Saggy Brooks

I'm getting slightly concerned about my Brooks Swallow saddle

Old gits on bikes

It's autumn and I'm not as young as I used to be. Getting a soaking has never really bothered me that much but this year I thought enough is enough. As I sat in my fairisle sleeveless pullover, brown leather brogues, moleskin trousers and Harris tweed feeling rather comfortable I realised it was time to bring some of that comfort to my commute. The mudguards that came off of the blue Pearson when I first started my dalliance with the whole Ironman thing back in 2007 went back on.

 The Brooks saddle that was on the Carbon bike for the Le Mans 24 hrs  then took a trip onto the fixed wheel bike and is now on the blue Pearson too. The handlebars have been double wrapped with bar tape to cushion my old hands and there are more lights on the thing than there will be on Heathrow's runway three (when it's built).

The bike is looking as it was intended to be used. A old man's bike suitable for touring amd leisurely commutes. The next thing we know the rack will be going on --NEVER!!!!!

When the mid-life crisis get too much for me I just reach for the fixed wheel bike and burn some rubber.

Transitions SBR shirt makes it into the Tour of Britain

Spot the Transitions jersey on ITV4's coverage of the Tour of Britain? With the summer of cycling almost over (the world championships start later this week)and with yet another major cycling event on my doorstep I made one last trip out into the Surrey countryside to cheer on Cav Wiggo (well perhaps not) and the new boy Jonathan Tiernan-Locke. I chose the short, but steep, Crocknorth Road which had the peloton almost stopped in its tracks. In the end both Cav and JTL did the business. I think my shouts to JTL of 'come on Jon do it for Devon' clinched it. If anyone would like to recreate the climb with the SBR team before the winter sets in just let me know.

Match the backside to the bike ride

A few more pictures from the longest night

Trying to sum up the Le Mans 24hr velo is quite tricky.

You would think that when people ask you what it was like the focus would be on the speeds, distances, cornering etc. Not so. My abiding memories around about the small hours, eating and heading back to the pit area. The range of food rustled up by Kristin was awesome, I had no idea you could eat so much and still be hungry. But as the stats show 26,907 calories is a lot to put back in.

There always seemed to be a specific reason to go back in to the pit and I remember it as a crowded and busy place. Although some of us in there were more active than others.

From the photos it looks calm and quiet, not the feeling at the time as there was usually a heated discussion going on about something. Usually pace and who kept disappearing up the road.

I suppose minute for minute we did spend more time in that room that at any single point on the course.

Banging on about food and the pit lane does elicit some unusual looks. 'Where did you sleep?', is the usual question. How great to be able to say: 'we didn't.' I'll be dining out on this ride for years.

Lies, damned lies and statistics

I always knew that my Garmin readout from the 24 heures velo was going to be a little strange, tracking the same squiggle for a whole day. My Forerunner only has 10 hours of battery life and I wasn't convinced that charging it during the race would work, but it did. Stupidly I forgot to start it at the beginning of the race but the readout below still offers intresting numbers. My personal favourite is the total of 26,907 calories burned. It makes me feel much better about stuffing my face every time we came back to the pits and trust me, that was often. Second favourite has got to be the climbing, 31,098ft of ascent, astonishing even for someone who cycled it. Good news comes in the form of my average heart rate 103bpm, very low I thought. From the graph below you can see how it varied. The shape is a classic bathtub curve. When I was a student of engineering this kind of graph would be used to demonstrate the life of light bulbs and the like -- MTBF, Mean Time Between Failure. I think this is also true of cyclists, you either blow up early and die or hang on in there but eventually wear out and die. My burn out was self-inflicted as I blasted a lap at the end to celebrate. I should imagine the shape of my fellow riders' heart rate curves would be more of a chaise longue profile, much more civilised.

Elsewhere Andrew has tracked down this great video at 6.45 there is a team of three Transitions riders speeding along in close formation. I think I need to take another look at my riding position.

