Ridiculous to Sublime

Today's training stats: Threshold Strength: TT 1 lap of Richmond Park

After yesterday's horrible weather, I was a bit apprehensive about training when I woke up - although I did have the fallback position that if it was really horrid I could always do some intervals on the turbo.

However, when I pulled back the curtains, it was absolutely lovely outside - sunny and not too windy. After doing a few jobs in the morning, I popped out on the bike around lunchtime. The wind was behind me as I headed through Twickenham up to Richmond Park, so I was averaging 19-20 mph without really pushing myself at all, which was a nice feeling. It takes me about 15 mins to get up to the park, so it's a nice warmup. After grabbing a quick drink, I set out on my 1 lap "Time Trial". In today's training I was aiming at 'Threshold' level - which for me is a heart rate in the zone 162-172 bpm.

Here's the science bit..."This level of effort involves the fast-twitch oxidative (type 2a) muscle fibres, which require large amounts of oxygen to function properly".

This compares with the 'Endurance' level training which I was doing yesterday, which "uses the slow twitch (type 1) aerobic muscle fibre that it's vital to train for improved endurance. (NB: This is a fat-burning fibre - just one more reason why I need to be doing more training at this level!).

The reason why it was important for me to stay in the Endurance zone yesterday was that if I did that, I wasn't using any of the fast-twitch fibres - meaning they weren't fatigued, and I could get more out of training them today.

Anyway, I really caught the best of the weather in the park - although the northerly wind was still quite stiff. Doing my best to push myself quite hard, while keeping in the Threshold zone, I felt exactly how I think I should have - out of breath, but not completely flat out and 'ruined'.

This is a photo of me after I got back. I took it for my Etape 'memories' book, which Katy at Face Partnership is putting together. I'm gonna put the ludicrous 'belly' down to the fact that I'd just drunk almost a litre and a half of SiS 'Go' and 'Rego' energy drinks, but it should make the difference between my 'before' and 'after photos look a bit more impressive. I thought black was supposed to be slimming, anyway! 

As you'll see from the stats above, I finished with a time of 23.24 - an average speed of exactly 17mph. I'm aware this isn't particularly great, as decent club cyclists aim at doing 3 laps in an hour. However, I'm also aware that I'm just doing my best to train myself and I won't be racing anyone in the Etape.

The key thing again today was making sure that I did as much of my training in the required threshold zone, and again I think I achieved that pretty well. As you can see from today's graph, the vast majority (84%) of my ride was in the Threshold

 zone, so I was training exactly the right types of muscle. This way, I should be able to alternate my Endurance and Threshold training, without my muscles ever getting too fatigued. It should mean that I get more training in total, and also that whatever training I do is more effective. 

Despite yesterday's grim weather, I'm pretty

pleased with how this week's going so far, and hopefully it'll continue. Tomorrow should be another Endurance ride - weather permitting, and then I've got a rest day to look forward to on Thursday.

Sportstest Physiological Assessment

So, today I had my cycling-specific physiological assessment at Sportstest, the company run by Dr Garry Palmer, who co-wrote the book which I've already mentioned several times in this blog - "Elite Cycling: Successful Sportives".

I was keen to have this done, so that I could correctly identify (rather than estimating) my training heart rate zones etc., to ensure that I make the most of my training time. I also wanted to have my 'baseline' stats to hopefully compare with my improved fitness come July.

The actual testing consisted of two sessions on a Kingcycle computerised turbo trainer. In the first one - the "Sub-maximal exercise test" - I gradually worked up to a power output of 150 watts, stayed there for 5 minutes, then worked up to a power output of 200 watts and stayed there for another 5 minutes. This test helps you work out your oxygen uptake and 'efficiency'.

In the second - "Maximal exercise test" - you have to increase your power output at a rate of around 25 watts per minute, until you've got nowhere else to go, and have to give up - not much fun. This test is designed to work out your maximum power output, heart rate and oxygen uptake (VO2 max).

Throughout, you're wired up to a heart rate monitor obviously, but also a mask over your nose and mouth, which measures compositon of the gases you're breathing in and out.

