Love at first sit.......

.....finally my replacement saddle is in place. This is the Specialized Body Geometry Jett Women's saddle and I chose it after getting recommendations from the local bike specialist and searching on forums for reviews. There aren't very many women's saddles to choose from (and even less that avoid the use of leather) but it's such an important decision to make, I wanted to get it right. As we've been picking up the training this has become a more pressing issue. Once we got up over 2 hours in the saddle that factory fit saddle turned into a medieval weapon.

My first impression of this one after almost 3 hours at our most recent bikathon is wonderful. I'm not ashamed to admit that I've fallen in love. However, I'm only too aware that like all love stories this one may end in tears and heartache. They say you can have too much of a good thing and I'm thinking 12 days is definitely going to put a strain on our relationship.

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

The Good: Well, my first 30 miler done! I started in Faversham and went out along the coast as far as Herne Bay and back. A couple of hills but nothing major. I'm just concentrating on getting my fitness level up first. But nice weather, nice scenary and very manageable. So far so good...

The Bad: Another puncture!. thankfully I was only 1 mile from home and done my 30 already. I'm going to ask my bike specialist today what he'd recommend as this is ridiculous

The Ugly: I think I will be very stiff tomorrow. And sitting down might be a problem... well you get the idea

Pneumatic Nightmare - The New Generation

Well after enjoying Warwicks misery with tyres, karma came around and bit me on the.......

I managed 20k on Friday before I started getting a thud thud thud sound from my rear wheel. I was able to limp home on the tube before it went completely. Changed the tyre at work on Saturday, ready for my long cycle on Sunday. In a fit of complete overconfidence and optimism I decided that the chances of it happening again were slim and only bought one tube. You know where this one is going!

4.5k into cycle on Sunday, thud, thud, gone. And i discovered, cycle shoes are not the easiest to walk in on the tarmac. You learn something new every day

So 30 minutes on wiggle last night and a CO2 pump and saddle bag are winging their way to me.

At least Warwick won't feel as if he's the only one getting punctures now

You win again

Nice little trip to the local. Couple of pints, little win at poker for the charity. Only 30 quid but better than a poke in the eye ithe a sharp stick.

Almost £220 raised at our second bikathon....

....although myself and Paolo can't take the credit for this. Fraggle, our 3-legged lurcher was the star of the show. He was in his element accepting lots of fuss, compliments and in the process melting a few hearts. The customers of Pets at Home didn't stand a chance. They parted with change in a very generous fashion.

For myself and Paolo it was a chance to make the most of the time we had by doing our 3 hour Sunday cycle on the spot, while raising some important funds for Dogs for the Disabled. We are estimating that we did another 50km cycle each but with no hills this time. I think we're going to stick to this plan for the next 2 Sundays until we have to start upping the distance. It's seems to be a good way to find the time for training and fundraising with the limited free time available to us.

Tired

Ok not sure that was wise. Just got back from 5 hours in teh saddle again. 52.15 miles according to W.I.T.T.
I had planned on 5 laps of 9 or so miles round the village but I realised that would be less than 50 and would kind of feel like going backwards. So afer having done 3 laps and feeling relatively OK I decided to go for the 6.
Well after cycling up Standard Hill 6 times this morning as ell as the other less steep but long and insidious inclines 6 times I am about fit to drop. But at least this time I took some energy. I discovered "Go -Gwel". Good stuff, small sachets so fit in pockets well , isotonic and energy packed. Taste nice (tropical or the ubiquitous berry flavours) but unfrortunately has the texture of wallpaper paste or the contents of a mucometra!
Thinking of the expenditure of calories. Why do I not seem to be losing weight hand over fist? After today I will have done 90 theoretical miles in the gym and 52 today and spent 11 hours in the saddle this week. I know they say muscle eighs more than fa etc etc, but its not like I am turning into Mariusz Pudzianowski (If you like strong man events you'll know!) either.
I think I may just end up as one of those fat but fit people.....you know like some sort of Sumo Ninja??
Bath time.

