North Cheshire Clarion club run 4th June 2011

Wow I've not been able to write those words above for quite a while and it feels great to be able to do so now just 2 days after the 5 month 'anniversary' from my crash. Today for me was another Saturday ride from North Warrington on a beauteously sunny and warm day - the warmer and sunnier the better for me.

Another large gathering of 20+ riders had us split into 3 groups of 6 to 8. Off we set on an advertised 35 mile ride with a cafe stop in the middle and this distance is ideal for me as I up my miles over the weeks. Prior to today my biggest ride since my 'comeback' had been 30 miles and I didn't do too well so a few weeks on and quite a few miles later 35 miles 'should' be very achievable.

The group I was in was the 2nd group made up of 7 individuals and as we rode on through a residential area somewhere in Warrington (I don't really know the roads of Warrington) we had our first of two punctures and within a few minutes the 3rd group that set off 5 minutes after us trundled past with a friendly wave and no doubt lots of smiling faces with thoughts running through their heads of 'nerner we are going to get all the cake'...

A few minutes later we set off again to be stopped a few miles further on yet again by another puncture to the same tyre of the same same bike of the same person - Phil J your record was in the balance today but alas you still hold it, boohoo I hear you say? Tyre sorted so once again we restart our ride and I think we missed a turning near to the cafe stop and bump into Sarahs group going the opposite way. They had had their cake and were now on the way back. As they flew past I'm sure I saw Sarah wipe at a few cake crumbs from her mouth smiling as she did so ;-) - I do hope they left some for us the swinehounds...

Arriving at Lavender Barn tea rooms we dived in to the cafe relieved at the site of copious amounts of cake just waiting to be eaten, I chose Carrot cake and a coffee and it was gorgeous, well worth a photo..

We didn't stay long as we were seriously behind schedule and set of for home. Some corners were cut, some loops were missed and we set a good pace in order to make up some of the time. Yet again just like the last Saturday club ride the only hills today were either hump-backed bridges or motorway bridges with the odd smattering of an incline here and there so nothing to test the legs - that will be for another time. I did however on occasion get out of the saddle and give it some on those 'bumps' and I'm glad to report there was no sudden pains, aches or complaints from my left leg or hip so another box ticked, just need to try that on a steep hill now...

Andrew...

As you can tell I took some photo's as we rode, nothing fancy just over the shoulder shots as I'm getting my confidence back and not so scared of the road as I was but what I didn't do is what I'd do prior to my fall, I didn't shoot up and down the 'peleton' taking lots of pics, just these few you see here...

The rest of the gang...

The last few miles were at times a little rough into a moderate headwind and towards the end my legs did start to tire a little but I was able to keep up the pace with no problems so I'm defo improving. With a few loops cut out of the route the mileage came down from 35 to 30 so not the miles that I wanted but I'm sure that 35 would not have been a problem. My next goal is a flattish Sunday 50 miler in a couple of weeks...

My Stats
30.25miles, 1hr 56 min, Av Speed 15.6 mph, Av Hr 146 bpm (76% max), 800 ft climbing (garmin)

Don't Be A 'Zone Drone'....

A really good bit of advice and advice well needed on today's club ride. This ride was billed as flat but flat doesn't necessarily mean easy and whilst the start of the ride was well within my desired zones 1 & 2 as the ride went on my heart rate gradually rose as the pace rose slightly on some undulating terrain. Nothing much happened today, 13 of us to start off with but Dave had to turn for home after a problem with one of his wheels so that left 12 of us to plod on on a cool but dry day.

I was playing the 'tail end Charlie' today with Pablo on the front and what that means is that I shout down the line a warning of any potential problems such as cars passing etc as well as giving encouragement to anyone that needs it, no-one needed any today and the cars mostly were well behaved so an easy job plus it suited me to stay that far back as it provided some shelter for me to hide in.

Zone time
Looking at the time spent in my zones I see that the zones I really needed to be in, zones 1 & 2 my base zones accounted for only 49% of the total and I know I can afford to creep up a zone into my 'tempo' zone, zone 3 on occasion but I did more than creep I spent a whopping great 19% of my time there which isn't ideal but what is really astonishing is that I spent 24% of my time in zone 4 which is approaching TT efforts and that is really undesirable when the aim of my ride is to ride 'base miles'.

Final Thoughts
Yes the advice is don't be a zone drone and that drifting out of your desired zone is OK on occasion but I think I need to view today as a lesson on how not to do it, how not to ride a base ride - it didn't work, hiding in the pack didn't work, the riding slow up hills didn't work because no-one slowed down so I suppose the only option I have is to go it alone or with like minded people. I'm not saying the ride was wrong it's just that I shouldn't have gone on it because you cannot expect everyone else to slow down when they are on a club run and not a training run.



My Stats
42 miles, 2 hrs 40 min, Av Speed 15.7 mph, Av/Max Hr 138/171 (Act max 191) 1063 ft climbing (Garmin)

Garmin stats

North Cheshire Clarion club run Halloween 31 Oct 2010

Another Sunday 50 miler the same as last week but that's where the similarity ends, last week it was 50 miles with a few hilly climbs today it was 50 miles but relatively flat. The weather turned out to be fairly mild with only a few spots of rain as we started out from Stretton. A new start point today took us away from the road edge by the pub to the Fir tree Close side road that leads to the Spires Hospital in south Warrington. Its a place we have been parking at from the clubs start and only a couple of hundred yards from the pub we used to meet at, it's much safer now that our runs are attracting 20+ riders on a regular basis now.

Today we had somewhere in the region of 23/24 riders playing out and again it was a split group with the 2nd group starting off 5 minutes later than the first. A nice easy pace for the whole duration of the ride and no hills to speak of. We had another 4 or 5 new riders with us, half in each group and often the pace was dictated by the new riders as they adjusted to riding in a group, they all did well and can only improve as confidence grows riding within the group.


We are getting close to the designated cafe stop at Spinney Motorcaravans now and in the distance we spot a group of cyclists, they are far enough away to make it hard to identify them properly but I could make out blue and yellow so I'm thinking we are catching the first group . I'm on the front with Sarah and I'm itching to catch them but I remember my responsibility to keep the pace steady so reluctantly scratched that itch - it wasn't them after all, when we arrived at the cafe that group was in the queue in front and our first group were already happily munching away.

