1 weekend - 100 kms

Saturday 12th February 2011

We finally had some warmer spring sunshine here for the 1st time this
year, so out on the bike yesterday with 4 of the dads from Tom's school for
a 'quick' 95kms into the Welsh hills - unfortunately 2 of them are ironmen triathletes, and the other 2 are seasoned running/bike enthusiasts. This created 2 problems. No 1 - good cyclists don't want to stop after 20kms "for a quick cuppa and a piece of cake" which leads onto problem No 2 - for the final 30kms, there was just absolutely nothing left in the legs and I struggled to keep up

Did manage to eventually make that cafe stop, but at 75kms, it was too little too late and even a pint of milkshake and a piece of banana cake did not make that final 20kms back home into a slight headwind any easier. Needless to say the remainder of the day was spent lying on the sofa recovering



Distance:- 95kms
Time:- 3hrs 54mins
Total ascent:- 550m

Sunday 13th February

Vowing to not venture out onto a bike for at least a week, the arrival of a text message at 8.42am this morning enquiring as to whether Tom and I would care to go mountain biking this afternoon was not met with the usual enthusiam that it might normally be.

However, never wishing to miss-out (that's me, not Tom), we packed the car up to set off later on in the day and proceeded to have a fantastically enjoyable afternoon (despite the rain) at the Llandegla mountain bike centre in Wales with a bunch of Tom's friends and their parents:-



We all got soaked, especially the kids who for some reason particularly enjoyed repeatedly running through this water feature?? er, not that we were egging them on or anything...



Half way round the 5km circuit, the pedal on my mountain bike fell off!?

Unable to fix, but undeterred, an improvised cleat system was quickly rigged up:-



..but perished immediately after a 1 and a half turns of the pedals. This led to an interesting pedalling gait for the remainder of the course, but we all got back in 1 piece, apart from young Daniel who (quote from Tom) - "he actually went flying over his handlebars" as he careered down one of the slippery descents. Poor fella - but not bad for a 6yr old and respect also to George, who at just 4yrs old, must be one of the youngest cyclists to have successfully cycled through the 2m wide and 6 inch deep stream pictured above and made it (just) to the other side! Good work all round kids

Distance:- 5kms
Time:- about 1 and a half hours!
Total ascent: ?



PS. Notes to self:-

• next time - don't wear jeans
  
• when a friend offers to loan you their new mountain bike that "Hey, I got this free when I purchased a TV and DVD player", kindly decline (spot the missing pedal)
  

"World's End"

Sun 6th February 2011

There has been a distint lack of training over the winter months so it was good to get out for only the 2nd time since November for a ride with Cookie today. Our only other trip was last weekend (the usual to Eureka cafe) which had been 40kms on the flattest roads one could wish for... unless that is you have a ride requiring over 4,000 metres of vertical ascent booked into the diary!

We decide to drive to Wales 1st to park up to do some much needed hill training in the Welsh hills - so with bikes loaded onto the roofrack we're off and cruising down the M53...

However, as the speedo touches 75mph, there is an unusual sound from above and I glance into the rear-view mirror to unexpectedly see a bicycle somersaulting through the air?!

"SH**!" - somehow, one of the bikes has pinged off the roofrack and it splatters into the motorway tarmac a hundred or so yards behind us, before clattering and bouncing along hap-hazardly and ending in a crumpled heap in the hard shoulder..

We screech to a stop and Cookie immediately jumps out to inspect the top of the car - there is a noticeable sigh of relief as he discovers his bike to be still safely secured to the roofrack! Phew

Our attention diverts to the bike lying in the hard shoulder - Thankfully there had been no cars directly behind - that could have been nasty. As I run back, it does appear that the bike is still somehow in one piece? Although, upon closer inspection, there is quite a bit of damage to the handlebars, gear shifters and seat and both wheels are, as one would expect, buckled - but other than that, it doesn't look too bad. No new bike on the insurance then, shame

We bungle the bike into the boot of the car, and 30 mins later are parked up at Penyffordd station. Fortunately, Cookie has just so happened to have brought along his brand new all-in-one bicycle tool (£24.99) that has EVERY conceivable contraption needed for bicycle repairs, good man. Apart from that is... a spoke key/wrench, so nothing can be done to the contorted wheel rims which are just about rideable with the brakes considerably slackened off (that'll be safe then!)

After 10mins repairs, a quick test ride around the car-park and all seems ok so we head off. There is a VERY strong head wind and, churning away in low gears, we battle onwards and upwards to the 'Worlds End' - a deserted outcrop of carboniferous limestone, high up somewhere on the bleak Welsh moors. Progress is...



...painfully slow!

We end up abandoning our plans of scaling the Horseshoe Pass and the decision to turn back is made easier when fallen trees make the mountain pass er... impassable.



An unusually slippy cattle grid catches me unawares as we start the return leg and its the 1st fall of 2011, comedy bike moments all round today

The journey back is downhill and the speed is ramped up with a gale-force tailwind. Narrow, exposed, winding mountain pass roads (lightly gravelled of course) coupled with buckled bicycle wheels that are wobbling like crazy all over the place and a speedometer reading high numbers, despite applied brakes, make for a nerve-wracking but exhilerating descent!

Distance: - 39km
Time:- 2hrs

Publish Post

Total ascent - 420m

Training - day 1

Sat 27th November 2010

It's 5.45am and the alarm has just gone off. I peer out of the window into the darkness.

Today was to be day 1 training for next year's L'Etape du Tour - the classic Alpe D'Huez stage of the Tour de France, complete with its "relentless climbing and mythical 21 hairpin turns". The Wirral, however, is as flat as a pancake - hardly ideal preparation for over 10,000ft of vertical ascent and 108km. Today's mission therefore? - the Horseshoe Pass in Wales and er... a massive 1,000ft of vertical ascent - but hey, it's a start.

Outside - despite the darkness - all is white. A mixture of yesterday's hailstones, a dusting of snow and sub-zero overnight temperatures have combined to create a frosted glaze. The Ashes cricket is also currently on the TV (until about 8am) and motivation to get up and out is almost non-existent

45 minutes and 1 sausage and egg McMuffin breakfast later and I'm off - the drive to Llangollen is somewhat treacherous but the roads have been gritted, and the only scary moments are when overtaking on the motorway - the fast lane is still pretty icy.

There is about 3-5cm of snow in Llangollen. There is not a cloud in the sky, the sun has not yet appeared over the mountains to the east and the temperature is -2.5 deg. It is crisp morning to say the least

The bike route is all uphill and only takes about 40 minutes to get to the top, whereupon I am experiencing that strange sensation of being boiling hot whilst hands and toes are frozen like blocks of ice. The sun is shining now though and spirits are high - there is noone else around and the views are stunningly beautiful





The cycle back down the pass combines sub-zero temperatures with extra wind chill factor and it is bloomin' freezing. 11 minutes later and it's back to the car and back home for 10am - a cracking, albeit very short, day 1 training

Distance:- 12.5km
Total acsent:- 306m