There is just a possibility that I should have taken the after effects of the Etape a little more seriously and rested more afterwards.  And hey, if I’d had Friday’s legs today, I expect I’d have kicked butt today.  But that’s not the way life works.  When you come to think about it, I’ve just done two sportives in the space of a week.  If you count Friday’s ride that’s 183 miles this week alone.  Possibly not my cleverest move.  Apparently there’s just no telling me though 😉

So.  Today was the Great Weston Ride.  56 miles for normal sensible people.  A c.90 mile round trip for us.  In fact considering the weather conditions I imagine a great many normal sensible people didn’t even turn up.  By the time I met GB I was already pretty damp, and by the time we got to the start I was soaked to the skin.  Not cold.  Just wet.  And having problems seeing where I was going because my sunglasses do not have windscreen wipers, and neither do my eyes if I don’t use the glasses.  Rock, hard place.

We were supposed to meet up with GH, our ACG newbie, but he was running late, and hanging around and getting cold whilst wet didn’t seem like a good idea so we headed off, back the way we’d come, at around 8:20am.  Now for some reason, possibly because I really enjoyed last year’s event, I’d managed to forget quite a lot of the latter part of the route.  The first bit, Chew Valley, even Burrington Combe (after all, it’s not an Alpe *grin*), is fairly attractive and went really well.  Well, if you don’t count GB demonstrating that although I may be better these days, I am still just good for me, not good per se.  Maybe that should be my goal?  I tried to keep up and, to be fair, he didn’t manage to make the gap between us as large as sometimes but…well, there’s only so much a girl can do.

However things went a little down hill from there.  As they would…but not until we’d gone across the top of the Mendips in the kind of wind driven rain that could probably be used to strip paint if necessary.  The descent from Priddy down to Rodney Stoke is also not nice at the best of times, and wet and covered in grit and debris is not the best of times.  Luckily I appear not to have worn away all my brake pads by descending mountains ;).

Down on the Levels we headed across to the next food stop at Blackford, by which time I was feeling oddly sleepy.  And I do mean sleepy, not just tired, if that makes any sense at all, which I doubt.  How can you be feeling like falling asleep while riding a bike?!  GB did try and make me eat, but I couldn’t face food, and was rescued by my Lucozade jelly beans – I can usually stomach them even when I’ve had enough of bars.  And I’ve so had enough of bars.

From there it was a long and boring, straight into the considerable wind, slog through Mark to Highbridge.  Straight, unforgiving, sapping…  I did my best to take my turn at the front, aware of the fact that I was probably not doing my share, and not wanting that to be the case.   But man it was monotonous!  Burnham was even worse as the cross wind came straight off the coast and into us, and where the traffic was madly busy and hated us all immensely.  Pleasant.  At least from there the end was, if geography did not get in the way, in sight.  There was a blissful wiggly bit where the wind was behind us, and I got to do a little of what I do best, but then it was more slog to the finish line on the lawns at Weston Super Mare.  Having overtaken a great many people, there weren’t that many riders around, and though fish & chips were available, there was no way either of us fancied that this year.

Instead GB spent 10 minutes or so letting me get myself together again, since I was little use to anyone at that point, before we headed off for home again.  As we neared home the rain set in again, bringing us full circle.  I arrived home wet, filthy, and very aware of the fact that I have probably overdone it.  I’ve just left what little energy I had remaining in the bath!

But there was a lot to be grateful for, if you have a warped sense of karma.  On today’s ride I got soaked to the skin, blown across the road, got a stitch, my shoulder hurt, and my knee hurt, and I nearly fell asleep.  All things which did NOT happen last Monday.  Dues have to be paid.

Cycling time: 5:23:36 hrs
Distance: 86.62 miles
Avs: 16.0 mph
ODO: 9535 miles

Even though it felt like hard work, it was only, as it turns out, marginally slower than last year when there were three of us working together and the weather was considerably better.  Think how good I’d have been if I’d done the recovery thing first?  To be fair I don’t think I’d have been any faster, or any stronger but…I’d certainly be less tired now! *grin*.  Chapeau to GB for putting up with a tired and distinctly irritable me too :).

