Expirementing with ‘Map My Ride’

I love maps, whether they are paper or electronic. I still think the best gift Rach has ever bought me was the Times comprehensive atlas of the world but I love my GPS device and the freedom it gives me on the bike. As a bit of fun I decided to install the Map my Ride app for my android phone. I liked the idea of being able to use it as a live tracker, so that people are able to see my current location on a map. It works by sending a message to twitter and Facebook to say that i’ve started a ride and provides a link to watch the live map. It also always you to review the route once you get home as a 3D flyover video using Google earth. Here was Sunday night’s ride.

I think that’s rather good!

Bear Bones 200

Not been blogging for a while, Rach and I have been in the states exploring Washington and Oregon. We’re back now and this weekend I’m off out to Wales for a spot of Bikepacking. The event is the Bear Bones 200, a 200 Km self supported ride round mid Wales. We have to carry at least a sleeping bag and the expectation is that we sleep out overnight. I’m going down to Machynlleth tonight where I’ll grab a pizza and head out on to the hills to find a cozy spot for the night before the start tomorrow. Whilst in America I picked up some gear from Revelate Designs made for this type of trip and I’ve even put 9 gears back on the bike. Thanks again to the Carbon Monkey for the Exposure light hire. Should be a fun weekend

Bike Hiking on the Trans Cambrian Way

First up, what is bike hiking? Well its like normal hiking but instead of walking you ride a mountain bike across the countryside with you camping gear strapped to the bike or in a rucksack.  Suppose you could also call it off road cycle touring.

I’ve long wanted to ride the Trans Cambrian Way, a 100 mile  off road route across mid Wales from Knighton to Dovey Junction. However, its not waymarked so navigation can be slow so I’ve put it off, until now that is thanks to the GPS. So Simon and I made our plans and on Friday 1st headed out of Knighton for a few days of biking, camping and some cheeky beers.

So the route. If you do it then expect to ford streams, go the wrong way, to not see a sole for hours maybe even all day, to get muddy, see lots of sheep, ride up and down some hills, some rather big, but mainly expect to enjoy yourself and want to go back again.

We had a great weekend of talking and riding and the weather was very un Welsh, we often mistook ourselves as being in Spain or the Slovakian Tatra. We even visited the trails at Nant and wondered around the centre for alternative technology. I’m in love with bike hiking, where next?

Double Solo 24 hour mtb racing – what fun!

Back in 2009 I had a go at racing solo in a 24 mountain bike race. The rider with the most laps wins! That race did not go so well, I was not really prepared, the bike was making bad noises and I got totally bored of going round in circles for 24 hours. So I’m going back to give 24 hour solo racing another go at the UK Solo Championships. This time with more experience of long distance rides and with the gears removed, yes I decided that it would be ‘good’ idea to ride single speed, well why not, less stuff to make noise.

It should be an interesting race as many riders will have two bikes and at least a support crew to feed them, water them, look after their bikes, give them their race position and shout at them when the going gets hard. In contrast I will have one bike and no support crew. I will be doing this as a real solo ride. And to add to the fun, its seems that the good April weather will break this weekend with the forecast for heavy rain, thunder, lightning and hail. What fun! I will either push through and have a great ride or this race will break me. Follow my twitter feed to find out.

So this coming weekend I will head just up inside the Scottish border on my tod and ride around on my bike for a few hours and try to get myself a decent result. This is a taster of what’s in store for me:

Hell of the North Cotswolds 2011 – A quick report

The Hell of the North Cotswolds or the HONC has become a bit of a staple in my riding calendar. For the past two years I’ve headed down to Winchcombe with the roadrat in tow, but this year, with the 24hr race just round the corner I had to forget ideas of trying to be first back and ride the single speed mountain bike instead. I knew I would not be able to ride with the Tri-1st boys with their gears and array of carbon bikes, instead I would have to take it easy and enjoy the day with steel and one gear.

Well ‘take it easy’ lasted about as long as it took me to get out of the school gate at the start. I thought I might just be able to catch the front group if I spin like a mad man. I did catch two Tri-1st riders and was only about 30 seconds behind the lead group by the top of the first climb, but then we hit the first road section and alas, the geared bikes just drifted away into the distance.

I continued to push on and found that despite being dropped on the roads I was catching and passing everyone else on the hills. Great games of leap frog commenced with a number of riders as the sun warmed up and gave the trails and southern Mediterranean feel.

I finished the 100km route after 5 hours and still  feeling good which has given me a boast of confidence for the 24hr race on the 7-8th of May.

Congratulations to Steve who was the first rider back. He’s wanted that for a couple of years.

This weekend the 24hr prep continue, I’ve just made arrangements for some additional lighting and Rach and I head down south to ride the Ridgeway. Rach on road, myself off road. Should be a good one

A few Rachel achievements

All went quiet on here last July when it came to me blogging rides, walks and runs.  There was talk of a niggly knee then nothing.  Well, after numerous appointments and scans I’ve still not got to the bottom of what was wrong, but it seems that it’s nothing mechanical and it is now easing up.  So, I’ve been easing myself back in and getting back out and about in the Spring sunshine.  Here’s a few things I’ve been up to – more as a list to spur me on than anything else…

• Over the past month I’ve been easing myself back into running, with a couple of runs each week leading to my first 5km run since last July.
• I’ve logged my jogs at Daily Mile where I’ve been getting encouragement from friends. Cheers guys!
• I’ve been out for a couple of rides with the Hopwood Ladies Cycling Club which has been great for meeting other cyclists. I’ve also used this as a reason to take a weekday out from work every so often – great for getting me to focus and manage my time better!
• Last weekend James and I did a loop with our friend Simon which took in three fairly mean climbs in the Peak District.  Winnats Pass beat me I’m afraid, but the torrential downpour didn’t!  The route and my thoughts on it are up on my Daily Mile profile.
• Yesterday I decided to borrow James’ Garmin (yes, yes, the one I was reluctant to let him buy) and do a loop round the Cotswolds while James was riding the HONC.  The 60km route took in a few lumpy bumpy bits, including Cleeve Hill outside Cheltenham.  What was great was that it was the longest ride I’ve done by myself so far.  Whilst I’m adamant about mapping routes on an actual map when driving, it is far easier following a GPS track when on the bike on country lanes.  I’m now feeling more confident about exploring by myself and planning my own rides.

