Weeks Six and Seven Training

Time for an update, unfortunately a sudden influx of work and law essays has hit the consistency of my training.  That said, I’ve been maintaining fitness levels with a fair bit of running and a few indoor sessions.

Cambridge - The only city I know that has bike congestion!

Friday 15^th – I had a nice twilight ride, set off only intending to go around the block for a quick five miles or so but ended up heading out up the A6 for a loop round Yarls Wood covering 23 miles.  

On the way back in I picked up a slow puncture on the front about five miles out, I could hear it hissing and not wanting to stop in the pitch black decided to hammer it back.  

Luckily I got back home with just enough air to avoid having to walk/fix it.  Next day I took the tire off to replace the inner tube but it was evident I needed a new tire  I’m not disappointed it’s been on some 3,500 miles since I got the bike so shiny new Continental Gator-Skin it is to match the back one.

Sunday 17^th – Finally my first 50 mile plus of the season.  I woke up to a frost covered bike but the day was beautifully sunny and no wind what so ever.  I’d already decided to go to Cambridge today and meet Amy and our lodger there for breakfast.  I was expecting them to shoot past me in the Fiat 500 pretty much from half way on but I beat them and had already sunk an Americano before they got to the café.  Coming home was defiantly the best ride of the season so far, the temperature had risen above 10C, no wind and only one jack ass honked me on the way back.  I also shaved four minutes off my time on the outbound leg and a whole 40 minutes since I did the route last year.  Final result 53 miles at 16.4mph, let’s hope this marks the start of spring – wishful thinking, but still!

Apart from those two rides the rest has just been made up with a few quick rides up and down the A421 to the Black Cat roundabout and back.  Hopefully the coming weeks will be a little more fruitful.

The Week(s) in Stats

• Total Miles Since Last Update: 125m
• Longest Ride: 53m Bedford – Cambridge and back
• Hardest Sections: Mostly flat work these past few weeks
• Food of the Week: Poached eggs on brown toast at Patisserie Valerie Cambridge J
• Drink of the Week: Apple Breeze (Bison grass vodka, apple juice, cranberry juice) perfect winter cocktail

Week Five Training

Not the finest of weeks, a heavy schedule has meant that I haven’t been able to get out every day or even most days.  However, Friday was a decent ride and the snow has gone, so hopefully no more endless indoor sessions.

Stotfold Mill

Friday – Finally got some time to get out, the snow has gone and day light is back once again so I thought it best to do a longish one.  I had a couple of routes in mind but opted for a trip down to Stotfold to see the water mill and then back via Shefford and the A600.  All in all, a nice ride, blue skies and the gloves stayed in the back pocket so I couldn't have asked for more.  Racked up just over 40 miles in two and half hours.

Saturday – Just the mule run today a short ride into town coming back with a full load of veg from the market.  Not really proper training but it was nice to go out for a ride with Amy.

HIT – I saw a program on Wednesday (Horizon) about the benefits of high intensity training (HIT).  In short, benefits obtained from three extremely short (1 minute) sessions of going mental on an exercise bike per week.  I decided to give it a go on the basis that all I have to lose is three minutes of my life and it’s an addition for me rather than a substitution.  I can’t verify Mosley’s results scientifically but it feels like good value for money despite my initial scepticism.  I will be continuing for a few weeks and see how it goes.

The Week in Stats

• Total Miles for the Week: 46.42m
• Longest Ride: 40.43m Bedford – Stotfold and back
• Hardest Sections: Mostly flat work this week
• Food of the Week: Rice and Peas – Great name for a dish without peas!
• Drink of the Week: Back with the green tea, this one really works for me

Week Four Training

Unfortunately my cycling blog seems to have become a cycling-alternative blogs for the time being.  Sunday opened the week with non-stop flurry of snow over the skies of Bedford.  I had to settle for a couple of hours spinning in front of the TV and a walk in the snow to Tesco and back.

Bedfordshire in the Snow - Stevington Windmill

Monday – Regardless of the ongoing snow I decided to go out for a quick one anyway just out of boredom if nothing else.  I had to walk down to the main road before getting onto the bike but after that it was fine sticking to the main roads.  Nothing too exciting just a quick 13 miles down to the Black Cat and back, covered in slush but nice to get some air.

Tuesday – Stuck with the running today and did 12.5 miles.  Can’t wait to get back on the bike for a good session soon, I always find after a fair amount of running riding seems easier so I’m not too worried about getting behind in my training program.

