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12-21-07, 01:43 PM
Hey dudes. Well, here's my report of my ride. The thread previous to this is here, http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=364595
There's 1,984 words here so don't feel like you have to read it all if you don't want to!
I'll start with a summary
Distance: 132 miles (211 km)
Times: 0515 to 2140, door-to-door. That's 16 hours 25 minutes. I attribute much of the slow speed to breaks and mysteriously-lost time. Even on the slowest sections I averaged 10mph, at the fastest more like 20. Time behaved strangely.
Physical: varied, but most of the time I felt great.
Mechanical: no problems whatsoever. Well, my seatpost was a bit loose, if you really want something.
Psychological: difficult at times, very good at times.
The route
Split into three parts because the mapping site is pretty slow.
York to Doncaster: MapMyRide.com | View Bike Ride in York, United Kingdom (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/york/733565951)
Doncaster to Belper: MapMyRide.com | View Bike Ride in Doncaster, United Kingdom (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/doncaster/50346606)
Belper to Birmingham: MapMyRide.com | View Bike Ride in Belper, United Kingdom (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/belper/1128911204)
Ok, so now if you want to read all the rest:
Before the ride
I did no specific training for it, the furthest I had ridden being about 15 miles "around town" about 3 weeks prior. I normally do very little cardio and so had three lazy runs in the last 10 days or so. I'm kind of naturally a good runner, but I dislike it. I got a 6:14 mile the other day having not run for months so I guess I wasn't too far out of shape - although I think its more to do with leverages for running than absolute cardiovascular powers. I ran in wrecked old trainers with barely any sole and large gaps in the top cloth, and probably as a result my knees were hurting somewhat so I rested for a few days before. On Wednesday I felt like I was getting ill, with a head/neck/back ache, sore throat, etc. I had had insufficient sleep for several days and on Wednesday night I didn't get to bed until well past 10, having spent the day trying to prepare. My alarm at 0400 was not needed as I had been awake for much of the 5-and-a-half hours I'd been in bed. I got up and somehow lost 1hr 15 in sorting things out.
Bodyweight: 78kg (172lbs)
+ Clothes/shoes: 81kg (178lbs)
Bike: 22kg (48lbs)
My head was still aching and I didn't feel great but not too bad. For breakfast I had liver and honey. That's not some secret power-meal that I use, but you could always try it.
The ride
So 0515 after repeatedly checking the doors were locked I set off. I live 1 minute from the A19 so was soon onto that. It was fairly quiet, but a vehicle passed every couple of minutes at least. Much of the road was unlit, which was a bit miserable. I had put on thermal trousers, long-johns I guess, and took those off after not very long. I was certainly warm enough. In fact it turned out to be the warmest part of the day. Twenty-something miles later the sky started getting some colour to it, I remember noting it as I was going by a huge power station that seemed to take forever to pass.
http://www.multimap.com/maps/?hloc=GB|Selby#t=l&map=53.71019,-1.13228|15|32&loc=GB:53.78157:-1.07254:14|Selby|Selby,%20North%20Yorkshire,%20England,%20YO8%204 (http://www.multimap.com/maps/?hloc=GB%7CSelby#t=l&map=53.71019,-1.13228%7C15%7C32&loc=GB:53.78157:-1.07254:14%7CSelby%7CSelby,%20North%20Yorkshire,%20England,%20YO8%204)
I had been looking forward to the sun coming out but then it never did. I didn't see a hint of it all day. It was clear though, at first. I got into Doncaster at about 8.30 or so, kids were heading to school. It took me an hour to get to the other side, somehow, using parts of the NCN to bypass the pretty stiff traffic. So that was the first section done. Now I thought I could relax with lovely countryside just cruising and enjoying the view...
It turned out to be the start of a long stretch of constant hills. Up, down, up, down, up, down. Mostly up, it seemed. At some point here I reached a top speed of 37mph. I'd fly down a hill at 25-30mph and then climb it at 5mph, and walk some sections too. To climb hills I stood, and gently worked my way up. It worked alright and I was usually ok at the top.
At 1014 I was at Laughton en le Morton, that's an hour for 10 miles. On the approach to Killarmarsh I saw the sign welcoming me to Derbyshire, a greeting echoed by the long hill I was climbing.
1245 in Stavely... that's only 12 miles from Laughten but took 2hrs 15? Weird.
Most of the Doncaster-->Belper stretch is a blur. Villages came and went, eventually, and there were constant hills. It was misty and overcast, visability never less than about 500m though, and usually about 2km perhaps. I stayed warm while riding but whenever I stopped it was only a couple of minutes before I was feeling cold.