The tests are bookended by a couple of chats with Garry. Initially he got some background on my training history and goals, and also took basic measurements of height, weight, body fat etc. Then, following the tests, there was a full run through of the results and their significance and then a look at optimal training strategies in the light of these results.

I'll try and give you the headline figures - but more interestingly for both you and me hopefully - the conclusions that Garry drew about how best to proceed from here on in.

Garry's measurement of my weight and height tallied with mine - 5 foot 8 and a half and currently 11 stone 10 pounds. However, his measurement of my body fat came out at 14.1% - significantly lower than that of my Tanita scales. However, as he then went on to say, while my body fat is in the 'ideal' range for the normal population, it's a bit high for athletic performance - particularly given the climbs in the Etape. His first recommendation was to aim at a body fat percentage of 8-10%.

From my sub-maximal exercise test, the interesting figures were that my Efficiency was at 18.86% at 150 watts, but actually increased to 19.11% at 200 watts. This has interesting repurcussions for my training strategy, which I'll come to later, but broadly it means that I need to work on improving my efficiency at this lower level - ideally towards 22+%.

From the maximal exercise tests:

Maximum power was 277 watts (need to be aiming at more like 300).

Maximum heart rate 183bpm

Maximum power/weight ratio was 3.71 watts/kg (need to be aiming at 4-4.5 with weight decreasing and power increasing obviously).

Measured VO2 max was 50.3 ml/kg/min (Garry suggested this is a pretty good level given my limited training time so far).

From this, Garry also calculated my target heart rate zones as:

Recovery/Base - Up to 141bpm

Endurance - 142-152 bpm

Mixed Muscle Zone - 153-161bpm

Threshold - 162-172 bpm

Speed/Power - Over 173bpm

Garry and I then worked at putting together an individualised training programme, to take account of my rather 'eccentric' work pattern.

In my alternate week 'off' it basically alternates endurance training with threshold sessions, and works in an unstructured group ride.

My 'work' week is of necessity a bit easier, my days off being used for longer endurance sessions, and my work days being used just as commute/recovery days.

Anyway, I don't want to blind you with too much science, but overall I found the session really interesting, and useful, and I'm very glad I've done it. I already knew from the book that Garry's approach was one that would really suit me, and that proved to be true. He was really helpful and encouraging, and even managed to make the less impressive stats seem not quite so depressing. His assertion that I could probably manage the Etape next week (although it wouldn't be much fun!) was worth the money on its own.

I shouldn't leave this entry without mentioning that on Tuesday we had a meeting with Fran and Katy from Face Partnership - who are organising the Sky Etape team. Again it was really useful to meet them, and particularly to hear Fran's experiences of doing the Etape. All the other guys on the team were really friendly and interesting too - although I'm slightly concerned that I'm the most 'beginnerish' - I'm starting to feel more confident day by day though, and I think if I can stick to my training schedule I should hopefully be ok.

First 'Long' Ride

I know...it's all relative. I had a really nice morning anyway, doing a quick zip down to Chobham and back to Twickenham, all using my Edge 705 to give me "bike sat-nav" for the first time, as well as logging all my stats.

I've popped both the Motion Based and the (now working again) Garmin Connect stats below, as they give you slightly different analysis of the information, and it can't hurt.

Twickenham-Chobham-Twickenham Stats (Motion Based)

Conditioning: Twickenham - Chobham - Twickenham 40 Miles (Garmin Connect)

So those are the basic facts and figures. The reality was that I had a good morning. I guess in my heart of hearts, I felt like I wanted to do a ride with a good chunk of mileage so that I felt like the Etape would at least be a possibility.

I'd planned to do the ride at a quite leisurely pace, because I was also getting to grips with the sat-nav side of my Edge 705. I chose the route by doing a quick search on Bikely - a site which enables riders to share their routes. Once I'd found a route that looked promising, in terms of mileage and scenery, I used the option to download it as a GPX file. It's then a simple matter of copying the file to the GPS folder on the Edge by dragging and dropping - the route then turns up in the list of "Saved Routes" on the unit.