Time to move on after nourishment and with a nice tailwind we set an easy 17 - 20 mph pace for many miles before turning into the wind slowing us down again and then finally after nearly 50 miles the ride comes to an end.

So today after my last few weeks of inactivity and the resulting loss of fitness, I finally feel I have turned the corner and am finally on the road (haha) back to fitness. Early days yet and a long way to go before I'm back to my old self but today there was nothing that taxed me. In saying that it wasn't a real test today as it was flat and only 50 miles with little wind in the face.

Tomorrow I'm starting a training regime based on the Joe Friel system as described in his 'Training Bible' and am due to do 12 weeks of base training that involves heart rates that will not be compatible with the hillier club runs, looks like I and a few others riding base miles will have to seek out an alternative flat route on those days...

Photos from today's ride


My Stats
49.22 miles, 3 hrs 16 min, Av speed 15.1 mph, Av/Max HR 138/173 (Act Max 191) 1469 ft climbing (Garmin)
79% of ride in zones 1 & 2

Garmin Connect data

Well I did ask for it...

Today was a club run 50 miler out into the hilly region north of Bolton setting off from north Warrington with nearly 3000 ft climbing. A cool start had me wearing 2 base layers under my windtex jacket, £35's worth of Sealskinz winter gloves (thanks to the Mrs), shoe covers and hat - all kitted out for winter. But would I be too warm considering the climbing we had in store with all this gear on, time will tell...

Off we set riding out towards the east of Wigan and everything was ok, no problems so far and then we hit the mile long drag of Horwich where my 'war wound' started playing up as a stitch flared up slowing me to a crawl and when I mean crawl, I crawled, I wasn't happy...


After I recovered and after more miles of yet more ups and downs I glimpsed the climb up Winter Hill on Rivington Rd as it spun to the right with its twists and more worryingly it's ups and more ups, you can see them coming which was quite demoralising and I'm wondering if this is where I have to get off and walk but nope just 1.5 miles of steady plodding got me to the top to be rewarded with a 2.5 mile plunge down to the Chapel Tea rooms in Rivington. Coffee, cake and a piano player greeted us warmly at the tea rooms and then it was onwards once more.



Flat all too quickly swapped places with hills, up down up down, Jeckle & Hyde country this, one minute nicely descending then its climb climb climb, beauty and the beast - beastland. All this climbing and yes I'm warm but not roasting, perhaps I was a little too warm crawling up Horwich and Rivington but mostly I was just warm enough, those gloves were a little cool to start with but warmed up nicely as the ride progressed and as the day warmed up so I'm happy with them as winter gloves.

Close to home now and on the last small climb of the day and I get shooting cramps down both thighs, ouch that hurt, not had those since riding the LCL 'sportive' in sept 2009. So today tallying up although I rode all the climbs I suffered a stitch, twinges in my hamstrings and lower back and the already mentioned thigh cramps and it's not surprising really, I did ask for it attempting a hilly climb when I'm so obviously unfit due to this rotten cold/cough that took me 6 weeks to get rid of. Prior to this little spell of sickness this would have been a taxing but enjoyable ride fairly hard on the lungs/legs but easily manageable. I'm not complaining though, I'm glad I'm back on the road and back with the club, just telling it as it was...

9% of ride in Zone 5

My Stats
49.7 miles, 3 hrs 21 min, Av speed 14.5, Av/max Hr 149/176 (191 act max) 2990 ft climbing (Garmin)

North Cheshire Clarion club run 10 Oct 2010

I'm was really looking forward to this ride as the weather forecast was for 17'C and little wind, I'm feeling quite good, good enough for a flat bimble in the beautiful back lanes of Cheshire but recently how I'm feeling prior to a ride isn't necessarily a good indicator as to how I will hold up for the duration of the ride.

So bike in car, kit on ready for the coolish start and off to Stretton, bike out of car and ride the 300 yards to the Cat & Lion and what a sight, 21 of us ready to ride, no scratch that here comes Antnee and another so that makes 23. It's decided that we should split into 2 groups and I'm in the 1st group. We set off 5 minutes apart and set a good pace heading for the cafe stop aprox 20 miles in. I'm on the front with Andy W for the first 15 minutes or so and then remember that it's my first ride back so should really be taking it easy and taking advantage of the shelter within the group so drop back and played the 'tail end Charlie'. We had 6 new guys with us today so 3 in each group was the plan. One puncture on the way to the cafe and we still managed to arrive before the 2nd group by a good 15 minutes, they also had a puncture however our puncture was sorted super quick. A 10 minute wait in the sun for the cafe to open at 10:30 but it was worth it for the walnut and coffee cake.

The day now has well and truly warmed up so now we set of to observe the start of the Johnny Helms memorial TT with many blasts from the past & the present, people like Graeme Obree, Yvonne McGregor, Colin Lewis, Les West, 'Super' Sid Barras, Phil Thomas, Vicky Thomas, Glen Longland amongst many others . After witnessing the start of this cyclist and spectator cluttered event we head off again for home again separating the group by 5 minutes however a 2nd puncture had the 2nd group roll past us not long after this restart and by the time we got started again we didn't get to see the 2nd group until we rolled up to the finish as Sarah and Paul waved as they drove off bikes already stowed away in cars.

So Sundays ride for me was a relief, a relief that nothing untoward happened regarding my fitness although in saying that it was more or less flat but there was one small hill that I gave it the bifters on and I managed that ok with no repercussions. Next weeks ride is the complete opposite of today with a hilly ride out through Frodsham, Delamere and Willington including such climbs as the start of Manley Rd which is a double climb just out of Frodsham where the road ramps up quickly eases of slightly then ramps up again, it's here that I've hit my HR max on two occasions and where I've nearly puked but don't let that put you off - that time was my first ride after an illness so was a silly thing for me to do however do be prepared for it it's not easy (for someone of my poor climbing abilities that is) - EDIT, just noticed this climb isn't actually included in Sundays ride so ignore me - Other notable climbs that we have done as a club and will be familiar with are the climbs around Delamere, The Yeld and that winding serpentine lane of a climb called Chapel lane in Willington, normally I'd be really looking forward to this but there are still doubts in my mind as to whether I will manage OK, just have to wait and see...

