News from the Norwich 50

Norfolk is not flat, except where that helps increase your exposure to a headwind.

Heading generally north out of the city this morning we had some degree of headwind for most of the first 24 miles, until the two routes (100 mile and 50 mile) divided. For most of that first stretch the countryside undulates rather more than you might expect. There are no big hills, of course, but there are some that drag on a bit when the wind's against you as well - not least the last mile or two of that northward section.

Thereafter, we were headed more or less southeastwards for about 15 miles. JR and John agreed we had a tail wind component for that part - as we must have done - but again those little hills were wearing me down. At one point I wondered if my tyres were soft because riding felt harder than it looked. About ten miles out we turned almost due west and it was faster on the flat, with just a few minor undulations before the downhill sprint into the city - interrupted by traffic lights, traffic and, in my case, a detached rear carrier one mile from home.

The rack and my one pannier bounced as I hit a bump in the road at quite high speed and the right-hand stay dropped inside the hanger and briefly onto the block. I've no idea where the bolt went, and it might have fallen out some time earlier. Anyway, no harm was done, as far as I could see, and as I had nearly finished and the bolt hole was too small to thread a cable tie through I took a chance on the remaining bolt hanging in there for a few more minutes.

It did, JR found a bolt of the right size in his bag of bits and it was mended in minutes of me finishing.

I actually measured today at just over 52 miles and, added to the nearly 18 I did yesterday afternoon, that makes this a 70-mile weekend. The biggest mileage since last September's trip.

Today's ride was easily my longest of the year - until next Sunday's St Edmunds Wheel 100!

Roy

Tour of Britain Route through Suffolk and Norfolk

The official launch of the East Anglian stage of this year's Tour took place on Thursday 12th May.

As I revealed recently, the penultimate stage of the Tour of Britain will start from Angel Hill in Bury St Edmunds on September 17, meander through the Suffolk and Norfolk countryside and end on the royal estate at Sandringham.

The next day the riders will race to the finish in London.

If you're wondering how the organisers have created a 120-mile race stage between Bury and Sandrigham, the answer is that the route takes in a 60-mile loop south then east before heading north to cross the county border near Diss.


Lavenham Church

Parts of the route will be familiar to anyone who's done the 100 mile version of the St Edmunds Wheel, as the professionals race through the picturesque and historic Lavenham and Hintlesham, also taking in Cockfield, Debenham and Eye.

You can also ride this stage yourself in July. Full details of the route and your chance to test yourself before the professionals arrive in September are on the Tour of Britain website.

Roy

Some More Useful Miles

From now on I'll know exactly how far I've gone, even if I'm not always sure which way I'm going.

Not that I'm that bad a navigator, but the Suffolk lanes can be confusing when an eastward-bound route suddenly seems to snake westwards for a while as I found on Sunday.

Still, my newly fitted cycle computer did tell me how far I'd travelled and how fast I'd got to wherever I happened to be at any particular time.

The computer was a Christmas present but, for various reasons mainly associated with laziness, I only fitted it on the Saturday after Easter. Having fitted it I had to test it, of course, so on Saturday I headed southwards on a route I know (and have measured by car and brother-in-law John's computer).

As I was only planning to ride 'around the block' to test the computer I didn't actually go too far, but I was very pleased that the computer confirmed my impression that, once again, I was much faster riding home than I was on the outbound leg, despite a Northeast wind that should have slowed me coming back. My average speed for the measured 11.4 miles was exactly 15.0mph, which is not quite Tour of Britain pace but is not a bad average on a mountain bike after an idle winter.

So it was on Sunday that I decided, now I could measure distances on less familiar routes, to head eastwards, intentionally taking on a strong headwind component from the strenthening Northeasterly. I wanted to stay south of the A14, so took Rushbrooke Lane east-ish and meandered away from the afternoon sun (mostly) towards Rougham and Bradfield St George.

I was right about the wind: although there was some shelter between the hedges and woods for much of the time, there was always a strongish breeze and occasionally it made itself felt as a strong sidewind, too. At Rougham, after one gusty stretch, I passed a village cricket match that looked idyllic in the early May sunshine. Very soon after this I found myself heading west, so turned around and took a turning towards Bradfield that carried me eastwards again for a while. At around ten miles I decided to turn for home. Average speed to this point was 13.7mph - not bad with that headwind.

