Month: November 2008

Monday: Morning spinning class full so it was a trip to the gym instead. Cycle for 20 minutes and then a couple of sets on the weights. Did 500 metre intervals on the treadmill at 11 km/hr after last weeks twinge.
I’d set the distance to 5 km and it went quite well until the machine stopped dead and an error code came up on the display.
Ordered the Giant of Provence in HD for the Tacx. Busy weekend on the 705 side of the site. Had a look at the TCX files and found that the CoursePoints I’ve been using for rides are stored at the end of the file.
Put the TurboTrainer tyre on the Toy.
This led me to update the I-Magic software set the bike up, update the drivers  and then ride a course. Had a look at the Training side of it and rode a freeride.
Missed the spinning class a West Kirby but this was just as hard. It looks brilliant on a wide screen. Sweating buckets.
Mama-Mia out on DVD today sold out of everywhere.  Saw Casino Royale on BlueRay at Cheshire Oaks yesterday so it looks like it is going to be a BlueRay Christmas. Seemingly good bundle on at Blockbusters.
Tuesday: Morning spinning class at West Kirby.  Had a really good go at this class, max was 178 bpm average was 152 bpm. Gym afterwards, usual weight machines then the treadmill. Still seeing how I’d do in a 5km run. Ran 3km at 9km/hr

 

Stopped at 3 Km for 500 metre walk at 5km then started off again at 10 km/hr. This had the heartrate up at 160 bpm so I backed the speed off to 9 km/hr again. I’m going to have to get some earphones as it’s quite boring and you tend to get a number fixation watching the numbers flick over.
2 Km slow row afterwards in 9:45 and I was done.
Speeding ticket for Val in the post. Checked out the Iceni for tommorow and set up Vals bike on the Minoura turbo trainer.
Wednesday: Ride day. It was pretty grim going out to the Eureka with a fine drizzle requireing full wet gear. Breakfast at the Eureka and then it’s a question of what group to go out with. Ended up going out with Clive, Paul, Clockey and Joey which is fast company which translates in to about 28 km/hr average.
Once Paul had left for work it was apparent I was holding them up so I turned off for the IceCream Farm.
Not before Clive told me my position was wrong.
I need to adopt a racing position with a higher seat height for a start.  Clive suggests 3mm higher which I thought wouldn’t do anything for me. Then seat position and then a different stem.

Tea and a scone at the ICF, sally is just leaving and when I’m about to leave the other ride turn up so I stay.
Looks like it is going to be a Garmin christmas as Mary asks me which map to get. As they are off to Majorca for training holidays it would have to be City Navigator Europe.

Once I topped the bottle up I stuck 5mm onto the seat height and headed off to catch the Northend.
The difference was amazing, hats off to Clive. Clive for those that don’t know is a World Track Champ.
Typical route back to the Eureka, the roads now open from the mornings closure. Three blokes in balaclavas drove into a lorry while being chased by the police. One dead, one injured and one on the run.
Looking at the car on the news I’m surprised anyone got out of it.

Out of the Eureka with the sun going down it felt a bit chilly. Not  bad day out, 60 miles which is good for winter. The clothing wants a bit of fine tuning, bibtights fine and they should be but the thermal jersey may need another wicking layer. They Montane jacket was good but still leaves you damp when you stop.

Back to the Ice Cream Farm in December they are serving All Day Breakfasts 9:00 till 12:00. These are full hit jobs and Maxines breakfast put Franks breakfast at the Eureka to shame. Two eggs and more bacon. It went down well, the Eureka Breakfast was the fuel for my ride although I’ve been told I’m doing it the wrong way round. Basically I ride out to the Eureka on water not having anything pre ride other than the Eureka breakfast that has served me well. It does fit in with my portion plan so why disturb something that works.

No spin tonight, take things easy as things are about to get tougher.

Thursday: Work. End of the month and lots going on. Maybe the Tacx when I get in. The Ventoux dvd is due soon, why do I pick the bloody hard cat 1 ones. No Tacx but more cycling agro in the Globe this time from a cyclist going on about walkers on cycle lanes. It could be worse I could ride a horse they are really getting it in the neck. Big lance Armstrong feature in the comic, I picked up the last copy in the Coop which hasn’t gone under.
Back to the comic, the rides section has a bit about Lancashire rides which brings up the local differences.
Friday: Work. Considering how many Chiefs there are and so few Indians you wonder how anything gets done. In next Monday to state my case, not expecting a result, the whole place is a farce.

Northend Dinner and Presentation after work, a good evening.  Tempo had Scotts river crossing on his phone which went down well.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vrKRqej0BBo

Saturday: Work. 
Sunday: Work.  The less said the better.
On a brighter note it’s time to catch up on the blog, update Stan’s post and give him a link as he deserves more for the effort he puts in.  The low seat height has been the highlight of the week, it was an amazing difference for someone that rides a couple of thousand miles a year.
Topgear after work and Louise Theroux after that, Skysports now have a cycling section now they are sponsoring it.

