Author Archives: Jay Trotman

‘Cause that’s my funday

Team GB set out again today – this time with bigger fish to fry.  The Mad March Hare is in 2 weeks and this season I have yet to do any serious milage, so I really needed to get a 50 mile ride under my belt.  GB put together a route, which meant that all I had to do was go along for the ride…

We set off at 12:00 sharp.  We did a long loop which wasn’t entirely flat, and was quite similar to Friday’s route.  Considering that my gears started playing up somewhere around Shapwick, going uphill became even more troublesome than usual.  So much so that, since I couldn’t get into bottom gear at the time, I had to stop briefly going up Brent Knoll, and going up to Banwell Castle wasn’t much fun either.  Lack of gears and my legs are out of practice.  Annoying because I know I can do those hills better…honest!  Looks like I’d better get my bike serviced in the next week or so.  Ah well, I haven’t thrown money at it for at least a couple of weeks…*grin*

Cycling time: 3:14:31
Distance: 50.62 miles
Avs: 15.5 mph
ODO: 3286 miles

We were lucky again – in that the weather was good, and the wind was lighter than on Friday.  Mind you, it was variable enough to be in our faces more often than seemed fair.  The roads were wet and occasionally slippery which made downhills ever less enjoyable for me.  I should take lessons from GB who shoots down them in quite enviable style.

On a positive note, my knee was fine.  My shoulder twinged a bit and is a bit sore now, but that I can deal with.  I also feel less tired than I did after the shorter and bizarrely slightly slower route on Friday, but I can definitely feel the burn in my legs.  I was very good, not only did I wash the bike as soon as I got home, I even stretched my legs afterwards too – and I never do that!  🙂

So there you go, 50 miles as planned.  I pretty much enjoyed it, and I feel a bit more positive about doing 74 in two weeks time now 🙂

(Charlie’s take on the ride can be found here.)

Against the wind

Friday afternoon:  childcare sorted, sun shining, and no excuses.  Time to ride then.  GB has been advised that, post track-standing induced injury, he should rest up for a couple of weeks.  Advice that, in the best of traditions, he is ignoring completely…  I notice he’s unclipping from the pedals more now tho’… 😉

So – 2 pm in the Square, and we set off into the almost warm sunshine.  A positive start.  However Axbridge was suffering from the usual meteorological anomalies, as the apparent complete absence of cold headwind proved to be a glitch in the space time continuum…normal service was resumed on the way out to Wedmore.  We didn’t really have a route planned, other than to try and not do exactly the same route as usual.  We headed out across the levels, and once at Glastonbury I had an idea, so I took GB on a mystery route to Ashcott.  It’s very weird doing a route you always do one way in reverse, and there was a certain amount of hoping that I was getting it right…but I was, as we came out exactly where I expected to.  Always good 🙂  It was a nice way to get up there actually, so I think I’ll be doing that again.

From there it was down through Shapwick, enjoying the stunning views over to the Mendips, and around Burtle.  Most of this was hard slogging into the wind stuff.  I was relieved to hear that I wasn’t the only one feeling it and looking forward to putting it behind me – literally!  Which happened as we took the shorter cut across to Blackford.  Sun on the back, wind on the tail.  Nice 🙂  We wended our way from there to Cocklake and down the main road to Cheddar where we showed remarkable restraint and didn’t race…

We did try and see what happens when the person in front slows down after turning right and the person behind doesn’t…  Apparently you get a very unusual tyre against tyre noise, some interesting yelling, and distinctly increased adrenalin levels…*grin*.  No harm, no foul, as we were both still on our bikes afterwards, which is the kind of  non-racing incident I can cope with.  From there it was a hop, skip and a jump to home…

