Monday 27 September 2010

Day 15 \ Dull..

26km, 1hr 15mins, 105 bpm av hr, 700 kcal, 4.5/10.

Conclusion cobbles knacker your knackers

Done

Sunday 26 September 2010

Day 14 \ Some important info for all you hopefulls....

Ok this morning i got up reasonably early and did 45mins on the bike, 458Kcal, hr av 108bpm, 16km and a 4/10. It was glorious this morning and all the bikey people were out on the road, although i didn't work hard i at least felt i'd done something for myself and had earnt my cake and coffee if not the 22 different cakes i tasted after lunch for the mums 'bake off' at the rugby club. Anyhow despite a strong challenge from a simple sponge and an exceptional crostate the winner was a crunchy soft almond creation, mmmmm lovely.

Right some import information for all you hopefuls. Have a small tiny gear stuck on your front crank. in conversation with a friend who although not an active cyclist has some knowledge of these things recommends that for the novice rider a 3rd 'mountain bike-esq' cog is added to the front crank. Wise words indeed

Friday 24 September 2010

Day 12 \ Thoughts for the day..

“You don’t have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals.”


Sir Edmund Hilary

Well lets here it for the ordinary chaps. Todays numbers  30mins TRX did the Armstrong Levi workout from yesterday with skipping and shoulder work for the warm up and some static holds afterwards. 350Kcals 6/10 115 bpm av hr. Right here is an interesting article for us all 'Riding a Granfondo' the author recommends not attempting one without 2000km of training. Now their are 42 weeks to go till kick off which means we need to start battering out 47.6km per week!!! Sounds like a walking day in wigan if you ask me........I think we can safely say it isn't going to be that easy.

Thursday 23 September 2010

Day 11 \ Strength training & the TRX...

Ok another day another bruising for the scrotum as they say! Cycled to Valsugana rugby club and back 35 mins and another 12km, plus 15mins flipping a tyre which helped me burn a total of 750kcal and i'd rate the session at about a 5.5

Ok next things next. Strength alongside appropriate monitoring is the foundation of athletic performance and anyone who says otherwise is a clown. And so it's going to be the foundation of my preparations for the Lapinarello. Now my prefered weapon of choice in these matters is an olympic bar and i shall come to the relevance of the triple extension to cycling in latter posts, unfortunately a bar some discs and a platform are difficult to come buy in my neck of the woods so my next selection is the TRX. Whole body movements, improved muscular coordination, metabolic improvements and core strength plus you can do killer sessions in 15-20mins and take the whole kaboodle with your carry on luggage. This is probably the best single piece of fitness equipment you can buy. I shall be posting my own workouts to Youtube but read this and have a go at the session.

http://community.fitnessanywhere.com/blog/2010/06/29/lance-levi-use-trx-to-prep-for-tour-de-france/

Wednesday 22 September 2010

Day 10 \ Steel ball bag protector required...

although i'm sure Phil Collins the born again Man Utd fan could write a song about this i really want one. Another 71 mins on the bike split 50m and 21min, 1050kcals, 25.6km and 111bpm av hr and excluding ball pain i would rate it as  a 6 out of 10.

Tuesday 21 September 2010

Day 9 \ The wheels have started to turn...

Ok we are up and running. Last night i rode to one of the clubs i'm coaching this season and then cycled back. 13km there about 14 on the way back.....don't ask. The good news was i actually quite enjoyed it despite at first riding liz's bike with the seat post cranked right up felt like a penny farthing. The narrow handlebars made the bike feel like i was riding along a tightrope and italian car drivers desire to be close to me aside i felt more comfortable after the two runs than i thought i would. All good i say as i think this bike will be fine to get out on the road and get my numbers up. Oh except that i'm hoping there will be some adaptation round my knackers, like my skin turns to steel.

My first ride........

Right cycling is just a numbers game which is why i shall be regailing you with mine. Last night i cycled 27km in 1hr 11mins expending 1111 kcals and i would say out of 10 i would rate it as a 5. This morning i went to the canal and did 32mins with the TRX expending 340 kcals and i would rate it as 5.5/10. More about the ratings in a week or so.

