My 2014 Tour de Fitness

This week,  I joined millions of other Face Book users in publishing "the moments of my year" and in reminiscing through the selection of photos from 2014 it was clear that this has been another year in which my new found love of cycling has clearly dominated.

January

I kicked off with my first ride of the year on the 2nd January with a pre work cycle to see the evidence of the local winter flooding in Cowhayne Lane, Colyford. This was to set the scene for the remainder of the year, grabbing a ride when ever the opportunity arose.

Winter flooding in Cowhayne Lane

February

The RideLondon draw was announced and, having decided back in November that I would be riding for Team Diabetes UK, my mind was now focussed on getting in some serious training ahead of the August event. Things did not, however, start well with a rather disappointing first step into the world of Audax cycling. The 102 km Primrose Path event was to be my first ever sportive, but my then undiagnosed kidney stones were to force me to curtail my ride after only 60 km.

Primrose Path Audax

March

March was my first anniversary of getting back into cycling following some 30 years of lethargy. It also saw the delivery of my official Ride London jersey and me setting up my Team Diabetes UK JustGiving page, for which I braved the cool early spring air to capture some 'summer short sleeved' publicity pictures!

RideLondon Publicity Shot

April

Through the first few months of the year, I kept to the Crosstrail on my evening AVP rides, concerned that with roads covered in runoff debris, mud and rain hidden potholes, I'd damage the Roubaix. Not having a dedicated winter road bike, this was a risk I was not prepared to take ... until that was, towards the end of April, when I found myself very much the odd one out, the other Pedallers all on road bikes. The Crosstrail was stood down for the summer.

The Crosstrail and a typical AVP roadside workshop

May

With just 3 months until the epic London ride, I met up with my RideLondon buddie, Jason, to kick off some more serious road training. Before the RideLondon, however, I had my second sportive, the Dartmoor Classic, which I was going to be riding in June with my AVP buddie, Andy. To familiarise ourselves with the area, we completed a memorable hill climb training ride across Dartmoor, picking perhaps one of the best days of the year so far to do it ... if only we could guarantee similar weather for the event!

Training for the Dartmoor Classic

June

Training for the RideLondon continues and with kidney stones now successfully blasted to oblivion my second sportive, riding the Dartmoor Classic with Andy, is a great success. Both of us achieve a bronze medal; myself just 3 minutes or 3 months off a silver and Andy just shy of the 10 minutes I held him up en route! The medals were just icing on the cake, we had a great day and the weather could not have been better.

Dartmoor Classic Buddies

July

In the lead up to the RideLondon, my target had been to complete at least 100 training miles a week, peaking during July when I covered over 500 miles. It was during this month that I procured my GoPro camera, with the intention of capturing every second of the upcoming big ride. What followed were weekly video releases of our AVP rides as I perfected the art of film production! My favourite pre RideLondon film must be Les Maillots Jaunes, but I'd be the first to admit I won't be giving up my day job!

My GoPro Hero3+ Black

August

Finally, the 2014 Prudential RideLondon arrives. Riding with my good friend Jason through biblical rain on an event which even my video can not do justice! My sponsors raised an amazing £1,570.73, over 200% of my target, for Diabetes UK .. Thank you so much, everyone for your generosity.

Just one of my RideLondon press cuttings

September

After the RideLondon, the rest of the year could have been a bit of an anticlimax, however, not only did I have the annual AVP 100 miler to look forward to, but also, having delayed our summer holidays due to my sportives, and now with the Yeti bike transport, a late holiday in Mull during the most perfect of India Summers inspired me to continue cycling .. oh yes, I also had that small matter of my 'half a century and not out' to celebrate!

Cycling Mull

October

Way back at the beginning of September, before I headed off to Mull, I accepted the role of AVP Kit Master, with immediate responsibility for ordering in the winter kit. This was one of those decisions which brought mixed emotions of joy and despair! But when finally, at the end of October, the big box of shrink-wrapped kit arrived and sales seemed to go well, my relief was palpable!

October also saw me enter an impromptu and my third sportive, the Autumn Storm.

