A Mere Two Hundred Audax

Notice the Garmin data error

Setting off in the grey morning light, with the wind howling around, was a little trepidatious, but to quote Phil Onixtwin “It’s January, what do you feckin expect?!”

The wind was blowing hard across us from the north-east as we headed south-west – an almost perfect crosswind.  Sticking with the pack seemed like a good idea for the 5 of us Clarionista’s from North Cheshire, but unfortunately the pace proved a little much for some and so we fell back into a secondary peloton, with Graeme and myself driving the train.  It was hard work and the gusts were scary at times.

Alp's Diet!

First stop was the station cafe at Delamere.  The next stretch took us down to Ellesmere.  Martin struggled really badly down this section before getting a second wind, and we regrouped at the garage control before turning back and heading to the Raven truckers cafe.

An occasional tailwind was very welcome at this point and the food at the Raven was very good.  We set off again and split into two groups, with Graeme, myself and Gary pushing on.

Around 4,000ft of ascent (Garmin data problems so estimated down from 5,600ft in device)

The ride wasn’t particularly hilly but with the wind it felt pretty tiring.  As the sun set the lanes pretty quickly became pitch-black, with just my Chinese army searchlight to light the way.  In the confusion Graeme and I lost Gary, thinking he’d gone past us as I stopped to adjust the light on my helmet.

As we arrived back at HQ there was no sign but he rolled in fairly soon afterwards.  Martin, however, managed to do an extra 40km after taking a wrong turn.  After the day he’d had you have to admire the resilience he showed to stick with it!

Ride stats : 129 miles in 8hrs 25m @ 15.3mph.  4,000ft of climbing, 5,650kcals of energy and average HR of 142bpm

Garmin Update

As predicted by many on the forums, Garmin have replaced my faulty chest strap without any fuss whatsoever, which is great service from them.  However, it does point to this being a known issue that they are aware of.

A further update on my experience of the polar strap that I am currently using is that this is a very comfortable strap (more so than the Garmin) and so far there appear to have been no issues or problems with it from an accuracy point of view.  The only real difference is that you need to dampen the contact points before wearing.

Hope this provides some useful information if you are starting to see spikes or irregular readings with your Garmin.

More Garmin Woes…

A strange thing happened the other evening on my commute home.  The heart-rate alarm went off on my Garmin.  Now I’ve been reading fellow cyclists blogs and tweets talking about heart-rate based training – basically riding in zone 1 (50%-60% of max heart-rate) and zone 2 (60%-70%) to aid fat burning.  I struggle with staying in these zones at weekends so have resolved to try and do it on my commute instead, which is easier to control on my fixie.  Anyway, the alarm goes off when my heart-rate is above 190bpm!  And I was pottering along at a very easy pace.  Looking at my Garmin the HR was registering in the high 180′s and 190′s.  After quickly discounting having a heart-attack, I adjusted the premium heart-rate strap in an attempt to correct it.  In fact it went up to 225bpm – see graph above.

I’ve done a number of experiments now with the strap and have concluded that it is faulty.  The problem is repeatable but unpredictable – you can ride for some time with a seemingly sensible reading and then it will spike upwards.  But it is consistent in that it now happens every ride.  Sometimes it reads 155bpm without the strap on.

A quick search on the Garmin forums and the internet proved the issue is not unique to me.  It seems that plenty of people have reported the same problem.  Note that this is the premium Garmin soft strap with the transmitter that clips onto the front via two press-studs that comes with the 800 (I think also the 500, 410 and 310 but I’m not sure), and not the hard plastic fronted one that come with the 705 or 305.  It seems that Garmin will replace the straps – so I’ve contacted them and we’ll see how that gets on.

In the meantime the threads suggested that a better solution was to buy a replacement strap from Polar – the Polar Wearlink+ strap.  It uses the same press-stud connectors and the transmitter from the Garmin just snaps right on.  The Polar strap is good quality and more comfortable, and so far my real-world tests have proved that it is reading sensibly.  The strap itself was £11 or so from Wiggle and well worth it, regardless of whether Garmin replace my original strap.

Hope this helps if you are noticing erratic Garmin chest strap HR readings.

