What a beautiful day....sun high in the sky, the sky a deep azure blue, clouds nowhere to be seen, temperatures in the high teens. What a perfect day for a training ride.
Or so I thought.
Here is a little known fact. The United Kingdom possesses 40% of the wind that blows throughout Europe. 40%. That's an awful lot of wind.
'So what?', you may ask. Wind is the curse of the cyclist. Hills are a problem, for sure. They are immovable, but they are surmountable...even if you have to dismount and push your bike to the top. Rain is an irritation. It makes the roads slippery and chills your body, but it is rarely troublesome to the well prepared cyclist.
Ask most cyclists what their biggest 'slow down factor' is and most, if not all, will categorically state a headwind. Closely followed by a cross wind and then fatigue, not enough calories in the body.
The truth is that when the wind is behind you, a rare tail wind, you can zip along at unheard of speeds, fly up the hills and clock up the miles without any difficulty. When, as is nearly always the case, whatever direction you are riding, the wind is blowing a hooly in your face or across your bows it is excruciating. Pedal after pedal is an effort, you are fighting an invisible, but tangible enemy, preventing you from getting from A to B any quicker than it wants you too.
Wind is really frustrating and exhausting for the cyclist. Even on Saturday when the conditions were perfect, the wind made the ride that bit more draining. When stood still, the wind seemed hardly noticeable. But the minute you set off it let you know that it was there, and was going to keep you company the whole way.
The next time you are out and about driving along in your car and singing merrily to the strains of Westlife, Boyzone or Britney Spears and you spy a Lycra bottom on two wheels, have some consideration for them.
It may look lovely outside, but that poor cyclist is probably cursing under their breath, with the hollow words of Michael Fish repeating over and over in their heads as they struggle in the teeth of a gale "There's a woman who's contacted the BBC and says there is a hurricane on the way...there isn't, but it will be quite windy tonight."
Thanks Michael. 15 million trees felled in one night during the October 1987 hurricane; millions of pounds of damage and one of the worst natural disasters to befall the UK in its history. "Quite windy", I'll remember that the next time the weather forecasters say that the winds will be 'quite light'. Understatement, misinformation, untruths - call it what you will, but the wind in the UK is never 'quite light'. Not for cyclists.
Is it OK to get and push?
I mentioned hills earlier. I don't mind going up hills. Hills are tiring, but there is usually a pay off for your effort in a nice descent the other side....what goes up, must come down as the saying goes.
But is it acceptable to get off and push when the gradient steepens and the legs weaken? Well, yes, absolutely, no problem in my book. Why?
On Saturday, in an all too infrequent moment when the TV wasn't hijacked by the cast of The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, I caught the end of a particularly hilly stage of the Tour of the Basque Country.
The Basque region in Northern Spain is famous for its climbers, people who relish steep mountain climbs and dance on the pedals in an effortless display of climbing prowess.
About 10km before the finish was, in the words of the commentator on British Eurosport 'an absolute brute of a climb, a monster, oh, look at their faces, oh, God it is hurting like hell, I can't believe how steep this climb is, it's incredible'...yes, a climb so fierce, so steep and painful it hurt to watch, let alone ride it.
The riders were contorted in agony as they fought to maintain forward momentum, fighting gravity, straining to turn the pedals.
These were seasoned professionals - veterans of the Alps and Pyrenees in The Tour de France, the Mont Ventoux (piece of cake), The Col d Peyresourde (no sweat), The Balon d' Alsace (childsplay), Le Alpe D'Huez (a Sunday stroll).
But this climb was so severe, so steep that I saw something I have rarely witnessed in a professional cycling race.
Someone got off his bike and ran with it, holding the saddle and handlebars and pushing it up.
The only other time I saw this happen was in the Tour of Britain some years ago. The pros didn't use to come to Britain that often. Today the Tour of Britain is visited by some of the world's elite cyclists. Many considered our hills to be of little consequence.
But, little did they reckon with Holme Moss, West Yorkshire. It was a shock to many of the competitors that little old England could dish up a climb so brutal it forced many to dismount and walk. And walk they did, beaten, sapped of energy and wishing they were on a training ride along the coast in Nice, rather than windswept, rainy and cold Yorkshire in September.
So, is it OK to get off, walk and push? I'll try not to as I cycle to London and back, but if the professionals reluctantly have to do it, then I may have to become a professional too.
Less than two weeks to le grand depart.
