New Blog

My blogging continues at http://kwstagiaire.blogspot.com/

Enjoy

Ash

Moving on

I am pleased to have completed my challenge.  But things all move on..... So what's the next challenge?

Nothing is set in stone for the next challenge as there is clearly some training to do as my reide during the Etape proved.  However 2 events are bubling away in the back of my mind.

First is the Gran Fondo Milan San Remo: http://www.milano-sanremo.org/en/

The Milan San Remo one day bike race is known as La Classicissima and at 290 Km is the longest one day event in the pro calander.  The route takes the riders through Lombardia, Piedmont and Liguria then finally facing the famous slopes of the Turchino, the Cipressa and the Poggio.  This is a tough race for the pros and for amateurs (especially like me) it will be a complete ball buster.

Second is the Marmotte Sportive: http://www.sportcommunication.info/web2010/index.php?langue=2

Essentialy this event is the same as that which I have just completed, with a few 'minor' differences. An extra 10km - so 170km in total, an extra mountain and an extra 1500 metres of climbing.

Will I do any of them, one of them or both of them?  I suppose it will all depend on timing, funding, training and motivation nearer the time!

The Etape Act 1 - Modane to Alpe d'Huez

11 July 2011 -

Kit laid out ready to go

The day started with a 3.30am alarm, breakfast and a 40 minute coach trip to the start village in Modane.

The bike in Modane ready for the off.

 The rider cheery and as ready as I was going to be.
note the arm warmers, it was a bit chilly at 6.30 but the weather was looking promising.

Our drop off point was actually a few kilometres from the start area just outside Modane as the town was shut to all traffic, with the exception of officials, cyclists and pedestrians.
The start is an organised chaos for want of a better description.  Approximately 10,000 riders are penned in according to their start numbers.  Start numbers are based on previous event experience, with the aim of placing more experienced riders to the front where they will not be held up and less experienced riders to the rear where they can be easily picked up by the broom wagon at elimination zones.  For first timers like myself a seemingly random approach as novices seemed liberally scattered throughout the peleton.

The start was then divided into 12 pens and we were set off at 5 minute intervals between 7 and 8 am.  Or in reality between 7.15 and 8.30  the fact that the time difference wasn't going to have an effect on the original planned pace of the broom wagon was met with a Gallic shrug of the shoulders.

The pen is a daunting place for a newbie but is a good opportunity to chat with fellow riders from all over, chatting to other like minded souls was a great way to calm the nerves as I worked my way through the gaps to the front of pen 12.  As the Pens were opened and riders set off there were more people to talk to and more bike sized spaces to occupy.

Finally things got moving and I rolled over the start line at 8.08 am.

The first 14 or so kilometres were fast downhill before a sharp left turn onto the Col du Telegraphe.  This was a tight corner and one is suddenly faced with a rising road as they begin the ascent, it is for this reason that the start was staggered so that there would not be a massive log jam at the 'start'.  I was more aware than others of the speed we approached the ascent and had already dropped into an easier gear before the left hander and was faced with a wobbling mass of riders caught out in a gear too big to push and clunking to find something easier.

Alas my enthusiasm got the better of me and I carried my momentum up the first 5km with slight regard for my pace notes.  My breathing became more erratic and my mind raced with thoughts of 'what the hell am I doing? and whose stupid idea was this?'  It was in these mili seconds of panic that I reminded myself that a lot of time, effort and others' support got me here and the only aim was to cross the finish line.  I wound myself back in, dropped my pace to the planned 7 kph for the section. It was at this point that I noticed the camera was out of juice, (sorry folks no Telagraphe footage.)  Lungs cleared breathing back to normal and the legs spinning again I was able to maintain a 10kph average and reach the summit in just over an hour.   

