Monday, 28 March 2011

Porridge Powered Pedalling:

After an easy/lazy day yesterday rounded off with a take-away curry & few beers with friends Julie & I planned a ride for today but her Hay Fever has kicked in. So after a steady start to the day, bearing in mind the clocks sprung forwards an hour overnight, we fuelled ourselves with nice bowl of porridge, fruit & a dash of honey for me.

Julies After some gentle persuasion we readied ourselves & set off on our ride. I was mindful of condition with Hay Fever & was ready to be flexible with our route & it's distance. It was clear that Julie was under parr so we chopped a section off of the front end of our ride but Julie was not comfortable & so we kept it short today & got home with just 20km in the bag. But I'm pleased Julie made the effort despite the Hay Fever & feeling under the weather.

Porridge Powered Pedallin':

Wednesday, 23 March 2011

Spinning in the Springtime Sunshine!

Another glorious spring day & the opportunity of a late afternoon ride. Not to be missed I got myself ready for an 'easy' spin, my back hasn't been good for a while & was particularly uncomfortable Monday & yesterday so I thought I'd best take it 'easy'.

I set off 'easy' & felt fine & of course it wasn't long before I wasn't going 'easy'. By the time I got thro' my warm up zone I was full on! There was only a light breeze & it was a lovely afternoon, a chance not to be missed!

My average speed stayed high, for me, & I still felt good so I kept pushing, this was mostly the same route that I ridden with Julie on Sunday. My legs stayed good on the steady drag up from Bilstone to Little Twycross & although the average speed dropped a little my back was feeling fine. Once onto Galloes Lane I was able to push on again & pick the speed up a bit as the road falls away a little. This road runs pretty much all the way to Ashby, where the traffic built up a bit as it was the early part of the rush hour by now.

In Ashby it's a left turn & 'up' Kilwardby Street, a sharp little rise only about 500/600metres long but from a standing start. Although I was getting towards the end of the ride I was still feeling good. From that left turn I, for some reason, rode the whole climb standing up & pushing as hard as I could. I saw 172bpm on the Heart Rate Monitor, a number I haven't seen for a long while. A quick breather once over the crown & steady for a bit, stuck behind cars going slowly over the 'traffic calming' humps, & then 'back on it' for the final couple of miles back to the village, under the disused railway bridge & sharp left where I clock the end of my ride & just roll & spin for the last km home.

Before the final run in my average speed had been a little under 30kph but by the time I finished I managed to take it just over!

Because of the way my back has been of late I've decided to limit my rides to a couple of hours for a month or so in the hope that my back will recover if the rides aren't too long! This however was certainly my fastest ride so far this year & my legs and back are still feeling good. I finished the evening off with a visit to the gym for a nice relax in the Jacuzzi, this finished off the day nicely.

Spinning in the Springtime Sunshine!

Sunday, 20 March 2011

First ride this year with Julie:

Julie & I had planned to ride together today as the weather forecast was still O.K. & it would be a good spin off for me after yesterdays ride. The weather played out in accordance with the forecast, not as nice as yesterday but pleasant enough.

Julie hasn't ridden since November so was respectfully apprehensive about her first ride of the year, a 30mile route without a cafe stop!

We set off a little later than planned to ride the same route as we rode together last November. We did a little add in just after Netherseal to take in a little bank, which went well & then continued thro' Coton in the Elms to a short stop/photo moment by the church at Lullington, which always looks picturesque at this time of year.

Lullington Church

From the Church we rolled on thro' to Clifton Campville & then up the steady drag to cross the A453 at No Mans Heath. Once over the cross roads there's a nice downhill section that Julie loves to exploit on the way into Austry. From Austry we had planned to head over to Warton but I'd suggested a detour to this route when Julie had a few more miles in her legs to take in the harder route up to Orton on the Hill. Julie felt good & asked to take that detour today, it's a stiff little bank ramping up to at least 12%. No probs for me but Julie had 2 attempts but still had walk some of the way. Whilst I waited at the top another couple came along & so we all had a little chat, which made a nice break.

Onwards back down into Warton before turning to Grendon, Pinwall & thro' Sheepy Magna before turning into Watery Lane to get over to the A444 where a dog leg right/left takes us thro' to Bilstone & the long steady drag up to Little Twycross. At the top we join the B4116 & stick with it 'till the back of Measham. This is another of Julies favourite bits where we normally ride close in line, TT style, yours truly on the front & trying to make myself as big as poss. This section has a slight fall so inevitably leads to a slight incline! By now Julie is starting to tire but has done good! We leave this road & head across the bottom of Measham & head on to Acresford to make the final turn for home & the drag up to the village.

