1st stop on the way to Islip (a welcome shady tree)
The lovely Stanton St Martin (this was the 60mile stop)
And the scores on the doors! Yay!
Monday 23 August 2010
A few pics from yesterday
Despite being shattered, I managed to get a couple of pics along the way!
1st stop on the way to Islip (a welcome shady tree)
The lovely Stanton St Martin (this was the 60mile stop)
And the scores on the doors! Yay!
1st stop on the way to Islip (a welcome shady tree)
The lovely Stanton St Martin (this was the 60mile stop)
And the scores on the doors! Yay!
Europe....
...or was it Bon Jovi? (for a good friend of mine, you know who you are if you're reading this!)
The FINAL COUNTDOWN! ARRGGHHH!!!
Managed an 80mile epic yesterday and can't believe that I can actually still walk today (maybe it'll hit tomorrow). It was a real eye opener - further distance I've ever done, highest top speed (34mph) and longest day on a bike. Whilst I am delighted to have done it, it's made me even more apprehensive about L2) because there's 4 consecutive days of that to come! EEK!
My route was home to Oxford city centre, taking the A4074 which I had thought was going to be like taking my life in my hands, but at 10am on a Sunday morning, it wasn't too bad, and not half as bad as some of the other sections of my ride. Made it to the top of St Giles and then turned out through Summertown, then Marston and out to Islip and properly into the sticks!
Then a sequence of really pretty little villages before I hit Banbury. I was scarily pleased to see a Tesco petrol station because my liquid reserves were running a little low. Then I negotiated Banbury (didn't quite get lost, but it wasn't quite as easy as I had hoped, as one little, but critical, section was just off the map!).
Got out of Banbury and once more into the countryside. I stopped for my 60mile break in Sandford St Martin which is a really beautiful little village. Then I started to see name places I recognised, and having had a difficult 50-60 miles, once I got past the 60miles, somehow I got a second wind, and a smile came across my face as I knew I really was on the home stretch.
I found the Banbury Road, and grinned all the way from Wootton, through Kidlington and back into Summertown. I made a decision to get to the Magdalen Bridge and see how I felt. That was 73 miles, but I really wanted 80. However the light was fading fast and I managed to leave my front light at home. Given that I had the main road to negotiate back home and was feeling pretty tired, I decided to make a call home. I arranged to meet up at Sainsburys on Heyford Hill as that worked time-wise and distance (or so I thought!).
So 20 mins later, my other half arrives at the car park at Sainsburys, to find me peddling round like a nutter because my cycle computer only read 78 miles! I went round and round and round until it clicked 80 and then stopped with a huge grin on my face! Delighted!!! Then I remembered that the button part on the wheel (which transmits to the computer) had twisted round at one point on the ride, so I'd lost some mileage readings, probably about 2 miles in hindsight), so I had already covered 80, I just didn't have the computer readout to prove it to myself! Doh!
Anyway, biggest ride done, chilled training rides between now and next week (ha ha!) and a week tomorrow, I'll be packing my bags!
The FINAL COUNTDOWN! ARRGGHHH!!!
Managed an 80mile epic yesterday and can't believe that I can actually still walk today (maybe it'll hit tomorrow). It was a real eye opener - further distance I've ever done, highest top speed (34mph) and longest day on a bike. Whilst I am delighted to have done it, it's made me even more apprehensive about L2) because there's 4 consecutive days of that to come! EEK!
My route was home to Oxford city centre, taking the A4074 which I had thought was going to be like taking my life in my hands, but at 10am on a Sunday morning, it wasn't too bad, and not half as bad as some of the other sections of my ride. Made it to the top of St Giles and then turned out through Summertown, then Marston and out to Islip and properly into the sticks!
Then a sequence of really pretty little villages before I hit Banbury. I was scarily pleased to see a Tesco petrol station because my liquid reserves were running a little low. Then I negotiated Banbury (didn't quite get lost, but it wasn't quite as easy as I had hoped, as one little, but critical, section was just off the map!).
Got out of Banbury and once more into the countryside. I stopped for my 60mile break in Sandford St Martin which is a really beautiful little village. Then I started to see name places I recognised, and having had a difficult 50-60 miles, once I got past the 60miles, somehow I got a second wind, and a smile came across my face as I knew I really was on the home stretch.
