Back on the bike, after almost 30 years

nilhg

This week:


Distance: 188.89 km
Time: 7:32:42 h:m:s
Elevation Gain: 1,088 m
Avg Speed: 25.0 km/h


Just 3 outings this week due to pressure of work and being away a few evenings at meetings.

I did manage to sneak out Tuesday morning to shake out the legs after the long day out on Sunday, didn't push too hard but felt fine.

Yesterday morning I finally managed to meet up with a few of the lads from the new club in Kildare town, I'd made several attempts before but something always came up at the last minute to stop me, turned out there was only four of us on the day, I was expecting a few more, and they were fairly hardy boys. We headed away up through Dunlavin and a scenic route home. The pace was decent with no quarter asked for or given on the hills, we'd regroup on the flats in between, I was happy enough to find I could hold my own with the lads. All in all we did about 70km non stop as a group and with the spin over and home I finished up with closer to 85km.

http://app.strava.com/rides/11515107

This morning I headed out with Mark, a friend of mine who is also heading for the ROK, he'd never done a longish climb and wanted to see what it felt like before he takes on Molls Gap. We met in Portarlington and headed across to the Slieve Blooms to do The Cut which seemed to me to be close enough to give him an idea of what to expect. The spin to Clonaslee was into a stiff enough breeze so we were well warmed up before heading up, the climb itself was much as I expected, I felt comfortable riding at a nice even pace all the way up, though I think Mark was glad when it finished. The descent down the Mountrath side is nice with no real hairy bits and we made nice headway back to the cars in Portarlington. I felt really fresh all the way through with no effects from the previous days spin and when we got back I was sorry I couldn't have just spun home the extra 20km. 75km approx on the day.

http://app.strava.com/rides/11600081



At this stage I hope I have a decent groundwork laid to get round the ROK without too much hardship, the plan now is to get some shortish spins in this week and early the next one but to taper down from now on. I'm bypassing the Wicklow Peaks next weekend in favour of a trip to Croker to shout on the Lillywhites, I'd like to have done it but there is no point overdoing things.

wayne0308 wrote: »

Hi nilhg, I've just had a read of your log. You've made fantastic progress since the end of January, truly inspirational stuff!

Thank you, I hope this log helps someone in the same way as many of the others posted here have helped me (not going to name names, they know who they are), really I suppose if you want to take any inspiration from it I'd say no matter how hard it seems at the start, stick with it for 6 weeks, when you look back after that, you wont believe how your perspective has changed, things that you thought impossible starting off will be achieveable (or already done) by then and you'll be well on the road to doing anything you want to do at that stage.

Just as an interesting aside, I've been informed that several people have approached members of my family enquiring as to the cause of my sudden weight loss, hoping it's nothing too serious.......
I think I'll have to go buy some smaller clothes:D

nilhg

June's totals

Distance: 758.42 km
Time: 29:50:59 h:m:s
Elevation Gain: 4,821 m
Avg Speed: 25.4 km/h


This week

Distance: 131.90 km
Time: 4:42:28 h:m:s
Elevation Gain: 724 m
Avg Speed: 28.0 km/h

Three outings this week all solo.

Tuesday evening the plan was to have a nice steady spin to build up for the ROK but for some reason when I got going I just felt like pushing hard and seeing how long I could sustain it, I'm not really sure why but maybe it was a reaction to having done a lot of spins with company where someone else was setting the pace. I had a side wind on the Rathangan- Monasterevin road but managed to average over 33km/hr for the 7km, that bit of road is humpy enough so I was happy enough with that. I took it easy enough through the lights and on the side road that avoids Monasterevin then pushed hard enough again across the old N7 towards Kildare, again almost 33km/hr there despite some silly cow almost taking me down when she overestimated how fast she could get out of a side road, the best part though was she had the sunroof open so she heard every thing I called her.

Easy again through the town and out on to the old N7 but once I was out on the Curragh proper I had a nice tail wind so I gave it socks for a couple of km, not sure I'll ever be able to do it again but I averaged 43.5km/hr for that bit.
I turned for home then and with the wind in my face took it easy enough across the Curragh and over Dunmurry Hill to finish up with roughly 39km @ 30km/hr. Very happy with that spin, I'd been feeling that I was stronger on the bike but nice to see some figures that confirm it.

Thursday evening I did my usual loop, on a windy evening I took it easy enough apart from taking advantage of the wind at my back to improving my PB on the Milltown side of the Hill of Allen.

