April and May Update

Whilst I am fairly pragmatic about the number of readers of this blog being relatively small I know that infrequent updates do not help build an avid reader base and its been quite a long time since I last posted an update. There are 3 reasons for this - 1: busy riding quite a bit; 2: been doing boring things like decorating and 3: its been busy at work and needed many early starts and by the time I get home I am far too tired to think about adding to this blog.

However all this has not been without progress in the Midland Cyclist household since the last post back in early April when I went Mountain Biking at MudTrek in Wales.

The weather has improved and has been fairly consistently good (and in fact we also had a fantastic weekend at the start of May) and this has opened the opportunity to start to cycle to work more regularly. I have also been out some evenings for a short (~1 hour) ride now that the lighting up time is nearly 9pm, meaning I can be out and back safely without lights. Last year I'd have done many more commuting miles than I have done so far this year but being knocked off has still damaged my confidence to an extent. Some changes to my working week schedule has seen me needing to drive to Wolverhampton on a Thursday which was a previous standard commute day.

I have also ridden a lot of miles on my Giant Propel (in fact I have not ridden my Scott for the past 5 weeks or so). I am still really pleased with the Giant- fast, comfortable and eats the miles up:

However I managed a good mileage in both April and so far in May as well and finally seem to have rediscovered the level of fitness that I was consistently at all the way up to the accident. This was on the 80 mile ride up did "North of Meriden":

80.2 miles, 3200ft of ascent and 4:45 hours riding - I felt fairly tired with about 20 miles to go but a gel and cereal bar sorted that. What's more I rode the whole ride on the big ring, and whilst there were no real climbs its an undulating route so I took that as a positive as well.

In terms of the Giant - its surprisingly comfortable to ride. I have not got a particularly racy position in terms of saddle/handlebar drop, but its supple over all but the worst road surfaces. The Ui2 is excellent and has never missed a beat (apart from when I went out without checking the battery level and got left on the small ring). The brakes are superb - huge power from very minimal finger pressure only - its difficult to avoid locking the wheels at times. In terms of aero etc I have not really noticed huge benefits until you get over 25mph or so and this is difficult for me without going down hill! The deep section wheels (they are actually aluminium rims with a non-structural aero section) feel quicker (as an engineer I hate the words "feel" as its subjective). I have ridden in a reasonably windy day and they are best described as "interesting" and if you are not ready or prepared for it you can be pushed all over the road.

I popped out for a quick ride on Saturday 14 May 2016 and managed 26 miles at 17.8mph average, 142bpm average and this now reflects a much better level of performance and effort than even a month ago. Here's a (boring?) video I took of most of the route:

Today (15 May 2016) I rode with Noel and took it easy with a more social ride at Noel's pace:

The average Heart Rate of 131bpm was indicative of the lower level of effort needed.

Here's a few photos on the way and up the St Kenelms climb:

Here's a video of the approach to and ascent of St Kenelms Pass:

 

As I am going to France for 2 weeks cycling in June/July it looks like I am getting into good shape in time

Team JLR - STRAVA - Part 3

A big effort in cycling during the week together with a 60 mile run with Noel on Sunday meant I managed a 3rd in the distance Team JLR - Strava Club weekly rankings for 7-14 April 2014:

and 4th in the elevation gain:
 

Pretty chuffed as there are some serious mile munchers at JLR. I won't deny that the last few miles home of the extended commute on Friday were pretty tough.

The start of the Sunday run with Noel felt like I might struggle but after about 10 miles I was felling pretty strong. Noel was OK but is not really very bike fit at the moment so we had a pretty low pace for the 60 miles (16.1mph) and was pretty well blown by the end. However the gentler pace (compared to if I had gone out alone) was pleasant and I got home feeling pretty good and comfortable.

I am trying to do as many mile as possible as part of the Ride London preparation. On this rides basis I am confidant I'd feel pretty good if I did it next week and kept the pace low. I am aiming for around 5½hours so about 18mph, I'm not ready for this pace yet but feeling quietly confident at the moment. I have got the Dynamic Rides 100 in July as preparation and expect this to be a lot hillier and hence slower - but good timing 1 month before the Ride London event.

The Rawlinson Bracket 2014

I rode the Rawlinson Bracket last year and wrote a short article here: The Rawlinson Bracket. Last year it was miserable - the temperature was barely above freezing and I felt tired almost from the off. The last 5 miles or so was incredibly hard and luckily Noel towed me from Kineton back to the Heritage Centre.

