Derby Mercury 79th Birthday Social Extravaganza

One of the real success stories of this cycling season at Derby Mercury has been the popularity of the Social Rides and the way they have attracted the less ' racing condition cyclists ' in the Club.  Starting off with a surprising turnout of over 35 riders on a cold, damp January Sunday morning, the rides have steadily increased their reach, and yesterday ' The Birthday Ride' attracted over 100 participants.
To make these rides truly inclusive there are 3 options

a)  a 79 mile  ride for the fit and fast

b) a 79 km ride for those who like to chat and eat cake

c) a 79 furlong ride for the Mercury Future Stars

The whole experience is topped off by a BBQ back at ride HQ, and, for those lucky enough to have chosen a seat at John's table, a slice of the most sumptuous Orange Chocolate Cake

The Fast Boys left early and blasted off into the Peak District and I did not see them again until they stormed past me in a blur of blue and the whirring sound of deep rimmed wheels through Sudbury on their return journey.

The Social Group comprised riders covering an age range from 10 years to 70+ years with an equally wide range of fitness and capability and snaked their way to the coffee stop at Denstone Hall

 where we turned the place into a sea of blue.

Refuelling is a serious business and a lot of thought needs to be given to the correct nutritionally food

Though the cyclists around the tables seemed highly satisfied with their choices

Meanwhile the Mercury Future Stars , along with their support staff,  had made their way to Elvaston

but with the excess energy of youth, burned some of it off on an assault course

before returning for burgers and cake.

It was a great day in the saddle, the weather was kind and the organization great

Thank you to all.

Derby Mercury All Inclusive Social - Part 2

Following the great turnout for the January Social, I offered to lead a Spring Social to celebrate my 70th Birthday.  The initial ride in January had left a number of cyclists gasping for breath and in need of urgent succor, so I emphasized that this outing really would be suitable for all and that the pace would be Tortoise Like and the climbing moderate, Hares would of course be welcome and could take a detour to give them a chance to stretch their legs.
And so, at 09-00 on March 12 around 38 cyclists turned up at the Broadway ( and a few more joined en route ) . It was great to see so many juniors out, as well as a large contingent from the Derby Divas.  The numbers were such that we set off in two groups heading towards Kedleston and then Mercaston where the advanced guard stopped to allow everyone to regroup.

The lanes around here are notoriously pot holed and scattered with debris from hedge cutting and so Andy T had already had practice in repairing his own  puncture before his skills were called upon once again.

Once all mechanically sound we set off in groups once again heading through Brailsford and on tp Alkmonton where, as it started to climb, Jen kindly took over lead rider duties to give an OAP some protection from the wind.

The Alkmonton Climb, whilst not vicious, is long and you might see from this next image that Duncan G was beginning to feel the pace as he pulled his tag along up the hill.

From Alkmonton the run was on to the coffee stop and one young lady, having been equipped by a whip from the esteemed Touring Secretary, urged her driver to much greater efforts

I had arranged for the coffee stop to be at The Salt Box in Hatton and in celebration of the day, my wife had kindly arranged for a Birthday Cake to be ready

Herbie had kindly offered to forgo the hillier part of the ride so as to reserve half the cafe in advance of our arrival, ably assisted by Mark H.

Cyclists can of course not live by Cake Alone and bacon sandwiches are a neccesity for growing people

It was a true party atmosphere and to a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday we all enjoyed the rest

Eve could not be with us, but she had not forgotten and sent one of her emissaries with a special present

Refueling over we went on the flat route to Willington and Repton before turning towards Milton Ingleby Swarkstone and home. For me around 77km with 575 m of climbing

For me it was a wonderful day out. No-one got dropped, the average pace was around 22kph and the the climbing modest with no lung busters.

Thank you to everyone who came to help me celebrate...you all gave me a day to remember.

The Audax Apprentice

Audax is a cycling sport in which participants attempt to cycle long distances within a pre-defined time limit. Audax is a non-competitive sport : success in an event is measured by its completion.  Audax has its origins in Italian endurance sport of the late nineteenth century, and the rules were formalized in France in the early twentieth century.

The distances covered can be huge, with some events incorporating overnight stops, but for an Apprentice then the distances I am concerned about are around 100km+, a baby audax if you like.

For those who dont know me, or have not read my profile, then I should say I am a very late comer to cycling, having only taken up cycling after I retired when I was 60 yo, and so have no inbuilt reservoir of core cycling endurance; 100 km is a VERY LONG WAY !

