Boys Toys...or Essential Purchases

I just love numbers.

Not that I actually take the analysis of my cycling data and then feed it back into a structured training regime..I leave that to the young road and track  warriors.

I just LOVE numbers

So when I had the chance to grab a BARGAIN ( defined as something I don't need at a price I cannot afford to  refuse ) of a Power Meter I was overjoyed ... loads more data.

Just think of the spreadsheets and graphs I would be able to produce AND I would have proof that cycling up hill into a head wind was hard work :-)

And using something called FTP ( whatever that is ) I will be able to digitally prove that I need a rest after a hard ride and so give my wife true explanations about why I am not able to tackle that list of ' household jobs ' she has constructed.

The PowerTap came fitted to a wheel, and so obviously I needed a matching set, and  so I acquired a new wheel set, Pacenti SL23 rims. Following my purchase of HPlus-Son Archtypes for Witchcraft, my Giant Advanced TCR, I really do like the ride that the wider rim gives and so these Pacenti wheels were an obvious necessary purchase

An other advantage of the Pacenti is that they are made to accommodate Tubeless Tyres.  The lanes around where I live are very badly potholed and the surface is forever covered in thorns from the incessant hedge trimming that the farmers carry out. Punctures are a regular occurence and having nearly lost my fingers to frostbite changing a tube whilst out in the wilds of Dalbury recently I decided that a set of Hutchinson Fusion tyres needed to be added to the list.

I believe that this wheelset with the tubeless tyres may be slightly heavier than my previous tubed Archetypes... but perhaps I will have one less flapjack to compensate :-)

Now it is often said that we Old Age Pensioners talk a good ride but rarely actually get on a bike and go for a ride. This is obviously nonsense as the tea shops of Derbyshire and the surrounding counties would not survive without our trade. But just to prove the point I have also bought another bargain from a friend who deemed it surplus to requirements

This camera is really small and I have mounted it underneath my saddle but am still getting to grips on how best to use it but with luck I will be able to record some of our adventures in France later this year when the Cycling Veterans go looking for mountains
.

But it does work..as shown here when the Derby Mercury Veterans went to Prison

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.

The Derby Divas

I have mentioned before that my cycling is mainly of the Tea Shop Tours variety but not all cyclists follow my excellent example.  Last year some of the members of my club, Derby Mercury RC,  entered the LVRC National Track Championships. Derby now has its own velodrome and many in our club have been inspired to take up track cycling, gain the necessary accreditation and race in the Track League.... with some very encouraging results. So much so they entered the LVRC National Championships held at Newport last October and came back with quite a sizable medal haul.

Not to be outdone, some of the ladies in the Club also decided to take up Track Cycling and entered the Track League, again with quite a degree of success.  So, inspired by the veteran men's effort last year, the Derby Divas were formed and are aiming for the Masters Track Championships to be held in July, again in Newport.


Now this is a significant step up in class from the local league and some serious training and dedication will be required.

Track cycling is to cycling what 'track and field' is to athletics, with racing for a wide range of riders and body types, from short, timed, solo sprint races to long high endurance bunch races. Track cycling is all about speed, technique, tactics and nerve; all the things I lack which is why I admire the efforts of those brave enough to compete.

The Divas formed last year and were prominent in the local Track League where often they could be seen hunting as a pack......

..... before pouncing for the kill.

All of this requires plenty of desire and grit, especially in the solo events when the legs are shrieking for you to stop.

But fast times require the power to be applied from the off...

..with the coach keeping a benevolent eye on your technique

I am looking forward to following their progress and  the Russian Steps exercises should in particular be a really great photographic opportunity...indeed I could almost, though only almost, feel sorry for what lies in wait for these girls.

Thank you ladies for inviting me along to watch.

Rutland and Beyond.... an OAP's Adventure

For those of you who read my last post, Driven by Targets,  you will know that following last year's abject failure to achieve the objectives, I have decided to become even less competitive and just pootle around.  However a friend, a keen audaxer, has set himself the target to complete 10 Baby Audaxes ( 100km or less ) this year and after many discussions in a local coffee shop he persuaded me to join him on the first one, the Leicester Forest Cycling Club's  Rutland and Beyond Audax.. A gentle introduction with some beautiful scenery he said.

