October Round Up

Well its been a busy month, on the cycling front.

I launched my challenge to ride the Etape du Tour 2011 and cover a total of 5,745Km in the process, (3,750m).

October Stats
Total Miles	395.68
Total Time (hrs)	25hrs 42m
Average Speed	15.4mph

I am still awaiting confirmation of my entry into the Etape part I - Modane - Alpe D'huez on 11 July 2011.

A total distance of 109Km (67m) ...with a lot of it uphill!

The target for November is to cover 300 miles of training and increase my average speed to 16mph

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

First Sportive!!!

My first sportive and I went so fast I set off a speed camera!....Ok I was in the car on the way to the start, oh bother.  When I unpacked the bike I found that I had lost a knut from the rear wheels quick release skewer, not good. fortunately the lovely people of Evans gave me a replacement at no cost.

I took part in the Evans ride it Gatwick Sportive today.

The start..in an industrial Estate

I rode a total of 64.4 miles through the South Downs,  it was a great ride really scenic but alas I was wearing full finger gloves and I couldn't  take any more photos because my touch screen camera wouldn't register gloves.  So alas this is my only photo.

The ride was 64.4 miles and I covered it in 4hrs 14min so an average of 15.1mph.  The ride broadly followed the following route with a few minor amendments.  

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/crawley/973128585394593601

We started well leaving just after 8.30am.  The weather report was clear and sunny but layers was the dress code for the day.  I wore my bib leggings (padded) a pair of running leggings and one long sleeved base layer, one long sleeved cycling jersey and one long sleeved cycling jacket, a pair of long fingered gloves and some sort of neck ruff thing that came free in a magazine.  I didn't strip any layers. I'd be surprised if the temp ever went over 10 degrees.  My one regret was not having any over shoes (like spats) to keep out the cold so i'll be looking on Ebay for those.

The first part of the ride was nice and relaxed, I stayed with the group I started with and we covered the first 10 miles at about 17mph and I really felt the benefit of riding in a group, making the ride easier.  It took those early miles for my legs to warm up.  They felt good for the first climb, drop the gear and away, I felt like Shleck and dropped my group in that climb.  

I forged onto the next group of 3 riders and we spent the next 40 ish miles together. It was a good group we had a good natter.  

I was a bit perplexed as some of the hills we covered I would be dropped and catch up with everyone on the descent or a bit further or I would spin up them with indifference.  No rhyme or reason. 

I really enjoyed the group, there wasn't any real organisation (taking turns at the front) and we spent most of the time riding 2 by 2.

The last 10/12 miles I rode solo.  I really start to feel it in my legs after the first feed station and I admit to worrying I would be late for lunch! (priorities)

Vicks and I had arranged to meet her parents for lunch in a pub in Michelham, I had calculated that if I finished the ride by 12.30pm (4hrs) I would be able to have a quick wash and then get to the pub in time.  I finished the ride just after 1pm and had to get to the pub in (new location) Betchworth for 1.30.  So the jeans and shirt went over the leggings and long sleeved T and off I went and made it to the pub at 1.40 and my pint of Guiness!!

The event was really well organised, excellent help at the start, simple registration and then a marked route.  The feed stations were brilliant, I could top up the bottles with Lucozade equivilant and take on a few more Go bars. If I had anything I could alter it would be the route markers.  They were black arrows on pink card post card size.  At 18-20mph a post card is hard to see....... but then I didn't see a speed camera at 30ish so who am I to talk!!!!!

Etape Announced

The Etape route, of for a rare occasion this year routes, were announced on the 20th October.

For the first time ever there are 2 choices for the Etape.  Either the Alps or the Massif Centrale.

The first up will be the Alps on 11th July (My preference) 

A 109km route starting in Modane and summiting the Col du Telegraph, the monumental Col Du Galibier and then finishing atop the infamous Alpe D'huez.

In a recent interview Mark Cavendish said this about the mountains in this years TdF including the Galibier, "We go three times over 2,500m - you can't breathe when you're sleeping at that level, let alone ride your bike." .....Great!


I am just waiting for confirmation of my place in next years Etape.

Power

POWER!!... A phrase commonly quoted by Mr. Clarkson in nearly every car review on Top Gear and something I think is missing from my legs.

Whilst riding to Brighton Dave suggested that I should ride in a harder gear at times, so that I had something left to help me up the Beacon.  If you read the previous post you'll read how that went.  Another thing that got me thinking about Power was today's announcement of the Tour routes and looking at the profiles of the possible stages that could be the Etape.  They turn the Beacon into sand pit architecture.

Hmm so Power, how to get it. Having looked at some pics and read lots on the internet.  I have 2 options.

1. Weight - apparently World class climbers generally have less than 2 pounds of body weight per inch of height.  apply that to me and the calculation goes like this: Current height 6ft 3in (75 inches) x 2 so ideal climbing weight would be 150lbs (10st 9lbs). 
2. Bigger legs - I need to transform my Quads and Ham Strings into real turkey drummers that Bernard Matthews would be proud of.