Untitled from Ray Mortlock on Vimeo.

Once over the top we're there, just a little roll on & we're home. Julie is tired but comfortable after todays ride & has done really well, 35miles for her first ride. Brilliant!

Home!

First ride this year with Julie:

Saturday, 19 March 2011

Sunny Saturday Solo:

The weather forecast for this weekend had been promising, possibly the best weekend of the year so far. So I planned a good long ride, yesterday I dusted down my best bike, (Look 595), lubed the chain, put some air in the tyres & gave it a check over ready for it's first airing of the year.

It was a clear night & there was a light frost first thing so I didn't rush out of the door too early as I was planning to ride with reduced clothing. I set of just after 9.00am & headed out for a big Easterly loop, flat out & hilly back. The plan was to ride fasted again in an attempt to burn fat! I had at least a litre of water & a couple of espresso before I set of & another bottle during the first 2hrs before a quick stop for more water in Long Clawson. Once I'd stopped I had a banana & started on the energy drinks.

Another 10mins & I was on the first climb of the day, Harby Hill. I'm not climbing too well yet but plodded over the top & made the right turn at the top, into the breeze & heading back towards home taking in some more hills. This section to my next water stop in Barrow upon Soar is open & exposed to the wind but I maintained a reasonable pace. After the water stop it's time to start preparing myself for the climbing to come of Beacon Hill, a climb of local notoriety included in many a rider training routes.

Once over the top there's some respite for a while, so time to get some more food in, before another good climb past St Bernards Abbey back towards Coalville. From here it's on thro' Whitwick before heading over towards Melbourne for the climb up Robinsons Hill, this climb may not be too long but after 120km it can hurt & it's been used in the Tour of Britain a couple of times! Onwards thro' Ticknall & one last climb on the way back to Ashby. Straight thro' past the golf course & around the back of Measham before turning back into the wind & then up the hill from Acresford to home.

On todays ride I was using some new kit, a new pair of gloves that I got from Cycle Shack where I been attending a series of talks on nutrition by Barry Murray of OptmumNutrition4Sport.

New Gloves & Shades

The Zero rh+ gloves are great, really comfortable & very grippy, they feel like quality kit!

I also picked up a new pair of Rudy Project Rydon sunglasses in the sale at a local bike shop recently, not my first pair of these glasses but these are photochromatic & as before are so comfortable, 5hrs today & no irritation or discomfort, awesome!

Sunny Saturday Solo

Tuesday, 15 March 2011

Tuesday Blast:

Having missed my regular spinning class yesterday evening as a result of an intensive cleaning session with my bike after Sundays ride I was grateful to finish work early enough to get out on the bike late this afternoon.
It was overcast but nice & dry under rubber, a pleasant change from Sunday, oh & a lot flatter.

Tuesday Blast:

Sunday, 13 March 2011

Epic Cycles Spring Challenge:

This weekend I had entered the Epic Cycles Spring Challenge so this gave us the opportunity to stay with friends nearer the venue than home. A reasonable day at home on Saturday morning teased me into preparing the Look 585 in readiness. Packed & away we went after an early lunch. After a cuppa on arrival at our friends & we loaded his bike into the car as it was starting to drizzle. We spent the next few hours catching up & eating & drinking along with other friends that came over for dinner.

After a pleasant evening we retired but lo’ & behold when I stirred in the night I thought I heard light rain, you know what it's like, strange bed, strange surroundings! When it was time to rise the first thing I did was look out of the window & sure enough it was wet, wet, wet! I hate riding in the wet at the best of times, oh well!