This year was dry, reasonably warm but very windy. I started the ride again with Noel and the first 2-3 miles were very easy - we sailed along at over 25mph until a right turn when we were slap back into a headwind. I took the lead from Noel and thought he was behind but looked back and he'd fallen quite a way back. I slowed for him and he just about caught me but I then pushed on and dropped him again (unintentionally). My bike was squeaking away a bit and I spotted that the pre-load bolt for the crank set was loose so I stopped to fix it, and Noel caught me again, although this time we were just at the bottom of the Burton Dasset climb. Nobly Noel said he was feeling rubbish and said it was OK to gp on without him. I didn't really want to but could see Noel was struggling so pushed on alone.

I could bore you with a long and detailed mile by mile account, but I won't. The ride for me was much better than last year. The temperature was OK and I even unzipped my jacket on a number of occasions. The wind however was very very strong. It seemed the most of the time it was a headwind and on a few occasions I was on the 34T inner ring on the straight. However when there was a tailwind it was awesome - cruising effortlessly at 20-25mph in a big gear is tremendous fun and very rewarding. I made very short stop for more water but otherwise rode non-stop. Sunrising was as hard as ever made more so by the surface, but after the top it was pretty much a tailwind all the way to the finish.

I completed in 3:14:11 this year (average speed 16mph over 51.7 miles) compared to 3:22:15 last year (average speed 14.5 over 48.9 miles). More importantly I actually enjoyed it this year!

Steve Jefferies and the team did a really good job, and made a lot of improvements to the event this year including chip timing. Well done Steve.

Here's a couple of photos that some people took and uploaded to Flickr.

About 1/2 way up Edge Hill - just before the Right turn at the junction

At the top of Sunrising Hill

Clent Again - and a Coffee Stop

I went to Clent again recently, this time with Noel for the first time for 5 months or so. Based on the previous ride I planned the same but added another climb.

 

The new climb was from the A456 "Hagley Causeway" road up Hagley Wood Lane to the Nimmings Car Park and Cafe at the Clent Hills Visitor Centre. This was a tough climb. I went on the Scott and feel it would have been very tough on the Giant in its current "Winter" mode.

We stopped for a coffee at the cafe and then came back. I think there's one more climb to the Clent Hills, up Uffmoor Lane, so I'll go over again to do that one and then I feel Clent is out of my system for a while

Cycling up some Hills in South Wales

My wife and I had a long weekend away recently. She chose Wales (near Cardiff) as a location so we stayed in Port Talbot as its half way between Swansea and Cardiff. We actually stayed in the Best Western Aberavon Beach Hotel which was very pleasant, although the environs of Aberavon were not that great. Whilst we were away I negotiated an opportunity to take my bike and have a morning out.

I'd looked at the map and realised the Dragon Ride route that I'd ridden with Noel in 2010 was quite close, and whilst I was not going to do the whole route a possible few hours ride could be up and over the Bwlch and Rhigos climbs, and then back again. Whilst a there and back route was not quite as interesting as a circular route it would allow me to to these 2 reasonably big climbs from 2 directions. In 2010 we'd done the Bwlch from Pricetown (south to north), then down into Treorchy and up the Rhigos (again south to north), then down to the industrial park at Hirwaun, when we then turned off to the left towards Glynneath. The route I'd planned for this ride was from Pricetown to Hirwaun as in 2010, but then turn round and go back the same way - this would mean that I'd do 2 new climbs and 1 new descent - both the ascent and descent of Rhigos north to south and the ascent of Bwlch again north to south. The Bwlch descent north to south I'd done in 2010. Bwlch has 3 routes, and the other ascent (from Cymmer) I had also done in 2010 so this would mean I'd done all the climbs of these 2 hills.

In the 1st edition of 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs the Rhigos (from Hirwaun) is #98 and rates a 6/10 whilst the Bwlch (from Pricetown) is #99 and rates a 5/10.

I put the proposed route into Garmin Connect and got this:

The route came to just over 35 miles and about 4000ft of climbing. It also meant there were a number of bail out points as I could, for example, avoid the final descent of Rhigos and turn back having got to the top. A 35 mile route at home would be a non-ride - easy and nothing to to even think of, however the 4000ft of climbing was a significant challenge given the sort of riding I have been doing this year, but I was fully confidant that I could if necessary crawl up in the 34-28 gear.

In the week before we left the weather outlook was not great - rain and wind was forecast, but I knew I needed to wait and see when we got there. We drove down on Thursday afternoon and by keeping an eye on the weather it looked like the Saturday would be the best (or least worst) day. The weather was forecast to continue to deteriorate as the days went by to a huge storm forecast for the Monday.

I got up at 7am and had breakfast in the Hotel and then left just before 8am. It took about 35 minutes to drive down the M4 and to the Ogwen Valley. I wasn't exactly sure where I'd start from and didn't really want to start immediately at the bottom. I saw a free car park just leaving Ogmore Vale but was not sure how far it still was to the bottom of the Bwlch so carried on. About 2 miles further I reached Nant-y-Moel and found  small car park just beyond the Pricetown clock tower, so decided to leave the car there rather than drive back and start from the first car park. I was a little concerned that it was too close to the bottom but decided I'd go with the decision - if I was tired, getting back another 2 miles might be the straw that broke the camels back.

