Wednesday 25 February 2015

The Dominican Republic Can't Beat This

Club Ride - 22/02/15 - Circuit to Hornsea - Total Miles 44



Cottingham Road Club - Gather Before The Off
The Meeting Point - Picture Courtesy of Charles Rispin

Early Morning Start


Peeking through the bedroom curtains at 6.45 in the morning things didn't look promising. A white sheen of ice covered the road immediately outside whilst a neighbour chipped away the frost from his car.

For a moment the thought of ditching the ride for an altogether more comfortable Sunday morning flickered across my mind.

How though would I become a cycling god in the summer if I didn't do the work in winter ? So I resisted the temptation to get back under the covers and got myself up, fed and watered.

Today's ride was starting at the Swiss Cottage pub, Bilton on the east side of Hull.When I got to the meet point it was clear that road conditions were going to be acceptable but boy was it cold !

I got talking to Darren who was doing his first ride with Cottingham Road Club. He was looking forward to next weekend when he was due to fly to the Dominican Republic for a holiday. I hope he has a great time. It is the Howden run next weekend for the club. I didn't tell Darren this in case he got upset he was missing it.

Thanks to Charlie for his photo of our get together in the morning where it is obvious that I have a big credability problem. It seems that when gathering for a ride the correct posture adopted by a cyclist should be bike between the legs, leaning forward with forearms resting on the handlebars.

If, in addition, you are sat on the top tube this means that you are practically a professional rider.

This posture conveys to the casual observer a feeling that the rider concerned is a competent bike handler, confident and relaxed with his machine.

Note to self, don't just stand there without your bike, you look like you haven't got a clue!

Flat Rides Are Nothing To Be Ashamed About




And so to the ride itself a 44 mile circuit in the flatlands north east of Hull. I wasn't going to beat myself up there were no hills on this ride today. There have been many hills with the club in the past and there will be many hills in the future. There doesn't HAVE to be hills on every ride, it's NOT compulsary and it DOESN'T make you a bad person. Not that I'm sensitive about this in any way.

One slight cloud on the horizon, literally and metaphorically, was a stiff southerly breeze that was developing. This would be helping us along as we travelled northwards but when we turned southwards for home there would be a reckoning.

Departing from Swiss Cottage we headed North for just under a mile up to Ganstead where we turned left onto Swine Lane. There then followed 9 miles of country lanes with multiple crossing points over streams, drains and dikes with great names such as "Bulldike Drain" and the "Arnold and Riston Drain" before we came to a T junction with the main road from Beverley the A1035.

We turned right onto the A1035 cycle path,  passing the Nags Head pub turning left at the next roundabout and heading for Leven. Through Leven to Brandesburton and North Frodingham where we turn right onto the B1249 heading for Beeford. We cross the A165 and continue onto Skipsea on the B1249.

Apart from one of our number having his chain come off and another unclip his left foot to step down only for the bike to keel over to the right (we have all been there) it had been an uneventful and enjoyable 24 miles.

With the back wind this ride had literally been a breeze. The footage below backs this up, everyone just seems to be gliding along. Apart from the last 30 seconds.


 

Hurricane Alley

The group serenely turned right at Skipsea onto the B1242 that eventually will take us to Hornsea. We were now turning into the head wind that will be against us all the way home. Come on though how hard can it b...HOLY MOLY !! WHAT THE ..!!

All of a sudden the complexion of this ride had changed completely. Whereas before it was effortless to be up at 20 mph and above now it was hard work to maintain 15 mph, sometimes less. Not only hard work but the cold which had seemed to vanish when we were with the wind was back with a vengence. Hell's teeth this was unpleasant.

The topography didnt help us either. Long straight roads with no cover and the group staring down the barrel of hurricane alley. Absolutely no exageration. OK maybe a little bit.

Like a shoal of fish protecting itself against a predator there is a bunch up with riders going 2 x 2 hoping to get some protection from the riders in front. " I think we should be in single file guys" shouts Ian as we are on quite a busy road and causing a bit of blockage.We spread out to single file.

Adam and Chris do stints on the front. I let them. My signaling is rubbish anyway.

