Ten Footer!

Keira planted a few seeds back in the Spring.

Now - it's taken a while what with all that lousy, cloudy weather but.......today the tallest of her three sunflowers chalked up ten foot. That's three hundred and four point eight centimetres for all you whippersnappers out there.

Good work!!

The Hill Climb Bec(kons)

Oh dear.

I've just posted my entry to the 53rd Bec CC Hill Climb. This is a hell of a ride up a 700 yard hill, with a mainly 1 in 6 gradient, kicking up nicely to 1 in 4 just before the finish, ouch!

Last year was my first attempt, I came second last, finishing in 3 minutes 24 seconds. I wasn't happy, there was a prize of £10 for last place.

The photo is me giving what little I had last year. I'll let you know how I go this time around - hoping for a slightly quicker ascent....

The Commutopia Experiment

For the first time since I was knee high to a Raleigh Pavemaster, I recently commuted to work two days running.

Door to door the train takes me around 1hr 35 mins each way, the bike takes around 54 mins in and 1hr 5 mins on the way back. Saving a bit of time, and a bit of money, keeping the legs spinning.

It’s jolly good fun and blimey, you need eyes in the front, side, back, top and bottom of yer noggin on these London commutes. Certainly keeps you focused.

I'm really surprised just how many cyclists whizz through red lights on the commute into town. And I got undertaken a few times in a most unsafe fashion by fellow cyclists. Based on my non scientific non extensive research I reckon mini cab drivers are about the worst closely followed by cyclists. Based on what I’m seeing I can see why we get such a bad rap from other road users. I saw the ole bill pull a rider over today for jumping a red, he he.

It's quite a logistical challenge getting towels, clothes and all the gubbins in/out and I can only manage this stuff when I have a few days in town on the trot as I'm not willing to lug my laptop around on me back.

Still, so far I likes it and will try to do this as often as I can.

Snoop

Gotta Getaway

Wow! The family Snoop has just left Southern California, in more or less the same shape as we found it. What did we see...?

Well we barely saw the Olympics . What little coverage there was centred on how the USA were winning the medal race. They are the only country I've ever been to who count total medal haul before golds.....strange? I did see (local Carshalton girl) Romero win gold, yee harr!!

On the business news, China was always referred to as Communist China. Sitting over there, taking our jobs type stylee.

LA on sea (Santa Monica) very nice, had a very enjoyable time riding a laid back bike with Keira on a tag along up and down the beach (even went under the boardwalk). Keira was ultra competitive and pedalled like fury to ensure we weren't overtaken. Motovational promises of medals and other glories were constantly being shouted to me from my energetic co rider.

Hollywood dirty and unpleasant, just as expected then.

Joshua Tree National Park great fun - hotter then the inside of a pizza oven, didn't smell as nice tho. We did a 1 mile hike (ha ha ) quite enough in 120+ temp thank you. Keira was elevated to the status of Junior Ranger, badge, sticker, the whole shebang.

San Diego - great city. Zoo is fabulous, Seaworld is great fun tho slathered with pure USA cheez which makes you want to barf if you do anything but ignore it. We didn't get to see Balboa Park so.....we have a reason to return.

Disneyland was the big finalé. Park cynicysm at front desk, enter and enjoy. Two days spent having a real blast on some monster rides.

I haven't been Stateside for a few years. How the hell did America get so fat...? I know I'm not exactly Mr Matchstick Trim but jeez, I was shocked at how many people are so grossly (in every sense) overweight. It quite gave me the heebie jeebies don't you know.

Fantastic trip, glad to be back to the cold weather. Got bike fittings booked in for next couple of weekends to cheer me up. Hope you enjoyed Summer as much as we did.

Snoop

Mad Balls and Englishmen

So the time trialling takes a back seat for a while. What else has been going on?

Mid July we let 20 odd good friends invade our garden and camp out for the weekend. I could regale you with tales of late nights by the fire pit, telling stories, jokes, hurling insults, singing songs and laughing like only great friends can. But I won’t.

Instead, I’ll tell you about our trip to the park. We all moseyed on over late Saturday afternoon, a great mini trek across some green belt farmland situated at the end of our road. On arrival at the park we grabbed an ice cream. Then, what to do?

Someone suggested a kick about, great. A fantastic concept was put forward. Swap the football for a space hopper. Goals can only be scored from a header or volley. And so, Mad Ball was born. For the next thirty minutes all present enjoyed the most outstanding piece of sport witnessed in this country for many a long year. The game progressed, the rules evaporated. Pick it up, bounce it Harlem Globetrotter style, score a goal, or die trying/laughing. It was great fun, our team displayed silky skills, enjoyed loads of possession, and showed true grit. We lost 3-1.

As we made our way home, tired limbs, sore necks (you try heading a space hopper), we reflected on the opportunity we created.

Sincere thanks to the Poingdestres, Stotts, Birds, Windsors and Christies for a great game well played.

Now – where is Jacques Rogge’s email address, I reckon this is a shoe in for London 2012.

Coward of the County

I'm exhausted, that was my best, and hardest TT ever. The Southern Counties Cycling Union’s centenary 100 mile time trial. I rode this event last year in five hours, thirty minutes and forty three seconds. It took me several days to recover.

