December Round Up.

As ever.... I am a little late with this blog post... but after such an abysmal November things perked up slightly in December.

Last month I set myself a little challenge of forgetting about the miles and just trying to do 5 x 30mins of exercise a week.

For the first two weeks I did this.... mainly by running and doing a few 30min sessions on the turbo, but then Christmas and a busy time at work kinda got in the way and only three sessions a week were managed. Still at least I did something. =D

Here are the not-so-fabulous stats...

5 x 30 min turbo sessions and 2 short and very windy road rides covering 48.45 miles

12 running activities(including one very tedious half hour running on the spot) covering 31.96 miles

Not the greatest of mileage totals.... but hey I am actually getting out there again.

Here's to a great 2013 to everyone. x

August - A quick update

Its been a while since I blogged but that's because not much cycling has happened.  August was a rubbish month for my cycling!

I missed a couple of days whilst spending some time enjoying a trip to Bruge.... which was glorious and great fun.

A bike in Bruge

On our return, as usual the weather played its role in keeping me off the bike. It was either far too hot and muggy to ride, so I'd wait to go on an evening ride, but then get too engrossed in watching the Olympics. Then on every day off it would be absolutely bucketing it down with rain (and as I'd thrown my mudguards off in temper due to them rattling too much) so riding was postponed.

By the 19th of August I still hadn't ridden a bike..... Ooops!  On realising this I quickly grabbed my bike and did a 25miler.  Sadly, then the weather and a hideous week at work stopped me in my tracks again and only 2.5miles were ridden the following week, when we had a quick jaunt down to the beach when Ali and Amy arrived in Cornwall.

Thankfully their arrival injected some enthusiasm back and we did a fair bit of riding; a very WET ride to a cafe, a little jaunt out to christen Mikey's new Belgian jersey (his birthday pressie which finally made an appearance), and a ride to Mousehole, via Penzance where we had lunch in the park.

Anyway, by the end of the month I'd managed 6 rides.... and a grand total of 62.4miles.

Not the best of months for riding, but life and the weather really did get in the way. I can only hope that this month is better.

May Round - up.

May hasn't been the greatest month for my bicycle mileage as my running has really taken its toll on my legs as they are in pretty much a permanent state of fatigue.  Also, as the running programme calls for three runs a week there isn't as much time to ride. (I tried running and riding on the same day but it was just a bit too much on my legs at this stage.) So long gone are the weeks where I ride 4-5 days a week.... 

But before you all scream for me to stop running I should add that running does have its advantages. I definitely have more strength and stamina (on the bike too) and there has been quite a noticeable effect on my body shape - as my thighs are hips are becoming less flabby. Yay!

Anyway, here are my ride stats for the month.  With only 7 rides under my belt for May I achieved 118.08 miles and an average speed of 11.6 mph. I am pretty happy with that as I did take over a week off the bike and this months wind has been pretty hellish.

As for the running count.... in May we did 13 runs. The majority of these were with my Mum but three were with Mikey who made me run a little faster (my Mum was away). We are still at the early stages of the Couch to 5k programme, but we have moved successfully onto the 3rd stage, which involves 90secs and 3mins intervals.  Our running so far has covered 34.32 miles, but I guess only a third of this would probably be actual running miles. Hopefully as we progress through the programme the walking will get less and less.

In other news May saw the wonderful arrival of a new pair of pink lenses for my Radars which are pretty awesome and a few days ago Mikey purchased a Garmin Forerunner, which I can use for my Running - which seems much more accurate than the Edge. :-)

Another pathetic month

Well, what another rubbish month. As you know I lost my mojo in November, however, I found it again at the beginning of this month. Sadly it was short lived and I lost it again, re found it and then boom it's gone - yet again!

Unsurprisingly, it is mainly the weather that is defeating me, but I've also been having a rubbish time at work (practically working myself into the ground) and the remnants of the cold/flu still lingering hasn't helped matters. Not having a cycling buddy available to ride with in daylight hours hasn't helped my cause either, as when the sun drops the temperatures plummet so even going to meet Mikey is hard work. *Sigh* They are all just excuses, but they really have taken hold and zapped all my motivation.

