Author: frankkinlan

Monday: Work, last day. Four off to look forward to. No gym.
Tuesday: Morning spinning class at West Kirby followed by the Gym. Garmin Forerunner 50 threw its hand in and reset itself. Found it missing a screw and the strap wants replacing. Should have stayed for the second class as I wasn’t up to much in the gym.
Tacx Giant of Provence DVD waiting for me when I got back, even the box reckons this is a challenge for well trained cyclists. I’m off out to buy a bigger fan.
This proved to more difficult than it would seem, none of the shops have them as we are in the middle of bloody winter. Barry picked up some surplus winter cycling clothing and then it was off to West Kirby for a spinning class. Things are slackening off before christmas as there are a few empty bikes.
Aldi HRM threw it’s hand in in the class so no calorie counting.  Not sure whether it is the strap or the watch. One first timer and another from Tina’s classes from the Oval that I haven’t done for over a year now. Hopefully she is starting up again in January.
In case you don’t know Tina’s class was my first one, I didn’t know what I was letting my self in for but have never looked back.
Classes were unusual in that they were in the dark. The mirrors may have something to do with it  but they got steamed up anyway. I allways got  a bike under the aircon as there were no fans.
Shower, home.
Wednesday: Northend ride. Spent most of the evening writing this post only to loose it. This was a day when only hardy souls and fools ride and I wonder which group I’d be put in.
The problem is ice the gritted roads are Ok but side roads are lethal for anything on two wheels.
I wheel the Iceni to Brimstage Road as it is icy underfoot. My front mudflap fell off by the Tudor Rose only for a car to run over it. The sun is low in the sky and it is a dangerous time to cycle on main roads. Side roads are out of bounds on a day like this too.
The Northend rides are heading out soon after I arrive, the CTC are hanging back as they are off to the ICF for Christmas Dinner. Northend is next Wednesday.
Saw lots today as there was time to take it all in, rode on my own as conditions meant a group was going to hit problems.
You need to be well dressed for conditions like this, I’m in the Bioracer winter bibtights, a  compression shirt (a bit like someones giving you a hug all day) and Steve Cummings’s Discovery Channel Winter training jacket. BBB winter gloves proved up to the job most of the day.

It’s my decision to ride on my own as i consider group riding too risky in these conditions. It proves to be well founded.

The A5117 upgrade is missing a few things like a cycle route in places, foreign lorries are getting pulled at the weighbridge. I’m trying to take an ice free route to the ICF, things are OK on the A roads that I don’t want to be on but off them things are dicy. I stop a Christleton to take a picture of the birds on the frozen ice, all this does is confirm how treacherous it is underfoot.

There is one moment by the two bridges before the Ice Cream Farm but by enlarge it is incident free but not without taking a lot of care. Peter and three others are about to leave as I arrive and the CTC are waiting for their riders to arrive. The CTC have had a number of falls and Allan advises me that the route I want to take back is treacherous. I see the group on the way out and they warn me about the ice.
Back to the Eureka via the A41, the Bike Factory ,Chester, the River Dee, Chester Racecourse and the Dee Cycle path.
The Northend had a load of fallers on the ice, Barry came in with his yellow crane sport jacket muddied, he’s only had it a day.
Cycled back home to take the mileage up to 50.
No spinning class as I was messing around on the Xbox.
Thursday: Turned up at West Kirby for the spinning class, sorted the bike out but Barbara is having trouble with the sound system. A lot of trouble. The maintenance guy gets called in and he can’t sort it. On of the girls from the class has a go but still no joy.
Time passes and some of the class leave to get on with other things. You just can’t spin to no music it just doesn’t work. Finally I have a look, Barbara swapped over the audio lead to the amp and we were back in business. Well it was for four of us as that was what was left for the rest of the class.
25 minute class then the gym for weights. Ran the proverbial mile (1.6 km) at 10 km/hr which had me burning 142 calories which doesn’t seem a lot considering I was at about 90%.
Thursday christmas shopping didn’t live up to what was promised.
WallE on  HD was good. Mags are full of Armstong on  the Tour or training or  anything, it’s silly seasion.
Friday: It was a toss up between riding the Ventoux or riding around the Wirral in the cold and biting wind. Ride around the Wirral won but not before I had to fix a puncture from Wednesday. I felt quick today but it was only the wind behind me.  Stopped at Morrisons and Vale Park, avoided the tacks on Telegraph Road by taking to the Road. All the phantom tacker has done is provided a load of repair work for the cycle shop in West Kirby. Called in at the bike shop in Moreton for patches and glue.
You’ve got to wonder what the score is with the wind turbines. It blowing a gale down the Mersey and all the Bootle ones are parked. Out in Liverpool Bay it doesn’t look much better.

It hasn’t been a good day for Garmin as both the 705 and the Forerunner50 start playing up.The 705 altimeter is going crazy showing daft elevtaion gains and gradients of 200% plus. The Forerunner 50 just kept reseting itself all the time.

