My Commuting Bike

My Commuting Bike

Commuting helmet

My commuting helmet

Sunday 7th June the Norwich 50/100

Chuck & I were signed up for the Norwich 100. Maile for the 50 (riding with a friend from our village, Anita). Tragedy struck at Anita's BBQ the night before. Chuck tearing his leg muscle (badly) in game of back garden volleyball! No one, saw that one comming. Much tea and sympathy all round as it looks nasty enough to keep him off the bike for a while. Sunday morning Maile & I left early to keep the Pork & Lycra banner flying, Chuck stayed in bed, and spent the day building Lego creations with Ted. Given the appaling weather he might have made the smart choice.

Cold, rainy and windy doesn't really seem an adequate description. Nevertheless, Maile stormed round the 50 with no issues on her first organised ride. I completed the 100 in about 6hrs 30min. More pain being caused by being frozen & wet than tired, especially on the coastal section.

The event had a good spread of cycle types, especially on the 50: Tandems, recumbants, folders, MTBs, ladies with baskets and even a man with something that looked suspiciously like a Chopper! There seemed to be lots of punctures about. We, however, were blessed by the god of inner tubes. I'd like to say thank you to the mystery band of 6 or so efficient looking club riders who were charging into the wind & rain on the horrid Cromer section. Hid behind them for most of the coastal run. Would have sportingly done my time at the front, but I couldn't possibly have held the pace.

Best overheard comment "I blame Labour for the weather".

In conclusion. It was fun, especially retrospectively. It would be a really nice ride with decent weather, you could even stop for an ice cream and go for a paddle! Hope to try again next year with the full Pork & Lycra team.

Mark

Mark Turns 40

Many well wishes to Mark on recently getting over the hill. Yes, he's in the 40 and over club now. No better way to celebrate than to go for a long blast on the bikes. Myself (far right in pic) and Mark's friend Ashley (far left in pic) made a surprise visit to Mark's home in Hilgay, Norfolk.

After a good night of food, fun and drink we woke the following morning with intent to cycle to the coast (about 80 km). Before we set off, I had a play on Mark's commuting bike, a folding Dahon. Mark calls it the "clown bike". After riding it, I can see why! All it needs are some clipless pedals and tri bars. Strangely enough, people do race them!

We set off from a very windy Hilgay, Norfolk heading to the coastal town of Wells next the Sea. The wind was very strong but mercifully it was coming straight at our backs giving us a nice gentle nudge. There is nothing like a strong tail wind to give you the allusion of being an awesome cyclist. It's only when you turn around and head back into it that you realise that you actually suck.

We made a very good pace on the mostly flat landscape passing Oxburgh Hall and RAF Marham. We also stopped for a break at Castle Acre for tea and cakes. The riding was mostly easy with the exception of an off road section which resulted in us getting a bit muddy. Since we were moving so well, we also managed to stop for a pint and some grub before completing the final leg to Wells. Once in Wells, we had a quick play on the beach before heading back to Hilgay.

Chuck

Solo Ride

With everyone away or at work I had a nice solo ride to Wales on Sunday. The sun was on high and the temperature was on medium with little or no wind. These are the best cycling conditions we have had in quite some time. I had spent a great deal of energy the day before digging in the allotment, so my legs were already tender. I had initially planned on doing a metric century but the condition of my legs suggested otherwise. Also, it took me two huge mugs of coffee just to get motivated for a mid day set off.

 

I took my time on the warm-up to Malpas and stopped for a gander. The roads were unusually quiet considering it was such a lovely day. My next leg took me on a slight downhill grade to Bangor on Dee (see pic). The thru road in Bangor was closed so I had a virtually traffic free ride all the way. I took quite a long break in Bangor, sitting by the bridge and soaking up the rays. There were a few other cyclists doing the same as me.

 

After my extended break I headed further into Wales. I made it as far as Johnstown when I realised if I went any further I would not be home until well after 5 p.m. I made the decision to turn around and head back. About 15 km from home I felt my second wind and could have gone another 20 km but time was not on my side. I rolled into Nantwich with 84 km on the clock. Today I feel very sore, most likely a combination of digging and cycling. I'll have to take it easy the next few days, even though I still have to cycle to work each day.

 

Chuck

The Bikes of Spring Day 2

Stoford to Ogbourne St. George, April 5, 2009

Miracles will happen! We planned on an early start for Sunday, and we got it! Thanks to Steve for suggesting an earlier breakfast for us. Not having loads of beer helps as well. We set off from Stoford for the return leg to Ogbourne with the sun on our faces and the wind at our backs.

We followed the Wylye River upstream for some distance through picturesque villages and quiet lanes. After a sharpish hill climb we hooked back up with the Salisbury Plain. We knew we were there by the distant sound of artillery. We quickly made tracks as the terrain was not as bad as we had envisaged. By the time we made our first coffee stop we had covered nearly 1/3 of our daily route.

