Nearly Christmas

Christmas cheer is nearly here! Winter has arrived as well, perfectly timed to coincide with my slack cycling period – motivation seems to go out of the window in December. My commute becomes a bit of a trial and I tend to be just about warmed up by the time I arrive at work, which I’m sure does my fitness no good whatsoever. In fact there have only been a few instances when I have pushed myself – mainly on the turbo in the garden doing 2x20 minutes or long steady intervals, and once at the Hillingdon Imperial Winter Series (Race 2). I may go back for more as it’s useful training, but it depends on the weather over the next few weeks.

The race was a typical 3rd Cat affair – not especially fast, the usual Hillingdon wind that made it tough on the front, the usual moaners mid-pack who complained about the slowdown into the wind but made no effort to pull through and do any work, and unfortunately the usual crash. I was glad not to be involved and just managed to avoid the fallout of bikes cartwheeling over the circuit on the final straight, coming in over the line around mid-bunch. Still, first race since breaking my wrist and finger at the beginning of the summer and I felt pretty good at the end. It was the first time I’ve really ridden with any kind of group since June (all my riding has been solo training or with one or two other riders) so, although it took a few laps to get used to the closeness of the bunch, the drafting benefits made it feel pretty easy compared to my usual solo slog out to Chertsey and back (recently there has been a headwind for at least ¾ of the journey).

I’m looking forward to turkey, whisky and chocolates over the next few weeks. I’ll see if the extra mass makes any difference in the New Year!