I picked a hot day for my first long run!

The Blog has been a bit slow this year, perhaps reflecting the fact that a number of us rode L2P last year and are being a little more relaxed about our preparations this year.  I can't speak for the other riders but my training so far this time has been not quite at the same tempo, and after my ride on Sunday I fear my approach this year has been somewhat complacent - more on that later.

There has been plenty of email chatter about what group to ride in and the only advice I can give based on my experience last year is that G4 averaged approx 15.5mph over the 3 days and for me was pretty comfortable. Bear in mind that 15.5mph in a pelaton of 80 -100 riders is very much easier than riding at that speed on your own.  It looks as though they may have upped the group speeds a tad this year but I am sticking with G4 and may edge up a group depending how I feel.  Last year I was reluctant to commit to a faster group as I wasn't sure how my body would stand up to the stress of 3 long days in the saddle.  There are a few difficult hilly sections on each day but I know what to expect now so if I feel comfortable I may be bold and move up.   It is actually not easy to change groups during the day as you run the risk of shortening your lunch break which is an important recovery time.

After last years ride I invested in a new bike, a Specialized Tarmac which has improved my speed and is much more comfortable than my old Trek despite the fact that the geometry is fairly racy.  Those of you who know me may be surprised to learn that my old bike was too big for me (I'm 6'5") but it was and that made for a very uncomfortable ride. The new steed is smaller and I feel much more comfortable on it and more in control of it at speed, helped by some brilliant new Mavic tyres.

So what have I been doing since last year?

Well having bought my new bike I was kindly invited to go on a training ride in November around the Surrey Hills with Sky ProTeam riders Geraint Thomas and Ben Swift.  Now those of you who know your cycling will appreciate that these guys are serious!  I can best describe the experience by saying "I have made better decisions".  These guys were hardly drawing breath and I was struggling to hang on to the back of the peleton as we tackled some of Surrey's finest - Box Hill etc.  After just 30 miles I was absolutely shattered and returned to the hotel a broken man realising that a new bike might be nice but it is no substitute for proper training.

I am like many riders a fair weather cyclist but in an attempt to get a head start on my training I started to cycle into work a few times from late February.  For me this is a 24 mile round trip and for safety reasons I generally choose to ride down the canal tow path.  In pitch dark and with a muddy tow path the safer option proved to be the road which brings its own challenges, impatient rush hour drivers and me falling off on two occasions having got my feet stuck in the clips.

Riding into work does make a massive improvement to ones fitness but the reality is that I have not been able to do it often enough as the heavy rainfall has made the canal trip too dangerous and life is  too precious to be cycling through B'ham traffic.  My cycling has therefore mainly been confined to weekend rides, generally on my own, south from my home and into the glorious Warwickshire and the North Cotswolds countryside. I have a nice 50 mile circuit which I will tackle a few times over the holiday weekend and see if I can pick up my speed a bit.

I did a 75 mile sportive in March and felt reasonably comfortable although the speed was quite slow.  Having been out of cycling action for a few weeks and missing the London Revolution that I had planned as my big pre-L2P training event I was desperate to find a good ride so that i could get some miles in the bank. 

This brings me back to my ride last Sunday - The Wheel Heroes 100 that I rode in my new LLR/BD kit.  I did the same ride last year but the difference on Sunday, other than some subtle route changes, was the temperature that averaged 26 degrees and max'd out at 33!  I was fine for the first 40 miles until we hit the hills and then the combination of a lack of training and the heat kicked in to devastating effect and my average speed dropped massively. Thankfully the organisers had put on place excellent refreshment facilities and after a lengthy breather at 75 miles I was able to finish reasonably strongly.

It wasn't a particularly pleasant experience but valuable miles are in the bank and I hope to add to these over the weekend if the weather allows me to get out.  I just need to find one more long run out before L2P and I should be in reasonable shape - not as good as I had hoped when I committed to ride again but enough to get me through.