We roll into Hornsea like a gallant fishing boat making it back to harbour in a storm. I sense a coffee stop is on the cards. Charlie is always keen on a coffee stop and like an Exocet he homes in on his target .

To Coffee Stop Or Not To Coffee Stop That Is The Question.

Is the Bar Open ?
If you are tired and cold and need to rest, warm up and get some energy giving coffee or food inside you then coffee stops are great. Also it is nice to go to the loo on a ride without thinking you may get arrested for indecent exposure.

On the other hand I can sweat for England. Urghh ! Yes sorry for this level of detail. If I have cycled for 30 miles and then sit down at a coffee shop I will just bucket sweat into my cycling clothes. This is getting more and more distasteful. So when you get going again it is absolutely horrible with cold, slimey ....do you know what ? That's enough of that I think.

Suffice to say it can be tough to get going again after a coffee stop.


Helmet on Table ..Tut Tut !
Overall this particular coffee stop at Knights of Hornsea was most welcome after the battering to get to Hornsea. I had a coffee with some coffee cake, very civilised.

The reluctance to get going again was fully justified as even Adam said he was freezing when we set off into the raw southerly wind. Pretty soon the coffee and coffee cake became a pleasant but distant memory.


The Push for Home


Just 14 miles to go from Hornsea back to Swiss Cottage. We go through Mappleton, Great Cowden and Aldborough on the B1242. Chris leads for a lot of the time taking on the head wind as if it's something personal " I love the wind " he says or did he say  " I have wind " ?

Eventually I feel I should do some time at the front so after taking a right turn on the B1238 after Aldborough onto Hull Road I take a turn. The road surface is very good something I have checked out before going to the front.

There is a responsibility when going to the front to set a sensible pace that is not going to blow everyone away (no problem there) but also keep everyone moving along reasonably smartly.

I am not the best signaller in the world due to an unfortunate incident I had some months ago where I was signalling to take a left turn. I had one hand off the bars for the signal and then I hit a pot hole. I couldnt save it and came down like a sack of potatoes, going over the handlebars and landing on my hip.

Luckily there was nothing broken but I had the mother of all bruises for a fortnight ( pictures available on request ).

So when approaching pot holed areas, rough ground, manhole covers etc my instinct above all else is to keep 2 hands on the handlebars. Keeping both hands on the handlebars and signaling hazards in the road for your colleagues are mutually exclusive. I haven't figured out how to do both at the same time, apart from shouting " hole ! ".

So the ideal scenario for me when I am on the front is that the road conditions are good and there are no hazards to point to. If there are hazards I will point ...briefly.

My time at the front is short lived however as we are asked to back off as one of the guys is struggling with a knee injury.

Following the B1238 we go through Flinton, Sproately, Wyton before arriving back at Swiss Cottage.

Chris ups the pace towards the end and I finish with the blood pumping trying to keep up with him.

Despite the wind on the way back it had been a very enjoyable ride. As the group gather at the end of the ride and shoot the breeze, no pun intended, I get talking to Darren again. I ask him how he found it to which he replied the overall distance wasn't a problem but it was a little faster than what he was used to.

He starts talking about the Dominican Republic again. I keep quiet about the Howden run, I think I got away with it.

To make a donation towards the vital work of ALZHEIMERS RESEARCH UK please click on the following link. MY VIRGIN MONEY GIVING PAGE .Thank you very much.






Thursday 19 February 2015

Night Riding In Winter - You Don't Have To Be Mad To Do It But It Helps

Tuesday Night Club Ride - 17-02-15

Club Ride At Night
From Left to Right  Kevin, June, Justin & Andy
Thank you to Kevin for lending me his phone to take the picture on today's post. My i-phone was just rubbish at taking a photo at night. Either it was  too dark or too over exposed looking like there had been some kind of radioactive incident.

Even so there have been some unfortunate tricks of the light. June has got some devilish glint in her eyes and Justin has got this creepy look about him.

So we had gathered at the meeting point for a Tuesday Night Cottingham Road Club Ride. In the summer these rides can be idylic with strong evening sunshine, not a breath of wind and there can be large turnouts. When the rides take place in darkness from beginning to end and conditions get less pleasant, more hostile and, let's be honest, more dangerous the numbers dwindle.

