Month / January 2015

by jamiewheels

Unveiling my new friend

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View from the saddle: got to love those stripes

Map reference: Lucy’s kitchen, she’s rebuilding her whole house with our turbo sessions in mind, it seems. Sweet.

Carbs and caffeine: Had to dash from session, but took a bucket of coffee to the bath

Another turbo session with Beastly Beasley http://www.bespoke-velo.co.uk/. It’s the fear that gets us, I think. We were doing three minute repeats – with 90 seconds active recovery – in an ever increasing gear, but slower cadence. So starting with three or four repeats at 105, we were unable to talk and that’s when the fear kicks in. Gradually we upped the gear and lowered the cadence, through 100 down to 75 in the end. We then had a fairly long comfortable spin at the end to relieve some very heavy legs. It’s definitely true that as the cadence came down, the breathing eased; and even as the legs felt worse, the panicky feeling went away. I could see that on the others’ faces too. Rachel’s had a bit of a layoff with sick children and I think she was suffering the most. She has got some major challenges inked in for this year, from marathon to half iron man, so she got straight off the turbo, threw on layers and pedalled off to swim. Kudos to her, I say…

Note to self: need to read the ‘taming the chimp’ stuff again. Head stuff is going to be important

by jamiewheels

Outside the box…

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Bike in a box: LaPierre awaits it’s grand unveiling

Map reference: Wimbledon, Cobham, Ashtead loop, 60k

Carbs and Caffeine: Quick stop at Cafe Bean, Ashtead

What a dilemma. Stay in and wait for my bike to arrive; or head out in the sunshine with Jacqui. What unbelievable luck that I could do both. The box arrived early, I would have lost money on that. I haven’t had a chance to open it, but it is enough to know that it is there, nesting in my garage.

With a little farewell tap on the box, Jacqui and I headed out for a nice loop, a bit trafficky, but no real bottlenecks. One silly fool old fool roared up behind me having jumped some lights at a small stretch of roadwork cones near Sandown Park. I moved into the middle of the lane, as I sensed he would try to squeeze past and knock me flying. I must have held him up or about 3.67 seconds. I do hope he managed to make that up during the rest of his busy day.

Aside from that, all was calm. My son is in to his senior school and Jacqui’s on a very hopeful waiting list with more results to come in. We both feel pretty chilled compared to a few weeks ago.

All in all, I feel lightly tired in the legs and much refreshed in spirit.

Note to self: that chain needs lube… no good remembering once you are out

by jamiewheels

Who needs a small cog?

Map reference: triple Box Hill loop, all in the large cog

Carbs and caffeine: The Grey Dove, Walton-on-the-Hill http://www.thegreydovecafe.com/

I got ahead on beastly Beasley’s programme by doing my Monday session yesterday, leaving me free to cycle with Neil today. I haven’t mentioned Neil recently because he put himself out of action for six weeks by having a tumble cycling home one evening. Apparently very little alcohol was involved and yet a speed bump leapt out and tipped him off his bike. Very bad luck indeed.

Anyway, he is back on form now, but with his long layoff, I am back in the driving seat … just. Last time we cycled he was definitely faster than me. It’s going to be interesting as our training progresses.

Today we parked at Epsom racecourse, made our way through Headley to Box Hill, down the zigzag and round the back, up the Headley hills and back to the top of Box Hill, racing the last section where the road is extra smooth. Neil always beats me there, but he is only 31… and a personal trainer to boot.

After some debate we went down the zigzag and straight back up, standing all the way. For the first half I was holding my own, but as we got to the middle flatter section Neil pulled away. He then whooped encouraging cries all the rest of the way, while clearly making sure he stayed ahead of me. I just couldn’t get back on his wheel. I had my revenge on our final loop of Box Hill, up the Headley hills again, grinding my big cog as best I could. It felt good.

A quick pitstop in the ever pretty Walton-On-the-Hill and it was home for the usual family duty. No time to change or even go home and drop the bike, but I think the school mums are getting used to my mud-speckled appearances.

Note to self: next time bring Jen. Two on one, we’ll thrash him

by jamiewheels

Dijon bike takes the mustard

On tour: Team FDJ.fr have been riding Lapierre bikes, which are built in Dijon, for 13 years

Map reference: home, -3 out, no amount of layers will counteract that and it’s a turbo day on my programme anyway. 32.5k in 62 minutes

Carbs and caffeine: caffeine fix before hopping on bike. Sneaky buttery ginger biscuit once off

If my 62 minute turbo session seems strange, this is because Barclaycard called to check an odd payment to Wiggle.co.uk. Yes, Husband, after weeks of research has chosen a bike for me. It’s a 2014 Lapierre Xelius EFI 100 Compact. I am, of course, beside myself with excitement and have been researching its history.