Back home it was time to clean the bike before putting it away for next Wednesdays Northend Cristmas dinner at the Ice Cream Farm. After faffing around the chain came off thanks to the split link and got a thorough clean and now a wax lube. The wetlube was attracting too much grit.  30 miles and before I sign off I did the Northend Freewheel down Resthill. As I can’t make the event I thought I’d see how I fared. Well I got 10 feet past a molehill by the edge of the road on the righthand side. Just past the watersplash if it rains.
Saturday:  Work. Only another 3 days of this and I’m off for 20 maybe more. Been in touch with Garmin about the Forerunner 50 strap problem.
Sunday:  Work. Was going to avoid Liverpool as it was hosting BBC Sports Personality of the Year and I thought it would be packed. The car radio traffic report had me hanging a U as the Runcorn bridge was blocked. Got in just in time to see the British Cycle Team ride down the ramp. Voted for Chris Hoy.
Result, Chris Hoy won.
705 profile problem finally sorted thanks to Motionbased.

Monday: Spinning class at West Kirby. Sounds like they had a good night at the party. Altered the seat height another notch higher. Gym afterwards, ran 0.5km usual weights then hit the shower.
Picked up the BlueRay player from BlockBusters and set that up. Comes with 4 disks with two others from Sony.
Work for a meeting about my future role.
Home through the traffic, I was going to ride a Tacx dvd but it was getting on. Tried to play Hancock on the new player but it wouldn’t have it so I decided to update the software.
Big mistake it takes ages and is up to 3 out of 9 while I write this. Might not get to watch a film at this rate.
Bit of a poor show not being able to watch the films that come with it.
Tuesday: West Kirby for a spin and the gym. Cut my nose shaving and it looked like I had a nosebleed when it opened up during the class. Upped the weights and would feelit later.
The blue ray player final upgraded itself so we can finally watch Hancock.
Tacx setup for another ride.
Rode the Col de Azet and down the other side in an hour. Had a fan this time but it wasn’t big enough. It’s about 8% for most of it, cadence was about 80 rpm.  Still got a climb to do but maybe another day.
Now I could have done a spinning class but it wouldn’t have given the same sort of workout.
Wednesday: Ride day cancelled due to ice. Treacherous conditions mean it’s not even worth thinking about. Went to the gym when I’d scraped the ice off two cars. I was slipping and sliding walking to them.
Weight machines, crosstrainer for 15 mins. 2 Km row in 8:50.1 Santa run this Sunday but not for me as I’m in work. Treadmill for 5 km which went like this 1.6 km (proverbial mile)@ 9km/hr recovery 0.2 at 5, 1 km at 9 km 0.2 at 5, 0.8 at 9.0, 0.2 at 5 and the final km at 9 km/hr. Burnt 433 kcals. It’s about the length of the cross country run at school and I was hopeless at that always in the last 10.
A couple more weights, shower then home.
It’s still icy in the carpark where the sun hasn’t touched. 
Took things easy in the afternoon, read the Sunday times sorted the phone out.
Lifestyle and Weight management followup class.
A chance to meet another group going through the same course, these are four weeks into the first twelve weeks. There is a bit of scepticision about the exercise but that is what makes it a winner over dieting alone.  We’ll see who makes to the next one on 14 Jan 09.
Thursday: Trip to the gym if I’m not snowed in. Last day off, make the most it.  Maybe sort the CV out.
Half empty spinning class at West Kirby with a lot cancelling. Gym afterwards. Did 5 km on the rowing machine this took 24 minutes 50 seconds but only burnt 274 kcals which is exactly a Mars bar. It seemed like a lot of effort.
Ordered two Tacx DVDs and did a 50 minute training session on the I magic. Nothing too hard I thought maximum gradient is Only 3%. A few minutes in and I was wondering what it was going to throw at me next. Sweats pouring out of every pore of my body, forgot to switch the fan on, not that it does any good.
667 Kcals in 50 minutes at an average of 232 watts (max 505) Heartrate max of 172 which is getting near to my max. I’ll have to come up with some shorter ones as some of these look hard with a capital H.
Friday: Work. No spin no gym, its a long day in a place you don’t want to be in.
Saturday: Work. Two Tacx DVD’s arrived from Chain Reaction Cycles which was a really quick turn around.
Finally got to watch Mama Mia, good to watch something good and something I’ve lived through for a change.
Sunday: Work. Only one shift left but no early darts to the gym these days. Top gear when I got in.

Monday: Morning spinning class full so it was a trip to the gym instead. Cycle for 20 minutes and then a couple of sets on the weights. Did 500 metre intervals on the treadmill at 11 km/hr after last weeks twinge.
I’d set the distance to 5 km and it went quite well until the machine stopped dead and an error code came up on the display.
Ordered the Giant of Provence in HD for the Tacx. Busy weekend on the 705 side of the site. Had a look at the TCX files and found that the CoursePoints I’ve been using for rides are stored at the end of the file.
Put the TurboTrainer tyre on the Toy.
This led me to update the I-Magic software set the bike up, update the drivers  and then ride a course. Had a look at the Training side of it and rode a freeride.
Missed the spinning class a West Kirby but this was just as hard. It looks brilliant on a wide screen. Sweating buckets.
Mama-Mia out on DVD today sold out of everywhere.  Saw Casino Royale on BlueRay at Cheshire Oaks yesterday so it looks like it is going to be a BlueRay Christmas. Seemingly good bundle on at Blockbusters.
Tuesday: Morning spinning class at West Kirby.  Had a really good go at this class, max was 178 bpm average was 152 bpm. Gym afterwards, usual weight machines then the treadmill. Still seeing how I’d do in a 5km run. Ran 3km at 9km/hr