I’m hoping that it won’t jinx me, but here are a few things I’m putting out there as possibilities…

• Next weekend I’m hoping to do this Four White Horses 90km route out from Marlborough whilst James attempts some off-road action on The Ridgeway
• I’m looking at doing an 100km Audax with the Hopwood Ladies sometime in May.
• The Dunwich Dynamo is a possibility for the sheer challenge and slightly surreal element to it.  London to the Suffolk Coast.  120 miles with around 1,000 other riders.  Overnight.
• I’m really taken with the new Sustrans route for the Way of the Roses route which runs Morecambe to Bridlington.  Partly because I get the chance to go to Lancaster where we both studied, and partly because it’s an amazing part of the world.  I’m hoping that we can do it as a tour sometime this summer.  Rolling across the Yorkshire Dales on a summer’s evening with the promise of beer at the end of the day surely can’t be bettered.
• Running events may happen, but I’ve realised that running may not be my sport due to rubbish knees.  In the meantime a couple of 5km runs a week would be brilliant.

I reckon that lot should keep me out of trouble.  Offers of running / cycling partners are always welcome!

Riding a single speed mountain bike

I’ve decided to try a different way to ride off road this year. No gears, or ‘single speed’ as it’s known. I’ve always sworn that I’m happy with my gears when off road, never had any trouble with them, but something changed quite suddenly and I wanted to have a go without them. So after what feels like too long, I finally stripped the gears and other clutter off the Soul and headed out to give it a go. The plan was to ride from home in Balsall Heath out across the hills and fields of North Worcestershire to Bewdley where if I had time I’d pick up the Worcestershire way and ride to Malvern (that last bit did not happen – another day).

Well, it was quite an experience! One word, punishing! I’ve been riding bikes off road since I was about 8-9, and with the exception of my Raleigh Grifter and its 3 speed hub I’ve had plenty of gears to play with. Clawing your way up a muddy hill on one gear with tired legs, your arms burning, trying not to lose traction or put a foot down is hard work, very hard work! The payoff is a light, silent bike, no gears to grind in the mud, no chain slap and nice clean lines. Don’t laugh but, I love how the bike looks.

The main reason I’ve decided to go down this route is that I’ve entered two races this year and I’d like to be a little bit competitive, but I lack the bike to really do that with. No carbon, titanium or aluminum for me. Then it occurred to me. I ride thousands of miles on my fixie each year, I’m used to grinding up endless steep, shitty roads in Wales with one gear and tired legs, then spinning like a mad man down the other side whilst trying to avoid wheel busting holes and sheep. Actually, I rather like the experience. So I figured, why not play to my strengths and race in the single speed category? Who knows, I might do OK.

So with the exception of a few long road rides, over the coming months you will find me mainly mucking around in the dirt of North Worcestershire getting used to the bike set up. I might even make it over to the Long Mynd, well that’s if I can find someone to go with me.

Mud, Flowers, & Cotswolds Hills: Happy Days in February

A quick ride last Wednesday, well quick in the planning. Download the Beacon Roads CC Cotswold Expedition Audax route and head out at 9.30 for a proper tour of the Cotswolds.

My chosen route is a slight modification of the Beacon CC route but both deliver great views early on over the Vale of Evesham. This view is amazing, but especially so during a mid-summer sunrise.

However, great views mean dealing with the frequent long drawn out hills on the North West side of the Cotswolds. I dread and love riding up on this hill with the fixie in equal amounts.

The ride was marked by 70 miles of head winds on the way down to Burford, and by very muddy roads thereafter. I had to stop twice to scrape the mud out from under the mudguards on both wheels as the build up was causing noticeable drag! But it also gave me an exscuse to stop and whimper by the side of the road. By mile 85 I was struggling!

Looking at that photo again, I can’t believe just how muddy the bike became. Despite the hard riding, I could but not notice numerous small woods where the entire floor was covered in snowdrops. And the beautiful Cotswold houses with the first signs of spring budding and flowering in their gardens. I even passed daffodils that were in full yellow flower. It’s been a long, cold, gray winter but the Cotswolds in February is the perfect place for an early taste of spring. Unfortunatly, the snow drops always seemed to appeared on the way down big hills, and the daffodils on the steepest uphills, so no stopping for pictures of either. After a much needed final stop for hot chocolate I perked up pushed on back to Brum to finish in the dark a little after 7.15pm. 144 miles in about 10 hours, not a fast ride but well worth it for the flowers, the views and the sense of having completed my first real journey of the year. I love riding in the Cotswolds, might have to go there again next Wednesday.

We do have hills in the Midlands

It’s time to start getting in the long miles, and time to really ingrain that appreciation of winter riding in the UK before the spring comes along and injects some colour back in to our lives. The route was simple, and one that I noted in my last post. A sensible 100 mile loop taking in all that the midlands has to offer in the way of hills, lanes and river crossings. From Brum in to a headwind, three times over the Clent hills, a climb out of Bewdley and up on to a fog and drizzle shrouded Clee Hill. Drop down towards Ludlow to fight with the GPS before lunch in Tenbury Wells.