Yesterday I headed out for a longer spin down towards Athy, I set a pace that was just at the upper limit of comfortable with the intention of seeing how long I could sustain it, as it turned out I was OK all the way and finished fresh enough.

http://app.strava.com/rides/12122116

I did want to get out this morning again for an hour before we went to Croker but after listening to the weather forecast this morning I went and sprayed my spring barley instead.

I hope to get a few gentle spins in this week before the ROK on Saturday, on the big day itself the aim is to be conservative at the start, enjoy the day and the occasion, hopefully we'll be able to see the views and finish without any major suffering.

nilhg

This week:

Distance: 241.79 km
Time: 9:24:05 h:m:s
Elevation Gain: 1,604 m
Avg Speed: 25.7 km/h

70km in three shortish spins early in the week to keep the legs moving in the run up to the ROK, nothing too hectic.

We had an early start to our ROK wanting to get out before the road got too busy, we headed off shortly after 6AM, I was with a group of relatives, inlaws and their friends and we stuck together all the way round, regrouping when needed.

I had no real problems at all apart from after I took a gel in Sneem and it seemed to turn my stomach into a mini gas producing machine, thankfully it subsided quickly enough and things got back to normal. The climbs on the course suit me and I really enjoyed Coomakista, I was able to pick a gear and spin up at a nice even rate and still be comfortable enough to take in the view. The spin from Sneem to Kenmare is a bit draggy but a bit of craic in out group and with some of the folks on the road made it pass quickly enough.

After the brack in Kenmare it took me a little while to warm up again but I found the climb of Molls Gap fine, pick my gear and spin up. While we were stopped on top to regroup word came up of a rider down on the road below so that and a car in front of us most of the way down meant that I never really let loose on the descent, once we were back on the level three of us pushed on for the last 10km or so, no worries about running out of gas at that stage.

I finished up wit an average moving speed of 25.4km/hr which I was very happy with considering the distance.

http://app.strava.com/rides/12822554

Not sure what's next on the agenda, weather and harvesting will determine that but I'm hoping to get a few decent spins in up in Wicklow or the Slieve Blooms over the next few weeks, if the harvest is finished I'm hoping to do the Rebel tour in September, I think the climbs will be harder there than in the ROK.

nilhg

This week:


Distance:147.43 km
Time:5:43:57 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:961 m
Avg Speed:25.7 km/h


One of those weeks where I seemed to be running around all week but still finished up feeling that I got feck all done.

On the bike I got out for 2 early morning spins Tuesday and Thursday to keep the legs spinning after the ROK, nothing really special, about 60km in total.

If I learned one thing from the ROK it's that in my comfort zone I can keep going and feel good for quite a long time, I felt fresh enough at the finish and could have gone for a while after that if needed. Today I found out that once I start to come under pressure things get a little more complicated, todays plan was to meet my friend Gav and his mate Ken (both competitive triathletes) and take in the climbs over the Cut and Wolftrap mountain in the Slieve Blooms. The lads wanted to put in a long one and cycle up from home and since I had to be home early for a family occasion I was going to drive up to Mountmellick and pick up the lads there, as it happened I was early and they were delayed so I spun back down the road to meet them. The going was easy enough with the wind behind me heading back to Portarlington but once I met the lads and turned back I had to face the wind and try to match their pace, it wasn't easy and I was close to my limit several times, we slowed down a little before heading up the Cut but I was still feeling the pace in my legs. I'd done this climb before and thought it was OK, the type that suits me but today I really suffered, I just found it hard going right from the start, could never get a real comfortable rhythm going. It was a struggle to grt to the top and once I got over I stopped to catch my breath, eat some food and take a gel before heading down to catch the lads at the bottom of the descent to the Mountrath side. At this stage time was running on so we decided to forget about the Wolftrap and head back the way we had come, I found going back up easier, I'm not sure if it was the food or just that I took it a little easier ( realistically a combination of the two) but I enjoyed the climb back, a heavy shower made the drop back to Clonaslee a bit hairy as well as bloody cold before a nice coffee made chasing the lads back to Mountmellick a little easier.

http://app.strava.com/rides/13440379

nilhg

This week

Distance:146.17 km
Time:5:26:03 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:658 m
Avg Speed:26.9 km/h

Only got out once during the week, a shortish spin where I seemed to find most of the worst roads in Kildare and a fair share of the loose chippings, some nice short sharp climbs though.

http://app.strava.com/rides/13855053

Yesterday I was out early and had a nice spin over towards Naas and back, I don't usually head that way cause I reckon there will usually be much more traffic but yesterday was quiet and I enjoyed this one.

http://app.strava.com/rides/13992457

Today I couldn't get out till late and with the wind I was trying to think of a route with some shelter, I don't think I picked the right one, I had to work hard this evening but though it was blowing hard the wind was warm so it could have been much worse.

http://app.strava.com/rides/14160999

Beasty wrote: »

Just take things steady, and build up - It's something that could become life-changing if you want it to.

