Rain, Rain...go away...

I have to say the weather in February has been atrocious.  In case you missed it.

Living in Wrexham which is some 200 feet above sea level and with no significant river to speak of, the floods that sadly affected so many were fortunately not really an issue here.  If Wrexham looks like it is about to flood, I strongly suspect we will all have far more serious issues.

However, that, combined with work and has limited the time spent out on the bike in the last month.  This has had one blessing though in that I have found Sufferfest.

IWBMATTBYT

For those who don't know, Sufferfest is a relatively small company from Australia that brings an Antipodean approach to indoor cycling videos.  It's logo above stands for "I Will Beat My Ass Today To Kick Yours Tomorrow" and appealing to your competitive streak is a key part of this training.   Instead of watching an instructor and other people on a spin bike you get the privilege of seeing the World Tour superstars on your screen.  Can you beat Wiggins to the top of the next hill is the encouragement to push yourself just that bit harder than you probably would left to your own devices.  And it works.  Brilliantly.

The sense of humour in the videos keeps you entertained as well as the good music and the video encouragements.  The Tour of Sufferlandria leaders jersey being a straight jacket for instance.  The videos are available on either downloads or I phone app and cover a variety of workout from aerobic, strength to sprints and for those occasions where going out is just not practical this variety is a welcome change.

SUFFERFEST WEBSITE

My personal favourites are A Very Dark Place - 4 mins at full tilt with four minutes rest...and repeat... and then It Seemed Like a Good Idea At The Time where you make three 20 minute and one 8 minute climbing efforts. How hard you go is up to you, but I have found roughly my "threshold" pace (the maximum pace I can keep for an hour) and matching this throughout the efforts results in a workout so intense that my cycling kit is drier in the washing machine.  Sufferlandrian holy water according to their twitter feed.

It has to be said I have done spin classes and one in particular has similar workouts to those included here. That group ethos is motivational but if that's not possible, Sufferfest will certainly help improve your fitness.  The main thing I have noticed is previously my cadence was always around 75-80 Rpm on the flat whereas now I feel as if I am not really spinning unless I am at 90 (the base cadence in most of the videos) and this is resulting in general increase in pace as I am not changing down gears on the road just spinning faster.

Pedaling flat out to stand still

For the first time in a while we managed to get out last week on a quick early morning spin.  The first thing that became obvious was the strength of the wind.  The thought of climbing up into the hills and increasing the 25 Mph gusting to over 40 Mph winds did not appeal to either Nick or me and see we opted for the flatter route into Chester and back.

The elusive tailwind was found and proved to be a big advantage rolling down to Holt as we were averaged nearly 29 Mph whilst chatting comfortably.  Very high for us amateurs.  We then proceeded along the road into Chester and saw the devastation that the storms in the week had been causing.  Trees were down, the flood waters were very high in Farndon and there were fences that had fallen over (including mine!). It was a sobering reminder of just how much damage Mother Nature can do.

Heading out on the Dee path next to the river the wind was horrendous.  With just Nick for company, we couldn't shelter from the wind.  Riding along at 90 rpm, 165 bpm and around 10mph was a touch frustrating as the lack of movement compared to the effort was obvious.  The cyclist going in the other direction seemed to be having a far easier time of things ! :-)

In spirit of riding along a new road, this time it was Queensferry high street.  Not exactly the type of road I had in mind, but it did take me back to childhood again.  I used to buy my goalkeeper gloves from Queensferry Sports, where my Dad knew the owner I mostly remember for being on Blind Date!

At the end of this short trip down memory lane, we turned back towards home through Hawarden.  This road I had been on before, but only in the opposite direction.  The smallish climb here is actually quite steep towards the end which surprised me and was a good workout into the wind.

There was also a further sign of debris that I was not expecting.  I have often wondered how you end up with single shoes in the middle of the M1 but I was equally curios as to how the bra had found itself into the middle of the road on this small hill.  The mind boggles.

