As I mentioned at the end of my last post I had my first Covid19 vaccination yesterday morning. I was very impressed with the setup. The vaccine centre in Donegal is in Letterkenny and using the buildings of the local college (LYIT). It’s an incredibly efficient process and feels comfortable and modern, reassuring really. It’s staffed by a mixture of Irish Army and HSE staff. I had a 10am appointment and I had my jab by 10:06 which is lightening fast as far as HSE standards usually go! The normal wait afterwards is 15min in a staffed waiting area but as I have a penicillin allergy I had to wait 30min. After that I was back in my car before 10:45 having spent less than an hour there. I have been given the Moderna vaccine so get a second dose in 4 weeks.
Afterwards I went to collect my bike. The mechanic hadn’t texted me as promised but the bike was ready. The shop was flat out and I only had a chance for a brief conversation but the two niggling rattles/creaks had been easily identified and fixed.
My plan had been 100km on a route out of Letterkenny and fairly hilly. I was concerned about over doing it though so decided to go home instead and do a shorter spin, closer to home and on familiar roads. I had hoped to change clothes somewhere in Letterkenny and this was proving difficult anyway with restrictions still in place in many areas. When I did get home and was getting my bike ready I realised that my lights and Garmin were still plugged into the charging dock upstairs so I would have had to come home regardless!
I took the opportunity to get some errands done on the way home and spent almost an hour chatting to my neighbour so it was after 2pm before I rolled out. It was just on the right side of chilly and a bit breezy but my route would have a tailwind for a lot of the exposed bits and be sheltered for most of the headwind bits.
I headed to Clady and up over the pretty challenging Glebe climb before descending to Victoria Bridge, one of my favourite river crossings around here. Back road to Strabane and home again via Clady and eventually the main road. 42km and it felt good. The bike felt great after the service and so much better having ridden the MTB on Friday. There’s nothing like riding off-road on fat tyres to make you appreciate the speed and agility of a road bike on tarmac. My legs were moaning a bit on the steeper climbs and despite a growing ache/numbness in my left arm overall I felt really good.
Yesterday evening the ache increased and I was definitely feeling tired. I was feeling a little bit woozy but thankfully nothing more serious than that. I took some paracetamol yesterday morning, afternoon and before bed last night just to be sure. This morning my arm is quite sore and tender to the touch. I still feel tired despite a good sleep and I feel slightly achy. The slight woozienss is still there but overall I think I’m just getting the usual symptoms that I’ve heard others describe and some of it may be tiredness from the combined effect of cycling the two days also. I am very hungry this morning (again this could be the cycling) and I’m just listening to my body and feeding it. Today is a family day so a chance to rest up and hopefully be fit for a big day on the bike tomorrow.
I dropped my road bike off with the bike mechanic yesterday morning on my way to work. I had hoped to get it back early this morning and get a spin today but they’re very busy. He suggested it would be this evening before it would be ready so I had to make alternative plans.
It’s a while now (March last year) since I had a proper day out on the MTB. I’d spotted a great route a few weeks ago by a guy I follow on Strava and with a slight modification I soon had almost a 60km, mostly off road route to ride.
First though the bike needed some TLC. My poor MTB doesn’t get much more than very basic maintenance and performs way better than I deserve. However, before riding it today I had to spend some time scrubbing down and re-lubing the drive train and pumping up the tyres. After my hydration miscalculation on Sunday I also figured that taking my Camelbak would be a wise idea. Of course, it hasn’t been used in almost two years and needed a good sterilisation and clean too. By the time I’d everything prepared it was after 12 before I was in the car and off to the start.
The car park and start location is part way into Barnes Gap between Ballybofey and Donegal Town. The first 5K would be along this busy main road following part of my route from Sunday’s 100K. After this it turns off onto quieter side roads for another 5K to Leghowney Community Hall where it finally goes off road.
The route follows the first section of the Leghowney Loop Walk up through Meenadreen Windfarm. The first section of this is up a punishing climb for just over 2km with the gradient fluctuating between 10-14%. The windfarm has a 25km/hr speed limit and halfway up there was a speed display sign that seemed to take great delight in telling me I was going at 8km/hr.
