Time Smart Cycling

W(e)hey, It's Giro Time

2013-05-17T07:14:00.000-07:00

I love the Giro d'Italia. It is my favourite of the grand tours. Although I may switch loyalties next year when the Tour de France arrives in my native Yorkshire and whizzes through my town. Just for a year though.

This year’s Giro d’Italia is the 96th edition of the race and it started on the 4th May. Pre-race favourites such as Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish, Ryder Hesjedal (2012 Giro d’Italia winner), Italy’s own Vincenzo Nibali and over 100 professional cyclists from all over the world are competing in the 3405 km course around Italy.

Made up of 23 day stages, allowing for two rest days, the renowned race will start in Naples and finish in Brescia; not Milan its usual ending line. For the first time since 2008 the race will also see the first eight stages of the race take place in the south of Italy; Ischia in particular hosting a stage for the first time in 54 years. To learn more about the history of the race, previous winners and the destinations the race travels through with top places to eat and stay, visit the website of citalia.com who sent me the nice infographic above.

So why do I love the Giro so much? Well it is just so wonderfully Italian isn't it? Crazy, exciting, full of ridiculous mountain-top finishes and as macho as a gaucho in a spangled leather poncho, to slightly misquote Steely Dan.

So Where Have I Been All Your Life?

I am sure that regular readers will have been wondering what has happened to project4cycling these last six months. Back in November 2012 I wrote of my plans to test out my training theories through a full winter and then to aim for better time-trial times and more sportives.

Long-term readers will remember that one of the first things I wrote was my theory of project4 in which I set out some ground-rules for myself. Number 1 was, "Cycling is never more important than family life". It really, really isn't.

In December 2012 I moved house and my partner was diagnosed with cancer in the same day. You know how people say that moving is one of the most stressful things you can do? In our particular test-case we can honestly say it isn't.

Fortunately we're British, so the NHS swung into action with all the treatments she could need, free at the point of need. Soon we'll be returning to a more normal rhythm of life.

So, you will not be surprised to hear that I have hardly ridden my bike this year, although I have been jogging once or twice, and I am "carrying a bit of timber" as they like to say on Eurosport when Mark Cavendish rides the early season races.

Time for a New Plan of Action

I have no intention of returning to regular training this year, but I do have plans to start again in November when I'll pass on all the knowledge I acquired last year. However, I think it is time I tried to get a bit of exercise, so I'm going to set myself a couple of modest challenges.

Firstly, I am going to try to run the Ilkley Trail Race at the end of May. This 10km race leaves my home town, heads straight up a moor and straight back down again. I've run it four times now and have always hoped to beat one hour. This year my target is to get fit enough to complete it without stopping.

Secondly, in December I was one of the first people to register on the White Rose Classic Sportive, which also leaves my home town at the start of July. Last year I completed the 114-mile route and slayed a few dragons in the process. This year I'm just going to see if I can be fit enough to complete the 80-mile version. If I do, I'll be very happy.

Where there's a will there's a whey

I promise that's the last silly pun. But there is a serious point. As you can imagine, I don't have much time for training, so I plan to carry on using my commute to run and ride.

Although that's been the basis of all my training for the last two years, one problem I have always found is how to manage appropriate recovery. One of the well known techniques in training is to eat protein after training. This provides lots of benefits, primarily making use of the body's natural response to exertion to build muscle mass.

The problem is, that is difficult to do when you have just arrived at work and you need to, well, work. I'm not sure my employers would tolerate stinky Spandex and the smell of grilled chicken breasts.

At a recent sports nutrition talk organised by Ilkley Cycling Club, I learned of the benefits of using whey powder post training and to supplement meals. This would seem like the perfect solution to the morning commute. It is convenient and exactly what the body needs.

I am very grateful to the nice people at probikekit.co.uk who have sent me some of their products to try. The first is True Whey Ultimate Whey Protein from Myprotein. According to the website, "True Whey is the next generation whey protein supplement for anyone looking to pack on quality mass without gaining fat. The perfect blend of the highest grade whey protein concentrate and isolate. True Whey contains very little fat, zero added sugars and a only small amount of carbohydrates, but it is packed with the most biological available protein available and also contains a high amount of branch-chain-amino-acids (BCAA's)."

I also have several, "MP MAX MyBar® Oats & Whey [bars which] is a tasty and nutritious meal replacement bar for those looking to add quality protein and carbohydrates to their diet. Each 88g bar contains a massive 22g of tapered release protein derived from Milk Protein and Whey Protein. The carbohydrate content is based around the low glycemic index Oat Blend, providing a sustained supply of energy." I haven't quite worked out how to fit these into my training yet, but they might make the perfect option for the occasional lunch-time training session between meetings.

Keeping with the Giro d'Italia theme, there is a Giro promotion at probikekit.co.uk where you can pick some rather handsome jerseys. Personally I'll be avoiding figure hugging cycling tops for at least a few weeks after which I'll write a proper review of these products.

In the meantime I'll keep you posted on my progress, let you know any new, rapid training tips I can pick up and catch up on a few outstanding product reviews.

Happy cycling.

...

www.probikekit.co.uk

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www.probikekit.com.au
www.probikekit.ca
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www.probikekit.co.nz

Goal Setting

2012-11-27T07:41:00.000-08:00

While Bradley Wiggins was wearing the Yellow Jersey in the 2012 Tour de France, someone threw tacks on the road causing punctures for a number of riders including one of his main rivals Cadel Evans. Wiggins did the honourable thing, slowed the peloton and allowed Evans to catch up before resuming the race. After the race, Wiggins said this:

"What can you do? It's nothing that we can control, we're there to be shot at, literally. If that happened in football in a stadium you'd have CCTV, but we're extremely vulnerable. Hopefully it won't happen again, but there's nothing we can do. We just have to get on with it, don't we?"

"There's enough police on this race to hopefully find those people and send them to a football match or something."

These are not cycling fans

That event captures what is great about cycling. It happens in the real world. The stars are, literally, touchable and consequently they are down to earth and connected to the spectators who are almost as much a part of the event as the riders.

Football/soccer on the other hand. Well, it's not quite like that is it?

Happy New Year, Time for Some Goals

The chances are small that you are reading this on January the 1st. Not least because I'm publishing it in November. But whenever you read it make today your New Years Day.

Millions of people make New Years resolutions on January 1st. But there is lots of evidence and advice from psychologists to say it is exactly the wrong time to do it. After the festive season the chances are you are tired and broke. The weather in the Northern Hemisphere will be cold and the days short. So, the chances of being in the right frame of mind to stick with your resolutions are slim. And you were probably drunk when you made them.

So why not make your resolution right now? It'll be the first step in your training plan and you won't even get out of breath.

Why You Need Goals

There is a reason for the link to football at the start of this post. Football people love to talk about goals. But they only ever have one type of goal on their mind.

A football goal. As if you didn't know.

In most other sports athletes think about and work towards goals all the time. They have goals for their season, goals for their training, goals for their races. Team Sky famously had a goal for a British rider to win the Tour de France within five years of being formed, something that had never been done. They did it.

Quite simply, if you don't have a goal, how do you know what you are trying to achieve or where you want to go?

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a great deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where...” said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

If you set a good goal, decide where you want to be, you'll find you make changes to your life every day (often without even realising it) that help you to get there.

How to Set Goals

I have yet to find a better way to set good goals than to use S.M.A.R.T criteria, which have become a cliche in business precisely because they work. SMART goals are:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Timely

Consider how you might apply those criteria to two common goals related to cycling.

Many of us say something like, "I'd love to lose a tonne of weight". As a SMART goal that could become, "I'd like to lose 5 kilos (specific, measurable, more attainable than a tonne) so I get better at climbing hills (relevant) and look buff (not relevant) in time for the York Naked Bike Ride in June (timely and now we see the buff bit was relevant).

Need good saddle creme for this ride.

Many of us also say something like, "I'm going to get fitter". As a SMART goal that could become, "I managed a 25 mile bike ride with my mates last summer, I want to do the 80-mile White Rose Classic sportive in under 6 hours in July."

Once you have worked out your goal, write it down and stick it where you will see it every day. Inside the bathroom cabinet is a good place, or make it into a screen saver on the office computer.

Go on. Do it now. It's New Years Day.

Summary

It is important to set goals so you know what you are working towards. A cycling season is long, so it is easy to be distracted. Make sure that your goals are SMART and that you state them clearly. Write them down, find friends to share them, tell your family, consider being sponsored to give you extra motivation. Find an event and put your name down.

And when you've done that, give yourself a little pat on the back. You are much closer towards achieving something than you were when you woke up this morning.

And what's more, you've started your training without turning a pedal.

...

Competition:Win a HardnutZ Hi-Vis Helmet Worth £49.99

2012-11-14T09:23:00.003-08:00

Now how I came to get this hat, 'tis very strange and funny
Grandfather died and left to me his property and money

And when the will it was read out, they told me straight and flat
If I would have his money, I must always wear his hat

"Where did you get that hat? Where did you get that tile?
Isn't it a nobby one, and just the proper style?
I should like to have one Just the same as that!"
Where'er I go, they shout "Hello! Where did you get that hat?"

WHERE DID YOU GET THAT HAT ?
(Joseph J. Sullivan) (1888)
(James Rolmaz) (1901)

HardnutZ

I can't tell you how many times I've been asked where I got my hat since I started wearing a HardnutZ helmet. Well I probably can give you a fair estimate actually. More than twenty. Quite a lot considering I'm usually travelling at speed on a bicycle when I'm wearing it. Mind you, when you see it, you'll understand why. Quite the bobby-dazzler don't you think?

HardnutZ Hi-Vis Helmet (Orange)

Earlier this year I reviewed the HardnutZ range of road helmets and described them as the perfect commuter helmet. After several thousand miles in mine I'm still delighted with the way they perform. They are robust, comfortable, streamlined and stylish.

However the best feature of the HardnutZ range is how they enable you to be seen on the road. Clearly the orange example above is bright and draws a lot of interest, but it is only really when you see light reflected on them that you understand just how visible they are:

On the black version the reflective strips are almost invisible except when light reflects off them.

You're Safe, Be Seen

Unfortunately, with the recent news in the UK that Bradley Wiggins and Sean Sutton were knocked off their bikes, many people will be slightly more nervous of riding out into dark roads. I find the HardnutZ helmet really helps, not least because you appear like a beacon shining above the tops of car roofs as you ride along. Drivers see you coming from a long way off. In fact, wearing a HardnutZ helmet with appropriate lights and bright, reflective clothing, I can feel more visible in complete darkness than in low-light conditions.

The second thing that really helps is to understand the real relative risks of cycling as this excellent article in The Guardian explains:

"With accidents like this there is always the concern that the publicity will put people off cycling and make them think it is more dangerous than it is," said Chris Peck, policy co-ordinator for the CTC, the national cyclists' organisation. "We know there is an overinflated fear of cycling, yet studies show that the health benefits outweigh the risks by 20 to 1."

Grapes ain't going to help dude.

Never forget: couches kill. If you cycle regularly, you decrease your risk of many other health related problems. They are just less dramatic, so they don't hit the headlines.

The Competition

I'm delighted to be able to offer a HardnutZ helmet (worth £49.99) for one lucky reader to win. The helmets are one size and can be worn by men and women.

Entering the competition is very simple:

To enter, tell me your cycling goals for next year. If you would like some inspiration, see the goals page.
You can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this page, by email (project4cycling@gmail.com) or on Twitter (@project4cycling).
Make sure you tell me which colour you would like. Check out the range at Hardnutz.
The winner will be chosen at random on Sunday the 25th of November.
Double extra credit (but no extra chance of winning) will be given to anyone who can find a stupid way to use the number 4. For example, "I plan to ride 2, 80-mile sportives in 10 weeks ((80/2)/10=4)".
You don't have to be macho to enter. "I want to ride 4 miles without stopping" is as good as wanting to ride 40 miles for charity, because they both include the number 4.

Good Luck.

Update on The North Face Base Layer Competition

Thank you to everyone who entered the recent competition to win a North Face Base Layer. I've included your goals on the goals page in recognition.

The Prize. Smart or what?

The winner was Matt from Leeds who came up with four excellent goals and captured the spirit of the competition perfectly:

"Right here goes, I am challenging myself to 4 major events next year, all of which I have never done before, so it will be a real step into the unknown.
1 Blenheim Palace Triathlon sprint version
2 Great North Swim, Winderemere 1 mile
3 Yorkshire 3 peaks walk
4 White Rose Classic 80 miler, maybe the 100.
I will also be muttering many 4 letter words throughout the events and the training."

Thank you for your entry and for following the blog Matt. I hope we can help you achieve your goals.

...

David Millar, the John Malkovich of Cycling

2012-10-31T15:27:00.003-07:00

"Cycling is based so much on form, on aesthetics, on class - the way you carry yourself on the bike, the sort of technique you have." David Millar, professional cyclist.

Still from film Being David Millar

It is the 25th of September 2011. Copenhagan has just hosted the UCI Road World Championships and Mark Cavendish has just won the famous rainbow jersey. The media is desperate for a quote. I'm trying to calm down at home and to convince my kids they've just watched something amazing. Microphones surround Cavendish and yet more are thrust towards Bradley Wiggins who had dragged Cavendish towards the line. I've just watched the most inspiring piece of riding I've ever seen. I have a brand new hero. His name is David Millar.

There is a rite of passage for anyone learning about road racing. There is a moment when you understand that you are watching a team sport. One guy crosses the line with his arms in the air, but he gets there only with the support of a great team. On that day Cavendish got there only with a great team, led by a great road captain.

Still from film Being David Millar

Before the race everyone knew that Cavendish was the fastest rider in a sprint for the line. So every team in the race tried to make sure that didn't happen. They tried every tactic they could. In particular they sent guys to race ahead of the pack, forcing the British team to do all the work to get them back. Unlike in the Tour de France, the teams didn't have radios, so nobody could tell them what was going on, how fast to chase, when to attack or when to defend.

All that responsibility fell to the road captain in each team. The most experienced man with hopefully the coolest head. Britain's road captain was David Millar. And he had the coolest head in the race.

Still from film Being David Millar

At one point the riders in front were 8 minutes ahead of the British team at the front of the peloton. David Millar commanded the British support riders, telling them exactly how much energy to expend to bring the break back without tiring themselves too soon. He judged it perfectly, under huge pressure and put Cavendish in the perfect place to win. It was majestic.

The Coolest Guy in Cycling

David Millar has always been the coolest guy in the peloton with a touch of the rock and roll about him. He once threw his bike in a ditch in protest at a dangerous course before walking across the line and declaring "This is inhuman and we are not animals." In fact he often seems to have the swagger of Mick Jagger and is responsible for the sort of quote you'd never get from a footballer. Take these for example:

"My epiphany came in that police cell: I realised I was about to lose everything and it didn't bother me, not in the slightest. I'd come to hate cycling because I blamed it for the lie I was living."

Still from film Being David Millar

"The sky was falling down on me and I spent most of the time drunk. It was the only way I could handle it."

