Saturday 20 February 2016

Easing back into it...



Oh look it's the lads!

After weeks of turbo training I decided to venture out today. One of my regular short rides of just under twenty miles. Nothing much to get excited about but it was definitely good to be out. Whilst out I bumped into some good friends from my club who appeared to be having one of those puncture mare days. Quite ironic that hopalong Pendred was in that group as it was him having the recurrent holiness on D2D. Good to see them though!

I haven't been on a club ride yet this year. There's a few reasons for that. Firstly I've been doing two jobs since September and I'm just knackered. Dragging my butt out of bed on the weekend has for the first time in my life become hard work. I'm naturally a lark rather than an owl so that early morning lethargy is a bit of a warning sign. Secondly, the queen of cakes and I have a rather important wedding to attend in April. We both have outfits to get into and it's about time I supported my wife a bit. So we've been going for walks when I'd normally be out with C&D Cycles CC. Finally I've done this rule 9 malarkey, I've wrecked my bike twice on ice and it's getting a bit old hat. So I'm waiting for some nicer weather. Even if today was the day for me to return to group riding I couldn't. Despite Jeremy Hunt's bizarre claims the NHS isn't a 7 day service, Mrs Lindsley was on call for court duty and I couldn't go anywhere until I knew if she was required in her capacity as Community Psychiatric Nurse Specialist. I can't return next week as I'm running a Saturday assessment clinic.

In the meantime I've put the turbo tyre and skewer on my Giant Propel and I've mostly been using GCN training videos. That's when I've not been watching my heroes. From the comfort of my turbo I've watched both the Saints and Everton win, I have to confess I like a turbo session. It feels like you get a lot done with a minimum of fuss. However I also think it's no substitute for time on the road. Turbo's can increase speed and power, they can aid weight loss but for me, they don't seem to build road stamina. The first 'real' hill today was a shock to my legs despite what Dan Lloyd told me on the GCN hill training video.

Anyway the blog is back, some decent road rides will be back and I absolutely cannot wait to unleash that beautiful bike when the spring arrives.

Happy Pedaling