I have nothing against China, the Chinese, Air China, Beijing or even Chairman Mao.
But boy do I hate Beijing airport. And I'm writing this in the airport itself, while enjoying quite a reasonable cup of coffee. Although my judgement may be skewed because it's about 6am UK time and I've had a total of 2hrs sleep in the last 24hrs.
Getting here was easy enough, despite the -7 degree temperatures recorded in Bristol on Saturday morning. By the time I went to the station it had warmed up to a balmy 0 degrees. I didn't even need a coat.
The flight was easy enough too. They didn't run out of western breakfast (although that could still happen. Edit: it did but I had the lychee yoghurt with the rice porridge this time) and we touched down in Beijing at 12:10, local time. The city looks weird from the air, almost like it was made from Lego. So many buildings and tower blocks are identical.
The plane landed at the terminal, which was a plus. Last time it was miles away because they hadn't figured out how to build a terminal with enough surface area to handle all the planes. So if you get lucky, you get a berth.
But then it got harder. I couldn't quite remember from last time how I was meant to transfer to Shanghai then Sydney. There are no departure boards anywhere but we were told on the flight we had to go to gate E08 to catch CA175. By good fortune we were in terminal E. Simple eh?
Hah. I had to get back 'into' the terminal so I did the obvious thing and lined up at the international transfers immigration control. It took a while but when I got to the front, the officer said 'no, your boarding card says terminal C, you have to go to the emergency lane.'
Argh - I vaguely remembered this from last time. There was a slow moving queue there so I joined it, got halfway down then realised I'd probably need an arrival card, so ended up at the back again. And as I got towards the front, there were several 'emergencies' who needed to get through before me as their flights were about to leave.
Two very slow, strictly by the book officials (with masks on) for dozens of clueless international travellers. It was the most inefficient system I have ever seen and I work in the UK.
It took me the best part of an hour and a half to get through, and when I did I noticed a suggestion box. 'Rebuild your [obscene gerund] airport so that it works.'
I got to domestic transfers, wandered around a bit wondering whether I should pick up my luggage. But I couldn't see it and couldn't be arsed going to lost and found so I just followed some people who looked like they might be going to Australia. Or anywhere other than China. The lack of departure boards is infuriating.
At last I found a departure board. And even then had to wait till it cycled through 15 pages to show my flight. It went from C53, but this was an illusion. We boarded a bus at gate C53 and were driven back to terminal E. Gate E08, to be precise. Which looked rather like the plane we had flown in on.
[time passes]
I got the flight to Shanghai and we repeated the procedure, but in reverse. We had to check out of the country which meant going through immigration again. Sigh.
Who gives the go ahead for these masterpieces of usability? Is the place designed to be inefficient simply to keep large numbers of Chinese employed? Actually I think that might be the case.
I did note someone in the queue behind me saying it was like this in every communist country he'd travelled in. Basically it's not about putting people first, it's about fitting them into whatever system the government has deemed appropriate for its populace. And other populaces who happen to be passing through.
I got to Sydney in the end. Only an hour later than scheduled too, which was a miracle.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Things
I) It's stopped raining and gotten colder. We've had a few hard frosts and some very chilly mornings, but it's not quite at the severe level yet. That's usually in Jan/Feb.
II) I will be able to stop complaining about the cold soon, as I have a much looked forward to trip Down Under (avec L for a bit) to visit the Family et al.
III) Training has been satisfactory. Even a week-long cold didn't dent things too much, and I'm now at the same level as I was in mid-Jan of this year. Sealskinz sockz rulez for keeping one's toes warm.
IV) This blog could do with more photos.
V) Only 2.5 more days of work. We had our bikes Xmas lunch last Thursday, which involved a sunny ride out to the Lock Inn in Bradford-on-Avon. Lovely but very muddy (I rode a 'cross bike). We didn't, in the end, choose to ride back. I'd had four pints of cider and of the remaining folks, I was the sober one.
The main Future Xmas party be on Wednesday. I'm not sure my liver can cope...
VI) I don't think much of professional golf but I did note that Tiger Woods is taking an indefinite break from it. Apparently he's done some ... questionable things. That he has let his family down. Etc. Which is a shame for someone who earns so much money, because it is meant to buy happiness. $110 million a year should buy an eon of it.
I won't pick on Mr Woods but his fall from grace illustrates the dangers of hero worship. People see him hit a hole in one and think "For T is a golfer, and therefore he is God." (soz Benjamin Britten. I'm also not religious, God is just a convenient construct). Then they project all kinds of other holy qualities on him. Which is a mistake. Because when the slip-up happens, he is very much not God, he is human and a bit of a poor role model. So the fans are left flailing around with a worthless idol. Some of them continue to worship anyway, which is a shame because their energies could probably be better used on productive things, like Families.
The same argument applies to any professional athlete. Yes, that means cyclists. As a colleague of mine once pointed out after watching many riders' post-race behaviour, "If they're prepared to cheat on their wives, then cheating through drugs isn't too much of a stretch."
VII) Bankers, on the other hand... I really don't see the problem with capping their bonuses to a paltry few million per year.
The argument against seems to be "Oh but we won't be able to attract the best people if we don't offer them enormous bonuses."
The best people who got us into this mess into the first place, you mean? "Oh no, they've all been fired. The other best people."
II) I will be able to stop complaining about the cold soon, as I have a much looked forward to trip Down Under (avec L for a bit) to visit the Family et al.
III) Training has been satisfactory. Even a week-long cold didn't dent things too much, and I'm now at the same level as I was in mid-Jan of this year. Sealskinz sockz rulez for keeping one's toes warm.
IV) This blog could do with more photos.
V) Only 2.5 more days of work. We had our bikes Xmas lunch last Thursday, which involved a sunny ride out to the Lock Inn in Bradford-on-Avon. Lovely but very muddy (I rode a 'cross bike). We didn't, in the end, choose to ride back. I'd had four pints of cider and of the remaining folks, I was the sober one.
The main Future Xmas party be on Wednesday. I'm not sure my liver can cope...
VI) I don't think much of professional golf but I did note that Tiger Woods is taking an indefinite break from it. Apparently he's done some ... questionable things. That he has let his family down. Etc. Which is a shame for someone who earns so much money, because it is meant to buy happiness. $110 million a year should buy an eon of it.
I won't pick on Mr Woods but his fall from grace illustrates the dangers of hero worship. People see him hit a hole in one and think "For T is a golfer, and therefore he is God." (soz Benjamin Britten. I'm also not religious, God is just a convenient construct). Then they project all kinds of other holy qualities on him. Which is a mistake. Because when the slip-up happens, he is very much not God, he is human and a bit of a poor role model. So the fans are left flailing around with a worthless idol. Some of them continue to worship anyway, which is a shame because their energies could probably be better used on productive things, like Families.
The same argument applies to any professional athlete. Yes, that means cyclists. As a colleague of mine once pointed out after watching many riders' post-race behaviour, "If they're prepared to cheat on their wives, then cheating through drugs isn't too much of a stretch."
VII) Bankers, on the other hand... I really don't see the problem with capping their bonuses to a paltry few million per year.
The argument against seems to be "Oh but we won't be able to attract the best people if we don't offer them enormous bonuses."
The best people who got us into this mess into the first place, you mean? "Oh no, they've all been fired. The other best people."
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Stimulus-response
Disclaimer and Government Health Warning: this is going to be boring. Do not attempt to read without mind altering drugs or your brain will atrophy.
I'd like to think I'm reasonably methodical about my training, especially when I've got something to aim for. Over the years I've gotten a reasonably good idea of what works and what doesn't, but not really how much to do.
When I actually look back on my training log, I realise it's all over the shop. I'm consistent within a given week but not so much from week to week. A few things can affect this - illness, injury and work being the main ones - and they did in a big way this year. Also, it's fairly easy to maintain fitness once you've got it. It's getting it in the first place that requires a bit of planning.
I more or less got it right at the start of this year. I'd done a month of 'base' work in December, did bugger all in the first half of January because it was cold and I got sick, then built it up through February and was flying in March. And, unfortunately, injured.
The injury was the result of a combination of a lot of hours in the cold, badly set up cleats and what should have been a minor crash. Cleat position is important. I run them so that the ball of my foot is well in front of the pedal axle. But if it's too far in front and it's cold then I get tightness in my achilles and hamstrings = first step towards injury. If it's warm, it doesn't seem to be much of a problem.
I got some new shoes recently that will see me through winter - they're too big so I can wear a couple of pairs of socks underneath and stave off cold toes. But after swapping from my summer shoes (annoyingly too small) I've had to fiddle around with the cleats a lot to stop the tightness coming back.
I've also got some Sealskinz socks and gloves. Very good so far, but it's not properly cold yet.
Back to the program.
I've never been that fit in March before so I must have gotten something right. And when I looked back on things it was clear. I'd basically doing more and more, right up until I started racing. Interestingly, it's still a lot less than I used to do.
It worked because of the ol' stimulus-response thing. You push yourself a bit, you get fitter, so you push yourself some more. Repeat until you are a) fit b) injured/sick c) bored. Then back off and enjoy being fit for as long as you can maintain it.
You can either do this by adding more volume or more intensity or both. And it's a wonderful thing when you get it right, because you can see yourself getting faster every week.
The traditional approach to cycling training is do loads of miles in winter then back it off and do more intensity when you're approaching race season. The idea is that the miles conditions your body to handle the harder stuff later on. I have to say that it's never worked for me.
Another way is to jump straight into training and hammer yourself into the ground. Then do it some more. This might get you fit for a week but then you'll fall in a heap. I've tried this too.
So this winter, I am going to try a slow but steady build up, starting last week. Like this year, I still want to be increasing the stimulus by the end of February, but I want to do it on the back of what I manage to accomplish in January. This way should take all the panic and randomness out of early season training.
I might even buy or rent a PowerTap to train with, because this enables you to track how hard you're training and how fit you are. Average speed and heart rate are pretty useful too, as long as you know their limitations.
From a fitness point of view, I want to be able to average 340W (normalised) for an hour. I did it in 2008 with a fairly random approach to training (ride lots) - which was reflected in the results.
I got to 333W at the start of this year but was injured and 2kg over racing weight. Later on in the season when I was at racing weight, I got to 325W. In power/weight terms, that meant I was slightly fitter at the end of the season.
340W at racing weight with my current setup would knock another minute off my 25 mile time...
Now I've just got to do the training :-) It was -2 this morning so I wussed out of a bike path pootle with John and Liz. I did get out for an hour later on and it was still bastard cold. Tomorrow it's wet so it'll be warmer. I actually prefer that, most of the time. This November was apparently the wettest UK November ever.
Addendum: According to the Latest Science, the stimulus-response approach to training is now outdated - it's a bit more complicated than that. Given that it was proposed in 1975 and I'm just getting it, I'll stick to it for the time being.
I'd like to think I'm reasonably methodical about my training, especially when I've got something to aim for. Over the years I've gotten a reasonably good idea of what works and what doesn't, but not really how much to do.
When I actually look back on my training log, I realise it's all over the shop. I'm consistent within a given week but not so much from week to week. A few things can affect this - illness, injury and work being the main ones - and they did in a big way this year. Also, it's fairly easy to maintain fitness once you've got it. It's getting it in the first place that requires a bit of planning.
I more or less got it right at the start of this year. I'd done a month of 'base' work in December, did bugger all in the first half of January because it was cold and I got sick, then built it up through February and was flying in March. And, unfortunately, injured.
The injury was the result of a combination of a lot of hours in the cold, badly set up cleats and what should have been a minor crash. Cleat position is important. I run them so that the ball of my foot is well in front of the pedal axle. But if it's too far in front and it's cold then I get tightness in my achilles and hamstrings = first step towards injury. If it's warm, it doesn't seem to be much of a problem.
I got some new shoes recently that will see me through winter - they're too big so I can wear a couple of pairs of socks underneath and stave off cold toes. But after swapping from my summer shoes (annoyingly too small) I've had to fiddle around with the cleats a lot to stop the tightness coming back.
I've also got some Sealskinz socks and gloves. Very good so far, but it's not properly cold yet.
Back to the program.
I've never been that fit in March before so I must have gotten something right. And when I looked back on things it was clear. I'd basically doing more and more, right up until I started racing. Interestingly, it's still a lot less than I used to do.
It worked because of the ol' stimulus-response thing. You push yourself a bit, you get fitter, so you push yourself some more. Repeat until you are a) fit b) injured/sick c) bored. Then back off and enjoy being fit for as long as you can maintain it.
You can either do this by adding more volume or more intensity or both. And it's a wonderful thing when you get it right, because you can see yourself getting faster every week.
The traditional approach to cycling training is do loads of miles in winter then back it off and do more intensity when you're approaching race season. The idea is that the miles conditions your body to handle the harder stuff later on. I have to say that it's never worked for me.
Another way is to jump straight into training and hammer yourself into the ground. Then do it some more. This might get you fit for a week but then you'll fall in a heap. I've tried this too.
So this winter, I am going to try a slow but steady build up, starting last week. Like this year, I still want to be increasing the stimulus by the end of February, but I want to do it on the back of what I manage to accomplish in January. This way should take all the panic and randomness out of early season training.
I might even buy or rent a PowerTap to train with, because this enables you to track how hard you're training and how fit you are. Average speed and heart rate are pretty useful too, as long as you know their limitations.
From a fitness point of view, I want to be able to average 340W (normalised) for an hour. I did it in 2008 with a fairly random approach to training (ride lots) - which was reflected in the results.
I got to 333W at the start of this year but was injured and 2kg over racing weight. Later on in the season when I was at racing weight, I got to 325W. In power/weight terms, that meant I was slightly fitter at the end of the season.
340W at racing weight with my current setup would knock another minute off my 25 mile time...
Now I've just got to do the training :-) It was -2 this morning so I wussed out of a bike path pootle with John and Liz. I did get out for an hour later on and it was still bastard cold. Tomorrow it's wet so it'll be warmer. I actually prefer that, most of the time. This November was apparently the wettest UK November ever.
Addendum: According to the Latest Science, the stimulus-response approach to training is now outdated - it's a bit more complicated than that. Given that it was proposed in 1975 and I'm just getting it, I'll stick to it for the time being.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
It's breezy
TalkTalk really is crap. I am sort of connected but the wireless keeps dropping out and the plug in modem takes three computer restarts before it figures out who I am.
I just thought I'd get that in. Oh there it goes again.
The next thing is of course the weather. Very windy and wet but not cold is the best way to describe it. It still hasn't dropped much into single figures but I'm sure it will ere long.
The wind and rain are more of an issue. November's a good month for storms and floods and it seems like all of Cumbria copped it this week and is now a large lake. It's slightly better darn sarf in that there are no floods yet.
I recommenced training this week with a couple of easy rides and a couple of tempo rides. The latter included one ride of 3hrs through the Mendips and yes, it was a bit blowy. My climbing's suffered in the last month but my average speed wasn't too bad: 29km/h. More or less what I was doing in late January this year over a similar loop at similar intensity.
