We got up in the middle of the night again yesterday (6.45 am - is that a real time, or was I dreaming?) for my third training session in a week. As usual, it was raining.
Yesterday, I managed to sort out my wobble-weave. That's not to say there was no wobbling and no weaving (more on that later), but I had figured out from a few cycling forums that my wobble-weave was almost certainly down to the fact that I was looking down at the pedals when pushing off. I made a point of not looking down and I didn't wobble or weave, but I then couldn't find the second pedal with my foot. Hmmm. This needs some work. Eventually, I got started and set off on my first lap.
Now, you will probably recall that I have some difficulties in turning right, so you will be interested to hear that at present I am only circumnavigating the park in an anti-clockwise direction, meaning I only have to turn left. However, that's not the reason I'm going anti-clockwise; I'm going anti-clockwise because there is a massive hill in the park that my husband deems far too steep and scary for me to go down at present, so I have to go up it instead (hurrah!). Going down it might be tomorrow's challenge.
Yesterday, I managed to conquer the bollards, too. Oh, I've just realised that I have forgotten to mention the most important thing from yesterday's session - I completed two whole laps of the park!! This meant I had to deal with bollards four times, and I went through them all without incident. About a third of the way round the park there is what looks like to a novice cyclist a hairpin bend at the bottom of a hill (it probably looks like a gentle curve to someone more expert than I, or perhaps even like "fun"). This means that when you get to the bottom of the hill at speed (having forgotten you've got brakes and not being sure how much you need to slow down for the bend in any case), you have to turn sharp left and then start pedalling like mad to get up the hill when you come off the bend. This is hard. Very hard. I managed it both times round, but James said he thought I was going to hit the kerb the first time.
I also had a near miss (in terms of falling off) when going down hill. I was having huge problems with my feet slipping off the pedals because of the wet weather, and I went over an enormous (2 inch) hump in the road that caused my foot to slip - again, James thought I was headed for disaster - oh he of little faith! I stayed on and came to a quite civilised standstill.
The second time around was much less eventful, apart from one thing. I was determined to go round a whole lap without stopping. I made it through both sets of bollards without incident, and went past the enormous hump in the road without having to avoid falling off (though I have to say my heart was in my mouth on that part). I motored up the final, steep hill - and then disaster struck! My foot came off the pedal again, for no apparent reason other than the wet weather, and I was headed for a parked car. There wasn't time to do anything other than stop. I was about 50 metres from the end of the lap. So near! And yet so far.
Never mind, at least I have a goal for tomorrow!
Most excitingly, I can reveal the results of last week's poll on Lycra! I was slightly disturbed that the total of the answers on the poll added up to 125%, but then I realised that I'd allowed people to vote more than once - it counts each person once, so if there are 5 votes from 4 people, you end up with more than 100% votes. Anyway, there were joint winners: "You're going out dressed like that? In public?" and "There's no such thing as too much Lycra". I think this means that people are happy to wear Lycra in the privacy of their own homes...
Finally, don't forget you can sponsor my efforts by clicking the link on the right hand side of the page!
Friday, 20 April 2012
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
The first ever complete circumnavigation...
...of Finsbury Park, on a bicycle, by me. Quick, contact the Guinness Book of Records!
Today, I am broken. Everything hurts, but especially my thighs. Here is why.
Yesterday, we got up at 6.45 am (or "the middle of the night", as it's also known) in order to get in some early morning training. I dressed in my usual exercise gear of a short sleeved technical t-shirt and capri length running tights, got my bike, helmet and gloves together and went outside. It was cold. Very cold. I figured I'd get warm once we got to the park and got going, but when we were about halfway there, it started raining. My husband went back home to get raincoats, while I carried on wheeling my bike to the park in the rain (he has the advantage of actually being able to cycle, on roads and everything, so could easily catch me up again). I had initially tried to tough it out, saying I didn't need no poncey raincoat, but in the end I was getting so cold and wet that I swallowed my pride and put it on. At least mine's the plain black one. His is bright green.
Finally, after all that exciting drama, we got to the park. Yesterday's goal was to do one whole lap of Finsbury Park. I was blithely optimistic about my challenge. James was openly dubious. (James obviously has an action plan for my cycling development, but is only sharing snippets of it with me - it's a bit like playing a computer game, where you give it your all to get to the next level without knowing what awaits you there.) Things did not start well - I had developed a wobble-weave. I had a few false starts, but once I managed to pick up a bit of speed, things were going swimmingly well (literally, since it had started tipping it down by this point). That is, until the bollards. Oh, yes, the bollards.