After fitting my newly arrived Look Keo Sprint pedals, and attaching the cleats to my new Pearl Izumi Attack Road Shoes, I was ready to go. At first, I wasn't very confident about the routing the Edge was taking - I didn't seem to be going in the right direction at all, and this meant that I spent more time looking at the mapping screen than I did at the road at some points. However, about 15 mins of winding around the back roads of Hampton, I figured out what the problem was.

The route was a big loop, and without thinking, I'd just assumed that the loop went in a clockwise direction, and had started out. What became clear was that the route was actually plotted anti-clockwise, and so the Edge was doing its best to get me back "on track". Once I'd worked that out, it became clear that the Edge had actually done a really good job of getting me back to the proper route, by using cyclist-friendly roads with very little traffic.

It works almost exactly like a car sat-nav, giving you a warning (in both time and distance), of your next turning, and then giving you a reminder of the turning when you're just about to reach it - counting down from ten seconds on a few occasions.

Having said that, there were a couple of points on the ride when the Edge did get lost without any rider assistance.On one of these occasions it got me back to the proper route after a bit of thinking, but the second time I had to figure it out myself. The best way of doing this is to zoom out the map display, so that you can see the pink line marking your route, and then work your way back towards that line, until eventually the Edge picks it up.

Overall though, it was clearly a much better solution than constantly pulling a sweaty map out of my back pocket, and meant I could concentrate on my cycling, rather than always being worried about where I was.

The jury's still out on the pedals I think. I'm used to double sided Shimano SPD cleats/pedals for commuting, so I think it's going to take me a little while to get used to the engagement process for these Look single-sided ones. When they're engaged, the connection feels very secure, and there seems to be just the right amount of 'play' so that your knees don't feel like they're waggling around all the time, but they never get sore from being in the same position too much.

The shoes felt good though. They seem to fit well, and although there was an occasional twinge around the instep area, I think that's just a natural part of the adjustment process. Again, they felt secure without ever feeling tight and restrictive.

On the way 'out' the blustery wind was pretty much dead against me all the way, but I still managed to keep up a 17-18mph pace, without feeling tired. In fact, that was the encouraging thing about the ride as a whole. My legs and lungs never felt particularly stressed, which is a good sign on the endurance side of things. The ride was pretty flat, but on what 'hills' there were, I managed generally to keep it on the big chainring.

I had a 5 minute stop at a pub in Chobham, to refuel with drinks and an energy bar, but again I was encouraged that I didn't feel like I needed more of a rest. I did need to stretch out my back though, because it was starting to feel a bit sore from bending over in the 'tuck' position. In fact, whenever I felt a bit 'tired' I could generally narrow it down to my back feeling a bit sore, but again I'm hoping this is just part of the adjustment process.

Something that'll be easier to adjust to is feeling part of the camaraderie of the road. It's a small thing I know, but it was nice to exchange a nod and a smile with other cyclists out on the road training. Just makes you feel that you're not out there suffering on your own, and I guess on a deeper level it reminds you that you're a part of a a self-selecting group of slightly twisted loners. For some that might seem depressing - I find it strangely liberating!

By the time I got home, my quads were starting to feel slightly achey, but I had enough energy to manage a sprint to the doorway. I still need to refine my saddle position I think, as that obviously has an effect on which muscles you use. I've gradually been raising the saddle over the last week or so, in an effort to get a more 'powerful' position, but now that I've got my new pedals, I think I might need to move the saddle back slightly on the fore/aft plane, to get the most out of my legs. Will have a go at that the next time I get back on the turbo I think.

As far as the overall training plan's going, I've done almost six hours this week, which is the recommended amount according to my training plan. Although at the beginning of this week I think I said I'd like to try and get eight hours in, the more I read the more I think I should try and stick to the recommendations, in order to avoid 'overtraining', particularly at the start.

