I've had a new bike for a few weeks and I'm getting back into the cycling lark very heavily. As a result I decided to lash out and spend some money on a BG-Fit - the one designed by Specalized.
Near to my home is the Specialized Concept store at Stafford. Run by Gary Ford of MTB fame it boasts one of the only fully trained female Bike Fit experts in the UK, the other being down in Cornwall somewhere. I've heard good things about the lady at the Stafford Concept store, she does sports injury therapy and she rides and races bikes. She knows what she's talking about.
The whole Bike Fit process takes about 2 hours and before you even get on the bike your flexibility, body make-up, leg length and foot angle (of dangle) are amongst some of the things checked and measured. Properly measured too, not guessed at.
So, I arrived at the store all ready for my pre-booked Bike Fit, in full cycling regalia with my shoes and Scott Addict R3. The first thing checked was the above - I now know that my right femur is longer than my left and that I have a slight hip rotation to compensate - but no huge difference so no need for it to be corrected. I also have a slight weakness in the muscles in my upper back but stronger chest muscles.......I always knew I was a weird shape!
Then, once all that was done it was onto the bike in a turbo trainer. Measurements were taken of seat height, the drop from the saddle to the stem, bar width stem length and shoe cleat position. Then I got peddling and various measurements were taken. I'd got a very good seating position on the bike.
I'm of the old school where cleat position is concerned - I was always told to position the cleat so that the pedal spindle is under the ball of the foot. There is new thinking now, the spindle should intersect the point between the big toe and little toe joints. This in effect moves the cleat back by about 5 or 6mm on my shoe. This was done and then the leg angle was again measured and it was decided that I needed to move the seat forward by the same amount to compensate - that was also done by Niki. She checked the angle of my reach (the angle created by my arms extending from my body) and this was over 100degrees, it should be about 95 according to the new thinking. So, I've been advised to reduce my stem length from 110mm to 100mm. Niki says this should stop any pain between my shoulder blades on long rides and also should put my hands right on the hoods which will in turn stop me from getting numb hands!
2 hours and 15 mins later I was done. Not a huge change in the position but I think I might make a big difference. All I need to do now is to get a new stem at 100mm length and then I'll be able to stress test the position over some long distance rides.
Once I've done that I'll report back here - but from the initial fit I think it's been £120.00 well spent.
Friday 29 July 2011
Thursday 28 July 2011
Weak Knees But Still Trying
Well, today I went out on the bike again! Good job this is a cyclists blog........
I spent a good portion of the day sorting out a new mobile phone and plan as my current provider - Vodaphone - is rubbish around here. Now, like many cyclists nowadays, I rely on the mobile to call for assistance should there be a major issue on while out on the bike. There just isn't any service round here! So, I'm going back to 3 and I have a nice swanky Samsung Galaxy II s on order.
Once I'd sorted that I decided that the weather was too good to miss out on. I'm also trying to have a good month in terms of miles and hours in the saddle. The ride I did yesterday was quite lumpy so I decided to do a shorter but still lumpy one. I headed from home on some nice flat roads that give a good warm up and then I headed from Milford (the home of Mammoth Cycles) through Brocton and up over Chase Road, steep but too bad. A nice long climb took in some lovely countryside and I got to see some deer in the woods above Brocton.
I rode past the cafe at Springslade Lodge, this is a great cafe run by Kay and her staff. It caters for cyclists with Bike Parking and you can either sit indoors or in the large garden area. The food is excellent and ranges from bacon butties to full cooked lunches, there is a campsite there too if you'd like to camp and ride your mountain bikes.
From Springslade the ride heads past the Commonwealth War Graves and the turning to the German War Cemetery. A couple of sobering sights that remind one of the frailty of life and the sacrifice made during those terrible wars by both sides.
The descent to Rugeley is a blast and some good speeds can be reached - just watch out for the cars pulling out near the bottom visitor centre.
Well, by this time I was getting a bit warm and tired so I decided to head home - why I chose to go into my village the back way I'll never know! It's lumpy and today, it was into a headwind. I struggled up the hills and was relieved to hit the descent past what was the Wicket Pub and back to the village. All in all a good ride, no stops and no eating huge pasties - so hopefully some of the flab I picked up in Austria will start to fade away. I can only hope - now, where is that beer ;-)
Here is the Endomondo workout for today
I spent a good portion of the day sorting out a new mobile phone and plan as my current provider - Vodaphone - is rubbish around here. Now, like many cyclists nowadays, I rely on the mobile to call for assistance should there be a major issue on while out on the bike. There just isn't any service round here! So, I'm going back to 3 and I have a nice swanky Samsung Galaxy II s on order.
Once I'd sorted that I decided that the weather was too good to miss out on. I'm also trying to have a good month in terms of miles and hours in the saddle. The ride I did yesterday was quite lumpy so I decided to do a shorter but still lumpy one. I headed from home on some nice flat roads that give a good warm up and then I headed from Milford (the home of Mammoth Cycles) through Brocton and up over Chase Road, steep but too bad. A nice long climb took in some lovely countryside and I got to see some deer in the woods above Brocton.
I rode past the cafe at Springslade Lodge, this is a great cafe run by Kay and her staff. It caters for cyclists with Bike Parking and you can either sit indoors or in the large garden area. The food is excellent and ranges from bacon butties to full cooked lunches, there is a campsite there too if you'd like to camp and ride your mountain bikes.