Blog you later.
Tony.xxxx.
The weather forecast was excellent. "Sunny and warm with quite light winds". Lovely.
Or so I thought.
Here is a little known fact. The United Kingdom possesses 40% of the wind that blows throughout Europe. 40%. That's an awful lot of wind.
'So what?', you may ask. Wind is the curse of the cyclist. Hills are a problem, for sure. They are immovable, but they are surmountable...even if you have to dismount and push your bike to the top. Rain is an irritation. It makes the roads slippery and chills your body, but it is rarely troublesome to the well prepared cyclist.
Ask most cyclists what their biggest 'slow down factor' is and most, if not all, will categorically state a headwind. Closely followed by a cross wind and then fatigue, not enough calories in the body.
The truth is that when the wind is behind you, a rare tail wind, you can zip along at unheard of speeds, fly up the hills and clock up the miles without any difficulty. When, as is nearly always the case, whatever direction you are riding, the wind is blowing a hooly in your face or across your bows it is excruciating. Pedal after pedal is an effort, you are fighting an invisible, but tangible enemy, preventing you from getting from A to B any quicker than it wants you too.
Wind is really frustrating and exhausting for the cyclist. Even on Saturday when the conditions were perfect, the wind made the ride that bit more draining. When stood still, the wind seemed hardly noticeable. But the minute you set off it let you know that it was there, and was going to keep you company the whole way.
The next time you are out and about driving along in your car and singing merrily to the strains of Westlife, Boyzone or Britney Spears and you spy a Lycra bottom on two wheels, have some consideration for them.
It may look lovely outside, but that poor cyclist is probably cursing under their breath, with the hollow words of Michael Fish repeating over and over in their heads as they struggle in the teeth of a gale "There's a woman who's contacted the BBC and says there is a hurricane on the way...there isn't, but it will be quite windy tonight."
Thanks Michael. 15 million trees felled in one night during the October 1987 hurricane; millions of pounds of damage and one of the worst natural disasters to befall the UK in its history. "Quite windy", I'll remember that the next time the weather forecasters say that the winds will be 'quite light'. Understatement, misinformation, untruths - call it what you will, but the wind in the UK is never 'quite light'. Not for cyclists.
Is it OK to get and push?
I mentioned hills earlier. I don't mind going up hills. Hills are tiring, but there is usually a pay off for your effort in a nice descent the other side....what goes up, must come down as the saying goes.
But is it acceptable to get off and push when the gradient steepens and the legs weaken? Well, yes, absolutely, no problem in my book. Why?
On Saturday, in an all too infrequent moment when the TV wasn't hijacked by the cast of The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, I caught the end of a particularly hilly stage of the Tour of the Basque Country.
The Basque region in Northern Spain is famous for its climbers, people who relish steep mountain climbs and dance on the pedals in an effortless display of climbing prowess.
About 10km before the finish was, in the words of the commentator on British Eurosport 'an absolute brute of a climb, a monster, oh, look at their faces, oh, God it is hurting like hell, I can't believe how steep this climb is, it's incredible'...yes, a climb so fierce, so steep and painful it hurt to watch, let alone ride it.
The riders were contorted in agony as they fought to maintain forward momentum, fighting gravity, straining to turn the pedals.
These were seasoned professionals - veterans of the Alps and Pyrenees in The Tour de France, the Mont Ventoux (piece of cake), The Col d Peyresourde (no sweat), The Balon d' Alsace (childsplay), Le Alpe D'Huez (a Sunday stroll).
But this climb was so severe, so steep that I saw something I have rarely witnessed in a professional cycling race.
Someone got off his bike and ran with it, holding the saddle and handlebars and pushing it up.
The only other time I saw this happen was in the Tour of Britain some years ago. The pros didn't use to come to Britain that often. Today the Tour of Britain is visited by some of the world's elite cyclists. Many considered our hills to be of little consequence.
But, little did they reckon with Holme Moss, West Yorkshire. It was a shock to many of the competitors that little old England could dish up a climb so brutal it forced many to dismount and walk. And walk they did, beaten, sapped of energy and wishing they were on a training ride along the coast in Nice, rather than windswept, rainy and cold Yorkshire in September.
So, is it OK to get off, walk and push? I'll try not to as I cycle to London and back, but if the professionals reluctantly have to do it, then I may have to become a professional too.
Less than two weeks to le grand depart.
Blog you later.
Tony.xxxx.
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