Today's Photos

My Stats
45.7 miles, 2hrs 49 min, Av Speed 16.2, Av/Max HR 144/174 1064 ft climbing (Garmin)

A week-end of the NCC

As you may have noticed there has been no blog updates for a couple of weeks from me and that's simply cos I've been slightly ill but I'm nearly back to normal now and looking forward to a full weekend of planned cycling activity. So down to the w/e's nitty gritty...

Saturday's ride with the North Cheshire Clarion

Saturdays flat ride was a great way to test my fitness in preparation for the Sunday Anniversary ride and I thought it went well with no ill affects other than an oddly high max heart rate and that was probably down to an incident with an idiotic Maxda MX5 driver (or so I thought, read Sundays exploits) and the least said about that the better as it spoilt an otherwise pleasant ride. Not much in the way of hills just lots of flat and the 13 of us out on the ride rode in a mostly tight pack for the duration with some pleasant chat on the way in slightly cool but dry weather.

My Stats
23 miles, Av Speed 14.8mph, 634 ft climbing (Garmin) max HR 184

Sundays ride

Today's ride was a special one as it marked the first year anniversary of the forming of the North Cheshire Clarion. The route was a mixed bag with flat giving way to hilly in the Crowton, Delamere and Frodsham areas. Eighteen of us set out from Stretton into the promise of rain which materialised in earnest later on into the ride. Early on nothing much of significance occurred other than I hit the deck after a fellow clarionist had a clipless moment at a junction resulting in him falling sideways onto me knocking me over, sore elbow now writing this, can I sue ;-)

As I said it was flat Cheshire lanes until we crossed Acton bridge on the A49 then a right turn onto the first significant hill of the day and as usual I took it at my own moderate pace and felt OK with no problems other than a slight shortness of breath which I suppose isn't unusual for anyone climbing a hill so thought no more of it. The next hill was a repeat of the last but of slightly longer length and that was it regarding hills until after the stop at the Delamere Station cafe where we were due to meet up with our mountain biking brethren at 11am, however due to an early puncture we arrived 15 minutes late to find that the mountain bikers, all five of them were waiting at the other cafe 50 yards further on down the lane but we all managed to get together in the end as you can see from the above photograph.

Another puncture as were about to set off resulted in hanging around getting cool and then we were off. There was talk of some taking short cuts to get home as time was really pushing on. Young Martin turned left at Hatchmere crossroads to carry on with the as planned ride so I went with him and everyone else went either right or straight on at the crossroads. Fantastic I thought as now there was just the two of us and as Martin is the Theo Walcott of the cycling world we could set some good speeds but you know what it's like after an extended cafe stop and setting off again into a cool day, how your legs feel like lead until they've warmed up again? Well mine was just like that and as the miles went on my legs did not warm up in fact they got worse when we hit the hills around Delamere and Frodsham. As the rain bucketed down I felt rather bad, I had no strength for the hills and my HR was in the 160-170 range on any flats we came across never mind the hills, something is not right and in places - most places I was down to a crawl whilst Martin just powered up the hills. The last five miles or so back to Stretton was a real killer, I told Martin to go ahead as I was really slowing him down but he wouldn't leave me and rode with me all the way back to Stretton, ta Martin.

I really thought that with a successful Saturday ride I would be OK for the much hillier Sunday ride and clearly I was very wrong, I should have taken note of my eleveted HR and regarded it as the warning sign that it was and that my fitness levels were in fact following the pattern of prior times after illness on the first ride back where I max out my HR with very little effort and feel like puking my guts up . Now according to this pattern I will rapidly improve, lets just hope I will be recovered enough to allow me to ride a planned Audax in two weeks, the 'Season of Mists' on the 3rd October with 2550 metres of climbing (roughly 8500 ft)

My Stats
44 miles, Av Speed 14.4 mph, 1797 ft climbing (Garmin) max HR 184

Photos from today's ride

North Cheshire Clarion club run Saturday 17 July 2010

No Sunday ride for me this week so I thought I would try out the Saturday club run. The Saturday run is designed to be shorter and a little slower than the Sunday run to encourage people into the club so rather than going solo as was my intention for today, I thought I would give it a go.

The weather wasn't the best today with rain forecast, not heavy just a little light rain however not long into the ride the rain jackets came out in time for the torrential downpour we had at one particular point - XCWeather really got it wrong today, I'm so glad I came out on my winter/rain bike complete with guards but this is July and supposedly the height of summer, we shouldn't have to come out with winter rain jackets and over-shoes but that unfortunately was the case today, it's just not cricket...

The pace was nice and slow for the seven of us but not too slow 15.4 mph average isn't that bad considering the route took us through a lot of built up areas and heavy rain with the resulting spray and water on the road. Not much in the way of hills today so this type of route and the comfortable pace is ideal for an introduction into the club and anyone wondering if they could hack it in a club run should try it, you won't be disappointed... unless it rains that is - insert :rolleyes: gif here...

I would have gotten my camera out today but the rain wouldn't allow it unfortunately so no ride shots. The weird thing with this weather is just how localised it can be, driving home out of wet Warrington back into Widnes and Runcorn just a few miles west, it was as dry as a bone lol...

My Stats
31.5 miles, 2hrs 2min, Av Speed 15.4, 881 ft climbing (Garmin)

North Cheshire Clarion club run 11 July 2010

Re-reading my club ride reports I've come to the conclusion that they can make for some tedious reading at times, the majority of people reading this blog will know exactly what goes on on a club ride so why the need to go into blow by blow or mile by mile details, no need at all...

So starting today I'm keeping my reports short and getting more personal - unless something out of the ordinary happens that is. Today I wanted more miles than the advertised 45 miles so set off early riding instead of driving to the start point in Stretton. Quite a bit of wind, the weather looked very changeable and with dark clouds everywhere it did look like rain however looks can be deceptive and I'm glad to say no rain spoiled our ride. Quite a few riders out, I think 16 today. The route was a mix of hills and flat with a cafe stop at Summertrees in Willington and then onwards over The Yeld and back home through Frodsham. 52 miles for me back to the finish at Stretton, 45 for those that drove there. I still wanted more miles so rode on with a bunch of the guys heading home along the A49 leaving them as I turned off to head home-wards through Walton Gardens as they carried on towards north Warrington. Today compared to last weeks 70 mile ride my legs felt more tired with riding into the energy sapping wind, much more so in those extra 16 miles I tagged onto the end of the ride riding solo directly into the 12-17 mph winds.

