Re: Sunday Ride 29 May 2011

[ValleyMan]

For some bizarre reason I decided on Friday that I should cycle at least the long loop of the Wales Sportive to see what I was letting myself into (also it would give me lots of time to make up a suitable debilitating illness should I need to chicken out!). What I should have done was checked the bloody weather forecast at this moment of epiphany.

I therefore decided to forsake the Sunday Club ride (left in Dylan’s trusty hands; only Celia turned up….) and headed off on my own armed with a battery of new weapons.

First in the arsenal was a 13/28 cassette that was fitted for me by Jon on Friday night after Kim’s stretching and massage demo at the Aces (cheers Jon, above and beyond the call of duty). The evening must be what a Saga holiday would be like, a treat that will be in store from me very soon.

Second up was a handlebar mount for my heart rate monitor and some second hand top advice from Nick brown via Huw regarding keeping the heart rate down on endurance events.

Third was Endomondo loaded onto my smart phone that tracks progress and gives feedback on the time taken to cover every mile and distance covered.

Finally, was iTunes uploaded onto phone for a bit of inspiration along the route; Clash, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Dandy Warhols, Bob Marley and Run DMC set on shuffle.

I planned to start at 7am, but the howling gale and driving rain put me off somewhat plus I don’t really do mornings. However, it didn’t look like abating so at 8.30 I headed off.

Kim had agreed on Friday to go for a spin on Sunday morning with the ‘gals’ from Tenby. However, having driven over there, she was met by Nik to be told they had decided to call it off. Dare I say fair-weather cyclists although Carton had been out to Angle on Saturday and pronounced it dangerous!

I lost all feeling in my feet by Princes Gate as my shoes filled up with water. The full force of the wind did not really make itself apparent until I reached Wisemans Bridge where I got a taste of things to come.

The hill up from Wisemans Bridge is a bitch (sorry Mike!) even with a 28 tooth cog. My very helpful on-board ‘coach’ announced ‘Time Paused’ as I started up the hill, a comment normally reserved for when you stop; I didn’t think I was going that slowly. The driving rain all but blinded me going down into Saundersfoot and then with supreme irony Highway to Hell came on at the base of St Bride’s Hill. Two jokers in one phone…

I then spent the next 2 hours cycling into a headwind all the way to Angle. Trying to stick to a 75% max heart rate to avoid a build-up of the dreaded Lactic Acid (© Nick Brown Coaching via Huw!) was all but impossible even when going down hill. I think to stick to 75% I would have been blown backwards… Dropping down to Freshwater West the wind was so strong I was getting blown right across the road. Very few surfer dudes in evidence and those that were about were safely tucked up in their camper vans.

At the top of Fresh West Hill I had to think really hard about doing the short loop down to Angle and back as I had just about had enough of the wind. However, I persevered and was rewarded with a mighty shove in the back when I climbed out of Angle and started heading east. 20 to 25mph at a heart rate of 70%; this was more like it! I was back in Pembroke in no time then up onto the Ridgeway and down to Carew.

I really started to struggle on the road up to Crosshands; it all seemed so easy on Wednesday! I stopped for my final Geobar and the dregs of sports drink at Crosshands then it was the final push for home, just the climb out of Templeton to go. I aimed to complete the 75miles in 5 hours and got home in 5 hours and 2 minutes (including stops.)

My bike computer ran out of battery and I am not too sure that the GPS on the phone was working quite right as my maximum speed was reported at just over 1,000mph. Now that might be believable for Andrew, or a realistic target for Roger on his new bike, but probably slightly beyond my (current) capability.

According to the HRM, I burnt 2,900 calories which is the equivalent of about 10 Geobars, I ate 4 plus the sports drink. I will definitely load up with more food next week and perhaps a fist-full of gels sachets.

The big question is could I have gone another 40miles? I can only hope next weekend there is less wind and I can find a couple of wheels to sit on.

Perhaps Dylan had the right idea after all. Self-righteous moi?