oxfordsportive

Perhaps the fact it rained pretty much all the way down  through France to the Pyrenees was a warning of things to come.  Our hotel was in Canfranc Estación which is near the summit of Somport,  the first climb in the Quebrantahuesos, this was a good location for the normal very hot conditions as it was high up on the mountain, but pretty cold and gloomy with the weather this year.

On the morning of the Quebrantahuesos it was raining as usual at the hotel but became warm and sunny as we drove past Jaca towards Sabiñanigo. Ever the optimist I changed out of my three-quarter bib-shorts and left my waterproof jacket behind in the car.

QH 2010 ready to go

At least I had enough sense to wear a gillet and arm warmers, and then it was off to the start in Sabiñanigo.

This was all it had promised to be, great atmosphere with thousands of very fit looking Spanish club cyclists lined up in a huge queue. They were all wearing full club kit sponsored by their employers with shaved legs shiny with embrocation, they really looked like they were ready for business.

A few minutes before the start helicopters came roaring low overhead which added to the sense of excitement. Then at 7:30 am the gun went and those in the front pens (reserved for celebrities and people with good times in previous editions) started off, it then took 10 minutes or so before my part of the queue passed over the timing mats. Read the rest of this entry »

Garmin GSC10 cadence sensor

The otherwise excellent Garmin 705 is let down by the GSC10 speed and cadence sensor. This unit is not properly waterproofed and eventually fails completely. You can revive it once or twice by drying it out but once water ingress causes corrosion or electronic failure the cadence sensor becomes a piece of junk.

It is mystifying to me why Garmin do not correct this problem. The solution is to properly waterproof the unit, surely that cannot be beyond the capabilities of this technologically sophisticated company? Read the rest of this entry »

Went out for an hour or so this afternoon to blow away the cobwebs, just as I was ready to go it started raining.  It was windy and wet not wonderful but hey after a few miles it feels OK.  Went out on a usual circuit over the toll bridge at Swinford then on to the turn at Standlake then back via Appleton where the wind was in my face. Riding along looking down rode straight over a large pothole with a bang, thought I’d got away with it but after a few yards that old sinking feeling as the bike began to wobble. Lucky it was only the front tube that went and I had a spare tube with me, not always the case I have to admit. Changed the tube and was on my way after 10 minutes or so, didn’t manage to get more than 60psi into the tyre with my mini pump but enough to get home. So will be keeping my eyes on the road from now on, could have been worse.

White Horse Challenge medal

The forecast for the Sunday of this years White Horse was for showers possibly heavy with a fairly fresh wind from the SW. It was drizzling as I drove down from Oxford but in the end stayed dry and warm with some sunshine and stiff breeze.

The first few kilometres up to Highworth are roly poly which always seems to catch me out, and rather contradict the description of this ride that claims ‘the first 40k of the ride are virtually flat’.

I managed to tag on to the end of a  group from BAD Tri then teamed up with a guy riding a stealth black Specialized called Andy, he was going strong and we picked up a number of other cyclists as we rode through Wootton Bassett which is instantly recognisable from the TV images of the processions. I was feeling strong up the first climbs at Broad Town and Cherhill and managed to keep up a decent pace through the stone circles at Avebury and all the way to Marlborough and the second feed stop at Froxfield. It was then at the three and a half hour mark that I began to feel the effects of the hills on my legs and the speed began to drop off.

The long straight climb up to the Ridgeway after leaving Lambourn felt heavy and slow so I was paying the price for starting fast out of the gate. Regardless of the pain the climb up the Uffington White was still beautiful and thanks to the guy with his two children ringing that cowbell and blowing their whistles. From Uffington it is a short dash to the finish at Shrivenham and boy was I glad to finish.

Next year I will be back, better stronger fitter faster! See below for Garmin Connect details of my ride, pedal turn by pedal turn…

Quebrantahuesos or Bearded Vulture (opens new window)

Several years have passed since my one and only big  European sportive. That was the 2006 Etape from Gap to Alpe d’Huez which I have to admit nearly killed me.

For one reason or another I haven’t been able to sign up for another since then. So now I am going to ride in the 2010 Quebrantahuesos sportive in Spain. This is the 20th edition of this popular sportive, it has about 8,000 people riding each year which places it on the same level as the Etape du Tour. This is a hard event at 205 km with 3,500 metres altitude gain, not as much climbing as the Marmotte but it does go up the Marie Blanque from Escot which is by all accounts a real pig of a climb.