"I think cycling has always had a tradition of being a bit dapper, especially back in the day."

"Cycling is such a stupid sport. Next time you are in a car travelling at 40mph think about jumping out – naked. That's what it's like when we crash."

If you want a good flavour of the man, see this short interview from The Guardian.

Racing Through The Dark, The Fall and Rise of David Millar

Last year David Millar published a rather remarkable autobiography. It includes lines like this: "I doped for money and glory in order to guarantee the continuation of my status." Still a hero? Even more so.

David Millar was the first British cyclist ever to wear the leaders' jersey in all three grand tours. Famously in 2004 he was arrested in the street in Southern France by plain clothes police officers. When they later searched his house they found vials of EPO and syringes. His career was seemingly over.

However, he served his ban and returned to the peloton to help form the famous Garmin team with its garish tartan uniforms and strict anti-doping stance. He also became an important part of the international efforts to rid sport of drugs with his work for WADA (World-Anti Doping Agency).

Racing Through the Dark is the best book about cycling I've read. In some ways it is more of a confessional than an autobiography and it is remarkable for that. David Millar in his darkest hour, when he was without support or friends, found the strength of character to change. He owned up to the unpleasant truth about himself and the things he had done. Then he set about becoming a better man than he was before without self-pity, self-justification or judgement of others (except when he publicly harangued Lance Armstrong for failing to speak out about doping long before the current scandal broke).

Few people reading this blog will be professional cyclists, so you will not have made the mistakes David Millar has made. But you might be reading this because you've decided to try to improve yourself and your life. In that regard David Millar is an inspiration.

Still from film Being David Millar

If you want to understand the human side of elite sport and the human failings we all share, or if you just want a great read, buy a copy from Amazon.

Being David Millar

So how exciting to hear that David Millar is to be the subject of a feature-length documentary, Being David Millar. According to the film's website:

David Millar, one of the most compelling athletes Great Britain has ever produced, takes us on a visceral journey over the course of a single bike race.

A sensory immersive experience: we’re taken to the heart of the action, we’ll feel every pedal stroke, bead of sweat, hear every breath, gearshift, and heartbeat.

Still from film Being David Millar

We will dip in and out of Millar’s mind during the race with dreamlike ‘flashbacks’ or visions of events from his past, helping us to relive the dark, desperate, lonely experience, the high mountain passes, the doping, the police arrest, jail, the big nights out, losing control, re-gaining control.

The film will be 90 minutes, due for completion in 2013.
Directed by Finlay Pretsell

I just hope it is only the title they plan to reference from the film Being John Malkovich. I have no desire for any dream sequences like this:

Still from Being John Malkovich

I'm grateful for permission to use these amazing images (not the Malkovich one) from the early shoots for the film and I plan to support it as much as I can. Weird images or not, personally I can't wait, but in the meantime it is possible to get involved. Visit the website to donate to the project, promote it or just to hear news about its progress:

www.beingdavidmillar.com

(There is still time to enter the competition to win a North Face base layer. If you do, you will automatically be entered to win more prizes next week.)

...

Competition: Win a North Face Base Layer

2012-10-28T14:11:00.002-07:00

"Daddy."

"Yes darling."

"That you jumper?"

"Yes, sweetie that's my jumper."

"That you cycling jumper?"

"You're right. That's my cycling jumper."

"It nice cycling jumper. My daddy like a cycling. He like a jumper too."

So went a recent conversation with my two year old daughter. She seems to have worked out that I like cycling, smart girl. She also takes a keen interest in opening my boxes of kit.

One of those boxes contains a rather lovely base layer (or jumper) by The North Face, which soon could be yours. I've reviewed these before and find myself reaching for them again as the weather turns.

Win this North Face Size M Base Layer worth £45.

The North Face HyActive fabric is "made with super light hollow core yarns, providing excellent thermal protection without excess weight. HyActive's inherent properties wick moisture to a second layer, keeping the skin dry and comfortable. It dries quickly, feels warm on the skin and is also highly odor resistant.". I know that because it says so on the box, but also because I've ridden hundreds of miles in mine.

The Competition, What's Your Project4?

In November 2012 I will be relaunching project4cycling as a week-by-week guide to help you to train towards your goals for 2013. I'll also be encouraging readers to get involved, share tips, troubles, stories and ideas.

As a first step I have redesigned the blog. Regular readers might be interested to note the new pages About, Join In and Now at the top of the website. There is also a new Topics bar on the right that helps you to find related posts.

To help me to write what you need I need to know your goals for 2013. I have four:

Lose 14 pounds in weight. I've been stuck at 14 stone something for years. I want to be 13 stone something. It'll mean I've finally started to understand nutrition, but also help me achieve my other goals.
Ride the Addingham V810 time-trial course in 27 minutes or faster. That's 4 minutes (hence project4cycling) faster than I managed in 2011, before I had pneumonia.
Complete the White Rose Classic sportive in under 8 hours. One hour faster than last year.
Enter my first open time trial. I've only ever joined the ones organised by my local club.

So, what are you aiming for? What's your Project4?

How to Enter

Tell me your cycling goals for 2013. You can do this by email (project4cycling@gmail.com) or by twitter (@project4cycling) or by leaving a comment at the bottom of this page.
Follow project4cycling. You can do this by becoming a follower on twitter (@project4cycling), or by sending me an email (project4cycling@gmail.com) so I can add you to the Follow by Email list. (If you have already done this you need to email me anyway, so I know how to contact you if you win).

The Rules

This competition is only open to people living in the UK.
The winner will be chosen by me based on my entirely subjective "I like that one" criteria.
Non-cycling based answers will be allowed, but they had better be good. For example, to use cycling occasionally to train for a 4 minute mile.
Extra credit will be given to anyone who can include the number 4 in their answer. For example, run a mile in 4 minutes, ride 60 miles in 4 hours.
Double extra credit will be given to anyone who can find a stupid way to use the number 4. For example, "I plan to ride 2, 80-mile sportives in 10 weeks ((80/2)/10=4)".
If you don't want the prize, you can enter anyway. I shall be awarding project4cycling points for good entries.
You don't have to be macho to enter. "I want to ride 4 miles without stopping" is as good as wanting to ride 40 miles for charity, because they both include the number 4.

And if you'd just like to guarantee yourself a base layer they are available from the Wiggle Online Cycle Shop.

...

Ilkley Cycling Club Kidnaps Stephen Roche and Ned Boulting

2012-10-07T11:13:00.000-07:00

"project4cycling might be the best blog about cycling I've never read ... but then there are lots of blogs about cycling I haven't read" Ned Boulting, TV presenter and author of How I Won The Yellow Jumper (and How Cav Won The Green Jersey)

Ilkley Cycling Club this morning kidnapped cycling legend Stephen Roche and brilliant TV presenter Ned Boulting in an audacious pre-planned and coordinated swoop.

Plans were laid the previous evening as Paul O'Looney Chairman of ICC and locally know as The Don left a coded message on the club's Facebook Site. It read:

As you know, as part of the Ilkley Lit Festival "Tour de France" session tomorrow afternoon, the club has invited any visitors to come and ride with us on Sunday morning. Only two that might be coming so far is an older Irish chap who seemed to do a lot in the 80s and 90s and a younger Londoner who has only really been in to cycling since 2003 ;-)

Approximately 80 of the club's 800 members read the message for what it was. A signal. The hit was on.

Paul "The Don" O'Looney lulling Stephen Roche with his scouse charms.

The Hit

Who knows what stories The Don told Roche and Boulting to get them to arrive at the rendezvous in the morning (the omerta with which ICC organises its affairs is the tightest outside of Italy). The innocent scene that greeted them may have looked like a simple club run gathering - albeit a large one due to the huge success of the club - but Paul's guests already sensed that something was up. Stephen Roche attempted an early escape by pretending to have forgotten his pedals, but the JD Cycles support vehicle soon dealt with that. He had no excuse but to join the peloton. After all, they were surrounded by a mob of middle-aged Yorkshire-folk in Lycra. The most terrifying sight known to man.

Everything seemed to be going well, but Paul needed to check a few details, so he announced what seemed like an innocent photo opportunity.

Our Hero was tasked with checking Stephen Roche's grip to calculate if he had strength to escape off the front of the ride.

He was then asked to check Ned Boulting for scale. Note the perimeter guards.

Nothing is innocent in ICC. Paul's troops knew their roles and the plan was being executed to perfection. Roche and Boulting had no option but to ride away from the safety of Ilkley Literature Festival into the dark and unknown Yorkshire Dales National Park. Would they return?

The Incarceration

Who knows where The Don learned his craft? Some say it was in covert operations for the CIA. Others suggest it may have something to do with his past as a diamond runner. But most just assume that kidnap is just something you learn when you grow up on Merseyside. One thing is for sure, he's a master.

The freezing weather was enough to disorientate the captives, but any chance they had of remembering their location was soon taken away as the peloton sped along the most potholed road outside of Bolivia. Ned Boulting was then regaled with stories of how this "was nothing" and "last week we rode through a stream" to let him know he was in the presence of people who just might be psychopaths.

Forced to ride at a less than comfortable pace for the first 21 miles, Stephen Roche had no chance to escape off the front and any thought Ned had of escaping off the back was blocked by the club's obligatory "mopper up", ostensibly there to make sure everyone makes it home. Tired, cold, disorientated and surrounded by strangers in Spandax, Ned must have wished for a sign. Then one came.

Who knows what this sign meant to Ned in the state he was in? Perhaps he glanced at it quickly as he sped past and an image flashed into his head.

Any thought of a nice brew had to be cast aside as the peloton refused to stop at a Kettlewell cafe.

However Ned is a metropolitan kind of guy who has seen a thing or two in his days as a journalist. I imagine the fear he must have been feeling and the fact he was surrounded conjured up images more like this:

The art of kettling as practiced by the great British bobby.

But we can only speculate the horrors his mind raced to process as the whole of the road sign revealed itself:

Starbotton passes for a normal name in these parts.

"Kettlewell, what does it mean? What are they going to do to me? Kettle me well with a Starbotton, or on a Starbotton? What's a Starbotton? Am I a star? Have I got a botton? Stephen Roche is a star? Am I a star? I don't want to be a star. The Horror. The Horror. The Horror...Am I a star?"

Oh yes, Ned, you are a star. Oh yes indeed.

Ned Plans His Escape

You really see the mettle of a man when the chips are down. Ned clearly has guile and fight in spades. Soon after failing to stop in Kettlewell, Roche and Boulting hit on a master plan. Divide and conquer.

Without warning, Ned swung into a cafe stop, splitting the group as Stephen Roche upped the pace at the front. The Don swung back to ask a few ICC members to "make sure Ned is alright" and then set off in pursuit of Roche.

80 ICC Members cleverly reduced to 9 by the prospect of flapjack.

It was in the cafe that Ned then glimpsed an opportunity to escape. Each of the members round the table began to check their watches and to talk about their obligations in the afternoon. Childcare for some. Domestic chores for others. Ned realised something crucial. He was heading back to the most middle class town in the world and his guards would soon be distracted.

The Nightmare Ends

Sure enough, the nine guards left to "look after" Ned were soon reduced to four as the others peeled off to race back to wives and children. Before too long Ned was skipping along the back roads to Ilkley spraying cow muck into the faces of his oppressors as he went. The spell was broken. He felt fear no more.

JD Cycles Rescues Ned Boulting and Stephen Roche

Just three hours after the nightmare began, Stephen and Ned were saved by Ilkley's LBC, the incomparable JD Cycles. Jamie and the gang distracted the guards with tea, cake and shiny bicycles. One by one they slipped back into domestic life and Stephen and Ned were free.

But Seriously

Ilkley Cycling Club has done it again. I hope Ned and Stephen enjoyed their ride out with us this morning. I know that everyone who joined them had a fabulous time. They were both fantastic sports and generous with their conversation and willingness to stand for photos and to sign books. What good eggs.

Ned has a book on the way which sounds fascinating, but he also has one you can already buy. I read it last year and really enjoyed it. I can't recommend it highly enough, particularly for its insight into the French view of the tour:

Stephen Roche was in Ilkley to promote his new book at the Ilkley Literature Festival. I haven't read it, but I'm now the very proud owner of a signed copy and I'm sure it is as brilliant as the man himself.

And finally. Paul O'Looney isn't really know as The Don. There is no omerta in ICC. And please don't touch my family Paul. I didn't know what I was doing. Please Paul. Please.

...

The Friday Freewheel: Floods, Fatigue and Crashes

2012-10-05T10:30:00.002-07:00

"You can go through mate. After all, you can leave your bike and swim out if you have to." Neighbourhood policing at its best. Ilkley flood-guard, September 2012

I've decided to take a break. Actually I decided to take a break two weeks ago, but I became so rested so quickly that I forgot to tell anyone. I'm really enjoying it. I am not riding my bike and I'm doing nothing else. I've also forgotten how to eat properly, so this has become my snack of choice:

HARIBO Tangfantastics, the breakfast of champions.

I'm kind of hoping Nathalie Patey (project4cycling's favourite nutritionist) is not reading this. She'll disown me like a father who discovers his middle son has gambled the family business on the outcome of a game of naked polo. Sorry Nathalie for I have sinned.

Reason 1: The Flood

I moved to Ilkley in September 2006. It has been raining ever since. Constantly. It never, ever stops. Ever. It rains all the time. Always. Every day. Most of the day and constantly. Do you get the idea? It rains a lot.

Recently there was a break in the rain when the weather gods (bastards) sent us a deluge instead. I rode to work in the morning and was so wet by the time I got there I just stood in a puddle and stared at my feet thinking, "why on earth am I doing this".

Regular commuters will know what came next. I did my best to clean myself up and make myself presentable for the office, but, you know, on days like that, you're going to have a wet arse until lunchtime.

Also, you are going to start your journey home by pulling on the wet pant-nappy that your cycling shorts have become. In other words, you'll be wet and cold before you even start.

On this particular night, the weather was particularly bad. The main hill I climb on the way home was like a stream. I was riding up a stream. But that was nothing, because this is what was waiting for me 2 miles from home:

A river where the road should be.

I was so wet and cold I couldn't be arsed to take a proper picture. Even for you lot.

Fortunately Ewan McEwan could be bothered to take a proper picture. Mind you I have it on good authority that Ewan is part dolphin (but I don't know which part, clearly not his flippers or he couldn't hold the camera), so he probably felt right at home. Thanks for the picture Ewan.

Now I'm not normally bothered by much on the bike. After all I've written posts about using the opportunity of riding in the snow to clean mine. But this night was just too much. I was jaded and I didn't want to be doing it.

There was one high point of the evening though. All the cars trying to access Ilkley were being diverted by several miles. The only people being let through were cyclists. Who'd a thunk it? As our friendly neighbourhood policeman explained, we could swim out if we got stuck, but if he let the cars through they'd have to be pulled out. My feet were dipping in the water on the downstroke, but it was fun to graduate from riding up a stream to riding through a river.

Clearly by fun I mean misery.