The plan is to build it up through Dec/Jan/Feb, including a nice three week break in Oz. Simple. Although I hear it's 42 degrees in Sydney at the moment - not really good riding weather. You just can't win these days.
Speaking of not winning... did you know that if you're a bloke, binge drinking (defined as anything more than a thimbleful of low alcohol beer these days) will help you avoid getting coronary heart disease? Yes you'll probably get another type of heart disease and rot your brain into the bargain but at least you'll have done your best to reduce one risk.
As elfin safety teaches us, life is about reducing the risks to one's health, ie not dying. Where that leaves cycling I don't know. Was the wind today risky? Yep. Was I confident I could manage the risk, having done so many times before? Yep. Did I choose a less risky route, was I appropriately attired and did I use lights? Yep. There we go, one dynamic risk assessment.
I just thought I'd get that in. Oh there it goes again.
The next thing is of course the weather. Very windy and wet but not cold is the best way to describe it. It still hasn't dropped much into single figures but I'm sure it will ere long.
The wind and rain are more of an issue. November's a good month for storms and floods and it seems like all of Cumbria copped it this week and is now a large lake. It's slightly better darn sarf in that there are no floods yet.
I recommenced training this week with a couple of easy rides and a couple of tempo rides. The latter included one ride of 3hrs through the Mendips and yes, it was a bit blowy. My climbing's suffered in the last month but my average speed wasn't too bad: 29km/h. More or less what I was doing in late January this year over a similar loop at similar intensity.
The plan is to build it up through Dec/Jan/Feb, including a nice three week break in Oz. Simple. Although I hear it's 42 degrees in Sydney at the moment - not really good riding weather. You just can't win these days.
Speaking of not winning... did you know that if you're a bloke, binge drinking (defined as anything more than a thimbleful of low alcohol beer these days) will help you avoid getting coronary heart disease? Yes you'll probably get another type of heart disease and rot your brain into the bargain but at least you'll have done your best to reduce one risk.
As elfin safety teaches us, life is about reducing the risks to one's health, ie not dying. Where that leaves cycling I don't know. Was the wind today risky? Yep. Was I confident I could manage the risk, having done so many times before? Yep. Did I choose a less risky route, was I appropriately attired and did I use lights? Yep. There we go, one dynamic risk assessment.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Southgate and Rugby (league)
Oh 'tis fun to be back online permanently again. It's a terrible time-wasting addiction, worse than television. I curse TalkTalk thrice over.
As I haven't been riding much of late, I left the house on foot today. The quest was to see the new Southgate shopping centre in downtown Bath. Despite nearly exploding a year ago, Phase I was opened the other day and I wanted to see what the hype was about.
Southgate, Phase I. Luckily it didn't explode, or where would all those shoppers go?
Southgate, Phase I. 200 seats!
Southgate, Phase I
It doesn't look too bad, as far as shopping centres go. It's been built using sandstone cladding imported from Italy to give it that authentic ye olde Bath look. But in any case it's better than what used to be there, a hideous shopping mall constructed in the post-war period after Bath got bombed.
That said, I felt the powers that be could have been a bit more inventive. Why make it the same as the rest of Bath? Which - as an Australian couple on tour pointed out to me last year - looks like a collection of Masterton homes.
My idea could have been incorporated and would definitely have spiced things up. What this city needs is a statue of a jolly good dictator, like Joe Stalin.
But no, conservatism reigned. Their loss, I say.
Speaking of television, which I was at the start, I turned it on last weekend. And lo! Australia was playing against England in a Rugby League fixture. Probably on account of me being raised in Sydney, I think League is a much better game than Rugby Union because it doesn't get bogged down by a massive scrum every time someone gets tackled. That sort of talk is sacrilege in these 'ere parts and nearly got me excommunicated from Bath.
What I liked about this particular game is that not only did Australia win 26-16, a large number of the Aussies had beards. This reminded me of the good ol' days, and gave rise to the sort of nostalgia that you need to get through a slow Saturday afternoon.
Finally, I was fortunate enough to travel to Manchester last weekend for a free lunch at the Track World Cup. It took us 9hrs to get there and back and we saw three hours of racing (good). This was the result:
Andy Gale (the designated driver and one of our web developers), Simon Withers (C+ tech ed) and Dave Sayer (another of our web developers) sample the delights of a free lunch at the Manchester velodrome while contemplating the drive back to Bath.
As I haven't been riding much of late, I left the house on foot today. The quest was to see the new Southgate shopping centre in downtown Bath. Despite nearly exploding a year ago, Phase I was opened the other day and I wanted to see what the hype was about.
Southgate, Phase I. Luckily it didn't explode, or where would all those shoppers go?
Southgate, Phase I. 200 seats!
Southgate, Phase IIt doesn't look too bad, as far as shopping centres go. It's been built using sandstone cladding imported from Italy to give it that authentic ye olde Bath look. But in any case it's better than what used to be there, a hideous shopping mall constructed in the post-war period after Bath got bombed.
That said, I felt the powers that be could have been a bit more inventive. Why make it the same as the rest of Bath? Which - as an Australian couple on tour pointed out to me last year - looks like a collection of Masterton homes.
My idea could have been incorporated and would definitely have spiced things up. What this city needs is a statue of a jolly good dictator, like Joe Stalin.
But no, conservatism reigned. Their loss, I say.
Speaking of television, which I was at the start, I turned it on last weekend. And lo! Australia was playing against England in a Rugby League fixture. Probably on account of me being raised in Sydney, I think League is a much better game than Rugby Union because it doesn't get bogged down by a massive scrum every time someone gets tackled. That sort of talk is sacrilege in these 'ere parts and nearly got me excommunicated from Bath.
What I liked about this particular game is that not only did Australia win 26-16, a large number of the Aussies had beards. This reminded me of the good ol' days, and gave rise to the sort of nostalgia that you need to get through a slow Saturday afternoon.
Finally, I was fortunate enough to travel to Manchester last weekend for a free lunch at the Track World Cup. It took us 9hrs to get there and back and we saw three hours of racing (good). This was the result:
Andy Gale (the designated driver and one of our web developers), Simon Withers (C+ tech ed) and Dave Sayer (another of our web developers) sample the delights of a free lunch at the Manchester velodrome while contemplating the drive back to Bath.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Bookends
And the last shall be first. I hope I've got that the right way around.
Season 2009 is done. And it ended on a positive note as I won round 8 of the Rudy Project series in Devizes. No mean feat, despite the small field (eight starters) in the seniors.
The course had to be shortened from two laps to one because of road works, so all categories ended up doing 30km. I was prepared to do the full distance but I wasn't toooo disappointed that we didn't in the end.
It was close - I clocked 41'24 to beat Duncan Urquhart by just 10 seconds, with Colin Robertson third at 24sec. As I said, there weren't many starters in the seniors but they were all good riders: Richard Prebble was fourth and series winner Dean Robson was fifth. As previously mentioned Mr Urquhart is going for Commonwealth Games selection in 2010 - a top three in this (the national TT series) counts towards that.
Luckily - or more likely because I've been doing some training - I had a good day, averaging the same power as I did for the British championships which was over a similar distance. Pacing could have been better but at least I made the most of it on the hills.
The event was promoted by West DC and Cycling Time Trials (the national body), and thanks to Andy Cook there was a large cohort of Chippenham Wheelers helping out. It's always good for the morale when your own club is involved and I have a pretty good win record with Chippenham promoted events.
The course started and finished in Devizes and did a loop through the Vale of Pewsey. It was up and down without any big hills and it featured the usual dead roads. We had a cold wind from the north that was behind us for about a kilometre at most, due to the way the circuit ran. It was only 12 degrees too - I was glad it was the last race.
I had a good chat to club legend Gary Woodward in the change rooms before the start. He held the club 10 record (20'03, no disc or tribars) for 25 years until Ben broke it (19'35) last year. He even made a shortlived comeback this year in the WTTA 100 but didn't get very far after snapping his stem on the start line! Hopefully he'll have better luck next year.
So to sum up this season: it's been better than last, despite a few setbacks. I've managed to improve my position so much that I've consistently been faster for less power. On the few occasions I got close to 2008 power levels it resulted in some very fast rides.
The important numbers
Opens/big races ridden: 27
1sts: 14 plus WTTA hardriders series win
2nds: 6
Less significant placings: 7
Jerseys: 2 (British champs + journo worlds)
Course records broken: 4
Club records broken: 3, but Ben took back the 25 record with a 49'19 on the Welsh course
Yearly km: 15,000 (heading for lowest ever annual total)
Rainy days: 153/297 (so far)
Crashes: 3
Nasty diseases: 2
Chocolate consumption: 20kg (at least)
Beer consumption: substantial, but not so much during the season
Weight: 73kg - 68.5kg
Height: 183cm and steady
I'm looking forward to this winter.
Season 2009 is done. And it ended on a positive note as I won round 8 of the Rudy Project series in Devizes. No mean feat, despite the small field (eight starters) in the seniors.
The course had to be shortened from two laps to one because of road works, so all categories ended up doing 30km. I was prepared to do the full distance but I wasn't toooo disappointed that we didn't in the end.
It was close - I clocked 41'24 to beat Duncan Urquhart by just 10 seconds, with Colin Robertson third at 24sec. As I said, there weren't many starters in the seniors but they were all good riders: Richard Prebble was fourth and series winner Dean Robson was fifth. As previously mentioned Mr Urquhart is going for Commonwealth Games selection in 2010 - a top three in this (the national TT series) counts towards that.
Luckily - or more likely because I've been doing some training - I had a good day, averaging the same power as I did for the British championships which was over a similar distance. Pacing could have been better but at least I made the most of it on the hills.
The event was promoted by West DC and Cycling Time Trials (the national body), and thanks to Andy Cook there was a large cohort of Chippenham Wheelers helping out. It's always good for the morale when your own club is involved and I have a pretty good win record with Chippenham promoted events.
The course started and finished in Devizes and did a loop through the Vale of Pewsey. It was up and down without any big hills and it featured the usual dead roads. We had a cold wind from the north that was behind us for about a kilometre at most, due to the way the circuit ran. It was only 12 degrees too - I was glad it was the last race.
I had a good chat to club legend Gary Woodward in the change rooms before the start. He held the club 10 record (20'03, no disc or tribars) for 25 years until Ben broke it (19'35) last year. He even made a shortlived comeback this year in the WTTA 100 but didn't get very far after snapping his stem on the start line! Hopefully he'll have better luck next year.
So to sum up this season: it's been better than last, despite a few setbacks. I've managed to improve my position so much that I've consistently been faster for less power. On the few occasions I got close to 2008 power levels it resulted in some very fast rides.
The important numbers
Opens/big races ridden: 27
1sts: 14 plus WTTA hardriders series win
2nds: 6
Less significant placings: 7
Jerseys: 2 (British champs + journo worlds)
Course records broken: 4
Club records broken: 3, but Ben took back the 25 record with a 49'19 on the Welsh course
Yearly km: 15,000 (heading for lowest ever annual total)
Rainy days: 153/297 (so far)
Crashes: 3
Nasty diseases: 2
Chocolate consumption: 20kg (at least)
Beer consumption: substantial, but not so much during the season
Weight: 73kg - 68.5kg
Height: 183cm and steady
I'm looking forward to this winter.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Waiting for TalkTalk
I'm living on TalkTalk time at the moment. So when they say 'go live', it means my broadband will be activated any time from the date they gave me (Oct 5) up until the heat death of the universe. Possibly after that if BT has anything to do with it.
Time passes.
I have now been told that October 5 actually means November 4 because there isn't enough equipment in the local exchange. That reminds me of the fish'n chip shop in Bradford on Avon that had closed due to 'lack of available staff'.
A racing update then. I made the mistake (well more because I had my arm twisted) of entering two races in one day. The Gloucester City hilly 25, part of the hardriders series, and the WC Walcot hillclimb in Bath.
One went well, one didn't. The proof is trivial and left to the reader.
More time passes, punctuated by a Madonna tribute on 4Music.
Solving for x, I won the Gloucester City 25 in 54'41, breaking the course record by a bit over a minute. Last year in rather appalling conditions I did 56'30, so that's an improvement.
But it was an odd race because I was thinking of the hillclimb in the afternoon. I got to the turnaround 2'10 quicker than last year, heart rate still quite low. Then switched off on the way home: 332W going out, 306W coming back. The outward leg is longer and mostly uphill so it worked out OK.
I got a lift back to Bristol with Robin, rode home, gulped down some recovery drink and headed off with Liz to Claverton for the hillclimb. It was a great event with lots of Walcot members and uni students cheering and I'm sort of glad I did it because I won some coffee (team prize with Rob Gough and Tom Marshall).
I only managed 8th, 35 seconds(!) behind Rob Gough who won it in 2'43. That's an immense difference over that short a distance (950m at 10%). My legs didn't feel that bad and it did hurt like a hillclimb should but I was just slow. Lesson learned.
Onto this latest weekend, it was the Chippenham double header. Hillclimb up Bowden hill on Saturday followed by the three up team time trial on Sunday.
The hillclimb was good: I clocked 5'00.5 (5sec quicker than last year) to win by 7 seconds. And it didn't hurt quite the same as last year in that I was only coughing in the evening, not for days afterwards.
The team time trial was on the U59 course near Devizes, different to last year but we reckon a safer course. I've done 53'52 on it solo on a perfect day last April. The only time I did it as part of a team was with Chris Tweedie and Robin in 2007, when we did 56'29 to finish second behind VC St Raphael (53'36). I figured this year Ben, Robin and I could do 52.something. Unfortunately Ben had barely ridden his bike for three weeks and Robin managed to get sick last week, so we weren't quite at full potential. Still, it's the same for everyone at this time of year.
The main challengers were VC St Raphael, who we beat for the first time ever last year. This year they had a composite team with Phill Sykes, Colin Parry and Simon Berogna. It meant that they weren't eligible for the club prize but of course we still wanted to win.
Alas, we came up 10 seconds short. We did manage 52'10 to VC's 52'00, not bad considering and more or less what I expected. Robin did what he could (stayed on, averaging 195bpm all the way round!), Ben was good, especially in the first half and I was stronger than I thought, but they did have to wait for me on the corners.
The conditions were terrible: rain and fairly windy, which made it impossible to sit on a wheel. Annoying, because the forecast was for dry weather and by the afternoon it was clear and sunny. One of the Chippenham teams crashed on the first s-bend and other teams had disasters too. Thankfully we didn't have anything like that.
Unfortunately our reserve rider Simon Snowden will be out of action for a while after crashing on Bowden hill on Saturday. He was on his way back down after watching the hillclimb and his foot came out of the pedal and he just lost it. Off to hospital. Not 100% sure but it looked like he'd broken his collarbone. Oh well Simon, at least it's the off season. Get better soon!