It was getting dark and I still had 60-70 miles to go. At some point I came to Belper and after about 15 minutes trying to find the right way out of the town, which had sign posts directly contradictory to my compass and map, I rolled down one last hill and onto nice level ground for the rest of the journey. Since it was dark already, I changed my plans. Originally I was going to do what you can see on this map:
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/doncaster/35707431
which, from Belper, involves mostly country roads. Being unlit, they would have been a difficult route, so I went directly South down the A6. It wasn't too busy, and I got some good speed along there. I came into Derby with no real idea how to go the rest of the way. The A38 is a monster, I knew that, so I was hoping to get some help from a local. The sinkhole of Derby sucked me in, though, and I ended up on the motorway-like inner ring road, which spat me out at the train station. I spoke to a ticket vendor, then a taxi driver, and shortly afterwards another cyclist, and all of them told me that the A38 has a cycle path down the side.
With that good news, I made my way towards it. I had heard the cycle path was on the North-bound carriage way but a second cyclist advised me that there's a pavement on the South-bound side anyway, so I should just use that. As it turned out, there was definately no pavement, and after darting accross to the other carriageway, there was no cycle path either. I quickly spoke to a few drivers as they stopped at the lights before a massive roundabout, and one said there's a cycle path but he wasn't sure where it started. I walked South in the central reservation for about a mile before it narrowed to nothing and I resigned myself to cycling on the road. After waiting for a gap in the traffic I got onto the other side and started off. It was easy going and very fast, there was a lot of traffic but more in the other direction, and I had no near-misses or anything. It was quite ****, though - 30 miles straight on the same round, without many chances to relax and ride no-handed or anything.
It was 1750 when I was just starting to walk around the A38, and I lost about 20 minutes there, but despite that in less than an hour's time I had covered 15 miles. After another 17 miles I was in Lichfield, finally, and from there I thought I was almost home. I've been to Lichfield quite a few times in the past but hadn't realised it was as far out as it was. Or maybe I was just pretty tired by then. It was about another 10 miles and I remember it was 2030 there, and I wondered if I could do it in 45 minutes to make a round 16 hours, but in the end it took twice as long. It was up hill much of the way into Sutton Coldfield, then I passed all the strangely-familiar sights of my old school, busses I knew, houses I recognised... it was now a simple matter of riding the last couple of miles, which I did, the final 1/2 mile being a leaning-back no-handed downhill glide. Then I got to the door and that was that.
After the ride
When I went into the centrally-heated house I felt pretty bad from all the heat, and quickly took a lot of layers off. I had a bit to eat, drank a lot, and got to bed. My heart was racing as I lay in bed and I didn't sleep very well. Thismorning I got up feeling better than I thought - still a headache and my neck/back hurting, but no detectable muscle soreness at all. I'd say I just feel general inflammation and some fatigue.
I came online at about 10.30am to write this but suddenly felt really bad, and went back to bed for several hours. For the first hour or so my neck was hurting badly and my chest, too, with every heart-beat. It passed and I fell asleep and woke feeling better. I've felt a lot worse from exercise, before, and I knew this would be quite a damaging thing to do so I'm ok with it. I'll be alright with a couple more night's of sleep.
Other stuff
> Food/drink:
I took 300g oats as flapjacks made with honey and salt, 100g chocolate, 300cals liquorice, about 500g of beef and pork, and 2L of water.
the food didn't last long and I ate about another 3000 calories on the way, all of it junk like chocolate bars and baked ****. I should have eaten more, I think. Likewise with water. I only drank about 5L over the duration of the ride - I sometimes felt slightly thirsty and that shouldn't have been happening.
> Physical issues:
My legs never really got tired, towards the end my knees were hurting though, sometimes. My neck and shoulders were a problem along the last 40 miles, probably from not being able to vary my position a whole lot, and not standing up enough. Being rather prone to cramp, it was a constant fear during the ride. It threatened gently in my calves and quads, a few times, but never came seriously. One time just about every muscle on my body started cramping while I was hiking in Wales on a snowy mountain - it took hours to get down, staggering a few paces then collapsing loosely to the ground as quickly as I could when everything seized up again. I've never been so completely sore as I was the day after that, haha.
My 'seat' was fine, great in fact, no problems there. I used a 2-week-old Brooks B17, and it was really good. Today I had slight signs of friction on my thighs but nothing significant. My lower back, neck, and head, are the persisting sources of discomfort.
> Mechanical issues:
None. Really.
> Psychological issues:
As I said at the start, "difficult at times, very good at times." The next village never seemed to arrive, everything just stretched out ahead of me, but it was just a case of keeping on going, which due to the lack of physical problems wasn't too hard. I do enjoy cycling, so there was always a pleasurable element to it.
Well, that's all I can think of to write for now. Sorry its so long! To summarise - it was all up and down. In terms of the topography, my energy, confidence, etc. It all rose and fell and varied.
It seems pretty strange now, hard to remember. Yea, quite an unsual day.
