One year on.

So this is it, one full year since my first road bike ride (2nd April 2011). One year since I took possession of a shiney (at the time) Pinnacle from Evans. On that first day, with strapped clips, I managed a whole 8  miles, obviously exhilarated by the experience, I managed to complete 159 miles in that first month.
It wasn't long before I started tinkering - new wheels, new tires, new seat post, new handlebars, new brakes, new frame all followed, till ultimately all that is left from the first bike is a rear derailleur and the cables. very little came cheap, but none of it came at full price either. To start with the bike weighed 10.3 kg, now it's sleeker, shinier young brother weighs 7.8. Along the way I realised that these sort of things matter, I discovered rotating weight, the difficulties of pulling my own weight plus the weight of the bike up a hill and the joy of letting the same weight plummet downhill. I discovered that what the bike looks like does matter, because it's that that makes you want to ride it. I discovered that "fettling" and cleaning it are fun too.
I have had moments of misery, loudly exploding tire left me stranded by the side of the road waiting for CC to come and collect me. A broken chain, made me realise that a some friends really are there when you need them.  A spearing in the stomach from an exploding carbon dioxide canister pump made me realise it's a piece of shit, the like of which will never be used by me again. Rain so heavy that I could barely see made me realise that even when only 2 miles to go to reach a century, that sometimes it's just not worth it.
However mostly it's been fun. I have obsessed about riding, planning my days and weeks around what I can do. Ticking off milestones, and challenges. Sharing some great times with people, but mostly sharing them with my own thoughts. (It turns out that my MBTI personality type would have predicted all this precisely - the preference to ride alone , the endless research, the capturing of statistics - I am an open book).
I've learnt about myself along the way to - having never found a hobby that I stuck with - squash in the army - required interaction, a few seasons dabbling with football - requires a lot of interaction, cycling is the perfect hobby. The only interaction needed is the occasional cheery hello to someone going the opposite way. No need to converse or be interested in their life. Just hello. Conversely I found out that company can be good, as long as it's the right company.  I also found out I do get stressed. Because when on a ride after work, I can feel the clouds  dissipate.
So where have we reached, my bike and I? Here's the facts and figures, (the cost I'll keep to myself).
Longest ride - 103.12 miles, around the Kent Coast to Rye in 6 hours 40 minutes.
12 rides over 50 miles
Least miles in a month - 78 - neck injury (add that to moments of misery above)
Most miles in a month - August 2011 - 438.
Average ride distance - 26 miles at an average average speed.
I have ridden as far as Basrah (Iraq), The Kwiambana Game Reserve (Africa), Sydney (Nova Scotia), Prince Charles Island (within the Canadian North West passages obviously), Komsomolets Island in the Kara sea, and Bandar Torkeman on the southern edge of the Caspian sea. A grand total of 2786 miles, or 4483 km.
And to end it the year, my favourite ride yet, 70 miles today, around the Kent Countryside.
To those who have read my blog, hope you enjoyed the ride.
To the soup dragon, thank you my beautiful, understanding wife for letting me have the time to ride (and buy).
So long.

Targets met...

In the past week, I have passed the target of 4000km (the rules number 24) and 2500 miles (bugger the rules) Both are in fact within 15 miles of each other, but occurred on seperate rides. This being from April 2nd last year, so much to feel good about there.
So far I have reached Aswan in Egypt.
Still a few days to go before a full year is passed, and if the weather stays reasonable, I hope to get in another 200 or more, especially now nights are getting lighter.
Bike is almost running like a dream - I say almost - my highly rated and almost bomb proof tyres - have provided at least 5 punctures so far this year. The latest being yesterday, 48 miles into a 62 mile ride, not a good time to start getting cold and muscles tightening up. So I've taken the plunge and ordered new ones, much sooner than I would have expected to considering the cost of the ones that keep popping. This follows on from a new chain - having finally worked out what a chain wear tool does!  So more money being spent, does it never end? And I am still not finished with the bike build overall! Will I ever be?
I'm still up to scratch with this years resolution of doing a century every month - I must be getting okay at this cycling lark - remembering when 62 miles was quite daunting, I finished yesterday thinking it wouldn't have been much of a hardship to do considerably more. It was done on Romney Marsh, and I managed to achieve a total climb of less than 100 feet! Hardly King of the Mountains material! It will be a great one for the summer though, especially if I can get a day with less wind.
The soup dragon is laid up with a poorly foot, so me and the little Clangers are having to fend for ourselves. Planning ahead is what I am not used to, this means last minute what's for tea? questions lead to a frantic rummaging in the freezer for something delicious. I don't think I take soupy for granted, but it certainly makes a difference not having her doing so much for us.
Junior Clangers birthday tomorrow - how did I ever reach the point of having a youngest Clanger who is 17 years old? That must mean I am older than I feel.

