March Update

So we find ourselves at the end of March.  I’m sat here thinking where on earth has the first quarter of the year gone already!

During March I’ve ridden the Chirk 200k and Todmorden Loops audaxes, in addition to the Mad March Hare sportive.  I’ve also done a few other training rides and my daily commute too.  In total in March I’ve done 563.9 miles and 21,490ft of climbing, using over 26,000 kcalories!  That means that so far this year I’ve done 1563.4 miles.  At present I’m only doing one “long” or training ride a week, usually on a Sunday.  As I get nearer to my sponsored ride I’ll probably move to both Saturday and Sunday to step up the mileage.

Another big milestone during March was breaking the £1,000 mark for my sponsorship, which now stands at £1,040.  Once again I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who has contributed so far.  If you haven’t and wish to do so please follow the following link

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/adehughes

Bradley Wiggins Photo @bradwiggins

Sorting out my stuff in iPhoto I came across the photos I took last year when the Tour of Britain route wasn’t far from my house.  Here’s a couple of Bradley Wiggins in the Manchester rain!

Chirk 200 Audax

The Chirk 200 Audax is a qualifying event for the 2011 Paris-Brest-Paris Randonneur.  So as well as being a decent audax it was also pretty popular too.  This was the first Audax I’ve done that did not have a formal HQ and nice food before and after – Brevet cards were picked up from the back of a van in a car park in Poynton!  Having suggested to Anthony that we meet at 7-45am for an 8am start he decided 7-30am would be better.  He turned up bang on time at 7-50am, although in mitigation he was still ill and suffering, having had the week off work.  More on that later.  Chatting to a guy from Saddleworth Clarion it appeared his buddy hadn’t factored in the clocks going forward as he was nowhere to be seen and not answering the phone!  As it was, Anthony and I were one of the last to leave the car park, setting off fifteen minutes late.

The route was a very familiar one, taking us through many back lanes that we use for club runs, and interestingly, putting us on the route of the Cheshire Cat for a good chunk of the ride.  We headed southwest, the weather pretty overcast and a bit chilly.  Although this is about as flat a long ride as you can get there were still the odd cheeky hill in there.

3,668ft ascent

We’d started reeling in riders as we moved up the field but the first cafe stop came along before we knew, and a welcome (free) cup of coffee and a bacon butty!  As we set off again we carried on at a decent pace catching and passing our fellow audaxers, Anthony coping admirably in his weakened state.  Every time we passed we got a friendly acknowledgement or a jokey remark – far from some of the surliness you encounter on the sportives.  It wasn’t long before the road signs started doubling up with unfathomable letters suggesting that we were in Wales!  About 10 miles out from the second cafe stop we almost sub-consciously upped the pace again, catching and passing rider after rider, including a guy hauling a very heavy looking tricycle up a hill.  When we arrived at the second cafe in Chirk it was very familiar – the cafe we’d stopped at last year on the Llangollen Panorama audax.  Our plan had worked and we were at the front of the queue, got a seat and were served our beans on toast in a couple of minutes.  Brilliant!  We exchanged a few words with a maniac doing the ride on a fixie and a couple of guys from Southport CC – these rides are really friendly and sociable.

Leaving Chirk we had the only real climbs as we looped back on ourselves and headed northeast.  The sun was pushing through now making it a lovely day for cycling.  We found ourselves on the route of the Cheshire Cat but heading the other way.  Hundreds of riders must have passed us but we didn’t see any of the North Cheshire Clarion riders who were taking part.  And many of the miserable sportive riders didn’t even acknowledge our waves or hello’s.  Must have been the 40+ quid it had cost them.  Smug in the knowledge that our ride had cost us a fiver we pushed on riding familiar club run lanes until we hit the ice cream farm and stop number 3.

Cake and coffee fuelled we were on the home stretch, passing the psychological 100 miles mark and then counting the miles down.  A lot of this is in your head but Anthony was really struggling with his cold, and things like your back, neck and, bizarrely, elbows start to ache.

As we arrived back at the car park there were a surprisingly large number of cars still there, showing that we must have been somewhere near the front – not bad considering we set off at the back, as per usual.

Special mention again for Anthony, who battled round and completed the ride.  Exceptional effort.

Ride stats : 130 miles in 8 hrs 15mins @ 15.7mph average.  3668ft of ascent, average HR of 130bpm and 5689 kcals used

Cracked the £1000 mark for @TheBHF !!