Atop of the Telegraph was a water station but we were told that the  La Fuga ( the organisation through which I took part) feed station would be just past Valloire so I rode on.  Something I didn't do again, as I came off that first descent the rise in temperature since the start took effect and I had quickly emptied my bottles.  It was heaven sent to see 'LF 850m' chalked on the road.  I topped up my bottles, added a few more energy gels to my pockets and changed the camera battery before heading on to tackle the Galibier.

The Galibier starts as a steady rise away from Valloire, so steady in fact that I kept telling myself to keep going as a few metres ahead they were clearly riding a flatter section..... They clearly weren't!  The road then turns a bend with a refreshing breeze of wind and then the road ramps up to 8%  I knuckled down until the 44th kilometre when the first cram jumped up and bit me!  I walked it out for a hundred meters or so, swearing at myself for overlooking the water stop.

Back on the bike I kept moving, enjoying the scenery and picking out land marks in the near distance on a promise that I would give myself a little rest, a promise I didn't keep unless I felt cramp creeping up again.

It was good to see all the early bird fans parked up alongside the road with their happy cries of 'Courage, allez allez'  After two and a quarter hours and my first close sighting of snow I summit came into view.  I also passed the first batch of official photographers and put on my best this is easy face.

At the top of the Galibier there was a brief pause to put on my wind proof jacket, whilst it was a balmy 17 degrees or so the descent was going to be drafty and therefore potentially cold.  I headed carefully into the descent looking around me for other riders whilst choosing the line and applying the breaks where gently and generously.  In total the 30k descent took one hour less than my ascent of the Galibier, a truly enjoyable ride on fresh tarmac, just rewards for the effort of climbing.

The descent ended in Borg d'Oisans and the base of the Alpe, also the site of the last La Fuga feed station, more water and food and off I went.  The Alpe was a punisher and with the opening few kilometres offering average gradients of 10% and 11% I soon succumbed to bribing myself to stay on the bike as long as possible.  by the third hairpin the thermometer was registering temperatures in the mid 30's and I started walking a few parts and re mounting when the gradient lessoned on the bends.

Lovely scenory, a shame the cramping wasn't so lovely.

The Alpe took me two and a half hours and when the finish came into view I gave it everything I had left and sprinted at  a (for me now) leg shattering 6kph.  

My grand finish time of 8hrs 4min is not the point I made it to the finish before the broom wagon and had  thoroughly enjoyable time doing it.

  

Thanks again to everyone for the support, please copy the following link into your web browsers to see the route and the stats as I struggled through.    

http://app.strava.com/rides/925438

Stage 19 will be ridden by the Tour on Friday 22nd July.

I have a number !

I received my number earlier this week!  Hoorah  I am nuber 9598

Cycling weekly carried a little column on the forthcoming Etape stating that there are 6,000 entrants (not sure how the numvering works in that case) and 2,400 Brits on the ride, so there should be plenty of people to talk to or gasp for breath at.

It is now my last week before fying out to Turin.  The bike is as I type in the clamps of the Sigma Sport Workshop getting its pre Etape Service.  A couple of minor replacements and even an ugrade, giving me an extra 3 gears on the hills.

This weekend will comprise a gentle spin to keep the legs in trim and a prctice at packing my bag making sure I have all my kit I'll need and hopefull some that I won't.  The wet weather gear that is.

I will be returning my bike to Sigma tomorrow after my ride and perhaps a wash so that it all ready to be taken over to France next weekend.

3 Weeks to Go!

Scary, stuff now with only 3 weeks to go until the Etape and I turn the pedals ‘in anger’! 

It has come around quite quickly once the weather got better and I have spent more time outside on the bike.  I feel more confident about my ability on the bike and as such my chances of getting over the route.  I have spoken with many of the Kingston Wheelers and others who have ridden an Etape and whilst a lot of the advice is conflicting two things remains throughout.  1. Expect the unexpected 2. Keep turning the pedals!

In pursuit of the first aim, I have created a short list of my essentials for the ride/trip to France.