A good much more sociable ride than these last few weeks. As a club billed as 'inclusive' we seem to have forgotten somewhat that sociable aspect of our rides, an aspect that does attract riders of varying ability's and fitness levels to come join us with the promise of being looked after so today there was a concerted effort to get back to basics resulting in no-one riding off into the distance, no-one getting left way behind although in fairness no-one got left behind prior to today and no sprints in potentially dangerous conditions.

My Stats
68 Miles, 4 hrs 31 min, Av Speed 15 mph, 3230 ft climbing (Garmin)

North Cheshire Clarion club run 4th July 2010

Today was the clubs 'long' ride and it was decided that the Eureka Cafe at Two Mills in Chester was the cafe destination of choice. I was the route planner for this ride and I was bricking it slightly as the only other time I had been to the Eureka was with another club over a year ago and as a 'guest' I was just enjoying the ride rather than taking much notice of the route, however I did record the route on my Nokia phone which I was able to extract and save out as a gpx file. So with that info I was able to build a route from Stretton to incorporate the cycle lanes around Chester to get us there and back.

So how did it all work out? Well setting out from Stretton we did a little local loop to get some early extra miles in which included a little hill that warmed us all nicely, then it was off through Acton Bridge before heading into the northern parts of Crowton and then onto Hatchmere. Here we split off into two groups as even though this was billed as a 'long' ride there was also a shorter 45 mile option for those that wanted to get home a little earlier. Two members headed for the Delamere cafe whilst the remaining nine of us continued on towards Mouldsworth.

At the Hatchmere crossroads we were joined by approx 10 members of the Seamons CC. We all got a bit intermingled with some of our guys sprinting off the front but the remaining four of us were stuck behind them however that wasn't a bad thing as the Seamons lot didn't hang around striking up a fair old pace of 20 -25 mph for the full length of Ashton Road. The young guys in our little group also didn't hang around as at the first opportunity they were off sprinting past them to rejoin our leading group. I being an old git was quite happy to remain with the Seamons lot and rejoined our lot at the next cross roads.

The next stage was to the west of Mouldsworth on yet more quiet country lanes and then the part I was worrying about - the actual finding of the start of the cycle track because as I remember we joined it in the middle of a housing estate in NE Chester somewhere. I needn't have worried though as my gps route was spot on and no-one had moved the cycle track, it was still just off Kingsway - much to my relief...

The cycle track itself for the first few miles through Blacon was fairly busy with dog walkers, pedestrians and kids so the pace was fairly slow until we reached a stretch that dipped into and out of Wales that was pretty quiet and was able to push the pace up once more. The next stage was over the bridge by RAF Sealand on the A550 and it's here that it got a little tricky as we were now back on busy roads. Riding an underpass under a busy main road I was sure we were on the right route and I was reassured when we were joined by a bloke from the Port Sunlight club who was also heading to the Eureka. So riding with this guy I was able to see that that my gps route was spot on and we were on the right track.

Next the Eureka itself. I had been there once before as I might have already mentioned so knew what to expect however this time unlike the last time when it was chocka it was fairly empty which meant virtually no waiting for our beans on toast. The cafe itself? no great shakes - it's basic, it's functional and it's cheap which is OK by me however the toilets are a throw back to pre-political correctness, anyone who's been in there will know what I mean...

After the cafe it was the return leg. A busy main road or two to get across, another cycle track but this time not so well kept or wide and with gates every couple of hundred yards to traverse and then it was west of Mouldsworth again but on different lanes and onto the climbing hairpin of Cob lane which I think everyone enjoyed at whatever pace they chose to climb it - the climbers out on the front belting up it and us older ones climbing at a much slower pace.

Next it was New Pale Road and up onto the top of Frodsham hill up past the telecommunication towers, riding up roads that as a club we have never ridden before and then a fast descent into Frodsham and onwards for the last few miles back to Stretton. Ride over, 70 miles completed.

So to summarise. We did lose our way on occasion but nothing much, just a missed turn here or there but a quick about turn had us back on track, the pace was good, a good mix of fast and slow and the best thing was no rain despite the miserable forecast of heavy rain and lots of wind, lot's of wind yes but no rain and the sun did briefly come out. The lanes were mostly car free, the first cycle lane was smooth and wide the 2nd not so and the terrain was varied which I liked a lot.

The Sprint

Again there were sprints but not for me today I wasn't interested I had other things to worry about, namely the route, however that didn't stop the 'young uns' from having a go. The only sprint I was involved in indirectly was the very last one of the day to the 30 sign in Stretton. I was riding on the front with Ade and I could feel Martin behind (sounds wrong that) getting twitchy for this sprint, he must have known there was a 30 coming up. I wasn't interested but mentioned the 30 sign around the next bend to Ade and the fact that the 'young uns' were just waiting for someone to make the jump. Ade sorted his gearing out just in time as 'Nitrous Oxide' Dave came from absolutely no-where bombing past us all - that was the switch, off in pursuit of Dave went Ade, Martin and his mate who does in fact have a name - John, Edit - no got that wrong he's a Peter. My thoughts was that Dave had gone way too early and yup coming around the bend there was Dave who'd given up the sprint; Ade went on to beat the 'young uns' to the win, well done that man :-)

My Stats
70.6 miles, 4hrs 36min, Av Speed 15.3, 2864 ft climbing

North Cheshire Clarion club run 27 June 2010

The best week-end of the year by far weather wise with temperatures into the mid 20’s and with this in mind I decided to ride out to the start point in Stretton from Runcorn. It’s only 7 miles so at a nice steady pace I manage it in less than 30 minutes. At 8:30am the sun was out and warm already, lovely stuff and with not an arm warmer or gillet in sight, just the bare minimum without riding naked was the dress code of the day.