Talking obese (I was but edited it out) - Kevin Bridges described the fat cycle this week - someone should do some science on it. Skinny people think they are chubby. Chubby people think they are fat. Fat people think they are obese. Obese people think they are supermodels. Funny.
Anyhow that's me caught up, next report will be after one full year of cycling, final review and probably last blog.

That's it....for now

So finally the bike is a confirmed sub 8kg, including pedals, and bottle cages, not sure why specifically, but this has been a target since CC started me on this whole weight saving game.
New saddle arrived, hopefully that will solve the recent numbness in the gentlemans area problems.
I've also got myself a GPS bike computer, which not only works wonderfully, but also looks much better than sensors here and sensors there.
So I guess now, that's it for the bike build, other than replacement parts for worn out / broken bits, otherwise I think the soup dragon would cut off soup supplies if I brought anything else.
Now the nights are getting lighter, no excuses for not getting out, 4000km in a year is definitely on the cards, fingers crossed for continued good weather.
Also on the good news front Chris Boardman, who knows alot about bikes clearly said that cold air is more dense than hot air due to the low pressure. This means that the struggle I am having to maintain the speeds I achieved in summer has a scientific reason, not just me being a fat knacker.
Lighter bike, fitter person, less dense air, come spring time, I'll be a two wheeled rocket!

New year same shit

A while since I reported, and truth to tell, not that much to report.
Turns out riding out in the cold is not so bad. Cold being a comparative term of course - several rides at minus 2, the only thing I can't get a grips with are my toes. In fact riding in the cold provides clarity to the air that filters through to a clarity of mind as well.
In January I managed 340 miles, one of my best monthly miles completed. In total now I am up to 2301, and have identified a new target for April to March this will be 2485 miles, or 4000 km of riding in one full year. Not a bad start to what will hopefully see me riding till very old age.
Nice to ride with some different people as well, especially being present on a friends first 50 mile, nice to share his joy at the achievement. Followed by a smug feeling that I had 12 miles to ride home still!
Bike still running beautifully, though it's lost some of it's good looks. This is entirely my fault, in fitting a saddle that is very comfy but does not match the colour scheme at all! This was another knownothingbozo pointless bid on ebay on something I didn't really want, but bidded anyway! I now find myself with an ugly saddle, which I'll have to sell, in order to fund a beautiful but equally comfy saddle! Dumbass. 
I'm finding that I am reliant on riding now to clear out the bad stuff that people do. They are on the increase and there seems to be no stemming the flow of nastiness that people do. Still it still shocks me and pisses me off, so I think I'll carry on a bit longer.
Looking foward to spring now and starting to get some big rides in, and even contemplating a few sportives.

Well that's about that then...

