phew...

I've been given the all clear for the cycle. Definitely no fracture, I've just bruised my scaphoid and other wrist bones (or as Paolo puts it, I was exaggerating). So hopefully this lovely weather will continue into the weekend to help me get back into training. Oh and some helpful advice from the consultant which I'll pass to you all...... 'Don't fall off your bike'!

Mortally wounded tyre!

Luck....no!

Well this weekend has been a bit light on training. Last week I did about 95 in total with a 57 mile on Sunday. Saturday at work was busy and my Dad came down too so we were out for dinner Saturday night, Sunday morning I couldn't exactly leave guests to fend for themselves while I went out on the bike at silly O'Clock either. So I did a bit of maintenance on the bike.

My Gatorskins had arrived and I fitted "smart slime" filled tubes. This morning I knew the weather was going to be good so I decided to cycle to Rye harbour. Went through Battle and Hastings onto the Winchelsea road to Rye. A couple of eh shorter seeper hills were a bit unpleasant . Got to Rye and onto the Udimore road back towards Brede and Broadoak. There were some fantastic views out across the Marshes to the sea so I took a quick piccy on the phone.

I was loving the new gatorskins. Very smooth and feeling pretty secure on the puncture front. Got back to Battle and climbed through Wartling up Senlac hill. Out along North Trade road and made a fatal error. I decided to cut through Freckley Hollow to home. This road is very pretty but is is extremely uneven and in the bright sunshine despite sunglasses I managed not to avoid a pothole. THUD THUD THUD from under my saddle. OMG I don't beleave it. I stopped to pump the tyre up. I thought the slime would do its job plug the hole and off I go. But no. With the tyre still flat and slime oozing from the wheel rim I had to take it off.

It seems the tube had ben pinched so hard on the rim of the pothole that it had been mortally wounded with 2 parallel slits. As I pumpd I was forcing its green slimey blood from the holes. The other problem is that once the outside of teh tyre is coated with slime you can't get a puncure patch to stick! So out with the spare tube .

TBH its getting to the point when I will be glad when the ride is over. If only for the fact I am spending a small personal fortune on kit.

Flat out

This weekend in Sussex was glorious. Sun beaming, blue skies, the daffodils and primroses glowing on the verges and baby bunnies running around all over the place.

I have been doing the same 8.5 mile lap around Ninfield for the last few weeks for fear of punctures and problems. This way I am never too far from home. But its boring. So on Sunday I decided to venture further again.

I decided to do my Lewes/Heathfield ride but backwards. I had a patient in all weekend with a pyothorax and an in-dwelling chest drain which needed regular draining. So this was a good reason to get up early. I set off at 6.30 and got to the surgery. Drained Star's chest and did her checks and meds before the surgery opened at 10.30. She was looking much better and I only got 20 mls this time.

Off I went through hampden Park out towards the A27. It was a lovely time to be out although the smell of takeaways and stale beer was a little too strong at times through town. The results of a good saturday night out for someone. The A27 was providing some great views of the south Downs. The climb up to Lewes from the Beddingham roundabout started well. There is a cycle path all the way up on a pavement. Sounds great but unfortunately it is littered with stones and debris flicked onto it from the road. I then had another firefox moment. No sooner had I thought "you'll be lucky to get up here without getting a punct".....THUD THUD THUD. I am going to have to check my helmet. I'm sure someone has secretly fitted a Russian supercomputer and connected it to my thought patterns and my bike!

I now carry a spare tube so I didn't mess about fixing the puncture I just replaced the tube.

Off I went again over the brow of the hill. Then a slight heart stopper of a moment. I pulled on the brake lever and nothing happened. Eventually the brake engaged. I guess it was moved slightly when changing the tube. Phew.

Off through Lewes. Then a choice. Turn right and do a shorter ride or carry on towards Uckfield. Straight on it was. Along towards Little Horstead. The road surface on the hill there is full of large cracks which you really don't want to get a wheel stuck in as they act like some sort of maligmant monorail and try to steer you into traffic. The other problem is when you hit a large crack at speed it does nothing good for your tyres. You guessed it on the A22 just past the National Golf course and THUD THUD THUD. This time I had no choice but to fix the puncture. So I decided to take a short break and have my banana. I have also fitted a second drinks bottle holder which I would be glad of later on.

Puncture repaired and off again. Now at the Halland roundabout I have another choice. Straight on to Hellingly/Hurstmonceux or left to Heathfield.....Left it was.

I had ridden this route the other way round before an somehow failed to notice the the hill up to Blackboys is very long and a real grind. Probably as I was coasting down it in that direction! I eventually got to Heathfield and the legs were feeling it now. So had a drink stop and got a couple of Go gel sachets onboard. I also phoned the surgery to see how Star was doing. Now eating and looking much happier!

Heathfield high street and just starting the climb up to the crossroads and THUD THUD THUD. You have got to be kidding! Off with the wheel again. I was getting a bit cross by now. Which was to be my undoing. Wheel back on, and withing 5 minutes ....THUD THUD THUD. AAArrrggghhh.

So pulled onto the garage foecourt, luckily old abandoned garage so quiet. Its seems that in my haste to get going again last time I had missed the puncture on the otherside of the tube. So patched it and pumped the tyre back up. But it was not holding air......double aaaarrrgggh. Back off again. In rushing I had made a school boy error. It seems I had pinched the tube with a tyre lever (I could see the mark) and punctured it myself. Patched that being very careful this time and got under way.

