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!!