Killing me softly

A slow start to the week. Felt quite tired, lazy, de-motivated, lethargic - was basically suffering with negative symptoms suggestive of schizophrenia. Required a big push to get started.


When I did get started, I really went for it. On our first run of the week, SJ and I ran all the way to Redditch Town Centre. This route was not overly hilly but followed an ascent for most of the way, running up Node Hill, the Slough and that road that leads up past the buss station. We followed a nice descent once past Redditch College and then followed paths leading to Arrow Vale Lake. The lake always looks pretty, whether it be day or night, summer or winter and tonight was no exception. On we ran, passing Pauline's Hill (so named because my mother can cycle up this short steep ascent on her bicycle) and Ned's Rocks (that's another story too) until we reached the spot where poor SJ was once involved in a cycle accident. A few months back, some goon cycled straight into the back of SJ's bike. As we were reminiscing this event, some cyclist pressed his brakes so hard that they squealed and SJ and I both jumped out of our skins! We stopped and stretched a few times during this run and put in an extra bit of effort to speed back home. Both pleased with this run which was just under 10 miles.


Following this run, I relapsed. No further exercise took place. My wedding plans are coming on fine though!


Weekly totals: Ran 9.8 miles.

Cotswold Corker (part 2)

This week had an unusual start. I re-visited the Cotswold's and completed sections of the Corker that I cycled last week. Like last week, I had a bike with me, only this time I had Queeny and not Scotty. I also had a car! After completing the Corker last week, I was unable to show proof of passage for 3 of the controls. I took photo's at these controls but lost my camera. So this week, I revisited the controls and sneakily took photo's to prove my proof of passage. I also found out where the route sheet was incorrect and should I cycle this audax again, now know that I have an extended down-hill section into Winchcombe (as opposed to being 8 miles out on undulating roads). Brevet card in post, let's hope the event organiser does not read this and let's hope I get awarded my well deserved 1.75 AAA points!

Started a run at the beginning of the week to. SJ, Cody and I ran the 678 Route again on a cold frosty evening in the dark. This run was more fun than last week, for a start we were better prepared. SJ was wearing her lovely orange hi-vis jacket with built in USB light. Cody was wearing her hi-vis collar with a flashing bike light attached. I was wearing extra layers including my jacket, full length skins and gloves which prevented my digits from freezing. How much better it is to run wearing the correct clothing. SJ and I both looked a little silly with the way we were wearing our buffs, but hey, we got out and ran! It was fun watching Cody run alongside us.


Tuesday was a great day on the exercise front too. In the morning, I took Queeny out for a blast around the Breadcrumb Trail. Went over the usual naughty fields by Astwood Bank first. It was really very cold and everywhere was frosty and in places frozen. Queeny rolled over the fields really well, the ground being rock hard. The road in Alcester leading to the Breadcrumb Trail was closed (again) to motorised traffic, so it was nice having the road to myself. As good as ever it was around the trail, tyres making a nice crunching sound on the frosty wooded floor. Returned home via the Dovecote and Coughton Ford. Saw a few deer and a bird of prey during this adventure, which was nice.


Tuesday evening and I braved the cold again. SJ and I ran the Extended Studley Triangle Zig-Zag Route. It was about freezing but we were seriously warmed up by the time we finished.


Ran again on Thursday. This time I ran the off-road Handlebar Route with Cody. Had been a while since I had ran with my off-road shoes - they got seriously heavy as the mud stuck to them. A nice 5k run on a wet, miserable day.


Weekly totals: Ran 14.9 miles; Cycled 18.5 miles.


My fiancee, 'SJ', ran about 24 miles this week as part of her training for the London Marathon. Well done SJ. Big thanks to all those who have sponsored SJ and are continuing to provide support.

The Cotswold Corker....

The start of this week was much like last week. I cycled the Deer Route again, only this time with the 'usual goons'. This time round, it was warm and dry. Oh why did I invest in Winter tyres?


This weeks major challenge was the Cotswold Corker, a 100k permanent audax event scoring 1.75 AAA points. This was my third time riding this event, though the first time I cycled the route it was a calendar event. This time, I used my mountain bike too. Each time has not been without incident.