Off we set in a clockwise loop to take in Appleton, High Legh, Warburton, Altrincham, Mobberly, a café stop at Tatton park and then on through Great Budworth, Comerbach and finally Dutton then home to Stretton. Today we had 14 out for the Sunday ride which include 4 first time visitors. This club is really growing considering it only started last October, I think we now have 51 or 52 members. The only trouble with that increase is that those who are rubbish at remembering names like moi have a really hard time, a problem yes but it’s a nice welcome problem. I think we should all start wearing name badges ’Hi I’m Mark No1’ ‘Hi I’m Andrew from Weaverham’ ‘Hi I’m Martin and I will beat you in the sprint’ etc…

The pace was good, not too fast or slow, the conversation was fluid, the weather was ace, no-one had their tyres let down unexpectedly and no-one fell over. Phil J was out on his new Dolan and what a fantastic bike it is, a full carbon jobbie with SRAM Red throughout, a real beauty. You can see more details on his blog here…

The café stop at Tatton park was a bit of an experience, an experience not to be repeated that is. The café and it’s outdoor seating cannot be faulted particularly in this glorious hot sun however guess how much 1 slice of carrot cake and a small bottle of fairtrade orange juice cost me? £3.50? £4.50? Nah this little 2 piece bundle of food came to a staggering £6.32p, now that is outrageous, I could have bought the whole cake for that amount. Next time I’m going to bring a peanut butter butty and fill up my water from the men’s bog….

The sprint
Yes there was a few sprints today, the first one was for a 30 sign. I was about 4 back when I saw the sign and mentioned a sprint. Young Martin was way way back and must have seen the sign also as when I glanced back I could see him coiled ready for it watching me like a cat does when it‘s playing with it‘s mouse. So I shoot off out on the front and from my peripheral vision I detect him catching me so I give it a real welly only to be passed by him within a couple of yards of the 30 sign, I came in 2nd closely followed by Martins mate, grr lol that was fun but that sprint goes to Martin…

The next one I participated in was to another 30 sign but this time I had it all worked out. My plan which did work btw is that I should engage young sprint master Martin in conversation with a few guys riding in front and me alongside him on the outside effectively blocking him in, dirty I know but it did work and it went like this; I spot a 30 sign a few hundred yards ahead so without warning I’m off bombing it leaving Martin trailing however his young pal who’s name I still don’t know is giving me some competition, he’s pedalling like crazy down in the drops and I just about manage to take the win with maybe half a wheel. A great plan but nearly scuppered by young guy No2, I will have to more sneaky next time…

Next week it’s a long and normal run, 70 miles with the Eureka café as the midway point and also for the time constrained there is also a shorter 45 mile run with both groups riding together for the first 20 odd miles. If you are interested just pop along to the start point in Stretton by the Cat & Lion pub for 9am. See the clubs website for more info.

My Stats
55 miles, 3 hrs 10 min, Av Speed 17.3mph, 1992 ft climbing (Bikehike)

North Cheshire Clarian club run 20 June 2010

A cool start gave way to another gloriously warm sunny day - that makes two really sunny warm club rides this year, aren't we doing well! For the start I had my gillet and arm warmers on and took a little bit of gentle ribbing for it but I didn’t care as I was suitably warm; everyone else was wearing full summer gear right from the start, hardy people these NCC'ers. Only seven of us out today, probably depleted with it being Fathers day but no matter we still had a good time and with there only being seven of us it doesn't take much remembering
to name us all, Anthony, Sarah, John, Andrew from Weaverham, young Martin, Martins pal and Myself.

Off we set from Stretton in an anti-clockwise loop that took us over a few hills. We’ve not had a hilly ride for some time and speaking for myself (this is my blog after all) I wasn’t quite sure how nice the hills would be to me as I am seriously lacking from on-the-bike time. Since the Cheshire cat in March I have had nothing to train for and these last few weeks I have been able to get out only on the week-ends and if I have been lucky one ride during the week. So off we set heading through Frodsham and if you have been reading my blog you will know that I usually get a stitch coming out of Frodsham on one of the semi hilly exist however today I managed to avoid it but it was only delayed until we hit Alvanley hill.

Did I mention that I had my new helmet camera today? No? well I did but (yes there was plenty of butts and legs) this little device has no means of playback or viewfinder to check the results of your filming, you have to wait until you plug it into your PC once back home soo today my camera’s aim was out by just a little bit resulting in an hours worth of butts and legs :/

After Alvanley we had a run through the two small hills of Delamere and onwards through Kelsall bypassing ’The Yeld’ as it had road closed signs on approach. The next hill and also the biggest hill of the day is Chapel Lane in Willington. Naturally the two young guys shot off up the hill followed not far behind by John. For a retiree this bloke has some serious strength in him, I on the other hand plodded up the hill puffing and panting all the way up. This hill starts with a gentle straight rise then you hit a right hand bend to see the road rise alarmingly up, it’s at this point seeing this that I’m sure I heard one of the young guys utter an unprintable expletive! So it’s up this hill 100 yards or so to a left hand bend to see the road still rising as it disappears around a further left hand bend so more hard grinding up to this bend only to see yet another left hand bend ahead! As you grunt past the last bend marked with an armaco barrier you are hoping that it’s all over but it’s not quite finished, the road is still rising but not as steeply and all that’s left now is to ride around the sweeping right hand bend where the youngsters and John were awaiting at the very top. If only they were aware that the café was just 50 yards further on they would not have stopped and waited however I and the rest behind me knew so carried on to get first in the queue for food lol,,,

That was mostly it for the hills, just one more after the café stop just past Acton Bridge and then a few miles and an hour later we were home. So summing up, today started cool(ish) and warmed up to a really nice summers day, tans all around. The climbing was hard at times but thankfully there were not many hills. No incidents on the road, a nice cake at Summertrees café, one flat tyre and home by 12:45 to spend the rest of the day in the sun…

Great day today.

My stats
40 miles, 2hrs 36min, Av Speed 15.4 mph, 2258 ft climbing

North Cheshire Clarian club run 13 June 2010

Mrs Mark reminded me later on today that braggarts will not inherit the earth - that's not how it actually goes however I hear what she is saying but I'm going to ignore her just this once by pointing out that today I managed to win not 1 not 2 not even 3 but 4 yes 4 sprints. Granted there was only me trying for the first three of them but the fourth, well I won that one fair n square - I will talk about that later...

