The coolest round of the Chiltern Classics takes place in just under 10 days time. This is an event to be ridden in style. All Willesden riders are to ride in Squadra Verde colours (choose your own edition). For that authentic Italian look wear your sunnies and talk constantly on your mobile phone. Contact WCC organiser, Giovanni Le Brummi, on Squadra.Verde@gmail.com for any additional information.

fixmawheel.blogspot.com – playing with wko

With 2 “recovery” and 1 turbo session power file to go on, I am in the lowest bracket within TrainingPeaks/CyclingPeaks WKO+ demo that I’m testing out – “Non Racer”. Not bad.. because I am a non-racer.

I obviously have quite a bit to learn about all this – for example, why did my “Training Stress” value drop moving from a recovery weekend to a turbo session? Surely “Training Stress” would increase when going from easy to hard sessions? Also, what is TSB, ATL and CTL? These questions will be answered! Stay tuned!

If I had my parking spot at work (any safe lock up) I could use the Powertap for commutes and have a wealth of crazy data to ponder. Nevermind.

Turbo Session HR distribution:

Turbo Session Power distribution:

Buying an expensive carbon race machine wasn’t enough of a dent to the bank account so I decided to buy a Powertap power meter as well. Got a reasonable price for a low-mileage (2500k) Powertap SL laced to Open Pro 32h wheelset and fitted them to the S-Works.

I’ve been out for two easy rides with it since fitting and I’ve grabbed a demo version of TrainingPeaks WKO+ after reading about this package on Liz Randall’s cycling blog. I’ve ordered yet another cycling book (I’m addicted to amazon.co.uk!) that covers training with power but at the moment I know basically nothing! Good timing then that my coach has also recently acquired a Powertap! 🙂

I’ve started making pretty (meaningless) graphs..

If anyone can tell me how to use this kit I’d appreciate it 😉

I have tan lines! In England! In Feb!

Mind you, I had to almost freeze to death this morning and I’ve been riding with only a t-shirt and shorts on for the last week while others roll along in jackets, hoods, beanies.. I even spotted one guy with a balaclava! This week was a recovery week. Basically I only did my commuting and rode laps of RP. At the very least it means I didn’t get lost riding anywhere.. 🙂

I give up! I had something like three turns to make and I still got lost! I went mental, yelled, rode around trying to find the way to Ickenham, phoned Mal for directions but it was too late. While I was on the phone a bunch went past so I put the phone away and turned around to chase. They’d gone over a rise and bam, they were gone. Arrrgh! I rode some more and eventually stumbled on to the start point in Ickenham. Four other guys had arrived late too so I set off with them on a short cut to catch up. One guy was dropped straight away, then the two leaders who seemed to know what they were doing just pulled away, leaving my-angry-self and the guy with the funny Belgian cap that I see doing the fast club rides. He went one way and I gave up and went to head home. I needed to leak quite badly so turned around, emptied bladder and then decided to chance the club run (which I was also running late for, but they often leave late). Surprise, surprise there were still guys there! Ray, Martin, Dennis and they were heading to Fairoaks Airfield rather than the marked ride.

It was quite a way to Fairoaks, down near Woking (SW London). I think I had 90k on the clock by the time I’d made the cafe. With the quick start chasing bunches, I was stuffed! Spent Mal’s ?10 on food and coffee and finished the lot! I was glad to be off the bike, stretching, eating, etc. Apparently it was a quick ride back home – suits me. We rolled through some really nice areas, Ray explaining that Surrey Road League race around here and it’s quiet due to Motorways surrounding the area, ie. drivers use the motorways and not the smaller back roads we were on. Of course some numpty in a Merc, on his mobile, beeping and then passing with fsck all room had to spoil it. I chased but didn’t quite get to him before he escaped the lights. He knew I was coming for him though. I hate drivers some times. We had a chat about the racing scene and how the Cats work – things like Elite, Cat1, Cat2 and Cat3 all riding together at Hillingdon and there only being one set of prizes! Err.. when are the Cat 3’s ever gonna see any money? Sounds a bit daft to me. Almost as daft as the Cat 4’s racing with flat bars! No wonder I’m not too keen on racing these days – I do have a sense of self (or bike) preservation! 🙂

The ride ended at Denham, me a lot calmer and happy that I’d done a full ride even though I missed the Team Quest ride. It worked out to be 144k for the day, making 415k for the week! So much for easing up.

Garmin Vista).

I’d tweaked the saddle height a little and pushed it forward further. The odd single-bolt clamp is probably not on properly but it seems ok. I’m scared of clamping carbon so everything is minimally tightened. The Toupe saddle was a lot more comfortable than the first ride indicated. I’m not sold on it totally and have an SLR as backup but it could be okay.

The Spesh basically did what it should do and that was roll bloody nicely! I’m still babying it but when you give it a bit of a kick it really responds. Obviously the racier geometry makes it handle a lot swifter than the slack/tall/long Ribble. It’s just so much nicer to ride. I’m glad it was sunny to allow me to get out on it!

I tell you though, it’ll be good to get over the ‘newness’, because it’s holding me back really treating it mean! 🙂

The Dura-Ace setup shifts better than anything else I’ve used. I mean, I’ve mostly used Ultegra and never saw a need for DA (“it’s for the pros”) but seriously, this 10-speed DA setup is sooo bloody smooth and rapid shifting! The braking is also way above the poor Ribble, although that’s probably just due to clean pads and clean rims whereas the Ribble is out in all kinds of mess and never gets a proper wash. Add all that to the fact it looks awesome and I’m pretty damn happy with the most expensive bike I’ve ever owned. If only the weather was nicer 🙂

The Gran Fondo is an uncompromising road romp across 171 km of the toughest and most picturesque terrain in the Chilterns. From Great Missenden the route runs north east through Chesham, Berkhamstead, to Dunstable Downs before heading south west along the Chilterns scarp slope, with the biggest and steepest hills.

All the fondos amply capture the essence of the Chilterns with fantastic ‘Red Kite country’, superb scenery, and demanding hills that will be a robust challenge for any club rider. The Gran Fondo route was inspired by and takes in all of the best climbs of the Chiltern Spring Series reliabilty rides and there are plenty of extra climbs thrown in for good measure. By European standards the hills are not big but have demanding gradients of up to 21%.

Don’t think that these rides will be easy. Experience shows that the frequent climbs on the ‘Gran’ and ‘Medio’ Fondos are tough, strength and energy sapping and ideal preparation for major European sportives. Good pace judgement will be your only friend. Consider yourself warned.

More info: www.chiltern-hundred.org.uk

Welcome to the Devil Ride, an exciting new cyclosportive from the organisers of the award winning Autumn Epic, taking place on 10th August 2008 from Builth Wells in mid Wales.

We had been thinking about setting up a cyclosportive that takes in the infamous Devil?s Staircase for a couple of years, but the event got some real impetus in a forum on the excellent cyclosport.co.uk.

As well as the notorious Devil?s Staircase, riders will take on another nine or ten significant climbs, including the fearsome Gammallt (25%). This follows immediately after the Staircase and came to fame when it forced riders onto their feet during the Milk Race. There are also plenty of other rolling climbs to keep things interesting and that will feel big enough by the end.

cyclosportives.co.uk – devil ride

I’ve entered and booked my accommodation. It’s going to be a pain getting there without a car (5hr train with bike, request stop) but it will be the first time I visit Wales.