Team MK Ride To Waddesdon Manor

Well that was a tough ride for an old ‘un!!!

Just a shade under 50 miles at an average speed of a just over 18mph.  Given that the ‘C’ group pace is supposed to be about 15/16mph average I guess you could say it was a bit over the top.  I will forgive Dave for leading at such a pace today as there was a second, slower contingent of the C group.  Within the group it was like riding a road race, you had to sprint out of the corners each time just to keep in touch.  However I am not sure I can forgive him for adding the little diversion just before we got to Waddesdon which seemed to be solely for the purpose of including a stiff little climb!

The tea/coffee/cake stop was at the garden centre within the grounds of Waddesdon Manor, another National Trust property and formerly one of the homes of the Rothschild family.  Not a bad little country pad I guess.  I dined well on a substantial slab of muesli  cake and a cup of black coffee to set me up for the return trip.

Waddesdon manor facade. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have been there by car quite a few times to visit the house but this was my first visit by bike.  We usually go around Christmas time to visit the house, the interior is then decorated out in very traditional style and it is very ‘Christmassy’.  It kind of gets you in the mood for Christmas

It was a thirty mile route to get there and twenty miles back.  When we started to get towards ‘home’ some of the original thirty or so riders dropped off to head towards the southern side of Milton Keynes whereas the main group continued on our way to the start point of the ride at Stony Stratford.  It did get quite hectic for the last seven or eight miles before the finish and the lead group had whittled down to about four of us.  I thought it would be easier for me to sit in with them than to ease off and pedal back on my own in between the surviving groups of riders.  Anyway, we were nearly done by then and I didn’t have to save anything for later!

 

 

A Week On Wheels…

Mon 6th May Around Milton Keynes

I set off on a 50 mile ride around the perimeter of Milton Keynes on a route I have done before.  It is a very rural and hilly route.  It was a pleasant ride at a steady pace.  As Monday was a national holiday in celebration of ‘May Day’ there seemed to be plenty of other cyclists about celebrating the pleasant spring weather on their bikes.

I did encounter one of my fellow club members on a different mission at one stage and we rode together for about 10 miles before going our separate ways.

Tues 7th May Fast Ouse Valley

This was a fast ride around my ‘Ouse valley’ route as I was trying to ride my bike more than I have done recently so I had a quick 20 miles in the late morning.

Wed 8th May a.m Clophill Loop & A p.m. Ouse Valley Ride With Harry

I went for a ride with Steph from the cycle club around one of my favourite rides which Steph had seen on Strava so I introduced her to it.  She is a very strong rider who does many miles every week.

I should have seen the warning signs in that.  It was a very hard ride of just over 47 miles with no cafe stops but neither of us likes to stop anyway.  Just as well as there was actually nowhere to stop on the route.  I do it quite comfortably on my own with no stops but the increased speed would have made a cake and coffee interlude very welcome.  My legs ached from the start due to the increased riding I had been doing in the previous five days.  I managed to keep them turning to the end.. just.

This resulted in me revising my increased riding plan for a couple of days of recovery time before the Saturday ride.

Sat 11th May TMK Carlton

This turned into a very hard ride.  Firstly because I battled the 12 miles to the start of the ride solo  into a terrific head wind and secondly the ride itself was hard and fast pretty much from the start to the finish.  The final average speed on my Garmin was 16.9mph, and for the first 12 miles, on the way there, I only averaged around 14.5mph such was the strength of the wind.  All this despite the fact the published average speed for the ‘C’ Group should be 15/16mph.

The thing is that there are a few riders who should probably move up and be riding in the ‘B’ Group if they want to ride that fast.  They seem reluctant to that.  If they did it would help reduce the excessive numbers there are in the ‘C’ Group every week and the ride would be more comfortable for the regular riders in the group.

It wasn’t so bad because we were in a group and I made sure to keep away from the front, my legs were still aching from my exertions earlier in the week.   However some struggled because once again the group split in two.  Not because of some plan but due to natural selection because of the speed.

Sun 12th May, 27 Miles with Harry

This was  a pleasant ride for us around a local loop north of Olney.  A steady pace and we probably could have gone a bit faster but I don’t want to rush things.  He appears to be quite content so just sit behind me for now or maybe he just doesn’t like to come past?

The weather today, Monday,  is not good.  I had vaguely arranged a ride with Harry again tomorrow afternoon but I think it will be too wet according to the forecast.  I might get a longish ride in on Wednesday but the forecast for then isn’t good either.

Harry’s Progress..

I had my second ride with fifteen year old grandson Harry this morning.  The first was on Thursday after I had finished building the bike (see earlier post) and that was his first ever ride on a ‘proper’ road bike.

