Cycling in 2015

In my first post of the year I talked about 3 decisions for 2015. Decisions 1 and 2 are progressing nicely with my leaving date getting closer and my first application activity getting under way so onto...

Decision 3: Do a cycling event that pushes me harder than I've been pushed on a bike.

I've signed up to do the Newcastle to London ride.

"Hey!" I hear you thinking. "That's not further than you've ridden before?"

That's right. It's only about 300 miles (483 kilometres). Lands end to John O'Groats is further. This event however has a target time of  24 hours; Which means I  need to average 20 kms an hour over 24 hours. I'll have a couple of hours off the bike and stops every few hours to refill water and snack supplies so my average will need to be nearer 25 kms an hour.

This is a much bigger ride than I've ever managed before. To achieve this I'm going to need to get some progressively bigger distances in between now and August. This is basically the Dunwich Dynamo 2.5 times in one go.

I've got the Velothon  in Cardiff  which is 50 kms as my first mass participation ride of the year and I'm thinking of the Ride to the Sun as an overnight practise run at about half the distance. In between I think I'm going to have to do some hill based interval training and some London-Brighton-London or London-Cambridge-London weekend rides leading up to it.

There is also the small matter of directions....

Looking forward to 2015

I nearly always forget that pretty much the whole of December and much of November is spent planning for Christmas. Once Christmas is out the way then I start to wonder what we should do for new year, and then my birthday, and then....

This morning David wanted to know who wanted to see the velorution series at the lee valley velodrome. Sarah Storey is putting on a go at the hour record which should be good. I also suggested we should book in for the London Bike show as the brands we are both considering for new bicycles have stands there (to get hands on with their wares so to speak).

But what about me? What do I want to do in 2015?

2011 was LEJOG
2012  was my first bike tour and Bike to Bestival
2013 was the London Gypsy Orchestra and my first Dunwich Dynamo and a go on the Manchester Velodrome
2014 was my first time trial, duathlon and triathlon

2015 looks at the moment like it could be any number of things. At the moment I have the Cardiff  Velothon booked. I'd also like it to be the year I...

1. Try an Audax event
2. Try different night rides
3. Join a cycle club
4. Run a half marathon.
5. Finish a triathlon in under 3 hours

I'm  hoping to find out whether I am allowed to take voluntary severance from my job tomorrow. If so then 2015 will be the year I start doing something different for a living... Finish saving for a deposit... buy a nice shiny new bike... who knows. Maybe even  get an interesting job.

Day of the dead ride #2

The Hackney bicycle film society organised a second 'Day of the dead ride'.

The route this year was brilliant as we saw Hackney Marshes, the Olympic park, lots of odd side roads and a lovely pub. 

Hackney to Windsor

On Saturday, 3 men with colds, and 1 man determined to break his bike on a single outing (2 drops and a spot of light off-roading follow later in this post) set out to go to Windsor following the least likely route possible.

On Friday I Googled the route and was surprised to see that Google maps suggested the M4 or A4 even when switched to "cycling" as the method of travel. I decided, on balance, that the route suggested by David looked better. I didn't really check why we were going where we were going because the route looked largely flat and easy to follow.

I got up at the ungodly hour of 06:30, after 4 hours of sleep, in the murky blue black light of a cloudy dawn and realised I was out of soya milk and bread. I managed to locate some cow's milk and muesli and managed to get showered, dressed packed and downstairs for 07:30 with the bike.

David showed up shortly after and we grumbled pleasantly about the cold and lack of breakfast etc. all the way to Angel. Once we'd stopped and got money out we headed off to the wrong bridge. Then we headed off to the right bridge to meet two of David's friends.

Drop 1# prior to arrival

We ended up a peloton of Aluminium (Cinelli), Carbon (Merida* citation need) and steel (Kona and Condor).

Down through Chelsea and into Putney we stopped first in Richmond park at the cafe to get some coffee and belated breakfasts where required. Chat centred around Local government and bikes before long as we all found common ground.