Brilliant news as my sponsorship total has ticked over the £1000 mark.  Really pleased and would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has helped by sponsoring me, so THANK YOU!

A Race for Madmen – Book Recommendation

I’ve just finished reading this excellent book by Chris Sidwells (I also have a bike maintenance book by him which is also good).  The book describes the history of the Tour de France, bringing it to life through individual tales of riders old and new.

As a record of the 100-odd years of the Tour de France it is excellent, from the early days when the race was finding its feet, to the modern era when it went through dark hours of doping and widespread drug abuse.

It tells the story of great champions such as Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, my personal favourite Miguel Indurain, and Lance Armstrong; and many others as well.

Well written and interesting I’d recommend it highly to anyone interested in either cycling or modern history.  If like me you like both then you’re quids in!

You can find it here

Who Stole My Legs…?

After our jolly japes in the mountains of Todmorden on Sunday I played football yesterday evening.  My legs felt fine and it was a good game.

Got on my bike this morning and although my legs were a bit stiff and achy, it’s mostly downhill so I didn’t notice too much.

However tonight on my way home was a different story.  My bike is a fixie so there’s no hiding place.  Jelly legs and no power going up the relatively mild hills of my commute.  And they don’t half ache now!

Todmorden Loops – Hard, Hard, Hard!

Today I did possibly the most difficult ride I’ve ever done.  It was a real challenge.  71 miles of almost relentless climbing – some 2700m or 8900ft of it.  There were long draggy hills and short (-ish) sharp and very steep hills.  They just kept coming.

It was sleeting on the way to the HQ this morning which had turned to a light drizzle by the time we arrived.  North Cheshire Clarion riders Anthony, Phil, Martin and Martin(a) were braving the elements.  After a cup of coffee we were ready for the off – left out of the HQ, left again and then HANG ON A SECOND, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!  ”This” was a 20% mile-long climb literally within minutes of the start.  Cold muscles protested as we dropped down the gears and headed up the road, which looked like a wall with a line down the middle.  My lungs were really painful as I struggled to get oxygen in – and they didn’t recover for the rest of the day, leaving me sounding like a 40-a-day chain smoker.  I soon went past some people pushing their bikes until I reached the summit and then waited for the others.  The ride went downhill (well, uphill) from that point on.  A big climb up to Weir and then a drop into Bacup, followed by the climb out over the tops to another fast descent down towards Todmorden.  Turn right and a climb up to Lumbutts and the end of the first loop, at which point Phil retired as his asthma was flaring up alarmingly.

Caked up we set off on the second loop dropping down from Lumbutts at which point Martin punctured

You don't want to do that...

Off again and then up a big climb again – a half mile or so at a steep gradient.

We went up all of those hills you can see...

...and those

Then a descent down to the start of Crag Vale – the longest continuous climb in England.  Nearly six continuous miles of climbing but I got into a nice rhythm at between 10 and 11 mph and I trundled up going past a number of riders and feeling pretty pleased with myself.  Then a guy in white went past me like I was stood still and put a quarter of a mile into me in a very short time.  The top of Crag  Vale is moorland and I thought I was catching him – the gap was closing.  Then the headwind off the moor hit me too and the gap opened up again!  A fast descent from the White House down into Littleborough and towards Todmorden and then turning right and up again back to our second visit to the church hall at Lumbutts.  Sterling service (and an eccentric “pep rally” from the vicar – I think he was the vicar) saw us full of cake again and ready for the last loop.  Phil had met us there so with his words of encouragement ringing in our ears we headed off again.

A fast descent from Lumbutts and then an absolute beast of a climb.  At least a mile, maybe more, of gradients between 18 and 20-odd%.  It was ridiculously hard work.  At the top I waited for first Martin(a) to come up and then Anthony.  And then… nothing.  And nothing.  And then a guy in a blue waterproof – that must be him.   Er no, and the guy hadn’t seen anyone.  But hang on, his mate was behind, he’d have seen him.  Nope.  Desperate phonecalls ensued to be met with voicemail.  None of us wanted to ride down it, worried we wouldn’t get up it a second time.  After 20 minutes, Martin rang.  Somehow he was at HQ, having ridden past the right turn into the monster climb.  20 minutes later he was with us.  The route now took us onto the same route as the end of Seasons of the Mist, but in the opposite direction.  A real roller coaster of painful hills and then fast descents.  And that continued pretty much all the way back.

