Well this is a first for me ,Those who know me well would say I should be sponsored to write this Blog, I don't do paper work !.Well as you have all ready read Ed s not well with flu / cold. I would put this down to over training and he's done me a favor as I have taken To day off from training, am really tired .My New bike is just great I don't want to come home I'll do a Quick Twenty and be just coming in to Tenby and the turn and do five more .Twice last week I went around a small circuit just to make up the miles , one was on my route back in to Tenby by Carew it adds two miles up and Two miles back I was riding around it 3 times and the other was around the Esplanade in Tenby 5 times round adds a mile SAD! b

H

A new routine started this week - commuting by bike to work.

The hardest part is getting up at 6am ready to be out on the road just before 7, not something I am noted for. Anyway it all worked really well, although the frosty mornings have been a surprise. If I did not sell electric heaters I would have been cheesed off- but it is good for business.

The return trip home in warm sunshine has been a real bonus, I had almost forgotten how warm weather felt. There have been quite a few other cyclists which is great to see. I raced one on Thursday for around 6 miles - he did not know he was in a race, but he won anyway, this time.

This week I got my bike computer up and running again. I had been happy to do with out whilst building up some sort of stamina but now I am doing a regular journey it is useful to bench mark my progress. The round trip is 30 miles with nearly 1800 feet of climbing so it should be a good base for Lejog if I can keep it up.

The real bonus of commuting is you get 2 hours training for the price of 1, as I would have spent at least an hour traveling in the car anyway. Consequently I am not disrupting the families routine too much.

Friday saw me wrecked by bird flu, or possibly a cold, either way I have not seen my co-cyclist Richard this week. He has been tearing up his speed records on his new bike so I will remain in his wake for some time. Thankfully he has also got rid of the squeak on his bike which could have become quite annoying over a long day.

Today we have also set up our charity donation web site at www.justgiving.com/bike1000 so I hope this helps people donate to Macmillan on our behalf.

Regards
Ed

Last week was terrible!!

I hit the wall, bonked (a strange cycling term - not something you wish to happen), came off the rails, just felt rotten for the first time this year. It was so bad I took three days off.

The problem has now been resolved though. I was not eating enough. You can not cycle apparantly 6 days a week on the same basic diet you had before you started. I know that is obvious but it was quite good seeing the weight come down only last week my energy levels collapsed. The solution has been great - double size lunches. Hopefully this new regime will have an impact.

On top of the energy problem I had three puntures in three days! And that was after going 3,000 miles with only one previous puncture. More embarrasing the third puncture happend on my first attempt at commuting to work.

On a more positive note a did manage to get to work and back on Friday by bike, so I was able to christen the new shower block, and very nice it is too. A picture is attached primairily to stop Richard asking me all the time to post one.

The grotty week was completed when Richard and I rode out to Pendine where we met up with Andy, a really good bloke. Andy let me borrow his Trek Pilot 5.2 (bikes can be quite techie), a machine I had been keen to buy. After a very fast ride to Laugharne and then back along the coast to Pendine Sands we hit Pendine hill. For the first time in a year I had to get off and push! The humiliation of it all.

I know I could have got up that hill with my Hewitt Cheviot. It weighes twice as much if not more than the Trek and is made of steel none of this modern carbon stuff. You see it is all down to the gears. Why do the press keep this a secret! Yes a lighter bike with the same gear ratios would be better but there seems a reluctance by manufacturers to give you an easy life. Still now I know not to spend a small fortune on the Trek.

Richard unveiled his new titanium bike. Very nice it is too, it goes very fast and looks the business. It is not quite for me as it does not take mudguards, so you get a muddy streak up your back and he does not want to ride it in the rain? The compact gearing was not for a wimpy cyclist like me, it nearly killed me trying to ride up the hilll at Amroth. So it back to the drawing board as regards my next bike.

Hopefully next week will be much better!

Regards
Ed