Day 164 - Time to Buy Lights

After a good rest, I was very ready for a long ride and Thursday's evening outing with the AVP did not disappoint. I was ready ahead of time so completed a mile and a half 'warm up' lap before arriving at our pub meeting point. Once formed up, 11 riders headed out through Axmouth towards Lyme Regis. Rather than entering this beautiful seaside town as we did back in May, we took a detour through Uplyme but this did not negate the need for the long climb back up the Lim valley away from Lyme which, just as last time, still equals one of my most challenging climbs. Bypassing the town, meant that we were able to take in Axminster and the Kilmington cycle path.

Once through Musbury, on our return journey, it was definitely time to power on the lights. Luckily a large enough number of our group had lights to provide sufficient forward illumination and I'm going to have to think about fixing more than just my current 'be seen' neons in future weeks! 

This was probably one of my toughest rides, giving me the greatest pain from the hill climbs which I was determined not to be beaten by. The quick 5 miles of roads ending the circuit were hard going and on this occasion, my hybrid team mate and myself got very left behind by the road bikes. I just hope I've not done too much muscle damage.

Stats: 24.17 mi, 1h:56m, Avg 12.5 mph, Max 35.3, 1,290 kcal

Day 162 - Rest Day

I'm taking a much needed rest day today. My leg muscles need some time to repair and a day or two out of the saddle will let other sensitive areas recover from the pounding I've given them these past few weeks; it does all start to mount up and there is no fun cycling when you know you can go faster and take steeper hills but the body just says no. Coincidentally, browsing through this week's Cyling Weekly, my eye caught a quote from Beth Crumpton in the Pro Rider fitness tip of the week .. "Rest is as good as training and afternoon naps can do you the world of good!". So there you go. If you're asking whois Beth? .. you can check out her blog here http://bethcrumpton.blogspot.co.uk/.

I did manage to get out for a ride yesterday morning, but it was a tough one. Avoiding the severe hills, there being no way to avoid them all together here in Devon, I completed a 10 mile loop of Colyton and the seafront. Amazingly, Strava, which has recently usurped Endomono as my favoured training 'buddy', logged me achieving PRs for two sectors: Cowhayne Lane to Boshill Cross (01:56) and the Seaton seafront stretch (57 sec) ... I think this is more because it only has a month's worth of data and not all160 days that I've been riding this route! It is still nice, however, to get these reports, it is like getting a virtual pat on the back and don't tell Andy, but he's only lying in 4th against my 2nd placing in the AVP club rankings - that's something at least to be pleased about!

I've been looking at what should be my challenge for 2014, now that, in spite of how I may be feeling today, I've started to reach an elementary level of cycling fitness. I've spoken of the club's 100 mile ride later in September which would really be a great achievement for my first year. While I've not done this yet, the question is then how to top this. Well, yesterday the ballot for the 2014 Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 opened and yes, I submitted my entry! There is no guarantee that I'll get a place, but it is this intent that is starting to shape my 2014 challenge and that is to ride in an organised distance event.

Vauxhall Corsa's ingenious built in bike rack

I have also been looking at the local cycling clubs and in addition to the Axe Valley Pedallers, who I am already riding with, I have been checking out the Sid Valley Cycle Club. Seaton lies between the river Sid and Axe, with the Axe flowing into the sea at Seaton and the Sid, some 10 miles west along the coast, at Sidmouth. The Sid Valley Club is affiliated with British Cycling and as such is more involved in organised events. They, for instance, are marshalling on the Tour of Britain in September and complete longer group rides at the weekend, something I'm thinking I'm going to need practice of before taking on my 100 mile challenge. What I also really need is a more suitable vehicle to transport my steed to these more distant venues. Believe it or not, this petrol head has even been eying up the Vauxhall Corsa's interesting built-in bike rack. Could my next car be a Corsa!

Day 160 - Jurassic Classic

Another lovely weekend to be out on the bike, but such a busy one with my sister coming to visit, that I just managed to snatch two quick morning rides. To be honest, however, this was about all my legs could muster, I can feel a couple of rest days coming up!

On Saturday, I rode out and up Seaton Down Hill and back in towards the sea at Stafford Cross via the pig farm and caves into Beer. Two motor cycles and a van attempted to take me out, but quick reactions and a crafty overtaking manoeuvre saved the day. Returning to Seaton, I then took the Axmouth road out to complete a loop of Colyton, taking in the stunning views across the estuary to the Beer cliffs in the distance.

Sunday, was the day of the Jurassic Classic, a cycling fund raising event in aid of prostate cancer with 3 rides, 50 km, 100 km and 100 miles, the latter, I discovered on my short morning ride, came through Seaton!

I passed a stream of riders through Axmouth and along the sea front, I hasten to add, they were going in the opposite direction! May be I'll join them next year ;)


Stats: 15.1 mi, 1h:11m, Avg 12.7 mph, Max 31.9, 794 kcal

Day 157 - AVP Evening Ride

Thursday night and come what may, it's the AVP Evening Ride. This has become a bit of a ritual of late and one few things are going to make me miss. Amazingly, and this will probably be the comment to end it, over the past few weeks, Thursdays have been one of if not the best day, weather wise, in the week. Having fuelled up earlier in the day with fish & chips on the beach I was ready to burn some calories!