After my last blog I did manage another two Turbo sessions, but they quickly became tedious and even the thought of getting back is now hard work.

Consequently, I haven't got back on the bike in nearly 2 weeks. Eeek! I can feel my fitness deteriorating and see the weight piling back on, but I really can't get myself motivated.

Anyway, I have decided not to let it get me down, I will just ride when I want to in these last few days of December and not try and force myself out of the door.

Then maybe, just maybe, I will get back on track in January.

Anyway, MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone. I hope you all have a fantastic time.

November - A Pathetic Month.

Well, what can I say.... despite my best intentions, my knees, my asthma, a number of family issues; including the death of Mikey's beloved Gran, and the miserable weather have left me unmotivated to ride. So yet again my monthly mileage has been far from average.... in fact Novembers statistics speak for themselves.... they are pathetic. Again, I have done less than 100 miles. Only a mere 86.6 miles! Not the greatest of months, but things can only get better, right? ;-)

October round up - An epic fail

This month has been really poor mileage-wise.  My knee hasn't been behaving. After taking an initial 7 days off the bike at the start of the month; when my knees were at the worst, I started becoming really fed up.  The lack of exercise was leaving me very frustrated and tetchy. I needed to ride!

The first ride after that week off was interesting. I hadn't planned on riding that day as my knees still weren't 100% but at 16.30hrs I knew that the way my mood was going I would be ready to kill someone if I didn't ride soon!

I knew that I probably shouldn't be pushing my luck and riding too far, so a quick pootle on my shopper was the ideal option - just to test my knees. I've not ridden the shopper for a while now but it was nice. It was a great ride. An easy 5 miles without any pain or discomfort. Simple and easy! It took a while to get used to the flat pedals but I think the freedom of movement in my feet and ankles was probably the best option. On my return my knees felt ok, but the day after they felt stiff so a few more days off the bike. :-( Maybe I had pushed myself back into it too soon.

A few more days off the bike resulted in more frayed nerves - I really hadn't realised how much I use the bike now to release any frustrations, particularly work stresses. Another pootle on the shopper. Sore knees again... back off the bike... it was just a vicious cycle.

Unsurprisingly October has been a really bad month, mileage-wise! Less than 100!!

(The majority of the miles have been done in this past week; a new blog post to follow.)

Housewife's knee

For a few years now, I've had weak knees.  There's always a niggling pain and a horrid graunchy noise when I'm climbing stairs. I blame it on my job! I spend most of my working hours kneeling on the floor. It's the quickest and easiest position for taking blood off a patient sitting in their armchair.

Anyway last Friday, after a busy week at work, I rode to pick Mikey up and we did a quick spin into Mousehole (I was down on my weekly mileage so we had decided to add little extra miles in). Halfway home and both my knees were suddenly in excruciating pain. Until then, I had never had any knee pain at all on the bike. I could barely keep pedalling; it was like someone had just driven a truck into them. The uphill through Marazion nearly killed me!  The pain was unbearable - tears rolled down my cheeks and I felt sick.  With a lot of assistance (pushing) from Mikey we somehow made it home. OUCH! I practically fell through the door and onto the sofa where I stayed all night.

Saturday morning, I could barely move. Sunday came and went. They were too sore to take advantage of one of the few Sundays without a cross race. Grrrr! As well as the unbearable pain I was also like a bear with a thorn in its paw, as I was so frustrated to know that I would fail my weekly target.

I wasn't sure I would be able to work on Monday, but thankfully I was scheduled for a study/office day so no patient contact. Yay at least my knees wouldn't get a battering. Tuesday I had patients to see, but not too many and those that I did, I ensured I found something suitable to sit on, rather than the floor.  Wednesday was the same but I was starting to climb the walls, I wanted to ride my bike! As the pain had started to ease I thought I'd test it with a ten minute tester on the turbo. There was very little pain on the pedal stroke but afterwards it was excruciating again. Grrrr... I would have to stay off the bike longer.

