride.
I like to plan these things, and it is quite convenient living in times when GPS and Mapping Software are so readily available! So I looked through the various routes that I'd 'created' and saw one that seemed to fit the bill - and downloaded onto the GPS.
It is incredibly convenient to be able to 'follow the Blue Line' and not have to worry too much about navigation and map-reading when you are riding a longer route that you don't know.
But you DO need some idea of where it is headed and how to get back in case of catastrophic technology breakdown.

That didn't happen today - it all went very smoothly!

The route I chose was 70 miles. It's been a while since I rode that far but I thought it would be a good plan to see where I'm at in terms of endurance at the moment! The first 20 miles and the last 10 I know really well, and the bit in the middle I've ridden as parts of other rides, with one section having only been done once, and in the other direction. So I pretty much knew where I was going!

It was a ride that broke down into 3 distinct sections. Up to 40 miles - stuff I've ridden before and is very gently undulating (almost flat in fact!) 40-55 miles - the bit with a decent amount of updulation and downdulation.
And the last bit - a gradual climb, into the prevailing wind!

My legs got a bit bored in the first section, to be honest. I was purposely keeping the effort level down, reflected in the average pace at the point at around 10 miles (most of my rides start off the same) where I first note these things.
It was 15.4mph!

I'd also decided to be disciplined about eating and drinking on this ride. So calorie dense food things every 20 miles, and aim to finish a water bottle by 40 miles. I took an electrolyte mix in one bottle, and water in the other. There is method in this! I'm contemplating having 2 bottles with electrolyte in them on the Fred Whitton, and a Camelbak bladder for the water. That way I can easily alternate between the two, as I find that electrolyte drinks ALL get too salty if you drink them exclusively.

So, as I was saying - my legs were getting bored in the first section. And they actually felt quite tired!
I was looking forward to having some gradients to climb and descend, though. Although in the back of my mind I was hoping that it wouldn't work me to the point that I ground to a halt.
In the event, quite the opposite happened. They suddenly woke up

"HILLS," they exclaimed. "Awesome!"

And they experienced a whole new lease of life!!

Now I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. As a runner I far prefer running on significantly undulating terrain. So why would it be any different on the bike? That 15 miles absolutely flew by!

The last 15 was a bit of a grind! The wind had increased and was straight in my face on fairly flat ground that basically climbed gently for almost all of the ride in.
At 60 miles I found myself in a village, and it being Snack-time, I decided to have a 5 minute stop just to relax, stretch out a bit, and eat and drink without having to dodge vehicles.
That worked well!
Suitably refreshed, somehow the head-wind seemed less strong, and the gradual climb, flatter.

So I finished the route pretty strongly.

OK I have to admit to doing some numbers geekery as well! Cycle computer and Garmin both concurred that as I reached the house, I was 0.12 miles short of 70 miles!

Now that was just untidy, so I did a little loop to make it up to just over 70. ;o)
And the average pace for the ride? 15.4mph! Now where have I heard that before??

Some tweaking

2011-01-23T18:50:00.001Z

I noticed yesterday when I was adjusting my front brake that the wheel wasn't running quite true. Considering the fact that it has had no attention since it was first purchased, that was pretty decent.

Now, I don't own a truing stand, so I decided to just have a go the slightly agricultural way.
Hang the front of the bike up so that the wheel could spin freely - it's amazing how versatile a bench and bar can be - the tighten the brake until it started to catch. Have a firtle until it wasn't catching any more, tighten the brake a little more - and repeat.

A couple of times!

It's not perfect, but it's good enough for now
:o)

The Scotty Dog Route - 42

2011-01-23T13:04:00.003Z

Scotty Dog 42

So called because that's the shape it is on the map!! It is pretty much my bread and butter ride now. There are only a few sections on busy roads, and most of it is gently undulating and on quiet minor roads. And it's just a pleasant ride!

