Monday, 30 March 2020

Climbing out of the rut

Trying to, at least.

Week 13 metrics

23rd - 29th March:

  • Total distance: 66.3mi
  • Total elevation: 3,202ft
  • Longest ride: 30.24mi
  • Time in saddle: 4h 40m

Wednesday, 25 March 2020

In a rut

Training has tanked lately. First of all I was away for work, with not a bike in sight, then I had a weekend away, similarly bike-free. And now I'm working from home, so haven't even been commuting on two wheels either.

The bottom line of all this is that my weekly stats have gone through the floor, which is not great. Motivation levels have followed suit, not least because I'm doing all this with the expectation of cycling from one end of the country to the other at the start of September, i.e. in five and a half short months. As things stand, I'm assuming/hoping the event will go ahead...but who knows?

Monday, 23 March 2020

Week 12 metrics

16th - 22nd March:

  • Total distance: 50.9mi
  • Total elevation: 1,572ft
  • Longest ride: 18.2mi
  • Time in saddle: 4h 10m

Friday, 20 March 2020

When cyclists go insane

I'm in the fortunate position of having a turbo trainer. Less fortunate is the sweaty mess I leave on the conservatory floor after a hard session. Not to worry, I thought to myself, I could get a mat to go underneath it - would protect the laminate from my sweat and have the added benefit of reducing vibration noise (turbo-ing is pretty loud).

Now Argos is generally a pretty good value shop - it's certainly not known for being pricey. So imagine my happiness at discovering they sell some cycling gear, including a mat to go under a turbo trainer...

Imagine my subsequent disbelief at seeing the price - 75 quid for a small synthetic mat.

Lucky for me Planet X currently have a range of sizes, £10 - £20 until Sunday...

Cycling, like golf (and, I guess, a lot of sports), is a pursuit that enables you to spend increasingly barmy amounts of money in pursuit of increasingly tiny gains. But don't do it. Shop around. It doesn't have to be this way..

Monday, 16 March 2020

Week 11 metrics

9th - 15th March:

  • Total distance: 28.4mi
  • Total elevation: 1,001ft
  • Longest ride: 6.05mi
  • Time in saddle: 2h 20m

Monday, 9 March 2020

Week 10 metrics

2nd - 8th March:

  • Total distance: 78.1mi
  • Total elevation: 2,402ft
  • Longest ride: 10.43mi
  • Time in saddle: 6h 47m

Monday, 2 March 2020

Week 9 metrics

24th February - 1st March:

  • Total distance: 86.2mi
  • Total elevation: 3,005ft
  • Longest ride: 17.29mi
  • Time in saddle: 6h 57m