Helping me make that decision was the fact that the weather at this point was absolutely foul - very windy and the rain was throwing it down. The forecast had been for wind but with the rain clearing up so I sat in the car for 10-15 minutes or so and luckily the rain did clear, so I got changed ready to go. I was not quite sure what the weather was exactly going to be but I expected to get wet so I wore a base layer, short sleeve full zip top, long sleeve full zip wind proof top and my ever reliable pocket rocket waterproof. I also wore shorts but with leg warmers and 2 pairs of socks and my BBB neoprene overshoes.

It was only about 3 minutes ride to the foot of the Bwlch marked by the clock tower at the roundabout:

Google Streetview of the Pricetown Clock

The climb starts from the road in the centre of the picture. The first straight part really got my heart going (and I regretted a lack of a few more miles for a warm up) so I selected a low gear to get to the left turn where I remembered it flattened out for a while and then slowly climbed past the houses to the cattle grid. Crossing the cattle grid marks the climb proper as it rises through the trees and then sweeps to the left before the hairpin that climbs up the side of the climb and then to the top. By the time I reached the cattle grid I had warmed up and my heart rate was more where it should be and I felt OK. It was drizzling and the wind was very variable. In the shelter of trees or hills it was OK but suddenly you could get caught by a very strong gust.

I was also struggling with maintaining a sensible body temperature. I was getting too hot from the level of effort but when I unzipped my tops I was then too cold and getting wet. The best compromise seemed to be jerseys undone and pocket rocket done up.

Despite the temperature issue it was not really too hard to spin up to the top - I think I was in the 34-21 (3rd gear) almost all of the way up. When I got to the top rather than go straight on immediately I turned left as I'd remembered that the 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs claimed that the top was actually about 1/4-1/2 mile further on. It's pretty featureless on the top so I made a guess and claimed the top. When I turned around I realised how strong the wind was - I was being blown pretty strongly across the road in the gusts. I had some doubt then whether or not it was sensible to continue, but decided that I'd give it a go on the descent. It was less windy on the lea of the hill but still gusty enough to make caution the order of the day. This was a pity as the road is really fast and the bends sweeping. On the Dragon Ride I probably was in the high 30mph zone, on this descent it was more like high 20mph but riding on the brakes to keep the speed manageable - this was more than fast enough. The cattle grid at 25mph in the wet was also a tense moment. At the very bottom it was left and into Treorchy and Treherbert and a few miles to the bottom of the Rhigos - its an odd climb as one moment you are in a village with houses and the next its onto a steep climb. There are a couple of switchbacks in the first mile (and a green micro bikini top on the road!) and then the fairly level climb up the side of the valley to the top. The gradient is fairly constant ad again for almost all the time I was able to plod up in the 34-21 again. There were just a couple of points where I used 34-24 (2nd) and this was mainly due to the climb being more exposed to the wind. Despite being at the top it is still a bit of a drag across to the descent. It was still quite windy so the descent from the top was again cautious but when I got to the long straight stretch down to the roundabout for the Hirwaun industrial park it was a dead headwind and I got up to 40mph. Just before this I saw a few cyclist climbing including one chap in shorts and short sleeve top - must not feel the code!

At the roundabout I stopped to eat a cereal bar and then got ready to cycle back. Up to this point and I cycled the roads before but from now they were all new.

The climb back up Rhigos was quite hard. The wind was more of a headwind and the climb was longer. First there was the drag up the dead straight section then a left kink, then a right through some stunted trees up to the hairpin and the probably the steepest section to the top. I rode a lot more of this climb in the 34-24 to spin a bit. It was probably harder than the 2 climbs I'd already done but not difficult. The drag over the top was again windy and the very top of the descent also care but as I got lower the wind started to drop and I built more speed. I dropped back into Treherbert and Treorchy and set bat off for the Bwlch. Again the climb was not difficult but it was the last of the 4, and I was reasonably tired by this point. I think I did most of it in the 34-24 and was starting to think I might need the 34-28 given the wind, but when I pulled round the hairpin and could actually see the top I carried on in the 34-24. It was a tiring climb but I found it harder mostly because it was the last. I went straight over the top and down to Pricetown. It was really windy at the hairpin and it almost blew me to a complete stop. As I was rolling down through the tree zone I saw 2 cyclist climbing up who didn't look as though it was the most enjoyable ride!

I had had a daft few thoughts to climb up again but the weather was not great and I had been slower than planned and didn't want to abandon my wife for what would have taken another 40 minutes or so of very hard work, so at the clock tower it was back to the car, into dry clothes and back to Port Talbot.

