Training
What training? I pedalled a bit on the turbo-trainer during the winter but not in any very consistent or planned way. Sheila occasionally used her exercise bike. But having watched her doing this and at most managing about two minutes per session before stopping to adjust the television / attend to something in the kitchen / answer the phone / etc. I should think climbing on and off the bike was probably the most significant exercise of the session. I borrowed a book from the library with someone's (David Jordan) account of his End to End trip. Not only did this include a schedule of his carefully organised winter and summer training including:
At the end of March we thought we had better do a bit of bike riding beforehand and so we spent one Sunday cycling the solo bikes around the "Gridiron" (A 100km route around the New Forest) and booked places for 150km and 100km randonnées. I promised myself that once we had returned from a walking wekend in Yorkshire and the clocks had changed I would start cycling to work. When it came to it, however, the weather seemed to be so continuously foul that I never quite managed to motivate myself into doing this. I did however give up coffee at work and took to drinking water, saying "I am in training" to anyone who asked why. I'm sure the sports psychologists would recognise that this mental attitudinal approach to training is just as important as the physical stuff!
So our first fairly serious ride was to be the Nadder Valley 150km randonnée run by the CTC. We checked in on a grey morning, the only tandem in the group, and set off. Within the first two miles the front tyre punctured so we waved goodbye to the back of the bunch and settled down to change the tube. Back on the road for a solitary ride we pushed steadily along until we caught up with one rider, also alone, who was stopped at the roadside checking his map. The two of us continued together to the first control and café stop, managing to lose further time by losing the route on the way. There were plenty of bikes at the café, but just as we settled down to a coffee everyone else set off. This was to be the pattern of the day, playing catch up from stop to stop, although we did manage to keep some of the group in sight on the leg to Fordinbridge and had tea there with Bryan and Roger. By this stage we were pretty tired and there was a stiff east wind blowing that would be in our face all the way across the Forest. We did not even make an attempt to ride up the hill to Godshill, but shamelessly climbed off and plodded to the top and then grovelled our way across the heath into the wind. As we turned left off the open heath we discovered Bryan and Roger lying on the grass
looking very relaxed as they munched away at snacks. It was kind of them to wait for us. We then struggled to stay in contact with them for the final miles to the end.
The next weekend, which was the one before our departure for Lands End, we set off to ride the "Dorset Coastlet", this being the kiddies 100km cut down edition of the 200km Dorest Coast randonnée also being run that day. The weather forecast was good, there was a large turn out and we resolved to take it easy. We were near the front of the first bunch at the start and were going well in the group for at least four miles when - yes you have quessed - a familiar hiss announced that we had punctured. We found a grassy spot to remove the rear wheel and change the tube, and exchanged greetings with the stream of bike riders who went past. In fact there was a mix of riders going at various speeds and so having rejoined a bunch at the first control we were with other bikes for the rest of the day on what was a fairly steadily paced ride. Over tea at the finish we chatted to another couple who had ridden the End to End on their tandem.
During both of these training rides the calf muscles of my right leg had felt solid as though they were permanently cramped. This had persisted afterwards and so I made a visit to the physiotherapist who gave me some utrasound treatment.
~ ~ ~
So that is it. All I need now is a couple of fine evenings early next week in which to clean the tandem, fit new tubes and tyres, to try to eliminate the perpetual punctures, and make any other adjustments required. Any further efforts at building up fitness will have to be done on the journey itself. It is probably just as well that we have made a couple of our first days shorter distances than the rest.
- Walking
- Cycling
- Swimming
- Weight training
At the end of March we thought we had better do a bit of bike riding beforehand and so we spent one Sunday cycling the solo bikes around the "Gridiron" (A 100km route around the New Forest) and booked places for 150km and 100km randonnées. I promised myself that once we had returned from a walking wekend in Yorkshire and the clocks had changed I would start cycling to work. When it came to it, however, the weather seemed to be so continuously foul that I never quite managed to motivate myself into doing this. I did however give up coffee at work and took to drinking water, saying "I am in training" to anyone who asked why. I'm sure the sports psychologists would recognise that this mental attitudinal approach to training is just as important as the physical stuff!
So our first fairly serious ride was to be the Nadder Valley 150km randonnée run by the CTC. We checked in on a grey morning, the only tandem in the group, and set off. Within the first two miles the front tyre punctured so we waved goodbye to the back of the bunch and settled down to change the tube. Back on the road for a solitary ride we pushed steadily along until we caught up with one rider, also alone, who was stopped at the roadside checking his map. The two of us continued together to the first control and café stop, managing to lose further time by losing the route on the way. There were plenty of bikes at the café, but just as we settled down to a coffee everyone else set off. This was to be the pattern of the day, playing catch up from stop to stop, although we did manage to keep some of the group in sight on the leg to Fordinbridge and had tea there with Bryan and Roger. By this stage we were pretty tired and there was a stiff east wind blowing that would be in our face all the way across the Forest. We did not even make an attempt to ride up the hill to Godshill, but shamelessly climbed off and plodded to the top and then grovelled our way across the heath into the wind. As we turned left off the open heath we discovered Bryan and Roger lying on the grass
looking very relaxed as they munched away at snacks. It was kind of them to wait for us. We then struggled to stay in contact with them for the final miles to the end.
The next weekend, which was the one before our departure for Lands End, we set off to ride the "Dorset Coastlet", this being the kiddies 100km cut down edition of the 200km Dorest Coast randonnée also being run that day. The weather forecast was good, there was a large turn out and we resolved to take it easy. We were near the front of the first bunch at the start and were going well in the group for at least four miles when - yes you have quessed - a familiar hiss announced that we had punctured. We found a grassy spot to remove the rear wheel and change the tube, and exchanged greetings with the stream of bike riders who went past. In fact there was a mix of riders going at various speeds and so having rejoined a bunch at the first control we were with other bikes for the rest of the day on what was a fairly steadily paced ride. Over tea at the finish we chatted to another couple who had ridden the End to End on their tandem.
During both of these training rides the calf muscles of my right leg had felt solid as though they were permanently cramped. This had persisted afterwards and so I made a visit to the physiotherapist who gave me some utrasound treatment.
~ ~ ~
So that is it. All I need now is a couple of fine evenings early next week in which to clean the tandem, fit new tubes and tyres, to try to eliminate the perpetual punctures, and make any other adjustments required. Any further efforts at building up fitness will have to be done on the journey itself. It is probably just as well that we have made a couple of our first days shorter distances than the rest.