Chasing wheels

Yes, I enjoy riding in the rain usually but this weekend's torrential downpours were just a little beyond my abilities. When I looked out on Saturday the rain was clattering against my window and I headed back to the duvet without a second glance. Cowardly I know but sensible in other ways.

My hip and back are still giving me grief so I'm trying not to overdo it until I can get them looked at. On the plus side, I've managed to stop smoking again so the edge isn't going off my fitness as quickly. The commute in to work is seeming easier again too, if somewhat frustrating as I now do a rough figure of eight: I go in via Holland Park Drive and out via High Street Kensington.

The good news is that, thanks to some good dialogue with the Met on the part of Paul from London Dynamo, the whole brouhaha over speeding cyclists seem to have blown over for the moment. So next weekend I might be out again, or I might go racing at Hillingdon as the winter series begins and I quite fancy taking a tilt at it.

Posted by Alex on 27 November 2006, 00:11 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

This week the debate has been raging over whether or not the Met Police are deliberately targeting cyclists in Richmond Park for exceeding the 20mph speed limit. You can follow most strands of the discussion on the Cycling Plus forum here:

http://www.cyclingplus.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=114300&whichpage=1

In addition there is apparently an unhelpful article in this week's Cycling Weekly (I don't read it as the only times I've picked it up I've thrown it away as a waste of money) which manages to use a picture of Warrick Spence, one of the best riders on the domestic Elite scene, and thus imply he is a law breaker. I'm guessing he's none to pleased about that.

It looks like the Met Police will be out in force on Saturday and are expecting London Dynamo members to be at the head of things. A fairly obvious assumption given that there's usually at least 50 riders from the club out there every weekend.

My initial view was that we should toe the line and allow it to blow over: the Met get to act on a complaint and tick it off on their clear-up rate, in a couple of weeks things carry on as usual. As the week has worn on my hack hat has slid firmly into place so I think I may well take my press card, microphone and mindisc along just for the record.

I'll report back on what happens, although I do hope it all passes without incident. If not, well then I'll have to start making a few calls and asking a few questions.

Posted by Alex on 23 November 2006, 22:11 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

The right side of my body seems to be working fine and coming along nicely, shame the same can't be said for my left. If it was just the one thing that was troubling me then I could rest it but it's the whole left side that's causing problems, from the waist down. I woke up on Sunday morning in agony, having overslept, and missed my training ride which would probably have been a waste of effort anyway.

The tight hip flexor is back, nagging away at me like an irritated toddler. But it's the thigh and calf that are more worrying as I've got stabbing/burning type pains in both which come and go and a noticeable lack of power on that side.

A quick rub of the calf tells me it's a bit lumpy and could probably benefit from a good going over with a meat hammer. I've been stretching it as best I can but I'm finding it hard to target the bit that needs a good stretch without it twingeing. Likewise the thigh is tight but I don't seem to be able to stretch the relevant bit properly to ease it off.

A doctor's advice would probably be to avoid cycling until the pain subsides and use some embrocation to help keep it loose. The classic prescription of rest. A physio would probably prescribe a series of exercises and then charge me handsomely for it, although the service is available on the NHS if you push enough.

I may have to go to the doctor and stress how the problems are affecting my mobility on foot, if not on the bicycle. That said, on the bike it isn't load bearing to the same extent so it's not entirely without truth.

And I must start getting some decent sleep...

Posted by Alex on 21 November 2006, 23:11 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

Well, I've moved offices which means I'm having to work on a new route in. Instead of the flat side of High Street Kensington and through Hyde Park I'm now north of the park and go up Holland Park Drive before cutting through Connaught Square and other unfamiliar places to get to Fitzrovia.

I don't think my route is as quick as it should be so I need to sit down wit the A to Z and memorise a quick one. Maybe it's just down to a lack of familiarity once I get past the Lancaster Gate roundabout, but that stretch seems to take forever.

On the way back I keep on finding myself drifting up Oxford Street as I've not figured out a more suitable path out again. It feels like being a small dinghy in one of the great harbours of the world. You ghost along praying that the towering hulks of double deckers don't decide to take against you.

You can gently glide against the side of the stationary ones if you so dare but you do so while praying that they don't decide to move towards you and crush you. It's a ridiculously congested route and I'm deperate to find another route out that isn't too circuitous.

Posted by Alex on 16 November 2006, 00:11 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks ()

"One more rider in the second group, it's not going to go too fast."