From Springslade the ride heads past the Commonwealth War Graves and the turning to the German War Cemetery. A couple of sobering sights that remind one of the frailty of life and the sacrifice made during those terrible wars by both sides.
The descent to Rugeley is a blast and some good speeds can be reached - just watch out for the cars pulling out near the bottom visitor centre.
Well, by this time I was getting a bit warm and tired so I decided to head home - why I chose to go into my village the back way I'll never know! It's lumpy and today, it was into a headwind. I struggled up the hills and was relieved to hit the descent past what was the Wicket Pub and back to the village. All in all a good ride, no stops and no eating huge pasties - so hopefully some of the flab I picked up in Austria will start to fade away. I can only hope - now, where is that beer ;-)
Here is the Endomondo workout for today
Wednesday 27 July 2011
Tired and Tubby - I Ride Again UK Style!
On Monday after I'd updated the blog I decided to head out for a bike ride. Strangely the weather in the UK was good, warm with light winds.
I hit the road and soon found out that I was tired, really tired. I got to about 10 miles and decided to head home, I even yawned! I couldn't get the heart rate up and speed was a thing of the past. I managed 23 miles.
Here is the Endomondo workout.
Tuesday I tried again - fully kitted out in my new Lichfield City Club kit I rode for 1/2 mile, felt dreadful and went home!
Today was a different matter, I seemed to have enough sleep, I ate well last night (and drank too much) and when I woke I felt fine.
I threw on the new Lichfield CCC kit and hit the road. I was able to get the heart rate up and the speed was there again so I decided to do a hilly ride up into the hills around Alton Towers. It's pretty lumpy up there and it's easy to find gradients of 20% or more. I settled with a max gradient of 21% near Hollington and that was enough for me, it had me frothing at the mouth and gasping for air like a stranded fish!
The descent to Lower Tean is great, not too long but pretty fast and I recorded 43.9mph on it. Then it was up Leigh Bank, a blinkin steep hill (only 15%) followed by an undulating ride home.
I enjoyed today, it felt good to be riding in club kit again after a 12 year break and the weather was fine, dry and warm. Hopefully I'll get a few more in over the next week or so.
Here is the Endomondo workout for today.
Monday 25 July 2011
Sore Thighs & Home!
Well, as you may have guessed from the title I'm home from holiday. It was a great trip with some good weather and some not so good - but I managed to do what I set out to do this year.
The last day was nice, and the only walk on the holiday. I headed up to the Olperer Hütte, a mountain hut which sits around 2350m in the Zillertal Alps. Now, I'm a cyclist - I maybe overweight but I still have fairly strong legs, for going up.........The walk up was a dream, stunning views and some showers but warm. At the hut the mist was down so no views there and I didn't stop as I'd left Tracey down near the car and it had taken me 1 hour 20 mins to get to the hut (not bad for a 600m climb).
Now the dreaded descent! Like I said, I'm a cyclist and can go up all day, same action as pedaling and same muscles used - but not down! It's been May since I went out on walking in the hills and my legs are just not set for walking down - using my muscles in the opposite way to which they're trained. I thought it would hurt but it wasn't to bad and I didn't get jelly thighs like I normally do. The views really opened up.
I said my legs didn't hurt didn't I? Well, that was until that night....then ouch, my thighs felt like someone was sticking knives in them. And I've got to drive home with these things?
Ah, the drive home - what a nightmare. It turns out that Saturday was the start of the Bavarian main summer holidays - and I was driving up through Germany via Bavaria! Major traffic jams and heavy rain caused the projected 7 hour drive to the hotel to be 10.5 hours of non-stop torture. Sunday's leg wasn't all that bad and the ferry crossing was great. The Tour De France final stage on the ferry in the Stena Plus lounge, what more could you ask for!
I arrived home at 23:30 with sore legs and feeling washed out. Got up today at 09:45 still feeling washed out....now for beans on toast - I've missed my beans on toast.
Here is the Endomondo workout for Friday's walk.....I didn't start the Endo app on my phone so the first bit is missing.
The last day was nice, and the only walk on the holiday. I headed up to the Olperer Hütte, a mountain hut which sits around 2350m in the Zillertal Alps. Now, I'm a cyclist - I maybe overweight but I still have fairly strong legs, for going up.........The walk up was a dream, stunning views and some showers but warm. At the hut the mist was down so no views there and I didn't stop as I'd left Tracey down near the car and it had taken me 1 hour 20 mins to get to the hut (not bad for a 600m climb).
Now the dreaded descent! Like I said, I'm a cyclist and can go up all day, same action as pedaling and same muscles used - but not down! It's been May since I went out on walking in the hills and my legs are just not set for walking down - using my muscles in the opposite way to which they're trained. I thought it would hurt but it wasn't to bad and I didn't get jelly thighs like I normally do. The views really opened up.
I said my legs didn't hurt didn't I? Well, that was until that night....then ouch, my thighs felt like someone was sticking knives in them. And I've got to drive home with these things?
Ah, the drive home - what a nightmare. It turns out that Saturday was the start of the Bavarian main summer holidays - and I was driving up through Germany via Bavaria! Major traffic jams and heavy rain caused the projected 7 hour drive to the hotel to be 10.5 hours of non-stop torture. Sunday's leg wasn't all that bad and the ferry crossing was great. The Tour De France final stage on the ferry in the Stena Plus lounge, what more could you ask for!