This climb is up through mostly mature forestry and at the top opens out into the generic upland bog that is typical of this part of Donegal. It’s here were the turbines are located. There appeared to be two windfarms in total with the main one consisting of 25 turbines. Altogether there must have been 40 with a couple more locations visible on nearby hills. One thing about Donegal, there’s no shortage of wind!
Close to the first turbine there’s a very out of place bench that looks exactly like a memorial. I’m not sure of the meaning behind the plaque as I couldn’t see any signs of habitation but possibly any old ruins were cleared during the construction works?
The route through the windfarm is almost 9km in total along graded access roads. It varies from stiff climbs to sweeping descents. However, it’s hard to escape the feeling that you are riding through an industrial complex in the middle of nowhere. Once again I struggled to see the justification of the impact of windfarms while being hypocritical enough to enjoy the trails they provide!
donegal bay
Exiting the windfarm by a large gate with a pedestrian kissing gate, definitely not designed for bikes, I came out on the Laghey to Killeter road close to the border crossing called Kelly’s Bridge.
A short section of road brought me to the forest section of The Bannadoo Trail I walked at the end of April but heading in the opposite direction. Another 6km of undulating forest track before reaching Big Bridge.
from my april hike
Along this forest track I met a guy walking two beautiful beagle dogs. One of them decided to run along after me giving me a bit of a fright when I realised he was chasing me about 150m after I passed him. Not nice getting startled on these rough tracks, he could easily have caused me to slip and crash.
From Big Bridge it was back to climbing again. I’ve only ridden this section once before and from the opposite direction and I didn’t remember it being so long. It was almost 9km with the first 4km of that climbing, sometimes steep, and always with a track surface composed of rock dust that sucks the energy out of the legs. Along this section I was treated to the sight of a red deer bounding across the track from one forest section to the other before enjoying the final few kilometres downhill and back to road for a while again.
This 5km is the last significant section of road and took me past the start and finish of my Barnes Gap walk from a couple of weeks ago. It used to be possible to go up here and make an alternative route but with the ongoing construction I didn’t fancy the hassle today.
Turning after 5K took me on to a bog road that runs along the top of Lough Mourne which is the water source for most of the Finn Valley. This is a pretty barren location when the weather is against you but has a severe beauty on a warm, almost sunny day like today. Thankfully the wind wasn’t against me as it’s also ferociously exposed. The track is mostly used by tractors accessing the bog and as such the surface is incredibly rocky and rough, eroded further by water runoff. My ass took a real pounding* for 3km before I eventually dropped down to the head of the Lough and stopped to let tender bits recover.
*not intending to spend time in a maximum security prison, this is a phrase I didn’t ever expect to write!
Two short sections of road broken by a fast descent of a rough track at the back of the water treatment works brought me back to the forest and saw the last of the tarmac for the day. Along the first section of road I spotted a large buzzard hunting the abandoned grazing between the road and forest. He was hovering for ages but didn’t get to eat this time and eventually drifted off as if embarrassed to fail with me watching.
This last section of forest is familiar to me from two routes I’ve ridden a number of times. The first section crosses a steep ridge but normally I ride it in the opposite direction. It’s one of my favourite off road descents but today I had to ride up it. Close to the start of the climb there was a Cavan reg car randomly parked at the side of the track and a few hundred metres on I spotted a forest worker who obviously owned it. He was quite short and wearing a huge pair of wellies that looked way too big for him. These were literally his downfall as he tripped and took a tumble as he stepped to the grass verge to give me space to puff my way past. It was a real slow motion tumble and perfect roll and thankfully only his dignity was bruised. I was especially happy to see him getting up again as I didn’t fancy stopping and starting on that bugger of a climb. I was of course also happy to see that he wasn’t hurt!
Just before the steepest section the track cut off to the left and within 20m my Garmin was having a fit that I was off course. I looked at Google Maps to confirm I was right, there couldn’t be two tracks that close and going in the same direction, so I pushed on. The track did seem more overgrown than memory but it’s been a few years so I was happy enough. A few hundred metres later the track dead ended and I had to turn back. I’m sure that the Garmin would be sniggering if it could. The little Cavan man also got his revenge as I met him driving along the track as I made my way back to tackle the last couple hundred metres of 14% climb before taking the correct turn this time.