Sunday 19 September 2010

Day 7 \ Bike PORN...

Today was significant on two counts 1. I managed to resolve the unusual valve size with a remarkably usual looking pump and adapter bought from a quite usual looking shop. 2. i went to the Biciexpo in Padova today.

team sky pinarello time trial bike....nice, even if there was a picture of that ginger wigwams next to it

A number of things jumped out at me...

  1. the technology is incredible
  2. you could lose a lot of money if you had it
  3. why do cyclists think riding a bike is a license to dress like an arse
  4. cyclists are a bit weird
After wandering around for a few hours i decided that i really like cars, scooters, motorbikes, watches, clothes, food, most things really, more than i like cycling and although it would be great to have a bike made exactly to your spec by someone such as Crisp Titanium, i really just want something comfortable that looks quite cool and rides better than either a Muddy Fox Courier or a Halfords Pathfinder. I could however spend lots of money with Cycleops which is sports science/technology heaven. There are more pics of my day here 

I did also find Lab3 who can do a bike fitting and VO2max /ramp tests and they're based in Padova and another shorter race in Tuscany a couple of months before hand so that's all a bonus. Anyway all in all a good day's work i'd say.


Friday 17 September 2010

Day 5 \ Team formation...

Right first up not great news, it would appear that the ascent is actually a touch shorter than 1800m and not 1400m as reported yesterday doh!!!!!!! However the team is looking strong and i have been very pleased by the positive response from the 'select few'. As things stand the team is looking like this:

Allan
Funny Billy 'Head of Entertainment'
Even Funnier Alex 'Head of Pretty Ladies'
Smernicki 'Head of Poofy Behaviour'
Langton 'Legal Envoy'
Williams 'Custard Research Assistant'
French 'Head of Cigs n' Ale'

Alongside this there have also been mutterings from Kilbourn, so it is shaping up as a wedding reunion on Bikes minus birds!!!!!

Thursday 16 September 2010

Day 4 \ There was a sign....

Almost inevitably the tyre is still flat but the positive spin is that it's only flat on the bottom....boom boom. What with it being a rather odd size and the, at times random, opening hours of italian shops as yet no tyres have been turned in anger, not even in mild confusion. Added to that i have come down with some sort of hayfever/cold/flu type bug yesterday and have been struggling, so even if the tyres were as hard as supermans pants, nothing of significance would be happening.

For as long as i have liked bikes and machines and stuff, i have wanted a Bianchi, stupidly i rode past a bike shop last night after training and spotted this lovely, but it was lovelier with white tyres. It must be a sign.


it was a sign
Good news as there is a Bike Expo in Padova this weekend so perhaps could find some valuable contacts for the expedition, which is what it is. Plus and let's have 3 hips for this, the ascent in the big loop is ONLY 1400m, not 1800m. Piece of piss then, maybe i could use mums shopper with the Sturmey Archer 3speed!!!!!

Tuesday 14 September 2010

Day 2 \ Positive thoughts.....

The 'Lapinarello' is not a big challenge, it is only a series of smaller far more manageable challenges and todays challenge is to try and get the tyres on Liz's bike blown up. This may seem very small and very easy but we are in Italy and it could take forever.......It is however very important and worth persevering with as i will not be allowed to use Liz's bike as my first 'Steel Horse' until it is done.

Monday 13 September 2010

Day 1 \ In the begining......

there was a plan. Well more of a thought that i blurted out. Today marks the start of my preparations for next years Lapinarello and it is fair to say there is some work to do. Firstly the objective is to enter a Team and the invites will be out soon. Secondly i have never  cycled further than to the shops and lastly if i am going to do this theres no way i'm humphing 103kg's up an 1800m ascent, so the first goal is to shed 6kgs. It might not sound like much but for you i'll do the math. I have a lung capacity of about 5.5L with a bodyweight of 103kg's that gives me a VO2max of about 54 ml.kg-1.min-1. If i drop to 97kg that goes up to 57  ml.kg-1.min-1, an improvement of 5.5% and i haven't even sat on a bike yet. WINNER!!!!!