On Tuesday night the temperature was 3 or 4 degrees, light winds and no rain but there were some damp patches and standing water on the roads. The group consisted of  Justin, Andy, June, Kevin and myself.

Firstly it is imperative that the pre-ride protocols are followed, namely :
  • Pre-ride banter eg. One of our number rather than maintain his bike properly bought a new one ! Can you imagine it ?!
  • Discussion about latest biking equipment or biking related technology.
  • Slagging off hard core club members that have failed to turn out. ( optional )
  • Thanking our lucky stars Tony (Clubman of the Year 2014) is in Australia and not able to make us all suffer even more than we are about to.
  • Discussion about the route including out and out lies such as "steady one tonight" and "I don't feel good at all tonight"
So we headed off westwards down Eppleworth Road, turning right as we passed under the A164 and up the short,sharp hill past Skidby Mill before going down into Skidby itself. Then we start the long drag up towards Little Weighton.

Justin and Andy can contain themselves no longer and shoot off up the hill. I do not go with them because

a)      I can't           and      b)    ....well, there is no b)

I do my version of Chris Froome in 2014 Vuelta a Epana i.e I go at my own pace in a time trial fashion and hope that that they will come back to me. It doesn't work, it would seem I am not Chris Froome. We go through Little Weighton and turn left onto Rowley Road where we have a little regroupment before pressing on.

I do a bit on the front up Rowley Road and get in to the left when a lorry with lights blazing comes up behind us. No it's not a lorry with lights on full beam it is the lighting rig that Justin has got on his handlebars !

At the end of Rowley Road we turn right onto Riplingham Road and head up to the top of Beverley Road. Oh no not Beverley Road descent again ! This time in the dark. Justin and Andy zip off and max out at just under 40 mph ( according to Strava ). I take it a lot steadier and hope I am not worrying June & Kevin behind me with my erratic bike handling.

A significant problem for me going down is oncoming cars with full beam on rendering me disorientated for a few seconds until my eyes can see properly again.When I get to the bottom I am a little shaken up. Justin and Andy have big smiles on their faces like they have enjoyed the descent hugely. I wonder which hill they just came down?  Surely it wasnt the hill I just came down?

We regroup again in South Cave and then pass through North Cave, Hotham and onto North Newbald. All reasonably flat apart from the climb out of South Cave and Common Hill near Hotham which provide a couple of little stingers to the legs.

We all tuck in behind Justin for this stretch. As per usual he is a man on a mission. You get up to his back wheel, he senses you are there, he goes a bit faster. You get up to his back wheel, he senses you are there, he goes a bit faster....you know where this is going. Eventually there is a trail of broken cyclists littered across half a mile or so behind him.

June and I were discussing his ride leading at one point and June seemed to be under the impression Justin worked in the hospitality industry and he was a bar steward or something. At least I think that's what she said.

Still on the bright side as we approach North Newbald we go past the bottom of Trundlegate without turning onto the ascent. Excellent, that's a bit of a result, but we must be going up the hill somewhere ? What torture lies in wait ?

Stoneknowle Hill is a steady climb out of North Newbald for about 1.5 miles. It is not steep, some segments are 4 % but it goes on for a long time and can provide a tough challenge if you are pushing along. I go up next to Justin and decide it is about time I did just that and pushed myself on this ride.

Justin chats away merrily as we go up but very soon all conversation dries up from me as I concentrate on breathing. During the climb my heart rate tops out at 185 bpm which is very close to as high as it goes so I know I have given it a good go.

We start going downhill again and at the top of a long straight descent towards Etton  Justin declares "Shall we give it hell for leather down here Alan ? "

I consider whether I am going to be a man or a mouse and decide that actually I rather like cheese.

" Not for me Justin" I reply pathetically, to which he replies " Goooo-Onnnnn !!" and off he goes !

 I follow a fair distance behind, rather conservatively I thought, but when I get home and upload the ride to Strava I discover this is the only section on which I have got a PB. Funny how things turn out.