But, you have to admire the policeman's attitude. The opposite of Health and Safety Gone Mad.

Reason 2: The Crash

The crash isn't a real reason why I've hung up my bike. The sequence is wrong, because it happened today and I stopped riding two weeks ago. However, it fits with the narrative, so when the Hollywood version of project4cycling The Movie comes out the script editor will realise that it fits here and makes the narrative flow better.

This is what will happen in the script meeting if you ignore the fact that the tenses are all messed up and it would seem to be looking back not forward:

"Hey p4c, like we've decided to put the crash sequence after the flood because it'll be like more biblical or something", gushed the script editor. I hated that he called me p4c but I decided to let it slide.
"Over. My. Dead. Body." I spoke quietly but firmly, gripping an executive stress toy so hard it hurt my shoulder. "This is my story, my art and my journey. I will not have it compromised."
"Like who invited this English guy anyway? Can we get Jo back? You know When Harry Met Sally Jo. He's like so right for this. By the way p4...whatever, you're fired."
Six months later project4cycling: The Love Between One Man and His Bicycle was released to huge commercial acclaim.The romantic story of the love between a cooky 20-something socilaite from the Hamptons and her dutch bicycle earned an Oscar nomination for Lady Gaga in her first lead role.
p4c did not attend the Oscars.

Anyway. I had the misfortune to see a coach knock a guy off a bike today in York (I said it was dangerous). Worse than that, the coach driver kept going (maybe he didn't notice) leaving the cyclist and his bike sprawled across the pavement with what seemed to be a broken collarbone. Fortunately that was all, because it could easily have been so much worse. Get well soon old chap.

When I spoke to missus project4cycling about this she pointed out that's the third traffic accident I've witnessed since I met her and the third time I've been called to dial 999, so her advice to me was to "Fold away your wings Angel of Death". I now have and I anticipate an aerodynamic improvement when I return to the bike.

Which neatly leads me to discuss what I've been doing to get to work. I've been using public transport. Trains and buses and things like that. It's a bit strange. My "cockpit" now looks like this:

"Sophistication! Sophistication! Don't talk to me about Sophistication. I've bin to Leeds", Vic Reeves

It may not have the lovely views or the benefits of being in the elements, but it isn't too bad. At least it wasn't until one bleary eyed morning when I looked up to see this:

I need to switch to decaf.

Maybe I've had too much coffee that morning, but this really freaked me out. Who is that guy? Why is he staring at me? Did Sergei Ivanov send him to spy on me? I bet he did the sneaky Russian so and so.

Reason 3: The Real Reason

All the training plans I've read talk about the need to plan a cycle to your training over the course of a year. It isn't possible to just keep piling on the miles. At some point your body needs a rest.

Over the last couple of weeks I noticed from my HRM readings that I was putting the same effort in and getting less in return. I was getting slower. Not only that, I wasn't recovering well after even the easiest of rides and I was getting jaded with the whole thing. I remembered Nathalie's advice to "reconnect with your body" and realised what was happening. My body was telling me to stop. So I did.

I had been hoping to reach one more peak before the end of the season to try and knock some seconds off my 10-mile TT time, but it isn't to be. My first season of trying to train systematically has come to and end. In a few weeks I'll start again.

Next week I'll write up what I've learned by trying to train on my commute (while I commute on the train haw haw haw), but in the meantime I'll leave you with this picture. I'm grateful to the slightly bemused owner for letting me take it.

It's all about the bike. Or the bus. Or the train. Or the foots.

...

Interview: Huw Williams, Cycling Coach

2012-09-25T13:21:00.000-07:00

“To accept good advice is but to increase one's own ability” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (German Playwright, Poet, Novelist and Dramatist. 1749-1832)

I don't often quote Goethe. That's because Goethe rarely comes up when I type give me a quote about advice into Google. However he did come up today, so you will all now be fooled into thinking I'm clever.

I am an expert in 3 things:

1. The back of my own hands. I am a world expert on this topic. Although Sergei Ivanov, former professional cyclist and five times Russian national champion has dedicated his retirement to knocking me off my pedestal. He may well achieve his goal too. As I type he is sat over my shoulder watching my hands as I follow the words on the screen. Every word I type gives him more information and he takes notes, endless, endless notes. GET OUT OF MY HOUSE IVANOV! He doesn't listen.

Sergei Ivanov will not let me see the back of his hands.

What will it mean if he does know the back of my hands better than I do? I will never again be sure that knowing something as well as the back of my hands will be enough. I'll need to know things as well as Sergei Ivanov. What then?

2. The location of surviving leech houses in Northern England. I am 100% fairly sure that The Leech House in my home town of Bedale, North Yorkshire is unique. That's right, my home town is famous for having a house built for leeches. Draw your own conclusions.

3. The one stretch of road within 30 miles on which, due to some quirk of tailwinds, weather and fate, I am the segment record holder on Strava. I am not telling anyone else where it is. I'm World Champion for that segment. And that makes me happy.

One thing I am certainly not an expert on is cycling training. I am a man of the people in that regard. "Don't be so modest" I hear you cry. "You are witty, insightful, sharp, beautiful and strong with a gift for words that can spark little cries of joy from even the most jaded of souls. You describe the world we struggle through and somehow make it seem a wonderful place. You make us feel better about ourselves and then we go out into the streets and proclaim our joy to be alive and to follow you and to love you and to follow your teachings."

To you I say thank you and tell you I love you, but, please don't be discouraged. Even I have limits. It isn't possible to know everything. But you can email somebody who knows something.

This is the only kind of cycling coach I know.

Talking to an Actual Expert

I have written before about how difficult it can be to get advice about using commuting as training. It is too easily dismissed as being less than ideal and therefore not worth considering as an option. For me, commuting is the majority of the time I have on the bike, so it is important I use a training plan that starts with commuting.

I was delighted to read a recent article on Road Cycling UK called Training for Results - Commuting. This brilliant article was written by Huw Williams. Huw is "a British Cycling Level 3 road and time trial coach. He has raced on and off road all over the world and completed all the major European sportives. He has written training and fitness articles for a wide number of UK and international cycling publications and websites and as head of La Fuga Performance, coaches a number of riders from enthusiastic novices to national standard racers." I know that because it says so at the bottom of the article.

He is now also project4cycling's favourite coach.

The great thing about the article Huw wrote is that it is positive about commuting. It describes what is possible and then gives you comprehensive yet simple advice to make the most of your ride to work. I've yet to find anything else that approached training on the commute in such a helpful way.

So, remembering Goethe's advice "To accept good advice is but to increase one's own ability" I asked Huw for an interview. He very graciously agreed and I'm delighted with the result. I'm also very tempted by Lafuga's rather wonderful looking cycling holidays.

Interview, Huw Williams

1. What's your involvement in cycling?

Firstly I'm a British Cycling Level 3 Road and TT coach. I have several riders I coach on a full time basis in both these disciplines as well as a couple of 'cross racers and mountain bikers. I work for a company called La Fuga in this capacity and as their core business is running cycling trips to the major European sportives, I often do ride guiding duties on those trips. Secondly I'm a Bikeability instructor, working with both adults and children and finally I'm a cycling journalist writing training articles primarily for Cycling Weekly and Cycling Fitness magazines although I have contributed to a number of other paper and web-based magazines.

2. project4cycling is all about my attempts to use commuting as training. In my case that's almost 100% of the riding time available to me. Is that something you've come across before?

This is something I come across more and more. Due to professional and family commitments many people find it difficult to allocate time to complete dedicated training sessions. Sometimes commuting becomes the only way to fit in sufficient riding time.

3. What do you think the advantages of this are?

If you have to commute every day, to and from work, that's 10 times per week that you're on your bike, you can accomplish a lot in ten rides per week.

4. What do you think the main disadvantages are and how could I mitigate them?

This depends largely on your commute, A) is it a relatively traffic free one through rural areas or a city-based stop-start affair with heavy traffic and B) What is the duration. Clearly if you only have 30 minutes to ride in heavy traffic the disadvantages would be finding sufficient, uninterrupted riding time. You could mitigate this by extending certain commutes either by starting earlier or staying out longer and riding into traffic-free areas. If you're lucky enough to be commuting through quiet country lanes or less traffic-dense areas, then you don't have a problem.

5. I choose to use an HRM rather than a power meter. This is largely because of cost. What do you think about that?

It's understandable as the cost of a full power metering system is around £1000. But although this seems like a very heavy expense, I always argue that for what it gives you in terms of training feedback, it's actually a small price to pay. The big mistake amateur riders make regarding power meters is that they think that they are pro-level training tools where in reality the opposite is usually the case. A power meter is simply a means of measuring your intensity, something that less experienced riders have a lot of problems with. Power metres provide an instantaneous measure of intensity, as well as a more accurate one, than a heart rate monitor. And in terms of commuting, when the riding intervals are often frequently interrupted, you're often not riding for long enough for the heart rate to 'catch up' to the changes in riding intensity. Power metres tell you how hard your working from the moment you push down on the pedals. Finally the less time you have to train the more important it becomes to take full advantage of your commuting time, and a power meter is the best tool to help you achieve that. (I should also point out to your readers here that power metres also measure heart rate and the data is analysed together. You do not simply start using power and stop using heart rate.)

6. The main thing I want improve is my time for 10-mile TTs. How could I tailor my commute to specialise in this?

Simple, if you're aim is 10mile TT's, unless you're very bad at them, your events are going to take well under 30 minutes. So most commutes would allow you to ride for the same amount of time as your events, therefore you can be very specific in your training. TTs are all about critical intensity - the highest average power you can sustain for the event duration and your commutes allow you to do that. You could then target increasing power by manipulating the intensity in various interval sessions. One way you can easily do this in commutes, even without a power meter is by using your gears and cadence as a means to achieve progressive overload. Simply, intervals spent pedalling at 90rpm in a moderate gear can be progressed by pedalling for the same duration and cadence in a slightly harder gear. Also increasing either the cadence or the duration of the interval in the same gear means you're developing your power. You then create your sessions based on the areas of your commutes which allow you sufficient space and time to complete the required intervals. This might involve using the same stretch of road repeatedly for an interval set during your commutes.

7. Many of project4cycling's readers want to enter sportives. How could they tailor their commutes to specialise in these?

Due to the amazing popularity of sportives, this a problem for a great many cyclists - how to use multiple short rides to improve performance on long hilly rides. Sportives are all about spending many hours in the saddle at a single sitting and clearly, short commutes can't prepare you for that aspect. So firstly it's a case of either allocating one or two rides per month at weekends when you can do a high volume ride in the hills, or secondly extending the occasional commute into a much long ride. Then your short commutes can become supplementary training rides where you can work on all sorts of things, like strength (increasingly bigger gear intervals at lower cadences) Speed (high cadence intervals) power (as mentioned in (6) above) climbing efficiency (simply use what hills you have on your commutes for repeated in and out of the saddle climbing efforts at various intensities). As well as that short, high intensity interval training (HITT) has been shown to have significant impact on endurance as well as shorter events so don't be afraid to add a couple of these into your sportive preparation. Be disciplined and add all of these elements into short commuting rides with some regular structure and instead of just riding to and from work you can create a very effective training programme.

8. How can you help people who want to achieve their potential as a cyclist?

At British Cycling we have an extensive rider-profiling system which helps us identify the short, medium and long term goals of a rider as well as how likely they are to be able to achieve it. We look at everything form sporting and medical history to available training hours, diet, family and professional support structures to available equipment and riding locations. We also conduct a lifestyle audit that reveals how much training time is available on a daily basis and from this complete an annual training plan broken down into shorter periods or 'cycles' where we target the various elements a rider needs to work on to improve and meet their potential.

9. What's your proudest moment as a trainer?

The 'ignite' moments are always better than race results. A few weeks after a school enrichment day where I did some basic bike skills to complete non cyclists, one of the parents sent me a picture of her two teenage daughters fully kitted out and sitting on track bikes at the local velodrome training day. They'd completely bought into it and taken up track racing. There's no better feeling than bringing someone new into the sport.

10. Have you any mantras, top tips or golden rules you can share with us?

Don't spend so much time trying to make a good living that you forget to have a good life.

If you want to know more about Huw's coaching, you want a Personal Performance Plan or you want to book a cycling tour in Europe, email huw.williams@lafuga.cc or visit Lafuga.cc. You'll be very glad you did.

...

The Friday Freewheel: Books n Cars n That

2012-09-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

‘Trespassers in the motorcars domain, they do not pay road tax and therefore have no right to be on the road, some of them even believe they are going fast enough to not be an obstruction. Run them down to prove them wrong.’ Jeremy Clarkson, professional provocateur.

I like this picture.

Say what you like about Jeremy Clarkson. No go on, say what you like. You'll only be returning the favour. At some time or other he'll have insulted some group you belong to. Or your mother. I'm aware of three insults he's thrown at my ilk over the years and I'm a white, middle-class, heterosexual, employed Englishman.

I found that quote on a website that claims to have the 50 best Jeremy Clarkson quotes. But it doesn't have the best of all. If you want to find the best read this article from the Daily Express. It includes the number one Clarkson quote of all time:

The former tabloid editor Piers Morgan has said that a decade or so ago he was shown paparazzi photographs of Clarkson kissing a woman who was not his wife.

When he rang Clarkson for a comment the presenter begged him not to publish and then said: “Look, Piers, I’m going to tell you something now. I’m not capable of having an affair. You can ask my wife. I’m not physically capable.”

Bless him.

Time to Move On

The following picture landed in my fatface account earlier today and it caused me some consternation.

Nice Colours, but what could it mean?

Well at first glance to us Anglo-Saxons (as our French cousins like to call us) it would seem to be an international day of sin. Or something like that. I puzzled at this for several minutes before I remembered that I speak Spanish and it suddenly made perfect sense.

It would seem that Saturday the 22nd of September 2012 is international "day without cars". What a noble idea.

Unfortunately Saturday is the one day of the week on which I almost always use a car. Do I get a pass for not having driven a car since, well, last Saturday? I guess not. So, I plan to try and do without.

Why The Clarkson Reference?

Well I imagine he would love international leave your car at home day simply because it would mean he could speed his GT Testicles that little bit faster between traffic lights. But not if the road is full of bicycles. So I'd like to re-christen it international slow down Jeremy Clarkson day. I plan to hire a rickshaw and start a convoy.

Go on. Make Clarkson's day.

And the Books?

You don't have to ride your bike on Saturday. You could take the train or the bus or the charabanc.

International readers might not know about the charabanc. This is the latest form of transport in Lancashire. Lancashire is a county in England on the wrong side of the Pennine hills.

If you do travel by charbanc, or if you leave both yourself and your car at home you'll have plenty of time to read a good book so here are a few of the cycling books that have helped get that wee bit better at cycling this year.

Base Building for Cyclists, A New Foundation for Performance and Endurance (Thomas Chapple)

Thomas Chapple feels like an old friend to me by now. My copy of this brilliant book is rather dog-eared and in places covered with bicycle oil and grease. For a time I carried it with me everywhere and it would be no exaggeration to say it is part of the inspiration for the blog. The premise of the book is that you can plan your training better over a season and, in particular, you can slow down in the early part of your training to help you build more capacity for speed and endurance work as the year progresses. Slow down to go faster.