My last race is next week, thankfully. It's the final round of the Rudy Project series, a national version of the WTTA hardriders series. It's 38 miles on a course that uses bits of the U59 but in the opposite direction. Be nice to win it but it's more a case of who turns up (very few riders do the whole series). Duncan Urquhart, winner last weekend, is the man to beat. He's represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in the past and might have his eye on selection in 2010...
Time passes.
I have now been told that October 5 actually means November 4 because there isn't enough equipment in the local exchange. That reminds me of the fish'n chip shop in Bradford on Avon that had closed due to 'lack of available staff'.
A racing update then. I made the mistake (well more because I had my arm twisted) of entering two races in one day. The Gloucester City hilly 25, part of the hardriders series, and the WC Walcot hillclimb in Bath.
One went well, one didn't. The proof is trivial and left to the reader.
More time passes, punctuated by a Madonna tribute on 4Music.
Solving for x, I won the Gloucester City 25 in 54'41, breaking the course record by a bit over a minute. Last year in rather appalling conditions I did 56'30, so that's an improvement.
But it was an odd race because I was thinking of the hillclimb in the afternoon. I got to the turnaround 2'10 quicker than last year, heart rate still quite low. Then switched off on the way home: 332W going out, 306W coming back. The outward leg is longer and mostly uphill so it worked out OK.
I got a lift back to Bristol with Robin, rode home, gulped down some recovery drink and headed off with Liz to Claverton for the hillclimb. It was a great event with lots of Walcot members and uni students cheering and I'm sort of glad I did it because I won some coffee (team prize with Rob Gough and Tom Marshall).
I only managed 8th, 35 seconds(!) behind Rob Gough who won it in 2'43. That's an immense difference over that short a distance (950m at 10%). My legs didn't feel that bad and it did hurt like a hillclimb should but I was just slow. Lesson learned.
Onto this latest weekend, it was the Chippenham double header. Hillclimb up Bowden hill on Saturday followed by the three up team time trial on Sunday.
The hillclimb was good: I clocked 5'00.5 (5sec quicker than last year) to win by 7 seconds. And it didn't hurt quite the same as last year in that I was only coughing in the evening, not for days afterwards.
The team time trial was on the U59 course near Devizes, different to last year but we reckon a safer course. I've done 53'52 on it solo on a perfect day last April. The only time I did it as part of a team was with Chris Tweedie and Robin in 2007, when we did 56'29 to finish second behind VC St Raphael (53'36). I figured this year Ben, Robin and I could do 52.something. Unfortunately Ben had barely ridden his bike for three weeks and Robin managed to get sick last week, so we weren't quite at full potential. Still, it's the same for everyone at this time of year.
The main challengers were VC St Raphael, who we beat for the first time ever last year. This year they had a composite team with Phill Sykes, Colin Parry and Simon Berogna. It meant that they weren't eligible for the club prize but of course we still wanted to win.
Alas, we came up 10 seconds short. We did manage 52'10 to VC's 52'00, not bad considering and more or less what I expected. Robin did what he could (stayed on, averaging 195bpm all the way round!), Ben was good, especially in the first half and I was stronger than I thought, but they did have to wait for me on the corners.
The conditions were terrible: rain and fairly windy, which made it impossible to sit on a wheel. Annoying, because the forecast was for dry weather and by the afternoon it was clear and sunny. One of the Chippenham teams crashed on the first s-bend and other teams had disasters too. Thankfully we didn't have anything like that.
Unfortunately our reserve rider Simon Snowden will be out of action for a while after crashing on Bowden hill on Saturday. He was on his way back down after watching the hillclimb and his foot came out of the pedal and he just lost it. Off to hospital. Not 100% sure but it looked like he'd broken his collarbone. Oh well Simon, at least it's the off season. Get better soon!
My last race is next week, thankfully. It's the final round of the Rudy Project series, a national version of the WTTA hardriders series. It's 38 miles on a course that uses bits of the U59 but in the opposite direction. Be nice to win it but it's more a case of who turns up (very few riders do the whole series). Duncan Urquhart, winner last weekend, is the man to beat. He's represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in the past and might have his eye on selection in 2010...
Monday, September 28, 2009
An update of sorts
I will make this one photo-less as I'm still a week away from having my internet reconnected. Hooray for TalkTalk.
The results
Journo world's: 1st in the time trial, 6th in the road race. I had four days (out of five) off the bike between the British champs and the journos with tonsillitis, and I paid for it.
I ended up winning the time trial quite comfortably (15 km in 19'28, 2nd in my cat was Martin Ganglberger 20'42, 2nd in the younger cat was Fred Backelandt 20'21) but it wasn't one of my better rides. I did the first half at normal '10' pace, but the second half 20W down. Normally I can go harder in the second half, but that's the lost fitness. Otherwise it wouldabeen 20sec quicker...
Still, a fourth rainbow jersey was tops. And it fit me, so I can actually wear the thing.
The road race was a shocker. I didn't have the legs, for a start. But worse was I didn't have any cornering skills so I could barely stick with the bunch on what was an insanely technical circuit through Kranj. 3.2km long, incorporating 11 corners, a pedestrian mall with marble sections, a really tight single lane descent with a 20% hairpin near the bottom, which led onto a wooden(!) bridge, followed by a sharp left hander then up a short but steep climb. And another hairpin at the top.
Each lap, I'd lose a bit on the downhill hairpin, take the bridge too fast, nearly catch on, then brake for the corner off the bridge and start the climb 20m off the back. Horrible. Once I did move up and just got in the way, so I moved back down.
The race was won by Eros Maccioni, who also won in Salzburg a couple of years ago. He didn't race the TT and I knew he'd be the one to watch. He got away with Herr Ganglberger at halfway and that was that.
We had a great night afterwards though. The Belgians had brought beer with them.
I stayed on in Slovenia for a few more days, and we travelled from one end of the country to the other. We started up near the Hungarian border and stayed at an amazing 'boutique hotel' called the Sonca Hisa. Primoz was doing a story on it so we got a free night. Five rooms, all differently styled with an amazing attention to detail, very comfortable, excellent food for brekky, lovely staff, even a massage (although I don't think the masseur did my back much good). 250 euros a night...
Then we moved to Lake Bohinj in the Julian Alps. Also stunning and we did some very hilly riding. The place we stayed at was the polar opposite to the Sonca Hisa but still very friendly.
I'll upload some pics when I get connected.
I came back on the Thursday then went to Normandy on Friday with Robin for the Duo Normand. You can read the full story on that here. Brilliant event, hopefully we can do it again next year.
The results
Journo world's: 1st in the time trial, 6th in the road race. I had four days (out of five) off the bike between the British champs and the journos with tonsillitis, and I paid for it.
I ended up winning the time trial quite comfortably (15 km in 19'28, 2nd in my cat was Martin Ganglberger 20'42, 2nd in the younger cat was Fred Backelandt 20'21) but it wasn't one of my better rides. I did the first half at normal '10' pace, but the second half 20W down. Normally I can go harder in the second half, but that's the lost fitness. Otherwise it wouldabeen 20sec quicker...
Still, a fourth rainbow jersey was tops. And it fit me, so I can actually wear the thing.
The road race was a shocker. I didn't have the legs, for a start. But worse was I didn't have any cornering skills so I could barely stick with the bunch on what was an insanely technical circuit through Kranj. 3.2km long, incorporating 11 corners, a pedestrian mall with marble sections, a really tight single lane descent with a 20% hairpin near the bottom, which led onto a wooden(!) bridge, followed by a sharp left hander then up a short but steep climb. And another hairpin at the top.
Each lap, I'd lose a bit on the downhill hairpin, take the bridge too fast, nearly catch on, then brake for the corner off the bridge and start the climb 20m off the back. Horrible. Once I did move up and just got in the way, so I moved back down.
The race was won by Eros Maccioni, who also won in Salzburg a couple of years ago. He didn't race the TT and I knew he'd be the one to watch. He got away with Herr Ganglberger at halfway and that was that.
We had a great night afterwards though. The Belgians had brought beer with them.
I stayed on in Slovenia for a few more days, and we travelled from one end of the country to the other. We started up near the Hungarian border and stayed at an amazing 'boutique hotel' called the Sonca Hisa. Primoz was doing a story on it so we got a free night. Five rooms, all differently styled with an amazing attention to detail, very comfortable, excellent food for brekky, lovely staff, even a massage (although I don't think the masseur did my back much good). 250 euros a night...
Then we moved to Lake Bohinj in the Julian Alps. Also stunning and we did some very hilly riding. The place we stayed at was the polar opposite to the Sonca Hisa but still very friendly.
I'll upload some pics when I get connected.
I came back on the Thursday then went to Normandy on Friday with Robin for the Duo Normand. You can read the full story on that here. Brilliant event, hopefully we can do it again next year.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
BTTC: win-win
Dunnit!The British time trial championships has been run and won (it's important to have a punchy opening line like that). Brad Wiggins showed exactly why he is one of the best riders in the world, getting round the 50.4km course in 1:02:15. Hutch didn't get as close as I thought he would, and clocked 1:04:34 for second. But even that was a lot faster than Chris Newton's third in 1:06:14. Pretty impressive time gaps.
Wiggins rocks for taking something like this seriously, and it was great to see him in action. He is superb. Liz and I were watching on the first corner (3.8km into the lap; it was one lap of 16.1km and two laps of 17.2km) and by 20km Wiggins was just 10sec behind his two minute man, Matt Bottrill and already 43sec up on Hutch.
Women's winner Emma Pooley ascends the Col du Botolph Claydon
Wendy Houvenaghel, second woman
Michael Hutchinson in full flight
Brad Wiggins takes the corner at Calvert
...with Matt Bottrill in towOne lap later (37.2km), it was somewhat of a surprise to see Bottrill almost glued to Wiggins' wheel. When you're passed in a TT, you have to drop back to 25m behind whoever passes you. If you manage to find the strength to re-pass, or the guy in front blows up, then they have to sit 25m behind you. Somehow I don't think Bottrill re-passed Wiggo on lap 2. And given how many observers were stationed out on the course, it was suicidal of Bottrill to stay so close to Wiggins. Maybe that's what he wanted, because he got DQ'd.
It was humbling to see Wiggins in action. I worked out that based on my ride over two laps, I could have done around 1:08:30 - over six minutes behind Wiggo and four minutes behind Hutch (again). This is what an extra 100 or so watts will do for you.
But still, I had good reason to be proud of my ride. I clocked 45'09 for 33.3km to win the masters category. Result! Not just the 35-40yr age group, but every age group, which was a real surprise. Then again, last year I was over a minute off the pace of everyone but I've been consistently quicker over every distance this year so it did make sense.
In my age group, Steve Golla was second with 45'57 so there were no 'what ifs' luckily. And Ben did a great ride to finish second in the A group with 45'49 behind Danny Axford (45'14). So we both moved up one or two steps on our respective podiums compared to last year. It was a great result for Chippenham and both of us were very chuffed.
On the podium with Steve Golla (L, 2nd) and Darren Barclay (R, 3rd)
Ben (L) on the podium with Danny Axford in top spot and Dave Crawley (R) in thirdI found the course a bit slower than I expected, probably because of the wind. It was against us on the first two legs, then across for the third leg, then cross/tail for the last one. So it never really felt easy. The road surface was quite good but it was rarely dead flat. We constantly had to deal with changing gradients and it was hard to go really fast at any point.
I had a bit of a moment on the second lap, bowling down the narrow back section at 44km/h and seeing one, then two, then three, then four and maybe even five tractors, although I lost count by then, coming towards me! There was a big farm on that part of the course and I feared this would happen. Bad luck to get so many though. I slowed to 25km/h, squeezed past each of them on the gravel, prayed I didn't puncture and resumed. After downloading the file later, I worked out it cost me six seconds which was annoying but it didn't make any appreciable difference.
Pacing was very good again - another improvement over last year. I took the first lap fairly steadily and lifted it on the second, which seemed to work. Power wise, I averaged 323W/330 normalised, which was one of my best rides of the season. In fact, only the Chippenham hilly in March, which I did with a recently torn calf(!), was better: 325W/333NP for 54min. Maybe not having everything going smoothly is good, because I had a raging sore throat all weekend and I've still got it.
Couple of pics at Sarah Brooke Photography: here and here.
Monday: The doc said it was a virus. Argh! Of all weeks to get sick. I could barely swallow on Monday night so I'm taking it easy, drinking lots, gargling with disprin etc. If it doesn't get better by Thursday, I'm not going to Slovenia.
Wednesday update: I saw another doc, who confirmed it was tonsilitis and gave me some penicillin. He reckons I should be fine by Saturday so I will go. Maybe just do the TT though.
Finally, I receieved a 'welcome to TalkTalk' letter today (phone/broadband connection is still weeks off). That's what I call customer service.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Cut off
Internet is limited thanks to the muppets at TalkTalk cutting me off without my say so. Grr. They blamed BT for taking over the line illegally, but when I put in an official complaint to Ofcom (telco watchdog) there was no line seizure. Buggered if I know what happened, although I didn't hold back when TalkTalk sent me a survey to fill in...
Three weeks to get my line back, six weeks for broadband. And yep, I'm going with TalkTalk again because they're cheap :-) Unfortunately they can't just reconnect me. The good news is that they won't charge me the £60 connection fee. That's very generous of them.
Racing-wise, I went up to Hull with Stu Dodd for the Team Swift Charity 10. It was a quality field, the best outside the national 10 with 20 riders having done sub-20min rides previously. We done good: I was fourth in 19'45 and Stu 5th in 19'49. Hutch won it in 18'02 - again four seconds outside comp record (Wiggins, 17'58).
Stu and I were very happy, especially as the locals said it wasn't a really fast day because of the strong crosswind. Most of them went 0'30-1'00 slower than their best times on that course. But my power numbers confirmed it was a good ride.
The trip was also worthwhile to meet some new folks and to eat fish 'n chips in Newport.
That leads onto the next fixture, which is the British TT champs in Botolph Claydon, near Bicester. I'm not going up against the elites, although it is tempting to see how I'd go against the likes of Brad Wiggins and Hutch. Instead I'll have another tilt at the Masters B (35-40) category. Got second last year and would love to go one better this year. We'll see.
The course is on quiet but good roads with a couple of small climbs. It's nearly two laps of a 17.2km loop for a total of 33.4km (elite men do three laps for 50.6km). I reckon a time of 45'00 would be enough to win any of the masters categories, but we shall see. I think Wiggo will win the elites with something close to 1:02, with Hutch not too far behind.
More anon.
Three weeks to get my line back, six weeks for broadband. And yep, I'm going with TalkTalk again because they're cheap :-) Unfortunately they can't just reconnect me. The good news is that they won't charge me the £60 connection fee. That's very generous of them.