Yesterdays spin put me over the 4000km for the year to date and seeing as it's six months exactly since I bought the first bike and had stop twice to get my breath on my first 10km spin it's probably fair to say that Beasty hit the nail on the head with his comment.
This spring and summer I've really enjoyed being out and about, whether it's on my own on a spin or with some of the folks I've gone out cycling with or on the events I've done I've had a great time in great company.
I've been lucky to have had no issues with bike fit or injuries and also have managed to stay safe on the road so it's been all positive for me.

My weight has slowly been coming down, currently I'm 92kg, actually I probably was a kg lighter before the ROK but I had a bit of a blowout down there (have you seen and tasted that brack?) but hopefully things have settled down now and I'll lose a few more kgs before the Rebel Tour, there is still plenty to work on there......

Thanks to all here who have read, commented or thanked this log, maybe doing it has kept me with my nose to the grindstone but definitely the encouragement has helped.

smacl

Makes for great reading nilhg, keep it up!

nilhg

Hard to post this in the same section as the lads Pyreneean Raid reports but here goes.

Distance:181.41 km
Time:6:53:15 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:802 m
Avg Speed:26.3 km/h


A busy week workwise for me but I managed to get in three spins, Wednesday and Thursday evenings were both 30ish km spins at a decent pace with a bit of a push towards the end, I managed to beat my PR on Boston Hill on Wednesday evening which was something I was happy with since the previous one had been set with the benefit of a galeforce tailwind.

Today's outing was a preview of the route of the upcoming Tour of Kildare, a group was meeting in Naas so my self and the brother set out early and did the section from here to Naas on the way to meet them. I had a few jobs in the yard before we left so was up early and had my breakfast before getting changed and heading on to Naas. The food stop on the TOK will be in Prosperous so the plan was to stop there for coffee, I forgot though that as a result Paul and I would be more than 3hrs in the saddle with 80km done before we got a stop. I had some food with me but I think not enough and as a result found the going harder as we went on, nothing too serious but just felt empty at times. At the stop I had something from the deli but think I should have stuck to chocolate or something for a quick kick, for certain my stomach didn't really appreciate what I had eaten. Things didn't really improve after that, I felt just a little off but not bad enough to want to quit and head home.
I just spun up Boston Hill and we headed on to Kildare's version of the Wall having a bit of sport describing it to the folks who had never seen it. There's a draggy bit of road from the Forge cross roads up to the Wall, normally I like that sort of thing but today found it hard and wasn't sure what way I'd go up the Wall itself but actually found it OK, took my heart rate a while to come down after though. As we got over the top the sun came out and the drop down to Kildare Town and out across the Curragh with the wind in the rear was very pleasant until I had to face it once I left the others and headed for home. I finished up with 118km but felt tired afterwards, more so than I expected.

http://app.strava.com/rides/15265795

The plan for this week is to spend the maximum time possible driving the combine but looking at tonight's forecast I'll probably get a reasonable amount of kms in on the bike.

nilhg

July Totals

Distance:716.81 km
Time:27:27:20 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:4,024 m
Avg Speed:26.1 km/h

This week,

Distance:90.81 km
Time:3:24:13 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:360 m
Avg Speed:26.7 km/h


Only out once this week mainly because of pressure of work and the fact that in trying to repair our grain dryer I managed to do some damage to myself in the neck/shoulder area and was as stiff as a poker for a few days not to mention being sore. Thankfully things improved considerably yesterday and this morning so I took a chance on heading out on the bike, as it turned out I was more comfortable there than I had been for a few days.
I headed north, through Enfield and swung home via some of the hills on the Tour of Kildare course, most of the spin was uneventful apart from the rain and the wind which sprung up with the showers.

I finished with 90km @26.9km/hr, not too bad for a solo spin for me.

http://app.strava.com/rides/16638557.

I hope to get some more kms in this week but this time of the year I never can plan anything with confidence.

nilhg

Last week


Distance:77.08 km
Time:3:02:01 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:462 m
Avg Speed:25.4 km/h

A very busy week, not much cycling but good progress with harvesting, missed the Tour of Kildare but got out for a while later in the day after the rain cleared.

http://app.strava.com/rides/18146695

This week


Distance:172.43 km
Time:6:09:21 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:1,096 m
Avg Speed:28.0 km/h


Again pressure of work limited me to one spin midweek but thankfully I was able to make today's Leinster Loop. I did the 130km route and thoroughly enjoyed it even when I was suffering a bit, after the neutralised area I stuck with the faster groups for a while but blew up big time heading up the Rushes, I was seriously overheating and had to pull in for a quick readjustment, I think I had nearly as much clothes in my pockets as on after that:o

Once I got going again I was comfortable enough jumping from group to group trying to find one that would stick, eventually there was a few of us at roughly the same pace across through the Kellesihin Hills, while it wasn't really organised the company was good. I lost them though on the drop to Old Leighlin and try as I might I couldn't catch them on the spin back into Carlow.