Here is somebody else’s findings on the subject in a bit more detail, including pictures of the relevant items.

A Game of Two Halves

Hopey New Year is a 104km audax with 1.75AAA points.  I was on my own for this one and was off on time and heading south.  The first 30 or so miles flew by and by the halfway point I was averaging 17.3mph.  It was really very pleasant, and I even had a fox running along the road in front of me for a short distance.  And then we left Ashbourne, climbed the big hill out and turned north west directly into a tremendous blocking headwind.

Spot the turn into the headwind...

At that point my speed dropped to around 6mph going uphill, and on the flat it was barely above 9mph, grinding away in the small ring!  At one point I was pedalling hard downhill and managing 15mph.  The Windy Ridge Cafe (aptly name) couldn’t come kick enough for some welcome food and respite from the wind.  Each rider coming in was looking almost shell-shocked, but I took the opportunity to chat with audax stalwarts from Saddleworth Clarion and Derby Mercury.

Leaving the cafe it was a short push until a 90° turn made making headway easier but now meant there was a vicious sidewind.  At one point on a descent I thought I’d lost it as the wind started an oscillation in my front wheel that genuinely scared the living daylights out of me.

5,664ft of ascent

About 13 miles out from the finish there was a massive bang and my rear wheel instantly deflated.  Fantastic.  When I got the wheel off I was pretty concerned as the tyre had a half inch split in it.  I changed the tube and put a couple of patches inside and outside the tyre.

The final 13 miles was nerve-wracking, wondering if the tyre would split further.  This is the second Schwalbe Ultremo DD that’s done this to me and I suspect that the Speedracer mudguards I use rub slightly and then punctures actually tear the tyre.  Regardless, the mudguards are now off (apologies to anyone riding behind me) and I’ll be changing to a different brand of tyre.

About a quarter of a mile from the end the tyre started to go down but I limped to the finish and realised my legs were absolutely battered.  All good miles in the legs!

Ride stats : 66 miles in 4hrs 50m @ 13.7mph average.  5,664ft of ascent and 3,675kcals used.  Ft/Mile climb ratio = 85.8

 

Hilly Rides

Battling up Mow Cop

I’ve had many conversations with fellow cyclists over the last couple of years about hills, and riding up (and down) them.  I guess they are a bit like marmite – most people either love them or hate them.  I’m not sure I love them but I’m definitely nearer the former than the latter.  I see climbs as a personal challenge, a goal to be conquered or an achievement to tick off (I’ve so far ticked off 14 from the 100 Greatest Climbs book by Simon Warren).  And I’ll be paying a visit to the French Alps in May with some mates in order to tick a few more famous ones off.  But I digress.  Hills are also great for training purposes – because if you can maintain a decent pace on a hilly ride then you’ll be surprised how much easier (and therefore quicker) a flatter ride will be.  In fact, if you are stuck for time and want to do a quickish ride but still get a lot of “bang for your buck” fitness-wise then a short route with a few stiff climbs could be just what you need.

What constitutes hilly is a subject of much debate.  Total climb is possibly one method.  Here’s a list of the top 10 rides I’ve done by total climb (as recorded by my Garmin GPS)

1. Tan Hill 200 – 132 miles and 12,071ft
2. Ryedale Rumble – 111 miles and 9,064ft
3. Pistyll Packing Momma – 132 miles and 8,905ft
4. Todmorden Loops – 72 miles and 8,900ft
5. Goyt Peak – 69 miles and 8,530ft
6. Northern Dales – 125 miles and 8,287ft
7. Lejog Day 1 (Cornwall and Devon) – 111 miles and 8,259ft
8. Season of Mists – 64 miles and 7,535ft
9. Up and Down to West Riding – 78 miles and 7,463ft
10. Macc Monster – 64 miles and 6,981ft

There are a few scientific methods for measuring how tough a climb is, such as the ClimbByBike-Index or the Fiets-Index, but I tend to use a very much simpler measure.  Basically, if a ride has anything over about 60ft of climbing per mile then I consider it hilly.  If it has around a 100ft of climbing per mile then I consider that to be very hilly.  Here’s a re-sorted list of the top 10 using ft climb per mile ridden as a measure

1. Todmorden Loops – 124
2. Goyt Peak – 124
3. Season of Mists – 117
4. Macc Monster – 109
5. Up and Down to West Riding – 95.7
6. Tan Hill 200 – 91
7. Ryedale Rumble – 82
8. Lejog Day 1 (Cornwall and Devon) – 74
9. Pistyll Packing Momma – 67.5
10. Northern Dales – 66

It’s not a perfect method by any stretch of the imagination but it’s something I’ve arrived at after riding a lot of hilly routes and events, and I can confirm that the two at the top were probably the toughest of the bunch on that list in terms of sheer climbing.