Racing-wise, I went up to Hull with Stu Dodd for the Team Swift Charity 10. It was a quality field, the best outside the national 10 with 20 riders having done sub-20min rides previously. We done good: I was fourth in 19'45 and Stu 5th in 19'49. Hutch won it in 18'02 - again four seconds outside comp record (Wiggins, 17'58).
Stu and I were very happy, especially as the locals said it wasn't a really fast day because of the strong crosswind. Most of them went 0'30-1'00 slower than their best times on that course. But my power numbers confirmed it was a good ride.
The trip was also worthwhile to meet some new folks and to eat fish 'n chips in Newport.
That leads onto the next fixture, which is the British TT champs in Botolph Claydon, near Bicester. I'm not going up against the elites, although it is tempting to see how I'd go against the likes of Brad Wiggins and Hutch. Instead I'll have another tilt at the Masters B (35-40) category. Got second last year and would love to go one better this year. We'll see.
The course is on quiet but good roads with a couple of small climbs. It's nearly two laps of a 17.2km loop for a total of 33.4km (elite men do three laps for 50.6km). I reckon a time of 45'00 would be enough to win any of the masters categories, but we shall see. I think Wiggo will win the elites with something close to 1:02, with Hutch not too far behind.
More anon.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Sub 50
Going fast in Wales© Adele WouldRight, there's been more racing done at this end. No wins but a couple of good results worth reporting.
Firstly, the WTTA 100. I clocked 3:41:22 to finish second behind James Wall (3:40:15), who also beat me in the Bristol South 50 a few months ago. A slight disappointment, but it was still a very good time for my first outing over that distance.
It was tough, I'm telling ya. But I learned quite a lot about pacing and fuelling, which I have detailed in this blog on BikeRadar.
I'd love to go sub-3:40 for a 100 and I am seriously considering a 12 hour next year. But I'll see how much success I have with a new saddle...
Secondly, and this was an even bigger deal for me. I broke 50 minutes for 25 miles in the Hirwaun Wheelers 25 on Sunday. 49'58 for second behind the untouchable Michael Hutchinson (46'01), who nearly beat Chris Boardman's 16 year-old comp record of 45'57. That is seriously seriously quick and he was a bit annoyed with himself for not pushing it a bit more, because he didn't think it was possible. I wish he had because then I could have said I was second behind him on the day it happened. He is going to give Brad Wiggins a run for his money in the British champs in a couple of weeks time...
In the women's, juniors and overflow event (there were over 200 riders in total), Julia Shaw broke Yvonne McGregor's 13 year old comp record with a stunning time of 51'08. That was the 6th best time of the day too, meaning she beat most of the men. She's 44 and seems to be getting quicker each year. What an awesome rider.
I should explain that the course we raced on, the R25/3H is considered the fastest in the country. It's in Wales, near Glyn-neath, and you start at the top of a pretty sizeable hill (200m altitude) that you don't have to come back up. Reason being is that according to UK time trialling rules, the start and finish of a 25 have to be within 1.5 miles of each other. Just about all the fast courses have gift downhill starts, but this takes the cake.
Although it feels a bit like cheating, it is within the rules and everyone is in the same boat. But what I really enjoyed about it is that there was very little traffic, unlike a lot of other 'fast' courses. It's mostly on a dead straight dual carriageway down the Vale of Neath and back. Two roundabouts each way (plus a couple at the start) and just two sliproads. So it's very safe.
The weather had been looking a bit iffy all week but thankfully the forecast was correct and the front that hit west Wales stopped at the Black Mountains, right next to where we started. It was raining a little at the top but once we hit the main road it was nice and dry.
The start was surprisingly difficult. It was on a side road and at the bottom of a small hill. I found it hard to believe that this was the start of the fastest course in the country. In fact, because of the rain and the headwind, I averaged less than 40km/h (25mph) for the first 2.7km, until I hit the roundabout that led onto the main road.
Then it got fast. With the wind behind me, I picked up speed and was already close to 60km/h by the time the road started to dip down the bank. It got steeper and I wasn't getting a lot of use out of my 53x11, but that didn't matter. I found I could hit a certain speed (74km/h) before I'd get a bit of front wheel wobble, so I backed it off. But one of my regular TTing mates Stu Dodd said he hit 88km/h in a full tuck. Ouch that's quick.
I got to the bottom having now done the first 9km in just 10'30. Nice. The beauty of this course is that you keep descending gradually until the turnaround, so I kept it in the 12 and 13 the whole way.
I reached 15 miles (24.1km) in 28'30 - still nearly 51km/h (31.7mph) average. It meant I had to do the last 10 more uphill miles in 21'29 to break 50 minutes, although I didn't know it because I had the computer on distance rather than time.
On the way back, I realised that the wind wasn't going to push me back up the hill. In fact, it was against me because it was blowing down the valley. At least it wasn't too strong, otherwise I would have been sunk.
Fortunately I'd saved enough gas for the return leg and I really needed it. At times, when the road dipped, it was nice and fast and I could get into the 13 for a while. But I knew the last bit was uphill so I kept holding back.
I got to the 20 mile (32.2km) mark, which was just before the roundabout at Resolven, in 39'12. That meant I needed to do the last 5 miles in 10'47 - climbing 50m with a crosswind. The first two miles from the roundabout were nice and quick, completed in 4'05. But then the road kicked up and it got tougher.
I was still in control of things and it wasn't an agonising effort to get to the finish. It was just damned hard. The last 3 miles seemed to drag on and on, partly because I was going slower and partly because I was pushing it harder. In the end, I managed that stretch in 6'41 at 330W - well above average - so I did have the reserves to drive it home.
I crossed the line, sat up, pressed the button onto time and saw '49'57'. But I know the PowerTap takes a few seconds to get going at the start, so I had no idea whether I'd broken the magic 50 minute mark or not. I rode back up the hill, convinced that I'd probably just missed it. In 25 mile TTing, the difference between 50'00 and 49'59 is psychologically huge, even though it's nothing in speed terms. It represents a barrier that very few riders can break.
We had to wait a long time before the results were finalised, because someone had to bring them up from the finish to the HQ. I sat in the hall talking to Robin, Stu, Alan and Charles from Leisure Lakes, seeing how they'd done. Stu had done a 51'44, Alan a 51'50, and neither seemed particularly pleased although they did finish top 10. Charles had to be satisfied with a 53, while Robin thought he'd just dipped under 53 - he ended with 52'44, over 1'20 better than his previous best. I still had no idea.
Finally, they wrote the times down. Stu was first over to the board and he immediately turned around with a big smile and shook my hand. I was so relieved and happy! It's extremely rare that I get that, but this was a real barrier to break. I think I'd have to go back to the journo world's in 2006 to repeat that emotion.
I checked what Hutch had done and it was an amazing 46'01, just four seconds off Boardman's very impressive mark. Boardman set that in 1993 on a flatter course but with a hell of a lot of traffic on it. Even he commented on it at the time.
Then I realised I'd finished second behind the legendary Hutch, and was extremely satisfied. There were a lot of quick riders there and I'd beaten the rest of them. Only six other riders have gone under 50 minutes this year, so I've shot up the rankings a bit. If I had to do the national 25 again now, I'd likely finish top 15 or 20, rather than a disappointing 43rd (Hutch put over six minutes into me that day).
We left before Shaw's record ride was confirmed, but she's another talent who has gotten much faster this year. Do not underestimate the importance of being aero on a bike.
What next? Going up to Hull this weekend for a go on a fast 10 course, the V718. Then the British champs, where I stand an even chance of winning the masters 35-40 (would be awesome), then the journo worlds in Slovenia, where I would be very surprised if anyone beat me in the TT.
Finally, the beetroot didn't do a thing (I'm just as fast without it) but at least I didn't explode.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Moving forward and going the extra mile
Here's another dollop of bilge because it's Monday, I'm at the end of my holidays and I'm about to go out for pint(s).
Weather remains fine, 20+ degs and sunny with some rain. But this August is already better than last so I'm not complaining.
Thus it as a perfect morning for the Severn RC 25 on the U17 yesterday: a light northerly wind as opposed to a stiff southwester. This course is the latest incarnation of the U18C, which had to be truncated due to traffic lights being installed at Falfield. The U18C was theoretically a faster course, because a) it had a big ski-slope start that you didn't have to come back up at the finish, b) if it was a SW wind you had more tailwind than head and c) you only had to do one lap of the fun but slow Breadstone-Wanswell-Berkeley circuit.
Facts
Last August on the U18C, I did 56'00 to win this event. It was a pretty ordinary day - rain and a strong SW wind, and I probably lost 15-20sec by taking the corners extra slowly. I averaged 334W.
Yesterday on the U17, I did 53'44 to win on a much better day, averaging 323W. Course record by a long shot. Yes I'm riding a different frame and have tweaked my position a bit but my wheels and tyres were pretty much the same as I used last year (pic here). I'm still going to call it a two minute improvement, especially when I compare to other riders who have done both courses a few times.
It could be that the PowerTap is a bit off - I've changed the hub batteries but need to do some calibration tests to make sure. I've done one with a 2.5kg weight (a track pump of all things) hung off the pedals and the measured torque is 10% lower than it should be. But you're meant to use heavier weights to test it, so we'll see. I'm curious but it's not that important: I'll take speed improvements over power improvements any day.
Beetroot facts
According to the latest Scientific Facts, beetroot juice makes you go faster. By that I mean improves your endurance by up to* 16%. It's more effective than training, they say. Imagine if you did both? It goes without saying that I am now investing heavily in tins of beetroot for upcoming fixtures.
Caveat: I'm slightly wary of the fact they called it a double blind test and used blackcurrant juice as a placebo. OK so it's red but I'd hazard a guess that most people could tell the difference between it and beetroot juice.
The mechanism by which it works is not known, but the researchers took a stab at it and reckoned it might be something to do with the nitrates in beetroot juice forming nitric oxide in your body and reducing the oxygen cost of exercise. As some of you may recall, I did a PhD on coal combustion and nitric oxide is a nicht nicht, a big pollutant. So just ask yourself: is this vegetable powered performance enhancement worth the immense cost to the environment? Answer: yes, probably.
But bugger the beetroot, why not get the nitrate in some other form? Like nitric acid? It might burn your mouth a bit and you may well explode if it makes contact with any ammonia in your system, but think of all the extra energy you'll get!
*Clearly includes the number 0.
Weather remains fine, 20+ degs and sunny with some rain. But this August is already better than last so I'm not complaining.
Thus it as a perfect morning for the Severn RC 25 on the U17 yesterday: a light northerly wind as opposed to a stiff southwester. This course is the latest incarnation of the U18C, which had to be truncated due to traffic lights being installed at Falfield. The U18C was theoretically a faster course, because a) it had a big ski-slope start that you didn't have to come back up at the finish, b) if it was a SW wind you had more tailwind than head and c) you only had to do one lap of the fun but slow Breadstone-Wanswell-Berkeley circuit.
Facts
Last August on the U18C, I did 56'00 to win this event. It was a pretty ordinary day - rain and a strong SW wind, and I probably lost 15-20sec by taking the corners extra slowly. I averaged 334W.
Yesterday on the U17, I did 53'44 to win on a much better day, averaging 323W. Course record by a long shot. Yes I'm riding a different frame and have tweaked my position a bit but my wheels and tyres were pretty much the same as I used last year (pic here). I'm still going to call it a two minute improvement, especially when I compare to other riders who have done both courses a few times.
It could be that the PowerTap is a bit off - I've changed the hub batteries but need to do some calibration tests to make sure. I've done one with a 2.5kg weight (a track pump of all things) hung off the pedals and the measured torque is 10% lower than it should be. But you're meant to use heavier weights to test it, so we'll see. I'm curious but it's not that important: I'll take speed improvements over power improvements any day.
Beetroot facts
According to the latest Scientific Facts, beetroot juice makes you go faster. By that I mean improves your endurance by up to* 16%. It's more effective than training, they say. Imagine if you did both? It goes without saying that I am now investing heavily in tins of beetroot for upcoming fixtures.
Caveat: I'm slightly wary of the fact they called it a double blind test and used blackcurrant juice as a placebo. OK so it's red but I'd hazard a guess that most people could tell the difference between it and beetroot juice.
The mechanism by which it works is not known, but the researchers took a stab at it and reckoned it might be something to do with the nitrates in beetroot juice forming nitric oxide in your body and reducing the oxygen cost of exercise. As some of you may recall, I did a PhD on coal combustion and nitric oxide is a nicht nicht, a big pollutant. So just ask yourself: is this vegetable powered performance enhancement worth the immense cost to the environment? Answer: yes, probably.
But bugger the beetroot, why not get the nitrate in some other form? Like nitric acid? It might burn your mouth a bit and you may well explode if it makes contact with any ammonia in your system, but think of all the extra energy you'll get!
*Clearly includes the number 0.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Tardiness
This latest bilgespot update is tardy, I know. It's that time of year again (July/August), and that is as good an excuse as any. To resume somewhere near where I left off:
XI) El Tour is done and the best man won by a mile. Actually it was closer to two miles. Enjoyed: Astana battling it out amongst themselves (is there a test for EGO yet?); Brad Wiggins in general; Mark Cavendish and Fabian Cancellara. Did not enjoy: the boredom of everything else, including several of the mountain stages.
Contador and Lance will at least be on different teams next year. And Cadel looks to have missed two of his best chances of winning the Tour ('07 and '08). He flaked this year.
XII) It's been a wet July: It rained 24 days out of 31, unlike June where it only rained on 12 days. Checking my records, that's actually worse than last year! August is looking a little better: last year it rained 26/31 days but given that the rest of this week is forecast to be dry, we should be OK. Break out the BBQs.
XIII) I did our club's open 25 mile TT on the U46B a couple of weeks ago. It was a bit of a blowy morning and I couldn't really get going in the first half, clocking 20'45 for the first 10 miles. But I got to the turnaround and remembered how to pedal properly (pull the pedals round, don't stomp on them) and managed the last 10 miles in 20'02 for a total time of 51'04. Only 15sec off my best, which was set on a perfect day in June.
It was also easily good enough to win, which was rather satisfying both from a personal and a club point of view. Julian Jenkinson was second in 51'46 and Ben Anstie third in 52'53. Robin did a 54'32 so we won the team prize quite comfortably.
I've now won two 25s on that course. Last year I only managed 5th (52'02 in June) and 3rd (53'46 in the Chippenham open on a tough day in July). So that is progress.
XIV) Last weekend I did a stint as part of the Triathlon Plus "A" team in the London Triathlon, which is reckoned to be the biggest in the world (10,000 participants). We dun good and beat 400 other teams to win the Olympic Team Relay by five minutes. The Triathlon Plus B team (Chris, Alistair and editor Liz) also did well and finished 30th. Result!
It was an Olympic distance event, so 1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run. The swim was in the crystal clear waters of the Thames. I pitied the swimmers. The run was only 9.4km and basically squiggled around the ExCel centre in Docklands.
