Still ill...

It's been a frustrating week and a half - virtually no cycling, rather unhealthy eating and a return of the runny nose and gasping cough. The mild illness I got over only 4 weeks ago has come back to take another, more serious, bite out of me. I haven't slept more than 4 hours at night for a week now. Each morning when I go and wake the kids up my daughter greets me with "Daddy, the bags under your eyes look even bigger today" - thanks TC! My head is constantly pounding from the coughing and I can feel my chest is straining. Annoyingly the weather has been really beautiful too - sunny and fairly mild. We are off skiing in a few days so I really hope this virus buggers off before then, or at least that the clear mountain air hastens its departure.

I've been using the enforced downtime to run through a couple of cycle-related chores - devising a training plan based around upcoming races and trying to find some decent bibshorts.

The problem I find with racing is the travel to the race itself, particularly since we are a one-car family and my wife usually needs to either pick up the kids or drop them off somewhere, which takes precedence over travelling to a race Now I don't mind cycling out to races assuming there is enough time, but for the majority the distance is a real barrier - so that's Eelmore and most of the Surrey League races discounted unless I can get a lift. Then there's the juggling of work commitments as well - leaving on time to get to Palace, the Hog or Hillingdon is OK if I take my race bike into work, but then I'm constantly worrying about the 'secure' part of the secure bike parking outside the building. My commuting bike has full length mudguards which are a pain to remove, so that isn't really an option. Anyhow, I'm going to try a mix this year of weekend races at Hog Hill (there's not really much else on offer from the Surrey League, which ought to be renamed the Hampshire League) and week-day races at either Palace, Hoggenberg or Eelmore if I can get a lift. So that's all crits then - the opportunity for road racing this year looks pretty slim.

One thing that the effort in setting up a training plan has helped me focus on is the need for longer rides - I have the Time Megeve and La Marmotte coming up this summer and have to remember to focus on the need for tempo-ish long rides as well as the hour-long bursts of intense effort that racing requires.

The second chore was much worse - finding some new bibshorts. In the past I have been really happy with Pearl Izumi Ultrasensor shorts, which have formed the perfect compromise between performance, longevity and cost. A couple of years ago, however, they changed the pad and styling and they no longer figure on my list of suitable choices. The old ones I have all have holes in, are threadbare and have turned a light grey colour, so it is definitely time for new stock. I made the trip to Croydon to go to GB Cycles who in the past have had a great range of stock - nothing! Some Santini Sean Yates style super-short shorts, some Assos super-expensive pairs and that was about it. Evans, CycleSurgery, On Yer Bike, Sigma Sport - likewise, very low stock. So I turned online (always a bit of a gamble with shorts) and went back to Wiggle and some Sugoi numbers - I'll see that they're like when they arrive. The last pair of shorts I purchased online had huge long shoulder straps and seemed to be cut for someone with a massive arse (sprinter's shorts then) and have been consigned to turbo-only duty.

By the time I'm back from skiing I will have had two weeks off the bike (and I'm sure I will be fully loaded with vin rouge, raclette and cakes). My new training plan had better work...!

Hoggenberg

San Fairy Ann 3/4 crit, Hog Hill, Saturday 6th March. My first time back at Hog Hill since my mishap last June. Only my second time actually taking part in a race there. Last time I raced at the Hog I think I lasted about halfway through the race then slowly drifted off the back up the ‘berg! So how was I going to fare this time? Was my fitness better?

In short, yes. I managed 17 of the 20 laps and had no problems on the hill at all. So my recovery after hard efforts is getting better. I had a problem on lap 17 with the rider in front of me though! I’d been sitting near the back for a few laps (I know I shouldn’t have been there) when I noticed the guy immediately in front had a rather flat tyre. I noticed this coming into the fastest corner of the circuit, with the tailwind whipping everyone round the almost 90 degree bend at great speed. Guess where this guy nearly lost his tyre and ended up careering all over the place? Guess which muppet was stuck behind him? Guess who couldn’t quite catch the bunch for another lap and then gave up as they dangled just out of reach? Aaargghh!

On the brighter side we celebrated my wife’s birthday that night with friends, karaoke and Chinese food. Sore heads all round on Sunday! I think my singing is almost as bad as my racing…

Wheelsucker

The plan had been to ride out to Hog Hill and take part in the San Fairy Ann (best cycling club name ever in my book) 3/4 crit on Saturday. But come Friday night the excuses started to appear - I'd been ill all week (only a cold, but a niggly, persistent cold), I was tired and felt out of breath at the top of a flight of stairs, the weather looked pretty grim, no one else I knew was going (not a problem for the race, but it's a long journey there and back with no company) - so I decided to chill out at home, enjoy the red wine and do the park ride on Saturday instead.

The weather lived up to the billing - it rained a few times on Saturday morning, with the park being part-flooded and absolutely filthy. Riding in a group meant a constant spray of muck off the wheel in front, grit in the teeth and small spatterings of tar over all my clothing, my skin and my bike. The sooner they sort out the road surface the better - roll on May.

The café post-ride was a sight. Every time the door swung open another Dynamo rider would enter looking like he'd just finished a cross race (a particularly dirty cross race). It was good to catch up with people, even though we were all cold and shivering. As predicted, a plan started to hatch mid-coffee and several of us decided to continue with a longer ride out into Surrey. Five of us set out - by the time we'd left the warmth of the café we'd lost one, then five minutes later another! Luckily the weather brightened a bit and we remaining three had a fairly gentle run out to Box Hill and back. It was a good leg-stretcher even though the roads were awful- rutted with potholes and mud all over the place.

Still, 70 miles in total for a Saturday, made all the better by a massive bowl of cereal on my return. Simple pleasures. It only took me 30 minutes in the shower to get all the tar off me as well...!