November

The patter of new rubber on tarmac is heard as I collect my new Specialised Tarmac 'summer' road bike and reap the benefits of my first ever professional bike fit. Not totally planned but I just could not resist its smooth lines, integral cabling and silver paintwork .. not to mention the 'buy me now' price tag. Roll on summer!

Specialized Tarmac Expert - my new 'summer bike'

December

This Christmas it was our turn to do the festive family tour and now with the Yeti, I was able to bring one of my bikes with me. Following the arrival last month of the new Tarmac and my Roubaix having been designated the winter road bike, it was an easy decision .. the Roubaix was deep cleaned and loaded for travel. While away, I had two wonderful rides with both my sister and brother-in-law.

Back in September, en route to Mull, we stopped off with some very good friends near Castle Douglas. Coincidentally they just happened to be competing in a triathlon and seeing how much interest I showed in the event, they suggested I may want to give it a go myself and gave a very smart wetsuit to try out. Why do I mention this? Well, one of the gifts I received for Christmas was book entitled "Triathlon for Beginners". I feel a seed has been sown for my next 'Tour de Fitness' challenge!

So, during 2014, I have again taken my Tour de Fitness to another level; 2013 was all about getting back on a bike, 2014 was focussed on doing a couple of sportives, and with the Dartmoor Classic and RideLondon, I had an amazing year. For 2015 .. who knows .. it looks like it could be the year for a Triathlon!

Thank you to all my cycling buddies, Andy and Jason in particular, my fellow Axe Valley Pedallers, Wiggle, Chain Reaction, Evans, Soanes Cycles, The Bike Shed and of course my wife for making 2014 another wonderful cycling year .. Happy New Year to all!

Festive Family Tour

With the acquisition of the Yeti back in April, I've been able to carry my bike with me on many an adventure and this year's festive family tour was no exception.

After celebrating Christmas in Milton Keynes, my sister and I decided to take a late Boxing Day spin just as the heavens opened! Sticking to the Red Way cycle paths, my sister on her mountain bike and I on my Roubaix, rode 5 miles out to Melbourne. The plan was then to cross over to Loughton and complete a circuit via a northern loop of the lakes, however, with the route unclear, darkness rapidly falling and only one of us having lights, we had little option other than to make our return along the outward path. Icy sleet and rain drove into our faces and froze my fingers numb, I've not been so cold in some time!



From Milton Keynes, we headed over to Norwich. By the Sunday, the weather had remarkably cleared following my earlier wintery ride out with my sister, such that I was able to head out on a longer ride with my brother-in-law.

It felt a little bit unfair, however, with my brother-in-law both unaccustomed to cycling and having to ride his classic Sun GT10 Tourer while I was on my tried and tested carbon Roubaix! We, however, took our time and completed a very respectable 20 miles, 2x our last ride together back in 2013 and enjoyed both fabulous weather and scenery. The Roubaix even coped well on the muddy "cycle path" following the old railway line, although it had picked up so much mud and debris that shifting between cogs became a little troublesome and a worrying grating noise from the running gear accompanied us on our return journey .. a deep clean will be required on our return to Seaton!

Atlantic Mountain Biking

November is the month of my wedding anniversary and traditionally this has been a time when we head off for a relaxing break in a small cottage somewhere on the British Isles. For 2014, it was decided to be the turn of Cornwall and a converted barn, just outside of Padstow. This year I also had the wherewithal to bring along the Crosstrail, chosen in favour of the Roubaix due to the mile long dirt track leading from the barn to the closest piece of metalled road.

 

Much of the week was dedicated to some fine walking along the coastal paths and was not until five days into the holiday that I got the opportunity to lycra up and hit the lanes around Padstow. My afternoon's cycle was a one which took no set path, it was more a case of following roads until I hit the sea or a no cycling sign!

At one point I came across a herd of bullocks being driven down the road towards me. "I'd pull off the road and out the way", I was advised, "they don't like yellow" one of the farm hands commented ... with me there all decked out in AVP colours! 

At Trevone, I even made an attempt at cycling on sand but I soon saw why those bikes I've seen with the big tractor styled tyres are so designed; even the thick Crosstrail's tyres were brought to an abrupt halt in the looser stuff! 

It was great to be out on the Crosstrail after spending most of the spring and summer months on the Roubaix. It was a wonderful holiday feeling free to splash through the potholed puddles and slide through the muddy lanes, proving there is still a place for my hybrid in my ever growing collection of road bikes!