The bike course started and finished in ExCel and was 4x10km laps on closed roads. Although it was just up and back along the same road, it was quite technical with 72 roundabouts, turns and turnarounds. Plus narrow bits and hundreds of other riders on the course. And a transition.
Our swimmer, Paul Button, who publishes T3 magazine, was third out of the water. He would have been first or second but he got lost. Yes, it is possible. Our transition wasn't bad - I had to get the timing chip from Paul, then run in cycling shoes(!) until I reached the timing mat, then hop on the bike and go. A couple more people dashed past me on the way out but couldn't clip in as fast as I could so it was pointless. I had passed everyone bar one (who had a really quick swimmer) at the bottom of the exit ramp. I got him before the first turnaround after 2.5km.
The first lap was nice because there weren't too many others from previous events on the course. But then it got busier as more riders from the team relay got out. Apart from the narrow sections, where there was only room for two side by side, I had a pretty good run. In fact, the motorcycle marshals (draft busters) slowed me up more than anything because they would pull out behind a group, I would catch them and have to thread my way past.
I was keeping tabs on the other leading riders and saw I was making fairly good time. But there was one guy who I saw towards the end of my first lap who was stopped on the median strip adjusting his front wheel. I remembered passing him so it meant he was at least 4km behind me. Then I saw him in exactly the same spot doing the same thing on the next lap. 'Poor lad, race is over for him' I thought. So I was shocked when he came in second, a few minutes behind me! But he was later DQ'd for outrageously cutting the course.
I finished my ride in 56'49, which is not particularly quick for 40km - even on closed roads - but the number of turns on the course knocked the edge off my speed. My power was quite good though.
I ran back into ExCel and got a massive and unexpected cheer as the first cyclist home. Then I nearly fell over in my cycling shoes and that was the end of that. Still, I had plenty of time to hand off to Phil Mosley, our runner and coaching editor on Triathlon Plus. He did the fourth fastest run split (31'37) but didn't really have to try because we were so far ahead. We finished in 1:55:27 to win by about five minutes! Definitely a buzz!
Tri Plus B had a solid performance too to come in 30th with 2:20:52. Jolly well done chaps and chapess. We will PR this to the max.
Results and pics (search for 10866 and 10867)
It would have been nice to do the course that the elites did on Sunday, which was shorter (38km) only two laps - one up to Westminster and one to Billingsgate - and involved far fewer turns. The best elite did 54'37, which is about the same speed as I averaged, and they could draft. Of course, they wouldn't have been going flat out like I was, because of the run afterwards. And there was no way I could have got out of the water in 18 minutes! Try an hour...
XV) The recent successes have had something to do with getting it right in training, and no longer being bothered by my torn muscle. During July I went back to my winter training plan (with a few races thrown in) and it's worked well. My power is back up, not quite to peak, but most importantly I'm consistently getting faster. As of this morning, I'm over three minutes quicker over the same 39km TT course as I was at the start of July, and five minutes faster than I was in February. Yes conditions are better now but it's still an improvement.
I've got plenty of races coming up where I can benefit from this - a couple of 25s, a 100, a very fast 10, the British champs, the journo worlds, Duo Normand and a few more after that. I should be getting a superfast bike to test as well...
(Swine flu permitting, of course)
XI) El Tour is done and the best man won by a mile. Actually it was closer to two miles. Enjoyed: Astana battling it out amongst themselves (is there a test for EGO yet?); Brad Wiggins in general; Mark Cavendish and Fabian Cancellara. Did not enjoy: the boredom of everything else, including several of the mountain stages.
Contador and Lance will at least be on different teams next year. And Cadel looks to have missed two of his best chances of winning the Tour ('07 and '08). He flaked this year.
XII) It's been a wet July: It rained 24 days out of 31, unlike June where it only rained on 12 days. Checking my records, that's actually worse than last year! August is looking a little better: last year it rained 26/31 days but given that the rest of this week is forecast to be dry, we should be OK. Break out the BBQs.
XIII) I did our club's open 25 mile TT on the U46B a couple of weeks ago. It was a bit of a blowy morning and I couldn't really get going in the first half, clocking 20'45 for the first 10 miles. But I got to the turnaround and remembered how to pedal properly (pull the pedals round, don't stomp on them) and managed the last 10 miles in 20'02 for a total time of 51'04. Only 15sec off my best, which was set on a perfect day in June.
It was also easily good enough to win, which was rather satisfying both from a personal and a club point of view. Julian Jenkinson was second in 51'46 and Ben Anstie third in 52'53. Robin did a 54'32 so we won the team prize quite comfortably.
I've now won two 25s on that course. Last year I only managed 5th (52'02 in June) and 3rd (53'46 in the Chippenham open on a tough day in July). So that is progress.
XIV) Last weekend I did a stint as part of the Triathlon Plus "A" team in the London Triathlon, which is reckoned to be the biggest in the world (10,000 participants). We dun good and beat 400 other teams to win the Olympic Team Relay by five minutes. The Triathlon Plus B team (Chris, Alistair and editor Liz) also did well and finished 30th. Result!
It was an Olympic distance event, so 1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run. The swim was in the crystal clear waters of the Thames. I pitied the swimmers. The run was only 9.4km and basically squiggled around the ExCel centre in Docklands.
The bike course started and finished in ExCel and was 4x10km laps on closed roads. Although it was just up and back along the same road, it was quite technical with 72 roundabouts, turns and turnarounds. Plus narrow bits and hundreds of other riders on the course. And a transition.
Our swimmer, Paul Button, who publishes T3 magazine, was third out of the water. He would have been first or second but he got lost. Yes, it is possible. Our transition wasn't bad - I had to get the timing chip from Paul, then run in cycling shoes(!) until I reached the timing mat, then hop on the bike and go. A couple more people dashed past me on the way out but couldn't clip in as fast as I could so it was pointless. I had passed everyone bar one (who had a really quick swimmer) at the bottom of the exit ramp. I got him before the first turnaround after 2.5km.
The first lap was nice because there weren't too many others from previous events on the course. But then it got busier as more riders from the team relay got out. Apart from the narrow sections, where there was only room for two side by side, I had a pretty good run. In fact, the motorcycle marshals (draft busters) slowed me up more than anything because they would pull out behind a group, I would catch them and have to thread my way past.
I was keeping tabs on the other leading riders and saw I was making fairly good time. But there was one guy who I saw towards the end of my first lap who was stopped on the median strip adjusting his front wheel. I remembered passing him so it meant he was at least 4km behind me. Then I saw him in exactly the same spot doing the same thing on the next lap. 'Poor lad, race is over for him' I thought. So I was shocked when he came in second, a few minutes behind me! But he was later DQ'd for outrageously cutting the course.
I finished my ride in 56'49, which is not particularly quick for 40km - even on closed roads - but the number of turns on the course knocked the edge off my speed. My power was quite good though.
I ran back into ExCel and got a massive and unexpected cheer as the first cyclist home. Then I nearly fell over in my cycling shoes and that was the end of that. Still, I had plenty of time to hand off to Phil Mosley, our runner and coaching editor on Triathlon Plus. He did the fourth fastest run split (31'37) but didn't really have to try because we were so far ahead. We finished in 1:55:27 to win by about five minutes! Definitely a buzz!
Tri Plus B had a solid performance too to come in 30th with 2:20:52. Jolly well done chaps and chapess. We will PR this to the max.
Results and pics (search for 10866 and 10867)
It would have been nice to do the course that the elites did on Sunday, which was shorter (38km) only two laps - one up to Westminster and one to Billingsgate - and involved far fewer turns. The best elite did 54'37, which is about the same speed as I averaged, and they could draft. Of course, they wouldn't have been going flat out like I was, because of the run afterwards. And there was no way I could have got out of the water in 18 minutes! Try an hour...
XV) The recent successes have had something to do with getting it right in training, and no longer being bothered by my torn muscle. During July I went back to my winter training plan (with a few races thrown in) and it's worked well. My power is back up, not quite to peak, but most importantly I'm consistently getting faster. As of this morning, I'm over three minutes quicker over the same 39km TT course as I was at the start of July, and five minutes faster than I was in February. Yes conditions are better now but it's still an improvement.
I've got plenty of races coming up where I can benefit from this - a couple of 25s, a 100, a very fast 10, the British champs, the journo worlds, Duo Normand and a few more after that. I should be getting a superfast bike to test as well...
(Swine flu permitting, of course)
Monday, July 13, 2009
1190
Time flies, you cannot, their flight is imperceptible.
VI) I managed 10 miles in 1190 seconds in the Las Vegas Institute of Sport 10 (great name). That is 19'50 at 48.8km/h in the new money, which means that I broke the 20 minute barrier :-) And I came second in a field of ~170 riders, which I did not expect at all. Didn't get close to the winner (Rich Bradley, 19'34) but that's OK.
It was a reasonably fast day: warmish and windy, but the wind was behind you coming back, which is when you need it. Also because I started at 6:21pm, there was still a bit of traffic on the road. That is one reason why these events are so quick - probably worth 1-2 km/h compared to a traffic free event. That's not to say it was really busy, but even one car coming past you every 10 seconds makes a difference.
In power terms, I had a good ride: 340W average, which is +10W on my previous best 10 this year. I'm looking for another 15-20W, but I'm slowly getting there.
For comparison, Brad Wiggins (a few kg heavier than me) did a 10 on one of the fastest courses in the country at Levens. He clocked 18'00, just two seconds slower than his own comp record. And to do that, he needed 490W(!) according to his team manager Jonathan Vaughters. And a front wheel that was too deep according to CTT regulations, but that would have only given him a couple of seconds.
So I just need to boost my power by 40% and I'll be a contendah in the Tour de France ;-)
VII) I backed up last Tuesday to do the Dursley 25.1, round 10 of the hardrider series. I was 11sec quicker than last year (for 15W less power) but this time Ben got the better of me by just one second! That balances things out after I beat him by a second in the Somer Valley hardrider event. Pretty funny that we're that close - in power terms that's about 0.3W.
What that means is that I'm probably the leader in the hardrider series, having now done six races. I really need to do one more of the last three races and finish top three to secure it, because I only finished 7th in one of my six races. Strangely, despite missing several, I'm in a better position than last year because the wins have been shared around between Ben, Gavin Poupart, Dave Kiddell, Chris Madge and Rob Lyne.
VIII) El Tour is interesting this year, despite the likelihood of an Astana 1-2 (it ain't over until it's over though). In fact, it's the battle between Lance and Contador that is creating the drama. I'm still tipping Contador but you should never discount Lance in the Tour, no matter how old he is.
If you want to know how good the pros are at descending, check out this video of Fabian Cancellara chasing back on after a puncture. 4:05-4:25 is incredible.
IX) Had a nice visitation from Ma for a few days, involving various fine dining options. Bath is OK if you know where to go. And pretty ordinary if you don't.
X) Rode across Salisbury Plain yesterday and didn't get blown up or run over by a tank. There was one bit that I thought was public road but it very likely wasn't. I won't be doing that again, although it did make a nice change.
VI) I managed 10 miles in 1190 seconds in the Las Vegas Institute of Sport 10 (great name). That is 19'50 at 48.8km/h in the new money, which means that I broke the 20 minute barrier :-) And I came second in a field of ~170 riders, which I did not expect at all. Didn't get close to the winner (Rich Bradley, 19'34) but that's OK.
It was a reasonably fast day: warmish and windy, but the wind was behind you coming back, which is when you need it. Also because I started at 6:21pm, there was still a bit of traffic on the road. That is one reason why these events are so quick - probably worth 1-2 km/h compared to a traffic free event. That's not to say it was really busy, but even one car coming past you every 10 seconds makes a difference.
In power terms, I had a good ride: 340W average, which is +10W on my previous best 10 this year. I'm looking for another 15-20W, but I'm slowly getting there.
For comparison, Brad Wiggins (a few kg heavier than me) did a 10 on one of the fastest courses in the country at Levens. He clocked 18'00, just two seconds slower than his own comp record. And to do that, he needed 490W(!) according to his team manager Jonathan Vaughters. And a front wheel that was too deep according to CTT regulations, but that would have only given him a couple of seconds.
So I just need to boost my power by 40% and I'll be a contendah in the Tour de France ;-)
VII) I backed up last Tuesday to do the Dursley 25.1, round 10 of the hardrider series. I was 11sec quicker than last year (for 15W less power) but this time Ben got the better of me by just one second! That balances things out after I beat him by a second in the Somer Valley hardrider event. Pretty funny that we're that close - in power terms that's about 0.3W.
What that means is that I'm probably the leader in the hardrider series, having now done six races. I really need to do one more of the last three races and finish top three to secure it, because I only finished 7th in one of my six races. Strangely, despite missing several, I'm in a better position than last year because the wins have been shared around between Ben, Gavin Poupart, Dave Kiddell, Chris Madge and Rob Lyne.
VIII) El Tour is interesting this year, despite the likelihood of an Astana 1-2 (it ain't over until it's over though). In fact, it's the battle between Lance and Contador that is creating the drama. I'm still tipping Contador but you should never discount Lance in the Tour, no matter how old he is.
If you want to know how good the pros are at descending, check out this video of Fabian Cancellara chasing back on after a puncture. 4:05-4:25 is incredible.
IX) Had a nice visitation from Ma for a few days, involving various fine dining options. Bath is OK if you know where to go. And pretty ordinary if you don't.
X) Rode across Salisbury Plain yesterday and didn't get blown up or run over by a tank. There was one bit that I thought was public road but it very likely wasn't. I won't be doing that again, although it did make a nice change.
Monday, June 29, 2009
The news in brief
I) It's heating up around here. 29 degs by the end of the week, which almost qualifies as warm.
II) I managed the Dave Lloyd (240km + 30km to Wrexham station!) in a tad over 9 hours this year, including 5km going off course 'cos someone had turned a sign around... It only rained lightly for four hours this year. A biggish feature will make it into Cycling Plus.
III) The Dave Lloyd was on Sunday and I felt as though I'd been nailed to the bed on Monday (didn't ride). Tuesday was a bit better and on Wednesday I did the club 25 mile champs. I managed to get around in 55'36 to win - a bit slower than last time (55'13), similar power, but the wind was in the opposite direction, so the start was 5km of headwind instead of tailwind. Ben was second in 56'14 and Simon Snowden third in 58'52.
IV) I did the Bristol South 50 on a warm but calm Saturday evening. Started at 6:40pm and finished approx 1:44:05 later. Good - a new club record and better than my 1:45:19 on that course last year - but alas not good enough to do better than fourth. Only 291W average though, which was a little disappointing. I'd have needed a bit over 300 to win.
But I'm aiming to peak a little later this year - last year I was knocking out 335-340W/hour in July and August, but tailed off a little in Sept. This year I'd prefer to have a stronger September, so will do some proper training in July. We shall see! I have seemingly more than made up for the lack of power with aero improvements, which is promising.
V) Been busy.
