Turning To The Dark Side

I am ill

I am very very very ill

Indeed I thought I might be next to death's door.

I have had the first signs of an  extreme case of man flu.

The men I have spoken to have understood perfectly and been most sympathetic. Indeed one said that he had heard a rumour that the  local hospital had opened a special ward for OAPs in my condition and staffed it with particularly young, attractive nurse to dab my fevered brow..

However, the response I have had from the females that I know has been completely different!

My wife has ignored me!

Others have gone * pfft, humbug * and just walked away!

And those who are cyclists have told me, in a very scornful voice, to obey #Rule 5  from The Way of the Cycling Disciple

There seemed to be only one cure for my illness, and that was to follow #Rule 12, the correct number of bikes to own is N+1 where N is the number you currently have.

So, I have acquired another bike !!!!!

It is a Giant  TCR Advanced SL3 but equipped with Ultegra Di2

The specification sounds very impressive but some of you may be asking :-

 "  Is not that an aerodynamically contoured racing machine constructed out of Advanced SL CARBON Composite Grade Frame ?  And does it not have a Compact Group Set and hence only two chain wheels?
I thought you were wedded to Steel?  And high quality Reynolds Steel Tubing at that ? "

Another friend has pointed out that the Giant P-SL0 Wheel System seems to be short on spokes compared to his 1983 Raleigh Royal with 36 spokes in each wheel.

I also had to defend myself by pointing out that, though it did indeed have an electronic Ultegra Di2 Groupset, it was not all of Ulregra build, the Bottom Bracket is Dura Ace.

I can only put down this turning to the Dark Side and acquiring a Death Star down to the fact that my extreme illness must have rearranged some of the neural pathways in my brain and caused a moment of insanity

It is very nice though :-)

My Cycling Hopes for 2014

 Once again the bedrock of my cycling year will be to meet my Cycling Annuity Target  ( see http://thediaryofmybike.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/review-of-year.html for fuller explanation of this ) and cover 2100 km though , as last year, I would hope to exceed this and make 5000 km..

( As an aside it does occur to me, am I in danger of not making 80 years if my allotted total cycling distance is fixed and I am exceeding my annual target :-() )

Last year was dominated by preparing, competing in, and completing the inaugural London 100 and I have to confess that I really enjoyed following a structured daily training plan and pushing myself to new limits.
So this year I have decided on another challenge but it will be far less intensive than last year's effort.
Since reading about the adventures that people have had when touring I have decided to have a go myself. This year's challenge will be to ride Coast to Coast across Britain by the Reivers Route, a distance of about  280km. This time though I am doing it for me and not for any charity.

For the last few years I have also managed to find a cycling contact in a different part of the country and then persuade them to take me on a leisurely ride of about 100 km to explore their homeland. With luck I hope to do this again this coming year.

And so today I have been cleaning and maintaining my Mercian stable in readiness for my cycling adventures in 2014

Review of the Year - 2013

My 2012 Mercian Vincitore Special

First of all, a few basic statistics  because as anyone who reads my posts will know,  I love numbers

Total distance cycled = 6541 km

Total ascent climbed = 48006 m

Total energy burnt    = 144125 Calories

Total time in the saddle = 331 hours

which is pretty much the same as last year, though much of this year's cycling was done at a greatly increased intensity and pace; with the result that I have visited far, far less coffee shops.

But the statistics tell only part of the story, and perhaps a boring part at that.

The cycling year was centred around my challenge to ride with my son, as Team Roberts, in the inaugural Ride London 100 Mile Challenge. Given that I had never completed such a distance before and that it had to be completed in a set time to avoid being pulled from the event, this was all a very daunting challenge for me.

Despite some awful weather for the first 4 months of the year I kept to my training schedule and gradually got stronger and faster so that in the event I managed to complete the course in around 7 hours. This could not have been achieved without the great support I received from my friends, both new and old, in the cycling community. We used the event to promote and support the mental health charity Mind and raised almost £3000 for their cause. Much of this came from offering a Cycling Food on the Go Recipe booklet which contain favourite recipes complete with stories as to why they were special. These were freely given by a peloton of lady cyclists from across the world.  A big thanks to you all.