Todays ride was more like a proper bike ride and he seems to be taking to it well and appears to be enjoying it.  He sits on my wheel all the time and every time I look behind he is still there and this morning we did 29 miles at 15mph average which is very good.  Maybe we could have gone faster if I really pushed it.  If he sticks with it and keeps these sort of performances up it wont be long before I am sitting on his wheel all the time and he has to check up on me.

Click image for ride stats

We produced some pretty good figures all things considered.  Very good for a fifteen year olds first proper attempts.  So maybe this cycling thing is in his genes?   This to add to the rugby, football and cricket already in his repertoire.

TMK ‘C’ Ride To Turweston Airfield

This weeks ride was a bit different because it was an opportunity for any ‘D’ group riders who wanted to, to try out riding in the higher ‘C’ Group. The group was split into two from the start as the ‘try out’ section would obey a strict 15mph speed.  Although its the bottom end of the recommended 15/16mph average the ‘C’ group is supposed to maintain it seldom happens.

I went with the faster group but it was a comfortable steady ride only hampered and speed limited by the head wind for most of the way out.  It was also a pretty up and down profile all the way.  We also suffered two punctures on the outward ride.  When we finally reached the airfield the wind had really got up and the final road inside the airfield that runs parallel with the runway was not only its usual poorly surfaced self but also into a very strong 30mph headwind!

Click image for detailed ride stats..

Ooops.. Sorry forgot to put the link originally..

After a nice cup of coffee and a substantial piece of very fruity fruit cake we set off on the return leg.  Much better altogether as we now had a tailwind and it was also a shorter distance than the outward leg.  If you look at the ride stats you will see how the average speed crept up at nearly every five mile segment.  The final run in to Stony Stratford was a very fast but steady and controlled.

I Rode The Road To Roade

This afternoons bike ride made for a nifty title I thought.  I was actually going to do a different circuit that took me near to but not actually to Roade.  However as I was pedalling and thinking, as I do when I am cycling, I thought to go to Roade would make a nice title so I had to go there to qualify.  It made it a ride of just over 35 miles and fifth successive day of cycling.

Click Image For Ride Stats

It was a lovely afternoon for a ride.  I had spent the morning creating a road bike for my Grandson Harry to use on his first exploratory bike ride with me tomorrow.  I had offered him the chance to have a go just after his birthday as he has expressed some interest in the cycle racing on TV.  I was 15 when I first took up cycling properly and really got into it from then on.  Who knows it might be in Harry’s genes too?  To add to his Rugby, Football and Cricket CV.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Plan ‘A’ was for him to borrow my Specialized bike with maybe a few adjustments.  He was 15 last week and is pretty much the same size as me so not a lot of adjustments would need to be made.  However in a moment of genius yesterday I thought of using the frame from the ‘fixie’ bike I had made up but never used.  I was sure I had enough stock of spare parts hanging around in the garage that would enable me complete the job.  This would solve the problem of him not having a bike on hand to use as he wished.  I could make up this bike and leave it with him all set up and he could hang on to until he either decides against cycling or he gets into it and we can invest in something a bit better.

So this morning I set to to create a bike from what I had in stock and was  pretty much finished by lunchtime.  It just need a cassette block fitted and find a chain long enough.  I left these jobs to do until after my bike ride.  I didn’t want to waste the opportunity for a shorts and short sleeve shirted bike ride in the nice ‘warmish’ sunshine.

I completed the bike on my return and now we await the events of tomorrow!  It looks pretty good I think.  The frame is a Raleigh Dynatech Titanium, so its quite light and the complete job is just a little heavier than my the Specialized but he is young and fit and I have to retain some advantage!!  Maybe not quite the latest fashion in frames but as long as the seat, handlebars and pedals are in the right place for a good riding position thats all that matters for now.  Carbon Fibre can wait until later.

Apologies For Absence..

Apologies for my recent absence from here.  It has been because we took a trip to Lanzarote for some R & R in the Canary Islands sunshine.  The Canaries are a group of Volcanic islands off the north western African coast close to the equator so they have all year round sunshine and a steady high temperature.  Not particularly attractive scenery wise due to the extensive lava rock from the eruptions that created the islands in the first place. However they do serve a purpose for us sunshine deprived northern Europeans to top up our Vitamin D.

It was booked earlier in the year when my wife returned from her daily walk to the shops in town one morning a couple of months ago.  She was soaking wet, cold and bedraggled and said she was fed up!  I happened to suggest maybe we could take a trip to somewhere in the sunshine for a break.  Within hours it was researched and booked. The holiday, long term car parking at Gatwick Airport and overnight accommodation near the airport the night before the trip.  She didn’t need telling twice!

