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.