Am I going to try and lose another 3 1/2 stone...NO!  BM legs it is then.   

I have changed my focus on the turbo to intervals.   5 min warm up chain on the middle cog at the front and middle at the back.
My intervals are 2mins in my hardest gear, biggest cog at the front and smallest at the back. Then 3 mins
spinning the pedals, biggest cog at the front and a couple of cogs off the bottom.

Surbiton 2 Brighton!

Today I have covered 75.8 miles and as I write this my legs are starting to feel everyone.

I rode over to Dave's this morning for our 9 am departure and departed bang on time.  (Jack pulled out last night so it was only the 2 of us).
Our goal was to average 15mph over the whole distance.  It wasn't the warmest start to the day but we were both kitted in our winter kit layers and leggings. As we left i specifically asked Dave whether he had his keys, wallet and phone,  "Yeah Yeah lets go"...more on that later.

Once we were moving we it was easy to roll along chatting and it didn't feel too cold.  We headed from Surbiton through Esher to Cobham and through to Leatherhead.  The road from Cobham to Leatherhead goes up past the Woodlands park Hotel and has on it a slight rise.  The first sniff of an incline and I started to slow.  What was going to happen when I reach the foot of Ditchling Beacon.

Before we got to the B roads we had to experience the cycle lanes of the A24 and they are awful.

However once we got out onto the 'lanes' with blissfully little traffic we had views such as this one all around us and with the sun coming through it made the riding a lot easier.

Annoyingly we had to add a few extra miles to our original planned route as my navigation was up to its usual standards and I couldn't find a road that was supposed to be directly opposite us.  This brief chance to stop allowed Dave to identify he didn't have his house keys. Doh!










Getting to the foot of the beacon we were making good time, all ideas of flying up a la Contodor were quickly left behind as my legs burned, burned, burned.  Clearly not enough 'Steak' in my diet at the moment.  Alas I had to admit defeat a couple of hundred meters from the top and push the bike.

conquered the beacon (ish)

The Beacon took a hatchet to our average 15mph.  But thankfully the rest of the route to the Pier was all down and we could make up the lost mph.

We Completed the whole route, 63miles in 4hrs 10m.  Then had a beer before grabbing the train back.  Cycling back from Surbiton station added the last few miles to my ride today.

Thank You!

Thank you to...
Mark, Mel & Colin, Lidia & Mike, Christina, Chris, Damian, Mandy, Phil, Lisa Jonathan and Ed.
We have raised £272 so far, thank you.  Alas I have only covered 182 miles todate but I feel spurred on by the support and hope to take the lead over the weekend.  Tomorrow I will be riding to Brighton for lunch with Dave and Jack, Am hoping to still have some legs for a Club Run on Sunday.

Tail End Charlie

Just completed another Club Run with the Kingston Wheelers, down to Box Hill and back.  45 miles in 3hrs 7 m.

This is me at the start, in my Alz Society top, felt it was time to get one pic in.

Mark came along for the jaunt and comfortably kept up with the front of the group whilst I maintained 'guard' at the rear.  One advantage of being at the rear of the group was being able to get a couple of pics as we went along.

Plough Lane

Maybe not the best average speed but I felt more comfortable this week.

 Heading up Zig Zag Road, Box Hill.  As you can see this quickly became a solo effort.  At least there was respite at the cafe at the top.

Alas on the route back I punctured and thanks to Mark for coming back from the group, a bit peeved that the rest of the group didn't wait.  Nevertheless I'm sure with practice I'll spend more time with the rest of the group!

Self Portrait!

The Weekend!!

In an earlier post I calculated how many miles I would have to ride a day to complete my target mileage.  in reality the weekends will see the most mileage efforts so that I shouldn't be so hard pressed during the week.So this weekend started with a quick spin on the Turbo 12.8 miles in 40 minutes - 17.9mph  Dave then came over to help plan some longer rides.  We'll be starting with Surbiton to Brighton, not quite the London to Brighton, nevertheless the planned route will cover 58 and involve a climb up Ditchling Beacon.  The finish line will be at the Pier and we shall no doubt have a beer at the nearest bar.  Take a look at the route.
www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/esher/232128664289989094  We are aiming to go on Saturday  16th so I hope to put up some pics and news soon after.

Tomorrow I shall be partaking in the Kingston Wheelers Club Run again and have recruited Mark to the task as well.  I hope not to be shell out the back as often!

10 days until the Tour and  Etape routes are announced.

I Introduce..... The CUBE!

Another Evening on the Turbo Trainer, 18 miles in 1 Hour.

Turbo Training

I set my Turbo up this evening and covered 17 miles in 50 minutes so an average of just over 20mph.  I did have a little 15 minute break in the middle, stopped all the clocks.  I got a puncture on a turbo trainer!!!