Wednesday – Rest Day

Thursday – I cranked up the resistance to max on the exercise bike and did two hours of spinning while watching Master Chef South Africa.  Seems ironic that every time I spin I end up watching food or car shows.

Friday – One hour of spinning.

Saturday – I had a law study weekend this week so no major miles over the weekend.  However, after eight hours of law lectures the rain came and washed away the snow and ice, it would have been rude not to get out for a quick one.  Just a quick 13 miles to the Black Cat roundabout and back in the rain.

The Week in Stats

• Total Miles for the Week: 40.2M
• Spinning Sessions: 6 Hours
• Longest Ride: 13M A421 Black Cat and back
• Hardest Sections: None
• Food of the Week: Irish Soda Bread, good slow release carbs and can be made in less than an hour!
• Drink of the Week: Apple Mac – Perfect winter drink for Burns Night.

Week Three Training

A good start to the week as usual.  I had to take my bike in for a service, it has been sadly neglected last season and feeling a little unloved.  That means a 46 mile round trip to MK with a mandatory lunch at Jaipur, a good use of a Sunday.  Armed with new brakes, chain, rear cassette and set of new cables, my machine felt as good as new again.  I went back at full pelt, not to prove a point so much as to get out of the biting cold and beat the sunset (short days yuk).

Bromham Water Mill in the Snow

Monday – Nooooo! The snow has arrived, I attempted to go out and ended on my backside after getting only a couple of meters down the road and gave up on the whole venture.  Thankfully only my ego was hurt, last time I came off a bike I ripped my shoulder and was on pain killers for eight weeks!

Tuesday – Not a good start to the day but the mid-day sun came out to clear some of the snow.  It was hard not to use the snow as an excuse but that’s when having a blog to fill out comes in handy.  

I did just a shade over 20 miles which was mostly horrible.  The temperature fell rapidly after about 8 miles and I could feel a thin film of ice on the roads through my back wheel, I had a few slips but stayed on.  To make it worse, five miles from the end the cleats on my left shoe have decided not to engage anymore which made the ride back particularly bad.  Probably the worst day of training so far!

Wednesday – Not a bad run, the ice has gone from the roads but the countryside is still pretty and white.  I headed out without a particular direction or distance in mind and as such ended up in a few villages I haven’t been to yet.  There was a particularly good section between Potton and Sandy where an ice coated canopy of trees covering the lane, it really did have that winter wonderland feel about it.  In the end I clocked up 34.4 miles and ended up at Shefford before coming back.  Good session but fingers dropping off by the end.

Thursday – Continuing with the theme of randomness I decided to head through the villages to the West and get some shots of Bromham Water Mill and Stevington Windmill, both of which looked great in the snow.  Sub-zero temperatures and a lot of slippage meant I only got about 20 miles in again, I’m looking forward to spring that’s for sure!

Friday – Full white out no riding today.  I went out for a run though to keep things moving and got 10 miles in, it’s the first time I’ve run since getting my LEL space so it was nice to have a bit of a change.  The snow was fresh and fluffy and it felt like running on a thick carpet.  See what tomorrow brings, it may involve a long exercise bike session…

Saturday – Finished the week with a couple of hours of spinning while watching endless repeats on Dave, better luck next week.

The Week in Stats

• Total Miles for the Week: 132.41m
• Longest Ride: 46.64m Bedford – Central MK Round Trip
• Hardest Sections: Some good sections out on the way to Potton, it’s been the cold that has been the killer through.
• Food of the Week: Mixed lentil dhal, what could better in the winter a protein packed Indian soup!
• Drink of the Week: Green Tea, read about it in the cycling magazines, I just know it’s hot, caffeinated and doesn’t need milk J

Week Two Training

Week two has been generally a positive week increasing my total mileage from the previous week and doing no less than 20 miles a day.  Sunday was a good start to the week with a 29 mile round trip to the Marston Vale Forest Centre and back.  Amy took the car and we met up for what turned out to be the best slice of coffee cake ever, I soon burned it off with a climb up Lidlington Hill which goes up 182ft in 1.27 miles.

A Decent Route Around the Bedford/MK Area

Wednesday was the best day of the season so far, I had my work done by 13:00 and the sun made an appearance possibly for the first time since Christmas.  I headed straight out for a 41 mile session getting in Brogbrough Hill, Lidlington Hill and Clophill.  

