Official Launch Time

OK this is it time to commit.

A few years ago a friend was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease last year after a long decline he died. This cruel disease took so much quality of life away from him and his family. They dealt with it brilliantly, they were lucky to have the support of friends, family and 3 great charities; MNDA, Martletts Hospice and Dignitas.
Ever since Mike was first diagnosed I have wondered what can I do to help, I have no relevant skills. What I do is work in IT and ride bicycles for fun, and sometimes organise cycling trips/challenges.

So that's it I'll get some cycling people together and take on a proper challenge, a blood, sweat and tears challenge, you know the kind that hurts, requires commitment, something people can understand and get behind. Lets see if we can raise some money to help other people in similar or worse situations.

So I emailed some people, who generally said "you're mad" and some of them said "you're mad and I'm up for it". So the Gang of 4 is formed. All of us have ridden on the South Downs before, 3 of us have ridden its entire length. None of us has done all 100miles and 12,600 feet of climbing in one day. So that is the challenge the South Downs Way in a day. The date is set Sunday 22nd of July 2012 to suffer and enjoy chalky/flinty hillage to raise some money for 3 excellent causes.

I'm hoping that friends and family will get involved, either to support us on the day, or maybe walk or ride a bit of the route themselves, or just give us their money. All good, all welcome.

There will be a just giving page setup soon. This blog will be updated from time to time with the highs and lows of training, links to relevant pages.

thought the blog needed a new look.

So the title gives a hint at what the next caper will be, still waiting for final confirmation of who will be on the roster and when it will happen, but as jimdub says time for procrastination is over, time to start getting the miles in. Currently I'm confined to roadbike/turbo duties only, while I try to get a niggling shoulder injury sorted out. Each time i ride the mtb it takes the recovery back a few weeks. Doing the 55k ride with jimdub 4 days after the crash probably wasnt the best start to the recovery! ah well we live and occassionally we learn.

hope you like the look, and I'll be back with more news soon...

Blob

So what sits on its chair all day, and weighs about a stone heavier than it should......me of course.

Pre mid October, ride to work & back was a nice round 10 miles.

Post house move, doubles the distance. Apart from getting me more fit & more fresh air, it had the opposite effect of now I drive, save for when the car was in the garage being fixed again. Using the excuse of dropping daughter off at School, rotten cycling roads, dark, weather and all else I can find not to ride.

I have been promising, that once the mornings are a bit lighter, eldest can use the bus occasionally, enabling me to get moving, assuming that its a mere couple 'o' weeks away.

That all changed yesterday, when an email from PNik arrived, reminding me of this years' plan. Now I am not going to spill the beans yet, as for various reasons, its not my shout. BUT, its made me realise, that I have not got very long to sort myself out. So, this weekend, I am reserving some time to hosing down the Killer Bee of whatever mud is still coating it & get on the thing & get some miles done. Tempting to get the slicks on for a bit & discover the local area.

Whadyathink?

J

Edit: 19 road miles round the lanes. Did me in, hopeless 1 hour 45 minutes. Hmph

Where havent I been?

Well its been a fun couple of months not much biking though. Chest infection managed to reduce my bikiness for a while, started riding the road bike a bit at lunchtime from the office.

At the start of August OB and myself went up to see the Jedi at http://www.ukbikeskills.co.uk/ and do the Jumps and Drops course.

This was great fun, Jedi started us by rearranging our bike controls and suspension settings for the session ahead. The we started by rolling over a stick on the ground to establish the 'push' technique which is the foundation skill for all jumps and drops. We then moved onto the hill, where we did drops that got progressively higher, then onto a bit of cornering and then the jumping began, wow, I didnt beleive it at the start of the day but by the end I was confidently clearing a 6 foot double, awesome. Unfortunately I was so surprised I managed to crash on the run off, as I went down my kneepad slid aside to reveal my knee to the ground, to which I generously donated some flesh, but hey; chicks dig scars huh?

This is Jedi's blog of the day http://ukbikeskills.blogspot.com/2011/08/augusts-public-jumps-and-drops-course.html

Since then the family holiday beckoned so no riding but we did manage our first mountain, with a stroll up Snowdon (and back down again).

Hoping to hit up my first sportive this weekend will start with something gentle, theres a Burgess Hill based one with some options below 50miles, which seems like a good way to start.

What have I learned...

Forgive me reader it is over a month since my last post.

Well I probably should have learned something recently.

