In yellow at the Smithfield Nocturne

its enough to make u all wet

Originally uploaded by lomokev

HP and I at the start of the big storm during the Rapha Smithfield Nocturne.

As the rain started we felt quite smug as we donned our rain jackets while everyone else dived for cover into doorways or under awnings.

That smug feeling lasted as long as we remained dry, ie. not very long at all. The upside was while everyone took cover we nabbed a spot by the finish line.

Sportivity

A lot of miles in the legs since the last post…

On the 14th HP and I rode over to Lyveden New Bield, a National Trust property just outside Oundle. We lay on the grass and had an ice cream before heading back. It was a good work-out for HP coming in at just under 40 miles.

The next day I headed over to Worcestershire with David for the Epic Cycles Spring Challenge – a 52 mile semi-sportive. This was a real tester with 5000ft of climbing and one hill with an average gradient of 12% for 1.5 miles. It was also very warm and sunny but I don’t mind that too much when I’m on the bike. My ride time was just under 3.5 hours and I was reasonably happy with that. I hadn’t wanted to push too hard because a week later I had my first century ride.

Sunday the 22nd saw myself and a friend, Simon, take part in the Hereward the Wake sportive. A 106 mile loop starting and ending in Peterborough. Apart from the 12% gradient of Rockingham Hill, it was fairly flat route and I felt good most of the way. Even in the last few miles I was able to manage 22 mph while chasing someone down. There were times around the 75 mile mark where I began to feel some pain – mostly my arse but also some tenderness behind the knees. The Roubaix is pretty comfortable but I don’t think I’ve found the optimum saddle position yet.

This was the furthest I’ve ever ridden and I’m pleased with my time and also that I was able to hydrate and eat properly – something I’m not normally good at. In the two days since, I’ve been a bit tired but my legs feel fine: not feeling stiff as I thought I would be.

Ride time: 6:22
Average speed: 16.6 mph
Average HR: 141
Average cadence:  78

Oundle meander

Yesterday HP and I rode to Oundle. Once there we had coffee and flap-jack at one of the three cafes and had a quick wander around. The journey back was more meandering than the outward leg but the tailwind made it much quicker. All in all a very enjoyable few hours and 26 miles in the legs for HP. That’s on top of the 15 she did on Good Friday and the few miles we must have covered while pootling around Hampton on our folders on Saturday afternoon. At this rate she’ll be in fine fettle when we go to the Loire Valley in June.

In the garden

We’ve finally got our back garden sorted out. The lawn was in a terrible state and would not improve no matter what we tried. So the nice chap from Nightingale Landscapes came and dug it up and replaced it with gravel. It’s only a small garden so there’s no vast expanse of gravel – plus we’ve also extended the patio (which desperately needed jet-washing) – which reduced the gravel area. A couple of sections of log roll and some new plants have been added and the garden now looks really nice. And it’s practically zero maintenance. Yay!

On Sunday evening we turned on the patio heater and ate al fresco for the first time this year. Which was nice.

Three of a perfect pair

HP and I went on our first CTC ride with our DA this weekend. We met at a bus stop in a village on the outskirts of Peterbrough for the ride with no prior knowledge of the route. The secretary (is that the right terminology?) showed up 10 minutes late and, uhm, that was it!

So off we went for a pootle, just the three of us.

Now the secretary is a really nice guy and we had a good chat over a couple of pints in the pub after the ride but he seems to have no idea on how to attract numbers. The day before we’d been in the biggest, best known bike shop in the area when the owner lamented the fact that the CTC don’t give him any details of what they’re doing as he has lots of people wanting to join some sort of organised ride. There are two flourishing cycling clubs but they’re mainly concerned with racing/time trialling.

The DA plan of action is to get some of the existing members along to the Saturday morning rides so that there’s a core of people turning up regularly. Then he will try and attract newcomers.

We made some suggestions for the newcomer rides, for example, a 12 mile ride to a local farmer’s market (and back). Or pick out some historical place of interest (there are many nearby). Also the starting point should be more accessible and with better parking (again there plenty of options). To be honest, despite the encouraging noises made, I don’t expect anything like this to be introduced.

Furthest

Yesterday I rode 86 miles. This included the hill from Ketton to Collyweston, Rockingham hill (12%) and the steep climb from Medbourne to Nevill Holt.  The wind was strong (again!) and I didn’t eat enough, but didn’t feel too bad afterwards. Nothing a hot bath and a roast dinner couldn’t cure anyway.

Three weeks to go now to my first century ride (the Hereward sportive) and I’m confident I can finish it but maintaining a decent average speed will be the big worry. Fortunately the biggest climb, Rockingham hill, comes early on. A good strategy will be to spin up there to conserve my legs for the rest of the ride. Particularly if it’s windy as the last half of the route is very exposed.

Sportive calendar

Yesterday I registered for the Etape Anglais – the cyclosportive being run on the same route as Stage 1 of this year’s Tour de France. The route, from London to Canterbury, is 120 miles long and this event comes two weeks after the Northern Rock Cyclone, another 100 mile sportive in Northumberland. I also have a 100 mile ride in Kent during May and my first sportive around Peterborough in April (a mere 108 miles). I have more lined up but these are definite so far.

Tompy shall have new shoes (and stuff)

Wiggle have just sent me a pair of Sidi Genius 5 shoes. They look great and I will wear them on the turbo trainer tonight and test them for comfort.

I also got a camera to mount on the bike (or a helmet). Now I will be able to film some rides!

And carbon bar-end plugs for the death bike.

the man machine

We went to Manchester on Saturday to watch World Cup cycling at the velodrome. It was our first experience of track cycling and it was brilliant. Highlights were Team 100% Me’s team pursuit qualifying ride and Chris Hoy’s tussle with Arnaud Tournant in the men’s sprint final. GB’s team pursuit final where they caught the Russian team was also brilliant but there seemed an inevitability to it so it wasn’t quite as exciting as when the younger lad’s performed so well.

Next year we’ll probably go to all 3 days of the World Cup and also try and take in one of the Revolution evenings too.

Cheam and Morden Hilly 50k

On Saturday I drove down to Surrey to ride the Cheam and Morden Hilly 50k ride. It was very tough.

Right after the start there was a long hill, way longer than anything round here, but I twiddled up it rather than trying to match some of the faster lads. The descent was brilliant but I soon realised my rear brake wasn’t going to be up to the job when we came to a junction on the edge of Dorking. To make matters worse, my front brake squeals like a pig.

Anyway more hills followed and they were all worse than that first one but I managed to achieve my goal of not walking any of them. On White Down I did have to stop twice to catch my breath but I didn’t walk any of it. Box Hill or the Zig Zags as it was called by locals was quite easy in comparison. I achieved a nice rhythm with a reasonable cadence and felt strong at the end.

It was a great ride in lovely weather and I want to do it again. There just aren’t enough hills around here to get anywhere close to this ride and it took less than two hours to get there.

Here’s the route profile: