The Best Medicine

As with the last few weeks the start of the blog will be an update on our Covid19 recovery. So if you just want that read the first bit. If you're into the cycling too, carry on reading!

Lee's long slow recovery continues. It's not going fast enough for her but the rest of us marvel at our brave, strong lady. The picture above shows Lee's trachy scar, she's been hiding it a bit since removing the dressing but is now determined to become less self conscious. She is still getting breathless with small amounts of exertion and needs a lot of sleep. However the Queen of Cakes is still taking daily walks and increasing her activity. We've added squats, lunges and calf raises to her leg exercises and some light weights for the upper body stuff. As part of the mental recovery Lee is reading for 10 minutes a day. She's also having lots of visitors and our house continues to look like a Florist!

My adjustment back to work didn't go as well this week. Work itself was okay, it was the time pressures outside of work that frustrated me. I'm up early to walk the dogs, work all day and then have busy evenings before collapsing into bed at 9pm. Eat, sleep, repeat! This week I managed a couple of runs because I double those up as a dog walk. Charity would like to do this less and has started to hide if I get the running kit out! We both need Parkrun back for our running motivation! I've had no time in the week for cycling though which is a double blow. Cycling keeps me sane and is part of my personal well being needs. However not cycling as much as I want also has me worried that I won't be fit for the Dartmoor Classic in June. So it becomes a source of stress! All this led me to a very grumpy state going into the weekend.

Another thing going on is my weight. Regular readers will think...oh no not this again! Yes we're back to Bridget Jones diary!!! Probably a combination of stress, too many beers and a lot of goodies I found myself at 15st+ (97kg) a couple of weeks ago...not great for me and not great at all for those lovely Hunt carbon wheels. Positive action has been taken, I'm 18 days booze free and back to using myfitnesspal. My only regret was telling my Mum's best friend Sue, that after 11 consecutive Saturdays I need to take a break from her cake deliveries. I hated that, as this kind gesture has kept me going. This morning I was14st 11lbs (94kg)...the goal that I never ever seem to get to is 13st (83kg) but I will be happy if I'm under 14st (89kg) by the time for the Classic on June the 20th. That of course, also depends on the pandemic and Boris sticking to the roadless roadmap and the four parts which are actually 5! There's a public announcement due soon and it appears we are on track for national hug day on June 21st but you can't trust this virus!!!

Let's talk cycling!!! On Monday, Andy, Ian and I led another Cyclones session with the teens and twenties, whilst Fran, Roland and John worked with the tiddly peeps. Everything went well and we saw progression and enjoyment in all the kids riding. It was also great to catch up with them to hear about their races at places like MK bowl and the various local time trials.

On Saturday morning I met up with the Cyclasylum, still in my grump from the week. However the ride over had started to dissolve this and it was completely gone after a few miles! Two groups started together, one doing the traditional first Saturday of the month 100km (62miles,) Fondo and the rest of us taking a shorter 33 miles.

We headed to Brigstock via those glorious lumps that make for great riding. In fact there's a LOT of great riding like this in Northamptonshire. Our quiet country lanes are like a well kept secret. We might border East Anglia but this place is far from flat. This week though, it was certainly less lumpy than last week!!!

On our way through to Benefield, where the group split I had a good catch up with people. It was especially great to chat with Andy P's son Sam. The conversation started as they all do with "How's your wife?" After that we moved on to what many of us would consider a dream job. Since leaving University, Sam has been working for Hope. Specifically he's part of the team developing the track bike for the British Olympic team. 

From Benefield the famous five left the full fortitude fondo riders. Another glorious bit of fast riding took Amy, Ian, Marcus, Neil and I into Oundle. 

We then worked our way round to Woodford via Islip, Alwincle, Thorpe Waterville, Achurch, Pilton and Stoke Doyle. At Woodford we had a cafe stop at the Grainstore.

Amy had diabetes in a cup

Breakfast sandwiches all round

I forgot my mask and wasn't sure my mobile set up was working so Neil kindly got my order in. I owe him for next time! After the stop we headed out to Cranford and split up, Neil and I riding together to Grafton Crossroads before I headed solo towards Geddington.

Part of our coffee stop chat was about round numbers and being robbed by Strava. People will relate to riding around the block until the bike computer of their choice hits a round number like 50 miles, then hitting save only for Strava to record 49.9! I realised heading into Rushton that I'd be on 47 miles by the time I got home and this felt inadequate. So I detoured to Desborough and was still a mile short heading into Rothwell so I took a circuitous route home making sure I was on 50.3 miles to avoid the Strava robbery! Of course by doing that Strava only corrected to 50.11!

