Brief updates; 29/3
In brief:
Over 300 km at 31 kph average is getting on target with my total time being 12 hours. In context, that would be 12 hours to cover 195 miles (45% event distance). In reality, I was clearly fuel limited - standing in Greggs with £5.40 and trying to work out what the best £/calorie took time and limited my fuel choices which will be very different in July, so all looking good.
On the route, there was a couple of tricky junctions I'm glad I'm aware of and now done but I know that this section is likely to be in the dark so I'm glad I know what to look out for.
The normality of going to the higher distances is become less and less of a fear. Last year doing 205 miles felt like and epic, doing 195 miles last Friday felt comfortable - this is the least of what I expected for myself. I can't imagine doing the likes of Steve Abrahams and know that Friday would have been any one of his day, but I can see what's a "normal ride" is becoming more subjective. I'll write something about normality some time in the future.
For a data point of view, this is what it looks like:
Cadence was missing for some reason (sensor miss-aligned??). As you'll notice, Lincolnshire is flat so good for tracking speeds. Fatigue fade (food related) kicked in after the mid-point when I stopped for food but average speed looks good. The undulations on the route North give a false fade compared to what the route will be but it was good to roll over them.
Heart rate is a good question. Zone wise, my heart appears to out preform my legs - lower BPM than expected/requested. I feel that this is more of a reflection of muscle glycogen depletion being the limiting factor.
In short, a fantastic day and a step in the right direction.
I've been trying different foods while riding. In the cold, gloves are making certain foods unfeasible to open or handle so I've had to stop on the road side, sort myself out and then get going again. It's a pain in the saddle, so I've resorted to looking in the sweeties aisle for foods that I can use on the ride and have a eye-vibrating sugar content. Jelly beans are working will, jelly babies have a sugary/floury mess.
I've been buying these sweets for a very specific purpose, but seeing the number of people clambering over junk food as part of their normal diet is saddening - particularly young kids. I've avoided dwelling in that aisle with our kids and hide away my riding food to give our kids the right impression of foods for purpose, treats, nutrition and health. Seeing that aisle being the busiest in the supermarket it just saddening - the the entrance to hell.
- Watopia climbing
- >300km on a very Good Friday
- ASDA confectionery aisle - the gate to Mordor
- Posh fish and chips??
- Lights ordered
- Sunday night regrets
- Easter eggs
Watopia climbing
As I had hoped to be out on the road but currents had others ideas and popped a light, I opted for doing my Wednesday night session on the turbo instead with a 100 minute, 156W steady state depletion ride as I had been doing in the previous trials. It also gave me the chance to play with Zwift again and explore their new extension to the routes. Sticking to steady state defeats the point of the route a bit, but it was good to spin, play a bit of the Mod Father and Noel Gallagher good and loud. Butterfly collector, enough said.
>300km
As you'll see in my Good Friday post, Good Friday was a good Friday. With a 300 km target, good weather and a pre-ride fueling strategy that on the whole went well, the ride set off well. Around 50 km my mind wandered and I realised, I only had limited cash on me (no card) so re-fueling was limited.Over 300 km at 31 kph average is getting on target with my total time being 12 hours. In context, that would be 12 hours to cover 195 miles (45% event distance). In reality, I was clearly fuel limited - standing in Greggs with £5.40 and trying to work out what the best £/calorie took time and limited my fuel choices which will be very different in July, so all looking good.
On the route, there was a couple of tricky junctions I'm glad I'm aware of and now done but I know that this section is likely to be in the dark so I'm glad I know what to look out for.
The normality of going to the higher distances is become less and less of a fear. Last year doing 205 miles felt like and epic, doing 195 miles last Friday felt comfortable - this is the least of what I expected for myself. I can't imagine doing the likes of Steve Abrahams and know that Friday would have been any one of his day, but I can see what's a "normal ride" is becoming more subjective. I'll write something about normality some time in the future.
For a data point of view, this is what it looks like:
Cadence was missing for some reason (sensor miss-aligned??). As you'll notice, Lincolnshire is flat so good for tracking speeds. Fatigue fade (food related) kicked in after the mid-point when I stopped for food but average speed looks good. The undulations on the route North give a false fade compared to what the route will be but it was good to roll over them.
Heart rate is a good question. Zone wise, my heart appears to out preform my legs - lower BPM than expected/requested. I feel that this is more of a reflection of muscle glycogen depletion being the limiting factor.
In short, a fantastic day and a step in the right direction.
ASDA confectionery aisle - the gate to Mordor
Bit of a dichotomy here. I'm a skinny, healthy man in the isle that'll cause more diabetes and damage to society than I'm comfortable with looking for the highest calorific snack foods.I've been trying different foods while riding. In the cold, gloves are making certain foods unfeasible to open or handle so I've had to stop on the road side, sort myself out and then get going again. It's a pain in the saddle, so I've resorted to looking in the sweeties aisle for foods that I can use on the ride and have a eye-vibrating sugar content. Jelly beans are working will, jelly babies have a sugary/floury mess.
I've been buying these sweets for a very specific purpose, but seeing the number of people clambering over junk food as part of their normal diet is saddening - particularly young kids. I've avoided dwelling in that aisle with our kids and hide away my riding food to give our kids the right impression of foods for purpose, treats, nutrition and health. Seeing that aisle being the busiest in the supermarket it just saddening - the the entrance to hell.
Posh fish and chips??
As a treat, we had fish and chips from Ruddington Fish Bar on Easter Monday. I'm not knocking it, because they were really good fish and chips, but the amount of choice these days I'm lost with. Whatever happened to simple fish and chips from the chippie on Station Road in Hadfield ?Lights ordered
B&M Lumotech on order from Rose Bikes in Germany. Watch this space.Sunday night regrets
Easter weekend went in a flash, and it coincided with my son's birthday. I should have done something Sunday night but with the festivities, family life and enjoying being a dad, I didn't. I kind of regret that I didn't do something, but I really enjoyed being a husband and dad and had a whiskey and a film after a fantastic day. The human mechanical side also needs the human emotional side.Easter eggs
I could have had my fill, but Mrs Stav made a fantastic Fireman Sam cake for our son's birthday.
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