• Nutrigrain bars (open before the start)
• gel's (Hmm Energy)
• Seat tube bag
• Contact lenses (essential to see where I’m going)
• Sun cream
• Talc
• Diaper cream (allows for a smooth ride, say no more!)
• Bike (essential in my opinion)
• KW shorts
• Alz top
• Black shorts
• Livestrong top
• Leg warmers (could be a bit nippy at 2,500m ish)
• Arm warmers (see above)
• Gloves
• Waterproof (it has been known to Snow/Hail/Sleet/Rain in July)
• Shoes (Up there with the bike in terms of essentialness)
• Helmet
• Socks
• Saddle bag
• Inner tubes x 3 (hopefully not to be used)
• Multi tool
• Oakley’s (protecting the eyes? Looking cool, reason depends on conditions)
• Pump (Hopefully not to be used)
• Camera (scenic shots, proof, evidence of mountain goats walking going faster than I can pedal.)

As for the second option I have plenty of miles in my legs and about 300 more to go before I depart. 

Physiological Testing (Guinea Pig on a bike!)

Yesterday evening I bravely volunteered my body to science! 

Through the Kingston Wheelers I got in touch with Colin Towey a srudent of Sports Physiology at St Mary's College who was looking for test subjects for his final year Thesis.

The benfits for me are that I get a free print out of my Lactate Threshold profile and my V02 Max figure.

Lactate Threshold is effectively the point at which my body is producing more lactic acid than it can clear.  Your V02 Max is the amount of oxygen you consume in mililetres per kilo of body weight per minute when working at your maximum capacity (just before you blow up!)

Colin took an initial blood test from my ear, before I rode a warm up for 5 minutes.  I then graduated to the test bike where I was hooked up to the computer via a heart rate monitor link and breathing apparatus.

The first test was blood lactate, I had to ride a 3 minute set at a consistant 90 rpm, then rest for 45seconds whilst another blood test was taken from my ear.  I then rode another 3 minute set at a higher resistance but steady 90 rpm.  At the start of each rest I had to state my perceived exertion level on a score of 1 -20.  I completed  8 sets of this test before I was deemed cooked.

I followed this with another few minutes on the warm up bike just spinning the legs and clearing the lactate from my system before commencing the V02 Max test.

the V02 Max test took much the same route, although with the resistance increasing every minute until the I could not hold a consistant 90rpm.

Same again next week and then the results!!

6 Weeks to go!!

Time flies when your having fun, so they say... Well the time has certainly flown for this challenge.

My stats to date are:

Date	Distance	Time
October	395.68	25.71
November	365.3	22.72
December	120.15	7.23
January	316.7	17.97
February	245.69	16.95
March	547.22	35.84
April	506.67	33.87
May	412.26	28.48
Total	2909.67	188.77

An average of 15.4 mph but there are still some miles to go!
so I have approximately 140 miles a week to go but I'm not planning to ride all the way up to the race date but give myself a little bit of a taper down to the event.  So the next couple of weeks of regular commuting and I'll try and fit in another couple of 'mock Galibier's' on my turbo trainer in the shed.

http://alzbikechallenge.blogspot.com/2011/05/practice-makes-perfect.html

Practice makes perfect

8 weeks to go!!

My challenge feels only around the corner. Over the past months I have noticed real improvement in my fitness and training.

This weekend I have forgone riding outside in favour of the shed and the turbo training. The purpose of my turbo training sessions. Have been to mimic the route that I will be riding. In July. Yesterday (Saturday) I set the trainer to mimic the climbs of the Telegraphe and the Galibier. Yesterdays attempt took me 2, 1/2hours to ride the 32km of the climb.

Today I rode the same again with the variation to include the 17km 'warm up' that will be from Modane to the foot of the Telegraphe. I also paid particular attention to my timings and pace notes (http://alzbikechallenge.blogspot.com/2011/04/more-detailed-etape-info-received.html)

Today the ride took just over 3hrs to cover the required 48.5pm to get me to the secondelmination zone. I reached this point with an hour in hand.

