Day 11 Week 2 - Back On It!

I went to bed at just after 2200hrs last night and slept like the dead till may alarm went off at 0630hrs.

Still felt groggy, but 100% better than the previous day, it was up and out on my bike for a trip around the forest.

My usual route, which I must say I enjoy, it has 3 climbs. (If you can call them climbs)

The first climb is fairly long which starts off steep and then eases it self out gently, the second is short and sharp, and the last one is long and has a kick at around the 2/3rds point and then eases off.

The last climb, which is the one I have been going up almost since day 1 I feel I have made the most improvement on.

When I first started I could not even ride up it, having to stop at the bottom and have a 10 minute rest before I even attempted it!

Back then I could not complete it, and when I finally got to the top, once more I had to have a 10 minute breather. All the time I was in Granny Gear and I'm in that gear from the very bottom!

But over time I have got faster and stronger, gradually I have improved, getting either further or by not stopping until now I can ride without the need to stop at the bottom to prepare myself, I climb it in one go and I am out of Granny Gear completely, and I don't stop at the top either, just keep on pushing!

So if there was one measure of how I have improved since I started riding, then this hill is a great example.

Today I rode my normal route, and had my one and only stop at Wilverley Plain, there were plenty of cattle out and about and enjoying the morning sunshine.

This is where I also stop to make my morning videos which you can view HERE

And to have my hot cup of tea and honey!

At this point I am just over half way around, all though it feels like I have ridden further as the second half of the trip just fly's by!

All in all, a good ride and I broke two Personal Records - so happy with that!

Ride safe..

Day 10 Week 2 - Rest Day

It's been a busy 10 days!

I've been working shifts and also fitted in a night shift and as a result  - it all catches up with you.

Day 10 and it caught up with me - I was shattered, not only in body, but in spirit as well.

I decided that I just needed a day off the bike, I had a lazy start to the day as I was not due to be in work till 1200hrs.

Not that work is taxing, but you are active - I completed 16,000 steps just through my normal day!

I finished at 2000hrs came home had a little to eat and climbed into bed and slept till morning.

The day off did me good, it was just enough to recharge me, and to catch up on some much needed sleep and rest.

It is important to have a day off, it gives the muscles time to recover and your mind to readjust.

But ready now for Day 11 !!!

Ride safe...

Day 9 Week 2 - Damp And Windy

It was a rather damp and windy start to the day.

Thankfully there are only a few really exposed places on the route, which is a real bonus, but where it is exposed it really is exposed and makes a massive difference to my times.

Here I am at my first stop at the bottom corner of Wilverley Plain, about to head up the track that runs along side it.



Not many dog walkers about today.

I did manage to make a video which you can see HERE

My legs were like jelly getting off the bike on my return home, the last few KM's were all into a head wind.

Even though it is slightly down hill, I had to pedal hard just to keep moving!

My waterproof jacket is good at keeping the rain and moisture out, but rubbish at breathing and on a day like today, where the air is damp and with only very light misty rain I actually got wetter by sweating from the inside.

Going to have to look into this, not sure the budget can stretch to full on Gortex!

But, more KM's completed which makes me happy.

Ride safe.

Day 8 Week 2 - Glorious Sunshine

It seems that we have far to few days like this, but when the sun shines it is absolutely glorious down here in the New Forest!

Above I have stopped for the first time at around the 10km mark and enjoying the view over Wilverley Plain, during the summer this is packed with folk having picnics, but today totally empty apart from the odd dog walker.

At the top right hand corner of Wilverley Inclosure, I stop here to take make my videos, (above and below pics) 

You can view my words of wisdom HERE

A good ride mainly due to the sun shining, which always puts a smile on my face, but I also managed to attain three Personal Records on my route. So double smiles.

Another 21km in the bag

Ride safe......

Day 7 Week 1 -Target Exceeded

Well that's 7 days of training completed!

How has it gone?

Well, the riding has been fine, apart from some wet weather. But as it is winter at the moment there is nothing that can be done about that, its character building!

So let's have a look at some figures:

In total I have ridden 149km's against a target of 126km's - so with that I am very happy.

However, my dumbbell exercises have taken a bit of a hit towards the end of the week.

Not that I am unhappy with it, as I intend to make the reps up over the next couple of days.

Plus being honest I set my targets high, knowing that if I managed to complete all the exercises I would be extremely happy, but if not I would still be where I want to be.

