Low2Le Logo

Hope you like the Logo we have come up with for our Lowestoft to Land's
End charity ride. If you look carefully, you can make out the 'low2le'
---somewhat stylised, but it's there ---Honest!! If you have a really
good imagination and squint, you can also see a stylised rider on a
bike--or is that just me? Not quite 'magic eye' picture but we like it!!

Training 10-11 May

This weekend we had some fantastic weather. Long, warm and sunny days without a wisp of wind. Perfect cycling weather! I was joined on a 50 km (31 miles) ride on Saturday with a very good friend of mine (Mark) whom also has caught the cycling *bug. Mark brought his brand spanking new Kinesis road bike. A sweet looking ride with relaxed compact geometry and Tiagra groupset. He let me have a spin on it just outside Wrenbury. I was quite impressed, much faster and more responsive than my old beater. The bike also felt more comfortable, but that could be due to it being a slightly smaller frame than I’m used to, causing my posture to be more upright.

While Mark was visiting, we fitted his seat height using the 109% and LeMond methods. Using an average of the two methods, we found his seat to be quite a bit low (4 cm). By raising his seat up, Mark looked pretty comfy in the saddle and I think he mentioned getting a bit more power out of the cranks. In addition to the fitting, our wives went to Aldi to get some of their über-low priced cycling gear which included a computer for Mark for £5, bargain.

On Sunday, Steve joined the two of us for an out-and-back from Nantwich to Malpas, which is about 43 km (27 miles). Steve couldn’t make it on Saturday as he was travelling back from Athens for work. The day was a warm one in which we quickly ran out of drinks. As we were riding through Wrenbury we passed a watering station for some type of race. We were not sure if it was a running or bike race. Anyway, as we flew past, the volunteers offered us bottles of water, which came in handy. Whoever you were “Thanks”! It was a good ride with some mixed riding styles; tight grouping for drafting, sprints, and our all time favourite pootling. Nice to see three old farts out having fun in the sun.

Chuck

*Chalk up another disillusioned wife. “You spent how much!”

Training 3-5 May 2008

We had some good weather over the bank holiday weekend, finally. With the rapeseed in full bloom, the two of us managed to cover most of South Cheshire with rides out to Peckforton, Marbury, Wrenbury, Crewe and Church Minshall. Saturday was a particularly wonderful day as a great ride was followed by an ever greater football match. It was Nantwich Town FC vs. Sheffield FC for promotion to the Unibond Premier Division. Nantwich won 4-1 on penalties after a 2-2 draw and added extra time. Nerves were stretched to the limit. Well done you Dabbers!

Our fitness levels have been getting better. We are not so concerned with our legs managing to go 60-80 miles a day. Instead we are concerned that our backsides won’t be able to handle it! Bungee strap a pillow to the seat? Stand half of the time? We are open to suggestions! The forecast for this week looks great, so at least one of us will be riding as Steve (The One Man Peloton) is off to Athens. Maybe he will find Cyclus, the Greek God of Cycling, who can offer some wisdom.

Chuck