Author Archives: Jay Trotman

Ice ice baby

Finally, a ride! I got to dust off the wall sculpture and use it for the purpose for which it was designed. And I did have to quite literally dust it off – the on-going building work has a left a film of dust all over everything…

It has to be said that I kind of went out against my better judgement. And if it had been just me going I’d probably have wimped out and headed for the warm gym again. However, after many texts and the ACG Christmas do last night, it transpired that I would have been letting 4 other people down, and that goes against the grain… So I ignored the fact the the temperature reading at Brent Knoll was negative. I overlooked the fact that the water on the road outside was a long way from liquid. I let GB tell me how much warmer it would be when the sun came out, put on as many layers as possible, and went up to the Square for 10:30am.

It wasn’t an official ACG ride, but it might was well have been. There were 4 of us who headed out gingerly to Cheddar to meet my new pet cyclist. OK, he’s not really a pet. But he’s so young that I’m having to play responsible adult for him so that he can do the Wheel Heroes 100 later this year. Yes, I know, funny as! *grin*. Bless. I’m SO easily old enough to be his mother. And having seen the speed he goes at, I think he’s going to wish he’d picked someone less mumsy as a riding partner. Ah well…I’ve offered him an out and I promise not to be offended if he takes it 😉

We had to wait in the sunshine for him, while GB cycled up and down to keep warm (and get closer to his annual mileage target!) before we all headed off to Glastonbury the usual way. I’d been worried about how icy the roads would be but actually they were ok. However the risk of ice combined with thick freezing fog made for interesting riding conditions…. I had to stop wearing my sunglasses as they were misting up, and mist plus fog seemed unnecessary. It was an interesting dichotomy (a word I particularly like). I could feel sweat running down my back…as ice formed on my eyelashes. No word of a lie – it really did. When we arrived at the cafe, there was ice on the bikes, our clothes… Very weird but oddly amusing.

A large cup of good coffee was as welcome as ever, along with the by now almost obligatory carrot cake. GB sat by the window twitching every time anyone approached the bikes, as the locals that usually congregate around the monument were having to walk around to keep warm, which looked suspiciously like loitering with intent…*grin*.

Back on the (still there) bikes and off down the main road to Wells. It was definitely more about riding than the ride. Single file, head down, breathe in as the traffic scrapes past… GB, DM, and little AK (well, he does have initials) were off in a cloud of competitive testosterone leaving me and IH bringing up the rear. Even with that, AK was off like a greyhound out of the gate the minute he was able to leave us and head for home. Man he’s fast! And built like a whippet too. Which probably explains why he was even colder than we were – no reserves and not going fast enough for him. Although GB and DM did a very good job of looking like that kind of speed was totally normal. I on the other hand looked like a middle-aged mum…

I did my best from Wells to Wedmore, and beyond, and I thought I was going pretty fast really. Especially as my knee was twingeing and I had a stitch again. However on the main straight “no sprinting today” bit, the three MAMILs went past me like they’d pushed the turbo button. I had a quick look around but couldn’t find mine…and was left to follow them home at a respectful distance. I’m trying not to be disheartened by this and am taking comfort in the fact that I’m going to get better next year. I am. So there 😛

Cycling time: 2:07:43
Distance: 34.83 miles
Avs: 16.4 mph
ODO: 6579 mile

Actually, considering the conditions, and the average speed, I was actually doing pretty well. For me. Outclassed as ever *grin*.

In the meantime I think it’s time I went to see the sports physio again. I’ve been religiously doing the exercises, and haven’t been on the bike for ages, but 90 minutes in, the knee was off again. Not good. And the plan was to have it sorted by Christmas…

Shape of my heart

"What is this bike of which you speak?" Asked a Facebook friend in jest.

"I don’t have a bike", quoth I, "I have a wall-mounted sculpture, an installation".

Well it’s very pretty to look at, but of absolutely no use to me at present. Just like most installations. Except that quite a lot of them aren’t pretty either. Or ever of any use. Although there’s that whole "beauty in the eye of the beholder" thing going on. Hey, all art is subjective, right?

I wonder if hibernation is an option? I could eat lots and lots, go to sleep, and wake up in the Spring refreshed, slim, and raring to go. Sounds good to me…it’s practically a training plan! *grin*.