I’ve tried to start incorporating a few more hills into my sessions as I’m worried about the Northern sections of the ride and doing most of my riding in the Bedfordshire area may not be the best.

Thursday (10^th) was difficult, it was my birthday (29 this year), I was a little tired from the day before and the weather has gone all gloomy and cold again, although thankfully, not wet.  None the less I went out for a quick blast to get 22 miles in on fairly easy route round the North side of the town.

The end of the week got worse, colder and colder and Saturday evenings ride down the A600 to Shefford and back was a bit of a drag to be honest.  Still, here’s to hoping the weather bucks up next week and that the rumors of snow are just that!

The Week in Stats

• Total Miles for the Week: 197m.
• Longest Ride: 41.33m Loop around Clophill/Marston Moretaine.
• Hardest Sections: Some good sections at Clophill on the A6 and Brogborough Hill on the A421.
• Food of the Week: Baked a decent loaf of German Landbrot – Excellent slow release carbs.
• Drink of the Week: Just good old school coffee to get me out the house this week.

In the beginning...

Welcome to my official training blog for the 2013 edition of the four yearly cycling event which covers 1,400km (about 869 miles) from London up to Edinburgh and back again.  It may not make for the most interesting of blogs, especially if you’re not into cycling but hey, I need something to keep me motivated to train constantly between now and the end of July so here we go, I’ll keep my entries to one a week and daily updates once en route.

(Me last summer when we had daylight last!)

The Event

Put simply, the LEL is a non-competitive event run every four years by AUDAX challenging riders to cycle from London to Edinburgh and back again in five days.  The route is 1,400km or 869 miles (ish) in length and requires riders to stop at a number of controls along the way to pick up a stamp and bolt down some food and sleep!

The event is not a race but rather a test of personal endurance, all completing participants are considered equal, regardless of time so long as the journey is completed in the specified five day limit.

I’m really looking forward to the route, it takes me through my home county of Lincolnshire going through Market Raisin and across the Humber Bridge and gets me back to Scotland (The world’s finest little country?) for a day or two.

Signing Up

One and half years ago I would have never believed that in 2013 I’d be signing up to a 870 mile cycling endurance event.  At that point five years of drinking too much wine, eating too much and not doing any exercise left me at 200 pounds and after buying a cheap £100 special from Halford’s totally out of breath after 5 miles.  However, a year and a half later and 2,500 miles of riding which got my weight down to 160 pounds and distances up to 116 miles I was looking for a challenge.  I found the LEL online in Autumn 2011, signed up for the news letter and forgot all about it.

On New Year’s Eve I saw my friend Agnes who I have not seen post a status considering possible New Year’s Resolutions.  I knew she liked biking and sent her a link just for the crack but said I was considering it (which I was). Got a "like" but thought not more about it.

Jan 5^th entries open – I’d been agonising for days whether to invest the £219 in signing up for the event or not, I was sure that tickets would sell out pretty quick so was keeping an eye on the event.  Sales opened at 22:00, at 21:00 I got a message on Facebook, from my friend who I had not seen in the four years plus change since my wedding, are you entering?  Well having suggested the event, how could I not, credit card details went in at 22:00 exactly and I got a place.  All 900 spaces for the event were sold out in less than 12 hours so thank I’m thankful for the chance to take part this event, not sure I could be bothered to wait another four years for the chance.

Week One Training and Equipment

OK here we are in stats and equipment:

Bike – I’m taking my Raleigh Airlite 100 – It’s an entry level road bike with a modest list price, not the greatest machine but it’s done me 2,500 miles so far so I’m sure it can do the LEL.

Cloths – Sticking with my Canadian LG and Italian Castellie kit, loving the new very red carbon riding shoes (Early birthday present thanks Amy).

• Total Miles for the Week: 167m
• Longest Ride: 44.15m – Bedford to Milton Keynes and back
• Hardest Section: Lidlington Hill (category 5)
• Food of the Week: Quiona and Hazelnut bake with roasted tomato sauce
• Drink of the Week: “Sputnik” old communist cocktail with rum, brandy and orange juice J

All in all happy with my first weeks training, although slightly disconcerting to see that the 167 miles clocked up over a week will not even be worth one day’s worth of cycling in the event!  I’m hoping to get my first single 100 mile ride of the season in next week.