 

Head South East with views back over towards Clee Hill and then on a rolling road to Martley. With legs feeling very heavy and rain threatening the Lickey Hills come in to view for the seventh and last major climb of the day. Thoughts turn to cake, but with a ban on until my Birthday it was straight to the chippy and a large haddock for dinner number 1.

Dinner number 2 arrived three hours later in the form of veggi sausages and mash. The route did what it was supposed to, it ate me up and spat me out. I found new hills, new roads, one’s that I expect will become good friends in time.

Adventures with the GPS thingy

I like paper maps, I really do! They are nice to touch, they fold out to give a great overview of where you are, and just using one makes me feel good. But when your on a bike and have hundreds of miles to cover they can become a real pain to use. As my rides have increased in length, the further I have travel from home the less interesting the roads I use have become. I can’t realistically use paper maps to navigate the many thousands of narrow lanes that cover this country. On top of this, I’d like to take my cycling adventures off the tarmac and on to the even more complex network of bridleways that cover the countryside. There was only one solution, use a GPS device to navigate. So after much research, and by a lot I mean A LOT! A lot more than went in to buying our new house, I ordered a Garmin Dakota 20.

It would seem that deciding which device to buy was the easy part. Most people’s experience of using a GPS is in the car. You tell it where you want to get to, it works out how to get there and then the women directs you, most of the time. On the bike it’s a little different. Often you want to follow a route that starts and finishes in the same place and to do this you either follow a  a route that someone else has created or you created the route yourself before you set of. This is where the fun starts.

I’ve spent the last 2-3 weeks learning GPS talk. What is a track? How is this different to a route? How does my device follow a track? How does it follow a route? Can I get it to beep at me and tell me which way to go at a junction? How do I turn the screen off to save the batteries? Which maps should I use? Can I get on-screen instructions? It’s all a complete minefield as it seems there’s more than one way to skin a GPS.

So what have I learnt so far about the Dakota 20? I have to stress that I’m not going to explain how to do things on the Dakota, such as how to load the maps, or how the software works. What I want to do is let people know how I have found using the Dakota as that might inform other people’s decision as whether to buy it not. If you do have any questions and if I can help then I will gladly reply.

First up some basics, it uses AA batteries which are easy to replace, so if you carry spares you will never run out of power. Not tested battery life properly yet, but the biggest variable seems to be how much screen backlight is used. It has a touchscreen which works well and I’ve used it with big winter gloves whilst riding and not found it a problem. The screen is also more visible than I had thought it would be. The Garmin bike mounting kit is a lot smaller, neater and effective than I thought it would be.

I have loaded UK Open Street Maps onto the device which are free. I’m using the maps produced by Andy Gates which you can get from here: http://ravenfamily.org/andyg/maps/. I want to get a copy of 1:50,000 UK OS maps for off-road and walking use as the Open Street Maps can be patchy when off the road network. I use both G5 and Intel mac’s. The Dakota mounts with no problems on both systems. I’m using Garmin’s Bascamp software on both mac’s with copies of Andy’s maps available from the link above. For creating tracks and routes (see below) I’ve been playing with Bascamp as well as Bikehike and Bike Route Toaster. You can view Ordnance Survey maps using bikehike which is very handy.

If following a route using autorouting in follow road mode then the Dakota works like a car GPS and gives you instructions on where to go. Using it like this you can turn the screen off and set it to beep and light up when you approach a junction. I think this will be good for saving the battery. A route is the journey between any two way-points. The Garmin can create a route that contains up to 50 way-points. This means a long route will need to be broken down in to smaller chunks in order to fit within the 50 way-point limit. The way-points should not be too far apart or the GPS may direct you down a road you do not wish to take.

A track is like an electronic breadcrumb trail. You can set your GPS to record where you have been, it will record a track point every few seconds which can show up on the map if you wish, like an electronic breadcrumb trail. You can also create a track using either software on the computer such as Basecamp or a websites such as Bikehike. You can load a pre-created track on to the GPS that will show up as pink line on the map. You can follow that pink line when cycling but I have not yet worked out how to get the Dakota to behave as it does when following a route, alerting me at a junctions, and turning the screen on, I don’t think it will. This means when following a track the screen always has to be on which I think will take its toll on the battery. However, a track can have up to 1000 track points, which means you don’t need to break a long track into smaller chunks.  I’m finding the differences in functionality between using routes and tracks slightly annoying. I believe other devices such as the Garmin Edge series may not suffer from this problem as they also use courses that are kind of a combination between a route and track, I think?

That’s it for now. I’ve not used the Dakota for off-road navigation yet because I’m in the process of servicing the mtb, but I suspect I will have to use the track approach. Well that’s unless I can use autorouting in follow road mode on the OS maps to navigate down bridleways, which would be very useful! We shall see.

Despite the slight track/route frustration I love having this device. My long road rides have typically headed south from Birmingham and into the Cotswolds, but this morning I put together a nice 100 mile loop using Bike Route Toaster that goes West to Shropshire and then South to Worcestershire on roads that I’m not very familiar with. See all that open space to the West of Birmingham, it’s quite exciting. Click on the picture below to see the route.

What’s most exciting about this route is that I’ve found the much talked about but all elusive Western passage from South Birmingham to Shropshire avoiding the Black Country and Kidderminster. Yay!

OK, time to go exploring.

An autumnal slog across to the Cotswolds

It’s been a little while since I’ve blogged but that’s because this blog has essentially become a place where I share my cycling trips, and to my surprise I’ve learnt that people do actually read my stories. Well since the South Downs Double I’ve had some down time from the epic rides, I’ve had a few beers, been walking, put on a couple of pounds and tried to work out what next year will be about on the bike. I’ve not entirety figured that last point out yet but what I do know is that getting some big miles in before the new years starts will be a good thing.