It was sometime later that I first started to suspect the circuitous nature of the route we were embarked upon as we passed through Berrylands and Surbiton. I'd spotted Hampton Court and Staines on the route and assumed we were doing a different way there than back. As we approached Surbiton Cricket Club it was announced that we'd arrived at stop 2.

We had taken a slight detour into suburban Surrey to view a recent addition to the bike family of a friend of some of the group. A lovely new Canyon Endurace with full Dura Ace. Very pretty and well worth the extra miles. It (and the rider) didn't join us due to missing  pedals and inclement weather... another time maybe.

Drop #2 in the carpark of the cricket club

Across Kingston Bridge and down the dual carriageway to Hampton court. Previous rides out this way I had gone along the Thames Path, but it was muddy and we had much more road bikey bikes with us on this trip. That said as we came around Staines we managed a small off road section before finding a lot of ponies and a window manufacturer in one particularly dead end.

Upon arriving at windsor we briefly considered the "All you can eat Thai Buffet" before settling on the roughest pub in  Windsor. The falafel burgers may have been in the freezer as nobody working there was even aware it was a menu item. By the time the food arrived we were all starving and it was very well received.

The journey back was much swifter and easier than the route there. Despite rain and high winds (headwind in both directions... Oh yes) we were quickly back at Southall and before long I knew where I was without recourse to my phone.

It was during the more straightforward sections that I came to the following conclusions

• Isambard Kingdom Brunel makes nice bridges
• Southall smells nicer than many suburbs
• There are a lot of dual carriageways in London
• Oxford street is full of blind aggresive idiots
• I wanted a very hot bath when we got back

I'm not saying David and my bikes are heavy but we were at the back quite a bit. This isn't unusual for me but it is for David.

When we got back to Stokey I stopped at "mother earth" because I needed bread and eggs and they needed (apparently) all of the money I had on my person. I'd just started running a bath when Kev rang to see if I wanted beer that evening.

I did

The hill that beat me (reprise#2)

3 years ago, whilst in the early stages of training for LEJOG, I wrote a blog post about cycling around Richmond park. I had trouble with one of the hills. I wrote about how I hoped to return and beat the hill once I had improved.

I wrote about achieving this in a post back in 2013, however today I noticed a new development

This morning I rose early to meet Jonny at Richmond Park. The plan was for me to cycle down and back, but we would do a couple of laps of the park and have a catch-up. The day that I had gone to the park for the first ride, Jonny didn't make it due to a crash. He was ok but I'm not sure we've ever ridden it together. 

The ride there took a little longer than I remembered but it is effectively the first hour of the Bike to Bestival route.

We set off in the same direction as the very first time. Very quickly we were on the beginning slope of the hill. A couple of minutes later we were at the top. I had had so much trouble with this short sharp hill only a few years earlier. But today it was over before it really began (to paraphrase Morrisey). 

It's odd how perception of effort changes over time. Today's problem or challenge can quite easily become a daily achievement with enough hard work.

I noticed a similar effect with the Dunwich Dynamo. The first year it seemed incredibly far. A gargantuan achievement. This year it rained and I cycled the whole thing with road rash down one leg... and yet it seemed so much more manageable. I wonder if that's how I'll feel about triathlons by this time next year?

Festival of cycling

I have been consumed for the last couple of weeks with the Tour de France. This year the bug bit particularly hard with a trip to Harewood House to watch the depart. It was Sophie's birthday and so we organised a trip up there with friends to celebrate. This all happened weeks ago but with the triathlon training, working and watching the tour I've not had much time to write this up.

The festival itself was a great experience (hampered slightly by everything closing at 17:00 or 18:00, the food not being veggie or healthy eating friendly, and no-one on  site knowing anything at all ever.) The grounds are lovely and the people were great too. Who knew a festival toilet could be useable after 48 hours on site?

Things we learned

1. Yorkshire isn't undulating. It is hilly. Period.
2. It is miles to the shops.
3. It's difficult carrying cake on a bike.
4. Sometimes you do actually have to leave a bird sanctuary because Tibetan  monks need to get in there and bless the birds.
5. Even Half-Maltese people can burn.