The hill at Bushcombe Lane had beaten me on previous attempts. This hill is a 25% climb and stretches for about 3k. To make things worse, this hill is encountered within the first few k of the start. This time round, I decided to save this hill to last and start my event from the second control in Winchcombe.


Starting out from Winchcombe seemed like a better idea all round. Finding somewhere to park was much easier (and only cost £1 all day). Although familiar with the route, I missed the first turn at the start and added an additional 2k. I missed the turn because the actual road was closed off for repairs. I cycled along the closed road all the same. A hilly affair (this hill being second to Bushconmbe Lane) took me to the control at Guiting Power.


Perhaps the nicest lanes took me from Guiting Power to Northleach. Northleach is a very pretty market town and makes for an ideal control. An old chap stopped to admire my bike and asked if he could pick it up. He said he was impressed with the weight and then we got into story telling about the hills in the area. He alleged he cycled Bushcombe Lane Hill on a 3 speed steel bike back in his day. That was my cue to leave...


Very pretty lanes were cycled again all the way to Daglingworth. This ride being very undulating in nature.    A ring twitching descent to said control.


Much menace to next control at Bisley. Horses were the first problem, they were taking up much of the road and passing them was difficult. Then, the road I needed to cycle was closed. Like before, I cycled the road anyway. This was fun, I had to zig-zag from left to right to avoid freshly laid tarmac and had to dodge heavy machinery and work men. At times, a little off-roading had to be incorporated. Reached the control at Bisley and got an actual cycling stamp for my brevet card. I also stopped at a pub just round the corner and had scampi and cheeps for my lunch. Delicious!


If I remember correctly, it was during the Bisley - Andoversford section that I saw a snake the last time I cycled this audax. No snake was seen today, however, I saw a deer and a bird of prey close up. Bumpy, lumpy and undulating all the way to the control. Stopped at control to catch my breath, stretch my legs and ring my girl friend fiancee.


The route sheet informed that the next control would be Winchcombe. I remember getting lost here last time I cycled the event, so extra care was taken following the instructions (destructions?). I was supposed to descend by Belas Knap, but just like last time, this didn't happen. (I even asked folk on route the whereabouts of Belas Knap but nothing materialised). The last instruction before alleged control stated 'TR @ B4632 $ WINCHCOMBE - 1km'. I followed this command, but Winchcombe was 8 miles away not 1k! Grr! I headed towards Winchcombe all the same and viewed further instructions on the route sheet.


After Winchcombe control, the route sheet stated 'Retrace on B4632 - to climb Cleeve Hill to then descend to Rising Sun Inn where TR desc Gambles Lane (care 25%)'. Well, I was climbing said Cleeve Hill and Gambles Lane was on my left! I decided not to cycle on to Winchcombe (temporarily missing control) but followed Gambles lane to reach control in Bishops Cleeve. I took a photo of bike next to Bishops Cleeve sign post as proof of passage.


The final leg was a real slog and much menace. I found a 25% hill and started to climb, but it wasn't Bushcombe Hill! Locals directed me to the next right turn, where I found the dreaded Bushcombe Hill. This hill was so tough. I started to climb, moving through my gears, then horrors! My chain had slipped off the largest rear cog and was caught between cassette and spokes. The chain did not want to sit on largest cog, so cycling resumed with me in 2nd gear, not my desired first. I cycled a short way and then sadly stopped. Bushcombe Hill had beaten me a 3rd time. Grr. Pushed bike to top of Hill (and that was an effort in itself) and was about to descend but noticed my front tyre was flat! How long had this tyre been flat? Was that excuse for not climbing hill?! With only 7k or so to go (plus fact it was now dark), I did not fix puncture but just used gas to inflate tube with hope it would see me to the end. A great descent took me all the way to Winchcombe. I stopped at the Winchcombe sign post to take photo for proof of passage (for the 'missed' control). Hmm, hope the photo comes out, it was rather dark. Continued to car park, the arrivee, where I stopped to get a bag of chips, using the receipt for my last proof of passage! Woo too, job done! Buschcombe


During Cotswold Corker, cycled a total of 105.4k (65 miles), in approximately 8 hours.