So that’s what I did last Saturday, getting the miles in. A quick flick through the Audax calendar reveled a 209km ride from Droitwich down to the Cotswolds to ride around the stunning hills between Cheltenham, Stroud and Cirencester. Now if like me and you have never ridden around this part of the Cotswolds then I highly recommended it, especially at this time of the year, but I also strongly suggest you take some gears!

I set off from home at 6.30am to ride the 21 miles to the start of the ride at 7.45. It’s a 209km ride so I figured riding the fixie I’d be done by 4pm…a nice day out. My plan was to take it easy (ish) have a cuppa or two, maybe a sandwich and generally ease off a bit from my normal pace. Well that was the plan, which went straight out the window within 2 minutes of the start. I just could not help but jump on the wheel of a guy that went of the front, and there I stayed for the remainder of the ride, on his wheel, grovelling up the hills and spinning like a madman down the hills!

The ride was rated as 0.5AA points, which on paper means it’s not that hilly, in reality it’s one of the hardest rides I’ve ever done. Most of the hills were only just about rideable, except for the few I had to walk up, and the downhills a bit bonkers! The first climb was out of Broadway to Snowshill and on to the Cotswolds. After that the hills just kept on coming. Shortly before Cirencester in the area around Syde I very nearly cracked just before picking up my 6th puncture of the week. But what a god send that puncture was as it gave me 10 very valuable minutes off the bike and time to get some food and drink down my neck, the bonk avoided!

After Cirencester the route climbed steadily uphill for 7 miles before dropping all that height gained in half a mile only to go straight back up another stonker of a hill. By this point I was really cursing my choice of bike! We dropped (literally) off the side of Cotswolds and in to Winchcombe and after 100km that was the hills done for the day. All that lay between us and the finish was a fast 30 mile mad dash. My riding partner for the day and I made it back to the finish just after night fall at 5.30pm, nearly 10 hours after setting off where uppon arrival we got stuck in to a great plate off pub grub!

So what set out to be a pleasant 150 miles ended up being nothing but a very rode and cruel re-awakening off my long distance cycling legs. I’ll do this ride again as I think it’s a classic but with gears next time. My next long ride is a 200km jaunt from Tewksbury in to the Brecon Beacons and back on the 20th November, anyone care to join me?

South Downs Double (SDD) Attempt – What Happened?

Good question, so what did happen?

I blogged about my reasons for wanting to ride the South Downs Double (SDD) back in April but instead I ended up doing a 243 road ride from Birmingham to Kent on my fixie. But last Friday, Friday the 13th no less, things came together and I was able to have a go.

The South Downs Double is a 200 mile double crossing of the South Downs Way from Winchester to Eastbourne and back to Winchester. My goal was to do it unsupported in under 24 hours. This meas I would have to carry all my food, tools, spares, and find my own water en-route. I’m not sure how many people have done this unsupported in under 24 hours, but I do know that 12 have managed it in under 24 hours and are therefore members of the South Downs Double Club. I hoped to be the 13th.

I suppose planning started back in August 2008 when I first rode the route with Simon, I was learning the route. Rachel was on a visit to Berlin with her Dad in the week before and this gave me a few evenings for pure unadulterated fettling, but, as I would later learn, I had overlooked something. I cleaned the bike, oiled the chain, bagged up energy drink, cereal bars and made a stack of sandwiches. I even went to the effort of calculating how many calories I would need to ensure that I would not pack too much food. Bit sad really, but do you know how many calories there are in a cheese sandwich? Thought not. Well mind had 375.

The plan was simple, catch a train from Birmingham to Winchester. I was due to arrive at 12.30pm. Faff for 30 minutes and set of towards Eastbourne at 1pm. Arrive at Paradise Drive, Eastbourne before 1am, and head back towards Winchester to arrive by 1pm Saturday. Catch a train back to Birmingham and head to a friends leaving party for beer. I didn’t have a GPS tracking device so I would tweet my location whenever I stopped for water. Simple!

So on Friday 13th I was stood in front of King Alfred’s statue in Winchester waiting for 13.00 to arrive hoping to be the 13th person to make the journey in under 24 hours. Think I was a bit nervous about all the 13′s.

At 1pm the rain started and of I went. I can’t remember too much for the first hour, a mother and daughter by a gate, ran over their water bottle, happy walkers, a guy saying something about bikes, rain stopping, going the wrong way for a couple of minutes, the pub with camping in the garden and then Old Winchester Hill. This is where the ride starts for me. It’s the first real hill on the route so things slow down a little and I started to settled down a little. I pass Whitewool Farm where we camped two years ago and quickly found myself climbing up Salt Hill and past the Sustainability Center (should go there sometime). Heading towards Buster Hill the rain started again and I get a proper soaking! Before long I was weaving through the trails of the Queen Elizabeth County Park. I’d made it there in a little over 1 1/2 hours, I was going well. The next section too Cocking provides the first real sight of the downs, the steep slopes, the views North over the flat lands and the bare chalk paths. The rain had eased, the sun came out and it was a real pleasure to be riding. I could hardly believe that I was actually having a go at the double!

Cocking and my first water stop was soon upon me. Looking back at my tweet, it would seem I was there by 3.37pm. That was only 2 hours 37 minutes for 35 miles, this was quick. I filled up quickly and set of up the hill but it looked like I was going to get wet again. The next milestone was Amberley at around 47 miles. Between Cocking and Amberley I had to deal with my second real soaking, lot’s of mud, a heard of cow’s blocking the route and the lethal wet downs chalk! By the time I reached the top of Amberley Mount I was covered in mud, very wet had nearly come of a few times and was wondering if this was really a good idea? But I do remember looking at my computer at this point and thinking “I’m going too fast, if I keep this pace I’ll make Eastbourne in a little over 8 hours, I’m not Ian Leitch, Mike Cotty, Rob Dean or Rob Lee, that’s too fast, I don’t know how I will deal with this pace, I’d better slow down!” So I eased of a bit.