So now it has been over a week and I haven't ridden more than those few miles I did on the Turbo. I am way off target and extremely frustrated. All I want to do is ride my bike!

I guess I wont be doing tomorrows CX race at Bodmin.....

September Round-Up and a pretty BIG milestone

So, September has been and gone and as regular readers will know, my mojo has also been coming and going; leaving one of my weekly totals way off target. However despite that, I somehow managed to ride 197.4 miles! (Yes I know I should have got it up to 200... but I had much bigger fish to fry and this slipped my mind.)

Last Sunday when tallying up my totals, I realised that with a concerted effort I could get my overall (yearly) total to 2000 by the end of September. It would mean doing 45 miles in 5 days... but that was do-able! ... OK, it would be a little harder as I had just ridden everyday for the last 4 days to meet last weeks target and could really do with a day off - as my legs were feeling the strain, but I could do it. Couldn't I?

On Monday I managed to muster up 10 miles. But it was hard work - I was running late to get to our meeting point so raced into Penzance. As I was late I had little time to regain my composure before we were off. Mikey was with Turbo John, who although he slows his pace down considerably for me, he still takes me that little bit faster than I can comfortably go.  In fact it was insanely fast (for me), I think the average that day was 13.5.

My legs were burning by Tuesdays ride which I hoped would be a little slower, but yet again, stupid me got my timings all wrong - This time, I'd decided to do a 2 mile loop before heading into Penzance to get a little extra mileage in, but annoyingly I'd underestimated how long that loop would take and then I had to push really hard to get to our meeting point in time.

By Wednesday I was a little bit broken and despite it being Mikeys day off I just couldn't bear to get back on the bike! Stuff the 2000 milestone, my thighs and knees just couldn't take any more! Despite the still fatigued legs, I was back on the bike on Thursday, another ride done and much closer to the target. By Friday I only had 9.5 miles to meet the target! I could do this. Yeah!

At 5.25 on Friday evening I was rudely awoken by the telephone! It was a witheld/international call so I ignored it... hang on.... NO! Why was I asleep on the sofa when I should have been on the bike! There was no way I could make it to the meeting point in time. A quick text to Mikey and then I was back in the world of nod. My body wanted a break!

The lack of a commute meant I still needed to do some miles. I couldn't face setting up the trainer, or doing any more mundane laps of the village, so the idea of a MTB night ride - that I have been putting off for months - was the only option if I wanted to meet my goal.

With a fun-filled night ride done... (I wish I hadn't been a wimp and put it off for so long) I met my goal and hit the 2000 milestone! I am ever so happy - it feels like such an achievement particularly as last year it was the end of November when I hit the 2000 mile mark!

... Meh

After such a fantastic few days with Amy and Ali at the start of the month, things quickly returned to the mundane.

The weather also took a quick turn for the worse, leaving us with very VERY wet weather. It was awful, it was either dense fog or heavy rain, making every day grey and miserable!  Unsurprisingly, this meant I had very little motivation to get myself out on the bike and for the last few weeks I have been feeling very uninspired!

The arrival of the highly anticipated pink VeloCake jerseys, gave me a push in the right direction and to christen them we went for a very "quick" spin. (The jerseys didn't arrive until gone 5pm so there was very little daylight left and without any front lights - my front light has gone for repair - we were only able to do 7ish miles before dusk. The good news was that, as most of you know, the pink jerseys look super fly! ;-)

Unfortunately that enthusiasm vanished quickly; as work continued to wear me down and with no improvements in the weather. Plus the huge disappointment of the black VC order which had a number of screw ups.

Meh! I was feeling really stale.  I was mentally and phsyically exhausted.  I just didn't want to be on my bike anymore. Every ride was a struggle. I hated every moment and when I got home I was flatter (in mood) than when I'd left and more exhausted than ever. I decided I needed to go and see the Doc. Maybe I had a virus? Maybe I was becoming anaemic? Something wasn't quite right... Or maybe it was just a lack of exercise, leaving me really lethargic.

That week I epically failed my monthly target only managing a measly 26miles. Pfft!

