One of the biggest concerns about avoiding the virus is the impact of isolation on people’s mental health. Luckily it’s Spring and the weather is reasonably good so it’s not hard to get outside and do something. The boys have been spending a good bit of time kicking the football and Owen has even started running in a bid to keep up his football and Gaelic fitness when he can’t train.
It’s very easy to fall into bad habits, staying up late at night and lying in late in the morning as well as eating all the wrong things. It’s also very easy to lose motivation and get very lazy. While I’ve definitely been quite lazy I’ve also made an effort to get out and off my arse too.
Since Monday I’ve gone for a walk each day (3 x 6km and 1 x 10km) and today was a biking day with almost perfect cycling weather.
My MTB has suffered much of the same maintenence neglect as my road bike so yesterday I spend the afternoon giving it a deep clean with a big focus on the drive system which was full of gunk. Today I spent 2 hrs and 30km getting it clattered in mud from a variety of local forest trails!
Wednesdays are my usual day off and in a change to the usual weather we’ve been experiencing Wednesday’s forecast actually looked good for a change. Cool but dry and sunny resulted in a plan to do 55km in the morning.
Woke up after a bit of a lie in to the sun shining in the window and a complete lack of enthusiasm. Probably the best day of the year so far and I really couldn’t be arsed. I guess the warning signs were there as I hadn’t organised my gear the night before which is usually my best motivator.
Once I dragged my lazy arse out of bed I decided I had to do something productive with the day and we headed to Letterkenny, and eventually Strabane, to sort out a present for Conor’s birthday. Once done the lure of McDonald’s was strong and lunch was had.
I wouldn’t advocate McDonald’s as an athlete’s diet but getting home I was in better form and decided the afternoon was far too good to waste sitting around the house and headed for a 55km planned spin on a slightly different route than one I normally ride.
My last few spins have been affected by the stormy weather and confined to lower ground due to the windy conditions so I decided today would be a good day to add back in some hills……big mistake! 🙈
The route heads across the back roads from The Crossroads to Trusk Lough. From approx the 5km mark it starts steadily climbing on increasingly hilly sections pretty much all the way to the top of Trusk Lough with only short downhill sections to give some relief. Considering the first 1.5km is all downhill from my house I wasn’t at all warmed up before the climbing began and with tired, heavy legs it was no fun. A route that I could do easily a year and a half ago suddenly looked daunting.
Above Trusk I stopped to admire the view and take some photos of the snow still lying on The Bluestacks but mainly to catch my breath. With only 16km on the clock I already had 280m of climbing, almost half of all the climbing for the day.
snowy bluestacks
Dropping back down to the Derg Line I was hoping for a little help from the slight 15km/hr breeze and a chance to recover all the way to Castlederg. It was at this stage that I finally realised that the day’s problems weren’t just tired legs but that months of less than the bare minimum of bike maintenance meant that the bike was actually working against me. The cursory check of my chain that afternoon was wildly over optimistic and my drivetrain was obviously much too dry and dirty and making everything that little bit more difficult. The superficial wipe downs the bike has received in the last 6months has led to a buildup between and behind the front rings and I’m sure my jockey wheels are in a similar state. Add to that rubbing brakes on the rear wheel and my laziness was paying me back in spades.
The road from Trusk to Killeter and along the river to Castlederg is a really nice rolling, fast road and quite picturesque in places but it really was head down, arse up and try to get as much from my legs and bike as possible with the plan to have a rest break in Castlederg.
having a break…
Falling back on the old reliables I was hoping that a 15min rest, cup of tea and a Kit Kat would be restorative enough to get me the final 15km home. About 7km of that was over one of the more difficult local climbs, a road we call The Steps due to the appearance and elevation profile.
It doesn’t look like much from the average grade of 2% but the effort is partly hidden by the couple of descents that rob you of the hard won elevation you gain on the first couple of short, steep climbs. The main part of the climb is from Garvagh Hall just after a fantastic, fast descent.
According to Strava the average is 3% but there are quite a few tough 8, 9, 10 and 12% sections hidden in there which definitely justify the Category 4 rating. According to my Garmin the full elevation was 175m over 4.5km so it’s possible that the current segment stops before the climbing does.
