1 mile in 40 mins

... and dead proud of myself. The British Gas Great Swim at Salford Quays, Manchester.
Right, I'll be honest, I'm not sure if its coz I'm fit from cycling, but I can pretty much get in a swimming pool for the first time in, say, 3 months and not have any problems swimming a mile. So I've been a tad complacent with my training. Anyway, my mate said I needed to try out my wetsuit (I suppose it would be a good idea) so I nipped down to Bosworth Water Park a week ago last Thursday to try it out.
OMG! How hard is it to swim in a wetsuit. If I'm absolutely honest, after about 300 yards and actually got a little nervous being out in the middle of a lake with no life guard. I mean, yes, there were other swimmers from the Tri-Club, but they are concentrating on swimming, and the Tri-Club organisers do check you come out at the end, but if you get in trouble you're pretty much on your own! I was seriously not liking it and feeling very vulnerable. Did one lap of the lake which is 750 metres and got out thinking I'd seriously underestimated the Great Swim Challenge. I phoned up Christian and told him to get his ass to the lake and try out his wetsuit (which he was only getting on Thursday!). He phoned me up on Saturday afternoon with the same thoughts as me.
So Christian picks me up last Sunday morning and we head to Salford Quays. He has the great idea of walking the course, which only confirmed the fact that we'd underestimated the challenge. The course looked SO long. It wasn't a case of I didn't think I'd finish, just in what time. I envisaged myself taking at least an hour, having to stop and tred water for a rest on route plenty of times.
Well, if there was one thing my near drowning experience at Bosworth taught me, it was to make sure my suit was pulled up on my shoulders properly and to get my head down in the water to make sure I'm streamlined. So that was Plan A. Get my head down and get on with it. Plan B was to get pulled out by the standby canoeists and Plan C was to drown. Quite like the sound of Plan A, if I'm honest.
Got my wet suit on and went into the "sheep dip" (acclimatisation area) with the others. Damn it was cold! 14 degrees. I know this, because the commentator kept saying it all day. Like we needed reminding?
Standing on the ramp with 150 people waiting to go was like that moment on a rollercoaster when your strapped in and there's no way of getting off. I stood there thinking "what the hell am I doing?". Then we were off. No time to dip your toe in first! You're just rushed in with the rest of the crowd and hitting the water isn't any less of a shock than when they put you in the sheep dip (I knew it was pointless). Anyway, I stuck to Plan A, got my head down and got on with it. Got used to the cold within 200 metres and by the time I got to the pink half mile bouy and I hadn't broken my stroke I was starting to think I could actually do this... and turning at the last bouy and see the finish 200 yards ahead got me a little excited and I took in a bit of water and came up coughing a spluttering. A canoeist was there in no time asking me if I was ok (reassuring to know they're paying attention!) and I said "Yep, just stopping for a drink!" which made him laugh. Anyway, I got my breath back and carried on.
Getting out the water was the strangest experience. It felt like the ground was moving, a bit like when you get on a boat and it's swaying on the waves. They had to help me walk for a bit until I got my balance. I didn't expect that!
Took my chip off and went to get a goody bag. What a great goody bag! ... a REAL swim bag (not plastic) and a t'shirt, flip flops, energy bars, energy drinks, a magazine... and... the all important medal! Whoop, I got a medal!
And then, even better, later on my time came out... 00:40:39
Out of misery comes glory! WHOOP! 40 MINS 39 SECONDS. I am so chuffed! I didn't expect that. I don't think that's bad for my first open water swim; especially considering the disaster at Bosworth.
I've got a 2 mile one at Windermere on 17th June and I can't wait now. Have totally got the bug for it.
Chris came it at 59 mins which is well good for him, as he only started training and getting fit this year, so I think he was dead chuffed.

Is this cruel?

Convinced my brother to come on a 57 mile bike ride today, with me and a mate. Bless him... longest distance he has done before is about 8 miles to work. LOL
Well I was feeling pretty fucked on the way home, so he must have been dying. He did say that that last 15 miles he was seriously considering phoning our Dad to come and get him. He did really well though, he only dropped back during the last 15 miles.

The scenic route.