Well 2011 is drawing to an end. This being the year where I finally got off my arse and did something about fitness, and my impending early death (Dad 34 - Mum 56 - I'm probably on borrowed time already). It all started in April when my lovely wife (aka the soup dragon) gave me permission to purchase my first road bike. This after a few failed attempts to get into cycling in the mud with my son. These failed on the grounds that he likes it, I don't.
So I started off with an aluminium road bike, weighing in at a robust 10.3 kg. I had no idea of what was a good weight, nor for that matter how much it matters.
Quickly got to like the freedom and (perceived) speed that I could ride, as well as distances I never thought I'd do.
I also quickly got to understand that bike ownership is a cruel and expensive mistress. There's always something fancy, lighter and faster that is absolutely necessary to make the relationship work. I also found out that cleaning and tinkering with the bike is almost as pleasurable as riding it.
So at the end of 9 months of riding, I have reached 1906 miles, with an average distance of 26 miles.
This includes a paltry 83 miles between 8th October and the end of November when I was suffering with a neck injury.
The bike has been transformed along the way, with the only original parts being the seat, rear derailleur, and shifters. My little white shining beauty now weighs in at 7.92 kg. Importantly that's with pedals, as it appears bike weights are always quoted without. At the start I thought my dream bike would be the Cannondale Supersix at 8.14kg. Who needs a supersix anyway?
Mile stones along the way:
8th July - 1st Century ride (metric)
8th August - reached first 1000 miles.
30th August - 1st Century ride (imperial)
August was also my first and only 400 mile month.

So what have I learnt?
That I am good company for myself.
The wind is a bitch.
Kent is not as flat as a car makes it seem. 
Cyclists are mostly friendly, but some are miserable bastards. I put this down to them riding against the wind.
Some days hills are bumps, others they are mountains.
Sometimes it's just as much fun going up a hill as it is down the other side. Sometimes it isn't. 
Sometimes I just start smiling or chuckling for no discernible reason. If you see this happening, just ignore me and avoid calling for the boys from the funny farm.
If you are considerate to cars and vans, often times they will be considerate back.
Sometimes cars, vans and lorry drivers are gits. I put it down to their small penises and reduced life expectancy.
Whilst weight and equipment isn't everything, it is important to feel good about your bike. This makes you want to use it.
The bike is never finished, there's always something nice and necessary that will make it even better.
As a stress buster, going for a ride after work cannot be beaten.
The patience of my wife, through me being out for hours, referring to her as the soup dragon in my blog, and picking me up at the end of my two century rides is extraordinary, and deserves all the Pandora beads and Radley bags she wants. (see small print).

As for weight loss, and fitness: the weird thing about fitness is that you gain it gradually so it's hard to tell whether you have achieved anything. However given that I have gone from a largely sedentary lifestyle to being a regular cyclist I must be fitter.
I started out at 13 stone 7, and just the other day reached my lightest weight for many years - drum roll etc etc - 13 stone. Whoopee do. That includes a vastly reduced intake of alcohol. I have however dropped at least one trouser size. I guess the lack of weight loss, must be the weight of my increased life expectancy.
2012 - what will it bring - more of the same I hope, I have some targets in mind, but the most important one is to keep on riding with the same enjoyment for years to come.
Happy New Year to all.

At last....

Having had a rotten time in the past two months, hardly any cycling, either through injury or working long hours, I finally managed to get out for a reasonable ride today, only 18 miles, but wind made it quite hard in places. Still, as it was cold (ish) I am satisfied I have the right clothing to keep going through the winter, but breathing cold air has left me with a sore throat and a cough.
It didn't start well, my daughter announcing that I looked like santa claus. I am hoping she was referring to the red and black bib tights and red jacket as opposed to my girth.
Still it felt good to be out on the road, it's a bare arsed place in the winter, quite raw in places, and a complete contrast to summer.
Doesn't look like I'll make 2000 miles from April, these last two months of inactivity have left me some 270 miles short. I'll struggle to make that unless I get some big ones in over the next few weekends.
However next years target of 3000 miles will be a fun challenge, no excuses about bike, weather, time etc. Average of 250 miles a month needed. I'm also thinking of other challenges, perhaps a number of century rides, metric and imperial, increased average speed etc etc.
At least cycling now feeling good again, roll on the next ride!

