2 days in a row, same route and the exact same avg speed and only a few seconds in the time 

 

another morning, andother 16.5k cycle on my normal route.

 

 

sheeps up the top

 

happy with today, little faster than last week in total, but i think i made the time up on the decents rather than the climbs, though, 

change in offing for tomorrow morning... swmbo's nephew is struggling to write his FYP for uni, lotta stuff goin on atm, so he has been convinced to come down to Nanny's house and do some work 9n it with swmbo helping him put a shape on the structure. 

he has also agreed to get up and come with me for an early morning  blast. no bike, so we're gonna run instead. giving him the choice of hill climb or flat in the morning.

6 hours ago, mac11irl said:

sheeps up the top

Is yon the black sheep of the family?

12 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

Is yon the black sheep of the family?

 

no, thats me

 

nephew was pulled out of the 630am start by swmbo.. to be fair he hasnt been up before 9 and not sleeping properly for a couple of months, so maybe going straight into a 8k run at 630am may have been a bit of a push  he has promised to go for a run himself later on after doing some work on the project. 

 

so i went pedalling my typical route, but twisted a through the trees section to boost myself an extra climb and a bit more distance. 

 

the extra climb knocked the avg speed back but an extra km and 50m climbing. it all felt good

first cycle of July... legs felt dead this morning after a not great nights sleep, missed yesterday aswell, so fingers crossed ill get out tomorrow morning to make up for it, then get the shopping done and go pick up something nice for myself

 

my June stats popped up. 

god that week i missed made a difference!

 

 

 

im nearly at this exercising craic a full year... i will celebrate the anniversary by running my original 5k route

 

 

okay, so i have to adjust to the new bike, will take a couple of runs id say.. even just the handle bars being about 25% wider, thumb shifters and brakes that stop like anchors.

not gonna say it was easier peddle up the road section, as the tyres definitely make more drag, but it wasnt really any longer to get up the top, as the rough stuff was easier to bump over on the rough trail. also down a bit on speed on flat/ asphalt sections, without the x3 crank set, ill work on pedal speed to make up for it, but dont want to look a prat either, pedalling at 2000rpm and going nowhere  but ill adjust. the extra downhill rough stuff ability is enough to balance out the loss in speed else where. 

 

delighted with the bike,  and once i get it just right itll be brilliant

 

 

On 02/07/2021 at 09:39, mac11irl said:

first cycle of July... legs felt dead this morning after a not great nights sleep, missed yesterday aswell, so fingers crossed ill get out tomorrow morning to make up for it, then get the shopping done and go pick up something nice for myself

 

my June stats popped up. 

god that week i missed made a difference!

 

 

 

im nearly at this exercising craic a full year... i will celebrate the anniversary by running my original 5k route

 

 

How much weight have you lost?

 

Probably about the same as I have gained in that time, let me know when I can return it

 

I returned to the running club last week, first time since October 2020, have gone from one of the front runners to the last by a country mile , the hardest part (the return) is over, things can only get better from now on.

3 minutes ago, J.R. said:

How much weight have you lost?

hopefully none

i cant afford to lose any.. i need to get back building muscle now the cardio side of things is on the improved list.

day 2 on the new bike. 

i titled this ride "me arse" because my arse bones were sore when i hopped on. saddle is a lot harder than the air cushion padded one my dad had put on the old bike, so id not had sore hole issues prior to today! other than that, all good again, though sweaty and wet in the rain that started and never stopped.

 

though i copped i think the derailleur needs a teeny adjustment. its not quite getting to the little 11tooth ring. its dropping onto it, but then a couple of revolutions later its sliding back up to the next one. may help explain why i dont feel like i have the same flat speed. 

 

i also need mud guards.. and a skinny tyre valve adapter for my pump. and spare tubes...

covered in muck, couldnt fecking see far enough ahead and getting hit the face with al sorts of gack on the ground to try and get the speed up on downhills.. legs were knackered after a crap night sleep, to the point where i confirmed the derailleur needs to be fine tuned.. i was on the biggest ring already and tried to change up, chucking the chain over the top of the cassette 🤦‍♂️ got caught on a spoke tryin to get it back... and then it started raining.

ended up having to chop it back on the route to not be mad late home.. just un fun.

 

misery.

 

but i have mud guards now!

ok, so... given i was at work last night and got... 90mins sleep when i got home before the day started, i was not out for a cycle this morning. 

 

i did however discover that my lovely "new" bike is actually a 1x12 speed sram sx fitted bike. saw it on the receipt for original purchase. was pretty sure it was an 11 speed on the ad and when i talked to the guy but when i went and counted the chain rings... yup, theres 12 of the back there!

noped out this morning... just too feckin tired. 

