My Marathon ride at Kielder.

Wooop Woop!! One of my two goals has been achieved. Back in January I set myself two goals; one to enter a cyclo-cross race and the other to do a marathon ride of 26 miles.  Amazingly, last week in Scotland I achieved one of these; my Marathon ride at Kielder.

BIG thanks go to Amy and Ali who suggested we do the Lakeside Way ride at Kielder Lake.  They have both ridden and enjoyed the ride before and although they had both rode it on Mountain Bikes they assured me that it was completely do-able on a CX bike - as it wasn't a technical trail and it followed a purpose built path.

It seemed a shame not to do it, considering we were staying only about 18 miles away. So, on the Monday after a lovely relaxing sleep in a King sized bed and a breakfast fit for the Queen, it was time to hit the trails.

The drive over to Keilder was pretty and we soon hit our destination - Keilder Castle car park!  We made a quick pitstop at a bikeshop to buy someone who had left his cycling shorts in Cornwall a new pair of shorts! Annoyingly the first shop was shut (despite a huge OPEN sign on its door).  Thankfully, we had seen a bike hire shop en-route so we hopped on our bikes and go see if they sold any shorts.  The shop was tiny but the staff very friendly.  After a chat with the manager we were glad that the other shop hadn't been open as they had pushed this smaller business out of their premises, forcing them to relocate. 

Anyway, with a nice new pair of shorts for Mikey we went to set off.  The manager started to look a little concerned that we weren't on MTB's and said that we may struggle on some parts of the path as it was very rocky. The way he gesticulated the size of the rocks, I started to expect rocks as big as boulders. 

I became a tad un-nerved , now expecting lots of tricky terrain. Ah well, we were here now, whats the worst that could happen?

We headed off around the lake, heading along the North shore. The first 10 miles were super!  Admittedly, as the shop manager had suggested the first section was a tad more rocky, but nothing my fresh legs couldn't handle.  I was having too much fun to worry anyway!  We whizzed along enjoying the scenery - it was so pretty!  We were quite surprised at just how undulating the path was considering that we were following a level lake, but all the ups and downs were fun. 

There was lots to see en route; fantastic landscapes and breathtaking views.  It sounds silly but we really do miss seeing huge old trees. Here in Cornwall all the mining has meant many trees didn't survive as their root systems were disturbed, so the tall forest trees were spectacular.   At one point we saw a Roe deer, bounding over the shrubs.  It was an awesome sight as I've never seen them living in the wild anywhere - other than Tatton park, which doesn't really compare!

We soon reached the half way point, Kielder Dam, and shortly after found a quiet spot to stop for a breather and a spot of lunch - 2 scotch pancakes each and a banana.  Mmm... with energy supplies replenished it was time for the off again. This south shore wasn't half as pretty - in some places it looked quite baron. I'm not sure if it was because of the less inspirational scenery or because since my cycling rediscovery I have never ridden more than 19miles in one go, but at the 20 mile mark, I started to get weary - mentally and physically. Oddly my legs were OK but my shoulders were in agony and my feet burning.  At this point I would have killed for suspension forks and more responsive brakes. The ride got slower and slower as I had to keep stopping and shake my arms and stretch my shoulders. Any downhill was torturous as I tried to pull my brake levers. Severe cramps in my shoulders kept kicking in and I was close to tears.

The pain was unbearable but I was still determined to ride the full 26mile route - walking wasn't an option!  So, despite making slow progress we continued.  A few bunnies and low flying fighter planes kept my mind entertained and off my pain.  I could do this!

Somehow, we made it back to the car. Yay! I had done my 26mile ride. Hang on, I looked at my mileometer - it said 29! Somewhere along the line we had picked up a few extra miles. (I guess the faffing around looking for a bike shop had added more than we had thought)

Exposure Exposé

For those of you who live under a rock, last weekend saw the 1st ever Solo 24hr MTB National Championships over the border in Scotland. Representing team VeloCake were cakers Steve , Grant and and honorary member (she'll be fully fledged when the new team kit finally arrives) Amy

- doing it for the girls.

