It's all your fault!

It is almost 5 years now since I retired.

Very shortly after that moment, whilst I was wondering what to do with the rest of my life I met someone who has since become a good friend to me.
And he introduced me to cycling.
Whilst I already could ride a bike it had been 40 years since I had done so, and then it was just pottering around the local streets.

If you have read some of my earlier posts you will know of my Mercian stable and perhaps more importantly,  know that I am about to attempt next August what will surely prove to be the biggest athletic challenge of my life, the Ride London100 in aid of the mental health charity,  Mind

How things change.

But when you are an old age pensioner, getting fit,  and retaining that fitness requires a huge effort, and sometimes at a personal cost.  What follows is a note that I sent to my friend after to-day’s cycle ride.

It’s all your fault!!

If you hadn't seduced me into cycling I would never have had to change an inner tube in sub zero temperatures on lanes like ice rinks in the frozen peaks of Derbyshire. . Never mind the fact that I've had to spend ages replacing brake blocks, though this time I did buy the whole piece instead of just the insert which perhaps saved my fingers and my sanity..And the lanes were covered in sheets of glass, apart from those which still remained underwater from the floods. Plus my hands were cold even with liners. As for my toes; well i am still waiting for them to thaw out before I dare look to see if I still retain a full complement. And then after 59k I got too hot from all the hill climbing and no sooner had i unzipped one of the many layers I was wearing than I became  too cold going down the other side. And there was still another 25km to do before I would get home. Now the bike is filthy, the chain needs a good clean and new oil and I am  very tired.

And  it’s all your fault!!!

At least when I did get home I could enjoy a piece of cake made from one of the recipes in the booklet * Cycling Food on the Go * which I have compiled and am giving away in return for a minimum donation of £2 to Mind

If you would like a copy, then please sponsor me by going to

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/teamroberts

Cycling Food on the Go

My son and I  have been accepted to cycle in the Ride London 100 event on August 4th 2013.  This involves us cycling 100 miles on the route used in the Olympics.

100 miles is a long way!

It is much further than either of us have ever ridden before. And we need to do it at a pace that is 15% quicker than our normal efforts so as to be back in time to let the Elite Race begin.  However, we will give it our best shot and I will train on cake; he being a competitive swimmer and athlete will probably train on something else :-()

We are taking on this challenge to raise money for the Mental Health Charity Mind. It is estimated that one in four people suffer from a mental health condition of one form or another at some point in their lives.  Mind provide help and support for people with such conditions and seek to break down stigma which prevents many people from seeking help.
If you'd like to know more about what Mind does please look at this link.

As an extra incentive, we have put together  a short pamphlet entitled

" Cycling Food on the Go "  

which contains around 20 selected recipes suitable for all cyclists undertaking trips between 1 and 100 miles!

This booklet, which will be distributed in pdf form electronically is now on general release and you can obtain a copy by donating a minimum of £2 ,but we hope donations will be higher if  you are able,  and leaving your email address.

You can donate at   http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/teamroberts

We'd really appreciate any sponsorship for this very worthwhile cause.  Thanks in advance!

Preparing for a Challenge

I have added a Count  Down Clock to my website so that I am continually prompted of how long I have left to get fit for the Ride London 100 that I am doing with my son in aid of the mental health charity Mind. It still seems a long way off but I know deep down that I need to start preparing now if I am to have any hope of meeting this challenge.  The Olympic Road race route, even with only a single ascent of Box Hill, is forbidding to an Old Age Pensioner who has only been cycling for 4 years.
The closest I usually get to professional races is to attend a start and finish, maybe joining with other cyclists to pick up a convenient point or two on the route. For the professionals riding the race, it is a high pressured event, during which they genuinely push themselves to the limit; victory, glory, careers depend upon performance. I will never know what it is to ride a major road race tour but as I ride the Olympic route I can dream.
Pushing my body to the limit? Well the pros are real athletes; my limits are much lower as was brought home to me in forceful fashion when I went on a  training ride with a Time Triallist ( see last blog entry ). As for a finishing time..well Dave Brailsford need not start looking for his phonebook. My major aim is to get back on the same day as I set out.