II) I managed the Dave Lloyd (240km + 30km to Wrexham station!) in a tad over 9 hours this year, including 5km going off course 'cos someone had turned a sign around... It only rained lightly for four hours this year. A biggish feature will make it into Cycling Plus.
III) The Dave Lloyd was on Sunday and I felt as though I'd been nailed to the bed on Monday (didn't ride). Tuesday was a bit better and on Wednesday I did the club 25 mile champs. I managed to get around in 55'36 to win - a bit slower than last time (55'13), similar power, but the wind was in the opposite direction, so the start was 5km of headwind instead of tailwind. Ben was second in 56'14 and Simon Snowden third in 58'52.
IV) I did the Bristol South 50 on a warm but calm Saturday evening. Started at 6:40pm and finished approx 1:44:05 later. Good - a new club record and better than my 1:45:19 on that course last year - but alas not good enough to do better than fourth. Only 291W average though, which was a little disappointing. I'd have needed a bit over 300 to win.
But I'm aiming to peak a little later this year - last year I was knocking out 335-340W/hour in July and August, but tailed off a little in Sept. This year I'd prefer to have a stronger September, so will do some proper training in July. We shall see! I have seemingly more than made up for the lack of power with aero improvements, which is promising.
V) Been busy.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Go faster stripes
I like time trialling because it feeds my numerical obsession. But sometimes it can be confusing. Pinning down why you're fast on a particular day when you're not on another should be a matter of power and aerodynamics, but sometimes there are things that you can't explain easily.
I've done two 25 milers in the last week. Both were largely on dragstrip-type dual carriageway courses, both had a moderate amount of traffic and wind, similar air pressure, and I averaged exactly the same power for both (314W).
One was the nationals, where I did 54'49 for 43rd. The other was the Dursley 25 on Saturday evening, where I flew around to win in 50'49 - a new personal best and club record, and I think the second fastest time ever on the U46B (Richard Prebble has done 50'02 on it). Interestingly, my old PB of 52'02 was set on the same course last year in June with almost the same power output (315W).
The other interesting thing is that I put 1'30-1'50 into riders who beat me or finished close to me at the nationals. Had I done that in Norwich, I'd have been top 15. So there was a relative gain as well as an absolute one, but for no extra power. What gives?
Some of the absolute gain is explainable. The nationals course was about 0'30-1'00 slower because of the two sets of right hand turns and the roundabout that I had to slow for each lap 'cos of traffic. Plus it was a headwind/tailwind at the nationals and about 12 degrees, whereas it was a crosswind and 18 degrees in the Dursley event. Crosswinds are faster when you've got an aero frame and disk, 'cos of the sail effect. What's that worth? It'll have to be another 2'00, but I suspect I'm being generous.
I made a couple of equipment changes too: I pumped up the tyres to ~140psi instead of ~110 (only good if you've got good roads). I finally got to use my newly purchased Zipp 808 with a Planet X FMB tubular on it - definitely quicker than my usual Zipp 404 + clincher. The tyre/wheel combination makes a lovely singing sound as you ride along. Unfortunately it didn't drown out the song that was going through my head: Hit Me Baby One More Time, by the much misunderstood chanteuse Britney Spears. Don't ask me how that got there 'cos I don't know.
I also bought a Specialized aero bottle, which although it was tilted to one side probably provided a bit of a fairing compared to a normal bottle. I got some new Pearl Izumi shoe covers - a bit better than my rather tatty lycra ones. And I mounted my computer on the top tube, which was more aero but resulted in a bruised left knee 'cos I kept hitting it on the upstroke. Bit of a fail there.
Finally I was riding in new shoes and had abstained from alcohol for a whole week. Shocking I know. But neither seemed to affect my power output, which is a Good Thing.
So that's the other 1'00-1'30 in absolute and relative terms. Well, it'll have to be.
Pacing wise, from a power perspective I was about the same in the Dursley as I was at the nationals. Speed wise, I seemed to get faster in the Dursley despite dropping power, so I dunno what was going on there 'cos the traffic would have been getting lighter towards the end of my ride (I started at 6pm, finished at 6:50). But I do remember in the first 8km I was getting used to riding the 808 at speed (it's deeper so it wobbles more in a crosswind), so would have been putting out more power than necessary. On the second lap I'd figured out how to stop it moving around so much.
My splits were nice and even: 10miles/16.1km in 20'18, 12.5miles/20.1km in 25'25, 15miles/24.1km in 30'34, 25 miles/40.2km in 50'49. So the last 10 miles was about the same as the first 10, allowing for the standing start.
It was nice to win against a full field anyway, and points to some faster times later in the year. Also good to see Robin do his first race for Chippenham (54'06), as well as 13 year-old Luke Davies knock four minutes off his best to clock 1'05'14. He reckons he's raced six times in the last eight days, so it's obviously knocking him into shape.
Next up: the Dave Lloyd Mega Challenge next weekend (jeez I hope it doesn't rain again). It's now 240km and finishes at the top of a steep hill. Plus I'll have to ride to Wrexham station afterwards, so it could be a 270km day.
The weekend after that, I'm doing a 50 mile TT (a similar course to yesterday's 25), then the next week a 10, again on a similar course. The aim is to go under 20 minutes for that 10...
I've done two 25 milers in the last week. Both were largely on dragstrip-type dual carriageway courses, both had a moderate amount of traffic and wind, similar air pressure, and I averaged exactly the same power for both (314W).
One was the nationals, where I did 54'49 for 43rd. The other was the Dursley 25 on Saturday evening, where I flew around to win in 50'49 - a new personal best and club record, and I think the second fastest time ever on the U46B (Richard Prebble has done 50'02 on it). Interestingly, my old PB of 52'02 was set on the same course last year in June with almost the same power output (315W).
The other interesting thing is that I put 1'30-1'50 into riders who beat me or finished close to me at the nationals. Had I done that in Norwich, I'd have been top 15. So there was a relative gain as well as an absolute one, but for no extra power. What gives?
Some of the absolute gain is explainable. The nationals course was about 0'30-1'00 slower because of the two sets of right hand turns and the roundabout that I had to slow for each lap 'cos of traffic. Plus it was a headwind/tailwind at the nationals and about 12 degrees, whereas it was a crosswind and 18 degrees in the Dursley event. Crosswinds are faster when you've got an aero frame and disk, 'cos of the sail effect. What's that worth? It'll have to be another 2'00, but I suspect I'm being generous.
I made a couple of equipment changes too: I pumped up the tyres to ~140psi instead of ~110 (only good if you've got good roads). I finally got to use my newly purchased Zipp 808 with a Planet X FMB tubular on it - definitely quicker than my usual Zipp 404 + clincher. The tyre/wheel combination makes a lovely singing sound as you ride along. Unfortunately it didn't drown out the song that was going through my head: Hit Me Baby One More Time, by the much misunderstood chanteuse Britney Spears. Don't ask me how that got there 'cos I don't know.
I also bought a Specialized aero bottle, which although it was tilted to one side probably provided a bit of a fairing compared to a normal bottle. I got some new Pearl Izumi shoe covers - a bit better than my rather tatty lycra ones. And I mounted my computer on the top tube, which was more aero but resulted in a bruised left knee 'cos I kept hitting it on the upstroke. Bit of a fail there.
Finally I was riding in new shoes and had abstained from alcohol for a whole week. Shocking I know. But neither seemed to affect my power output, which is a Good Thing.
So that's the other 1'00-1'30 in absolute and relative terms. Well, it'll have to be.
Pacing wise, from a power perspective I was about the same in the Dursley as I was at the nationals. Speed wise, I seemed to get faster in the Dursley despite dropping power, so I dunno what was going on there 'cos the traffic would have been getting lighter towards the end of my ride (I started at 6pm, finished at 6:50). But I do remember in the first 8km I was getting used to riding the 808 at speed (it's deeper so it wobbles more in a crosswind), so would have been putting out more power than necessary. On the second lap I'd figured out how to stop it moving around so much.
My splits were nice and even: 10miles/16.1km in 20'18, 12.5miles/20.1km in 25'25, 15miles/24.1km in 30'34, 25 miles/40.2km in 50'49. So the last 10 miles was about the same as the first 10, allowing for the standing start.
It was nice to win against a full field anyway, and points to some faster times later in the year. Also good to see Robin do his first race for Chippenham (54'06), as well as 13 year-old Luke Davies knock four minutes off his best to clock 1'05'14. He reckons he's raced six times in the last eight days, so it's obviously knocking him into shape.
Next up: the Dave Lloyd Mega Challenge next weekend (jeez I hope it doesn't rain again). It's now 240km and finishes at the top of a steep hill. Plus I'll have to ride to Wrexham station afterwards, so it could be a 270km day.
The weekend after that, I'm doing a 50 mile TT (a similar course to yesterday's 25), then the next week a 10, again on a similar course. The aim is to go under 20 minutes for that 10...
Sunday, June 07, 2009
National 25: not there yet
Average. That's probably the best description of my ride in the national 25 today. Not great, not bad, in fact pretty much bang on form. But still slow.
I clocked 54'49 for 43rd on a windy day, but when you consider the winner's time was a scorching 48'23, it wasn't much to blog home about. I'm still lacking about 20W compared to peak fitness, which is annoying because I feel as though I've been getting there in the last few weeks. Obviously not yet.
But there were a positive things: it didn't actually rain while I was racing, which was a bloody miracle considering the dire forecast. It absolutely chucked it down not long after I finished, and I'm so glad I wasn't out there in it.
It was also good to race against the best riders in the country. They were pretty much all there, bar a few. And while I really would have liked a top 30, I realise that I need to be in really decent shape to get it. Maybe next year.
Hutch was amazing. He did the first half in 25'10. That's 48km/h average mostly into a stiff headwind! By contrast, my halfway split was 29'10. That means he was taking 20 seconds per mile out of me! At least it was only 10 sec/mile on the way back.
Put it this way, even in top form I would have been only a minute faster. Top 25, yes, but an enormous gulf behind Hutch. I'll have to live with that. I may tone down the beer drinking activities for a bit until I get fit.
A good experience nonetheless and Ben (54'37 - 37th), his dad and I had a fun weekend. Norfolk is flat.
BikeRadar Live last weekend was brilliant. A lot of work but it was so nice to see so many people (8500) come along and look like they were enjoying themselves. Bigger, better, more next year.
I clocked 54'49 for 43rd on a windy day, but when you consider the winner's time was a scorching 48'23, it wasn't much to blog home about. I'm still lacking about 20W compared to peak fitness, which is annoying because I feel as though I've been getting there in the last few weeks. Obviously not yet.
But there were a positive things: it didn't actually rain while I was racing, which was a bloody miracle considering the dire forecast. It absolutely chucked it down not long after I finished, and I'm so glad I wasn't out there in it.
It was also good to race against the best riders in the country. They were pretty much all there, bar a few. And while I really would have liked a top 30, I realise that I need to be in really decent shape to get it. Maybe next year.
Hutch was amazing. He did the first half in 25'10. That's 48km/h average mostly into a stiff headwind! By contrast, my halfway split was 29'10. That means he was taking 20 seconds per mile out of me! At least it was only 10 sec/mile on the way back.
Put it this way, even in top form I would have been only a minute faster. Top 25, yes, but an enormous gulf behind Hutch. I'll have to live with that. I may tone down the beer drinking activities for a bit until I get fit.
A good experience nonetheless and Ben (54'37 - 37th), his dad and I had a fun weekend. Norfolk is flat.
BikeRadar Live last weekend was brilliant. A lot of work but it was so nice to see so many people (8500) come along and look like they were enjoying themselves. Bigger, better, more next year.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
First 10 of the year
I didn't think it'd be nearly June before I rode my first 10 mile TT this year, but there you go.
On Saturday I did the Bristol South 10 on what local Mike Hallgarth calls the 'superfast' U7B course. He doth jest a little, although is faster now after the resurfacing of some of the worst bomb crater sections.
I did it because I didn't enter the national 10 in time 'cos I thought I'd still be injured. But no. I also needed the training. It's 45km each way so it's excellent for that purpose. And it was nice and sunny, over 20 degrees(!!) and not too windy.
Last August, when I was in pretty decent shape, I managed 21'30 on this course in similar conditions in a Dursley club event. Today I dun 20'50, which was easily good enough to win and was only six seconds off the course record. It hurt - I went out a bit too quick and paid for it on the way back - but it was worth it.
The slightly odd thing was, I averaged 15W lower than I did last August and yet was 40sec quicker. That's a massive difference. Unless my Powertap is playing up - and I don't think it is because I don't feel fully fit yet - I've made some serious aerodynamic gains from the new frame (which I'm reviewing) and position. I've noticed that I can ride a lot faster into headwinds, which is important. My climbing's still a bit rubbish, but I'm working on that.
That bodes well. Because once I get proper fit, that's another 20-30sec in a 10 and 1'30 in a 25.
I've had similar experiences in other opens: the WTTA 30 and Somer Valley 29, both averaged 310W but I was a lot faster than expected. I also averaged 310W in the club 25 last Wednesday, not going flat chat and still getting around in 55'13. That's not bad for a quiet course on dead roads (the course record is a bit under 55 minutes).
So if I can get back to cranking out 335-340W for an hour, and 350-360W for 20 minutes, I should expect some very quick times. I have already started training to that end and hopefully will get there by the end of June. Doors and fell beasts permitting, of course. Thinks: must watch out for Nazgul in Morrisons.
On Saturday I did the Bristol South 10 on what local Mike Hallgarth calls the 'superfast' U7B course. He doth jest a little, although is faster now after the resurfacing of some of the worst bomb crater sections.
I did it because I didn't enter the national 10 in time 'cos I thought I'd still be injured. But no. I also needed the training. It's 45km each way so it's excellent for that purpose. And it was nice and sunny, over 20 degrees(!!) and not too windy.
Last August, when I was in pretty decent shape, I managed 21'30 on this course in similar conditions in a Dursley club event. Today I dun 20'50, which was easily good enough to win and was only six seconds off the course record. It hurt - I went out a bit too quick and paid for it on the way back - but it was worth it.
The slightly odd thing was, I averaged 15W lower than I did last August and yet was 40sec quicker. That's a massive difference. Unless my Powertap is playing up - and I don't think it is because I don't feel fully fit yet - I've made some serious aerodynamic gains from the new frame (which I'm reviewing) and position. I've noticed that I can ride a lot faster into headwinds, which is important. My climbing's still a bit rubbish, but I'm working on that.
That bodes well. Because once I get proper fit, that's another 20-30sec in a 10 and 1'30 in a 25.
I've had similar experiences in other opens: the WTTA 30 and Somer Valley 29, both averaged 310W but I was a lot faster than expected. I also averaged 310W in the club 25 last Wednesday, not going flat chat and still getting around in 55'13. That's not bad for a quiet course on dead roads (the course record is a bit under 55 minutes).