Overall there must have been 10 climbs with a gradient over 15%, some of which must have been 20%+,  and numerous smaller ones.

As somebody who likes hills by the end even I had had enough.  My legs were like jelly, my lungs were sore and concentrating was difficult!  Even my arms were sore from pulling on the bars up hill and braking hard on the fast descents.

All through the day we had criss-crossed a group of lady riders.  As we limped into the HQ at the end as four broken men in a daze, they were sat there very chirpily chatting away.  The final demoralisation!  But then we realised that we’d done it, which was something to be proud of, and for my own personal satisfaction I didn’t stop on a single hill.  Having said how difficult it was my HR did not hit maximum as much as it did last year, hence I guess I’m getting fitter.

The food at the end was welcome and tasty – another audax that puts the Sportives to shame.  Chatting to one of the lady riders she mentioned she reads an NCC blog so if that was you Trio, then it’s probably mine.  Much respect to her as we passed her in the car as she rode home up yet another hill over towards Bacup.

Yet again the Garmin let me down.  The route that was provided was appallingly bad and despite the Garmin showing me my stats it refused to sync them across to the computer.  Which meant no map or detailed analysis.  I’ve upgraded to 3.3 software again – gulp!

Ride stats : 71.8 miles in 5hrs 58m @ 12mph average.  8900ft of climbing, 4998kcals of energy. Average HR of 137bpm

Mending Broken Hearts Appeal

You may have seen the British Heart Foundation adverts on TV.  If not then take a look

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChWTIyvP_ig

You can help fund the research by sponsoring me

Thanks

Stepping it up – 1200 miles before London to Brussels?

So far I’ve only done 508 miles in January and 480 miles in February.  If the thing that’s stopped you sponsoring me so far is the thought that I’m not taking this seriously then let me tell you about my forthcoming plans for March, April, May and June.  Readers of this blog will know that I completed the Mad March Hare Sportive last Sunday and here’s what I’ll be doing going forward

• March 13th – Todmorden Loops Audax – 113km (70 miles) and a shedload of climbing
• March 27th – Chirk 200 Audax – 200km (124 miles)
• April 10th – Peak 100 Sportive – 105km (65 miles) 7000ft of climbing, 8 classified climbs including Mow Cop
• April 17th – Wrynose or Bust – 112miles – including severe climbs over Grisebeck, Wrynose Pass and Grizedale Forest
• April 20th to 22nd – Warrington to Stirling for the National Clarion Easter Meet – 270 miles
• April 24th – Gateway to the Highlands Sportive – 62 miles
• May 1st – Mayday in Montgomery audax – 308km (191 miles) - yes, in one go!
• May 22nd – Wheel Heroes 100 Cotswolds Sportive – 100 miles
• June 12th - North Lancs Cycleway and Bowland Forest Populaire Audax – 108km (67 miles) and 1.75AAA points
• June 26th – Tan Hill 200 Audax – 207km (128 miles)

So without any other riding there’s about 1200 miles there.  Surely worth some sponsorship for a worthy cause?

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/adehughes

Thanks

Boardman Bikes

As Boardman bikes announces a new lineup of road bikes for 2011 that takes it into direct competition with a lot of more established brands, I think that few people will be as qualified as me to comment on the merits of their bikes.

In the 14 months that I have owned my Team Carbon I have covered over 5,500 miles on it, climbed nearly 217,000ft and spent 15 days and 13 hours in the saddle, covering the length and breadth of the country.  I know what I’m talking about with this bike.

The bike looks sporty, with it’s angled top tube, oversize down tube, and very straight front forks.  It looks like it means business.  It’s very light but stiff enough to be instantly responsive.  It almost eggs you on to get out of your seat and hammer it.  It climbs beautifully, and descends very assuredly.  Going fast round corners is a confident pleasure.

The wheels aren’t the best feature so I’ve changed them to Shimano RS80′s – making the bike even more responsive.  The rest of the kit on the bike has been first rate – I especially like SRAM double-tap.

I’ll be looking to buy a new bike in the future, and perhaps step up to the next level.  There’s a lot of brand snobbery out there, but after my experiences of this bike, the new elite range  will certainly be on my list to be considered.  If you’re in the market for a bike I would say don’t discount Boardman bikes.