This year, A crocked shoulder (hadn’t ridden the bikes since a 50 mile TT one month ago) and a bad cold meant I'd set a target finish time of 5 hours 15 minutes. Mrs Snoop and others had advised me against racing. I wasn't going to miss the start of the 100th SCCU 100, no sirree.

Music tends to worm its way into my head on the longer TTs - some kind of weird way of concentrating on something... Today's offering was "The Coward of the County" Couldn't shift the bloody thing all race.

Started riding on my TT bike. Forgot to pin number to arse - timekeeper not happy. Luckily I had the shoulder number on so they let me ride (failure to start due to complete rider stupidity could have been very embarrassing).

“Evryone considered him the coward of the county.
He’d only stood one single time to prove the county wrong.
His teammates named him Snoopy, he raced in black and yeller,
But something always told me they were reading Snoopy wrong.”

Sections of the course are familiar as the local 25, 50 and 100 follow some of the same roads. As I set off I quickly remembered how hellish the 100 course is though. The first ten miles is lumpy, and me no like. No rhythm, gear changes all the time. I pushed through this section and settled into a good pace. I managed to hang onto a 20mph average for the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth ten miles. I knew I couldn't keep it up but it was good (for me) to clock 60 miles at that speed.

I got held up at the lights on the A24/A272 junction. Must've lost a few minutes there easily (it was 37 seconds when I checked later).

Mrs Snoop met me at Bolney on 67 miles and I swapped bikes. I didn't think my shoulder would hold out for the remainder so I wanted more position options. I don't think I'd do that again mind. I started getting some really (and I mean really) painful muscle twinges as my body tried to adjust. Thought they would force me to stop but I ironed them out after a few miles.

Sure enough I began to fade as the roads got worse, more undulating, my speed slowly ebbed away. It was piggin hot by now too and like others I was feeling it. At the 75 mile mark I reckoned I could just squeeze my target time and so I ground on as best I could. The last ten miles are a complete kick in the teeth. A rotten undulating country lane nightmare. Country - don't talk to me about it.......

“Promise me, son, not to do the things I’ve done.
Walk away from trouble if you can.
It won’t mean you’re weak if you turn the other cheek.
I hope you’re old enough to understand:
Son, you don’t have to fight to be a man.”

I ain't quittin’ pa... My feet were on fire, needles of pain blasting out of every nerve. In the intense heat my head was spinning and I just grit my teeth and tried to push as hard as I could. Two miles to go and I hit the final stretch of dual carriageway. Knowing the end was in sight I dug deep and floored it. I had just enough left to sprint for the (county) line.

So pleased to be off the damn bike, seeing some of my teammates quickly lifted my spirits and we had a few laughs about how bloody hard things were today.

I was keen to know how I did so went into HQ and there - on the board.... 5.10.43. So - I PB'd by 20 minutes dead and I beat my target time.

For the last time, I let Kenny Rogers back in….

“I promised you, dad, not to do the things you done.
I walk away from trouble when I can.
Now please don’t think I’m weak, I didn’t turn the other cheek,
And papa, I sure hope you understand:
Sometimes you gotta fight when you’re a man.”

As I left HQ I saw many folk hobbling away. It had been a mega effort to finish in the gruelling conditions today, there were no cowards in this county.

Easing Back into a World of Pain...

...but this time most of it was self inflicted. Crikey, work, life, fun and everything else have kept me waaaay too busy to write. Camping, fire side sing songs, too much to drink and some belated hard core veg planting have all been achieved. More later......maybe.

So - after a nightmare on the ESCA 50, how would I fare on the Southern Counties 50 at the end of June? Well I'd been to see the Doc after my shoulder pains refused to sort themselves out. A thoroughly unpleasant cocktail of valium and diclofenac didn't agree with me. So I stopped the former and used the latter when it became necessary.

Shortly after the ESCA 50 I attempted some interval training which went disastrously wrong, I was getting over a cold and just.....crap. In the build up to the SCCU race all I did was a few short twiddles on the bike to make sure everything still worked (me and it) and a 45 min easy session the day before. I've been feeling too tight to train, worried that too much exertion might mean I had to miss the race.

Race day comes and off I go in breezy conditions. I felt much better than on the previous race, got my drinking regime into better shape and with a good knowledge of the course I knew when to push and when to save a bit. I began to feel some pain in my knee after about 30 miles. This was due to some adjustments I'd made to the saddle which had cured some other discomforts, one door shuts, another opens.

The final four miles I had the wind behind me so gave it everything (well everything I had left anyway) and blasted over the line with my heart rate well into the red, and a time of 2.22.38. That's a PB by 3 min and 14 sec. Happy with that, oh yes indee.....ppppsssssssssssssss. My tyre blew about 15 metres after I crossed the line, boy that could have been a real bummer.

A plus for the day - I managed to stick my tongue out for the camera, well you've just gotta do it.

Two days after the race and I've made the shoulder a bunch worse straining to take the pedals off my daughter's bike :( Back to the Doc again this Friday. Got the SCCU 100 at the end of July, worried how I'm going to fare with so little training these past few weeks....we'll see.

Snoop