Day 4 of four

Tuesday 26th June: This is the fourth day of my four day set of rides. It went really well and I ended up doing  19 miles instead of the planned 14. Interestingly I have noticed how much my riding has improved since I started 3 years ago. Hills are much easier, I ride much faster and my cadence is up considerably.

A 'Day 3' ride

Monday 25th June: It is important to get 4 days riding back to back so I can get used to gettin on the bike every day. This is the 3rd day out of 4:

Sunday evening 20

Sunday 24th June: After a shopping trip to Norwich for some bits and pieces for the trip I managed to fit in a 20mile ride around. Another dry and breezy ride but with plenty of damp patches on the road, very pleasant ride in all.  Even managed the hill on Rectory Road, Broome with some vigour.

Framlingham to Southwold (55ish)

Saturday 23rd June: We (Steve Williams, Neil Ralph and I) decided to take a ride from Framlingham to Southwold on a circular route of about 55miles. We set off from Framlingham at about 7:45am in dry but breezy conditions after leaving Saxmundham Neil was in front and didn't here me shout to turn left and we had to carry on into Aldeburgh, we found out later this added about 4 miles to our ride. We stopped for food and drink at the Beach Cafe in Sothwold before continuing on via Wangford and Halesworth and then back to Framlingham.

Another great ride!

Midweek Ride

Wednesday 20th June: According to the training schedule in the Action Medical Research event manual I needed to do between 25-30miles, unfortunately I was delayed getting home from work and didn't get out until after 7pm. This meant I was out until after 9 and I had not taken lights or any warm clothes (just had short sleeved jersey and  shorts...Note to self: always carry long sleeved waterproof jacket and take lights on evening rides). This was also a new route that I had created on the Garmin Connect website and downloaded to my Garmin Edge 800 GPS/Bike computer. This is a great little gadget but isn't without it's foibles and it meant a few wrong turns!

One month to go...

Monday 18th June: One month to go ! So I had better get pedalling.

Rosy Lee's

Sunday 17th June: I was joined by Phil Burton for a ride out to Loddon. We wnet the long way round and had a very enjoyable ride.

"Why Loddon?" you may ask. Well, it's Rosy Lee's Tea Room. This is a magnet for cyclists from all over and Caroline the proprietor even supplies hot water bottles to warm your hands on cold days. No such problem today but unfortunately she had no remedy for the gusty wind.

A few problems with the Garmin meant the route was a bit unorthodox but we had a nice ride of about the right length.

A tough one in strong winds

Saturday 16th June: I needed a good ride of at least 40 miles this morning. So I set off around 9:45 on a new route with a strong tailwind. As I started to head south towards Loddon the wind had picked up and there were strong gusts making it hard to keep the bike upright, the winds got even stronger as I turned into wind and headed towards Bungay. Still, it was a nice ride and I felt good throughout.

Another One...

Thursday 14th June: Managed to fit a quick ride round the block after unloading a trailer load of logs.

Get out when you can

Tuesday 12th June: Sometimes it's a real struggle to get the enthusiasm to get on the bike. Tonight was one of those nights. We drove back from Peterborough with the caravan and unloaded, then it was out on the bike for a quick ride before visiting the chiropractor. Once on the bike it felt really good.

The lesson from this is that it is best to get out in the good weather, I could have gone on Saturday evening but decided not too as I wasn't felling well. Should have pushed myself then.

Peterborough: Ferry Meadows

Saturday 9th June2012: We are away in the caravan for 4 days so I have brought the bike as well. I downloaded a route to the Garmin and did a 30 mile circuit around the camp site (Ferry meadows). It was hard going in strong winds but quite nice to go over some of the route I covered in the Peterborough 100.

Another Wet One

Thursday 7th June: Decided to go up to Stoke Holy Cross to pick up some "Carbon Frame Polish" from Matt Jackson at Advanced Cycle Science. Matt provides an excellent bike fitting service that really makes a difference, I feel so much more comfortable on the bike now I have been through the process with him.

All went well until I stopped to take a call from Lisa, when I pulled over I must have picked up a thorn in my tyre which caused a puncture. It was quite difficult to get the thorn out of the tyre wall, and it was wet, so I aborted the ride and Lisa came and picked me up.

Short and Wet

Wednesday 6th June 2012: After a 3 day break I just had to get on the bike again, so even though it was wet with frequent heavy showers it was essential I went out tonight, so I took it easy as I felt a bit stiff after the long weekend. Now I had better get out tomorrow as well!

Early Morning Ride to Walberswick.

Saturday 2nd June: Steve Williams, Neil Ralph and I met at 7:30 in Framlingham for a very very nice ride to Walberswick. We took our time and had a most enjoyable ride.