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...