Here's the Strava data:

I was quite pleased when I looked at the data - for the climbs I was in the top 1/3 of all the riders (at the bottom of the top 1/3 admittedly) but I was please with that. It was hard work but not a lungbuster, I had at least 1 gear in hand even at the hardest place, and again my Scott perfomed well and was comfortable.



We actually drove back home over the same route on the Monday so I irritated my wife and stopped to tale some photos.

At the Bwlch hairpin looking up the last straight section

At the Bwlch hairpin again

Looking at one of the waterfalls at the Bwlch hairpin

Bwlch hairpin waterfall again

The bigger of the Bwlch waterfalls

Looking at the hairpin (with wife and car!)

Self portrait

The Graffiti at the top of the Bwlch

The first part of the descent to Treorchy from the Bwlch

The road below

The straight part - the cattle grid just visible at the top of the picture

From the bottom looking up to the Bwlch

Rhigos south-north - about 2 miles from the top

The "cottage" thing about 1/2 way up

About 1/2 way up, the top is just visible

The south-north descent - the road follows the trees

The hairpin just visible

The left hander after the hairpin

Soggy Commute

On Friday 28 June for the first time ever I chose to commute in the rain.

Despite being a pretty committed cyclist doing 1000's of miles a year I rarely choose to start a ride in the wet so this was quite a step change.

On this occasion I had chosen not to cycle the day before (Thursday) as the forecast showed a bright start but turning to rain at home time. I was also a bit tired so on the Thursday I decided that I'd cycle if I woke in time without the alarm. I didn't so I drove and was pretty grateful given the quantity of rain at home time.

However the forecast for Friday was a damp/wet start but drying out, and Noel was going to ride in as well, suggesting that we rode back "the long way". So I set my alarm for 5.45am and when it went off I looked out of the window - it was raining but looked light so I decided I'd risk the cycle. After some breakfast and a shave I went to get my bike from the garage and whilst it was still raining it felt like light drizzle. However once I really got going it was clearly raining a lot harder than it had initially appeared.

By Hampton In Arden I was pretty wet - not cold as it was about 12Deg C, but wet. I'd put my overshoes on but these were overcome - mostly I think from water rolling down my legs. This was despite mudguards on my bike. My pocket rocket held up as my upper body was warm and dry - my arms seemed wet and I was unable to tell whether this was sweat or leaks around the wrists

It was also the first test of my Altura Pannier in terms of water proofing. I wrote in the review that it needed more time to assess how good it was. I am please to say that the contents remained completely dry even after an hour of heavy rain. It is important to get the lid to cover properly - the material at the top of the bag is a lighter duty nylon closed by a drawstring, and relies on the lid to provide maximum water resistance. When the bag is full (as mine often is) you need to make sure that the elasticated flap is pulled over the bag just on case

I have used the pannier about 20 times or so now and so far it still seems to be holding up. The only issue so far seemed to be the screw/bolt covers inside that wore the contents. The solution in my earlier review of using a piece of old Karrimat seems to be working.

More High Gear Work

Today I had planned to ride a reasonable distance - the first 50+ mile ride of the year. However, 2 things conspired to prevent this. Firstly Noel cried off at the last minute due to an over indulgence of alcohol the night before and secondly the weather forecast that the night before indicated rain at about 1pm now suggested rain at 10am. I had planned to ride down to Alcester and Ragley Hall and then loop back but I didn't want to be 1½ hrs from home in rain. Instead I chose to ride to Alvecurch and do the 3 "climbs" out of Alvechurch. I'd then decide whether to return back via Beoley or try something on the Lickeys like Rose Hill or the Fiery Hill ascent. 

The route is here:

I climbed the Grange Lane route first as I find this the hardest, then descended Scarfield Hill, up Coopers Hill, back down Grange Lane, back up Scarfield Hill and then down Coopers Hill. Grange Lane needed 2nd gear but I climbed both Scarfield Hill and Coopers Hill in 3rd without too much pain. It was reasonably windy but the climbs shielded me from any direct headwind.

Feeling OK and with the weather still holding I rode to the Lickeys and took the Feiry Hill / Twatling Road route. Again 3rd gear was OK for Fiery Hill and I was in 4th/5th for Twatling Road. A fast descent of Rose Hill followed and then it was generally a tail wind home - in fact it was clearly a monster tail wind home from looking at the Strava results:

There was a 20 sec improvement on "Bunbury-Middleton Rd", 21 sec improvement on "Cartland Rd Hill" and a 9 sec improvement on "Yardley Wood Station Sprint". The wind was a factor, as was the increased mileage recently, but I was in probably a higher gear than I would have been a month or so ago - so I am still pleased with the performance
 

The Rawlinson Bracket

The Rawlinson Bracket

This was a Sportive set up by a colleague at work in memory of another colleague who died unexpectedly last year. There is a link to the site here: http://www.the-rawlinson-bracket.co.uk/ and they have a Facebook page as well: https://www.facebook.com/TheRawlinsonBracket

This was really well set up and organised and full credit to Steve and the team for the event that they created. It was a very challenging route with a lot of climbing over the 50 miles. It was also very very cold - barely above 0 Deg C for the entire time. However the turn out was excellent - almost 300 people I believe for an event at the end of February so a really good achievement.