 

Stopped at 3 Km for 500 metre walk at 5km then started off again at 10 km/hr. This had the heartrate up at 160 bpm so I backed the speed off to 9 km/hr again. I’m going to have to get some earphones as it’s quite boring and you tend to get a number fixation watching the numbers flick over.
2 Km slow row afterwards in 9:45 and I was done.
Speeding ticket for Val in the post. Checked out the Iceni for tommorow and set up Vals bike on the Minoura turbo trainer.
Wednesday: Ride day. It was pretty grim going out to the Eureka with a fine drizzle requireing full wet gear. Breakfast at the Eureka and then it’s a question of what group to go out with. Ended up going out with Clive, Paul, Clockey and Joey which is fast company which translates in to about 28 km/hr average.
Once Paul had left for work it was apparent I was holding them up so I turned off for the IceCream Farm.
Not before Clive told me my position was wrong.
I need to adopt a racing position with a higher seat height for a start.  Clive suggests 3mm higher which I thought wouldn’t do anything for me. Then seat position and then a different stem.

Tea and a scone at the ICF, sally is just leaving and when I’m about to leave the other ride turn up so I stay.
Looks like it is going to be a Garmin christmas as Mary asks me which map to get. As they are off to Majorca for training holidays it would have to be City Navigator Europe.

Once I topped the bottle up I stuck 5mm onto the seat height and headed off to catch the Northend.
The difference was amazing, hats off to Clive. Clive for those that don’t know is a World Track Champ.
Typical route back to the Eureka, the roads now open from the mornings closure. Three blokes in balaclavas drove into a lorry while being chased by the police. One dead, one injured and one on the run.
Looking at the car on the news I’m surprised anyone got out of it.

Out of the Eureka with the sun going down it felt a bit chilly. Not  bad day out, 60 miles which is good for winter. The clothing wants a bit of fine tuning, bibtights fine and they should be but the thermal jersey may need another wicking layer. They Montane jacket was good but still leaves you damp when you stop.

Back to the Ice Cream Farm in December they are serving All Day Breakfasts 9:00 till 12:00. These are full hit jobs and Maxines breakfast put Franks breakfast at the Eureka to shame. Two eggs and more bacon. It went down well, the Eureka Breakfast was the fuel for my ride although I’ve been told I’m doing it the wrong way round. Basically I ride out to the Eureka on water not having anything pre ride other than the Eureka breakfast that has served me well. It does fit in with my portion plan so why disturb something that works.

No spin tonight, take things easy as things are about to get tougher.

Thursday: Work. End of the month and lots going on. Maybe the Tacx when I get in. The Ventoux dvd is due soon, why do I pick the bloody hard cat 1 ones. No Tacx but more cycling agro in the Globe this time from a cyclist going on about walkers on cycle lanes. It could be worse I could ride a horse they are really getting it in the neck. Big lance Armstrong feature in the comic, I picked up the last copy in the Coop which hasn’t gone under.
Back to the comic, the rides section has a bit about Lancashire rides which brings up the local differences.
Friday: Work. Considering how many Chiefs there are and so few Indians you wonder how anything gets done. In next Monday to state my case, not expecting a result, the whole place is a farce.

Northend Dinner and Presentation after work, a good evening.  Tempo had Scotts river crossing on his phone which went down well.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vrKRqej0BBo

Saturday: Work. 
Sunday: Work.  The less said the better.
On a brighter note it’s time to catch up on the blog, update Stan’s post and give him a link as he deserves more for the effort he puts in.  The low seat height has been the highlight of the week, it was an amazing difference for someone that rides a couple of thousand miles a year.
Topgear after work and Louise Theroux after that, Skysports now have a cycling section now they are sponsoring it.

Monday: Appointment with the practice nurse for a followup BP reading. It was borderline high last month so I went out and bought the Lloyds Blood Pressure Monitor BPII. Been monitoring for the last three weeks and looking at the readings I would say it was up compared with a cuff BP monitor.
A 9:20 appointment was going to shape the day.
Surprised that it was 126/75 on the practice machine and much the same with a manual reading.
Scare over, I’d put it down to the Lloyds machine engineered not to give a false positive. It can’t read low as you would think that you were fit and healthy when the opposite was true. 
Cleaned the Iceni and found the rear wheel bearings dry so it was off to see Colin at Wheelbase for a cone spanner.
Called in at the Oval to see what’s on. Spinning classes start in January.
Booked in for the evening class at West Kirby. Barbara asked how last night went, which was well as I woke up with a twinge in places I don’t usually get them. Shower and home.
Tuesday:  Knew I shouldn’t have had a Thai takeaway last night as the scales don’t lie. Faffed around trying to get some matching kit for the morning spin and gym session. Missed breakfast but had some malt loaf and a banana and apple after the first class.
Gym afterwards, weights and 2km on the Concept2 rowing machine. 8:15 which is 45 seconds faster than last week. This requires a lot more effort with a stroke rate at 41 at the beginning. As the row went on the stroke rate dropped but the ETA also dropped as my efficiency at rowing went up.
I’ve been toying with the idea of doing the Santa run in Liverpool from last Saturdays chat with Dave and Carolyn at the Eureka.
The idea was to see if I could do the distance. Started off at a slower pace and it seemed to be taking an age, upped the pace a bit and started to get a twinge in the ankle so rather than soldier on I stopped. I’m not looking to pick up an injury. Shower, home, blog then sort the wheel out.

