PH does the (UK bit of the) Tour de France
Discussion
1. Gruffy - Full Monty
2. Tony Hetherington - Full Monty
3. JT - Fully Monty
4. Marcellus - Stage 3
5. waterwonder - TBC
6. Nikolai - TBC
7. pablo - Full Monty
8. bakerstreet - TBC
9. Johnny - Full Monty. What's the worst that could happen..?
10. j00py - Stage 3
11. tobinen - Stage 3
12. pembo - Stage 3
13. pembo's +1 - Stage 3
14. GarryDK - Stage 3 (maybe more)
15. Black Can Man - Stage 3
16. Pete R - Full Monty
17. SixPotBelly - Stage 3
18. 964Cup - Full Monty
19. Jorrocks - Stage 3
20. Jorrocks +1 - Stage 3
21. burriana - Stage 1
22. Thurbs - Full Monty
2. Tony Hetherington - Full Monty
3. JT - Fully Monty
4. Marcellus - Stage 3
5. waterwonder - TBC
6. Nikolai - TBC
7. pablo - Full Monty
8. bakerstreet - TBC
9. Johnny - Full Monty. What's the worst that could happen..?
10. j00py - Stage 3
11. tobinen - Stage 3
12. pembo - Stage 3
13. pembo's +1 - Stage 3
14. GarryDK - Stage 3 (maybe more)
15. Black Can Man - Stage 3
16. Pete R - Full Monty
17. SixPotBelly - Stage 3
18. 964Cup - Full Monty
19. Jorrocks - Stage 3
20. Jorrocks +1 - Stage 3
21. burriana - Stage 1
22. Thurbs - Full Monty
Edited by Gruffy on Tuesday 24th March 13:50
Cotty has just posted a great article on Recovery Tips for Riding Multi-day Events. I'd also include using a foam roller as part of my stretching routine.
I've been using the holidays to get out on my bike quite a bit (for a newish cyclist). I've been doing 2.5-3.5 hours a day for the past 4 days and finding that I need to do about 45 mins of stretching and foam rolling to get my legs feeling 'normal'.
I think one of the worst parts of this event will be finishing for the day and having to faff around getting to the hotel... Can we not have a luxury team bus with showers, TVs and leather seats?
I think one of the worst parts of this event will be finishing for the day and having to faff around getting to the hotel... Can we not have a luxury team bus with showers, TVs and leather seats?
Gruffy said:
Cotty has just posted a great article on Recovery Tips for Riding Multi-day Events. I'd also include using a foam roller as part of my stretching routine.
Nice link cheers. His videos are well done.Gruffy said:
I do think we need to find a way to make post-ride logistics as painless as possible. It's something I'm working on.
Sheffield to Cambridge will be your biggest headache, I'd allow 12h including stops to be safe on stage deux! This naturally gives you a horrid transfer so you may wish to overnight in Sheffield, freshen up and have a curry before departing for Cambridge early doors Sunday.
I don't know the final stage but at a guess a 10am departure from Cambs gives decent time to travel from Sheffield plus allows those turning up on the day to get trains whilst still giving you a decent shot at getting to London at a sensible time.
Good luck, again
Do not underestimate stage 2
I think you're right and that's my current plan too. I did stage 3 last month and took five and a half hours with no stops. Throw in a lunch stop and add 400km to the legs and I think 8 hours wouldn't be unthinkable. So a 10am start would work well enough.
If you do the return leg the ride becomes a close match for stage 1 in raw numbers. The climb up Biggin Hill at 175km is a bit of a demoraliser, but that's good for training your grit.
It's a great route for bringing together riders for a 100km and riders for a 200km on the same trip. Nice big, dirty lunch in Brighton and then back on the bikes or to the train station.
Jorrocks said:
Gruffy said:
Yeah, I'm up for L2B2L.
Hmm, not sure about the back to London bit! It's a great route for bringing together riders for a 100km and riders for a 200km on the same trip. Nice big, dirty lunch in Brighton and then back on the bikes or to the train station.
king bike arrives and how much training I can fit in. Only been waiting 5 months now...Depending on dates I would be up for Stage 1. Be rude not to as it's on my doorstep and finishes five mins from my house. Not sure the one way traffic down Parliament Street will be too happy mind 
(starting at Harewood, not Leeds centre I presume? The first six miles from Leeds was neutralised and traffic is a pain).
(starting at Harewood, not Leeds centre I presume? The first six miles from Leeds was neutralised and traffic is a pain).
My training plan for this includes monthly 'big weekends' with two big distance rides. For January I'm starting light with 2 x 120km rides. The first was a solo effort from London to Rye in cold but sunny conditions. It was ridden at a decent pace but I struggled with frozen knees that never warmed up.
The second ride was today. A much mellower affair, guiding an unfit friend on what would be his cycle commute home, from Soho to Epsom. We left him in Epsom and M3John and I went on to Boxhill, Farthing Downs and Slines before turning north for the run back to Town. John hit the wall after a cake stop at Boxhill (first big ride after an injury laid him off for a while) so the pace was helpfully reduced. The rubbing brake and the borked gears (39/23 being my lowest gear) weren't quite so helpful. Extra knee warmers underneath the tights were a godsend and kept the muscles warm enough to overcome the gearing issues. Being able to tackle 20% gradients with that gear was a huge confidence booster. Everything worked well towards training our appreciation of Rule 5, which shouldn't be overlooked.