But this challenge is more, much more, than about me having a cycle ride in the lanes of Surrey. It is about raising awareness, and hopefully some money for Mind.  To this end we have created a fundraising site

Team Roberts

One of the things that I have discovered when cycling is that you need to continually keep refuelling and whilst the professionals have expert nutritional advice, most casual cyclists refuel on cake!  And so,  we have produced a pamphlet, in pdf form,  entitled * Cycling Food on the Go * which we aim to give away to all those people who donate a MINIMUM of £2 , to our fundraising site. In this way we hope to reach a wider audience.

The booklet is currently being finalized and the plan is to start promoting and distributing  it within the next two weeks. I will be launching it using the next post on this blog,

But you can book a copy in advance if you wish, just make a donation :-)

Murder in the Derbyshire Lanes

I think I am dead.:-()

Tries the Jense test; “ Shut up legs!!! “

No response

I am dead :-(

As part of my training for the LondonRide 100 I need to increase my average speed by about 10% from 19kph to 21kph and sustain it over a very long distance.  
Talking about this requirement to a friend he offered to let me join one of his training rides and tow me along at a speed around about my target level. I should mention here that my    “ friend “ ( ??**!!!?? ) races for Derby Mercury Road Club, is at least 25 years younger than me, is a sub 60 min/25 mile TT rider and is approaching sub 21mins for 10 miles. He also possesses a stable of 7 bikes, made up of a mixture of carbon and titanium frames all equipped with top end kit, i was particularly taken with the power tap he had on his titanium winter bike that  he was using for our ride.

( As an aside, when I got home I described to my wife my awe and admiration for this set of kit. Her comment “ I bet he is not married ! “  He’s not )

Now with the crew I normally cycle with, my heart rate averages around Zone 2 as I zoom along in the middle ring, occasionally it might rise to zone 3 if we encounter one of the derbyshire peaks but it very soon drops back down to more acceptable levels.  It became rapidly apparent on this ride that Zone 2 and middle ring would not suffice! Thankfully the course was flat as over the first few kilometres my garmin 800 indicated a continuous speed of 30kph+, the inner ring was abandoned for the big ring and the little sprockets on the cassette were engaged for the first time in their life.

The external temperature was just hovering above zero and the wind chill lowered the effective temperature further, but despite this I soon began to work up a sweat.  Glancing at my heart rate I noticed it was 150bpm!  This is zone 5 and we were on the flat, and it was not dropping back!  Some serious effort was being extended here, at least by me.
The head wind did not help as the trees were shedding leaves like a snow storm. I tried the wheel sucking trick but to no avail as everytime I got within a couple of metres Scott thought I wanted to speed up and did so! Even the traffic lights were not on my side, conveniently changing to green as we rapidly approached them. The only respite came when we came across a train crossing and the barrier made us stop for a few seconds allowing my heart rate to drop for a minute. But then we were off again, blasting through the villages, overtaking other cyclists, slow moving cars and the occasional bus.
And then it was over. The entire ride had been done cycling continuously in Zone 5 and at a highest ever average speed for me.  The details can be seen at http://app.strava.com/rides/26138970

The cycle home seemed tame by comparison as I dawdled along reflecting on what had been a great experience. Thanks to Scott for taking me along with him. For him it had been nothing but a saunter and probably a waste of good training time. I do appreciate our time together. Once home it was straight to the cake tin for a slice of Bara Brith , great cycling recovery food !

And the murderer, well , have you seen this man?

Mud, Sweat and Tears

Last weekend I saw in the newspaper that there was a cyclo cross race being held close to where I live.  I have never seen one of these but some of my friends tell me that they use it as part of their winter training regime. And so I decided to wander along and see what it was all about. The event was Round 5 of the Notts and Derby Cyclo Cross League and was held in Allestree Park in Derby. Whilst there had been some rain on the previous few days, the race day itself was fine with occasional glimpses of sun.
Cycling seems to be booming in Derbyshire and before the main event got underway, Cycle Derby  , an organization aimed at promoting cycling for all ages, ran some mini cyclo cross events for newcomers to the sport and attracted about 100 people.

The main event consisted of 4 events and first up was the Under-9 race.  I was amazed to see that the youngest rider was only 3 years old and he was pedalling! About 65 children took part in this and, though the hill was very minor it still seemed very steep for those with little legs

An abiding memory from the day was that Cyclo Cross is very much a family affair, and the announcer emphasized this fact with his many references to this or that clan, and reminiscences of the old timers whose progeny were there racing to-day.