Time trial
On the Saturday evening David and I signed up to do the time trial. It would be our first attempt at a race of this kind. A short 12 mile, or 5 laps of the course, race against the clock seemed like something we could fit in nicely before tea-time.

Alarm bells should have started ringing when the Brownlee's lap time was 5mins and 32 secs giving them a time of nearly 30 mins for the course. The briefing described the course as "undulating". They should have gone off a second time when the team time triallists din't finish their first lap in much under 10 minutes.

The start was a slight uphill gradient that steepened slightly  as it came up level with the house. We passed the grandstand for the great and good (by that of course we mean rich) to watch the grand depart and turned left into a fairly sharp downhill section. I had sunglasses on  and didn't see the first speed-bump on  the the downhill. I'm new to TT racing but I'm fairly sure I'd know if it was a good thing to get "Good Air" over the "Jumps"

I panicked a little and slowed my descent. More corners and downhill under an old bridge. The dappled light meaning I couldn't see the road surface... which is just as well as there was a cattle grid at the bottom. A really sharp turn led to  a short, sharp climb with another cattle grid at the top. Then down over concrete slab roads to another sharp corner leading into a climb.

This climb was presumably what the organisers meant by undulating. Hitting it at a slow speed off the last corner I ran out of momentum about a third of the way up and started pedalling in a lower gear. This climb seemed to go on for ever (This is a TT course not a road circuit. I hit my lowest gear on 3 of the 5 laps, dry heaving on  laps 4 and 5)

The last mile was narrow and dappled and frankly covered in pot holes and covered cattle grids, before turning onto the smooth tarmac of  final straight back to the start.

On lap 2 there was a bike in the ditch at the bottom of the first speed-bump covered descent. By lap 3 there was a pile of bikes and an ambulance.

I finished in 55 minutes meaning I averaged 12.5 miles and hour. I averaged over 15 miles and hour on the Dunwich Dynamo doing 10 times the distance. Very slow.

Highlights for me were making the same guy jump out of his skin (with high volume dry heaving behind him) on the climbs (laps 4 and 5) and David completing the ride 10 minutes faster because he was convinced I was right behind him.)

10kmTrail run
Things I learned trail running.

1. Flat barefoot running shoes are no good for this type of running
2. Sometimes you can't tell where to go even when there is a sign
3. The man you think is lost may be just a mile or 2 ahead
4. It's OK to be lapped by a 19 year old who had completed the 10km run and the 10km bike lap by the time she passed me.
5. 10km takes the same amount of time to run whatever the surface if you are in a hurry
6. Don't drink Gin between a time trial and an early morning trail run.

That is all :)

Continuous improvement through reckless experimentaion

Triathlon preparation, like much in life, seems to be an endless series of experiments and purchases

Running
After injuring myself in 2012 and taking the first half of 2013 to recover I  was nervous about running. I first tried "barefoot" running in the Saucony Hattori shoes (I reviewed them here). Once that worked I realised I wasn't going very fast/it wasn't comfortable for longer than an hour/i had no grip at all* in the wet. I bought some merrell road shoes. Got used to them and then realised I preferred the Hattori. I have experimented with the following...

• Shoes
• Breathing
• Training patterns
• hydration equipment (bottles/bladders)

Cycling
I have made a few changes to the bike...just a few. None of which I have settled on. I even bought a brompton (which in this blog I'm going to call my "winter trainer"*). I am now panicking as the bike has transformed into a racier machine, just as I realised I'm doing the Dunwich Dynamo in 2 weeks and may need to convert it back a bit!!*

• Removed rack
• Removed second bottle cage
• Lowered handlebars
• Extended stem
• Added a small saddlebag and a bento box
• Tried 1980's bar extensions (FAIL)

In a box to do whenI get home tonight I have a 

• Change of  handlebars
• Modern ICU approved tri bars (we'll have to wait and see)

Swimming
I could not swim far or in open water. Given my  lack of ability, swimming  kit and experimenting has been kept to a minimum. I read"total immersion" and applied it.