Dirty bikes and wet bums

Slowly but surely getting back to riding, neck still sore, but physio has identified the problem, essentially a tangle of knotted up muscles around neck and shoulder. However today, the sun was out, the sky a glorious blue and whatever happened I was going to get on my bike and ride.
Only 23 miles, and not at great pace, maybe I am just not born to be a fast rider, but very very enjoyable. It's weird to be thinking that it was only 23 miles, as that's not a bad distance in itself, but not much of an achievement these days.
The bike got filthy and has a hideous squeak, so upon my return it was a good cleaning session and strip down of the rear derailleur. Not something I'd ever attempted before, in fact I'd never taken my own chain off before. What a biff.
Funnily enough, the process of cleaning and maintaining the bike is almost as much pleasure as the ride itself. Perhaps in future I'll save the energy and just go out for a bike clean.
With about a month off riding, not sure I'm going to make my 2000 mile target by the end of the year, not unless I get out and put some long miles in, or at least get out and do some riding in the dark. An experience I have yet to partake of.
One achievement I have, is that this must by now be the longest I have stuck with any form of voluntary fitness. Perhaps there's hope for a long life yet.

Good versus bad

In the news department....

Still not cycling properly, partly because neck is not yet fixed, and partly because I hadn't finished building my new bike. 

However on Friday I finally finished it all off. So I am now the VERY proud owner of a beautiful white carbon framed racing bike - weight without pedals (this is important) is 7.7kg. From getting the riding bug I wanted a Cannondale Supersix at a cost of £1800, this is the one I was holding out to and agreed not to get to September 2012 at the earliest. It weighs 7.9kg and is rubbish compared to my bike!

Only managed to get out on the bike today and after 5 miles, neck aching and rear gears all a jumble, decided to call it a day, I think I now have them sorted out, 2 hours of fettling on Friday was clearly not enough. Now I'm not a stupid person, I was even a member of Mensa until I realised it was a bit boring, but I'll be buggered if I can get the hang of setting those blasted things up.

So now, I'm going to have to take the risk of riding at night time, because the clocks have gone back... so that we can have more daylight! What? Did you slow down the rotation of the earth by moving the hour hand? Or have we in fact got exactly the same amount of daylight, but,  so that an industry that employs a miniscule number of people (and an even smaller number of British people) can have a bit of a lie in - yes farmers. Get up earlier and plough your fields, or turn the lights of your stupidly big and cumbersome tractors on. Leave the clocks as they are so that when kids come running out of school desperate to get home and play on the x station they can do so in the daylight, whilst I stand a fighting chance of getting out on the bike after work. Rant over. for now.

Anyhow, even with gears all over the place, neck ache and a stupidly strong wind felt great to get out for just a short while, and more determined than ever to make sure I carry on riding through winter.

Pigs ear to silk purse

Well, I have taken the plunge. It's no use having these aspirational bike ideas, and thoughts that maybe this time next year I may just be able to have enough to get one if I am lucky. Meanwhile cycling on my current bike wishing it was something else.

I have looked at my current bike, and as brought, with specific upgrades it's a fairly decent outfit, dressed on a frame built by blind one handed orphans in Taiwan.

So the answer is, buy a frame and forks, and move all my good stuff from the first bike, onto my new hopefully lightweight, better riding bike, which will take me to the next step of riding. 

I think the idea of building my own will be an extra part of the pleasure, and thank Marcus for showing me the excitement he is having with the prospect of building his own dream bike. 

In theory I should end up with a far better bike, which will last me ages. Bonus will be that I will have sufficient parts from previous mini upgrades to make virtually a whole bike again, with a bit of luck Marcus will be happy enough to come and hit the roads with me, whilst he trains for his enduro racing. 

Now there is one major issue I will have to finally get round to though.... white seat post or black?????

Can't wait for my frame to come and get on with it. It's been a tricky few months, and going to get trickier, I just wish that there was something I could do that will have the make things better for the soup dragon.