Thankfully the rain stopped on top of Amberley Mount and little patches of blue sky appeared, but no sun. The next couple of hours ticked along nicely. The views from the tops of the hills were great, the rain stayed away and the trails were much dryer. However, I was becoming increasingly aware that my forks were not working as they should, it’s was like someone had wound up the re-bound damping and the ride was becoming firmer. There was also a rattly sound coming from the rear wheel and I was aware that the bottom bracket really could do with being replaced.  At 6.31pm I decided to stop at Devils Dyke, have a stretch and take a look a look at the bike. Sure enough the cassette was coming lose, so I tightened it the best I could, the bottom bracket was a bit loose, nothing I could do about that, and I regained some travel and rebound in the forks after some twiddling. I really need to send them for a service when I get home. Quick look at the computer and tap locations, I’d done 66 miles, so 2/3 of the way to Eastbourne and the next water tap was 11 miles away, I was still going well and had water so I pressed on.

The next 11 miles went very fast, I can’t recall much apart from clocking the location of the water tap at Saddlescombe. I was at the A27 and the Housedown Farm water tap before I knew it. Time for more water and my first protein drink.

This is where Simon and I had to bail on our first attempt at the South Downs Way. Back then it had taken us 14 hours to reach this point. My 3rd tweet confirms I had made it there in 6 hours 45 mins this time. Twice as fast. It was 7.45 pm and despite the hills I knew were still to come, Eastbourne was just 23 miles away, I was sure I could make it there by 10pm thus completing the first 100 miles in 9 hours, and without having to thrash myself to do so. So after filling up I pushed on.

The first climb after the A27 is long and steady around a big bowl in the hillside and from the top you can see where the South Downs Way must drop over the River Ouse to then climb up Itford Hill. Looking down over the Ouse you can feel the end of the South Downs Way and the mid point of this ride. The route takes you along the top of Kingston Escarpment before heading down a concrete farm track towards Southease. Shortly after blasting down this track my rear tire went flat. Bugger!

No problem, just change the tube. Bike upside down, wheel off, tube out, fit new tube, what’s this? I’d packed a tube for the Roadrat, completely the wrong size. Shit! OK, fine just fix it. Found the hole, patched it, found the thorn responsible, pull it out. Put the wheel back on, oil up the chain. Night was falling, so I put another layer on and set the lights up. Then I go to ride away, shit! The tire was flat gain. OK, bike back upside down, wheel off, tire off, tube out. Found the hole, patched after two attempts, now for the thorn, where is it? Where is it? WHERE IS IT? Umm! Ok, just put the tube back in and see what happens, but I’m not happy about it!

By this point I’d been on the side of the hill for 40 minutes in fading light, with the temperature dropping and I was cold. And then it happened. Do I carry on knowing I have no spare tube, only a couple of patches with the possibility of a thorn I cannot find still in the tire or do I bail?

It was a hard decision to make. If a flint slashes my tire and tube I could not fix with the patches I have, I’d seen guys puncture 4-5 times over just 60 miles of this route before. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck at 1 or 2 am with a puncture I could not fix and no real bailout option. If I bailed now I could at least head to Lewes and catch the last train to somewhere. So at mile 82, with my legs still going strong my attempt at the South Downs Double ended because of a fettling oversight. With a heavy heart and a tire full of patches I headed off route towards Lewes train station.

Luckily my parents were happy to collect me from a train station. Gatwick seemed the logical choice, a short train journey from Lewes and a quick blast down the motorway for them. Before long I was sat on a train covered in mud talking to the train manager about the ride. Just a few hours earlier I had been on-route for a sub 24 hour maybe even a sub 20 hour ride of the double and here I was eating my cheese sandwiches and emergency chocolate on a train bound for Gatwick. It just got weirder when on exiting Gatwick train station I found myself in the middle of the South terminal covered in mud and surrounded by squeaky clean holiday makers looking at me like I’d arrived from another planet. Planet South Downs Double indeed! Before long I’d been whisked away from the crazy airport world by my parents, and told them stories of my adventure whilst they cooked up some grub. Thanks Mum and Chris

So, I’ve had a real taste of long distance off-road rides and it seems that despite my concerns Trio was right, it’s not about the bike. But I still believe the bike helps. Despite not finishing I really enjoyed myself and it’s given me a massive confidence boast, I’m able to ride long miles off-road at a good pace. I was going really well, keeping a pace that I know I could have maintained for the duration and apart from the fettling oversight, I’d prepared well. Just means that I’ll have to try the double again sometime.

Seems the 13′s may have got the better of me.

Fellowship of the (Granny) Ring – My Tales of the Mille Cymru & 1000km round Wales #mc1k

Well that was one hell of a ride!

Not sure where to start with this one. When a single ride has been the focus and reason behind all other rides for seven months it becomes hard to put into words the experience. I find myself wanting to describe why I love Audax. It’s the fact that it’s non competitive, that you can stop, sit down and have a coffee or tea whenever you want, that it’s essentially you, your bike, the road and the world around you. There’s no safety net of marshals, road closures, or people cheering you on, if things go wrong you have to figure it out yourself. There are the other riders, their stories, their reasons for being out there, their bikes, and then there’s the night riding, the lack of sleep, the sore butt, and the massive distances you cover. It creates a special mix of adventure, a sense of achievement that can take days to fulfill, something quite in contrast to the fast world of instant gratification that we normally inhabit.