Now we come to the tough bit. 40 miles done and facing the lumpy bit. The reason for doing the ride this way was a bit of a test. I usually do the hills round Dallington and Woods Corner first but I wanted to see if I could handle them tired. Answer....not quite. The thought of the climb from Earl's down to Dallington was more than I could handle so I decided to try and bypass it. Turned off to Waldren and Rushlake Green. Unfortunately I don't know the back roads very well round there. So after 3 miles of tiny lanes I arrived in Earl's Down at the bottom of the flippin hill!. I made it about 3/4 of the way up. But lungs burning legs burning and head spinning grinding in Granny gear and seemingly not moving, I had to admit defeat about 50 yards from the top. I did the push of shame to the top where I frankly nearly collapsed. I was now very glad of the second drinks bottle! Netherfield hill was still to come so I bravely bottled it and went to Ashburnham via Pont's Green. But I had forgotten that Ashburnham is at the bottom of a hill climb up to north Trade Road and nearly home. I was determined to do this one. I engaged granny gear and started. This hill starts a bit less steep, but doesn't finish that way. But it is a bit shorter. I made it!

Turned left and made for Freckley Hollow. It was all a bit of a blur now and I was suffering what cyclists refer to as "the knock". This is when all the energy reserves in your body seem to vanish in 2 seconds flat and there is just nothing left, and there were no drinks bananas or go gels left either. So the last mile home was a very long one spent rueing the descision to venture further from the village.

It was now 2.30 pm. I had cover 57 miles but spent probably an hour fixing punctures.

Yesterday's recovery ride was consequently only 10 miles, and consisted of cycling to Halfords. I bought 2 standard tubes and 2 slime filled self healing tubes, which I am going to fit to the now ordered, Kevlar lined gatorskins. Hopefully slime filled bullet-proof tyres will make for less time spent off the bike with it upside down.

And if you're wondering Star was discharged yesterday doing extremely well.

uh oh.....

So four days later and my wrist is still sore and now bruised. I wouldn't be overly concerned under normal circumstances but we have only 6 weeks to go and the training is supposed to be getting more intense, not less so. So I took myself to A&E this afternoon (for a 4 days old emergency, I know). Seems like Friday afternoon isn't a bad time to rock up as I was xrayed and discharged within an hour. Although the xray is all clear I'm not off the hook yet. My pain is over the scaphoid tubercle and this bone appears to be notoriously reluctant to reveal itself to be fractured so soon after an injury. They are therefore treating it as fractured (thankfully with a splint and not a cast) until proven otherwise with a follow up xray in 2 weeks.

So the indoor cycle trainer is going to be put to use over the next two weeks to keep the miles up without resting weight on my wrist. Those hills will just have to wait, and I will be waiting anxiously for the follow up. Worst case scenario will have them telling me they need to cast it for 6-8 weeks. I will be absolutely gutted if this is the case. I've been turning over in my head the option of trying to convince them to shorten the time in the cast and trying to cycle with a splint. The bottom line though is that I need my wrist back to normal function as soon as possible more because I'm a surgeon than a cyclist.

Fingers crossed it's going to be fine though....

Twitchy

OK hand problem sorted I think.

Took the bike along to Phoenix cycles in Eastbourne. Bars were too low as suspected. But unbeknownst to me in my efforts to raise them as high as I could I had made them potentially dangerous. So a new handle bar stem has been fitted and things are much more comfortable.

The weekend turned a bit manic for all sorts of reasons, but I got 45 miles in on Saturday and about 15 on Sunday. I'm not sure weather to do 1 long ride one day and a shorter the next or 2 "middling" sized rides. Time is really short at weekends with the surgery open, 3 dogs to walk at home, housework etc etc. I am trying to get to the gym at lunchtimes or before work 2-3 times a week. I got a 20 mile ride in on a static bike yesterday but that's been all this week. Again because of timing its tricky but I am trying to spend at least 1-2 hours on a bike at a time.

I am acutely aware of the fact that I need to up the distances but work is getting a bit busier and its just not happening. I'll just have to console myself in the knowledge from all the LEJOG diaries I have read that older less fit blokes than I have done it with less training and hope for the best.

On the plus side I have reached my £3100 target for the fundraising!

Aches and pains!

We have a really detailed training schedule which I worked out months ago when this cycle seemed almost impossible. We've managed to keep to it on most weekends but my mid-week cycling has been interrupted by one pain or injury after another. At first it was my hands/wrists and seat but once my cycle position and new saddle were sorted I was back on track. In the past two weeks I started to get some lower back pain. A quick google search tells me that 30% of long distance cyclists get this problem. It just isn't natural to flex your hips and spine for long periods of time and expect them to take it. This weekend I started some stretches which I picked up on youtube and was amazed to feel my back pain disappear. These stretches are definitely going to be keeping me going from LE to JOG.

So I was feeling fantastic yesterday, the weather was beautiful and we were out for a long ride through various London parks. This all changed in one split second when I failed to prepare for a stop at some lights on the way up to Richmond Park and did the 'clipped-in sideways topple'. Most of the force of the fall was taken through my left hand and wrist and although the graze on my palm will heal quickly I'm a little concerned about the pain in my wrist. Once again I'm on forced rest this week and I'm keep the wrist still with a skaters wrist guard. The pain has lessened today so I don't think I'll need a trip to Casualty. I just hope I can get back on the bike by next weekend.

Paolo, who started this adventure from a point of zero exercise has taken it all in his stride. No injuries and he's wondering when it's going to start getting difficult. It makes me wonder why I left it till I was the wrong side of 35 before setting myself such an epic physical challenge??