Getting me down

Having not had a single day off sick for nearly 11 years I managed to hurt a neck muscle whilst out on a simple ride, I wouldn't mind if I had been run down by a lorry, attacked by a marauding escaped bull or something equally worthy of a story of the warry type, but no I managed to get a jolt on one of the potholes I pay for with my road and petrol and council tax. Upshot of it is that I've learnt how many normal functions includes the use of the particular muscle, from sneezing downwards and yes including some "gross" muscle movements. 

No cycling all week then, and had really hoped it would be fixed by now, especially as the last dregs of summer are still around, I NEED TO GET OUT AND RIDE!!!!!! 

No such luck, the way things are going I'm not even sure I will get back out tomorrow, even though I have resumed fit for duty - only to avoid the incessent nagging masquerading as concern, that is positive attendance management. It gives me a new insight into members of my staff who get the phone call from me, so there's a small silver lining. 

Perhaps I need some retail therapy to cheer me up, now where did I leave that spare thousand pounds?

Soup dragons birthday tomorrow, or the first time in her life, she has not been able to provide a birthday list, she needs to get a bike, then she'll always have a list!!!

What do cyclists do when they are stressed?

If you cycle for a living what do you do if you are stressed? Do you go to an office? Spend a day working in a factory? Get rat arsed or beat the wife up? I only ask because I am finding that cycling is doing the trick for de-stressing me. It's fair to say that this past week hasn't been one I'll be thinking of fondly for years to come, in fact there's been times when some of the above options sounded and felt like a good idea. Nevertheless, the weather gods were reasonable and I managed to get some miles in and felt the better for it.
My friend CC (currently an ex cyclist sadly for him) doesn't like the sound of the wind in his ears, in fact we spent some time planning a world beating invention to solve the problem. For me though I like the sound, I picture it as all the bad shit tumbling down the road behind me.
For a variety of reasons I struggled to get many miles in this month, in fact less than half of what I did in August. One highlight worth mentioning though, had me nowhere near a bike - or in fact very close to about 100 bikes. I went up to London to watch the Tour of Britain reach it's finale, and it's certainly given me the taste for watching some more. Perhaps I'll have to plan something for the Olympics.
Good to be a cyclist at the moment, weather gorgeous, Cav is the world champion, and stress never stays around for long. Happy days.

Racing the sunset

Having left work at 4.30 I was desperate to get a good long ride in, having endured several days of stupid winds. The day was reasonably calm, but bright blue skies.
Anyhow, I managed to set off by 5.30 on a great route, enjoying the best of autumn riding. So there's some downsides but for every shadow there has to be light.
Flies in the mouth - at least they contain carbohydrate.
Low sun in the eyes - there will be an awesome sunset.
Cold arms - I can warm them up wrapped around the soup dragon.
In the end I managed just under 30 before the sun dipped below the horizon. Bike riding like a dream, and I've even managed to rediscover a good set up, now knownothingbozo, stop tinkering!
Up to 1433 miles now, so 1500 is an easy achievement, maybe even by the weekend. Then it's a question of what I am going to be able to do during the winter. Perhaps some early shifts and late shifts will give me daytime riding, then hold out hope for a good long one each weekend. I reckon 200 miles a month is achievable.
On the sad news, I've shaken hands with the soup dragon on a deal not to buy a new bike for another year. All my cognitive distortions have come crashing to the ground in the face of cold hard facts. So I now have to remind myself (and this ride is a good example) that just riding is fun, on any bike. By the time I get my shiney super lightweight dream machine, I'll be very much fitter with many more miles under my tires, and ready for the next level - riding with someone else!
I now have a smart phone with android, so watch out for lots of fun facts and figures as it (hereon known as Mrs Data - the geeks will appreciate this) spits out the daily reminders of what a lazy bloke I am.

Know nothing bozo gets a bike: I'm special

Know nothing bozo gets a bike: I'm special: I've always known I was special. My Mum told me. The authorities told me. My school was a special school. Now I've been reminded how special...

Know nothing bozo gets a bike: Achievements and awe

Know nothing bozo gets a bike: Achievements and awe: Better late than never, delayed updating of blog after yesterday due to 1) Going to see Inbetweeners movie - funny 2) Today having to go w...