AVP Remembrance Ride 1914 - 2014

How quick the year has past. This time last year the weather was equally beautiful as Andy and I headed out on our club's  annual AVP Remembrance ride to Rousden. Today, Andy otherwise indisposed, I met up with fellow cyclist, Kelly for a similar quick 10 mile circuit out to Beer before joining the rest of the Pedallers for the main club ride.

With the weather so clear and sunny and the roads dried out from the previous weekend's quagmire, I could not resit taking the new Specialised Tarmac out for a spin before resting it up for the winter.

The Tarmac on Seaton seafront

In all, there were around 10 pedallers who finally headed out of Seaton and up to Rousden for the Remembrance service where we were again so warmly welcomed by the locals.

Team photo

Following the service, coffee and biscuits, Kelly, Richard and I decided to cycle on to Lyme Regis to check out their new and impressive beach promenade before then climbing (there's no other way out once you've cycled into Lyme) back to Seaton for a final coffee at the Broom Wagon.

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The Trials and Tribulations of a Kit Master

Back at the end of August, I somehow secured myself the role of Kit Master for the Axe Valley Pedallers. This was not a role that existed before nor one that I was actively looking for, but you know those situations when you raise a question and end up being the source of the answer ... well that's how it happened.

It took me around 10 months after joining the AVP to get my first club jersey, so knowing how we were not the most proactive club in sourcing kit, with the summer months coming to their inevitable end, I raised the request for an order to be placed for winter Jerseys. Having loved the ride out we completed earlier in the summer .. Les Maillots Jaunes .. where we were all dressed in our yellow jerseys, I had thought it would be wonderful for us to be able to continue this through the winter. Having raised the request, I was asked to canvass the club on numbers and it was just a short step from this for the suggestions for me to take on preparing the whole order. I accepted the challenge and my role of Kit Master was confirmed .. after all, how hard could it be!

Our kit supplier at the time was Gear Club; we'd had others in the past, but Gear Club had provided our most recent summer jersey. The introductions were made with sales manager and the seed was sown for a Club Winter Kit Evening. The venue was secured, our coffee shop, The BroomWagon where owner Glen kindly agreed to open up on a Monday evening. I had envisaged rails of kit in all sizes for the members to try and place orders. As it happened, Gear Club had an event in Germany that week and at the last minute pulled out of providing me the kit I needed. I could have postponed, but having delayed my 2 week main holiday to September because of a summer of sportives, it would be October before I could run the next event. Meanwhile, I had been talking to another supplier, Akuma - new to the cycling apparel, but major players in the market and even better, wholly British designed and made.

Meeting Gear Club

Akuma, were great in providing me samples for the event and just in time. The quality of their kit was very pro-cycling but so too was their pricing. The Kit Evening was a great success, mainly for it being a good club social rather than the fashion show I had intended. It did, however, advertise the fact that a kit order was being placed and gave me the opportunity to seek feedback as to the level of interest in a winter range. When it came down to placing the order, however, the total cost of Akuma kit was a bit too eye watering for the committee, also the sales manager with whom I'd been negotiating with abruptly upped and left the company, leaving me high and dry with no where to go on improving the deal. This fortunately coincided with Gear Club calling me to say they were back in the UK and would be at the Cycle Show should I want to see what they had to offer. A trip up the M5 to the Birmingham NEC proved to be time well spent. Not only did I get to see a good cycling friend of mine, I also got to meet the Gear Club team face to face and see the full range of their kit first hand. I couldn't also believe how many other kit suppliers there were promoting their wears ... note to self for next year.

Happy days, the box of kit arrives

Back in Devon, I had no hesitation in drawing up a fresh order with Gear Club for the 20+ winter jerseys and assorted garments. When it came down to it, cost has to be the key influencer in choosing a kit supplier for a small self-funding club. I had to put to one side my moral aversion of buying from a supplier using low cost Asian labour. My mission was, first and foremost, to get people in yellow on our winter rides and when members are raving over the latest range of low cost Lidl cycling kit, I'd never get close to achieving my goal by buying in a set of Rapha styled, 'made in the UK', jerseys!