The advantage of doing this section the opposite way is that the tough uphill I normally struggle along now becomes a fast downhill although sadly broken by a gate halfway. It was along the flat section of the ridge that I had my most surreal experience on the bike a few years ago. I was pedalling along and swore I could hear music. Coming around the corner I met a beautiful black lab followed by a guy playing bagpipes! He walks the dog up here and brings the pipes to practice where he doesn’t bother the family or neighbours!
The final 10km was tough. It’s two sections of forest with a section of upland grazing in between. The forest is the usual graded track but the farmland section is back to a rocky lane. It’s a steep area rising and falling along the edge of the hill but generally climbing all the way. The farmland section is the steepest and the toughest with deep eroded sections exposing rocks big enough to stop me if hit the wrong way. By the time I reached the end of this all my contact points were sore and tender and crying out for a break.
Through this area there are a number of abandoned buildings. It was obviously a much more populated area over the last 100 years but completely abandoned now. It must have been a tough life eking out an existence up here, especially in harsh winters.
The final section of forest starts with a rapid downhill and one I’ve ridden many times. Knowing the terrain I let the bike go and aided by the open forest gate I got halfway up the next hill with momentum on my side. The next couple of kilometres are a series of rolling short, steep climbs with shorter descents gradually increasing the elevation each time. The track had changed to finer gravel and loose small stones making it very tiring on already tired legs. The strong breeze was also back in my face making it feel even harder again. I was very pleased to make it to the top of the last climb and took a few minutes to admire the views across the back of Barnes Gap, into the Bluestacks and catch my breath.
The last section is an exhilarating and very fast descent back to the road just 50m from the car park. This area gets a lot of rain so the steep track is badly rutted and eroded by constant run-off. It takes a careful eye and concentration to navigate safely especially as tired as I was. I made it safely and enjoyed this last blast of adrenaline before finishing.
Back at the car I was starving. I had a substantial late breakfast before leaving the house and had two bars along the way but I was out longer than expected and more than ready for food. Getting home I made a ham and cheese toasty that I may have swallowed whole! However, hydration was not a problem today.
I have my first vaccine appointment in the morning and I also have a 100km spin planned. I’m not sure about that now having read BgddyJim’s experiences post vaccine but as I still haven’t heard from the bike mechanic that decision may be made for me.
In the very first week of the month I managed to aggravate my back. I’ve had sciatica issues with my back off and on now for a good few years and every so often I will do something to cause it to flare up. This time it was unusual in that the pain and spasm was on the left as well as the usual right side. I obviously managed to hurt the muscle on that side. For the first two weeks I was wearing a support to work every day and taking prescription anti inflammatory tablets to keep it under control. While I was keeping up with my daily walking cycling was definitely out of the question.
As the month progressed the pain eased but two weeks ago I still had serious doubts about being able to complete a 100km spin for the month. I had managed to get a decent hike on the 19th and had hopes to get cycling again that week. However, the weather gods decided that wasn’t going to happen and it was the 25th before I got out for an hour after work, just enough to see how the back would react. Everything went well and I had a good 50K spin the next day. Apart from some tiredness I felt good and no major complaints from my back. The plan then was to get a second short spin after work on Friday before trying for the 100K on Sunday – sounds scarily like a training plan!
In the end up Friday didn’t happen. The forecast was for rain and I was knackered after a busy day at work. However, summer was finally on the way and I was still clear on my plan for Sunday.
As well as the usual bike and kit preparation I also got my back ready. I still had some of the pain medication so took a full dose on Saturday and also Sunday morning before leaving to give me the best chance of completion without causing any further issues.
Sunday morning is also football training for Conor and with Catriona at work I had to delay my start until I had dropped and collected Conor. I usually like to get on the road between 9 and 10 but Sunday I wasn’t away until well after 12:30. Just like in April I had some stomach issues that morning again. Some of it may have been the beer at the BBQ in Mum and Dad’s the previous evening for my brother’s birthday but I think it was mostly nerves and anxiety that I wasn’t up to the challenge.