A cool start from Stretton with a great turnout of 16. Today the weather was a will it won't it rain, do I don't I bring my rain jacket. Decided to take my chances with no rain jacket and off we set in a counter clockwise direction. A nice steady pace to start with but because I'm my mothers son and mummy being a Maltese person who thrives in the warmth but literally freezes in the cold, the coolness of the day had me shivering for miles upon miles before the first sprint of the day warmed me up greatly and made me a happy person.

Onwards we rode sometimes fast sometimes slowly on the flat roads of our route with nothing much of interest to write about except at one point our NCC pelaton was overtaken by this big bald guy that stood out greatly as every bit of flesh we could see was tattooed, his legs, his arms, his ears, his nose, his face and his bald head. We let him go seeing as he looks the type of guy you just don't want to mess with if you want to keep all your bones intact. We let him go for perhaps 500 yards until Phil J pushed one of my buttons by shouting "GO HUNT HIM DOWN" or something like that and off I go along with young Martin and old(ish) Gaz. Down in the drops I went giving a fair bit of welly but he was riding at a fair old lick himself and it must have taken 5 minutes at least to catch up to him but now caught what do I do now? I glance behind to notice that the other two had backed off slightly so I rode up alongside and had a good old chat with him before he turned off for home in Hale Nr Altrincham, jolly nice guy he was...

The next stop was the lavender farm tea rooms Nr Dunham. Tea, cake n scones and off we rode for the final leg of the trip. Again nothing much to say except I kept on the lookout for 30 signs and won a couple of sprints but in fairness to everyone else I think there was only me that really put a spurt on so hardly good victories! However the last 30 sign of the day had 3 of us sprinting for it. Matt was on the front with me close behind and young whipersnapper Martin behind/alongside me. I spot the 30 sign approx 500 yards away so mentioned something about a sprint when Matt took off and it definitely was sprint well and truly on and this time I had real competition. So off goes Matt and he's a bike n half in front, I give it loads and slowly catch him and come alongside, Matt gives another burst so I give it a kick which gained me a few inches, I kick again and again and again until I've passed Matt, I look to my right to see Martin's too close for comfort so kick again and manage to just keep him at bay before crossing the imaginary finish line at the 30 sign. I think Martin was just being polite, I reckon if he wanted to being a youngster an all he could easily have took me if he so wished...

Today I got the best out of my Scott Addict, the stiffness that this bike is well known for was very evident every time I 'kicked', every kick I gave it was rewarded with an immediate response that allowed me to win that last sprint. Today 'Scotty' did me proud ;-)

My Stats
42.82 miles, 2 hrs 35 min, Av Speed 16.6mph, 1545 ft climbing (Bikehike)

Random photo taken last week. Zach my 10 yr old faithful Dobermann

Zach is our 4th Dobermann.

Prince 1983 - 1993
Lori 1984 - 1997
Shawn 1993 - 2000
Zach 2000 - hopefully forever

North Cheshire Clarion club run 30 may 2010

Arriving at the start point for today's club run I sat in my car and I felt like I just wanted to go home, I really wasn't in the mood for a bike ride this morning and I don't know why but I suspect it had something to do with the blustery winds and a lack of sun. It wasn't really blowing a gale but it was certainly windy nonetheless, winds of 15mph gusting to 18 mph and I wasn't looking forward to it. Anyway I eventually managed to persuade my lazy arse out of the car and meet up with the rest of the guys, 10 of us or was that 11 awaiting at Stretton. So off we set but it didn't long for a bit of drama to unfold as young Andrew only managed to ride a few inches before executing an impressive dive, ouch that musta hurt...

So rather than write a long story about today's ride I'm going to cut this story short. The ride wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, yes the wind was sapping at times but not overly so and before anyone accuses me of doing nothing on the front and into the wind where I would feel the affect of the wind, yes I certainly did ride on the front and on numerous occasions, so there...

The cafe stop was at Allostock nurseries in erm Allostock, a coffee and a rather nice moist very tasty carrot cake was my choice of nutrition, and off we rode for the final leg. Nothing much happened on the way back except for a numpty in a Volvo estate deciding to overtake us honking his horn as we all signalled and manoeuvred ourselves for a right hand turn, what an idiot and I'm being polite in saying that...

The Sprints
30 signs and hill crests are now the sprint targets of choice and today there were multiple opportunity's for a sprint or two and I'm pleased to say I actually managed to win one on a slight incline by half a wheel. I think I won fair n square but perhaps they let me win, perhaps they took pity on me and threw the sprint so I could win... hmm.

So summing up I'm glad I dragged myself out for today's ride, yes it wasn't hilly in fact I can't think of any significant hills at all and yes it was windy but not overly so but I enjoyed the ride and the company nonetheless. Sitting here typing this my legs are nicely sore probably from the few sprints I took part in and I do like that sore feeling, it makes me feel like I have achieved something today.

My Stats 40.87 miles, 2hrs 39min, Avg Speed 15.4 mph, 1050 ft climbing (Bikehike)

North Cheshire Clarion club run 23 May 2010

A great start to the weekend with temperatures hovering around 24-25 'C on Saturday and Sunday's forecast was for much of the same - really good stuff so dressed in just short sleeve shirts and bib-tights, proper summer stuff (at last) 11 NCC members and a guest set off from Stretton in an anti-clockwise loop through Frodsham, Kelsall, Willington, Delamere and Acton Bridge.

It was a slow 15 mph group start as opposed to the normal fast start and I was pretty thankful for that. With Frodsham and it's inclines coming so early into the ride I usually travelling at the speed we normally ride at get a stitch either riding up Fluin lane or the slight hill coming out the other side of Frodsham, but today with the slow speed start I escaped the stitch however I talk (type) too soon, I may have escaped that stitch but I was soon to be stitched up by a stitch of my own making.

