Well now only single digits in the number of days until the off. 9 days is all that is left and soon all the planning and training will come together and culminate in 13.5 days of blood sweat and tears. Well lets hope no blood.
I have now cut back on the training to shorter rides, 30 miles or thereabouts, at this stage I am about as fit as I can get. Only one big ride left and that is the Air Force Classic Challenge Ride this coming Sunday June 8th. Rode this ride last year, 6 10 mile laps in just over 3 hours. It is fun and for a good cause, so despite it being only 3 days before I head to the UK I wanted to participate again this year.
Now off to get the bags packed, the bike ready for shipping and routes uploaded to the GPS.
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Monday, June 2, 2014
Monday, May 19, 2014
Rest Week
I am currently sat
on a flight from Washington DC to San Francisco, where I am heading to attend
this year's Cisco Live event. I have never been to one of these events so when
my employer offered me the opportunity of attending I jumped at it.
Initially I did have one reservation about going to Cisco Live and that was not being able to cycle and train for my upcoming LEJOG, which is now only 25 days away. An enforced six days off the bike will feel like an eternity but the closer this week came the more I realized that it was a great way to build a rest week into my schedule without actually feeling guilty.
The last 2.5 months
have been the most cycling intensive months that I recall doing, close to 1400
miles. Whilst great prep for LEJOG very tough on the body especially given the
lack of riding over the winter months. So I am now giving the body a rest before
the onslaught of 75+ miles and thousands of feet of climbing that await me.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Cap2Cap 2014 Ride Report
Last weekend was the 2014 Cap2Cap ride hosted by Virginia Capital Trail Foundation. The event consists of rides of multiple distances starting and finishing either in Richmond or Williamsburg.
This year was my 3rd time riding the 100 mile loop from Richmond out to Williamsburg and back.
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An early departure was required to reach Richmond in plenty of time for the 7:30 am start. Setting the
alarm for 4am was a pointless exercise as I was awake at 2:40 and no matter how much I tried I could not get back to the land of nod. So after a very slow and quiet start, as I didn't want to wake everyone else in the house, I was on the road heading south before 4:30.
Despite the forecast calling for some potential showers the temperature was already 71 and the drive down was thankfully dry.
Even stopping to grab a McDonald's latte and sausage muffin (the breakfast of all century riders or so I am told) I arrived at Rockets Landing Richmond at 6:15, much earlier than I expected, so the 75 minutes I had before the ride start were more than ample to collect the ride packet, get myself and the bike ready and get to the start line.
The number of riders at the start seemed less than previous years but was still a good turn out. If I was a guessing man I would say maybe 400 started the century ride in Richmond. Whilst a few spots of rain and the gray clouds threatened the ride thankfully started dry and cool. It remained dry for almost all of my time out on the roads with the exception of a 2 minute downpour when I was at the 75 mile point. The temperature did rise into the low 80's with some sun, but all in all, it was an ideal day for cycling.
The ride heads from Richmond through Henrico and Charles counties towards the Chickahominy river and Williamsburg, passing by a number of historical sites and through lots of green countryside. Using, for the most part quiet country roads, the ride is a relaxed affair with only a couple of climbs that required serious amounts of effort. All in all a very pleasant way to spend a Saturday cycling supporting a good cause.
The route was just under the 100 but I was able to make it 3 digits with the before and after warm up / cool downs. According to my GPS lap times the ride itself was 98.7 miles and I had a moving average of 17.3 mph. Almost 2mph quicker than my regular pace.
This year was my 3rd time riding the 100 mile loop from Richmond out to Williamsburg and back.
An early departure was required to reach Richmond in plenty of time for the 7:30 am start. Setting thealarm for 4am was a pointless exercise as I was awake at 2:40 and no matter how much I tried I could not get back to the land of nod. So after a very slow and quiet start, as I didn't want to wake everyone else in the house, I was on the road heading south before 4:30.
Despite the forecast calling for some potential showers the temperature was already 71 and the drive down was thankfully dry.
Even stopping to grab a McDonald's latte and sausage muffin (the breakfast of all century riders or so I am told) I arrived at Rockets Landing Richmond at 6:15, much earlier than I expected, so the 75 minutes I had before the ride start were more than ample to collect the ride packet, get myself and the bike ready and get to the start line.
The number of riders at the start seemed less than previous years but was still a good turn out. If I was a guessing man I would say maybe 400 started the century ride in Richmond. Whilst a few spots of rain and the gray clouds threatened the ride thankfully started dry and cool. It remained dry for almost all of my time out on the roads with the exception of a 2 minute downpour when I was at the 75 mile point. The temperature did rise into the low 80's with some sun, but all in all, it was an ideal day for cycling.
The ride heads from Richmond through Henrico and Charles counties towards the Chickahominy river and Williamsburg, passing by a number of historical sites and through lots of green countryside. Using, for the most part quiet country roads, the ride is a relaxed affair with only a couple of climbs that required serious amounts of effort. All in all a very pleasant way to spend a Saturday cycling supporting a good cause.
Route Map
The route was just under the 100 but I was able to make it 3 digits with the before and after warm up / cool downs. According to my GPS lap times the ride itself was 98.7 miles and I had a moving average of 17.3 mph. Almost 2mph quicker than my regular pace.
Pictures from Ride
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Training - My Plan
There have been two main factors in my personal preparation for the ride next month.
I am what is politely called in cycling circles a "Clydesdale" a 200lb + cyclist. Carrying excessive weight whether it be on my person or on the bike is never ideal when it comes to climbing hills and as you probably noticed in my last post there is definitely going to be lots of those.