Follow the velo thick road

Dinah Washington certainly knew what she was talking about when she sang 'What a Difference a Day Makes' but even she would have struggled with 24 'little hours' on the blustery Bugatti circuit suffered by the SBR Team at the weekend.

Tension was high the day before the start as the bleary-eyed cyclists gathered in London's St Pancras station to catch the Eurostar to Le Mans via Paris. Most had set their alarm early that day (mine was 4.15am) and travelled with their bikes to meet the van that would transport the bikes.

Sleep deprivation was to become the norm. Tears were shed ( Andrew and Mark) as the beloved bikes were loaded and left while the riders let the train take the strain. An enjoyable journey was followed by a visit to the famous circuit for registration, freebie cans of Red Bull and a recce. The return to dinner was delayed by the lack of taxis, despite Kristin's valliant efforts to flag down a driving instructor, one ( yes, just the one taxi) was found to ferry us all back to the hotel. Incredibly the team went to the bar before dinner where a few beers eased the tension as strategies were decided on, developed then dismissed and discarded.

How little we knew about what would be in store. Wine accompanied dinner as the race chatter continued. Although the race didn't start until 3 the team had an earlyish start to get to the course and set up the bikes and stock ( Thanks Matt and Kristin) the pit area. Immediately it was clear that there was a breeze blowing. The next few hours saw tension rise once again as the team familarised itself with the Bugatti stadium and realised what was in store. The sight of so many professional-looking (and large) teams also made us think. An elusive race briefing left the team none the wiser but it soon dawned that the start would be at 2.15 not bang on 3 to allow time for a warm up lap and renditions of national anthems from around the world. Much jolity was had by the three solo riders, Paul, Andrew and I, as we saluted, sang and encouraged our French solo counterparts to have a bit of fun. At 3.00pm the gun sounded and the riders ran across the track ' le Mans' style. The solo squad set off easily resisting the temptation to chase down any groups. The first few laps were quite easy and keeping the target of 25kph wasn't a problem. As the race went on we eased into apace just about the level planned, this wasn't too bad but did encourage the odd turn of speed. On the descents Andrew and Paul would chase down a group or two and wait to be caught. I may even have had a blast or two myself. Not a good idea in a 24 hour race. It wasn't long before the headwind at the back end of the circuit began to take its toll. The laps took on a pattern of: climb the hill, enjoy the descent and the hairpins then, find a wheel to hang on to and shelter from the muscle sapping wind. All too often that wheel tuned out to be ours as riders in teams of 4,6 and 8 happily enjoyed our slipstream while getting shirty if we decided to enjoy theirs. The chosen strategy of 2 hour on, half hour off began to falter in the late evening as the wind peaked at around 35kph and the mind games began. Morale hit rock bottom around 1am and the group decided that if we were going to finish the strategy would have to become more flexible. Time targets were swapped for mile marks as we headed out onto the track with a distance in mind rather than for two hour stints. Not only would a two hour stint have been crippling in that wind but (for different reasons), we all wanted to use the toilets.The pit area became our world as the night dragged on and new foodstuffs tried. Each stop gave us the opportinity to drink copious amounts of Red Bull, eat chocolate, energy bars, peanuts, bread and stretch out. Andrew overdid the energy gels a tad, hence the frequent toilet stops.

As the night wore on each of the team of four riders made an appearance and to their credit they provided us with all the support they could. Some protected us from the wind and others just cheered us up, either way seeing them out on the course provided a much needed morale boost. As the morning dawned and the bodies warmed up the 300km marker was passed but by this time the goal was simply to keep going and finish. There was little energy for bravado about big distances that could be covered let alone how fast. The sun was up and the wind wasn't dropping and niether were we! Unoffcially I would say our race finished around 2pm. We had pulled in to have the midday meal and with the race finishing at 3 the last few laps were more of a thank you to our growing band of fans around the route. The pace dropped and the realisation that we had made it sunk in. Unlike most of the riders we weren't taking things too seriously which went down badly with the other riders but seemed to endear us to sections of the crowd. One group of supporters who had adopted us the previous evening and returned the following morning to pick up where they left off even rustled up a Union Jack to wave at us as we went by as I gradually exhausted my repertoire of French phrases to shout as we went past. As the bell sounded for the last lap I decided to have a final blast and link up with a fast group ir exersions and take the cheers of the crowd. All in all a great day. How will we follow that?