So all is not lost and I am happy with my progress thus far.

Today was another ride on the same route on the Fat Bike, complete with loaded panniers which I must get around to weighing.

Below is a table showing a segment of my route and how I have improved over the last 7 days.

As you can see on the 9th I was averaging 11.8km/h but on the 16th I had improved to 14.7km/h - This is such a massive motivating factor for me!

16 Dec 2018	2:35	14.7km/h
2	14 Dec 2018	2:38	14.4km/h
3	13 Dec 2018	2:42	14.0km/h
4	12 Dec 2018	2:45	13.8km/h
4	15 Dec 2018	2:45	13.8km/h
6	10 Dec 2018	2:51	13.3km/h
7	11 Dec 2018	2:57	12.9km/h
8	9 Dec 2018	3:13	11.8km/h

Today for the most part it remained dry, but there were a couple of little showers to contend with. I only took the one picture today

But I did manage to make a short video which you can view HERE

Ride safe..

Day 6 Week 1 - One Word "Brutal"

What a ride!

I can honestly say that today was probably the worst I have ever ridden in on a bicycle.

The wind was howling, and the rain was coming in icy and sideways!

Really not the sort of weather to be out on a bike in, but it had to be done, and you know what?

I felt better for it. So I am really chuffed with myself for making the effort when I could of so easily just stayed in bed another hour or so.

I was drenched to the bone, but once again, I really did enjoy the challenge of completing the ride.

Another video on Instagram which you can view HERE

More km's in the bag, riding approx 21km everyday so far this week. 

Ride safe..

Day 5 Week 1 - Smashed Times

A clear, crisp and no wind day!

One could say near perfect riding conditions.

Must say it is a tad nippy though, and I definitely needed my ears protecting from the cold.

I only managed to beat one Personal Record, but smashed a load of time off of my overall time for this particular route.

At 1hr 31mins dead with my normal times being around the 1hr 43mins - just shows what can happen when there is no head wind!

I was a little surprised that more Personal Records weren't beaten with such a quick time.

It was a lovely morning, with some great views from up on the ridge.

Now some of you may be asking what I do for a living these days.

Well the honest answer is as little as possible, but at the moment I have a contract with a Postal Company with it being the run up to Christmas.

As you can see I take the job seriously and work hard!

Every day I am going to try and make a very short video and upload it to Instagram

You can view today's effort HERE

Ride safe..  

Day 4 Week 1 - Small Gains

A strange red light guided me on my ride this morning, it really did put a tinge to the forest as I rode through it.

A tad windy, so I was surprised to beat not one but two Personal Records.

Keeping to the same route really does help show progress, which is a brilliant motivator.

The ground is drying out which is helping, especially on the track sections, not particularly muddy, they are just full of puddles and deep sludge from the composting leaves from the trees.

Thankfully the Fat Bike just floats through it, but even so, it still slows you down.

Anyway, another successful ride and more km's in the bag.

I made a very short video and uploaded it to Instagram - You can watch it HERE

Ride safe.....

Day 3 Week 1 Wilverley Loop Via Sway On A Fat Bike

Another day another sign!

Same route as the last couple of days, but I left a little later at first light. 

The reason for this was simple, I just could not get out of bed when the alarm went off at 0530hrs!

I was not expecting to be so tired!

But it's all for a great cause, my fund raising page can be found by clicking the link below.

http://givi.ng/f6hc

I have just finished work, had my tea, cooked a chilli for tomorrow night, and now it's a set of dumbbell exercises, a 1km walk carrying 2 x 4kg weights, cup of tea - bed!

I did put up another short video on Instagram which if you click HERE you can watch me complete with what looks like snot in my beard!

Ride safe..

Day 2 Week 1 Of My 40 Week Training Programme On A Fat Bike

Yesterday as I was about to leave for work, after completing my ride I jumped in the car and got that sinking feeling as the engine turns over sluggishly and doesn't start!

Bugger, or similar words were exchanged with the car!

Quick check to see if my jump pack was charged, guess what, No!

Then as I was popping the engine my neighbour obviously guessed what the problem was and asked if I needed a jump start.

As I always carry jump leads, 2 minutes later the 4x4 was running.