Each year I attempt to visit a new part of the country and explore it by bike. This year a new friend invited me to Rutland to explore its beauty. It was a boiling hot day and I ran out of both food and liquid after about 30 km of a 100 km ride. I will be eternally grateful to Kevin for looking after me, towing me along and even volunteering to park me whist he got a broom wagon to take me to the finish. I refused that offer and suffered but I learnt never to go out without sufficient supplies again.

My other aim this year was to take a series of  mono photographs to try and capture the essence of my cycling year and to act as a reminder in years to come. I have taken many images, but the aim was to distil it down to a panel of six, and here they are :-

The whole cycling year has been aimed at completing the challenge of riding the inaugraul London 100 with my son

The year got off to a very cold and snowy start. This is a picture of Cycle Route N68,  a track close to my home and at the beginning of my winter rides

With the weather continuing to remain foul and my fitness still at a low ebb for such an arduous challenge, I soon started to feel the pressure.

When the weather did at last begin to relent it was time to bring out the Mercian Vincitore and treat it to a set of Go-Faster wheels, marginal gains and all that.

During the months of Spring and early Summer, my distances and continuous time in the saddle increased, but occasionally I succumbed to that temptation of all OAP Cyclists, the Tea Shop.

And this shows that I did eventually make it.  In the event it was 164 km and I managed to get round in 7 hours.

And that is it for 2013.

The next post will lay out my hopes and ambitions for 2014

Cycling Rules for OAPs

One of the things that I really enjoy about cycling is the wide range of people I meet, the friends that I have made and the new areas that I have visited
And during this last year, whilst I was attempting to get fit enough to ride the London100,  I have met an even wider circle of people than usual. And in particular I have ridden with people of all ages and it has become apparent that the majority of these youngsters ( defined as anyone below the age of 50 years old ) are in need of some serious education in cycling etiquette when riding with Old Age Pensioners like myself.

Their appreciation of what is considered a safe and reasonable pace leaves much to be desired; and their understanding of what the correct Cycling Food on the Go should be seems non existent despite the fact that they have generously supported me earlier in the year when I was giving away Cycling Food recipe booklets in exchange for a donation to my chosen charity.

So, in order that they will be better prepared in the future I have devised a set of Rules for Cycling  for OAPs

Rule 1    Triple Chain Rings are allowed and the lower the tooth count the better

Rule 2    Cassettes with a 32 sprocket ring are ideal

Rule 3    OAPs do NOT have to pedal downhill

Rule 4    Tea and Cake Shop stops are MANDATORY on all rides greater than 25km

Rule 5     Carbon belongs in steel, NOT in plastic

Rule 6     Pockets should be provided in cycling clothing but NOT on the back where they are literally a pain in the arse

Rule 7     All zips should be a big and chunky as worn by construction workers, builders and other he-men

Rule 8     Any more ??

Chick Whipped !

I have a couple of friends who are cyclists.

Indeed they are quite good cyclists.

In fact, being multiple gold medal winners at the 2013 World Games in both Time Trialling and Road Racing  you could say they are outstanding cyclists.

From this you can easily imagine that their fitness levels, drive, determination, dedication and courage are far greater than anything that I can muster. So naturally I don't ride or train with them but just meet them at the coffee shop at the end of their session and regale them with stories of my youth when the wind was windier,  the rain was wetter, and the hills were far, far steeper. ( The fact that I have only been cycling since I retired does not prevent me from reliving these youthful fantasies :-)  In my stories I can naturally put these whipper snappers in their place by pointing out that, despite their wondrous efforts, they would have been no match for me in my prime; safe in the knowledge that I will never have to put this boast to the test.

And then along came Strava with its ability to compare and share cycling routes and segments of routes between different riders.  I am in danger of my boasts being exposed!