So if I can get back to cranking out 335-340W for an hour, and 350-360W for 20 minutes, I should expect some very quick times. I have already started training to that end and hopefully will get there by the end of June. Doors and fell beasts permitting, of course. Thinks: must watch out for Nazgul in Morrisons.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Back to it
What a boring title.
The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley. I had planned to take it easy for a few weeks after discovering how to stretch my calf, but I improved so quickly that I succumbed and raced in the Somer Valley 29 on Sunday.
Done alright too, as I won in 1:06:17, beating Ben by just 1 second (sorry mate). And together with Rob Gough, we won the team prize. Simon Snowden might be a bit annoyed at that because he wasn't that far behind Rob, but it's only the top three that count for team prizes. Given that there were four of us in the top eight, we could have won the team prize with any combination.
But the win wasn't the important thing. For me it felt good to finally be able to put equal force through both legs without deleterious effects. The stretching I've been doing over the past week has made a huge difference as I don't feel any pain any more. It's not 100 percent yet because I'm still getting a little bit of swelling around the Achilles, but being pain-free is a big plus.
I've entered the National 25 mile championship on June 7, which is being held near Thetford, not that far from where I was born. Now I've got to get back to March fitness, which hopefully shouldn't take too long. I am still at 310W for these longer events, which is OK because it means I haven't lost any power since the WTTA hilly a month ago despite having two weeks off the bike. By comparison, I was at 325W in the Chippenham hilly in March, and that was only 10 days after I'd torn my calf muscle! And I got to 335W last summer.
So it's back to basics: some weekend long rides, a few midweek club races and an open 10 in a week and a half. I was going to do the National 10 but didn't enter it in time, as I thought I wouldn't be fit enough. Not to worry, I prefer 25 miles anyway...
The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley. I had planned to take it easy for a few weeks after discovering how to stretch my calf, but I improved so quickly that I succumbed and raced in the Somer Valley 29 on Sunday.
Done alright too, as I won in 1:06:17, beating Ben by just 1 second (sorry mate). And together with Rob Gough, we won the team prize. Simon Snowden might be a bit annoyed at that because he wasn't that far behind Rob, but it's only the top three that count for team prizes. Given that there were four of us in the top eight, we could have won the team prize with any combination.
But the win wasn't the important thing. For me it felt good to finally be able to put equal force through both legs without deleterious effects. The stretching I've been doing over the past week has made a huge difference as I don't feel any pain any more. It's not 100 percent yet because I'm still getting a little bit of swelling around the Achilles, but being pain-free is a big plus.
I've entered the National 25 mile championship on June 7, which is being held near Thetford, not that far from where I was born. Now I've got to get back to March fitness, which hopefully shouldn't take too long. I am still at 310W for these longer events, which is OK because it means I haven't lost any power since the WTTA hilly a month ago despite having two weeks off the bike. By comparison, I was at 325W in the Chippenham hilly in March, and that was only 10 days after I'd torn my calf muscle! And I got to 335W last summer.
So it's back to basics: some weekend long rides, a few midweek club races and an open 10 in a week and a half. I was going to do the National 10 but didn't enter it in time, as I thought I wouldn't be fit enough. Not to worry, I prefer 25 miles anyway...
Monday, May 04, 2009
Sliding doors
I was going to start with a quote from Wikipedia about causality and how it's funny who (and what) you bump into, and whether it matters. But it would necessitate too much explanation so I won't bother.
I'm just going to point to Schrödinger's cat instead. Conceived in 1935, I reckon there's a pretty bloody good chance that it's dead now. So we can ignore all that bollocks about quantum superposition of wavefunctions and just use common sense. Namely, if we wait long enough, things will sort themselves out. More or less. Sometimes they may need a little help.
For example, me calf injury. With the aid of the Internet, I've finally figured out what sort of stretches I should be doing to regain the full range of motion in my soleus.
The most common calf stretch is one where you put your hands against a wall, put one leg forward and keep the rear leg straight. This stretches the gastrocnemius, which is the biggest calf muscle. The smaller soleus is the one that sits between the gastrocnemius and the tendon. To stretch this, you need to bend your rear leg while keeping both heels flat on the ground.
So I've started doing that for 5x15 seconds, three times a day, and it appears to be helping. Plus massage, plus wearing a pressure band, plus acupuncture (not really convinced), plus light to moderate riding, minus nurofen. I should pay another visit to the physio too, although I wish he'd told me about the right stretches early on in the piece.
This weekend I've been able to ride virtually pain free with the help of the pressure bandage. I can also climb steep hills, as long as I do them relatively slowly and favour the good leg. I feel twinges when I'm climbing stairs but I can walk OK, again with the bandage.
I'll continue to take it easy this week. It's nice to be able to just ride without worrying about the next race, although the temptation to push it is strong.
Quick report on the Beacon RCC Little Mountain TT ('cos I need to write a blog on it for work): I rode my road bike and finished seventh in a time of 1:46:43, getting a prize for fastest roadman. Fantastic event, great course and I'll definitely be back.
Pics: Start, top of Ankerdine and presentation.
I'm just going to point to Schrödinger's cat instead. Conceived in 1935, I reckon there's a pretty bloody good chance that it's dead now. So we can ignore all that bollocks about quantum superposition of wavefunctions and just use common sense. Namely, if we wait long enough, things will sort themselves out. More or less. Sometimes they may need a little help.
For example, me calf injury. With the aid of the Internet, I've finally figured out what sort of stretches I should be doing to regain the full range of motion in my soleus.
The most common calf stretch is one where you put your hands against a wall, put one leg forward and keep the rear leg straight. This stretches the gastrocnemius, which is the biggest calf muscle. The smaller soleus is the one that sits between the gastrocnemius and the tendon. To stretch this, you need to bend your rear leg while keeping both heels flat on the ground.
So I've started doing that for 5x15 seconds, three times a day, and it appears to be helping. Plus massage, plus wearing a pressure band, plus acupuncture (not really convinced), plus light to moderate riding, minus nurofen. I should pay another visit to the physio too, although I wish he'd told me about the right stretches early on in the piece.
This weekend I've been able to ride virtually pain free with the help of the pressure bandage. I can also climb steep hills, as long as I do them relatively slowly and favour the good leg. I feel twinges when I'm climbing stairs but I can walk OK, again with the bandage.
I'll continue to take it easy this week. It's nice to be able to just ride without worrying about the next race, although the temptation to push it is strong.
Quick report on the Beacon RCC Little Mountain TT ('cos I need to write a blog on it for work): I rode my road bike and finished seventh in a time of 1:46:43, getting a prize for fastest roadman. Fantastic event, great course and I'll definitely be back.
Pics: Start, top of Ankerdine and presentation.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Progress report
I'm pleased to report that I'm on the mend after my door-related critical fail a couple of weeks ago. Head felt fine after a week and getting back on the bike helped.
12 days post-headbutt of roller door
But the more serious calf tear coupled with a swollen Achilles remains, although it's slowly mending. The week I spent on the couch basically did nothing for it, despite me doing all the icing/massaging/elevating I could be bothered doing. That ended up being quite a lot. As soon as I started walking again I could feel it and it got worse. Riding gently, even moderately hard was fine, but racing the Dursley Hilly was not.
I think it's because some movement is needed to get the blood flowing. But too much stretching or impact damages the muscle again. It's a fine line and I've definitely crossed it a few times in training and racing.
Back to the Dursley...
Last year I dun good and won it. And I think I would have had a decent chance of repeating that this year had I been fully fit, but it was not to be. The course was the full 45km with four big climbs (last year's was 36km and lost a climb). I'd recced it back in February in 1hr30 at a moderate pace, so figured a time of 1hr18 was doable at full speed.
Taking eight days off the bike knocked that idea on the head. From experience, I know when I take time off I tend to lose endurance before climbing speed so was a bit worried about whether I'd last the full 45km, especially with 35km to get up to Wootton-under-Edge. So I used some of the free energy drink that was on the cover of Tri Plus. I normally ride on water so I forgot that energy drinks usually need to be diluted well beyond the manufacturer's recommendations. I also didn't read the ingredients. I do not understand why they put aspartame in an energy drink...
The start was on a hill, but I rode it conservatively and didn't get too close to my usual TT heart rate. One down. Then a fast and occasionally tricky descent into Dursley (tick!) and past last year's start. Managed that in under 16 minutes with a bit of a headwind so given I did <1:03 last year, I figured 1:19-1:20 was possible today. If I could keep this speed up.
Crawley hill was next. It was six minutes of pain, a bit slower than last year but still OK. Then the descent of Frocester Hill (tick!) followed by a roundabout and a climb back up. I had Dave Kiddell two minutes behind me at the start, and he'd picked up some time when I clocked him on the return leg. But I'd put about 20 seconds into Chris Madge, who started six minutes in front of me. So I knew I was going OK but not flying.
Frocester Hill was manageable, 20 seconds slower than last year but I didn't feel that bad. Three down. At the top I was still on track for a sub 1:20, especially as there was a tailwind finish. Then the only part of the whole race I enjoyed, the nice undulating bit before the descent to the Sesley roundabout. I caught two riders on the descent but couldn't get past one so waited until we turned around back up the hill.
It was starting to hurt but I knew if I could make it to the top, I'd have the tailwind for the last 10km. Easy. As I climbed, I saw I'd put a good chunk of time into Dave Kiddell and was still 20 seconds ahead of Chris Madge. At the top I calculated I was about level with Rob Lyne - my 10 minute man who I'd seen when I was on the descent - who ended up finishing second by three seconds.
One more gulp of energy drink at the top and ... what's that? Oh dear. I feel queasy. No water for the last 10km. Maybe sneak one more sip in? Body says no.
I'd been looking forward to the tailwind but suddenly found out I was out of gas. Even the tiniest undulations that I'd stomped up last year reduced me to 53x23. Just hang on, not far to the finish.
One more sip at 5km to go. Bad idea. Very bad. Taste of chocolate muesli bar and Zipvit gel in my mouth. I tried to find a gear that I could roll without hurling. Nope. Just grind away, limit the damage. With about 1km to go I passed someone who I'd normally fly past, then completely blew and saw him roll past me again.
I could see the finish but I was more concerned with keeping my breakfast down. Luckily most of it had digested but not all. Blurgh. Stopped pedalling and dropped into the small chainring, absolutely crawling, eventually crossing the line at 25km/h instead of 45. Oh, one more retch for good luck. Thank goodness it was over. At least my ankle wasn't sore like it was at the end of the WTTA 29.
I'd done 1:22:06 and knew I'd lost any chance of winning but was surprised at how close the top placings were. Gavin Poupart won in 1:20:00 - an excellent result for him after puncturing last year. Then Rob Lyne in 1:20:03, followed by Chris Madge in 1:20:41. Derek Smetham, Rob Gough and finally Dave Kiddell had all finished ahead of me too. So not much more than two minutes between first and seventh. For a relatively long event too!
To compare, the gap between first and second in the WTTA 29 two weeks ago was 1'44, and that was done in a much quicker time. But the gap from second through ninth was also 1'44 so when you take me out of the equation it does make sense.
We did have the consolation of winning the team prize (me, Rob Gough and Ben Anstie) so that was something.
I was feeling rather poorly when I got back to the HQ but a cup of tea, a bit of cake and a Snickers picked me up and I felt good on the way home.
Funnily enough on Monday I was speaking to a colleague who'd put the same drink in his bottle as I'd used (hey it was free). It was just for his commute home but he said he nearly threw up at the top of a hill and was almost passed by an old lady.
I don't think I'll be using it again.
What next? I've entered a few races but I'm going to stop after this weekend's 64km Beacon RC Little Mountain TT. It should be a great event and I've been wanting to do it for over a year (made a promise to the organiser) but I'm going to have to scale back my ambitions and treat it a bit differently. To that end, I'm just going to take my road bike (there's a special roadman's category) in order to get a feel for the race and the course. Next year...
Then it's into full rehab mode. If I can continue riding lightly, that'll be fine. Then I will stay relatively sane.
I just wish I'd known what to do when I first tore it. Instead of resting, icing and elevating for the first 24 hours, I did 90km in the rain, a fair bit of walking, one-legged 'strengthening' exercises(!!!), carried a backpack and a bike bag back from Belgium and didn't see a physio until 10 days after I did it.
From what I've been reading, that wasn't the ideal way to treat a torn muscle.
I should take up stunt riding as it looks much safer. This video is brilliant. The bloke featured, Danny MacAskill, is going to be at BikeRadar Live at the end of May:
12 days post-headbutt of roller doorBut the more serious calf tear coupled with a swollen Achilles remains, although it's slowly mending. The week I spent on the couch basically did nothing for it, despite me doing all the icing/massaging/elevating I could be bothered doing. That ended up being quite a lot. As soon as I started walking again I could feel it and it got worse. Riding gently, even moderately hard was fine, but racing the Dursley Hilly was not.
I think it's because some movement is needed to get the blood flowing. But too much stretching or impact damages the muscle again. It's a fine line and I've definitely crossed it a few times in training and racing.
Back to the Dursley...
Last year I dun good and won it. And I think I would have had a decent chance of repeating that this year had I been fully fit, but it was not to be. The course was the full 45km with four big climbs (last year's was 36km and lost a climb). I'd recced it back in February in 1hr30 at a moderate pace, so figured a time of 1hr18 was doable at full speed.
Taking eight days off the bike knocked that idea on the head. From experience, I know when I take time off I tend to lose endurance before climbing speed so was a bit worried about whether I'd last the full 45km, especially with 35km to get up to Wootton-under-Edge. So I used some of the free energy drink that was on the cover of Tri Plus. I normally ride on water so I forgot that energy drinks usually need to be diluted well beyond the manufacturer's recommendations. I also didn't read the ingredients. I do not understand why they put aspartame in an energy drink...
The start was on a hill, but I rode it conservatively and didn't get too close to my usual TT heart rate. One down. Then a fast and occasionally tricky descent into Dursley (tick!) and past last year's start. Managed that in under 16 minutes with a bit of a headwind so given I did <1:03 last year, I figured 1:19-1:20 was possible today. If I could keep this speed up.
Crawley hill was next. It was six minutes of pain, a bit slower than last year but still OK. Then the descent of Frocester Hill (tick!) followed by a roundabout and a climb back up. I had Dave Kiddell two minutes behind me at the start, and he'd picked up some time when I clocked him on the return leg. But I'd put about 20 seconds into Chris Madge, who started six minutes in front of me. So I knew I was going OK but not flying.
Frocester Hill was manageable, 20 seconds slower than last year but I didn't feel that bad. Three down. At the top I was still on track for a sub 1:20, especially as there was a tailwind finish. Then the only part of the whole race I enjoyed, the nice undulating bit before the descent to the Sesley roundabout. I caught two riders on the descent but couldn't get past one so waited until we turned around back up the hill.