We are heading back for Cottingham now. Etton, Cherry Burton, Bishop Burton and Walkington. There is nasty little short climb at Bishop Burton called Bishop Burton Granny Hump on Strava which is not a very attractive name.

This is usually towards the end of rides and the combination of the short sharp rise, the fact that you are already tired and the poor condition of the road make it a real energy sapper. I find myself giving it a banzai and shouting out " Come On ! "  For a brief while I am ahead of you know who but then he lights the afterburners. This guy is one hell of a bar steward.

We all regroup after the Granny Hump and we are starting to wind down now for the end. The route takes us back to Little Weighton Road but this time going back down into Skidby. This is a favorite section for Andy and Justin who tank off down the hill.

Once through Skidby we all come together again at Skidby Mill and coast in together back into Cottingham. To my surprise we had covered 36 miles a good distance for a Tuesday night ride in winter. For me they were quite punchy miles a lot of hard efforts and then backing off to recover so I was pleased with it.


We had laughed, met a new club member in Kevin and had a terrific work out. Not bad for a Tuesday night.   I must come up with a training plan though....

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Monday 16 February 2015

Anatomy of a Club Ride

Smiling but mucky face after a club run
Club Ride in February Means Muck on Face

Club Ride 14-02-15  Total Distance Ridden 46 miles


The ride started at 9 am in Cottingham. On this occassion the planned route takes the group past the  north side of the Humber Bridge in the first few miles and that is where I planned to meet up with my club colleagues.

In order to get myself up, fed and ready to go on time meant setting the alarm for 7 am. Some people can just roll out of bed and onto the bike. Not me I need "coming round" time.

Actually my preparations to go on the ride began the day before by making sure everything was OK with the bike. To go to the bike 30 minutes before you are supposed to depart and find there is a problem with it would be a real downer. I hate last minute panics. And boy can I panic !

So the day before I had checked the bike over for problems, taken it for a quick pedal up and down the street to make sure the brakes, gear change were working OK and there were no funny noises and generally assessed whether my equipment was going to let me down or embarrass me in front of my colleagues. I had even put brand new tyres on and was happy my ride was looking well pimped.

So a final check list before I rolled off down the street
  • Saddle bag stocked - 2 inner tubes, tyre levers, multi tool, CO2 cannisters & gun
  • Mobile phone fully charged.
  • Money
  • Food in back pocket
  • Waterproof in back pocket
  • Bicycle Pump in back pocket
  • Sense of humour
  • Feeling of optimism and slight sense of nervousness
All present and correct. Check !

As I cycled slowly across the bridge to the meeting point I began to psyche myself up. I had only been a member of the club for about 18 months. The group rides I always found hard as the group dynamic meant that you always put far more effort in than if you were riding alone. There were some tough hills on today's ride. Would I keep up? Would I quit when the going got tough ? Would I ........PSHHTTT ! What the ..? Puncture !

Brilliant. I had not even got to the meet point and I had suffered a puncture. And why is it ALWAYS the back wheel. Hang on I came out with a Sense of Humour didn't I ? Chill out, just change the tube and crack on.

Half way across the Humber Bridge I set about changing the inner tube. When I checked the tyre I couldn't find any glass, thorn, debris, anything. I began to suspect the quality of my workmanship when I had changed the tyres the day before. Maybe I had pinched the inner tube somewhere along the line. It would certainly be consistent with my usual standard of work.

Anyway I managed to still meet up with the club run and we set off for the first significant climb of the day at Brantingham Dale.  The full climb on Strava is 1.8 miles with an average of 3 % but within that are sections with an average of 10 %. OK it is not Mont Ventoux but if you are going up with guys that are better than you then there is the opportunity to really push yourself. As we approached the bottom I was thinking this is going to hurt, it is just a question of when it starts.



I certainly gave it everything there I noted my heart rate on the Garmin topped out at 190 beats per minute (bpm) on the steep bit towards the end. That is about as high as I have ever seen it. I fear that I have made my usual rookie mistake to give it absolutely everything on the first climb and thus on subsequent efforts I will be closer to hitting the wall. Still if I am to improve I have to put myself in the red ( don't I ?)

