October 2012

Well I manged to get some riding in in September which is a bonus but October is the start of the real preparation.  I don't really have a training plan as such at the moment but am looking at finishing 2012 working on my "base".  From what I have read the old professionals just rode for hours and hours in the off season as training so until the end of January I will just be looking to ride as often and as far as possible, no intervals or things like that just kilometers and kilometers.

Unfortunately like most people I have to work for a living so most of my riding will be weekends but I am hoping to get some midweek riding in too once I have found a suitable lighting arrangement form the pitch black winter mornings and evenings on the levels.

24th October 2012

Made it out during the week, not much to say really grim, lumpy and windy....

Ride Data:


21st October 2012

Busy Weekend but still made it out even if only for a short one...

Ride Data:

14th October 2012

The boss had plans today so I had to get out early.  Proper chilly this morning with a lot of mist around early, sun burned it off in stages though and on the whole it was glorious.

GPS Data:


13th October 2012

Well I hadn't made it out for a week despite my best intentions, the weather has been poor and I have had a bout of man flu which started on Tuesday.

I woke up to a horrible wet morning but got my act together, wrapped up warm and headed out.  My legs were not feeling up to much and it was a windy day.  Set off with a route in mind which was intended to be quite easy, a pleasant ride across the levels with a coffee stop in Cheddar.

After about 10 minutes the sun came out and for the next 30 minutes I was thinking that I had made a mistake wrapping up, then the weather turned and the heavens opened, for the next 20 minutes I was riding in moderate rain with a strong cross wind. Nothing too bad to be honest but the wind was a portent of things to come.  I had a pleasant ride up to Costa in Cheddar Gorge where I stopped and had coffee and a slice of Tiffin.  It was dead when I got there but Bristol RC turned up before I left and the place got quite busy and I spent 10 minutes or so drooling over some of the very expensive bikes they arrived on.

The ride back from Costa was hard work... I set off and instantly noticed that it appeared that all the strength had drained from my legs, this combined with the headwind made the ride back hard work and despite the fact that today's ride was shorter, and distinctly flatter, than last weeks it certainly felt harder.  Can't complain though as in the whole I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

GPS Data:

http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView?id=1490835

Coffee Break at Costa

6th October 2012

Went out to get a baseline on where I am starting from today.  Picked a longer and definitely more hilly ride than I have been doing and dragged myself up Cheddar Gorge for the first time in a couple of years. Stopping for coffee and cake at Costa at the bottom might not have been the best idea but not to worry.  The reward at the top was a flood on the way into Priddy but the view heading down to Wookie Hole was spectacular.

What did I learn from today well I need to get more miles in and get quicker.  Today's ride was less than a third of the longest day of the challenge.  I need to get more confident going downhill - I need to be able to go down quickly but safely as there is as much decent on the Raid as climbing and I will almost certainly need to be flying downhill to make the time limit.  

GPS data from the ride