Cycling time: 2:29:10
Distance: 38.13 miles
Avs: 15.3 mph
ODO: 3236 miles

About half an hour before home my knee went, swiftly followed by my shoulder and then – a new and exciting pain – my left lower back!  Ooh, the novelty.  I think I may need to get someone to get a look at how my new saddle is set up…  As ever, I was colder than I felt at the time, which took a while to wear off once home.  I feel like I cycled a lot further than I did – and am blaming the headwind, the consistent speed and the inconvenient stomach cramps.  (I’m a girl – ’nuff said).    The wondrous pink pills have helped with most of the aforementioned.  A couple of glasses of red wine and a good night’s sleep should fix the rest 🙂

Going to try for 50 miles on Sunday…

Galvanize

The ACG turned out in force yesterday morning.  We had five who either rarely come out, or were “newbies”, swelling our numbers to a new record.  13!   We ended up with not two but three groups – a fast, a medium, and a slow group.

Since no-one else had come up with a route, I’m afraid the fast group got to do my usual training loop – since I don’t have to think about that.  Which is just as well since I had to concentrate on keeping up.  I think I’ve created a monster!  The fast group may be speeding away from me…  To be fair, there was a certain degree of testosterone induced competition going on – you know who you are – plus MN who was new to us turned out to be pretty fast so I think we were trying to prove we were too!

Each group made their own varying way to Sweets Peat museum café where, somewhat unusually, we all arrived at pretty much the same time, and took over the place, much to the annoyance of some more normally dressed people who ended up having to sit outside.  Our group had averaged 16.2mph to get there, which just goes to show how daft we were being.

After a nice sociable break we split up and headed for home again.  We slowed down a little, mostly a tractor induced restraint as we took the Nyland loop, which we did ostensibly to add miles but more likely to prevent the usual foolish racing down the Wedmore road.  Just as well – ain’t no way I’d have won that one!  GB was saving himself for additional hills though oddly failed to turn right up the Gorge as planned, and was last seen heading up Shipham Hill as we cruised down the main road and back into town.

Cycling time: 2:06:30
Distance: 33.34 miles
Avs: 15.8 mph
ODO: 3198 miles

It was a good ride – and it’s amazing how much difference a couple of degrees increase in the temperature makes.  I didn’t regret any of my layers, but I did maintain contact with my feet for the entire ride!  It makes pedalling far more enjoyable, not to mention less painful.  By the time we left Wedmore we were even joined by an odd yellow disc in the sky.  I’m not sure what it was, but I quite liked it 😉

I’m really pleased so many people turn out and enjoy cycling with the group – because that’s how I wanted it to work out.  There are around 30 people on the mailing list now – and you can email me here if you want to join us – which means there’s now a great mix of people and abilities.  I love it when a plan comes together *grin*.

PS: there was once a nasty hole just as you indicate left to turn into Axbridge.  It was reported to Highways who considered it not of sufficient severity to fix – since they’d clearly never tried to cycle over it one handed (indictating remember?).  I used the CTC fillthathole website to report it and, lo and behold, it has now been fixed.  So if there’s a pothole bugging you – I recommend you do the same! 🙂

Cold

Well it was sunny.  That’s about all I say for today’s ride.  Other than that it was cold, windy, and thoroughly miserable.  Even my computer flooped out for a bit, and I reckon I lost 4 miles or so (having checked our route on bikeroutetoaster.  Still, figures are figures, and here they are.

Cycling time: 2:27:45
Distance: 34.75 miles
Avs: 14.0 mph
ODO: 3164 miles

The first hour or so, out via Bleadon to WSM and out again, were ok.  GW and I nattered, and the time passed.  The sun shone, the tide was out, and the North Wind blew…  However, though I was wearing every layer I possess, at some point I lost my feet.  Probably around Ebdon somewhere, which is roughly where I started to get lost by GW too.  And you know how much I enjoy that.  After a while all I could feel was the pain in my feet – odd how something absent can hurt so much – which was totally distracting me from the actual act of pedalling. On the A370 main road from there to Yatton – a down on the drops, head down, boring stretch – I swear I almost felt like falling asleep!  Very weird…

I would have bailed earlier, but that required talking to GW which would have meant either an herculean effort to catch her (never going to happen) or some serendipity with junctions/traffic lights…  Finally, in Yatton, as she was unsure of our route and was waiting for me, I caught her.  After a detour getting lost around Claverham which was at least more sheltered, I decided that there was no way I could face detouring around the roadworks to get to Portishead, warming up, and then having to get cold all over again to come home.  I know I need to get the miles in, but I can’t imagine there would have been much benefit in doing them today!