Later that day my son's girlfriend was amazed as many non cyclists are, that I'd done 50 miles. However as mentioned a lot of my riding friends did 100km and quite a few went on to do 100 miles! In fact there's been lots of hundreds this weekend to remember Captain Tom. 

I'm not quite ready for 100 miles yet but I did decide to make sure I reported 💯 miles this week for the #NHS1000miles.

On Sunday morning I woke full of the joys of spring with all grumpiness gone. Some well needed overnight rain had cleared to a fine morning and the countryside seemed to explode with greenery. Everything made me happy; the dogs, the kites, the geese, the horses and the people I regularly see! We even met a gold labrador who is a sibling of Bruce!

After my walk it was time for Junior Parkrun duty. We had 94 runners today at Desborough Greenspace and it was wonderful to see!

I then needed 32 miles to hit 💯 for the week so I looked through my routes to find an absolute gem. A couple of years ago my friend Mark wanted a testing route to prepare for a sportive. So I planned the Mark & Rich pre chilli 🌶 ride. Just this time there was no Mark and no chilli afterwards. It's still a great route!

I headed out via Rushton through Pipewell where I had a chat with a lady on an e-bike. She gave me great advice for my parents who are considering a purchase. After that I greeted many other cyclists and walkers taking advantage of a nice day. I felt great on the bike and became aware of a great sense of freedom. This grew and I suddenly felt elated, it was like a great weight lifted and then I began to think about everything we've been through and I started sob! This is probably what I've needed for a while...this would probably persisted for miles had the moose attack not occurred! Suddenly the biggest wild deer 🦌 I've seen sprang out in front of me, it skittered across the road and through the opposite hedge with a look of wtf as we narrowly missed each other! I was snapped out of my emotional meltdown and must have looked like very odd as I rode on laughing out loud!

Back to the route. It was lovely through Middleton, Bringhurst and Great Easton onto Eyebrook Reservoir. This piece of historic water was stunning in the bright sunshine. Eyebrook is famous as a training site for the Dambusters.

 The ride up from Eyebrook takes in another aspect of the monster that is Neville Holt. In my unfit, overweight state this was quite an effort! I didn't mind the steady flow of motorbikes passing me but when a group of three cyclists breezed past it just made me more determined to reach my latest fitness goals. I also notice my Dartmoor Classic ride mate, Nigel, is getting some good miles down in Devon. The upside of this hill is in fact the downside and in a reverse of the climb we made last Saturday it was an exhilarating descent into Medbourne. 

The other advantage of this route whilst training for Dartmoor is the next set of hills. If you view it as one climb its a long hill from Ashley through to Desborough. This has a tough start but then becomes rolling and for me enjoyable. Except yesterday I was first held up by a car that had overtaken me moments earlier and then horses 🐎 which always seem to be in a dip at the bottom of a hill! To finish the job properly I took the hill to Harrington that was a QOM points climb in the Ladies tour. Then I rolled into Rothwell with a broad grin on my face. I was loving life, cycling is THE BEST MEDICINE!

I was still a mile short of the 💯 when I got home but that was good too because I joined Lee for another walk. That made me smile too!!!

Happy Pedalling 

Good week for Lee, coaching, running, cycling and multitasking!

Same drill this week. The first bit is a Lee update. After that stay if you like the cycling stuff but I get it if you don't! We've had a good week at home with no dramas or hospital admissions. I've been out on my bike and found new ways to maximise my time. 

I went back to work on Monday wondering how Lee would get on? The answer is; very well thanks. She's still very tired and going for a sleep in the afternoon but activity levels are increasing. She's been having daily walks and doing more around the house. On Monday night I came in from coaching to an amazing Sea Bass dinner! Today we went for a walk of more than a mile. It involved stops and Lee was shattered afterwards but it was done. She's still got altered taste buds although some of that is coming back as some sweet foods have been enjoyed. Still no coffee! The next challenge is  to get Lee reading again. Pre-covid she was glued to her kindle. Now that's also sat idle with the nespresso machine!

 

On Monday as the sun set over Ise Lodge it was time again for KCC Cyclones. This week Andy B and I shamelessly copied some of Dean's coaching sessions from muddy marvels. The kids really got stuck in and it was a most enjoyable evening! Meanwhile Fran ran another of her impressive sessions with the little kids. I'm hoping for more of the same tomorrow.