This latest Cotswold Corker turned out to be a real menace. Not only did I not beat Bushcombe Lane Hill and suffer ridicule from Ron, I also had a puncture to fix. Worse still, I lost my camera with a few proofs of passage contained therein. Grr!

Only ran once this week. The effects of Christmas are becoming apparent - I have put on much weight, gotten fatter and am developing man boobs ('moobs'). Was out of puff for the whole route. I ran with SJ, who seems to keep getting fitter as I keep getting fatter. We ran our 678 Route. It was very cold, -1C in fact, and I felt uncomfortable the whole way. The river and weir looked spooky with a cold mist hanging just above. Was pleased to finish that run and awarded myself with a pack of McVities digestives (perhaps this is where I'm going wrong?)!


You might have noticed Brian (the skeleton) and his bike on a few pictures throughout this latest blog. Brian is SJ's mascot and he has made an appearance to remind all that SJ and I are trying very hard to raise monies for the BackCare charity. Indeed, that's why SJ and I are training so hard and poor SJ has to run the London 2012 Marathon... Please help us to help others, by donating whatever you can here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/sarahbigrun. Many Thanks.


Weekly totals: Cycled 81.5 miles; Ran 5.8 miles.

Hippy New Year

Hippy New Year to all those who have followed my blog. Welcome to any who are reading this for the first time. Peace out to all my friends and family.


This blog was created some years back and was intended to record any adventure achievements I wished to blog about. Over the years, it largely turned into an exercise blog with it's primary focus on cycling. It has at times recorded running activity and various moments of madness and nuggets of nonsense the author saw fit to post. This year the author plans to do the same but wants to point out from the out-set that the frequency and intensity of all exercise phenomena will be greatly reduced. There are valid reasons for this, but first the author would like to reflect on the past year.


Was very pleased cycle-wise. Cycled a total of 5,207 miles - which roughly equates to 100 miles per week! Cycled more the previous year (5,287 miles) but much further than my 2009 effort (3,160 miles). Last year saw me complete the Paris-Brest-Paris audax, probably my proudest cycling achievement to date.


Started running in the later part of last year. This was mostly because my fiancee has plans to run the London 2012 Marathon and is in desperate need of sponsors! Started to record my running totals in hours and minutes, then changed that to distance (with the advancement of gps and mobile phone technology). Have not got a yearly total of my running distance but hope to record that this year.


Speaking of plans this year - what are my plans? And what are yours? Doing anything interesting or worthwhile and this blog may well record it!


This year I do not plan to complete any (major) long distance audax or cycling events. That is not to say I have given up on cycling, I am just taking a kind of siesta for a year whilst I chase other plans, dreams and goals. I am signed up to do the Snowdrop audax event in February and plan to cycle along the flat backroads through farmland meeting barefoot farmers in Yangshuo, China during my honeymoon in May! Yes, that's right, I plan to get married this year, in March in fact! I am organising (ha!) the most part of the wedding myself and thus far have sorted out best man (my buddy Chris Hodge), the 'guy who is going to marry us' (Neil Bennet), the venues for service and reception, the rings and have designed the invitations too. SJ, can you believe, has just walked in with her wedding dress hidden in a bag! Exciting times! After we are wed, SJ has to run her marathon! So, running will be a high priority the beginning part of this year.


The first run of this year was quite a big one! SJ and I ran to Redditch Christadelphian Hall and back. This is the venue where we plan to get married. We were both quite whacked after completing this 9 mile circuit.


My first pedal of the year was nice too. It was like old times. Ron, John V and I cycled the classic Deer Route. It was a cold and wet affair, but hey, we didn't care!


Weekly totals: Ran 9 miles; Cycled 16 miles.

End of a year!

The last week of the year and I didn't cycle a single mile! I did run though, and boy, what a run it was! SJ and I entered a race that I had organised. This race was a 10k affair. My organisational skills were a little off as per usual... I thought I had entered us into a flat race around an airfield. Big mistake! I had entered us into an incredibly hilly race in Ilmington! We both ran well and completed the course in just a few seconds over an hour. I came in 101st position and SJ came 102nd out of a total of 140 competitors.