Leaving home the route was still very fluid. I knew I was heading for Ballybofey and into Barnes Gap before turning off to take the back road route to Laghey which also mostly follows the route of my Donegal 200 Audax Permanent. After Laghey I had a few options in mind and in fact it wasn’t until Laghey that I decided how to go home. The first 40km to Laghey were mostly into the wind. It was blowing from a mix of S and SW direction and forecast to flip to the SE later in the day. At Laghey I decided to push on to Ballintra along a sheltered rural route before turning back to Donegal Town and home with hopefully a tailwind to help.
I’d been passed by quite a few motorbikes on the main roads and coming through Donegal Town the Diamond was full. There must have been 150 bikes parked up and the local shops were doing a roaring trade in coffee and ice cream. It was great to see signs of normal life finally returning. I left Donegal Town on the bypass before swinging back in at the other side of town to stop for lunch. It was a simple sandwich, Snickers and a bottle of Pepsi but it was great to sit in the warm sunshine and get a sugar and caffeine shot.
Heading back to Ballybofey another cyclist caught up with and stayed with me for most of the way through the Gap. He was from Raphoe and riding a MTB with light off-road tyres. Before we parted he mentioned being puffed from staying with me on the road bike but I felt it was me keeping up with him and he still looked pretty fresh to my eyes! His company and conversation was very welcome as the road back through the Gap is not enjoyable, busy with traffic, pretty boring and a sapping steady climb that I’ve never enjoyed. His conversation distracted me and made it a lot easier – as did the tailwind!
I turned off at Lough Mourne with the intention of taking the Corgary Road and descending Meenglass into Ballybofey before heading home but at the top of Meenglass I changed route yet again. I was feeling pretty good and didn’t fancy the final 1.6km climb home so decided to stay on the Corgary Road to Aghayarn and Castlederg before climbing the gentler Moneygall Road and dropping down to home. It was approximately 10km longer but I figured the extra distance was worth the chance to finish mostly downhill for the final 5K.
My final distance ended up at 111.22km which is my longest spin for 2021 and my longest since October last year. I felt a lot better than I expected with almost 6 weeks of very little cycling and with a recovering back.
click the image to view on strava
The weather all day was bright, dry and mostly sunny with temperatures in the high teens/low twenties. It was a joy to cycle in warm air for a change but it created a hydration challenge I underestimated. I only took one 750ml bottle with me and this was gone by 35km. I’d hoped to be able to refill once only at 50K but not to be. Thankfully there were plenty of shops to get refills but I’ll need to be more careful on future long runs in more rural areas. As it was I had no water for the final 15km due to extending the route and felt pretty dehydrated by the time I got home.
On the good news front my back coped much better than expected. It was burning quite a bit for the last 20-30mins but that was normal and not unexpected. Alternating position plus on-the-bike stretches kept it under control until I got home and there were no long lasting effects that evening or the next day at work. In fact it has continued to improve and I was back cycling today for 50K with virtually no problems.
This weekend is another Bank Holiday in Ireland and I’ve also booked some holiday days so I’m hoping for some more good weather and at least 2 longer distance spins.
After my motivational crash and mental reset in the middle of the month my reduction in activity had a very detrimental impact on my cycling. After a strong February (568km) and March (558km) April has been quite poor. Up until yesterday I only had 133km across 5 rides. In addition I hadn’t sat in the saddle for 2 weeks! True to form I was also leaving my 100km to the very last possible day seeing as I’m working the last two days of the month.
Time was a precious commodity yesterday. Our normal car pool arrangement fell apart this week as the neighbours’ girl was off sick. This meant I had to collect the boys from school and of course it’s a half day finish at 1:20. My normal preferred mid morning start (10ish) was out the window meaning no lie in and no dawdling on route.
A 7:15 alarm was set with the aim of hitting the road by 8:30. I was eventually out the door at 8:45 and almost cancelled due to a bit of an upset stomach. Not sure if it was the larger than normal breakfast or anxiety. I was definitely feeling nervous, whether it was stress due to the time pressure, performance anxiety worrying if I was fit enough, anxiety about being so far from home for the first time in 8 months or a combination of all of that.