The greasing of the rear wheel bearings went OK if a little messy. The cassette got cleaned but the freewheel feels like it wants sorting out. The bottom bracket felt rough so it was off to Colin at Wheelbase for another one.  Was going to go to Europa Pools  for a spin but had a call about what’s happening at work.
There is an envelope for me tomorrow with what shift pattern I’m doing, if it’s two days two nights I’m looking for another job. That shift is a killer with regards to disrupted sleep patterns.
Wednesday: Work, not looking forward to this block. The Iceni is set up for a ride when I get home that’s if I’m up to it. The envelope said Days which wouldn’t be too bad if it wasn’t for a 25% paycut that comes with it. Never known a place that puts so many square pegs in round holes.
Oncall for the last time.
The bikeride didn’t happen. Found out there is a 100 CoursePoint limit in the Edge series.
Thursday: Work. Another black book entry.  A trip to A and E to see my dad. Picked up the comic but haven’t read it.  Booked a block of 20 days off over xmas and still have time owed. Work life balance has swung the wrong way. Looks like time to move on and the time will be of my choosing.
Friday: Work.
Saturday: Work.
Sunday: Off, Jack day. Borders for a cycling mag. Weather dire but see Roy and Joan out on the way home.

Monday: Morning spinning class at West Kirby. I had a good go at this one with the average heartrate at 150 bpm with a max of 180 BPM which is just short of my max of 184. Buried myself in the final sprint.
Had a Lucozade sport afterwards to replace some salt.
Gym for some weights and a row onthe Concept 2 rowing machine. 2 km in 9:01.6 so didn’t break the 9 minute barrier.
Blockbusters for the new Indiana Jones DVD which was £2.50 with a free bag of popcorn. Can’t figure Blockbusters out at times. Current rental is £3.95 for 1 night. Tesco are now selling DVD’s for £3 that I paid more to rent.
Tuesday: Work. Got caught out by the Jerrico Lane sewer collapse. On call. Garmin 705 Ver2.50 update using webupdater, thanks for the comment Joe.
Also TCX converter has a new version that looks good. If you have a 705 you want to try out this software.
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.visivaworld.it%2Fblog.php%2Ftcx-converter-by-ddaaxx%2Fgeneral&langpair=it%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8 
Tacx was going to get set up but it didn’t happen.
Wednesday: Work. On call, blog updating.
Thursday: Work. Northend monthly meeting. A chance to test the lights out.  Car had crashed on the way to work. Power cut took out all the systems at work out. Picked up the comic on the way home and had a look before I went out.
Cateye El830 for the ride to the meeting but the 610 on the back played up with a poor battery connection. Spent 5 minutes trying to split the thing in two before I sussed out the sliding battery comparment.
The El830 bracket is not the best in the world on a normal stem.  Decent spread of light, could do with doing a light comparison.
Daves still having trouble doing a Course on his 305 using BikeRouteToaster so I’ll dig out the 305 and see if there are any pitfalls.
Friday: Funnily enough Work. Bailed out  at 4:30 using up time owed. Spinning class at West Kirby, notable for how hard I had to go to get the heartrate up. literally two zones down, started off slow and that sort of set things up for the rest of the class. 
Saturday: Ride day. Rode to the Eureka, missed all the rides so had breakfast. Joined by Carolyn and Dave and talked about Tacx,s and Garmins among other things. The phantom tacker came up too. I was going to do a short ride and see some of the cycle shops. As it turned out I had a puncture when I came out I knew I shouldn’t have mentioned them inside. No tacks but a piece of glass hadpierced the carcass. Found I hadn’t brought any tubes so patched it. Borrowed the shop track pump to stick 100 PSI into it.
Then it was off to Eureka CycleSports to look at some winter bibtights. The Aldi ones are OK but the fit is a bit baggy. Went through what was instock and ended up trying a pair of BioRacer ones. They were that good I didn’t take them off. Not cheap. Then of to Deeside for a shirt. Home via the missing Link, turned out to be 43 kms which wasn’t bad.
Sunday: Feed the ducks day. Tide was in at Antony Gormleys Another Place with a lot of the figures submerged.
Garmin AntAgent missing so no Forerunner downloads for the last few days. Also had a problem with a map for a 705 comment reply.
Xbox for an hour then off to West Kirby for a Spinning class. No Barbara tonight as Alex a Pilates Instructor is taking the class.
Totally different structure to the class, a lot more about core muscles and posture. More stretching than we normally do. It just emphasises the motto about a need to vary ones routine.
Decent end to the week, blood pressure reading tommorow. Won a Tour de France London 2007 jacket on ebay.