I also feel slightly guilty, because although I'd planned to do today's ride mostly in the "endurance" heart rate zone, (Zone 3, in yellow, on the chart) my Motion Based stats show me that I did a significant proportion in the Mixed Muscle Zone ( Zone 4, in orange, on the chart) above that.

This is pretty firmly discouraged in my training book, because it's not particularly useful in conditioning, and stresses two different types of muscle fibre, meaning that it's more difficult to target an individual kind of fibre on your next day of training.

I'm going to put that down as a learning experience though, and remember to drop my gearing and raise my cadence on uphill sections, so that my heart rate doesn't get too high.

I still need to do a 'strength' session from my menu of training activities, and also practice some of my 'skills', so I think I'll do an interval session on the turbo trainer on Friday, and then maybe a short, easy skills ride on Saturday.

I'm going to try myself out on the Twickenham Cycling Club Sunday morning run this weekend, because I need to get some experience of cycling in groups, and that'll give me a big jump on my training requirements for next week.

Training proper and Proper training

My training's been slightly delayed by an assignment for the Creative Writing course I'm doing,which I finally got in at 2330 on Friday night. I then had a dayschool in town for that course and then finally I could sit down and relax for the first time in about a month. Except I didn't.

Feeling the clock ticking down towards the Etape, I felt a certain amount of internal pressure to get on the bike and blow some cobwebs out. In practice, this meant me unboxing my new turbo trainer, the Tacx Sirius Soft Gel Turbo, and spending 20 minutes or so putting it all together. I then got the bike out, fixed her on the spindle, and wound her up. You can hopefully see the results in the photos - along with my attention seeking kitten, Molly.

Just to try her out, I did half an hour at what I guess was "Conditioning Volume" - the level where I would have difficulty holding a conversation for long periods and my heart rate would have been between 145 and 155 bpm.

I didn't feel too fatigued, and in fact the main problem appears to be that without the effects of wind, which you get outside, you just get very, very sweaty quite quickly. It was the sweatiness rather than the work that was making me uncomfortable by the end - but at least it felt like I'd got some work done.

It also meant that I could try out my Science in Sport "Go" Electrolyte drink. As I'm clearly going to need every bit of help that I can get, I'm going to try and take the hydration/energy/nutrition side of things quite seriously. I've occasionally used other Science in Sport products before, and I've heard good things about their cycling stuff before, so they seem like a good place to start. With the free measuring/drinking bottle they give you with their starter pack it's very easy to just pour in the "Go" powder up to the relevant mark and then top up with water. I've gone for the Lemon and Lime flavour, and it seems basically palatable, albeit with a slightly artificial, metallic tang.

I was already on a bit of a science kick, because a couple of books that I'd ordered to help me with my preparation had arrived in the morning, and I'd got a chance to start on one of them (Elite Performance Cycling - Succesful Sportives) on the train up to my dayschool. I'm already enjoying it becase a) It seems to be specifically designed for relative novices preparing for the Etape and b) Because it takes a very science based approach to training, which my analytical mind finds attractive.

The training methods the book suggests also seem to tie in with the British Cycling/Sky training programme which I've been given, so everyone's literally on the same page. What the book adds to that though, is a clear explanation of how the body works and responds to training, with particular regard to the importance of carbohydrate intake and processing for the long distance cyclist. It also gives clear advice on what to eat/drink in relation to your training - eg. 2+ hours before training a carb-based mean - In the 2 hours before training drink a reasonable amount of fluid in combination with some carbs in a sports drink etc...

Anyway, after doing my quick spin on the turbo, I realised that it was going to be important for me to be able to accurately monitor my heart rate. As my bike was already on the trainer - I thought this would be a good time to use it to double as a workstand so that I could attach my Garmin Edge 705 GPS/HRM.

This meant attaching a mount to the stem, and cadence and speed sensors to the rear stay, one of the pedal cranks and a spoke. I'm useless at anything DIY, so I initially made a couple of schoolboy errors, but after half an hour or so, I had everything working.

