Looking down from the top of the Chute to the WC2C routeWe had quite a nice weekend at our gaff.
It was the start of the Christmas festivities, with Jo and I going out for a "few" drinks on Friday night with all of our friends from the MTB fraternity in Cardiff. Jo and I were clever: we went out for a posh Italian meal prior to the beer, and it worked a treat at keeping me sober(ish). Jo did a great job at seeming to be sober since all she drank was fruit juice.
Quite a few of the others had forgotten to eat, or so it seemed. Jim was quite drunk and looked like the Japanese comedian/magician who does some scary things. He didn't fall over once!!
I got drunk and Jo drove me home, as I told her I loved her...
...300 times, apparently.
Saturday and it was Jo's turn. She got a lift in, and I had to pick her up about 1am from the nightclub that her young blood colleagues dragged her out to.
She didn't tell me she loves me. :(
Saturday was a waste of a day for me as I was writing a presentation for an orthotic knee system, and got so excited (sleepy) that I didn't have time to ride my bike. I went for a run for an hour instead, which hurt.
Sunday, and I got up at sparrow's. It was still dark, and I was struggling to open my eyes after picking up the beautiful but drunken bombshell a few hours earlier.
I had been super organised around midnight the previous night by making sure everything was ready just to be picked up as I ran out of the door. What could be better!?
So after apologising to the Forstry Commision man at Nant-Yr-Arian because I couldn't pay for parking and realising that I didn't need the waterproof bag for my phone as it was still next to my fridge, 100 miles away, I set off on my ride.
Dope.
I was recceing again, but this time it was for "The Hobbit's Tale". The plan was to ride along to Machynlleth via Anglers' Retreat, and down Mach3 and the Chute into town. It was sopping wet and really slow going, but I made it quicker than I thought I could. So I kept going and ended up on ClimachX.
The 2nd longest climb on the WC2C, goes right up into the glare and on to NantThe ride home was another trudge since I followed the original WC2C route and it was soaking and spongy.
Horrible.
I was quite impressed with myself: I had done a ride that I thought would take me all day, in 5 and a bit hours. It had been a bit of a struggle, since my food was sat next to my phone. So I managed on gels and drink.
Boring.
As I pulled up to my car, I saw a nice looking four wheel drive. "Hmm, that looks just like ours", I mused. But I was cold so I got hurriedly changed, jammed my bike in the car and ate a couple more gels just to stop me being "too" hungry.
The Red Kites were doing their thing in the air and it was great to see them enjoying themselves just after having been fed by the RSPB man. They are seriously cool birds.
What you looking at?One actually looked at me as I took a photo of it! It's a pity he's too far away to be clear on my little camera, but I hope you get the idea.
Anyway, It was time to go home. So off I went.
Just over 2hrs later I got a call from Jo, and there was a certain edge in her voice.
"Where are you? Did you have a nice day?"
I think something is amiss. I'm in trouble.
"Err, Yes, thanks. I had a great day."
She comes back at me, "Did you enjoy the Cafe? It is very nice in there."
"Err, No. I forgot my wallet and phone....and food."
"Didn't you notice the car next to yours in the carpark?"
Oh, Oh! I'm in doo doo, here. But I didn't quite click.
"Yes, it just like ours..Hang on!?"
Jo was quiet.
"That was you wasn't it?" I asked timidly.
"Yes, it was. My dad and I brought you up some food, your phone and wallet and timed it so that we could watch the birds being fed before you got back. You did say that you wouldn't be finished til after dark!"
I finished my ride early, even after extending it. Remember?
They had been watching the birds, as I photographed a few, when my other car was sat right next to me.
Dozey pig.
Not so long ago, I'd be running off of this with my wing above me. The entry to the top of the chuteAnd I best not tell you that I did the whole ride with only a front brake due to my forgetting to replace the pads. The Chute was quite interesting with no back brake. I spent most of that section trying to limit the production of skidmarks since that wouldn't have been very good, with all that loose and wet rock lying around.
Ahem.
I'll get my coat.
5 comments:
Dave, it's always good to read your blog posts and i've been following your exploits since just after you did your big ride across Wales. I live in Ludlow and I've been looking at the Glyndwr Way long distance footpath, that runs 135miles from Knighton to Welshpool. Obviously much of it is footpath and not classified for bikes, but much of it is bridleway. Have you ever ridden Glyndwrs Way?
Hi Ashley,
Someone reads my Blog! Woo Hoo!
I'm not too sure on the Glyndwr Way, since I've only done the bits of Bridleway around Machynlleth, but that's about it.
He must have been fit!
A good guy to ask is Tegid in The Holey Trail in Machynlleth. If he hasn't done it, he'll know someone who has, and how to circumnavigate the footpaths. He's a top bloke and a real democrat for cycling's future.
This years' ride down through Wales is turning out to be the warm up for 2010. Can't wait to do "The Hobbit's Tale".
Thanks for the tip, Dave. Yeah, i reckon old Owen was a bit of an ultraman on his exploits with his army. I'll get in touch with Tegid at The Holey Trail, I've been to Machynlleth a couple of times - always impressed by the wholefood cafe.
What's The Hobbit's Tale? Are you planning something wearing bigears/hairyfeet on your new Blur??
And I've got a question about improving fitness if I may. I've been on the dole for about 1 year now - trying to get my own graphic design business going - and have been biking around 4 times a week for about 1.5 to 2 hours while my son was at school. My fitness increased really well, weight dropped nicely, but I'm wondering what my next step could be. My son is now at school from 9am to 330pm, so I have 5x days each with a window of around 4-5 hours. Do you have any recommendations on how I could use that time to improve my fitness/speed/strength? I've got a road bike and a mountain bike.
Many thanks.
The Hobbit's Tale is Massive. I've been hinting at it for a while but it's covered in February's MBR magazine (I hope).
I do have hairy big toes, though.
If you are after increasing your fitness for a particular event then I would try out a coached plan. My coach at www.chriseatough.com is awesome and has some pre-written plans which will help give you structure to your training. These plans actually work out really cheap, and it's how I started to improve dramatically. Structure is good because it gives you something to aim for each day.
I've used others and they all give you loads of exercise for your money, but since I started riding with Chris, I realised that I was being overcoached (overtrained) by the others. He concentrates on facilitative rest. I love it.
As an indication: I'll train between 2 and 4hrs a day in the week, and this includes functional stability and core training, stretching and using a foam roller(heavenly but painful). Some of these are speed efforts or on bike strength/local muscular endurance. The weekend has me doing 8- 15hrs of riding and is generally endurance riding with some tempo efforts if Chris is feeling particularly nasty.
You gotta enjoy it though! :)
I read it too, every now and then.... really enjoyed this post. SO want to ride more.... work are doing me a jersey with my name on it this year too!
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