I must admit the battery was a bit sluggish all week, especially if I did not drive it for a couple of days, and as yesterday was Monday and it had been laid up all weekend plus it was a cold morning it was fairly obvious the battery was on it's way out.

So a quick call and a new one on order and is being fitted today.

Which brings me back to today - I was up and out the door at 0530hrs, two reasons.

One, Kiera was driving the 4x4 to the garage as it's next door to her work, so I had to be around at 0830hrs to make sure the car would start (bloody thing did - 1st time) typical!

Secondly, someone is coming to collect a picture, long story.

As I am working today till 2000hrs I wont have time to ride this evening, so the only time I had was early O'clock.

It was dark for 95% of my ride, with the light just starting to filter through as I turned into our estate.

This also meant that I would change the route ever so slightly, instead of riding through Wilverly Enclosure, I would ride as far as I could up the track that runs along side it, then double back on myself.

Yesterday I rode 21.6km today 21.2km so not a great deal of difference.

The reason I changed my mind was simple.

Look at the picture below

I do have a great front light, but doing that in the pitch black dark is just asking for trouble.

You have a job to see the trail in day light!

Back home now, showered and resting.

Ride safe.

Day 1 Week 1 Of My 40 Week Training Schedule On A Fat Bike

So today I started my training schedule, which is broken down into two parts.

One part is riding my bike, I set myself a target of 18km, but the route I am taking is just over 21km so I'm happy with that.

The route is the same as the route I completed in my last post so I will not bore you to death with it's description.

The second part is a set of dumb bell exercises. I am not one for going to the gym, to be honest I have had gym memberships before but found that I rarely went, and when I did I only used the steam room or the sauna!

So I use a set of 4kg dumb bells and complete a set of exercises at home.

These consist of:

Goblet Squat

Dumbbell Clean Lift

Bent Over Row

Two Armed Dumbbell Stiff Leg Dead Lift.

One Armed Swing

Bench Press

Cross Body Hammer Curl

Step Ups

Dumbbell Scaption

Farmers Walk.

I found them on Men's Health website and by clicking the link HERE you can see exactly what they are and how to do them.

My first week I have set my self a target of 10 of each daily. 

Start slowly and work up, the only ones I have changed is the Step Up's which I do when I am out walking. I use the kerb stones to step up onto as I walk, 20 each leg.

Not only that but I do a loop of where I live which is 1km and I carry the 2 x 4kg Dumbbells, this takes me 13 minutes.

These exercises will increase my core body strength and increase my shoulder and arm strength along with grip.

The hardest exercise is the Dumbbell Scaption, followed by the Goblet Squat, so it will be interesting to see how I improve.

The other hard exercise is walking for 1km carrying a 4kg Dumbbell in each hand, this is a whole lot harder than I thought!

Yesterday I made a very short video whilst I was out on the ride and uploaded it to Instagram - You can view it HERE

Also took a couple of pics - 

My ride ended up being 21.6km against a target of 18km so like I said, a couple of extra in the bag.

Anyway, a good start to the plan.

Ride safe...

Wilverley Loop Via Sway 21.6km On A Fat Bike (Anti Clockwise)

This was my first proper ride since going down with Man Flu - I'm still not 100% but I'm good enough to go out for a couple of hours.

Especially as the sun kept breaking through the clouds, but oh, how that wind ripped through you in the more exposed areas!

I wanted to do a loop and complete around 20km, so was happy with the 21.6km as recorded on Strava.

I headed North from my home, out to Bashley where I turned past the garage and headed out on the back road to Tiptoe.

Through Tiptoe and then turned left for Sway, down a long gradual hill, which is lovely but it's a good climb back up the other side into Sway.

Once at Sway you turn left and head in a straight line all the way to Wilverley, and even then I carried on in a straight line to the very furthest point of the enclosure.

Once here I wound my way through the enclosure from the top right hand corner to the bottom left hand corner and headed for Wootton Bridge.

A good climb up to the Rising Sun pub, and then it's time to "Grieple" it all the way back home.

A great ride, seeing as I was still full of snot, which is not a bearded man's best friend!

Also managed three "Personal Records" as well. 

Day 1 Week 1 tomorrow - I will do it all again!

Ride Safe.

Fat Bike Training Schedule For A Fat Bloke

Over the last few months I have been trying to put together a training schedule.

It's not as easy as one thinks!

I thought that I could just wing it, but I soon realised that to be successful there has to be a plan, and that plan has to concrete, with goals that are realistic and achievable.