The Mille Cymru brought all that together in an event that was designed in places to be utterly brutal and in places sublimely stunning, playing chaos with your emotions and senses. The mirror polished Lake Bala reflecting Moel Llyfnant, views over to the Irish Sea from Pen-Y-Pass, the beautiful Pembrokeshire beaches, the three brutal crossings of the B4358, the even more brutal but equally stunning B4518 to Llanidloes. And then to come back to the comfort of the control in Llanwrtyd Wells to be received with warmth by the volunteers, to have a hot shower, good food and to share stories at the end of the day’s journey.

That’s why I like Audax!

The ride started not as I expected it to finish. I pushed on ahead of the 6.15am start group and I soon found myself at the front of the ride with three other guys whilst heading towards Snowdonia.

We rolled in to Llanberis at a little after midday with an average of 18mph but going well. The bridge at Barmoth and its £1 toll was crossed and we headed towards Dolgellau where I downed three pints of water and a coffee. By 5pm I’d put in my fastest ever 300km as we headed through the mid Welsh hills and valleys. On the B4518 to Llanidloes I discovered just how deep I would have to dig over the next two days. A little after 8pm, 356km after leaving Shropshire us three riders rolled into Victoria Hall and dug into plates of Macaroni Cheese, satisfied that we had made it to all the controls at or before the time they opened.  That night I laid down but did not sleep, whilst one of the riders rolled on through the night.

Out again at 5pm and into Welsh drizzle heading South towards Pendine for a cuppa and fried egg sandwich only to be followed by a 25% climb. The route hugged the Pembrokshire Coast, Tenby, Pembroke, St Davids, Fishguard up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down on and on until one final big up to the bizarre control at the Mason’s arms. Slower riders would later recount stories of the hen party, the singing and the bananas. One final push through drizzle over Mynydd Cynros and again a group of three would roll back after 310km to the warm welcome of Irish vegetable stew, showers, stories of the day and bed by 9pm. I slept like a log!

My first conversation on Sunday started with a bright light!

“What!”

“It’s 4.15″

“Really? … shit! … thanks”

And out we went, a group of 6-7 into the 5am mist and up past Drum Ddu onto and over the Brecon Beacons. The demons followed me up this hill and I nearly became their sacrifice to the Welsh Dragons.  By Llandovery and the road to Tregaron I had found my legs and seen off the demons as we pushed onto a town of people nursing hangovers. We rode out of Aberystwyth and up one last climb past the Devil’s Bridge and into a sunny Elan Valley and on towards our final visit to Llanwrtyd Wells. By now after his epic 700km ride without stopping, the first rider had arrived back in Shropshire. Our small group of three just had 127km to go. We rolled out into glorious sunlight and headed towards Newtown and the border knowing that once there, we were home. What followed was a crazy dash through the Shropshire lanes to finish 1026km and 60 hours after leaving on Friday morning. By the time I left for home that night, no more riders would arrive.

My approach to this this ride was to ride each leg fast so that I could see as much of Wales in the daylight as possible. And I accomplished that. Seems that my training approach to combine endurance and speed actually worked.

The journey I’ve been on to finish this ride, the training, the atmosphere building around the event and the adventure of riding the ride itself have been fantastic, one I will not forget. But I’m going to put big Audax rides on hold for a few years, I want to head off-road, for a spot of bikehiking.

A story by numbers

Yesterday’s ride started at 3.30am and finished at 7.15pm. The 300km audax started at 6am. In the end I rode 240 miles with an average moving speed of 17.5 mph. I went off route 4 times, and drank at least 14 litres of water. The computer tells a satisfying story.

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The case of the missing cycling mojo and the look of disbelief. Maybe I am a bit odd?

Over the last few weeks I’ve felt like I’ve lost my cycling mojo. My legs have felt a bit heavy, I’m not flying up the hills and I’m stressing about the upcoming big ride. Then today whilst still wearing my cycling gear I grabbed a coffee before heading to the office for the afternoon. That’s when I had a conversation that I seem to frequently have, but today it had me reflecting. It went something like this: “How far you cycled today?” “oh, just from home, I live near Edgbaston cricket ground, so it’s about 7-8 miles” “wow, that’s quite some distance!” “Well I do it most days so I’m kind of used to it” “So you like cycling, do you do much?” “Ye, quite a bit” “How far do you normally ride?” “Well depends, anything from the 6-7 miles to work up to 50-60 miles with a local cycling club” “Wow!” Now they clearly get that last part, most people understand cycling 50-60 miles, even if they can’t do it themselves, then I go on to: “but I do a lot of long rides, over 100 miles” “That’s a long way, what’s the furthest you’ve ever gone?” This is the question I fear being asked! “well my furthest in one go was about 260 miles” “that’s over a few days?” “No, in one day” At this point I see a slightly vacant look in their eyes. The look of disbelief. Most people clearly cannot put ‘riding a bicycle’ and ‘250 miles’ together. I think, they think I’m lying! I don’t blame them. It was only a few years ago when I had the same response. I really don’t know what to say at this point and the conversation usually ends with me saying something about ‘getting used to it’, ‘each to their own’ and acknowledging that ‘yes, maybe I am a bit odd’. Well I may be odd, but it’s my reality. But today it occurred to me that I need to remind myself that this is my reality and it is a bit odd! Most normal, sane people, including most of the keen cyclists I know, don’t cycle 200+ miles a day for fun. The fact that I choose too knowing that I can, clearly means that I’m doing something right, well in my version of what is right and wrong. This weekend I’m embarking on a 275 mile epic, it will be my longest ever single day ride, and despite the usual pre-ride nerves, I know I can do it and I will enjoy most of it. So in reflection maybe my cycling mojo has not headed of down the A38 on a Tandem with someone else’s and is in fact still there but just playing up a little to reminding me not to take it for granted. Point taken. I need to be better at dealing with the up’s and downs of my cycling adventures. I might not be as quick as I would like this weekend, but I’m out there doing it, and that’s to be enjoyed, not stressed about!

