So far …
For training I have been running (as I do anyway) and cycling (not done very often) short distances for a couple of weeks. Not much cycling, as yet – plenty of time …
I have also spent evenings whilst Peter was away at a Honda CX rally in Vechta in Germany working out mileages per day on a route. My intention is to take a month to complete.
Monday 14 June
Peter came back from his German CX rally on Saturday and seems to have decided to get fit for my challenge. It’s my challenge, but he will do the whole thing as well to support me!! I don’t think he was initially keen, but has now thrown himself into a fitness regime. Day 1 of that is: we drive to Penmaenmawr in the car with the bikes on the back. We start off on the prom to cycle the 10 miles to Llandudno. We get as far as the café about 100 yards down and stop for a drink. (So far, so good :-)). Actually, we both decided we needed a loo break and the café was the only place close by with a toilet. After that we pedal off on a quite flat course to Llandudno with no major problems. It’s a lovely day, apart from a bit of a head wind. We stop there for a bit of shopping and a hot chocolate in McDonalds. Cycle back again to Penmaenmawr café for lunch, then drive back home. Total mileage: 20 miles. Time taken: about 2 hours. It’s a start.
Tuesday 15 June
Peter’s at work. I go for an early morning run with Steph’s dog, Sash, then shop and garden.
Wednesday 16 June
I’m at work in Bangor. Peter cycles down from home to meet me for lunch, then back. It’s got some killer hills there and back, although the journey to Bangor is more down than up (and vice versa). Peter’s Total mileage: 13 miles
Thursday 17 June
No cycling done today.
Friday 18 June
Cycled to work and back. Peter had adjusted my gears, as I couldn’t get into the bottom gear on the back cog. Now having problems when I’m in the middle gears on both cogs. Very noisy, and I’m having problems changing down to the bottom front cog – it doesn’t want to go down. Also the chain came off once as I was preparing to go up a hill. Frustrating. Total mileage 13 miles. Walked 2 miles at lunchtime.
Saturday 19 June
No cycling done today.
Sunday 20 June
Early morning run – 3 miles. Can’t do more – Steph is coming to pick up Sash and stay for dinner and Pam and Glenn coming to dinner (1.30). Dinner to prepare! It’s Fathers’ Day today and Cora and Wil turn up in the afternoon with kids. Pleasant afternoon in the garden in the sun. Karen had phoned and said she and family might come over in the afternoon, but didn’t in the end.
Evening – Peter adjusted my gears again. It’s a fine balance getting this right.
Monday 21 June
Another fantastic day, weather-wise. Got up early with Peter and cycled down to work with him. Set off at 6.55a.m. On the way down a buzzard flew up in from of us, we set up a pheasant from the road which flew over a hedge and when we got to Parc Menai, Peter pointed out 3 deer which had just crossed the road ahead of us and gone into some trees at the side of the road. Wonderful! We will see a lot more wildlife travelling this way, rather than on our motorbikes – or at least see them closer up!! After leaving Peter to do his day’s work (at 7.25a.m.), I cycled through Bangor to the other side and went up the cycle path leading out of Port Penrhyn. From the time it took it must be about 4.5 miles and I know it’s 8 miles from there to home, as I used to work in the Port House there and sometimes ran or cycled back. It’s now a solicitors’ office. [mental note: get trip counter attached to bike]
Lovely leisurely ride home up the cycle track and on quiet roads. I’m finding that in dappled sunshine I can’t see very well when the sun is shining directly at me. I’m wearing sunglasses, but I need to wear some sort of sunshade [mental note 2].
Arrived home 8.55a.m. slightly saddle sore [mental note 3: buy some padded cycle shorts!]. Also I must let down the air in my tyres. Peter had read that the tyres on my bike need 70psi, but I can feel every little pebble – and as for pot-holes – aaahhhh!! The shock wave travels through my whole body. I need a softer tyre, I don’t care what the book says. Also perhaps move my saddle back slightly.
Mental note 4: take recorder for mental notes
The gears working much better now. Having read in a cycling book Peter has about changing deraillieur gears – apparently you should ‘avoid using the smallest chainring at the same time as the smallest sprocket, and the biggest chainring with the biggest sprocket’ – I thought that maybe I was doing that, and that’s why the chain was coming off. I am now thinking too much about changing gears and getting it wrong – changing up instead of down just before a big hill!! It doesn’t help that my bike has gear levers that change by pressing a lever on the top to change one way and a lever on the bottom to change the other way. The trouble is, you change up a gear on the back cogs by pressing the top lever and down by pressing the bottom lever (right hand). What’s wrong with that? Nothing – if the same thing happened with the front cogs (left hand). Oh no, too simple, it’s the opposite way round for them. Designed to confuse poor old grannies!!