We turned ’round and headed towards Wrington, and GW decided to do a u-turn and head out to explore Clevedon.  Sadly I had no idea where I was and had to guess my way back which, luckily, worked out ok.  I’ve done enough of those roads, and they all join up sooner or later…  I think the best bit of the entire ride was the hurtle down the A368 from Churchill to Sandford.  That I nearly enjoyed…

Other than that…it was cold.  Cold.  Cold.  Cold.  It took 20 minutes in a hot bath before all my toes were back, and I’m still feeling spacey 🙁

Objects in the rear view mirror…

Last week I arranged to cycle with GB yesterday and when, in the planning stage, he suggested we do some hills, I agreed.  Well, they may not be my favourite things, but I need the practice and can’t avoid them forever.  Plus forewarned is forearmed.  Or forelegged?

DM and JA from the ACG joined us, and we all set off on a distinctly chilly Sunday morning.  No wind, but plenty of cold.  First off – Cheddar Gorge.  Nicely quiet out of season, not a goat to be seen, just lots of slow plodding to the top.  We lost JA somewhere here, leaving three of us to carry on.  (Which isn’t as bad as it sounds – she had warned us – I think she was just using us as motivation to be out).

From there it was round Charterhouse way – where there was a nice chilly wind – and then down Blagdon Hill.  I hate that down.  It’s too big, too steep, too straight…  I freak myself out completely and have to stop and have a break half way down – I can usually find some pretext or other for stopping…!

Once safely down, it was past the very still reservoir, followed by much wiggling around Butcombe way, on narrow snow damaged roads.  There’s a lot of climbing goes on here – there has to be to get up to Redhill – but it’s sort of deceptive, you’re too busy dealing with each of the little ups to put them all together and realise how up you’ve come.

We were overtaken a couple of times by cyclists who went past us like we were stuck in mud.  (Don’t you just hate it when that happens?)  Now, I was glad to have put on all my layers.  I had even dug out my legwarmers which predictably Nora Batty-ed the entire way ’round, but did serve their purpose.  But at least two of them were wearing shorts.  Shorts!  Mad….  (mutters something under her breath about men and machismo and so on…).

Once at the top,  there was a lovely whizz down to the Walled Garden café for coffee and warm scones.  Or chocolate cake if you happen to be GB.  Yum 🙂

We completed the down to Wrington – from where DM headed for home.  And then there were two…  There are a great many road closures around Portishead at the moment – the residents of Clevedon are clearly trying to dissuade mixing – so, although we could have risked it as cyclists can usually get through, we decided to take a more interesting route to Portishead and headed towards Nailsea.

You see – I was feeling positive.  Cycling with GB and co make me feel like “I can”.  Or least like I’m willing to try 😉  So we opted to go up Tickenham Hill.  And then once near Portishead – up Valley Road.  Both hills I would normal avoid.  Both of which, having driven up them, had assumed massive proportions in my head.  And although I wouldn’t got calling them pleasant, they were ok.  I did them.  GB peeled off to head home, and I arrived at my folks’ just as the family were getting out of the car.  Immaculate timing 🙂

Cycling time: 2:36:56
Distance: 33.71 miles
Avs: 12.8 mph
ODO: 3130 miles

I’ve mentioned here before how “mental” cycling can be.  Yesterday’s ride perfectly demonstrated two of the main elements of this.