Wikipedia tells me that Team FDJ.fr’s Thibaut Pinaut rode his Lapierre Aircode to third place and best young rider on the Tour de France last year. The Aircode is the new bike the team started riding last year. Before that they were riding the Xelius EFI, hang on, that’s my bike. Chapeau, indeed.

I am practising my French, to welcome my new partner. I do hope we get on

Note to self: It’s not about the bike?… Bah, today it is

by jamiewheels

Parallel universe

Map reference: Wimbledon to Ashtead and back, 60k

Carbs and Caffeine: Cafe Bean http://www.bikebeans.co.uk/, carrot cake

It was cold today, but dry. Having gone back into the house once to get my Garmin,  I couldn’t bear to go back in for my hat – not my helmet, I had that and would never ride without – and had to risk brain freeze. Luckily I was wearing a muffler, albeit thin, and was able to get the ears covered. They’re the bits that will actually fall off if frozen, after all.

As it was, I was warm enough, with just a bit of toe-lossage. Even my hands were relatively ok, so I think it was slightly warmer than the 4 degrees we had been warned of. And there was no wind. That was the major difference with last week’s ride. There was even some thin sunshine at some points. All in all it was a very encouraging day. I think we all felt strong. It was like one of those wonderful skiing days, when the sky is blue and the snow is perfect and you feel finally feel at one with your oh-so-parallel skiis.

Bike Beans did us proud as usual. Bealsey http://bespoke-velo.co.uk/ has managed to persuade the owner to have his holiday promo video going round on a loop on one of the televisions. Good work, Bealsey, I’m impressed.

Note to self: Why are your shins hurting? That’s a running injury. Peddling wrong again?

by jamiewheels

My Waterloo…

IWM

Map reference: Turbo session at home, 23.5k, 45 minutes

Carbs and Caffeine: managed to get first caffeine hit at Waterloo, on way to Tate Britain. No cake, none whatsoever

I’ll admit the picture above is fairly random, bear with me. My mission today was to get through one of Bealsey’s turbo sessions and then get to Waterloo by 11. I just about made it. It meant jumping on the bike straight after the school run, and then jumping in the bath – briefly – and running out of the house to get to the station. In fact I ran most of way to the station.

It was worth it though. My friend Helen and I went to see Conflict Time Photography at Tate Britain. Here the picture of the Army Cyclist Corps comes in, just about. In the exhibition there was a picture of the cycle corp of HMS Hermes. Unfortunately I was too chicken to take a snap, so the picture above is of the Army Cyclist corp in 1917 (from the Imperial War Museum collection, I hope they forgive me for borrowing the image). The pictures are similar. The bikes heavily loaded and uniformed men chatting idly. It looks like the sort of convivial meeting you see at Roehampton Cafe in Richmond Park, until you remember these men were in the middle of a bloody war.

Sort of puts my worries about ‘battling’ the Alps into perspective.

Note to self: Out tomorrow, fresh air. Cold, fresh air. Layers, layers, layers …

by jamiewheels

Back to the Nest

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Map reference: Walk in the frost at Ripley, followed by spin at home

Carbs and Caffeine: The Nest, Ripley

Above you see a picture of Newark Priory in the frost. It was -3 degrees and that is why I was not out riding. I don’t know whether you can see the frost, but I promise you the air was crisp and the puddles were frozen. My friend’s dogs skittered across the icy patches and we three muffled humans picked our way round them, with the air freezing our faces. Apparently there is a 6am service held in the ruins of the priory at Easter every year. I do hope, for the parishioners’ sake, it warms up by then.

Anyway, thank heavens for the excellent coffee and cake options of the Nest. Having indulged in these options, I then fled home for a guilty spin to work off the ginger cake. I didn’t follow a set programme but spent most of an hour standing, and that will have to do for today.
Note to self: You are going to have to be very organised to squeeze in a one-hour turbo session tomorrow morning

by jamiewheels

If you’re going through hell, keep going (Churchill)

Map reference: Home, spinning, 1 hour 5 mins, 32.5k

Carbs and Caffeine: brunch at book club, including Sophie’s banana cake and berries

Beastly Beasley http://bespoke-velo.co.uk/ has set me a four-week programme to improve my endurance, ie stop the wheezing. In it, I top and tail the week with a turbo session which consists of increasing hill sections interspersed with active recovery. The hill sessions start at 5 mins, then 10 mins, then 15 mins, and then, phew, back down again.

