Happy new year!

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Soldato
Joined
28 Oct 2006
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Sufferlandria
But it's October?

2014 season is over, i'v had a few weeks rest and 2015 starts now!
This is my thread from last year. It was pretty successful - I got my first win, came very close to getting my Cat2 licence and had a lot of other good results. The workload was high (but just about manageable) and the results were good, so i'm pretty much going to do exactly the same again with a little more of my learning from this year applied.
Some of the main changes I plan to make are:
-Not being so anal about the numbers. I'll try and stick to the HR/Power zones when I can but last year I was so focused on this that I skipped a lot of club runs and rides with friends so that I could ride exactly at the pace I needed. I'm going to be a bit more relaxed this year - a few sprints for the 30 signs wont hurt.
-More gym. Did the absolute minimum that from the plan last year and I dont feel that it made much difference. I'll try and keep it up longer this year to see if I can get more benefit.
-Be more flexible. This time around, i'm planning winter training. Last year I tried to work out a plan for a full racing season but with uncertainty about where and when i'll be racing, it fell apart pretty quick. I'm going to focus on getting a good winter in this year then plan what races i'm riding and what specific training i need for them closer to the time.

Another possible change could be the inclusion of more cross-training. I wasnt prepared for a bad winter last year and was lucky that we had a mild winter. I'm going to try and be more prepared for bad weather this year. I plan on getting more warm/waterproof kit for cycling, maybe some touring skis or snowshoes and including some swimming as well.


General layout again is 3 consecutive weeks of increasing workload followed by a recovery week.

Week beginning: 20/10/2014
Total time: 11hours
Weight: around 84kg, will edit with correct figure later

Monday: (E1) 1 hour, easy pace (+gym)
Tuesday: (E2) 1.5 hours, zone 2
Wednesday: (S1) 1.5 hours, 'spin-ups' 1min intervals gradual increase cadence to max + 3mins rest
Thursday: (E2) 2.5 hours, zone 2
Friday: gym
Saturday: (E2) 1.5 hours, zone 2
Sunday: (E2) 3 hours, zone2 heart rate, seated hills
 
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Week1 done. All planned time on the bike complete, missed 1 gym session on the Monday though.
Weather was good to me this week. Pretty windy but generally dry and not too cold. Still thinking about options for cross-training when the snow comes.
I have increased my power zones slightly over last year's figures. Most of my riding at this time of year is at zone2 which was 200watts last year and i'm now aiming for around 220watts. Not done an FTP test for a while so this might change when i know my figured better (first FTP test comes in week4).

Next week is exactly the same.

Week beginning: 27/10/2014
Total time: 11hours
Weight: 83kg

Monday: (E1) 1 hour, zone1 (+gym)
Tuesday: (E2) 1.5 hours, zone 2
Wednesday: (S1) 1.5 hours, 'spin-ups' 1min intervals gradual increase cadence to max + 3mins rest
Thursday: (E2) 2.5 hours, zone 2
Friday: gym
Saturday: (E2) 1.5 hours, zone 2
Sunday: (E2) 3 hours, zone2
 
Week2 done. Missed both gym sessions this week, struggling to find time to get to the gym. It's fine for cycling because I can go out whenever I want. Through the winter, it's no darker at 11pm than it is at 6pm, so it doesnt make a difference to go out later and get home around 10-11pm. Cant do that with the gym though. I'll maybe try and get there early in the morning before work this week - i'm no morning person though!

Weight this week remains at 83kg, which i'm surprised at. Went out with some friends on my MTB for thursday's ride and we decided to stop for a quick pint on the way home. In typical MTBer fashion, the 'quick pint' turned into many pints...and shots and a wobbly ride home at 2am. Hangover the next day at work means lots of unhealthy food consumed.
Also had a load of sweets left over from halloween.
So, not a good week nutritionally, but I got all the cycling done that I wanted so it could have been worse.