We moved on down Beverley Road into South Cave  Every time I go down this steep descent I seem to get less and less confident about it. For sure describing my inadequacies going downhill can be the subject of another post, but not today.

Through South Cave onto North Cave and then heading out towards Hotham before turning right up a moderate climb called Pitbalk Hill before coming to the bottom of the B1230 up to High Hunsley. "Not the B1230 up to High Hunsley !" I hear you cry. The very same.

According to Strava the full climb is 2.1 miles at an average of 3 %.Similar to Brantingham there are steeper slopes lower down up to 9 % and then a long section where the road goes on for a long time gradually rising all the time. As we approached it I remembered I had been up it before on a previous club ride and had been unable to to keep in touch with the front guys. No shame in that there are plenty of riders (male and female) in the club who are better than me. So long as I tried my best and if possible improved from the last time I would be happy. Here we go.



When the front guys pulled away I managed to crawl up to the back of Wayne in the blue top and stick with them all the way to the top. I don't believe they were going full gas anyway. Did you see the ease with which Chris ( big thighs and white stripes on his tights ) came to the front? There was plenty in reserve there. It did my ego no harm at all to stick with those guys to the top. However, I knew that was it for me now on the climbs. The final climb of the day Trundelgate I would be chugging up.

From High Hunsley we went down the hill into North Newbold, another steep descent for me to wimp out of and marvel at the confidence and bravery of others. But as I have said in previous posts I am not a brave man.

At the bottom we turn round and line up to come back up Trundlegate and Whin Lane. The full climb to the junction at the end of Whin Lane is another 2.1 miles at an average of 3 % but similar to the previous 2 climbs there was a steep section up to 12 % followed by a gradual rise all the way to the top.

By the time I got to the bottom my Go Pro battery was flat ( as was I ) so no pictures for this one but take my word for it the pace was funereal. Speaking of funerals I am afraid I nearly caused one on the way up. The road going up is just a bit bigger than single track and during my exertions going up the hill I had wandered into the middle of the road. Suddenly up ahead round the bend, coming at breakneck speed, a cyclist appeared tearing down the road. He must have been doing about 40 mph and I was in the way !

So I got out of the way but not before the gentleman concerned had a huge fright and let me know his thoughts on the matter as he sped past. For sure I shouldn't have been where I was, that was my fault but I do think he was going too fast. If I had been a car he would have had no chance. Anyway no-one was hurt (physically) and I learned my lesson.

We all regrouped at the top and then made our way back to Cottingham. I peeled of with Tracy and Steve to make our way back to North Ferriby. I said farewell to Tracy and Steve at North Ferriby and cycled solo  back to the Humber Bridge and back home to Barton-Upon-Humber.


46 eventful miles all told. Good miles in the legs but I need to do twice that. Must come up with a training plan.

One dissappointment to report. Like most cyclists , I suspect, before showering, eating, saying hello to loved ones and definately before cleaning the bike the first thing that MUST be done on completion of a ride is to upload the ride from your Garmin device to Strava ( other devices and websites are available ).

I felt for sure there would be some PBs on there plus I could embed it in my blog. So I connected the device to the laptop, logged onto Strava went to up load and ......NOTHING !  I was surprised at how strong my emotions were that the ride hadn't been recorded. I was gutted ! After a short while though I started to gain some perspective on the matter. I knew I had done the ride and ultimately that's all that matters.

I have embedded the course though from Garmin which isnt as good as the actual activity from Strava.

Overall I'm glad I got out of bed in the morning.

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Friday 13 February 2015

Turbo-ing Do I Love It or Do I Hate It ?


Me on my Turbo Trainer
Do I Love It or Do I Hate It ?
Interval Session - Thu 12-02-15

I must confess the picture opposite is a bit of a fake. Well it's a complete fake actually, something the BBC would be proud of. You are not looking at a real session in action, I just wanted to get a picture of me on my turbo.

If the fake grimace doesn't give it away then maybe the trainers instead of cleats may or perhaps the fact I'm holding on to my i-phone in order to operate the Go-Pro taking the picture.

