Time to Get Going

Let us just take a minute to recap what is going on here. Following a day on a hired bike in the Lake District I somehow agreed to cycle the Coast to Coast in a day event in June 2015. Never having been a road cyclist before (I'm a very casual mountain biker) I set myself a budget of £1000, found a road bike and started getting out there.

Here is a summary of all of my recorded riding in 2015:

I'm not starting this year completely from scratch but it has been a very lazy winter, the only exception being a 33 mile ride at the end of January. Having taken some time out for a family holiday It is now time to get on it.

With an eye on the target of doing the 150 miles of the Coast to Coast in 12 hours I am aiming for an average moving speed of 15mph. Looking at this chart showing Elevation vs Distance vs Duration you can see that I have hit this average a few times but not on anything over 40 miles so there is plenty of work to do.

I'm now in week 4 of the plan and I'm already having to be a bit flexible. With all of the wind in the last few days I skipped a couple of rides so instead of resting today I completed a two hour ride. It was really good to get out again and I am setting a decent pace I reckon. I even managed to reel in a very serious looking rider on Aston Hill, though they were probably on a recovery ride.

I've also had a chance to try out my new (second hand) rollers  The rollers were certainly a challenge to start with but once I got the confidence to let go of the wall I quickly got the hang of it. I can see why they scare people but if you try to keep a solid core and don't faff around they seem to be OK. The worst thing is the tedium, so I'm hoping the weather improves and I don't have to rely on them.

Things I have learned this week

It's been quite an educational cycling week, here are some highlights

1. When experts say you usually need to replace a chain and a rear cassette together they aren't joking. I thought I could get away with just the chain but as soon as I put any serious pressure on the pedals the gears started hopping all over the place. 
2. Local Bike Shops are really handy. I took my mountain bike into the LBS for a new rear cassette and bottom bracket to be fitted and came away with both of those, a re-trued rear wheel, some other minor fixes and a promise to look at the fit on my road bike. Props to Two Wheels Thame, I'm sure I'll be back in again.
3. Mudguards are really handy too. They are a monster faff to fit, look a bit rubbish and can be divisive in online communities but after getting caught in rain and hail today I came back looking mostly clean. I'll remove them as soon as the roads dry out but for now they are staying on.
4. Skipping rides is very easy, especially at this time of year, and takes a real effort to avoid. However, getting out there is very rewarding and the benefits of regular riding are worth it in the end. 
5. Malt Loaf is edible... who knew?!

Right, that's your lot. I'm changing now to a weekly format so you don't get fed up with me but hopefully there should be some interesting learnings as the distances and frequency ramp up.