The holiday season seems to have really kicked in this week as our peloton number was down to 11 tonight. With a junior bunch of riders, and I don't mean just in age, Andy, one of our most experienced members took the lead in marking out our route. Andy likes a hill or two so burn calories we did!

Heading first over to Colyford to place our order for apres cycling chips, yes again, we headed back towards Seaton and then looped anti clockwise up to Axminster across a busy A35 - not the best idea we've ever had - and over some very bumpy cycle tracks. I was regularly switching modes on my front forks to cater for the different terrain, something I think the road bike guys would have appreciated having the ability to do. 

Out of Axminster we took a an extended loop around Shute Barton, with its impressive gatehouse which had to be included in the backdrop of a hastily taken picture before racing off back to Colyford before we totally lost the light. The nights are really drawing in now and I think I've only a couple more weeks of this evening ride left, unless I purchase a set of heavy duty spot lights as I hear the AVP do get out for a bit of night riding ... not sure about that though!

Tean shot at Shute Barton

The route was what I think must be one of my greatest climbing rides with apx 1800 ft of elevation reached .. that sounds impressive anyway. The cross-section image below seems to bear this out too.

The route art for those of an artistic disposition out there is a leaf .. can you name the tree?

Stats: 24.4 mi, 1h:58m, Avg 12.3 mph, Max 34.9, 1,362 kcal

Day 156 - Lost Record

What a difference a week makes. After the full cycling agenda of last week, I've been so busy in the office that it took to Wednesday evening before I could get out on my bike.

By Wednesday, I was so in need of a ride that I decided on a circuit I'd not completed for some time. This includes the challenging 2 mile 'Social Club' climb out to Colyton towards Beer, a Strava category 4 hill, rising in places to a 10% incline, with some beautiful views.

Cycling through Beer, it is hard not to pause to take in more beautiful views across the roof tops towards the sea.

Once back in Seaton, having seen Andy take my Seafront2 sprint record earlier in the week, I had to make an attempt at getting it back but was unable to better my original time of 1:23, 10 seconds short of Andy's new record. This is going to take some beating!

Stats: 11.4 mi, 57m:43s, Avg 11.9 mph, Max 32.6, 640 kcal

Day 153 - Time Machine

On the day that 20,000 cyclists take to the streets of London and the hills of Surrey, I've concluded my week's cycling with a new personal weekly best of 83 miles. Frustratingly just 17 shy of today's London-Surrey route and definitely a target I now have in my sights to achieve over the next few weeks. While I often find there is more left in the tank, I find time is an issue; fitting in even the 7 hours I've spent in the saddle this week has been a challenge.

Friday lunch at the Cliffside Cabin

I've jumped a few days since my last blog, again finding time to to either cycle or write has been the challenge, naturally, cycling won that battle. Friday saw me use the bike on a short 2.5 mile circuit to meet up with the Seaton Hole gang for a quick bite for lunch down at the Cliffside Cabin; a much quieter venue since Old Beer Road was lost to the sea during last year's heavy rains closing this section of the coastal path.

Old Beer Road lost to the sea during last year's heavy rains

Contrary to the weather forecast, Saturday morning was gloriously sunny, but severely aching limbs from a week of hills made me think twice about taking a ride out. I also had a busy schedule ahead and little time to cycle. Oh, what I could do with a time machine! A small window of opportunity did come available later in the day for a sneaky 9 mile circuit. Avoiding all but the final climb up Castle Hill, for the sake of my limbs, I kept to level ground where possible and rode a very enjoyable circuit to Colyton and back.

Stats: 8.95 mi, 43m:27s, Avg 12.4 mph, Max 33.27, 482 kcal

Prior to my Saturday ride, I had in my sights my previous weekly distance record of 73 miles and these 9 miles covered yesterday broke this by probably just a few hundred feet. So, waking this morning, and seeing the promised rains had still not appeared, I had to get back out to establish a credible new record. I also recognised that I was tantalisingly close to my 700 mile marker .. but one record at a time, my focus was on smashing the 73 miles. Despite the aches, which had lessened from the previous day but were still sapping my power, and against my better judgement, I took the mile climb up Seaton Down hill with the thought of that long and fast Harepath Hill decent down into Colyford keeping me going. I had learned on my last AVP ride that locking the front shocks greatly improves my climbing ability, less peddle power being absorbed by the shocks allowing all of my effort to be used on the ascent. This definitely helped me make the mile climb and I think maybe even on increasing the speed of my decent, on which for the first time, I broke the 40mph barrier!