• 2 different pairs of goggles
• Different pools
• Swimming in the sea
• 1 ill informed wetsuit purchase

Other equipment:

• Bryton cardio 60 triathlon watch - currently broken due to swimming in it...
• Zoot Tri Suit
• 2 running vests
• 2 pairs of running shorts
• 2 running t-shirts
• 1 running jacket
• 1 pair running tights
• I thermal running top

* The author is prone to gross exaggeration

Dignity?

There is a dignity in rising up to meet a challenge but there is very often little to no dignity in what we have to wear to achieve our goals.

A case in point would be the triathlon suit that arrived in the post this Saturday. All in one, stretchy Lycra in black. Cut using the basic assumption that we are all shaped like a pro. The zip extends only as far as the sternum so I am going to be a hot sweaty mess if I ever need to get in and out of it to use a lavatory.

This is just one of an increasingly long list of totally undignified things that we wear, smear on or accept as normal in the pursuit of sporting glory.This list includes but is not limited to...

• Chamois cream - mentholated or regular? Used to prevent friction burns and saddle sores this goop is smeared on your genitals and bum. The result feels like you pooped your pants with ice cream.
• Winter bib-tights - Brilliant protection for the elements but effectively a fleecy skin-tight baby-gro. Keeps the draft out but as it has no fastening you have to get all the layers off and then sit naked with it around your knees when using the loo.
• Cycling shorts - The fastest way to look like an oversized sausage with a camel-toe. At worst you look like wurst. At best you look like a member of 1980's band Erasure.
• Running shorts - See above only this time think Burt Reynolds does PE.
• Hi-Vis clothing - Are you going to the Camden Palais in 1995? a little bit rave a little bit council health and safety officer.Not dignified and impossible to look at whilst eating/concentrating on anything else.

Have I missed anything?

My new found shame

"You should be ashamed of yourself;Overtaking on a narrow road like this"

As I was riding up through Islington and into Hackney last night I found myself stopped at the junction behind three other bikes. As the lights changed we set off together over the junction. I noticed as we entered the road opposite that I was gaining on the bikes in front and so after signalling I pulled around them and off in a single manoeuvre.

As I did so, the car (at this point about 10 metres) behind honked. Revved it's engine and pulled alongside. Now blocking the lane for oncoming traffic the lady in the passenger seat wound down her window and tutted:

"You should be ashamed of yourself;Overtaking on a narrow road like this"

Why?

I checked behind me
Signalled the manoeuvre
Made the manoeuvre
remained on my side of the road

Why should I be ashamed?

I wasn't passing judgement on others. I was within  the law and the highway code. we were on a road with traffic calming measures, where the narrow width (2 lanes of traffic between parked cars) and frequent speed bumps make it difficult for cars to get above the 20mph limit.

Why should I be ashamed?

At that point I hadn't a thing to be ashamed of.

I considered my response.

"Fuck you" I muttered

Now I was a little tiny bit ashamed

Lee Valley Duathlon - Race Day!!

I woke up this morning in a flash and checked my alarm.

06:48.

Exactly 2 minutes before the alarm I'd set was due to go off. My running gear was stashed in the spare room along with tights and a jacket. I'd lowered the handlebars and taken the touring rack off of my Kona. The plan was to have a light breakfast and then take a leisurely ride up to the Lee Valley Athletics centre for a 09:00 start to the race.

Needless to say I panicked about everything from the route there to the fact I've never raced as an adult...

The nice lady on google maps talked me through the route there, although I did find myself correcting her out loud a couple of times. The only other people around at that time on the river are the sunday morning fishermen.

I parked up and locked my bike before going in. I soon discovered that everyone else had wheeled their bikes straight through. I was given a number to pin on my shirt and some safety pins. I wandered off to find the lockers and pin on my number, only to realise that it would have been easier if

a) I had taken the shirt off to pin on the number... and not my trousers
b) I had not been wearing my helmet which I should have left with my bike.