For those of you who don't know Finsbury Park, it is approximately kite-shaped with a road that loops around the perimeter (well, a little way in from the edge, allowing for the tennis courts and the like). The road is, I am reliably informed, 2.2km long. For Luddites and Americans, that's about a mile and a half. Apart from one small section, the road is motor vehicle-free, so there weren't going to be too many hazards for me. However, that small section is separated from the rest of the road at each end by a row of bollards. Now, if you remember from my exploits on Saturday, I had some significant issues with weaving around traffic cones. Bollards are a bit like traffic cones, only taller, closer together and (perhaps most importantly) harder. I tried desperately hard to keep going through the tiny gap between the bollards, but it wasn't to be and I had to stop and shuffle between them.
Once I got going again (bearing in mind we were only about 200 metres into our 2.2km loop at this point), I had a wonderful, uninterrupted run around the rest of the loop until I reached the next set of bollards. That run included going uphill (hard work) and downhill (frankly terrifying), using the brakes and changing gears, and it was over a mile long. Hurrah! My first cycled mile!
When we got to the second set of bollards, I had a very close shave - I nearly fell off. The soles of my shoes were wet from the rain and my feet slipped on the pedals. I put my foot down, but I did not fall off, and although I did some interesting wobble-weaving to get going again, the rest of my loop passed without significant incident (unless you count the fact that I couldn't feel the fronts of my thighs once I'd ridden up the last hill - this was not helped by then going to British Military Fitness last night, the cumulative impact being that I can't walk properly).
So, I did it! I completed a loop of Finsbury Park. Apparently, my next challenge is to do two laps in one session, and that is for tomorrow morning/middle of the night. My personal goal (i.e. not a husband-set one) is to complete at least one of those laps without stopping.
Finally, don't forget you can sponsor my efforts by clicking on the link to my Justgiving page on the right hand side. Also, there is only one day left to vote with your views on Lycra!
Today, I am broken. Everything hurts, but especially my thighs. Here is why.
Yesterday, we got up at 6.45 am (or "the middle of the night", as it's also known) in order to get in some early morning training. I dressed in my usual exercise gear of a short sleeved technical t-shirt and capri length running tights, got my bike, helmet and gloves together and went outside. It was cold. Very cold. I figured I'd get warm once we got to the park and got going, but when we were about halfway there, it started raining. My husband went back home to get raincoats, while I carried on wheeling my bike to the park in the rain (he has the advantage of actually being able to cycle, on roads and everything, so could easily catch me up again). I had initially tried to tough it out, saying I didn't need no poncey raincoat, but in the end I was getting so cold and wet that I swallowed my pride and put it on. At least mine's the plain black one. His is bright green.
Finally, after all that exciting drama, we got to the park. Yesterday's goal was to do one whole lap of Finsbury Park. I was blithely optimistic about my challenge. James was openly dubious. (James obviously has an action plan for my cycling development, but is only sharing snippets of it with me - it's a bit like playing a computer game, where you give it your all to get to the next level without knowing what awaits you there.) Things did not start well - I had developed a wobble-weave. I had a few false starts, but once I managed to pick up a bit of speed, things were going swimmingly well (literally, since it had started tipping it down by this point). That is, until the bollards. Oh, yes, the bollards.
For those of you who don't know Finsbury Park, it is approximately kite-shaped with a road that loops around the perimeter (well, a little way in from the edge, allowing for the tennis courts and the like). The road is, I am reliably informed, 2.2km long. For Luddites and Americans, that's about a mile and a half. Apart from one small section, the road is motor vehicle-free, so there weren't going to be too many hazards for me. However, that small section is separated from the rest of the road at each end by a row of bollards. Now, if you remember from my exploits on Saturday, I had some significant issues with weaving around traffic cones. Bollards are a bit like traffic cones, only taller, closer together and (perhaps most importantly) harder. I tried desperately hard to keep going through the tiny gap between the bollards, but it wasn't to be and I had to stop and shuffle between them.
Once I got going again (bearing in mind we were only about 200 metres into our 2.2km loop at this point), I had a wonderful, uninterrupted run around the rest of the loop until I reached the next set of bollards. That run included going uphill (hard work) and downhill (frankly terrifying), using the brakes and changing gears, and it was over a mile long. Hurrah! My first cycled mile!
When we got to the second set of bollards, I had a very close shave - I nearly fell off. The soles of my shoes were wet from the rain and my feet slipped on the pedals. I put my foot down, but I did not fall off, and although I did some interesting wobble-weaving to get going again, the rest of my loop passed without significant incident (unless you count the fact that I couldn't feel the fronts of my thighs once I'd ridden up the last hill - this was not helped by then going to British Military Fitness last night, the cumulative impact being that I can't walk properly).