We couldn't walk following the race, but we could eat! And, what a better way to end the year! Thanks to all who have followed my blog and look forward to sharing more stories with you in 2012.

Weekly totals: Ran 6.2 miles.

Yearly totals: Did not record my running totals; Cycled 5,207 miles (80 miles short of my 2010 total).

Re-tyred!

The first run this week knocked me for 6! Cody and I ran the Handlebar Route and during the run all felt fine. However, not long after the run, I got a taste of the dreaded man flu!

The dreaded man flu was not the usual deadly strain and only knocked me out for a few days. By Friday I was feeling okay and took Queeny out for her second run. Queeny had been re-tyred with her winter rubbers - a Michelin Country Mud rear and a Panaracer Trailraker up front. These tyres get a total thumbs up. I took Queeny across naughty fields up by Astwood Bank which were really wet and muddy. The tyres gripped fantastically and did not slip or slide about at all and provided perfect traction. Made my way to the Breadcrumb Trial. Again, the tyres performed superbly all the way around, good grip even on wet roots and rocks. Went home via the Dovecote and Coughton Ford (including the 2 off-road sections) and Queeny didn't puncture once!

Did not run or cycle any further that week. Something much more amazing and wonderful happened. No, not Xmas! My dear lovely, awesome and beautiful girlfriend agreed to marry me when I popped the question on the 23rd! And Xmas day was pretty awesome too!

Weekly totals: Ran 3.2 miles; Cycled 19 miles.

Bodily exercise profiteth little

No training took place this week. None at all. No running. No cycling. Something much greater and way more wonderful took place, and I was there to witness it! My dear girlfriend SJ got baptised.

^'For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.' (1 Tim 4v8-9)

Brief Blog

Argh, what a busy time last week was. Busy with work, shopping, travelling ... never enough time to cycle. Didn't really have the time to write this blog.

Only cycled once. The route Ron and I chose was the classic Deer Route. With all the Christmas decorations now up we were hoping the electrically lit up deer would make an appearance but sadly not. The Deer Route is so named because of said electric deer. Nice trek on a cold frosty night - my planet x / on one merino jersey kept me well toasty. Only mis-hap was Ron sliding off his bike over the Coughton Ford bridge. (There was talk of calling our group the 'Impassable Ford Cycling Club'.)

Ran twice with Cody and twice with SJ but only ran 3 times in the week. My first Run was with SJ and we ran an extended route of the Studley Triangle, zig-zag style up and down the streets at the one tip of said triangle. This was a good run stretching 5 miles. Cody joined me for my second run where we ran the Handlebar Route. Last run was with both SJ and Cody where we re-ran the Handlebar Route.

Weekly totals: Cycled 16 miles; Ran 11.4 miles.

Welcome Queeny! / End of a season

This week had an unusual start. SJ, Cody and I went to the beach! We figured we would do our long run on the sand. The day was initially nice - sun, sand, sea and us three! Not long into our run though we encountered much menace. For starters, the sand was wet and muddy in parts and we got wet shoes and paws. SJ's ankle was playing up big time (and had been hurting for a few days). And, Cody was being harassed by a Yorkie Terrier. When SJ intervened, she got bit. Not a great day for SJ! Our long run was cut to a shorter run/jog/walk ramble. Our day was brightened up by a fish and chips lunch (until SJ got deli belly...). When I downloaded the map using Google maps, it showed that I ran through the sea, hmm - interesting?!

My first bike adventure had equal menace too. My ride started off well, was using my new but old bike 'Queeny', so named because she is adorned in the Royal colours of red, white and blue. Queeny was old in that she used to belong to my brother David for a while, who has lived in Australia for the past couple of years. David didn't get Queeny brand new either, he bought her from ebay (or maybe I did on his behalf). Anyways, suffice to say, Queeny is quite old, well vintage really or retro if you prefer! Queeny was new in that she was new to me. In addition to that, I had Queeny kitted out in new disk brakes, cables, headset and transmission too! Anyways, back to the adventure...

