My biggest week yet

I'm now in full training mode, squeezing as much time on the bike as I can around work, family and general life. And it's going well, I've managed to ride over 140 miles in the last seven days, including:

• 40 miles after work last Friday, pretty flat and pretty comfortable
  
  
• 30 miles in the pouring rain last Sunday afternoon. After the Giro ITT on Saturday it felt only right to include the 20 mile circuit I ride versus the clock. I flew through the first two thirds and felt really strong, only to then hit a strong headwind for most of the last five miles that really sapped my legs. And it poured down with rain! I still clocked 1hr 08mins, though, taking 5mins of my previous best
  
  
• On Wednesday I took my bike into work for the first time. Quite a logistical challenge to ensure the correct clothes/food/car/bike etc. were all in the right places, but come 5pm I was out the door and set off in glorious evening sunshine for 50 miles home. Here's my ride on Strava, and keeping a 15mph average over that distance riding along is something I'm pretty chuffed about. Around the 40 mile mark, though, I hit pouring rain again... Good practice if nothing else
  
  

Yesterday, the postman delivered my full race pack from the British Heart Foundation for the London to Brighton ride, less than a month away now. As ever, all sponsorship support for the BHF is hugely appreciated.

Thanks!

How early?

The logic is sound. I'm in the 12 week count down until the Ride100, and the training plan recommends one early morning ride a week. Why? The logic is doing a one hour ride a week pre-breakfast when fasted helps train the body to be more efficient at processing fat reserves when riding. So, if the carbs run low on the big day and I've got to rely on some of that difficult-to-process fat for energy, it won't be such a shock to the system.

Yep, sounds logical to me. The downside, clearly, is that this involves going out really early in the morning. Luckily it was a glorious morning today, and I was out on the road before 6:30am, to get an hour in pre-work.

All went well, though the headwind on the return loop wasn't helpful. I did a 16 mile loop with one decent climb in 1hr 02min, compared to 59mins when I last rode it with fuel in my belly. I definitely felt a little harder, but not too bad

And the best news? I set the fourth best time on a Strava segment. Fourth of no less than 799. Pleased with that.

Oakman Shires Sportive - Done!

This morning was the second organised cycle ride of my challenge year, the Oakman Shires Sportive. I'm starting to realise that cycling and early starts go hand in hand, and at 7:15am on a Bank Holiday Sunday we rode down the road to the Kings Arms in Berko for the start.

We being Becca, Chris and I, so great to do a long ride with the Ride100 team, plus Berko Dad's Bike Club members Wilf, Graham and Tim.

The route was 70km, with barely a mile of flat as crisscrossed our local Chiltern Hills. See the route here, and how we got on, from my Strava.

The Oakman sportive is very sociable, as we basically ride between three of their pubs, from the Kings Arms in Berko to the Red Lion at Water End, on to The Akeman in Tring before heading back to the Kings Arms again. And we got looked after well, ending with Bacon Rolls (and a pint...) when we were done.

After feeling wiped out after the Tring Velo Club ride a couple of weeks back I changed my nutrition today and was really pleased with how I went. I felt really strong throughout, with more confidence for what lies ahead. I've now got 12 weeks of training before the Ride100, and my training plan is about to ramp up.

Finally, huge thanks again to the Oakman group for their donation to our fundraising for Cancer Research.