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Date:
3rd November 2007 A great day out at Swinley, led by Mark around all the great singletrack that Swinley has to offer. Terry was a new rider with us today and both he and Tim were suffering from a new pair of Crank Brothers Smarty pedals that weren't so smart, wll at least not if you wanted to unclip. Terry had a number of falls (I lost count at eight) due to being unable to unclip and Tim suffered too, especially peed off as he has bought two pairs for both bikes. Oh well, you live and learn. The corkscrew and gully plus twisted sister were great though and everyone had a great time particularly the 3 riders who had never experienced the delights of Swinley Forest before.
READ MORE: Single
speeding
Date:
11th November 2007 A road ride this week to keep my mate Graham company. Graham has just shelled out a lot of money on a rather nice and very, very light Look 898 race machine. 40 miles in the saddle on a day that started with rain but cleared just before we set out and remained dry but windy throughout including a fast, fun descent of Box Hill followed later by a slower climb back up. It's really not as steep as you think it is, the hardest part being the climb up to the first corner and after that it's straightforward. Much harder was a long climb we did up to Ranmore Common that looked deceptively simple.
READ MORE: Single
speeding
Date:
18th November 2007 As my old English teacher said to me once, "Sear, some days you are the dog and some days you are the lamp post". And it was with Mr Jenkins in mind that I was definitely feeling like the lamp post today. I can't understand it, 40 miles on the road last weekend including some serious hill climbing and even if I didn't get a chance to get out during the week why was it that I felt so rough today? No power in my legs and it felt like I was riding a barge as I had clearly lost my bike handling skills somewhere during the week too. Okay, I was chasing Rob who is currently doing 100 miles a week with 6000 ft of climbing on his commute to work and Gary who rides regularly too and they both have at least 5 years and maybe even 10 on me in terms of age but most weeks I don't have an issue. Or was it the bone chilling cold? Although I had on plenty of layers and thermal gloves the cold was still seeping through when the wind cut into me on those open sections. I still worked up a sweat but wasn't sure that I ever really warmed up. Nowadays I'm finding that I need four or five miles riding now just to shake that heavy feeling out of my legs. Usually once I get past this point I get into my riding and find it easy to settle into the 'zone' but that wasn't the case today as I felt heavy-legged and lacking in energy all day. Which brings me to energy drinks, gels and power bars etc. Do they really make a difference? I had a small stock over the summer and would eat perhaps half a bar on longer rides but these have all gone and I haven't replenished them. In my mind I feel that they do enhance my energy levels when it is low and I can think of two distinct examples on a road ride in July with Elliot and a few years ago on the South Downs with Huey and Sue when they bought me back from a real low to have oodles of energy to burn. But that can't be the answer to it all can it? Surely pounding out the miles every week can be just as effective without the need to take supplements with you on the ride. Whatever, I think I will get some during the week to see if I can prevent any more episodes like this. READ MORE: Single
speeding
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February
2008
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