The route was Derry via Lifford and Carrigans, through the city and back home via Bridgend, Letterkenny and Ballybofey. The wind was from the Northeast which made the 45km to Derry a bit of a slog and also pretty chilly straight into the cold 18km/h breeze. However, leaving Derry I had the benefit of a tailwind most of the way back as far as Stranorlar at 95km.
Coming into Derry I had the only rain of the day. A short 15min shower just heavy enough to justify stopping to put on my waterproof gillet. As it’s also HiViz I kept it on through the city to help make me a bit more visible to both cars and pedestrians. I managed to avoid the majority of the traffic by jumping on to the cycle path that runs along the Foyle all the way to the bottom of the Buncrana Road. This is partly shared use but a lot of it is segregated for walkers and cyclists. A lot of pedestrians are clueless about this though as there is no physical separation, just a change of surface colour and signage so it’s slower and requires constant vigilance. It’s still a lot safer than playing in the traffic though.
I had chosen this route partly because I was able to stop at 52km and enjoy a welcome cup of tea and a bun at my brother’s coffee van (#curiouscoffeecompany). I was also able to top up my water bottle removing the need for 2 today.
Business was good and the clock was ticking so I wasn’t able to hang around for much more than a short chat. However, refuelled on sugar and partly rested I made great time to Letterkenny and the only real climb of the day. Good route planning meant that I also had some wind assistance most of the way to the top.
The heat of the climb, loss of windchill with a tailwind and the re-emergence of the sun meant I was able to remove the leg warmers and enjoy air on my legs for the first time this year – I decided to spare you any photos!
Shortly after this I had my worst bad pass for a while. I was on a very slight descent and nipping along at 45km/h in the hard shoulder. A Nissan Micra passed me and straight away indicated to take the left turn less than 100m ahead. We drive on the left in Ireland meaning he was about to cut across in front of me. I slammed on the brakes with no hope of stopping without crashing but he stopped dead in the left lane. I figured he either didn’t see me when passing or totally underestimated my speed and somehow had the presence of mind not to turn left allowing me to pass on the inside. I gave him a good bollocking through his open window as I went by, followed a few seconds later by a long honk on the horn responded to by the most universal of hand signals🖕
Arriving in Stranorlar at 95km I was flagging. I was tired, the sugar had worn off and I was getting hungry again. I was also turning back into the wind for the final 10km. A quick stop to eat a cereal bar helped but the next 15min were not much fun! Arriving into Killygordon there’s a short, sharp climb to the traffic lights. I decided to stand up to power up it and my left leg just said no! The muscle in the back of my leg felt like water resulting in a quick rethink and a very quick downshift to keep my momentum going.
Exiting the other side of the village I ticked over the 100km mark at 3hrs 41min which I was very pleased with considering my mileage this month. I finished up the last climb to home (no standing attempted here) with the wind fully behind me again and rolled in home with 105km in 3hrs 54min at 1:10. A quick change, a handful of nuts and I was picking the boys up just 10min later than normal. Of course in moody teenager world this was a terribly unfair amount of time to be waiting, despite a warning that morning that it could be up to half an hour 😆
click the image to view on strava
Dead pleased to get that done, I really thought I was going to miss this month! Not a bad time for me either.
Wednesday morning started unseasonably cold and frosty with a fog hanging over the valley. However, the forecast predicted the sunshine to quickly burn off the frost and fog for a beautifully sunny and warm day.
On Monday our travel restrictions were eased allowing us to travel outside our 5km limit for the first time since early January. We can now travel as far as we like as long as we stay within our county boundary. If we live on the county border we can travel up to 20km from home into another county.
During this third, and hopefully last, lockdown I’ve been very lucky to live so close to the border with Northern Ireland. My 5km takes me over the border and there were no cycling restrictions there. This allowed me the opportunity to build a number of routes so long as I stayed within my RoI 5km limit. Most if not all of the local cyclists I know have paid scant attention to what was an arbitrary and nonsensical limit and I really don’t know how others managed to obey it completely. From my own point of view I was getting really sick of the same roads and I was using a much bigger area than my 5km radius.
With my new found freedom I decided to pay a visit to Raphoe and cycle familiar roads that I haven’t been on since the beginning of November, almost 5 months to the day. I waited until after lunch to maximise the benefit of the sunny day and left the house with temperatures around 11°C – it was glorious.