I arrived home at 23:30 with sore legs and feeling washed out. Got up today at 09:45 still feeling washed out....now for beans on toast - I've missed my beans on toast.
Here is the Endomondo workout for Friday's walk.....I didn't start the Endo app on my phone so the first bit is missing.
Thursday 21 July 2011
Barenbad - Last Holiday Ride
Today dawned overcast and a bit dreary but the forecast was for no rain so I headed out on the bike. I decided to head up to Barenbad again, I could compare my fitness and climbing from last week that way.
As I began the climb I felt quite strong so put a bit of effort in on the very steep bit, no problems so I thought I'd be in for an OK climb. The roads were damp today so I knew that the descent wouldn't be as quick as last week.
I rode pretty strongly all the was to Gasthof Au, the start of the last 2 miles to the top of the climb (10.7 miles long with height gain of 800m). I pushed myself on the last two steep drags to the top and despite the air temp only being 10c on the garmin sweat was pouring from my face.
Armwarmers and Gillet were the order of the day for the descent and I set a lap at the top. I'd beaten last weeks climb time for exactly the same ride by 8 mins. Just shows how being a bit more rested and cooler effects climbing at my age!
I began the descent and took it easier than last week, most of the corners were damp, not soaked, but still enough to send me flying if I overcooked them. No near death experiences on this drop today. Not much traffic and what there was seemed to be switched on to the fact that I could go faster than they could and they gave way, same was to be said for the lumbering German tourists and the stark white Brits (who arrived yesterday).
Once I got back to Mayrhofen I called Trace and arranged to meet at a cafe in Hipach - I'll be adding a review of some cafe's to Patisserie Cyclisme when I get home. It's a great resourse for cycling cafe's.
Despite eating Kase Shinken Toast and having a cappuchino I think I've lost some weight at last - the Gillet I wore today was baggy - last time I wore it it was skin tight rouund the paunch!
Planning on going for a walk up high tomorrow to the new Olperer Hutte.
Here is the Endomondo workout for today.
Rich
As I began the climb I felt quite strong so put a bit of effort in on the very steep bit, no problems so I thought I'd be in for an OK climb. The roads were damp today so I knew that the descent wouldn't be as quick as last week.
I rode pretty strongly all the was to Gasthof Au, the start of the last 2 miles to the top of the climb (10.7 miles long with height gain of 800m). I pushed myself on the last two steep drags to the top and despite the air temp only being 10c on the garmin sweat was pouring from my face.
Armwarmers and Gillet were the order of the day for the descent and I set a lap at the top. I'd beaten last weeks climb time for exactly the same ride by 8 mins. Just shows how being a bit more rested and cooler effects climbing at my age!
I began the descent and took it easier than last week, most of the corners were damp, not soaked, but still enough to send me flying if I overcooked them. No near death experiences on this drop today. Not much traffic and what there was seemed to be switched on to the fact that I could go faster than they could and they gave way, same was to be said for the lumbering German tourists and the stark white Brits (who arrived yesterday).
Once I got back to Mayrhofen I called Trace and arranged to meet at a cafe in Hipach - I'll be adding a review of some cafe's to Patisserie Cyclisme when I get home. It's a great resourse for cycling cafe's.
Despite eating Kase Shinken Toast and having a cappuchino I think I've lost some weight at last - the Gillet I wore today was baggy - last time I wore it it was skin tight rouund the paunch!
Planning on going for a walk up high tomorrow to the new Olperer Hutte.
Here is the Endomondo workout for today.
Rich
Tuesday 19 July 2011
Into The Valley Of Near Death (Experiences)
It was due to be a nice day today so what did I do last night - I drank too much. I woke this morning feeling crappy with a dodgy stomach. I still decided to head out but later than planned.
I went to the Stillup Tal today, one of the harder rides in the Zillertal. A good, long and steep climb to a hut called the Grune Wand Hutte, the last mile or so is at 15%. Once again today had a head wind on the climb but the roads at the bottom were also wet, so there wasn't going to be a great fast descent either!
On the climb you reach a hut called Gasthof Wasserfall where car traffic stops, from there it's a closed road open only to the Mini Buses that take tourists to the Grune Wand Hutte. They drive like bloody madmen on that road. I was climbing and crossing a wooden bridge with no-where to go and one of these idiots decided to drive the other way onto the bridge without stopping - he had a few choice words as we sqeezed past each other! Then I reached the hard bit........oh I was slow and very, very tired (I mustn't forget still tubby).
At the top, I didn't bother stopping, just chucked on my Gillet (it was cold so high up) and started the descent, no risks today as the idiot bus drivers could be round the next corner and the amount of fat tourists struggling to walk up what I'd just ridden up kept forcing me to slow down and holler, "Entsuldigung" in my best German. Then I'd watch the delayed reaction as the sound of my voice fought it's way past the layers of cake induced blubber and finally reached their brains - then they'd move but by that time I was almost stopped! This seemed to happen quite alot!
I took the bottom twisty, damp section easy - there was a big drop off to my left which I didn't want to risk going over and eventually I reached Mayrhofen. Just to add some distance and bring up my average speed a bit I rode down the Zillertal to Aschau, then back to Mo's and a Chicken burger and a few bottles of mineral water.