In a moment of madness me and Mikey decided to drive the 500mile trip up North to offer Team Support.  So, 10 hours after we set off, we finally reached our destination - an already full campsite.  On arrival we found Steve, who had set up next to a couple who I didn't know; despite a lack of introductions I soon discovered them to be Chris and Jac.

No sooner as we started to unpack the tent Grant and his bud James rolled up. A game of musical cars and musical tents ensued before their huge tent - "MoonBase Doig" was unleashed!

An hour or so later and a small Mini headed onto the field. We recognised this as being Trio's and despite only knowing her via the Internet, we waved her over.  Again we seemed to forget any kind of formal introductions, but this time it wasn't quite as bad, as after reading her blog regularly I already felt like I knew both her and Ali. The team was complete and we sat and chatted as the sun went down.

As all the racers were riding "solo", the usual pre-race camp shenanigans were subdued and tents were zipped and lights were turned out by dark. Team VeloCake soon realised we were the only ones making any noise within the camp so we decided we should also retire for the night - after all half of us had a big day tomorrow.

By morning everyone was up bright and early and nerves were starting to show.  The start of the race was dragged out by a long-winded rider briefing, followed by a ride into the village for a formal "signing on" in front of the good folks of Newcastleton.  The riders were then gallantly led back out of the village and back up to the course by some suited up village chieftains.

After getting some quick shots of the riders heading out we made our way back up to the camp. Which was quite tricky on a cross bike. The boys on MTB's made it look easy but skinny tyres and a twitchy CX bike made the ridiculously steep climb on very loose gravel quite tricky.

Back at camp we set up an awning and decorated it and with a lovely VeloCake flag flying proudly from one corner.  We then awaited the arrival of the riders as they completed their first lap, prepped with the trusty VC cow-bell. G-dunk, G-dunk! Damn! Chris walked over with a bigger and shiny cow bell. I was beyond envious, not only did it look better but it sounded better!

Trio, Grant and Steve have all blogged their race reports already, so if you haven't already, you really should check them out!

All that's left for me to say was that great fun was had and a lot of new friendships were made. It would have been a perfect trip if it hadn't been for those revolting portaloo's that were even grimmer by Saturday morning.

Predicting failure!

After a wonderful April things have taken a turn for the worse and I am currently sitting in my sick bed; nursing a pesky infection. :-(

It all started to go downhill last week, when we decided to decorate the bedroom.  Unfortunately, the prep took longer than expected so despite the bank holiday weekend we didn't finish it. Consequently, it's meant doing a few hours each night after work - and then sleeping in a room filled with paint/gloss fumes.  How dramatic, I hear you all cry; but one of the downsides of living in a small miners cottage is the tiny windows and the limited airflow.  By Thursday my head was ready to explode and spun with every slight movement.

On Saturday, I still had a niggly headache, but it was more tolerable.  Unfortunately,  I now had a sore throat too.  At first it  felt like something was stuck in my throat, maybe something from all the sanding and decorating, but it wouldn't shift and progressively got worse.

Until yesterday I had continued to cycle, presuming that my ailments could be cured by fresh air, but yesterday evening I was empty and couldn't muster up the energy to do my Monday evening ride to Penzance to meet Mikey from work.  Every single muscle in my body ached!

After a really bad night (a raging temperature and agonising pain in my chest) I made an emergency appointment at the Doctors.  After listening to my symptoms and a thorough check up he announced that he didn't think I had pneumonia.  I was a little taken back by this statement as I hadn't even considered pneumonia. Non the less I was glad - I wouldn't ever want to have to go through that again. For now, he thinks I have a chest infection and he hopes we have caught it in time to prevent pneumonia.

Interestingly, despite the chest pain, I haven't been wheezy *Touchwood*.  Normally, as soon as I get any sort of infection it triggers my asthma. Maybe *Touchwood*, this getting fit and cycling malarkey is working after all. :-)

The worst thing is though, that it means I will have to take a few days off the bike, which wouldn't be so bad if I could make up for any missed mileage on my recovery, but that isn't likely as then Mullertons family are arriving for a visit, which will interupt my ride time and then we go to Scotchland, without bikes!