I found the Banbury Road, and grinned all the way from Wootton, through Kidlington and back into Summertown. I made a decision to get to the Magdalen Bridge and see how I felt. That was 73 miles, but I really wanted 80. However the light was fading fast and I managed to leave my front light at home. Given that I had the main road to negotiate back home and was feeling pretty tired, I decided to make a call home. I arranged to meet up at Sainsburys on Heyford Hill as that worked time-wise and distance (or so I thought!).
So 20 mins later, my other half arrives at the car park at Sainsburys, to find me peddling round like a nutter because my cycle computer only read 78 miles! I went round and round and round until it clicked 80 and then stopped with a huge grin on my face! Delighted!!! Then I remembered that the button part on the wheel (which transmits to the computer) had twisted round at one point on the ride, so I'd lost some mileage readings, probably about 2 miles in hindsight), so I had already covered 80, I just didn't have the computer readout to prove it to myself! Doh!
Anyway, biggest ride done, chilled training rides between now and next week (ha ha!) and a week tomorrow, I'll be packing my bags!
Monday 16 August 2010
Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark (OMD)
Actually, that should be OMG! Where did the time go, and how did I manage to let my blog slip for more than 2 months!!!
It's been a challenging couple of months in more ways than one, and I won't clog up the blog with the gory details, but somewhere in the there was a Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge, bike training, more work than I care to think about (that still seems to be there) and lots more besides!
My training took a bit of a dip because finances meant that I really needed to dig in and get through some work, at least to the point where I could actually bill some clients and pay some bills! That seems to be much more under control now though, but AARRRRGGGHHHH........L2P is only 2 weeks away now - where did the time go??!!!
I've met lovely Ruth who's also doing the challenge and we met up for a hilly 68miler which was a great day which threw up lots of its own challenges (we're very good at changing inner tubes and repairing them now!). I've also got chatting to a couple of other L2P-ers on the Discover Adventure forums and hopefully meeting up with another one this coming weekend for a training ride.
Had a disappointing day with the tail end of a head cold getting the better of me after 23miles and for the first time ever, had to call on my OH to come and get me because I felt so light headed and had got through all 2.5l of my isotonic drink by then (that was less than a third of the intended ride).
Just been out for a quick spin round the block on an old training route which I've not done for a while. Delighted to have increased my average speed on that route to almost 15mph and got over the "undulations" with a lot less fuss than before (probably thanks in part to the new block I've had fitted).
Fundraising has gone over the £1,000 mark which I am thrilled with, but would love to hit the target of £1,450 before we leave. Getting really excited about d-day now, but still very nervous about the hills and covering the distances on back to back days! EEK!
Anyway, that's enough of an update for now, I'm running late for a game of badminton with my Spice buddies, so signing off, but I promise to update more in the run up to 1st Sept!
Tara for now!
:-)
It's been a challenging couple of months in more ways than one, and I won't clog up the blog with the gory details, but somewhere in the there was a Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge, bike training, more work than I care to think about (that still seems to be there) and lots more besides!
My training took a bit of a dip because finances meant that I really needed to dig in and get through some work, at least to the point where I could actually bill some clients and pay some bills! That seems to be much more under control now though, but AARRRRGGGHHHH........L2P is only 2 weeks away now - where did the time go??!!!
I've met lovely Ruth who's also doing the challenge and we met up for a hilly 68miler which was a great day which threw up lots of its own challenges (we're very good at changing inner tubes and repairing them now!). I've also got chatting to a couple of other L2P-ers on the Discover Adventure forums and hopefully meeting up with another one this coming weekend for a training ride.
Had a disappointing day with the tail end of a head cold getting the better of me after 23miles and for the first time ever, had to call on my OH to come and get me because I felt so light headed and had got through all 2.5l of my isotonic drink by then (that was less than a third of the intended ride).
Just been out for a quick spin round the block on an old training route which I've not done for a while. Delighted to have increased my average speed on that route to almost 15mph and got over the "undulations" with a lot less fuss than before (probably thanks in part to the new block I've had fitted).
Fundraising has gone over the £1,000 mark which I am thrilled with, but would love to hit the target of £1,450 before we leave. Getting really excited about d-day now, but still very nervous about the hills and covering the distances on back to back days! EEK!
Anyway, that's enough of an update for now, I'm running late for a game of badminton with my Spice buddies, so signing off, but I promise to update more in the run up to 1st Sept!
Tara for now!
:-)
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