Monday: Appointment with the practice nurse for a followup BP reading. It was borderline high last month so I went out and bought the Lloyds Blood Pressure Monitor BPII. Been monitoring for the last three weeks and looking at the readings I would say it was up compared with a cuff BP monitor.
A 9:20 appointment was going to shape the day.
Surprised that it was 126/75 on the practice machine and much the same with a manual reading.
Scare over, I’d put it down to the Lloyds machine engineered not to give a false positive. It can’t read low as you would think that you were fit and healthy when the opposite was true. 
Cleaned the Iceni and found the rear wheel bearings dry so it was off to see Colin at Wheelbase for a cone spanner.
Called in at the Oval to see what’s on. Spinning classes start in January.
Booked in for the evening class at West Kirby. Barbara asked how last night went, which was well as I woke up with a twinge in places I don’t usually get them. Shower and home.
Tuesday:  Knew I shouldn’t have had a Thai takeaway last night as the scales don’t lie. Faffed around trying to get some matching kit for the morning spin and gym session. Missed breakfast but had some malt loaf and a banana and apple after the first class.
Gym afterwards, weights and 2km on the Concept2 rowing machine. 8:15 which is 45 seconds faster than last week. This requires a lot more effort with a stroke rate at 41 at the beginning. As the row went on the stroke rate dropped but the ETA also dropped as my efficiency at rowing went up.
I’ve been toying with the idea of doing the Santa run in Liverpool from last Saturdays chat with Dave and Carolyn at the Eureka.
The idea was to see if I could do the distance. Started off at a slower pace and it seemed to be taking an age, upped the pace a bit and started to get a twinge in the ankle so rather than soldier on I stopped. I’m not looking to pick up an injury. Shower, home, blog then sort the wheel out.

The greasing of the rear wheel bearings went OK if a little messy. The cassette got cleaned but the freewheel feels like it wants sorting out. The bottom bracket felt rough so it was off to Colin at Wheelbase for another one.  Was going to go to Europa Pools  for a spin but had a call about what’s happening at work.
There is an envelope for me tomorrow with what shift pattern I’m doing, if it’s two days two nights I’m looking for another job. That shift is a killer with regards to disrupted sleep patterns.
Wednesday: Work, not looking forward to this block. The Iceni is set up for a ride when I get home that’s if I’m up to it. The envelope said Days which wouldn’t be too bad if it wasn’t for a 25% paycut that comes with it. Never known a place that puts so many square pegs in round holes.
Oncall for the last time.
The bikeride didn’t happen. Found out there is a 100 CoursePoint limit in the Edge series.
Thursday: Work. Another black book entry.  A trip to A and E to see my dad. Picked up the comic but haven’t read it.  Booked a block of 20 days off over xmas and still have time owed. Work life balance has swung the wrong way. Looks like time to move on and the time will be of my choosing.
Friday: Work.
Saturday: Work.
Sunday: Off, Jack day. Borders for a cycling mag. Weather dire but see Roy and Joan out on the way home.

Monday: Morning spinning class at West Kirby. I had a good go at this one with the average heartrate at 150 bpm with a max of 180 BPM which is just short of my max of 184. Buried myself in the final sprint.
Had a Lucozade sport afterwards to replace some salt.
Gym for some weights and a row onthe Concept 2 rowing machine. 2 km in 9:01.6 so didn’t break the 9 minute barrier.
Blockbusters for the new Indiana Jones DVD which was £2.50 with a free bag of popcorn. Can’t figure Blockbusters out at times. Current rental is £3.95 for 1 night. Tesco are now selling DVD’s for £3 that I paid more to rent.
Tuesday: Work. Got caught out by the Jerrico Lane sewer collapse. On call. Garmin 705 Ver2.50 update using webupdater, thanks for the comment Joe.
Also TCX converter has a new version that looks good. If you have a 705 you want to try out this software.
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.visivaworld.it%2Fblog.php%2Ftcx-converter-by-ddaaxx%2Fgeneral&langpair=it%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8 
Tacx was going to get set up but it didn’t happen.
Wednesday: Work. On call, blog updating.
Thursday: Work. Northend monthly meeting. A chance to test the lights out.  Car had crashed on the way to work. Power cut took out all the systems at work out. Picked up the comic on the way home and had a look before I went out.
Cateye El830 for the ride to the meeting but the 610 on the back played up with a poor battery connection. Spent 5 minutes trying to split the thing in two before I sussed out the sliding battery comparment.
The El830 bracket is not the best in the world on a normal stem.  Decent spread of light, could do with doing a light comparison.
Daves still having trouble doing a Course on his 305 using BikeRouteToaster so I’ll dig out the 305 and see if there are any pitfalls.
Friday: Funnily enough Work. Bailed out  at 4:30 using up time owed. Spinning class at West Kirby, notable for how hard I had to go to get the heartrate up. literally two zones down, started off slow and that sort of set things up for the rest of the class. 
Saturday: Ride day. Rode to the Eureka, missed all the rides so had breakfast. Joined by Carolyn and Dave and talked about Tacx,s and Garmins among other things. The phantom tacker came up too. I was going to do a short ride and see some of the cycle shops. As it turned out I had a puncture when I came out I knew I shouldn’t have mentioned them inside. No tacks but a piece of glass hadpierced the carcass. Found I hadn’t brought any tubes so patched it. Borrowed the shop track pump to stick 100 PSI into it.
Then it was off to Eureka CycleSports to look at some winter bibtights. The Aldi ones are OK but the fit is a bit baggy. Went through what was instock and ended up trying a pair of BioRacer ones. They were that good I didn’t take them off. Not cheap. Then of to Deeside for a shirt. Home via the missing Link, turned out to be 43 kms which wasn’t bad.
Sunday: Feed the ducks day. Tide was in at Antony Gormleys Another Place with a lot of the figures submerged.
Garmin AntAgent missing so no Forerunner downloads for the last few days. Also had a problem with a map for a 705 comment reply.
Xbox for an hour then off to West Kirby for a Spinning class. No Barbara tonight as Alex a Pilates Instructor is taking the class.
Totally different structure to the class, a lot more about core muscles and posture. More stretching than we normally do. It just emphasises the motto about a need to vary ones routine.
Decent end to the week, blood pressure reading tommorow. Won a Tour de France London 2007 jacket on ebay.

