The Cycling Thread

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by Luckypants

d I am quite good at metering my effort. I recently went for Strava Premium (free trial) and using the HR zone displays on there told me I'm basically not trying hard enough compared to my compatriots!

I found the same when I went with the Strava Premium I was spending to much time in Zone 1 / Zone 2 and then wondering why I got dropped on the weekly rides with the local bike shop.

I'm tempted by a Power Meter, but we really dont have any spare cash after shelling out for my new wheels in April.

I'm trying to shift some weight at the moment, seems to be working, my trousers now need a belt to keep them up !

[fizzwheel]

As some of you will have seen if you follow me on Strava I completed The Tour of Wessex over the weekend. I wrote a little write up about it, OK its not so little but here you go :

Tour of Wessex 2015

I've never done a multi day sportive. I have done individual stages of The Tour of Wessex before, but never all 3 days back to back.
Its something I have always wanted to do and 2015 was the year I was going to do it.

Also it would serve as a fantastic training ride in prepation for the 500 mile ride I was doing in July.

Day 1 - Cheddar Gorge, King Alfreds Tower 108.6 miles 6391 ft of climbing

https://www.strava.com/activities/310112928

I've done this day before. Liz drops me off at the start whilst I wait for Neil who I am riding all 3 days with to arrive. Yeovil was shrouded in thick fog when I left for the start at somerton and as I wait the sun is slowly trying to break through, its going to be a hot day.

Neil arrives and after a trip to the toilet caused by last minute nerves, we queue up in the start pen. I'm a little nervous and try and get myself calmed down and into the right frame of mind. We talk about pacing and have a bit of banter.

Listen to the rider brefing and then we are off, accompanied by beeps from multiple garmins, riders clipping in and making their way out onto the road.
We tap our way up the first few hills and then out onto the Somerset levels, I'm watching my heartrate monitor like a hawk wary of getting caught into the trap of pushing to hard and we settle in. We're tacked onto the back of a little group when there is a buzz of tyre on tyre and some shouting, few riders in front of us have touched wheels, nut everybody stays on a timely reminder of being wary of riding in a group with riders who might not be proficent in the art of group riding.

A few miles on we stop and take off arm warmers etc as the sun has come out now and burnt off the fog and its getting hot. Then onto Cheddar Gorge itself.

We both settle in and Neil finds a good pace and rides me off his wheel. I settle in for the climb and a comfortable pace and we re-group in the feed station at the top, its getting hot and I want to fill my bottle again so I have two full ones.

Then we are off again, over the rolling somerset hills, through Priddy, Wells, Evercreech and towards Bruton and the climb of King Alfreds Tower. I've only managed this climb once without having to get off and walk. I'm determined to get up it this time without walking. Taking it steady in the bottom and finding a good rhythm I tap my way up it, being overtaken by alot of riders who maybe dont know whats coming. We reach a little S bend by some cottages and then we are into the steep section. I'm having to stand now and seated climbing has me lifting the front wheel. Then it kicks up again, I'm switching now between sitting and standing and telling myself that I'm not getting off. Neil is a little way in front of me and as he see's the crest he puts in a massive kick and accelerates hard over the top. I stick to my method of standing then sitting in the saddle and I feel a great sense of satisfaction as I crest the climb myself.

The next section of the route should be a little easier now as we have climbed all the nasty lumps in the route. We stop at each feed station and fill out bottles and grab something to eat and before we know it we are setting a good pace and are on the flat section back towards the finish.

We hear the sound of sirens and a paramedic car overtakes us, we both hope its not for a rider on todays ride. A bit further on we find the paramedics attending to some riders who have hit the deck. We dont stop, as there is nothing we can do, but its not nice to see and again a reminder of the perils of riding in a group.