The following week I knew I just had to pull my socks up and get out and ride, and just grin and bear it.  So I forced myself out of the door, despite the weather, if it wasn't raining it was dense fog, and as always the wind was cold and strong.  Most of the rides saw me armed with winter boots and jacket. Blergh! What happened to Summer? Somehow, I made my 50mile target.... It was miserable and all the rides were a tough slog...

... but I got there and I tell you something. I felt better for it. :-) I guess lethargy really does give you lazyitis!! :-)

August - A rollercoaster ride

This August had a number of highs and lows and has been extremely memorable for a variety of reasons.

Firstly, August saw my 2nd anniversary of my "bicycle rediscovery".  Yay! Two years ago I would never have thought I would still be riding a bike, but here I am today; fitter than I have been in years and considerably smaller than I was this time in 2009.

Secondly, there was the horrid coach incidence, where I ploughed into the side of a large coach which pulled out in front of me on a roundabout.

Then there was Mikeys birthday... hehehe, as always birthdays are super! Not much riding was done but it was great fun nonetheless.

Unfortunately, then there was another accident! I can't believe that after two years pretty much without any, I have two significant ones within a few weeks of each other. I fell off my bike.... my first fall EVER! So what happened? I'll give you two clues... new cleats and new pedals!

It was my first ride on Ted for a while. He had new pedals at Christmas and hasn't been ridden much since, so the pedals are still tight.  It wasn't so much of a problem with my old Spesh Tahoes as the cleats were well worn in. Unfortunately, the new cleats in my shiney new Shimano shoes made a lethal combination.

I hadn't really noticed any difference for the first 5miles as I rarely had to unclip. So when I had to come to an abrupt hault - which is a long story that involves a tractor, a car and a transit van on a tight country lane all coming from different directions and trying unsuccessfully to get past each other at the tiniest T Junction - I wasn't prepared for what happened.

I couldn't unclip! The road I was trying to stop on was a slight downhill and I needed to take a tight left turn onto a narrow uphill lane.  I was desperately trying to unclip, brake and turn, but instead I just started falling (leftwards). Eek! There were large rocks I needed to avoid landing on and more importantly rocks that I needed to stop Ted hitting!

As I hit the ground I was mortified. The driver and passenger in the car were looking. The tractor driver was watching. (They were all still at a standstill - a stalemate as no one was prepared to move.) I tried to force a smile to let them know I was OK, but found they were laughing. Mikey, who was in front had now turned to look at me (he'd heard my loud cursing and stopped to check I was OK). He was looking at me in amazement -obvioulsy impressed at how gracefully I'd fallen. He thought I had managed to save myself from injury but soon realised from my eyes that I was in pain.

My arm was in agony. My left wrist had taken all my weight on landing and had twisted in the process, leaving my whole arm in excruciating pain. I wanted to cry but instead I tried hopping back on the bike. Ouch! My left wrist hurt and couldn't take any weight on the bars. We were about 5 miles from home and there was no simple way back. I wasn't sure I could ride it, but on these tight narrow country lanes it wouldn't have been safe to walk either. I had to grin and bear it. I rode the last 5 miles home unclipped from my pedals (as I was too petrified to clip back in) and only able to steer with my right arm and unable to use my back brake. It was a tad scary but somehow I made it!

I guess that it was inevitable that one-day I would have a SPD related accident... I'm just grateful that its taken nearly a year before I had mine otherwise I may have been put off them. ;-)

Thankfully Augusts rollercoaster, finished on a high note, as we had fellow blogger Trio25 and Ali come to stay, which was brilliant and very fun-filled (post to follow).

AUGUST STATS:

Longest ride 27.2miles (On Paddy the road bike)
Shortest ride 3.3miles (To the Chippy on Basil my trusty shopper)

Bike Totals;
Cyclocross:           11.6miles
Road:                    225.6miles (of which 26.3miles, I wish I'd been on my Cross Bike)
Hybrid/Shopper:    3.3miles
Mountain Bike:       0miles :(

Total Mileage: 240.5miles.