My approach to workouts on the turbo have tended to be literally aimless heretofore. I thought that so long as I got off a sweaty mess at the end then I must be doing some good and I guess to some extent that was true but I have recognised now that I could be getting a lot more out of my sweaty sessions than I have been.

By the way I do not profess to be an expert but like you dear reader I read articles on line and in magazines about using a turbo ( or indeed any cycling issue ) and process it in the following Donald Rumsfeld way :

  1. I don't understand it so ignore it.
  2. I think it is elitist bullshit so ignore it.
  3. I do understand it but do not agree with it and do not implement it.
  4. I do understand it, agree with it and implement it in full.
  5. I do understand it, agree with it but cannot be arsed to implement it.
  6. I do understand it, agree with it but implement my own simplistic half arsed version.
I don't think I have ever done No 4. The vast majority of what I do is No. 6. And so it is with turbo-ing.

To improve my cycling I need to improve my endurance/stamina and improve my ability to work hard for shorter periods ( say for going up a hill or hanging on for grim death on someone's wheel) and then be able to recover and do it again.

So my turbo sessions can be split into these 2 types of training, namely for endurance and pyramid interval sessions for working hard and recovering.

Thursday was an interval session. 10 minute warm up, 1 minute hard, 1 minute rest, 2minute hard, 2 minute rest...up to 4 minutes hard, 4 minute rest and then back down the pyramid to 1 minute hard followed by 10 minute cooldown. 50 minutes in total.

I did video it but when I watched it back I looked tired and grey and it was not attractive

So in conclusion do I love the turbo or hate it ? 


I love turbos because:
  • When the weather is bad there is no excuse for not having a pedal
  • If you are disciplined you can get a really tough workout 
  • It can hurt a lot and get you acustomed to the pain

I hate turbos because:

  • When the weather is bad there is no excuse for not having a pedal
  • If you are disciplined you can get a really tough workout 
  • It can hurt a lot and get you acustomed to the pain


nuff said.

To make a donation towards the vital work of ALZHEIMERS RESEARCH UK please click on the following link. MY VIRGIN MONEY GIVING PAGE .Thank you very much.


Wednesday 11 February 2015

Training Ride 10-02-2015

I set off from Barton on a cold afternoon about 1 or 2 degrees. Daylight was fading and I wanted to try and do about 35 miles at a steady pace. I thought I would stick to the slightly busier roads traffic wise as there were still spots of ice about and these roads would be gritted. There was quite a bit of traffic but no problems with that apart from one guy in an oncoming car rolled his window down and shouted something as he went past ?? Don't know what that was about ? Maybe my light which is quite bright and was set to strobing was in his eyes. I angled it down a bit more and carried on and hoped he wouldnt come back. I am not a brave man.

Did a couple of loops around Swanland going up the hill twice. Tried hard on the first one hoping for a Strava PB and chugged up the 2nd time. Didnt get a PB, must try harder. At the top the second time got passed by a fellow cyclist and it was Charlie from the club ( Cottingham Road Club ). Shouted to him to slow down and rode with him for about 20 minutes. He took me down an interesting cut through on the other side of Swanland that brings you out in the vicinity of Eloughton Dale and we went our different ways near the top of Beverley Road.

I wasnt planning to come this way as going down Beverley Road into South Cave would be quite scary for me (remember I'm not a brave man ) in these close to icy conditions. So it proved as I had a couple of back wheel wobbles as I went down as slow as possible.

Into South Cave then Welton, Melton and North Ferriby before getting back to the Humber Bridge and back home to Barton. 35 miles exactly., didnt feel brilliant I have to say, but then I dont think I ever do ! Let's call them base miles for the legs whilst I try and figure out a training plan for the100 miler.



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Cottingham Road Club - Ride 08/02/15


Went on the club ride on Sunday. First club ride of the new year for me. That's pretty poor as it is February now ! The weather has been snowy and icy though in my defence. There was a big turnout maybe that New Year resolution thing. Luckily it was a relatively short ride but with some tough short sharp hills thrown in.


Adam has done a much better job of describing it than I could ever do on the link below plus there is some footage I shot for you to take a look at.

Cottingham Road Club Ride 08-02-15