My normal cycling involves much shorter distances and is invariably aimed at discovering new tea shops. However at the beginning of this year a friend, a veteran racing cyclist who is still incredibly fit, told me of his aim to cycle 10 audax events this year and suggested that I should give it a try.

In a moment of foolishness I agreed and the randonneurs at my local cycling club, Derby Mercury RC,  also gave me encouragement.  A previous post described my first adventure and now I have completed a second audax, The Three Fields around Alfreton and the Nottinghamshire lanes which was another 104km and involved another 1100 m of climbing.

Team Mercury were again out in force making an early arrival at the food stop

I have to say that stopping at this Church Hall was a delight; the local church ladies had provided streams of tea and coffee all supplemented by a vast array of home made cakes. It seemed a shame to leave but leave I must and so on towards Holocaust Hill and then some splendid  scenic views

Cyclists need food, lots of it, when attempting long distance rides and I treated myself to a wonderful plate of beans on toast with a fried egg on top at Southwell...true rocket fuel

It has been explained ( INSTRUCTED!! )  that all audaxers should have a rear mudflap on their bikes, the use of mudguards is of course not up for debate, and so, in an attempt to obey ' the rules '  my Mercian now proudly boasts a rear mudflap in Mercury Blue.

This was an excellent ride, though I could have dome without the loss of my climbing gears on the last 10km hilly climb to the finish, big gear hill climbing is not to be recommended for Old Age Pensioners, but Mercian have now fixed this problem for me and replaced the ruined gear cable.


Next up will be Charnwood In The Spring, another baby audax but with hopefully slightly less climbing and somewhat warmer weather.

I doubt that I will complete 10  events but I am certainly enjoying new rides around the country.

Driven by Targets

For most of my working life I was driven by targets...targets usually set by others.
 So much so that it became to be part of me.
 Now retired, and fully away from the business world I have found that since I took up cycling a load of self set targets came along with the package.

But after my  last year's abysmal performance ( See the last blog post )  I determined that ' Targets ' would be assigned to the bin of history...

.... except for the Annuity Distance Target which stands at 1771 km this year

and then a friend suggested I might join him on a few audax rides...nothing too arduous you understand, just around the 100 km mark

and then another friend said I expect you to come to Harogate and have Tea and Cakes at Betty's this year

...and really, 1771 km is not THAT much..perhaps 5000 km would be more of a challenge

..and then another friend said how about getting fit enough to cycle with us for a week in France

..and that Brompton you have just acquired...you really should use it to explore by train and bike

...and I noticed that my time over a favourite segment was down on what it used to be...not that I am competitive of course any more

Anyway, I am no longer driven by Targets

Nutritional Needs of a Tea Shop Tourist

Cycling nutrition is a complex subject, and many large organizations spend a fortune on research and development before making available to the general cycling fraternity a range of tablets, gels, powders and bars. Maintaining the correct level of salts, fats, energy and other stuff is vitally important and even the dedicated amateur cyclist goes to great lengths to find the right balance.
There is however another breed of cyclist, the tea shop tourist, who would view the idea of entering a 25 mile Time Trial or a city centre Criterium with horror. This article is aimed at cyclists such as these.

I am on a diet!!

I know this because my wife told me .

Hence getting the right balance between input and output is I am told vital.
I also love numbers and among the stream of data that my Garmin Edge 800 feeds to me as I pedal along is one that shows how many calories I have burnt off. Now obviously as cyclists we do not want to suffer the dreaded bonk ( see Nutritional Breakdown ) where all our energy resources become totally depleted; and so, eating cake should be regarded as a necessity and NOT as a luxury or reward. So, in order to give you some guidance on the stuff you should be eating in order to maintain your nutritional balance, I have pulled together the following table from which you can pick and mix.

Toasted Tea Cake with butter   370 cals

Plain Scone                               140 cals

Fruit Scone                                150 cals

Jam and Cream with scone         LOTS

Mince Pie                                  320 cals

Flap jack                                   335 cals

Slice of Lemon drizzle                 399 cals

Choc raspberry brownie             390 cals

Victoria sponge                          599 cals

Rich fruit cake                            780 cals

Tara Carrot Cake with Cream     986 cals

Now obviously, one needs sufficient energy resources to get home from the tea shop, so you need to make due allowance for that in the amount of cake you consume. 

I hope that these guidelines will stop you from fading away when you next go out on a general meander on your bike.