I'm not sure you can quite see on the photo, but on this screen you can have a number of readings - I've got overall time, time of day, heart rate, cadence, speed etc...but you can customise this screen however you want. On another screen, you have the mapping side of things - essentially a bike sat-nav. This means that you can program in the route that you want to cycle, and it will give you turn by turn directions - meaning you don't have to have an OS map in your back pocket and stop every five minutes to work out why you're not where you should be.

The best bit, of course, is the way that these two functions combine - when you cycle a route, and you then have your speed, HR, cadence etc. cross-referenced with your position. All the info from your training sessions can be downloaded to a computer and Garmin's "Connect" website then collates all the data into charts and graphs, and indeed anything the mildly obsessive gadget geek/cyclist could want.

This afternoon, I'd intended to nip up to Richmond Park, and do 2 or 3 laps at "Steady Volume" (fairly low intensity - the level where you have little difficulty holding a conversation) to get a bit of proper on-road time. Typically, it was a beautiful day, right up until the moment I detached my bike from the turbo - at which point it started lashing down with rain and got very windy. I still really wanted to go out - but it soon became obvious that it would have been pointless, and might have been so discouraging that it would have been counter-productive.

Instead, I popped the bike back on the turbo and did a 45 minute steady volume stint - but this time with the Edge set up to give me audible alerts when my heart rate slipped out of a preset target range. This proved really useful, because it meant I could concentrate on the telly - rather than my heart rate - which obviously makes the time go quicker.

This is the first time I've tried this out - but I think if you're lucky, if you click on the link below you should be able to see all the data from my workout today, which I downloaded from my Garmin Edge. Let me know if it works/doesn't work...but if it does, it's kinda cool!

Conditioning: Turbo Steady Volume 45 mins

As this is relatively low intensity stuff, my legs didn't really feel fatigued at all, and I didn't get anywhere near as sweaty as I had yesterday. Today the limiting factor was a bit of saddle soreness, which was making sitting quite uncomfortable. Hopefully this is just part of the adjustment process to a new bike and riding position which will pass reasonably quickly.

Being on the turbo has been a good way to get used to the riding position with my hands on the hoods of the brake levers, as I've never had a road bike before. It also get me used to using the gear changers which are combined with the brake levers. For those of you who don't know - which would have included me up until about 3 weeks ago - you actually used the brake levers to change gear as well as to brake. To change gear, you simply flick the brake lever inwards, towards the centre of the handlebars. As I've said before, I'm trying to be very positive about all my training - so I'm looking at today as an example of what a good idea it was to buy a turbo trainer, because otherwise I wouldn't have got any training done over the last couple of days - rather than a missed opportunity to get on the road.

Going back to the science stuff - as part of my rehydration routine today I also tried SiS's "Rego" recovery drink. I was a bit concerned, because I'd got the Strawberry flavour in my randomised starter pack, and normally I hate anything Strawberry "flavoured". It actually turned out to be not too unpleasant, and in conjunction with my fastidious drinking during my training, has definitely made a huge difference to how I felt after the exercise. Often if I go to the gym and do a reasonably hard workout, I'll feel very tired and lethargic when I get home. Today though, I've felt very energised and managed to get lots of things done after training, which might not have happened normally. I'll be interested to see how much of a difference it'll make to how I feel tomorrow.

For various boring, practical reasons, I'm not sure if I'll manage to get much training done tomorrow - but as I'm off this week, I want to try and get as much done as possible - preferably on real roads - to feel like I've really got into the swing of things. All the books and forums I've read tell you how important it is to have a target for each week - so I guess I should start here.

My target for this weeks is to do eight hours training, with at least two 2+ hour rides. Here's hoping the weather plays ball.

The Honeymoon's Over

There's been a small hiatus, in both blog and training terms, because my sister got married last weekend. Despite my best efforts, I didn't get a chance to throw in any gym sessions, because there was lots going on, but lots of fun things happened anyway.

First and foremost, my new bike (Felt F55 2008) arrived last week. I had an inkling that it was going to be good when I helped the delivery driver take it round to the back of the house, because even in the box it was much lighter than I expected it to be.