As I said, the route was tough. I have ridden Edge Hill a number of times so knew what I was in for, however there were then a number of other hills before turning back to climb Sunrising Hill which was about 7 miles from the end. I have ridden Sunrising once before and knew that it would be really tough especially after 40 miles before, and therefore tried to conserve some energy all the way round just for this last climb. However the endless climbs and very cold weather really took it out of me and as I have done very few miles this year I found Sunrising every bit as tough as I expected. After dropping back off Edge Hill the run back to the start (at the Heritage Motor Museum) was a real grind and to be honest I just followed Noel all the way.

At the end of the ride I was just glad to finish and start to warm back up. Looking back I think that I did really enjoy the route, but not in the cold. I normally ride throughout the year but I can't remember if I have ever ridden for so long at such a low temperature.

The Strava data is here: http://app.strava.com/activities/42085452

This is me looking pained at the top of Edge Hill:

  

A Bit of a Belated Update

Updated 9 September 2012

I looked at these pages and realised that actually I haven't added anything since the I rode the Great Shakespeare Ride back on 12th August - I am still enjoying the satisfaction of the high finishing position and average pace. In reality it might also be that I don't have a great deal to write about, but that's not particularly true either.

Since then I have been able to keep the mileage up (trying to get some banker miles in to make sure I meet my 5000 miles target for the year) and I have also been trying to focus slightly less on individual Strava segments but on increasing the average speed over the whole ride. For the latter I still have yet to do a ride at an average of 20mph - this is not a target as such but something I'd like to do before the short days arrive and my distance per week has to be reduced. I have made some progress for this so I'll briefly and boringly summarise the last 4 weeks since the Great Shakespeare Ride

13th-20th August - 115.5 miles total
No commuting miles this week. I went on a short evening ride with one of my sons who has bought himself a new road bike. We got a Boardman Road Race from Halfords. He'd originally proposed spending nearly £1000 but we suggested that a cheaper introduction my be a better bet. We looked at various bikes locally and at the sort of price we suggested you get an all alloy bike with 8 speed 2300 series running gear. The Boardman has a Carbon Fibre fork and 9 speed Sora kit although is a little more expensive. However since Noel got knocked off his bike earlier in the summer I have joined British Cycling, and one of the benefits is 10% discount at Halfords, so taking this into account this brought the price down to a pretty good competitive level. Another reason for selecting a Boardman is that the prices seem to hold well second hand so if he loses interest we should be able to easily sell it - looking on eBay I have seen a lot of Boardman bikes going for almost the new price which is bonkers really! Anyway back to the ride - 15 miles at 15.7mph - very relaxed and made a change from the normal ride where there is the intention to improve on 1 Strava segment or another. I think from my sons point of view - too relaxed and I should have gone faster

I also rode 35 miles on Saturday - 18.1mph average, 2 PR and a 5th place. On Sunday I rode 61.4 miles - 18.2mph average, a 2nd, a 4th and 3PR. The 4th was a descent of Weatheroak Hill. Average 31.mph on the descent and a peak of 43.8mph - I won't be too bothered if I don't improve as getting to 4th was scary. Quite how Dave Brown did it 5 seconds quicker I daren't think.

21st-28th August - 143.0 miles total
Commuted twice on the Tuesday and Thursday and got the 2 KOM on Spencer Avenue in Coventry on Tuesday. On the Thursday I got a 9th on the way in and strengthened the KOM on the Newcomb Road climb segment.

It was was the Bank Holiday weekend and we were going to my parents for a couple of days. I went for a quick ride on the Saturday morning - 22.7 miles at an average of 18.9mph, plus a 2nd and a 4th. I was very pleased with the 18.9 average. 

I took my bike down and on the Sunday went out for a ride - partly over a route I have done a few times before but I extended it at the end to head into the outskirts of London to Shooters Hill. The ride is here. Out to Gravesend the wind was helpful and the average was up to 19mph and this was with the climb of Gorse Hill. Up to here I improved everywhere over previous rides picking up 5 PR, a 5th, 8th, 9th and 10th and these are on segments with over a 100 riders. I was again really pleased. When I got to Gravesend it was about 14 miles of "rolling" roads into a headwind to get to Shooters Hill. The average dropped off to about 18mph. I climbed Shooters Hill which was pretty tough after all the miles and returned to my parents. Looking on Strava I could not believe the number of segments for 1 bit of road - there are about 6 or so over less than a mile of road. I picked up 2 more PR on the way back as well. Overall average was 18mph over 46.1 miles, so I was again pleased with my pace.

