Riding around

[Alistar]

Apart from a ride with the daughter to the wheatsheaf and back and a small 2km cross country training ride with my youngest(he ran, I rode) did no riding last week. Daughter hadn't ridden for awhile so had lost her cycling fitness so I had to push her up some of the hills so it wouldn't be too painfull for her. Quite a good lesson in a way, as any cyclist knows how quickly one loses ones fitness back to zero. Short but steep is the "1st/last hill". Another thing she's learning is that pain/hills are temporary so aren't really that bad. You get a sense of achievement in getting to the top, and you quickly recover with a fun downhill afterwards.

Noticed the fitness slide today. Quite a few riders out today when I left so caught a couple up "1st hill". Instead of keeping my pace ego kicked in as passing(pretending to be a hotshot cyclist or something ) and rode up it 14kph instead of comfortable 10/11kph. Lucky I was fresh but not a good idea when the fitness has definitely ebbed! Think I impressed them, but then they couldn't seeing me gasping for breath with my tongue sticking out 200m up the road
Quite a fresh Southerly blowing so a reasonable HW to top of Gebbies. Long sleeves and leg warmers today in the sun. HR was pretty high. Up the bastard were a few guys up ahead which I couldn't gain on at all. Cool passing this one guy on an old healing ten speed, 90's helmet, toe-straps out there enjoying it, going a decent pace. Felt like a bit of a tryhard wanker in all my gear, carbon bike only going slightly faster. Then taking daughter to netball in town saw the same guy still riding at Govs heading presumeably to town over Dyers 3hrs later(double loop of some sort over hills?). Respect!
Caught a couple of young guys on Summit Rd I presume I saw earlier riding together up the big B and good to put on the pace and leave them behind as didn't really feel like a race. HW From town to Gebbies valley but glad to get there before the wind changed as it nearly always does before the next approaching front. Running a little late so glad for the push home.

13:42 Wheatsheaf
18:50
25:50/55 top Gebbies( 7min)
43:42 top big B (17:47)
1hr00:51 SOK
1hr7:50 town
2hrs6 Gebb Valley
Gebbies 6mins50 (TW)
3mins43 Last hill( on stra KOM is only 3:30. shhhhh! )

70.3km 2hr36:50 26.89Av 79.4Max(Gebbies)
20 58 20 148A 180M 1807Cals

[Alistar]

Exciting Giro . Really impressed with Cadel so far. Fantastic finish in the TT the other day when I thought he was gone for all money. Just drilled it up that last climb. Wiggo did too but he's so efficient on the bike its hard to know how fast he's going as he's always riding the same cadence rock-solid in the saddle. Freaks!

Good to get out for a commute this week for a change. Drizzly foggy overcast and cool. Legs felt Saturdays ride cause I've got myself used to 1 ride a week. Then had to drill it up last hill before govs as halfway up glanced back and saw a logging truck steaming down the other side. So had to get to Dyers pass before it did(where it turns off to Lyttelton). Went as fast as possible which wasn't really that fast with legs/ lungs really protesting, but glad to have enough headstart to make it. Roads are too narrow/windy for a logging truck plus a cyclist so you just can't risk getting overtaken considering how some of them drive(talking from experience here). Either dive into a driveway if ones handy, or cross the road...
Sun is going down so early ~ 5pm. Left a little late so light was getting quite low by time I got home.

1hr01:10 there
1hr01:43 back
15:30 Govs SOK
19:29 Dyers SOK
last hill 4:28

51.3km 2hrs2:53 25.05Av 67.5Max
19 52 18 142A 186M

[bob_summers]

GLad to see someone's holding the fort with the cycling logs! Giro's been better than it has for years, and now with Wiggo gone & the script torn up we might see a more interesting side to Sky. I feel a bit sorry for Urán, he would be much closer to Nibali & Evans if Sky hadn't reigned him in for Wiggins. I wish I'd put money on Evans though, I think he's got this one.