Parkrun/Studley Triangle/Lunar Cycle/Tandem

Started this week by running my 2nd Parkrun event at Arrow Valley Park. In a kinda duathlon style, I cycled to and from the event as well. I finished in 38th place (out of 315) and came 10th in my age category. Better yet, I set a new PB (personal best) at this event and had my fastest time this year. My super funky TomTom GPS watch thing crashed which was disappointing (think it needed a software update) but all good now and at least the Parkrun folk provide official results. Just like my previous run here, Strava measured it as 4.9k! My actual, official run time was 22:25.

According to Runner's World magazine (April 2015) a whopping 20% of 'mental factors such as motivation and self-belief contribute to sporting success'. So, with much determination and a dose of self-belief - I wonder if I could run a 5k in 20 minutes?! The other 80% probably involves training etc.. Hmm...

Ran again in the week. On this occasion I ran the Studley Triangle. Nice run which measured 4.98k on my TomTom (how annoying - I wanted a bang on 5k). Had planned to run the day before but 'forgot' of my plans and ate too much breakfast to run on. I had work and planned to run back but again 'forgot' and purchased a return rail ticket. The heavens opened big time so perhaps it was for the best.

Doo, SJ, Melody and Lunar

First ride of the week was with Lunar. We cycled to Arrow Valley Lake to meet up with SJ and Melody. The valve burst in the tube before we set off which was a trifle menace.

It was fun watching Lunar play at the park and feed the ducks at Arrow Valley Lake. One of the killer ducks nipped us both but I managed to fend off said duck before she fed on Lunar or took her back to her lair. After expending so much energy it was no surprise that Lunar fell asleep on our trek back home.

A killer duck, be warned...

Mid-week, I cycled my last ever trek as a chap in his 30's. Interestingly enough, I spent this trip with a 70 plus year old! Indeed, this was an adventure with Roger and 'The Beast' (his tandem). We cycled over 50 miles on this adventure and our journey is presented below.

So much adventure in one tandem trip. Almost upon leaving Rogers address we zoomed down a hill at over 50 kph (which felt really fast on this tandem, especially considering this was only my second trip out on said bike, not to mention the fact that Roger was totally blind). We had a great day out and despite it initially being a little chilly, the return leg was like a summers day. Some of the roads we cycled were part of the Snowdrop Express. We cycled past Jonny Edgers farm (and Inknet). Much wildlife was seen and I got within a foot of some lovely bird of prey and almost hit a random stray dog. At one junction we had to dismount the bike because we (I) ignored signs that said 'road closed'. The road was having steaming hot tarmac laid down and much heavy machinery was blocking the road. The workers kindly let us past with a couple walking Roger through safely. The workers warned that the tyres would pop if they touched the hot tarmac. The last few k was a real sting in the tail as the road we whizzed down at the start, now had to be climbed. Not a massive hill but felt big on a tandem - we climbed a height of over 200 metres. Better yet, I had used the gears to move the chain on the front triple chain ring (into the granny gear) for the first time. My second tandem lesson was a real treat! Looking forward to my next trip already!

Hilliness profile of tandem adventure