So, I did it! I completed a loop of Finsbury Park. Apparently, my next challenge is to do two laps in one session, and that is for tomorrow morning/middle of the night. My personal goal (i.e. not a husband-set one) is to complete at least one of those laps without stopping.
Finally, don't forget you can sponsor my efforts by clicking on the link to my Justgiving page on the right hand side. Also, there is only one day left to vote with your views on Lycra!
Monday, 16 April 2012
Thwarted! (Temporarily)
This morning I got up super-early to get some leg-miles in on the static bike. I managed about 5 minutes, but realised that something was wrong. It's probably not the thing you'd expect from a static bike - it had a puncture. Yes, a puncture. On a bike that can't go anywhere.
Let me explain a little - the static bike is, in fact, an ordinary road bike which has its back wheel clamped into a device which stops the bike from going anywhere and offers some supposedly road-like resistance. It has several difficulty settings so that you can choose how taxing you want it to be. Somehow, the rear wheel had managed to get a puncture without actually being able to go anywhere.
Ultimately, we managed to work out that the tyre had gone a bit flat, so when anyone was using the bike, the "road-like resistance" was putting enough pressure on the tyre that it was causing the inner tube to bunch up around the air valve and the puncture was either caused in that process or when we re-inflated (and hence un-bunched-up) the inner tube.
Either way, I'm going inner tube shopping at lunchtime. While I'm at it, I'm going to buy some more Lycra. I've come to the conclusion I don't have enough Lycra (or, rather, I don't have enough (or, indeed, any) Lycra with padding, especially in the seat - sitting down was a bit of a challenge yesterday, after Saturday's exploits in the saddle!) Please share your thoughts on Lycra in the poll on the bottom of the page!
My goal for this week is to do a complete circuit of Finsbury Park (first attempt tomorrow morning) - if you think I can do it, please put a few quid on my Justgiving page (see the link on the right hand side) to show your support!
Let me explain a little - the static bike is, in fact, an ordinary road bike which has its back wheel clamped into a device which stops the bike from going anywhere and offers some supposedly road-like resistance. It has several difficulty settings so that you can choose how taxing you want it to be. Somehow, the rear wheel had managed to get a puncture without actually being able to go anywhere.
Ultimately, we managed to work out that the tyre had gone a bit flat, so when anyone was using the bike, the "road-like resistance" was putting enough pressure on the tyre that it was causing the inner tube to bunch up around the air valve and the puncture was either caused in that process or when we re-inflated (and hence un-bunched-up) the inner tube.
Either way, I'm going inner tube shopping at lunchtime. While I'm at it, I'm going to buy some more Lycra. I've come to the conclusion I don't have enough Lycra (or, rather, I don't have enough (or, indeed, any) Lycra with padding, especially in the seat - sitting down was a bit of a challenge yesterday, after Saturday's exploits in the saddle!) Please share your thoughts on Lycra in the poll on the bottom of the page!
My goal for this week is to do a complete circuit of Finsbury Park (first attempt tomorrow morning) - if you think I can do it, please put a few quid on my Justgiving page (see the link on the right hand side) to show your support!
Saturday, 14 April 2012
Cone Affinity
Today was a momentous day. Today, I got on my bike and rode it. I didn't fall off, not even once, and I didn't hit anything that would be worse off for having been hit. I did hit a basketball post. And a cone. Several cones. In fact, I hit the cones so many times that my husband decided I have cone affinity.
We started off with just, well, going. I managed the straight line bit reasonably well. Then I progressed to turning left, which seemed quite natural - so much so that I started going round in nice tight circles. Then I tried turning right. In the grand scheme of things, this is quite an important skill. Not being able to turn right either requires one to dismount at every right turn and go across the pedestrian crossing, or it means that one's routes are somewhat tedious. I imagine it might also lead to a certain lopsidedness of muscles that might mean finding well-fitting Lycra is difficult (although this may provide a reasonable excuse for not wearing Lycra, which somewhat enhances the appeal of not being able to turn right). Needless to say, I could not turn right. By the end of the session, I could turn right, but not without wobbling quite a lot, so this is definitely something I need to practise.
My husband was so impressed with my skills that he set out a line of three traffic cones next to a basketball post. This is where it really started to go a bit Pete Tong. Weaving in and out of the cones is not my forte; running over the edges of them and then kicking them apparently is.
The important thing is, I've made a start. I think perhaps I can ride a bike after all. I can even change gear (I managed one up and one down!) And I didn't fall off!
If you think my efforts deserve a few pennies for British Heart Foundation, please click on the Justgiving link on the right hand side of the page. Oh, and don't forget to share your thoughts on Lycra in the poll below!
Thursday, 12 April 2012
This time last year...