The morning after the night before

As we are riding the Jodrell Bank Classic in two weeks, Saturday seemed like a good morning to go out and do some reasonable hills in the spirit of training.  Friday night however, saw Wales play France at rugby and some parents from my son's team heading out to a local pub for a meal and to watch the game.

So who has added 2 and 2?

My wife's encouragement when the alarm went off that "you have organised it so you have to go...even if you only make it to the end of the road" was wise and as I prepped the bike to go out the end of the road looked like a good prediction as to how far I would get.  I have never been so pleased to hear my tyre pop as that gave me an extra 10 minutes changing the tyre before I had to actually go out.

Out on the road, with the cold air and the familiar turning of the pedals all cobwebs were blown away very quickly and I was really enjoying it as we made the familiar climb up past Bersham.  Obviously there were not going to be any heroic times but it was great fun to be out.

Nant-Y-Garth pass

The Nant-Y-Garth pass is a great road to ride down although I can imagine it is better in the summer when the thought of "is that shadow Ice or not?" is not playing on your mind.  This road twists and turns like a toboggan run down the valley to Ruthin tracking a small river on the left hand side and the gradient away from you encourages the bike to speed up at every opportunity.  Fortunately the river encourages prudent application of the brakes as well.  At least the first time you do it anyway.

Clwyd Gate

Heading out of Ruthin towards Mold is the climb to the Clwyd Gate hotel. Featured in the UKs top 100 cycling climbs, this 200m ascent over 2 miles averages around 6% however the first part of the climb has some hairpin bends where the gradient is far steeper before levelling out to a more consistent slope.   If riding it, I suspect the way of posting a really good time is to go for it after the second hairpin having left plenty in reserve.  I was pleased to just aim at 10mph on my Garmin and keep it there for as long as possible throughout the entire climb.

Keeping Ruthin on your right hand side, the view out over this part of Wales became more and more stunning until you reach the second car layby on your right hand side.  Now, had I stopped there the view would have been glorious however there is an old adage that I follow when it comes to climbs; if you can still see tarmac above you...keep going.  So I duly did.  All the way past the hotel as well until the road started dipping.  Safe in the knowledge this meant I had topped the hill I then turn around and waited at the hotel where sadly the view was not quite as nice as that corner.  Next time.  There will be a next time.

Descending back into Mold and along the main road to home meant I arrived at home just in time for an afternoon watching the rugby.  Quietly.

MMVT Introduction 2014

MMVT 2014

It is the time of year where all bike teams appear to be doing the launch of their 2014 line ups and it seemed a shame for our squad of carefully assembled pedal bashers to miss out.  So, Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls please welcome the members of MMVT 2014!

DBH

 Forever tinkering with scientific experiments that never quite work out the way it was hoped, DBH has followed suit with his bikes that have been lovingly acquired through the pages of Ebay and then adjusted ad infinitum thereafter.  In particular, this tends to involve mid ride adjustment of mud guards to ensure that they are releasing water at the perfect angle to hit the rider behind square in the face.  All this, whilst bearing in mind he has never had to take his back wheel off the frame and is unaware exactly how this is done.

Recently seen purchasing a new bike, there were fears that his best days may be behind him but having performed extra training in the winter months DBH is set on breaking some of his records this year.

R1

Having twins on the team may pose challenges for both fans and the riders from other teams in tracking the correct riders.  

However, R1 and R2 both have their own distinct styles out on the bike and their position in the group normally allows for easy identification for those who struggle with their identical looks.

Whilst on the flat both R1 and R2 take their fair share of time in the wind in support of fellow riders it is when the road changes from the horizontal that true identity is exposed.

R2

R2 is often seen at the front on climbs buoyed on by the enthusiastic encouragement of his twin.  This takes the form of a customary greeting as R2 passes on the way to the front that we assume must be a childhood code that can’t quite be deciphered by those around.