Took the scenic route home tonight. It was really warm when I left work and, to be honest, although there were very little clouds, the humidity had a definite feel of a storm brewing, but I still went for the scenic route. Glad I did. Fields of yellow rapeseed flowers and little lambs bouncing around. One of my favourite times of the year. Forgot that it was mostly uphill though... not a lot, just enough to put pressure on the legs most of the way. I didn't have my bike computer on me, but I think I probably did an extra few mile.

sick :(

Moral of the story... don't ride home on a niggly headache, even if you are taking it easy. Head was banging when I got back and I felt so sick I went straight to bed :( and then didn't bother to set my early alarm for today and it was lovely and sunny and the perfect day for riding :(
All spoilt because of a niggly headache. Dammit. O well, 20 degrees tomorrow and will be fresh as a daisy to ride in.

Who's counting.

Cycled in again today, and surprisingly didn't feel tired at my desk, although that could be coz my new job is a bit more interesting. I did eat a lot though. Mandarins and grapefruit for breakfast, which is quite healthy but I definitely had more than one portion. Banana. Orange Juice. Twix. Chicken/salad sandwich. Aero. Drench drink. Half a Twirl because Mo didn't want to eat one all to himself (well, it would be rude not to help out wouldn't it!?) and then a bag of chips when I got home (small bag tho!). I'm not sure how many calories are in that lot but who's counting anyway. Am now up to 500 miles, and all on the cross bike too. My search for a "gimp suit" for my open water swims is not going too well. So far have ordered 3 wetsuits and none of them fit. I'm too tall (".) At this rate I will have to buy the expensive one from the Tri shop :(

8mph on the flat!

That's how strong the headwind was all the way home. Have moved to the Warwick Office now but it was still 17 miles of hell tonight. First I forgot the first 5 miles out of Warwick is a long slow drag, which normally is ok but and then factor the wind in. At one point I was down to 8mph on the flat and then when I did get some shelter from the wind, I was too knackered to pick up any speed. O well, made up the calories with pizza when I got home (",) LOL totally deserved!

new shoos...

Tried out my new pink cycle shoes today :) they looked very summery to go with a very summery April day :) And another 20 on the clock. And a butterfly followed me along the country lane after I nearly ran it over.. phew, thankfully I didn't :)

First full commute to work in 2011...

... but not back! Wind picked up during the day so I opted for the train half way back, and I'm so glad I did! I swear, if I'd stopped pedalling the wind would have blown me backwards. It was hard work all the way and sometimes it literally nearly stopped me in my tracks. My legs are absolutely fooked. The ride in was great though, sun shining over the hills. That will be the last time I can commute to work in Hinckley now because I move back to the Warwick office next week. I don't mind though, shorter journey (17 miles instead of 25) and less hilly ... and don't get me wrong, Warwick is a nice journey, but the hills to Hinckley make for some great scenery which I will miss. Having said that, I can take different routes to Warwick so that will be nice. And I'll probably be able to cycle more often which will help with my target.

Gimp mask anyone?

Went to the Triathlon shop yesterday to try on a wetsuit. The guy told me to expect to take up to 20 mins to get into it, as I'd never worn one before. To be honest, getting in wasn't a problem at all, it was getting out of it that took longer. Had visions of me falling through the door half undressed trapped in the lower half of the wetsuit, arms stuck in fast LOL. Anyway, I got it on ok but they don't leave much to the imagination .... I had my knickers on underneath which gave me the worse VPL ever. I may have to wear my "no VPL" knickers underneath on the day. I came out the changing room and asked the guy if he had a gimp mask to go with it. I had to get the guy to unzip it and I thought he was just going to unzip the neck bit but he unzipped it all the way down! I wasn't really expecting that but, on reflection, there is something quite erotic about being unzipped out of rubber by the fit guy in the shop! Anyway, cheapest wetsuit in the shop was £220 which is a bit steep for me, so I came back and ordered one off t'internet. Now I know how it's supposed to fit, I'll be able to tell when it comes if it fits ok. Anyway I've been a lazy ass lately. Haven't been out on the bike since the pub crawl and I haven't been swimming either, which is quite bad considering my Great Swims start in May.

15 mile pub crawl...

... er... I mean bike ride, with a few pub stops, on Tuesday night. Country lanes in the dark, no traffic, whizzing down hills in pitch black (very scary) and a pub every 3 or 4 miles. Wicked night's riding, thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to do it again next Tuesday.

Sign Language

Well, managed to do 60 miles since Saturday so not too bad this weekend. Rode to work today, weather was lovely, no red lights, polite drivers. Of course, that got balanced out on the way back when some dick tried to undertake me as I was exiting an island. I told him in no uncertain terms what I thought of him using sign language (".) LMAO

First ride out with the Group

So, it was our first ride out with our new group "All the gear... No idea" yesterday. It was only me, Jo and Hazel this time (although I got my brother's bike going, unfortunately he couldn't come) We only went out for an hour because one of the girls needed to be somewhere, so we had to cut the route short, which was a bit disappointing and meant we didn't get a cafe stop... but hey ho. We did 13 miles which surprised Jo as she thought she wouldn't get that. And to be honest, she can do better, I know she can.

