Whats Ahead?

After this weekends ride things will probably be quietening down a bit on the cycling blogging front over the winter.  I’ll have to find other stuff to write about.  Probably some fishing and fly tying again and more general stuff so look out for changes ahead.

I will still be riding but I doubt it will be very scenic or notable.  My Felt bike will be hung up in the garage for the duration and be checked and prepared for 2011.  I will keep a good level of fitness over the winter riding the Specialized bike and maybe a bit of off road work on the MTB?.  If the roads are bad then I will be on the turbo trainer and start a bit more serious riding again around February time I think.  I will still be aiming for 1000km a month target but they will be more leisurely and probably longer rides.

I have just got my racing licence from the League of Veteran Racing Cyclists and I intend to give road racing a go next year so that will be in my mind through winter as well.  I have also joined a local cycling club, Team MK and will hope to be joining them on some winter club runs on Saturdays.

Wednesday 3rd March

Well its now March and with the new month came some decent weather.  I failed to meet my 400 mile target of February due mainly to bad weather and the inability to get out, also it was the shortest month of the year.  So the shortfall of just over 100 miles amounts to around 3 decent rides.

This months rides so far have been great.  Not only for the weather but also I am feeling fitter, due I suppose to be getting out as much as I could in February.  Planning a ride of around 50 miles tomorrow and that should take my months total so far to over 100 already.  The weather makes so much difference to outlook and feel.  I have one layer less clothes for a start so feeling a little more flexible, not so tightly bound so to speak.

Looking forward to getting the Felt bike out of winter storage.. I had decided on two factors had to be right before I did that.  I had to get under 12 stones and also would wait until the end of March.  I acheived the weight loss so now just have to wait for the month to end.. and we change the clocks on the last weekend in March so that will be it, Sunday 28th and out it comes.  I lost 10lbs in February which was pretty good I think.

Will soon be able to get in some fly fishing now too.  The season has just started but its still a bit cold yet for standing around waist deep in cold water..!!!  That will make some nice relaxing between cycling days.  Although there  are also jobs to be done here around the house too

Countdown to Alpe d’Huez 2010

Well I finally committed and booked the Eurotunnel tickets for the trip to Alpe d’Huez next year.

Cyril and I are planning to drive to the Alps for camping and cycling holiday in May 2010.  The idea was born on my French trip last year while driving up Alpe d’Huez when I recalled a trip Cyril and I made when we were still teenagers and single.  A two week car trip around England Wales camping and having all sorts of fun.  It occurred to me that it would be good to have a similar camping trip before we are too old and to combine it with a long-held ambition to cycle up some of the legendary Tour de France mountains.

It will be a seven-day trip with a very early start on Monday night/Tuesday morning, catching the tunnel train at 1:53 in the morning and then heading for the mountains and getting the northern France bit done before the rest of France wakes up.

The rest of the Itinerary will develop as we firm things up but we will be returning on the Tuesday one week later.  Hopefully having conquered Alpe d’Huez and a few other epic climbs in the meantime.

Here is a link to the record of a trip up Alpe d’Huez someone else did in 2001 which will give you far more information about the ride than I could convey here.

The next stage for us is to start getting some miles in, lots of them and later some climbs although nothing in the UK can compare.

Apologies for Absence

Been a bit lax lately.  Just havent got around to writing anything here, but to be honest there hasnt been too much of note to write about.   The weather hasnt been too good and I havent been fishing in weeks as standing beside an great big reservoir isnt so inviting at this time of year and it is supposed to be for pleasure.  Also I have had a long lay off from riding but I have started to address that situation over the last couple of weeks with 2 or 3 rides a week.

Also been busy with one or two things surrounding Christmas but I need to get around to some serious riding after Xmas to build up for the Alpe d’Huez trip in May.  I think there is only about eighteen weeks before we go.  Talking of which I have just remembered  that I need to book the Eurotunnel crossing today so I will do that right now and get back to you later.

A Mixed Week

Its been one of those weeks when you are active all the time and achieve practically nothing.  The weather hasnt helped too much either.  Its been pretty damp, misty and foggy.