29th August -2nd September - 117.7 miles total
Commute in on the Friday which was cold and had a problem with my Garmin 800 on the way home which was irritating as I felt there was some chance of a small improvement in a few places. What it was I think was that I turned it on in the office where it gets no signal and I when it says "No signal, keep trying?" I think I must have knocked "No" by mistake. The end result was no data for the return trip home

I rode on Saturday morning a short (23.8 mile) trip and got an average of 18.5mph with 2 PR and a 4th.

I rode again on Saturday for a longer trip (51.5 miles) but my legs were tired and the average was only 17.5 mph although I did manage a PR and a 2nd. I think that 3 days cycling in a row is probably a day too far and I need to have a break on the 3rd day if I want to do some distance next time I ride

3 September -10th September - 148.1 miles total
This is the time of year when the opportunities for rides start to drop away with the darker evening and autumn weather. The fact the the week started so well weather wise encouraged me to leave work slightly earlier and get out for a ~20 mile ride on Tuesday evening. I did a 18.5 mile loop at a fastest ever average of 19.8mph. I picked up to 4th places and a 7th. These were just seconds faster than previous bests but the segments are so congested that 1 or 2 seconds can move you up many places these days. I'd not gone out for the segments but was trying for a high average, so I was to say the least ecstatic with 19.8mph. I was so close to the magic 20 that is some ways I was disappointed but in reality the speed was (for me) awesome

The weather was still good so I commuted on Thursday and Friday and whilst not trying did pick up an 8th on Friday morning. However the Tuesday sprint and 2 days of commuting in a row meant that when I left work on Friday afternoon I could tell in the first mile that I was pretty much running on empty. I had a heavy rucksack with my laptop in, it was a glorious hot day and I just plodded home. I did do an extended ride and did manage 17mph average but I did not really enjoy it.

As I commented above for the previous week 3 days in a row was going to be too much as I wanted to ride on Sunday, so I dropped out of a ride with Noel (I have not yet seen his new bike) on the Saturday to make Sunday more of a pleasant experience I hoped.

Sunday arrived and the weather looked OK, and although it was sunny it took a few hours to warm up. I wore a SS jersey but also my new arm warmers. I'd put of getting any for a long time but got fed up of wearing a LS Jersey as it was cool at the start of a ride but then being too hot later on. They are quite a good compromise it turns out and I wished I had a pair a few years ago now. I did a bit of a new route as I saw an interesting ride on the Saturday from Mike Harrison which included going through Meriden, so I included that at the start. The main aim again was in the overall average rather than and segments and I did a 49 mile loop. The average was a very pleasing 18.5mph, with a 6th, 10th and 4 PR.  I think this vindicated the no ride plan of the day before.

Finally Noel obviously cycled to work and had a go on the way home:

Summary
Whilst this has been a long a boring(?) post what I am really please about is that the average speed has really made an strong upturn over the past month. Consistent mid- 18+mph speeds are something that at the start of the year I did not think possible and after over 2 weeks in the US seemed even further away just a few months ago. Whether I can keep it up remains to be seen!

I have also come across this really useful Strava add-on site - information about your rides than you can shake a stick at:www.veloviewer.com

It allows you to generate this signature graphic which has the advantage of a quick glance at the number of KOMs etc.: 

Shimano 105 5700 Mechanicals

21 July 2012

Update April 2013 - see this additional post I made: Shimano 105 Shifters Revisted

On a more positive note I had been having some issues with the rear braking performance of my Focus since I upgraded the Shifters to Shimano 105 5700 series (from 5600 series) over the winter which I have almost resolved.

Basically I wanted to upgrade the Focus from the 8 speed 2300 components to 10 speed of some type and hence commonise more components between my Giant and Focus such as chains, cassettes etc. The key components that I needed were the 10 speed shifters for the Giant as the dérailleurs would be OK. After a lot of dithering, the route I took was to buy new shifters for the Focus and move the original Focus parts to the Giant. I also chose to buy the newer 105 5700 series parts rather than the previous 5600 series parts already on the Focus. The 5700 shifters are basically a newer version (11MY) of the original parts but with the key difference that all the cables are run under the handle bar tape compared to the 5600 series parts where the gear shifters exit the side of the shifters.

I had all the parts by October/November 2011 and did the swap over a series of days whilst I was on holiday over Christmas. The jobs were quite time consuming as I had to do the job twice (2 bikes) and there were a number of thing that I had not done before (swap Shimano STI shifters, re-tape handle bars etc). I did the Focus first, using the new components and was happy with the results - both seemingly in function and appearance, and then replicated on the Giant using the Focus parts. Again function and appearance were satisfactory. The thing I was most concerned about was doing a good job on the handlebar tape which would have a high aesthetic effect if not done right - fortunately there are lots of good guides on You-Tube and I was pleased with the outcome.