Monday: Work. On call. Not much to do but search for some decent lighting reviews. Charged up some batteries for a test of the Camelion Charger for the 705.
Tuesday: Work. On call again.  Half discharged the 705 it took 2 2000ma/hr AA batteries to get it back to full so wants a bit of looking into before I do an article on it.
Wednesday: Work. Spin class at Europa Pools, just. Spent an hour getting home due to hitting traffic on Runcorn bridge.  It was a split second decision whether to set the Tacx up and change the tyre or jump in the car and get to Europa Pools for Sheila’s class. Sheila won out. Had a good class with 17 mins in zone 3 and 12 minutes in zone 4. Sheila uses a radio mike which gives her a lot of control over a small class.
Splitting the class brings a bit of competition.  I did a search on YouTube for spinning last night and the JonnyG classes came up.  ( more later)
Again sections where the aim was posture and technique. Shower and home.
Blog and watch Axemen and Paul Merton.
Thursday: Work. Spinning class at West Kirby, shower and home. Picked up the comic on the way home along with a 69p pineapple from Aldi only to see it all over the TV when I got home.
Friday: Off.  Lost a kg. Had a look through the Wirral News and there is a letter from someone who got a parking ticket at 18:20 at Europa Pools.  I’ve mentioned before that this is the last carpark before they clock off at 6:30 at Hamilton Square. With winter here they’ll be inside out of the weather waiting for some one else to take a chance.  Minimum time is an hour which is £1 compared to West Kirby which is 30p.
Went to watch Quantum of Solace. Might need to watch it again before I pass judgement. Good film though.
Spinning class at West Kirby, another two first timers signing the death warrant.
They got through Ok but complained of sore backsides as virtually everyone does.  Tesco’s for some gel saddles I think. Shower, home.
Saturday:  Ride day, checked the bike out yesterday. Winter bike it is, rear lights and maybe a headlight.
Turned up at the Eureka slightly late and it was full of Northenders. Had my breakfast as I rode out  on empty. Three rides going out today, I’d opted to go on an ICF (Ice Cream Farm) ride. There was a lot of mud on the road on this ride with everyone opting to ride with mudguards except the first timer on the ride.
Depending on what  you are looking for this was one of a 100 ways to  reach the Ice Cream Farm.
I’ve done a pretty similar route with the Northen about a year ago. The Capenhurst lane route that is a given from the Eureka depending on what direction you are heading out was particulary muddy.
When I say mud, there were six inch clumps  of it from tractor wheels dotted around the road.
Our progress was slower along with the motorists that were stuck behind. There was a few bits of inconsiderate driving the most notable being around just before the pond at Christleton.

A prat of a boy racer seems to wants to take chunks out of me and the first timer I’m talking to. Being tailgunner for this section of the ride this means I’m on the back. There is a bit of a split around Waverton with a couple taking a more direct route to the Ice Cream Farm. With a bit of a U turn I ended up with the original group.

Being a member of a big club means you get the choice of at least three rides on a Saturday. Ours would be classed as a ‘B’ ride but it didn’t stop us nearly catching the ‘A’ ride at Backford trafficlights and passing them when one suffered a puncture. Thats the thing with club riding, the larger the group the more chance there is to go wrong.

Riding through Cheshire at this time of year means the roads are pretty snotty due to all the hedge cutting (punctures) and ploughing (mud).  Mudflaps on the counter at the Eureka for 50p (for charity) just confirm it. 

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/31260886@N02/3016848352/” title=”IceCreamFarm 002 by Frank Kinlan, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3205/3016848352_3295228c9a.jpg” width=”500″ height=”375″ alt=”IceCreamFarm 002″ /></a>

It was dry on the way back but we did have a split crossing the A41. This led to half of us taking the Chester cycle path back to the Eureka with us using the new A5117 bridge.

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/31260886@N02/3016849788/” title=”IceCreamFarm 003 by Frank Kinlan, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3242/3016849788_629e979cb1.jpg” width=”500″ height=”375″ alt=”IceCreamFarm 003″ /></a>

Had a really good day, more later…….