The name Quebrantahuesos comes from the Bearded Vulture or bone breaker which seems appropriate given how tough this event is, interesting stuff here on this rare bird at the Quebrantahuesos Foundation.

Marie Blanque profile

The one thing you can’t train for here in the UK (apart from the long climbs that is) is the weather, it can be very hot and that is difficult to deal with if you’re not acclimatised, in 2006 the temperature on the Alpe d’Huez was said to have reached 40° C and it certainly felt like that at the time.

The allocation of start numbers takes place on Thursday 15th of April. The best places will go to finishers with good times from previous years. After that it is first come first served in the starting pens.

There is a good write-up on the RCUK website by a spanish cyclist who has started ten times and finished five times.

There is also an informative and entertaining blog post on the Quebrantahuesos at www.davidmullarkey.com.

There are three climbs on the Quebrantahuesos with the Marie Blanque being the hardest, the final four kilometres average 11% with sections going up to 15%, see here for details www.altimetrias.net of the Marie Blanque profile.

For a description of my actual ride see Quebrantahuesos Cold and Wet

I am looking forward to my first event of the year which is the local (to me) White Horse Challenge, which is a romp around four White Horse Hills, Uffington, Broadtown, Cherhill & Hackpen (Uffington White Horse is the oldest of all British chalk figures and dates back almost 3000 years).

This is my favourite sportive of the year and I’ve ridden in every edition since it started in 2007. It’s not too long and the hills are manageable for an early season event at about 145 km and just under 1,500 metres of elevation gain.

The WHC is on Sunday 25^th of April this year so not long to go now. I just hope the rather disastrous start to the year doesn’t mean I end up being slower than in previous years.

Last year I managed to improve on the previous year by skipping the first feed stop altogether (other than stopping to have the timer dibbed) and then spending as little time as possible in the second stop, just enough time to fill a bottle and grab something to eat.

My secret weapons this year were  a new lighter bike and doing intervals over the winter. The new bike is there but has only had a couple of outings this year so the intervals plan will have to take the strain, although training this year has been compromised by snow and ice and colds and flu.

See below for the summary of my ride on last year’s event from Garmin Connect

There is a new feature on Garmin Connect that allows you to embed details of an activity in a web page or blog. It seems pretty easy to use. Make sure  the activity is shared by clicking on the padlock on the Garmin Connect Activity Details page.

The click on the Embed icon below the activity map, this will generate some html which you then paste into your preferred web page or browser as seen below. You can click on view details below the map to link to the shared ride on the Garmin Connect website.

So here is the training loop I just did today:

The Rider back cover detail

This book is one  of the best books about bike racing ever written,  one of the classic books on cycling;  if you only ever read one book about bike racing make sure this is the one.

It tells the story of one day’s racing in the Tour du Mont Aigoual in the the Cévennes region in Southern France. This is a real race rather than being a mythical event as the blurb on the book cover implies. Although the characters are fictitious they are based on real cyclists. The author has written about the background to this book in an article The tour du mont aigoual on the Rapha website which is an interesting read in its own right.

The Rider back cover blurb

The book captures the inner monologue the rider has with himself and the others in the race as well as the trance like state that comes with taking part in endurance events.

Krabbé also weaves in stories from the past cycling life of the rider and how he has progressed from novice to contender. There are also vignettes from cycling greats such as the reason why  Anquetil would take his water bottle out of its holder before every climb and stick it in the back pocket of his jersey.

Even if, like me, you are not a racing cyclist you will enjoy this book, it is one of those books you regret finishing and I have come back to it several times over the years.

In the Feb-Mar 2010 of CTC’s Cycle magazine there is an interesting article by bike designer Mike Burrows on the myths of getting the right fit and position on the bike.

Mike Burrows designed the Lotus track bike that Chris Boardman used to win gold in the pursuit at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He also  invented the compact frame with the Giant TCR.
Read the rest of this entry »

I have tried doing intervals over the past few years without much success. The pattern is to occasionally have one good session and get fired up with enthusiasm then hacking it in after twenty minutes at the next session. However after reading the Time Crunched Cyclist by Chris Carmichael and trying the sessions he suggested plus finding various tips online I have managed to find a method that works pretty well.

Mix an energy drink and sip that while you get ready, this raises the blood sugar levels and will make you more inclined to keep going, this is a tip from Chris Carmichael and basically he is saying give yourself plenty of chances to succeed. Also make sure before starting that your mp3 player, bike computer are charged and ready to go.
Read the rest of this entry »