It was starting to hurt but I knew if I could make it to the top, I'd have the tailwind for the last 10km. Easy. As I climbed, I saw I'd put a good chunk of time into Dave Kiddell and was still 20 seconds ahead of Chris Madge. At the top I calculated I was about level with Rob Lyne - my 10 minute man who I'd seen when I was on the descent - who ended up finishing second by three seconds.
One more gulp of energy drink at the top and ... what's that? Oh dear. I feel queasy. No water for the last 10km. Maybe sneak one more sip in? Body says no.
I'd been looking forward to the tailwind but suddenly found out I was out of gas. Even the tiniest undulations that I'd stomped up last year reduced me to 53x23. Just hang on, not far to the finish.
One more sip at 5km to go. Bad idea. Very bad. Taste of chocolate muesli bar and Zipvit gel in my mouth. I tried to find a gear that I could roll without hurling. Nope. Just grind away, limit the damage. With about 1km to go I passed someone who I'd normally fly past, then completely blew and saw him roll past me again.
I could see the finish but I was more concerned with keeping my breakfast down. Luckily most of it had digested but not all. Blurgh. Stopped pedalling and dropped into the small chainring, absolutely crawling, eventually crossing the line at 25km/h instead of 45. Oh, one more retch for good luck. Thank goodness it was over. At least my ankle wasn't sore like it was at the end of the WTTA 29.
I'd done 1:22:06 and knew I'd lost any chance of winning but was surprised at how close the top placings were. Gavin Poupart won in 1:20:00 - an excellent result for him after puncturing last year. Then Rob Lyne in 1:20:03, followed by Chris Madge in 1:20:41. Derek Smetham, Rob Gough and finally Dave Kiddell had all finished ahead of me too. So not much more than two minutes between first and seventh. For a relatively long event too!
To compare, the gap between first and second in the WTTA 29 two weeks ago was 1'44, and that was done in a much quicker time. But the gap from second through ninth was also 1'44 so when you take me out of the equation it does make sense.
We did have the consolation of winning the team prize (me, Rob Gough and Ben Anstie) so that was something.
I was feeling rather poorly when I got back to the HQ but a cup of tea, a bit of cake and a Snickers picked me up and I felt good on the way home.
Funnily enough on Monday I was speaking to a colleague who'd put the same drink in his bottle as I'd used (hey it was free). It was just for his commute home but he said he nearly threw up at the top of a hill and was almost passed by an old lady.
I don't think I'll be using it again.
What next? I've entered a few races but I'm going to stop after this weekend's 64km Beacon RC Little Mountain TT. It should be a great event and I've been wanting to do it for over a year (made a promise to the organiser) but I'm going to have to scale back my ambitions and treat it a bit differently. To that end, I'm just going to take my road bike (there's a special roadman's category) in order to get a feel for the race and the course. Next year...
Then it's into full rehab mode. If I can continue riding lightly, that'll be fine. Then I will stay relatively sane.
I just wish I'd known what to do when I first tore it. Instead of resting, icing and elevating for the first 24 hours, I did 90km in the rain, a fair bit of walking, one-legged 'strengthening' exercises(!!!), carried a backpack and a bike bag back from Belgium and didn't see a physio until 10 days after I did it.
From what I've been reading, that wasn't the ideal way to treat a torn muscle.
I should take up stunt riding as it looks much safer. This video is brilliant. The bloke featured, Danny MacAskill, is going to be at BikeRadar Live at the end of May:
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Fail
As rest weeks go, I have to say I've had better ones. I'm currently nursing a nasty cut around my right eye, a result of riding into a closing roller door at work that I just didn't see. Could have been worse, could have been a lot better.
Recall the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark where Dr Jones just makes it under the vertical sliding door in the temple. He even manages to get his hat.
Unfortunately, my life does not follow Hollywood rules and I didn't make it under the door. Yes I had a hat on, but no it wasn't a helmet. Stupid, because it would have reduced the damage I sustained and I wear it every other time. Never again.
Briefly, it was a combination of ignoring the signs at the top of the ramp to dismount (cyclists hate walking, but it can be a dangerous ramp), expecting the roller door to be open (it usually is at that time of the morning, as long as the security guard was there, which he was), wearing dark glasses (although they probably saved me from more damage) and following another cyclist down the ramp (concentrating on the wrong moving object).
The other rider made it through and although I had five seconds, I simply didn't see the door closing until just before I slammed into it. I turned my head to the left and bam, down I went. Lots of blood and a sore head, but I didn't lose consciousness, could remember everything, didn't have eyesight problems - so thankfully no major symptoms of concussion.
As resident first-aider, John patched me up PDQ and his bandaging was so good that when the paramedics arrived shortly after, they didn't feel it necessary to change the dressing. Then it was off to hospital for stitches, with Justin Loretz keeping me company for want of something better to do. I got nine stitches, although I wasn't sure if they counted the two in the wound above my eyebrow - I suspect they did.
I was out of there by 12:30 and went back to work so people could keep an eye on me, spending the afternoon watching DVDs. Even managed to get out for a drink (non alcoholic) later on before spending the night at John's, just in case anything happened. Head injuries are serious!
Since then, it's been a rather boring and depressing period, mostly spent at home. I'll try to get the stitches out on Monday and start riding after that. The main positive is that my ankle feels a lot better, although it's hard to tell how good until I start riding and walking again.
Oddly enough, this year reminds me a bit of 2007, where I also had three crashes and got sick a couple of times - almost there already, and it's only April! Maybe it's the curse of the rainbow jersey...
Recall the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark where Dr Jones just makes it under the vertical sliding door in the temple. He even manages to get his hat.
Unfortunately, my life does not follow Hollywood rules and I didn't make it under the door. Yes I had a hat on, but no it wasn't a helmet. Stupid, because it would have reduced the damage I sustained and I wear it every other time. Never again.
Briefly, it was a combination of ignoring the signs at the top of the ramp to dismount (cyclists hate walking, but it can be a dangerous ramp), expecting the roller door to be open (it usually is at that time of the morning, as long as the security guard was there, which he was), wearing dark glasses (although they probably saved me from more damage) and following another cyclist down the ramp (concentrating on the wrong moving object).
The other rider made it through and although I had five seconds, I simply didn't see the door closing until just before I slammed into it. I turned my head to the left and bam, down I went. Lots of blood and a sore head, but I didn't lose consciousness, could remember everything, didn't have eyesight problems - so thankfully no major symptoms of concussion.
As resident first-aider, John patched me up PDQ and his bandaging was so good that when the paramedics arrived shortly after, they didn't feel it necessary to change the dressing. Then it was off to hospital for stitches, with Justin Loretz keeping me company for want of something better to do. I got nine stitches, although I wasn't sure if they counted the two in the wound above my eyebrow - I suspect they did.
I was out of there by 12:30 and went back to work so people could keep an eye on me, spending the afternoon watching DVDs. Even managed to get out for a drink (non alcoholic) later on before spending the night at John's, just in case anything happened. Head injuries are serious!
Since then, it's been a rather boring and depressing period, mostly spent at home. I'll try to get the stitches out on Monday and start riding after that. The main positive is that my ankle feels a lot better, although it's hard to tell how good until I start riding and walking again.
Oddly enough, this year reminds me a bit of 2007, where I also had three crashes and got sick a couple of times - almost there already, and it's only April! Maybe it's the curse of the rainbow jersey...
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Hard decision time
Rest. That means no riding at all, not much walking, lots of ice/elevation/anti-inflams and probably some beer.
Thus spake the physio, after looking at my MRI and consulting with a mate of his. Oh well, it has to be done or I'll go through the whole first part of the season with a torn muscle. I'm not enjoying it, despite being in reasonably decent form. Enjoyment is more important than winning races.
At the moment, if I train or race hard, then it takes a few days of nothing/light training to get back to where it was. This is not conducive to improvement, and I noticed another drop in power in today's WTTA hilly: 310 Watts/321 normalised.
So I was somewhat surprised that I won by 1'44.
Everyone was there, although some (including 2nd and =3rd place getters Chris Madge and Rob Lyne) had ridden in the Diamond HF 10 the evening before. But not Chris Birch (coming back from illness), nor Gavin Poupart (had a week off).
I was on a new bike though: a Specialized Transition. Maybe it is as fast as Specialized claim. I'll do a first impressions review on it on BikeRadar as part of a long term test.
My ride was slightly more measured than the Ba'ath hilly two weeks ago. The Mercy Seat plus Sinead O'Connor's rendition of House of the Rising Sun helped with the necessary focus. In a 47km TT, you have to keep a lid on things.
The course is relatively flat, even more so than the Chippenham hilly although it does use the same final 18km. There was a light easterly blowing, which would have slowed us down a bit because it was against us on the outward uphill leg.
Speaking of wind, there was one point, just under the M4 bridge before the turnaround at Wootton Bassett, where I thought I'd punctured. It felt like the rear tyre was going soft whereas in fact it was just me. I decided to ride up to the roundabout, stop and get a lift back with the marshal. I got there and it still felt squishy, but when I got out of the saddle and jumped on the back wheel a few times, it seemed OK. So I kept going. Back down the hill and yep, still squirming all over the place. But once under the bridge, it settled down.
It was just the wind blowing me around. This sort of thing really bakes your noodle in a TT.
But after that, I went flat out on the way back, so I don't think I lost much time. In the end it was 1:06:57 - not good enough for the course record (1:06:14) but clearly good enough to win.
I acquired some more trophies and cakes too. Very important.
Thus spake the physio, after looking at my MRI and consulting with a mate of his. Oh well, it has to be done or I'll go through the whole first part of the season with a torn muscle. I'm not enjoying it, despite being in reasonably decent form. Enjoyment is more important than winning races.
At the moment, if I train or race hard, then it takes a few days of nothing/light training to get back to where it was. This is not conducive to improvement, and I noticed another drop in power in today's WTTA hilly: 310 Watts/321 normalised.
So I was somewhat surprised that I won by 1'44.
Everyone was there, although some (including 2nd and =3rd place getters Chris Madge and Rob Lyne) had ridden in the Diamond HF 10 the evening before. But not Chris Birch (coming back from illness), nor Gavin Poupart (had a week off).
I was on a new bike though: a Specialized Transition. Maybe it is as fast as Specialized claim. I'll do a first impressions review on it on BikeRadar as part of a long term test.
My ride was slightly more measured than the Ba'ath hilly two weeks ago. The Mercy Seat plus Sinead O'Connor's rendition of House of the Rising Sun helped with the necessary focus. In a 47km TT, you have to keep a lid on things.
The course is relatively flat, even more so than the Chippenham hilly although it does use the same final 18km. There was a light easterly blowing, which would have slowed us down a bit because it was against us on the outward uphill leg.
Speaking of wind, there was one point, just under the M4 bridge before the turnaround at Wootton Bassett, where I thought I'd punctured. It felt like the rear tyre was going soft whereas in fact it was just me. I decided to ride up to the roundabout, stop and get a lift back with the marshal. I got there and it still felt squishy, but when I got out of the saddle and jumped on the back wheel a few times, it seemed OK. So I kept going. Back down the hill and yep, still squirming all over the place. But once under the bridge, it settled down.
It was just the wind blowing me around. This sort of thing really bakes your noodle in a TT.
But after that, I went flat out on the way back, so I don't think I lost much time. In the end it was 1:06:57 - not good enough for the course record (1:06:14) but clearly good enough to win.
I acquired some more trophies and cakes too. Very important.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Slowly
In some particular order, but perhaps not the most logical one:
The tendon/calf thingy is on the mend, although it's a few weeks off being 100%. MRI scan today said 'it's inflamed', which I could have determined without traipsing up to Cheltenham and paying a couple of hundred quid for the privilege. But I will get the full report in a few days, which should tell me more. It is definitely not as sore as it was a week ago, so that's a good thing.
I still managed to lose a little bit of fitness over the last two weeks, as I found out in the Ba'ath hilly on Sunday (it's 24 miles not 25.7). Chris Birch turned the tables and convincingly beat me by 41 seconds. My average power was 5-6W down on what it was at the Chippenham hilly, which doesn't sound much but it's ~25 seconds over an hour long event. Not enough to make the difference though. I would have needed to be at my 2008 summer level to win.
Nevertheless, I was pretty happy with my ride. My pacing wasn't bad, although it was hard to judge because I didn't really know how hard to go. I got over the hills OK but my heart rate was often in the mid-180s, which normally doesn't happen. I kept just enough in the tank for the final 6.5km drag (a 1% false flat) to the finish. It was a head/crosswind at that point and I somehow held 335W for the next 10 minutes. I hit 188 bpm and cramped in both thighs at the top. Perfect, really.
With 58'29 I snuck under the old course record, but by then Chris had already clocked 57'48. C'est la vie. In fact, five people went under the hour and it would have been six had Dave Kiddell not been held up by cows! Prior to Sunday, the course had been used just twice for this event, and only two people had beaten the hour on it. So the competition wasn't bad.
I also beat everyone who was beating me at this time last year and I got another 120 hardrider points 'cos Chris Birch isn't registered in the series. We won the team prize which meant I won two cakes, one of which I have not yet consumed.
Next race: WTTA hilly in a couple of weeks. I hope it doesn't snow like last year. I will avoid eating dodgy curries too. Saturday was better.
The tendon/calf thingy is on the mend, although it's a few weeks off being 100%. MRI scan today said 'it's inflamed', which I could have determined without traipsing up to Cheltenham and paying a couple of hundred quid for the privilege. But I will get the full report in a few days, which should tell me more. It is definitely not as sore as it was a week ago, so that's a good thing.
I still managed to lose a little bit of fitness over the last two weeks, as I found out in the Ba'ath hilly on Sunday (it's 24 miles not 25.7). Chris Birch turned the tables and convincingly beat me by 41 seconds. My average power was 5-6W down on what it was at the Chippenham hilly, which doesn't sound much but it's ~25 seconds over an hour long event. Not enough to make the difference though. I would have needed to be at my 2008 summer level to win.
Nevertheless, I was pretty happy with my ride. My pacing wasn't bad, although it was hard to judge because I didn't really know how hard to go. I got over the hills OK but my heart rate was often in the mid-180s, which normally doesn't happen. I kept just enough in the tank for the final 6.5km drag (a 1% false flat) to the finish. It was a head/crosswind at that point and I somehow held 335W for the next 10 minutes. I hit 188 bpm and cramped in both thighs at the top. Perfect, really.
With 58'29 I snuck under the old course record, but by then Chris had already clocked 57'48. C'est la vie. In fact, five people went under the hour and it would have been six had Dave Kiddell not been held up by cows! Prior to Sunday, the course had been used just twice for this event, and only two people had beaten the hour on it. So the competition wasn't bad.
I also beat everyone who was beating me at this time last year and I got another 120 hardrider points 'cos Chris Birch isn't registered in the series. We won the team prize which meant I won two cakes, one of which I have not yet consumed.
Next race: WTTA hilly in a couple of weeks. I hope it doesn't snow like last year. I will avoid eating dodgy curries too. Saturday was better.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