Monday: Work: I’ve had better days, another entry in the black book. Once your in the black book that’s it, your going to find it very hard to get out of it. 
That aside I spent an hour in traffic getting to Europa Pools, spent 30 mins in the Gym trying to get on machines in peak time.  9  in Louise’s Spinning class tonight, a couple that I do recognise and and a couple that are new to me.  Profile of the class looks good. Upped the speed work a bit but still can’t match Louises level.  Put this girl on a bike and she would fly.
Watched Ironman, better than I expected.
Tuesday: Morning spin at West Kirby planed with a gym session after. Wish I hadn’t signed up to Tesco Diets dot com or more specifically not given them my email address. They keep bombarding me with I should be 63  to 81kg rubbish and a BMI of 23. Dream on. BMI 26. I have stopped the mail for what it is worth by the way. Got the time of the class wrong and forgot the hand towel in the rush. Missed breakfast and had to have some fairtrade orange out the machine after the class. Gym afterwards. Weather grim. Lost a kilo. Washed two kits as I’ve got on tonights class too. A couple do the two back to back morning spinning classes which would take some doing.
Shouldn’t have missed breakfast this morning as I felt rotten in the afternoon.  Evening class had a couple more blokes in it, but doing two classes does take it out of you and you can’t do your best on the second.
Roads are gritted for the overnight frost so it doesn’t look to promising for tomorrow. Time to get the Tacx turbo out and do the Pyrenees.
Wednesday: Ride day, sort out the winter kit first.  Found one glove of three pairs  so it’s going to be that sort of day. Same with overshoes. I’ve a cupboard stuffed with the stuff. This sets me back a bit and a check with the weather forecast means it’s a dress warm day. This mean Crane Sport Winter Bib trouser from last year, Discovery Channel Winter Jersey and this years Crane Bike winter cycling jacket. This was it’s first outing and it proved to be very good, the chest pocket for a wallet proving a big improvement. Longer fitted sleeves with a zip mean they proved a good match with the pair of Crane Sports Cycling gloves. 
When I eventually got on the road I was cruising down the top road with the Edge bleeping away as I was still on a course from the other day.
You can imagine my surprise when Olympian, Barloworld Pro Cycling Team Rider Steve Cummings goes past along with Gavin. Opportunities like this don’t grow on trees so I grabbed a wheel. 
Should have took a picture of this. Eureka was packed with the 10 o’clock rides just about to go out.
A mix up with my order for breakfast meant I missed all the rides and there were 4 Northend groups going out today.
Looks like a group of big hitters were going out with Steve.

Breakfast in me it was time to get out on a solo ride. Opted to go to the Ice Cream Farm, went down Rake Lane for the first time to join more familiar routes later on.  Passed the Crocky Trail which was busy as it half term which was surprising at it was a bitter day. This was also the case at the Ice Cream farm but with toddlers.
There were a few cyclists but it was mothers, kids and grandparents mainly. The little lad on the table next to me blurts out ” Grandad are you going to take your teeth out in the car”  a couple of times. Well there is no answer to that and it did raise a few smiles. 
Just as I’m about to leave  Carol and Mary and the Northend arrive with two first timers with them.
One of them has a Trek 1.2 that I looked at last week. Made my own way back after the stop via Chester, the cyclepath and the new A5117 bridge. This gave good views of a snow capped Moel Vamau. This bridge is a godsend to cyclists using the Eureka as you don’t have to cross the dual carriage way anymore.

Back at the Eureka I have a chat with Keith Boardman who asks for one of the cards with the site address on it. It was Route56 on the way home via Willaston.

What I haven’t mentioned was how the clothing performed all day and it was a bitter day. Winter bibtights were good but I don’t get on with the chamois. Crane Bike jacket gets good marks, the jacket front is windproof, the arms are not totally windproof and you may notice it at times. That’s when you need a windshell. BBB neoprene overshoes performed well and the Crane Sports cloves were good up to a point.
With hail on the fields from the previous night there were times when the hands were cold, if things go any lower I’ll put another layer on and take a set of warmer cloves out.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/1207239
53 miles.

LifeStyle and Weight Management Course followup class. 5 off us turned up  to Ron’s class, I’m still learning things every month from these classes and tonight it was about crunches and what a waste of time situps are.

Picked up a puncture on the ride, not the phantom tacker but hedge cutting by the Thatch (Raby).
Still a struggle getting the Conti tyres off.

Thursday: Last nights Thai takeaway had me back where I started the week. 10 mins in the Gym morning spinning class, weights and ran a mile 10.5 km/hr to start but backed off to 10 km/hr after 1km.
Bought the comic on the way home and some cycling mags in the afternoon after I had repaired yesterdays puncture. Evening class, upload the data to Training Centre and out for a Northend club night. Sould be able to set up the Tacx in the office now it is clear of all the kitchen stuff. Gritters out again.
Friday: Changed the oil on the Polo which isn’t a five minute job as there is an engine cover to drop and clearance is restricted. Should have had this as a rest day as the Friday spinning class was well down. The bike has a resistance setting like a light switch.

Tested coursepoints at night for the 705 on the way home. Cheated by doing it in the car. BP OK.
Watched the UCI track champs on BBC2 digital. Some empty seats, and it was sold out months ago.
Saturday: Took the day off. Had a play on the Xbox and went to Maplin to buy one of the Camelion Cell Phone Powersticks for £3. Works well and even comes with a bag that you could tie to the handlebars.
Track champs on Beeb 2.
Sunday:

