What would any sane person do on a Saturday morning...have a lie in, a leisurely breakfast, a read of the newspapers, perhaps a jaunt to the shops (though in my book, that isn't a sane activity).
I had the pleasure of 5 hours sleep, broken at 3am and an early wake up call at just after 5am. After struggling down for a huge bowl of Ready Brek, a steaming mug of tea I headed off for my longest and most challenging training ride yet.
I decided to ride over to Broadway to recce the route I'll be riding from Worcester and test myself against Fish Hill.
50 miles, up and down across the hills of Worcestershire and a complete b*st*rd of climb to sap the energy from my legs. Worcester, Pershore, Evesham and Broadway. Pretty towns and sleepy villages and so much up and down, hill after hill after hill. You just keep grinding away until you crest the summit and enjoy the all too quick descents before selecting a low gear and grinding up again.
Fish Hill
I reached Broadway and started out on the climb up Fish Hill. The Malverns last weekend were a good warm up for this beast of a climb...2 miles of switchbacks, up and up...lowest gear, slow painful progress. I was grateful to reach the summit. I believe Fish Hill gets its name from an abbreviation. F.I.S.H. = F*@k It's So High!
I laboured on for another mile or so to have a brief look at Broadway Tower before making my way back down Fish Hill. Having struggled up for 15 minutes I dropped down the hill like a cartoon anvil falling from the sky in about 2 minutes and must have touched up to 45mp/h. Exhilarating, scary and over too quickly.
I made it home after a more comfortable return journey, thanks to a slight tail wind at around 10:30am. A nice cuppa and some toast to start replenishing the 2,800 calories burnt on the ride.
Observations from today;
1. Fish Hill is as daunting as I had been warned by various people, I have now removed its nemesis status and am no longer as concerned about it.
2. You can never have too many bananas or isotonic drinks
3. Sudocrem does the job in keeping your man bits moist and free of saddle sores
4. I passed a sign that said 'ample parking'. Where else do we use the word 'ample'? I can only think of 'ample bosoms'...
5. Worcester is pretty, but you would have thought someone would have taken a huge lump hammer by now to iron out the hills.
6. Stick to the A roads - less pot holes and better road surfaces.
7. 50 miles of cycling, 5 hours broken sleep, 41 years of age, 3 hours 20 in the saddle, 775 metres of climbing and 2,800 calories burnt. Tired? What do you think?!
8. London is a long way from Worcester, a very long way by bicycle.
9. Even 912 songs on your MP3 soon become samey and repetitive. There's only so many times you can listen to Paranoid Android by Radiohead before you say, 'oh, not again, can't I have the Cheeky Girls?'
10. You need to stop cycling before taking a photo...
I had the pleasure of 5 hours sleep, broken at 3am and an early wake up call at just after 5am. After struggling down for a huge bowl of Ready Brek, a steaming mug of tea I headed off for my longest and most challenging training ride yet.
I decided to ride over to Broadway to recce the route I'll be riding from Worcester and test myself against Fish Hill.
50 miles, up and down across the hills of Worcestershire and a complete b*st*rd of climb to sap the energy from my legs. Worcester, Pershore, Evesham and Broadway. Pretty towns and sleepy villages and so much up and down, hill after hill after hill. You just keep grinding away until you crest the summit and enjoy the all too quick descents before selecting a low gear and grinding up again.
Fish Hill
I reached Broadway and started out on the climb up Fish Hill. The Malverns last weekend were a good warm up for this beast of a climb...2 miles of switchbacks, up and up...lowest gear, slow painful progress. I was grateful to reach the summit. I believe Fish Hill gets its name from an abbreviation. F.I.S.H. = F*@k It's So High!
I laboured on for another mile or so to have a brief look at Broadway Tower before making my way back down Fish Hill. Having struggled up for 15 minutes I dropped down the hill like a cartoon anvil falling from the sky in about 2 minutes and must have touched up to 45mp/h. Exhilarating, scary and over too quickly.
I made it home after a more comfortable return journey, thanks to a slight tail wind at around 10:30am. A nice cuppa and some toast to start replenishing the 2,800 calories burnt on the ride.
Observations from today;
1. Fish Hill is as daunting as I had been warned by various people, I have now removed its nemesis status and am no longer as concerned about it.
2. You can never have too many bananas or isotonic drinks
3. Sudocrem does the job in keeping your man bits moist and free of saddle sores
4. I passed a sign that said 'ample parking'. Where else do we use the word 'ample'? I can only think of 'ample bosoms'...
5. Worcester is pretty, but you would have thought someone would have taken a huge lump hammer by now to iron out the hills.
6. Stick to the A roads - less pot holes and better road surfaces.
7. 50 miles of cycling, 5 hours broken sleep, 41 years of age, 3 hours 20 in the saddle, 775 metres of climbing and 2,800 calories burnt. Tired? What do you think?!
8. London is a long way from Worcester, a very long way by bicycle.
9. Even 912 songs on your MP3 soon become samey and repetitive. There's only so many times you can listen to Paranoid Android by Radiohead before you say, 'oh, not again, can't I have the Cheeky Girls?'
10. You need to stop cycling before taking a photo...
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