I was struggling for time in the week and despite lovely weather I was unable to go for a bike ride. I did my two runs with the dogs as usual and got a couple of rollers sessions in to keep my bike legs going. On Thursday I managed 35 minutes on the rollers whilst making a toad in the hole for dinner. Who says men can't multitask? All that activity comes at a cost...Lee needs her bed by 8.30pm...I'm lucky if I'm not in bed too by 9!

On Saturday I was able to go out for a group ride with the Cyclasylum. Not a massive ride but very challenging as we  took in Neville Holt and successive hills back through Dingley, Braybrooke and Harrington.

It was great to be out with the group. Banter was high as usual, as was the camaraderie we share. 

Whilst out we discussed the tricky issue of "is it okay to chuck your banana 🍌 skin in a hedge?" Ive always thought out of sight in the undergrowth is probably okay. This article suggests...maybe not! cycling weekly banana skin article . As many people know I'm the sort of person who takes a bag out with me dogwalking just in case there's litter to be picked up. So I want to do the right thing...maybe I'll take the skin home from now on!

This morning it was back to junior Parkrun for more volunteering. Another great turnout saw 80 kids run round Desborough Greenspace.

Later on I headed back on my MTB for a blast on the trails in the woods.

Some of the trails have been disrupted by fallen trees. It's still very rideable though and perfect for a bit of practise away from a dedicated trails centre. For me it was just what the nurse ordered. I was feeling low on energy before my ride and as usual I felt great afterwards.

In between the rides, walks and volunteering I watched Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the oldest of the Spring classics.  Both the men's and women's races were superb and it feels like we're in for a great year of road cycling as we move towards the Grand Tours. More locally its great to see all the club TT races and some of the kids we coach taking on race events.

Happy Pedalling 

Up and down week for Lee, coaching, dog walking, running and some proper cycling

The dual purpose for this blog remains. So if you're here for the Lee update just read the first bit. If you're here for the cycling stay until the end! 

Mother and daughter

Most of last week went really well for Lee. We had many good walks and a mile is now achievable. It leaves Lee exhausted and every day she has an afternoon "Nanna nap!" Eating and sleeping was going well and I was more confident about leaving her for longer. Then in the early hours of Friday morning Lee's heart rate shot up to 170bpm and stayed there despite the fact she was laying still! This also happened a couple of times in hospital. To put that in context, on my bike ride today my heart rate only got to 146bpm. So it was another trip to hospital, Lee's heart rate stayed high for hours despite medication then suddenly dropped to normal. There were also concerns about a blood clot but thankfully nothing was found. In the end it was only an overnight stay and Lee came home at 5pm yesterday. It was just a speed bump with a cardiology follow up to come. I won't lie, staying positive is an effort. I'd like it a bit easier for a few weeks please!

On Monday it was time for Cyclones again and as this was my last week of leave I used it for a bit of an off road ride too.

The light held just enough to enjoy the tracks round Weekly glebe before and after coaching. The session itself was a ride about with the kids, as ever it was great fun with our talented riders.

In the week I enjoyed lots of dog walks and turned two of those into runs. On Tuesday I was unhappy with my running and on Thursday I felt great. Exercise is weird isn't it! I had a bonus walk around Moulton on Friday night taking in the wonderful weirdness of Specs Lane and Holly Lodge with the gate of many tools!

On Wednesday I managed an hour and a bit out on my Giant Propel.

The plan was a blast out to Naesby and back with the effort on the Naesby to Rothwell Strava segment. Disappointingly this was into a head wind and it wasn't the 20mph+ average I hoped for. I'll go again another day! The quiet road from Kelmarsh to Naesby gave  me an idea as I passed a gravel byway.

Sunday morning started with a very special event. Junior Parkrun is back and Desborough Greenspace Junior Parkrun held its first run for a year. The last one was the run's 1st birthday, so a year later with no runs in between, DGJP is two! I've also joined the core team and in May I will take my turn as Run Director. Today 82 kids ran with 33 volunteers making it possible. Its a wonderful thing to be part of!

After Parkrun I was determined to get out on my bike, especially after waiting at home all day yesterday on a glorious day for cycling! I was also inspired by some gravel group rides that WVCC & RFWCC had held. 

My first mistake was taking my cx out, the 2nd was opting for bridleways as well as gravel. The ground is rock solid, ideal for MTB and it shook me to bits on my Forme Calver!