Our next climb was Alton/Knap hill where we viewed a white horse and an iron-age hill fort. This was big climb for us, one of the longest of the day. The gradient wasn’t too bad so we went low in the gears and ground our way to the top. All three of us made it without much difficulty. Steve and I were reminiscing as we had passed this way on our Lowestoft to Land’s End ride in 2008. Once on top, it was a very fast ride into Lockeridge where we celebrated our speed with baguettes and pints. Unfortunately the sun put its hat on for the rest of the day and we had to cycle in mostly cloudy and cool conditions, at least it wasn’t raining.

At this point we decided to alter course to avoid some A-road hell. We picked our way through Marlborough to the A4 and cut off to the nearest side road. We aimed for Ogbourne by using some of the lanes we had headed out on the day before. There were some heavy climbs to be found here. At one point we all looked ready to bonk after a particularly long hard climb. We had a quick stop and finished off our obligatory bag of wine gums. The last few hills were pretty tough as we were all just about out of glycogen.

The best part about the finish was that we got to go down the 17% hill we started on the day before. It was a scary ride down. We all held onto the brakes until we could see it was clear. Once clear we opened the taps and let fly. We all managed a top speed over 40 mph, scary enough for us old farts!

We glided into Ogbourne to find the pub closed. With nothing else to do we packed up and made our way home. Thanks to Mark (King of hills and maps) for organising this great ride.

Chuck

The Bikes of Spring Day 1

Ogbourne St. George to Stoford, April 4, 2009


We all managed to skip out of work early on Friday in order to set off for our two day weekend ride around the plains of Wiltshire. Mark had setup this ride, which was a circular route starting in Ogbourne St. George and heading to Stoford, a distance of just over 50 miles. We would then stay overnight in Stoford, heading back to Ogbourne on Sunday afternoon after another 50 miles or so.

Steve and I made “good time” leaving Crewe on Friday, getting to Ogbourne before 18:00, just in time for early doors. Mark (with our support team Rebecca and Ted) weren’t so fortunate. They managed to get stuck as the M25 was shut. They finally rolled in for food and drinks just after 20:00. We made merry the rest of the evening with far too much beer and whiskey.


Saturday morning we set up for an early start. As you may have noticed from other posts, this never happens and this time was no exception. After much monkey business we finally managed to set off for the day at about 10:00. The sun was shining and it was shaping up to be a beautiful day. This ride was Steve’s first run on his new Tifosi CK7 Audax bike. Steve has kept his Boardman Comp for short weekend blasts and is now using the Tifosi for long weekend rides with the intention of getting involved in proper Audax riding (we wish him luck). Steve prefers the more relaxed geometry of the Tifosi compared to a full on road bike.


After riding for what seemed like two minutes we were faced with a massive hill locally known as Snap Hill. This one was a killer 17% incline for what seemed like ages. Well, with ice cold muscles and a mega hangover I bailed for a stroll about halfway with Steve in tow. With un-stretched muscles and no warm up, a walk was better than a torn muscle. Mark on the other had powered his way to the top non-stop. Not much further on another hill just like the last appeared. I had a go at this one until my cleat popped, again bail and walk with Steve. Mark once again flew to the top. I was beginning to think that Mark had set us the most brutal of courses and began to wonder if I would be walking most of the way. Fortunately those two hills were the worst of the ride.


The remainder of the morning was spent covering most of Salisbury Plain. We encountered a few hills on the way but nothing too bad. Once on the Plain we were hit with a strong headwind which would be with us for the rest of the day. The Plain is a vast open chalk plateau and mostly undeveloped. The whole area is used by the armed forces for training. Interestingly enough, this has led to the area becoming a wildlife haven, due to its protected status. We were left with the odd sensation of cycling to the never ending song of skylarks while we passed through tank crossings and watched helicopters land.


We had a quick bite to eat in a country pub which set us up for the rest of the day. We slowly made our way towards Larkhill (Army Barracks) and fought the wind on some truly dreadful roads. We were glad to get to Stonehenge for a break from the breeze. As usual the place was rammed with tourists. We didn’t want to pay to see the stones; so we just had a coffee and a peek through the wire. It is a shame that a monument as important as this does not have free access. Leaving Stonehenge is dangerous. You first have to avoid all of the traffic around the stones. Next, you have to get past the furiously fast and busy A303. The only safe option was to dash across the lanes to a footpath then stay on the foot path until we could find a side lane.


Our final leg of the day took us along the Avon through Upper and Middle Woodford past Sting’s house. This was one of the best roads we have cycled along. Very quiet, great views, sheltered roads and just enough twists/hills to make the perfect ride. I would like to ride this one again some time. Leaving the Avon valley, we went up and over into the neighbouring valley on the river Wylye. Here we stopped for the night in Stoford staying at the friendly Grayling House B&B.

