getting ones arse handed to one

Flying one day.. getting your arse handed to you the next.. Strava can easily lull you into a false sense of awesomeness. Pretty good that occasionally one should be taken down a  peg or two..
Todays lunchtime ride was just that. A new loop on lots of single track and fireroads. I should have been flying , but an off day and I was unceremoniously dumped off the back of Chris' wheel. ( he was flying !)

My excuse is that my lower back has been aching a bit, despite stretching and staying on top of core workouts, but shuftying a big gear makes it hurt like hell. too much rest, too much heavy lifting and gardening over the bank holiday. but the truth is .. some days you are just shit, and have to eat it.

Seatpack update

Not what you want to see after a 2 mile rough gravel section... My concerns about the length of the fold over flap were realised.. It may be ok for the road, but not cross.
Luckily some pleasant people picked up some of my stuff and put it on a bench so I recovered some of it.. #not very impressed with the roll thing though:...

Kaptajn Seat pack

I have fancied a folding seat pack/tool roll thingy for quite a long time. I think Rapha kicked off the resurgence, ( but at 40£ it stopped there.). I have even considered sewing one up myself, but couldnt be arsed.
So when I saw a picture of a Kaptajn seatroll  on Big Cartel, I decided to grab one.
Made in Denmark ...cool..
in Camo....cool..
good price at only 20€....cool

ticks a few boxes..
Easy paypal payment, and only 5€ postage to the UK, I was suprised to see it waiting for me in about 5 days... bloody quick.
Quickly unwrapped and I was suprised at how small it was..
Stiffish single ply ( unlined) material, with clean stitching.
two pockets.. and with a tightish fit I managed to wedge in
1 Tube,
1 set of levers
1 multi tool ( not a big one)
1 CO2 Cartridge
1 CO2 Nozzle.
 cut off Tyre boot wrapped around a
blister of oil
a couple of cable ties
two spare SRAM Power links
a fiver.
Baby wipe.
hmmmm..

It all went in, a bit tight, and it may be fun trying to stuff it all back in with cold hands in  the winter..

I folded over the flap and rolled it in. I was disconcerted to see the flap didnt quite cover the tools etc, and it was certainly visible when strapped under my saddle..while nothing is likely to fall out I am a bit gutted that its quite open to the elements a road/cross crud.
Overall .. mildly diappointed.. the velcro flap is ok, but I would have liked at least one more pocket and a longer top covering flap..
I will live with it for a while, and give it the benefit of the doubt, but I will look for some suitable material to prototype my own tweaks.

KOMs... mwuahahahaha

cool..

I am smugly proud of 42 KOMs.. not bad for a duffer like me in this area.

#Sufferfest!!!

I have heard and read quite a lot about this series of videos, even thought about going to one of Fareham Wheelers Turbo nights during the winter. My hatred for the Turbo ( and having a shit turbo trainer) kind of put me off. The only time I have ever turbo trained was when I smashed my shoulder up a few years ago, unless training on my wierd Roller Racing contraption counts?

With roller racing training not on the menu, and on baby sitting duties, I had no option but to dig out the old shitty turbo and plugged in my Lemond. I hung a towel close by, neglected to leave a waterbottle in handy range and forgot all about placing a convienient fan.

Revolver was on the menu. Probably not the best introduction , but short at 45 minutes. 16 x 1min intervals with a very short 1 min recovery inbetween. Its bloody hard. I wanted to give up after 7 but hung in there. I am sure I dropped from about a 9 to an 8 on intensity and my resting was closer to a 2 on perceived effort , but I managed to waddle my way through. I am also sure that the last 15 seconds of the intervals is longer than the 15 stated.. half blinded by sweat I just wanted it over. with the quote " your pain is not unique!" in my head I redoubled effort and the last few intervals were much stronger and committed. I finished the session in a pretty grim state. Sweat pouring off me, and legs virtually locked up, but I thouroughly enjoyed the video ( still hate the turbo though. Only to discover that my Garmin switched itself off and didnt log any heartrate data, which is going to screw up my Performance Chart, but anyhow I will be adding regular Sufferfests to my traing as they seem to hit the right note for me. here is a picture of someone elses work out... but you get the idea.

July Stats

July was ok. felt a bit overtrained in the middle bit there, but introducing hill repeats seemed to boost how strong I felt.
 Miles = 274
Hours= 18
Running has been a bit hit and miss, basically once a week, but I am still doing too much ( enjoyable) distance stuff, I really need to commit to at least one hill interval type workout each week.
A few scares with the odd knee aches, and the crash took me off the bike for a few days. The last week of the month was lost due to being on holiday. Only  a few runs saved my CTL from plumetting.
Now its time to focus on building towards the winter cross season. Harder, shorter intervals. Introduce Sufferfests on baby sitting nights, and get down the woods to sharpen up skills.
Kit wise I am fairly happy. though still searching ebay for a reaonaly priced pair of tubular wheels.

Early Morning rides

So, everything ready to go... kit by the door, bike prepped, for a planned 45 minute hammer session around the woods, before the young un wakes up. It wasnt to be though; he pre-empted my get up early scheme and woke me up at 02:16. After settling him, I just couldnt get back to sleep :-( bugger. No worries though. feeling tired and in a decidedly grumpy mood, I got out at lunchtime instead. While its a bit necky to get a long ride in during lunchtime, I thought about having a crack at the Meon Grind segment that has eluded me for quite some time. Topping it off with a quick scoot along the Chilling seafront in a bastard headwind, Then back through Hook woods and picking up KItes croft and as much grassy verge as I could. It was well worth it .. I managed to bag four KOMs which has helped me get over loosing so many while I was on holiday. Should have been five, but my Garmin cut 20m off the end of another segment so it didnt register with Strava :-( will have to try more of this lunchtime Cross riding its rather much better than thrashing on the road. I decided to toake teh Focus AX out for a change. It is smoother and more comfortable than the HIver, but doesnt feel as fast. Though I really dont like those bars though. Time to look for another pair of Salsa cowbells.

Back.

Not necessarily with a bang, more of a a 'meh'.. straight back on the bike, but I straight away noticed a twinge in both of my knees. It is probably the step up in running mileage, the beach runs and new trainers, but I managed to inflame the wee nobble on the outside of my knee ( both sides). A bit of Googling and it turns out that it is called the...gerdy tubercle..

A bit more searching and it looks like either ITB or Biceps Femoris.. most likely the second one and I am pretty sure that is due to a total lack of stetching while I was away. Hardly suprising when it all stacks up. After only two rides back and I had to cut short a hill repeat session and limped home feeling pretty sorry for myself. Three days of rest and plenty of ITB and hamstring stretching and all seems a lot better. no pain anyway.. see what its like when I start riding again.