Achievements and awe

Better late than never, delayed updating of blog after yesterday due to
1) Going to see Inbetweeners movie - funny
2) Today having to go work to see chap sentenced to 9 years - not funny but satisfying in it's own way.

Anyway - achievements is the title: yesterday I set out from Home in Sittingbourne at 0845, had my new long tights and a long sleeve top - in yellow - hoping that some of its legend would rub off on me. 103 miles, and 6 hours and 40 minutes later I arrived in Rye, having travelled pretty much all the way round the coast of Kent en route. Felt good fitness wise, but knees started to hurt from about 70 onwards. In total, a whole 40 miles further than I had ever ridden before.
At 17 miles I stopped for a slice of malt loaf, and thought to myself, "one sixth of the way, this will be easy" half a mile later the side of my brain that doesn't think stupid thoughts (it's a small and relatively unused side) realised, that twice what I had done was still only one third. So I gave up thinking about fractions, a bit like school days revisited really.
I was hoping for a sign that said "Welcome to Sussex" so I could celebrate my first ever ride from one county to another. Instead all I saw was a sign reflecting the locals most recent fashion revival "welcome to 1066 country" That will have to do I suppose.
Sense of achievement on arrival at the finish point was great, especially as I think cycling 100 miles is probably my single biggest physical achievement, including anything I ever did in the army, even though my first BFT was a bit of a nightmare!
Major thanks to my gorgeous soup dragon who picked me up, less thanks for the idea of calling in at the cinema on the way home. This wonderful idea resulted in me considering calling for a wheelchair to get me from the cinema to the car. Next time, I''ll be going via a hot bath and a pint of beer.
As always following any cycle sport I can on the TV, also finding a rich vein of good books on the subject, cycling 100 miles does give you a knew sense of perspective on just how awesome the athletes are who do this regularly, whether they be professionals in team Sky or just an amateur who's been round the block a bit.
Chapeau! to all of you.

I'm special

I've always known I was special. My Mum told me. The authorities told me. My school was a special school. Now I've been reminded how special I am. The met office have a special bit on their website, especially for me. When I look at the local forecast for wind before a bike ride, they have a white number. That's the wind speed and direction for non special people. They then have a special red number, that's the personalised wind forecast for me. So where it says gusting to 20mph, what it's actually saying is "David, the wind will be consistent 20 mph minimum into your face, whichever way you ride. Especially for you."
So here's the deal:
Captains of the Volvo round the world yacht race I am at the service of the highest bidder. Put me on your boat, sit me astride a bike on a turbo trainer, facing towards the back of the boat, and you are guaranteed there will always be a strong wind behind you.
You should however be aware that my contract will say I can get off and go home if I get scared or cold.

A picture of misery

Sat on my bum, bike upside down and rear wheel removed on the A20, face resting on hands, feeling a touch downhearted, I imagine the motorists driving by were thinking that's why they don't cycle and associated thoughts.
However they miss out on a cracking ride with a good friend, a few nasty hills but some lovely sweeping bends on a nice day for riding. Only ruined by total failure of the rear inner tube. Fortunately only a few miles from the end of the ride, so my good friend went ahead and came back to get me in the car.
The most disheartening thing was failing to ride 50 miles, instead I end the day with a paltry 48.85 miles. It's like hitting the post in a penalty.
Lesson learnt, carry a spare inner tube and something to pump it with.

Slightly better feeling was achieved last week when I reached over 1000 miles in total distance cycling since I got my bike on 2nd April. I felt / feel pretty chuffed with myself achieving that particular milestone.

As milestones go, today I also beat my maximum speed record and achieved 40.8 mph (downhill) pretty exhilerating, and slightly scary. However this in itself just serves to remind me what a different league professionals are in. Thor Hushovd on his way to winning a stage in the TDF achieved over 60mph downhill. Lunacy.