New shoes and monthly round-up

... ooOoo I got new shoes and I’m ready for the weekend….. (Well I was, but due to the lack of internet access this post is being published a little later than I planned)

On Mikeys return from work on last Friday he pulled out a pair of white and baby blue shimano shoes. I laughed, telling him he couldn’t seriously be planning on wearing them - they were far too girlie. I hadn’t realised they weren’t for him, as they were a lovely and very unexpected gift for me. Usually his gifts are the edible/chocolate kind so I was extremely shocked.

Although they are technically a MTB shoe they are another step towards looking a little more pro-roadie as they are white with Velcro fastenings (which is super as I’ve had far too many near-misses with shoelaces getting caught up in my chainring!)

Last Sunday saw my first adventure with them when we went out for a few hours. The more rigid soles were perfect; recently I’d been struggling with the flexibility of my spesh Tahoes, getting hotspots and sore feet. So the new shoes made a welcome improvement. Amazingly, we managed to get the perfect cleat position and they didn’t need any tweaks half way round. Unfortunately, the next ride in them was miserable; it was raining and on my return my shoes were very wet and mucky from all the dirt on the roads. I’m a lucky girl though - Mikey quickly cleaned and dried them and they’re back to being like new.

As for this Julys ride mileage, it has been a good month. Every week I managed to do in excess of my 50mile target and my total July mileage was 250.5miles, bringing my yearly total to 1590.1miles.
Most of July's miles were on the road bike. With only one 10mile ride on the CX bike. This was an easy ride along the coast path however, I wont be doing that again for some time as it was hellish due to the influx of tourists. There was also one fun MTB ride. 12.7miles of off-road goodness. Most of the local singletrack was dry and dusty but more importantly at the end of the ride we met fellow VeloCaker, RocketDog and his other half for tea and cake. ;-)

This month has been pretty average for mileage but more significantly I am really pleased as my average speed is getting better. With the exception of the MTB ride, my average speed has always been in excess of 13mph. This time last month I was predominantly averaging 12-12.5.

June round up - a bad month

June was a bit of a rubbish month. I was feeling pretty stale.  I was just riding to reach my weekly mileage but not really enjoying the rides. The weather was pretty inspirational - far too much wind.  The disappearance of cyclogs also left me un-motivated - it went down at the end of May and I hadn't been keeping my paper chart up to date so I lost all my May stats.  As well as the lack of mojo, life also seemed to get in the way of cycling; meaning I took a week off the bike.

After the week off, I got back on track, but soon started feeling stale again. Without cyclogs to log my progress and check my average speed or set myself targets to meet - witting myself against unsuspecting other users. ;-)  etc I was still unmotivated.

Anyway by the end of the month, I had managed to complete 173.7 miles. I guess really it was an OK month as, with the exception of my week off, I always achieved 50+ miles but when I compare the stats to June 2010, I was well off par. Grrr... what can I do to get my motivation back? A new bike? Or a move to somewhere inland with less wind? Or shall I just get over it and go ride more? Hehehe as much as I'd like to go with option one, I guess I will settle for Option 3.

BTW All miles were done on Paddy the road bike - there were no off-road miles, no cyclocross miles. The longest ride was 31.3miles, the shortest was 6.  

Back on track

Yay, after writing my last post, I gained some much needed motivation to get my lazy butt back onto the saddle. No sooner as I published it, I ran upstairs, got into my cycling kit and rode to meet Mikey from work. The weather was pretty dull but the suprise pressie that arrived that afternoon also gave me an extra incentive to ride; a smashing new longsleeved Craft base layer. Thanks Mikey! It is just what I needed - It's far too warm and muggy to wear a coat but just too windy to go out with bare arms. As always the wind was evil - a headwind all the way to Penzance, but thankfully that meant I would get a little help on the way back home (Which is predominantly uphill).  That first ride was quite enjoyable and gave me 12.1 miles on the clock -  a nice start to my target.