Next week is week3 of the first 4 week block. It's exactly the same as the previous 2 weeks:

Week beginning: 03/11/2014
Total time: 11hours
Weight: 83kg

Monday: (E1) 1 hour, zone1 (+gym)
Tuesday: (E2) 1.5 hours, zone 2
Wednesday: (S1) 1.5 hours, 'spin-ups' 1min intervals gradual increase cadence to max + 3mins rest
Thursday: (E2) 2.5 hours, zone 2
Friday: gym
Saturday: (E2) 1.5 hours, zone 2
Sunday: (E2) 3 hours, zone2

I'd forgotten about taking pictures first week, but remembered this week:
ztu3PjD.jpg
 
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Pretty good week this week. Feeling good on the bike.
Couldnt be bothered going out on wednesday night so I had an extra 1.5 hours to make up today. 4.5 hours this morning was much easier than expected.
Starting to get cold now though. The sun was out and the sky was clear so it was nice to be out riding but a few spots in the shade where the puddles were still frozen and there was frost around. Soon be time for the ice tyres to come out again.

Next week is the final week in the 4 week 'Prep' phase. Again, it's identical to the previous 3 weeks.

Week beginning: 03/11/2014
Total time: 11hours
Weight: 82kg (weighed myself on the proper scales at the gym on friday, actual weight is 84kg so my scales might underestimate a little. I'm going to continue recording my weight using them though because actual weight is not important, the change is important)

Monday: (E1) 1 hour, zone1 (+gym)
Tuesday: (E2) 1.5 hours, zone 2
Wednesday: (S1) 1.5 hours, 'spin-ups' 1min intervals gradual increase cadence to max + 3mins rest
Thursday: (E2) 2.5 hours, zone 2
Friday: gym
Saturday: (E2) 1.5 hours, zone 2
Sunday: (E2) 3 hours, zone2

ZIlrR9v.jpg
 
Managed to salvage a bit from what could have been a terrible week last week. Out for a mates birthday on friday and our 'end-of-season' night out with the cycling boys on saturday meant I didnt get much cycling done over the weekend. Got a bit extra done through the week before, so only a couple of hours down on my target.

That's me now at the end of the first 4 week block, "Prep", and now moving onto "Base 1". The 4 week block from now are 3 weeks of increasing duration then 1 week rest+recovery.
The numbers for the first block are:
week1 - 12.5 hours
week2 - 15.5 hours
week3 - 17.5 hours
week4 - 9 hours

So, week 1 goes like this:
Week beginning: 17/11/2014
Total time: 12.5hours
Weight: 82kg

Monday: no bike. gym session.
Tuesday: (E2) 1.5 hours, zone2
Wednesday: (E2) 2.5 hours, zone 2
Thursday: (E2) 2 hours, zone 2
Friday: (S2) 1 hour, individual leg intervals
Saturday: (E2) 2 hours, zone 2
Sunday: (E2) 3.5 hours, zone 2

g3zlpKH.jpg
anybody getting fed up with the boring scenery pictures yet? :p
 
Oops, forgot to update this last week.
Nothing exciting to report anyway.

I'm a bit down on my hours this week. Had an interesting ride today though, met up with some guys from a local Army base cycling club and had a ride around their airfield (ex RAF base). By far the flattest ride i've ever done - 167ft elevation in 26miles! By the time I drove through there, got sorted out, through security, briefed, etc we were away most of the day but only actually 1.5 hours on the bike.

Next week is supposed to be the biggest week of this block, 17.5 hours. It's going to be very difficult to get that done though: I have a xmas night out to go to on friday and a cyclocross race on sunday. I'll make a plan for the full time anyway and see how much I can do:

Week beginning: 01/12/2014
Total time: 17.5hours
Weight: 81kg

Monday: (E2) 3 hours
Tuesday: (E2) 3 hours
Wednesday: (E2) 3 hours
Thursday: (S2) 1 hour isolated leg intervals + (E2) 2.5 hours
Friday: no bike
Saturday: 3.5 hours E2
Sunday: 1.5 hours CX Race

Could be some interesting updates next week based on some race entries which open tomorrow. Not giving anything away just now though ;)