My spin bike doesn’t have gears as such, just a knob you twist, so there was guess work there, but at least I get a rpm, which is what I really need. If I’m struggling to keep up the required 90 rpm, I guess I’m in a stiff enough gear.

I felt a bit wheezy when I got off the bike, but not too bad. I love going out on the bike, but spinning does at least give me time to squeeze in other things, like my book club. I’m reading Boris Johnson’s The Churchill Factor at the moment. Even here, Boris the biker comes through. He mentions his cycling several times and points out that cycling in London is considered very dangerous and yet there is approximately one death in every 14 million journeys. When Churchill was flying his beloved planes in 1912, there was one fatality in every 5,000 flights. No wonder his wife went potty and Winston was forced to lie about where he was going when he went out. At least he didn’t have to sneak out of the house in Lycra. Oh dear, Churchill in Lycra, let’s not go there…

Note to self: four weeks takes us up to half term. Perfect timing. Just do it

by jamiewheels

Out, at last…

Map reference: Wimbledon to Bookham, retreat to Leatherhead and home, 60k

Carbs and caffeine: Homemade walnut and coffee cake, Bocketts farm, Leatherhead http://www.bockettsfarm.co.uk/

The weather finally went our way and Jen and I met up with Bealsey http://bespoke-velo.co.uk/ for our regular Really Helpful Club http://www.reallyhelpfulclub.com/ ladies ride. There were a few faces missing, including one whose husband had booked her into a skiing lesson with him (without asking). Post-Christmas admin took the rest, I think.

We did one of Bealsey’s wiggles through south-west London. Met the same angry couple and dodgy dog in the same underpass as before. Had the same row. Do they live there like trolls, ready to attacks any passing cyclists? (See my post Underpass Impasse, 12/07/2014).

We popped up in Fetcham. Unfortunately torrential rain popped up at the same time and we battled our way to Bookham before stopping at a bus shelter to add rain layers and give up on the glasses. A quick look at the sky told us that if we kept heading in the same direction we were just heading into more watery stuff, so we double backed on ourselves and made our way to Bocketts children’s farm. Thankfully there were no children, and the coffee and cakes were good. The cake is packed in little plastic boxes, which is a shame, it just seems so wasteful. Give me a slice off the whole cake anytime, but perhaps they are mobbed sometimes by greedy little monsters. Then I can see the efficiency in pre-cutting.

We stayed quite a long time, drying off and discussing Jen’s nutribullet http://www.nutribullet.com. Bealsey, like most cyclists, has lots of opinions on food and nutrition. Jen impressed us with the fact that she is hiding kale in her son’s smoothy. The nutribullet may go on my wishlist, as I have a fussy eater at home too.

We made our way home through Leatherhead, towards Epsom and the Hook Road Arena, and the sun joined us. Jen regained feeling in her hands somewhere around Ewell.

More tips from Bealsey today about my riding. All this winter spinning has taken it’s toll and I am riding at far too high a cadence and getting out of breath. Following Jen up the long hill near the Yehudi Menuhin school, I could feel myself dropping off. It’s obviously a combination of heart-lung capacity and leg power… and a bit of how you feel on the day.

Note to self: Don’t be disheartened, early days…

by jamiewheels

Banking the hours

Map reference: Bank of England Sports Club

Carbs and caffeine: smoothy and half a piece of homemade bread with peanut butter

Another chilly day, so another spin class, this time with a different instructor, very slim and curiously self contained. She has a different taste in music to the usual pop beat. It more rave/house – that really is a guess as I am way too old for the club scene. The tracks are quite mesmerising …and long. One of them committed us to seven minutes of climbing. That’s longer than Box Hill (5-6 minutes for me, I think) but rather shorter than the first hill of the Etape, The Madeleine, which is likely to take me more than two hours.

Anyway, the coach tells the class to try to lose ourselves by focusing on the beat; and watching her with her eyes closed, hair swishing around her shoulders and the sunshine strobing off the mirror behind her, I got a weirdly clubby vibe. This was heightened by the fact that she was necking Redbull. It transpires she was out until 2.30am and then up at 5.30am for her first class. Funnily, her fatigue made her a lot smilier than normal. It would have the reverse effect on me.

I watched the stats on my bike a bit today and my watts were over 300 most of the time, touching 480 on one particular sprint. Hopefully that counts as banking my biking base for the day.

Our leader’s ab sessions are renowned for being brilliantly awful. Half the class don’t stay for it. Ouch.

Note to self: don’t forget to dial up sunshine for tomorrow’s ride, it’s time to get out there and remind myself why I am doing all this…