So if you are planning your training for the year, then have a go at a few hills.  I have a standard “quick” route that I use which is 32 miles and has just over 2,000ft of ascent, or a rating of about 63 – good enough for training purposes.  I also occasionally add The Rake into it for a quick burst of 25% challenge!  If you draw up a similar route for yourself and use it repeatedly to build up your hill-climbing ability then I suggest that your overall capabilities will improve, and your overall enjoyment of cycling too.

Happy New Year

Happy new year to everyone who reads this blog.  I hope you are able to achieve all you want from cycling in 2012.  

Once again, I’ve a target of 100 miles per week in mind, but I’m also interested in doing my first 400km audax, and have pencilled in the Heartbeat 400 at the end of April.  I’m also planning to enter a 24 hour time-trial and have a week in the alps planned at the end of May, so have a target of ticking off at least Alpe D’Huez and Galibier.

Let me know what your targets are for the year and hopefully I will see you out on the roads and help you along.

WordPress 2011 Blog Review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 12,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

My Cycling Year – 2011

Picture in Cycling Active Magazine

I don’t know if it just seems that way but 2011 certainly felt like a very wet and windy year, certainly compared to 2010.  I can’t recall getting soaked very often at all in 2010 but it seems it was every other week this year, especially in the last few weeks of December where I managed to rack up 381 miles.  That said it’s been a good year overall for pushing on and ticking off some of my goals.  Here’s a summary of my year

•  6,724 miles completed in 18d 10hrs 10m at an average speed of 15.2mph
• 290,260ft of ascent, or approximately 10 times Mount Everest
• 320,839 kcalories used, or the equivalent of 92lbs of fat (so why am I still fat!?)
• Rode through the night and in a foreign country for the first time
• I could say I got my picture in a cycling magazine (see above) but the reality is that a picture I was in appeared in a cycling magazine
• I managed 15 imperial centuries during the year and rode in sportives, audaxes, time-trials, a hill climb and charity rides
• Rode 4,633 miles on my Boardman, 2,058 miles single-speed fixed on my Langster and 32 miles on my new Canyon summer bike
• Suffered 7 punctures during the year and went through several sets of tyres, including Michelin Krylion Carbon, Schwalbe Ultremo DD and Bontrager Hardcase

Mileage by month

Charity

In July I cycled from London to Brussels in 24 hours in aid of The British Heart Foundation, personally raising £2,028 and being part of a group that raised nearly £40,000 for vital research into heart disease.  This was my longest single ride, some 240 miles with no sleep, and we managed to make it with just 15 minutes to spare.

Grand Place, Brussels

Sportive

This year I took a decision to mostly ignore sportives, and only did 7 that generally supported charities.  Of particular note (again) were the Kidscan Peak 100 and Macc Monster rides for their great organisation and value for money.  Particularly challenging ones were the Ryedale Rumble and the Wrynose or Bust rides.  However, perhaps the one I enjoyed most was the Spring into the Highlands sportive organised by West Lothian Clarion as part of the National Clarion Easter Meet.

Time-Trial

I’m not really into time-trials but I managed to take part in 8 Kilton 8.75m TT’s organised by the Seamons club.  My personal best was 22m 13s for the course but it’s safe to say that I didn’t really get hooked and won’t be buying a TT bike, skin suit or pointy hat!  I also did my first hill-climb, organised by Bury Clarion, which was thoroughly enjoyable, if not absolutely lung-bursting!

