May Holiday Weekend Riding

Update 2 June 2012

The weather for the 4 day holiday weekend looked poor so its a case of taking windows of opportunity as they become available. I went out about 9.30 in the morning with the aim to improve on some of my commute segments - I was on the Focus and without a rucksack so felt there were time gains to be made. Unfortunately the wind was against me and fairly early on realised that these segments were not going to to be improved. Also I was getting a lot of speed drop out on the Garmin so I pulled over after the Cornets End Lane segment and moved the sensor slightly closer to the magnet. It seemed OK after this so I assume that this was the cause. It might have got knocked slightly when it was in Noel's car for the Wheel Heroes ride.

I then set off for the Temple Balsall to Knowle Sesses to try and gain some time and aim for the KOM which I had held for a number of week. Pushed hard but but the earlier wind had sapped a bit of energy. I got a 2nd best time (2 seconds of the PB) so overall was OK.

The next target was the Lowsonford to Lapworth segment. It's one that I created a long time ago and had been near the top. As Strava becomes ever more popular more and more people are uploading times and I had been moving progressively down the rankings, and all attempts recently to improve are doomed to failure as it generally appears near the end of a long ride with noting in the legs. I came down to Lapworth and then turned to Rowington to get to the bottom of Lowsonford. It was a road I've never been on before and was quite pleasant. I attacked the climb as soon as possible and got back onto the big ring after the first short sharp climb and pushed hard. Dropped back into the small ring for the little kick half way and then back on the big ring to then end. The effort was rewarded with moving to 10th position (from ~17th) and a time improvement of 23 secs (to 7:03) which I was very pleased with.  I still didn't get that close to Dave Brown's recent PB - a very good time from Dave I think. A few more seconds might have been available if I hadn't had to slow while some arrogant t****r in a white Audi Q8 (reg BV12 FQV I think) couldn't wait a few 100 meters to pass some other cyclist coming the other way and sat right on my side of the road. There is then another segment staring directly from the end of the Lowsonford to Lapworth all the way to Hockley Heath - I sort of know its there but its really a recovery section for me.

For once I turned left and headed to Cutthroat Lane in order to try Dyers Drag again. Made a really fast start and was holding 25mph. Its a short segment and I was flat out and only just managed to get to the end - I didn't think I was going to make it at one point - eyes on stalks. I had to back down an little at the canal bridge as I was blown, and it took me about 1/2 a mile to recover. The effort was worth it though as I gained 9 seconds and moved to joint 2nd with Scott Wharton and 1 second behind Dave Brown with the KOM - the nagging doubt was that I might have had the extra second and did I ease up too early?

Most of the ride was in drizzle or rain so I felt that I followed Rule 9 properly

Updated 27 May 2012

Wheel Heroes 2012 - 100 Mile Ride

Somewhat on a whim a few weeks ago I suggested to Noel that we did the Wheel Heroes ride as we has last year. We chose again to to ride the 100 mile route and whilst had ridden 2 weekends prior to the date up to 75-80 miles we still weren't as well prepared as last year, mainly due to the poor weather we had had during April. Last years ride was also very tough as the wind was so strong. The weather forecast for the day was unclear other than it looked line being very hot, the wind was less certain. Whilst I had no "targets" I wanted to finish faster than last year, if possible in less than 6hrs riding time, and be faster on all the climbs.

We drove down and got to Stratford Racecourse before 8am and then signed on, got sorted and went over to the start and set off about 8.20.