It was a hard ride especially focussing on maintaining a steady rhythm and trying not to grind away at the peddles.

I feel more confident now in my ability to get myself over the mountains, the challenge is going to come from the weather conditions, it will be in the 30's and also the possibility of bottle necks forming atthefootofeach climb.

My First Century

It's been a great week on the bikecthis week, all topped off with my first century ride yesterday.

Following last weeks effort in the club time trial I found my commutes this week a little easier. I think knowing what I can manage in a sustained effort allowed me to push a little harder. So I have now completed my first commute to the office in under an hour!!

My first century ride - Yesterday I joined 3 fellow wheelers for a ride down to Brighton. The weather started with a spot of rain and then brightened up to good day where I even caught a bit of colour. We took the same route I rode in March and made it down to the coast in little under 4 hrs, including a successful ascent of the Beacon.

As Before we headed to the Regency Cafe opposite the abandoned pier for much needed fish and chips.

The return leg was competed by 3 of us and was a much flatter and smoother route.

It was a greet day and a good hard ride, in total riding 115 miles.

http://app.strava.com/rides/brighton-run-return-525542

Club 10 Time Trial

Last night I competed in my first Kingston Wheelers Club 10.  http://www.kingstonwheelers.co.uk/timetrialing.shtml#Club10

The course started at the junction of Spook Hill and the A24 just past North Holmwood. It was a Lumpy 5 miles down to the Clarkes Green Roaundabout just past Capel and then back to North Holmwood.

The weather was warm and clear, a tailwind for the route out and the dreaded headwind for the return.

This was my second ever Time Trial and I was a little more mentally prepared.  I had also borrowed a pair of clip on Aero bars to apparently make me go faster, although fixing these to the bike I didn't use them as they felt somewqhat loose and precarious.

I started from a seted and clipped in position this time, Unlike my start at the Sporting 14 TT in February.  I felt that little bit more confident and I think it actually helped a little.

Alas as I joined the A24 all aspirations of flying down the route in an effortless haze went quickly out the window.  I went too hard and quickly felt my legs radiating that slow burning feeling.  I eased off and tried to focus on finding a rythm and maintaining a comfortable cadence.  All the while chastising myself for, what could only be nervous excitement interfeering with a steady start.

The first rise in the road caught me by surpeise as I hadn't really found a rythm at all and it was swiftly followed by my chasing rider overtaking me, 30seconds down already.

It wasn't until I went through Beare Green that I found a cadence and effort that was at the upper limits of comfortable and something I felt I could maintain for the duration.

I was overtaken by quite a few other riders but was comfortable in my efforts and thouroghly enjoyed the long pedalling sweep around the Capel Rouandabout for the return leg.  This is where the head wind came into play.  A very useful lesson in cycling aerodynamics, the balance of getting as low and lat as possible whilst still being able to turn the pedals comfortably.  It probably would have helped to use the TT bars but they just were not secure enough for me to feel confident on them at the 15 - 30mph that I was fluctuating between.  Despite the headwind the return leg was more comfortable for me as I knew I didn't have to 'save' anything and I was comfortable with my effort and pace.

I raced through the finish line and completed the course in 31:26 an average of 19.1mph, alot better than it felt I assure you.

The Club 10's are held fortnightly with the next one on the 8th May, so I'm looking forawrds to that, I have now ridden the course and have some time to sort out the aero bars.  Perhaps a sub 30m time????

Olympic Route + plus diversions

What a bloody marvellous day for a ride, (tan lines to prove it!).  The original planned group of 5 was chipped down to 3 and our departure plan was somewhat delayed.

