I can't think...!

Can you think on the bike? I don't mean simply to function ("there's a car", "that pothole looks nasty", "how long till a cake stop?") but actually think about more important things?

I went out on a ride into the Surrey Hills today to try and get my head around my next career steps. I was made redundant from my last job (I was based in a large bank and was, like many, a credit crunch victim) and have found that work is becoming harder to pick up. So today was supposed to be a gentle spin of the legs in lovely countryside to stimulate the old grey matter and come up with some ideas as to what I might do if the lack of work continues for an extended length of time (developing a 'Plan B'). Ideally I will pick up some more business analysis work, but the current economic climate might dictate a more dramatic shift towards new career opportunities.

Having now reflected on my ride, I can categorically state that I cannot think on the bike. It's impossible! To get to a place where I can think creatively means switching off such vital defence mechanisms as anticipation and heightened awareness. I remember a book (well, I remember the content of a book rather than the title of the book) that was given to everyone by the founding director when I worked in an internet design agency, which advocated essentially 'switching off' when trying to solve a problem, assuming that you had first tried to analyse the problem from every angle and had spent sufficient time absorbed in the problem-solving activity. The basic assumption was that you needed some mental 'distance' from the problem-solving activity in order to come up with the unique solution. It always reminded me of a passage in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (well, one of the latter books by Douglas Adams anyway) where Arthur Dent was learning to fly. According to the book we all have an innate ability to fly, but the knack lies in "learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss". Well, Arthur managed it by being distracted at last moment, forgetting he was in mid-air and consequently soaring skywards.

So maybe I was unable to come up with a solution to my current work predicament whilst on the bike because I wasn't suitably distracted, and was still trying too hard to find the solution. Sounds like a bit of a cop-out though, doesn't it?

On another note, I received some pictures from a clubmate of his bike following a 'dispute' he and another rider had with a moving vehicle (driver pulled out from a side road in front of them on a long descent). Luckily they avoided major injury. I'll have to ask him if he was trying to solve a problem at the time and whether he had any 'lightbulb moment'. At least some thought other than "how will I get back from the hospital". RIP, Jamie's Colnago...




Think I'll try and do my thinking off the bike from now on.

Turbo Trainer Trials

I've often wondered why training on the turbo seems so much harder than on the road. Is it because there's no change in scenery? Because intervals are the main reason for jumping on the trainer? The weather is too inclement to do proper riding?

No - none of the above. Instead I've made a rod for my own back. I've told the family (and specifically my wife) that I enjoy cycling on the turbo. This was a necessary statement to avoid the impression that I was actually mad. You see, it wouldn't take much (read: at all) to give me the excuse not to turbo train. The mere thought of a comment along the lines of "Why don't you just take a break for the day - you don't really enjoy it" would be enough for me to kick off the Specializeds and pull on the slippers. So I have to grin and bear it if I want to improve my fitness. That means literally grinning each time my wife or the kids look out of the window (I do my turbo training in the garden to at least get some fresh air). Grinning back when my HR is at 98% of max. Grinning when my legs are screaming at me. Grinning when I've just started an interval for 3 minutes aiming for 353W (so much harder on the turbo that on the road) and, instead of Metallica or Fatboy Slim to motivate me, my daughter's party music takes over on the iPod and I get Steps' Don't Stop Moving - how the hell did that get onto the playlist? In fact it isn't too bad, but wrong tempo. See, the turbo will make you admit to everything!

For the record, I decided to do a 20 minute max effort as a marker to see if I've improved over the past 3 months. Rather gratified to find out that the power has increased over the 20 minutes by 25 watts - not going to break any records, but might be useful in that stylish, race-winning break!

Incidentally the picture was taken in February this year, just after the major snowfall in London - nothing like being chased by Frosty the Snowman for motivating you to pedal faster!

My Isaac

A quick post to show my 'for best' bike, with flat-course race wheels fitted. I love my Isaac - fast, comfortable and, most importantly, looks stunning. Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder! If I were an aesthete the saddle would be replaced with a white Selle Italia SLR XP, but for me the black version will do. I've never been one to slavishly follow the cycling fashion (for instance I don't shave my legs, a habit I view as slightly ridiculous, but that's another story) and really do not see why bar tape and saddle have to match.

I very recently got the bike back from Sigma Sport following the Isaac recall to inspect the steerer tube for damage and have the spacer height reduced by 1cm - I'm fitter and more flexible than I was when I was measured for the bike over a year ago. I took the opportunity to fit new stem and bars (3T Arx and Ergosum 'compact' bars, which are really, really comfortable) and replace the old ITM Millennium deep-drop bars, which I could never get on with. Poor advice from the bike shop when I was fitted, I think - too much emphasis on the measurements of the frame, ignoring the dimensions of the bars (reach, drop, etc).

What type of rider are you?

I completed my first road cycle race on Sunday (Surrey League Kirdford 3rds). Not my first road race ever, but the first one I've finished (the actual first race involved me breaking my rear wheel on a pothole on the final lap after 50 miles of racing - talk about frustrating). Just finishing gave me a little buzz, but has led me to reflect on the type of rider I am. And the conclusion I arrived at is:

Too polite (if that can be termed a type)

I felt that I had the legs to do better, my lungs weren't hurting, I felt confident and very aware of what was happening in the race (it sounds odd to say that I was 'aware', but there are riders who are so obviously blinkered in pursuit of victory that they lose the ability to predict others' movements). But rather than close a gap and prevent another rider from moving in, I am too willing to be sensible and give them the chance to get back onto the left hand side of the road. Note to self - need to get a bit more aggressive.

I suppose I always hoped winning (or coming in the top 10) would be as a result of silky acceleration, deft handling and sustained power in a breakaway. I used to (and still do) think a classy second place is better than a ramshackle victory. And by classy I mean stylish. Think Bjorn Borg over John McEnroe, or a slick 50-yard pass by Glen Hoddle (before he went all 'Come on Eileen') rather than a Bryan Robson surge. If I want to have any success this season, I have to either get in a break and cruise to victory, or abandon all pretensions of style and grub around for points in sprints. No prizes for guessing which is the more likely!

Aha - my blog

So I've decided to do a bit of blogging. Mainly about cycling, and my attempts to gain points as a new 3rd Cat rider with London Dynamo. But not exclusively about cycling. I don't want this to turn into another of those blogs that details the minutiae of every training program (yes, I am following one), every power reading (yes, I use a powertap as well) and every race (and again, yes, I race when possible and could easily blather on about the tactics, my luck or lack of it, equipment and other riders). There seems to be a certain level of hubris in assuming that other people will be interested in the training and riding details of someone they have:

a) never met
b) probably will never meet, and
c) no background info with which to determine the truthfulness of all the claims

Oh, and by the way, I rode 60 miles in the Surrey Hills yesterday, average power 280W, average speed 20mph. See, absolute cobblers!

As I have family, am currently looking for work, want to move house, plan to write about random thoughts that pop into my head, etc, I will probably include various musings, chatterings, twitterings and general burbling on these and other subjects...