As I type this I'm sat on the balcony of the Appartment Rose in wonderful warm weather, with the tour on the TV (turned so I can see it) with a coffee and some baked crisps (healthier than fried but still full of fat). Still, I'm on holiday and supposed to be enjoying myself.
I shall avoid the wine tonight though!
Here is the Endomondo workout for the ride
I went to the Stillup Tal today, one of the harder rides in the Zillertal. A good, long and steep climb to a hut called the Grune Wand Hutte, the last mile or so is at 15%. Once again today had a head wind on the climb but the roads at the bottom were also wet, so there wasn't going to be a great fast descent either!
On the climb you reach a hut called Gasthof Wasserfall where car traffic stops, from there it's a closed road open only to the Mini Buses that take tourists to the Grune Wand Hutte. They drive like bloody madmen on that road. I was climbing and crossing a wooden bridge with no-where to go and one of these idiots decided to drive the other way onto the bridge without stopping - he had a few choice words as we sqeezed past each other! Then I reached the hard bit........oh I was slow and very, very tired (I mustn't forget still tubby).
At the top, I didn't bother stopping, just chucked on my Gillet (it was cold so high up) and started the descent, no risks today as the idiot bus drivers could be round the next corner and the amount of fat tourists struggling to walk up what I'd just ridden up kept forcing me to slow down and holler, "Entsuldigung" in my best German. Then I'd watch the delayed reaction as the sound of my voice fought it's way past the layers of cake induced blubber and finally reached their brains - then they'd move but by that time I was almost stopped! This seemed to happen quite alot!
I took the bottom twisty, damp section easy - there was a big drop off to my left which I didn't want to risk going over and eventually I reached Mayrhofen. Just to add some distance and bring up my average speed a bit I rode down the Zillertal to Aschau, then back to Mo's and a Chicken burger and a few bottles of mineral water.
As I type this I'm sat on the balcony of the Appartment Rose in wonderful warm weather, with the tour on the TV (turned so I can see it) with a coffee and some baked crisps (healthier than fried but still full of fat). Still, I'm on holiday and supposed to be enjoying myself.
I shall avoid the wine tonight though!
Here is the Endomondo workout for the ride
Sunday 17 July 2011
Achensee - A Lake
Ok, how many got the play on words in the title - 10 calories if you didn't. For those that didn't then it's Achensee (achen-zay) and then a lake (Ah Can Zay A Lake)......OK, it's crap. I know but I'm not sorry!
Well, today dawned dry, bright and very very warm. Because Tracey can't walk - her ankle was huge and black - I decided to ride to Achensee. It's a good ride, down the Zillertal and then one climb of about 500m at an average grade of about 5% (thats a guess). The climb isn't hard, even for a fatty like me, but the promise of the descent is appealing.
I hit the Zillertal and immediately noticed that I was cruising at 24 or 25 mph on the falt for no effort....Gott Verdamned Wind.....(the German coming out in me). It was a strong tail wind coming straight up the Zillertal behind me and throwing me along the road.....I've got to ride back into this!
I reached Strass and then left the Zillertal and started the climb. It was a very warm day, 30c on the Garmin and the wind was crossing me as I zig-zagged up the climb. It wasn't hard today but then again I was just spinning easy rather than really trying. The traffic on this road is quite heavy, Achensee is a huge lake and a huge pull for non-cycling tourists and today was no exception. I was careful because of the traffic, but thankfully no near death experiences today.
The top was reached and rather than descending to the lake and eating (I do loads of that, eating.....) I decided to head straight back to meet Trace and watch the TransAlp come in to Mayrhofen. A couple of club mates were riding it. The descent was everything it promised on the climb and I reached 48mph max speed, I could ahve got faster but for the wind.
Then onto the Zillertal at Strass and a nightmare of a road ride back. 20 plus miles in 33c heat and what I estimate was a 20mph head wind. I died, grovelled, prayed to the wind gods and got no answer. I suffered every bloody mile back and the average speed of the ride dropped rapidly, my virtual partner on my Garmin overtook me laughing while giving me the two fingers and he rode off without letting me get his wheel, the bastard! Two gels later and I got a bit quicker but then ran out of fluid and died again for the last two miles from Hippach to Mayrhofen.
The TransAlp had taken over the centre of Mayrhofen and the place was full of very skinny, fit looking cyclists and I felt rather tubby.....so I consoled myself with some Goulash Soup and three bottles of mineral water......then when I got back here, to the appartment I had two beers.......all calories burnt now added back plus some and my belly is no smaller. The Over Weight Cyclist is still overweight, but chilled out.
This week has been the best of this year for hours in the saddle and miles covered in a single week. I'm happy with that as there's some good climbing in there too.
See you next week.
Here is the Endomondo workout for today.
Well, today dawned dry, bright and very very warm. Because Tracey can't walk - her ankle was huge and black - I decided to ride to Achensee. It's a good ride, down the Zillertal and then one climb of about 500m at an average grade of about 5% (thats a guess). The climb isn't hard, even for a fatty like me, but the promise of the descent is appealing.
I hit the Zillertal and immediately noticed that I was cruising at 24 or 25 mph on the falt for no effort....Gott Verdamned Wind.....(the German coming out in me). It was a strong tail wind coming straight up the Zillertal behind me and throwing me along the road.....I've got to ride back into this!