Crucial training information

The latest findings from the Bennett Institute of Endurance Cycling Research conclusively shows that extensive training is needed to compete in endurance cycling events. Ahead of the Le Mans Velo 24 heures the Institute decided to conduct research into how the body might cope with a day-long bike ride. The purpose of the trial was to induce fatigue through cycling up hills over a period of four hours and then increasing the period of excercise. Initial findings were very successful with fatigue setting in after less than two and a half hours. The second half of the trial was to see how performance dropped off once a stage of fatigue was reached. The results were conclusive -- it does. After a day's rest the experiment was repeated. This showed that discomfort during extended exercise grew exponentially while speed continued to fall. Researchers called off further trials due to the conclusive nature of the early findings. Associate professor at the Institute, Siad Al Soar, said anyone attempting to ride for 24 hours without careful planning and comprehensive training could well be suffering from an Olympic Games-induced psychological condition. Professor Al Soar said the condition had first been identified, among UK cyclists, ahead of the 2011 Vatternrundan and was known by the medical term Phantasie Landous abillitius. He added that sufferers may benefit from a small dose of reality and large amounts of Chamois Cream.

It's a Le Mans world

With the the Le Mans 24heures velo looming and lots more entries made by Matt a little jockeying for position has started around who is going to ride what. Now the frites are down, so to speak, who will be up for the full 24 hrs?

I had resigned myself to a few hours riding and lots of lazing about in the sun, but with three 24hr entries to be honoured things have suddenly got a bit tougher. Having looked at the website it appears that the pace will be quite high. On the day I envisage a few Englishmen travelling at a slightly lower pace in order to make it through the night. I'm sure Paul has some ideas on how we could make it even more difficult.

Olympic inspiration

There's been a bit of a mixed bag of emotions surrounding the Olympics.

While Wiggo has been collecting gold in the TT (shot here on the Portsmouth Rd) the previous weekend was a bit more of a shock. The gold expected by Cavendish didn't appear but Lizzie did us proud in the rain the following day. I met up with Andrew for the Men's Road Race and a very nice day it was too. There was a real party atmosphere down on the A24 where we pitched up at a spot just as the riders turned into Mickleham village. Little did I know that a fellow SBRer was standing just outside the church in the village.

Andrew also had a chat with this guy, no wonder he was late onto the Mall with those little legs. All of which provides great inspiration for the Le Mans 24hrs. Thanks to Matt this now looks like being a 24 hr race for Paul, David and myself. A leisurely ride in France has just turned into a potential epic.

Ring of confidence?

The Le Mans preparation ride was greeted by one of the first true days of summer. The occassion was marked with a trip to the summit of Box Hill just days before the Olympic road race and just hours before it was due to be closed to the public.An added task for the day was handing over the Optician Awards charity cheque to Vision Aid Overseas. The team gathered at the foot of the Hill and Fiona from VAO duly met us at the top for a marathon photo session.The climb posed little difficulty and the newly-laid road surface was a pleasure to cycle up.

The scale of the Olympic camp on Box Hill is pretty big and it will be very interesting to see how it all works out of the day. Us lesser mortals will be viewing the race on the flat. Once the cheque had been handed over our ride took us down a very fast Pebble Coombe, across the A25 and down into the rolling Surrey countryside. It was clear that some team members had really improved with Sue keeping up a great pace despite having completed a 90 miler at the weekend. Endurance over speed as ever,I'm beginning to think the Le Mans 24hr Velo may just have been created for her. Andrea also impressed leading the way on a sparking new-from-the-shop Specialized Roubaix. The team pushed along at a reasonable pace disrupted only by Chris' Blackberry and a missed turn or two and all in close-ish formation. Apart from (yet another) broken spoke on Matt bike all went well. As the sun beat down and rolling terrain turned to full one climbs (see the profile below) the team decided not too push to hard. With injuries to protect and appointments to meet it was decided that we had done enough to assess our fitness and a trip to the pub was called for.