Grr... This month is gonna be a bad month for mileage!

April stats

April was a good month. Loads of good rides. Lots of new sights along the way - a donkey, three little pigs, some baby geese and a new born foal. It was definitely a good month for saying "Aawwww"!

It was also an extraordinary month for mileage. Somehow I managed to do 224.5 miles. Quite impressive considering my original target at the start of the month was to do 100. I was a happy bunny!

I'm feeling really proud of my achievements at the moment as I am continuing to average about 50miles a week. Also I am finally starting to feel stronger and more confident in my abilities.  All is good!

Unfortunately, I don't know if I will manage to keep this mileage up, throughout May, what with the impending arrival of the in-laws and a 1000+ mile drive (round trip) to the land of the Scots. Guess, we'll just have to wait and see.

By the way, the end of April, also bought about the highly anticipated VeloCake Bun Run! Which was good fun! :-D I'd intended to do a separate post about it, but so far it just hasn't happened.

To tweak or not to tweak.

The last three weeks have been good - mileage wise - as I have achieved 50miles+ per week.  Shhh, I know 50 miles is nothing to you bonkers cyclists who double that mileage in one ride, but for me, it's great. :-)

So now I have to decide whether to permanently push my target up to 50miles a week - which in essence will double my previous monthly target.

I can't help but wonder though if doubling my mileage maybe just too much. Yeah OK, I know I can do it as I have done it successfully and easily over the last three weeks, but the weather has been in my favour as it has been dry and warm. What happens on the bad weeks where the mere thought of dragging myself out at least 4 times a week into pouring rain is unbearable? I'm not good with failure! I will end up giving up completely.  If I start struggling to achieve the new goal; I will probably stop enjoying the rides and if I stop enjoying them I will lose my determination.

ARGH... what is a girl to do? Shall I tweak or not...?

A new bike and a Lance Wannabe.

This week saw another new addition to the family. Don't be silly, Ted the Yeti hasn't been relegated already!



It would seem that my enthusiasm for cycling is contagious. As some of you know, after seeing the health benefits that cycling has given me, my Mum has often joined me on a number of rides.  Then, after seeing how much I progressed with Ted, she decided that she too needed a nippier and lighter bike, so in a spur of the moment decision and after advice from Mikey she decided on a Trek 7.5.

The new bike arrived on Thursday.  As some of my previous posts have suggested, I'm not actually a "Trek fan" so I was surprised to find it is actually quite nice - a sleek black frame and thankfully, unlike Mikey's Trek CX bike, it doesn't scream its brand-name 14 times at you. After the clunky rigid mountain bike she is used to riding she is already enjoying zipping along merrily and yesterday joined me on a ride to Penzance to meet Mikey from work.

It was a nice ride, the sun was shining and amazingly the coast path wasn't as heavily populated with tourists and we happily whizzed along. After picking up Mikey on the harbour front we continued back the way we came. We reached Marazion and stopped to compose ourselves for the long steep hill out. I hate this hill! It starts off really steep and due to the heavy traffic on such a narrow road you can never get much momentum to get up it.

After making this first big climb we paused for a moment to catch our breath for the next stage - yet more climbing.  It isn’t quite as steep, but its still a big hill.... a very draggy one and with already tired legs from the first bit, it's a killer!  By now the first stretch has played havoc with your legs and every turn of the pedal is painful. We pootled onwards and up! I was leading with Michael at the back making sure that we were safe (what a gent) I suddenly caught sight of a rider to my right. Presuming it was Mikey I said "Hi". No response! I looked up and realised it wasn't my beloved, but a Lance-a-like in full US postal kit.

Without uttering a word he flew past me. How rude! I was enraged. I chased him down. It took me a few minutes to catch him, but then I hung to his wheel. He probably hadn't noticed me - as I'm sure if he had realised he would have put in more effort, but there was no way I wanted this "jumped up wannabe" to brag about how he dropped a 30something female and her mother. I got close to the top and decided to let him go, as I was exhausted and I also realised that I had left the others further down the hill. He probably hadn’t noticed me anyway. I was shattered and had practically no oxygen left in my body but I was exhilarated. I'm not normally competitive but it was great fun chasing someone down!