After the food stop I left just before a group that was forming thinking that they'd come up to me but they never did so I actually finished up doing the last 50km pretty much on my own, had the odd chat with folk I met but pushed on then. Felt strong enough from Castledermot home, enjoyed the good fast wide road with the breeze behind and even the last pull through Narraghmore wasn't bad. I was very happy to finish in a time of 4hrs 35mins for an average of just over 28km/hr.

http://app.strava.com/rides/19036810


The plan now is to get as much as I can in on the bike before the Rebel Tour, with one visit hopefully to the Slieve Blooms or Wicklow included but that is all totally weather and work dependent.

nilhg

This week,

29.2km, 1hr 10m, 222m gained, 25.1km/h


A frustrating week, got out Tuesday morning for a spin with my daughter who has recently arrived back from her J1 stay in the States, that afternoon i managed to aggravate the neck/shoulder injury that I had a few weeks ago again, it's worse this time and since it's the harvest season I've decided to stop all unnecessary activity to give it a chance to heal up fully as quickly as possible and unfortunately cycling falls into that category.

It is improving though so hopefully next week sometime I'll be up and spinning again.

nilhg

August Totals,


Distance:491.90 km
Time:18:22:43 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:2,750 m
Avg Speed:26.8 km/h


This week,

Distance:230.09 km
Time:8:40:13 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:1,047 m
Avg Speed:26.5 km/h


Due to a total lack of progress on the harvest front (hopefully that will change this week) I managed my best week on the bike for quite a while, my shoulder improved quickly enough with rest and plenty of applications of the ice pack so by Tuesday morning I was happy to try a spin out to Monasterevin and back with my daughter, happily there were no ill effects and I felt comfortable.

Wednesday morning I was up early, decided to go for a spin before breakfast and to push it on a bit, I felt fine early on but blew up on the Hill of Allen and had to work hard to get home.

During the week I'd read ROK ON's post which to be honest put the heart crossways in me, seeing as I've signed up for the Rebel 160 so I decided that instead of just going out and deciding as I cycled whether to push it or not I needed to practice riding at a survival sustainable tempo but to throw in the hardest ramps I can find locally as a bit of preparation, they won't be as stiff as in Cork but I can only use what's available round here.
Thursday's, Friday's and yesterday's spins followed that template, easy on the flat and hard up the hill, TBH it's a nice way to cycle.

This morning I met some friends who were doing a loop down by here and down to Athy, I joined them and did 50 or so km with them before splitting off and making my way home, it was nice to be with a group again, on the flat bits we did roll overs so the pace was highish but I felt really comfortable all through and even strong on the bit of hills we met, I could push a decent gear if I wanted to rather than just having to spin up.


I'd like to get a decent day in the Slieve Blooms or Wicklow in before the Rebel Tour but harvest will take priority while the weather lasts so probably the best I can hope for this week is a morning spin or two, I won't be complaining about that though.

nilhg

Distance:18.37 km
Time:46:28 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:153 m
Avg Speed:23.7 km/h


Short version of this week is lots of combining, no cycling, which is a good thing really, though I would have liked to get some more kms in before the Rebel Tour in Cork next weekend. I'm not going to push it this week, just some slow an easy spins so as to get there fresh, going to catch up on some sleep too.

Took the bike for a short spin this afternoon after we finished, more to see how the neighbours are getting on than anything else, came home to see the hurling.

I'm fully decided now that I'm doing the 160km next weekend, I'll be taking it very easy most of the way, hopefully there will be a slowish group for me to latch onto. I'm expecting that it'll be much tougher than anything I've done before but hopefully it'll workout on the day, the forecast is promising at least, I might be able to see the scenery to distract from the suffering;).

bikerdude69

Hi nilhg, what a great post what a great journey you have had, I am looking at getting back to cycling to work to start of with and maybe more, I am going to dust down the old mountain bike thats lying in the shed for years and take it for a spin at the weekend hopefully if I don't have a heartattack or pass out from the excersise, I would like to get a new racing bike, seen one in halfords for €409 I will see how I get on thanks again for an inspirational post

nilhg

bikerdude69 wrote: »

Hi nilhg, what a great post what a great journey you have had, I am looking at getting back to cycling to work to start of with and maybe more, I am going to dust down the old mountain bike thats lying in the shed for years and take it for a spin at the weekend hopefully if I don't have a heartattack or pass out from the excersise, I would like to get a new racing bike, seen one in halfords for €409 I will see how I get on thanks again for an inspirational post

Cheers for the kind words, it would be great to think that my experience can help/encourage someone else to go for it.