A bit further on towards the finish we find a group to sit in with and after sitting off the back and watching what they are doing they are riding well and sensibly because they are mostly from the same group so we sit on the back and and set a good pace all the way back through Ditcheat to Somerton and across the finish mat. Day 1 - Completed

Day 2 - Corfe Castle & the Jurassic Coast 116.3 miles 6175 ft of climbing

https://www.strava.com/activities/310897174

I've not done day before, but its the longest day mileage wise. I'm hoping we can find some groups to sit in with. I meet up with Neil again and the start and we queue up to set out on the road. Its cloudy and overcast today so not as hot.

I feel tired this morning and my calves are sore. I'm sure that I'll feel better after a few miles to warm up. Neil and I both think we rode to hard yesterday so we decide to keep the pace down a little more today.
We set out and tack onto the back of a group all the way to Mudford. I'm riding familiar roads now and we head out through Stoford, through Yetminster onto Leigh and past the Cerne Giant and onto the days first climb and boy what a Monster, I stick with my method of getting the bike into a gear I can climb in and the bottom of the climb and then riding up it at a steady pace. Inevitably this means i get passed by alot of riders at the bottom of each hill, but normally see's me overtake them again towards the stop when it gets steep and they suddenly find they have run out of gas. Seems to serve me well so I stick to it. Up we go !

A nice descent down the other side to the first feed of the day. Again we stop to fill our bottles and off we go.

We keep banging out the miles at what feels a comfortable pace, Neil asks to stop to put some ibuprofen gel on his shoulder as its starting to play him up. So we do that and then off we go again. We drop down into Lulworth and then out the other side and then up over the Army Range road which is another monster climb and I settle in for the slog up to the top.
Once down the other side we head towards Corfe and then onto Wareham and the next feed station.

The winds picked up a little and I can feel myself getting tired, I stop and wait for Neil at one point and he catches me up after he dropped his chain and got it jambed up. I cant seem to find a rhythm now and I can feel my mood begining to drop I'm getting more tired and yesterday ride is now begining to kick me hard in the legs. Neil reminds me to keep drinking as I havent been drinking that much and the temperatures dropped to. I cant really remember much about this section of the ride and its just a case of digging in and keeping going.

We get to the next feed and stop to fill bottles and I need to go the toilet. Just as we leave we begin to feel a few spots of rain. We're at Holwell now so past 2/3rds of the way into the ride and then it starts to rain. Fine drizzle that soaks you but its not cold so we keep going without stopping to put on waterproofs.

We nearly miss a turn in Milborne Port, but we manage to sort ourselves out without going off route. Its raining harder now and we come out on the long drag to Sparkford I can see a group behind us who arent catching us up so we wait a little for them to get on our wheel and maintain our speed. They say hello and apologise for sitting in but explain then are all knackered and just wanting to get back to the finish. I'm feeling better now and happy to ride with them. I'm happy on the front and they're pushing the wind into our backs, so even though they arent taking turns on the front, we're getting some benefit anyway.

We go on like this all the way back to Somerton and across the finish mat. Day 2 - Completed ! Longest ride I've ever done.

Day 3 - Climbing Day, The Quantock Hills & Exmoor 114.3 Miles and 8724 ft of climbing

https://www.strava.com/activities/311648673

Day 3 is the hardest day, lots and lots of climbing.

I meet up with Neil in the carpark and we sort ourselves out and roll down to the start line, albeit having to go back to Neils van as he forgot his stash of gels.

I'm hoping we can find some groups again to ride with as its a long old day and anything that gives us a bit of a respite is to be welcomed. We agree to keep our pace sensible and not push to hard in the morning.
I'm tired this morning and I can see Neil his to, my own nerves and tiredness I can see reflecting back at me in Neils facial expression.

And we're off, the roads to Bridgwater arent to hilly, but everybody this morning seems intent on going hell for leather so there is no chance of getting a group together, also the riding seems more aggresive this morning with people fighting for wheels and not being very courteous about it, which isnt nice.