Today also provided a reminder of how quickly it can go wrong health wise, when we cycled passed a cyclist being loaded into an ambulance, with his bike (nice carbon looking one) in a pile on the side of the road. I hope someone was able to recover it for him, as I suspect the thought of losing his precious bike was almost as painful as whatever injury he got. Hope he's okay and the bike survived.

Me and my invisible bike.

Now, lets get this straight. I am a car driver. I hate cyclists who act like knobs. Because of that when I am cycling, I stop at all red lights, I signal to let people know where I am going. In short I obey the rules of the road, because if someone runs into me, I will sue your freaking arse off. After I have broken your snotter for you. However it seems I am wasting my time. Once I get on my bike, with my orange top, white helmet and sunburnt skin, it appears I turn invisible. It's a special type of invisible though, so not necessarily useful in a super hero / villain kind of way. I become invisible to small dicked, brain damaged, pimple faced morons in Renault Clios and other similar cars. What is it about these people? Go back to the start of the previous sentence and I appear to have answered my own question.

Bike stuff. I have now reduced the weight of my bike by 1kg, nearly all in rotational weight - new wheels, tubes and tires, and its running beautifully. Readers will obviously know that rotational weight is far more important than static weight, I won't insult your intelligence with the equations etc. Rather shocked and a tad peed off to discover state of my hubs on the old wheels, less than two months after full service by Evans. No wonder I am struggling to achieve decent regular speeds.
Yesterdays ride was 50 miles, average speed of 16.4 mph, an improvement of 1.9 over my best for a 40+ mile ride. It will now be interesting to see how my times improve on my other regular runs.
This month I have done over 300 miles for the first time. Another milestone ticked off. In August I have to do the same, as I have a target of cycling the equivalent distance to Rekjavik before September. So far I am at Split in Croatia! Getting over the Alps was easier than I expected.

Windy decisions

It's demoralising, having ridden well over 700 miles since the beginning of April, started out with an average speed of 15 mph, now three and a half months later, my average speed is exactly the same. It's not for want of effort, today I rode 17 miles, and tried my level best to go at it as hard as I could all the way. I was well stocked up on carbs, etc, yes it was windy, but so is every single ride I do. Average speed - 15.6 mph, whoopy flipping do.
You read the blogs, and people are talking about average speeds of 20+, I know it doesn't happen overnight, but surely there has to be some improvement.
So it's got me thinking - what do I ride a bike for? Belly is still there, average speed not increasing, where is the tangible result? I guess at the beginning I wouldn't have been able to ride 100km in one go, and I do enjoy just being out and about. Perhaps todays big effort with little reward is just a downer.
Had a dream bike in mind, Cannondal Super Six, and was supposed to be saving for that, instead I have given up, and now plan to just upgrade the current bike, starting with new wheels. Lots of people say wheels and tyres are the things that make the biggest difference, so now I'm going to put the experts to the test. New tyres on the birthday list, and a bit of overtime will pay for new wheels. If that doesn't make any difference I may have to accept that I am doomed to be a fat twat, and will probably die early. Oh well. Shit happens.

I'm a lucky man.

Today I set out to tick off one of my personal milestone targets, with the aim of cycling 100 km. To do this, I had to cycle somewhere where the return journey wouldn't kill me. Up steps the wonderful soup dragon, and agrees to pick me up from wherever I get to.
Off I set at 0900, having "carbed up" Get me with the lingo, plenty of fluids on board, and the knowledge that if I do nothing else, getting out for a ride, is better than being sat on my arse.
Down the road to Faversham, Whitstable, then Reculver, coast to Margate, across to Sandwich, then Deal and UP to Dover. The Deal to Dover ride was excrutiating, into the wind and nearly always up hill. Hurtled white knuckled down Jubilee Way, not daring to even glance at the cruise liners in port, and onto Marine Parade. One length up and back rounded off 63 miles, giving me a distance of about 101km. Smiley face.
My beautiful wife picked me up, and wasn't at all impressed, either with the accomplishment, or even being there. It's a personal thing I guess.