Sunday was good, a 40 mile bike ride in the morning with my long term mate Cyril.  Its a pretty regular occurence our Sunday morning jaunt and chat but we still manage to average around 15mph.

Monday was a bit of DIY, replacing the sealant around  the edge of the bath/tiles in places where it wasnt very good, but the first time we used the shower when it should have been dry it just washed away.. so… remove all that sealant.. then I needed a ‘window’ to be able to properly clean ALL the old sealant out and then redo the whole job.  That window arrived this morning and i have applied some sealant remover and waiting the obligatory 2 – 3 hours while it does its work.  I then have to clean that muck out and reseal it which will take another 18 – 24 hours to dry properly so we are going to be really dirty by then..

Anyway, back to where I was.. Tuesday was good.  I went to fly tying club in the evening and we were treated to an evening with the renowned fly tier and fisherman Charles Jardine.  After a pevious visit I wrote a letter to Fly Fishing and Fly Tying magazine about his visit and subsequent events which was published. See my post of March 17th, ‘Last Weeks First’ .  So on Tuesday I asked Charles to autograph the letter in the magazine which he kindly did in his artistic and individual style.. for which I was much appreciative.

On Wednesday we went down to Crawley to Jans mums as it was her 94th birthday.  Braving the M1 and M25 on a weekday.. but to my surprise the traffic seemed much lighter than on our normal weekend visits and we made good time in both directions.

Today I have already covered earlier and who knows what next few days will hold in store.. I’ll let you know..

Autumn Is Here I Think..

It seems autumn has arrived now.  The difference is noticeable since my trip to the Lake District and Scotland.  Before I left I was in shorts most of the time and now it seems far to cold.. barring an Indian summer I guess.

The trip up north was a disaster weatherwise. It rained every day and we aborted the trip with 5 or 6 days still to go of the planned time.  So far as I can see its still just as bad up there now if not worse.  They are talking of evacuating certain areas.  There was no real chance for fishing as the rivers were flooded from the rains in the hills.  I did have a brief attempt in Ullswater but that was no good.

Now its back home and getting into a routine again.. no more trips planned this year but you never know if the weather improves.

I went out on the bike today, just a brief 15 mile trip to loosen up a bit but that was hard work as although it was sunny there was such a strong wind and it seemed to be in my face both going out and coming back,  it must have been gusting quite a bit.   I do need to get some miles in though as I have a 100k Audax ride planned for 16th Sept.  Having had almost 2 weeks off the bike I felt I had lost a lot of fitness but hopefully that was just imagination.  I did overdress for it too, it wasnt as cold as I thought once I got out so I felt a bit restricted from that point of view too.  But I got through it OK at about my usual average speed so maybe not so bad on reflection.

Hello – Goodbye (for now)

Apologies for absence again.. also apologies for forthcoming absence.  I am off  ‘up north’ for a while now. Lake District, Southern Scotand and Northumbria.  Quite probably the last trip this year. Hoping to take in some wild fly fishing and heavy duty cycling.  taking the river fly rods and a mountain bike..  might even combine the two !!!

After that its back home and start some of the jobs I have been holding back on during the summer and quite possibly getting some regular postings on here.

Anyway, aplogies all done, I havent left the planet so watch this space…  quite probably for news of the trip I am about to undertake..  No postings en route this time tho… well maybe there will be if I can make the posting via my new mobile phone work….

Devon Trip

Just back from a few days in Devon, very wet days as it transpired.   The first few days on a site on the River Exe at Bridgetown.

I managed to get one fishing expedition in, on the first evening and just for a couple of hours but at least I managed 2 wild brown trout, not as many as last year but they were bigger. Caught them on a size 16 Greenwell Spider which is exactly the same fly that worked last year.  Caught one fished sub surface and then the second one fished as a dry fly.

We then moved to Nearer ro Exeter to enable a family visit and still more rain so no fishing on any of the Crediton Fly Fishing Club waters.. I havent managed any fishing there yet only my river walk in April to see where all the waters were.  Oh well there is plenty of fishing season left so all is not lost.

I was able to to keep up with the Tour De France while I was away via my portable satellite system.. so that was a good way to pass a rainy afternoon.  Back home now for what promises to be an exciting climactic last week.  A week of mountains..