The local clubs are obviously training their young stars well and there were many examples of teamwork with riders working to-gether to share the load between them

I keep off all this rough stuff, and as the races proceeded the rough stuff got rougher as the ground began to churn up and riders began to slip and slide and the bikes themselves started to get hammered under the strain. Not all could withstand this battering from the elements and so for some their race ended early.

n total there were about 180 riders in the main  junior events and I admire them all for both their enthusiasm and the efforts they put in.

The senior race consisted of around 220 riders with a women’s race of about 25 contestants embedded within the field. Seniors seemed to range in age from the exceedingly fit 20 year olds to those of much more mature years, though I did not spot any old age pensioners reinforcing my personal view that this was not an event for me! I was also amazed to see that many, if not all, the riders had two bikes, plus spare sets of wheels and the pit area was chocked  full of bike porn.
I had seen disc brakes on bikes before but have never been a fan, being worried that they may be too severe and catapult me over the bars; but as I watched the riders race around the course and saw how their bikes changed colour from, say, electric blue to muddy blackish brown I began to understand the advantages that discs could bring. The derailleur gears also seemed to get clogged up and battered, especially through the wooded sections where the attempts to highlight the roots with white paint soon proved to have been a futile effort

As the race proceeded and riders became progressively more tired, the strain began to show on their faces. The ruts got deeper, the mud more slimey but they all battled on

Well done to them all. For me a great day out and thanks to all the organizers for putting on such an event which attracted over 600 people riding during the day

But I am still going to stick to just watching :-)

Leicester GoSkyRide Strong Plus

Solo cycling is fine but the enjoyment for me is magnified when cycling with others. An opportunity to share past experiences, discuss future ambitions and someone to listen when you are moaning about the steepness of the latest hill. In addition for me, I find that I need to ride with cyclists who are fitter and stronger than me to take me out of my comfort zone where the average heart rate rarely, if ever, gets out of Zone 2. And so this year I have taken to seeking out groups to ride with in various parts of the country in order to meet new friends and explore different parts of the country. The added benefit is that I ride harder, faster and for longer which is what I need if I am ever going to be able to complete LondonRide100 with my son next year.
And so it was that David suggest I tried a SkyRide, and in particular the Leicester GoSkyRide Strong Plus. Reading the blurb this promised a 50km ride at a fast place, the lower limit of which was still 10% greater than my normal average. However, with David’s encouragement, I entered and got my bike prepared for the day.
However it was not a very auspicious start even though the weather was fine and the forecast good. I live about 70km from the start point and don’t know Leicester City centre at all so decided to set off early to give myself plenty of time to park and reach the start venue. In preparation I had identified a local car park near to my destination and printed off a map to get me from car to start. I arrived in Leicester about 45minutes before the ride was due to commence..only to discover that the car park was closed! I was then forced to follow the one way system around the city racing circuit until I at last espied another Car Park which was open. Time was ticking on and whilst parked, I was also lost. The local denizens had never heard of Western Boulevard and so it was Android Phone to the rescue (?) as I attempted to navigate myself across the city. By now it was 09-10 and the ride was scheduled to commence at 09-00. I was about to give up and go home when I turned a corner and saw a group of men in lycra!  Could it be them? It was and they were just setting off, so with a quick hello I tagged on with the Assistant Leader waiting for me and bridging me back to the peleton. Making up a gap of only a few hundred metres can still be damned hard as the fresh legs in front sped along.
There were about 12 on the ride but after about 3km, two dropped out as they discovered that the step up from Sky EasyRide to Strong Plus was bigger than they had anticipated. We were soon out out of the city streets and heading for the country lanes towards Market Bosworth. The Leaders were excellent, setting a fast but  steady pace with one always acting as Lanterne Rouge to coax and encourage anyone who was in danger of becoming detached. Despite once again giving most of them 20+ years I  was surprised  but grateful to manage to hold my own. The halfway point was at Market Bosworth and when we arrived the place was crammed with cyclists taking part in some road race. You could distinguish them from us as they had numbers inked onto their arms, had bikes to drool over and looked incredibly fit. Indeed it made me feel properly worn out as I sat there eating my cake and watching them storm past.
But soon we were on our way again. The route was fairly mild compared to the Derbyshire  Peak District and one could chat quite easily as we rode along. There was more cycle trail riding than I had expected which tended to slow the pace down but that was probably good for me as it allowed recovery time.  As we headed back to Leicester and into the back streets we turned a corner and suddenly I espied the car park where I had been forced o park. Not sure if i would ever find it again, I said my goodbyes and dismounted.
For me, an excellent ride and a very good work out with average  heart rate in Zone 3.
Thanks to the Leaders for the company and encouragement and I would recommend these rides to everyone.