Nevertheless a departure to Thames Ditton to pick up Dave and then we were on our way, on the route through WoT and towards the Surrey Hills.  Alas the route is titled Olympic Route + Diversions because even with the benefit of the Garmin I still took a few wrong turns.... My marvellous sense of direction!
The first wrong turn was one junction too soon down the Pyrford Road rather than the B367, very scenic but definitely too narrow for the Olympic Peleton.
Back on the Route and approaching Ripley, riding past the abandoned Newark Priory was great and it would make a great backdrop for the TV Cameras and give the commentators something to talk about.
Through Ripley, West Horsley and East Clandon, we hit the first 'climb' a mere bagatelle for the Pros but Staple lane felt like a long drag.
The A25 into Dorking was refreshing after the effort of Staple Lane, after Dorking there is the the Dorking Cock at the A24 Junction, I'm intrigued to hear what the race commentators will have to say about that.

Up to Box and it was nowhere near to my Box Hill Challenge time but the ice cream and coke at the top was much needed.

Dave & Ed

After Box the Olympic Route doesn't follow a ridiculously narrow lane decorated in horse manure... but ours did, another wrong turn on my part.  Back on the route we rolled through Leatherhead, Oxshott and Esher before heading back towards Hampton Court.  Thanks to Ed for convincing me to cross over the river rather than abandon after the Surrey Hills.  We headed up through Kingston and into Richmond Park before my sense of direction took the lead again, taking us out of the park one gate too soon.  Once over Putney Bridge it was a straight line to Buckingham Palace and the Mall.

A quick photo stop and back to down the Kings Road, over Putney Bridge and then into Richmond Park at the correct gate this time.

Once back in the Park the end was in site and we were able to pick up the pace.
All in all a great ride, I'm happy with the time (5:54:52) and our average pace (15.5mph) but I can't help worry about my efforts on the hills, and trying to maintain the sustained efforts for the Alps.

More detailed Etape Info received.

I had a good ride on Saturday morning, I headed out for Box Hill with the sole attempt of improving on my challenge time.  Which I'm pleased to say I did!  I rode 2 laps of Zig Zag Road, the first at 9:58 and the seconed in a time of 10:22.  Can I do it again this weekend, well who knows?  This weekends ride is going to be very focussed on Hills, Hills and Hills. 
Carrying on from my last post and the height of the passes in relation to the Empire state I have been dwelling on the hills, and information I received from the freindly guys and gals at La Fuga hasn't eased my fears but has certainly foccussed my plans for the next 13 weeks.

The further information I have received is the itenerary for the day, including the all important elimination times.

The ride will start at 7.00 am and all the participants should be through the start line by 8.00 am.  (I expect to be nearer the 8.00am time nearer the back as I have no race pedigree accompanying my application.  The official ride closing time is 3:54pm.  68 miles or thereabouts and 7hrs 54m to complete it....I think I'll use most of those if not all!

The Itinerary divides nicely between the three elimination zones and the finish time.  Assuming an 8.00am start time these are likely to form the pace notes.

 

Section	Distance KM	Cut Time	Avg Kph	Avg Mph
Modane - Valloire	31	10:06	15	9.3
Les Verneys - La Grave	36	12:51	13.1	8.2
Le Chambon - Carrefour	28	13:47	30	18.6
La Garde - Alpe D’Huez	14.5	15:54	6.8	4.2

Back to the bike and resuming my focus in spinning up hills.

A weekend off !!

As the weather has been improving my mileage and time on the bike has been increasing too mostly through my commuting miles.

Rest is equally as important if not more so.  So we took a few days off and courtesy of air miles spent them in New York.  We weren't completely sedentry and spent much of our days walk the streets looking at the sites and of course a spot of shopping. 

Seeing the sites included the inspiring Empire State Building, its observatory on the 86th floor and then up again to the 102nd.  The view all around over Manhattan was breathtaking.  As I went in the lift from the 86th, rather than floor numbers the height above sea level lights up.  I asked the guide how high we were in metres and he responded, "3 - 8 -1 Sir".  My first thought was what have i signed up for the Galibier is still another 2000 or so meters above me!

Now that I'm home this thought has been on my mind and looking in more detail there are some pretty impressive landmarks or should I call them hurdles to ride over before I crest the Galibier.