I'd suggest pulling out the old bike, making sure it's safe and heading out, don't try anything too strenuous at the start and don't worry if you need to take the odd breather. After a few spins set yourself a realistic goal and make that new bike the prize for achieving it;).

bikerdude69

nilhg wrote: »

Cheers for the kind words, it would be great to think that my experience can help/encourage someone else to go for it.

I'd suggest pulling out the old bike, making sure it's safe and heading out, don't try anything too strenuous at the start and don't worry if you need to take the odd breather. After a few spins set yourself a realistic goal and make that new bike the prize for achieving it;).

Thanks for the reply, I took the bike out of the shed and washed it oiled moving parts pumped the tyres which have small cracks in the sidewalls so I will replace them at the weekend and it will give me another chance to drool over the next bike in halfords. I use my motorbike to go to work every day rain hail or shine so the Irish weather is not something that would put me off of the cycling, just choosing clothes which provide a level of waterproofing but is warm enough yet you wont sweat buckets.... I think I will take it to work next week before the dark evenings close in

nilhg

bikerdude69 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply, I took the bike out of the shed and washed it oiled moving parts pumped the tyres which have small cracks in the sidewalls so I will replace them at the weekend and it will give me another chance to drool over the next bike in halfords. I use my motorbike to go to work every day rain hail or shine so the Irish weather is not something that would put me off of the cycling, just choosing clothes which provide a level of waterproofing but is warm enough yet you wont sweat buckets.... I think I will take it to work next week before the dark evenings close in

Hope it went well for you.

nilhg

This week:

Distance:254.25 km
Time:10:44:51 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:2,383 m
Avg Speed:23.7 km/h


A couple of spins early on this week to loosen the legs before heading to Cork, nothing too strenuous just nice and easy.

I think my Rebel Tour wasn't ment to be easy, sometimes nothing seems to go right but it comes together in the end.

All last week there had been a stomach dose going round the extended family here and I was being very careful to try and avoid it, I survived till Thursday night when the cramps struck, I got about three hours sleep in between visits to the bathroom, things weren't looking too promising at that stage but I felt a little better in the morning so we loaded up and headed for Glengarriff, had to make a couple of quick pit stops on the way down but by evening I was definitely feeling a little better so I had my dinner and went to bed, everything was grand till after breakfast when I had to make another quick dash but definitely felt better then. I didn't really know what to do at that stage but decided to stick to plan A and head on, my missus was taking the car to Kenmare so if things went downhill I'd not have been stuck (providing I could get a phone signal), so I stuffed half a bog roll into my jersey and headed on.:eek:

I left early, before the crowd with a lady from Naas CC, we wanted to avoid the crowd on the Caha pass, I rode the first half of the climb with her before letting her up ahead of me cause I didn't want to push it too hard too early before catching her on the descent, we did roll overs then to the start of the climb before the Healy Pass where we went our seperate ways, all through this I felt OK, legs were fine and stomach seemed to have settled down.

First time up the Healy Pass I fell in with a chap for Waterford I think, he was camping in the GAA club and we stuck together till the top, again I found that fine for most of the way up till the ramp at the top but managed to haul myself over before my heart gave out. The descent down was great, I really enjoyed it an I managed to get into the food stop before any big groups so I got my grub quickly enough with little or no standing around.

By the time I left Adrigole though the weather had changed, the wind and mist had arrived and I felt cold and not right in myself, I just didn't seem to be able to get warmed up and produce any power at all, I was on my own all the way out to Castletownbere, quite a few folk passed me but I couldn't hang on to any of them, TBH several times I thought of turning around and heading back. Then a nice big group headed by a contingent from Coachford CC came up not flying just at a nice pace for me and I was delighted to drop in at the back, it was heaven for all of 500 meters till my front wheel punctured:mad:. It just wasn't my day...

I changed the tube and headed on, and shortly after that the sun came out and I seemed to warm up again and felt much better again, at that stage I was just wanted to conserve energy and get around, the road to Allihies was OK, the road after it almost killed me but I got through it and sucked a few wheels to the food stop at Eyries before heading on to the second run up the Healy Pass, I took it very easy up this time trying to conserve some energy for the top ramp, I even stopped for a minute at the bridge to have a drink before the last blast up, it still hurt but I got there with out blowing a gasket, again I really enjoyed the descent, those switchbacks are a blast to go down through. I have to say I enjoyed the long drag back to Glengarriff and especially the fast drop back to the town where the reception was great, cycling down through the town with applause was a great feeling.