Feel so different

The temperature has dropped. Mornings are icy. The weather forecasters are gleefully overusing phrases such as “cold snap”, “big chill”, and so on. Apparently winter has arrived. No doubt the country will now grind to a halt…

Which doesn’t mean I can’t go cycling, right? It does mean I was a tad nervous at the prospect though. However since the snow had managed not to reach here, and the sun was shining, Mim and I decided to give it a go. Our one concession to the “deep freeze” was to go out a bit later than usual and give what ice there may be a chance to melt. I say one concession, but then there was probably another one – that of wearing every layer I possess! That included all the usual, with the first outing for the winter gloves, and the exchange of the normal neck buff for a combi buff – much snugglier. And I didn’t regret my clothing call at all. Not once. In fact I don’t think I ever even rolled the buff off my chin…

We didn’t really plan a route, and ended up making it up as we went along. Out past the Webbington first – Mim’s version of spinning up the hill leaving me behind as was to be the case for the rest of the inclines faced on the way. Not that I minded, because I made a point of not minding, of listening to how I was doing, how my knee was feeling, and to doing it my way. Positive mental attitude remember?

Enjoying the sunshine, and not feeling too cold, we headed out to Banwell along the hilly side of the valley. The steep hill at the castle was (*engage sarcasm mode*) as much fun as ever (*end*), with no peacocks present to show off too or be shown off to by. Shame. Down Dark Lane on the other side to head out towards Sandford. We took the back way to Churchill and out the other side, and looped ’round behind Langford through the interestingly named “Iwood” to get to Wrington. We opted not to continue up past the Walled Garden but rather to head back towards Churchill, which we duly did. I should probably give a passing mention to Pudding Pie Lane which we took along the way – another fine road name. If I had time I’m sure I’d like to know more about the history of such things but…nah…too busy riding *grin*.

I like the main road stretch from Churchill down towards Sandford and today was no exception – it’s essentially downhill, which would probably explain it 😉 From there it was up Sandford Hill towards Winscombe but taking the long way up Shipham Lane to Shipham Hill before we got there – destination no surprise there then. The road wasn’t as mucky as it can be, probably as it’s been fairly dry of late, so as long as you stuck to one side or the other and didn’t have to dodge cars it was ok. Mind you, I’d forgotten how long it goes on for before you reach the main road! The last stretch from the main road up into Shipham was quite nice. I just plodded along happily and oddly quite enjoyed it. I also enjoyed knowing that there were only two more ups to go! And then one looonnnnnnggggg down 🙂

Having Mim ahead proved quite useful for this as, if the distance between us shrank, then she was braking and if she’s braking, I definitely should be! And if she’s not, then maybe I could be trying not to too… I did a lot of the usual internal monologue, tried not to brake too much, to lean in the right places and….definitely did it better than usual. And I had more fun too! *grin*. The last blast home was fun too, as there was a bus behind me and I fancied beating it to the Square. Not a problem 🙂

Cycling time: 1:51:26
Distance: 25.43 miles
Avs: 13.6 mph
ODO: 6544 miles

Look who put new batteries in her cycle computer? Yes, I’m technically gifted 😉 Bearing in mind how cold it was, and how much up we did, I’m pretty happy with that. I’m also happy with how those hills went and how my knee felt. Plus my max speed was 37.5 which ain’t bad for a scaredy cat 🙂

Now to get my kit clean and dry in time to go out with the ACG on Saturday…

“What goes up, must come down..

…superfresco makes it easy, it’s by Graham and Brown”. Which is what you get in your head when you’ve spent a Saturday afternoon looking at wallpaper… Which is to go on one “feature wall” in the new bathroom, which, as it’s currently being installed, means no bath/shower facilities chez nous. Since we were going over to my folk’s place anyway, and I was planning on availing myself of their facilities, it seemed to make sense to make sure that I both really needed them and would really appreciate them. Yes – you guessed it – this would be an excuse to have to cycle there. How transparent am I? 😉

So I did. I’d give you the stats, but my cycling computer has flooped again – no doubt due to the cheap batteries I’ve been using. Irritating nonetheless. Especially as it felt like a good ride. What I can tell you is that my route was very similar to this one, but with the addition of doing Bleadon Hill the proper way. Which for some reason I felt like and which for some reason also went quite well by my standards. I’m working a lot on positive mental attitude – in the hope that believing that I can get better, do better, will help me actually do so. Visualising myself at the top of the hill happy to have made it, that kind of thing. Well, it’s worth a go, right? And with all the hilly events I’ve got next year I just can’t avoid doing them any more.

I’m happy with how it went. Cruising speed seemed quite high. The headwind was annoying but not insurmountable. I got it right on more corners and downhills than sometimes. Nobody tried to run me off the road – though I think they’d like to have done in Yatton. Not my fault I can get through there faster than they can! 😉 Oh, and there was the one eejot on the coast road but hey, there’s always one… And after 2 1/2 hrs ish out there, a long warm shower was a very lovely thing. Job done 🙂

ODO c. 6519

Lies Lies Lies

OK, as it turns out, I actually did manage to get a ride in on Friday. One of those rides of two halves really. The first half was all sun, Levels, and loveliness.