I think I may tape this graph onto the top tube of the bike, as I hang my head, dragging myself up the climbs I could tick off each 'hurdle'

Well back to New York, it was a brilliant few days and I was surprised to see the number of bikes and cyclinsts in the City that we did.  New Yorkers are as much a fan of the bike as they are the car it seems, so much so I saw this mural and had to snap it.



Home now and most of the Jet lag has worn off, I have resumed my commuting as the weather is so good for it at the moment, long may it last and I'll be attempting to beat my personal best time up Box Hill tomorrow, which currently stands at 10:37...plenty of scope for improvement.

Spin Spin Spin

Did a good ride on Saturday including a timed effort up Box Hill as part of this years Club Box Hill Challenge.  The Start Line is at the Foot of Zig Zag Road and the finish is at the entrance to the National Trust Cafe/Shop.

My time was an appalling 10:40, (in comparison to other members).  I have never timed myself up Box Hill before so it is a score to improve on!

Chatting at the top over a drink and snack with the others, It was politely pointed out that I was grinding.  This is a technical term, essentially not turning the pedals enough.  I need to improve my cadence (Pedal revolutions), climbing Box yesterday I averaged about 70 rpm, apparently it would be easier if I were to 'spin' at 80 or 90 rpm.

The faster you can spin a light gear the less overall effort/energy will be required to maintain the same speed one could achieve 'grinding' away at 60 or 70 rpm.  The Science is that the higher cadence will be more aerobically efficient thus using oxygen to help provide the necessary energy.....well something to that effect anyway.

So how am I going to go about this?  For the next few weeks I am going to use only the smaller front chain ring of the bike and focus on generating my speed by more pedalling.  Initially I should see a drop in performance/speed as I get used to riding at a higher cadence, but then (I hope) get back to where it was before.

Another Brighton Run

What a fantastic weekend to go out for a bike ride?!

I rode down to Brighton this weekend with 7 others from the Kingston Wheelers.  We met up at the usual Laithwaites Car park on Saturday morning.  It was bloody cold, with little patches of ice around and I was starting to regret the fingerless gloves.

We rolled out around 9:15, as I had 'organised' the route I took the lead ish and we headed through Oxshott and Leatherhead.  I can't beleive I took a wrong turn in Leatherhead!  I never have been one for my sense of direction.  Thankfully there were a couple of Garmin cycle sat navs amongst us so we were soon on the right route.

The Route wound down around the edge of Gatwick, through Haywards Heath and over the Beacon before finally hitting the sea front.  I'm pleased to say that I made it up the beacon on pedal power alone.  The false crests are so deceptive, you think your almost there and then there's still further to go.

A large portion of fish and chips at the Regent Cafe was the reward before heading back on the train.  3 of our group cycled home but my legs just wouldn't have survived.

Hill Training

Out of my challenge of 3750 miles I have now ridden 1650 miles, 46% and I hope to hit the halfway point by the end of March.

I have now built up my endurance and speed, I now need to really focus on my hill climbing ability as this is what I will be doing most of come July.

This morning I rode out to White Down, a steep climb the other side of Cobham.

I repeated the climb 3 times, here's the video.

Only 1 climb in the film and 1 descent, around 8mins up and 1min down!

Next week weather permitting some club members and I will ride down to Brighton.

The Challenge

I have been gearing up my fundraising for this challenge as the Etape approaches faster than an Alpine descent.  I wanted to reiterate why I am doing this challenge and why I have chosen to raise funds for the Alzheimer's Society.

The Alzheimer's Society Kit

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 kilometre of the 1926 Tour.   I would be grateful for any donation you are able to make to the Alzheimer’s Society on behalf of this challenge.

An interesting news article

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1361597/Dementia-cases-soar-million-2021.html

A Morning in Hell !

I entered Hell of the Ashdown for the weekend and as promised here is the post event report.