Like I was saying, Queeny's debut didn't go too well. Started off fine cycling to Sambourne and then taking that off road trail to the Ridgeway. From the Ridgeway I cycled across the naughty fields until I came out on Coldcomfort Lane. Queeny seemed to be doing OK across these fields, until pssst - puncture menace! Dirty thorn. Puncture was soon fixed and off I went to follow the Breadcrumb Trail. This trail went fine, Queeny performed well and it felt much safer using DMR's instead of SPD's again. The wet trail, roots, dips and all were no real problem. Headed back home via the Dovecote, Kinwarton and Coughton. Just before the Ford, pssst - second puncture menace! This puncture was soon fixed too but was a little peeved that I didn't have any gas with me and the tyres look major unhealthy too - the rims are braking away and look a little perished. Was pleased to make it home with no further mishap, except an extremely dirty face.

Took Scotty round Ron's 1 Hour Loop mid-week. Some of the roads were closed off, but this didn't stop me! The roads that were closed had large pits here and there and heavy machinery doing goodness-knows-what. This ride was great because I saw 2 deer today, the second of which ran out in front of me and then ran alongside me for a short while. Awesome. I had not seen deer for a while (even on the Deer Route) and wondered if the doomed Woods of Doom had anything to do with it. The Woods of Doom, for those that don't know, was a favourite play area of mine for the mountain bike. The usual goons and I had many an adventure there (including the time my crank arm fell off and the time I landed on the barbs, etc). Anyways, the powers that be chopped down a whole forest worth of tree's and hence the Woods of Doom became doomed.

My last training session of the week was with Cody. We ran the Handlebar Route on a cold frosty morning. Glad that SJ fixed the zip on my running top!

The 2011 cycling season has finally finished. The 2012 cycling season started in November 2011 (confusing or what?!).  The 2011 season had been great for me and my best season for audax events. I managed to complete 3x100k, 11x200k, 2x300k, 1x400k,1x600k and 1x1200k events. That's a total of 19 rides, scoring 50 AUK points and 27 AAA points (compared to 9 rides the previous year, scoring 7 AUK points and 2.5 AAA points). My proudest achievement was completing the 2011 PBP.

Managed to add 3 awards to my Randonneur series during the 2011 season. These included the Super Randonneur (SR) - Audax UK's traditional award for the top 10% of hardened night-riders where I cycled a series of 200, 300, 400 & 600km events all in one season. The Randonneur Round the Year (RRtY) - In order to qualify for inclusion in the RRtY Roll of Honour, I had to complete a Randonneur (minimum 200km, either calendar event or Permanent) in each of the twelve consecutive calendar months. My 3rd award was the Randonneur 5,000 - Progressing past the SR, the Randonneur 5,000 is awarded to a person riding randonneur events totalling 5,000km in one season.

Also managed to add a further 3 awards to my Brevet series during the 2011 season too. These were the Brevet 1000, 2000, and 3000 respectively. The Brevet awards encourage the rider to keep riding over several years and the Brevet 4000 (for example) was for riders who can show they have ridden 20 x 200km over any length of time.

Weekly totals: Cycled 34 miles; Ran 6.9 miles.

No Limits

Perhaps I should start setting limits on how far or hard I train?! Really pushed myself at the start of the week by tackling a 10 mile run with SJ! This was the furthest SJ has ran to date. We followed the Lover's Loop and added the 'extra chunk' that I checked out on my bike last week. This mapped route looked like 2 hearts held together by a strand. This was far from a lovely route though - both SJ and I felt some discomfort before reaching the end. The route was hilly in parts too. The following day SJ reported aches and pains, and my right knee was shouting 'know your limits'.

The following night was spent cycling Ron's 1 Hour Loop with no less than Ron himself. We were both on mountain bikes, but it was only I who had slicks. There was a chill in the air and it was very misty round about. As we cycled this route, we saw what looked like a fire in the distance. As we neared this 'fire', we discovered it was in actual fact a gritting truck - the amber flashing lights looking like a fire with the mist screen. Ron said the grit truck driver was actually the Devil himself, just earning a few bob more by gritting the roads over the winter. Tough economic times. I actually felt like one of the Children of Israel once a grit truck had passed and we were following this pillar of fire.