I set off from Rothwell on the old road alongside the A14. If only this gate was closed and the sign present the day I got bitten by a dog last year! This bridleway is a hidden gem, rabid dogs aside, you wouldn't know you were near the A14. Its also improved since the last time with a much clearer route past Grundys Lake and up to Harrington. From Harrington I took the bridleways over to Arthingworth. It was so firm I got a Strava PR without any effort! 

I was using this ride to work things out and took that byway I'd spotted on Wednesday. I really wished I was on my MTB at that point. The track is good but just would have been more fun with suspension! My next task was to link up the Bridleway from Haselbech through to Blueberry Lane. I sort of failed on that one, I found Blueberry Lane but I wanted to come out just where the tarmac ends. I'll have to explore again another day. 

From there I worked my way round to the Brampton Valley Way, again taking a pounding on rock hard hoof prints! On the BVW there was some sort of run taking place. Its good to see lots of events back on.

I enjoyed the relative smoothness of the BVW and left it at Merry Tom Lane. Whilst I stopped for a banana 🍌 i noticed a fairy door on a tree!

Apparently there's a whole fairy and gnome trail you can search with an app! I love that people do things like this!

My next mistake was riding around Pitsford Reservoir. The paths were packed with family groups oblivious to cyclists and it was slow progress. Pretty obvious on a lovely day that half of Northants would be out for a walk at this popular spot! 

From there I rode back to Lamport, across the fields and home to Rothwell. One of those fields was ploughed over the beaten track, which will please Andy P! As I've said this would have been better on my MTB but...it was still thoroughly enjoyable to be out on a bike!

Once home I was able to catch the end of The Amstel Gold men's race. I'd missed Marianne Vos winning the women's race. The men's was an absolute cracker and I'm still not quite sure how they decided who won.

That's it for now.

Happy Pedalling 

Recovery continues, The Wintersmith persists and a bit of cycling

This week's blog has an update on The Queen of Cakes, the return to coaching, rollers rationale and one decent bike at Wakerley Woods.

The major update for Lee is no more trips to hospital and recovery continues. We've been walking a bit further and due to two 0.5 mile round trips to the pharmacy, Lee walked over a mile on Friday. Unfortunately the antibiotics she's taking for an infection on her trachy site seem to have knocked her for six! Even so she's eating well and sleeping well and still managing around the house. Lots of things to celebrate last week as Sam had his 16th birthday on the same day my Dad was 72. Its not normal family life yet but we're moving closer! Since starting to write this Lee and I enjoyed some laps of the garden path in bizarrely warm sunshine. Another thing to mention is the amazing kindness towards us from friends, family and people who barely know us! We continue to receive lovely gifts and people in the street have been so pleased to see Lee out and about! 

On Monday we returned to coaching at KCC cyclones. I can't tell you how much I'd missed working with these kids. It was great to just run a simple session with a bit of a ride out with some skills practice thrown in.

I've carried on with my two for the price of one running sessions. I went one further on Thursday as Lee walked with us and waited on a bench whilst the dogs and I ran. Then we walked Lee home again. That's a lot of bang for the buck! 

Also in the week I watched the GCN show. They did a feature on the minimum effort on training required to achieve a fitness gain. It was sold as only 30 seconds is necessary but the truth is that you need to do several 30 second efforts to get any benefit and surprise surprise its not one size fits all. The take home message remains that to achieve and maintain fitness you still need to put the hard yards in. However there is strong evidence that short HIIT sessions do lead to improvements. With that in mind I have set myself a goal. On any day that I do not manage an outdoor ride or run I am going to do at least 20 minutes on my rollers. That roller session will include intervals. Talking of rollers it was great to see former KCC Cyclone Ruby Isaac showing off her phenomenal roller skills on GCN.

On Saturday morning there was another chance for a group ride but with one thing and another I didn’t make it. I have to say I’m a little grateful because by all accounts it was freezing!!! The weather really is playing up right now. In Terry Pratchett’s book, the Wintersmith he describes an age old battle between the Wintersmith and the Summer Lady. Well for 2021 that battle has reached its peak! I was very cold on the dog walk this morning, lovely and warm in Wakerley  Woods, then it hailed, freezing again in Corby Tesco car park in the snow and lovely and warm in my back garden just now! Four seasons in one day!!!

