- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Tubeless valves
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
Add new comment
2 comments
I Everested at the end of May along with 11 others. It was only Boxhill but we were the largest team to complete an Everesting at the time. 27 hours on the same 5km of road is a long time!
Dartmoor Classic in June was a great event, the long slog into the wind up towards the prison really took it out of me so I was well into the second half of my energy reserves before the half way distance. Had a horrible crash after a corner 90 + miles in, made a right mess of my leg which has slowed my descending...
Managed to climb the Blockhaus in Abruzzo in August which has beaten me twice before. Rode up from the coast too, I like doing all 2200 m above sea level.
October saw my third attempt at the Gold standard on Legs of Steel - with the way the year had gone so far I was confident, but it wasn't to be. Possibly the previous 2 attempts I'd ridden with others but this time was more solo...and more slow. The experience has convinced me to train in a more organised manner.
Only plan for next year is the Fred hopefully, and then Legs of Steel again
I started the year no 2. in the world for territory on the Riderstate app. I was No 1. on Dec 19th 2014 when the app was due to close but it continued over Christmas and I was away, so my claims to be world champion at something slipped. Stravistix is a new app similarly based on territory that has just started so I will have a go at that.
In April I took part in the Altas Etape. 3000m of climbing, straight up. It took me 7 hours to get to the top and I was the last one to get there, who didn't turn back at one of the stage posts. At the top the doctor thought I looked ill and my heart rate was up (uh-hu?) I think they had no one left who might crash so they turned their attentions on me. They took me back down the mountain in the ambulance and back to a military hospital in Marrakech. I was diagnosed with altitude sickness and had a bit of a banging headache the next day. So I was the last to get to the top, but didn't finish the course by coming back down.
For bonus medical drama the Moroccan doctor was asking me all kinds of questions about liver damage and drinking, which was quite scary because I know how much some of my friends drink compared to me (more than me that is.) When I got back to the UK I was diagnosed with Gilberts syndrome, which explains occasional fatigue and yellow complexion that only my Mum ever noticed. [Mums are always right even if it takes 20 years to prove it.]
I am back in the pot for the London 100, which I did in 13+14 but lost out this year. I did Great Manchester Cycle for the 4th year and the Manchester Wythenshaw 100k.
8 days left to commute to work will get me to 7040km. I did 7378 last year so a little down on that but I did loose about a month of riding when my old bike was on its last legs and I was just scraping to work and back. I have had a Jamis Xenith comp since 2009 and rebuilt the drive train at least three times. The whole thing was worn out again by September and I was thinking of the cost of another rebuild, but the fork bearings were worn out too, so I plumped for a Cannondale Super Six Evo, arrived October. So I haven't had much time to take it out into the country, but it has seen some action extending my home commute. The dream of a Canyon/Lightweight remains a couple of years and a couple of thousand pounds away.
2016 I will do my local sportives again. Repeat all my classic weekend routes with my new bike. 2016 will be my second full year on Strava so I am planning some 'enrichment' rides to turn those pesky top 250s into top 100s etc. I might do Cambridge Gran Fondo if I loose out on London again and might, might use the Five Boros ride as an excuse to go to New York. There are no end of targets for motivation.