The ride back was equally gusty as the wind funnelled down avenues of trees and between hedgerows now in full leaf. When I reached the cricket match again I stopped for a snack and a drink and watched a few overs. There was some decent fast bowling and a good batsman taking advantage of the slower bowler's struggle to bowl line and length against the wind. That must have been a good bat too, as he stroked some very easy looking fours.

After the rest (and a quick check of my average speed - up to 14.7 now) I headed for home, and the wind now gave me the help I expected as I span along at 18-22mph for long stretches. There were still some slower hills, though and some rough and gravelly patches where flat out wouldn't have been a good idea. I was very pleased, then, to get home with an overall average for the 20.3 miles of 15.6 mph. Highest speed was attained a few miles from home at 27.6mph.

A ride the previous week was at an average nearer 14mph, and was a 20 mile there and back ride including 'my hill' at Hartest. Next time I do that route I'll be able to time it properly!

I'm pretty confident about doing the two fifty mile charity rides next month and tempted to go for the century around Bury. There's also another big ride of up to 200km around Suffolk in July for Alzheimers, called Miles for Memories. Now, 200km is about 124 miles, and that's one mile more than I've ever ridden in a single day. Although that was in the hillier West Country (Taunton to Torquay and back) it was also about 25 years ago!

As yet, we (the Paris to Venice group) don't have a tour of any kind planned for this year but we are hoping to at least do a coast to coast together at some point.

Meanwhile, these sunny days are making Suffolk irresistable!

Roy

Tour of Britain Returns to Bury St Edmunds

Excellent news for all cycling fans and pretty good news for the local economy:

The Tour of Britain will be using Angel Hill, in Bury St Edmunds, for the second consecutive year. Last year, the stage from Bury headed off towards Essex and Colchester. This time the riders will head northwest for a finish at the royal estate in Sandringham, Norfolk.

And, since this year's stage is on a Saturday, 17 September, the town and locations along the route will no doubt hope to maximise their visitors' opportunities to spend money in the area!

Last year's stage is thought to have added a useful £2.5 million to Suffolk's thriving tourist industry, and this year that extra income will be more welcome than ever.

For most locals, though, this is another chance to experience the excitement of an event that, since the UK started doing so well in Olympic and professional cycling, is probably more popular now than it has ever been.

On a more personal note, I have so far managed to miss not one but two opportunities to see the tour. When the race came to Bury last year I was half way across Europe on our Paris to Venice ride. And the previous year we were finishing our second coast to coast ride when we encountered the entourage (but none of the riders) on the ouskirts of Newcastle.

(We were half hoping we'd be swept along in the peleton, but no such luck!)

This year I'm not planning on going anywhere on September 17th, except Angel Hill!

Roy

Just a Quickie

Having decided not to go off road in Thetford Forest this afternoon I had a perfect excuse to get a few miles in on the road.

I didn't think I ought to be out for too long - things to do, visitors coming, etc - and so I opted for my 15 mile there and back ride.

I was very pleased to get to the turn in around 29 minutes, opted not to stop and came back in under 27 minutes, making my total time almost exactly 56 minutes.

That made my average speed 16 mph, which I was very pleased with.

As I said, just a quickie.

Maybe I'll make the Norwich 50 and the St Edmunds Wheel 100? We'll see!

Roy

Today Took Me Right Back...

Today's ride in the gorgeous April sunshine was reminiscent of last September's Paris to Venice ride, not least because 24 miles seemed to have the same effect today as 60 or 70 miles did back then!

But it was wonderful to be out on the quiet lanes and feeling the warm air and sun on my bare skin.

The bike felt heavy, almost as heavy as it did last year with all the luggage, but no matter. I took my usual route south and this time I held it together rather better on Hartest hill. Once at the top I decide to do the extra couple of miles to Stanstead village.

Once there, I decided to give myself one more little test by continuing to the main road. The short climb back to my usual picnic spot is one of those 'between gears' hills - I seem to find a lot of those when I'm unfit!