There's nothing to get too excited about in the numbers. The most impressive part of the ride was the maximum achieved on the descents. In total about 27 miles in just over two hours but it gives the team foot for thought as to how the main event is going to be handled. Will Paul go for the full 24hours? Just how fast is David? Answers on a postcard please.

Hooray for...err Box Hill

I've tried my best not to be cynical about the Olympics but last night I was tipped over the edge. With a Box Hill training ride cum Vision Aid Overseas cheque presentation looming next Tuesday I thought I would check out the Hill before mapping a course. I'm lucky enough to be able to commute via Box Hill so went home that way last night. A few of the Transitions team riders have agreed to ride next Tuesday but with the road due to close on Wednesday I thought it was worth a look. I have to say the whole scene was a cross between Glastonbury and Guantanamo Bay. Box Hill is still a scene of natural beauty but one with an awful lot of metal barriers, mud and marquees on it. The zig zag itself was still clear and undoubtedly a great place to watch a bike race from. If that's due for the barrier treatment it would be a real shame. Whether sepctators on Box HIll will get the Tour de France experience seen by Wiggins in the mountains recently I'm not so sure. Either way the SBR team will be riding that baby bum-smoooth tarmac before the pros, spectators are always welcome.

Looks familiar

The weather is playing havoc with my bike. After the soaking last Sunday getting wet on the daily commute didn't seem so bad. The biggest problem is the toll it takes on the bike. Luckily I have the 'old' Pearson to draft into service but my frequency of repair has shot up. Last Thursday I cycled home from work in an absolute deluge which left my bike plastered in road grime, the brakes sounding painfully metallic and the tyres full of flints.

The bike (at least I hope it is) has developed a range of creaks and squeaks despite glue-like, blue-coloured Wet Lube Luca supplied for last year's Vatternrundan. While I was out and about I ran into this young chap and asked him if he'd like to give my bike a clean. I also gave him a few tips on riding hills which he seemed grateful for but he's got a lot to learn about cleaning a bike properly.

I'm sure I've seen him somewhere before.

Hats off for the new SBR team member

Rain of biblical proportions ushered in Sunday morning. This was the day of the Dorking sportive at which I had agreed to ride with the latest member of the SBR team.

The good news was he still wanted to ride despite the weather, he also brought along a rather nippy friend.

I hadn't managed to get an offical entry for the ride so I agreed to meet my riding companions just beyond the start. I had sorted out the Blue Pearson Audax to compete as I didn't want to get my nice Carbon Pearson Palace all muddy. In the morning I had a fry up put on my rain coat and a cap to keep the rain from my eyes. As it was raining so hard I opted for Biofinity multifocal contact lenses and my favourite eyewear, the Garmin Transitions orange/white Oakleys (Thanks Mark). I rode the 25 mins or so to the start but as soon as I got there I realised I had forgotten to wear my helmet. Because the sportive couldn't ride Box Hill ( see previous post) the route had been changed and, considering we were in the Surrey Hills, the first half surprisingly flat. We set out at a very brisk pace into the rain dodging the debris in the road and spray from the leaders' wheels. The rain fell harder, the road became more filled with stones and twigs and in at least two places was heavily flooded. Despite all of the the pace was good, I would say when we weren't lost (the route was a bit iffy in places) our average speed was around the 16mph mark despite the hills.The half way was marked by a food station at the junction of the A24 and A29 and a start to the pospect of some climbing. This meant drink and cake, for offical riders and a wait in the increasingly heavy rain for bandits such as me. Eventually the climbs came as we rose up onto Surrey Hills before a descent into Shere and then back up via Coombe Bottom onto Ranmore. A second food station appeared before another descent and the infamous Crocknorth Wall then onto Whitedown and finally Leith Hill.