I reached Strass and then left the Zillertal and started the climb. It was a very warm day, 30c on the Garmin and the wind was crossing me as I zig-zagged up the climb. It wasn't hard today but then again I was just spinning easy rather than really trying. The traffic on this road is quite heavy, Achensee is a huge lake and a huge pull for non-cycling tourists and today was no exception. I was careful because of the traffic, but thankfully no near death experiences today.
The top was reached and rather than descending to the lake and eating (I do loads of that, eating.....) I decided to head straight back to meet Trace and watch the TransAlp come in to Mayrhofen. A couple of club mates were riding it. The descent was everything it promised on the climb and I reached 48mph max speed, I could ahve got faster but for the wind.
Then onto the Zillertal at Strass and a nightmare of a road ride back. 20 plus miles in 33c heat and what I estimate was a 20mph head wind. I died, grovelled, prayed to the wind gods and got no answer. I suffered every bloody mile back and the average speed of the ride dropped rapidly, my virtual partner on my Garmin overtook me laughing while giving me the two fingers and he rode off without letting me get his wheel, the bastard! Two gels later and I got a bit quicker but then ran out of fluid and died again for the last two miles from Hippach to Mayrhofen.
The TransAlp had taken over the centre of Mayrhofen and the place was full of very skinny, fit looking cyclists and I felt rather tubby.....so I consoled myself with some Goulash Soup and three bottles of mineral water......then when I got back here, to the appartment I had two beers.......all calories burnt now added back plus some and my belly is no smaller. The Over Weight Cyclist is still overweight, but chilled out.
This week has been the best of this year for hours in the saddle and miles covered in a single week. I'm happy with that as there's some good climbing in there too.
See you next week.
Here is the Endomondo workout for today.
Saturday 16 July 2011
Gerlos or Bust
We had two rather inclement days and I over indulged myself with food and wine - well, I am on holiday!
Today the weather was great so I decided to punish myself for the last days indiscretions and go up the Gerlos Pass from Mayrhofen. The climbs isn't that bad - 15 miles or so with a height gain of 1000m but the central few miles are flat....the hard work is done at the beginning and the end.
It's not much to write about going up - but down is a different matter altogether. You can really fly down this pass back to Zell am Ziller and so I did. I must mention the climb though, the start from Zell goes up at about 8 or 9% for some 7 or 8 miles and there are a number of hairpins to negotiate, Same for the top section. Today I headed higher than before to a small village called Koenigsleiten. A dead end road but more height gain.
The views from the top of the pass are stunning and I'll add a few photos when I get home - check them out later.
Well, as for the descent - it was wonderful. A tail wind (head wind climbing) pushed me to 48mph and I was almost yeeehaaaa'ing all the way down. I rode like a fat black clad deamon, I actually worked harder on the descent than the climb with heigher heart rates!
The bottom section was a dream, I over took cars, coaches and motorbikes through the hairpins and none caught me up before Zell.
The weather was great and I got back to Mayrhofen feeling strong and headed to Mo's for a couple of beers and a Chicken Burger - no weight loss today!!!!!!!!! Buffoon that I am!.
Had a phone call to tell me that Tracey had tripped and sprained her ankle while descending from her walk. Poor lass, we still have a week here and she now can't walk! Hope it sorts itself out over the next few days.
Here is the Endomondo workout.
Rich
Today the weather was great so I decided to punish myself for the last days indiscretions and go up the Gerlos Pass from Mayrhofen. The climbs isn't that bad - 15 miles or so with a height gain of 1000m but the central few miles are flat....the hard work is done at the beginning and the end.
It's not much to write about going up - but down is a different matter altogether. You can really fly down this pass back to Zell am Ziller and so I did. I must mention the climb though, the start from Zell goes up at about 8 or 9% for some 7 or 8 miles and there are a number of hairpins to negotiate, Same for the top section. Today I headed higher than before to a small village called Koenigsleiten. A dead end road but more height gain.
The views from the top of the pass are stunning and I'll add a few photos when I get home - check them out later.
Well, as for the descent - it was wonderful. A tail wind (head wind climbing) pushed me to 48mph and I was almost yeeehaaaa'ing all the way down. I rode like a fat black clad deamon, I actually worked harder on the descent than the climb with heigher heart rates!
The bottom section was a dream, I over took cars, coaches and motorbikes through the hairpins and none caught me up before Zell.
The weather was great and I got back to Mayrhofen feeling strong and headed to Mo's for a couple of beers and a Chicken Burger - no weight loss today!!!!!!!!! Buffoon that I am!.
Had a phone call to tell me that Tracey had tripped and sprained her ankle while descending from her walk. Poor lass, we still have a week here and she now can't walk! Hope it sorts itself out over the next few days.
Here is the Endomondo workout.
Rich
Thursday 14 July 2011
Barenbad
Today I hit the road, feeling tired from yesterday's ride to Hochfugen. I decided to head to Barenbad, a really nice little alpine hut in a valley called the Zillergrund, possibly one of the most beautiful in the Zillertal.
The road climbs striaght from the digs in Mayrhofen. I've ridden it a few times now and know what to expect. The first big gradient is 500m from the digs - 15% for about 200m then in levels out. The road climbs at gradients between 1% and 15% for about 10 miles all the way to Barenbad. As you climb there are several cafes and guest houses to stop at and the views of the surrounding mountains are amazing. The road is fairly straight, just a few twists and turns and you just know it's going to be a blast on the way down.