Wish the same could have been said about the next ride.  Fridays weather was miserable. It was cold and very wet and need I tell you how windy it was? It was painful - the wind felt more brutal than ever with the icy rain feeling like hail hitting you in the face.  I couldn't believe it was the first day of summer. There was a low sea mist everywhere and limited visibility, making it feel like the middle of winter. Awww well, I somehow made it; soaked to the bone and cold to my core, but happy to add 11 miles on to my total.

Saturdays ride was much more bearable.  The only problem was my only pair of three quater length tights were still wet.  The weather wasn't quite as miserable as the previous few days but I needed some knee coverage as that Cornish wind was still cold and strong.  Hehehe... with Mikey at work, I borrowed his knee warmers and then set off to meet him. 11.5 miles added.

As for todays ride, with the temperature soaring to 28degrees out came the flesh; shortsleeves and shorts.  I dont think I've exposed so much flesh since back in France. Phewph! It was hot hot hot!  Of course the wind was strong, but with the heat it was much appreciated. It was a really enjoable ride and I even pushed myself to do a hill I had always avoided before.  Since my rediscovery I have pretty much said NO every time Michael suggested it, but today I shocked him by suggesting I try it. I knew I wouldn't be able to do it in one go, but there's no harm in stopping half way up for a breath or two.  Unfortunaly, I was about a third of the way up when a car spooked me (The road is a tight country lane so there was little room for it to pass)  and with its engine revving nehind me - as it was struggling up the now 12% hill - I basically threw myself into the hedgerow.  After a quick drink I set back off. Mikey was practically near the top (obviously he isn't intimidated by cars) 

With about 100metres to go, the road reared up even more - to 17%. I tried to keep pushing but I was getting so slow - I was going to fall off or start rolling backwards. Damn! I had to put my foot down. I was gutted. This was the first hill to defeat me in a long time - Mainly due to my avoidance of anything to this scale.  I really wish I could have continued as trying to start agin was torture - I kept trying to mount my bike, but the climb was too steep and I just couldnt get any momentum going. I was zigzagging across the road just trying to get back onto the saddle and my feet on the pedals.  After a few failed attempts I finally managed to gain some momentum and get going again. Eek! In less than 0.5km we had climbed 50m. I was broken at the top but this was where the fun started...... weeeeeeeeee....  I was back at the bottom, in a fraction of the time it had taken to climb!  A few more climbs and we got home with 15.4 miles on the clock.

So, for those of you that didn't do the maths, despite my lack of interest during the first half of the week I met my weekly target and now I have refound my mojo.

March Round Up

Overall March has been a pretty good month, mileage and weather wise.

The month began with a very interesting ride into Penzance one Saturday lunch time to meet Michael during his lunch break and also meet one of my Internet buddies, Kim and her new husband (they were honeymooning from Scotland). It was ace to meet her finally; they were both so lovely (I knew they would be).

March saw me re-saddling my trusty Mountain bike, Gary, for three rides and despite my pretty poor ability on technical stuff I can see a vast improvement on my overall strength and stamina. Yay! The biggest problem is though, that because of all the road riding that I have done to get me through winter I'm starting to become a "Roadie." Eek! Although I still enjoy the fun and adrenaline of riding my MTB, I (currently) much prefer the easyness of riding on tarmac. Hopefully, with more practice I'll get my mojo back and with 31.7 off road miles done this month, I look forward to more singletrack in April.

Most of the rides this month averaged over 10miles, with a few around the 15mile mark. However the longest was a 19.3mile jaunt along the coast to picturesque Mousehole where we enjoyed a pasty and a piece of homemade flapjack.

Mikey begrudgingly offers me a bite of the shared pasty. ;-)

March also saw me doing the shortest ride in a long time when the ocean wind proved too much for me and I struggled to do 6miles. (This was at the start of the month when the weather was still pretty horrid and the winds were brutal.)

Anyway Spring finally has sprung so I hope that with nicer weather I will be able to take some more adventurous rides. More mountain biking is definitely on the agenda and also some longer road rides.

