Lands End to John O’Groats

Sunday 9th April 2017

Only got out on the bike 3 times this week but managed 152 miles. Wednesday 60 miles to Arundel, Thursday 1 hour of hill repetitions and 82 miles yesterday in the new Forest Sportive. The New Forest is surprisingly hillier than I thought with 775 meters climbed in the 82 miles. Most of the climbs are short but steep, up to 10%, then one hill towards the end is about 500 meters long and peeked at 12%. I was going quite well at a steady pace when the chap 10 meters ahead of me stopped and fell across the road. He had cramp in both legs and could not unclip from his peddles. No choice but to stop and help him but then found that I could not get started again on such a steep incline. Had to walk the last 100 meters of the climb, fortunately I was not alone walking up. It was good to do 82 miles, which is the same as the longest leg of the big ride, without to much trouble and no bad effects this morning.

The CTC ride this Wednesday is a very hilly one to Milland – twice over the South Downs – which includes a short section that is 25%.

Weeks to go.   Target       Achieved

Week 19          7 hours      7.5 hours

Week 18          7 hours      8.5 hours

Week 17          8 hours       8 hours

Week 16          9 hours.      9 hours

Week 15        10 hours       10.5 hours

Week 14        10 hours       10 hours

Week 13         100 miles    91 miles

Week 12.        110 miles    132 miles – 1975 meters of climbing.

Week 11         120 miles    84 miles – 1001 meters climbing.

Week 10.        130 miles   130 miles – 1425 meters of climbing

Week 9           140 miles   152 miles – 1,339 meters of climbing

Week 8           120 miles + 3 hours of hill repetitions

Week 7            120 miles + 3 hours of hill repetitions

Weight still going down but a little disappointed when I checked the NHS chart for my BMI and it shows that I am still over weight. Still nearly down to what the NHS class as normal.

Main event for the coming week, apart from 120 miles and 3 hours up and down hills, is that the bike is going in for a major service to ensure it is capable for the task ahead.

 

• Sunday 2nd April 2017

Last week was very good for training, achieved the target miles with 4 rides. Last Sunday 28 miles round Rowlands Castle, Monday 23 miles up Old Winchester Hill, Wednesday 66 miles to Arundel with the CTC and finally 13 miles yesterday to complete the target. You may remember that in the blog for 11 weeks to go I was moaning about 4 short climb at between 10% and 13 %. This weeks CTC ride found a climb at 18% for about 150 meters, I thought my heart was going to pop out my chest.

This weeks target is for 140 miles which should be completed with the CTC ride on Wednesday and the New Forest sportive on Saturday. I have now added hill repetitions (riding up a hard hill then rolling down and climbing the same hill again & again) to the target, 3 hours of this in the coming week.

Weeks to go.   Target       Achieved

Week 19          7 hours      7.5 hours

Week 18          7 hours      8.5 hours

Week 17          8 hours       8 hours

Week 16          9 hours.      9 hours

Week 15        10 hours       10.5 hours

Week 14        10 hours       10 hours

Week 13         100 miles    91 miles

Week 12.        110 miles    132 miles – 1975 meters of climbing.

Week 11         120 miles    84 miles – 1001 meters climbing.

Week 10.        130 miles   130 miles – 1425 meters of climbing

Week 9           140 miles + 3 hours of hill repetitions

Week 8           120 miles + 4 hours of hill repetitions

Week 7            120 miles + 4 hours of hill repetitions

Weight is still coming down with 1 stone 2 pounds lost since 1st January.

Final part of the train ticket saga has now been completed. The Inverness to Inverkeithing with bike ticket was purchased on Friday – no more getting up at the crack of dawn to look on the Scotrail website. I still can’t get over the prices of the tickets I have bought – Cosham to Penzance £15.50 and now for the trip to Inverkeithing (150 miles) is just £14.70. Maybe I should do the whole trip by train!