This year I wasn't going to beat my best time for the climb, I was riding up the climb into a headwind, quite strong too. I could see that the weather was closing in, the grey cloud was starting to cloak the visible summits around me. The air was cooler today too - just 27 on the climb and with the wind it was really making it a pleasure to ride.
Saying that, the end of the climb is steep, a couple of hairpins followed by straight sections straight into the wind. I was on the drops low over the bike climbing a 15% gradient into a 15mph wind......it was a killer. I reached the top and was another sweating, heaving wreck. It was chilly here so I put on my helmet, zipped up my jersey and headed down......what a scream. 45mph max on the descent, overtaking cars and zipping through the curves as fast as I dared. I got up the climb in 1 hour 13 minss - down in 20mins......
The total was only 22 miles so I headed down to Zell am Ziller to bring the mileage up and then back to Mayrhofen - where I went, yep you guessed - to Mo's cafe. I sat outside for an hour people watching and tying to cool down.
Another great day and now I need a day off - but the weather forecast for tomorrow is bad anyway - so no hassles there.
Here is the Endomondo workout
The road climbs striaght from the digs in Mayrhofen. I've ridden it a few times now and know what to expect. The first big gradient is 500m from the digs - 15% for about 200m then in levels out. The road climbs at gradients between 1% and 15% for about 10 miles all the way to Barenbad. As you climb there are several cafes and guest houses to stop at and the views of the surrounding mountains are amazing. The road is fairly straight, just a few twists and turns and you just know it's going to be a blast on the way down.
This year I wasn't going to beat my best time for the climb, I was riding up the climb into a headwind, quite strong too. I could see that the weather was closing in, the grey cloud was starting to cloak the visible summits around me. The air was cooler today too - just 27 on the climb and with the wind it was really making it a pleasure to ride.
Saying that, the end of the climb is steep, a couple of hairpins followed by straight sections straight into the wind. I was on the drops low over the bike climbing a 15% gradient into a 15mph wind......it was a killer. I reached the top and was another sweating, heaving wreck. It was chilly here so I put on my helmet, zipped up my jersey and headed down......what a scream. 45mph max on the descent, overtaking cars and zipping through the curves as fast as I dared. I got up the climb in 1 hour 13 minss - down in 20mins......
The total was only 22 miles so I headed down to Zell am Ziller to bring the mileage up and then back to Mayrhofen - where I went, yep you guessed - to Mo's cafe. I sat outside for an hour people watching and tying to cool down.
Another great day and now I need a day off - but the weather forecast for tomorrow is bad anyway - so no hassles there.
Here is the Endomondo workout
Melting In Mayrhofen
Melting In Mayrhofen - or M.I.M. as it's now known. If you hadn't guessed I'm no on holiday in Mayrhofen, a wonderful small town in the Zillertal Alps, Austria.
Now, as you should have guessed I'm a Brit - and us Brits simply aren't used to warm weather, never mind HOT. We got here from the UK and the temp there was around 18 degrees, here in Mayrhofen it was 28 when we arrived - and that was 6pm!
I've managed a few rides, I did a nice little warm up ride down the Zillertal, not a bad ride at all. Well, it was supposed to be just a leg stretch but I hooked up with some other guy and we were hitting 27mph on the flat roads. And it was hot, 32C. I got back to Mayrhofen and wilted at Mo's Cafe in the town.
Here is the Endomondo workouut
On Tuesday I decided to head to a place I've not visited before - Hochfugen. During the winter it's a ski centre and is up in the mountians. A climb.......
I hit the road at about 10am as the weather forecast was for hot weather again - I didn't realise just how hot it was about to get. The road to Fugen follows part of the route I did on Monday down the Zillertal then it heads into Fugen town and begins to climb.
Now, like I said I've never been here and didn't know what to expect. What I found was an inital slope at 9%, I thought that this would be as steep as it got but I was wrong. This overweight English cyclist began to chug up the mountian and I watched as the Gradient on the Garmin began to rise, up to 16%. Then it dropped to 12% and stayed there! And I mean it stayed there for 3 miles..........big fat old me was dying, I saw my speed drop to 3 or 4 mph at some points. Oh and did I forget to mention the heat? It was 34.5c on the Garmin. I had to stop twice in the shade near to a water source to soak my Bandana, that gave some Dutch tourists a laugh anyway. I thought I was going to die!
I was using High5 and was clagging my mouth with the sweet sticky stuff, I got a gel down my throat too and felt a bit better. The last 3 or 4 miles of the ride vary in gradient from about 2% to 11% but was much easier. A slight breeze was pushing me on and the altitude meant that it was cooler. I reached Hochfugen, out of fluid and a heaving sweating wreck. I bought 2ltr of mineral water and made my way back down the hill......it was a blast but I don't have my descending confidence yet and by the time I got back to Fugen my wheels were nearly melting and my hands were aching from all the breaking.
I arrived back in Mayrhofen and went straight to MO's cafe (there's a bit of a theme emerging here) for mineral water and some food. My Garmin registered 36c on the valley floor and I think I got a touch of heat exhaustion.
It was a great ride 48miles - here is the Endomondo workout.
Now, as you should have guessed I'm a Brit - and us Brits simply aren't used to warm weather, never mind HOT. We got here from the UK and the temp there was around 18 degrees, here in Mayrhofen it was 28 when we arrived - and that was 6pm!