Thomas Chapple brings together three attributes rarely found together in a fitness book. Firstly, he's credible. His advice is founded in research and experience and you trust that it works. You need that trust when you are being overtaken by "old maids cycling to holy communion".

Secondly, the book is very well structured and presented. It is easy to understand and easy to follow all the instructions and diagrams, which is no small feat when writing about heart rate zones and power meter calculations. The man can write.

Thirdly, this is a book that understands its audience have lives. It explains how to build your training round your life - time smart you might say. This is so refreshing compared to the macho attitude of many training manuals and as a consequence it is advice you might actually follow.

Order your copy now.

Weight Training for Cyclists, A Total Body Programme for Power and Endurance (Ken Doyle and Eric Schmitz)

I would recommend this book to anyone thinking of training in a gym. This is a book written by people who know their topic and their audience. It explains clearly and simply how to use the gym to build strong muscles and core strength to be able to use your power efficiently.

Surprisingly little of the book is given over to training with weights. It is very well-rounded, explaining basic nutrition and stretching for example. Long sections describe Pilates-like exercises that you can easily do at home in front of the telly.

It is a great companion to Base Building for Cyclists. Order your copy today.

Racing Through The Dark, The Fall and Rise of David Millar (David Millar)

This is not a training book, it is a rather remarkable autobiography. It also includes lines like this: "I doped for money and glory in order to guarantee the continuation of my status."

For those of you who don't know David Millar he's a British professional cyclist, the first British cyclist ever to wear the leaders' jersey in all three grand tours. Famously in 2004 he was arrested in the street in Southern France by plain clothes police officers. When they later searched his house they found vials of EPO and syringes. His career was seemingly over.

However, David Millar served his ban and returned to the peloton to help form the famous Garmin team with it's garish tartan uniforms and strict anti-doping stance. He has also become an important part of the international efforts to rid sport of drugs with his work for WADA (World-Anti Doping Agency).

In truth it is the best book on the list, but it will not help you to train. So why am I recommending this as my third choice?

This is more of a confessional than an autobiography and it is remarkable for that. David Millar in his darkest hour, when he was without support or friends, found the strength of character to change. He owned up to the unpleasant truth about himself and the things he had done. Then he set about becoming a better man than he was before. Without self-pity, self-justification or judgement of others (except when he publicly harangued Lance Armstrong for failing to speak out about doping).

I suspect that few of you reading this are professional cyclists, so you will not have made the mistakes David Millar made. But you might be reading this because you've decided to try to improve yourself and your life. In that regard David Millar is an inspiration.

He's also cool, cultured and once threw his bike in a ditch in protest at a dangerous course before walking across the line and declaring "This is inhuman and we are not animals."

If you want to understand the human side of elite sport and the human failings we all share, or if you just want a great read, buy this book now.

Cyclists Training Bible (Joe Friel)

This is a classic book which has gone through numerous editions and reprints. It is much more comprehensive than Base Building for Cyclists, aiming to explain everything you need to know to achieve your potential as a cyclist. And it is good, really good.

The reason I've put it down the list from Base Building for Cyclists and Weight Training for Cyclists is that, well, I just don't like it as much. It isn't as clear or as well written as the other two, but it isn't bad and it is much more comprehensive.

I think I fell out of love with it when I read early on that Joe Friel insists that the cyclists he coaches use power-meters. Despite trying then to write for all levels of ability, that attitude comes through and, for example, he doesn't put as much effort into explaining training with a heart rate monitor (which is much more accessible to most cyclists because of the cost and simplicity) as he does to understanding power outputs. In the end it falls slightly into the macho trap that drives me mad.

But despite all that I'd certainly recommend it. You'll dip into it again and again, so buy your copy today.

Cyclepedia, A Tour of Iconic Cycle Designs (Michael Embacher and Paul Smith)

I love this book. Beautiful pictures of classic bikes. What else is there to say?

Well, just a little more to say. I've found this a wonderful way to gain an understanding of bicycle geometry and why certain shapes, components and materials change the way a bike feels, rides and performs. This has helped me to make small changes to my bike that have made a difference, but I know exactly what I'm looking for when I get my next one - and it won't be a Flying Gate.

Buy your copy now to find out what I mean.

Mountain High (Daniel Freibe and Pete Goding)

Mountain High is a book that would baffle most non-cyclists. It contains not a single picture of a bicycle or a cyclist. In fact the majority of the stunning photographs are of tarmac or, on occasion, of cobbles. Somewhat special interest? Well not really. The subtitle is "Europe's 50 Greatest Cycle Climbs" and the author keeps the focus clear to such an extent that the climbs themselves reveal their character. He then uses that conceit to spin yarns about local places, people and races as well as legendary exploits of the famous and infamous that give you a genuine sense of each and every hairpin, false-flat and ramp. It is a tour from your coffee table that will leave you breathless. Clearly a labour of love and dedication, the focus on tarmac, cobbles and breathtaking views will change the way you see the view from your own saddle forever.

And in the most unexpected way, make you a better rider. Buy yours today.

The Death of Marco Pantani (Matt Rendell)

This has been a difficult year for cycling fans. The Lance Armstrong story has taken yet another dramatic turn and reminded everyone of the peloton's darker side. For those of us who have been inspired by his achievements over the years it is difficult to take. The curtain has been pulled back and we're sharing Dorothy's despair. The wizard turned out to be just has human as the rest of us.

So where to turn now? Search for another hero? Maybe it's too soon for that. I'd suggest you could do far worse than read this extraordinary book. Marco Pantani's story is in turns inspiring and tragic. He was an extraordinary athlete who ended his life alone, barricaded into a hotel with his body unable to cope with the cocaine and the delusions that haunted him.

So why would that be an antidote to everything that has happened this year? Well, Matt Rendell is a great journalist who charts the story with a forensic attention to detail. In doing that he reveals the tiny steps and incredible pressure that can take a talented boy to a tragic end. Rather like David Millar's book, if you read this you'll recognise fallibility in Marco Pantani that has echos in your own life. The difference is that the consequences of your mistakes will not be a public drama. The humanity that the author so skillfully reveals makes it impossible to condemn without question. In fact it might just make you admire the exploits that you see on TV that little bit more.

Buy your copy today.

...

The Friday Freewheel: Our Hero Survives Terrifying Trip to York

2012-09-14T05:03:00.000-07:00

"Another cyclist has escaped from York." Family saying in the project4cycling household on spotting a wobbly cyclist.

York has had a progressive attitude to urban planning since I can remember. In the 80s when the world still loved the automobile York decided to ban them from the city centre. Actually, I doubt this had much to do with progressive attitudes to cycling, but more to do with the impossibility of squeezing traffic down medieval snickets, ginnels and gimpfests (all ancient Northern English words for narrow streets only one of which is made up).

Typical York Cycling Scene

Fast forward to the 21st century and York continues to promote cycling primarily through the use of eye-watering carparking fees. I recently parked for two hours in a carpark just outside the city walls and it cost me a kidney. Some poor chap who returned five minutes late to collect his car was having one of his retinas removed by a carpark attendant by way of a fine. To be fair the attendant was very polite.

The Part Where I Insult a Large Section of my Readership

As well as having a eugenic attitude to car drivers, York is a university town famous for its diversity. Well I say diversity. I mean that some people moved there from Oxford to be lecturers once. North Yorkshire does diversity like the USA does socialism. I should know. I grew up there from the age of four, but having been born in Durham (20 miles over the border) I was never accepted as a true Yorkshire-man. Mind you that might have had more to do with being born with a ten-foot, scaly prehensile tail, but I think it was the birthplace.

Anyway, I digress. All these university types have long embraced the bicycle. But thinking more deeply than most of us (a result of working in a university) and for longer (have you seen how little work people who work in universities do?) they didn't just buy bikes. Oh no. They went all Dutch and started buying bikes that they could carry organic vegetables in and organising naked bike rides. And then thousands of them joined in. You are not allowed to buy organic vegetables in York unless you have a 50kg bike to carry them in. In fact it is against the law to be seen in the city walls of York carrying organic vegetables in anything other than a wicker basket. It is also illegal to be Welsh.

The Part Where I Give The Impression I'm a Bike Snob

Bike Snob NYC recently wrote a post assessing the (de-)merits of Dutch bicycles. For those of you who don't know, Dutch bicycles are generally three times heavier than they need to be, less stable than a unicycle and fitted with tyres from a 1950s John Deere tractor. If you have legs like Chris Hoy this is fine.

Guy on the left is Chris Hoy, Guy on the right is a classics professor from York

However if you don't have legs like Chris Hoy you are going to wobble, crawl away from junctions and be killed be a heart attack or a preemptive strike by the RAF who pickup your steel tank on their radar and mistake you for a Taliban attack.

If you encourage this sort of thing

Your city will soon look like this - everyone has gone for a sauna

So York is full of slow, wobbly cyclists. It terrifies me. I don't own any tweed or a basket for my bike, so when I ride through York I find myself at constant risk of crashing into the back of the slowest peloton in the world. With this fear in the forefront of my mind this week I contemplated the best way to make a business trip to the city. I've only one kidney left, so I couldn't afford to take the car. I decided to compromise, stick the bike on the train and ride home.

I did still have to ride through the city to the office, but I imagined that would be okay. The railway station has recently opened a new exit that helpfully directs cyclists in the direction I needed to go without hitting the traffic. "How helpful", I thought, "perhaps this will not be so bad. Then I saw this.

York Threatens Cyclists

Maybe it was my state of mind, I was worried about being crushed at any moment by a ten-tonne bicycle, but I panicked at the sight of this sign. What did it mean? Cyclists beware we are coming after your kidneys next, or perhaps beware of vicious cyclists?

Either way I was frightened. I'd been directed down an alley (alone but for my bicycle) by the city council. That same council clearly knew I was in imminent danger and wanted to up the fear levels without providing me the information I needed to save myself. I pedalled as fast as I could.

After a mile or two of nervous city-centre sprinting I saw another sign that explained all and sent a chill down my spine:

Cycling sign for mythical beasts of York

What kind of creature can dismount a bicycle while they are two metres off the ground? Clearly York is home to some kind of dangerous bike-riding clan of giant cyclist-hungry monsters, who need hospital treatment on occasion. I didn't see one but I can confidently say they exist and that they have retractable teeth and a staple diet of steel and spandex, but also that they are social animals and care for their clan members in old age and have small market gardens.

For a moment I was stock-still with fear and then I remembered the effective defensive qualities of my scaly prehensile tail. So I relaxed, went to work and planned a very successful training ride home.

And the Moral of This Story?

If you base your training around your commute you need to be creative to get the occasional longer ride in. Why not stick your bike on the train when you have a meeting, then ride home. You can also escape from beasties.

My house to York takes almost 2 hours in rush-hour by car and almost two hours door-to-door by train. It takes just over two hours to ride home. Time-smart and an opportunity for a great training ride.

A Note About York

I'm teasing my readers in York with this post. It is an excellent city for cycling. It also has it's very own cycling blogger (Real Cycling) who can give you a far more sensible insight into riding in the city.

But I stand by everything I said about Dutch bikes. The opposite of progress.

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project4cycling Celebrates Ten Thousand Pageviews

2012-09-07T04:49:00.000-07:00

Have you got nothing better to do than to read this? After all it is written by a guy who looks like this:

Me in August 2011. I'm much more impressive now.

And when I'm not looking like that I'm getting zoo keepers to take pictures of me like this:

This is me "training".

Clearly you are not an aspirational readership. But there seems to be a lot of you willing to follow my warblings and advice. Maybe it is because there can be little doubt from my performances that I'm riding clean? But I think its because you have nothing better to do.

The Start Ramp

This is my first foray into the world of blogging. It's an odd thing to do in many ways. What makes you wake up one morning and decide to put your thoughts on the Internet? What makes you think you've anything to write that anyone might want to read?

In my case I did it out of frustration that the advice I was looking for was hidden from view, obscured by a lot of macho posturing and technical guff designed to do many things, but not to illuminate.

And I wanted to write something that I might want to read.

The Hard Miles - Advice for New Bloggers

So what happens when you do this sort of thing? Well, many people are kind and encouraging. They say the right things to keep you going and give you confidence. I'm grateful to friends and family for that support, but also to the wonderful Rob Ainsley at Real Cycling. Rob is an experienced and talented blogger and writer. He also offered me lots of advice when I started out. He didn't have to and many others didn't, but Rob did and I'm grateful.

And that's something that's really valuable, because a significant number of people will criticise you when you try to find your voice. It is quite a shock to find out how rude people can be when they hide behind the anonymous tags on forums and with their comments. That's when you need an online community to help you.

Of course many people will simply not read what you write, but if you are lucky a special few (that's you Dear Reader) will start to stick with you. And then they'll start to interact with you and your writing. And at that point you start to get the rewards. When a complete stranger emails you to say thank you for something you've written on a wet Sunday afternoon, well, its exciting.

So Why Are You Reading This?

The truth is, I have no idea why you are reading this. From the emails I've received I think there are a lot of people out there who like the idea of using cycling to get fitter, but like me, they don't think that's more important than spending weekends with the family.

My posts explaining training concepts in a simple way are the most read posts in total. See Get Fit Commuting and What is Base Building? for good examples or my post on Periodization which includes the concept of a pyramid of camels which I'm very proud of.

You've also all taken an interest in my journey back to fitness with my post You'll Never Be As Fit As You Were receiving hundreds of hits and prompting lots of emails.

For the single most popular series of posts I have to thank Nathalie Patey, project4cycling's favourite nutritionist. My interview with Nathalie about nutrition for commuters is one of the top three posts on the blog and continues to generate hits every day.

So what have you been reading the most? Well, interestingly, you do seem to take my advice. The top two posts on the blog this year both describe the kit I use and recommend, see The Perfect Commuting Helmet and The Well Dressed British Cyclist which shows some great kit from The North Face in particular.

This picture has drawn comments of its own!

The Peloton

When I started out with this blog I sort of forgot that the Internet is a global thing. I thought that if anyone other than my family was going to read this they'd probably be other northern English men. But it turns out I was wrong.

The darker the green the more readers.

Overall, half of you are from the UK, but a quarter are in the US (howdy y'all). In a way I might have worked that out, but to have the next largest readership in China ... I didn't see that coming. By the way, congratulations to China on your amazing performance in the Paralymics. I saw some of your athletes in the velodrome and they were wonderful.

After China comes Russia (privet), Germany (guten tag), Australia (g'day), France (bonjour, ca va), Ukraine (pryvit), Canada (hello and bonjour) and Finland (hei). Thank you all for logging in.

The Breakaway

I'm almost at the end of my first season trying to put my training into practise before an end of season rest. In that time I'll be figuring out how to turn some new ideas into a blog you will want to keep following and keep supporting. I'll also be rounding up what I've learned and the progress I've made very soon.