Getting over that climb seemed impossible on the way back from Castlederg with the breeze back in my face but somehow I made it and even managed to enjoy the already mentioned descent to Garvagh Hall. The following climb wasn’t pretty but I made it to the top in one piece.
The one benefit of this route is that the final 5km is pretty easy, mostly flat and the last 2.5km to home all downhill. This means that I arrive home mostly recovered and not puffing and panting like I usually do.
*not* my bike 😱
My next job before my next spin is a strip down of the bike and a deep clean of the chain, rings and cassette as well as a trip to Halfords to get the brakes adjusted and finally replace the bearings in my rear wheel before they give up the ghost entirely!
A few years ago I read a tempocyclist post about his old club in England and the metric challenge they ran. The goal is to ride a 100km cycle at least once a month for a calendar year. Since then it’s something I’ve been attracted to especially as Strava also use the same distance for their monthly Gran Fondo.
Audax Ireland have a similar challenge, but taken to another level, to complete a 200km “Brevet” every month for 12 consecutive months. This challenge is called “Randonneur Round the Year” (RRTY). Having completed the “Four Provinces Challenge” in 2017 I’ve always had a goal of completing the RRTY. I started twice but for various reasons was unable to keep the run going. I cycled so little in 2019 and lost so much fitness that it seems like a fading dream but I’m hoping that a metric challenge this year will help me get there. At the very least it will be motivation to keep cycling.
My first 2020 metric challenge ride was near the beginning of January and with the Club. February has been such a terrible weather month with a number of bad storms and very wintry weather I’ve been cycling very little and thought I was going to run out of time. I managed to squeeze in a 50km spin on Sunday with the plan to cycle a solo 100km today.
I had a number of errands for today and at least one that had to be done early this morning which pushed the spin back later than normally suits me. That kind of worked out today though as it was very cold overnight and the delayed start meant the roads were properly thawed out. Snow caps on the hill tops convinced me of my plan to stick to the easier low ground and the same route as Sunday but doubled up.
Weather today was similar to Sunday with long bright spells. Thankfully less windy but definitely much colder. Dry all the way except for a heavy shower for the last 8km that turned into a snow shower for the last 4!
It’s a relatively easy route when there are lower windspeeds but lack of fitness made it difficult enough today, especially the second return from Strabane and into the headwind. Lack of time in the saddle also led to aches and pains that wouldn’t normally bother me from shoulders to ass and even in my feet as tiredness set in.
Two rookie mistakes didn’t make it any easier. A much needed tea break in Lifford at 63km was taken outside which led to me getting quite cold. It took a good 20mins to get back to a comfortable temperature and sapped energy I should have been conserving.
tea break at daley’s
I also badly underestimated food intake, leaving the house with just two small bars and was feeling the effects all the way from Castlefinn on my second loop. By the time I got to The Crossroads at 83km I needed to stop or I was in danger of “bonking“. Another cup of tea and a chicken and bacon wrap and I was good to go again.
Coming out of Ballybofey I realised that I wasn’t in the shape to make it up the 1.6km climb to the house. It’s tough enough at the end of any ride but I felt today that it would be a step too far. I decided to arrange for Catriona to pick me up in Castlefinn and get a lift home, avoiding the hill climb and maximising the benefit of the tailwind to finish. Turned out to be a great idea when the rain/snow arrived for the final section!
click the image to view on strava
All in all a tough day on the bike but I’m very pleased to get it done and hopefully March will see better fitness and an easier time.
And two rings!* Last night the weather forecast was predicting a temporary lull in hostilities between two bouts of stormy weather which has become the norm for the most of February and kept the majority of local cyclists badly curtailed and restricted mainly to Zwift. As I’m not a fan of Zwift this has meant I’ve been less active than hoped and any activity I have managed has been pretty much just walking. Determined to make the most of the chance, I got my bike ready yesterday evening and laid out all my gear to reduce the morning objections.
After a longer than planned lie in the absence of a wind howling around the house, a lack of hail or rain bouncing off the roof and the actual sun shining in the velux windows I decided I’d only regret it if I lay around the house all morning and got my ass in the saddle at 10:30am.