Pictures from day 1 of the 2010 ‘Tour Divide’

I’ve been following the 2745 mile tour divide race now for nearly 3 weeks. Of the 48 people that lined up to start in Banff, Canada there are now only 25 left, 4 of which have already made it to the finish on the Mexican Boarder, including Aiden Harding, the only 1 of 4 Brits that started to still be in.

Some photos of the first day have been posted on the Adventure Cycling Association website along with some short stories. The photos and captions are quite inspirational and provides a small window in to the the world that is the Tour Divide.  Just click on the photo below to see more images.

The red dragon is calling and Cymru awaits…bugger!

Three hundred k’s where red kites soar, from Wrekin to the Sea
Four hundred k’s for Hibernia’s mail, overnight on Telford’s road
Six hundred k’s for Offa’s men, doomed to grimp along the dyke
One thousand for the audax lord, on their Brooks shod throne
In the land of Cymru, where the dragons hills lie…
One ride to rule them all, one ride to find them,
One ride to bring them all, and in the green hills bind them
In the land of Cymru, where the dragons lie…

Well this is it, the big one for this year, the Mille Cymru. Some numbers 1026km, 13,890m of ascent,  75 hours. That’s a 637 mile 3 1/2 day ride around Wales, starting on Friday 23rd July. It’s only just over 3 weeks away and I’m a bit intimated by it right now. I feel unprepared, I’ve not done a long ride now for nearly 4 weeks, or any speed training for 2 weeks. Instead I’ve been to Spain, attended a couple of weddings and in the process gathered up a few extra pounds to lug up those 13,890 metres of Welsh hills. To be honest I was best prepared for this about 2 weeks ago.

I’m sure all will be well in the end as I’ve put in a lot of miles this year in preparation for this ride, and any weight I’ve put on can be lost in the next 3 weeks, as long as I stay away from the beer at next weekend’s wedding and get a few miles in on the bike. Actually I had a thought, between now and the 30th July I will probably cycle 1200 miles, maybe more.

I will post a map of the route nearer the time along with some more pre-ride thoughts as I’ve a few rides planned between now and then, they should help with confidence.

A ride along the Worcestershire Way

There are lot’s of things to write about from the last two weeks. Rach and I went to Spain for my cousins wedding where we also had the pleasure of experiencing the San Juan festival (I will leave it to Rach to write about that one). And then we attended another wedding, this time an old friend, which was fantastic, we got to catch up with lot’s of good friends that we’ve not seen for a while.

But in the last 10 days I’ve ridden about 0 miles! So haven been inspired by much talk of mountain biking at the wedding and following the tour divide (the first person finished this morning) I used my last day of leave to ride a local favorite of mine, the Worcestershire Way.

Rach and I first walked this route about 3 years ago. It’s a nice two day walk from Great Malvern to Bewdley, some 31 miles that takes in hills, woodlands, high open grasslands, apple orchards and crop fields. Back then I figured it would make a nice ride, especially if linked with the North Worcestershire Path to create a 70 mile route from Malvern back to Brum. Now, I know it’s a footpath and it’s not exactly ‘legal’ to cycle on, but much of the route actually follows bridleways, there are only a few sections of footpath which of course I walk/run. It’s actually quite a hard ride, it’s never flat, has a couple of big climbs, and has numerous smaller climbs of well over 20%, and lot’s of gates and styles to clamber over with the bike, so it’s more than just your legs that get a beating, especially when riding the Cotic Roadrat.

It’s the third time I’ve done this route and given that I’ve not been on the bike for 10 days, all went well. The weather was great, my legs ticked along nicely and the views were fantastic. This was my lunch time view.

One day I will ride all the 70 miles back to Brum, but I never seem to allow enough time for that ride.

A weekend in Cornwall

Last weekend Rach had to fulfill her role as Chair of Peacebuilding UK, by attending a meeting of trustees in Cornwall and frankly it would have been rude of me not to go along. We left on Thursday evening and got off to a good start by having take-away pizza en route. I’ve not made the journey to Cornwall for a couple of years but have fond memories from the time when my parents lived there.

Friday was spent relaxing on the beach, it was a glorious day and memories of lazy summer days spend swimming in the sea or open pool at Summerleaze, Bude came rushing back. I’d forgotten my swimming gear so had to make do with the comforting thought that I’d be on the Spanish coast within a few days.

Rachel’s meeting took place on Saturday so I had to entertain myself, what to do? Well go for a ride. I picked a simple out and back route as I did not want to spend time reading maps or route instructions, and being in Cornwall I knew it would be hilly. So it was to be a hilly tempo ride designed to rip my legs, I would ride fixed.

The route went from Bude on the north coast to Looe on the south coast and back, it was roughly 80 miles. As I said earlier, I’ve not ridden much in Cornwall, but what little I have done usually involves a lot of very steep hills. Perfect, I would treat this ride as an out and back 80 mile blast and just hammer all the hills I find on the way.

As you can see, there were quite a few hills! I set off into nice weather, with great views over Cornwall, quiet roads and a gentle tailwind, then at about the 12 mile mark I went down and then back up the first real hill. That was the first of some 14 climbs of over 13% that I counted on the way to Looe and back, one reached 16% and remember I was riding fixed which means I have to pedal down as well as up.

