Just uploaded the latest video shot in Majorca in April 2014 on the Tyneside Vagabonds Cycling Club trip. This was an excellent trip, staying at the Aparthotel Duva and Spa in Puerto de Pollensa. No video shot from the bike this year so this is all social stuff, happy memories!
Showing posts with label Cycling Event. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cycling Event. Show all posts
Monday, 19 May 2014
Sunday, 6 September 2009
Cumberland Challenge
Hi
Power-Tap
The day of the Cumberland Challenge came around again and at least today it didn't pour with rain though it was very windy for much of the ride which made things difficult.
In the event the day from my point of view went as well as it could have done. All my training has paid off and I felt fit and strong throughout the ride and never ran out of gas at all, I was very happy with all the preparations I had made and I think I now have a good "template" that seems to work for me.
My pals and I rode as a group and it was a shame that there were a few "bad days @ the office" but that's always likely to be the way things pan out. We all finished pretty much together all bar a few seconds so in the end all was well.
In terms of time around the circuit I was all but identical to last year but I felt so much better today, a very different experience from many previous sportives so I'm more than happy with the way things are going in readiness for 2010.
The main message I have taken from today is that my indoor training is not hampering me in any way in long endurance events which is great. Now looking forward to a double crossing of the country next weekend. I'm riding from coast to coast to coast with a couple of mates which we are looking forward to, gawd knows what the weather will be like.
Came in 23rd out of 400+ so happy with that, to see the results click here.
ATL: 105.8 CTL: 91.4 TSB: 17.0
[Uploaded 07/09/2009 21:15:06]
Power-Tap
The day of the Cumberland Challenge came around again and at least today it didn't pour with rain though it was very windy for much of the ride which made things difficult.
In the event the day from my point of view went as well as it could have done. All my training has paid off and I felt fit and strong throughout the ride and never ran out of gas at all, I was very happy with all the preparations I had made and I think I now have a good "template" that seems to work for me.
My pals and I rode as a group and it was a shame that there were a few "bad days @ the office" but that's always likely to be the way things pan out. We all finished pretty much together all bar a few seconds so in the end all was well.
In terms of time around the circuit I was all but identical to last year but I felt so much better today, a very different experience from many previous sportives so I'm more than happy with the way things are going in readiness for 2010.
The main message I have taken from today is that my indoor training is not hampering me in any way in long endurance events which is great. Now looking forward to a double crossing of the country next weekend. I'm riding from coast to coast to coast with a couple of mates which we are looking forward to, gawd knows what the weather will be like.
Came in 23rd out of 400+ so happy with that, to see the results click here.
ATL: 105.8 CTL: 91.4 TSB: 17.0
[Uploaded 07/09/2009 21:15:06]
Saturday, 13 June 2009
Northern Rock Cyclone
Hi
Power-Tap
Here we are at the start.
In the end the weather was pretty kind to us today though at times the wind was a bit unhelpful but on balance things could easily have been a whole lot worse. Some folk got a real soaking in one or two very heavy showers but we were lucky and had a generally dry ride. The route covers 101.4 miles of very hilly countryside and includes 8 serious climbs.
As things panned out we had a really excellent ride. We worked together well and the group atmosphere was really enjoyable. As one of us hit a difficult patch we just helped each other along and in the final analysis none of us would have achieved the results we did without working together as a team.
A couple of other guys joined up with us for part of the ride and joined in with our work sharing and it was nice to chat to them at the end, they both seemed to feel that joining us had enhanced their day which was really nice.
To be honest our result exceeded our expectations as the field was much larger than last year and those in the know said that there were a number of very strong cyclists taking part. We stuck with our plan and throughout the ride we were not passed by a single cyclist, the ever supportive and tolerant Lorena was there to man our feed stop which was greatly appreciated by all.
We arrived at the finish in a time of 5:18 which was just brilliant. We had taken 10 minutes off our time last year and the course was also about 2 miles longer, we also had to stop 3 times to open and close farm gates as part of the route took us over a very poor gated road.
What was even more amazing was that as far as we could tell when we left the registration centre afterwards we had finished in places 8-12 (we all finished together as planned) in a field estimated to be about 1000 riding the 101.4 mile route, just a fantastic outcome.
For those interested in the numbers they are as follows:
Time: 5:18
TSS: 399
IF: 0.869
Work: 4188 kJ
VI: 1.24
NP: 272W
HR Ave: 156
SP Ave: 19.2 mph.
Speed distribution:
So where do we go now? There are a number of things we can do to improve our performance and we'll have to talk those through in due course. For the moment we will just enjoy what we have achieved and be grateful for how things went and the most important fact, that we all finished safe and well.