...my then fiancé, now husband (just!) was training for the London to Brighton Bike Ride. I thought it would be really cool if we could do it together next time round. Then I forgot about it until some people at work were organising a team entry for this year's ride. I must have been having a mad day, because I signed up, straight away, without thinking about it. So far, this sounds like something nearly every would be marathon runner, long distance cyclist, Kilimanjaro trekker and so on could have written. The one tiny, weeny little catch in my sudden act of bravado in signing up is that, as of this moment, I cannot ride a bike. Well, I can, sort of. But I haven't been on one for two years (and that was for about an hour) and before that I hadn't been on one for 24 years.
You see, I learnt to ride when I was 6 or 7. I had a shiny blue bike with a brown checked saddle bag. It had stabilisers on, and I would happily pootle up and down the garden path or make an occasional sojourn to the park on it. My Dad decided it was time for the stabilisers to come off, so they did, and he did that "Dad thing" of holding on to the back of the saddle for a bit and then letting go so I didn't realise I was doing it all by myself. Then I would realise and I would either stop or fall off. This went on for a few weeks, and it became more and more difficult for me to ride my bike because I'd grown and it was too small for me. I never got another bike, at least not until now. Some of my biggest childhood regrets are that I didn't make more use of that beautiful, shiny blue bike and that when I grew too big for it I didn't ask for another for Christmas - the moment had gone and I grew up to be that most unusual of British specimens: the one who can't ride a bike.
Many people have told me to "get on my bike" (and meant it literally) over the years, but having a husband who loves cycling has really hardened my resolve to just get on with it, and that's where this challenge comes in. I now have a bike. I've had it for about 18 months. I've never ridden it - I've made loads of excuses about being too busy and it being too rainy and so on but, frankly, I'm just too scared to get on the thing. I also have some Lycra, but I'm not so sure about wearing it in public. Being able to ride a bike would give me a level of transport independence I have never previously enjoyed (I can't drive either - I know, it's ridiculous) at the same time as keeping me fit. However, there is no way I'm going to achieve this goal without having some other motivating factor involved - so that's why, in 66 days' time, I'm going to cycle the 56 miles from London to Brighton. That's right, I have 66 days to learn to ride confidently and to be fit enough to last the distance.
I'm not just doing it for my own (and everyone else's) amusement, either. The intention is that I will raise as much money as possible for British Heart Foundation while I'm at it.
If you'd like to contribute an incentive to help motivate me to learn to ride and get to Brighton, please click on the link to my Justgiving page on the right hand side of this page. In return, I'll keep you updated with the trials and tribulations of my training! In the meantime, please feel free to share your thoughts on Lycra in the poll at the bottom of the page!
You see, I learnt to ride when I was 6 or 7. I had a shiny blue bike with a brown checked saddle bag. It had stabilisers on, and I would happily pootle up and down the garden path or make an occasional sojourn to the park on it. My Dad decided it was time for the stabilisers to come off, so they did, and he did that "Dad thing" of holding on to the back of the saddle for a bit and then letting go so I didn't realise I was doing it all by myself. Then I would realise and I would either stop or fall off. This went on for a few weeks, and it became more and more difficult for me to ride my bike because I'd grown and it was too small for me. I never got another bike, at least not until now. Some of my biggest childhood regrets are that I didn't make more use of that beautiful, shiny blue bike and that when I grew too big for it I didn't ask for another for Christmas - the moment had gone and I grew up to be that most unusual of British specimens: the one who can't ride a bike.
Many people have told me to "get on my bike" (and meant it literally) over the years, but having a husband who loves cycling has really hardened my resolve to just get on with it, and that's where this challenge comes in. I now have a bike. I've had it for about 18 months. I've never ridden it - I've made loads of excuses about being too busy and it being too rainy and so on but, frankly, I'm just too scared to get on the thing. I also have some Lycra, but I'm not so sure about wearing it in public. Being able to ride a bike would give me a level of transport independence I have never previously enjoyed (I can't drive either - I know, it's ridiculous) at the same time as keeping me fit. However, there is no way I'm going to achieve this goal without having some other motivating factor involved - so that's why, in 66 days' time, I'm going to cycle the 56 miles from London to Brighton. That's right, I have 66 days to learn to ride confidently and to be fit enough to last the distance.
I'm not just doing it for my own (and everyone else's) amusement, either. The intention is that I will raise as much money as possible for British Heart Foundation while I'm at it.
If you'd like to contribute an incentive to help motivate me to learn to ride and get to Brighton, please click on the link to my Justgiving page on the right hand side of this page. In return, I'll keep you updated with the trials and tribulations of my training! In the meantime, please feel free to share your thoughts on Lycra in the poll at the bottom of the page!
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