Mixed training

So since the 50 barrier was broken I've been a bit worried about pushing it further. The main issue is time. At 10 mph as an average it is going to be difficult to commit to rides longer than that really. So I have just been trying to do as much as I can but have 2 rest days per week. At the moment I am trying to get to the gym in the week after work (when I finish early enough). Or during the longer gaps in teh middle of the day if we are light on ops.
I am concentrating on time rather than distance. DA reckon thet 1 hour in the gym is worth 2 on the road. So I and doing up to 100 minutes a time on the bike at the gym. (Time in the saddle and the resultant physical effects will be the biggest challenge.) Helps when there's an England test match on Sky sports! This is anything up to 40Km at a time. I am reckoning that with the drinks stops and things we are not going to be doing much more than 30miles in a stint.
I have been reading lots of LEJOG diaries from those that have gone before. Their accounts the hills of Cornwall and then Devon are scaring me a bit, so tomorrow it's hill training.
Living where I do at the top of one, I have little choice than to include hills. I friend suggested the other day that instead of going 25 miles from home, (and potentially getting stranded and firing a flare) I should do laps. So I have worked out a 10 mile circular route which includes a couple of particularly nasty hills.
Tomorrow I am going to attempt 4-5 laps. At least if I struggle or run out of fuel I will never be any more than 4 miles from home. We'll see. Have to say not looking forward to it.

Fundraising Day

A big thank you to all our clients and staff who helped us raise over £250 on our fundraising day before Christmas. Raffle prizes were donated from Pets At Home, Asda, Currys and our own practice. We sold some homemade dog biscuits and had "Spot the Flea" and "Name the Monkey" competitions. We had a lovely day and it was great to raise so much for Dogs for the Disabled

First 50km overcome......

...........that's 31 miles for those of you used to old money. It was actually a bit of a breeze as we reversed our usual route up Muswell Hill to have a slow climb and a short steep descent (Paolo was ready to quit the whole deal after we tried it the hard way round last week).

I realised on completing this that I will have been a non-smoker for a year and a half by the time we get to John O' Groat's. My previous most successful attempt lasted 6 months so I'm feeling pretty good about this. It also occured to me that a bike has been central to the success of my non-smoking right from the start. A little over a year ago I decided to try a spin class in a place called Frame in Shoreditch. I was pushed to my limit by Pippa for a few weeks and this gave me the impetus to stop smoking and start running. I think if it had been the usual gym experience I would have given up quite quickly but I'm very grateful to the guys at Frame for being so friendly and motivating.

So Cormac's crazy suggestion of cycling LE-JOG couldn't have come at a better time for me. Getting back in a saddle and having to do some serious training has kept smoking far from my mind.

Not sure about Paolo though.......he reckons he's not a quitter! :)

Who knew?

Well, well, well. Cycling in the wet isn't much fun.

Another 20k completed this morning and having the cadence computer working is really helping. I can now push myself instead of ambling along at a low RPM.

Also had my first wobble and "almost" crash. A small little bump threw my hand off the handlebars but luckily the other hand maintained some control. Not looking forward to my first proper crash!

A Useful Gift!!

A generous donation came in to the cycling team this week in the form of 2 large pots of Sudocrem - from another of Claire Fryer's (our PR guru here at CCvets) PR clients. I am sure we will be making good use of this come May!!

Training is now well underway - with mixed results, some days fun, other days absolute torture. Unfortunately there is no way of telling which it will be until you have started. I also thought that the more you did the easier it would get but that doesn't quite seem to be the case either!
Jen

How long left?

Well, I've finally started getting serious about training. I'm alternating running with cycling and gotten up as far as a massive 15 miles cycling! So far so good though. I think I could cycle further without any major issues (apart from time). My turbo trainer is now installed and I'm getting familiar with the up to date chart on MTV. This just about takes away from the tedium of the turbo trainer although my head is precariously lose to the lightbulb in the room. I swear I'm getting sunburnt!

I'm booked on the Reading Half mara at the start of April so I'm working up the running miles and I invested in a nifty heart rate monitor to make sure I wasnt just ambling around!

And unlike Warwick I've had no punctures (yet!)