The recovery drinks that I was trying out last week certainly make a difference after a long hard ride. In the  past my legs always felt twitchy after a long ride that does not seem to happen after a recovery drink. The only problem to remember to take the drink as for best results it should be within 30 minutes of finishing the ride.

Purchase of the week:-

Found a bar bag that fits my bars which should make it easier to eat on the move and put on rain jacket if we get a sudden rain shower. Picture below:-

The second great purchase is a mirror. For the past few months I have been using a mirror attached to the leg of my glasses, picture below

This has worked very well but is a bit distracting and has a blind spot when you turn right. The new mirror has been delivered all the way from China and including the delivery has cost a staggering £1.73 – how can they do that?

Used it on the ride to Arundel last Wednesday and it is very good, even in the rain it gave a clear view of what was going on behind.

Sunday 26th March 2017

When I started this blog with 20 weeks to go the whole adventure seemed a long way off. Now with just 10 weeks to go it seems to be rushing up.

This weeks training was a bit of a let down after the previous week. The poor excuse this week is wind, not from the Indian curry on Wednesday night’s boys night out but from the north east. Started well with 28 miles Sunday (368 meters), 17 miles on Tuesday (288 meters) with a 15 mile turbo session between these two. Problems started on the rides on Thursday and Friday with very strong winds which were quite frightening, only managed 31 miles (345 meters). Will try harder next week -including a CTC ride on Wednesday to Arundel.

Week 20         6 hours.      6 hours

Week 19          7 hours      7.5 hours

Week 18          7 hours      8.5 hours

Week 17          8 hours       8 hours

Week 16          9 hours.      9 hours

Week 15        10 hours       10.5 hours

Week 14        10 hours       10 hours

Week 13         100 miles    91 miles

Week 12.        110 miles    132 miles – 1975 meters of climbing.

Week 11         120 miles    84 miles – 69 on the road and 15 on the turbo – 1001 meters climbing.

Week 10.        130 miles

Weight still coming down despite the curry on Wednesday and the takeaway Friday. Would still like to be one stone lighter before I get to Lands End.  Earlier this week I put books into a bag with a total weight of one stone. It is very heavy when you actually lift one stone and to think that I could be climbing the hills with that amount of weight less to carry is a great incentive to continue the diet.

Still the tickets for the train trip from Inverness to Inverkeithing are not on sale so will kept checking every morning.

I have been looking into recovery drinks and handle bar bags this week – the excitement never ends. As yet no success with a bag that will fit my butterfly handle bars (photo below). Bags are too wide to fit my bars

as they are designed for flat or drop bars but I will keep looking. Will be trying some recovery drinks this week to make sure they don’t disagree with me.

During this week I shall be working on the training plan for weeks to go 9 – 5.

 

 

 

Sunday 19th March 2017

Training this week has been very good and all on the bike – out doors. Exceeded the target by 22 miles on 5 rides. Started well last Sunday with 28 miles (2.25 hours) in the pouring rain – the new Goretex jacket and waterproof gloves are very good, kept me dry and I did not over heat. On Monday I rode up Winchester Hill from the Rising Sun without a stop to admire the view – first time for many a long year. Wednesday went on ride with the Cycle Touring Club – 59 miles with 1,059 meters of climbing, 4 of the climbs had sections greater than 10% with one peaking at 13%. Friday was a ride up Butser Hill and yesterday a short ride to test the adjustments I had made to the gears, all working very well.

Week 20         6 hours.      6 hours

Week 19          7 hours      7.5 hours

Week 18          7 hours      8.5 hours

Week 17          8 hours       8 hours

Week 16          9 hours.      9 hours

Week 15        10 hours       10.5 hours

Week 14        10 hours       10 hours

Week 13         100 miles    91 miles

Week 12.        110 miles    132 miles – all on the bike – 1,975 meters of climbing.

Week 11         120 miles

Week 10.        130 miles

This weeks target at 120 will be hard as there is no CTC ride this week. I will try a couple of longish rides on Wednesday to make up the miles.