Spuds U like.

At the beginning of the month I finally plunged myself into the world of clipless pedals. I just couldn’t stand any more frustrating rides with my feet constantly sliding into inefficient positions or any more painful moments when my feet slipped off the pedals completely. Unable to find any decent flats, I decided it was time to bite the bullet!

With some pedals fitted (borrowed from Mikey), Ted was put on the trainer so that I could practice clipping and unclipping. The clip tension was as low as possible and because the pedals themselves had been used previously and slightly worn in – it made things even simpler to unclip, particularly on the left side. Which coincidentaly, is the foot I always put down first.

After the practice on the trainer, it was a fair few days before I could try them properly as Mikey had a wedding to attend and there was absolutely no way that I was doing it alone. So I waited, impatiently.

Finally the day of reckoning arrived and despite my nerves before leaving the house, it was amazingly a painless exercise (Probably as I had an "expert" by my side.) I was convinced I was going to fall, but I found the unclipping motion quite natural (which was quite surprising as I have very inflexible ankles). Within minutes I was feeling comfortable and relaxed and to Mikey’s surprise I was even unclipping just before I reached junctions - he said that unclipping too late at junctions is one of the most common mistakes of "SPD newbies".

I was really chuffed with my progress but because the next ride was without Mikey, I “bottled it” and swapped back to the cheap and nasty flats. It was a nice ride, but it felt wrong! I was kicking myself for not having the confidence. On my return home I changed them straight back and eagerly awaited my next Spud adventure.

Little did I know what lay in wait? The 1st ride had been a short 6mile road ride and I’d thought that the 2nd ride would be an easy (but longer) road ride. Ted and Mikey had different ideas though and after a few road miles we found ourselves on rough singletrack. Weeeeeee! This was fun! Ooooh... and here was some lovely deep mud and puddles to ride through.

Ouch! I’d forgotten I wasn’t on my MTB. I started to wobble as I remembered I wasn’t on big knobbly tires. Argh! I then suddenly realised I was actually connected to my bike. Dammit! I wobbled some more. My nerves had kicked in. Thankfully they went as quickly as they arrived and I started to have fun again. I got home in high spirits, with a big grin on my face. Who’da funked that my 2nd clipless ride would have been so successful? Prior to setting off I wasn’t even at the stage that I would consider off-roading with Spuds, never mind doing it! 

Since then there’s been a few more (off and on road) rides, all just as successful and just as fun. My confidence on SPDs is growing and just yesterday I set off on my ride and it hadn’t even crossed my mind about the pedal situation. I love 'em!

Luckily, I haven't taken a tumble yet *touch wood* but I had a few close calls when merrily riding down the coast bridle path to Penzance to meet Mikey at work. (I use the term "merrily" quite loosely as most of the ride was quite unpleasant as there were swarms of ignorant tourist shaped obstacles.)

The scariest incident involved a pack of at least 6 dogs (all running free), 2 adults, 2 teens and at least one small child.  When I reached them there was no way past and they had their backs to me. I called out. No response! ... I called a little louder. Still nothing! ... Again and even louder! Still nothing - they were completely oblivious and too busy chattering to each other. Thankfully, “Mum” finally noticed me, she apologised, stating she was slightly deaf (Fair enough love, but that doesn't really explain why the rest of your family ignored me!) They all stopped, gawped and left me very little room to pass through. Ah well, at least the dogs were well out of the way playing on the nearby rocks. Damn! Maybe not - no sooner as I started to weave through the humans, they started to call to the dogs, telling them to move out of my way. Obviously, the dogs just heard excitable orders from their owners, which resulted in them all running straight towards them AND me! Eek! This was it - I was going to fall! I was going too slow to get any momentum to swerve out of the way and as I was surrounded by bodies and now also small dogs I had nowhere to swerve to anyway. I started to wobble. Could I get my feet out quick enough? Phewph! I managed to unclip my left foot, regain my balance and avoid crushing any dogs in the process.


... Oh joy, tourist season has begun!!