Then I met one of those “I’m behind you, and desperately want to be in front of you, and the road is really narrow, and rather than me fall in a rhyne, why don’t you just go into the gravel?” drivers. Shortly followed by the realisation that I was now riding on the rear rims. *ggggrrrrr*. Ok, that’s not what I said but… well… you can probably think of a suitable expletive for yourselves.

I did a stonking job of changing the rear tube, even given some difficulty getting the tube not to pinch ‘tween rim and tyre. Got it all back on, (rather faster than 3 MAMILs I could mention), pumped it up, and headed off. However I just couldn’t get it up to enough pressure. I was half sure I had done the whole thing wrong and had a slow puncture, and did indeed stop a few times to try and get more air into it on the way back, as the bouncy ride wasn’t immensely comfortable. It didn’t seem to be doing the trick, so, plans to attack Winscombe Hill on the way home went the way of the dodo…

I headed straight back up the A38 from Rooksbridge instead. Which wasn’t an incredibly enjoyable experience. Having said that I particularly enjoyed the quarry lorry that over took me and pulled in whilst doing do…with the gap between the kerb, me, and several tons of grubby heavy lorry narrowing inexorably…. I think I used an expletive again. In fact I know I did *grin*. Ah well. Home in one piece. And when hubby track pumped the tyre up to pressure it stayed that way, so I guess it was just me…

Cycling time: 1:46:58
Distance: 27.23 miles
Avs: 15.2 mph
ODO: 6487 miles

Even with all that – it was still better to have been out than in 🙂

Always look on the bright side…

For the third time this week the weather is gorgeous and fab for cycling.
For the third time this week my plans have been thwarted. So.
For the third time this week I’m not riding when I meant to be. And.
For the third time this week I am not a happy bunny. *grrrrrr*. 🙁

Hopefully I’ll get out over the weekend, but based on this week so far, I’ll not be counting any chickens! Still, if you’re looking for silver linings, maybe the “rest” is good for my knee/back?

There must be an angel

I was supposed to ride yesterday with George and Mim. George bailed. So did Mim. Faced with wind, rain, and my cold, I figured the gym was a better idea. Not only would it keep me dry and warm, it meant that I didn’t need to get my kit washed and dried in time for today’s ride! It also meant time was a little less tight, as I was due over at Andrew’s to get my new headset fitted. Now that didn’t go according to plan – as it turned out to be the wrong size. Quite a long round trip just to get a new pump clip (he had one spare) and to get my cleats tweaked again. Ah well, it’s not like I’d had anything else planned…

Which brings us to this morning, when the ACG were due out. Due to the usual failure of people to RSVP, and a few who couldn’t make it, I was only definitely expecting DM. As it turns out there were double that number. 2+2 = 4 again. I’m starting to spot a trend… Returning newbie Chris arrived unexpectedly, braving the elements in shorts again, and a new lady called Caroline also joined us, ominously equipped with tri-bars… As it turns out, she’s been off the bike for (all of) six weeks so didn’t leave us for dust 😉 In the absence of better ideas, and having not been to Sweets for a while, we did a loop via Winscombe, Christon, Loxton, Rooksbridge and Mark to get there. Caroline, having come over from Bleadon, peeled off half way round having other places to be, leaving the three Musketeers to carry on. The originally glorious weather clouded over leaving a blanket of grey cloud over the Levels which was a shame. We did have fun seeing how many herons we could scare off though 🙂 And the seven cygnets were still a-swimming…

Sweets was blissfully not full, and did a great espresso. Have you seen the size of the full breakfasts there? I don’t think I could get back on the bike after one, but they do look nice! We sat and warmed up, and then cooled down…and had to get going again. We opted for the direct route home, which seemed to involve drafting a tractor up Mudgeley Hill. DM stuck it out at least halfway up, with the rest of us having given up the chase quite some time before! However, and this is going to sound odd and Chris won’t agree with me, it almost didn’t go on long enough. After the steeper bottom bit I was just getting settled into a rhythm – the effort level had dropped, the breathing rate had slowed and…it ran out! I’m going to need to find some longer hills for training next year for sure. Although it was quite encouraging to find it easier than usual 🙂

We took it easy the rest of the way home in an attempt to stay together and not leave Chris behind. He’d not been out since the last time he joined us so he was suffering a bit, and as GB keeps telling me, what does the G in ACG stand for? Yes – Group – that would be it.

