Wrekinsport Reliability White-Out

As if the forecast of overnight minus temperatures & frost wasn't enough, we awoke this morning to find a blanket of snow covering everything. Early text to the Sunday lads to confirm my DNS status for the planned 53 mile Wrekinsport CC reliability, only the downright crazy will be attempting the roads this morning. So, it was a long walk with the dogs to fetch a newspaper instead.

2 rides are better than 1

Out for a double whammy of miles this weekend - did a hilly 27 around the Ironbridge Gorge & Wrekin on Saturday - I thought I seen all the lanes on the south of the Wrekin but I manage to find one I hadnt been on before with a good climb - which starts at 3% & ends up at 10% over approx. 1/2 mile distance - nice.

Sunday was an afternoon outing to Montford Bridge which was just shy of 40 miles - again a couple of climbs of 7%, 8% & 9.5% not too long but all good training - got home just before the downpour - most excellent.

Another Challenge [Reliability] Ride

Another challenge ride on the horizon just happens to be in my backyard - Wrekinsport Cycle club - are organizing a 53 mile Reliability ride from Roddington out to Mk Drayton, Audlem, Whitchurch, Wem, Shawbury & back to base. This takes place on Sunday 31/01/2010 - no entry fee from what I gather, just turn up & join in, so I can use this as a good training exercise & cycle with a reasonably paced group - log onto www.wrekinsport.co.uk/ for more details.

1st Sportive Challenge of 2010

Finally got around to registering on my 1st sportive challenge of 2010 - I am doing the Jodrell Bank Sportive - 80 miles around the Cheshire countryside. Looks a well organized event with timing tags on the bikes, feed stations etc so I am looking forward to taking part. My L2P buddy Mike is also planning to register & I know that Lee & Darren from Sunday morning rides are also considering - a few friends along the way will make the miles fizz by - log onto the link to find out detailed info.

www.cyclosport.org/eventdetails.aspx?eventid=2419

Starting over

Finally managed to get out on the bike on Sunday & a few weeks of inactivity it felt like starting over again - so I planned to do a steady 30 miler out to Wistanswick & back on easy country lanes, or so was the plan. After sliding off on black ice & banging my hip quite heavily I decided to cut short & ended up doing 26 miles.

I did have the route mapped on my Edge 705 but didnt use it as we rode in reverse direction but I did use the cadence & heart rate monitor.

Sunday's Cycle Sale

Made a few purchases at the Cycle Sale in Wolverhampton, although the one thing I really wanted I could get - brake blocks. I did however buy a new pair of winter bib tights & a long sleeve mid-weight jersey - very reasonable. Also bought some GT85 lube & got a couple of muc-off spray's to keep the Pinarello nice & shiny. Sue was also in the buying mode & purchased a mid-weight long sleeve top & a new Altura waterproof again very reasonable. All-in-all the sale was OK & pretty busy.

Snow Go

It's no go at the minute with all the snow & freezing condition - Sunday rides have been albeit postponed until further notice. The fancy new Garmin is gathering dust & my new bike cleaning brushes are still in the bag. I have managed to read through Lance Armstrong's "My Comeback Up Close & Personal" I had as a Christmas present - very good [If you like Armstrong - & I do].

I am attending the "One Day Cycle Sale" in Wolverhampton on Sunday - hopefully I can pick up some new brake blocks, GT85 lube & maybe a few other goodies.

I have to seriously pull my finger out & start registering for a few Sportives as per my plan pre-Christmas - or I am going to miss out on the events I have earmarked - the "Venturi Dragon Ride" has already sold out so I wont be doing that one - hopefully some news next week!

Who's a lucky boy?

Santa certainly came to visit me this Christmas as I am now the proud owned of a Garmin Edge 705 GPS cycling computer - c/w HRM & Cadence - what this baby doesn't do isn't worth nothing.

With the weather being on the negative side over the past few days I have spent my time mapping & loading loads of training & Sunday bike rides onto my Garmin - no excuses for getting lost now. I have also discovered another route mapping tool which works brilliantly with the 705 - www.ridewithgps.com uploading & downloading is so simple.

Used it for the first time on yesterdays ride to Montford Bridge - just to track our route & monitor my HR - Downloaded the info to the Garmin Training Centre & the www.ridewithgps.com - fantastic & so easy - all my ride data & info right there in-front of me.

Looking forward to using it fully over the coming weeks.

Yuletide Greetings & a Happy New Year

Yuletide Greetings & a Happy New Year to everyone!....I had arranged to meet the lads from the Sunday bike runs on 4 separate dates but the weather has intervened somewhat. So we have only been out twice over the xmas period. Last Sunday was a quick sprint around Haughmond Wroxeter & the Wrekin only 22.5 miles but with the odd climb it was enough to get rid of the excess turkey & mince pies, making it back home before the rain. Yesterday [New Years Eve] we did a 36.6 mile loop out around Montford Bridge [Shrewsbury] which was cold but in good winter sunshine. Lee had an issue with a tightening crank & turned for home after 12/13 miles - got home safely & hopefully he'll be OK for Sunday.