Monday, March 12, 2007
Iken See the Sunshine at Last
I really stepped up my training last week, helped by the glorious sunny weather we had in this part of the world... I managed to squeeze in three rides in all starting with a 38 early morning circuit along the North Western edge of the Suffolk Cycle route, taking in the old vineyards at Bruisyard. I then did an 18 mile ride followed by a 26 mile ride down to Orford on the coast, and back. The last route was a very nice route with several steep, short hills. The route took me through Snape and the famous Maltings and through some very pretty coutryside down to Iken and the mysteriously named Iken Cliffs (mysterious becuase that stretch of the countryside is as flat as a pancake)... There are some amazing houses in this area, all with stunning views and immaculate gardens. I hardly came across any cars and managed to get upto 27.6 mph on one downhill stretch. My average speed was 17 mph which I was quite pleased with, although it took a while to recover from this particular trip with 'wobbly leg' syndrome the following day.
The 38 mile ride on Monday was fun. I averaged a more modest 15 mph on this trip but there were many more hills, albeit not as steep as the ones on the Iken trip. I decided to get out my OS maps and check the gradients of some of the hills I'm doing. On the London to Paris trip, I've heard the horror stories about the 1:6 hill right at the end of the first day as you come into Dover. The hill I've been training on is apparently 1:3 although it only lasts for 40 metres, with a 1.5 mile 1:10 as it levels out. Some of the hills around Iken were steeper than this, again quite short in length but still challenging. I tried a technique suggested on the Discovery Travel forum which is to focus on the ground or the front wheel of the bike and not to look ahead at the hill. This seemed to work OK apart from the fact I often found myself riding in the middle of the road, which was OK in the middle of nowhere but obviously won't do in the City...
The 38 mile ride on Monday was fun. I averaged a more modest 15 mph on this trip but there were many more hills, albeit not as steep as the ones on the Iken trip. I decided to get out my OS maps and check the gradients of some of the hills I'm doing. On the London to Paris trip, I've heard the horror stories about the 1:6 hill right at the end of the first day as you come into Dover. The hill I've been training on is apparently 1:3 although it only lasts for 40 metres, with a 1.5 mile 1:10 as it levels out. Some of the hills around Iken were steeper than this, again quite short in length but still challenging. I tried a technique suggested on the Discovery Travel forum which is to focus on the ground or the front wheel of the bike and not to look ahead at the hill. This seemed to work OK apart from the fact I often found myself riding in the middle of the road, which was OK in the middle of nowhere but obviously won't do in the City...
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
A Cycle Challenge Without Pain is Just a Bike Ride
I'm starting to repeat myself here, but I'm really becoming tired of the British weather. I was all geared up for a 30 mile ride on Sunday. The route was all planned, my energy bars and drink were prepared, my hydration pack was filled and my cycling gear was laid out neatly on the bed ready for changing into.
The weather was reasonable, cloudy and windy, but the rain was holding off. Until, about 10 minutes before I was due to set off - downpour. Grrrr.
I then came across the following fellow Blogger via the Discovery Travel forum website - http://www.poyda.co.uk/cycling/pedal2paris/index.htm.
It's a good read, especially for anyone thinking of doing something as ludicrous as riding a pushbike 300 miles in four days... However, it also brought home the enormity of the challenge and started to make we worry about the level of training I'm doing... This brings me to the purpose of this particular post. The wisdom of our loved ones. On hearing my concerns and whinges about how hard it will be to cycle 95 miles on the first day, then get up and do another 80 miles each day for the next three, my wife turns to me and says "but if you train too well, the actual event wouldn't be the challenge it's supposed to be would it?". Brilliant... I guess the hint is in the title - Cycle Challenge. Now I feel much better because I've come to terms with the fact that the whole point of the ride is that I practically kill myself getting to Paris, that I have to drag my feeble cadence wearied legs down the Champs Elysees and under the Eiffel Tower, that I have to get sores in places I didn't know you could get sores, that I have to push myself beyond my current limits of fitness and stamina. Because if I don't suffer any pain on the journey, what's the point? I'm trying to help those little kids in Africa who have to walk 18kms to school everyday, who have to make their own cooking pots and fetch their own water from a filthy river before they can start cooking the handfuls of maize they've grown... I want them to have a chance at a future that contains just a little less suffering, and for that I'm prepared to put myself through the mill for a measley four days...
Now I feel better about not being able to train so much. I'm off for a bacon butty and a lie down ;-)
The weather was reasonable, cloudy and windy, but the rain was holding off. Until, about 10 minutes before I was due to set off - downpour. Grrrr.
I then came across the following fellow Blogger via the Discovery Travel forum website - http://www.poyda.co.uk/cycling/pedal2paris/index.htm.
It's a good read, especially for anyone thinking of doing something as ludicrous as riding a pushbike 300 miles in four days... However, it also brought home the enormity of the challenge and started to make we worry about the level of training I'm doing... This brings me to the purpose of this particular post. The wisdom of our loved ones. On hearing my concerns and whinges about how hard it will be to cycle 95 miles on the first day, then get up and do another 80 miles each day for the next three, my wife turns to me and says "but if you train too well, the actual event wouldn't be the challenge it's supposed to be would it?". Brilliant... I guess the hint is in the title - Cycle Challenge. Now I feel much better because I've come to terms with the fact that the whole point of the ride is that I practically kill myself getting to Paris, that I have to drag my feeble cadence wearied legs down the Champs Elysees and under the Eiffel Tower, that I have to get sores in places I didn't know you could get sores, that I have to push myself beyond my current limits of fitness and stamina. Because if I don't suffer any pain on the journey, what's the point? I'm trying to help those little kids in Africa who have to walk 18kms to school everyday, who have to make their own cooking pots and fetch their own water from a filthy river before they can start cooking the handfuls of maize they've grown... I want them to have a chance at a future that contains just a little less suffering, and for that I'm prepared to put myself through the mill for a measley four days...
Now I feel better about not being able to train so much. I'm off for a bacon butty and a lie down ;-)