The weight is still coming down and on target. The diet is not to hard and both of us are enjoying the meals and not getting too many cravings. I need to do some more research and practice with what to eat and drink on rides to get the best results.

Some great news on the train ticket front, I was starting to worry that waiting for the cheap tickets may result in there being no bike places left. Yesterday I booked the ticket for the trip to Penzance with the bike reservation for Saturday 3rd June at £15.50. What a great price – 3 different trains – Cosham to Westbury, Westbury to Exeter and Exeter to Penzance. The only worry left for that trip is that there is only about 10 minutes to change trains each time so any delays could be a problem. The tickets for the train from Inverness to Inverkeithing are not yet available so will need to keep check on that.

 

 

Sunday 12th March 2017

Training not so good this week, poor excuses include – weather and 65th birthday. First training target missed but it was my birthday – will try very hard not to miss any more. The weather is not now a very good excuse as I have spent some of the Wiggle vouchers I got for my birthday on a new Goretex jacket and some gloves and waterproof trousers. Will give the new gear a trial run this week – bound to be a wet day.

Weeks to go  Target      Achieved

Week 20         6 hours.      6 hours

Week 19          7 hours      7.5 hours

Week 18          7 hours      8.5 hours

Week 17          8 hours       8 hours

Week 16          9 hours.      9 hours

Week 15        10 hours       10.5 hours

Week 14        10 hours       10 hours

Week 13         100 miles    91 miles (55 road & 36 turbo trainer)

Week 12.        110 miles

Week 11         120 miles

Week 10.        130 miles

Still no discount advance booking train tickets to Penzance but they must be available this week.

Weight loss slowed down this week again – blame birthday night out at the Indian. Still noticing good improvements on the rides I did last week and put a lot down to weight loss.

Next big target is the New Forest sportive on Saturday 8th April – 82 miles. This happens in the week 9 to go so will do some longer rides in weeks 10 & 9.

Sunday 5th March 2017

Another week over which means another week closer to the big day. Last week’s training target was reached including 2 rides on the bike totalling 38 miles. The gym membership finished last Tuesday so from now on all training will be on the bike. Hopefully most of it will be on the road but some will inevitably be on the bike clipped onto the turbo trainer. Targets from now on are in miles with each hour on the turbo trainer counting as 13 miles.

Weeks to go  Target      Achieved

Week 20         6 hours.      6 hours

Week 19          7 hours      7.5 hours

Week 18          7 hours      8.5 hours

Week 17          8 hours       8 hours

Week 16          9 hours.      9 hours

Week 15        10 hours       10.5 hours

Week 14        10 hours       10 hours (5 gym, 2 turbo trainer & 3 on the bike)

Week 13         100 miles

Week 12.        110 miles

Week 11         120 miles

Week 10.        130 miles

We lost a few more pounds this week. I have been amazed at the difference that the 7 pounds lost in the past couple of weeks has made. This week I did some of the climbs that I had not tried for a while and could really feel the difference. Gears that I was using were noticeably higher than in the past and cadence was much higher. Now I am more determined than ever to keep up the diet and achieve the target weight loss because it will make a great difference on the big ride.

Rail tickets for the 3rd June have still not been released so will keep looking every day so as to not miss out.

Big birthday next week when I officially become old – I know most of you already think I am.

Need to start looking into kit that is still required and make a list. Most important items I think are going to be good wet weather gear and anti midge spray.

 

 

Sunday 26th February 2017

Training has gone almost to plan this week with 10 1/2 hours completed. Unfortunately only one outing on the bike due to storm Doris and the high winds that seem to be around all week. After next week I will have less excuse for not going out as the gym membership stops on Tuesday. This week I shall set the next few weeks targets based on miles to ride not hours completed. One thing that was always a bit of a worry with increasing activity levels, as I have, is the increased risk of injury. So far no problems, in fact the reverse in that the knee that used to pay up occasionally has been good – touch wood that I have not put the mockers on that.