We approach the first big climb of the morning over the cattle grid that marks the start of the steep section and up and up and up we go. I'm sticking with my tried and tested hill climbing technique which does me well, with some zig zagging on the steepest sections to take the pressure off of my knees, I'm over the top. I find a little layby to wait for Neil and he quickly catches me up and then we drop down the steep descent to the first feed station of the day. Bottles filled and snacks eaten we set off again.
This is the hardest section now from here to the next feed isnt to bad, but its hard to get a rhtymn and the average speed is now dropping down. Through the little lanes towards Watchet and then out on the A39 to Minehead and into the headwind. We ride together taking turns on the front so we both get some shelter from the wind. Through Minhead and then the long drag out of it and on towards Porlock.

The next feed is at the bottom of Porlock Hill, the route thankfully takes us up the Toll Road rather than the old road, which is easier to manage. Bottles filled and sandwiches eaten we settle in for the climb. I drop Neil at the bottom of it and he catches me again at the top as I start to get tired. The climbs come in quick succession now, one after another. Its like being punched in the face, and reeling from it and then bam, another punch and then another and another. I can feel the lactic acid building up in calves and my quads have gone dead. Just keep moving, dont stop dont stop.
I can see Neil is begining to suffer so I am sticking with him and just trying to keep him going. We go down one descent and the road surface is terrible, loose top dressing and its bumpy as hell and takes a lot of concentrating and effort. Neil stops at the bottom as his shoulder is giving him hell. He applies some Nurofen Gel to it and we set off again.

There is one more massive climb to come and I decide not to tell him about it as I am not sure its helping and just making it worse for him if he knows the climbs are still coming.

We're climbing still, and there is no downhill for a let up on, it just keeps going up and up. The last massive climb see's Neil really start to lag behind and I am starting to worry that we wont make the finish in the cut off time. I can see he is suffering and I decide to keep this worry to myself and not share my concern with him. He catches me up and I can see from how he is slumped over the bars, that he has cracked. I drag him on over the few climbs, but even a slight gradient see's him dropping off my wheel.
I am going to have to make a decision, stay with my mate and not make the cut off time or leave him. Not good.

The road flattens for a bit and I make it to the next feed a few minutes ahead of Neil. I can see he is suffering and he wants to stop and have a rest / refuel, but I know if I do this I am not going to make the finish and we still have more climbing to do. We have a chat and I say that I dont want to stop to long and he tells me to go on and he is dragging me down.

Our average speed is now 12.4 mph and the broom wagon travels the course at an average of 12.5mph so I know if I wait I will miss the cut off and be classified as a DNF. My heart drops and I realise I made the decision 10 miles ago that I would have to leave him I just havent come to terms with it yet.

I spot the guys who we rode with yesterday who he knows so I know I can leave him here and he has options of riding on on his own or with somebody else he knows or here he can get picked up by the broom wagon and I know there are people about and I am not abandoning him on his own.

Neil tells me to go on and I make sure he has gels and is eating something before I leave him and tell him I'll see him at the finish.

I'm starting to flap a little, it means so much to me to finish this, I have trained hard all last summer and over winter. I am not falling at the last hurdle. So off I go.

The road begins to descend and I stick it in the big ring and get the gear spun up. I'm riding on my own now, the sun is hot and I am not feeling to bad. The thrum of the deep section Enve's is music to my ears and I flying along at a good pace and begin to pick off rider after rider. I come across a group of riders who all look knackered, I overtake them and then they are straight pack passed me again. They arent really concentrating and their pace is erratic and they keep braking. I get shouted at by the guy leading the pack for braking, which i had to do or I would have hit his mate in the rear as I'm being half wheeled and have no room to go around. I leave it a few seconds and let them settle and then I'm back in the big chain ring and off again. Its flat now and there is a nice tail wind so I get a fair push along and I'm riding at a descent speed, my avearge speed is slowly climbing up now, 12.6, 12.8, 13 mph and I am ouf the danger zone but i cant afford to slack off.