When the road slopes in the opposite direction R1 comes into his own moving to the  head of the group with another customary war cry of “GRAAVVIIITTTTYYYYY” that brings fear to those ahead.

Whilst R2 is given the notional title of “Top Dog” everyone knows it is R1 who is rightly both the inspiration for MMVT and really pulling the strings.

G

Individual?  Yes.  Unusual? Yes [Check out his music and video collection!].  From another planet? Unproven.  What is sure is that MMVT’s G frequently looks to the other members as if he has been shot out of a cannon as he disappears into the distance like an excitable terrier chasing a rabbit.

Given G had requested Gonzo decals for his bike long before the tests were complete, some have talked of potential foul play in this role being allocated. 

However we are assured that this was a clean result.

As if having twins was not hard enough MMVT 2014 comprises triplets also!  Three identical riders but all with slightly different aspects of the underlying personality.

A1

Like the testing machine at the IKEA draw manufacturing plant, A1 simply repeats the same piston like action again and again and again.  Pounding the pedals with the same cadence regardless of hill or descent, rain or shine, Ant or Dec…

A1 is frequently seen at the front of the group or more accurately just in front of the front of the group who have dropped back when the road hit vertical.

Benefitting from his alpine training camp last year he lives by the Motto of why change down a gear; push harder.  His gear levers are second in the list of most redundant things behind a motorbike's ashtray.

 

 A2

Prone to bouts of inactivity and apparent quietness, when A2 jumps into a Facebook thread everyone knows they are in for the long haul.  The conversation will continue far beyond the usual levels of checking are we going out on Saturday and organising a rough meeting point into a chain of conversation that sucks people in.

Whilst this may be hard to spot whilst actually out on the bike (and A2 has never actually made it out onto the bike) it may be easier to say that A2 is the only female in the group.  Whilst not wanting to be out with the rest of the bunch may explain why she has never made it out onto the bike with the rest of us, it is maintained that the fact she lives 100 miles away is the primary cause.

                    A3

A man of few words but definite actions.  

A3 is now renown within MMVT for declaring himself unfit to ride Etape Mercia’s relatively flat 63 miles only to then complete Etape Cymru’s definitely not flat 88 miles four weeks later.  The fact that somebody else took the time to do the entry process for him may have helped but nevertheless that is some achievement.

It also helps that A3 actually has played the drums!

L

To be honest, we don’t know either…he is not seen very often but when he was seen he definitely lived up to the MMVT label by pushing his bike over the finish line of Etape Cymru with its completely flat tyres.  He would have changed them and ridden but he had used all of his tubes having already repaired a few punctures en route.  Chapeau!

W

In my mind Statler and Waldorf are not grumpy men who have no ideas how to enjoy themselves.  Instead, like MMVT’s W, they are perfectionists for whom if a job is worth doing it is worth doing well, properly and only after hours and hours of painstaking research to make sure nobody can in any way doubt the outcome.

The only member of MMVT to have tri bars and the full team sky kit (on sale at Adidas Cheshire Oaks just before the Tour de France win!), W is unlikely to be seen on a ride unless certain they can complete the course in a respectable time following months of training.  If only his competition was stiffer he could be a world beater; or a hermit.  One of the two.

P

MMVT’s newest member is used to hiding under his shell and the days of mountain biking and long round trip commutes have certainly resulted in a talent being kept out of sight.  Last seen sprinting off towards the hills after a particularly fast lead out on the flat part to Overton this is one crustacean we are all hoping does repeat.

That Ladies and Gentlemen is the MMVT group for 2014.  

There are obviously more members who didn’t complete the Buzzfeed “Which Muppet are you?” test without whom Saturday mornings would not be the same but their identities are being withheld.  Probably at their own request.

If you see us out on the road, say “Hi”, say “Waka Waka” or like most passing motorists shout “Muppet!!” as loudly as you can.  It acts as fuel.

(PS as you can tell, no expense was incurred in the creation of the team photos :-))