I plan to add one 'big weekend' per month with 2 x 150km in February, 2 x 175km in March and 2 x 200km in April. Finding the time seems to be the biggest challenge though. Anybody else have a training plan in mind for this?
The second ride was today. A much mellower affair, guiding an unfit friend on what would be his cycle commute home, from Soho to Epsom. We left him in Epsom and M3John and I went on to Boxhill, Farthing Downs and Slines before turning north for the run back to Town. John hit the wall after a cake stop at Boxhill (first big ride after an injury laid him off for a while) so the pace was helpfully reduced. The rubbing brake and the borked gears (39/23 being my lowest gear) weren't quite so helpful. Extra knee warmers underneath the tights were a godsend and kept the muscles warm enough to overcome the gearing issues. Being able to tackle 20% gradients with that gear was a huge confidence booster. Everything worked well towards training our appreciation of Rule 5, which shouldn't be overlooked.
I plan to add one 'big weekend' per month with 2 x 150km in February, 2 x 175km in March and 2 x 200km in April. Finding the time seems to be the biggest challenge though. Anybody else have a training plan in mind for this?
Good going gruffy, I'm impressed. Your average speed is about where I'd like to be.
I went out on my first ride with Newbury RC yesterday. This is part of my training but all I am doing is trying to reach 100 miles. I joined the '30-miler' lot to see how I fared; my first ride in a group. 10 started but dwindled to 7, the pace was fine, in fact a bit slower than I would go on my own. In the end I finished on 73.7 kms (46.06 miles) and I was just about to reach my energy limit so good timing for food.
Rode some new roads to me so more to try in the future. Legs feel ok this morning but a bit achy yesterday afternoon. I definitely think the spin classes help. Also, the chamois cream did the trick so why the hell I didn't buy any years ago is beyond me! Can't wait for some decent weather and try the new bike out.
I went out on my first ride with Newbury RC yesterday. This is part of my training but all I am doing is trying to reach 100 miles. I joined the '30-miler' lot to see how I fared; my first ride in a group. 10 started but dwindled to 7, the pace was fine, in fact a bit slower than I would go on my own. In the end I finished on 73.7 kms (46.06 miles) and I was just about to reach my energy limit so good timing for food.
Rode some new roads to me so more to try in the future. Legs feel ok this morning but a bit achy yesterday afternoon. I definitely think the spin classes help. Also, the chamois cream did the trick so why the hell I didn't buy any years ago is beyond me! Can't wait for some decent weather and try the new bike out.
Good effort. I'm toying with the idea of joining a club and, possibly, a bit of racing once the new bike arrives. Maybe towards the end of the year.
My average speeds are always a bit skewed by starting in Central London. All that stop-start nonsense does nothing for the ego!
My average speeds are always a bit skewed by starting in Central London. All that stop-start nonsense does nothing for the ego!
Edited by Gruffy on Monday 26th January 11:03
Gruffy said:
My training plan for this includes monthly 'big weekends' with two big distance rides. For January I'm starting light with 2 x 120km rides. The first was a solo effort from London to Rye in cold but sunny conditions. It was ridden at a decent pace but I struggled with frozen knees that never warmed up.
The second ride was today. A much mellower affair, guiding an unfit friend on what would be his cycle commute home, from Soho to Epsom. We left him in Epsom and M3John and I went on to Boxhill, Farthing Downs and Slines before turning north for the run back to Town. John hit the wall after a cake stop at Boxhill (first big ride after an injury laid him off for a while) so the pace was helpfully reduced. The rubbing brake and the borked gears (39/23 being my lowest gear) weren't quite so helpful. Extra knee warmers underneath the tights were a godsend and kept the muscles warm enough to overcome the gearing issues. Being able to tackle 20% gradients with that gear was a huge confidence booster. Everything worked well towards training our appreciation of Rule 5, which shouldn't be overlooked.
I plan to add one 'big weekend' per month with 2 x 150km in February, 2 x 175km in March and 2 x 200km in April. Finding the time seems to be the biggest challenge though. Anybody else have a training plan in mind for this?
Living in Morden i often do the Epsom, Box hill , chipstead & farthing down route , you've probably passed my sorry arse a few times.The second ride was today. A much mellower affair, guiding an unfit friend on what would be his cycle commute home, from Soho to Epsom. We left him in Epsom and M3John and I went on to Boxhill, Farthing Downs and Slines before turning north for the run back to Town. John hit the wall after a cake stop at Boxhill (first big ride after an injury laid him off for a while) so the pace was helpfully reduced. The rubbing brake and the borked gears (39/23 being my lowest gear) weren't quite so helpful. Extra knee warmers underneath the tights were a godsend and kept the muscles warm enough to overcome the gearing issues. Being able to tackle 20% gradients with that gear was a huge confidence booster. Everything worked well towards training our appreciation of Rule 5, which shouldn't be overlooked.
I plan to add one 'big weekend' per month with 2 x 150km in February, 2 x 175km in March and 2 x 200km in April. Finding the time seems to be the biggest challenge though. Anybody else have a training plan in mind for this?
I'm doing a regular 140 miles a week with a couple of Sportives booked before may. Really looking forward to this PH meet & run.
Edited by Black can man on Monday 26th January 12:20
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