It was a cool but sunny morning and although there were some blustery side gusts heading down the hill from home I ignored the threat for later as I turned East to head down the Finn Valley towards Castlefinn and Strabane with the wind at my back and the sun shining.
making the most of the tailwind
Cutting across before the Asda roundabout and heading out the Bypass in Strabane I got a warning of what was in store for the middle of the spin with flags whipping and a strong, blustery sidewind making the bridge crossing interesting. Turning up the Urney Road into the teeth of the headwind I knew it was going to be tough all the way to Ballybofey.
The shelter of the high hedges was welcome all the way to Clady and protected me from the worst of the wind but once across the border there was nowhere to hide and it was a slog all the way up the Main Road to Castlefinn, Liscooley and finally Killygordon.
Having had quiet roads and considerate drivers all morning it seemed that all the idiots decided to come at once on this section of the road with a number of close passes and one very dangerous pass from an idiot in a small box van that I still don’t know how he didn’t clip me. Definitely one of the top 3 worst near misses I’ve experienced so far. It was that bad the guy coming behind in the small white van gave me a toot and a wave and went right over to the other lane to pass me. This, however, may have been influenced by my swearing and shouting at the box van!
Finally reaching Killygordon I got a brief respite as I crossed the Finn to take the back road to Ballybofey where the real slog began. This portion of road is undulating and pretty rough and as the wind picked up even more it was a struggle to keep above 20km/hr for most of it and a fight to maintain 15km/h at times. I honestly didn’t think I had the legs to reach Ballybofey and was delighted to finally turn across Dreenan Bridge with the wind half pushing me into the turn!
2min later it was like a different world. I went from fighting for 20km/h to cruising along at almost 40km/h eating and drinking and hardly breaking a sweat! All the hard slog was soon forgotten and I even had the opportunity to take some photos inspired by reading tempocyclist’s blog this morning**
just myself and shadow this morning
effortless 30km/h and warm enough to ditch the gloves 🧤
first time wearing my velotoze shoe covers
I finished with just over 50km and feeling like I’d done a lot more but in the spirit of the Audax Ireland motto I finished with a smile.
click the image to view on strava
* 15km easy in the big ring, followed by 25km struggling in the small ring, begging for a Granny ring and finishing with 10km back cruising in the big ring.
** although I’m far from pro level I also enjoy a good selfie. I have a sneaking suspicion though that I’m beginning to qualify as the “beardy-old-man” as I have the beard, wouldn’t go anywhere without my saddle bag and had legs like an old man this afternoon!
Turned up for the Club Sunday morning spin yesterday determined to keep my momentum going now that I’m back on the bike and back out with the Club again. Nearly shit a brick when they announced it was to be a 100km spin!
I did plan to do a 100km this month but not for another fortnight or so. I didn’t think I had the legs to complete the distance and definitely didn’t think I had the legs to stay with the group over that period of time. But, I did and I did!
It wasn’t all roses though. At times I was really struggling. Every hill I was fighting just to stay with the other guys and I drifted off the back a number of times and had to dig deep to catch up.
The route was a new one for me heading around by Lough Derg, Pettigo and Laghey returning home via Barnes Gap. It’s a road I’ve looked at a number of times but never actually cycled until yesterday. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever been in Pettigo before either.
Great route and a big personal milestone as I haven’t cycled 100km since November 2018.
click the image to view on stravacoffee stop in laghey
This morning I went cycling with the Club. That’s a simple statement that covers (up?) a whole lot. Getting to that point was the result of a lot of small steps that took effort and not all from myself. It started with a phonecall earlier in the week from one of the other guys asking me to come back out again. It’s not the first time I’ve been asked and not the first time by this person but this week it came at the right time.
Then came the small steps from me, getting my bike back from service in Halfords, getting my gear ready, getting my lights and Garmin charged, setting my alarm, putting my bike in the car yesterday, filling my bottle, getting dressed and leaving the house. Every one a small step that involved overcoming a separate mental objection resulting in a very enjoyable Club spin.
I was very nervous this morning, full of doubts about my own fitness, my ability to cycle the distance and to stay with the group but also going back out with people I know. Friday I cycled with strangers and that was mentally a whole lot easier.