I've managed a few rides, I did a nice little warm up ride down the Zillertal, not a bad ride at all. Well, it was supposed to be just a leg stretch but I hooked up with some other guy and we were hitting 27mph on the flat roads. And it was hot, 32C. I got back to Mayrhofen and wilted at Mo's Cafe in the town.
Here is the Endomondo workouut
On Tuesday I decided to head to a place I've not visited before - Hochfugen. During the winter it's a ski centre and is up in the mountians. A climb.......
I hit the road at about 10am as the weather forecast was for hot weather again - I didn't realise just how hot it was about to get. The road to Fugen follows part of the route I did on Monday down the Zillertal then it heads into Fugen town and begins to climb.
Now, like I said I've never been here and didn't know what to expect. What I found was an inital slope at 9%, I thought that this would be as steep as it got but I was wrong. This overweight English cyclist began to chug up the mountian and I watched as the Gradient on the Garmin began to rise, up to 16%. Then it dropped to 12% and stayed there! And I mean it stayed there for 3 miles..........big fat old me was dying, I saw my speed drop to 3 or 4 mph at some points. Oh and did I forget to mention the heat? It was 34.5c on the Garmin. I had to stop twice in the shade near to a water source to soak my Bandana, that gave some Dutch tourists a laugh anyway. I thought I was going to die!
I was using High5 and was clagging my mouth with the sweet sticky stuff, I got a gel down my throat too and felt a bit better. The last 3 or 4 miles of the ride vary in gradient from about 2% to 11% but was much easier. A slight breeze was pushing me on and the altitude meant that it was cooler. I reached Hochfugen, out of fluid and a heaving sweating wreck. I bought 2ltr of mineral water and made my way back down the hill......it was a blast but I don't have my descending confidence yet and by the time I got back to Fugen my wheels were nearly melting and my hands were aching from all the breaking.
I arrived back in Mayrhofen and went straight to MO's cafe (there's a bit of a theme emerging here) for mineral water and some food. My Garmin registered 36c on the valley floor and I think I got a touch of heat exhaustion.
It was a great ride 48miles - here is the Endomondo workout.
Tuesday 5 July 2011
Rest Week
This week I've decided to take a rest from cycling - well not completely, but no long rides and no big efforts. The last few months have been full of hard work on the bike, mainly getting ready for the Aberdovey Bike Ride I did on the 17th June 2011 - before this blog began.
That was a corking ride - 300 cyclists riding from Wolverhampton to Aberdovey in Wales for charity. It was a mass start event with a full police escort out of Wolverhampton, a big thank you goes out to West Midlands Police for that.
There was a choice of 2 rides, 100miles and 125miles. The longer route took in the climb at Dina Mawddwy towards the end. I started the day at the back of the group - some colleagues from work were doing this ride and I started near to them. However, I quickly made some ground through the throng and got towards the front as we went through a village called Shifnal. I then hooked up with a group of 10 riders that seemed to be about the same standard as me and we made some good progress - hitting some really good speeds along the road from Telford to Shrewsbury.
The group remained together all the way to the turn for Dinas. I would have liked to do it - but, I didn't consider myself fit enough despite feeling really strong on the ride, and, Tracey (my long suffering wife) was acting as support and she was working nights so we had to get home as soon as possible. So, four of us carried on along the short (short - I ask you, who decided to call it that?) route.
The last 9 miles were hard, I'd say the hardest of the day, with several climbs at a grade of 7% or more and on the one we dropped one young lad. I'd already waited for him a few times and bridged him back to the group but this time, and with the finish so near, I decided to press on. I was riding with the hubby of Vanessa from work, Tony is his name and for a 47 year old chap he was amazing. On the descents and the flat he was perfectly able to match our speed and only on a couple of the climbs did I need to bridge him back. We'd ridden together all the way so we decided to finish together, Tony and I crossed the line in 5th and 6th spots out of the folks that did the 100 mile route and with a time of 5:17 hours.
It was a brilliant day, really well organised and the atmosphere was great. My colleagues from work all finished, no mean feat when you consider that they were all non-cyclists and had only trained for this for about 4 or 5 months. Well done lads.
Here is the Endomondo route.
As for this week, I've done one ride so far in wonderful weather but I couldn't stop to enjoy it as I had a fearful appointment at the dentist. I finished the day washing the car and dribbling all over the place!
Here is the Endomondo route for that.
I'm going to try to get out later in the week but I need to service my machine more as next week is AUSTRIA fortnight.......yay. I bet is pisses down all the bloody time!
I'll do my best to keep you updated on both the weather and my weight loss achievements....which are negative this week!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for reading this far.
Rich
That was a corking ride - 300 cyclists riding from Wolverhampton to Aberdovey in Wales for charity. It was a mass start event with a full police escort out of Wolverhampton, a big thank you goes out to West Midlands Police for that.
There was a choice of 2 rides, 100miles and 125miles. The longer route took in the climb at Dina Mawddwy towards the end. I started the day at the back of the group - some colleagues from work were doing this ride and I started near to them. However, I quickly made some ground through the throng and got towards the front as we went through a village called Shifnal. I then hooked up with a group of 10 riders that seemed to be about the same standard as me and we made some good progress - hitting some really good speeds along the road from Telford to Shrewsbury.
The group remained together all the way to the turn for Dinas. I would have liked to do it - but, I didn't consider myself fit enough despite feeling really strong on the ride, and, Tracey (my long suffering wife) was acting as support and she was working nights so we had to get home as soon as possible. So, four of us carried on along the short (short - I ask you, who decided to call it that?) route.