Even so, and despite feeling very stiff in recent days, I felt suprisingly good at halfway. A short break and a bite to eat and I was ready for the return. It made sense to restart in a lower gear than I have in the past and I was soon in a decent rhythm, if not at a great pace.

As usual, though, the home leg was faster than the outward one, but just by a few minutes this time. Overall, my outward leg was around 14 mph, and the home leg almost exactly 15 mph, which I'm always happy with.

It's just over six weeks to the St Edmunds Wheel...

Roy

Hard Miles Today!

Stepping up from fifteen miles to twenty shouldn't feel this hard!

Whatever the reason for yesterday's ride feeling like such hard work, it was a bit of a shock to find myself going quite so slowly by the time I reached the top of Hartest hill.

I sensed it was going to be tougher than usual on the first couple of gentle gradients. With a stronger headwind than I anticipated, I was riding at least one gear lower than usual and struggling to get into any rhythm at all.

I ploughed on, safe in the knowledge that this must be doing me good and determined to stick to my plan to take on 'my' hill for the first time in months. Well, finding the right gear for Hartest hill proved even more difficult than usual and it never quite happened! Once the gradient eased I was able to pick up quite well and at least it hadn't killed me...

Safe to say the return had to be easier, with a tail wind and a banana assisting my still fairly feeble efforts. Better to the tune of eight minutes, in fact, which is a lot over ten miles.

So, it was probably the headwind and it was probably low energy levels, and it was certainly a lack of miles since those glorious days back in September...

But I will be stronger tomorrow!

Roy

One Step Backwards - and Two Forwards

Things didn't look too promising when I tweaked my calf muscle after jogging just one mile on Friday. It tightened up instantly and I hobbled home.

From past experience that would mean running was off the agenda for a week or so.

But, also from past experience, I was hopeful that a day or so's rest would be enough to get me back on the bike, and so it turned out.

So, the weekend came and went and I decided to do another 15 miler on Monday afternoon, in beautiful sunshine and slightly chilly air. After hitting my 15mph target in my last outing I hoped to do just a little better this time and so it turned out.

I didn't feel especially lively and there was a slight headwind once again but my calf wasn't hurting, which was good. My back was twinging but I know I need to build my core strength as much as anything and I'm hoping that will do the trick.

I was pleased to reach the turn about a minute faster than last time. Turning for home confirmed the effect of the headwind and riding was suddenly a lot easier! The only hill of consequence did feel like hard work this time but I still got back about half a minute quicker than last week, meaning I'd shaved around 90 seconds off the 15 mile ride. That's actually not much slower than I was doing last summer, so my next step is probably to aim for a slightly longer ride and to tackle Hartest hill for the first time in six months!

I'll let you know how that goes.

The first big ride of the year could be the Bury St Edmunds Wheel in June (100 miles) but it would be great to hit the hills again with John, John and JR before then. We'll see!

Roy

Yes! Another Ride.

ANOTHER RIDE! Yes, only 15 miles but...

It was a lovely afternoon, the job was getting a bit tedious and my legs were getting twitchy. The Suffolk lanes beckoned...

I aimed for 15 miles and hoped to do it in around an hour. That's the kind of pace I was doing comfortably six months ago, when I was fit enough to to Paris to Venice in two weeks.

I say 'aimed' - I didn't really expect to do 15mph after almost no time in the saddle for six months...

Well, the outward leg was every bit as slow as I expected, and the little Suffolk hills and slight headwind made themselves known to my thighs, back and lungs, and I reached the turn in about 33 minutes.

But the homeward leg was much better than I hoped, if still hard work, and it felt really great to be out again. When I finally hit some kind of rhythm I was daydreaming of high mountains and hot sun, with long days in the saddle with good friends.

For a time I was in rural France - or was it Germany or Switzerland?

No, it can't have been France or I would have been looking for an open shop...

Anyway, it was wonderful to be out in the sunshine, hearing the tyres on the tarmac and feeling my legs finally beginning to wake up after their winter hibernation.

I got back in 27 minutes, meaning I actually hit my 15mph target. I do like it when the maths is easy, too!

Roy

Finally, FINALLY!