The biggest issue for me was footwear. I had carefully selected my Shimano winter waterproof boots,trouble being once filled the water has nowhere to go.I had to lift my legs and empty them out whenever we stopped. Given the massive number of punctures being suffered by other riders I think I got off lightly. Our new SBRer will be a great addition to the team and will have already raised the average speed by 4mph I would guess! He also has Hans-like calf definition, a swanky new bike and black and white Oakley Jawbones which must bode well for the challenge ahead. As I waved goodbye to my riding chums to cycle back home the heavens opened again.Once there I hosed the bike and myself down. Looking at the computer I had covered 65 miles in a little over 4hrs and 25 mins. Given the conditions not a bad ride.

Out of the Box

I'm all set to ride around the Surrey Hills with a fellow SBR rider this weekend. He's not from these parts so was keen to get out onto Box Hill ahead of the Olympics. Sadly I read on the ride organiser's website that(not only is it going to be soaking wet but Box Hill will not be on the route as the National Trust is charging race orgnaisers £1,000 for the privilege of using their road.

That's funny I distictly remember it recently being resurfaced for the race by the council. I think I helped pay for that. Box Hill is one of my everyday rides, here's a pic of me at the top.

Other sad news is finding a replacement for the late departed Brooks saddle (see last post). After much deliberation I decided I would opt for a Swallow chrome and break it in ready for Le Mans, getting hold of one has been a bit more of an issue. let's just say an order has been placed.

How to murder a Brooks saddle

I've always loved my leather Brooks saddle. Until I got my latest carbon bike I always rode with it. It's done several Ironman triathlons long rides, commutes, trips to the coast, Alpe d'Huez, vatternrundan. More recently it has lain alone in the shed. The carbon has a nice white saddle that was Cyclefitted to me, the old blue Pearson is ridden by son No 2 who hates the Brooks and the fixed has a cheapo saddle as the Brooks is too bouncy. So ( see last post) when the fixed's cheapo sadddle broke its was time for a new lease of life for the Brooks. It looks great but straight away it was clear the leather was stretched and there was no space left on the end of the tension bold. So should I: A: retire it gently B: beat it with a bseball bat, run it over in the car and then set fire to it? In the event I did something much worse, I Googled what to do. Part II to follow.........

I got those Father's Day, bicycle maintenance blues

With the return of the summer I have been back on the fixed wheel bike for the daily commute. This has been fortunate as I haven't really been out for longer rides at the weekend and commuting is a great way of clocking up those miles in readiness for the big event. Alongside all of the decorating, ferrying kids around and gardening I haven't really had much time for training rides but Father's Day opened up an oasis of me-time in this desert of chores. A little sad I know but I decided to tinker with my bike as a treat. Needless to say I wish I hadn't. I found out that the brake blocks were worn out, My saddle was split so I replaced it with my old Brooks which has reached to end of its life too. I also noticed that I can't see the wear line on the front wheel any more. I think I should have just held out for a new bike!

Stormy weather

Having ridden the North Downs in blazing sunshine and spent the next week clocking up even more miles in the heat the Jubilee weekend brought a big change in the weather. Last Tuesday Bank Holiday morning I managed a small ride out with son number 2 around the newly-smoothed surface of Box Hill. I'm still in full decorating mode so I kept it short thinking I'd been on the bike again later in the week and back to work. Think again. The weather has been shocking. Despite being prepared to suffer a soaking there just hasn't been a day when I felt it was worth it or safe. I softened the blow with a little retail therapy, purchasing some nice new road shoes. Perhaps I'll get chance to use them sometime.

After last Sunday's King of the North Downs ( see previous post) I thought I would need a rest but this week has turned out to be anything but.