  1. How who you’re cycling with can affect how you feel about a ride and how you perform.
  2. How the “dread” factor affects things.  Makes them seem larger than they are…  None of the hills were as bad in reality as I had thought there were going to be.  Hey – I didn’t end up walking!

I arrived in Portishead feeling all happy with my achievements.  We did a lot of hills, and I feel like I did them ok.  It was a really good ride and I can honestly say I enjoyed it 🙂  And I don’t often say that about a ride with hills *grin*.

The sun has got his hat on

Another Friday, and another ride with GW.  As it turns out, we did pretty much the same loop as I did on Wednesday.  However, you couldn’t get two more different rides as this time the sun shone, the views were visible, and it was really enjoyable!

GW was on her shire-horse again which, from my point of view, is fab, as it slows her right down.  On the down side, it’s power training, so by the time she gets back on the thoroughbred, she’ll be faster and stronger than ever…!

Cycling time: 2:17:29
Distance: 31.76 miles
Avs: 13.8 mph
ODO: 3096 miles

Due to GW’s bike, and the girly chatting, it was a slower ride but, like I said, a much more enjoyable one.  I’d forgotten how nice it is to cycle in the sunshine, with only the roads being wet, not me!  So nice that I even felt up to washing the bike when I got back.  It’s all clean and shiny now 🙂

Crying in the rain

If I keep not going cycling because the weather is crap then, bearing in mind the fact that the forecast predicts the same for days to come, I’ll never get out on the bike.  Since I’m due out with GW on Friday, and with GB over the weekend, I made myself go out today, so that I have tomorrow to rest (ie go to the gym instead).

I set off around 9:30ish, into the drizzle.  I did the seaside route, more or less.  It was low cloud, poor visiblity and either drizzle or rain the entire way round.  Nice.  Since my legs and bum were soaked through after about half an hour, it didn’t make much odds what form of precipitation it was really.  My gloves were eventually soaked too, but somehow managed to keep my hands warm nonetheless.  My upper half fared somewhat better as the water had more layers to go through, and the fact that I’d opted for the base layer meant my core temperature stayed a bit higher than sometimes too.  But there’s only so much you can do.  By the time I got home my feet had deserted me, various other bits of me had gone numb, and I really couldn’t summon up the energy to wash the bike.

Cycling time: 2:01:27
Distance: 30.97 miles
Avs: 15.2 mph
ODO: 3064 miles

The actual riding went quite well.  Oddly enough I think the (sunglasses covered in rain) reduced visibility helped a bit, as I couldn’t see the road surface in enough detail to panic about it too much.  The roads were wet rather than muddy which is always nicer.  I spent my time on the drops again, as my knee was twinging early on, and I definitely ride better down there.  I think I feel more stable, I can brake better as I can reach the levers properly, and I feel better going round corners.  If I’m going to keep that up, I think I’m going to have to do some work on my neck muscles though, as all that looking forward is a position my neck isn’t used to, so it got a bit achey.

So I rode.   It was a bit trance like out there – head down, ignore your surroundings (because you can’t see them anyway) and just push on.  It wasn’t until I pulled up at the house and got off the bike that I realised quite how zoned out I’d been, and how wet/miserable my body was!  It really wasn’t quite as unpleasant as it sounds, but I was seriously pleased to get home and have a long hot bath.

Better out than in?  Probably 🙂

Just the two of us

I’m not getting out much at the moment as every time I have plans to, the weather louses them up.  Tuesday was abandoned due to a zero degrees temperature – frostbite really isn’t my thing.

Today was better.  Although, judging by how long it took me to warm up in the bath, not much better.  Still, as I didn’t feel it too much when we were out, that’s ok.  It also managed not to rain on us.