After a ridiculously long hiaitus, I finally got out three times in eight days and I think I feel better for it!

Two very short runs and one short bike ride is hardly getting back in the groove, but it's been a long winter of busyness, mechanical failure and disinterest - oh, and winter - but I'm still disappointed to have left it so long.

Never mind. Two runs, with the second a little faster than the first, didn't seem to hurt my knees. The short bike ride - only six miles - felt tougher than it should, although the first little hill was ok. I didn't prepare in any way, even to changing into cycling gear, so getting out at all was a treat.

And it finally looks like spring out there!

More soon...

...especially as I had notification of the Bury St Edmunds Wheel yesterday: 50 or 100 miles around Bury St Edmunds in mid June. I'll be there.

Roy

HOW Long????

I can't quite believe it's three months since I posted here, but it does seem like a long time since I was last on the bike!

Probably like you, I spent a part of my Christmas break looking forward to next year and even making a few tentative plans. Having done Paris to Venice in 2010, we won't be doing a really big ride in 2011, but we can still look forward to some good hard riding and an adventure or two.

The first of these should be in early spring, which does mean I'll have to seriously consider getting back into training - and soon.

So far, I've been asked about another Coast to Coast (maybe the new 'Roses' route, which is further south, and therefore longer, but also nearer), Hadrian's Wall (possibly both ways, starting and finishing in Carlisle), and an End to End, possibly starting at John O'Groats.

We also have a standing invitation to revisit the Yorkshire Dales, where we did three training weekends in 2010. Then again, we haven't done much in the west country...

We've done a coast to coast in two of the last three years, and really enjoyed it both times, so I suspect that's one we'll be doing at some point. Le Jog might be asking a bit too much of our loved ones, unless they can join in somehow, so that might happen next year.

One way or another though, I think we'll manage a few hundred hilly miles somewhere in the UK, as well as joining in a few charity rides, spending some pedal time in Jersey and generally looking for any excuse we can to get out there in the fresh air and feel the pain and exhilaration.

Maybe I'll even get a 'better' bike this year, although I have to admit I've grown rather attached to the one that got me safely over the Vosges, the Black Forest and The Alps during 14 marvellous days in September.

Roy

WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT, ALPIE...

Seven years ago, four friends decided they wanted a cycling adventure. One year later, in 2004, the four did Le Jog - the famous Lands End to John O'Groats ride.
The ride came in at a fraction under 1000 miles.

Three years later, three members of that group plus one new member wanted to try something a little more challenging, so they rode the length of the Pyrenees, from Atlantic to Mediterranean in two weeks in September 2007. This time the ride was 'only' around 600 miles but with a few more 'hills' in the way. This was the famous 'Le Knees' expedition.

In fact, their total climbing amounted to around three Everests! At the last minute, I was given the opportunity to be their back up driver for the first week, and I jumped at the chance. I was training for The Great North Run at the time, hence my orange MS Society running vest in some of the pictures.

This time, I'm one of the four cycling, and this time we're combining distance (almost 1000 miles) with climbing (the Alps, for example) as we cycle from Paris to Venice in two weeks for L'Express. We'll also take in the Vosges, the Black Forest and the Dolomites.

And this time there will be no support vehicle, we'll be camping most nights and we'll be carrying all our own kit.

Well, they do say, 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!'

We're all doing it for great causes, as well as for the sheer fun of it. My sponsor links are on this page. You can find the others on the L'Express website.

This is a great adventure for us, but we're mindful of how lucky we are to be able to do it. Not everyone is so fortunate in life and the recipients of your generous donations are among the most deserving people we could find. Please give generously.

Thank you! Here's that L'Express website again.

Roy

PS. I'm going to get my excuses in early - starting with the fact that I'm ten years older than the oldest person was on that first ride. With experience does not come wisdom!

View Detailed 9 Day Weather Forecasts for Paris, webcams, weather maps & more at Weather-Forecast.com

Some More Good Miles

A couple of quickish 20-mile rides weren't enough to keep up the momentum for Paris to Venice, but a 40-miler on Sunday was more useful.

