Lurgy

Kinda shows how busy things have been - 11 days and no bloggage!?

It has been really busy the past week or more. The Couriers have been taking new riders for both our Cardiff and Bristol hubs out for their trial rides, with great success I must say, there's some real quality in the applicants looking to join us. If you think you'd like a go, we're still looking for more riders so give us a shout.

The Bikeshed crew have been equally busy, nothing new there then. The mild weather has seen a boost to commuting by bike in Cardiff and the brilliant results and TV coverage of the Track World Cup are certainly raising the profile of the sportier side of our business.

All this busy-ness has left me a little pooped: I had the first inklings of a cold or bug or uhoh, dreaded man flu yesterday morning, so in true "don't panic!" fashion, I've eaten my weight in fruit and veg and cancelled all my training until whatever I have gets lost, hopefully as suddenly as it came about.

Looking forward:
Welsh XC Rnd2 (or is it Rnd 1!?) this weekend. Gonna make a decision on that later in the week. Will not be going unless I'm fit.
British XC end of March. Really, really excited about this! I've only ever been to one national race. Hopefully this time I'll make some big holes in the Sport field!

Epic.

Day of Rest.

I'm having an unusual day off (training at least!) midweek so thought I'd have a quick blogging session to make up for a free evening. Looking forward to the next few days I can see why there's a "REST" on my schedule:
Standard issue hard Friday as a bike courier closely followed by
6 hour lab session at crazy watts.

So I can understand this opportunity to rest the already aching legs!

Tuesday night was my first proper blast on the training bike. She's a little overdue but that's mainly my fault for hanging on deciding what I was going to spec. I think the final set up is really good and I had a complete blast through the woods pushing it a lot harder than I'd push my much more precious (and expensive) race bike - the carbon Superfly. I'd thoroughly recommend one of the cheaper Trek / Gary Fisher 29er's to anyone who's curious, and especially so the hugely versatile Marlin Single Speed, like mine. Very cool.

Another paragraph on kit: A pair of Bontrager RXL MTB shoes popped into the shop today. As well as being really nice to look at and great value, they have hugely stiff carbon soles and weigh next to nothing. Bonty shoes are usually well received, the RL roadie shoes just got a great review on bikeradar.com and I love my MTB RL's -  I use them everyday at work and on the MTB. I think I'll be placing my order for some RXL's for the summer race season!

That'll do for now!

Welsh XC Rnd 1, Margam Parc....

I was so incredibly excited about my first 'proper' XC race of the season but it was not to be. My heart sank when I woke up to the email on Thursday morning explaining that the event organiser had cancelled due to lack of entries. There's been a response on XCracer.com to the organisers decision but as ever I stayed out of the ruckus and pre-entered all of the remaining races in the Welsh Series.

This week has been a bit of a toughy. Recovery from Sunday's 6hr stint was a little slow compared to what I'd have liked. Then midweek I had a flare up in an old shoulder injury which came from nowhere but after no real treatment, is getting better. On the bike my shoulder was fine except when really honking on my work bike's (narrow) handlebars. And Friday required some efforts - busy jobs wise and one of the least motivating, grim, grey, cold and windy lumps of weather I've ever had the pleasure of working in. Still, miles are miles and it didn't kill me so must have made me stronger!?

Friday was made all the more challenging by the news that one of my courier colleagues, Nathan, suffered a loss on the bicycle front on Thursday evening. So if anyone spots a scally (other than Nathan himself) on board a nice black aluminium framed Cannondale road bike please be sure to get in touch - Cardiff Cycle Couriers 029 20 645 660. Or if you're familiar with the bike, the Police. Luckily, Nathan's been sorted out with a bike so that he can still work.

That is all.

Turbo FUN

I like my turbo, especially over winter. Now before I get any comments like "MTFU" or "Wouldn't you rather be out on your bike?" I can answer back. I courier. I spend a whole load of time out on my bike in horrific conditions and have the forever numb toes to prove it!

Turbo's so much more controlled, provides me with time to collect my thoughts, stick to training prescriptions and really listen to my body. Time on the turbo is safe, I'm unlikely to knock myself out and die of hypothermia in my living room. It also saves heaps of time (cleaning) and reduces component wear. For example, I've only just changed the brake pads on my Superfly having raced the thing since early November.. That's really good going for me!

The whole turbo reflection is as a result of the small task I undertook yesterday as part of a study at Cardiff Met. Part of the research requires a couple of 6 hour sessions on a cycle ergometer. It's basically an exercise bike in a lab.. 6hrs straight! With only loo breaks. I genuinely think I enjoyed it, 6 hours with nothing else to think or care about other than spinning those cranks. I'm enjoying it now still benefiting from being epically tired and insatiable - amazing long sleeps and massive meals!

This weekend is the first of the Welsh XC Series in Margam. I'm stoked for it. Hopefully my quads will have shaken off yesterdays effort ready for that darned hill!