If you have any comments on what you've seen or ideas for the future I'd love to hear them by email (project4cycling@gmail.com) or by leaving your thoughts at the bottom of this post (if you follow the email version you may need to click back to the website to do this).

In the meantime, thank you, ride safe and don't forget to call yourself an athlete, Stephen

...

Sportive Sports Nutrition – The Day of the Ride

2012-08-27T01:38:00.000-07:00

This is one of a series of posts about nutritional preparation for sportives, based on advice from project4cycling’s favourite nutritionist. I followed this advice when I recently completed The White Rose Classic and I think it is the most important component of my ride.

Nutritional Therapist (and long-distance running addict) Nathalie Patey works in Hove, East Sussex, where she advises athletes on the best ways to improve performance and reach their goals through 'proper' nutrition.

Call Nathalie today on 07980620010 for a phone or Skype consultation (30 - 60 minutes) and quote 'project4cycling' to receive £5-10 off!

If you would like to know more, read an interview with Nathalie about nutrition advice for commuters. Remember to sign up to follow project4cycling by email (see the box on the right) to make sure you don’t miss future posts or offers.

Before You Ride

On the morning of the race drink a large glass of water on waking. Make sure you eat 2-3 hours before the start of the race. The ideal breakfast is porridge with milk with a banana cut up in it (no nuts/seeds) and tablespoon of honey on top.

Fuel for the day

Half an hour before the start, eat a banana or granola bar with high carbohydrate content and wash them down with a large glass of water.

During the Ride

During the race, carry fresh and dried fruit (raisins, dates are great) but not too many as they might make you want to go to the loo - keep one handful in your pocket. Keep a couple of granola/energy bars - any brand with sugar and high amounts of carbohydrates is fine - Nathalie likes Powerbar, Nature Valley or Mule bars but try a few.

Try to take or pick up:

a sandwich with white bread/bagel/rice cakes and jam (no butter) or honey

a banana, but eat it in the beginning if you don't want it to be squashed in your ride
Jelly babies are also good, high in sugar and low in fat, so the carbohydrates they contain will be quickly absorbed by your body
Other sweets are okay, as long as they contain no or low amounts of fat, just high sugar.

If you get to stop and eat, just have a white bagel/baguette with jam or tuna mixed with a little light mayo (you'll be sick of so much sweetness by the end of the day!).

This is all in addition to your drink of course. If you're drinking more water than juice mix, you need to also fuel up with food (as above), and if you drink more of your juice mixture than water, then eat fewer fresh and dried fruits or you might get a troubled stomach with so much fructose.

During the race make sure you avoid: chocolates, 'dry' foods that may seem too dry on the day if you're a little dehydrated already, foods/drinks with caffeine and fatty foods.

The key is to normally try some or a combination of these in a long trial ride before-hand. Stay with familiar foods as you don't know how you'll react to them.

Hydration

Make sure you stop at every feed station as they can supply you with food and drinks. You will need litres of fluids and food to keep you going: about 200ml of fluid every 20 minutes, depending how much you sweat/how hot it is on the day, so estimate how many hours this ride will take and how many lots of 200ml you'll need.

I use the excellent Camelbak Podium with the simple but brilliant Jet Valve, now available in the project4cycling shop

Start drinking before you take off and as you as you've started riding, EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT THIRSTY.

Mix your own sports drink as this will not contain the chemicals you find in manufactured drinks that can leave you feeling nauseous. To make your own sports drink mix 50% juice (whatever you like best, but I find apple is my favourite and does not clog up my bidon) with 50% water and 1 pinch of sea salt. Add a tablespoon of white/brown sugar to your mixture as well, as mixed 'sugars' will be more quickly absorbed than just fructose in the pure juice.

Take 2-3 long sips every 10 minutes of your sports drink (see below for a recipe), again, regardless of your thirst. Also carry a bottle of plain water on your bike and alternate a little water with the juice mixture every half hour or so (or whenever you think of it). Never stop drinking and if you feel thirsty, that means you're already dehydrated so have more water to get rid of the thirst.

Sportive Sports Nutrition – After the Race

Drink water right after your race and make sure you sip it slowly. Don't just gulp a whole litre in one go as this is very dangerous. Chocolate milk is great for recovery after a long race, so have a hot/cold chocolate with milk or a recovery smoothie with milk of your choice. Then eat one handful of berries and one banana with one tablespoon of plain yogurt and some agave syrup - yum!

If you have a headache that evening, you are dehydrated so keep drinking slowly.

To ensure you recover well and quickly, make sure you get lots of carbohydrates within about 30 minutes to 2 hours after the race, even if you're too exhausted to even think of eating! Pasta, rice, noodles; sandwiches with tuna/turkey/eggs are great. Go for white pasta/rice/bread as the carbohydrates will be more quickly absorbed at this point than whole grains. Add some protein to these, which should help with the absorption of glycogen and repair of muscles as well.

In the evening, have a good meal with carbohydrates (white or wholegrain). some protein and a little fat – Nathalie loves lasagna after a really long run (followed by a hot Epsom salts bath).

Don't forget to continue re-hydrating.

Next day, return to whole grains and lower the amount of carbohydrates you eat every day and add a little more protein than just before the race, to keep your muscles in good shape. Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits to replenish your vitamins and minerals and prevent post-race colds and sniffles.

...

Sportive Sports Nutrition – The Day Before the Race

2012-08-22T02:27:00.000-07:00

This is the second of a series of posts about nutritional preparation for sportives, based on advice from project4cycling’s favourite nutritionist. I followed this advice when I recently completed The White Rose Classic and I think it is the most important component of my ride.

Nutritional Therapist (and long-distance running addict) Nathalie Patey works in Hove, East Sussex, where she advises athletes on the best ways to improve performance and reach their goals through 'proper' nutrition.

Call Nathalie today on 07980620010 for a phone or Skype consultation (30 - 60 minutes) and quote 'project4cycling' to receive £5-10 off!

If you would like to know more, read an interview with Nathalie about nutrition advice for commuters. Remember to sign up to follow project4cycling by email (see the box on the right) to make sure you don’t miss future posts or offers.

The Day Before the Race

"The day before the race it is important to eat right and top up your hydration. You do this by eating and drinking at regular intervals."

I Carry My SIGG Bottle Wherever I go

For breakfast, have a large bowl of porridge oats with fresh berries, milk and a handful of raw nuts and seeds. Wash down with a large glass of orange juice and water.

Then mid-morning have a large banana with a piece of wholemeal toast with some peanut butter or butter and honey. Wash down with another glass of juice and water.

My Mid Morning Snack the Day Before The White Rose

At lunchtime, eat a jacket potato (sweet if you like them or just white) with some baked beans with a large salad with a little dressing on.

For a mid-afternoon snack, have a granola bar of your choice with high percentage of carbohydrates (30-50g), an apple and another large glass of juice/water.
For dinner, have a large bowl of whole-wheat pasta/rice with some homemade tomato sauce and a handful of cheese on top.

For an evening snack, have a piece or two of wholemeal toast with some honey/peanut butter on top with yet another glass of juice/water.

Drink water all day long too!

You can now buy a SIGG Classic Bottle from project4cycling's new pop-up store, just click this link to get yourself a very stylish route to hydration: SIGG Classic Bottle - Traveller 0.6litre - White.

...

Sportive Sports Nutrition – The Week Before

2012-08-06T05:31:00.000-07:00

This is one of a series of posts about nutritional preparation for sportives, based on advice from project4cycling’s favourite nutritionist. I followed this advice when I recently completed The White Rose Classic and I think it is the most imprtant component of my ride.

Nutritional Therapist (and long-distance running addict) Nathalie Patey works in Hove, East Sussex, where she advises athletes on the best ways to improve performance and reach their goals through 'proper' nutrition.

Call Nathalie today on 07980620010 for a phone or Skype consultation (30 - 60 minutes) and quote 'project4cycling' to receive £5-10 off!

If you would like to know more, read an interview with Nathalie about nutrition advice for commuters. Remember to sign up to follow project4cycling by email (see the box on the right) to make sure you don’t miss future posts or offers.

The Week Before the Race

The two most important things you need to be conscious of in the week before a postive are: hydration and carbohydrates.

Hydration

Lung 'issues' often stem from dehydration problems, so make sure you have at least 2 litres of water every day plus more on training days. This is particularly important if you are sweating a lot which may mean you need up to 3 litres or more. Do add a little more salt (best is sea salt as it also contains magnesium, which is great to prevent cramping) to your drink during exercise and in your food.

Hydration is key to performance. Keep your water handy in the office.

Take two or three long sips every 10 minutes or so, to make sure you don't 'forget' to drink for long periods of time, as dehydration is cumulative: one day of 'missing out' on your drink will have a negative effect on race day. Avoid alcohol and caffeine drinks this whole week and especially the day before the race as these will really dehydrate you and make you want to stop for a pee!

Make sure you re-hydrate well after exercise. If you get a headache in the evening after training, or your pee is dark, then start drinking more water slowly throughout the evening and next day.

Carbohydrates

In the week running up to a sportive you need to make sure you start your race with your muscles well stocked up with energy - so load up on carbohydrates! Glycogen, which your muscles need for energy, is made from carbohydrates in your diet: fruits (and fruit juices), rice, bread, porridge, pasta, root vegetables, potatoes, some vegetables, sugars (including honey, agave syrup etc).

The glycogen in your muscles gets depleted in about one day so you need to make sure you have plenty in your diet in the week prior to your sportive to prepare your muscles and prevent 'hitting the wall' or 'bonking'. One way to ensure plenty of glycogen is to carbohydrate-load.

Carbohydrate-Loading

Carbohydrate-loading is often used by athletes the week before an event to make sure their glycogen stores are full. As you are normally meant to taper your training during the week leading to your race, you basically 'starve' your body of glycogen by reducing your carbohydrate intake for a day or so, but then drastically increase your carbohydrate intake so that your muscles will absorb more.

Below is an example of how it works (note that this depends on the training you are doing):
Day1: 1hr cycle –normal diet with 60% carbohydrates
Day 2: lower training intensity for about 40 min - and eat 50% carbohydrates
Day 3: 30 minutes exercise/ride – 40% carbohydrates
Day 4: 20 minutes exercise/ride – increase your carbohydrates to 70%
Day 5: Rest, carbohydrate intake: 70%
Day 6: Rest, cab intake: 70%
Day 7: race day

This will work only if you are tapering/reducing your training! Don't change your carbohydrate intake if you aren't reducing your training load this week or you will be depleting your muscles before the race!

Food Balance

On average, the week before your race you should have about 70% of carbohydrates on your plate, then about 20% protein (fish, lean meat, pulses) and about 10% of good fats (oily fish, raw nuts & seeds, coconut oil for cooking, some olive oil/flax oil on salads) at each meal. The carbohydrates will give you the energy (see above), while the protein and fat will help your body absorb the carbohydrates more efficiently and will help to repair muscles and aid recovery.

What kind of carbohydrates? Choose brown rice, whole-wheat pasta and bread and sweet potatoes, over and above their white counterparts. They will give you more sustainable energy and avoid the energy dips that white carbohydrates and sugar often trigger.

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How a Bike Commuter Rode the 114 Mile White Rose Classic

2012-08-01T14:17:00.001-07:00

"Eat before you are hungry. Drink before you are thirsty. Rest before you are tired. Cover up before you are cold. Peel off before you are hot. Don't drink or smoke on tour. Never ride just to prove yourself." Paul de Vivie (1853-1930), Publisher of Le Cycliste

I'm glad I read those words in the days before I tackled the White Rose Classic, one of the toughest sportives in the UK. I followed his advice to the letter and I'm terribly glad that I did. After all, I took a rather unorthodox approach to my training, so I needed all the help, and advice, I could get.

The Idea

Commuting whatever the weather helps build base fitness

This blog is all about my efforts to get better at cycling while having the minimum impact on my family life. The main way I try to do this is by training on my commute. That way I get several hours training a week, but I don't give my weekends over to it.

My main target for the year is to improve my time in 10 mile time trials. A sensible goal considering my commute is between 14 and 17 miles. Anyone can see the relationship between the two distances.

At the turn of the year my cycling club re-launched the White Rose Classic, with 114, 84 and 50 mile variations. At the time I'd ridden 50 miles once in my life, so guessed I could do 80 even if I was slow. I didn't know if I could double the distance and add 14, so I put myself down for the long one.

Clearly the only relationship between my 14 mile commute and the 114 mile sportive is that they both include a 1 and a 4.

Preparation - General

In the following weeks I proved that it was possible to base train on a commute and I steadily increased my fitness and endurance. Just a couple of weeks before the White Rose I entered a time trial and knocked 90 seconds off my best time for the previous year. I was fitter than ever.

And there the idea was born. In the beginning I had intended to base-train and then do some long miles on the weekends running up to the event. But when I realised what was happening to my body, the adaptations I was making through training, I started to wonder.

Would it be possible to complete the White Rose Classic with 100% of the training done on the ride to or the ride from work?

Once I'd had the idea I couldn't shake it. I had to see if I could do it. Complete 114 miles with 3000m of ascent by training to and from Bradford/Leeds in rush hour.

Preparation - Building a Base

I tried not to read too much advice about preparing for sportives. I've seen enough to know that I should be getting closer and closer to the target distance and I knew that was impossible.

So I did the best I could. I twice managed to get up an hour or so early and take a long route to work. I'm lucky that for me that route can take in part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, so I could try a couple of medium-sized hills on the way. But I couldn't get the distance in.

I found myself on the start line with my longest previous ride this year being 34 miles. (That's 80 miles less than the White Rose.) With the ride home that day I'd managed about 48 miles in one day.

My Training record shows that my weekly training load
was building to the event even if individual rides were shorter.
Week 24 shows the load for the White Rose and 2 recovery rides.
This is in line with the trajectory of my training.

So what else could I do? Well, first and foremost I could believe in myself. I may not have done long miles, but I'd spent 107 hours over 119 separate training rides, runs or gym sessions over 22 weeks of carefully progressive training. I'd built my endurance to the highest level I could.

I had also practised my technique, so I could pedal better than most on all types of terrain and, frankly, you learn bike handling skills in the February rush hour in Bradford that you don't get as a weekend warrior.

That had to count for something, no?

Preparation - Tapering or Crashing?

It is a commonly known technique of training for a big event that you taper your training as the event gets closer. You training gets less intense and then you rest for a couple of days before your race. Fate dealt me a more abrupt change in training.

The weekend before the race I booked my bike in for a bit of TLC. I'd noticed the headset was, well, knackered. Having ridden barely able to steer for a couple of months I thought I should probably get it sorted.

Unfortunately, my poor bike didn't make it out of the shop during the week (on account of it having a "weird" headset, quoting the mechanic), so my training just stopped. I decided to tell myself this was a good thing. I'd be rested, wouldn't I?

My Qoroz on loan. Lovely, but just not my bike.

Things were about to get worse though. On Friday night I rolled up to collect my bike to see some frantic activity in the shop. The new headset hadn't arrived and they were looking at every possible bike in the shop to see if they could steal one. Unfortunately they could not.