Monday: Work. On call. Not much to do but search for some decent lighting reviews. Charged up some batteries for a test of the Camelion Charger for the 705.
Tuesday: Work. On call again.  Half discharged the 705 it took 2 2000ma/hr AA batteries to get it back to full so wants a bit of looking into before I do an article on it.
Wednesday: Work. Spin class at Europa Pools, just. Spent an hour getting home due to hitting traffic on Runcorn bridge.  It was a split second decision whether to set the Tacx up and change the tyre or jump in the car and get to Europa Pools for Sheila’s class. Sheila won out. Had a good class with 17 mins in zone 3 and 12 minutes in zone 4. Sheila uses a radio mike which gives her a lot of control over a small class.
Splitting the class brings a bit of competition.  I did a search on YouTube for spinning last night and the JonnyG classes came up.  ( more later)
Again sections where the aim was posture and technique. Shower and home.
Blog and watch Axemen and Paul Merton.
Thursday: Work. Spinning class at West Kirby, shower and home. Picked up the comic on the way home along with a 69p pineapple from Aldi only to see it all over the TV when I got home.
Friday: Off.  Lost a kg. Had a look through the Wirral News and there is a letter from someone who got a parking ticket at 18:20 at Europa Pools.  I’ve mentioned before that this is the last carpark before they clock off at 6:30 at Hamilton Square. With winter here they’ll be inside out of the weather waiting for some one else to take a chance.  Minimum time is an hour which is £1 compared to West Kirby which is 30p.
Went to watch Quantum of Solace. Might need to watch it again before I pass judgement. Good film though.
Spinning class at West Kirby, another two first timers signing the death warrant.
They got through Ok but complained of sore backsides as virtually everyone does.  Tesco’s for some gel saddles I think. Shower, home.
Saturday:  Ride day, checked the bike out yesterday. Winter bike it is, rear lights and maybe a headlight.
Turned up at the Eureka slightly late and it was full of Northenders. Had my breakfast as I rode out  on empty. Three rides going out today, I’d opted to go on an ICF (Ice Cream Farm) ride. There was a lot of mud on the road on this ride with everyone opting to ride with mudguards except the first timer on the ride.
Depending on what  you are looking for this was one of a 100 ways to  reach the Ice Cream Farm.
I’ve done a pretty similar route with the Northen about a year ago. The Capenhurst lane route that is a given from the Eureka depending on what direction you are heading out was particulary muddy.
When I say mud, there were six inch clumps  of it from tractor wheels dotted around the road.
Our progress was slower along with the motorists that were stuck behind. There was a few bits of inconsiderate driving the most notable being around just before the pond at Christleton.

A prat of a boy racer seems to wants to take chunks out of me and the first timer I’m talking to. Being tailgunner for this section of the ride this means I’m on the back. There is a bit of a split around Waverton with a couple taking a more direct route to the Ice Cream Farm. With a bit of a U turn I ended up with the original group.

Being a member of a big club means you get the choice of at least three rides on a Saturday. Ours would be classed as a ‘B’ ride but it didn’t stop us nearly catching the ‘A’ ride at Backford trafficlights and passing them when one suffered a puncture. Thats the thing with club riding, the larger the group the more chance there is to go wrong.

Riding through Cheshire at this time of year means the roads are pretty snotty due to all the hedge cutting (punctures) and ploughing (mud).  Mudflaps on the counter at the Eureka for 50p (for charity) just confirm it. 

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/31260886@N02/3016848352/” title=”IceCreamFarm 002 by Frank Kinlan, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3205/3016848352_3295228c9a.jpg” width=”500″ height=”375″ alt=”IceCreamFarm 002″ /></a>

It was dry on the way back but we did have a split crossing the A41. This led to half of us taking the Chester cycle path back to the Eureka with us using the new A5117 bridge.

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/31260886@N02/3016849788/” title=”IceCreamFarm 003 by Frank Kinlan, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3242/3016849788_629e979cb1.jpg” width=”500″ height=”375″ alt=”IceCreamFarm 003″ /></a>

Had a really good day, more later…….