When I finally got it open, I was even more thrilled. She (for she's definitely a 'she') looks absolutely beautiful and is stunningly light. You really can lift her up with one finger, and every extra bit of weight I can trim will make a massive difference over the distance of the etape.

I also took delivery of a new Garmin Edge 705 - the GPS/heart rate monitor that I mentioned in a previous post. The kind people at Garmin have let me have one for review purposes, and I intend to make full use of it to track my training in as much detail as possible.

Unfortunately, I haven't yet had a chance to take the bike out, because I've been so busy, and indeed will be for the rest of the week. I've got an assignment for the Creative Writing Course I'm doing at the moment, which has to be handed in on Friday, and I've not got very far with it yet. Hopefully, I'll finally get out on Sunday and have a decent ride.

I did go to my usual Wednesday morning Yoga class this morning, and after that I did a solid 30 minutes on one of the exercise bikes. I basically did 8 minutes at effort level 6, followed by a couple of minutes recovery at effort level and then repeated that.

From now on, I'm going to try and take as many positives out of my training as possible, and the nice thing was that my legs didn't really feel tired during any of this stint - I just got very sweaty - which made me feel uncomfortable, rather than particularly fatigued. I also got a second wind after about 15 minutes, and managed to put out more power, at a higher cadence, over the second half of the session. That's reasonably encouraging I think.

I popped into work this evening, to check if there were any more details from Sky about the Etape, and indeed there were. The most important thing was the first month of our training programme, which has been put together with some of the coaches from British Cycling.

The headlines are that in the next month, I should be aiming at 6 hours of bike work in week 1, 6 again in week 2, 8 in week 3 and then down to 4 in week 4.

The work is split up into three key areas - Conditioning, Strength and Technique - with the initial focus being on Conditioning. Within each area, there are a number of different exercises. It's all very clearly set out, and all seems to make sense. At the moment, I've been placed at the "beginner" level, which suits me just fine I think, although because I have a bit more time off than most people, I think I will aim to do a bit more time on the bike than is suggested.

It did remind me that I probably need to get hold of a turbo trainer so that I can do work at home without going to the trouble of going out, particularly when the weather's bad, and I can also measure my performance a bit more accurately. More gadgets...mmmm.

On the science front, I took delivery of a Science in Sport starter pack of energy bars/gels/electrolytes/recovery drinks etc. which I wanted to try out, in order to see which flavours I like. Will be interesting to see if I can feel the difference, particularly with the electrolytes and stuff that are for drinking when you're doing exercise. Anything to help with the endurance side of things will be very useful.

Last but not least, I managed to get "starting point" figures for my weight, water percentage, muscle mass etc. from my Tanita scales on Monday, under reasonably controlled conditions. I'll try and get those details every week so that we can hopefully track the improvements.

Here they are anyway:

Weight: 11 stone 10 pounds

Body Fat Percentage: 18.4%

Visceral Fat Rating: 6

Basal Metabolic Rate: 7380KJ/1764Kcal

Muscle Mass: 9 stone 1 pound

The Visceral Fat rating is basically that fat that is in the internal abdominal cavity, surrounding the vital organs. Men tend to "lay down" more fat in this area, particlarly as they get older, hence the "beer belly".

The Basal Metabolic Rate is the minimum level of energy your body needs when at rest, to function effectively. The higher the rate, the more calories you burn - so I think it's better to have a higher BMR, although I'm not sure as yet how much this can be altered by training. We'll see I guess.

Encouragingly, all those readings seem to be pretty much slap bang in the middle of the "healthy" ranges. The only one that's a little out of kilter is the body fat percentage, which is towards the top of "healthy", but there's plenty of time to work on that.

Training Truths

I'd meant to go to a Pilates class at the gym, but for some reason I'd thought it was at 5 instead of 4 - so missed it. That wasn't a problem, because I'd planned to do a bit of cardio work afterwards anyway, so I just went up to the gym, and added a few weights and core work to what I'd been planning to do anyway.