Outside and the race organiser ran us through the route. After about 30 seconds I realised that I couldn't remember this under any circumstances so as I was going to be some way off of the front I'd follow people and look out for bollards. There were only 15 runners this year as opposed to 50 last year. I don't think the rain, lack of a website or race pack, and no online info played any small part in this, but if this is your first time this is a nice and short race

On the dot of 09:00 we were off. The pack split quickly into the skinny people in tri-suits at the front and everyone else spread out according to ambition more than ability at this point. I say this as for the first half of the running section I was about 5th until passed by all but 4 runners on the back section.

I took my time getting on the bike and was passed by one of the remaining runners in transition. But the bike bit was fairly easy I was able to pass them quickly and get in front of another rider quite quickly. I slowed down a lot as we passed some fly tipping and a caravan I hadn't remembered being there earlier (although it could have been fresh) before pushing on and finding I was still on the right path.

Running after legs 1 and 2 provides an interesting distraction in that my legs had jellified a little and I wanted to be sick. I had drunk too much fluid on the bike section and was making an awful sloshing noise as I ran. 3 laps of the park and I didn't feel too bad as I crossed the line.

Afterwards we chatted sitting on the track waiting for the last couple of runners in. I was third from last. There was a quick presentation and we were done. The ladies winner looked about 18 and this was her 4th win. I still had a lap to go when she crossed the line. The men's winner had left East London by the time I finished.

It was 10:00 am on sunday morning. I rang Sophie and asked her to put the kettle on. It started to rain.

Cambridge to London

“I’m still not sure which wheels to put on tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry, but your bike has no wheels?”

“Not yet, but should I go with touring or racing wheels?”

“Which ever you like but you’ll be at the station at 08:58? It’s nearly midnight.”

And so started a conversation that I had cause to recall as a sound like a single pistol shot went off in the train carriage at 09:10 the following morning.

“I think that’s your tyre David? Should the other one be bulging out off of the rim like that?”

“Probably not. I’ll let it down.”

The morning had started with a leisurely ride to Finsbury park station to meet Vera. We carried our bikes to the platform before I popped back for coffees. I didn’t hold out much hope that 2 coffees coming to £2.80 would be up to much… and I was right.

2 minutes before the train was due to leave David’s head popped in to view. With three of us and our bikes blocking the back of the train and Tanya at the other end we progressed to Cambridge.

At Cambridge station we found a quiet corner and whilst David and I dismantled his bike, Tanya went for coffee. I realised at this point that my budget bib tights were in fact a giant leotard, and that I was going to have to get naked to use the toilet.

Highlights of the day included:

A lovely ride through the countryside
Drizzle (Not rain)
Lunch in a cricket pavillion
French onion  soup in a garden centre
Heated toilet in said garden centre
Lee valley river path in the dark
Fallen trees on said river path
IKEA at Enfield
A mixed use path from Enfield to Tottenham
A bath
Sausage and mash

the joy of a brompton... first week together

I have been ill and, as a result, not training properly for the last week and a half. This is massively frustrating, but I'm determined not to cock everything up by over-training again…

I did however pick up my shiny new Brompton so I have been doing a little light cycling.

It’s funny but I was going to write a first thoughts post about the new bike, but actually they are the same thoughts I had last time I had a folder.

When you first sit on a folding bike after riding a fairly stiff and speedy road bike, then it doesn't even feel like the same activity. I am more compact and upright than a road bike with much faster steering. The ride is harder at the front and softer at the back and the marathons (Swalbe Marathon tyres) slow things down.

However I am enjoying cycling for transport and fun.

I have got the gears set at +8% on a stock bike so there is still a physical challenge and who knows, maybe riding around in my everyday clothes on a tiny bike might just end up keeping my bike fitness up a bit over the winter.

Cycle clothing

Like most men, I love a bit of kit. The thing about kit is that it makes you feel special when you use piece of equipment that a lot of thought has gone into.