In the end my stomach just about held out, I was afraid to eat much or to take a gel but the main effect was the production of copious amounts of gas, my apologies to anyone who was behind me.

In the circumstances I'm delighted to have finished in a moving time of 7hrs and odd,

http://app.strava.com/rides/22189352

nilhg

This week,

Distance:107.53 km
Time:3:51:08 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:567 m
Avg Speed:27.9 km/h


Much quieter this week, I got out twice, Thursday morning for a gentle enough local 35km eventful only for my encounter with a hedgecutter and the record quick puncture it gave me.

This morning I wrapped up well and headed off for a longer spin, there was no real plan, just see how I felt when I was warmed up, once I was through Kildare I felt fine so I pushed on, kept up a good clip down to Athy and out on to the new slip road to the motorway, normally this is a fast road, it seems to channel the wind and push you on if you're heading East, but today it was the opposite, hard going right out to the old N9.

After a quick coffee stop in Crookstown I headed for Kilcullen and on towards home, it's a nice rolling road and I pushed hard, keeping the HR high (my cheapo Aldi HR watch is working great now that I have figured out how to mount it on the bike) mainly just to see how far I'd get before the tank ran out. In the event I got home feeling OK, on Dunmurry Hill I didn't have the power to push any sort of big gear up but I was fine spinning up with an eye on the HR rate. I finished up with 73km at an average speed of 28.7km/hr and with the last 30km at just about 31km/hr. After a few weeks of trying to figure out how to pace myself with an eye to doing the 160km in Cork it was nice to just sit back and let it rip and see how I got on, I'm definitely happy with todays spin.

http://app.strava.com/rides/22875960


Just a few little snippets of other info,

My weight is still gradually dropping I'm approx 89kg now so I'm heading on for 20kg lighter than when I started back on the bike, obviously the extra exercise has accounted for most of that but I've made an effort to be sensible in what I eat and to cut out the rubbish (I still eat plenty though)

Somewhere on the Rebel Tour I passed 5000km for the year, which is a nice figure and a nice place to pass it.

I bought a cheap basic secondhand Turbo trainer this week, haven't used it yet, in fact I'm not even sure how to use it but it'll be HR based stuff that can be done relatively quickly, I've no intention of doing marathon slogs on it.

For the first time since I started I don't seem to have anything to work towards bar a general aspiration to maintain and improve my fitness over the winter, I'm hoping to do one or two more sportives, especially the Comer one in October. The sowing season is on us now so that will take priority for a while but I'd hope to be able to get a couple of spins on the road in each week.

nilhg

This week:


Distance:106.56 km
Time:3:55:40 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:511 m
Avg Speed:27.1 km/h

and, 50mins on the turbo trainer.


A quiet enough week, tried out my new (to me) turbo Tuesday night, 10 min warm up and down with 30 mins at 80-85% HR in between, I found it hard enough going, seemed harder to sustain that HR than out on the road,the fact that I was in a lather of sweat could have had something to do with it.

Did my usual morning spin on Friday morning, didn't push too hard, still found the hills hard going, not quite sure why.

This afternoon I headed out with the intention of being back to see most of the hurling match, but when I was up on the bike the sun came out and I was enjoying it so I stretched it out a bit, the first half was mostly into the wind but for once I got some payback and a proper shove home, I managed the stretch from Portlaoise to Kildare Town at almost 34km/hr. I could have went home from Monasterevin but decided to give the segment between Hybla and Kildare a go, was very happy to discover when I got home that I'd got into the top 10, when you consider that the top 6 were from the business end of a RAS stage It's not too bad a result.

http://app.strava.com/rides/23588908

I hope to get a few spins on the road in this week, depending on pressure of work and the weather, might do a turbo session or two if I can't.

t'bear

Nice result on that segment John! :-)

nilhg

Nothing to report this week, for the first time since i started back on the bike I've gone seven days without getting out on the road, pressure of work and a big family occasion this weekend are the excuse but that's not much good, I hope to do better this week.