Thanks for reading
--Joe
There's 1,984 words here so don't feel like you have to read it all if you don't want to!
I'll start with a summary
Distance: 132 miles (211 km)
Times: 0515 to 2140, door-to-door. That's 16 hours 25 minutes. I attribute much of the slow speed to breaks and mysteriously-lost time. Even on the slowest sections I averaged 10mph, at the fastest more like 20. Time behaved strangely.
Physical: varied, but most of the time I felt great.
Mechanical: no problems whatsoever. Well, my seatpost was a bit loose, if you really want something.
Psychological: difficult at times, very good at times.
The route
Split into three parts because the mapping site is pretty slow.
York to Doncaster: MapMyRide.com | View Bike Ride in York, United Kingdom (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/york/733565951)
Doncaster to Belper: MapMyRide.com | View Bike Ride in Doncaster, United Kingdom (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/doncaster/50346606)
Belper to Birmingham: MapMyRide.com | View Bike Ride in Belper, United Kingdom (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/belper/1128911204)
Ok, so now if you want to read all the rest:
Before the ride
I did no specific training for it, the furthest I had ridden being about 15 miles "around town" about 3 weeks prior. I normally do very little cardio and so had three lazy runs in the last 10 days or so. I'm kind of naturally a good runner, but I dislike it. I got a 6:14 mile the other day having not run for months so I guess I wasn't too far out of shape - although I think its more to do with leverages for running than absolute cardiovascular powers. I ran in wrecked old trainers with barely any sole and large gaps in the top cloth, and probably as a result my knees were hurting somewhat so I rested for a few days before. On Wednesday I felt like I was getting ill, with a head/neck/back ache, sore throat, etc. I had had insufficient sleep for several days and on Wednesday night I didn't get to bed until well past 10, having spent the day trying to prepare. My alarm at 0400 was not needed as I had been awake for much of the 5-and-a-half hours I'd been in bed. I got up and somehow lost 1hr 15 in sorting things out.
Bodyweight: 78kg (172lbs)
+ Clothes/shoes: 81kg (178lbs)
Bike: 22kg (48lbs)
My head was still aching and I didn't feel great but not too bad. For breakfast I had liver and honey. That's not some secret power-meal that I use, but you could always try it.
The ride
So 0515 after repeatedly checking the doors were locked I set off. I live 1 minute from the A19 so was soon onto that. It was fairly quiet, but a vehicle passed every couple of minutes at least. Much of the road was unlit, which was a bit miserable. I had put on thermal trousers, long-johns I guess, and took those off after not very long. I was certainly warm enough. In fact it turned out to be the warmest part of the day. Twenty-something miles later the sky started getting some colour to it, I remember noting it as I was going by a huge power station that seemed to take forever to pass.
http://www.multimap.com/maps/?hloc=GB|Selby#t=l&map=53.71019,-1.13228|15|32&loc=GB:53.78157:-1.07254:14|Selby|Selby,%20North%20Yorkshire,%20England,%20YO8%204 (http://www.multimap.com/maps/?hloc=GB%7CSelby#t=l&map=53.71019,-1.13228%7C15%7C32&loc=GB:53.78157:-1.07254:14%7CSelby%7CSelby,%20North%20Yorkshire,%20England,%20YO8%204)
I had been looking forward to the sun coming out but then it never did. I didn't see a hint of it all day. It was clear though, at first. I got into Doncaster at about 8.30 or so, kids were heading to school. It took me an hour to get to the other side, somehow, using parts of the NCN to bypass the pretty stiff traffic. So that was the first section done. Now I thought I could relax with lovely countryside just cruising and enjoying the view...
It turned out to be the start of a long stretch of constant hills. Up, down, up, down, up, down. Mostly up, it seemed. At some point here I reached a top speed of 37mph. I'd fly down a hill at 25-30mph and then climb it at 5mph, and walk some sections too. To climb hills I stood, and gently worked my way up. It worked alright and I was usually ok at the top.
At 1014 I was at Laughton en le Morton, that's an hour for 10 miles. On the approach to Killarmarsh I saw the sign welcoming me to Derbyshire, a greeting echoed by the long hill I was climbing.
1245 in Stavely... that's only 12 miles from Laughten but took 2hrs 15? Weird.
Most of the Doncaster-->Belper stretch is a blur. Villages came and went, eventually, and there were constant hills. It was misty and overcast, visability never less than about 500m though, and usually about 2km perhaps. I stayed warm while riding but whenever I stopped it was only a couple of minutes before I was feeling cold.