Sudden thought... must take more pics for evidence.

Training Plans

One thing has led to another and I have not been out on the bike since Sunday. It has also crossed my mind that 3570 miles is rather a long way and I have only chipped 48 ish miles off that, so still 3522 to go and approximately 9 months until the Grand Depart!  So.  391.3 miles a month, 97.8 miles a week, 13.9 miles a day. Hmmm

Having spent some time over the past few evenings researching training plans for Sportives (the bike equivilant to a Marathon) and especially the Etape. Google reveals a plethora of advice on nutrition, lactate thresholds, V02 maxes and wattages per kilo.  Condensed I have to be able to a long way in a group up a hill and not get shelled out the back...too often.

So I shall be focussing my traing in 4 areas:

1. Distance
2. Speed
3. Hills
4. Group riding

1. Distance- I will keep riding the club runs each week and will also plan a few long distance rides.  I have entred 3 events organised by Evans bike shops each of about 60 miles and hope to add a ride to Brighton and when the weather gets better to Dorset.
2. Speed- I have a Turbo Trainer (a rolling road that fixes to the back wheel), and will be using this to train my legs to become comfortable with spinning the pedals at a high cadence.  I have attached an old cycle computer to the back wheel so that I can clock the static' miles.
3. Hills- I have the Surrey Hills practically on my doorstep and I will do a lot of road miles there, becoming familiar with the likes of White Dow, Leith Hill and Box Hill.  I shall also attempt a venture into the Malverns or Brecons when the weather is better.
4. Groups- The Club runs will be the main source of this practice and wishfully I can drum up some company for some of my longer planned rides.

    

1st Training Run!

Hi there,
I have completed my first official training ride.  I have attached a link to the route so if you want to copy it into the address bar you can see where I went.

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/staines/529128567546678626

48.77 miles in 3hrs 29min average speed 14mph
I have found that a local cycling club, Kingston Wheelers, meet up in Surbiton and go from there every Sunday at 9.00am  so I tagged along.

It was a bit overcast but not raining...yet.  by 9 a gathering of about 20 riders had assembled and I was put in a smaller group of a dozen off to Box Hill.

Riding side by side with Terry and having a chat.  It was all going rather well until we reached the Country back lanes of Cobham and I was dropped by the Peleton of Carbon Fibre.  Nevertheless there all thoroughly nice chaps and were waiting a little further down the road in Ockham.

As we began to approach Dorking and the road was getting lumpy I assumed the rear guard position and the others were waiting for me.  Terry dropped back and asked how I was finding and how my legs were.  Legs 1&2 were fine but I was quite concerned the I had no sensation of the third!!  A brief panic and then Terry suggested standing out of the saddle, blood flow restored and panic over.

Up to the top of Box Hill I started second in the line and swiftly went backwards, by the time I made it to the top the rest were already tucking into cups of tea and cake at the cafe.  a brief respite for me to top up the water bottles and don the wet weather gear.  It was constant heavy rain all the way home.

I successfully survived my first Kingston Wheelers Club Run.  More again next weekend.

The Memory Walk

I'm not counting this as 'training' miles but I'm sure the fresh air did me the world of good!

The walk was 5 miles from Worcester Park to Emberbrook, (Residential Care Home).  The walk was organised by a lady named Dianne and my Clare found this out via Emberbrook and so Helen and I tagged along for moral support.

There were 21 people in convoy and our little group consisted of Helen, Clare, Mum, Anna and myself.

Here we are having completed the walk, Clare is presenting Mum's Certificate!

The Challenge

This challenge is born out of a renewed obsession with cycling and wanting to support The Alzheimer’s Society.


For those that know and those that don’t my Mum has Alzheimer’s. 
I haven't yet found words to adequately describe my experiences of this disease.  However through sadness, anger and laughing at moments when I probably shouldn’t, I have been able to rely on information and support of the Alzheimer’s Society.


To find out more about the fantastic work that the society does please have a look at their web site  www.alzheimers.org.uk/



Now for the moment of madness and my Alzheimer’s cycle challenge. 

My goal is to enter and complete the Etape du Tour 2011.  The Etape du Tour allows amateur riders to tackle a stage of the Tour De France under tournament conditions, usually in the mountains of the Alps or Pyrenees.  The Etape takes place in July and the riders get to ride the route a couple of days before the pro's arrive.
I have read quite a bit about this event and a little bit of training is well advised.... between 2000 and 3000 miles!!   A little bit more reading and I find that the longest ever Tour De France was competed in 1926 over a distance of 5,745km (3,570m). 

The culmination of this will be one day in July at the Etape du Tour 2011.

My  target is to raise a minimum of £5,745, £1 for every kilometer.   I would be grateful for any donation you are able to make to the Alzheimer’s Society on behalf of this challenge.
www.justgiving.com/Ashley-Glover