Sunday saw my last training ride with all three of the Big Isle be Back Challenge riders pedalling together for the first time. Mark Popkiss provided a very pleasant 80 miles loop taking in Pangbourne, Newbury, Lambourn Woodlands and Shrivenham in just over 4:40 cycling time. Our aim was to practice pacing; we achieved a tidy average speed (much in excess of what will be required for the ride on 20th September) and finished feeling strong; no injuries or complaints. All this bodes very well for the main event.
I do a lot of my cycling alone and it is interesting to ride with other people because you have to be on the lookout for a few more things: pot holes obscured by the rider in front, indicating pot holes and hazards to other riders and being aware of things that others may not have seen. Fortunately, we all seem to get on well and work efficiently as a team. It was agreed at Tuesdays team meeting that ‘pace’ would be the trigger word if the speed along the flat was rising too much. This word could be uttered with no feeling of guilt by any rider to preserve the team’s energy and get the ride done. I always worry that I am not riding fast enough when it is my turn at the front so this agreement is very helpful to me. With all these things to think about, it’s no wonder I blanked Steve Penney riding the opposite way somewhere near the Kingswell, sorry mate!
This week has been about getting through the last lot of gym training without picking up an injury; today (13th September) was the last lot of free weights until after the ride. I have planned nothing for the weekend in terms of exercise, will probably spin on Monday and that will be it until Friday morning. Good food with the emphasis on carbohydrate will be the focus from now on; I simply can’t wait to get going.
If you are able to spare us a few quid that would be appreciated, a handy link appears below!
https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/bibb2013
We’ve nearly made £1,000; with luck we will raise a good amount on the leg wax tomorrow (14th September, 11.30 outside Peter B Ledbury’s in Wantage). As well as fundraising, the aim is to promote the charity as much as possible, please take a moment to have a look at their website; perhaps you could be a stem cell donor and help someone with blood cancer?
http://www.deletebloodcancer.org.uk/
Whatever you are doing, be it riding or stripping hair off hairy men’s legs, have a great weekend!
Further reading…..
If you liked this blog please take a moment to check out my book describing the solo Land’s End to John O’Groats ride in 2012, all profit from sales to www.criduchat.org.uk
Please click the cover image for the Kindle version or click here to order a paperback copy. Thank you!