It was 36 hours before the race and I had no bike.

But not for long. My friendly bike shop offered to lend me one and promptly handed me a titanium framed Qoroz bike. Phew. Not a disaster, but hardly ideal.

Preparation - Nutrition

Mid morning snack the day before the race

You might be mistaken for thinking that nothing was going to plan. But one crucial part of my preparation went perfectly.

Regular readers will remember my recent interview with Nathalie who advises me on nutrition. With her help I ate and drank well for the whole week in preparation for the event. This worked so well that by Saturday afternoon (the day before the event), I could feel the energy in my body. I was brilliantly prepared.

Nathlie's advice to me was so comprehensive I'm going to save it for another post in the next few days.

Team Ilkley

Ilkley Cycling Club has over 800 members and a very active Facebook page. One advantage of this is you can always find somebody to ride with whatever your ability.

For the White Rose, the club had several groups setting off at different times with different targets. I hooked up with a couple of guys I'd never met. As we set off we found a few more so we had a core group of five and a mini-peloton of about twelve.

Luckily for me, I was just about strong enough to stay with the core group most of the way. This was invaluable. Taking turns on the front helps everyone to conserve energy and the camaraderie helps keep spirits up. I was also fortunate to be with guys who had ridden the route in stages, so I was given great descriptions of what to expect from each hill. I think they thought I was a novelty with my odd approach to training, so they adopted me and guided me round.

We lost most of the group behind by mile 80 and 5 of us set off on the last leg. Two went ahead soon after and I was dropped on the last climb outside Ilkley.

I felt very grateful to have had wonderful company all that way.

The Hills. The Hills. The Hills.

The White Rose has three named hills. Norwood Edge, Fleet Moss and Garsdale Head. Norwood Edge was a breeze coming only in the first few miles. Fleet Moss is long climb, but other than the last little push to the top it isn't to bad. The descent is amazing though. Garsdale Head was the toughest climb I've ever done. Super steep, rising to 25% in places and long, long long.

So not so bad eh? Well, no. That was just the famous climbs. There was a bonus climb coming out of Settle at mile 80 that nobody mentioned, but it felt like a wall. I could barely turn the pedals on this climb, but pressed on.

But the very worst was to come. At mile 100 we were only about 5 miles from home by the shortest route when the course took a completely unnecessary and dispiriting detour up a relatively small hill called Langbar. Within a few meters of the bottom of this climb I lost sight of my last companions as I hit the wall. In the last 10 miles I lost 10 minutes on them, but I had nothing left.

I made it though. I didn't get off on any of the hills.

The Finish - It's My Daddy!

At about mile 70 I knew I was gong to finish. I knew I'd achieve a ridiculous step up in distance. I knew I'd have proved what project4cycling is all about. I'd complete one of the toughest sportives in the country (my first ever) with 100% of my training done on my commute.

But those last 45 miles were tough. From mile 80 I knew that the tank was empty and I had to focus hard to pace myself. I also found the undulating countryside much tougher than the climbs. I'm not a natural puncheur.

But the last few miles were almost a freewheel back into Ilkley. And then I was there. Turning back into the car park I'd left just 9 hours earlier.

As I pulled in I heard the wonderful sound of my daughter shouting "It's my Daddy" then my son jumped up to greet me. My family and some friends were there to support me and I was delighted to see them. Frankly at that point, seeing them I realised just what I'd achieved.

114 miles ridden, 3000m climbed and £1000 raised for charity. I was the 202nd finisher out of 330 starters just 8 months after a bout of pneumonia. Not bad for a commuter.

What Went Wrong

You always learn from experiences like this. But in a way it was so different from my normal riding that it was difficult to learn lessons.

The main thing I learned is that the training I've done has built a really strong engine, great endurance and strong legs. However on the really long climbs it was my arms that struggled, not my legs or lungs. It is very hard to do those sorts of climbs on the way to work, so in the future I'll try to do more weights and core work.

The Trusty Tricross in its normal home, outside work

The other main lesson I learned is to ride your own bike. Wonderful as the one I borrowed was, it didn't fit me, so I started to get back strain at mile 50. It also had a compact chainset, which is different to the triple I'm used to so I found I was often struggling to find the right gear.

I'm not a fan of the compact chainset

There was also one problem that I'm not sure how to solve. I set off with a bidon full of water and another filled with my home made sports drink, which works well and tastes great. En route the feeding stations were well stocked, but the sports drink available, made up from powder, tasted dreadful, made me slightly nauseous and didn't seem to work as well as the home made version.

What Went Right

The training worked, the nutrition was great, the company was perfect and the people supporting the route were wonderful.

The HardnutZ helmet. Cool and comfortable.

I was particularly pleased with somethings I didn't notice at the time. My kit. I rode the whole course without even noticing the HardnutZ helmet I was wearing. That says a lot about its comfort.

A light base layer from The North Face was perfect.

I also took a couple of items from my normal commuting wardrobe. I wore a base-layer from The North Face that kept me comfortable and sweat free despite big changes in temperature. I also tucked my normal commuting jacket (also from The North Face) into the back of my jersey. I only needed it for a few miles, but it kept the weather off when I needed it to and packed small enough to be comfortable.

Advice for Sportive Training

I wouldn't recommend anyone try to do what I did. Adding 70 or 80 miles to your longest ride in one go is not going to work for everyone. However, I think I've proved that carefully progressing your training on your commute can be a huge component of your preparation for a major event. Maybe just get a few long rides in first.

But most of all my advice to wanna be sportive riders. Go on. Give it a go. You'll be glad you did.

...

Commuter Smashes TT PB

2012-07-21T01:59:00.000-07:00

"Blimey, I'm going to start commuting!", Ilkley Cycling Club member on reading my TT Time on July 17th 2012

Simon also posted a personal best last night and was excellent company. The pair of us entered our first 10-mile TT on a course other than our local Addingham V810 (recently described as a "brutal" course by another club member) and I think that neither of us knew quite what to expect.

This is not a TT-Bike. My one and only steed in it's usual home outside the office.

Neither of us expected to get quite as wet as we did thanks to a horrible downpour that stopped just as we returned to our cars. In fact I returned to find my car in a pond that wasn't there when I parked.

Ilkley Versus Otley

Ikley and Otley are local rivals, so the two cycling clubs arranged an interclub time trial intended to bring a range of abilities together. Hence we found ourselves to be loosely part of a team.

But as we all know there is no team in the Race of Truth that is the cycling time trial. There is just you, your bike and your will. And the rain. The endless, endless rain.

The Boroughbridge course we rode is not pan flat, but it is much flatter than the Addingham course I've ridden in the past, so I expected to beat my PB of 29:48 for ten miles (see my recent post, You Will Never Be As Fit As You Were - Slaying Dragons, Setting New Goals). But I had no idea how much faster I would be.

To make sure I gave myself the best chance possible, I followed the nutrition I recently wrote about from Nathalie Patey. There was never any chance of me running out of fuel. Unfortunately, trouble finding the course meant I had no time to warm up.

Smashing Records

Regular readers know that I've done 100% of my training this year by commuting to work (see, my Vision, Values and Goals). My original goal was to knock 4 minutes off my best time last year, hence project4cycling. That would take me from 31:07 to 27:07 or thereabouts.

On the 18th of July 2012 I rode 10 miles in 25:17 (and 15 miles in 38:56). So that's almost 6 minutes off my benchmark time and 4:31 off my PB set a few weeks ago. It is also almost 2 minutes faster than my target.

A Note on the Kit

I only own one bike. It is a Specialised Tricross Sport (note, a cross bike not a racing or TT bike). I've used it nearly every day for the last 3 years to get to work, come rain or shine or rain or rain or snow (I live in Northern England). So, it is rather tired, relatively heavy and, for example, the tyres have done about 4,000 miles. I look after it as best as I can, but it looks like it has lived a good life.

I have however recently made a radical adjustment to it to make it more aerodynamic, I flipped the stem.

Cutting edge aerodynamics, the flipped stem

Clearly this adjustment has not transformed my bike into a speed machine, but it has given me a slightly more racy position, which helps.

Other than that change I was essentially dressed as I would be for my commute, in my club kit (not a skinsuit), ordinary shoes and so on. I was grateful to have my Hardnutz helmet, which I'm convinced is faster than my previous one, see The Perfect Commuter Helmet.

Work to Do

Clearly I'm delighted with this result, but I still have work to do to achieve my goals. The Addingham course is where I can see a true measure of the improvement I've been able to manage by training on my commute. My time last night owes much to the course. I'll be having another go at my true test next week.

I'll also be riding exactly the same bike I rode last year and exactly the same one I've ridden to work on for the last 3 years. She's tired, but she's serving me well. The question is, can I drag her round Addingham in 27 minutes?

...

Cycle-commuting Advice from Moorish Spain

2012-06-09T08:37:00.000-07:00

"Yet there were knowledge and learning everywhere except in Catholic Europe. At a time when even kings could not read or write, a Moorish king had a private library of six hundred thousand books. At a time when ninety-nine percent of the Christian people were wholly illiterate, the Moorish city of Cordova had eight hundred public schools, and there was not a village within the limits of the empire where the blessings of education could not be enjoyed by the children of the most indigent peasant, ...and it was difficult to encounter even a Moorish peasant who could not read and write." S.P. Scott in 'The History of the Moorish Empire in Europe.'

The beautiful Alhambra Palace is a Unesco World Heritage Site in Granada, Spain. Hundreds of thousands of people visit every year to marvel at the architecture and wonder how life must have been in Muslim Spain.

I, of course, came back with a tip to help me commute to work.

Cooling Water

Average temperatures in Grenada in August range from 16C to 34C. When I visited a couple of years ago the temperature regularly hit 39C. It gets hot, and it stays hot.

Many of the palaces and gardens are designed to provide shade or to generate a cooling breeze, but one particular feature caught my eye and has helped me ever since, the Escalera Del Agua (staircase of water):

Escalera Del Agua, Inspiration for a Top Commuting Tip

This beautiful staircase has cooling water running down the handrail on both sides. As you climb the stairs you can run your fingers through the water which cools you down.

Elsewhere in the Alhambra, water runs out of small pipes into little pools. These are perfectly positioned for you to sit and let the water run over your wrist. Do this for a couple of minutes and your whole body will cool as the blood running close the the skin on your arm is exposed to the cooling water.

Lovely.

From Moorish Spain to Modern Bradford

The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford

I'm not aware of many links between Moorish Spain and modern Bradford other than they both support vibrant Muslim communities. They certainly share little in architecture and temperature, but Bradford does have its own Alhambra:

So where's the connection to cycling to work? Well, as the summer gets closer the temperature starts to rise and cyclists start to sweat. Many of us don't have access to showers at work and that puts people off riding completely. I certainly know how unpleasant it can be to arrive at a meeting with my shirt clinging to my back. It does not make for a confident presentation, or a good impression.

But, wherever I go I can find my own Escalera Del Agua and I can cool myself down. It is called a tap (or faucet - hello to everyone in the USA).

What to Do

I find that on a hot day I don't sweat much on the bike, because the passing air cools me down. It is when I stop that I sweat, so, as quickly as I can I lock myself in the nearest bathroom, strip of my cycling gear and run my wrists under a cold tap. After five minutes I'm usually cool enough to get dressed and get on with the day.

Lovely.

Well, not quite as lovely as the gardens of the Alhambra, but you know what I mean.

...

How Base Building on a Bike Makes You Faster, at Running

2012-06-06T11:19:00.000-07:00

"Anybody can be a runner. We were meant to move. We were meant to run. It's the easiest sport.", Bill Rodgers, winner of four Boston and four NYC marathons

I hate running. I don't care what Bill Rodgers said. If God had intended man to run he wouldn't have invented the bicycle.

This is not a bicycle

Okay, maybe God didn't invent the bicycle, but since 1817 when Baron von Drais invented the hobby horse there has been no good reason to run anywhere. Unless you've just stolen something and misplaced your bicycle that is.

Trail Running

Since 2009 I have subjected myself to slightly more than an hour a year of misery by entering the Ilkley Trail Race. This horrible, miserable event forces me to run 6.9 miles (11.1 km) up a local moor (beautiful under normal circumstances) and back down again. It includes 700' (213m) of climbing. Why would anyone want to do that?

I only do it to keep my brother-in-law company. He makes an annual round trip of several hundred miles from South Wales to participate in the race. I feel obliged to join him having once, drunkenly, invited him to do it.

My brother-in-law suffers from a condition that sadly afflicts several hundred of the other entrants. He is a runner. He actively seeks out opportunities to run. Every day. It must be a terrible affliction, but like many other sufferers he puts a brave face on it, even claiming to "enjoy it" and to "feel great" afterwards. His condition leads him to quite extreme behaviour like going for training runs and striving to be faster.

He needs a bicycle.

Getting Faster

In previous years I have anticipated the race and reluctantly done some preparation. This preparation has taken the form of, well, going running in the weeks leading up to the race. I have found that this preparation left me in slightly less agony than I currently feel.

This year I have not been able to do any preparation for two reasons:

I've been doing rather a lot of cycling.
I hate running. I might have mentioned that.

So, I found myself on the start line of the 2012 event on Monday having done precisely 90 minutes of running in the previous 12 months. Some might say that left me somewhat under-prepared.

And yet, I finished the race a healthy 45 seconds faster (60:11) than my previous best time. That's right. I was faster without trying to be.

Conclusions

I didn't plan this race as part of my training, but it has helped me to reflect on a few key things and draw some simple conclusions:

The base building I have done over the last few months (see my recent posts on Base Building and my progress) must have left me considerably fitter than I have previously been in order to cope with a complete lack of running-specific training.
My body coped well with the lack of specific training and despite finding it much more physically difficult than in previous years (my muscles, shins and ankles hurt from early in the race), I had plenty of energy and recovered very quickly.
A small amount of running training might have allowed me to complete the race in under 1 hour.
My heart rate monitor showed that I maintained a very steady, but moderately high heart rate. This should be a good sign for cycling.

But my main conclusion is this: I still hate running.

...

You Will Never Be As Fit As You Were - Slaying Dragons, Setting New Goals

2012-05-31T23:23:00.000-07:00

"You will never be as fit as you were." Cancer MDT Consultant, November 2011

Those words brought me down to earth with a bump when I heard them 6 months ago. Fortunately they'd been preceded by the words "You don't have lung cancer." I can't describe how either phrase felt.

But last night, I proved him wrong.

In The Beginning

At the end of August 2011 I entered my first 10-mile time-trial (TT). I did better than expected and won my club's B-Group category with a time of 31.07 on the hilly Addingham V810 course. Thanks to a fair bit of commuting and a few club rides I felt pretty fit.

Where they made me better

Within two weeks of that result I developed a cough. Rapid weight loss followed and by mid-September I couldn't climb my stairs without having to rest half way. I couldn't breathe.

As the weight-loss continued and neither a week in bed, nor a course of antibiotics made any difference, my GP started to worry and to see me daily. At the start of November I was referred on the fast-track to the cancer service in Airedale hospital.