Audax

Most of my focus this year has been on audax.  I completed 20 of them, including 9 200k’s and my first 300k.  In doing so I accumulated 31.25 AAA points (1AAA point = 1000metres verified ascent), which meant I got the AAA award for 20 AAA points in a season, in addition to Brevet 1000 and Randonneur 1000 awards.  As I have written extensively over the year I thoroughly recommend audaxes for their friendliness, value and variety of route and challenge.  Special thanks go to all the organisers of audaxes for putting in loads of time and effort for nothing in return – it is very much appreciated.

Clarion

There were a couple of notable events this year relating to the National Clarion in 2011.  The first was the 116th Easter Meet in Stirling, organised by West Lothian Clarion.  Together with Giles, Sarah, Martin and Dave from North Cheshire Clarion we rode up to Scotland in 3 days, covering 263 miles and winning a trophy for furthest distance cycled to the event.  Sarah also came away with Clubwoman of the Year 2011 to make it a very successful event!  Superbly organised by West Lothian, it made for a very enjoyable Easter.  The second Clarion related highlight was recreating a famous photograph in Lymm from 1929.

Lymm 2011

Blog

Finally, there’s this blog.  I mostly do this as a record of my cycling that I can look back on, and in the hope that it may be vaguely interesting or contain useful information for fellow cyclists.  In 2011 I’ve had 12,972 visits which I’m quite pleased with.

Thanks

Most of all I’d like to thank the people I rode with during the year who helped make it enjoyable and fun.  They are no oil paintings but here’s a few of them below

Boots!

Good company

I have been asked to point out that this is not the only thing Anthony is good at

Arriving at Stirling

Anthony, Andy and Andrew at the second cafe

I hope 2011 was as rewarding for you, and here’s to a great 2012.

Hello Mow Cop my Old Friend

I looked out of the window at 7-30am and was greeted with a traditional North Manchester torrential downpour.  And worse, the wind was howling through the trees.  Part of me thought, briefly, about going back to bed, but I knew that if I did I’d be annoyed with myself for the rest of the day.  And anyway, the ride was in Cheshire, and it tends to rain less there!

When I arrived at the lay-by where the club meets there was nobody there.  At least there was no rain but I thought I’d be off on my own.  As it was a few turned up but only one member, Lee, was up for the training ride.

The outbound leg was pretty uneventful.  The wind was behind us which meant coming back would be a bit of a struggle, but we made decent enough time until we reached the familiar level crossing at the bottom of Mow Cop.

2,561ft of ascent

This was Lee’s first attempt at Mow Cop.  I’d warned him to save something for the ramp, especially as he was on a 34-25 ratio.  But off he went in front of me.  He’s probably 3 or more stone heavier than me so he must have some power as he made it to the foot of the ramp and then powered up that.  If you’ve never done Mow Cop before, it starts off with a steep section from the level crossing before getting marginally easier for a short while.  It then steepens again until you see the ramp and the 25% sign after about a mile of climbing.  The ramp is only about 100 yards or so before that flattens but it’s a real sting in the tail.  So big respect to Lee for getting up on his first try.

The descent was quick and exciting and we stopped at Congleton Garden Centre coffee shop.  They took a fair while to bring our order but I have to say the poached egg on toast was done to perfection.

One more decent hill out of the way and we turned towards home and into the very stiff headwind.  Lee was struggling a little now so tucked in behind me as we pushed into it.  About 10 miles out from the end the inevitable rain started, and my speed involuntarily slowed as the stinging rain drove into my face.

By the time we reached the end we were pretty soaked, and Lee had a fine splattering of mud that had made it past my speedracer mkII mud guards!  Unbelievably that was the first ride of this winter where I have felt cold.

Ride Stats : 61.78 miles in 3hrs 56mins @ 15.7mph average.  2,561ft of ascent, average HR 155bpm and 3,617kcals energy used

Warmest November on Record?

I think I’ve heard that November was the warmest on record.  You’d think that would mean the opportunity to get a lot of miles in on the bike.  Unfortunately not

For a number of reasons I only managed 308 miles.  I was on the bike for 19 hours and 35 minutes with a pathetic 12,100ft of climbing, using 15,188 kcals of energy.

That makes my total so far for 2011 6,343 miles.

Onwards and upwards…