That said, I've not totally given up on the idea of providing a premium range .. indeed I even purchased for myself a one off set of kit from Akuma to try along side the Gear Club range, although even this was not without its tribulations ... see if you can spot why in the picture below!

Spot the difference

Who would be a club Kit Master?!

AVP Sunday Ride to Broadwindsor

Richard, Shaun, Kelly, Gwyn, Jason, Handbag and I met at the TIC this morning for the 'impromptu' AVP Sunday Morning ride out to Broadwindsor; a route we had done with Buster on a steamy Tuesday evening back in July.

The ride did not get off to a good start as one of Kelly's SPD pedals self destructed. Fortunately, me having a spare set hanging around at home meant we were able to effect a quick swap, delaying us no more than 30 minutes.

Climbing out of Lyme brought us our second mechanical as Jason punctured and sticking to these things coming in threes, Richard completed the pitstops with a puncture climbing towards Marshwood.

The lanes which we'd made such good time over back in the summer were coated today in thick mud, such that bikes and unprotected backs .. for those with no guards .. would be needing a deep clean on our return.

The coffee and cake stop at Broadwindsor Craft Centre, 25 miles in, couldn't have come soon enough and I think all would recommend it .. having loads of space, a friendly and efficient greeting and a very extensive cake selection!

The weather stayed clear for most of the 45 mile circuit and it was great to see most of us wearing the new AVP winter jerseys

My New Specialised Tarmac

Yes.. we have the patter of new tyres in the household. Today, I collected my new Specialised Tarmac SL4 Expert Mid Compact (there's a mouthful) from the Bike Shed cycle shop in Exeter.

I had to take a day off work to do this as I'd promised myself, for my next bike purchase, to have a Specialized Bike Fit and these are not done on a weekend. While I had decided to go for the basic £100 3 step 2D experience and not the £200 5 step pro video 3D fit .. after all, I'm not planning on entering the Tour de France any time soon .. this bike fit, or "Body Geometry Fit" as Specialised call it, was amazing. Let me take you through the 3 steps to cycling comfort ad performance perfection ..

Tarmac setup for the bike fit

Step 1: PRE-FIT INTERVIEW AND FLEXIBILITY ASSESSMENT
Here, my Body Geometry Fit specialist talked with me about my riding experience and goals, and evaluated my strength and flexibility .. or lack of them! Apparently 30 years of flying a desk had done nothing for my body's flexibility, but it's good to know ones limitations. I was scored against 3 areas:
(1) Hamstring Range. Here I scored 4/10, not a good score even when I was at school, so as expected I slipped into the Red zone on my assessment chart.
(2) Hamstring Isolated. This is where each leg is independently scored having been stretched to its limit of painless movement. Being very much right handed, there was no surprise that my left less well and at the end of the exercise, my chart read, L 42/90 (Red) : R 55/90 (Yellow) .. is it too late to take up yoga?
(3) Hip Flexion. Not sure what this was, but think I may have been fighting back as I was being manoeuvred in this position or else I should be booking my hip replacement surgery soon! Yes, I was in the red zone again.

Step 2: PRODUCT SELECTION
During my assessment, my fitter had me sit on a pleistocene pad and stand on a heat sensitive board. From these he confirmed my saddle was OK for my boney behind but that I needed more arch support in my cycling shoes .. ka-ching! £20 for a new insole, but it did feel better.

Step 3: RIDE ANALYSIS
Here, I pedalled like a possessed thing as my fitter visually assessed my position on the bike and adjusted seat, shoe cleats and handle bars accordingly in order to determine my best and most efficient ride position. This is where we made the greatest gains. My seat hight was raised by at least 2 cm, both cleats were adjusted so that the float (lateral movement) was centralised and the handle bar stem was shortened by at least 1 cm .. I can't tell you how much of an improvement this has made since replicating these changes on my Roubaix.

So, I feel this has certainly, so far anyway, been money well spent.

Ready for our first ride

Back home, as I was already all kitted up, we went our for our first ride together to see the Axe Valley highlights .. the harbour cafe for lunch, Soanes Cycles to check in on Sid and the team and then the Broom Wagon coffee shop for a strong black Americano .. what a perfect end to a perfect day of cycling treats!