Cycling time: 1:55:47
Distance: 29.15 miles
Avs: 14.9 mph
ODO: 6460 miles

It was a pretty leisurely ride. It’s sometimes nice to take it a bit easy – I must remember that 🙂 My knee twinged initially but then settled, so I think the cleat position was definitely an improvement. Let’s hope it doesn’t move again… My bike was feeling lovely and we got on pretty well together, so as a reward I even cleaned it properly when I got back – chain and all. Aren’t I virtuous? 😉

After the rain has fallen

I usually reckon on 2 colds a year, and I’ve had them. However I seem to be working on my 3rd. My friend reckons that maybe I actually have 2.2 colds a year and this is my leap year. Which I think was supposed to be helpful. I kept it at bay with echinacea for a couple of days but I now appear to be losing the battle, as the sore throat crept back last night and was there with a vengeance when I woke up this morning.

So, there I lay, drinking green tea, looking out of the window, at glorious sunshine and clear skies. Pondering the wisdom of riding whilst not well. Trying to figure out how not well I actually felt. My hubby, half way to Basingstoke, texted me in helpful fashion to tell me that it was cold but lovely and that it would be a shame to waste it. After all, it was hideous yesterday and is due to be hideous tomorrow. On that basis, I decided that yes, the bike was a goer, but to leave it a little while to allow the temperature to warm up a little, and for any ice there might be to melt away. I also played the “well, if I feel crap, I can always come home early” card. Seriously though, when was the last time I actually did that? Still, mentally, it helped to get me out of the building, so I’m not knocking it.

I headed out around 10:30am, wrapped in every layer I have. First outing for the proper heavy jacket and the Woolie Boolie socks this winter. Oh, and the over the head under the helmet Buff to go with the round the neck one too. Toasty ears 🙂 I got away with wearing mitts still though, on the basis that if the rest of me is warm enough, it spreads out to my hands. I reckon that may the last time that works though! And I did have my winter gloves stuffed in the saddle bag just in case.

I did a wiggly route in the sunshine. It wasn’t entirely flat either, as you can see. I was trying to vary things a bit, but not push me or my knee too hard, and to enjoy the lovely weather and scenery. The light at this time of year is just lovely – all the colours are so vibrant – and there’s lots of wildlife. I admired the usual suspects including, near Rooksbridge, a pair of swans with brood of seven cygnets swimming. Yes, the Christmas countdown has started…

At the moment when riding I often feel a bit like Frances Houseman just before the big show at the Sheldrake. There’s a mental dialogue on every hill and every corner. “Get your balance right. Relax your arms. Breathe. Push down on the outer leg, and on the inside hand. Don’t panic. Don’t brake…not yet…not yet…” (and repeat). And it all went pretty well – I was happier with my cornering, and such descents as there were. I think I’m making progress. I even did a bit of “look ma, no hands” on the Mark to Burtle stretch, and found it lot easier than before. Ok, so I won’t be changing clothes or blowing my nose whilst riding along any time soon, but it’s nice to know I can kinda do it.

After 90 minutes or so the painkillers started to wear off. My sore throat began to impinge upon my joie de vivre, and then the knee started twingeing too. Riding was no longer entirely fun. Time to go home, said Zebedee.

Cycling time: 2:10:48
Distance: 32.65 miles
Avs: 14.9 mph
ODO: 6431 miles

I’m a bit disappointed with the average speed, but I guess there are plenty of reasons for it. Like the number of layers around my knees. The cold. My cold. Not to mention the NNW wind that seems to have taken up residence here – that certainly wasn’t helping. It was still a darn sight better to be on the bike than not though 🙂

Free falling

I have my baby back! OK, it’s not had all the work done yet, but a girl can only wait for parts for so long, so when the headset finally comes in, I’ll go back and Andrew will fit it. In the meantime it has new wheel bearings, and very sexy new brakes. I know, you’re thinking, sexy, brakes… oxymoron right? Well, who knew? Because they are 🙂 They’re smaller and (like it makes a difference) much lighter than the old ones. Oh, and they’re a nice shade of stealthy grey metal too. Very lovely. But looks aren’t everything, right? Do they work? Well, let’s see…

Today, being the first day in two weeks that opportunity coincided with actually having a bike, I was due to go out with GB for a flat easy ride to looney town for coffee and a chat. Both of us agree that, had we not been meeting each other, the rain discovered on opening the curtains this morning would have kept us both in our respective beds… It’s just as well it didn’t, as once that had passed, the weather was gorgeous. Cold – given the NNE wind – but clear and sunny, with autumn colours all around. And, layered up properly, cold isn’t a problem either 🙂