The GP quietly asked me if I knew what that meant. I've worked in the cancer service of the NHS. I know what a wonderful service it is. I also knew exactly why I didn't want to be there.

Turning a Corner

The tests I did at the hospital soon showed that I was okay. The nurses stopped talking me to with their heads on one side and I met the wonderful consultant. He couldn't have been more reassuring, more thorough or more understanding, but he was also frank.

He said the likely cause of my problems was pneumonia. It was just surprising it hadn't driven me to the emergency room at the beginning. Because, he said, of the damage that had been done I would never regain my fitness.

I asked advice about cycling and was told not to expect too much.

I was shocked and a little frightened by what that might mean for my life. But, I knew at least it wasn't going to get worse. I collected an inhaler, left the hospital, stood on the path to take it all in, then cried.

A Plan is Born

When the chips are down some people just know what to do, what to say and where you need support. It was my friend Alex who put his arm round me in the weeks the inhaler took to do its work. Alex talked about how I could build my fitness again. Alex listened to my fears and Alex didn't laugh when I said I wanted to knock 4 minutes off my time in a year. He knew, like I knew, that I might not be able to ride at all for a few months.

But he said, "you can do it mate". Sometimes, people need to know when to tell you a little white lie.

From A to B

Regular readers of this blog will know that I've tried to re-build my fitness methodically. They will also know that I set myself the extra challenge of doing all my training while I'm commuting. But they wouldn't have known how frightened I was that I wouldn't be as fit as I was before. What would that mean?

I'm still riding a 2-year old Tricross Sport. Hardly speedy and, after two winters, rather creaky

So, on Wednesday the 30th of May 2012 I lined up on the same start line on the same bike, in the same shoes and I wondered what would happen. I knew I had 21 weeks of commuting/base training behind me, but I'd yet to test it out.

I finished with a time of 29:48.

Not only had I broken the 30-minute mark, but I was 79 seconds faster than the previous year. I didn't break any records, but I smashed my PB and a huge psychological barrier. I was very, very happy.

What Next?

I know now that the base-building by commuting that I've described here works. I'm faster than I was before despite the damage done by my illness. Over the next couple of months I'll do some specialist training to try and get faster and I'll look at riding a faster bike. I may just find the extra two minutes and forty-one seconds I want to find to be four minutes faster.

I'm also setting myself a brand new goal. On June the 17th I plan to ride the 110-mile White Rose Classic around the Yorkshire Dales. I'll do it without having done a single training ride that wasn't on the way to, or the way from work. In short I'll see if a commuter can turn his hand, or pedal, to a monster like that.

I'll never be that fit though. Will I?

If you think I will, please consider sponsoring me: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/StephenLock. Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice is based in Oxenhope near Keighley and it cares for over 750 people each year suffering from Cancer and other serious illnesses.

...

Perfect Commuting Helmet: HardnutZ Hi-Vis Road

2012-05-23T22:45:00.000-07:00

"When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race." H.G. Wells, British Novelist (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946)

Hear, hear Mr Wells. It makes me glad whenever I see an adult on a bicycle. I don't care how fast, how cool or how talented they are. I just care that they are on a bike.

There are many reasons why people don't ride their bikes. One of the most often cited is safety in traffic. This little beauty should go a long way towards allaying those fears. It has certainly impressed me.

HardnutZ

HardnutZ Hi-Vis Road Helmet

HardnutZ is a new UK-based brand making high-quality sports helmets. They make Ski/Snowboard helmets and children's street-style cycling helmets. But I don't care about that. I care about this unique road helmet.

With all good ideas, you often marvel that nobody thought of it before. That's absolutely the case with this helmet that, quite literally, caught my eye. Clearly the colour is quite striking, but it also incorporates lots of silver 3M Scotchlite reflective panels that reflect headlights, so you'll shine like a beacon day or night. Genius. Simple, genius.

First Impressions

Out of the box, the helmet looks great and is very easy to fit. You'll never wonder where you left it either.

One thing that caught my eye unexpectedly is the quality of the user instructions. I used to write technical manuals for a living (I know, I'm bored too), so I know how hard it is to write something concise and easy to understand that people might actually read. The instructions in the box pull that trick off brilliantly, but even better, manage to incorporate the words "bonce" and "noggin". International readers may have to Google the meaning, but this made me smile.

Le Look

I've written previously about the way his-vis clothing makes me feel vulnerable, see Don't Try This Away From Home. My point there was that it makes me feel less confident before I set out. However, I am sure that there is a part of me that is influenced by what the French call Le Look. Lets face it, you can't spend as much time in Lycra as I do without paying attention to the way you look.

Gorgeous, since you ask. I look simply gorgeous.

The nice thing about this helmet is that, well, it looks great. It is striking in every sense but looks more at home on a stylish man-about-town than it would on a cycling-proficiency test. It is also available from the Wiggle Online Cycle Shop in an equally stunning shade of yellow.

Road Test

I took mine out for a long pre-work ride this morning to test it in different places. The sun was out, it was hot, there were lots of hills followed by lots of traffic.

HardnutZ Hi-Vis Road Helmet

First impressions were that I noticed far less air flowing into my hair compared to my previous Met helmet. I worried that this meant I would soon overheat, but I was impressed at the end of the ride to find that wasn't the case at all. Somehow the helmet keeps you cool, but has great air-flow too. I shall have to ask them how they do that.

In traffic I noticed the difference very quickly. The bright colour really stands out above cars, so general traffic sees you from a distance. More impressively, it seems to catch the eye in wing-mirrors, so when passing lines of traffic I found many cars moving out of the way. Wow.

After two hours on the bike I lost count of the number of times I caught my own reflection in shop windows. It is safe to say that as well as being fully tested and certified to CE EN-1078:1997/A1:2005 the helmet keeps you safe in a very practical way without you ever needing to test it's ability to absorb impact.

Incidentally, it stands out above hedges for those who ride in country lanes too. Reducing the chance of meeting a tractor head-on is a champion idea.

Considerations for Commuters and People With Big Heads

Regular readers of this website know that I train on my commute. That means that I have to work after hard rides. One unexpected bonus of this helmet is that the padding inside is arranged largely around the forehead. This meant that my hair was much less messed up when I removed it. I don't think that's reason enough to buy it, but it is a useful bonus.

See How Reflective The Panels Are

I really noticed the aerodynamic improvement - not a claim the company particularly makes as it happens. This morning I was 10% faster than on the same ride exactly a week ago. If that turns out to be consistent, it'll save me minutes off my journey time every day. Which means I can add an extra hill to my training, or get to work earlier - I know which I'll choose.

And finally, there is a family legend that when I, age 4, was selected as a king in my nursery school nativity the teachers had to remake my crown because my head was so much bigger than the other kids. I love that story and the laughter it provokes in my brothers as you can imagine. Anyway, I'm no longer freakishly big-headed (physically), but I do have a big bonce. This helmet coped without a murmur, nor a tease.

In the black version the panels are almost invisible

Conclusion

I cannot recommend this product highly enough. It is great for the commute, but it'll speed you up on club runs too. Buy one today.

Wiggle Online Cycle Shop

...

Interview: Nathalie Patey, New Leaf Nutrition

2012-05-02T03:05:00.000-07:00

"Anyone can 'get it' once you're used to it. The key is to really observe your body's and mind's reactions to what you eat/drink. Re-connect with your body!" Nathalie Patey

The first time I ever rode a time-trial I had less than sound nutritional preparation as follows:

I ate a mass of pasta and pesto the night before, washed down with a couple of glasses of red wine.
I ate pasta for lunch at 1pm
I ate a Snickers bar and drank a can of Red Bull before the ride.
I had a pint of lager to wind down afterwards.

I did rather well considering. But I think it is time I refined by approach.

My new secret weapon for nutrition,
The North Face SIGG bottle, sat on my desk, containing ... water

Introduction

I cycle to work most days using a heart rate monitor to help me follow a structured training plan. I've done a pretty good job of adapting common training techniques to my commute (rather than going on training rides on evenings and weekends).

However I've found it hard to understand and apply any sports nutrition advice because:

my training is slotted into the hours before and after work and therefore they are at fixed points in relation to my normal mealtimes.
only half my rides leave from or return to home, so I'm not in my own kitchen.
I find most of the sports nutrition websites and books too baffling to understand.

So, I'm delighted to have linked up with Nathalie Patey of New Leaf Nutrition who has agreed to an interview with project4cycling.

Having read Nathalie's replies I'm certain that her approach will resonate with lots of commuters who struggle to get nutrition right when in the office. It is a delight to work with an expert who can communicate complex ideas simply, directly and in such an accessible way.

I'll be implementing most of this tomorrow. I hope you will to.

Interview

1. Where do you work and what do you do?

I work at The Acupuncture Clinic, Hove, East Sussex. Tel: 07980 620010. I work with all sorts of clients with varied needs, from sports nutrition (for runners, triathletes, cyclists, general fitness) to children's nutrition, to digestive, skin and other issues. I see people for private consultations where I take a full history of their health, then give recommendations on diet, naturopathic techniques, supplements and lifestyle. On a practical front, I also help people to sort out their cupboards, help them with their shopping lists, shopping and sometimes cooking, as my 'philosophy' is to reacquaint people with food - even if it does take some organisation and planning!

2. How did you get involved in sports nutrition?

I'm a bit of a running fanatic myself and have run half marathons and a full marathon and planning to run another marathon at the end of the year. Having tried and tested a lot of what I 'preached' through my nutrition practice, I thought I'd put it all to the test and see what REALLY worked or didn't work. From that, I've gone on to help people with their training through nutrition by giving them talks, personal meal plans etc.

3. Could you sum up your philosophy for sports nutrition?

My philosophy for sports nutrition is that you can get great results from natural and healthy ingredients and food. There's rarely a need for sports drinks and other trendy (and costly!) products out there. Having said that, with sports, it's usually more about WHEN you eat than WHAT you eat.

4. In the morning I get up, change the baby's nappy, eat, dress and leave for work. Rides are usually an hour and fairly intense. Breakfast tends to be coffee with granola or a bagel with honey (I've found this works for energy on the ride whereas granola slows me down). I don't tend to have anything to eat when I get to work, but I think I probably should. What would you do in this situation?

5. Most days I also ride home. Should I be adjusting my lunch, having an afternoon snack, drinking sports drinks ... or should I just have a balanced diet?

6. I don't use any sports nutrition products. Partly this is because of the cost, but also it is because I don't know how to fit them in to my kind of riding. Is it something I should look into?

7. My big thing is riding my club's 10-mile TT competition. These TTs set off at 7pm on a Wednesday night after a day at work. How should I prepare for, ride or recover from them during a normal working day?

A 4/5/6/7 Regarding your cycling - since you exercise quite a lot every day, you need to keep the hydration and energy up. The best way to do that is to drink at least 2 to 2 1/2 litres of water throughout the day, especially on waking as you'll wake up dehydrated from the night and probably the previous day's exercise. Never drink more than 1 litre of water in 1 hour however, this can be dangerous. Sip it slowly through the day.

Coffee contains caffeine, which is a diuretic. It will make you lose more water through urine and that's not going to help you with your first trip of the day. A better option would be a large glass of diluted fresh (or shop-bought) freshly pressed juice of your choice. The juice will provide you with carbohydrates and hydration - both great for energy. A bagel is ok, but they're usually white bagels, which will increase your energy for a little while, followed by a 'dip' in energy, which again won't help with long commutes. Best would be some wholemeal bread - with honey is fine, or porridge oats with some plain nuts and seeds and some milk. You could add a handful of dried fruits for sweetness and more energy.

Once you reach your work place, make sure you have some protein to help your muscles recover from your cycling: For instance, a handful of plain unsalted nuts (almonds, brazil, cashew, walnuts, hazelnuts) with a piece of fruit, or a plain yogurt with some honey/agave syrup or berries added to it, a piece of wholemeal toast with some unsweetened peanut butter or a banana with some peanut butter, vegetable sticks with some houmous - these are just a few examples.

Lunch: Make sure you have some more protein for lunch (fish, meat, egg, nuts and seeds, pulses like lentils, beans) together with some complex carbohydrates (brown rice, wholemeal bread, wholewheat pasta, oats, quinoa, vegetables), as the carbs will give you glycogen, therefore more energy for the evening commute.

Afternoon snack: have a banana with a handful of nuts, or a fruit salad with a rice cake or homemade banana bread, or homemade flapjacks sweetened with fruit juices and dried fruit. These will give you more carbs/energy for your evening ride.

Again when you get home, you need protein to help your muscles recover from your evening ride, and some complex carbs again to give you energy for the next day.

So the main (easy) rule is: carbs before exercise (for energy), protein after exercise to help build/repair muscles.

Drinking: I don't recommend sports drinks, as they contain a lot of chemicals, nasty sweeteners that in the long run may give you a bad stomach and other nasties you don't want to ingest more than occasionally.

You should get great energy and hydration from keeping your water intake steady and constant throughout the day and using half juice (unsweetened) and half water with a pinch of salt during exercise lasting more than one hour. Make sure to eat lots of fruits and veg that will provide you with all the electrolytes you need to prevent cramping.

Alcohol: if you know you're going to have a few drinks - and it's fine to relax once in a while - obviously they'll dehydrate you so try and have lots of water while you're drinking your beer - and also the next day.

Sneakers/chocolate bars: again, it's fine to have these once in a while, but not if you're training for a specific race - they'll hike your insulin levels up and will give you a big dip in energy shortly after.

If you find you're craving chocolate and/or alcohol - your blood sugar levels are probably doing a bit of a roller-coaster ride, so have some protein little and often, throughout the day and particularly at breakfast.

8. I've heard sports nutrition described as part art part science. Do you agree and if so, do you prefer the art or the science?

Yes, nutrition is part art part science, but this kind of statement makes it sound impossible to achieve for the 'layman', so I don't entirely agree with it. It's just a question of balance and changing your habits gradually. Anyone can 'get it' once you're used to it. The key is to really observe your body's and mind's reactions to what you eat/drink. Re-connect with your body!

9. Any last tips, advice or recommended reading?

As an additional useful tip: eat lots of vegetables and fruits as the carbs and protein won't provide you with all the vitamins and minerals your body needs for immunity and other functions - there's no point in all of this, if you're just going to get lots of colds/flu and get stuck in bed! Also, cook with virgin coconut oil/butter/ghee - never heat up olive oil or other vegetable oils - keep these cold or added at the end of cooking. Heated veg oils will become toxic!

10. Can you give me a motto, mantra or quote to get me riding, training or eating right?

TIME IT RIGHT - and PLAN AHEAD - make a list of all your snacks/meals once a week and buy everything in one go. Then cook large batches of food that you can freeze and make sure you sort out your healthy snacks so you're not tempted by junk! This will also save you money!

Thanks for taking the time to do this. Ride safe, Stephen

Want to Know More?