Travelling up what we have named Alvanley hill which is a no name hill in the Alvanley area (obviously duh) I was talking to Andy as we climbed and at the same time trying to adjust my inline barrel adjuster to my rear derailleur - trying to adjust the noise out of my gear train when it looks like I adjusted it too far resulting in the chain coming off between my spokes and cassette calling for a hasty unclip before I fell sideways. A minute later after I had managed to unwedge my chain and clean my hands on a handy Doc leaf or two, I was back in action storming up the rest of the hill to rejoin the waiting group - it's suprising what a quick rest can do for your legs. Now normally I find this hill fairly taxing but today perhaps because I was talking with Andy, I didn't really notice it that much but I was disappointed that my breakdown on the steeper part fifty yards from the top robbed me of an occasion to assess any improved climbing ability on this particular hill, the first hill to make me walk a long time ago. I did however feel that I had certainly improved on my previous climbs up this hill - up to the point of my mechanical that is...

The next hill was a short sharp 13% hill a few miles on from Alvanley and as we approached I stormed from the back of the group shouting 'HILL, HILL, THERES A HILL COMING UP!!!' must have sounded a right nutter but anyway there was a hill coming up and I was going for it and doing quite well until half way up when I was passed by 'Nitrous Oxide' Dave and a young lad whose name escapes me atm, it was fun and you've got to have a go haven't you...

Next target is the Elvis transport cafe on the A54 and what a dicey experience that was trying to turn right out of a side road across a busy 'A' road and then a few hundred yards further on on the A54 turn right across cars bombing along at 60 mph in each direction to get to the cafe...

After Elvis and it's limited supply of foodstuff was another run up the A54 but for some reason the traffic was thankfully not as heavy as we did another right hand turn across the traffic. We are now off the busy A road as we head down through Kelsall and Willington and then came a left up a lane that took us up past Summertrees - a proper cafe with proper cake unlike Elvis's - and then onto The Yeld. During this part of the ride we rode a few hilly drags, nothing too steep and I found them not hard at all, just as long as I didn't ride them too fast, just riding at my normal steady plodding pace.

The Sprint
What sprint !?! I missed it. After some discussion on the clubs forum we decided that hill crests and 30 mph signs are what we should be sprinting for but that's only good if you are good at sprinting up hills which I'm not and know where the 30 signs are located. Approaching the end of the ride I was on the front (had to get that bit in) when Dave zooms past followed by Andy, Pablo and the young person whose name I cannot recall - I missed it, they were sprinting for a 30 sign around a bend and it all happened so quick that there was no time for any sort of reply from me - bah humbug!!!

I will win a sprint one of these days but I have a hunch that there is a cunning behind the scenes conspiracy to stop me from winning any of the sprints or perhaps it's simply because I'm just so slow - they will be calling me Captain Slow soon.... So come on guys, just one, just one for me plz pretty plz..........

My Stats
44.5 miles, 3 hrs 2min, Avg Speed 14.2 mph, 2326 ft climbing (Bikehike)

North Cheshire Clarion club run 16 May 2010

Not a bad turnout today 10 regulars and 2 guests assembled for a as requested flat ride around north Cheshire. The weather was cool to start and the only thing that warmed us during the ride was hard work with very little sun and a good amount of wind to cool us down. At times the pace was fairly high and one of those instances of speeding was down to me, sorry guys but you can blame &#'% for that, you see I was on the front and &#'% was on my wheel, I kept looking back to see him glued to me so I thought I wasn't going fast enough and upped the pace to 20+ mph and with no calls of pace or tail I thought everyone was happy - that's my excuse anyway and &#'% you know who you are ;-) After the mandatory cake stop at Lavender Farms it was a quick last few miles with nothing much happening except for young Andrew upping the pace for a few miles resulting in 3 of us unknowingly splitting off from the main group and only realising when we came to a turn and there was no-one there; it was a good split it took at least a minute for the rest to catch us up. ;-)

The Sprint
We finished this ride on the same road as last week so I had a better idea of the location and distance of the traffic lights that marked the end of the ride so hopefully today's sprint would be nothing like last week when we went too early. Today I thought I would use all the techno wizardry at my disposal to determine when to make the jump if no one else does it first. Garmins have the ability to give you a distance to the end (just as long as you have the route in the Garmin) so I kept an eye on the countdown and positioned myself in 5th position moving up to 4th, the pace was steady at 15-18 mph, that will do me, no wasted energy on the run up; I hid in the pack watching and waiting for someone to jump, no one jumped, Phil who was in front of me let a gap open up in front of him, I saw the opportunity and jumped into the gap. In front of me now was just John and Johnathon (better know as Trevor to some); the end was getting closer now just 1/2 mile, I was right behind them hiding, waiting, hopefully unobserved and getting ready to pounce, only a few hundred yards now, time to let the dogs fly so it's GO GO GO!!!, I immediately sprint past John but as I fly so does Johnathon, the bugger must have eyes in the back of his head, I'm on his wheel and giving it everything but to no avail as Johnathon hits the lights first.... lol the bugger ;-}


Great sprint and well timed. One of these days I WILL win a sprint...

My Stats 42.7 miles, 2hrs 36min, Av Speed 16.4mph, 1300ft climbing (Bikehike)

North Cheshire Clarion club run 9 May 2010

What a difference a week makes, last week was just cold, this week a cool start that soon warmed up to a gloriously nice day. I had a good feeling for this weeks ride seeing 14 of us assemble at our traditional meeting point, I enjoy company and the more the merrier so today got off to a great start, a quick start as always, 18+mph for long stretches which is great for the flats but eventually we warmed up as the temperature improved and the pace dropped to a more sociably sedate 15+mph for the latter parts of the ride.

As we rode on the weather just got better and better throughout the morning and I think the route suited the day perfectly; flat, Cheshire flat that is with just the occasional bump oh and a wooden canal bridge or two, an off road section and a couple of cobbled lanes to bounce along. Andy (A.K.A. the map) certainly knows how to pick em. I think today was a great success for everyone as there was something for nearly everyone, a moderate distance and lots of flat along with a moderate pace is very conducive to chatter (of which there was lots), a nice midpoint cafe stop and a sprint at the end for the boys who like to pretend they are Cavendish or Thor Hushovd (or for the older amongst us, Super Mario) weeeeee... the only thing missing was a significant hill to climb but that was no real loss seeing as everything else was just right - leave the hills for another day...

The sprint.