[Uploaded 13/06/2009 22:34:43]
Power-Tap
Here we are at the start.
In the end the weather was pretty kind to us today though at times the wind was a bit unhelpful but on balance things could easily have been a whole lot worse. Some folk got a real soaking in one or two very heavy showers but we were lucky and had a generally dry ride. The route covers 101.4 miles of very hilly countryside and includes 8 serious climbs.
As things panned out we had a really excellent ride. We worked together well and the group atmosphere was really enjoyable. As one of us hit a difficult patch we just helped each other along and in the final analysis none of us would have achieved the results we did without working together as a team.
A couple of other guys joined up with us for part of the ride and joined in with our work sharing and it was nice to chat to them at the end, they both seemed to feel that joining us had enhanced their day which was really nice.
To be honest our result exceeded our expectations as the field was much larger than last year and those in the know said that there were a number of very strong cyclists taking part. We stuck with our plan and throughout the ride we were not passed by a single cyclist, the ever supportive and tolerant Lorena was there to man our feed stop which was greatly appreciated by all.
We arrived at the finish in a time of 5:18 which was just brilliant. We had taken 10 minutes off our time last year and the course was also about 2 miles longer, we also had to stop 3 times to open and close farm gates as part of the route took us over a very poor gated road.
What was even more amazing was that as far as we could tell when we left the registration centre afterwards we had finished in places 8-12 (we all finished together as planned) in a field estimated to be about 1000 riding the 101.4 mile route, just a fantastic outcome.
For those interested in the numbers they are as follows:
Time: 5:18
TSS: 399
IF: 0.869
Work: 4188 kJ
VI: 1.24
NP: 272W
HR Ave: 156
SP Ave: 19.2 mph.
Speed distribution:
So where do we go now? There are a number of things we can do to improve our performance and we'll have to talk those through in due course. For the moment we will just enjoy what we have achieved and be grateful for how things went and the most important fact, that we all finished safe and well.
[Uploaded 13/06/2009 22:34:43]
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Cumberland Challenge - The Outcome
Hi
Power-Tap
The day of the Cumberland Challenge dawned grey and wet, as expected, but I was happy with my performance and Dave Youlton, Scott Muller, John Straughan and I had a good ride sharing the work where the roads made it possible and helping each other along when we hit bad patches.
A summary of my data is shown above and I'm delighted with the 5:55 finish time, 6 hours was an ambitious target having finished in 6:20 last year and we made it with a little time to spare not having killed ourselves, quite!
I'm pleased to have finished the season's events on a better note and feel that my training plan is slowly delivering the goods. I hope over the Autumn and Winter to make significant strides and who knows, maybe aim for 5:45 in next year's event ;-)
I'm also pleased that I don't feel completely done in tonight and feel that I managed to get round today without completely thrashing myself into the ground, my peak HR was 17BPM below my maximum. Maybe my mates will have something to say about me being lazy!
Seriously, I think I have more to give and I also reckon that a dietary experiment, based on some reading and digging I've done may have something to do with the fact that I just never felt that I was going to run out of gas. The morning of the event of course I had a porridge and toast type breakfast but my experiment started the day before, 24 hours before in fact, this is what I had then. Who cares if it's a coincidence, it tasted great, fried bread was on a side plate! ;-)
Cheers all, and thanks to my 3 mates for a great ride!
Sunday, 12 August 2007
Summer Century Ride
Hi
The day of the Summer Century, a loop taking in Billsmoor and Carter Bar coming back through Wooler and Eglingham. In the end the weather was not bad, cool and cloudy for the first part, some rain at the lunch stop but then clearing in the afternoon for a smashing last part of the ride. 10 people rolled up, the group was of rather mixed ability but but had a smashing day out.
Tried to hang onto Ian on Carter Bar but couldn't quite manage it but held the effort until just below the summit and was very close to making it. Neil (just back from The Alps) held onto Ian and also Mike Hutton also who is now fully trained for P-B-P so there was no shame in that! Pleased to have held it for so long and am just a % point or two off holding him all the way up, I'll keep working away but I honestly think if I could manage to shed a stone I'd have been there yesterday, damn pies!
So, a good day out and looking pretty promising for the Cumberland Challenge. Feel that I have greater leg strength than I had and am able to push a bigger gear for longer so I'm on the right track, it's just slow work.
Outline date from today's ride:
Riding time: 6:37:45
Distance: 104.817 miles
Average speed: 15.8mph or 25.42kph
Pace: 3.48 minutes per mile
Ascent: 6826'
Max elevation: 1371'
My average HR for the ride was 127BPM so I really was for the vast majority of the time taking it extremely easy, my CyclingPeaks analysis indicates that I wasn't even pedaling for about 25% of the time!