My halfway point was Raphoe and I decided to stop for a cup of tea and a cereal bar. I bought from a girl staffing a horse box coffee shop, one of the many roadside coffee vans that have sprung up in the last year or so. She was in or around 20 and, although very friendly, I think I was a lot more enthusiastic about the lovely sunny day than she was. I’d like to think she thought I was a happy man but she probably though I was a middle aged weirdo!
I parked my bike and grabbed a bench in the very pretty Diamond with a great view of the “Earth Mother” statue from the HEART Project. I sat here for about 10 minutes, basking in the warm sunshine but could have sat for an hour easily.
I’d once again dropped layers with the promise of warmer temperatures but couldn’t quite give in totally. I was still in my Perfetto and leg warmers but definitely should have gone for arm warmers instead of the full Perfetto sleeves and by the time I sweated my way to the top of the hill to home I was regretting not taking the risk of the first bare legged spin of the year.
I’m really hoping that we’re now through this very weird and mixed up start to Spring and that the warmer weather is here to stay. I’d love some more days like this sometime soon.
Yesterday I went for the longest spin for quite a while outside of the 100km metric challenge spins. It took me across the border into Co. Tyrone to Strabane and Newtownstewart before returning via Castlederg and Drumquin for 80km.
click the image to view on strava
As the weather had been settled and dry all week and I had an extra day off for St. Patrick’s Day I managed to ride my bike for 5 days and this spin brought me to 232km for the week. This spin wasn’t just about the mileage though. It was a great day for the bike with dry, bright weather and very little wind for most of the ride. What made it so enjoyable was the ability to lift my head and take in all around me and enjoy the day.
birdsong in all the wooded areas, noisy and full of life.
the miniature horse with legs so short and hair so long he looked like he was floating above the ground.
the old man out for his slow, careful walk smiling at the nonsense of me taking photos of my bike on the pedestrian bridge in Strabane.
the weir at Sion Mills flashing white through the bare trees.
newborn lambs bleating in the fields and anxiously staying close to their mothers.
the group of swans swimming in a flooded area of a field briefly glimpsed at just the right time across the top of a high hedge.
the colourful giant display of a gnome family along the river in Newtownstewart complete with decorated toadstools.
meeting an ex work colleague passing through Newtownstewart and stopping for a half hour chat.
the brand new display board for the International Appalachian Way in Baronscourt forest.
windmills turning lazily, catching and reflecting brief glimpses of sunshine.
pigs squealing in a farm shed outside Castlederg making me think of banjos and a film I haven’t actually seen.
roadside displays full of bright yellow daffodils.
spotting the often seen but recently missing horse from a roadside paddock in a new location in another field.
the hound with long ears and short legs that barks and valiantly tries to chase every time I pass his house and making me smile every single time.
I expected it to be difficult to keep up the level of activity of the last few weeks when I went back to work but I had a plan for the week. I didn’t plan on multiple days of stormy wind and rain though.
Tuesday onwards has been pretty grim which had a big impact on my cycling. My plan was 60km each of my days off (Wednesday and Sunday) with 25km two mornings before work (Tuesday and Friday). Tuesday morning wasn’t happening as I really needed the extra hour in bed. Wednesday I did get out but the worst of the storm was to hit that afternoon into Thursday so I only managed a wet and windy 26km. It was still stormy Friday morning so the bike was out again. Today it’s Mother’s Day and #2 son’s 13th birthday so 2.5hrs on the bike was never going to happen. I had hoped for an hour in the morning but a walk was just about enjoyable, a cycle would have been hateful. A total of 26km for the week, how the mighty have fallen!
Walking has been more successful. I’ve managed to keep up my streak of walking every day. Even on the wettest days it’s not hard to dress up appropriately and make it at least partially enjoyable. My target for the week is 30km and finishing on 28.9 my only issue was skipping the 2km walk on Thursday morning. Heavy rain and hail showers was not my idea of a good way to start the day.
The biggest result of the week has been finally starting a strength and conditioning program. I’ve been following the Chain Reactions kettlebell routine from YouTube. Monday, Thursday, Saturday with a 2km warm up walk (skipped on Thursday). I’ve also added in some upper body movements to give a 25-30min routine. I was very stiff on Wednesday but OK since and hopefully it’s the start of a new habit.