A colleague at Pam’s work has decided to do his own LEJOG challenge. Pam brought round his itinerary yesterday. He’s going to be cycling around 100 miles per day – awesome!!
Guesstimated mileage: 19 miles. Time taken 2 hours
Tuesday 22 June
Cycled to Llanrug and back to post a letter. 4 miles. Got to keep up the training :-)
Wednesday 23 June
No cycling today
Thursday 24 June
Peter cycled down to Caernarfon and back to do an MOT on a scooter. Approx mileage (P) 12 miles. I ran about 3 miles at lunchtime from work.
Friday 25 June
Office party today after work as the office is closing on Wednesday, 30 June, so I walked to the bus stop in Llanrug (1.5 miles) and caught the bus to work – used my 60+ free bus pass!!!!! Peter cycled to Llanberis and then to Deiniolen, then home. Approx mileage (P) 10 miles. Peter picked me up from party at 1.30 am (:-)). A good turn out and a good time had by all – in spite of the circumstances.
Saturday 26 June
Got up about 8.30, had breakfast then drove to Malltraeth with bikes. Rode to Llangefni on Lon Las Cefni, then on to Llyn Cefni (11.25 miles). Very pleasant ride. Reasonably flat, a bit stoney going over the cob at Malltraeth. Lovely ride through the dingle at Llangefni. Came round a corner on a narrow bit of the bike trail close to Llangefni and came face-to-face with some horses in line. Had to stop suddenly, Peter went into the back of me and fell over!! No lasting damage. (Now thinking about somehow putting brake lights on the back of our bikes!!) Seems rides were being offered to small children up and down the path. Not sure they should have been on a narrow cycle track, but hey ho … part of life’s rich pastry, as my father would say (yes, it should be tapestry – he knew that, and so do I). Had butties by the reservoir then cycled back. Stopped in at Karen’s in Llangefni for cool drinks and then a cup of tea before cycling back to the car. Total mileage: 22.5 miles. Sunny, warm day.
Sunday 27 June
Went for 4 mile run this morning. No cycling.
Monday 28 June – Wednesday 30 June
No cycling at all these days. Finished work on Wednesday – the office closed. I am now officially RETIRED!!!!
Thursday 1 July
Leisurely start to the morning. Got up 8.30. Did some gardening.
Friday 2 July
No cycling. Peter is working in Karen and David’s garage doing MOTs as they are away at Silverstone racetrack for a long weekend. Two guests coming to stay the night, so I’m preparing for that. A Honda CX club member with his son. His son is looking around universities and is coming to check out Bangor, so they arrived in the evening and went the next morning to the Bangor Uni open day.
Saturday 3 July
Peter and I cycle to Llanrug and back to get some shopping. Two members of the Swedish CX club (Dan and Tovey – don’t know how you spell it!!) have come over to stay with Roger and Janice. Roger and Peter have stayed with them in Sweden, whilst on foreign CX rallies, so we all get together for the rest of today. BBQ in the evening.
Sunday 4 July
Raining today and blowing, so drove to Llyn Padarn and went for a run around the lake (about 4 ½ miles). It’s a bit more sheltered there than anywhere else I normally run on a Sunday. Landed heavily on a piece of slate on the track on the far side of the lake, and felt a twinge in my foot. OK by the time I got back to the car. Went to Penrhyn castle with Roger and Janice and the Swedes and suddenly, after sitting down for a cuppa, my foot started hurting, which just got worse and worse, until it was REALLY painful, and I could hardly walk – oh no, I can’t jeopardize my cycling. However, once I got home and put my foot up, iced and bound it, and took an anti-inflammatory, the pain went away and gradually I was able to walk again – very strange. It’s OK now – it didn’t give me any more problems.
Monday 5 July - Wednesday 7 July
Margaret had a problem with her leg, so asked if I’d drive her to Kettering as she’d arranged to meet with her friends from way back for a lunch on Tuesday. She put me up at the hotel that they were having lunch in, so training was a swim Tuesday and Wednesday mornings in the hotel pool. Had lunch with them all (13 of them) and spent a very pleasant couple of days. Drove Margaret and friend Mary back to Colwyn Bay on Wednesday.
Thursday 8 July
Cycled this morning with Peter to Bangor down the cycle track to Port Penrhyn, into Bangor, up to Parc Menai (had lunch at Table Table), then Peter cycled to Caernarfon to do an MOT and I cycled partway with him, then turned up at Y Felinheli to go back home.
Peter’s mileage: 25 miles; Mine: 18.5 miles
Friday 9 July
Raining today. Didn’t do any training.
Saturday 10 July
Evan's first birthday party at my house. No planned exercise today!! Most of the family attending.
Sunday 11 July
6 mile run this morning.