85a6y1q.jpg
 
I'll start with a quick race report from yesterday at the scottish cyclocross champs:
It's cold. Very cold. Temperature at the venue is 2 degrees, but it was -2 in some places on the drive over. Driving through snow for most of the way.
We all gather near the start shivering. It's seeded based on series points...and I havnt raced any of the series races. A big list of names is read out and guys get called up in order to take their place on the grid. Soon, there's only 6 of us unseeded riders left and we get to join the back of the grid :(
Maybe it's because i'm at the back on the bunch, or maybe just the cold getting to people but the start feels quite tame compared to other CX races i'v done. After the sprint up the first gravel road onto the course i'v moved up a couple of places but i'm still near the back. The actual course is much tighter than the wide gravel road start area so passing is more difficult. I settle into a rythym with 3 others who are a similar pace. We catch a few more riders who have obviously gone off too hard and are now suffering. Cant really feel my fingers, which is making it difficult to find my gear levers and modulate my brakes properly, I'm sure everyone is having the same problems though. From our little group of 4, one rider gradually gets away from us and one rider gets dropped, leaving me and 1 other to fight out 18th place :P The first half of the course is flat and muddy. The mud is wet and deep, the rear tyre can cut through it and get quite a bit of traction but pushing through 5-6" of mud is hard work - the key is keeping the speed up. I have the strength to keep the momentum going on these sections and get a decent gap over the other guy. The next half of the course is more technical, the mud is thicker but not as deep and tyres slide around on top of it. The other guy catches up and passes me on this section. We do this for 2-3 laps: me getting a gap on the flat parts, him catching up again on the technical parts.
Into the last lap I push as hard as I can through the mud, there's good visibility all round the course and I can see that the gap is much bigger this time than before. I think more due to the fact that he can see behind and knows nobody else will catch him, I think he's settled for 19th place so I take it a bit easier recovering from the effort and save a bit incase he has a late surge and I need to sprint. I keep watching behind but he has given up chasing.
So, I cross the line 18th with no need for a sprint. Fairly happy with that. Cyclocross is always good fun anyway.

Here's my playing in the sandpit (white top):
g5Xe1fA.jpg
 
And so, on to the training update:

touch said:
Could be some interesting updates next week based on some race entries which open tomorrow. Not giving anything away just now though ;)
Click to expand...

Well, my entry was accepted.
I'm going to be riding the Highland Trail Race, 560 miles off road time trial.

This will considerably change my plans for the race season next summer but the base training stuff that i'm doing now wont be much different. I'll be using my MTB a lot more to get comfortable on it and probably cut down on training time through the week in favour of a longer ride at weekends (probably a few overnight trips too for getting used to carrying all the kit and also using/packing it).

Again, more christmas nights out and hangovers mean that I didnt get as much done as i'd planned last week. So i'll call that a rest week and move on with a new block.
Plan for next week:

Week beginning: 08/12/2014
Total time: 14hours
Weight: 82kg

Monday: Gym
Tuesday: (E2) 2 hours
Wednesday: (E2) 2 hours
Thursday: rest
Friday: Gym
Saturday: (E2) 6hours
Sunday: (E2) 4 hours
 
Not updated this for a while. The structured training plan has been ditched completely and it's a bit boring to just say "I rode my bike today" for every update.

I'm going to use this as a log of my longer rides now. I'm aiming for a 7-10 hour ride at least every second weekend. Also for a bit of discussion on what kit i'll be taking/riding.

The first choice I have made in terms of kit is pedals: I have swapped my crank brother egg-beater pedals for shimano SPDs. I do love my crank bros pedals, the egg-beaters are so easy to clip in and they dont clog up with mud at all but they are not reliable enough. The bearings have play in them and they cages get loose and wobbly. I'll probably swap them back on if I do any cross country or cyclocross later in the season, but for now all my bikes are going SPD. The shimanos are decent pedals too and they make a nice solid klunk when they engage which I like.

So, the first of my planned big rides for this year was to be a circumnavigation of Loch Ness. It's about 70 miles and can be done mostly off-road. A lot of fireroad type stuff, the whole loop can be done in around 6 hours.
We set off along the Great Glen Way. It's a cold morning, but clear and dry. There's a sharp climb for 3-4 miles to warm us up and takes us above the snow line. Nothing too bad, 5-6 inches. It's rideable but hard work, we take turns at the front pushing through the fresh powder.
The path joins a single track road for a few miles, which we were expecting to be a welcome rest on hardpacked snow after slogging through the fine powder...it's not :(
EQoBINb.jpg
The road is super slippery and although there isnt as much snow, the pace drops as more effort seems to be going into correcting the slides than actually moving the bike forwards.