A sad reflection of our times is that I don’t like mentioning these kind of events online in advance or during, for security reasons.  As it happens it appears somebody did try to get into the back gate while I was away.  Unsuccessfully fortunately.

I will give a more detailed account, with pictures, later and I will also be putting some pictures on my photography blog later.  However I have over 300 pictures to work through and edit first.

The weight loss program I talked about in an earlier post here has kind of gone into reverse.  More of me returned from the trip than left here just over a week ago.  Thats the trouble with all inclusive holidays, food and drink is readily available with little or no effort involved, apart from the walk to one of the bars or restaurants.  I did however manage a quick spin on the bike yesterday afternoon and hope to go on the club ride tomorrow morning.  So the process starts again.. weight loss and training.

TMK Ride, Bluebells, Barns And F1

The destination for this weeks Team MK ride was to be the Bluebell Cafe at Marsworth, next to the Tring reservoirs in Hertfordshire.  However, all things can change as you will read later.

Click Image For Ride Data

There were about 30 riders assembled ready for the start of the ‘C Group’ ride at the newly appointed start time of 9:00am.  It was decided quite soon, because of the numbers to divide the group into two.  I hesitated in my decision about which group to go into.  I then saw that most of those with similar abilities to me were in the second group so I opted for that one.  However it wasn’t many miles later before that group also naturally split in two.  This time I was in the faster group.

The weather was bright and sunny at the start of the ride but about an hour into the ride it came over very black and got quite cold.  It looked as though the rain that was forecast for around 1:00 pm was arriving early.  However we rode through that, without any rain and into brighter but now sunless skies.

We decided amongst ourselves that we would prefer to go to the Barn Cafe, just up the road from the Bluebell.  In my opinion and obviously that of others in the group to be a better cafe.  It is more reasonably priced, quicker service and plenty of freshly baked cakes.

It was a tough ride out into the south west wind, but that was compensated for on return leg.  Its quite a hilly ride over rolling countryside, not a lot of flat.  The return ride took us past the hotel owned or at least part owned I heard by the Red Bull Racing F1 racing driver, Mark Webber, The Stag at Mentmore.  He however was otherwise occupied out in China qualifying for the Grand Prix at the time.  It didn’t turn out to be a very good weekend for him as it happens.    He had problems with qualifying and in the race itself.

Our ride was fortunately problem free however and the ride back was quite fast.  The earlier start meant that I got home at a slightly more reasonable time.  The rain forecast for 1pm arrived almost dead on schedule but by then I was sitting indoors tucking into a bacon sandwich and feeling that pleasant ache in my legs you get from having performed some vigorous exercise.  At the same time watching the replay on TV of the qualifying rounds of the Chinese Grand Prix and the luckless Mr Webber.  I felt sorry for him because I know both he and I wanted him to get revenge over his team mate, Sebastian Vettel, for the way he did the dirty on him in the previous Grand Prix.

By Way Of A Change…

Spring is definitely in the air.. I had a meeting this afternoon that didn’t take as long as I expected and as I was walking home in the sunshine I decided another bike ride might be appropriate..

No sooner said than done.  Within minutes of getting home I was out on my bike.. I headed off on a circuit in the opposite direction to that of yesterday, so a map of the two rides combined would make a figure eight with a bit of a tilt on it.  Yesterdays was was kind of south-east and today was north-west.

I rattled up and even faster average than yesterday, breaking well into the 17 mph average over almost 24 miles.  By way of a change I have linked to the ride data from my Strava page which I have recently started loading rides onto as well as Garmin.

Click anywhere on image for ride data

If you would prefer the Garmin data layout click on THIS

Strava is inclined to make one a much more competitive rider I think as it analyses various segments of a ride and compares your performance with that of other Strava members over the same stretch.  You may feel inclined to try and move yourself up the overall ratings or just be satisfied with personal bests on various segments.

Overall I don’t compare very favourably, as you would expect when the performance of a 70 year old is compared with that of a 20 year old!  I would usually be at best about halfway down ( Or up, depends if you are a cup half full or half empty person! ) the list that may consist of a 100′s or 1000′s of other riders on the same segment.  However, there is a facility to make age group comparisons if you have subscribed to the service.  The oldest age group is 65 plus ( Still young I think !!  :) ) and in that I appear at or near the top, albeit there are probably only about half a dozen people on the list at most usually.  My Mont Ventoux ride in 2011 rated me at 12th in my age group.  I’m not sure that I am tempted to go and try to improve on it though.. !

Being a competitive type of rider it suits me well although it may not be for everybody.  It gives me a target to aim for outside of actually racing.  More like individual time trials I guess aiming for personal bests.