40.4 Mph!

The home run through Axmouth got me thinking about the state of our roads and the current favoured way councils have of repairing them, using a spray of bitumen and a layer of loose gravel chipping. While this may be seen as an economical solution to a never ending problem of keeping our road network free of potholes, it is an absolute nightmare for cyclists. I hear that the resulting rough sandpaper like surface provides a better stopping surface for cars, so yes, use it where stopping is required .. junctions and along side schools, but not along straight country lanes where there are no junctions or obstructions. I have also heard of another reason being that during the summer, this way of resurfacing is preferred to avoid tar being displaced under hot temperatures ... !

Skid Risk!

The reason for me bringing this up, is that our Devon council has been having a go at resurfacing some of my local roads and after being showered with chipping by an overtaking car doing more than 20mph, it made me think that the skid risk signs on display should be reworded 'Flying Chipping Risk'. I am sure in my youth they used to warn drivers of a risk to shattered windscreens but I guess the modern glass of today has eradicated that issue. Perhaps, therefore, they should say, 'Chipped Paint Risk' as since the removal of lead has certainly meant this is softer and more prone to chips than on cars of old, but I digress. My point is that announcing a skid risk on a surface which is designed to reduce skids is a daft thing to say and that cars may take more notice if there was an announced threat to their bodywork. 

Road in need of attention

Moving off the new rough and 'slippy for a bike' surface, I hit the join with the old surface which required me to unlock the front shocks and move into mountain bike mode in order to avoid losing all my fillings! This is like riding over cobbles and I can sympathise with the TDF riders who had several laps of the Arc de Triomphe at speed over covered but very noticeable cobbles. The risk of a snake bite puncture here is high. I see, if I read the writing on the road correctly,  that this will be resurfaced in 2014 .. good to know.

South Devon to surface from here in 2014

I am sure roads were better in the past, but then again I'd need the use of that time machine again to prove this. Funny thing, memories.

Stats: 10.04 mi, 54m:03s, Avg 11.1 mph, Max 40.4, 599 kcal

Day 150 - Tour de Branscombe

After a few days of technology talk, today I'm getting back to the cycling.

My150th day marks the most miles I've cycled in both one day (30) and one month (242) and I am on target for the most to be completed in one week (73). I am now contemplating whether to take on the challenge of the 100 mile ride that the club is planning for the second week in September, watch this space.

This weekend the Prudential London-Surrey 100 sees 20,000 amateur cyclists converge on the capital for Britain's biggest ever cycling event. They will tackle 100 miles of closed road sportive, from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park through the Surrey Hills, retracing large parts of the course used in last year's Games, to finish on the Mall. In addition to this, an elite event  - including double Tour de France green jersey winner Peter Sagen - will also take place following a similar 140 mile route, ending Britain's 16 year wait for a world class single day road race. I unfortunately - or fortunately not one to appreciate vast crowds - will not be there in person but will certainly be tuning in to watch the BBC's coverage.

Early morning ride down at the seafront

Back in Seaton, it was another early rise for me as I was keen to try out my new Garmin GPS unit ahead of the AVP Thursday evening ride. I thought I'd just do a gentle few miles to test it out. As it was, with the milage display clearly visible before me, I could not help but clock up a 'gentle' 10 miles before calling it a morning. The road art could either be the wistful bunny on a skateboard or, as my wife pointed out, a squirrel engaged in a elaborate skateboard stunt ... see his head bottom left with tail and one foot in the air!

Stats: 10.36 mi, 56m 07s, Avg 11.1 mph, max 29.5 mph, 622 kcal

Later in the afternoon, I met up with the AVP for our regular Thursday evening ride. Where to tonight? Branscombe including, as seen in the profile below, two category 4 climbs! 

We headed out up hill towards Beer and dropped down into Branscombe before then taking the long climb out past the village's idilic St Winifred's church, that I'd visited at a couple of weeks ago, in the opposite direction. Once out of Branscombe, we crossed the A3052 and via Blackberry Camp dropped down - reaching speeds of 30mph+ along gravel strewn twisty lanes - into Southleigh. The road then levelled out, with the occasional undulation, back through Colyton and Colyford into Seaton. I forwent a beer and plate of chips, the normal post ride fare, in favour of tea and cake - there having been a baking going on at home!

While out in the peloton, there is usually time for a social chat and since joining the AVP group on Strava I felt compelled to share my recent leaderboard victory for the Seafront Sprint2 .. 1st/3 of our small group and 25th/118 overall. On my Crosstrail not built for speed, I'll not go attempting to beat the current 36 mph record, which in a 30 mph built up area, I'm not sure it is even wise to go advertising! But I have added below a picture of myself leading the club's record, before Andy, who currently has most of the other records, realises he's missed mopping up this segment too!

What is interesting and only dawned on me this week, is the reason for the occasional sprint breaks from the peloton that I've seen some of our riders making these past months. This is the fact that along our routes there will be Strava timed segments, such as my Seafront Sprint2, which they are looking to clock a good time for. It's just like the sprint sections on the TDF when riders battle for the Green Jersey points.

Stats: 20.08 mi, 1h:45m:55s , Avg 11.4 mph, Max 31.5, 1174 kcal