The Denmead 300 Perm

Sunday morning:
A quick note to say I'm home! Its now Sunday 11:30AM, had a shower and breakfast and am not feeling too bad. I can walk!

We finished at 2AM, and I got home at 5:30AM, stopping about 5 times along the way to take powernaps.

Will post more later - taking Poppy for walk, and looking at the bees this afternoon.

Sunday afternoon:
I'm a bit downbeat at the moment. Because as I set to blog yesterday's ride and put the photos up, I realised I couldn't find my camera anywhere. Hopefully it will still turn up somewhere sometime.

We had a very ambitious plan, to finish before midnight. By late lunch time, we realised we were not going to achieve this. Instead we finished at 2AM. I probably added an hour for everybody, being the slowest and loosing a lot of time on the hills.

I have mixed emotions about this ride. On a positive side, I managed to complete the ride, with 2.45 hours to spare. The light system was fantastic, my saddle bag worked out. My chain fell off a couple of times but there were no punctures. My eating and drinking was good. Had the right clothing. Fantastic, generous company. The weather couldn't have been better. The scenery beautiful.

So what was wrong? My slow hill climbing sets me back quite badly and plays on my mind. The biggest concern I have is the night riding. The navigation gets more difficult because its harder to keep an eye on the routesheet and the road (even with the brilliant dynamo light). Its harder to read the road signs. I pay good attention to the mileage to work out where I am and take note of the next instruction on the routesheet. I overshot one junction, and quickly realised I was wrong so turned back. I overshot a second junction, but had Pete not called me on the mobile, I wouldn't have realised for an other couple of miles (not quite true as I was slowing down thinking the junction must be soon or behind me). And when you're tired, I think such mistakes can easily happen. Again, these things play on my mind.

Back in January, after the first 200, I stated that I could not see how I would ever do a 300. Now I am saying that I can not see how I am ever going to do 4 300s in a row!

I got home at 5:30AM, stopping about 5 times along the way to take powernaps. The drive normally take less than 1.5 hours.

Some stats: 20.4kph average, 52.3 max, 178bpm max heartrate, 140bpm average heartrate, 8847 calories burnt.

A big big thank you to the now named Denmead Dynamos: Chillmoister, Urban_Biker and Keeks for being such excellent company. Unfortunately, LEE had DNS'd (Did not start) because of a stomach bug. Hummers joined us for a while too after providing a welcome breakfast bite. I have doubts though whether I'll do the 400 with them in two weeks time. I do hold them back more than is acceptable I feel - so will suggest I either ride a calendar event, or go my own pace.

Also a big thank you to Sarah for letting out the chickens two mornings in a row!

FNRttC March 2009 - Brighton

I was asked many times if 'this' was something to do with Red Nose Day! It would have been so much easier to say yes, but it was so much more fun to see the ensuing facial expressions when the truth was told. Mind you, its hard to explain when asked "Why do you cycle to Brighton, from London, in the middle of the night?". And you do this on Red Nose day? And you are not raising money? Should have referred them to my JustGiving site ...

We had the usual stop start exit out of London, before we came to quiet lanes. We had some really fast stretches (max 52.5 km/h). I also love the rolling section after the climb in Coulsdon

We cycled through residential areas, went through gates onto a footpath, left, right, up, down and ... all of a sudden, into a back alley, bike on shoulder, up the stairs and 'Arrivals'. Being in Gatwick Airport was quite surreal.

I just love FNRttC. Every ride is different. The only thorn in the side last night was an on/off puncture. Not so bad in itself, but you know that it holds up the group and it meant that I ended up walking up Ditchling Beacon. I have never walked up that hill before (I mean, I always manage to cycle up - slowly).

The mist over Ditchling Beacon and Brighton was an improvement on the hail we had last year. Shame we couldn't even see the sea though! I didn't have good memories of the Madeira Cafe breakfast, but this morning's Full English was pukka (= the max).

It was a great group of people with old and new faces. It was great catching up with Brian, Chris, the scott and meeting new cyclists.

Had a smooth journey back home, good train connections, coffee ready at home!

More photos are here.

The Kennet Valley Run 200

This was a great ride with beautiful scenery. I had a bad patch halfway. I was feeling very sleepy. If I had been on my own, I would have stopped for a quick snooze. Instead, I drank Lucozade, slowed down for a bit and carried on. Not sure what the right strategy would be.

But other than that, I felt really good. For the first time after a 200, I felt I could have gone on. With my new dynamo light also, cycling in the dark is no longer so daunting. So this ride has given my a lot of confidence.

Saw a lot of familiar faces, from previous rides, and YACFers. Its nice to catch up, see what others have been up to, what their 2009 ambitions are, how they are getting on ...

The area around Welford was really nice. There is a privately owned Manor House with surrounding park, which is only open to the public when the snowdrops are out. May make a visit. The associated church looks impressive too, it appears that a round tower is unusual. Click on this link (and then 'Search for images') to see some images on Google.

The Willy Warmer 200

The Willy Warmer was a popular Audax, with over 60 entrants. It was a great crowd with many familiar faces. The event was extremely well organised - thank you to Manotea.

My sister commented that this could be called The Willy Colder. Which is very true. The last section after the Sainsbury's stop was very cold. I get bouts of 'white finger'. On a ride, it usually starts when I take a break and while it hurts, it hurts even more when the circulation kicks in again. This is what was happening in the next hour after Sainsbury's.

The second half was tough because of the headwind. I still made good time - which is what counts really. You soon forget how you felt, as long as 'the job is done'.

On the train home I received a phone call from my mum, saying that a Belgian friend had made a very generous 100 euro donation on the LEL JustGiving site. What timing to receive that news! It brought tears to my eyes.

I tried to reduce non-cycling time, so my stops were brief. I only took a couple of picture at the end. Here they are:

The Poor Student 200

Thank you, thank you to the fantastic Fabulous Faccombe Four - and Mercury! No way would I have completed this ride without them! Navigation, company, chats, light! I have only ever cycled at night in a group: Dun Run, FNRttCs and this one, and although I love it, I also find it scary at times. The thought of night riding on my own scares me a lot. Maybe the Willy Warmer will provide me with an opportunity to overcome my fears?

It was a great route, weather better than expected, hills not as bad as expected. I am very pleased with how it went, but it was tough. Its only the first in the season, and fitness and endurance will get better. But for now, I don't know how I will ever do a 400.

We started at 8 AM, cycled from Oxford to Shrivenham, to Malmesbury, to Chipping Campden and back to Oxford arriving just before 9.30 PM. The final control closed at 10.25.

I am very tired. Didn't sleep very well - how is that possible?

The Faccombe Four






LEE and Mercury