This week I've ordered a brompton, so naturally my thoughts have turned to suitable attire for riding her in. There are many schools of thought to what makes suitable riding gear, but I tend to fall into the "horses for courses" camp.

My road bike, whilst not a technological carbon and plastic marvel, is comfiest in technical cycling gear. While my heart cries out for merino technical kit at eye blistering prices, deep down I know that some sensible purchases of modern technical kit will see me right in most situations.

I normally ride for several hours with no luggage and no second day. The odour protection offered by merino isn't an issue. Even on a wet commute the priority is drying off on arrival.

So I have promised myself two things.

1. complete decent set of road riding kit (1 winter top and tights, 1 summer top and bibs with a technical jacket).

2. Some simple commuter gear.

Before I get this however I will have to lose some weight. I am not shelling out on cycle clothing to have it end up over-stretched and outsize like the gear I took on Lejog.

The commuter gear is less of a problem size wise... However I measured myself today as I was unsure as to a couple of measurements and did the whole lot whilst I was there.

I am a little bigger than I thought I was. Quite a bit. However I am the same jacket size I thought I was so that's maybe where to start. That and some riding trews, in a relaxed fit

A replacement for Emma?

Today I took the plunge and ordered myself a new Brompton. Nearly 4 years ago my “Desert Sand “ 3-speed folding bike was stolen. This bike reawakened my love of cycling by dint of making it so easy to integrate journeys of this type into everyday life. Whereas cycling before I arrived in London had involved the use of a city bike (A 1980’s Raleigh Superbe 3-speed) and my normal clothes plus or minus a layer to account for the elements; Cycling in London on modern bikes involves a change of clothes and a selection of specialist equipment.

The day I purchased “Emma” (as she became known) I had intended to get on the train from work and go up to London bridge. I intended to ride from there to Liverpool Street and then catch a train home from there. I got on the bike to ride and immediately decided to ride to the next station to get a feel for her first. As the station approached I decided to go on to go on to the next one. This continued until I found that I’d forgotten how to fold the thing and so I thought I’d head up the route I had used, once or twice, into town and try and find a deserted spot to practice. It never happened. Every deserted spot had a gang of kids or picnicking mums.  I rode nearly 15 miles on a new bike with an unbroken in brooks with no discomfort and for the first time experienced the slight sadness as one turns into the final road of the journey.

The thing about Bromptons is that they’re expensive. Or is it that you can choose from a variety of options, or just pick one up in the shop. I don’t know, but I have spent the last few months revisiting ideas of what exactly would make the ideal tiny wheeled bike.

I have considered all the other brands. Some are too flimsy. Some don’t fold enough, some fold too much. Some are plain weird. 4 years on and the Brompton seems the best all round choice.
So what did I get?

• S-Type
• Clear Lacquer
• 3 speed (+8% on normal gearing)
• Mudguards and pump (no rack)
• Brooks B-17
• Hard Suspension
• Integrated battery lights
• Easy wheels
• Front luggage block

Basically this*…





Now normally I’d have to wait 4-6 weeks for this to be ready, but I’m assured that they can adapt a stock model. I was a little nervous. Would it be a floor model with the parts swapped? No. The assistant opened a fresh box  with a Clear Lacquer S-Type with 6 gears and said he was going to convert this one with fresh parts held in stock. I’ve checked the website and they are carrying all the stock. I shall have to inspect it thoroughly but this is Compton’s after all. I choose to have my other  bike services here.

So next week I’ll have it.I hope the Honky Tonk isn’t going to be jealous. I imagine she’ll be relieved to be just going out for fun rides no that the weather has turned…

*This photo comes from the custom bike builder page on Brompton's own website

My first running race

I have decided to enter a road running race. As you can see from my use of non-technical lingo I am frankly and quite obviously not expert (although technically I am a "Masters Athlete")

In researching the types and levels of training I would need to be able to complete a triathlon,  I came across a handy formula. Time training = proportion of race that discipline takes up...

e.g.