Did I mention that my two friends were young ladies?
I am in real danger of being chick whipped :-()

And they are not just ordinary girls, being both bionic and brave.
Both have been through the anguish and agony of having vital organs replaced and if it was not for the National Organ Donation Register neither would be here now.
Mel had a major riding accident at age 13,  though it was only later that it was realized that she had damaged her kidneys and it was discovered that she had Chronic Renal Failure. This soon led to the need for regular 3 hour sessions of dialysis 3 times a week whilst she waited for a donor. One was eventually found and the road to recovery began. To overcome a vital organ transplant you have to climb a mountain, only the brave can do it. And Mel was, and is, a very brave young lady.

( If you click on the image then you can see it in an expanded view )

Whereas Mel had time to contemplate her predicament whilst she was ill, my second young lady, Di, was taken completely by surprise. Having gone to the doctor's after feeling continually and excessively tired she was sent for some blood tests which resulted in her instant admittal to Royal Derby Hospital for a series of further tests. Two weeks later she was transferred to Birmingham Queens Hospital for a liver transplant ( and she says, some very sexy scars, though I only have her word for that ) The recovery process took over 18 months with numerous stays in hospital, a hernia and a loss of 20 kg in body weight. On discharge around February 2009, Di could hardly walk and even needed help in getting up from the sofa; but it is from this very low point that the recovery began. She took up cycling and, through hard work and dedication, made the  GB Cycling Team for the 2013 World Transplant Games winning a Gold Medal.  A true triumph over adversity.

Both these girls are Cyclists on Drugs. They need them to stay alive following life supporting organ transplants and racing their bikes is their way to encourage others to sign the Organ Donor Register and help save lives.

( More stories from the GB Transplant Cyclists Team can be found here  )

So you can see that with the courage, determination and dedication these girls have shown, my fear of being chick whipped on Cliff Hanger is very likely soon to become true. Even as they left me I bet they were plotting what next ignominy to inflict upon me.

But in all seriousness, these girls have achieved something remarkable and I am proud to be able to call them my friends.

If YOU have not yet signed up to the Organ Donor Register, why not do it RIGHT NOW ?

A Business Case for Improved Data ?

As a friend pointed out, my last post was all about numbers.
And in particular the amount of effort expended both by myself and a friend when we went on the same ride. I also commented upon how one could compare one's effort expended on different rides. This caused a lot of debate at the local tea shop and indeed necessitated the consumption of extra cake as we could not agree.  . Now all these discussions were based upon algorithms and the raw data provided both by Garmin and the bathroom scales to provide the necessary power to weight ratios. Whilst one can seek marginal gains in weight reduction by purchasing lighter kit, you are still left with estimating the power generated .. until NOW!

I have seen a new toy ( re-phase that, an essential piece of kit ) and this article is an imaginary conversation with my non-cycling wife about its prospective purchase. Your role is to comment on whether you believe that the Business Case is Incredibly Sound or, perhaps, just Excellent :-)

...............................................................................................................................................................

Me:  I think I need a new set of pedals
Wife:  Why?  You've already got pedals on ALL your bikes. Are they broken?
Me:  Well, not actually broken
Wife: Besides you have that overflowing box in the garage which you tell me is full of ESSENTIAL bits, to mention nothing of the fact that that a second box of your cycling stuff seems to have appeared in one of the spare bedrooms
Wife : and what was in those packages that arrived from Wiggle yesterday?  Were they pedals?
Me : No, that was absolutely imperative winter clothing for when the weather turns. Anyway, about these pedals. They are produced by Garmin and are called Vector pedals and they allow the measurement of power asymetrically which can be viewed in real time or even as a rolling 3 second average so I can see how it changes over the course of a ride and whether one leg is working harder than the other.
Wife : How much?
Me On the positive side it measures power quickly and accurately and delivers loads and loads of useful numbers to my Garmin Edge 800 or any other ANT+ head unit
Wife : How much?
Me : It also measures the dynamic difference, and as you might know, there is often a different balance at the beginning and end of a ride, or when sitting or standing, or at low power or high power.
Wife : But you tell me that you never stand on the pedals as it hurts your knee
Wife : Anyway, would it make you go any faster?
Me : No
Wife : Would you be able to climb hills easier?
Me : No
Wife : Would you be able to ride any further?
Me : No
Wife : Humph!!
Me : They are supposed to be transferable between bikes so they are a sort of bargain
Wife : But you would NEVER transfer pedals between your bikes, you would need a set for each of them
Me : Admittedly I would need a new set of Look Compatible cycling shoes but I think you get a FREE pair of cleats, and in comparison the shoes would be relatively cheap
Wife : How much did you say these pedals were ?
Me :Well, without the shoes , and the cleats, I think they may be on Special Offer at about £1500 each