To view some photographs of the ride click here.
Summary of training for the week follows, all 259.7 miles of it!
The day of the Summer Century, a loop taking in Billsmoor and Carter Bar coming back through Wooler and Eglingham. In the end the weather was not bad, cool and cloudy for the first part, some rain at the lunch stop but then clearing in the afternoon for a smashing last part of the ride. 10 people rolled up, the group was of rather mixed ability but but had a smashing day out.
Tried to hang onto Ian on Carter Bar but couldn't quite manage it but held the effort until just below the summit and was very close to making it. Neil (just back from The Alps) held onto Ian and also Mike Hutton also who is now fully trained for P-B-P so there was no shame in that! Pleased to have held it for so long and am just a % point or two off holding him all the way up, I'll keep working away but I honestly think if I could manage to shed a stone I'd have been there yesterday, damn pies!
So, a good day out and looking pretty promising for the Cumberland Challenge. Feel that I have greater leg strength than I had and am able to push a bigger gear for longer so I'm on the right track, it's just slow work.
Outline date from today's ride:
Riding time: 6:37:45
Distance: 104.817 miles
Average speed: 15.8mph or 25.42kph
Pace: 3.48 minutes per mile
Ascent: 6826'
Max elevation: 1371'
My average HR for the ride was 127BPM so I really was for the vast majority of the time taking it extremely easy, my CyclingPeaks analysis indicates that I wasn't even pedaling for about 25% of the time!
To view some photographs of the ride click here.
Summary of training for the week follows, all 259.7 miles of it!
Thursday, 24 May 2007
We made it into the paper!
Hi
The Breeze Bikes cyclists made it into the paper with their exploits in the Fred Whitton Challenge! Well deserved I reckon.
The Breeze Bikes cyclists made it into the paper with their exploits in the Fred Whitton Challenge! Well deserved I reckon.
Sunday, 13 May 2007
The Fred Whitton Challenge
Hi
Off we go, the first big day of the year!
In all it's hilly glory!
Well, we got round and bettered last year's time. Mark, Peter, John and I rode together and finished in 7:45 which has improved my last year's time by 25 minutes. We had a great ride with no mechanical problems and having decided to stick together we did just that waiting where it was necessary though I kept one eye on last year's splits which I had with me as I was determined not to let a sub 8 hour time elude me as that moves me into the "1st class" category for the first time.
Some of the other guys did stunning times, some well sub 7 hours, in one case 6:10! There are limits to how much one can improve! Hmm.. now maybe if I lost a few pounds!
To check out some photos at the start and finish click here.
To check out the route click here.
Off we go, the first big day of the year!
In all it's hilly glory!
Well, we got round and bettered last year's time. Mark, Peter, John and I rode together and finished in 7:45 which has improved my last year's time by 25 minutes. We had a great ride with no mechanical problems and having decided to stick together we did just that waiting where it was necessary though I kept one eye on last year's splits which I had with me as I was determined not to let a sub 8 hour time elude me as that moves me into the "1st class" category for the first time.
Some of the other guys did stunning times, some well sub 7 hours, in one case 6:10! There are limits to how much one can improve! Hmm.. now maybe if I lost a few pounds!
To check out some photos at the start and finish click here.
To check out the route click here.
Sunday, 4 March 2007
Winter Century Ride..
Hi
13 hardy souls set out on the ride taking a large anticlockwise loop into the Scottish Borders and back to Alnwick again, to review the route click here. The weather was not too bad to start with but deteriorated badly and in the end we spent the last 4 hours struggling against high winds and heavy rain.
There we many memorable moments, a broken front mechanism, a broken chain, 2 punctures, one of the riders unable to continue and having to be left in the hands of a kind country soul to be collected later, severe cramp left him unable to continue as he was unable to make the Billsmoor ascent at about the 80 mile point.
Anyway, we made it in the end, it was good trial run for the forthcoming Gran Fondo Northumberland in a few weeks time. What a hard sport cycling is!
13 hardy souls set out on the ride taking a large anticlockwise loop into the Scottish Borders and back to Alnwick again, to review the route click here. The weather was not too bad to start with but deteriorated badly and in the end we spent the last 4 hours struggling against high winds and heavy rain.
There we many memorable moments, a broken front mechanism, a broken chain, 2 punctures, one of the riders unable to continue and having to be left in the hands of a kind country soul to be collected later, severe cramp left him unable to continue as he was unable to make the Billsmoor ascent at about the 80 mile point.
Anyway, we made it in the end, it was good trial run for the forthcoming Gran Fondo Northumberland in a few weeks time. What a hard sport cycling is!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)