I made it Looe, had a decent coffee, filled my water bottle up and headed back to Bude. By the time I made it to Launceston on the way back, all the hills and my strategy of hitting it hard was beginning to really hurt. The final 10 miles was into a headwind and on the last little steep climb about 4 miles from home a spoke broke in the real wheel. Not another one! That’s two in one month. Looks like I will have to have the wheel rebuilt with new spokes and nipples before I tackle the 1000km ride at the end of July. Oh yes, I’ve not mentioned that before on here, that’s why I’m doing all this riding, and why I’m loving hills. It’s in preparation for the Mille Cymru, a 1000km road ride around Wales with 13,890 meters of climbing, and all on a single speed.  But more on that when I get back from a trip to Spain.

When I arrived back in Bude, Rach was still in the meeting so I chilled in the garden with a pint of water, a malt loaf and finished reading an article ‘The worlds toughest bike race is not in France’.

The Invicta 600 and the lure of India

I’m a bit late with this blog, well about a week.

My non-working day was moved to Friday and the car packed but before we could head to Kent I helped Rach with some filming she’s doing at the moment. There was a time when Rach first stared film making when I would help out quite a lot but it must of been a couple of years now since I last lugged the camera and tripod round as she did her ‘director’ thing and I actually really miss it.

The reason for the visit to Kent was always going to be two fold, first to ride the Invicta 600km audax on the 5th June and to see my family, the star of which is my little niece India.

The ride started at 6am from Sevenoaks Weald Scout hut, a place I last went to at the age of 6-7 when I was a cub scout on a camping weekend, I have great memories of that trip. The route takes you out West on a 400km loop that nearly reaches Salisbury before heading back to Sevenoaks along the North side of the South Downs . The second loop is 200km and takes you east to North Kent before dropping south then back west along the flat areas of mid Kent to finish back at the scout hut. Being a 600km ride you have between 20 & 40 hours to finish, I was planning on being done in 24.

After my 400km ride to Kent a month or so ago I had hoped to get round the first loop by 11pm, maybe quicker as one website had calculated less climbing than the ride to Kent, but the warning bells should of rung when I looked at the route sheets, I’ve never seen so many instructions for 1 ride, there were hundreds and don’t think that any 1 instruction lasted more that 6km.

The ride started as most Audax rides do, with little fuss after a cup of tea, and then a straight up warm up, straight up Hubbards Hill, glad I’d decided to cycle there from my parents house as a warm up. I quickly settled in to the ride with a chap called Richard, a seasoned Auduxer and cycle tourist with years of cycling wisdom.  As I’d feared with so many instructions the ride was bound to be slower than I had hoped and a few of the instructions sent us the wrong way or had us stopped by the side of the road trying to decide where to go. It was a bit odd as many of the rides I’d done this year had been on my own, so to be riding and getting lost with another rider felt a bit strange, and as Richard had ridden the route last year I was looking to him for the lead, think I rather like to take my own lead.

Having looked at the route profile before the ride I’d realised it was going rarely going to be flat, but I was surprised by just how undulating it ended up being and I’m glad I’d decided to experiment with a single speed freewheel on the fixie, at least I could roll down the hills, and keep up with other riders.

As the day drew on so the temperatures went up and I realised how conditioned I’d become to cold weather riding over the winter. I was struggling a bit and developed saddle chaffing brought about by salt crystals from sweat but I’d not manged to catch it early enough ans struggle later as a result. By the time we reached the 200-250km point, south of Andover, I was drinking over a liter an hour as the road surface turned dire and the hills ground on. This was becoming a hard ride! By the time we reached Petersfield I was not enjoying my-self, I was sore and my hands had become numb from the constant vibration for bad roads. After a bit of coffee and a decent sandwich we headed of towards the South Downs and on to roads I’d ridden on my trip to Kent. After only about 5 miles my legs returned as the heat eased off and the surface improved, I flew along the road to Pyecombe, by this time Richard was suffering. The lights came on at Pyecombe for the last section back towards Sevenoaks. I truly like my light set up, an Exposure Endurance on medium setting and a joystick with a three cell picky back on full power, this gives me a good 10 hours of decent light on the road which allows me to maintain my daylight speeds.

Shortly after passing though Ditchling the air become still and the roads were rolling, it was a perfect night for cycling, then a gentle cool breeze picked up from the North. At 11.45pm, we stopped to check the route sheet, then we felt a few spots of rain and we barely had enough time to put our jackets on before rain of a biblical proportions hit us! Unbelievable, it came out of nowhere. We were still some 40 miles from Sevenoaks so we just had to plod on. We had become three by that point so we threw a lot of light on the road, but not as much as the electrical storm that was striking up ahead. I’ve never cycled in anything like it, but it was warm and actually quite enjoyable.

At around 2am we rolled back in to the scout hut to a warm cup of tea. My original plan was to just keep going, to ride the whole 600km, my legs were feeling strong but the storm was still raging outside and the route would take me in to the middle of it. I had to decide weather to sleep with no gear on a hard wooden floor or head to my parents and a warm comfy bed. No brainier really, so back out I went in to the rain knowing that a warm bed awaited me. The plan was to get up at 7am and finish the ride.

At 7am the alarm went off. I still had saddle sores, my hands were still a bit numb and the remaining route just did not inspire me and besides I was in Kent and my niece was to spend the day at my parents, if I went out and rode the rest of the route I’d miss her. I figured that given how strong my legs felt after riding 400km and that as I’d not been able to achieve my plan of a straight through 600 I would gain nothing from going out again, so less than 20 seconds after the alarm went of, I had turned back over to cuddle Rach and enjoy some more sleep.

I spent Sunday eating good food, cleaning the very dirty bike and playing with India. Sometimes there are things better than cycling.