Tag Archives: Focus

Kiss Me Quick, Ride Me Slowly – #July150 Started

By 19 commentsCycling Challenges, Diabetes, Rides, , , ,

You’ve probably already read a few blogs about the Manchester to Blackpool bike ride on Sunday, so I’m just going to mention a few of my personal highlights and hope that you identify with them too.

Bumping Into Friends

Despite not quite meeting at the start as we’d planned, Jon of Riding The Moor fame arrived at the Standish rest stop just after I did.  His chat, his encouragement  and his Ibuprofen were very welcome for the next 25 miles or so.  As he contemplated heading off whilst I checked my blood sugars, Emma came over so we enjoyed a few minutes, then she bought me a brew as Jon buggered off.  I must say that it was the nicest brew I’ve had in a long time, and the company was good too!

My Diabetes.

I packed just 2 SIS gels and 2 Decathlon-special ceral choccy banana bars.  A good porridge breakfast at home was consumed and I didn’t test my sugar until my first break, 25 miles in at Standish.  It was  3.3 mmol/l (59.4 in American) – Whoops!  I hastily necked one of the gels and one of the bars with my litre of water.

At Preston, another 18 miles or so later, I tested again.  This time, 5.5 mmol/l (99 to our friends over the water).  Cool!  I may actually have found a system!  The final gel and cereal bar went down along with the brew Emma bought me.

So from now on, my secret is 20g CHO in gel form plus 29g CHO in complex form per 20 miles of hard riding.  Sorted.  I’ll work with it for few rides and let you know how it works.  Or how long I’m in the hospital for 😉

Not Getting Off.

There’s a steep hill just outside Kirkham, about 50 miles or so into the ride.  It’s not nice.  I managed it in 2nd gear.  Yes, second gear.  Normally that’s just too bloody spinnyto even contemplate, but on Sunday the granny ring was my friend.

On the front at Lytham, the wind was ridiculous.  I was actually buffeted.  Sometimes the windfeels a bit gusty but, bloody hell, the wind on Sunday was in fine form!  The only benefot was from a beaty point of view.  I mean, riding North along the coast meant that the skin on the left side of my face is now wonderfully exfoliated – ladies, take note!  If you ever want beautifully smooth skin, ride by the coast on a b*stard of a windy day!  Another half an hour of that and I’ve have looked like Skeletor.

Achieving A Goal.

It’s 9 years since i completed the Manchester to Blackpool bike ride.  On Sunday, it felt better than ever.  I’ve raised about £300 for the Hospice where my Mum and I said goodbye, and I’ve made some fantastic friends in the process of getting myself motivated to do it.  I’m proud of myself, my family are proud of me and my Mum would be proud too.

Thanks, all of you. Here’s the map.

Yaay! #June100 Completed

By 33 commentsCycling Challenges, Photography, Rides, , , ,

Thank You!

Two remarkable things happened the other night.

  1. I went for a ride after a carvery meal out;
  2. I completed the #June100 challenge, doing my first 100 mile month in, probably, EVER.

It was Friday evening and I’d given up hope of getting any cycling done.  I had Avon orders to submit, we were late home from work and my OH’s Dad was moving home.  Not an auspicious outlook for the day’s riding.

But, things went a bit better than that.  We realised I could put the Avon order in on Saturday; the home moving had gone extremely well; and we decided to go for a local carvery meal rather than cook at home.

The 3 M’s: Motivation, Meat and Momentum.

A plateful of beef, turkey, gammon and all the trimmings is usually a signal for the evening to end.  Add to this a pint of San Miguel and normally you’d have two hopes of getting me to exercise – and one of those would be Bob.

But… the June100 had other ideas!  I knew I was only 2.74 miles short of target and it was a beautiful evening.  So when we got home, bellies full, I filled my drinks bottle, got the shed key and gritted my teeth.  I was going to do it.

As you can see, I did it… and it was a fantastic evening ride, just in time to see a stunningly beautiful sunset over Hollingworth Lake.  The phone’s camera doesn’t do it full justice, but I still love this photo and I’ll always remember it as the one I took after completing the June100 challenge.

What Next?

It’s been a great month for me and it’s not quite over yet. Last night, I put the new slicks onto the Focus Fat Boy ready for this Sunday’s Manchester to Blackpool bike ride.  Tonight I’m hoping to give them a quick blast out on the roads just to make sure I’m not going to get any pinch flats when I put a few miles in.

The difference in rolling speed will be interesting too – I’m hoping I can get past the magical 30mph mark on the way back down into Littleborough from t’Lake this time!

After tonight’s ride, the June100 will be over for me, so I’d like to thank all those who’ve kept me going over the last few weeks.  It’s been emotional and I’m amazed how many have stuck it out, motivating me (and hopefully everyone else) through the challenge.  22 out of 31 riders have already done it, and I think more will finish over the next 2 nights.

Thank you all.  I love you (though not in the biblical sense, and I don’t want your babies) and you’ve been a massive help.

Now, about this #July150…. ! 🙂

Personal Best – Now That’s A First

By 11 commentsCycling Challenges, Rides, , , ,

PBs – What’s All That About?

I’ve never really measured myself until this June100 lark kicked off.  Suddenly I’m doing enough rides to consider bettering myself and improving my riding, as well as just enjoying it.