The weather was gorgeous - light wind and about 15Deg C. We didn't try to rush but were making good time for the first few hours. There were plenty of groups to tag onto. We passed the first feed station (at 25 miles) as it was very busy and too early to stop. We rode through the Lenches which last year had been a nightmare as the roads for about 10 miles had been freshly re-surfaced with the spray on tar and gravel solution making them very slippery and hard and slow to ride. The first big climb was (on Strava at least) the B4077 climb which is about 1.5 miles and ~470 ft of climb. Last years time was done in 11:38 and this year in 10:13 so a big improvement. After some undulations we got to the 2nd feed stop in about 3 hrs so giving an average speed to that point of about 17mph. This was done without too much effort as well. Replete with sausage rolls, biscuits and refilled water bottle we set of for the next feed station at 75 miles. There was then another not insignificant drag up to Stow On the Wold - ~1.1 miles and 280ft of acscent - not the best place to have a climb straight after a break.

The period after Stow I found pretty tough. There was generally a head wind, plus continuous short sharp inclines. I found it the hardest part of the ride and Noel was clearly struggling more. At about 15 miles (so 65 total) I had pulled a noticeable gap on Noel - mainly because I can nearly always climb better than Noel and can't ride as slowly as him up the hills - I think my Compact chainset helps and I have or need a higher climbing cadence. About 5 miles later I got caught by another rider who seemed happy to tow me to the 3rd feed stop, including a descent of Edge Hill - always exciting. About a mile later was the 3rd stop so I waited for Noel. He appeared after about 5 minutes and having had an off turning off the Edge Hill descent. Fortunately he seemed OK. After about 10 minutes we continued, and fortunately the wind also became generally more favourable as a tail wind. Unfortunately I had also looked at my Garmin and worked out that it was just possible to make the 6hr ride time target. so I kept the pace as high as I could whilst still waiting for Noel. However whilst he was OK on the flat at each ascent he fell off almost straight away. At about 10 miles I kept going with the sub-6 hr target in mind. I was getting hotter and hotter (I'd seen nearly 30 Deg C on the Garmin) and was using one of the water bottles liberally on me and my HR was increasing having been pretty low for the first 50 miles. With 2 miles to go I felt I had about 30 seconds in hand as I was doing ~20mph with the tailwind and really dug deep. I crossed the line as 6:03:06 although had done 101.6 miles so felt that I probably had achieved the target. Much to Noels credit he came in barely 2 minutes behind. He was tired, as was I and I was extremely hot and sweaty.

In summary- a much better ride than last year because of the weather (although too hot really and my cyclist tan has come forward in leaps and bounds)

Data

2011: ride time = 5:55:54 Elapsed time = 6:40:28 Average speed = 16.0mph *

2012: ride time = 6:03:06 Elapsed time = 6:33:49 Average speed = 16.8mph

All climbs were also faster by a non trivial improvement. If I can be bothered I'll list them at a later date

I.e. a clear improvement

* Garmin played silly buggers and lost 5 miles before I realised and reset it

Here's the link to the ride on Strava:

Update 26 May 2012

Quick post after the Tour Series. I'd been considering cycling to work on the Friday but work commitments mean this was not practical. So I decided that a quick sprint in the later afternoon when I got home was the order of the day. As I have the Wheel Heroes Cyclists Fighting Cancer 100 miler on the Sunday I was not going to push too hard. Once I was out I realised how windy it was so took it easy. However pushing into the wind towards Hockley Heath I realised that the Strava "Cuthroat Lane" segment might be worth a sniff as it should have a tail wind. A gentle plod delivered me to the start of the segment pretty fresh and (relatively speaking) I went for it. It felt quick but you never know. I then took it easy back towards Cheswick green and decided that the "Watery Eyes Warm up" might have the same wind conditions so rode to that segment as well. It was OK but felt nothing special but on the descent of Vicarage Hill Cheswick Green I realised how strong a headwind was so after Watery Eyes Warm up I back tracked and rode the "Vicarage Hill Cheswick Green" segment as well. Again felt quick but Scott Wharton has put a stunning time on this back in April so was not that hopeful of anything great.

After getting home and uploading the route I saw that I had the "Cuthroat Lane" KOM by 13 seconds and had moved to 3rd place on the "Vicarage Hill Cheswick Green" segment with a 7 second improvement, so a good evenings ride. I know they were wind assisted but I'll take all I can get these days. I didn't fell too tired either but I'll find that out on Sunday!

