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| River Dee in Chester at leisurely pace |
Riding
a bicycle has often reminded me of the film Cars.
The
irony of this is not lost on me but let me explain. It is not a longing
to be in climate controlled comfort in contrast to the freezing rain dripping
off my nose. Nor is it the wish to have the power of 100+ horses getting
me to the top of the hill as opposed to the two spindly legs I have turning
away in frustration.
Instead
it is the fact that away from the main routes you often take for speed and
ease, there are often smaller roads which dissect beautiful villages or provide
views you have just never seen before despite living in the area for nearly 40
years.
Cycling
tends to take you to these roads primarily for the increase in hills, the
views, but also for safety reasons. On a quiet country lane you are more able
to ride along, talking in a group side by side and not line astern being as
little a nuisance to passing drivers as possible.
Add
to this that by trying to ride slowly you have more time on the bike to look
around and it makes for a fantastic morning out.
This
happened on Saturday when in plotting a route from Wrexham to Shotton, so we
could join the Chester riverside path and, in the vehicular circle of
life, become annoyed by slow moving pedestrians in the middle of the path, I
found a road that by passed not only the Penyffordd by pass but also PenyFfordd as well. Anybody who is party to superior intelligence than me may be
able to say if there is a particular name for this type of road as I have only
heard of a double by pass in the context of heart operations. ;-).
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| The Dee Cycle path |
Anyhow,
this road was quiet, rolling, gave a fantastic view out over the flat Cheshire
countryside and on the other side the welsh hills. It was stunning. It
wasn't bereft of strava segments so it is a civilised road but not a commonly
used road at all.
Why
has it amazed me? At the other end if the road above is a piece of tarmac
that will forever be known to me as the "bumpy hills". As a child, as
a treat my parents drove that way to Chester so we could experience the joy of
a 1970s suspension being tortured by a car going over what felt like a Big
Dipper roller coaster. Anyone who remembers things like this will
remember this was pre seatbelts being law...they will also probably have quite
an accurate picture of kids dramatically throwing themselves around on a back
seat as said seat hurriedly comes back to meet them. The resulting
nausea was a small price to pay and Chester was not so far away.
How
that view escaped me until now was where Cars comes in. The bumpy hills,
this was not a road you would take if you were in a hurry therefore we never
had. Like Cars where the interstate cuts out the travelers to what was a
thriving village.
So I
have a thought I am going to try and implement into future routes. I am going
to make sure I go on at least one lane that I have never been on before. The
thought, combined with my legendary navigational skills, will strike fear into
the hearts of my cycling buddies. However it thrills me as to what else I may
find right on my doorstep as I have in some of the pictures below.
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| Worlds End and a ripped tyre |
BASE
TRAINING
I
have a question I would love an answer to. Is Base training so called
because it is Building Aerobic Stamina and Endurance? Is this commonly
known and I have just missed it? Should I run off and see if I can Trade Mark this somehow?
The
theory i am trying to test is that by riding at a more steady pace we as a
group will improve our underlying fitness allowing us to ride for longer at
increased efforts in about 9 weeks from now. This is not our theory, this is
tried and tested however we are also running into the common problem that easy
rides are still too hard.
Trying
to actually ride a bike slowly is not as easy as it sounds. Now by slowly
what I actually mean is at minimal effort and not actually caring upon the
speed you achieve but more the effort you are putting in.
Cycling
should be a simple if undefined equation. When I look at the computer
perched on my handlebars the Cadence must be linked to heart rate which must be
linked to speed as the visible output (until I justify those Garmin vector pedals pedals or Look Keo power pedals).
Why
I say "Undefined" is because I have no clue what the operators in the
equation are but I know they must all be in there. It is also a moving target
to some extent as road surface, gradient, temperature and most importantly wind
have a big factor to play in the defined output of speed.
Base
training (tm) is around monitoring the main input of heart rate. Now the
difficult part is not caring about the obvious visible output. Finding
yourself flying along flat well surfaced road at 130 bpm and 20 plus mph feels
great. Suddenly turning into a wind and a slight hill and your speed drops to
13 or less is still disheartening.
The
alternative is you just maintain the gear you are in and take advantage of
feeling quite fresh to maintain your speed. Now your heart rate jumps and you
potentially ruin two hours or training for the PB on a Strava segment or
to beat your friend to the top of the hill. Tough choice. If the fellow rider
is your best friend or your sibling obviously there is no choice here and most
peoples competitive streaks will kick in. :-). Some things are important. It
also important you have fun on your rides so the statistical analysis may mean
diddly squat to you but I have to say I am particularly nerdy about it.
Am I
improving? The honest answer is I don't know yet but I am riding for
longer without stopping on corners for a quick drink or for the longer group
coffee stop now. The general length and duration of the time out is not
different because I am not sprinting and stopping so I hope it helps.
What
the last two weeks of doing this have made me realise though is mostly training
and riding are different and balancing the two will be fun.
For
now though, if nothing else, I am certainly enjoying the view.
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| Horseshoe pass early one morning |
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