I remind myself to keep drinking and keep pushing on again picking off rider after rider. Before know it I'm into langport. I know the finish line closes at 17:30 and its 17:10 I have 5 miles ish to go and put the hammer down.
Average speed is 13.6 mph now, almost there keep going.

Up over the last little climb to Somerton and then fly down the hill. Its 17:25 I have 1/2 mile to go. I've got the big gear wound up now, the ENVE's are thruming the Marshall at the finish line see's my coming and holds the traffic up for me I brake and turn in hop up over the kerb, its 17:27, but the finish line banner is down, my heart sinks.

I get to the finish mat itself and YES its still there and there are people manning the timing gear still. I cross the Mat and it beeps to register my time. Get in no DNF ! I dont even notice Liz at the finish I'm so elated I've done it. All that hard work all the training and I've done it.

I rollout down out of the finish line and then stop my garmin. I make sure I save my ride and ride back up to see Liz. Neil's wife and kids are there and they are asking where their Daddy is. I sheepishly explain I left him at the feed stop and Nicky looks worried.

As we are talking the organisers shut the finish and take up the timing mat. I was so close to missing the cutoff. I must have been the last rider across.

Liz takes me down to buy me a cup of tea and a slice of cake and we go back to the finish line to see if Neil is back and he is still not back. I see the group of riders I got mixed up with and I'm glad I didnt ride in with them as they've missed the cut off.

Neil arrives 40 minutes or so behind me, saying he felt OK when he left the feed and he had found somebody to ride the last section with, so I dont feel so bad.

I ride back to the carpark and put the bike away in the Truck and Neil turns up to put his bike away to. We have a bit of a chat and I am glad he got back OK and then we head our separate ways home for food.

A few days on

It was an incredible experience to push on and on and i pushed myself beyond what I thought I was capable of on some of the climbs and also the last 30 miles on the last day in the mad dash to the finish.

Thats one ticked of my bucket list and I really feel like I've achieved something massive.

Its hard when you get tired and its hard to start day 2 and day 3 with tired legs. I'm a lot stronger in my mind than I realised and thats where those long rides are won and lost. In the mind...

I'd like to do it again next year and would like to set a better time. We spent to long in the feed stations which is what robbed us of a descent time, but by day 2 I was more concerned about actually finishing the ride by then.

[maviczap]

Nice write up Fizz, i didnt realise it was an organised sportive. There's some monster miles in there, and something ive nevrr done is a century ride, so chapeau to you and your mate, as i dont know if i could do those sorts of milages. Ok he got a dnf, but in my view he finished and did the ride.

[Luckypants]

That is hell of an event Fizz, those sort of miles day after day really takes some doing. I can see you put in some big training days over the winter so you got your reward, well done fella!

The Wrong Way Back will be breeze now?


EDIT: Just looked at Strava of the last day, it clearly shows you had to beast yourself to make the cut-off, PR's on almost every segment! Chapeau mate, that took some doing after 300 hard miles.

[pookie]

awesome effort .. well done and an epic achievement both of you. Those figures are frightening for one day let alone 3 in a row.

[maviczap]

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/a...rtap-44392/ack to power meter talk

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by maviczap

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/a...rtap-44392/ack to power meter talk

Get a 404 page not found message....

[maviczap]

Dang,
I'll see if I can track it down when I get home

[maviczap]

Never did find that article. Back to power meters

Cheap (for brand new) Garmin Vector pedals

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/view...091&t=13030207

Most cheesed off, as I was too slow to get some tickets from a BikeRadar sale yesterday for Wiggo's hour record attempt tonight. Face value tickets & going in with the buyer, so not a scam

Its on live tonight on Sky2 & Pick, as well as Sky Sports

[mattSV]

My brother managed to get tickets (git).

I'll be watching it on Pick (or online).

Any bets on the outcome?

I'll pitch in with 54.64...