Recruitment drive!

Well, the end of another week and two more training sessions under my belt. Wednesday was wet (big surprise) so I faffed around for an hour or two until the sun came out...yes, of course I knew it would. Couldn't go out on the road bike as it was in the shop having some modifications. No, not an engine..tho that would be a big help. So I took the mountain bike out of the garage only to discover its chain had come off. Now, I know I should be able to just slip a chain on without thinking but I can't..yet. But judging from the ribbing I got later I think I will be expected to learn this simple task. In the meantime a man from the pub gave generously of his time for about 30 seconds and put it back on for me. It really is that easy? Shame on me. Anyway, I made it to West Grinstead and back in more mud but no other reportable incidents.
But speaking of reportable incidents...Recruitment Consultant John (new role to add to his ever expanding repetoire) had a bumper night at the Vortex during our visit last night. I might explain that the lovely hostelry actually has a traditional name. But due to our early experiences when we first moved into the area we fondly refer to it as the Vortex. Due to the fact that it is very easy to pop in for a 'quick half just to be sociable'. But such is the local hospitality it is virtually impossible to leave. Last night was a mini Vortex and during it John took full advantage of several people's Friday evening 'relaxed' frame of mind and recruited a couple of unsuspecting would be LEJOGers. Will wait a few days until reality sinks in before I give them a mention here. It's only fair...all agreements should have a 'cooling off period' and this is no different.
But I will mention two very special people who have committed to joining me...or maybe they should be committed?? Beth is really a founder member of the trip as she jumped in with great enthusiasm last October when I casually voiced the notion of cycling end-to-end. Despite being pretty much fully occupied running aforementioned Vortex she is determined to find the time needed not only to do this trip but to put in the hours training. We had a few cycles out last autumn...one which lasted 5 hours and involved more geo-caching than actual cycling (don't ask) and are starting our training together sometime soon. The other person I want to mention is Bognor Ironman. This is how he appears on my phone contact list because he used to live near there and he is, in fact, an IronMan triathlete. Now he has moved to near Rustington I did consider nicknaming him Rusty Ironman. But he is a sensitive soul and it would be churlish to upset him when he is going to be heavily leaned on by me for his long distance cycling experience during our trip. So I think he should be known as Trusty Ironman as he is yet another good egg, a great organiser and has the patience of Job. The latter character trait will be much needed I'll be bound. Anyway, I hear he has booked the time off work next September and look forward to him coming out cycling with myself and Beth rather than John and PHD! Their loss will definitely be our gain. Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah!
So today I took my newly modified road bike out. Forgot to ask John how long I was programmed to ride for so made an executive decision and did a previous ride only backwards. Well, of course not BACKWARDS, silly. I mean the other way round. Hoping to sneak up on Bourne Hill in Kerves Lane and catch it by surprise. Well it worked insofar as I didn't have to cycle up it. But I was so spooked that I kept the brakes on hard all the way down it! So my new short term ambition is to either cycle all the way up it without stopping/fallling off. Or to cycle all the way down without use of the brakes.
The bike is now fantastic. New handles. Not those silly curly ones that must be a chiropractors dream. Sort of straight ones with bull horn type handles sticking up. Am sure there is a technical term which some anorak (er, expert!) will supply in due course. And a new gear arrangement which includes words like 'cassettes' and 'easier for hills'. Which I am all for and thoroughly enjoyed today, I must say. A trip that took about 1hr 20 on the mountain bike whizzed by in 55 mins today. I think this bike and I will become firm friends.

Making cadence while the sun shines...or not!

So Sunday dawned lashing down with rain...tho 'dawn' is probably an overstatement. I believe the sun spent all day in bed! I had a whole 30 seconds debate with myself about whether I would go out on my road bike in the weather. I took my own advice and decided not. But an hour later there was a break in the greyness so I decided to risk it. Wow, I am getting better at getting the better of my mental processes! Went out on the mountain bike to the Downs Link as couldn't face the thought of trying to control the road bike, navigate the floods, avoid pothole craters and worry about sunday drivers.
Mountain bike now seems so slow and laborious after the nifty road bike but it did the job. One hour and twenty four minutes to cover 16 very muddy kms. Still I came back satisfyingly filthy like I'd actually been mountain biking. Got very rained on whilst out but, hey, gotta get used to that if I am going to cycle the length of these Isles in a typical Summer, eh?
Have ordered a new saddle from US. After much research of seat design it would seem the normal road bike saddle is ludicrously ill designed for most normal women! I can only agree. Had an hilarious conversation with a neighbour (who shall remain nameless! You know who you are..) concerning this topic. The term she supplied for the result of overuse of said uncomfortable saddles is simply unprintable. But very, very funny!
Hopefully by this time next week I shall be firmly astride a Spiderflex. Cool name. Could have gone for the Spongy Wonder or the Moon Seat. If it lives up to its reputation then training and eventual LEJOG should be far more pleasant than the prospect of it does now.

International training, camels and coming home!