As we set off it had stopped raining & the forecast was for the weather to improve. By the time we'd arrived at Epic Cycles, signed on & readied ourselves it was just about beginning to brighten up. Although we were ready in time we elected to skip setting off with the first group & headed up the second group. It wasn’t long before we were passed tho’. I’d not been feeling great yesterday & I had several aches from starting some different exercises last week with a personal trainer. I was soon riding on my own & decided that I would just take it easy & not push too hard as one of the aches was my hamstrings, & I knew there was a lot of climbing to come. I probably spent an hour & a half pretty much on my own, passing a few riders & being passed by several then I found myself with a couple of guys at a similar pace for maybe 20km. Then I realised where we were & that the climb of Ankerdine Hill was rapidly approaching. This was the major climb of the day, not overly long but signposted as 17%, so it’s pretty steep. There were several riders on the ascent as we’d just passed some temporary traffic lights on the A44 which had caused a bit of bunching. I seemed to pass several on the way up the climb where there were several spectators near the top giving encouragement & once over the top I had that feeling of ‘push on it’s not far to the finish now’. So I kept pushing on the descent of Ankerdine but it wasn't too long before we turned & hit the climb up to Clifton upon Teme, a longer climb then Ankerdine, but thankfully the gradient isn't as severe. I was finally starting to feel a bit stronger & more confident & managed to pass a few more riders on this climb & pulled clear of the guys I'd been with before Ankerdine. Once over the top the breeze was into my face, 'd'oh! & I was to be on my own to the finish.

I was working to 80km as I thought it was a 50mile ride but it turned out to be 55miles, this meat I was starting to feel it a bit by the time I got back for tea & cakes. My mate had got back about 15mins before me & was relaxing with his tea & cake already.

After the ride both the bike & I were very dirty, so it's a major clean up for the bike tomorrow. Looking at the data the ascent per kilometre was very high, nearly 40% mote per km than last week. I also feel that despite the wet & mucky conditions of these lanes, the surface below on many of the lanes used was in poor condition.

Epic Cycles Spring Challenge:

Sunday, 6 March 2011

Sportive: Mad March Hare.

My first Spotrive of the year & not too far from home. After steady drizzle all afternoon yesterday it was a relief to find it had dried up overnight, but it was cold!

I'd arranged to meet a few other club mates & drive down in convoy, 4 cars plus a couple of others made their own way there. Once on site we got prepared we all set off together just after 9.00am. We were soon in a reasonable sized group of around 30 riders & the pace was good but not mad, in fact the first couple of hours seemed very civilised.

I'd started the event 'fasted' again & rode for 1.5hrs before hitting the energy drink & bars. After last weeks episode of cramp after riding for 2.5hrs before sugar I didn't want a repeat performance 'cos there were some bigger climbs to come, namely Dovers Hill at 70km, the climb that was used for last years National Hill Climb Championships.

However well before this the bunch had fragmented & there were lots of groups of just 2's & 3's. I found myself riding with a lady that was keen to 'sit in' whilst we were going into the breeze & up the smaller drags. We got caught by a small group going into Broom & hung on until traffic lights where ther were several other riders caught on the red light, handy! As we all set of I started to struggle & was 'out the back' before long, but managed to get back to the group, which included a few clubmates, before 'the climb'. Then of course I was 'out the back' again. The climb did does ramp up to 16% in a couple of places & one fellow clubmate did have to walk! That lady was by my side at the start of the climb but was out of sight, in front, before the summit.

We went to watch the National Hill Climb Champs at the end of last October which was won by Dan Fleeman in a time of sub 4mins, I lapped my Garmin at the approx start & finish lines & managed 9.09mins, still I had ridden 70kms to get there! Once over the top it was only short distance to the feed station where I got both bottles topped up & had a banana.

I set off from the feed on my own as I needed a quiet gateway for a comfort break. The descent from the feed stop went on for a bit longer than I anticipated but eventually the road levelled out & an appropriate gateway appeared. Of course as I was stopped lots of riders whizzed by, but I was back on the bike as quick as I could be & on my way again, trying to catch up. Pushing on & feeling good I caught & passed several riders before I got caught by a couple of riders going just a bit quicker than me. I was able to lift my pace & hang on as one dropped off I stayed with the other rider for a few miles
before I dropped away myself. I'd now caught & passed three fellow club riders that had gone by during my comfort stop, each on their own. Again I got caught by another couple of riders that I was able to lift my pace to, we rolled along still passing plenty of riders as we neared the finish. During the final few miles one dropped away again & one pulled away & I was on my own again. Finally I recognised the road & realised we were on the final run in & because I could see riders up ahead I managed to dig deep again & pushed on to the end. My recorded time 4hrs 22m with which I'm happy as this put me around 71/333 or around the top 20%. Within the club I was 3rd home.

This was another great day out, cold to start but warming throughout. The ride was challenging & tougher than my club mates thought but no surprises for me... & as usual still felt strong at the end.

Sportive: Mad March Hare.