John and I rode northwards from Bury St Edmunds for about 21 miles, navigating the unfamiliar lanes more or less by the compass on John's Garmin, until we found some familar roads and ended our joint ride in Harling. By this time it had been raining quite hard for a while, and we parted company for John to carry on northwards to his home, while I retraced our route (more or less) due southwards and back into Bury St Edmunds.

Riding with John always means riding a bit faster and stronger than I would on my own, and I tried to keep that level up on the return ride. So I felt well-exercised by the time I got home.

A decent ride, despite the rain!

Two Weeks on - and Only Seven to Go!

Two weeks after our Dales trip I've finally stolen a few minutes to report on its success!

Now the midge bites have stopped itching and my memories of that horrible couple of hours on Sunday morning have faded, the weekend seems like a great success.

Friday was baking hot - around 30 deg C - when I rode across to meet John just outside Newmarket. That probably took more out of me that I realised at the time, as Sunday morning would reveal.

We did over seventy miles on Saturday, in almost perfect conditions, found all the hills we intended to climb were every bit as steep as expected, and managed to add a few more surprise ones for good measure. One, quite near the end of the day was a real killer, but we all wound our way up it somehow, and reached the hostel sometime around 5.pm.

I borrowed JR's tent and he tested out his bivvy bag. I got the better deal...

We didn't expect quite so many midges in Yorkshire, but they obviously nipped down from Scotland as the headwind died away in the evening, because there were millions of the things that evening and overnight.

Next morning the wind was back to full strength again, rain was on the way and we were headed into both. I struggled, I have to confess. Being fully loaded and battling against that wind on a long climb southwards (actually three climbs before lunch) just about did me in.

Slow progress in the morning meant we decided to cut about ten miles off the planned route.

But it's amazing what some food and drink can do, and the afternoon was fantastic in contrast. There were still some tough climbs, and the final one into Haworth saw me looking very tired as I hit the strong headwind again, but I did it. I know I could have done another twenty miles after another refuel, but we had a long drive home ahead of us.

So we did almost 130 miles in the two days to add to the twenty or so I had done in the sweltering heat on Friday. Not a bad weekend workout!

Roy

Some More Miles Added

I just did a quick twenty miles yesterday, but it was a useful workout and it felt good to get my legs moving. A little stiffness at first was gone after a mile or two and from then on I felt pretty good.

Even my heavy old bike felt lively without the panniers and I felt stronger on the hills than I have for a while - stronger than after the last Yorkshire Dales trip - so things are going in the right direction.

I had a slight tailwind on the outward leg so I didn't get carried away but I climbed Hartest hill, which is usually a reliable test because it's quite sheltered, as well as I have for a long time.

The return ride, mainly against the wind, felt quite tough but I kept my speed up anyway, to average around 15 mph for both directions. The final hill, which usually feels harder than it looks, didn't drag as it so often does.

All in all, a very satisfying 100 minutes, and very different to Sunday's 100 miles!

Roy

PS. Remember, I'm doing this for charity - for two GREAT causes. You can sponsor me for either the MS Society or Make a Wish Foundation - or both - by clicking on the widgets on the right of this page.

More Miles Added, and Off-Road, Too

I've had a quiet week since our Cotswolds weekend, but the weekend itself was a great success.

When John wasn't trying to brain himself on various doors and items of door furniture he was impressively strong on Saturday in almost keeping up with John 2, who was on his unladen Trek road bike. Meanwhile, JR was cycling down from Nottingham to join us...

I tagged along behind, as usual, with the usual excuses - heavier bike, fatter tyres, advancing years, lack of training - but not so far behind it was actually any more embarrassing than usual.

Sunday was a little tougher than I expected, although a late night, some beer and a little whisky might have contributed to that. I don't know why, but I didn't anticipate any hills quite as steep as the fourteen percenter we met about a third of the way round. Anyway, we all made it up that one in our various ways, my head had cleared by the time I got to the top and I felt pretty good the rest of the way round.

By riding to the start and back from the finish, John and I added ten miles to the route, while JR added another thirty or so as he headed back to catch a train home.

That made our total for Sunday fifty miles, to add to almost forty the day before, while JR did over 180 miles in two and a half days!