Narnia gets a facelift

Narnia, my winter bike (geddit?) has had a face lift and how now got a new home with my brother. Glad he was pleased because with a new lock and multitool the bill has come to well over £200. She's now got:

- new Scwalbe Marathon Plus tyres

- new inner tubes

- new bottle and bottle cage

- new mudguards

- new saddle bag

- new brakeblocks

- new multitool

- new lock

- new pump

- new(ish) rear rim

- and brand new yellow bar tape which really brighten her up.

(new lights on order).

My brother loves it (",) yay

How many calories????

How many calories has a MacDonald's got in it??? ONE MacDonald's and I'm back up to 11 stone 2.5lb! Unbelievable! LOL So I had to go out for a ride to burn it off.
I've set up a group on Facebook called "All the gear... No idea!" to try and encourage some of my friends to get out on their bikes. It's surprising how many people get put off joining a club on the worry they won't keep up, and some of my mates have got a bike but never get out. So our first ride is 6th March, an 18 mile trek around Shirley/Earlswood area with a cafe stop at 13 miles. Slow pace so they don't get put off. I reccy'd the route yesterday, it's ok, but the roads in general are shocking. Quite glad now that I put the Schwalbe Marathon tyres on my bike. Gives a bit of cushioning at least.

Work makes you fat!

The snowdrops are out, squashed frogs in the road, and today I was in shorts! Must keep reminding myself that it's only February and it's probably a one off 12 degrees, and...
I've lost 6lb and am back down to 11 stone Whoop! (",)
I've been off all week and been out on the bike most days just for an hour. I suppose that, combined with the fact that I haven't been stuffing myself with chocolate from the work's vending machine means I'm back below what "realistic goal" I had set myself. Not that I've been trying too hard but I was thinking it would be better to be 11st 3lb rather than 11st 6lb! Anyway, passed my mum's bathroom scales today and hopped on just out of curiosity and it flashed 11st 3. And I had my cycle shoes on! So when I got back from my bike ride, after my bath, I did a naked weigh in and sure enough 11st flashed up. So then I got on the other set of scales and same thing. Whoop! So it's official then. Going to work makes me fat.
And at 6ft tall, I think that counts as an ideal weight.

It ain't cheap...

...this biking lark. I'm doing up my old bike for my brother and have had to order some stuff like new tyres (good ones), new brake pads, new bar tape, pedals, bottle, bottle cage, pump, tyre levers, inner tubes etc. I've clocked up over £160 already! He better appreciate it! I'm not exactly rich.

Calling all roadies....

I've found some smooooooooooooooooooth tarmac. Give me a tenner and I'll tell you where it is :)

TPS (Tarmac Proximity Sensor) failure

So got home Tuesday night to find my mother had volunteered me to babysit early Wednesday morning. Was a little bit peeved coz I'd booked Wednesday afternoon off to cycle back. Anyway, turns out to be a bit of a Godsend because Wednesday morning there was black ice everywhere and two people came off their bikes on their way to work. Toddy emailed me today (Thurs) to tell me he rode in and wished he'd hadn't, having spent the whole way bricking himself. If Toddy thinks it's bad... IT'S BAD! LOL
Hazel's bike now has to go in for a major repair (".) At least I was in my car to give her a lift home. She bashed her knee and Karen, who skidded off on the way to Warwick, is now wearing tarmac blusher. But at least Karen was with John Greasley who picked her up off the Tarmac. Poor Hazel had no one to help her ... and fell off in front of a bus full of people LOL. Both have now been told to alter their TPS to "cold weather" setting (",)

Bullet Proof

Well, almost. After the fiasco of the other night I decided to get my ass in gear and order the new tyres. So went for Schwalbe Marathon Kevlars which are supposed to be almost bullet proof. Hopefully, this will drastically reduce my chances of an unplanned deflation (bar pinch p&nctures and faulty valves). The tyres are nice, they look like they belong to the bike (with it being a cross bike rather than a road bike, the 700 x 32c has reduced the gap between the forks). They have a reflective strip which should make me look like something out of Tron when I'm riding in the dark. Went out on a route that takes me about an hour to do on my road bike. It took me the same time, so that's cool, but I did notice the difference with the rolling resistance. As soon as I stopped pedalling the bike would immediately slow down and it wasn't as fast downhill. But I managed to keep pretty much the same time so I should be alright going to work, if only a little more knackered. Also, it was nice not having to worry about hitting potholes and rough road surface, because the state of the roads are getting really bad.

