Training for Jogle - May to July

Well the training has stepped up, preparing for London to Brighton 60 miles and some big hills, on the same days as the classic mini L2B run - will be fun.

I have found some nice training roads in my local area where I can vary my routes from 35 to 70 miles. Fairly smooth roads (something I have discovered is rare in Hertfordshire!) country lanes and a variety of hills although nothing to really compare to the big ones on the JOGLE route. Still it's all part of the training, building up the distances and working up to the hills.

During training I have discovered that slight improvements to the bike spec will help for the main ride, things such as Suspension seat post, different gear ratios, better tyres and new bar tape. The bike I am using is straight out of the wrapper and not really a top spec bike .. yet! With the proposed modifications it will shed some weight and be more comfortable I think.

London to Brighton
Early start, leaving home at 5.30am to get to Crystal Palace to meet the guys and be ready to leave at 8.00 am. We think it will take us around 4 hours or rather hope. Our Support crew for the day consists of wives and girlfriends, driving to agreed points to keep us fed and watered on the way. Some minor improvements are needed for navigation as we were supposed to go up an unpaved road - road bikes - are you sure? So we ended up taking a little detour .. few extra miles then.

We made it into Brighton with nobody experiencing anything more than fatigue, no punctures or gear problems. Good going I think .. now it did take more than 4 hours as we stopped a few times, but on the road it was 4 1/2 hours riding.Good going I think.When we get to Brighton, we set up the stall around the car and start to give out leaflets and tell people what we are planning .. a good day all round I think.


Bigger Rides
Yes the time has come to increase to the next level, 50mile + rides, and after that it will be some back to back rides, tough to fit in when working shifts.

My first 50 Mile ride was with my boss, a nice stop for lunch too (won't be doing that on the ride!) just over 6 hours later we get back, a few mechanical issues to deal with enroute and realised I may need to pack a small  pliers set.

The following week I have done some smaller rides and some time on the trainer, but repeating the 50 mile route above I set a time of 3 hours 54 minutes - I am pleased with that. This was a good ride .. I stopped to help a fellow cyclist with his jammed chain and a very interesting chat with a guy on rollerblades (who also cycles) for about 1 1/2 miles as he skated alongside - must have looked interesting for passing cars! It never ceases to amaze me the experiences that you have out on the road, the sights and sounds .. it makes you appreciate the countryside on your doorstep .. the only downside is inconsiderate motorists who try to attach themselves to the side of my handlebars whilst overtaking - patience is a virtue but obviously not everyone has heard.

So as part of the training I am cycling to work too, on a mountain bike as its heavier which seems to be harder work ... so good training. Some days are harder than others to do this .. long days, working hard all day and then hitting some hills on the way home.

let's see how I do with 70 miles now!!

Route - Planning!

So the route has been decided ... many hours on the pc, checking options, downloading maps, deciding what sights to take in on the way ( Like we will have time!! Fat chance!! But we can hope!) the stops have been decided and I total up the days to realise that we are planning to cover 980 miles or so, and over 36,000 feet of hills to climb including the famous Kirkstone Pass, Long Mynd amongst others, not to mention apparently cycling against the wind coming off the atlantic !! Madness!!! I think so!

Now the small issue of where to stay each night, looking at the route profiles I know there are some days where I will want a good bed and a bath , so many phone calls and much writing of emails takes place for us to arrange accommodation in the height of summer season. Sometimes we strike lucky and find a reasonable room rate for all 6 of us and then other days ‘we can only fit 2 of you in’ is the response – frustrating.

I have booked my train ticket up from London to Edinburgh and booked a space for my bike – an important thing to do as bike spaces are limited and the last thing I will need is a delay to wait for a bike space to become available. So the plan is to meet my team mates in  Edinburgh – they are driving the support van up from Southampton, then from Edinburgh to drive together to JOG for the start on Sunday Morning. Sounds easy so far doesn’t it? haha

Training for Jogle - Feb to May 2011

First Let me tell you how I agreed to cycle 1000miles ...

I belong to a Classic Mini Club and for a few years now we have raised money for charities using our time and our cars mainly .. and then one day someone 'had an idea' ... to get fit and raise money for our club charity 'Cash For Kids'  .. and I was asked if I wanted to join a challenge?? As I had previously walked the coast to coast trail! Obviously my answer was Yes ! (Was I Mad?) Oh what the hell .. lets do it!

Training
Well Training started with buying a road bike and turbo trainer to hook the bike up to, doing loads of research into bike set up and by my girlfriends account - turning into a bike geek!

Yes the madness has set in .. I often wonder why I agreed to such a daunting task. Rob must have hypnotised me or something similar .. I like a challenge but this is certainly turning out to be the biggest thing I have ever undertaken or ever thought I would attempt to do! 1000 miles on a bike - I haven't been on a bike for more than 1 mile in about 15 years!! I refer to my earlier thought .. Madness????

When I first hooked up my new bike to the trainer I discovered how difficult it was to cycle continuously for 10 minutes without sweating out what feels like 2 litres of fluid !! I soon realised this was going to be hard work. I purchased a Suunto Heart Rate Monitor to keep track of my progress and see the improvement (or not) of my body's capability throughout training. This is getting technical.

Motivating myself to do regular training in a small room, in winter when its cold and wet outside was not easy ...  and then to move house too - stressful!

So moving house, working for a living (shifts) and training and oh yes I need to have a life and see friends and my very supportive girlfriend too! I feel like a circus juggler and just want more hours in the day and more days in the week... Is it going to be possible???? I still ask myself now..

Once we moved and the spring weather and longer days began to creep in it became an option to go out on the road and easier to jump on the trainer .. the impending deadline of the start date also helps!