Wife :  < This is where you fill in wife's response in Comments Section below >
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Is the case made?

The Aging Effect

I love numbers

One of my first memories is being a little blonde, blue eyed choir boy sitting in the Choir Stalls at St Edwards Church in Leek, Staffordshire and, during the sermon, factorizing the hymn numbers and testing them for primality.

So you can imagine how, many years later when I retired and bought a bike, how delighted I was to discover Garmin and be able to amass data streams of every variable imaginable from my rides. Of course, collecting data is one thing, turning that into information and knowledge is quite another.

My last post talked about Virtual Cycling brought on by the fact that my body needed a rest to recover from the stresses of my London 100 adventure. But now, after  two weeks of complete rest,  I thought it time to try and see if my knee ligament had healed. A young whipper snapper ( anyone who is more than 26 years younger than me falls into that category! ) had invited me to go on a slow, sociable ride with him and after I had examined his statistics on Strava it was obvious that he was in need of some serious education in cycling etiquette, namely the NECESSITY to stop at tea and cake shops. So I took it upon  myself to induct him to the Tea Shops of Derbyshire.

As an aside I have noticed that many of the younger generation that I ride with, zoom along, zipping past scores of tea shops without a thought of the calorific delights that lie within. I have decided it is my personal mission to rectify this failing in their lycra clad make up.

The ride itself was only 33km and the pace was a mere 22kph with 287m of climbing. But it was hard work. Indeed it was very hard work and demonstrated to me how just two weeks with zero exercise can cause an OAP's fitness levels to drop off dramatically.

Now it so happens that my companion is also a numbers nerd and has a Garmin Edge 800 like mine and so after the ride was over I thought I would compare his effort expended to my efforts.

Total distance  33.1 km and elevation gained was 287 m

                                          Me                                                         Mr D

Avg Power                        95 watts                                                   94 watts

Cadence                            81 rpm                                                     75 rpm

Avg Heart Rate                 137 bpm                                                  107 bpm

Max Heart Rate                 160 bpm                                                  136 bpm


Now there are many different algorthims for calculating one's Peak Heart Rate before you explode, and the most optimistic one for me gives a value of 169 bpm, so you can see from the above that I was approaching the limit whilst my companion was forever in tick over mode. It did seem to me that this demonstrated the aging effect on one's fitness quite dramatically.

What did surprise ( worry ? ) me though was that I had needed to expend so much effort and so I thought I would compare my performance this time with my Ride of a Lifetime, London 100, which was only a couple of weeks ago.

A breakdown of how my heart performed was interesting.

On the London 100, whilst the journey was obviously much longer, about half of the ride was spent at Moderate Level of effort with the other half at Tempo,  which for me means * race pace * . Only 3% of the time was my heart operating at threshold level and I would need to check but that was probably when climbing Leith Hill.

Compare  this to my Return to the Saddle Ride after 2 weeks complete rest

and you can see that 15% of the time I was operating in Threshold and the majority of the time at Tempo.

No wonder I felt it hard work!

So I have attempted to turn data into information, as for the knowledge gained; does it mean that I should have tried harder at London?