Chuck

The Cheshire Cat 2009

This past weekend saw Mark and I ride our first cyclosportive, The Cheshire Cat. The Cheshire Cat cyclosportive is based out of Knutsford and offers a 38, 66 or 102 mile option. As we were both sportive virgins we decided for our own sake (and those around us) that it would be advisable to do the 38 mile ride. I was very apprehensive the night before and found little sleep. I had no idea what to expect as 1600 riders had entered and we were going to have to learn to ride in packs for the first time ever.

 

We set off from Nantwich Sunday morning, late as usual. That night we had experienced a hard frost and there was still plenty about as we pulled into Knutsford. By the time we set up our bikes we were ready for a ride, just to warm up! Our first flub was to queue in the wrong place to pick up our timing chips. There were no signs to tell us about the alphabetical system they had set up so we had to learn the hard way. Once we had fitted our timing chips to the front drop outs, we joined a pack of about 50 riders in front of the timing mats for the briefing and sending off. There is no mass start, riders start whenever they feel like it from 8:30 to 10:00.

 

After the first few miles, the nerves settled down and we set about finding a pace that suited us both. It was great to see some of the huge groups in perfect formation flying past us. At times it felt as if we were standing still. We took turns at the head of our two man peloton, switching every 5 km. At one point we hooked up with a couple of other riders who were at our pace. We rode with them, taking turns up front, until we hit the feed stop half way through. The stop had drinks and snacks. Although the doughnuts looked nice, I questioned the nutritional value they had and passed on them.

 

The rest of the ride was very flat and fairly quick taking in some of the more quiet lanes (although we did encounter some epic potholes). At one point we cycled past Jodrell Bank, which is quite a view in the early morning. Navigation was okay; Mark nearly missed a turn as he was "in the zone" but performed a beautiful rear end skid to get back on track. Not much further on we took a wrong turning due to sign confusion which cost us some time. As the ride progressed I felt more and more settled, as a result our speeds picked up on the final leg to Knutsford. Once back, we promptly went straight past the finish line! We didn't see any sign and thought there was a back way in. More time lost but at least we didn't go too far, unlike two riders that started the whole course again!

 

All in all we both really enjoyed it. In hindsight we could have done the 66 miler fairly comfortably but the choice of the 38 was probably the right one. Next week we are off to do some fast touring around Stonehenge and Salisbury Plain. Watch this space.

Winter Training

The blog has been very quite for a few weeks. We are still in the grips of winter with sub-zero temps and icy roads. This is not at all what we want! Bring on the sun! I managed a couple of weekend rides over the last month. Nothing spectacular, just little jaunts to keep the legs moving. Mark and I are doing this sportive in a couple of weeks so I have been alternating between running and sessions on the turbo. Benefits of the turbo are a good workout and the chance to listen to music properly. Do you remember when you were young (a long time ago!) and you would sit down, or crash out, and just listen to albums right the way through uninterrupted? De-ciphering the lyrics, thinking about the rhythm and just generally enjoying it. Doing these otherwise dreadfully boring turbo sessions has given me blocks of time to do just that again. If it wasn’t for my iPod, I think I would go even more mental than I am normally.

My grand plan of becoming a car-less citizen has taken some great leaps forward. My work is now well within commuting distance, albeit along a very busy and deadly road. Also, I have ordered my third bike [wife rolls eyes, grumbles]. I went for a cheap and cheerful tank like beast. I’ll put up a photo when it arrives and I’ve kitted it out for commuting. Once I’m on the pedals, the next phase is to sell my beloved old Land Rover 110 Defender. I’ll miss the old girl but not the endless stream of money I have to pour into it.

Cheshire Cat

Mark and I have signed up to do our first sportive. For those not familiar with this, a sportive (or cyclosportive) is a mass-participation bicycle event that combines elements of road bicycle racing and long distance bicycle touring. Some cyclosportives offer a choice of routes of different lengths or difficulty. Although a cyclosportive is definitely not a cycle race, to define it you could say it falls between a traditional road race and a non-competitive event. Riders sometimes carry a number and the time they take to complete the course is recorded, and there is sometimes an upper time limit within which the course must be completed. The routes will usually be well sign-posted and/or marshalled riders will be able to use feeding stations positioned at intervals along the route to replenish their food and drink supplies, and mechanical and medical support may also be provided.

 

The name of the sportive we are doing is the Cheshire Cat, a loop ride based out of Knutsford. The event has three lengths at 37, 66 and 102 miles. Since it is the first ride of the year and we (well me really) have put on a nice layer of winter fat, we will be riding the 37 mile (60 km) event. We are thinking that we should be able to do this in the required 2 hours if we put in some saddle time. I have been using my turbo trainer which is great if a little boring. The cold weather we have been having looks to break soon so we should be able to hit the lanes!

 

Chuck