If your a regular reader of my blogs you will know I go pheasant beating/flushing on shoot days, with the game bird season ending at the end of January the last few weeks have been the last opportunity to go and it's been great timing with my shopping list for the race bike going up and up. This last few weeks I've been getting things ordered and bought to get my bike in tip top condition for the start of the season, i.e, new tyres, rims, chain, cassette, re cabling and paying for races and BC Licence fees all of which doesn't come cheap.
Right i'll start with last Monday and talk through to Sunday.
Monday was a shoot day and another opportunity to earn some vital penny's. Although it's not hours on the bike, i still consider beating part of my training, it's a day of walking through rough ground, climbing fences and walls and continuous flagging to drive the birds to the guns. And at the end of a day having been on my legs from 8:45am to 16:30 im pretty tired. At 12 o'clock i was up for getting home and having a steady hour on the turbo but come finishing time all i wanted to do was relax. So with a big pasta meal in me i kicked back on the sofa and rested up for my ride on Tuesday.
Today "Tuesday" a 3 hour ride was my aim I was well up for it and decided to do my favorite training route, the one i did with Cycling Weekly's Chris Sidwells a fortnight before, however when I got to Stainforth I decided to turn left and climb over to Malham and drop down past the cove. Up on the tops was a totally different world, i likened it to a cake with icing. The valley roads and fields were green as ever but up on the tops was a thick frost and even a bit of snow. But the roads were perfectly clear and free from ice. After dropping down the very fast technical descent in to Malham it was a fast rolling ride home through Gargrave and West Marton. Great ride done and another 3 hours in the bag.
Wednesday I was out for another 3 hours but today i'd have some company, I met my mate Sam "Hope Factory Racing" at Gisburn Auction Mart, a 30 minute ride on the A59 from home. I wanted to do another favorite route of mine, riding through Bolton-by-Bowland to Waddington and through fell woods to the Bashall Eaves RR Course. This is a great area to train, with a mix of quiet B roads, lanes and Single Track wooded roads all rolling and twisty great for the mind and not getting bored. We did a loop of the RR Course and made our way home the same way. Now on this ride the definition of "Typical and Sods law" came into play. To those of you who know the area we were riding from Chaigley to Bashall Eaves, this section of road has a good 2 mile descent. Sam said to me "How often do you ride UP this way?" i said well never why ride up here all the time when i can enjoy this great descent!", what with all the potholes and puncturing risk?" Well yeah but you just not gotta be an idiot and look where your going, then you don't run down em do you! i said. About 200 yards down the road i ran straight down a pothole right onto the rim and sure enough i'd punctured, it was typical Sam just laughed and said "what were you saying about not been an idiot? haha" SODS LAW!!! But there was one thing in my favor, it was a great day sunny and dry so at least we didn't get wet standing about fixing it.
Thursday I was out solo and i decided not to stray to far from home as the weather was forecast to be pretty rough later on in the day, but still get 3 hours in the saddle. In order to do this I did several laps of the Bolton-by-Bowland rr course, its a good circuit to do, its got lots of small rolling climbs, very quiet lanes and good stretches of flat and down hill. When I'd done the circuits I rode out towards Malham and Back to Gargrave and home. In the last hour of the ride what the weather man had said happened, it rained, it sleeted and it blew and despite having mud gaurds on the winter bike the rain poured off my front wheel straight into my shoe. But oh yeah here's why, the night before i'd washed my perfect "feet never get wet" endura over shoes and forgot to get them out to dry, so come morning they were sopping and me been me thought "oh yeah i'll be right, i wont get cold" my feet were perished, so cold in fact when i climbed my foot didn't flex and felt like it was going to snap, i half expected when i took my shoe off my foot would still be in there. Coupled with hail stones battering me in the face with the help of a strong head wind it wan't the best end to a ride but i got home with a strong talking to myself i.e- MAN UP!!! its only winter in the North.
Friday was an awful day with Sleet, heavy rain and gales. In the morning i had to drop of an application for some funding from my local council. Last year I was given £375 and a free gym pass which was and still is a great help to me. In the afternoon I went to gym and did my usual session, a mix of kettlebell work, machines and free weights. All of which focuses on my legs and core for stability and explosiveness. This program was written up by Paul Sudds a very talented and recommended personal trainer both by myself and others who work with him. Take a look at his website, maybe you could be benefited?
Saturday was another shoot day, and to be honest i was grateful for the money but extremely envious of anyone out training. It was an amazing day, cold but dry and sunny. On the tops of the estate you could see for miles.. Fantastic.
After Saturdays frustration i was itching to get out into the lanes and get a good ride in. My legs were sore after all the walking and wall climbing but soon they loosened up and i felt in pretty good shape. For the second time this week i did my favorite training ride plus an extra loop, getting home with 3 1/2 hours in the legs I was very satisfied and pleased with my weeks training.
Top tips for myself this week:- The other week i mentioned to Ian Wilkinson that when I was racing I felt comfortable and strong on the hudz but uncomfortable and weak on the drops. Wilko said he knew what i meant and it was my hip not flexing enough and unable to get the power through whilst on the drops. So this week most of my riding has been on the drops both on the flat and climbing, working my hamstrings and stretching my lower back muscles and i can honestly say i can feel the difference. Cheers Wilko!! Hope your enjoying your Mallorca Training camp seen some of the "wet" photos, its sunny and dry here now, should of stayed in the dales mate haha!!
Hope everyone enjoys the read...........cheers Hamish
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