Just a quick note to say that I hope everyone is having a great Christmas with the loved ones. Of course there are some people for whom Christmas will always be a time to remember absent friends and family.
So to all LFC fans, when you make your Christmas toasts this year, please raise your glasses and remember the 96.
I’ll be updating the blog with my Christmas training logs, but until then, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.
Felt a bit ropey and my HR was higher than normal, but pretty comfortable 10K on my usual loop.
Wanted to go out earlier but had to wait for a Christmas delivery.
Used my Petzl Tikka XP2 Head torch – brilliant bit of kit….
Forgot to start the watch until 0.7K in so only recorded. 9.53 km in 1h:04m:15s using Endomondo.
…and so I restored to using the indoor trainer.
SO boring, but needed to get on the bike after a whole week off it due to a busy work schedule and a pulled neck muscle.
Neck is still pretty sore but managed to get nearly 2 hours in.
41.30 km in 1h:55m:30s using Endomondo.
Went for a 46K ride today with Steve and Geoff from Godric CC.
Pretty easy, though I could feel a tiny bit of fatigue in the legs from yesterday.
45.87 km in 2h:05m:10s using Endomondo.
Great Article on staying safe and enjoying winter riding…
So, today was the day of my first ever Audax ride. It was a 100K (well actually just under 105K) event called the Norfolk Nips 2.
After being delayed in Amsterdam last night and only having around 6 hours quality sleep in the last 2 nights, I did have a few second thoughts. They weren’t made any better by the forecast for strong easterly winds.
I woke up this morning and really felt like staying in bed. Knackered. But I dragged myself out of bed, had a coffee and got to putting the roof rack on the car. my fingers nearly dropped off from the cold! Went back in and got myself ready, had some breakfast and set out. Teh start was north of Norwich in Hellesdon, around 35 mins drive from me. The ride was due to start at nine, and I got there around ten to nine, got my shoes on and the bike off the car and went and picked up my brevet card. I got chatting to a few people who I ended up riding with at various points throughout the day.
Set out about 9:15, pretty much the last people to leave the start, and it was still zero degrees – the roads were extremely icy. The first 55K was into a headwind – but luckily the wind wasn’t as strong as forecasted. The ice was the bigger problem, and everyone had to be very wary all day. During the morning I saw 3 people come off, 2 of which unfortunately had to retire. Had a few close calls myself but managed to keep the bike from coming out from under me.
I’d planned to take it easy on the way to the main control at 55K, just to make sure the last 50K home wasn’t too hard but was forced to go slower than expected even due to the treacherous road conditions. Had a cup of tea and a slice of cake at the main control, and set back out with another group.
Made sure I kept drinking and munching on bits of cliff bars every 30 to 45 minutes, and felt really fresh all day. On the way back in, wih a bit of a tailwind I put some more effort in and made up some of the time I’d lost (on myself) due to the conditions in the morning.
Met some really nice people throughout the day, and had a really good time, even if it was a bit hair raising at times…
104.64 km in 5h:03m:17s using Endomondo.
A bit of good news about the toxic two 
Short BT ride down to Wingfield. Headed out SW into the wind, with a tailwind on the way back.
HR < 75% MHR
47.74 km in 2h:14m:29s using Endomondo.
Pretty Neat…
So, I’ve put together a preliminary route for the ride.
I used Map My Ride. Pretty neat site.
Check it out! If anyone sees any issues with the route (e.g. local knowledge about horribly busy roads etc) just let me know.
Theres a few nasty climbs, but pretty unavoidable!
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/59943044
Ride For The 96 (2012) - Preliminary Route
Follow Ride for the 96