Monday:  First the bad news the blood pressure is up, I haven’t been checking it like I should have been assuming it was OK. The good news is the glass finally arrived. Read the CTC magazine and there was an article from Peak Audax about the the audax from Cheadle to the Eureka and back.
Don’t know whether it wise to drive out to Cheadle then cycle to the Eureka, cycle back and drive home.
It’s a nice ride by the way.
Managed to get a spinning class at West Kirby had a good go with a 177 bpm burst at the end.
BP not helped by frequenting takeaways while the kitchen is being done.
Tuesday: Booked in for Barbara’s first class, BP the right side of 90. Gym afterwards, did a program on the side stepper that proved harder than it looks much of it spent at 300 watts which gets a good sweat on.
2 Km row in 9:05 which is relaxed. Weights, shower and home. Told one of the class about this blog and the lifestyle and weight management course.
There has been a bit of a pattern in the weight swings over the last few months, I work 4 on 4 off. My weight rises on the days I am in work mainly due the the latte Costa Coffees and the complete lack of exercise. A twelve hour shift with 40 mins travelling each way doesn’t leave a lot of time for that 30 mins of exercise we all should be doing. 4 off no problem, it all goes down here.
New music for Barbara’s class tomorrow so no more finishing to dooby dooby do, dooby dooby da.
Aldi for some lunch on the way home had them dishing out mince pies.
Picked some bits up for the car, looked at some expensive stuff at the Cycle Surgery and went for another spinning class at Europa Pools. First class 6:30.
Still too many not turning up for classes here too.
Mapei kit tonight as the Disco kit is in the wash. You get a few odd looks in Birkenhead wearing this kit.
A couple of machines in the gym before the class. 
One newcomer in the class tonight with a couple of regulars. Louise’s classes are good as she is always on the bike and makes sure everyone has some tension in on the climbs.  Had some feedback from one of the class about the site. She turned up this week with her own fan, see what you’ve started Hanni.
Listened to Radio 4 on the way home and punctures came up again for the second time today. Stayed in the car to listen to the end of this one as it was so relevant to what’s happening. I’ll put it in the new CTC page when I get around to writing it.

The talk I had with the woman from Barbara’s spinning class did have some benefit. She wanted to go out with a group but not a club as club riders are too fast. I mentioned the CTC and the slower pace and did mention mudguards and punctures.  No mudguards meant it was a mountain bike so the tyre issue comes up. You need slick tyres to stay with a group on road bikes. Next thing is punctures. The phantom tacker came into the conversation. I carry two tubes and a puncture outfit as I have to be self sufficient on a ride.
A leisure rider carries nothing as it is a phone call or pack the bikes onto the back of the car if things go wrong.

The CTC ran women’s beginner rides this year as there is a picture in the Link mag I’ve just received.

If your a woman looking to expand your cycling you need to be self sufficent. There are Knights in shining armour out there but you need to be carrying a tube, a pump some tyre levers and a puncture outfit and a pair of tweezers. If you carry less it’s  a walk back to where you started and even 8 miles is a long walk. 
Practice at home first as there is a technique and a cold wet day is not the best time to try to fix a puncture, trust me.

Wednesday: Ride day, desperate for a ride. Definite chill to the air these days may mean going out in the winter kit. It started off bad as I was running late jumped on the Toy only to find the battery flat on the 705. Luckily the 305 was charged up but it took an age to get satellite lock.
The Eureka was packed when I got there and it looked like I wasn’t going to get a ride as I hadn’t had breakfast. Ray came over to rib me about it. I was going to go out with Barry and Stuart to the Ice Cream Farm but caught up with Carols group going to Rose Farm Cafe. There were 13 of us in all and it proved to be a good day. It was a steady pace sticking together until the hills where you could see who was on form and who was not.
Once at the Cafe it was full of Northenders and another cycling club who were into all day breakfasts. With the economy going tits up this cafe would have had 1 customer not 20 odd.  Back to the Eureka is all downhill, Carol takes us on to the Chester Cycle path and we went across the new A5117 bridge which has really smooth tarmac. Once the sort the rest of the lane out this promises to be a top class route. Maybe the last time for bibshorts as most were dressed for rain .
About 57 miles as I forgot a stretch of logging to Backford.  Back home through Willaston and Route 56.  A great day out at the end of the season.

Shopping for bits for the new kitchen then booked a place on Barbara’s spinning class.
Run Fat Boy Run has brought about a spinning class boom here. 6 first timers tonight, two groups of three. Give Barbara her due she did look after them and they weren’t wasted at the end of it.
They did have to sign the death warrant though.
New music tonight, but it’s basically the same format sprint, hillclimb, chestpress etc finished off with a big sprint.
Great day out, woke up the right side of 86 Kg so the plan does work.
One of the Sunlight was on the bike next to me at the Gym.
Thursday: Weight the right side of 86kg and the BP the right side of 90(high normal) so back on the Ramipril. Weather turning for the worse means the car won’t get it’s service today.
 Spin, Gym. Garmin at the Bike Factory in the evening. Get your questions in fast if you want me to bring them up.
Phantom Tacker claimed another victim in the same spot on Telegraph Road cycle path that claimed me. I was under the impression I’d missed the extra tacks by not examining the repair thoroughly , this put a new perspective on this nutter.  10 minutes in the Gym and then Barbara’s spinning class.
With the new music and a sprint early on the profile is quite different to the way they were.
Picked up the comic on the way home.
Off to the Bike Factory for their open evening, Madison who distribute Garmin were there along with memory map.  Hopefully they will get back to me having viewed the site. Garmin themselves weren’t there unfortunately. Explained the importance of CoursePoints and how Garmin don’t support them with any of the planning software. MemoryMap is in the same boat.
Then Dave Newbie came in raised the missing 3rd bike problem on his 305 and said Garmin should be giving me free stuff for the amount of effort I put in helping them out.
The brocken bracket problem got raised as everyone is suffering from the odd broken tab.
Then it was in to tryout the Elite turbo trainer they had set on Alpe de Huez. Very similar to the Tacx unit I have i.e hard work if you do the full ride.
Spoke to the SIS chap about the different energy drinks and then it was home. Some very nice bikes on show with a Trek 1.2 with mudguards and lights being sold as a winter trainer.
The Specialised Time Trial bike in the window was £4500, I make do with a £30 set of tribars.
Friday: Work
Saturday: Work
Sunday: Work

There was an article on audaxing in Sunday Times Ingear section. It features a weekly cycling section which isn’t a bad read.
This was the Cartoon to go with the article. Thought it that good I cut it out.