Man alive, that feels better!  Since the Etape I have, quite frankly, been a bit of a wreck.  And I’m not talking physically.  In fact as far as that’s concerned I don’t seem to have suffered any after effects at all, which is both impressive and weird at the same time.  I’m talking mentally.  The post Etape blues, the come down after the big high, the anti-climax.  Call me a girly wuss (if you dare) but I’ve been very emotional and no doubt not a great deal of fun to be around.

I have another event on Sunday – the Great Weston Ride, which GB and I are doing again.  It’s a 90 mile round trip, so I needed to ride my bike today to check we’d put it back together ok (we have but the back brake is a bit off), and to check that me and it were still on speaking terms.  Following a surprisingly good gym session yesterday and bearing the event in mind, today should have been a quiet, spin your legs around, recovery ride.  Oops…

Well there’s too much stuff going on in my head for that!  My legs were feeling awesome, and I needed to sweat my demons out, as well as tyre (ha ha) myself out.  So I pushed it.  I did the usual kind of loop with some lumps at the front, though as a concession to the slightly ouchy knee and with a view to Sunday, I didn’t come home over Mudgeley Hill.  Half way round I realised there was some wind – I’d been so busy pushing it I hadn’t really noticed!  As for the lumps, well, I even pushed up them.  I know them all, there was no need to pace myself and, to use a phrase that is going to become familiar and irritating to all those around me very shortly, it’s not an Alpe is it? *grin*.

There was sun, wind, pheasants, herons, swans, a large hare.  The usual ride on the Levels really.  Well, to be fair, I don’t know if it was a large hare.  They’re just large compared to the usual rabbits I see!  What was supposed to be a 2hr ride came in a bit under that but never mind, that’s what you get when you go faster than usual.  It was a bl**dy lovely ride :).

Cycling time: 1:38:27 hrs
Distance: 27.42 miles
Avs: 16.6 mph
ODO: 9448 miles

I remember how the L2P gave me a real boost of confidence, and I think I’d lost some of that over the last couple of years, what with one thing and another.  Well the Etape has  done the same in spades.  Not only was I faster but I felt a lot more confident.  I don’t know how long it’ll last but I’ll take it while I can 🙂  I’m also going to have to get my hands on a decent Etape jersey as, shallow though it may be, I feel the urge to make sure everyone knows how good I am! *grin*.

Now to plan the next big ride.  Suggestions please – and nothing with cobbles in it! 😉

I don’t know how well I’ve managed to keep this secret but…

On Monday 11th July 2011 I was one of 7000 riders to do the first Acte of this year’s Etape. 109km, including the Telegraphe, Galibier and Alpe d’Huez. It was very hot, and very hard, but I did it :).

Should you be feeling bemused, I really didn’t tell anyone I didn’t have to that I was doing it. Hubby, the kids, my folks and bro’. My doctor, my sports physio, the most totally invaluable and essential Andrew (pit crew extraordinaire), my ride partner L2P Kevin (obviously!) and because they guessed (partially because I had to borrow Simon’s amazing bike box), George and Simon at the last minute. It’s not personal, I just didn’t want to have it be a big deal or to make a big fuss about it. The thought of announcing what I’d done only once I’d done it appealed to me so…that’s exactly what I did.

There will be more to follow soon, but my ride time was 7:05 with an avs of 15.9kph and a total length of 114km. My official time is 7:32 (with the 20mins knocked off due to a traffic jam). In my category of 188 old ladies (*grin*) I was 121st. And out of the 6461 finishers I was 5345th. Facts and figures to juggle with. Considering there were only 281 women all told, even turning up is pretty impressive! I will blog all the details when I’m home again. But I set myself a goal, and I achieved it and, not to put too fine a point on it, I ROCK! Hubby says I’m the awesomeist person he knows *grin*.