In the end I surprised myself on all counts. It wasn’t easy and I know the group weren’t pushing too hard but I hung in there, was able to stay with them, not get dropped (except on one climb), enjoyed myself and completed my longest cycle for 3 months.
click the image to view on strava
I’ve always been a quiet person socially and it’s only in recent years that I’ve taken up cycling and found a group that I enjoy and feel part of. Over the last 12-18 months I’ve become more reclusive again, especially over the last year to the extent that today was almost exactly 7 months since I’ve cycled with the Club.
One phonecall was the catalyst to change that. For a non-physical part of the body the mind has such a lot of control.
With my change of job this year has come an unplanned bonus, traditional Xmas opening hours and therefore traditional Xmas holidays. We worked right up until Xmas Eve with an early dart home and have been closed for the last 3 days giving me my first Boxing Day off and at home for 7 years and, according to Facebook Memories only my second in the last 10 years!
It has been a nice, family orientated Xmas this year with the last minute addition of Mum and Dad and my brother for dinner on Xmas Day, visiting a lot of the rest of my family on Boxing Day in Mum and Dad’s and obviously having 3 days to spend with my own family.
As a bonus I even managed to get out on the bike for a couple of hours this morning. A spin organised by MTB Donegal in Barnes Gap which turned out to be really enjoyable and gave me a fitness confidence boost that I wasn’t expecting after at least 2 weeks of inactivity and crap eating culminating in the excess that is also a traditional Xmas!
I’m not anywhere near as bad as the gentleman in the photo above but I definitely don’t like throwing stuff away – you never know when it might come in handy!
When it comes to cycling gear though I’m definitely worse. I have loads of jackets I’ve bought in an attempt to balance breathability and water resistance but on a budget. I finally realised this wasn’t possible and bought an excellent convertible Castelli Perfetto.
It combines perfectly with a gillet or shell when wind or rain is that bit extreme and unavoidable. I still have those cheaper jackets though!
Today I’ve made a start and thrown out my very first pair of bib shorts that I bought about 6 years ago! They are a basic Assos gel bib short that cost approx £25 in a local bike shop and never really fitted me comfortably. They were better than the cheap, cheap shorts I started with but were replaced by better fitting DHB Aeron shorts within the year.
Despite wearing them only twice in a wardrobe emergency in the last 5 years I’ve never thrown them out, until today!
In perfect Peppa Pig style “everyone loves jumping up and down in muddy puddles!” or in my case splashing through them and bunny hopping over them 😊
Friday nights have morphed with the shortening days into MTB night. Two winters ago a group of us were out nearly every week for 2-3 nights but last year the rest of the group moved to the Dark Side and switched to Zwift instead. Admittedly it’s warmer and drier in Zwiftland but it’s still hard to beat the feeling of a frosty night spent rattling around forest trails and splashing through puddles.
This year it looks like I’ve managed to recruit a new group from the club that are interested in getting wet and muddy every Friday night and tonight we had our first spin out together.
click the image to view on strava
A really enjoyable couple of hours of hills, banter, complaining, downhill speeding and of course…….muddy puddles!
Back in the middle of September I was feeling very positive about my return to cycling and felt I had my mojo back after 6 weeks or so of fairly consistent cycling. That was the last time I was on a bike meaning I was once again living up to my self imposed blog title!
There are plenty of excuses why I wasn’t able to cycle but no real good reasons why for so long. I had a hospital appointment on a Sunday and the following Wednesday I contracted a particularly vicious vomiting bug that knocked me for six for about a week. However, last week was pure laziness!
Today, spurred on by a post from “A Dude Abikes“, I’ve managed to break that duck and felt surprisingly good on the bike. I had planned a relatively easy spin to Strabane and back for 40km but ended up adding on a loop to Stranorlar to make that 50km instead.
click the image above to view on Strava
I was faster than usual today which also surprised me with a 27km/hr average before I hit the last climb to home. There was very little wind this morning which may have contributed but I was working too as my heart rate was pretty high throughout. At no point though did I feel I was red lining.
After my mid September collapse in performance I’m hesitant to set an October target but I hope to get 400km+ in this month with 50km already done.
niall harran 