I went out for the usual training loop with GW, and we nattered the entire way around.  GW was on her workhorse bike, the heavy Dawes, which was a blessing.  In fact, she even asked me to slow down a couple of times.  It also meant that the poor girl was stuck with sticking with me, which I imagine I appreciated much more than she did *grin*.  Yes – I know, she was handicapped – but you have to take little pleasures where you can, and that was certainly one of them.    Ah, the day that GW asked ME to slow down… 😉

Cycling time: 2:10:43
Distance: 31.93 miles
Avs: 14.6 mph
ODO: 3033 miles

Talking and cycling slows you down and also makes you work harder.  We were going to come back via the Nyland wiggle, but both my knee and shoulder were hurting.  They both felt better on the drops, but it seemed best just go come home directly.  I had a long bath to defrost in, and to soak the aforementioned achey bits, but in hindsight I’m not entirely sure that was a good idea as it seemed to induce instant fatigue pretty much as soon as I got out.  I grabbed some lunch and had to have a siesta as staying awake became impossible.  Weird!

As I sat in the bath, it hailed.  Which made me feel very pleased about being where I was and no longer where I had been 🙂

Plan ahead

I’ve decided to commit myself, and have signed up to do two Evans Ride Its – one on 11th April, and the other on 9th May, which fills the gap between the Mad March Hare and the Dragon Ride.  I’ve added them to the Cycling Events links over there –> in case you’re interested in the details, or fancy joining me.

I’ve have liked something a little bit longer, but I couldn’t find any sportives local enough in that time period, so this will do nicely.  Plus entry only costs £10, and with a Sunday Times voucher code, I saved £5 per entry – bringing the cost for two rides down to £10 total.  Bargain! You don’t get many sportives, apart from the Mad March Hare, with entry fees like that! 🙂

I’m also pleased to notice that the odometer on my new bike has just gone over 3000 miles.  Sounds like a long way doesn’t it ?  I do like my milestones 🙂

Ain’t no stoppin’ us now

Another ACG ride – an official one this time.  Which presumably explains why only 4 people turned out… 😉  Quite an evenly matched four though, which worked well.  MD, KG, GB and me headed out to Brean Down.  To prevent the usual end of ride racing foolishness, and to add a little variety to life, we went out towards Wedmore first, up Rug Hill, over to Mark, out past Brent Knoll, and then along the coast to the Brean Down café.  They do exceedingly good scones, so I indulged, but I’m calling it lunch, so that’s ok 🙂

It’s much nicer going out there out of season – much less traffic, much less people, much less flesh, and much less…well…everything really!  It’s just a shame not to be able to sit outside the café and enjoy the fab views, but that’ll be possible soon.   There’s usually a narrow window of opportunity when the weather improves, but the tourists haven’t arrived yet 🙂

Getting back on the bike was bracing, as it seemed to have become chillier whilst we were inside, but then doesn’t it always?  We came back fast via Lympsham and Rookery Manor, thus avoiding Bleadon Hill, and just leaving the Webbington bump to get over before getting home.

Cycling time: 2:10:47
Distance: 34.9 miles
Avs: 16.0 mph
ODO: 3001 miles

I’m having one of my patches of spending a lot of time on the drops.  I don’t know if that’s related to the new saddle, or to trying to be as comfortable as possible and not have my shoulder nerve complaining at me, but I spent most of the ride pootling along happily that way.  We all took our turns at the front – all very civilised – and pretty much stuck together the whole time.  The roads were wet, but nothing like yesterday.  It wasn’t what you’d call balmy, but was nothing like Wednesday. And look at how fast we were going!  All in all, a much better ride 🙂

Last night I fitted my new brake block things – which was fiddly, and not good for fingernails…but I did it.  Which I normally don’t – I get Paul to do these things, because then I have confidence in the end result.  So I was kinda nervous about how they’d be today.  Apart from being a bit noisy to start with, they seem to have been fine.  Possibly slightly better than the old set…but it’s hard to tell because I was trying not to brake too  much, as part of my trying to get better at hills and corners!  Still, they seem to work, and that’s a good thing.  The ability to stop without having to use an inanimate object to do so is quite important 😉 *grin*.