Noooooo

I messed up last week. Having thought I'd cracked the 50, I checked my bike trip computer. Let's call it ....W.I.T.T. in the vein of knightrider's K.I.T.T. (Knight Industries Two Thousand) "Wok Industries Twenty -Twelve". Unfortunately WITT said that last Sunday's ride was only 36 miles. I checked the route I had planned on Google. I had overlapped a section when adding a destination in the wrong sequence. AArrgg. No wonder 50 miles had felt easy not to mention quick!.
So today I was determined. Vicky went to work, I walked the two older dogs round the woods for 3/4 of an hour as a bit of a warm up. Got home gave them their breakfast, had a bowl of shreddies filled my drink bottle and off I went. Up through the steep climbs of Netherfield, Dallington and Wood's Corner to Heathfield. (I suspect Cornwall will be much harder). By Heathfield despite the Climbs I was feeling really good. So instead of turning left down to Hellingly I carried on. Up to Cross in Hand and then Left to Lewes.I was starting to feel it a bit by Ringmer but instead of turning left for home I carried on to Lewes itself. Now if you Know Lewes you will know that their is a road tunnel through the south Downs to the coast road. Scarey!!!That's all.
On getting through the tunnel alive I decided to stop to celebrate with a stretch and a drink. Oh and a bana...na..? Ooops . "Yes we have no Bananas". O bum I forgot my nana. Still 20 odd miles from home and no fuel. No money either. So I trusted that the carbs in my energy drink would be enough. Nope.
Well I turned onto the coast road to Eastbourne. BLAST! I got hit full in the chest by a freezing cold headwind of probably 8-10mph. The last 20 miles home were pergatory.
I can tell you that 3 miles from home on nothing but a small bowl of shreddies every tiny little incline feels like Everest. My average speed dropped from 13 mph along the coast road to 10 and by the time I got to "Donkey banks" 3 miles from home 5mph.
Well home now. Bathed. My intercostals feel like they have been stretched to 3 times normal. My Asthmatic chest does not appreciate cold head-winds!
Nevertheles I have done 51.19 miles in 4 hours 59 minutes. I know that may not be fast or far for some of the fitter guys in the team but that's a significant goal for me. But it has been a serious lesson in refuelling. Especially if I have to do that twice a day!
Ouch.

Pneumatic Nightmares then the big one.

So after last weekends disasters I tried again. Same route yesterday. 20 miles to Normans bay and back. But guess what half way down Sluce lane thud ...thud...thud. You have got to be kidding. So off came the front wheel again. This bike has now spent more time on its back than Michael-Angelo painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling! Unfortunately in my rush to re insert the inner tube I had pinched it with the tyre lever. But it took several attempts at re inflation to discover my faux pas. Out came the tube again. Second repair, more haste less speed upon re insertion! I also notice the rear tryre was a little out of shape??
Off I pootled anxious that another 1 and 1/2 hour ride should not become another 4 hour drama, when 1 mile further on suddenly it got really hard to pedal and then BANG! literally. The rear tryre blew out. I though it didn't look right you know . If he face of the cyclist passing me in the other direction is anything to go by mine must have been a picture.
Good job every time I make my almost daily trip to Halfords for an inner tube I buy a spare and take it with me.. Ha Ha not as daft as I look eh??? Don't answer that.
I completed the rest of the ride and relaxed in preparation for this morning.
I attempted and completed my first 50 miler! 53 to be exact. (73 for the weekend!)What's more I only stopped once at about half way for a drink and a banana and some stretches. I actually completed it on the same two tubes and tyres I left on, the bike was never on it's back and it as just a smidge over 3 and 1/2 hours. But I can tell you that Standard Hill on the way back into the village at the end of a 50 mile ride is a KILLER.
Now if you'll excuse me I have a bath, a homedics massage machine and a couple of pints with my name on them!
Tomorrow rest day or gentle swim steam and Sauna at Mr B's...Let's see if we can move first eh!

No Luck

So after pottering off to Halfords for 2 inner tubes (one spare) and a puncture repair kit I fitted it I tried again on New Years day morning. Nice gentle 10 miler I thought just down to the beach and back home.
1/2 way down the marsh road I get that familiar thud...thud...thud through the front wheel again. Flat as a flat thing!
As it had been raining luckily there was a puddle to look for the tell tail bubbles. Not 1 but 2 holes very close to each other. Unfortunately at a realy awkward distance needing 2 patches. But there was still a leak so after a third patch I was OK. However during teh repair I managed to snap one of the plastic (and franlky inadequate) tyre-levers supplied in the repair kit.
Off I went again. Got to the beach 3 miles on..thud...thud...thud.
Arrghh!. tyre off again. Another hole this time in the side wall. Just as I was repairing this one Vicky pulled up. She was at the beach with the dogs. "Need rescuing again dear?". "No. I have things under control thank you."
Off she went. Wheel bak on and off we go again. 4 miles on thud..thud...thud. I don't believe it!. Yes I got all Victor Meldrew. Particularly as now it was hammering it down with rain. I fummbled to get the inner tube out with fingers like ice. But it was so wet that the contact adhesive would not stick now and the 3 patches on the original punctures were bulging and clearly not working now. It was so wet that I feared the fluorescent green giant top was no longer waterproof and my ipod nano was going for a burton. So as I got soaked by a passing car going through a puddle I took out my phone and fired a flare.
Vacky duely arrived with the van. "I reckon I'll get to Scotland" I said. "But I don't know about this flaming bike!"
As I remarked on Facebook, I think fate was saying "It's New Years day and everyone else is in the pub you muppet!".
I now have another spare tube and metal tyre-levers.