Weeks to go  Target      Achieved

Week 20         6 hours      6.5 hours (5.5 hours gym & 1 hour bike)

Week 19          7 hours      7.5 hours (6 hours gym & 1.5 hours bike)

Week 18          7 hours      8.5 hours (2.5 in the gym & 6 on the bike)

Week 17          8 hours       8 hours ( all in the gym)

Week 16          9 hours.      9 hours (5.5 in the gym & 3.5 on the bike)

Week 15        10 hours       10.5 hours (8.5 gym & 2 on the bike)

Week 14        10 hours

Weight loss was the big topic last week and I am pleased to report that good progress has been made this week. Kirsteen and I have both started a more planned diet which we have managed to stick to and  both lost weight. I lost about 4 pounds so the target of one and a half stone (9.5 kgs for the post decimalisation generation) by the start of May is back on course.

The cheap advance booking rail fares for the start of June should appear this week so I will keep an eye on that.

Sunday 19th February 2017

Another good week of training with the hours achieved. Two rides on the bike covering 47 miles and 650 meters of climbing in 3.5 hours riding time.

Weeks to go  Target      Achieved

Week 20         6 hours      6.5 hours (5.5 hours gym & 1 hour bike)

Week 19          7 hours      7.5 hours (6 hours gym & 1.5 hours bike)

Week 18          7 hours      8.5 hours (2.5 in the gym & 6 on the bike)

Week 17          8 hours       8 hours ( all in the gym)

Week 16          9 hours.      9 hours (5.5 in the gym & 3.5 on the bike)

Week 15        10 hours

Week 14        10 hours

 

Weight loss this week only 1 pound so now a bit behind schedule so must try harder, I think I said that last week. If I can reduce my weight by about one and a half stone over the next 15 weeks it will make a substantial difference to the ride in June. Hills play a big part in Cornwall, Cumbria and Scotland so any weight loss can only be a good thing.

Signed up this week to do the New Forest sportive on the 8th April. This is 83 miles so should be a good guide to where my training has got to.

In the coming week the target is 10 hours with, if possible, at least 2 rides. Also must take weight loss a bit more seriously.

Sunday 12th February 2017

This has not been a bad week in training but due to various reasons did not get out on the bike. Gym work was good and I upped the effort on a couple of sessions. Next week requires an additional hours work.

Weeks to go  Target      Achieved

Week 20         6 hours      6.5 hours (5.5 hours gym & 1 hour bike)

Week 19          7 hours      7.5 hours (6 hours gym & 1.5 hours bike)

Week 18          7 hours      8.5 hours (2.5 in the gym & 6 on the bike)

Week 17          8 hours       8 hour ( all in the gym)

Week 16          9 hours

Week 15        10 hours

Week 14        10 hours

Weight loss has not gone very well this week, in fact I lost none. The take away  steak and kidney pie and chips on Thursday or all the cake on Friday probably did not help. Must try harder this week. Continue reading “16 weeks to go” →

Sunday 5th February 2017

This has been a good week with the training going well.

Weeks to go  Target      Achieved

Week 20         6 hours      6.5 hours (5.5 hours gym & 1 hour bike)

Week 19          7 hours      7.5 hours (6 hours gym & 1.5 hours bike)

Week 18          7 hours      8.5 hours (2.5 in the gym & 6 on the bike)

Week 17          8 hours

Week 16          9 hours

Week 15        10 hours

Week 14        10 hours

I went on the CTC ride on Wednesday but the weather was very wet so cut it short to 45 miles. Also did a ride on Saturday of 22 miles so 67 miles in the week is OK.

Weigh has come down another 2 pounds so that is still on track.

Been reading some blogs of people that have done the same tour that I will be doing. The first 3 days in Devon & Cornwall seem to be hard with lots of short but steep climbs. Will need to start some targeted training for this, luckily there are a number of hills like that round here. I will try a set of reps up a local hill this week to see how I am getting on in that area.