Given the bad and winter weather the Giant was the only bike I rode until about March. The first rides highlighted that the right shifter functions were not as good as I had hoped - poor rear braking and a stiff level to shift from the small to large front ring. The left shifter had no issues and the shifting and indexing were much improved over the previous parts. The stiff shifting I could live with as the small-big front ring shift is not a frequent operation, but the poor breaking was much more of a concern. There was some braking but it was poor and did very little to slow the bike. Initially I put it down to new pads and new wheels needing to bed in but the after more miles no improvement was seen. I also though that I had perhaps not fitted the outer brake cable properly under the bar tape so I removed the tape and checked and all seemed OK.

I had also read conflicting information that the pull ratios on the 5700 series were different the 5600 pull ratios and therefore you needed 5700 series brakes as well, whilst other people reported using the new shifters with no issues with the older brakes. What caused some confusion was that I could not really tell any difference with the front braking performance. I carried on as was but was nervous. What really made me investigate properly was that Noel had an accident before I went on holiday when a car pulled out of a drive on Fiery Hill (Barnt Green) and he hit it - luckily there seems to be nothing more than a lot of bruising/soft tissue damage but there was a lot of damage to the bike which is written off. This brought it home that the state of my bike was not suitable and I decided that I had to fix it. I decided that I would buy some 5700 105 brakes (good price and offers from Evans Cycles) and when I got them not only fit them but investigate fully to get the performance back to where it needed to be.

The brakes arrived and I fitted them, and basically rear braking was better but not by much. I then pulled out the brake cable completely and saw some trace of rust on the surface. This was a huge surprise - the cable was new when I replaced the shifters at Christmas and the bike does not get ridden in the wet very often. I pulled the cable out and replaced it with another new cable, but for the new cable I oiled it thoroughly as I pulled it through the outer. As a result of the new brakes with matching pull ratios and a smoothly operating cable the performance is now where it should be.

I am not sure how big a contribution the slightly rusty cable made but it seemed to be significantly better braking after the lubricated cable was fitted - I was personally surprised by how much. I am not sure if I then needed the new brakes as well but I have a optimised system and the bike stops much more quickly that it did and possibly a tiny bit better than before (but this may be psychosomatic rather than reality). The pads need a little more bedding in so there is more to come.

The lesson I have taken is that I need to check the cables more often and that cables at around £1.50are a cheap and simple potential performance upgrade rather than changing what they operate! I have no idea what caused the cable to rust - I have not seen it on any of the other bikes. The rear brake is internally routed so the only exposed cable is at the caliper, so it is a bit of a puzzle.

I also made a mistake in swapping the cable. I have removed the internally routed cable before and carefully taped some string to it so that I could pull the new cable back through with the string but for some reason despite fixing the string I then pulled the string fully through as well! It was then a very fiddly job to put the cable through. So the second lesson is - pay attention all the time.

Update 11 June 2011

Pedal for Parkinsons Stratford On Avon, 10 June 2012

As I mentioned earlier I was riding the Pedal for Parkinsons in Stratford On Avon on Sunday. I rode it last year and "won" so there was a bit of self induced pressure to replicate the achievement this year. Also this year one of my sons had agreed to ride it as well, although he was doing the shorter (20 mile) route whilst I was doing the 60 mile route again.

As 60 miles is not really a challenge I had chosen to ride down again. Noel rang up and said what was I doing and was I up for a ride on the day. I explained that I was prior booked but there was nothing to stop him joining us on the line. However the problem would be that as we had a car full we could not give him a lift home. In the event I called in on the way down at 7.20am and we rode down together to the Gospel Oak Lane, Snitterfield  turn just before Stratford. Noel rode like a demon and my average (from home to Stratford Racecourse was a creditable 18.1mph - Thanks Noel!

People were already signing on so I waited for the family to arrive, and then my son & I signed on. I met Tim Beattie there (from work) who lives locally and had brought his son down to ride the 5 mile family route. There was a short safety briefing and some photos and then we all started en-masse. I say en-masse but the event is pretty small and low-key, there only being about 50-60 riders maximum. The riders also tend to be not the normal "sportive" MAMIL types, with a lot of first time and family leisure riders. Of the 60 people or so the majority also do the 20 mile option.

My son and I were at the back at the start so we were caught in a bit of a gaggle of less experienced riders. I was also unsure about how well my son would manage as he cycles, but not a lot. We started to pull through the riders and steadily made progress up the field over the first few miles. I was tracking my son's speed and riding slightly behind and out to shield him from what little traffic there was. However we were still flying along at around 18-20mph and by Long Marston, where the route split, were either near or at the front. I was more worried that we were going too fast, especially for me to maintain pace for the whole 60 miles.