I headed up the road all excited to be trying out my “new” bike. Instantly it was weird as, when free-wheeling, my bike no longer makes the loud distinctive noise that it used to make. Very strange. How am I going to announce my imminent arrival to pedestrians now? It’ll be better for wildlife spotting though, as my inadvertent slowing to watch things always used to make the noise which made the thing I was watching run away. Or fly. Depending on what variety of thing it was. It was also a problem when cycling behind SH. He’d hear me free-wheel, and accelerate! So, no noise is good noise *grin*.

I arrived in the Square a little early, and GB arrived on time. Shortly followed by DM who, as it turns out, was meeting IH for a ride. Great minds and all that. Now, A-level maths was not my strong point, but even I can manage 2+2=4. That would be an even more impromptu than usual ACG ride 🙂

We went the flat easy way over to lay-line central, where the first of the natives encountered was wearing pink fairy wings. As a place, it never lets me down *grin*. To be fair, we were obviously a bit early for the denizens of Glastonbury as the nutter quotient was way down. We sat and drank coffee, and ate cake (aka fuel) in the sun outside, which was very pleasant. Too chilly to hang around for long though, even having taken the precaution of taking my jacket off so as to be able to feel the benefit of putting it back on again. Yes – we really do do things like that. Sad isn’t it? 😉

It didn’t get much warmer on the way home as the headwind had a nasty chill to it. GB desperately scrabbled for routes to get us home that avoided it but, being south of home, and the wind coming from the north, well…options were limited. We stuck to cycle tacking across it instead, across the beautiful Levels south of Mark. We made a brief stop when the under-fueled IH was persuaded by a nagging female (yes, that would be me) that a bar might be a good idea, as he’d bonked completely. I always go equipped you see. 2 tubes, 1 bar, 1 gel! That break was shortly followed by a much longer one near Blackford which involved me watching three MAMILs fixing a puncture, whilst laughing a lot. What I wouldn’t have given for a camera *grin*. I would have helped, but I might have broken a fingernail or something 😉 Only a man could be minorly pleased about a puncture, seeing it as an opportunity to try out a new toy (a CO2 pump in case you were wondering). You know who you are! *grin*.

From there we headed for home, with the usual stupidity down the usual road. I was, as ever, outclassed. Even on a bad day GB is better than I am. Minorly galling when you come to think about it. And he was having a bad day. It’s a new form of echo location. He coughs, and I know exactly where he is. Doesn’t seem to affect his sprinting ability though…

But I haven’t answered the main question yet. Do the new brakes work? Oh yes. Oh yes indeedy. They kick a*se! I didn’t get that much opportunity to check them out, but coming down Rug Hill I got to test them a bit, and they work. Like work instantly and well and when you want them to. So well that when we stopped in the Square at the end of the race for home, they almost stopped me faster than I could unclip, which made for an interesting wobble. Dignity was preserved though. Combine the new lovely stopping ability with the tips Andrew gave me for cornering (push down on the outside down foot) and I think I acquited myself a bit better round corners and down hills than I usually do. Not that anyone will have noticed but that’s not the point *grin*.

If I can rely on my bike to stop when I want it to, then I’ll be able to panic less about my ability to stop when faced with a corner at the bottom of the hill. I’ll be more confident and thus do it better. Well, that’s the theory. And even in practice it got off to a good start. Yes – my new brakes are sexy 🙂

Cycling time: 2:34
Distance: 40.7 miles
Avs: 15.8 mph
ODO: 6398 miles

It’s fabulous to have my bike back again. It’s in very good form, and I’m hoping that I will be too, in time to do it justice for all next year’s events 🙂

A cunning plan

This weekend I will mostly be booking myself into all the sportives I plan on doing next year… So far this includes:

Mad March Hare
Pro VO2 Longest Day Sportive
Cotswold Spring Classic
Wheel Heroes Ride
Dartmoor Classic Sportive
Verenti Dragon Ride

The only event I can’t yet enter is the Dragon Ride, which doesn’t open for a while yet, but all the others are sorted. I know, I know, I’d like not to be this organised, but I can’t help it! *grin*.

I’ve chosen more challenging ones as I plan on getting better at hills next year. My aim is to get the knee sorted by the end of this year, and then to get on with proper training in 2011.

Of course right now I don’t have a bike – it’s still with Andrew who had to order bits for it – so training would be a tad difficult anyway! *grin*