Alas it is a sorry report.
Crossing the start mat at approx 9:07 am, not even 100 metres down the road and my saddle slips and is uncomfortable pointing skywards.  A quick curse and out with the tool kit.  Levelled off, tightended up and on the road again, my fellow starters in the 9:07 bunch already well ahead.

I challenge myself to reel them in, the flat turns downhill and I start to pick up my group (a fundamental of cycling physics, when the road goes down, its got to go up again!).  It went up and I lost the group again and was passed by a few other riders.  Nevertheless I stuck at my pace and made it to the top.
A few more expletives as I feel the saddle shifting again but I shifted my weight forwards and tackled the next climb... A few more miles down the road and I could feel my hips tipping back.  Off the bike again and reset the saddle. Almost immediately the saddle slips again and my full blue vocab fills the air. 

The ideal position is to be rocked forward at the hips rather than an overstretched back, the more the saddle tipped my hips back the more my back took the strain and more I cursed under my breath.

Eventually after about 12 miles I realised it was a lost cause and I could ride the remaining 56 miles getting increasingly more cheesed off.
So I turned round and made my way back to the start, very broken spirited.

The only plus point I can take away from my morning in Hell was that I maintained a good rythm on the hills and more than made up my time on decents. It shows that I have made some large gains in ability since starting this challenge.

Commuting

I have joined the legions of cycling commuters on the morning roads!

Now first things first I am and probably always will be a fair weather commuter, I can't see the point in getting all soggy on the way to the office, even if there are shower facilities.

Last Monday morning,  I took the Mountain bike to the roads of Surrey and pedalled down to Guildford.  It was heavy going but I made better time than I expected.  Homeward bound was heavier still.

Attempting the ride on the Steel Chariot I beat my mountain bike time by 31 minutes (just an observation, no racing involved, its better to get to the office in one peice.) 
I have a short vid of my commute:

I am sure this commuter story will blossom into a rant about pot holes and careless motorists!

Entering Hell!

This will be my first Sportive Ride of 2011.  The Hell of the Ashdlown http://www.hell.gb.com/

My Start time is 9:07 but may get away with slipping off a little earlier as there is a large contingent of Kingston Wheelers attending.  Full report and hopefully some footage next week.



The Sporting 14

I am getting a bit lax in my updates at the moment....Trying to make the blog a bit more entertaining having read so many others, it will come with time I'm sure.

Stat since the last post:  21 Weeks until the Etape and it has been 84 miles since my last post.

On Sunday 13th I took part in my first time trial, see link for route and times.
http://www.kingstonwheelers.co.uk/2011sporting14.shtml

The weather was middling to miserable, It could have been worse it could have been better.  Leg warmers, arm warmers, wooly hat, long sleeves etc etc.  I was well wrapped up.  The bug did a great job of getting two bikes on the roof to the HQ at West Horsely Village Hall for a stiff cup of coffee and signing on before the drizzle really came down.

From the last post I mentioned the conditon of the first half of the course - Hungry Hill to West Clandon ish-was pretty poor road surface.  Alas there had been no re tarmaccing in the intervening week.

My Start was at 8:48, as I approached the line one of the marshals held my bike as the other started a count down.  Having no experience of a standing start and with 30 seconds to the off I had an image of the marshal letting me go and me just falling sideways.  So I started under my own steam. 

The first half lap was a massive drag just trying to gather some sort of momentum, however once onto the main/ better roads The speed picked up, I topped out at 34mph according to the cycle computer!

The second lap had more momentum up Hungry Hill, but still a hard slog against gravity, Surrey County highways and a headwind.  But when you know its the last lap it gets a little easier the closer you get to the finish.

Turning onto Ripley Lane I knew it was going to be over soon so your able to dig a little deeper and push harder knowing rest is on its way.  I really pushed myself and found more when I could see the Finish post.

It felt great when it was finished a real sense of acheivement, my final time was 45m 52s so I'm happy with that have predicted a 45min attempt.

Thanks to Charlie