In the first 2.5 days I will climb over 10000ft, now admittedly there will also be close to 10000ft of down hills but those will fly by all to quickly. Ten thousand feet of climbing is pretty darned significant so to reduce the strain on my body and the bike I decided I must go on a diet. Starting New Year's day I set myself the goal of losing 40lbs, an average of 8lb per month. With significant will power, portion control and being calorie conscious (no fad diets for me) as well as a significant amount of cycling thrown in for good measure I met my target at the end of April a full month before I had planned. I have now extended my diet and if I can manage to lose another 5 - 10lbs I will be ecstatic. I still qualify as a Clydesdale but the hills, whilst never easy, will be slightly less taxing.
For me the core component of cycling is leg fitness. Being able to grind out 13.5 consecutive days of 75 miles per day is about stamina. and the only way for me to build this stamina is to amass time in the saddle peddling.
January and February this year were basically the winter from hell for a cyclist, snow, ice and freezing temperatures. These didn't stop me totally from venturing out on two wheels but did limit the mileage to an average of 80 miles per month. So thank goodness then that I also have an indoor trainer, which basically converts a regular bicycle into an exercise bike. I find the trainer to be good for spinning and logging hours in the saddle but not being able to vary the "terrain" as it were and having a pretty much constant level of excursion, along with no variation in scenery makes these trainer sessions tedious and boring.
So once March arrived and the thaw started I was able to get out as often ( 2 - 3 times per week) as weather and time permitted. I started out with regular short rides 20 - 30 miles when time was available interspersed with 15 milers. As March progressed and April approached I increased the length of the rides by 10% per week so by early April I was comfortable, once again, with rides in the mid 40's. But one thing that worried me was being able to do long rides day after day, with little to no recovery time. So in mid April I set myself the goal of 3 rides in 3 days. These rides on a Saturday, Sunday and Monday totaled 190 miles ( 70, 69, 51). With no significant complaints from the body I am now confident of being able to do the 13.5 days required to get to John O'Groats. I am sure the body is going to hurt but hopefully it will be bearable.
In addition to recreational rides, that are now regularly between 60 and 70 miles, I have started once again commuting to work, a 30 mile round trip, 2 days per week as my schedule allows. The main goal here is to cycle regularly with packed panniers and handlebar bag, to get used to the handing of a fully laden bike and the effort required when climbing hills. All I can say is that thank goodness I lost some weight, because when lugging a laptop, clothes and other necessities the bike must have an additional 30lbs on it and I sure feel the extra effort required.
With just over 4 weeks to the start of LEJOG, I am continuing the training & commuting rides and feel comfortable that the base fitness & stamina is there. I am sure that the first two full day in Cornwall will severely test me and make me wonder whether I should have done more training and lost more weight. Only time will tell.
- Weight Loss
- Physical Fitness
Weight Loss
I am what is politely called in cycling circles a "Clydesdale" a 200lb + cyclist. Carrying excessive weight whether it be on my person or on the bike is never ideal when it comes to climbing hills and as you probably noticed in my last post there is definitely going to be lots of those.
In the first 2.5 days I will climb over 10000ft, now admittedly there will also be close to 10000ft of down hills but those will fly by all to quickly. Ten thousand feet of climbing is pretty darned significant so to reduce the strain on my body and the bike I decided I must go on a diet. Starting New Year's day I set myself the goal of losing 40lbs, an average of 8lb per month. With significant will power, portion control and being calorie conscious (no fad diets for me) as well as a significant amount of cycling thrown in for good measure I met my target at the end of April a full month before I had planned. I have now extended my diet and if I can manage to lose another 5 - 10lbs I will be ecstatic. I still qualify as a Clydesdale but the hills, whilst never easy, will be slightly less taxing.
Physical Fitness - Building the Mileage in the Legs
For me the core component of cycling is leg fitness. Being able to grind out 13.5 consecutive days of 75 miles per day is about stamina. and the only way for me to build this stamina is to amass time in the saddle peddling.
January and February this year were basically the winter from hell for a cyclist, snow, ice and freezing temperatures. These didn't stop me totally from venturing out on two wheels but did limit the mileage to an average of 80 miles per month. So thank goodness then that I also have an indoor trainer, which basically converts a regular bicycle into an exercise bike. I find the trainer to be good for spinning and logging hours in the saddle but not being able to vary the "terrain" as it were and having a pretty much constant level of excursion, along with no variation in scenery makes these trainer sessions tedious and boring.
So once March arrived and the thaw started I was able to get out as often ( 2 - 3 times per week) as weather and time permitted. I started out with regular short rides 20 - 30 miles when time was available interspersed with 15 milers. As March progressed and April approached I increased the length of the rides by 10% per week so by early April I was comfortable, once again, with rides in the mid 40's. But one thing that worried me was being able to do long rides day after day, with little to no recovery time. So in mid April I set myself the goal of 3 rides in 3 days. These rides on a Saturday, Sunday and Monday totaled 190 miles ( 70, 69, 51). With no significant complaints from the body I am now confident of being able to do the 13.5 days required to get to John O'Groats. I am sure the body is going to hurt but hopefully it will be bearable.
In addition to recreational rides, that are now regularly between 60 and 70 miles, I have started once again commuting to work, a 30 mile round trip, 2 days per week as my schedule allows. The main goal here is to cycle regularly with packed panniers and handlebar bag, to get used to the handing of a fully laden bike and the effort required when climbing hills. All I can say is that thank goodness I lost some weight, because when lugging a laptop, clothes and other necessities the bike must have an additional 30lbs on it and I sure feel the extra effort required.
With just over 4 weeks to the start of LEJOG, I am continuing the training & commuting rides and feel comfortable that the base fitness & stamina is there. I am sure that the first two full day in Cornwall will severely test me and make me wonder whether I should have done more training and lost more weight. Only time will tell.
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