Monday: Waited in all day for the windows to turn up, did some plastering. Windows came at 5 but no glass. Got a place in the 6 o’clock spinning class thinking it was a 6.15 start so missed 5 minutes of it.
The lack of glass could mean me missing my class tommorow morning.
Just had a go at the TescoDiets.com BMI calculator which puts me in the overweight catagory with a BMI of 26 and also comes up with a healthy range of 65kg to 81kg. With a calorie input of only 1800 cals a day.
65kg seems unreasonable as I would be less than half my max weight.
I was 82 kg last year and had top form, to get down to say 80 kg would mean a change of plan with a lot more exercise built into the plan. 65 kg is just out of the question there would be bugger all of me.
I can live with a BMI of 26 there are a lot out there that are in a lot worse shape than I am. It also had me on 1800 calories a day which is 700 less than what I’m on now.
Back to Work on Thursday, hope to get in a Northend Ride on Wednesday.
Tuesday:  No glass delivery today. Now scheduled for Wednesday so no ride tommorow by the looks of things. Spin and gym at West Kirby. CTC section AGM at Willaston tonight. Had word back that the Mills Hills Audax is 3050 Metres of climbing. It looks like I threw in an extra loop around Derwen.
Two Mills section going as a sub group of Chester and NorthWales Da.
I’ve rode the events this year but little else.
Wednesday: Another wasted day waiting in for the glass, turned out the order hadn’t been processed. Now due on Monday.  Read Cycling plus with a patchy GPS shootout. Much the same findings as here, phones OK but poor battery life. Doesn’t go into enough detail IMHO.  Read the reviews of next years bikes.
Europa Pools for the Gym first then a spinning class. West Kirby full but last week there were 9 empty bikes. I need a change of music too.
The phantom tacker has made the Wirral Globe so there must have been a lot more victims than me, Dave and the chap in the article.
Back to tonights spinning class, the bikes were not set up and we are not allowed to set them up.
Sheila gave a good class with plenty of attention to posture, also splitting the class in half to have one half out the saddle with the other half seated for sets of eight, four, two and singles in no particular order.
The blog gets a mention so I’m under threat if don’t give it a good write up. Dasah was back spinning five months after giving birth to a baby girl.  2km on the Concept 2 rower beforehand. Gave the link out to the girl on the next bike seeing as Sheila kept on about the blog.
Just what I needed, a change of pace. Shower and home.
Thursday: First day back at work. Been off for 12, felt like I was retired. Nowt has changed, stuck with signing and dating empty boxes by the score. No kitchen means another takeaway. Iceroad truckers for TV and catch up on the comic. Updated Blog. Tour route for 2009 is leaking out and with a Monaco start, a finish in Barcellona and a Ventoux finish. Armstrong sounding doubtfull of a start for the Tour is ominous.

Interesting piece in the comic by Dave Lloyd riding the Spud Riley Memorial Ride. Written in the CW style of always being in the break it panders to the CW regulars. You get to see Dave if you ride  Cheshire or North Wales. A set of aero wheels and riding on his own are his style. Not to everyones taste but who can dispute his record. It fills column inches and links in to those at the top of the tree.
For the likes of me where riding the Mills Hills Audax was up there in the top 3 rides of the year it doesn’t compare. About 12 of us rode the event, I was out there for 10 hours 20 minutes. There is no break in a field of a dozen. I had a really good day with just me against North Wales and Snowdonia’s finest.
I like to read about it but the reality is I’m the guy who has a puncture and is struggling to make the time limit. I had a really good day and still rate an Audax over a Sportive. Costs less, you get a cafe stop or two and get a brevet card at the end of it. I’d hate to see this ride fold through lack of support. The problem being it is up against the Cat and Fiddle Challenge on the same day which with sportive tag attracts hundreds.  
Friday: Work. Woke up to the computer having updated itself and AntAgent working again as the Forerunner 50 paired with the computer for the first time in a week. I spend about an hour a night  getting to grips with reader comments. Some sections are really busy like the 705 page. Others get a constant stream of hits like “Aldi cycling gloves”. This is an old post for me but it still there in the top ten. Spending an inordanant amout of time trying to get grips Garmin .CRS files as they are not 705 friendly.
Saturday: Work. On call. Blog.
Sunday: Work. Sorted Garmin Course conversions out for the 705 section. Added the above Audax cartoon.
Going to add another page to Cycling Section  in due course.
Ride wise a dire week, should have been out Wednesday but wasted a day waiting for glass that wasn’t ordered never mind made. It should turn up tomorrow morning and I’ve got that appointment for my blood pressure.