It was getting dark and I still had 60-70 miles to go. At some point I came to Belper and after about 15 minutes trying to find the right way out of the town, which had sign posts directly contradictory to my compass and map, I rolled down one last hill and onto nice level ground for the rest of the journey. Since it was dark already, I changed my plans. Originally I was going to do what you can see on this map:
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/doncaster/35707431
which, from Belper, involves mostly country roads. Being unlit, they would have been a difficult route, so I went directly South down the A6. It wasn't too busy, and I got some good speed along there. I came into Derby with no real idea how to go the rest of the way. The A38 is a monster, I knew that, so I was hoping to get some help from a local. The sinkhole of Derby sucked me in, though, and I ended up on the motorway-like inner ring road, which spat me out at the train station. I spoke to a ticket vendor, then a taxi driver, and shortly afterwards another cyclist, and all of them told me that the A38 has a cycle path down the side.
With that good news, I made my way towards it. I had heard the cycle path was on the North-bound carriage way but a second cyclist advised me that there's a pavement on the South-bound side anyway, so I should just use that. As it turned out, there was definately no pavement, and after darting accross to the other carriageway, there was no cycle path either. I quickly spoke to a few drivers as they stopped at the lights before a massive roundabout, and one said there's a cycle path but he wasn't sure where it started. I walked South in the central reservation for about a mile before it narrowed to nothing and I resigned myself to cycling on the road. After waiting for a gap in the traffic I got onto the other side and started off. It was easy going and very fast, there was a lot of traffic but more in the other direction, and I had no near-misses or anything. It was quite ****, though - 30 miles straight on the same round, without many chances to relax and ride no-handed or anything.
It was 1750 when I was just starting to walk around the A38, and I lost about 20 minutes there, but despite that in less than an hour's time I had covered 15 miles. After another 17 miles I was in Lichfield, finally, and from there I thought I was almost home. I've been to Lichfield quite a few times in the past but hadn't realised it was as far out as it was. Or maybe I was just pretty tired by then. It was about another 10 miles and I remember it was 2030 there, and I wondered if I could do it in 45 minutes to make a round 16 hours, but in the end it took twice as long. It was up hill much of the way into Sutton Coldfield, then I passed all the strangely-familiar sights of my old school, busses I knew, houses I recognised... it was now a simple matter of riding the last couple of miles, which I did, the final 1/2 mile being a leaning-back no-handed downhill glide. Then I got to the door and that was that.
After the ride
When I went into the centrally-heated house I felt pretty bad from all the heat, and quickly took a lot of layers off. I had a bit to eat, drank a lot, and got to bed. My heart was racing as I lay in bed and I didn't sleep very well. Thismorning I got up feeling better than I thought - still a headache and my neck/back hurting, but no detectable muscle soreness at all. I'd say I just feel general inflammation and some fatigue.
I came online at about 10.30am to write this but suddenly felt really bad, and went back to bed for several hours. For the first hour or so my neck was hurting badly and my chest, too, with every heart-beat. It passed and I fell asleep and woke feeling better. I've felt a lot worse from exercise, before, and I knew this would be quite a damaging thing to do so I'm ok with it. I'll be alright with a couple more night's of sleep.
Other stuff
> Food/drink:
I took 300g oats as flapjacks made with honey and salt, 100g chocolate, 300cals liquorice, about 500g of beef and pork, and 2L of water.
the food didn't last long and I ate about another 3000 calories on the way, all of it junk like chocolate bars and baked ****. I should have eaten more, I think. Likewise with water. I only drank about 5L over the duration of the ride - I sometimes felt slightly thirsty and that shouldn't have been happening.
> Physical issues:
My legs never really got tired, towards the end my knees were hurting though, sometimes. My neck and shoulders were a problem along the last 40 miles, probably from not being able to vary my position a whole lot, and not standing up enough. Being rather prone to cramp, it was a constant fear during the ride. It threatened gently in my calves and quads, a few times, but never came seriously. One time just about every muscle on my body started cramping while I was hiking in Wales on a snowy mountain - it took hours to get down, staggering a few paces then collapsing loosely to the ground as quickly as I could when everything seized up again. I've never been so completely sore as I was the day after that, haha.
My 'seat' was fine, great in fact, no problems there. I used a 2-week-old Brooks B17, and it was really good. Today I had slight signs of friction on my thighs but nothing significant. My lower back, neck, and head, are the persisting sources of discomfort.
> Mechanical issues:
None. Really.
> Psychological issues:
As I said at the start, "difficult at times, very good at times." The next village never seemed to arrive, everything just stretched out ahead of me, but it was just a case of keeping on going, which due to the lack of physical problems wasn't too hard. I do enjoy cycling, so there was always a pleasurable element to it.
Well, that's all I can think of to write for now. Sorry its so long! To summarise - it was all up and down. In terms of the topography, my energy, confidence, etc. It all rose and fell and varied.
It seems pretty strange now, hard to remember. Yea, quite an unsual day.
Thanks for reading
--Joe