I did ten minutes on one of the exercise bikes at an average power output of 185 watts (effort levels 8/9), but by the end of this I was suffering somewhat and my heart rate was above 170, which sets off alarms on the machine (!). What the whole experience brought home to me was that I have the strength in my legs (I'm leg-pressing 190kg - the highest weight available - fairly comfortably), because they weren't really tired, but my aerobic fitness isn't anywhere near where it needs to be. I'm going to be climbing Mont Ventoux (assuming I get that far) for more than an hour, so I'm going to need to be able to cope with prolonged periods of high effort.

I don't feel too downhearted though - I've got 5 months of training to get to the required level, and hopefully the fitness will come as long as I continue putting the work in.

I emailed the Twickenham Cycling Club yesterday to enquire about joining, because I think that'll be a good way to get used to cycling in groups etc., and they seem to do fairly regular long rides. I'm going to need to do plenty of those and doing them on my own might get a bit tedious.

On their website they had a list of Sportive rides, which are exactly the kind of thing I'll need to do to get in shape - the Etape being regarded as the ultimate Sportive ride. I like the fact that they seem to emphasise that Sportives aren't competetive - they're just challenges to be completed, a bit like doing a marathon. I've already got in mind a few that I might want to do -for instance the Dragon Ride which takes place around Bridgend, which is where my sister's boyfriend is from, so would be a nice weekend away for the whole family.

Having said that the Etape is a bit like doing a marathon and isn't competetive, there are a few crucial differences. Very few marathons are held on mountains for starters, but crucially, there is a functional time limit on the Etape. This is enforced by the dreaded "broom wagon". Riders who fail to keep up a minimum pace are hoovered up by the wagon, and forced to drop out of the event.

On my regular bike, a Specialized Sirrus Comp,  my current "cruising speed" is around 15 mph. I've got a rack and stuff on this bike, so obviously its a bit heavier than a proper road bike would be, but I'm clearly going to have to get this up a bit if I'm going to avoid ending up on the broom wagon. I read an interesting article in today's Sunday Times which amongst other things suggested that the exertion used in cycling as compared to cycling can be figured out by dividing by a factor of 4. Eg. If you're cycling at 16mph, that's the same in energy terms as walking at 4mph. The problem being that 4mph is just that - walking -  and I need to be "running". Hopefully that increase in speed will come with greater aerobic fitness...but today has very much been about getting a handle on how much work I need to do.

First Steps

I've just got back from a doctor's appointment in East Sheen. I cycled there. It's not particularly far - after getting a bit lost I ended up doing 12 and a half miles or so - but it was symbolic really. Symbolic that I'm taking this seriously.

It was hideously cold and pretty dark, and normally I would have driven, but I just felt it was important that I cycled there to put down a bit of a marker for myself and get into the swing of "training" as quickly as possible. I think it's fairly obvious that for the next 5 months or so, I'll have to commit to not driving anywhere, unless it's completely unavoidable. All my local travel will be by bike. I just hope it warms up a bit. Soon.

It was actually my second doctor's appointment of the day, cos I had to go and see my GP to get a letter saying that I was fit enough to start the training. There was a small panic when the doctor took my blood pressure, because the first reading was a bit high...but she figured it was just because we were chatting, and I was leaning forward with my legs crossed. For about 20 seconds I was wondering if my Etape adventure would be over before it had even started, but thankfully she had another go and everything was completely normal.

I've also made an appointment at the gym for next week, to put together a training programme to focus on my cycling. I'm going to go to a few Spinning classes to try and add a bit of variety, while still doing some bike-based activity. Realistically, my proper training won't start until after the 28th - because that's when my sister gets married - but until then I'll be doing as much as possible to prepare the groundwork.

One nice bonus to preparing for the etape is that I can start eating as much as I like, without worrying about putting on weight. I guess I'll have to make sure I'm eating the right stuff though - that's my next bit of research I think.

Bike Porn

So today I got the news that I'd kinda been hoping for, but also kinda dreading. I've been "lucky" enough to get on Sky's team for the Etape du Tour 2009, which takes place on July 20th.

