Finished my first book of the year on new year’s day is a bit of an achievement, but I did start it a month or so ago.
The book focuses on his last year as a professional cyclists and insights into life in the peloton.
Not quite as satisfying read as the Fall and Rise of David Miller but fascinating none the less.
This week I have been back on my track bike, for the fist time since my crash in October last year. Now in recent months I have been cycle commuting on my road bike, but somehow it is different and slightly scary to be back on a track bike.
Scary but good.
It also looks like it will be a hundred mile week. Which is challenging, but will help me get my fitness back.
I have done well this week on my cycle commutes this week. I have managed to cycle more than 100 miles, (ok it was only 101.5 miles, but that still counts).
Not cycled that kind of distance in a week in a long time, might have been over a year.
What made it even more brilliant is that I averaged 15.5 mph over that distance! This is amazingly fast given that this was riden in rush hour traffic.
My legs are a bit tired, but I’m very happy with my effort. GoMe.
I have been a bit busy of late so not recording things that have been making me happy.. but as I come to the end of the week it is worth me remembering that within the busy I have been awesome.*
1) I managed to high five a chap who was waving for a bus as I cycled past.
2) I worked out a way with the technology available to live stream H as she taught a crochet class, do that we can have a close up of her hands as she demonstrates. This close up is then displayed on the big screen so everyone can see.
3) I have successfully covered for my boss while he has been in holiday for the last fortnight. I have finished this week with 350 unread emails, and 130 flagged for follow up. However the sky hasn’t fallen and I have stepped up and presented myself well. Even if I was starting to look a little tired on Friday.
Right now to try and relax a little.
* Even if I do say so myself.
This evening while cycling home, I was shouted at by a driver as the overtook. Amazingly it was actually audible, as the Doppler effect and engine noise. The shout was..
“Cycle lane”
Which I think was a reference to the fact that I was cycling in the road, rather than one of the new and mostly decent cycle superhighways.
I smiled, and shouted back
“Road”
While pointing out the very nice road that I was riding along.
I think that this little exchange my have upset the driver, and not exactly helped with car v cyclist relations, but if your shouting things from cars I don’t think your ready for calm discussion about the highway code. So no big loss really.
This evening I attended my first ever road bike training session on the velodrome at Herne Hill. It is also the first time that I have been out on the improved surface, and that was put down at least five years ago.. Which just proves that I have been really useless at getting out and doing any training..
Which might explain why it was quite such hard work and why I was one of the slowest out on the track.. and there were more than 70 out, so it was very busy.. but that did make it a touch scary at times. I locked up my rear wheel once as the group I was in slowed down suddenly..
In 2 hours at the track, (which includes safety briefings and suchlike) I was cycling for an hour and a quarter, during which time I cycled 24 miles at an average of 18.5 mph.
When I was getting down to the track regularly I was averaging just a touch better than 21 mph. (i think) So I am a fair bit down..
It was a good session, and I have worked hard, maybe I could have pushed myself a bit more, but on finishing my legs are fizzy so I did do a solid workout. However, my shoulders are very tense, so my bike setup is wrong, so I will have to look at that.
Looking forward to next week’s session, see if that settles down a bit more so you can ride more smoothly.
I picked up this book for a quid from the supermarket, it documented Brad’s 2012 year of success. It was a bit light on detail for me and just too fluffy.
Hey it had fun facts, and bold words to indicate that they were in the glossary. Really complicated cycling words like peloton. So it was never going to be a the greatest cycling biography.
But it was an easy enough read, but mostly reminded me that I really want to read David Millar’s book.
This evening I headed out for a short 7 mile ride on my road bike. It was great to be out on the bike and riding again.
But my fitness has plummeted over the last 2 months.. it was very odd as I could wizz along quite quickly, then all of a sudden my legs had no more go and I was knackered.
I am going to have to get into training.
So this week I started a new job, and therefore I have submitted a request to use the supplied bicycle parking.
This process has just informed me that I am 53rd on the waiting list!
Fifty Third! That is a lot of people to want to cycle from what is a comparatively small office.
Guess that I will be using the Brompton for the next few weeks.