A busy week meant I didn't ride again until yesterday (Saturday), and the same was true for John, although he had been running. A family get-together at High Lodge in Thetford Forest was all the excuse the two of us needed to do something a bit different in the form of the black run. I put the old knobblies on my bike and John switched to his MTB and we set about it.

It's been notably dry lately, even though it's been cold, and the forest trails were all either dusty, sandy or rutted and set like concrete. While my legs felt fine (and much stronger than last time we did the route) my wrists and hands were aching after just a few minutes of this unfamiliar treatment. John has front suspension, so I had my usual extra excuse in place. After a while, though, the aching went away and I was up for a second lap when we got round the course faster than expected. This meant some more runs down 'The Beast', which was fun.

John lost his tool roll at this point and had to go back to retrieve it while I headed for the finish and the food and drink. The two circuits amounted to about fifteen miles. John's extra loop added another three. Probably add about fifty percent to that for the extra effort in riding quite fast off road.

After the drive home I headed out again on the road for another fifteen miles. With the knobbly tyres being quite soft, this was a decent workout, too. I averaged near 16 mph, which isn't bad.

But even allowing extra for the off-road session it still amounts to under forty miles for the weekend. I need more miles, simple as that.

It's the Norwich 100 in two weeks. Will I be doing it on the mountain bike (with road tyres), or not? I'll let you know.

A week after that, Bury St Edmunds has its own event, also with a 100 mile option. Now that's the kind of thing I need to be doing to get my mileage up. Two centuries in two weeks might sound quite tough but remember we'll be stringing together two solid weeks of metric centuries (while crossing at least three mountain ranges) in less than four months' time!

Roy

What Doesn't Kill You...

Just a very quick post for now to say that all four of us survived the Yorkshire Dales in one piece, and we'll all be stronger for it.

Which is more than can be said for one of the bikes, as John H's rear hub gave out on him for the second time.

The good news is this was Sunday, so he'd done a fair few testing miles already over the one and a half days. Those hills are steep! Which is probably a contributing factor to the mechanical failure, but his hub had been creaking the previous day.

And fortunately, he was stranded within a hundred yards of a train station. Unfortunately, he had missed a train by five minutes and had three and a half hours to wait for the next one.

So while JR volunteered to cycle back over the mammoth hill we'd just climbed to keep him company, John C and I set off to try to beat the train! (With a three and a half hour head start, that is.)

We kind of managed it. The idea was that John would drive back from the hostel at Haworth, where we'd stayed the first night, to collect JR and John H (and bikes) from Settle. In fact, there is a steam train service from Settle to Haworth, and the two stragglers used that to get to Haworth about five minutes after we did. John just drove down the hill to collect John H and his stricken bike, while JR rode the last half mile or so up to the hostel.

Trying to hurry back while climbing those monster hills was a test, as was racing along the dual-carriageway from Ilkley to to Keighley in the pouring rain. But it was certainly a good workout at the end of a 150 plus miles weekend of fierce climbs and thrilling decents.

I'll post some more pictures soon, but here's one to be going on with:

Roy

Two More Rides in the Sun!

Thursday was a pleasant if rather cool day, which made it almost perfect for cycling, so I headed off in the usual southerly direction from Bury St Edmunds, via 'my hill' at Hartest, and on to Stanstead.

I didn't stop at my usual rest point in Stanstead - shown here - but turned back at the bottom of the village.

I've been testing a theory put forward by fellow cyclist and nutritional expert Graeme Street that you shouldn't eat carbs in the two hours before a ride. The idea is to smooth out the sugar highs and lows, and to reduce the amount of insulin in your bloodstream. Insulin apparently also suppresses the function of growth hormone, which you need to grow and heal hard-worked muscles.

So, for the second time, I followed his advice and I have to say I felt stronger for longer. I was actually slightly hungry when I set off but my legs were fine. So I rode for fifteen miles before I ate anything at all - a banana - and finished the ride feeling quite fresh and strong, having pushed myself pretty hard for the whole 25 miles.

Of course, I am building my fitness, so this one ride probably isn't strictly comparable with a week or two earlier.