Great for simply getting in the miles - which is going to be something of a theme until May.
And double sessions are on the near horizon too!

The plan this morning has been a little different. Lorna had suggested that we have a ride together, long enough that she'd be able to get back to do Mum-Taxi duty - but we woke up too late, so I was hoofed out of the door on my own.

So a quick change of plan - a slightly pacier ride and slightly longer became the option, and I thought I probably had enough time for the Scotty Dog.

It was much milder today, so reasonable to wear less clothing! I'm still somewhat defensively keep my slightly dodgy knee warm with longs, but I dispensed with the windproofs today!

It was a fantastic ride. Very pleased with the pace/effort. I'm not quick - but the build-up to the 10 FW's is so much more about endurance and strength endurance. So I'm concentrating in time in the saddle, and letting the body decide what pace results.

The plan for the moment is miles, and more miles, and more miles. And some specific hill climbing reps - although I have to travel a little to find suitable gradients to play with.

Good ride that - enjoyed it.

I'll be heading off for a few hours climbing this afternoon, after which I need to finish off the information that I'm sending to Macmillan Cancer Support.
And I may also speak to the chap that provided us with some electrolyte drinks to test about doing some testing for him during the event. I used it today, and was quite pleased with its palatability. Water can get a bit tedious on the bike! More details later if anything comes of that.

It's all starting to some together :-)

And HUGE thanks to those of you who have donated to my JustGiving site and given that a fantastic kickstart.

Hill session abandoned

2011-01-21T11:01:00.000Z

I should have known better really!
The hill I wanted to play with - The Burway at Church Stretton - is a fantastic little gradient. 20% at its steepest, so perfect for multiple reps.
But it gets abandoned in the winter - there's even a sign at the bottom telling you that!

So I drove up it as I'd planned to the car park at the top. And it was pretty lairy on 4 wheels.

2 wheels would have been just silly.

I'll be back though - it's perfect for what I want :o)

All that Glitters is not......

2011-01-20T17:58:00.000Z

...glitter!

This mornings ride was always going to be a 'time-in-saddle' ride, and I KNEW it was cold and dressed accordingly.
I hadn't quite realised just how icy it was though. The glittery road surface was mesmerizingly pretty, but a part of my brain still though I was skiing!!

A very small two-wheel slide as I pulled up at a traffic light junction soon disabused me of THAT notion though!

As most of this ride is on minor roads, many of which were still in the shade in the early morning, a degree of circumspection was needed so that I remained upright. It WAS lovely though. Cold and crisp and almost completely traffic-free for the vast majority of the ride.
It was slow, but that's OK too - this was all about spending time on the bike - Base Training if you will
So I did 2:44 for the 42 miles.

Depending on the weather tomorrow, I'm planning to do some hill work at Church Stretton on my way to Wales.

The Challenge is ON

2011-01-19T16:43:00.000Z

To ride the Fred Whitton Four Seasons course 10 times in 10 days starting on May 13th.

After a few shenanigans the accommodation logistics have been sorted in principle. The details have still to be sorted, but there is plenty of time for that. When they are I'll post a link to the lovely place and people that we'll be staying with.

The Fred Whitton Challenge organisation have Macmillan Cancer Support as their chosen charity, so for that reason, and because I have experienced the quality of the service they provide in End of Life care, I have made contact with the local organisers to find out what support they can give me to raise the profile of the challenge, and I'm hoping to meet up with a Fund-raising Manager in the next week or so.
I'll put up a donation link once I have one

Any ideas that folk have that I could use to further raise that profile will be gratefully received

OK - any cyclists out there that fancy coming along to heckle and generally take the pi$$ - please let yourselves be known - the more the merrier.
And if you have ever contemplated doing the FW - do come along. The company will be much appreciated

The plan will be to set out from Coniston each day at about 6am

I'll detail the ups and downs of my training here and any training rides that I'll be doing on the course as well.

Right, need to do some work on the Blog. It's looking a bit bare