Over the last fortnight I’ve enjoyed two of the very best cycling weeks I’ve ever had. With a great dry spell I’ve been able to get out every day bar two. One of these was when a storm blew in and the other was yesterday as I went back to work.
In two weeks I’ve managed to cycle slightly over 600km. To put that in context my target to hit 6,000km for the year is 500km per month.
Apart from my “31 Days of Biking” Challenge in August last year, which was mostly short daily rides I have to go back to the “Every Day in May” Challenge in 2017 to get consistent high mileage like this. That month included one week of 517km which had my first ever Audax event (205km) followed the next day by a 106km Club spin that nearly killed me!
This consistent cycling has also had a significant impact on my fitness. I can feel it in my legs but it’s measurable according to Strava. A score of 79 is probably a lot lower than many other people but my highest score for the last two years (limit of Strava’s charts) was a very brief 81 in October. This time last year it was approximately 30, two years ago it was 12!
The challenge now is to maintain my great start to the month. These two weeks have put me back on track for my yearly target but this weather won’t last much longer and now that I’m working again I’ll have to be more organised. I have a plan that gets me to 170km per week across 4 days using two mornings before work and my two days off. I also want to start some much needed strength and conditioning training while keeping up with the walking. All of that is in the plan too which starts tomorrow morning.
The good weather has stayed around for another week. Not as warm and sunny as last week but despite the grey skies and chilly winds it has stayed dry which is the most important. As my fitness is at a pretty good level and I’m going back to work tomorrow I thought it would be a good idea to get my 100K done nice and early this month, especially as the weather may not last.
I was tempted to go a longer route this month, especially having seen one of the guys in the club doing a great 110K route last week. However, I’m still not comfortable going far from home and having to use garages and shops for comfort breaks and food stops. I decided to stick with a similar route to the last two to be on the safe side and be able to have my break at home again.
I modified it slightly again though. This time I did three overlapping loops. Clady to Ballybofey (37km), Strabane to Killygordon (37km) and Clady to Killygordon (26km). I had my break at 74km which was perfect again. This route worked really well as there was a gusty, cold SE breeze. This was a real hassle on the first loop but the second one used the wind better by going down the sheltered back road and back the main road with a bit of a tailwind. The third loop was OK too but short enough not to matter.
At 52km the sun came out briefly and I stopped to eat a bar and admire the huge 5.5m tall metal sculpture at the border in Strabane. It’s officially called “Let the Dance Begin” but in typical irreverent Irish humour it’s known locally as “The Tinnies” as Tinney is a local surname. The artist is Maurice Harron who is a very far out family relation. The site of the sculpture is highly significant too as it’s the former location of the “Camel’s Hump” British Army border checkpoint from The Troubles and dismantled in 1999 after the signing of The Good Friday Agreement (1998).
click the image to view on strava
The tone of the recent government announcements about lockdown restrictions suggest that we might see some relaxations from early April. I hope to go somewhere more interesting and further away for next month’s challenge🤞
This morning was getting some jobs done about the house. Tempocyclist will be glad to hear that one of them was cleaning my bike which was on the plan before he published his latest blog 😄
Post lunch the idea was a ride on the road bike of approximately 60km but I just couldn’t get motivated for it. I think it may have been a bit of burnout after 6 days in a row but I’m mostly blaming it on the weather. It was cold here all day with a mist hanging just overhead giving a hateful grey and gloomy feel to the day. Just over 2 hours on the road in that was totally unappealing.
Instead I decided to get the MTB out instead. I fancied an hour or so wandering around the local roads and forests. I ditched the usual gear and threw my walking trousers over my bib shorts and stuck on my hiking shoes having switched my bike pedals to the flats. I wanted to be able to jump off the bike and do a bit of exploring in Monellan.
In the end up I was out for almost 2.5hours including just over half an hour exploring. I even took time to stop for a few photos.
A slog on the road turned into a great local wander. I even found a cracking spot along the river for tomorrow morning. I’m really glad I decided to change my plans.
niall harran 