Double puncture...

Only went and summoned the bloody puncture fairy today. Was talking "unplanned deflations" with someone at work and must have accidently said the word "puncture". Twice. Coz that's what I got. I had one tube on me, replaced it (after checking the tyre) and it immediately got punctured again.
So I phoned my brother but he was at work, so I phoned Brad but he didn't answer, so I phoned my sister and her husband argued that he couldn't come because my bike wouldn't fit in his car! WTF! The wheels come off you knob! More like, he didn't want my bike in his new car. I seriously thought for a minute that he was gonna let me walk the 10 miles home! In fact, if it hadn't been for the fact that I was freezing I would have told him to shove it!

Maybe I should take up potholing as a hobby...

Considering it's not minus temperatures I can't believe how cold it is out on the bike. Went out for 40 mins, which was about all my hands could take. Hit a MASSIVE pothole in the dark, saw it at the last minute and nothing I could do about it except get out the saddle to take the pressure off the bike. Surprised it didn't damage my rims to be honest. I'm definitely reporting that one tomorrow. If they don't do something about it soon they'll have to replace the drain as well. The road near my mum's house is really bad too. They fixed some potholes last year and when I came back last night nearly the whole road has opened up (it was fine when I left in the morning). It's a good job I bought the cross bike coz I'm gonna need those knobbly tyres!

Takes me back...

... to the first time I went clipless. Took the bike out for a very quick spin today (well, it was bloody freezing when I got out there!) and the pedals were so tight to clip in and out of that I was actually nervous LOL Maybe I should have adjusted them before I left the house. Seat needed to go back a bit but, other than both those things, it felt fine.
Not sure whether I'm gonna ride tomorrow as planned, it felt proper icy cold tonight yet I know it was about 3 degrees (felt like minus temperature) and it was only 8pm. I only went to my sisters 1/4 mile down the road and I put off coming back! I think that when I'm tired I can't take the cold... and man... I'm tired tonight!

It's good to go...

The bike is now up and running. New saddle, stem, brake cables, pedals and a new vee brake on the front coz we couldn't get a suitable cable hanger for the canti's. Looks better than the cantilever brake anyway. Just need the guy to bring around the cross tyres but it's got road tyres on at the moment so is rideable and I can use it. I will probably keep the road tyres on until I get mud guards anyway. Less chance of a wet ass.

Blown away...

Or nearly! Had to go to 3 bikes shop today which would have been a 20 mile round trip so decided to do it on the bike, until I got 50 yards down the road. Talk about windy! I indicated to turn right around an island and first had trouble getting into the right hand lane and then nearly got blown off round the island! So decided to abandon it and get the car out instead! I don't fancy being blown into the path of a lorry or a car... or even the gutter!

These things have a habit of growing...

... Looks now like I might be doing all 5 of the Great Swims for a charity (www.greatswim.org). Probably SOGB (Special Olympics Great Britain) that my company support. And I might have recruited a few others from work too. Decided to do the 2 mile distance for each one just for the extra challenge. Well... it's not worth driving all that way for one mile is it??

2 miles...

Not on the bike tho! I've just put a reminder in for the Great North Swim which is either 1 or 2 miles. They'll email me when they start to take registrations. I think I might go for the 2 mile as I can do that in a pool so, even though it's open water, I don't think a mile will be that much of a challenge. Then again... it depends how cold the water is! It is Lake Windermere after all!
Better get up tomorrow and go swimming then! (",)

Another hour on the turbo tonight, which equals 15 miles. Just coz I said so :)
O yea, did 1 km swim yesterday too.
Taking the bike to Toddy's tomorrow to do the stem and cable, and the pedals are on order, should be here in a couple of days. So hopefully, will be able to go out on it at the weekend :)

I didn't like it at first, but now I do. I put the tape on but it was so bright blue it took over the bike, and I wasn't sure about it, but I walked in to the kitchen this morning and thought "yep, I like".
Then I email Toddy and told him I just need the stem replacing and he said if he has to do the cable he will have to take the tape off. oops ha ha. o well, if he does, will just have to buy some more.

Well... it's been decided.