We're glad to leave the road and head back into the deep snow again.
G94QO5v.jpg
There's a short section of singletrack which is usually quite fast and fun in the summer. It's still lots of fun in the snow, but not fast! Branches of the young pine trees weighed down with snow hang over the track. I'm riding along at the front and I can see a branch right across the path. It's a thin little branch that I can just push through. I'm going to go full speed into it and it'll be like a little snow explosion when I burst through :cool:

Q3tBBEl.jpg

Nope. I just got rugby tackled by a clump of snow :( It's heavier than it looks.
The snow still isnt too bad on this section, we havnt really climbed much since the first kick so it's been fairly consistent. After the end of the singletrack there's another climb though. It's a long drag up a gentle gradient and it doesnt climb much - maybe 60-70 metres. It's on a farm road and a tractor has already been up it this morning. We can ride up the tracks he has left and his big treads leave a firm, grippy surface.
Following the path cut by the tractor, we dont realise how deep the snow is getting at the sides of the road. The small climb has made a huge difference! When we turn off the farm road and follow the walker's path into virgin snow again, it's too deep to ride. We push up further in the hope that it'll be easier when we get back into the trees.
30 minutes later, we've hiked less than half a mile! The snow is now 12-14inches deep and getting to the point where we cant even walk through it any more. We decide that the only thing for it is to stop and make snow angels :D

0wnk8t6.jpg

Even that didnt work out - the snow was too deep. We turned back and hiked back down to the farm road again and followed our own tracks home for a grand total of 27 miles....in 6 hours!!!
I'm not too bothered about the distance, it was 6 hours of hard riding, so it's all good training. I got a 2015 KOM too :D Unsurprisingly, nobody else has ridden that segment this year. 2.8mph avg, slowest ever KOM? :p
 
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There has been no snow here for a couple of weeks now, so we figured it'd be safe to venture out into the hills again. Planned a 70 mile loop with a few steep bits and probably several miles of pushing/carrying.

As it turned out, there was more snow on the higher ground than we though and we were forced to turn back yet again.

It started out ok. The ride in along a narrow singletrack road had only a few cm of slushy snow on it. We made good progress, the thin layer of snow didnt do much to slow us down. We turned off onto what I assume was gravel landrover track under the snow. And immediately into a steep climb. All 3 of us are doing the highland trail race, so we discuss the importance of conserving energy...as we all push up the hill :p

It's not easy to follow the path. It's not well worn, it frequenty fords rivers and it's also under a few inches of snow by this point.
Qy9rWIi.jpg

Luckily, the picture doesnt show the 20 mins I spent trying to find a suitable point to walk the bike across :p In the end, the only chance I had of staying dry was to ride through it. Combined with a Bear Grylls trick of rubbing powdery snow on to soak up the water and I did stay reasonably dry.
Next came a long hike up the valley: it was hard enough riding through the snow on a firm surface and now that we had lost the path again, it was impossible. The conditions were quite odd. The ground underneath the snow was not frozen at all. Soft slippery mud below soft slippery snow made walking difficult. Overshoes dont like being walked in much anyway, but they really hate being walked in snow. I've trashed 2 pairs in the last 2 rides :(
Once at the end of the valley, we started to climb up the head with the intention of crossing the plateau into the next valley. The climb wasnt too steep, probably rideable in summer, but a hike for us in these conditions. Nearing the top, the drifts started to get pretty big:
iNwNU9J.jpg
The snow was very fresh so it was light and powdery but still hard to make progress with some drifts almost waist deep. Averaging less than 2mph dragging our bikes through the snow put us well behind our anticipated timescale and probably meant riding into the darkness if we continued doing the full route. The decision was made to get to the top and stop for lunch then turn and head back.