Finally, you'll all be relieved to hear that Ted has come back out of hibernation.  (Having only been ridden a few times over the winter.) ROFL! When everyone else is thinking of putting away their cyclocross bikes and digging out their nippier road bikes, out comes Ted whilst Paddy the road bike thinks about going into hibernation. I know I'm a tad silly and doing things backwards, but thats the way I like it - Ted's my pride and joy.

February Round-Up

This month has been a hard slog. The weather, or should I say the wind, has been pretty brutal, making even the easiest ride hard going.

Due to this cold uninspiring weather, the first three weeks of the month all pretty much involved 5rides of 10miles.  However, last week, I let the nasty weather get the better of me and by Saturday morning I had still only been out on my bike once for a 15miler.  (Which was on Wednesday. It was a tough but enjoyable ride that involved meeting a new Donkey and lots of Llamas - or maybe they're Alpacas. ;-)  For those that know me, you'll know that I am a BIG fan of animals and that I have to talk to any I meet.  Also as long as the animal isn't a cat, it will get a tickle - I have nothing against cats, but they make me sneeze uncontrollably. So on Wednesday I was happy to plot a route that would take us past a field of Llamas and I wasn't disappointed. In fact I was more than happy, when said ride also involved finding a donkey and a second field of Llama's!)

Thankfully (as previously posted) I managed to do a 20 mile ride on Saturday and even more amazingly I followed this with another 15miler on Sunday.  It was tough though, after the nice weather on Saturday it had reverted back to cold, grey and with winds over 25mph, so my summer shoes and exposed ankles left me bitterly COLD. *Sigh* I think I will have to re-relegate my summer wardrobe back to the bottom of the drawer again and go back to full length tights and winter boots for a little longer.

Anyway, despite the nasty weather and the short month, I have somehow managed to meet my monthly goal of 200miles. Yay! If I can achieve this type of mileage in this cold weather, surely things can only get better. ;-)

A quickie.

Again, not really much to blog about. I'm still riding, but not really done any rides of interest so I won't bore you with the mundane details..

Good news is though, that with 50.6 miles last week and 51.4 this week I am on target to meet my goal of 200miles a month.

With this shorter month, I literally have to make sure that I manage 50miles each week to prevent a fail. But I'm not planning on failing so that shouldn't be an issue. ;-) Thankfully the surgery I was supposed to be having on my hand this month was cancelled, which was good as I'd almost forgotten about it and the implications of "recovery" would have scuppered any chance of meeting said target.

January 2011 (Round Up)

As well as knitting (see previous post) I also rode my cotton socks off in January; fighting through the icy cold and bitter winds.

I had my fastest ride ever as well as my slowest ride. (The fastest when I met Michael from work on a day that John was also commuting home & the slowest when I took my Mum out.) I also experienced some of the coldest rides, where on my return I could no longer feel my feet - practically falling down the steep garden steps. There was also a near miss with disorientated bunny rabbit on a major road.  It all added to the fun though. ;-)

All in all this month has been a good one for riding and despite the cold weather I can happily report that I met my new 200mile monthly target! In fact I managed to do 208.1. =D

A good start

Just a quickie to say that I've raised my goal and I now hope that I can do 200miles a month. This goal isn't set in concrete yet though, as I have to remind myself that it is double my previous target so it may not  be very realistic.  So, this month I'm going to give it a try and if I can do it in this cold and wet month then theoretically I should be able to do it in any month. Watch this space!

Interestingly, it would appear that I have made a good start though, as today; half way through January, I reached the half way point - 100miles. Which I guess is pretty amazing really, as this time last year I had barely managed 50. Yay! :-)

Not really done any noteworthy rides since the festive period. One 20miler with Mikey - can't actually remember where we got to but I remember that by 16miles in I thought my legs were going to fall off.  Then there was a very dodgy night ride through dense fog.  I was terror-stricken for every second of it! My front light (which so so far has been wonderful) was unable to penetrate through the fog, so my visibility was nil - I probably hit every pot hole and skidded over every grid. The only positive I can take from it, was that it was an experience! There's also been two rides with my Mum. Since October I have refused to take her riding due her mystery illness (frequent fainting). I was petrified that if she collapsed on her bike there could be no end of problems.  However, she finally convinced me she felt ok so we've done a few slow local laps around the village. I was very nervous but thankfully she was ok.