Workwise the four day Jubilee weekend has ment getting out an entire issue in three days. The rain has meant lots to do in on the allotment ( I strimmed for 2 hours on Monday evening) and on the house there is still more decorating to do........arrggghh. As far as the bike goes the KOTD was about 115 miles, though the hills made it seem a lot more. I left the bike at home on Monday but have ridden each day since. That's another 100 miles. I'm rather pleased ( OK smug) 220 miles, all hills in five days is not bad. The legs are tired and the undercarriage a bit sore but otherwise good conditioning. Possibly good enough for 24 hrs in the saddle???

King of the Downs 2012

There can be no better feeling that setting the alarm for 5.00am and waking to see the orange of the rising sun burning the dew from the grass knowing that you will be spending the day riding through beautiful countryside. That was just how Sunday started; no gilet, no raincoat, no overshoes, no baselayer, no armwarmers. Let's get the important bit sorted. Bike: Pearson Palace Carbon 11-25 cassette, compact chainring attire: Garmin Transitions race jersey, full zip bibshorts Sunwear: Factor 50 suncream. Neckercheif in reserve. The KOTD has become a hidden gem of a ride (see last post) and although there are supposedly 10 climbs I would argue that it's at least 13. I'll be a little controversial here and say there are two types of rider on the day. real cyclists and wheel-sucking bandits. I have never seen so many groups riding with so few people taking a turn on the front. I regularly found myself with a long tail of riders, when they finally overtook me they invariably slowed me down. Having had that moan I have to say it is one of hardest, yet enjoyable, days on the bike around. I thought I would start with the numbers because the rest of the story of this ride is pure emotion. 10,000+ calories burned. According to Garmin but given the amount of flapjack, gels, malt loaf, peanut butter sandwiches and energy drink I consumed but still felt empty, I can well believe it. 115 miles; they say 113, the last 20 miles from the official final climb felt neverending. This wansn't helped by a smiley face sign saying 'no more hills' only to be confronted by at least one really sharp little hill. I was asked by a South African chap if were had gone the wrong way when the third feed station just didn't seem to arrive. Although we were given maps I have opted for Johnson and Johnson Trueeye contact lenses and adidas Evil Eye Half rim pro sunglasses (Sorry chaps). I paid for it thought as I couldn't read the map with the CLs in as they were single vision. Luckily I didn't veer off course. Max speed 45mph: doesn't sound fast but you can bet your life it was on a twisty tree-lined descent. There were a few fallers too. Max heart rate was 174, for me that's on the limit. Ride time 7hrs 23mins: It felt like more. I did stop, so my official time will have another ten minutes on it. Perhaps I should have stopped a little more. As I approached the first feed station I swallowed a fly and spent five minutes choking so i'll claim at least five of those back. 9,000ft of climbing: I managed to stay seated for the first 8 climbs, but (Paul take note) I had no choice to get out of the saddle for the last two. I really thought I was going to have to get off and walk at one point when a 4x4 came down a tiny lane at one of steepest part of York's Hill. If I had I wouldn't have been alone, There were walkers everywhere. I certainly missed the last two low gears on my old Pearson bike. But it was a hard day. From around 90 miles my lower back and neck were really beginning to ache (I had spent Saturday decorating so I blamed that). After the final climb the un-numbered hills brought on bit of cramp and the power was really dropping off. I would be fibbing to say I wasn't wishing for it to end. As ever the memory rewrites feeling and I am enjoying that post-event euphoria, wearing my cycling jersey tanlines with pride and waiting for the next big event. (I'll post some phots if there are any of me from the event photographer.)

Going for the triple

In a fit of pique some weeks ago I put my name forward for the King of the North Downs. This is an epic Sunday in late May covering 115 miles of South East countryside and every hill the organiser could muster. The South East is pretty flat but with 9,000ft of climbing this ride is not for the faint hearted.

