The Daddy Club

Those of you that have raced in Surrey and Hillingdon over the last few years probably know my good mate Phil 'The Animal' Sheehan from Finchely RT. As you can see Phil's has become a father. His beautiful daughter was born exactly a week today to his wife Vicky. I just wanna say congratulations and wish them all the best... I think people have already suggested to Phil that his racing days are numbered or indeed over. I can't see it myself he's far too competitive. Plus he still has one particular goal he'd like to achieve - right Phil? ;-) Some good planning he'll be back out there trying to initiate breakaways and win sprints. Grrr!!

I've got this niggly knee problem which I can't seem to shake off so more cleat fiddling is required me thinks. I may not I ride today. Have a good weekend people. Be safe if ya riding :-)

My Best Turbo Workout Ever?

Snots or no snots the show must go on. This evening I started my warm up in 53/21 and then spent a couple of minutes each in 19, 18 and 17 until I eventually settled down in 53/15. The physical effects of these transitions became noticeable very quickly so my happy-gum-chewing syncopated breathing in 53/21 was replaced ten minutes later by a gulping goldfish on a bike? I'm not sure how long those popular fairground giveaways can survive without water. I don't think they can hang on for twenty minutes. I did - just about!

My five minute recovery period was over far too quickly and I had just enough time to drink a large glass of hot water laced with lemsip. Once again Kylie was cranked back into action and Snoop Dog suggested that "I drop it like its hard". 2 x 20's, Hip Hop music and common colds all have one thing in common. They can eventually lead to sensory overload. I couldn't shake off my cold and the 2 x 20's had to be completed so the the rap tunes had to go. For the last ten minutes, having dropped down to a gear to 53/17 and still holding a 90 rpm cadence, I rode with just the whirring of Kylie's motor in my ear. The kitched stayed cool, and I continued to get hot and very very bothered. Can someone bring me another tissue please.

Now without tunes in my ears I closed my eyes and my brain did a google style search for motivating cycling images. I briefly caught a glimpse of John Heaton Armstrong heroic bridging effort during the 2/3 Beachy Head Classic RR this year before it was usurped by his more famous namesake racing up Alpe Duez. A bit more pedal grinding and teeth grinding and the total forty minutes was up. Phew! Thats one threshold workout I'd like to forget :-(

Only my third proper one in 2008

Arsenal- Potters Bar-Arsenal

Just in case you didn't ride on Saturday (22/11). Er...let me tell you about it in two words. Bloody Cold! If you're gonna ride in such cold weather its nice to do it in company so for the first time in a few weeks my girlfriend Stephanie joined me for the long ride. We got going at 9 am and but stopped at 9.05am; we then entered the local Tesco's and bought some nutrigrain bars and tissues (no snot rockets).

I persuaded Steph to wear a Bennie hat under her cycling helmet which she begrudgingly agreed to. By the time we hit Golders Green 20 minutes later she had taken it off. On the back streets of Barnet 40 minutes later the hat was back on again. The Irish comedian Patrick Kielty does a great sketch about how much women' change their minds and it was tempting to bring this up. However at this point Steph didn't look too happy and seemed to be suffering a little on the draggy bits. Clearly not a good time for anecdotes that stereotype women

After hitting some quiet lanes just outside of Barnet we finally arrived at Potters Bar. The Panini and Latte from Costa Coffee has never tasted so good :-) Well fuelled up, our return journey was carried out at a much livelier pace via The Great North Road. Steph looked a lot happier sat on my wheel and we cruised back averaging 20mph on all the flat stretches.

Zebra, Giraffe and tempo riding

In an attempt to make this post appear vaguely interesting I've found out some facts about Zebra's and Giraffes for you. They can both run up to 35 miles per hour. The Giraffes tongue is 18 inches long and black, some Zebra's have brown stripes and best of all...a giraffe sleeps for between 1-12 mins.

That means for each of my 7-8 minute laps around Regents Park this afternoon one or all of the three Giraffes I saw could have slept.Mmm I also saw three Zebra's but non of them appeared to be sleeping. By the end of my sixty minute ride they had all returned to their respective pens. Conditions were rather blustery on the outer-loop today nonetheless wind assisted blasts in 53/17 are always welcome. Today the legs responded well and I felt surprisingly fresh. Roll on the weekend. Its Friday night so its gotta be Thai food and beer for me - can't wait :-)

Arsenal-Northwood-Arsenal

Ordinarily a thirty mile round commuting trip shouldn't have posed too much bother but there was a distinct 'we-ain't-happy-about-this' vibe coming from my legs. I must admit nearly nine hours of riding this week has been a little tough. Also a slight niggle on the right side of my knee has developed so I chose to spin low gears for most of the outward journey to work. On the way I met this old fella out for a morning spin. We got chatting and he gave me one of the strangest reasons why he didn't want to do too many rides this winter. " Coz I don't want to loose too much weight", he said. Huh? says me, 'why don't you do what we all do and eat more to compensate for the weightloss. "I don't have a big appetite came the terse reply" mmm A bit of a tailwind on the return journey made things a little bit easier. All though drafting a lorry for half a mile on the A41 with a huge pregnant Rucksack and sore legs is not really to be recommended. Ok lets call that session 2 hours of social riding

Back in the Herts

Er my ability to remember a really cool and interesting cycling route is as I've mentioned before rubbish. So the inevitable happened today. I made an effort to follow the route myself JC and the 2 Chris's had done at the weekend but missed a few turns and found myself stuck on the Essenden Road for much longer than was needed. Oh well 3 hours plus at a tempoish effort and a semi bonk after 90 mins. Day off tomorrow. Happy training Peeps!