Even on our week in away in the sun coachmaster was still thinking of my training programme...the wily one thought it'd be good to hire a couple of bikes and head for the hills. Which we did and just to prove it I will try and post a photo of us with a passing camel which proves the training continues even in Morocco! The standard of the hire bikes was not the highest. We kept stopping so John could adjust my saddle upwards. Just to realise a few yards further on that it had slipped down again and my knees were level with my ears....not good for the knee joints at all at all. I felt like my 8 year old self when I first got my Chopper bike. Remember the Chopper? Still we covered 16km or so, got to see some of the surrounding countryside and met a nice man and his camel. So it was a worthwhile exercise, if not necessarily the most strenous exercise! Plus it was a treat riding out in the warm sunshine for a change.
Got back very late last night/early this morning (from Morocco, not the bike ride)..After too short a nights sleep I took Finn out for his walk then joined John at the tail end of his training session for today. My first time out on the roads on my race bike....well properly, as I have had it for a few years but usually prefer the trusty mountain bike. But this bike and I need to become new best friends as we are going to be seeing a lot of each other over the course of the next 6 months. After the first five minutes I nearly ditched this fledgling friendship and called the whole thing off!
As I keep saying....it is impossible to leave this hamlet and not go up a hill! So for the first while it was a white knuckle ride as the road bike is soooooo much more skittish than my mountain bike. It felt like going from a carthorse ride to a frisky thoroughbred. Coming downhill was worse as it seemed like we were going at the speed of light. Well, we did get up to about 45km an hour at one stage and I swear I had the brakes on. The whole riding position produces an array of aches and pains very quickly from stiff neck to sore back to aching thumbs. Yes aching thumbs. Alot of which, I must say, were hugely alleviated when John reminded me to relax and I took heed. But how to relax when feeling totally out of control on this mad machine? I need to become a Zen cyclist...and fast.
Anyway the good news is that we covered more distance on the road bike (20km) in an hour and 8 mins. And despite all my misgivings I am going to give this bike another chance!

Cowardly behaviour!

Am off for a spell in the sun and was supposed to ride today. But it snowed! What can I say? I am seriously thinking of re-routing so I cycle from say, Cannes to Barcelona or some other more sunny route! Unless Scotland can promise me NO SNOW next September.

Optimism and grand plans to inspire me....

Ha! Just as I am congratulating myself on progress in my training I found out about the mad antics of one Dan Martin....check him out at http://www.danmartinextreme.com/ . The sheer scale of his planned venture has left my mind reeling. I love the optimism he displays. He had already cycled from Korea to Cape Town and London to Capetown. But whatever inspires someone to think 'well now I will swim the Atlantic, cycle from France to Siberia..oh and then run to New York'. I will be following him and wish him the best of luck and good weather for his epic trip.
And I have no way of following that with anything so ambitious! But I did have a good ride yesterday. Routemaster sent me off on a road route rather than the Down's Link. I have complained the DL gets a bit boring...after 3 rides, I have a very low boredom threshold obviously. So off I went up and down hills. Difficult to cycle anywhere around here that doesn't involve what some call 'upflats'! And I will have to get used to the upflats although at the moment they are the worst part of any session. John said that the Lands End leg of the trip was by far the hilliest section for him. And we are starting off that end so I'd better just get hill fit! I enjoyed this ride and only managed to not stay on the bike for one hill. It was a steep one, I got the gearing wrong, went to stand up on the pedals and my poor wee legs had no energy left (most of it had gone to my lungs by this stage!!!). Ho hum! Something to aim for as taskmaster is determined I will cycle Devils Dyke before my training is over!!
So after one hour twenty minutes I had covered 16 km. Yay! Average pulse rate still high but a day later and I have no aching muscles at all at all.
John so pleased with my efforts he is keen to get me out on the road bike rather than my trusty mountain bike. So he fitted new pedals and saddle and we have plans to go out together some time before we head off for a week's holiday on Tues.
Apparently the man who achieved the record for the quickest End to End cycle did it in 1 day, 20 hours....yes you read that right.....ONE DAY. Well and 20 hours....wonder what took him so long...

The knees know it!

Despite good intentions, life got in the way a little and I wasn't able to get out on the bike until Sunday 31st Jan. Never mind, I say. I had intended twice a week to start and so I am still on target. Planned an afternoon ride with a friend but friend got waylayed. So I piled Finn and the bike in the car and drove down to the Down's Link on my own. Sunday afternoon on the Link is just a circus! People and dogs, people and bikes, people and kids and people with dogs, bikes AND kids. Oh, and a handful of horses and riders to boot. Still we pootled on and made it to Partridge Green and back, a distance of over 12km in an hour and ten mins. Finn is noticeably tired after a week or so of running with John and accompanying me on my rides. John swears Finn watches him get ready to go out and breathes a sigh of relief when he spots walking boots and not trainers being put on!
I was pretty pleased with todays efforts and burned something like 700 calories. Made me want to head straight back for a doughnut but as we hadn't any I resisted.
Monday morning I went out again. It would be better to have a couple of days between each session but I am a bit busy early part of the week so thought I'd get ahead of myself. I cycled from home to West Grinstead, again along the Down's Link. It was a fabulously sunny frosty morning. Saw the fox hounds up at the kennels. Met a gorgeous humungous Great Dane. All in all a pleasant ride although my knees know that they have had unaccumstomed exercise. They are a bit achey and most definitely creaky!!