The first time I rode the KOTD the weather was terrible and the experience ranks among one of the worst days on the bike I have ever had. I was wet, cold and hungry, finally hitting the wall (not literally) late in the afternoon and slowly limping home. As ever the pain of the day has morphed into legend upon my memory, hence this year's entry. On the second outing the ride had sold out so I had to take all of my own food and tag along. The weather got hot towards the end of the day and I was riding with some good cyclists which piled the pressure on even more. This year I will ride solo, I'm sure I will make some friends along the way. The weather looks hot so I may have some new delights to look forward to. I'll let you know how I get on.

Box Hill rising ( contains smutty nonsense)

I spent all of last week painting. I had taken a week's holiday specifically for that purpose but assumed I'd get out on the bike at some point, but it wasn't to be. As it turned out the weather was shocking and I had seven rooms, two landings and 11 doors and doorframes to paint. By the weekend I was beginning to succumb to the paint fumes and go snow blind (everything was brilliant white). I had noticed the previous week that Box Hill had been resurfaced. Although I had passed by it was still being worked on for the Olympics so I had to wait to actually get the tarmac under my wheels. Now given a chance to get out on the bike this was the place to go. It was a superb sunny Sunday morning so I got out nice and early hoping to miss the crowds of cycists now to be found on the Olympic route. It was so early that the mist hadn't quite risen out of Mole Valley as I crossed Ranmore for the ascent. The recent poor weather has hampered the road resurfacing and the Italian women's cycling team travelled to the UK in vain to ride the hill. They arrived only to be sent away by the road menders. But for the rest of us it was worth the wait, the new surface is fantastic. As smooth as a baby's bum and free of potholes and speed bumps. As I climbed the Scalextric-like zig zags I could almost see the mist rising with me. Sadly as I reached the summit I caught the mist up and everything became shrouded in a white blanket.

I Still managed to capture the picture below though. Just beyond the road art you can see the mist.It's nice to see the locals have such a warm welcome waiting for all of those foreign cycling teams.

Rite of (Horseshoe) passage

The 2012 season has started. Two of the SBR team headed out into the wilderness of North Wales this week to strike a blow against fairweather cyclists, to lay down the gauntlet of rides to come and to stretch those underworked winter legs.

Amazingly the intrepid duo managed to choose possibly the only dry day in the whole April on which to tackle the climb of Horseshoe Pass plus a few rolling miles in the Llangollen area. The route mapping proved the biggest issue of the day. I had suggested Horseshoe Pass simply because I knew it was in the North Wales area and not due to any knowledge of the terrain. Paul had a rudimentary print-out of a route suggested by a work colleague but I think he assumed I had something in mind. We had also hoped to be joined by Garmin-touting team mates so not too much effort had been put into knowing exactly where we were going assuming the bike sat nav would do the job. As it turned out on the day it was just Paul, Chris and a crumpled piece of paper with very few, and extremely small details on it ( my name is Chris and I'm a presbyope). The pre-ride highlight was the look on Paul's face when we compared gears. I had a compact chainring on the front and a 12-28 on the back. Paul had the kind of ratios Chris Hoy pushes around the velodrome -- he was always going to have the moral victory ( not that it was a competition).

The scenery around Llangollen is stunning and the Horseshoe Pass looms above it. Despite that we still had to ask at reception how to get to the start and we were given directions to join the climb. A few hundred yards on the A5 took us down a side road over a fantastic stone bridge and straight onto the climb. Both Paul and I commented that we could have done with a bit more flat before the hard work started. But start it did and it just kept on going.

As it turned out the climb wasn't too bad, a few sharp sections but overall a long, but steady, incline. Green woods became moorland and finally slate scree as the road wound its way up. I went on ahead to find a small track I had read was a real leg-breaker,I wasn't too sure what I was looking for and I think Paul was keen for something a little flatter following the climb so we decided to carry along the main route. The rest of the ride snaked through the area with what seemed like more descending than climbing. Frequent stops to study the map followed,this was just as well as the hills were sharp and regular. The countryside never disappointed and the weather even let the sun through as we arrived back at the lunch stop with some good miles under our belts and a satisfying tiredness in our legs. Thanks to Paul for organising a great day on the bike.