Details of the route are  http://app.strava.com/rides/20569490

Now to find another group to impose myself on for a day :-)

GS Gazzetta goes into Space

My last posting told of a potential battle of MIND over Body, in particular my mind and my body, as I contemplated the challenges which lie ahead for attempting LondonRide100 next summer. While I am a firm believer in the power of the mind, I do recognize that it may need a little help in getting my body to a condition where it can survive this challenge. And so I have devised a training plan, or rather a rough mental idea of some of the things that need to be accomplished. The goal is to be able to ride faster, further and for longer than I have ever previously managed. To achieve this I will also need to pay attention to my dietary requirements both on and off the bike.
So this week I have been on 2 training rides, the first of which was with Mark, a friend from GS Gazzetta, who can always be relied upon to travel fast and push me to my limits and beyond.   The bare statistics of the ride can be found at http://app.strava.com/rides/19151008#comments

My instructions to Mark were quite clear before we started; a flat route and an average speed of ~21kph, my target speed for the London100. To a mountain goat however, flat is a very relative matter and I also discovered that he cannot count despite working at a school. I pity the children!!  Thankfully Mark just pointed out Mow Cop to me as we sped along as it was not on to-day’s route , though he promised me that we could work on my climbing legs next time I visited ( Thanks Mark! ).  The weather was dry and warm and quite a few cyclists had ventured out which seemed to spur some hidden racing instinct into my companion as we were forced to chase down any cyclist ahead of us, especially if they were female, blonde and had a pony tail! I was too exhausted to be distracted. We managed a quick circuit of Jodrell Bank and were travelling at such a speed that I thought the dish was going to track us as we hurtled off into space, or in this case a tea shop which I INSISTED was a mandatory requirement of any ride, a concept alien to Mark ( I wonder if this flaw is common to all GS Gazzetta riders? ) The ride was good and exhilarating and at an average pace of 26kph for 60km it was a good workout, as the average heart rate of 140bpm, which is race pace for me, demonstrated. Thanks Mark.
As an aside, shortly after the ride had finished and we were sitting In Mark’s house, my left calf cramped up solid as a rock. I obviously must pay much closer attention to on-bike nutrition.

Increasing average speed will not by itself be sufficient, endurance is also required. And so my second training ride of the week looked at this aspect. For the past two weeks my regular ride with the Derby CTC Grand Veterans has ventured into the Peak District where the climbing seems relentless. So this week I was expecting a much more gradual affair in the flatter lands of South Derbyshire. It did not turn out quite as planned and the route details can be found at  http://app.strava.com/rides/19485842

Rather than meander alongside the River Derwent and remain in the valley we turned towards the hills around Bretby and encompassed the 3 counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire. Our leader had discovered a ‘short cut ‘ at one point which seemed to entail riding along bridleways and across some fields. I am not fond of this type of cycling. especially on my new Mercian Vincitore which is built for roads, and got dropped. However a combination of phone and Garmin 800 ( I KNEW that it wasn’t just a toy :-) ) meant that we became reunited again. I can now manage 80km rides fairly comfortably but need to increase this range quite dramatically and so as we neared ride’s end I left my companions and put in an extra 25km loop at a fairly quick pace to take me over the metric century.
A good week with a mixture of speed and endurance.

Next week I have entered, I must confess with a lot of trepidation,  a SKY Ride in Leicester. It is the Market Town Ride - Strong Plus which covers 50km but it says at a fast pace, much faster than my normal average. Entering at this level for my first ever GoSKYRide is perhaps being overly optimistic. However I hope it will once again introduce me to some new roads, new people and be another small step on my journey to fitness.