The second ride, on an even more beautiful Saturday afternoon, was even better. There was a little stiffness in my thighs from the hardish riding of a couple of days earlier, but that soon disappeared. I planned a longer ride, so I set of at a slightly gentler pace. This time it was probably only an hour since I'd eaten. I still took very little food but added an extra bottle of water, just in case.

I rode for exactly 90 minutes before I stopped for a snack, covering about 23 miles in that time. Coincidentally, this brought me to the end of the road on the outskirts of Thorpe Morieux, where I lived for a while about seven or eight years ago, so I took a couple of pictures for posterity. With no planes flying, due to the Iceland volcano, the sky was a totally clear and silent blue.

I tend to ride too fast to hear the birds singing, but they were in full voice when I stopped.

On the way, I'd passed through Hartest and Stanstead as usual, and the popular tourist spots of Long Melford and Lavenham, both of which were quite busy, although the Suffolk lanes were as quiet and pleasant as ever.

A banana, a small piece of cheese and some of the extra water was just enough to get me home, cycling quite strongly, having covered about 35 miles in 128 minutes of cycling, plus 11 minutes R&P (rest and photography).

And I'm still riding my old mountain bike.

Next week we step up a few levels, with our 158 mile weekend in the Yorkshire Dales. It is going to hurt!

Roy

Paris to Venice Progress Report

A couple more training rides since I last updated this blog have both been pretty good, although I'm getting seriously worried about the lack of miles I'm putting into my legs. Our training weekend in the Yorkshire Dales is now less than two weeks away and I think it's going to come as a shock to my legs and lungs.

I had the chance to spend some time in the Lancashire Pennines last week, when business took me to Bury, north of Manchester. I stayed overnight with my son and his girlfriend and could easily have 'stolen' some cycling time - except that I didn't think to take my bike...

Meanwhile, back in Suffolk, a fairly strenuous 20-miler south from Bury St Edmunds, in dry but breezy weather last week, gave me an average speed close to 15 mph. Once again, it was slowest on the outward leg, into the breeze. I did most of Hartest hill in a higher gear than usual, standing on the pedals, just to give myself a worthwhile workout. I felt good at the end, too.

I did that entire hill in the higher gear the next time I rode, a couple of days ago. It's not a great way to treat your knees, when you're turning the pedals relatively slowly, but my knees actually feel fine at the moment - at least better than they have for quite a while. I've even considered doing a bit of running again.

Anyway, this time I added a few miles and continued on to Stanstead village (no, not near Stansted Airport - different spelling). With much lighter winds, and mainly northeasterly, I didn't have to work quite so hard on the outward leg. Still, it was a good, fastish ride on a truly fabulous afternoon.

I stopped to enjoy the scenery at Stanstead, but didn't really need a rest or even, dare I say it, the snack that I persuaded myself to eat. I probably could have drunk a little more, though.

My ride home was an enjoyable run, too. The headwind was apparent at times, but mostly didn't affect me and I felt strong. The average speed was again near 15 mph in both directions.

So I feel that I'm riding quite well, just not far enough or often enough! I'll find out soon whether my fears are well founded. Meanwhile, let's get some miles in.

Roy

Training for Paris to Venice

This week's training has once again been affected by weather and shortage of time, but I managed another twenty miles during the week. Conditions were good to terrible!

Starting out in slightly cool and very windy weather, on dampish roads with some run-off, mud and gravel in places, the outward ride to my turn-around point at ten miles was hard going, but I felt reasonably strong doing it. Hartest hill was a bit of a drag, but I made it to the top in a decent time, all things considered. Average speed was about 12.5 mph.

Both bike and rider were very mud-spattered by this half way point.

Turning for home, the wind was now my ally, and I was making good speed until about half way, when it started to rain. Within a minute or two the rain was torrential and the wind had picked up even more. I discovered my lightweight shower proof jacket is surprisingly good in the worst of conditions, so I was actually not too uncomfortable - and the bike was getting a wash, too.

There was no reason to slow down, so I didn't, and I got back in 35 minutes or so, just as the rain petered out, for an average speed near 17 mph for the ten miles.

Not bad going I thought, and really good fun, despite the soaking.

But I do need to get some longer rides in soon, with only three weeks now to our first major weekend in the Yorkshire Dales.

Roy