The weather forecast promised arctic weather and high NE winds, with the winds having the cruel capability to alter direction dependent upon the cyclists heading.

In the event my friend decided that the combination of zero temperatures, high winds, and a very early start made staying in bed at home a preferable option, leaving me to attempt a solo ride with the aid of my trusty garmin and an old fashioned bit of paper with writing on it .. I eschewed maps as I can never read them properly, but more of navigational issues later.

I have joined Derby Mercury RC this last  year, not with the intent of cycling with them, far out of my league but just to help out as a gofer at events, and I mentioned that I was undertaking this event. This inspired Team Mercury to also have a go and so Mark, Debbie, Phil and Nigel, the Mercury Marvels, entered.. For this foolhardy crew, a mere 100km was not worth getting out of bed for and so they decided to ride both to and from the event to raise a more respectable 200km ride.  In order to assist them they had recruited two sacrificial lambs in Mark and Sarah from Cycle Derby to act as their lead out team.

And so, around 160 cyclists converged on Ride HQ at 08-15

I had a plan. Not to be put off by all these fit young people and to ride at my own pace. I know I dont climb well and there were plenty of climbs on the course so I had stocked up with my home made malt loaf and flapjcks and a bottle full of fluid to lessen the risk of dying completely on some far forgotten hill. Eat little and often was my moto.

And so, positioning myself at the rear of the peleton we set off and encountered the first climb after 800m. It became apparent that perhaps I am not the world's worst climber as some seemed to start suffering already, indeed quite a few people never managed to complete the course.

Navigation is another skill I lack and as I  approached Rutland Water a couple of riders in front of me whom I had caught up, suddenly veered off left against all the advice of my Garmin!   It was then I discovered that not all riders out on a Sunday morning cycling around Rutland Water are neccessarily in the audax.  And so to the first Control Point

Lots of people came over to chat to me, but it seems it was not my scintillating wit they were interested in, but my Mercian Vincitore Special.

The Mercury Marvels had stormed past me on the hill into Rutland Water, resplendent in their kit, my Mercury jersey was well covered in multiple layers so as not to degrade the image and also I needed layers to keep warm.

Loving numbers, I had flipped through the garmin screens, a big mistake!  From here on in my turn by turn instructions vanished and I had to resort to following cyclists butts ( not always a pretty sight ) or when alone relying upon the cue sheet with its original Egyptian Hieroglyphics

The hills kept on coming and I was beginning to wish that I had chosen a Shimano Groupset instead of the Campagnolo as that would have allowed a much lower bottom gear (30/29 is my lowest ) and though I rarely engaged that bottom gear I did at times  envy the people twirling away on the steepest climbs.

There is a reward from the hills though. At one point the view into the valley with the viaduct stretching out across the peaks is a marvellous sight. It was around here that I saw a large red kite flying low in the sky espying out the young lambs as a potential lunch..or perhaps he was waiting for me to fall.

Just prior to the third control point is The Hill, a leg sapping lung busting monster for an OAP. I was determined not to let it beat me and though my brain was telling me to get off and push, my inner self would not relent, and indeed I passed another couple of riders on this climb.

For those who reached the check point and cafe early there was plenty of food

Some even were treated to a Valentine Lunch!

However by the time I arrived the place was packed with sunday tourists and stifling hot with wait times up to 45 minutes...so a gel, a piece of malt loaf and I soldiered on

The last section was probably the toughest for me, the wind was horrendous and the terrain very exposed...but I made it!!


For those who like statistics the Strava Ride is here 

To give an indication of how I coped, my normal ' Suffer Score '; for my T-Shop Pootles is around 50...this ride was 388  .... I have never been tis close to the edge before

But did I enjoy it?  Yes

Did I feel a sense of achievement ?  Yes

Would I do another Audax ?    Well.......