So, last night I followed exactly the same route I took a week or so ago, with the intention of beating myself.  I was happy with the result.

Miles                    11.43
Average Speed 12.1 mph
Max Speed         28.3 mph
Ascent                334 m

This was a lot better than the last time I took the route, so I can look forward to torturing myself in future as I try to better myself again.  When I’ve got 10 minutes to spare, I’ll throw another lap of t’Lake in too, to squeeze an extra 2 miles or so into the evening rides.

Or maybe I’ll get myself an imagination and work out a new loop!

Last night's very pleasant Hollingworth Lake trip

Last night’s very pleasant Hollingworth Lake trip

I’d like to get myself over 30 mph, but for now 28.3 is my official fastest ever on the Focus Fat Boy.  Maybe I need a slightly steeper hill to throw myself down…  the trouble there is that I’d need to get myself up some hills first, but: I Fear Climbs.

Everything’s Changing And I Don’t Feel The Same…

… to quote the most popular band who couldn’t find a guitarist.

Since the #June100 kicked off, I’ve noticed a few differences in me:

  • I am definitely fitter
  • I change gears less often
  • I stop less often
  • The danish pastry is now less of a destination, more of a refreshment (when I do stop)

72 miles is the most I’ve ridden in a month, except maybe the 2 times I’ve done Manchester to Blackpool before.  But I’m not knackered, I’m just loving the cycling.  This blog and the cycling community on the web have put a fire to the spark that must have already been there, and for that I’m very grateful.

Thanks, you lot! 🙂

#June100 Update and a Decent Ride

By 7 commentsCycling Challenges, Rides, , , ,

First, The #June100 Update

Two weeks in, and I’m amazed.  Today is the 14th of June, so with 46.666% (recurring) of the month gone, the 30 members of the June100 have completed 94.7333% (recurring) of the mileage required.  Of course it’s an individual challenge, but those figures show how awesome some of you guys are.

12 people have already completed the 100 leisure miles.  Another 7 (making 19 out of 30 overall) are ahead of their pro-rata target and look like hitting the 100 miles by month end.  I’m sure a bunch of others will increase the mileage (including Rafe, who doesn’t even start until the 20th) and hit the target.

I take my hat off to you all.  You’re special.  And I don’t mean in a sunshine bus kind of way. 🙂

Saturday’s Ride

So far, all my rides for the #June100 have increased in length.  I suspect this won’t continue because I messed up that continuum on Saturday by doing a 2 hour ride.  It was great fun though.  I found myself with the afternoon free so I got changed, got the Fat Boy out of the shed and headed first to Castleton via Thornham Lane (or Thornham Old Road as it’s called now), before going to my favourite place in the world, Hollingworth Lake, along the canalside.  One quick lap o’t’Lake and then back home in time to pick up the kids.

It was a gorgeous day, so it was a gorgeous rise and with just over 20 miles under my belt I was well chuffed with myself.  I took just one rest stop to take a photo too, so I was very happy with my legs.

The other good news on Saturday was the arrival of my MTB slicks, which I’ll put on the week before Manchester to Blackpool, which is in 3 weeks.

You can check out the ride here:

The #June100 Cycling Challenge — Is Go !

By 66 commentsCycling Challenges, Rides, , ,

What Is The June100 Cycling Challenge?

The #June100 is a fun cycling challenge.  It was conceived to motivate me to get on my bike more, since my furthest month so far this year is 53.3 miles over 6 rides in May.  It’s a shared challenge with aim of helping us all get fitter, faster, not fatter and on the bike when we don’t have to, more than we normally would.  It’s a simple way to record the leisure miles in the month of June 2010, with an initial target of 100 miles – that’s only 3.33 recurring miles per day!

Why Only Leisure Miles?

I know some of you cycle to work.  I doff my cap to you, I really do.  You’re heroes.  There … feel better now?  Goood.  But commuting doesn’t count here.

The #June100 Challenge is designed to get us all on our bikes for leisure more often.  Commuting is a fantastic benefit to the world, but get out and enjoy your leisure time a bit more on the bike – rides when the kids are in bed; rides with the kids; finding the long way home (yes you can claim non-commuting detours); crawling out of bed early on the days off… that’s what this is about.

And besides:   My Game – My Rules 😉

How Does It Work?  How Do I Join?

  1. Fill in the form on my last blog entry.
  2. I’ll send you an invitation to the Official June100 Spreadsheet on Google docs.
  3. Complete your mileage and let us know where we can check your rides to date – this might be your GPS tracking site, your own blog or something similar
  4. Don’t forget to save your changes – and don’t kill the spreadsheet!

So far, we’ve got 16 fools  (ahem) superstars who’ve pledged to join in the challenge.  It’s not too late though, retweet this blog article, tell your friends, get some more gullible idiots (ahem) heroes to join us!

How Will We Keep Each Other Going?

Of course I’ll post progress on this blog.  More regularly and haphazardly, though, there’s the #June100 hashtag on Twitter if you use it.

I’ve started a Twitter Group too, so put your twitter address in the comments below to join it, or send me a tweet with “#June100” in it to @phillconnell (you might have to request my friendship first, I’m quite picky about who I tweet with!).

What Now?

Just join up, get your kit on, get your bike out and ride!  Have fun everyone. 🙂

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