Tag / London

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

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