Waiting, waiting, waiting…for the party to begin *grin*.

In 24 hours time I’ll be on my way up a mountain! I’m half very excited and half nervous. I don’t know if I’ve got butterflies or indigestion!  Both I reckon 🙂

As I look out of the window, in any direction, all I can see is up. And some those ups have snow on. The Mendips are looking mighty small right now…*grin*.

In 20 minutes we’re off to the start village to sign in, and this afternoon will be a short jaunt to make sure the bikes are running ok.

It’s Etape Eve, and there’s one more sleep to go… 🙂

(written on Sunday 10th July)

Well due to the weather and other commitments I’m not on my bike this week.  Normal service will be resumed shortly…

…in the meantime I’m watching the TdF and wishing I was on the bike!

So I’ve signed up for the Great Weston Ride, along with GB,  just for something to do :).  It was fun last year and will hopefully be so again this year.  Anyone else fancy joining us?

Yesterday was a rest day which I finally felt, having had a successful event, that I had earned.  Not that I really felt like I needed it.  Which’ll larn me.  I really should remember that these days it’s day 2 post-event that makes me feel like I’ve been hit over the head with a blunt instrument.  However yesterday I felt fine, although I did discover that if I prodded my thighs my muscles were pretty painful.  Simple – don’t prod your thighs ;).

So, as I was feeling ok, it was time to go ride the bike again, a ride that I’d arranged last week with Mim.  Details were finalised by txt as usual, and I picked her up at her place at 9:10ish.  The plan was to spin our legs for a couple of hours, nowt more, since we both have events on later in the week.  It was warmish and dry, but as windy as ever, and as we headed out into it, it was definitely making life harder, which was a tad concerning considering our goal to take it easy…

First off – out to Wedmore.  I must have ridden that stretch of road literally hundreds of times now.  Every time I ride down, or up, it, I find myself trying to work out precisely how many times, as such mental meanderings get you at least half way to where you were going.  I can point out all the potholes & obstacles, have my “racing” line down pat *yawn*.  However this is probably a good thing when you’re really just out for a spin and a chat and not to concentrate too much.  There are worse roads to ride down.  Like the A38 for example.

By the time we got to Wedmore, my knee, neither strapped up nor drugged, was quite keen to remind me that at least one of those things would have been a good idea considering that it had not really been rested since Sunday.  As usual though I was travelling equipped, and popped a pink pill as we headed out of Wedmore towards Blackford and Mark, which did the trick soon enough.  I hit Somerset 100 deja-vu as we turned left to go through Bason Bridge and up the climb through Woolavington which I didn’t even try to do well up.  I just engaged pootle mode and got to the top.

We wiggled along the pretty roads to Shapwick, and then straight back through Wedmore on that same road and out to home.  Which did involve going up Mudgelely Hill.  Another hill I have no doubt done better in my time, by which I guess I mean faster.  However I started at the bottom, and I got to the top, and that’s the point right?  Yes it was harder work than sometimes, but it wasn’t too bad…  Besides which detouring around it would have made our ride take even longer, so it was just the easiest thing to do.

We may have been re-tracing our pedal strokes from thereonin, but with the wind behind us my favourite road was even more blissful than usual, even without racing down it :).

Cycling time: 2:19:33 hrs
Distance: 35.96 miles
Avs: 15.4 mph
ODO: 9090

Considering that I really wasn’t trying hard, quite deliberately, even going so far as to ease off the (metaphorical) gas if I felt like I was pushing it at all, it turns out that we were going fairly fast.  Interesting…

However pretty much ever since I walked back through my front door I’ve been a complete waste of space.  I’m knackered!  Practically asleep on my feet, and that’s even after a little while spent being asleep on my sofa! *grin*.  On the upside my cat likes me more since she can clearly sense that whenever I sit down I’m liable to be there for a while, so she can sit on me :).

I’m thinking I need to make a conscious effort to take it a little easy between now and Sunday, which as some of you know, is not something that’s going to be easy…