The first sportive of 2010 is in the bag. Eagerly anticipated by 6 of us – me, Jonny, Millsy, Simmo, Duncan and Paul – as a key test of early-season form, the Puncheur lived up to its reputation from last year: a fast, mostly flat route around the South Downs with excellent food and organisation.
It was freezing cold on the start line at 7.45am on Sunday, and it didn’t get much warmer, despite some bright sunshine as the day wore on. It was a ragged start; I got a lot of cold air into my lungs straight away, my heart rate pounding up in the 170s – it felt like my body was under a lot of stress. This feeling of stress never quite left me the whole 70 miles of the course. We were all taking short pulls at the front to begin with but everything felt a bit giddy. Then we hit ice, several big patches. Duncan went down, later joined by Jonny.
The first half of the ride, I just felt strain, so I tucked in behind Jonny and a strong-looking rider in a Cannondale top. After the feed-stop, I felt stronger, and made up for my poor contributions to the pace early on by taking a long stint into the wind. I could feel it coming back, the feeling of lightness, of floating on the effort.
At about the 3-hour mark I started to tie up. We’d hit a modest hill at around 2hrs 30, which had separated myself, Theobald and Cannondale from the others. I knew if I lost those two, I was most likely on my own to the finish, so I did everything I could to cling on, but closing the gaps became too much. Swearing at the wind, I roped myself in to the bottom of Ditchling Beacon, then climbed it without further incident. Final time: 4hrs 06 – 7 mins faster than last year, this time without going wrong.
I’ve done more riding (in pure hours on the bike) than I had this time last year, but notably less high-quality training such as intervals. This is potentially the reason for my lack of any kind of explosive pace. I remember feeling really full of beans last year; this time around, I felt easy on the hills, with reasonable stamina, but not that much power. My leg injury could have played a part. I’m half a stone lighter than last year (10st 10 vs 11st 6) – so that’s maybe a factor. I guess since my goal this season is the Maratona in July, building a base with plenty of hills, without hitting the intervals too early, will hopefully pay off in the end.
A short footnote for Millsy – he had a shocker. Training to within an inch of his life, he had to do a long run and a ride the day before, then flatted at the start of the sportive. His grim-faced expression in the photos tell the full story.
Two weeks ago I had a crash on my commute to work. For various reasons it’s taken me a while to get around to documenting this unfortunate incident – but there it is. I crashed.
I was riding in on a drizzly Monday morning when somebody opened their passenger-side door into my right quad. It happened in a split-second, and I landed in a heap in the gutter, my bike likewise. People asked me whether I flew into a rage at the passenger – I didn’t, the pain and shock made me dazed and docile. The passenger, driver, and various bystanders huddled around me for a minute or so, then, satisfied that I would live through it, got back to their Monday mornings. I continued the commute powered by my left leg only.
It hurt quite a lot. I took Tuesday off at home to ice it and try and bring the swelling down. My main worry of course was that the injury would affect my preparation for the Puncheur, but in fact I rode my bike home gingerly Wednesday night, and experienced only a slight loss of power on a long ride on Sunday. I limped painfully for a few days, though. The bruising spread around my whole upper thigh and down to my knee. Even two weeks on, I still get woken up by the discomfort in the morning.
These are my splits from last Thursday’s Richmond Park workout. Lap 1 was clockwise (the ‘hill’ route), Lap 2 counter-clockwise, with a 3-minute recovery in between. If it hadn’t been so cold I would have recovered for longer!
The laps were tough, and not made any easier by a chilly head-wind. I also didn’t feel that great either. Because of the way my HRM occasionally malfunctions, I don’t know whether the highs of 184 and 193 are accurate – but I think they are, since they happened on both laps. I had a feeling of being half-strangulated from the effort and the cold air.
I made only 5 commute legs last week, but on every single one I got drenched. Standing at my side gate on Thursday evening, fumbling with a set of keys, I turned to look at the rain drizzling around a street lamp, and recalled Blade Runner.
For a company producing calendars and posters of scantily-clad female cyclists, Cycle Passion’s website certainly did a good job of pouring cold water over my initial excitement. These guys need a redesign bad.
I think I can call last Wednesday’s 3-hour hilly loop the ride of this year so far. After thorough drenchings on both legs of my commute on Tuesday – a day when it literally did not stop raining – Wednesday dawned clear, with blue skies. The sun’s appearance, and perceptible warmth on my face, was little short of a miracle after so much bitter cold.
Riding last Sunday’s loop – which I can see becoming a mid-week staple – in reverse took me over Toy’s Hill the same way I rode it in the Reigate sportive last year. From bottom to top it’s a 10-12 minute climb, but a Box Hill-style gradual ascent unlike the harsh gradient on the southern side. I prefer it this way round, because there are at least 2 other chevron spikes on this route (including this little baby in the hills west of Biggin Hill) so there’s no shortage of opportunities to get out of the saddle.
After a weekend off (wedding) I’m planning another mid-weeker this Wednesday, followed by a longer one on Sunday, and possibly a bit of speed-work on Richmond Park the following Weds to tune me up for the Puncheur.
The best thing about February is that it’s no longer January. That said, it’s still cold, and wet, and muddy. In fact the only thing that saves February is that my birthday is on the 7th – which potentially means new kit.
Having achieved my January goal (I rode about 29 hours / 17 days, compared to Jan 09, when I rode 25 hours / 15 days), I’m starting to feel a return of the legs. Yesterday I did 3 hours, mainly brisk, on a hilly circuit that took in Toys Hill and a handful of other spikes. My heart rate graph for the ride revealed an average of 144 bpm, and a max of 169 bpm, very similar to what I recorded on Jan 17, although I felt like I was riding smoother and stronger over tougher terrain. I’m considering doing the same route in reverse on Wednesday, but just pushing it a fraction harder.
But man, the conditions sucked. 1 hour of drizzle, followed by freezing fog and visibility down to 70 metres, and a layer of slush that turned to mud on sheltered roads. Roll on Spring time.