If this has whetted your appetite for more information, advice or a telephone consultation, you can contact Nathalie in the following ways:

Nathalie Patey
Nutritional Therapist
T: 07980 620 010
www.newleafnutrition.co.uk

Periodization and Training Load

2012-04-25T14:29:00.000-07:00

"Periodization: The Roadmap to Optimal Performance", Chris Carmichael

Chris Carmichael coached some geezer called Lance Armstrong. Seems he won a thing or two in his day, but, lets be frank about this, he was nowhere in the 2011 Ilkley Cycling Club 10-mile TT B-Group competition was he? Still, he might be worth listening to (although he didn't invent periodization).

You can train on anything, see Base Building by Boris

Anyone new to formalised training in cycling is likely to be put off pretty quickly by the terminology. So much of the advice I have seen is deeply technical and poorly defined. They are also often aimed at people who are already fairly experienced. This, I hope, is not.

So Where Can You Start?

I'm not a coach or a pro-cyclist. I don't have a coach, but I seek advice from wherever I can. I use that advice to plan my own training.

I have enough incomprehensible waffle to wade through at work without adding to the greater sum of human misery when I get home. So, if I can I like to explain the things that matter in very simple terms.

Having waded through a lot of waffle, there are three three concepts that I think the beginner needs to understand to get started:

base theory or base building (see my recent post What is Base Building?)
training load (see below)
periodization (sign up for the email notification for another post coming soon)

You also need a training plan and you need to plan your routes, which I'll write about soon. All the rest can wait, you'll pick it up as you go along.

Training Load

Every training session has an effect on your body. When training with a heart rate monitor you can measure the effect on your body. This effect is known as training load. Measuring the training load helps you to get the best out of every single training session and every single season.

One simple way to calculate the load of a training session is to record the number of minutes you spend in a particular zone, then multiply the minutes by the zone (see What is Base Building to learn more about zones). You can turn it into a simple formula:

TL = (1 x mz1)+(2 x mz2)+(3 x mz3)+(4 x mz4)

TL = Training Load

m = minutes

z = zone

If you did a simple ride with 60 minutes at zone 1, 60 minutes at zone 2 and 5 minutes at zone 3 your load would be calculated as follows:

Zone 1, 60 x 1 = 60

Zone 2, 60 x 2 = 120

Zone 3, 5 x 3 = 15

Training load = 195

With this you can see that the times in the higher zones has a higher training load which is reflected in the higher score. Simple to understand, simple to calculate and vital for learning about periodization which I'll explain next week.

Note that the simplest way to track and calculate this is to use a spreadsheet. I'm happy to send mine to anyone who asks nicely and considers a small donation to Amnesty International.

.

Review of The North Face Duffle Bag

2012-04-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

"Above the comforts of Base Camp, the expedition in fact became an almost Calvinistic undertaking. The ratio of misery to pleasure was greater by an order of magnitude than any mountain I'd been on; I quickly came to understand that climbing Everest was primarily about enduring pain. And in subjecting ourselves to week after week of toil, tedium and suffering, it struck me that most of us were probably seeking above all else, something like a state of grace.” ― Jon Krakauer, Into Thin Air

Almost exactly like my experience of the A65 through Leeds last Wednesday in the morning rush hour. Except I reckon the path to Base Camp on Everest is better maintained than the A65.

I'm a lucky chap. I happen to know somebody who works for The North Face and he lets me try out their cycling gear. See my recent post The Well Dressed British Cyclist for an example of some items that really work.

I love the The North Face Puddle Vest available from the Wiggle Online Cycle Shop.

Of course I also get things that just don't work for the kind of cycling I do. When that happens I feedback my thoughts and ideas on how they might be adapted or improved. Quid pro quo.

Every now and again though I end up with something that gives me a whole new idea. Like this, The North Face Base Camp Duffle available from the Wiggle Online Cycle Shop:

Regular readers will know that I'm always trying to carry as little as possible. So what would I want with a monster like this?

Ready for Major Rides

Anyone who has ever entered races or sportives knows that you don't get to park your car next to the start line. And I don't have access to the Sky Procycling Team's mega bus. So, I somehow have to get myself, my food, my spare clothes, oil, pumps, tools, drinks, entry forms, more food and the kitchen sink from the car to the line. And back.

This duffle bag is perfect for the job. Why? Well it has lots of great features, like being waterproof from the outside in (to get everything to the start line nice and dry) and being super tough. But there are two things that make it stand out from everything else.

Firstly, it is waterproof from the inside out. Who wants leaks of wet, sweaty kit spreading over their lovely shiny car?

Secondly, there are special handles that allow you to carry it on your back like a backpack. Perfect to get you to that start line on your bike.

So Why Am I So Lucky?

Well, I've got one of these marvellous bags in a fabulous shade of green simply because my friend used it to deliver some things to my house. It seems these bags are legendary amongst hard core outdoor types. Maybe they'll catch on at sportives too.

You'll see me using it at the White Rose Classic sportive in June.

What is Base Building?

2012-04-07T00:49:00.001-07:00

"It never gets easier, you just go faster." Greg LeMond, the first American and the first non-European cyclist to win the Tour de France.

As far as I am able to find out Greg LeMond is not only the first non-European to win the Tour de France, he is the only one to have won the Tour after been shot in a turkey hunting accident. I never liked turkey myself, so I think my Yellow Jersey hopes are still alive.

Base Building for Beginners

I'm a beginner. I'm in my first season of trying out base-building techniques. But what does it mean?

Base building is training based on a heart rate monitor (or power meter, see Get Fit Commuting for the reason why I use heart rate). The beats per minute it measures is an indication of the effort you are putting in. By training with a heart rate monitor (HRM) you can measure your effort then modify what you are doing to get the best possible physiological response.

Train right and you will achieve your potential.

So How Does it Work?

Using a heart rate monitor you can train in zones relative to your maximum heart rate (MHR). Everyone has their own maximum heart rate which does not vary - except for a slight decline as you get older. Each zone has a different effect on your body.

Zone 1 55-65% of MHR

This is very easy peddling. It is very good for recovery rides known as active recovery. If you've done a sportive and want to recover, a longish ride at this low level will help your body to recover faster than complete rest. It is good for your physiology and aids recovery from colds (some say).

Zone 2 65-75% of MHR

At this level you are not creating much lactic acid and you are mainly using fat for fuel. Many cyclists use this for long slow, easy winter rides of four hours or more. It helps to build aerobic fitness.

Zone 3 75-85% of MHR

This is a quite demanding but you can pedal at this level for a long time. If you do you will build stamina and power. If you have time for nothing else, this is what you should do.

Zone 4 85-95% of MHR

This is when your pedalling starts to feel like real training. You can do intervals for a few minutes in Zone 4 or do short training rides in this zone. Be aware however that this is the zone where you start to damage your body as well as improving your fitness, so you shouldn't do too much in Zone 4. If you do, try to do a recovery ride soon after.

Zone 5 95-100% of MHR

This can be counter-productive in large doses. Zone 4 is used for very short bursts or intervals late in your training, or for racing. At this level your body will need time to recover, so don't over do it.

The Pyramid

In a base building training programme you gradually build up the layers of training. The analogy of a pyramid is often used. The broader the base, the higher the peak. So, the more miles or minutes you do at the lower zones the more your body will adapt and be able to cope with higher exertions later in training, when you race or do a sportive.

The Pyramid of Camels

The analogy of pyramids is great, but it misses a key point. When Pharaoh Khufu had The Great Pyramid built at Giza, the builders could have left out a few blocks and the peak would still have been reached. In fact, sections of the pyramid are hollowed out for tombs, which the builders did just to illustrate my point.

It would have been impossible for the builders to try and place a block on the top layers at the start. How would they have got it there without standing on the lower layers? Note, this assumes the pyramids were not built by aliens in which case all bets are off.

This is different with base building. You could be in week 2 of your training and do an eye-popping interval at Zone 4. If you do, your body will not have the right foundations in place, so you will damage your body making it impossible to reach the same peak you would otherwise have reached.

So I like to think of base-building like a pyramid of camels. Break one of the camels' backs and it will collapse. Unlike with bricks, all the other camels are carefully balanced, so quickly you'll have a messy pile of camels. You could still climb the pile of camels and try to balance more camels on top, but the peak of your camel pyramid will be much lower than it could have been.

Summary
Base building is an established method used by many professionals. Chris Boardman was one of the first. It works by helping your body to gradually adapt to carefully measured training. It is also compatible with commuting.

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Commuting as Training - Why it works

2012-03-22T16:00:00.002-07:00

"Ride your bike, ride your bike, ride your bike" -Fausto Coppi

That's what the great Fausto Coppi said when a reporter asked him what it takes to become a great champion. I reckon he probably knew what he was talking about.

Mind you. He didn't have to work in an office for 40 hours a week, did he?

I'd love to ride my bike all the time, but I suffer the minor inconvenience of not being independently wealthy. So I train on my commute.

This has it's disadvantages (hidden at the bottom of this post), but some major advantages too.

You Will Train

If your bike is your transport you will have to ride it. If you don't, you won't get to work.

That sounds like an obvious point, but there is a lot in this. If you decide to train, say, eight hours a week, when are you going to do it? Not many of us can physically ride for eight hours, so you can't do it all in one go. Even if you could you'd be giving up a day of your weekend and, with the best will in the world, will you do that every week?

The advantage of a commute is that you have to do it 10 times a week. So commute an hour each way four days a week and take the train on the other and you've got your eight hours. And you've taken 0 hours away from the rest of your life.

You Will Understand Your Body

If you train with a heart rate monitor you get some raw data about your body. That will help you to understand how your body adapts to your training.

If you ride up the same hill and down the other side five days a week with a heart rate monitor you'll understand how your body reacts to the gradient much more deeply and intuitively. You'll then adapt your peddling style, cadence and gear selection automatically to make the most out of the effort you are putting in.

Your Gym Will Be All Around You

The moment I leave my house or office I'm training. I don't have to go anywhere or arrange anything. My gym is the the hills for strength, the stretches of nice flat A-road for speed, the back roads for fun and the traffic for focus. And by having a selection of possible routes from A to B I can always keep it interesting.

Better than watching Loose Women on the big telly in the Staff Gym I can tell you.

Your Body Will Adapt

In order for your training to create a physiological response in your body you need to train regularly. If you can only go out once a week, a lot of the fitness benefit will be lost from one ride to the next. If you ride several times a week your body starts to expect exertion and adapts accordingly.

But if you can only ride once a week that's really good too.

It is Satisfying

Before I started training on my commute I used to just commute. I found that there were many days when I loved it - anyone who has done it knows that strange thing that happens where you've used loads of energy to get to work, but you've got more energy when you get there. But there were just as many days when it was a chore.

Now I find that the beep of the heart rate monitor, planning what I want to get out of each ride and the measurable, gradual improvement keeps me motivated most of the time.

You Need To Stay Focused and Plan

One disadvantage of training this way is that it requires planning and consistency. Training with a heart rate monitor requires you to keep your effort within certain zones. You can't just abandon that and race to work because you left a bit later than you planned. You also have to find the time to plan each ride so you know what your objective is and how it fits in to the rest of the week.

Having said that you can plan a whole week once a week - Sunday night is for ironing shirts and planning rides in my house. You also do get into the habit after a while and it becomes part of your life.

You'll Need Some Longer Rides

Many of us spend an hour getting to and from work. If we don't we've probably planned nothing between 8-9am and 5-6pm, so that time could be used for training.

As you learn more about the way your body adapts to training you'll understand that there are times in your training when your body needs you to be on the road for at least 2 hours in order to create a physiological effect. So, sometimes you need to do something else.

I have two ways of doing this. Sometimes I just get up an hour earlier and take a longer route to work. If you lucky you'll see the sunrise on the open road - a real treat on the way to the office.

The other way is to look for opportunities in your schedule. For instance I sometimes attend meetings in York, which is 40 miles from my house. It takes the same time to drive there as it does to catch the train. So, sometimes I put my bike on the train, attend the meeting then ride home.

You'll Need to Leave Early Sometimes

My standard commute is about 14 miles. On my best days, despite the hills, traffic lights and other obstacles I've done the journey in 40 minutes. However in the early stages of base training you need to slow down and train with a low heart rate. That took my journey time over an hour to begin with. So, I needed to set off a bit earlier so as not to be late to work.

But, this stage only lasts a couple of months and when you come through the other side you'll be faster than you ever were before. So, relax, smell the roses and get fit.

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Time Smart Cycling

W(e)hey, It's Giro Time

So Where Have I Been All Your Life?

Time for a New Plan of Action

Where there's a will there's a whey

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Goal Setting

Happy New Year, Time for Some Goals

Why You Need Goals

How to Set Goals

Summary

Competition:Win a HardnutZ Hi-Vis Helmet Worth £49.99

HardnutZ

You're Safe, Be Seen

The Competition

Update on The North Face Base Layer Competition

David Millar, the John Malkovich of Cycling

The Coolest Guy in Cycling

Racing Through The Dark, The Fall and Rise of David Millar

Being David Millar

Competition: Win a North Face Base Layer

The Competition, What's Your Project4?

How to Enter

The Rules

Ilkley Cycling Club Kidnaps Stephen Roche and Ned Boulting

The Hit

The Incarceration

Ned Plans His Escape

The Nightmare Ends

But Seriously

The Friday Freewheel: Floods, Fatigue and Crashes

Reason 1: The Flood

Reason 2: The Crash

Reason 3: The Real Reason

Interview: Huw Williams, Cycling Coach

Talking to an Actual Expert

Interview, Huw Williams

The Friday Freewheel: Books n Cars n That

Time to Move On

Why The Clarkson Reference?

And the Books?

Base Building for Cyclists, A New Foundation for Performance and Endurance (Thomas Chapple)

Weight Training for Cyclists, A Total Body Programme for Power and Endurance (Ken Doyle and Eric Schmitz)

Racing Through The Dark, The Fall and Rise of David Millar (David Millar)

Cyclists Training Bible (Joe Friel)

Cyclepedia, A Tour of Iconic Cycle Designs (Michael Embacher and Paul Smith)

Mountain High (Daniel Freibe and Pete Goding)

The Death of Marco Pantani (Matt Rendell)

...

The Friday Freewheel: Our Hero Survives Terrifying Trip to York

The Part Where I Insult a Large Section of my Readership

The Part Where I Give The Impression I'm a Bike Snob

And the Moral of This Story?

A Note About York

project4cycling Celebrates Ten Thousand Pageviews

The Start Ramp

The Hard Miles - Advice for New Bloggers

So Why Are You Reading This?

The Peloton

The Breakaway

Sportive Sports Nutrition – The Day of the Ride

Before You Ride

During the Ride

Hydration

Sportive Sports Nutrition – After the Race

Sportive Sports Nutrition – The Day Before the Race

The Day Before the Race

Sportive Sports Nutrition – The Week Before

The Week Before the Race

Hydration

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrate-Loading

Food Balance

How a Bike Commuter Rode the 114 Mile White Rose Classic

The Idea

Preparation - General

Preparation - Building a Base

Preparation - Tapering or Crashing?

Preparation - Nutrition

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