I did manage one 50 min turbo session this week all right, but that's not really cycling IMHO, hard work though.

bikerdude69

Are you going to keep the training up right into the winter ? I was cycling to work this morning and discovered my front light is useless ordered another on ebay so will give that a try. I like your training log and your routes on strava keep up the great work see yea next week for an update Got my new racing bike today no more high nelly for me going to put up some serious km's on it

nilhg

bikerdude69 wrote: »

Are you going to keep the training up right into the winter ? I was cycling to work this morning and discovered my front light is useless ordered another on ebay so will give that a try. I like your training log and your routes on strava keep up the great work see yea next week for an update Got my new racing bike today no more high nelly for me going to put up some serious km's on it

Absolutely I'm going to stay going through the winter, too much effort gone in to getting fitter to slip now, anyways after the summer we've had winter can't be much worse.....

Congrats on the new bike, hope she is lucky for you

nilhg

This week


Distance:213.02 km
Time:8:15:49 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:1,156 m
Avg Speed:25.8 km/h

A better week on the bike this week, I got out for an hour Monday and Friday mornings and again yesterday for a short spin and today for a decent long one.

This morning the weather wasn't too bad here and since I had as much time as I wanted to myself I decided that I'd go for a decent long spin, I had thought that I'd have company but that didn't work out so off I headed on my own, the plan was to take in Monasterevin, The Heath and Stradbally and see how I felt from there, as it happened I felt good despite having had the wind in my face all the way down the old N7 so I headed across for Carlow over the Windy Gap. Once I got to Arles it was obvious that the weather was going to change and I was going to get a wetting so I took a shortcut across to Castledermot and home via Kilcullen, all through this I had felt fine, strong even on the bike, if I put in a bit of an effort over a hill I recovered quickly and even though it was wet I was nice and cosy with my (mostly Lidl and Aldi) layers on, that changed a bit on the Curragh though, the wind had shifted as the rain front came through and it was right in my face all theway across, and there isn't much shelter there, I think at times I was going slower than on some of the hills, the climb up Dunmurry Hill actually felt easy once i got there. Despite the conditions I had a very enjoyable day.

111Km @25.8Km/hr


http://app.strava.com/rides/24991939


Hopefully next week I'll get a spin or two in during the week before taking in the Castlecomer Challenge next Sunday.

nilhg

Distance:170.30 km
Time:6:04:18 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:837 m
Avg Speed:28.0 km/h


Just out twice this week, yesterday I met up with the lads from Headstrong CC in Kildare and did 63km with them, a nice group ride with rollovers so not too stressful, with the spin in and home 77.6km in total.

Today I went to Castlecomer and did the 100km Challenge (92KM really), a great day out, I joined forces with my pals from Naas again and we went around at a decent pace but not so fast that the group blew apart, I found the first 20km or so the hardest it took me a while to get going but after that I was comfortable enough, again the group made life easier when I wasn't pulling my stint on the front. I enjoyed the last climb, steady enough to pick a gear and spin up with an easier but towards the top so I had my breath partially back to enjoy the decent down into Castlecomer.


http://app.strava.com/rides/25689033


With better weather next week and some holidays booked for the following one this log might not be updated for a while, but you never know what way things will work out.

nilhg

October's stats:

Distance:383.32 km
Time:15:10:11 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:1,993 m
Avg Speed:25.3 km/h


Over the last two weeks the closest I got to a bike was reading David Miller's book while I was relaxing beside a pool in Turkey, there was a lot going on here before we left and it was good to get away for the week there, I'm sure I'll suffer getting rid of the effects of the overeating and few pints but seeing the sun everyday for a week must have done me (and the missus and kids) some good.

This morning I headed off for a spin to shake out the legs, felt terrible for the first 15km or so but warmed up after that and finished doing a nice loop of 78km, was a bit tired at the finish but not really surprised about that. Didn't really push it just wanted to enjoy the spin.

http://app.strava.com/activities/26898711

I'm away a few days this week so might have to resort to the turbo to try and build up my activity again.

nilhg

This week:

Distance:169.38 km
Time:6:32:23 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:875 m
Avg Speed:25.9 km/h


3 spins, out for an hour or so on Thursday morning and did 50km early yesterday before I went to see my young fella play rugby.

Today I headed across towards West Wicklow, I haven't gone that way from home before because it would usually mean a head wind on either the Curragh or the bog road home from Naas on the return leg but with a calm day forecast today I headed on. The plan was nice and steady through Kilcullen, Dunlavin and on to Hollywood and see how I felt then, When I arrived I felt good so took the Wicklow Gap road to see how I'd get on on the steep gradient up over Slieve Corragh, it wasn't easy but I got to the top without exploding and after a nice descent down the other side took the Lakes road back to Blessington through Valleymount and on home via Naas. Apart from on a few of the hills I was trying to stay safely in my comfort zone and resist the urge to push hard, I finished with 90 km at 25.5km/hr and feeling like I had plenty more in my legs.

http://app.strava.com/activities/27521139

Over the next while I'm hoping to be able to get out a couple of mornings during the week and at weekends, just building up mileage in the legs, if I can do this hopefully I won't have to resort to the turbo trainer.