And my HR monitor played up again on the Garmin - last time I got the strap replace under warranty - I have given it a wash and will hope its OK for tomorrow

Here's the KOM (note - ahead of my nemesis Dave Brown):

And here's the 3rd place on Vicarage Hill (key observation - ahead of Dave Brown):

I am sure when Dave sees these he'll be out like a shot to try to get ahead again!!

Then on Saturday am my wife, who is trying very hard to lose weight end get fitter suggested that we went for a cycle ride. She's been out on her BSO a few times in the week so I was keen to support her. I rode my MTB (an aluminium framed Mongoose, with slick tyres that I acquired from my parent's neighbours a few years ago) so no Strava ride for this although I could have used my phone to log the ride. We ended up doing just over 12 miles which was good for her and a nice slow pootle for me. 

The aim now is for good weather for tomorrow for the 100 miler. Last year although it was warm it was very windy - I and Noel are hoping for better this year

Update 22 May 2012

As Noel and I are doing the Wheel Heroes ride this coming Sunday we went for a longer ride down to Edge Hill. Edge Hill is one one the local climbs and has a huge number of Strava riders on several segments define up and down it. For us its 30 miles down before the climb itself. It's a tough climb and is in 2 parts - a first phase up to about 12% before a 90 degree right turn with a slightly more gentle ascent before kicking up to 15-16% for the final 100m. Despite having ridden it a number of times I have to say that I never look forward to doing it. I was reasonably confidant of improving my time but in reality only made a small improvement (4m20s vs previous best of 4m31s). This is a bit disappointing as some of the climbs were on my Giant in its more heavy configuration and Sunday was on my Focus. More work need there. A personal target is I think 4m00s but I can't see where that's going to come from at the moment unless I drive down a lot nearer.

The whole route was 76 miles and we managed 16.4mph. I was a little disappointed with this, despite Noel & I each doing a good turn at the front to share the load. I also had a tough time in terms of how I felt around the 50 mile mark, so I am a little nervous about being fully prepared for next Sunday. Still we have done it before and its all about getting the pace right. The weather wasn't great on the ride - reasonably cold and a wind most of the time. Hoping for a good day on Sunday - although last year was windy as well.

Finally - excellent weather today - cycled to work in shorts and and only 2 layers and home in shorts and short sleeved jersey only. Long may it continue

Update 15 May 2012

Good ride on Sunday - 68 mile run down to Evesham with Noel. Average of 16.6mph so pretty good. It was quite windy and although we shared the pace setting by about 45 miles I was really feeling it, although I perked up a bit at around 55 miles, so I think some food had kicked in. The drag back from Evesham can be hard work as its "uphill" most of the way - nothing too steep or long but always uphill. Here's the ride:

 

I signed myself and Noel up for the Wheel Heroes 100 miler Sportive from the race course at Stratford on Avon for the 27 May. We did it last year and it was pretty good. Good route down to some of the Cotswolds, 4 good (free) feed stations, and well organised. Last year I cruised it and Noel really struggled - again it was windy although he got his own back later in the year when I struggled on the Shakespeare 100 in September. I'm looking forward to it although have not got any where near 100 miles yet this year. Based on the weekend just gone I need to keep the miles down in the preceding week.

I am also doing the Pedal for Parkinsons (picture of me on the website!) ride again (also from Stratford race course) on 10 June. Last year I cycled down, rode the ride and "won". One of my sons has surprisingly volunteered to do it with me this year although he'll do the 20 mile route vs. me doing the 60 mile route. I'm planning to ride down again this year but depends on the weather I think. Let's hope the weather is OK for that as well. My dad has Parkinsons so its a small way to do something that I'd do anyway.

Bad news - down to only 4 KOM - a couple of people have uploaded rides from last year and stolen 3 or 4 off me. Bah!