Today I  headed back to Wakerley Woods having seen friends on Strava do the same. In previous visits I would have done a few laps of the Scartree Trail, a nice 4km blue grade loop. However the Scartree Trail is no more...well the Forestry Commission have removed the start and bits of the old trail have been obliterated by forestry work. Some of the trail remains and is rideable. Apart from that there now appears to be very loose rules! There's signage indicating you should stay out of certain areas but apart from that the place is open to the public. 

This led me to explore a bit and discover that there are tonnes of fun trails in Wakerley. I also learned that the locals have a bit of a one way system, particularly for downhill and uphill sections but its not obvious. I also discovered the Badger trail. This bit of trails is fun with great features. Its not advertised, I found it because the same riders who explained the expected direction of travel, recommended it to me. I feel like I've rediscovered Wakerley Woods and will definitely be going back. From the Wakerley and Fineshade Facebook page it appears that The Forestry Commission needed to do some work. They were aware this work would harm the trails so Scartree was officially closed. As for cycling on the remaining trails, this is allowed. There are no funds to restore the Scartree Trail but they will allow it to be independently repaired. The FB group also advise rider behaviour will be monitored. So it appears its up to us! Ride responsibly and Wakerley remains open to cycling!!!

A bit of a quiet week in the world of elite cycling. The classics return with a bang next week with the Amstel Gold race. 

That's it. 

Happy Pedalling 😊 

Back on track!

This weeks blog has an update on the Queen of Cakes. A bit of running, a bit more cycling, the joy of roadmap step 1 part b, and more Spring Classics.

So we had a bit of a scare at the weekend going into the start of the week. Thankfully it resolved quickly, Lee was home with us on Tuesday and we got back in track. The rest of the week has been good. The Queen of Cakes looks better than she has in s long time and continues to get a little stronger each day. Climbing a flight of stairs still exhausts her but the technique is definitely improving. The big progress this week is that Lee can get up from the sofa independently. Again she finds this exhausting but...she can do it! Lee also has a nap every afternoon at this point of the day I think I can have the telly to myself and I promptly nod off too! People continue to be very kind and we've had to get more vases due to all the flowers!

My job for the next few weeks is to look after Lee so I'm being very careful about when and where I get out and about. Doubling my runs up with dog walks helps because it takes less time to run and the dogs still get good exercise.

The first ride I had this week was on Good Friday. With everyone off work there was plenty of help around so I felt okay getting out for a while.

I didn't really know what I wanted, just ride, do about twenty miles and just make sure my Giant Propel was in good running order. I started out on my standard 17 via Rushton and Desborough but headed up to Harrington rather than take the gated road to Arthingworth. I know those wheels will fly down that road but I just don't want to risk them on the cattlegrids. Once in Harrington I decided to check out the information boards which tell of a grand feature that no longer exists. The fields have an interesting terracing to them which used to be an ornamental garden.

Also long gone are some medieval fish ponds. Northamptonshire is interesting enough with all the historical buildings still here, let alone bits that are now just fields for livestock!

I tacked a few more miles on coming back to Rothwell via Loddington and Orton. 

On Saturday I had my first opportunity for a group ride since Christmas. It was great to be out with mates again. The rules are confused, its groups of six unless its an organised ride, then you can have 15!

The Cyclasylum were doing a fondo or a 30 mile option. However I didn't think I should be out for too long let alone 100km and left the at Pipewell to head home. The kids can cope but even so I don't think its fair to leave Lee for more than a couple of hours. A lovely touch came from Andy P who presented me with orange/gold dust caps which match my cable ferrules. My 80s theme tune ride mate, Mark C was the originator of the idea. They look  great on my Hunt wheels. Group rides are back! Maybe 2021 will be alright after all.

Today I just needed an hour to burn the Easter eggs off. Anyone who thinks the route looks like my dog walks its because it is! I've been waiting for those trails to firm up and had an idea about a bit of a training circuit. A tip I picked up from Muddy Marvels and Corby Capers is to use natural features to make rides more interesting. These local woods have hills and hammocks, dips, twists, tree roots and fallen logs. This makes it a good place for a short sharp session.

Today was a leisurely spin rather than a heart pounding training session. A recce really. 

I'm attempting to write this blog and watch the Ronde van Vlaanderen,  so it might take me some time! In fact its already taken me the last hour of the men's race and now I'm watching the women's. It's great stuff.

Tomorrow we return to coaching at the Cyclones. I can't wait, it feels like ages since our last session, I hope lots of the kids can make it!

Happy Pedalling