First I went out for a ride on the downs with raa82, now he's been getting serious of late, riding road bikes almost exclusively. and as it turns out is much fitter than me, but patient, so we had a lovely ride on the south downs and I went home feeling pleasantly exhausted, with slightly achy thighs, put down to a slipping seatpost.

Then went out in Bristol for a quick mid-week hack around Leigh Woods with a colleague, nothing too strenous fitness coped, feeling good again. Except for a rational fear of steep, slimy, rooty slopes, that go on too long.

Then I lead the friday afternoon social ride; easy climbs, fun descents, introduction to off-roading, nothing to scare anyone. That was on Leith Hill on the North Downs. By which point I'm feeling much better about my riding than I have in months, I've been getting out more, and not seriously letting myself down.

So when the email came about the Tuesday Night Mile Munchers from http://brightonmtb.org/ i though what the hell, how hard can it be, I'll take it easy they're probably a bit fitter/faster but it will do me good. Cycling over Mark caught me up, and so suddenly I'm riding uphill at his pace, chatting and we havent started yet. So over the top and into the woods, OK, this is quick too, very quick, and we've not started yet. Still chatting to MArk he says "Oh there's only usually 3 or 4 of us on a Tuesday, dont worry it'll be fine"

He has a rigid 29er with only one chainring at the front, hmm. We arrive at the start and the 3 or 4 grows to 8. 7 thin blokes with hardtails, some rigid forks, many with less than a full complement of gears, i think the pinnacle was retrobike man on a mid-90s Pace hardtail with rigid aluminium forks and singlespeed and me, over weight, over sprung and over geared, it seemed. Still how hard could it be, only a couple of hours. After the usual faffing the torment began, as the kids would say "OMG!". So cut a long story short, smoked me up,down and sideways, I felt like a total beginner. To be fair they waited for me, then set off when I caught up, meaning I had very little recovery time.

I could barely walk upstairs when I got home. not been so wiped out since, I cant remember probably the C2C i suppose but possibly not even then.

Just for fun I had some time on easter weekend, and went out on the downs for a ride on my own and I thought I;d take the hardtail, the one that cost a fraction of the full suss'er, that normally has road tyres, but has knobblies at the moment. Wow, so quick, couldnt beleive it I did the training loop ive been using just to see if it made a difference, now this is not super scientific, it was dry, and stuff, but I averaged 10 mph, compared with about 7.5 mph on the previous outings. what a difference.

Anyway where does that get us. Well it seems logical at this point to buy a road bike and start using my hardtail more, especially when out with the beginners group, it occurs to me when oout with the mile munchers, i need to make sure I'm considering all abilities. I also now have a clearer view of the spectrum of abilities and fitness levels, and my place on it, I'm definitely nearer the left than the right.

I think I need to book some events for the summer/autumn to give my training some focus, maybe even a sportive to try out the new road bike. whats the worst that could happen, I might start to enjoy the pain. probably not.

...Mornin.....

So, I have managed to cycle to work through most of the winter, save for the odd minus 10 episode, when catching busses seemed more appropriate. Through this time, the meeting of another commuting cyclist, along my route, wasn't a regular occurance. This is usually accompanied by the occasional grunt, nod, or at the very least, a look of recognition. A greeting, not too friendly, but not small enough to ignore the other cyclist.
An occasional stop to rescue/chat to a puncture victim, was still not a problem.

Then we had lighter/sunnier/warmer mornings together with >£6 a gallon. The sound of shed doors and the wresting of pieces of metalwork from the clutches of the lawnmower could be heard across the land.

I now encounter 30+ cycle commuters on my 5 mile journey. Nods and grunts now seem to have been abandoned, as far too many to be friendly, and likely to be thought of as a bit odd. So what is the critical mass of friendlyness -> unfriendlyness? Not sure, didn't really notice it happen.
Interestingly enough though, I sometimes divert my route through the local county park. To get my fix of trees, tree roots & muddy tracks. I have noticed that pre 8:00am dog walkers, in this area are still civil enough for a healthy 'Mornin'. I guess there aren't enough of them.
Post 17:00 walkers are outnumbering the early visitors, and thus, fall into the unfriendly category.

So that experiment wrapped up, I feel better already. Just one addendum, how should you greet those who you see all year round ? The old man with dog on the riverbank, still gets his 'mornin', and he still looks as surprised as he always did.... I like to be a bit unpedictable

Ha Ha

http://www.thepnikshop.com/