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

Review of the Year 2015 and a Tentative Look Forward

As far as cycling goals are concerned then I have to admit that this last year has been somewhat of a failure.  Perhaps it is that age is finally beginning to take its toll.

I was aiming to cycle around Harrogate, visit Betty's Tea Shop, and enjoy the Yorkshire Hills....and though a friend offered to ride with me I did not follow through. He is much younger than me and I have painfully discovered that a young man's SLOW is an OAPs VERY FAST and I was worried that I would nit keep up and spoil his ride.

I was also aiming to ride Derby - Skegness ( 100 miles ) in a day. I had loaded the route onto my Garmin and even tested it out over the first 30 km outbound. Again a younger man had offered to accompany me and act as domestique. I trained for this in that I was comfortably cycling 100 km but was feeling a little tired at the end and thought I would never manage a further 60 km.

So, I chickened out on both.

But there were some highlights and here are the bare statistices

               Total distance cycled             6736.1km
                Total Ascent climbed           51985m
              Total hours in the saddle        350 hours

My ' Annuity Goal ' was to cycle 1932 km ( or 1200 miles ) so I comfortably exceeded this, and indeed, managed to cycle further in the year than I have ever done before.

( Annuity Goal. When I retired the annuity people based my pension on my life expectancy, which they assumed to be 73yo.  So I was determined to beat this and bought a bike and took up cycling, never having really ridden before. So I set a lifetime target of 80yo and determined that I would ride 2000 miles in my 60th year and then decrease the target by 100 miles per year to account for aging, hence the target of 1200 miles in 2015 )

Also this last year I joined a cycling club, Derby Mercury though I felt somewhat of a fraud wearing the jersey as their cycling abilities are in a different league to my own.   However I have been made to feel very welcome and have enjoyed helping out with Marshaling at Races and taking some photos of various events and training sessions.

                                                      



                                               




                                                


                                                

     
                                               


So what for 2016?

A Cycling distance target of  1771 km

and perhaps, for the rest................ just to have fun

Review of the Year 2014 and a look forwards to 2015

Following the extreme, for me, efforts of last year when I was training for the inaugural London 100 Event, this year was planned to be much more sedate; and so it proved.

The bare statistics support that fact.

                           Total distance = 5036km
                           Total ascent    = 34321m
                           Energy expended = 101397 calories
                           Time in. The saddle = 266 hours

Whilst more than 20% down on the previous year, I did manage to achieve my goals.

The main event was to complete my first cycling tour and ride Coast to Coast and this was done. In hindsight I have mixed views about this. The scenery was beautiful, the weather gorgeous but, much of the route was on poorly maintained cycle paths were I feared for both my bike and myself. In the event the Mercian managed fine but my body took a hammering from the never ending potholes and rock strewn paths.

It is perhaps a small sign of my progression as a cyclist that on the spur of the moment I entered a 110k audax, an event which had been my major lifetime achievement goal in 2012. This time the weather was the worst ever recorded for the event, but, in spite of this, I rode the distance 45 minutes quicker than my first attempt.

The number of posts published on this blog has dropped considerably and perhaps that is a sign it may have run its course.

I have been forced to end my cycling year early due to a damaged knee but despite this I have begun to look forward to my objectives for 2015.

A friend has kindly invited me over to Harrogate to explore some of the local cycling routes in Yorkshire and hopefully one ( at least ) of their famous tea shops.

I have been pondering a major challenge and toyed with the idea of riding the classic (?) Derby to Skegness route in a day, another 164 km adventure. The route is fairly flat, but that was what they told me when I cycled  C2C and they were lying!

Anyway I have got the route, loaded it onto my Garmin and last night someone offered to tide with me. He is young, very fit and an excellent bike mechanic, so , really, I am not sure I have any excuses left not to attempt it.

So there it is, the big aim for 2015 is to ride the 100 mile Derby to Skegness in a day


All I need to do now is to get fit!!

And with my annuity target this year being 1932km, with again an upper goal of 5000km, the year is planned.

PS. I may also have mentioned something about not being competitive any more