The last 9 miles were hard, I'd say the hardest of the day, with several climbs at a grade of 7% or more and on the one we dropped one young lad. I'd already waited for him a few times and bridged him back to the group but this time, and with the finish so near, I decided to press on. I was riding with the hubby of Vanessa from work, Tony is his name and for a 47 year old chap he was amazing. On the descents and the flat he was perfectly able to match our speed and only on a couple of the climbs did I need to bridge him back. We'd ridden together all the way so we decided to finish together, Tony and I crossed the line in 5th and 6th spots out of the folks that did the 100 mile route and with a time of 5:17 hours.
It was a brilliant day, really well organised and the atmosphere was great. My colleagues from work all finished, no mean feat when you consider that they were all non-cyclists and had only trained for this for about 4 or 5 months. Well done lads.
Here is the Endomondo route.
As for this week, I've done one ride so far in wonderful weather but I couldn't stop to enjoy it as I had a fearful appointment at the dentist. I finished the day washing the car and dribbling all over the place!
Here is the Endomondo route for that.
I'm going to try to get out later in the week but I need to service my machine more as next week is AUSTRIA fortnight.......yay. I bet is pisses down all the bloody time!
I'll do my best to keep you updated on both the weather and my weight loss achievements....which are negative this week!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for reading this far.
Rich
Sunday 3 July 2011
Warm Weather
I've done a few rides this week - but nothing to write home about, or even here!
However, today I decided to head out on the bike and do a longer ride out west. The sun was shining and so was my bike (a Scott Addict R3) and I headed out with 1.25ltr of High5 energy drink, a couple of gels and a sachet of High5 4:1 to replace one of the drinks when I'd drunk it - I was bound to need more as the weather man had promised highs of 22 to 25 degrees!
Nice and warm with little wind, I set out. I headed over the hills of Cannock Chase and down to Penkridge. It's about time they got a bulldozer out and flattened those blinkin hills - far too steep for an over-weight cyclist like me! What was I thinking when I turned the corner and decided not to go the FLAT way!
Soon I was bombing down towards Penkridge - being a bit portly has it's advantages on the down bits I can tell you. Then out to Brewood, pronounced Brood - strange I know, but there's no accounting for folk. The roads round there are nice and flat, quiet and with generally good surface so I headed all the way from Brewood to Gnosill and then up through Eccleshall to Barlaston and the big climb up to Rough Close. I was chugging away on that climb despite having a slight tailwind. It's not too bad but gets steeper towards the top and is about 2.5 miles long.
Now for the fun part, the blast down from Rough Close - it's mainly downhill from there to home and the bit from Garshall Green to Milwich is a scream. Fast and narrow with dappled sunlight making it impossible to see potholes made it exciting to say the least and my heart rate was up.....I love that descent.
I got home after doing 62.1 miles at an average of 17.5mph and with an average Heart Rate of 130bpm.....then I checked the Garmin for how many calories I'd burnt. I was horrified to see only 1576.......aaaaagh, I'm never going to loose weight this way - anyway, I looked in my training books and found a formula that works, well it does for me as it shows I'd burnt more calories than the Garmin told me! Then I uploaded to Endomondo and that said even more.....I'm feeling thinner by the second. I must avoid the scales though as they'll make me fat again straight away!
Now to listen to some good music - I think Stone Sour is in order.
Oh, here is the workout on Endomondo
Rich
However, today I decided to head out on the bike and do a longer ride out west. The sun was shining and so was my bike (a Scott Addict R3) and I headed out with 1.25ltr of High5 energy drink, a couple of gels and a sachet of High5 4:1 to replace one of the drinks when I'd drunk it - I was bound to need more as the weather man had promised highs of 22 to 25 degrees!
Nice and warm with little wind, I set out. I headed over the hills of Cannock Chase and down to Penkridge. It's about time they got a bulldozer out and flattened those blinkin hills - far too steep for an over-weight cyclist like me! What was I thinking when I turned the corner and decided not to go the FLAT way!
Soon I was bombing down towards Penkridge - being a bit portly has it's advantages on the down bits I can tell you. Then out to Brewood, pronounced Brood - strange I know, but there's no accounting for folk. The roads round there are nice and flat, quiet and with generally good surface so I headed all the way from Brewood to Gnosill and then up through Eccleshall to Barlaston and the big climb up to Rough Close. I was chugging away on that climb despite having a slight tailwind. It's not too bad but gets steeper towards the top and is about 2.5 miles long.
Now for the fun part, the blast down from Rough Close - it's mainly downhill from there to home and the bit from Garshall Green to Milwich is a scream. Fast and narrow with dappled sunlight making it impossible to see potholes made it exciting to say the least and my heart rate was up.....I love that descent.
I got home after doing 62.1 miles at an average of 17.5mph and with an average Heart Rate of 130bpm.....then I checked the Garmin for how many calories I'd burnt. I was horrified to see only 1576.......aaaaagh, I'm never going to loose weight this way - anyway, I looked in my training books and found a formula that works, well it does for me as it shows I'd burnt more calories than the Garmin told me! Then I uploaded to Endomondo and that said even more.....I'm feeling thinner by the second. I must avoid the scales though as they'll make me fat again straight away!
Now to listen to some good music - I think Stone Sour is in order.
Oh, here is the workout on Endomondo
Rich
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