So after many hours of research I came up with my very own plan specific to my requirements.

My training schedule is made up of two parts.

One part is hours on the bike. The other is dumb bell exercises.

As with all plans you need to look firstly at where you want to be, then you work back from that place with the time you have available and from that a plan is born.

So, I have 40 weeks starting this very Monday - that's the 10th December 2018.

40 weeks to get me up to where I want to be, regarding km's on the bike to ensure that my ride down from John O'Groats is not too much of a struggle, and building my core muscle strength to ensure that my body can cope with the demands I will be putting on it.

Each week I increase in small increments, I have a daily target, but the weekly target is the one that I will be concentrating on.

The reason for this is that life just tends to get in the way, if I was a full time professional athlete then a full time training schedule would be easy to stick to all bar illness or injury.

But, work, life, family and all the other unexpected things that crop up in day to day life do and will have some bearing on my schedule. Hence the need to be flexible and not to worry if I do not hit my daily goal, but I can then concentrate on my weekly goal instead.

Doing it this way I have a strong chance of achieving my goals and not getting demoralised if for what ever reason I cannot.

As the weeks go on I will do an update so you can see my weekly progress.

It's not going to be easy, but if it were then everyone would be doing it.

Ride safe........

DIY Rear Fender Mudguard For My Fat Bike

I've had a bad cold for the last week which has knocked me off my feet.

No riding at all!

I have been working though, having had only one day off. I'm nearly back to full strength, it is just lingering on a bit, as cold's normally do.

However, I have put together my training schedule which was a bit of a task but I will write about that in another post.

Today, with the weather being rubbish and not completely fighting fit I decided that I needed to do something about getting a wet arse, back and neck each time I go out in the rain.

I have been looking for ages for something to use as a rear mudguard, but never found anything which would do the trick.

I do have a mudguard fitted, however it does not stop the fountain of water which gets flicked up from the back wheel.

I have tried various designs, which have included a lemonade bottle and a washing liquid bottle. Neither of which have worked that well.

Last time I was in my local Tesco I came across some chopping boards. Made of plastic and very bendy but rigid, and the right size to do a proper job.

I thought that if I could bend it and attach it to the inside of the rear pannier rack then it should work.

Firstly I cut the tie wrap which was holding the existing mud guard to the rack. I would still keep this mudguard in place, but attach the new one between it and the rack.

The new one would extend further and flair out to hopefully stop the water flicking up!

I lined it up, and drilled a couple of holes which would allow the tie wraps through to hold it in place.

Fitting was simple, I did not even attempt to cut the board down to shape it. I just left it as it was. Its held on by three tie wraps, one on the top of the rack and one either side as shown in the first picture

It is not pretty, but if it keeps me from getting wet, who cares!

The price, well it was £2.50 for two of them!

I will give it a quick go later, and see what happens.

Ride safe... 

Wet And Wetter - 14.89km In Torrential Rain And Wind On A Fat Bike

Not sure why I thought it a good idea to go out in that weather, but it seemed a good idea at the time!

To say it was howling a gale was an understatement!

I managed to complete 14.89km - not sure how I managed it but I did.

Unfortunately Strava stopped recording half way around, so I had to do a manual entry.

I do find that I often have problems with Strava. Maybe it's because I use the app direct from my mobile phone to record?

I think I will seriously have to consider buying a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt cycle computer to overcome this problem.

I did not take any pictures on my way round, it was just to wet and stopping really wasn't an option.

Instead I took a very short video of me emptying the water out of my so called "waterproof" boots which I had just recently bought.

You can find the video link HERE

Ride safe.................

Wet And Wild To Mudeford Quay On A Fat Bike

With a Southerly storm blowing in I decided to take a ride down to the coast and Mudeford Quay.

A favourite place of mine, with a high tide and a strong wind, the wind whips the waves up and they break over the key and onto the car park.

Today I saw exactly that!

You can watch a very short video clip of me down on the quay and my bike blowing over!

WATCH ME HERE!

The wind was so strong and I got soaked, but due to my layers and top I did at least remain warm.

My feet were damp, but they did not get cold either.

All in all an enjoyable ride down to the coast and back.

Battling the elements is always enjoyable.

So 19.34km completed and it was a learning curve riding in extreme wind and rain.

Ride safe.