20 mins swim = 22%
40 mins cycle = 44%
30 mins run = 34%

Now this is all well and good, and when I get into training proper I shall stick to this, the thing is my weak (WEAK!) points are the run and the swim.

So the plan is this. I will train just the running and the swimming until I can cover the distances comfortably (I'm giving myself until Christmas). Then in the New Year I can start a structured training programme to build up for an actual event.

With this in  mind I am going to enter the Regents Park 10km race or the Richmond park 10km in December (Maybe both). If I can build up in two months to running a 10km race then I will be well on my way to being fit enough to run a tired 5km.

All the advice I've read so far point to attempting to good enough on the bike, to come off of the bike section relaxed and with plenty of leg energy. This means I can't let my on the bike fitness drop off over the winter to the level I did last year. I'm thinking one or two round trips to work for now, and then add in spin class after Christmas.

Distance and relativity

I've just totted up the distances I've logged on the MWA app since I changed my tyres at the end of april. From the 28th of April to the 4th July I logged 701.8km.

It's all relative...

When I started riding in preperation for the LEJOG ride a couple of years back I would have been astounded at the volume of kms stated above... In fact I was as that was the sort of distances I had scheduled in for training. In reality 300km of the above is training rides. The rest is transportation.

When I got the brompton I was doing about 16 km a day as my round trip commute and found it exhausting at first and exhilerating after that.

By the time I started on the Kona the commute was 32-34km each day as a round trip but I didn't do it every day.

I saw both these as training rides. Now it's just transport.

In the end I thought of the ride to Brighton more as a fun day out than a training exercise. I don't know about you but I think that's a good thing.

The perfect bike

Everyone is looking for it and nobody finds it. The problem is that all bikes are designed to do a few things well. Wnat to cover 60 miles in three hours? Carbon road bike. Want to be able to walk when you get there? Steel Audax bike (But it'll take you 5 hours). Want to ride trails? A mountain bike. Want to commute as well? Cyclocross bike (But it has no suspension so you can't "Downhill")

With this in mind...

I bought my current bike in the run up to the supported LEJOG ride a couple of years back and for this it was spot on. A lightweight steel road bike with 28mm puncture proof tyres with braze ons for rack and mudguards.

I tried touring on it the following year and found it a little flexi at the back with panniers and a fair old amount of heel strike. This year I fitted smaller tyres and mudguards as I expect to do the Dun Run and I have masses of toe-overlap

For my current needs (in my head) I need this bike here. Although what would be useful on a daily basis is probably my old brompton.

Which brings me to Rule 12. The correct number of bikes to own is N+1 where N is the number of bikes currently owned.

Planning for the weekend

This Sunday, Warren, Dan and i are heading down to RichmondPark at the crack of dawn to do a few laps. This will be a nice practice for our Dun Run in a couple of months as Warren has a baby on the way and Dan has twins already , we don’t get out much together on the bikes.

There has and always will be a wildly differing nutritional strategy for the three of us. Dan and Warren both eat meat and I do not. They are also both lean athletic looking  types whereas I am not.

The ride down from my house to Richmond Park and back is 31km. This is about as far as my daily commute (or 3km short for pedants). Richmond park is roughly 10Km round the outside road, So I could easily do >60Km.

To get to the park for 08:30 I will need to leave at around 07:30 which makes it too early for a large breakfast. So my plan is:

·         07:00am Cereal and Banana

·         08:30 arrive at park and eat flapjack

·         Laps

·         Flapjack

·         Laps

·         Recovery drink

·         Cycle home at even pace

4 hours cycling @ average 500 Kcals and hour = 2000Kcals

Breakfast, 2 flapjacks and recovery drink = 1100 Kcals so I’ll probably be ready for lunch

Warren’s plan was to have a bit of breakfast and pootle over to the park. Laps then a Bacon Sarny being home in time for Sunday Lunch.

 This is why Warren is slim and I am not. Anyway I’ll write it up afterwards.