"OK, I'll go." I pipe up and set off for the toughest session in quite some time. I got hauled round on the first lap until I popped at the start of the second and dropped off the back. Now when I sit up it usually takes a few minutes for the next group to collect me, unfortunately not this time.

My brain is feeling like it's in a tumble dryer; the fact I'm not wearing my contact lenses is irrelevant as my vision has gone hazy; and my legs feel like they've been punched repeatedly. Now someone is shouting at me to get in amongst the wheels and I'm making all sorts of involuntary grunts and groans as I labour not to drop two groups in one sweep.

The person shouting at me is Guy Andrews, a familiar name to London cyclists as both a racer and a journalist. He's a very knowledgeable rider and if you ever have the pleasure to ride with him, listen to what he says. Several of the pieces of advice he gave me this morning have improved my riding immediately:

It should have been a day like any other: pedal to work far too fast while half awake, spend the rest of the day regretting not stretching enough; then cycle home slightly tired and try to remember what I actually planned to buy when I find myself at the checkout in Waitrose on High Street Kensington (I never do remember and I never do come home with what I planned to get).

But today's ride home threw up two events which are cause for remark and rejoice at bit that not every driver in London is hellbent on driving cyclists off the road. Actually, I know most aren't but that's the way a certain section of the "cyclists" lobby likes to paint them. Sadly, this is the lobby that likes to make a lot of noise in a way which tars us all with the brush marked "self-righteous pricks".

Firstly, hammering down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace and trying to get across one lane from the kerb the white van behind me slowed and held its position thus giving me room to manoeuvre out after signalling. Heck, if we hadn't been bombing along at around the 35kph mark I would have let him pull alongside and then pinched him to check he was real. Good thing I didn't seeing as it turned out to be a police van.

Secondly, rolling down High Street Kensington, where you have to keep your eyes open as traffic springs from all sides, a black cab found itself on the inside of me. It needed to get round a carelessly parked car on the left. Instead of squeezing me wider to get out he actually looked in his blind spot, waited for me to back off and then moved out.

I'm still baffled at such gentillesse de route. I'm not expecting it to happen again tomorrow but wouldn't it be nice to be surprised?

Posted by Alex on 8 November 2006, 23:11 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

Not that that makes it any easier mind. So I'll hold off a sigh of relief just yet. More on the 2007 edition at procycling.com:

http://www.procycling.com/news.aspx?ID=2528

I'll need to start sorting hotels, transport and so on if I'm going to head over and ride the sportif the day before the real thing. I'm quite excited by the prospect of it even this far ahead.

Posted by Alex on 7 November 2006, 21:11 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

Interesting piece in the BBC's More or Less programme about testosterone tests:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/more_or_less/6120744.stm

You can listen to it again at the moment but I'm not sure whether it will be archived.

Posted by Alex on 7 November 2006, 14:11 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

For the first time in an eternity I managed to make it round the traditional four laps of richmond Park without dropping back a group. Admittedly, I trundled into the car park a fair way back from the group after hitting my limit up the final uphill bump of the session but it still counts as an improvement.

I'm trying to get determined about giving up smoking again seeing as I've become a dreadful "occasional" smoker who sneaks a couple a day and a few when I'm out with friends. Unfortunately, until I can focus on my cycling goals, it's proving far more challenging than the last time. In part the problem is that I feel stronger than I did last time I gave up and so the desire to stop is weaker. I'm sure once I tuck into the training mentality again I'll find it easier. I'm going to give it a crack this week and see how I go.

After the ride there was the usual banter over coffee about goals for next year. I've laid mine out now and I think this will be my plan: Tour of Flanders 140km in April, Beaume de Venise (featuring Ventoux) in June, Etape in July as my distance challenges. Then Tuesday night series at Hillingdon as my weekly racing and Sunday Surrey Hills for training. I think that's plenty to be going on with for the moment.

Posted by Alex on 5 November 2006, 23:11 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks ()

An interesting article on the ever brilliant PezCycling News on just how much it costs to have a stage of Le Tour in the neighbourhood:

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=4481

Do some quick sums, or rough estimates, and you'll see that Le Grand Depart in London next July won't have come cheap.

It's also why the Tour doesn't tend to head into the Massif Central. Auvergnats are the French equivalents of Scots: tight-fisted or "radin", as the French would say. Which is a shame, because it's a wonderful part of France and names like Puy De dome and Mont Dore are etched in the legend of the event.

Posted by Alex on 3 November 2006, 23:11 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()