For those of you that don't know, it's basically a ride over one of the actual stages of the Tour de France, which is open to moderately hardy and spectacularly foolish amateurs.

This year, the stage begins in Montelimar (where the Nougat comes from) and ends at the summit of Mont Ventoux. 

Ever since I first heard about the Etape, I've wistfully dreamt of one day attempting it, without ever thinking it might really happen. However, this year, as part of Sky's tie-up with the GB cycling team, they've decided to send a team, and that's where we came in.

I would have wanted to do the Etape any year, but the fact that this year's stage finishes on Mont Ventoux is really a dream come true - one that I'm really hoping doesn't become a nightmare. 

The "Giant of Provence" holds a very special place in the history of the Tour de France - which I've been mildly obsessed by, ever since watching Stephen Roche win it in 1987. Britain's Tom Simpson died on the mountain in 1967, and there's a granite memorial that marks the spot where he fell. If that wasn't enough to put off the faint-hearted, 7-time Tour Winner Lance Armstrong describes it as his least favourite climb.

I've always been fascinated by the stories which surround Mont Ventoux, and a couple of years ago - whilst staying with my friend Manny, who lives near Avignon - I took the opportunity to make a visit.

Thankfully, I can't remember too much of it, but I do recall thinking that it was pretty hard to get up it in a car - I couldn't really believe that anyone could do it on a bike....well, now I'm going to try to find out if it really is possible.

This blog was inspired by Rich's Etape Du Tour. While I was waiting to find out if I'd got on the team, I discovered his really well written, informative and interesting blog and decided that if I did get to do the Etape I'd have a go at doing something similar.

One of the things I liked about it was all the gadgets he used to monitor his training - those of you who know me will also know that I love a gadget - any gadget. So today, I've spent a lot of time checking out what gadgets might suit me, as well as eyeing up a few road bikes - that's the Bike Porn of the title.

I popped into Moore's cycles in Twickenham and Ben - the very helpful assistant there - immediately recommend the Specialized Allez Sport. I've just noticed that by coincidence, that this is exactly the bike that Rich did the Etape on, so it looks like it might be a decent choice. Ben let me have a ride round the car park on the Sport, and also on the model below. There are obvious cost implications, but the Sport definitely felt smoother and lighter, and if I could notice the weight difference over 50 yards, I think that would make a huge difference over 100+ miles.

I also had a quick look in BikeHut, but true to its Halfords lineage, the staff were less than helpful. They did have some nice looking Boardman bikes, but at the moment I feel like I'd be likely to get a better initial setup and ongoing care from a "proper" bike shop. More on this over the next couple of weeks I'm sure. I love the "process" of buying something, the research and trying out and imagining what it would be like to own the "thing". As I said to Ben at Moore's...."I love a brochure, me".

Now to the tricky bit....training. I'm a pretty regular gym-goer, and do Yoga and Pilates and play badminton as well as the normal cardio stuff. However, I've let the cardio stuff slip over the last month or so, so have been easing my way back into it this week and feeling very unfit.

I got back on my bike for the first time in a couple of weeks too, and remembered how much I love it...but also realised that if I get a bit achy cycling back from Twickenham, then that doesn't bode well....I'm sure the fitness will come anyway. I've resolved to do something training-related every day from now on and when I've got all my gadgets, I'll post some facts and figures on how it's all going.

Something that will hopefully keep me on track through the dark times is that I'm planning to do the Etape for charity (assuming that fits in with Sky's plans). Specifically, for Childline - where I'm training to become a volunteer telephone counsellor. It wasn't until I I signed up with them that I realised that because of a lack of resources, many children who call Childline don't actually get to speak to someone. After merging with the NSPCC, they're now embarking on a programme aimed at answering every call, and so hopefully I can raise some money to help towards that goal.

Like I say, all that was just by way of introduction really. Over the next few months, I'll do my best to keep this blog updated and hopefully make it a bit more interesting, with pictures and videos and stuff. This is my first attempt at doing something like this (the blog AND the ride!), so if you have any thoughts, tips or suggestions then do let me know.

Thanks for reading,

Shirish