As we slowly approached the summit, the views out of the valley gradually revealed themselves. It was well worth the pain of the climb.
We must have stayed there for over half an hour taking photos and playing in the snow.
bPV5bcZ.jpg

The descent back down through the drifts was probably the most fun i've ever had on a bike. I'd plough through a few then a big one would swallow the whole front wheel and throw me over the bars. Snow like that really gives confidence to go way faster than you would otherwise. You can have some huge bails into a cloud of powder without any damage at all. :D

We followed our own footsteps back. After the steep descent, the rest of the valley is a very gradual slope. We had to hike on the way up but now that we're going slightly downhill it's possible to ride some sections. Typically, being overconfident from the great descent, I messed up the river crossing on the way back and got wet feet :( Not too far along the road back to the car and some dry shoes.

So, another "failed" ride. We didnt get anywhere near the distance we had planned and the average speed was pathetic (less than 6mph) but, like last time, it doesnt feel much like a failure. It was great fun and a solid 5 hours of hard work. So it's all good training.

Maybe next time i'll have some big miles to report.
 
touch said:
Maybe next time i'll have some big miles to report.
Click to expand...

Still a bit of snow on the hills, so i've ditched the MTB in favour of the road bike this weekend. Really need to get some miles in.

Unfortunately, long road rides dont usually make for such interesting write-ups as the hiking through knee-deep snow. As it turned out, the ride wasnt entirely uneventful...

Started off by heading south along the banks of Loch Ness. There's a bit of a headwind on the exposed sections which make it hard work. At Fort Augustus I join the A82 and head south. This is a horrible road but I only need to do 20 miles before I turn off. It's only 10am by the time i get here so it's not too busy but the cloud comes in and the rain starts so visibility is pretty bad. I just need to get my head down and push into the wind to get this section done as quickly as possible.

"As quickly as possible" is not particularly quick. By the time I get to Spean Bridge where I plan on turning off the A82, my average speed is only 13mph at the 50 mile point. I had done some calculations when planning the route and worked out that I needed to average over 14mph to get home before dark. I need to decide if I should turn back or continue on the planned route. I dont know the next section of road at all and with there being a lot of mountains around here (i'm only 10 miles from Ben Nevis) they can channel the wind in odd directions and without knowing the area it's impossible to tell if i'll be going into a headwind or tailwind.

I decided to press on anyway and, luckily, there was a bit of a tailwind. Climbed up to the loch + dam at the top of the valley:
wuwZwru.jpg


m7BnLaZ.jpg

The roads along the top were great: wide and smooth. Still a bit of a tailwind too but disappointingly no descent on the other side to match the climb :(
Into the village on the other side and i'm back onto roads I know. I hadnt bothered taking a map or directions or anything. There were no junctions or anything marked on the map for the ~20 mile section that I didnt know so essentially it was impossible to get lost but it's still nice to be back on a road that I recognise and know the directions home. This gives me a little mental boost and I make good progress through the small towns of Newtonmore and Kingussie. I'm working out my average speed every 30 mins (not because the garmin cant, just because it gives me something to do :p) and I've made up time and now a little bit over 15mph. That gives me time for a quick stop at the tesco in Aviemore. I couldnt find my tubes of high5 zero tablets in the morning so i'd used a sachet of SiS electrolyte that I got as a sample from somewhere. Didnt like it much and it gave me heartburn, so I chucked it out and filled my bottle with coke at the tesco :cool: Also got a packet of jelly babies <3

Back on the bike again, average speed has dropped a little below the 15mph. I think I can make up the time and set myself a target of keeping average above 15 by the time i get home.
Not much further up the road, my average speed is killed by this:
1WxZlA9.jpg


This is a section of cycle track parallel to the main road, so it doesnt get gritted or ploughed. It was 'interesting' trying to ride on that with 25mm slicks. It was only a few hundred metres before i'm back on a proper gritted road. But then there was another cycle track section, which was even worse because there were no landrover tracks cut through it. Had to carry my bike for 300-400 metres. My poor sidis dont like hiking :(

Less than 20 miles to go now and it's all on roads, so no more hiking. I feel fairly good considering there's over 100miles in my legs, so the last part should be plain sailing.

It's not plain sailing. about 8 miles from home, i'm going (quite slowly) down a descent and suddenly the rear goes wobbly. 132 miles into a planned 140 miles and my rim has died :(

n6jDzRM.jpg

After all that, I had to phone for a lift home. At least it happened near the house and not 70 miles away.
 
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