My son turned off onto the short route and despite my concerns about long term pace over the whole ride I put some more pace down to catch people who I knew were in front. I was trying pretty hard and reeling in a few people in every few miles - I felt pretty good and seemed to be one of the fitter and stronger riders and wanted to create a gap as early as possible - if I were to win again.

We came up to a turn after about 12 miles or so and there was a small check point on the turn, so I called my number and carried on. There were 4-5 already riders there getting a drink, so I knew I had gained some places but had no idea if they were the leaders. Immediately after this checkpoint a pretty big hill loomed. I dropped to the small ring and dug in - pretty soon I was in bottom gear (34-28) and really working hard. A quick glance at my Garmin showed a fairly scary 182bpm Heart Rate and the gradient at about 12%, so I eased up a little and plodded on. The gradient started to ease a bit but I kept pushing guessing that this hill must be a Strava segment and the end was probably at the very top rather than a false summit I could see ahead. Getting home later showed this to be Camden Hill:

I got a stunning 3rd place in this segment. I was right to press on because this segment is all the way to the top whilst another segment (Campden/Nebsworth Hill) is shorter and only covers the steepest part. I got a 3rd here because I pushed all the way, but on the shorter part of the climb was only 12th quickest as the quick people slowed after a faster climb over the steeper part.

I had looked behind part way up and saw the people at the checkpoint climbing some distance behind me but felt I could probably pull away from them. I pressed on feeling fairly good but - disaster - then got held up at a level crossing at Chipping Camden. I waited for over 5 minutes and the following group caught me, putting all my efforts back to zero. When the gates finally opened I had to push hard again to try to rebuild the gap that I had worked hard for just 10 minutes ago. The only advantage of the level crossing was it gave me an enforced rest.

There was a rdie through Chipping Camden and a few miles later an exciting descent of Dovers Hill - I'm glad it wasn't an ascent. I have climbed Saintbury Hill a couple of times on other sportives and Dovers Hill looks much tougher.

I kept pushing and got to the 2nd stop. Again it was still hard to tell if where I was in the field as the 2nd stop was a joint long/short route checkpoint and there were a number of other people there. I filled my water bottle and continued having stopped for just a few minutes. I knew the roads reasonably well by this point as have ridden them many times before. This years route was similar to previous years but had been changed in several places. It was a long drag and I kept pushing although in some places was starting to feel the miles in my legs (I'd already done 19miles to get down to the start). Once I crossed the A46 in a northerly direction I knew that the route was less hilly and more of a slog up towards Spernal, so on I continued. I got to the 3rd checkpoint and I think I caught the person out a bit and a quick verbal check confirmed my lead position. From here it was a continued drive to make sure I did not get caught - although I could not see anyone behind its hard to keep looking back and obviously its easier for a chaser to see someone and catch than the leader to keep eyes in the back of your head.
 
As we approached Aston Cantlow we were surprisingly directed up to Aston Cantlow rather than continue straight on and back over the A46 to Binton. Whilst the short climb was unwelcome, crossing the A46 at Binton is challenging at the best of times so this was a good improvement to the route safety. There was then a meander back into the west of Stratford, and suddenly we were back at the racecourse. It turned out the route was 55.8 miles rather than 60.

I was again the first back (hurray!) so my efforts were worth it. What was even better was my son was first back for the short route by a good 5 minutes as well, so a family double. We had some pictures taken, a chat with some of the staff, and then a cup of coffee and packed up. The 2nd place rider came in about 10 minutes behind, so I convinced myself that I had about a 15 minute winning margin if had not got caught by the crossing.

My parents had come up to watch (as both I and my son were riding) so my mum saw us both "win" although my dad was not having one of his better days and was asleep in the car when we both got back.

We then went to a pub in Binton for a very nice lunch and then went home.

The weather was excellent - warm, sunny with just a slight breeze - I got a good top up for my cyclist tan. If the weather had been like the day before (very windy) or the day after (very wet) it would have been a very unpleasant ride.

For the ride statistics it was 55.8 miles duration. Ride time was 3:12:48, average speed was 17.4mph, maximum was 35.7mph. I was very pleased with the average as it was all solo with no drafting at any point.

The route was good, very well sign posted for both the cyclist to follow the route and plenty of warnings for other road users.

The Parkinson's Society even pulled their finger out this year and got an updated web page up the next day here.

And here's a photo of me and my son:

My mum took some photos so a selection of the most flattering are on the Pictures tab of the blog.

There was a goody bag - not a great deal of use I must say but the conversation piece was this:

 No one was exactly sure what it is. Any way as I don't like coconut in any form (and nor does anyone else in the family) it will remain a mystery.