Hooked up with Ron again before the week was out and we cycled the Stroud 5 Valleys 50 Permanent Audax event. The event organiser (Stephen Poulton) had described this event as 'a short ride with plenty of vertical-seeking interest'. This event was only about 50k long, but included 1,174 metres of climbing to award us with 1 AAA point!

We started this event in Stroud on a sunny day. Ron had followed suit and kitted his bike out in Shwalbe City Jet's too (though his were a thinner version than mine). Almost straight away we encountered our first hill which, like all the rest that followed, was pretty tough. The descent into the control at Haresfield was tougher than the climb - it had a 25% gradient and much dirt and debris covered the road. Ron nearly clipped a red postal van at this juncture with his braking and back sliding technique!

From Haresfield to Painswick we encountered a 1:6 climb. We reached the control in good time and considered having a breakfast. The breakfast sadly didn't arrive - the 'cook' was way too leisurely and we made haste.

Our hasty action didn't last too long. Not far from leaving Painswick we hit a 1:7 climb, followed by 2 further big climbs before we reached the control in Bisley. On route I stopped to ask an old lady directions - she screamed and jumped back about a foot before she directed me. Her scream made me jump back. I think we both aged a few years during that engagement! Bisley control was nice - we stopped and ate at The Bear pub. Ron opted for a curry and I had steak. As suggested by Stephen Poulton, I got a stamp from the Post Office to prove my proof of passage. It was a cool stamp, picturing a cyclist with the words 'keep it up'.

We did keep it up and cycled a further 2 ascents until we reached the control at Minchinhampton. Very pretty here but hard to get a receipt as there were few shops and the first shop I found was empty! Had better luck at the second shop.

The ride from Minchinhampton to Nympsfield was a bit of a drag. Not seriously hilly, but ascending all the same. We were facing a headwind here too and everything looked a bit bleak.

Relatively easy from Nympsfield back to the Arrivee at Stroud. It was mostly down-hill and super zoomy it was too - Ron was overtaking motorised traffic at one point! Our final ascent of 77 metres came just in time, as we finished our adventure just as it had started to rain. We cycled a total distance of 34 miles during this permanent. Woo hoo, job done.

Finished the week's training with a jog. Cody, SJ and I scrambled our way around the cross country Handlebar Route. The fields were quite slippy due to a recent downpour and mud stuck to the bottom of our shoes and paws. Wonder how the winter months might affect our training?

Weekly totals: Cycled 53 miles; Ran 13.5 miles.

Duathlon Doo

Started the week with a nice jog/run around the Studley Triangle with SJ. This was a nice run and we made it easier by running the reverse way around to usual. Our time's are similar which ever way round we run the triangle, but the power required differs greatly.

My mid-week bike ride was interesting this week. I cycled a solo affair and completed Ron's 1 Hour Loop (in about 1 hour and 13 mins) on my mountain bike. What made this ride interesting was the fact that I had fitted Scotty with Slicks (that is slick tyres) - Schwalbe City Jet's to be precise. Schwalbe City Jet are Puncture Protected slick tyres designed for the rigours of riding at speed in an urban environment and general purpose road use. Designed for a mountain bike. Scotty looked pretty slick indeed and was made for an awesome on-road ride!

This week has been duathlon style. Not that I've entered race's or anything, but the fact that I've been exercising in a run-bike-run style. Friday really was my duathlon day. Completed the first leg, a 5k run with Cody. We ran the Handle Bar route. This was a great run, especially because I was kitted out in my new Asics Gel-Trabuco shoes, courtesy of Lin. Thanks Lin, these really are awesome comfy shoes!

The second leg was the bike part. I started by cycling the Lovers Loop that SJ and I ran last week but added an extra chunk to it. This 'chunk' involved adding extra miles by navigating to, around and back from Arrow Vale Lake - the full circuit being a 10 mile loop. Plan to run this 10 mile loop with SJ one time soon. My cycling did not stop there, I also cycled Rons 1 Hour Loop reverse way around.

Completed the final leg by jogging/running a further 5k with SJ. We ran the Studley Triangle. SJ was lit up like a pumpkin - she was wearing the rather splendid Saucony top that I had recently gotten her. Awesome!

Weekly totals: Cycled 44 miles: Ran 9.8 miles.