Blue it is. Blue Bar Tape. You wouldn't believe what an unbelievable hard decision that was! I mean, I thought pink, but the pink and white saddle wasn't quite big enough... so then I thought white, but then I found a saddle with a little bit of blue on it, so that was it! Blue! and it's a really nice blue and I think it will look luverly.
The bent mudguards have come off, the frame is now shiny and clean, Brad is going to give me some SPD pedals, and swap the casette to the new wheel tomorrow, i've bought a new shorter stem... in white of course, but that may have to be done by Toddy as the cable will need re-routing and I'm not too confident with attaching cables.
When I told the guy in the shop I had a Scandinavian Frame on it, he was like "do you mean a Scandian frame?"
"Er... LOL, yes maybe, something like that!" ha ha (nothing like embarrasing yourself in the shop!)
Then he told me that I got a really good deal because they are really good frames, which is what Brad said, and what Phil said at work. Whoop! (",)

It's arrived...

Brad brought my new (well, not-so-new) bike around. It's muddy LOL. I don't think the guy has ridden it only a couple of times, I think a few times, but it's in good nick which is the main thing. It's been stored a while with the mud caked on! But a few baby wipe over the frame has started to bring out it's true beauty. In fact, it's not just white, it's an irredescent white. A good wash at the weekend will see it back to looking new. There's a couple of things that need looking at, like the mudguards are bent, so I will have to sort that out, and I need a shorter stem and a new lady-seat! And white handlebar tape would look better than black. And one of the cables looks slightly rusty so will probably get that replaced, but all in all, still a bargain. It's got road tyres on it at the moment, but Brad's taking the guy's money to him tomorrow and he's gonna bring the knobblies back with him, which they couldn't find in the dark when he went to pick it up tonight. I must admit, I'm so tempted to do it up for my brother but then it IS white so maybe not, he can have my yellow one :) Besides, Brad told me off for saying I'll give it to my brother.
O yea! I need pedals LOL!

Bagged myself a bargain...

1km swim yesterday and one hour on the turbo today. Gonna try and do something everyday.
Bagged myself a right bargain too. I missed signing up for the cycle scheme during November because I thought I didn't need a new bike yet, and then regretted it because thought it would have been nice to get an off road bike. Anyway, whinged about it to a mate and he contacted me today to tell me his mate was selling a cyclocross bike for £300, hardly used, and only used on the road anyway.
Looked up the bike (Voodoo on Halfords website) and it was £1k brand new (thought it would be!). I haven't seen it but Brad is a good cyclist and knows what to look for and he says it's bang tidy and in really good nick. Whoop! What a bargain. To be honest, even with the fact that its been ridden a few times, I reckon I got a much better bargain than using the cycle scheme because if I'd bought a £1k bike on the cycle scheme it still would have cost me over £600 in end.
So obviously I bit his hand off and he's bringing it round tomorrow night. Well, you can't pass up a bargain like that! And it's white (",)
Now I can arrange a pub/bike crawl using the pubs along the canal path, yay.
Will prob give my older road bike to my brother now as really I don't need 2 road bikes and a cross bike, that's just greedy... or is it?

Reset

Have reset the ticker for this year. Kept the target the same as I've stupidly signed up for the Dragon Ride (gulp! note to self: stop letting friends talk you into this shit) so need to get some serious training in. Just for the record, for every hour I spend on the turbo... I'm classing it as 15 miles, because that's my average out on the road, and icy weather was a big factor in me failing my target last year and we're due a lot of it in the next couple of months. Plus I need motivation to get on the damn turbo anyway.

Freedom!

After a few weeks on the turbo, managed to get out on the road today. Freezing cold but loving the freedom of the road instead of the boredom of the garage! Not sure if the turbo training had done me good, or whether it was just the freshness of being out on the road, or maybe just having had a break from it, but felt on top of the world. Only did an hour tho... bloody cold out there!
Went for a swim after but only did 20 lengths before the world and his dog descended on the pool, so nipped to the steam room instead. Obviously all the "new year resolutioners" have hit the gym. Damn. Anyone would think I pay my off-peak membership to SHARE the pool!!! LOL. Hope they all give up soon and give me my pool back. To be honest, this might sound snobbish, and I suppose it is, but I think my gym is a bit chavvy! Especially for a posh hotel! The other day I nearly had to tell a couple in the spa that they do rooms and to go and get one! Like I wanna watch that behaviour in the spa!!! Someone should tell them that sex is for beautiful people... not fat people in the spa. LMAO.