Anyhow, stay posted for news on whether I achieve the next 100miles.

December Summary

December has been an odd month. First there was the snow and ice. Ironically we probably had less than the rest of the country but unfortunately Cornwall council is completely unable to cope with even the smallest of flurries. The roads were  untreated and treacherous so a few rides had to be done indoors on the turbo-trainer.

Thankfully the snow and ice soon went and I was able to get back out on the bike.  Trouble was the wind was fierce and icy.  On a number of rides I actually started wheezing - which is something that I haven't done in ages. I'd almost forgotten I was asthmatic. Anyway, I am now back on my inhalers just to keep my lungs functioning fully during the cold weather.

Just before the Christmas it was looking like I may not quite meet my readjusted yearly target of 2200 miles as I was still quite a way off (88miles), but with 5 full days off with Mikey all was not lost. We just needed some tolerable weather.

Christmas day came and we took a morning bicycle ride. We didn't make it to the beach this year as the roads were somewhat icy and I didn't fancy attempting the steep icy descent to the sea, so instead we managed a wee pootle along some local roads. It was cold but there was little wind and the traffic was pretty much non-existent. What a lovely way to start a Christmas day. Obviously this was followed by a few drinks at the local and then crimbo dinner at me Ma's.

The next few rides were much harder. The wind was back with a vengeance - over 30mph. Again I got home somewhat battered and asthmatic but pleased - I was still on target... only 34miles left to do.

Bank holiday Tuesday was a little less windy and the sun was warm(ish) so we decided to take a longer ride out. We headed towards Penzance and onto Mousehole (pronounced Mou-zel.) On arriving in Mousehole we grabbed a cuppa and a piece of Millionaires shortbread and sat looking at the harbour and the famous(?) Xmas lights. On the way home I was surprised that my legs still felt OK. (it's been a while since doing anything much more than 10miles a ride). Sadly the moment we got back into our village my legs bonked and I was barely able to get myself up the hill. I made it home with 19miles on the clock.

My legs were exhausted and I doubted that I could get back on my bike today (my last day off work) but after encouragement from Mikey I got back on my bike to do the last 15 miles. Unsurprisingly, I was slower than usual.  I arrived home with 14.2miles on the clock. Grrrr. I was just shy of my target and had to force myself to do 0.8mile on the turbo.

So that's it. I reached my goal. I have done 2200miles in 2010. Which is a whole 1000 miles more than I set myself back in January. I am a happy yet tired little cyclist.

Hope that you all have a great New Years Eve and all the best for 2011.

Brrrrrr-illiant!

This week has been pretty miserable - weatherwise - and despite my new winter wardrobe there have been days that it has been just too cold to ride. Yes, I know that it's colder back home in Mcr, but even by Cornish standards its blinkin' freezin'. Just can't imagine what it would have been without my new winter wardrobe. Brrrr! 

On Wednesday it was so awful that we had to cut a ride short as the torrential sleet and hail was just too painful so I had to complete the ride indoors on Ted in the dining room. (Hehehe! He is now fixed to the trainer and will remain there during the winter months. Which is really just an excuse to keep him indoors and stop him from getting damp and rusty in the garage - shhhh... don't tell Mikey!)

My paste-y white knees and Ted staying warm & dry.

Anyway, despite the miserable weather I've somehow managed to ride just over 40miles this week. Which I'm pretty chuffed about as it has taken me over my 2000th mile this year. I'm so chuffed! This time last year I could only dream that I would have achieved so much in this time.

Not content with hitting 2000miles I have now set myself a challenge to make it to 2200miles before the years out - which would be a whole 1000miles over my original target.

(Keep your fingers crossed for me as last time I set myself an extra little challenge like this I was close to failing and it took its toll on my motivation.   I'll just have to keep reminding myself of how great it will feel to achieve it!  And please...  if I start to flag, just remind me that the VeloCake cyclogs team needs me. ROFL!)