Just a few hundred yards to go around a couple of bends to the end of the ride, some riders tasting the end are moving closer to the front, the pace is upping, some are down in the drops, the sound of gears being changed into a more suitable sprinting gear can be heard, we are pretty tightly packed, there goes the breakaway, I'm on it, I'm in it, I'm down in the drops, Antnee is in front of me, I shout to him jokingly telling him he's my lead out man, the pace really ups now, he laughs then finds a path through to the front, I'm on his wheel, he's sprinting out on the front, I'm still on his wheel, we are away, there is a gap between ourselves and the chasing pack, we go around a bend and then another, where's the flippin traffic lights that marks the end???, we've gone too early (again), we are knackered, we sit up, Andy who does not seem to be out of breath comes alongside saying 'who started this sprint then?', I think he was behind all the time just playing with us letting us think we were away, we continue at a much lesser pace but still ahead of the oncoming pack, Antnee hit's the lights first so that makes him today's winner of the sprint. :)


That was fun, I could get into this racing lark (just as long as it's no longer than a few hundred yards)...


My Stats
43 miles 2hrs 43 min, Av Speed 15.8mph, 1693 ft climbing (Bikehike)

North Cheshire Clarion club run 2 May 2010

That was flippin hard work....

A cold day in May saw just 4 of the Clarion faithful assemble at the usual place and time. As soon as I saw who had turned up I knew I was in for a hard time and I wasn't to be disillusioned. As soon as we set off we set a pace of 19+ mph and for the duration of the next 70 miles that speed was maintained on the flats of Cheshire and there was many many miles of flat...

Needles to say by the time we reached our cafe stop, the Venetian Marina Cafe in Cholmondeston Nantwich, my legs were a just a little fatigued probably due to the fact that we had a 15mph wind that helped us for the first quarter of the ride and then became a side and head wind for the rest of the ride combined with the relentless speed we rode. Also there was very few opportunity's for rest as we only stopped on one occasion on the way to the cafe and that was because Andy wanted to check out what looked like a fake stone war memorial made out of sheet metal dumped on the edge of a field somewhere out yonder. Other than that stop and the occasional traffic light or junction it was a constant 19+ mph or a fast balls out climb on the hills and inclines we came across - balls out to me that is...

After the cafe stop the same fast pattern was resumed but I tired quickly and found it hard at times to maintain the pace. I was concious of the fact that since the cafe stop I had done nothing on the front so when I managed to work my way to the front my stay there didn't last long due to the fact we hit a hill and I was overtaken by the climbing goats.... I did try, honestly I did :).

So to sum up it was a fast 70 mile run - I (we) worked very hard for long stretches at a time with no letup - we only stopped twice for more than a minute (plus the cafe stop) and my legs were quite shot come the end of the ride but there was a few plus points, OK there was one, the dark clouds that dominated the horizon did stay on the horizon, did feel a few spots of rain but that was all...

My Stats
70.89 miles, 4hrs 10min, Avg speed 17mph, 1621 ft climbing (Bikehike)

North Cheshire Clarion club run 25 April 2010

Today's highlight was a cobbled lane somewhere near Alderley Edge called Bradford Lane. Thirteen of us set off from Stretton at 9 am heading out to the Wizard Tea Rooms via this Bradford Lane. Heading out we set off at a good easy pace of 16-19 mph on a mild dull day with the promise of some rain later on in the morning. With this in mind I left the Scott plastic bike at home and brought out my heavier aluminium Focus.

Today could provide a fine opportunity to settle a question I have in my mind, after the experience of the last few weeks I have to finally acknowledge that my climbing has improved somewhat and today could give me some sort of indicator as to whether it's due to the change of bike from an aluminium to a much lighter carbon bike or it's improved fitness or perhaps it's both that accounts for my alleged increased form. More about that later...

So back to the ride. Eventually we hit the cobbles of Bradford Lane, it's not a steep hill just a gradual rise but the lane is rutted and worn with a fair few uneven very prominent cobbles to contend with, needless to say you have to pick your line with care with the central higher line being the wiser choice for much of the mile long lane. Until today I could only imagine what it must be like to pound the cobbles of the Paris Roubaix; you see them on the TV bouncing around everything shaking and that was us today but on a slower speed scale. At one point I tried to see what speed we were riding at but everything was a big blur making it impossible to read my bike computer readout, I guess we were travelling at a modest 8 mph at the most. It's all going ok, we're picking our line bouncing our way up the lane but approx three quarters of the way up, cobbles gave way to a sandy dirt track much more suited to mountain bikes with big fat tyres and not the skinny ones we were riding so eventually we had to get off and walk to the top.


After the cobbles came The Wizard Tea Rooms and the trip home, the sky had looked threatening for a long time and I was hoping we would make it home before it rained however with just a few miles from home the heavens finally opened and we got wet, very wet...

So to summarise, today was a good flatish ride with only a couple of hills, a cobbled lane (which I don't think we will ever ride again on road bikes), slightly stale cake at the Wizard and to finish off we got a drenching.

Getting back to my climbing. As I said I was on my heavier aluminium bike so today could reveal whether it's me or the bike and I'm pleased to say that Lance was right, it's not about the bike it's all about me (well he didn't actually say it's about me but you know what I mean). Granted today there were no long or steep hills however we have ridden some of this route previously including the few short hills we came across and I managed them at a greater pace and finished fresher than the last time I rode them so something good is starting to click with me, but what could it be, what can account for my improvements? Well for one thing my training has been reduced since I stopped doing the Chris Carmichael thing, what I now do is a club run on the Sunday then a 2 x 20 minute workout on Wednesday and a commute or another workout on Friday so only three times on the bike during the week; not a lot compared to the 6 to 8 hours and a minimum of 4 times on the bike that I was putting in doing the Chris Carmichael Time Crunched Cyclist plan. So with that thought in mind, could it be the extra rest I'm getting between workouts particularly the two days after the Sunday club run that's allowing me to recover better between workouts therefore making me stronger or is it the fact I'm now training with a 2 x 20 minute workout once or twice a week rather than the intricate Carmichael workouts? Or perhaps both? whatever it may be I think for now at least I will stick to the training I'm currently doing, you know what they say - if it ain't broke don't try and fix it...

My Stats
50.02 miles, 3hrs 19min, Av Speed 15.1 mph, 1416ft climbing (Bikehike)