Next week should push me over the 6000km mark for the year to date which TBH I still have to pinch myself to believe.

nilhg

Distance:192.03 km
Time:7:31:29 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:820 m
Avg Speed:25.5 km/h


This week riding took my yearly total to 6,153.44 km which to me is a very pleasing figure, hopefully if the weather holds up I might have a chance to reach 7000km for the year.

Again three spins this week , Thursday was a nice handy 40km spin in the morning and today I did 45km to recover from the exertions of yesterday.

I had hoped to take on the BMC Challenge on strava but time constraints meant that I didn't think that it was possible, so instead headed out with the local club on their Saturday spin, there's a couple of guys getting ready to race next year in the club and they were all out yesterday morning so I knew that the pace would be interesting;).

I was fine for the first 30km or so up till the drag before we got to Ballymore, the stronger guys were up front and I was down the back when one of the other lads lost the wheel in front and a gap opened, we caught them again on the drop down into the town but on the hill out the Naas road they rode away from us again, they were never too far in front so I decided to chase them on the level and was flat out for quite a while trying to get to them, I almost had them when the road kicked up again and away they went again, I saw sense at that stage and waited for the others.

We joined up again in Naas but going into Clane traffic split us up and when we turned into the wind on the Allenwood road the fast guys were gone again , with the help of some decent up and overs the rest of us were able to keep the gap respectable till the coffee stop.

After that we stuck pretty much together at a decent pace back to Kildare I think that my HR hardly dropped below 90% and was closer to 100% on any sort of decent incline, though I do seem to recover quickly enough with any chance at all.

Back in Kildare one of the lads was staying going for another hour and since I had some time to play with I said I might as well stick with him, again we turned into the wind and to keep up a decent pace I had to work hard all the way to Monasterevin, turning for home from there was a relief.

The days final total was 106km at an average speed of 25.9km/hr, it felt faster and I was quite happy to get home when I did, the previous Sunday I had done 90km with significantly more vertical meters solo at 25.4km/hr and felt much fresher at the end just goes to show that when you're put under pressure things get harder.

No harm though to have some rides like that in my legs.

http://app.strava.com/activities/28036963

The plan up to the end of the year is more of the same, to clock up as many kms as possible to try and build up a decent base of fitness.

nilhg

Distance:118.26 km
Time:4:57:29 h:m:s
Elevation Gain:558 m
Avg Speed:23.9 km/h

Not really a lot to report, I headed out 3 times this week wrapped up in more layers than an onion and spun around in the small ring trying very hard to take it easy......

I'm not hugely worried about training techniques to maximise my performance next year (no intentions of racing or anything like that) just want to keep going to avoid having losing what fitness I have so keeping up the km count without killing my self is attractive. Getting out enough to avoid having to use the turbo is a big winner for me.

More of the same next week weather permitting, though if I make the club Saturday spin I'll probably get some higher intensity stuff.

nilhg

November totals

Distance: 581.41 km
Time: 23:00:04 h:m:s
Elevation Gain: 2,671 m
Avg Speed: 25.3 km/h


This week

Distance: 64.81 km
Time: 2:40:11 h:m:s
Elevation Gain: 291 m
Avg Speed: 24.3 km/h
+2 hrs on turbo

Not a great week, had a few things on which restricted me to two outings on the road, Friday morning I did a short spin on icy enough road and today I got another short one in.
I went out early to try to avoid the rain with a pal of mine to meet some of his friends from Naas tri club on their Sunday spin, I wasn't feeling great, I have an intermittent problem with my stomach and this week hasn't been one of the better ones, the details aren't important here but sometimes on the bike it can make life uncomfortable and today was one of those days. We met the folks in Kildare Town and on to Monasterevin where they took the loop home the back way through Rathangan, the pace was fine for me really but coming back into Rathangan (just about home for me) I started to feel unwell and had to stop for a few minutes and let them on.
Once the spasm passed I was fine and decided to do a solo loop to clock up a few more KMs but as I headed for Allenwood the rain came down, it got darker and miserable so I decided to abandon ship and headed for home, taking in the short steep climb of Wynnes lane as a sort of consolation.

http://app.strava.com/activities/30533927#

I id a couple of 1hr @75% HR turbo sessions this week as well so I suppose not as bad a week as the figures above would suggest, if the stomach doesn't settle shortly I'll probably be doing a few more of them again this week.