Just tried mine around the garden..... Down 2 steps, 3m and a gentle pull of the brakes.... Sharp muscle pain wrist to elbow. 

Could be another 2 weeks before I get on the horse again properly 😒

thats not good @olduns :(

 

keep stretching it out, and apply gentle heat (white tiger balm ive always found very effective, and it doesnt ruin clothes like the red one)

I think I'll be going to the exercises from when I broke that wrist.... A minute in Hot water, cold water etc until you can't stand it and a range of pulling, squeezing etc and then the rubs at night

well a ****e night sleep where i just felt uncomfortable all night... and the alarm really didnt enthuse me to get up, but i did..

and i did well, i think. 

made it to the top of the hill in, i believe, a personal best inc PRs on the segment times for the hill climb 

 

so my full 16.5km route done in under 1hr 3mins.

 

time spent on the derailleur adjustment was well worth it... probably have all my flat speed back, going by top speed on the road descent so happy days.

 

sweating was cruel though...

better sleep, just not enough of it 😴

 

 

also had to

do the normal breakfast stuff

bring spud sr to summer camp

go to a site meeting.

 

so, i chopped the top loop off the route, and dropped through part of the "Eagle" segment stump run.. good god that thing is a pig even with the better bike. ill do it again someday and take a few pics...

 

anyway, 2k shorter route, bang on an hour. and a decent time up the hill. 

oh, neaely forgot.. the beasts of purgatory greeted me from a afar in the clouds at the top...

wouldnt think theyre only about 20yds away...

20ft there..

 

so on tuesday i did a chopped route in an hour. 

yseterday i was on mt full 16.5k route, and it felt good on the way up the hill. 

the above was a new personal best on the full route and the initial hill section 

was quite happy, and looking forward to today.

 

today, i woke up at 610 with the alarm. then got up after a power nap at 646! stood in the kitchen considering binning it as i was late, but swmbo wasnt going anywhere, spud sr didnt have camp, i had a teams thing at 915, so.... feck it i can be a bit later home.

 

sooooo close to a sub one hour... 

and forgot to screenshot the initial phase - 30m 16sec... all round winner day

 

 

 

im just sitting in the foggy back garden after my cycle. too hot to go inside.

i just realised today is the 19th. its my one year anniversary!!!!

i was meant to go for a 5k anniversary run. ooops.

 

instead i did my 16.5k cycle. 

view from the top of hill, waypoint 1

time to waypoint 1 - 

a new record setting blast 

 

that, despite the heat gave me enough of a kick to try and keep the momentum going, and...

 

BOOM!!! sub one hr time on route. 

 

I'll take that as an anniversary present to myself

 

sitting in the garden afain. no fog today. whuch is a shame, it was lovely and cooling g yesterday morning. 

holy god the heat is cruel even this early. 

not as quick today either, could feel it in the legs at the start of the day, but who cares i got out and got out done.

 

think the sheep are getting used to me arriving of a morning now too, they aren scattering as quickly when the bright orange sweaty mess arrives on top of their hill

 

 

ohhh...  today was odd. 

another sgit night's sleep in the heat, not able to lie on my left hand side like usual after getting my 5G activation shot yesterday morning (Pfizer round 2 - i shall soon be legally allowed to dine inside a restaurant  )

so i woke up tired and could feel the horrible flash sweat building - the one that kicks in when you want to go back asleep but your body isnt sure its a good idea - so i dragged myself out feeling dehydrated and bit meh.

 

hit the pedals and headed off. no records were set, i also realised i wont hit the July climbing challenge target as we are away next week 🤦‍♂️ so i took a fire break trail detour this morning - the one i came off on twice on the old bike - and then back up the other side. it netted me a 16k trip in just over the hour. including about a minute when i unexpectedly crossed the remaining stripped branches of a path/firebreak being cleared by the forestry owners through the middle of the block, and the derailleur got caught up in some spruce branches. that took a bit wriggling to get out of. 

overall it was an alright morning out, and considering how many others i know were fairly wrecked the day after their shots i was just pkeased to get out. not sure how i managed such a high top speed!

 

fingers crossed tomorrow morning will be similar....

 

i stayed in bed...

i think i got 3hrs of broken sleep, felt really fuzzy this morning, between the post vaccine "feels like the day after a hangover" and just being wrecked i couldnt make myself get up. praying for a better night's sleep so i can kick tomorrow off with a spin out...