My cycling year in numbers

End of year stats! Mission acomplished, my target of 8000 miles was achieved with the last ride of 2015 on New Years Eve.

Totals:

• 8004.2 miles
• 548.9 hours 
• 100,374 metres climbed

Average:

• 22 miles per day
• 1.5 hours cycling per day

S-Works Stumpjumper Race Bike - 1557.2 miles
S-Works Stumpjumper Commuter - 2599.6 miles
Trek Madone Road Bike - 3620.8 miles

Jan	653.8
Feb	609.6
Mar	622.5
Apr	518.6
May	778.6
Jun	718.5
Jul	606.9
Aug	748.7
Sept	655.2
Oct	616
Nov	727.6
Dec	748.2

Total

8004.2

Christmas Holiday

Merry Christmas!

After a couple of days of almost constant eating and drinking it was time to get out on the bike and make the most of the holiday and a rare appearance from the warm firey thing in the sky.

Alex from the South Downs Bikes store in Goring organised a trip to the North Downs. The Surrey Hills trails are prolific and far more technical than those nearer to home on the South Downs. Many are famous in UK mountain biking folk lore, such as 'Barry Knows Best' and 'Yoghurt Pots'.

It was a big social group so progress was slow, but it was great to be back out on the MTB. I've been on the road bike almost exclusively since October and had almost forgotten how much fun nailing a trail with a group of buddies can be! A Christmas treat to myself!

Final challenge of 2015

Freelance bike mechanic Bruce Berkeley is currently in Australia preparing to take on one of cycling’s oldest records. Over the 12 months of 1939 Tommy Godwin cycled an astonishing 75,065 miles. That is a mind boggling 205 miles a day – EVERY day!

In comparison my own annual goal of 8,000 miles seems fairly modest. However, if I want to spend time with my family AND hold down a 9 - 5 job, then averaging an hour and a half in the saddle each day is actually pretty challenging.

A 2 hour plus commute has formed the back bone of my annual mileage. Weekend off-road rides and races during the summer can sometimes be quite short, but training rides around the lanes in the winter ramp up the average.

Over the next year Bruce will be desperate to stay healthy and injury free. If he falls ill or has an accident it’ll be extremely hard to make up the deficit of a few days off the bike. Avoiding the accidents and hospital visits of previous years has helped me consistency rack up the miles in 2015. Only once during the year have I failed to chalk up at least 100miles from Monday to Sunday and even then, during my week away on holiday, I nipped out on a hire bike for a couple of early morning outings before the family woke up.

It was towards the end of September that I realised 8000 miles was a realistic goal. My previous best, last years 7178, was going to be easily eclipsed and I wanted a fresh target to aim for. Reaching my new objective was not going to be easy, 2100miles in 13 weeks was going to be tough. Especially with the introduction of the school run Monday to Wednesday reducing my commuting opportunities. I planned a schedule of 4 rides a week, which is the most I could reasonably hope to fit in. A 20 mile evening ride on Tuesday, two 38 mile commutes, Thursday and Friday, and a 50+ mile weekend ride.

I have stuck to this plan religiously, but heading out regardless of the gales and torrential rain, no matter how I’m feeling has been really tough. With limited opportunities to claw back any missed rides I've done well to limit my losses to around 60 miles. With exactly 2 weeks to go I am currently 402 miles short of the magic number. 

Its a personal goal and just a number, with little meaning in the grand scheme of things. My body is desperately screaming to take a week off and have some rest, but it has got to a point where I've got tunnel vision! I also feel it is now or never. My second child is on the way in February, I can’t see myself getting close to 8000 miles again for some time, possibly ever!

It is going to be a tall order, but while there is still a chance I’ll keep on cycling!

Nostalgic look back at 2015

Its December and time to settle back in front of a warm cosy fire and review the year that’s been and look forward to what 2016 will bring.

New bike in February

Back in February the year got off to an exciting start with a trip to Spain to pick up my new S-Works Stumpjumper. After my struggles trying to adjust to the Yeti ARC geometry last year, I immediately felt right at home on the Stumpy! I think I described it at the time as like pulling on your favourite slippers – it just felt instantly right!

There can be no doubt that the highlight and primary focus of the past 12 months was the National XC Championships. The technical challenge of the Hadleigh Olympic course added to the anticipation (and trepidation!) ahead of my first National Championship event. I really relished conquering my fears during two test days at the venue. Yes, I could have raced better on the day, but I didn’t take any risks and focused instead on making sure I finished. Having targeted the top 20, I was personally delighted to come away from Essex with 14^th.

Deans Drop - Hadleigh

2015 was also the year I completed a life-long ambition to cycle the 100 miles of the South Downs Way. It was a great day, with good friends, that will live long in the memory. Plus, it’s a tick on the bucket list!

South Downs Way

Back on the race track there were top 10 finishes overall at the Brass Monkeys Winter series, 6^th at the Summer Monkey in June and 10^th at Brighton Big Dog. These marathon events suit my riding, and desire for a challenge.

It is always nice to stand on the podium, as it is something I don’t get to do very often. 3^rd place at round 5 of the Southern XC Series is a sunny day I look back on extremely fondly. The fact I was racing Darren the entire race and stood on the 3^rd step with friends and team mates around me, made it more special.

On the podium at the Southern XC

2015 will go down as my most enjoyable year as a cyclist. Yes, there were the races and personal challenges, but what I have really enjoyed is just getting out there and riding my bike. The dry weather allowed me to regularly commute home off-road  around Stansted House and over Kingley Vale. To demonstrate how often I did this, the road bike didn’t come out of the shed at all from April right through to September. Is there a better way to relax after a stressful day in the office than ripping deserted, dusty trails?

The best commute!

So, time to look ahead to 2016. At the moment I need glance no further than the 15^th February, the date my wife is expecting our second child. I can’t wait! I’m no spring chicken and if I am honest 2015 has worn me out! I’m looking forward to taking time off with my family and not worrying about weekly mileage targets, specific events or training rides. 

2015 Stats as of 1^st December

Races:          8

Top Ten:       6

Podium:        1

Wins:            0

 

Mileage:        7,256

Hours:           502

 

 

 

Tyre Levers!

Ok it may not seem like the most exciting topic for a blog! However, tyre levers are an essential peice of kit and when you need them you are usually frustrated and in a hurry. I've spent a long time trying to find a decent set of levers and I think I've finally found my lever nirvana! 

Tubeless tyres are by necessity tight blighters to fit, but I have had some lenghty wrestling matches. My wife dreads me setting off to the shed with a new tyre in hand. 30 minutes later and after much swearing I'll return grumpy and sweaty. Some lubrication to the tyre bead usually helps, but when a puncture hits out in the wilds, only brute force will win out. I've got through dozens of levers in the past few years as a result of broken heads and bent handles, plastic projectiles frequently whistling past my ears.

I tried long levers, wide levers and every shape inbetween. In the end I shelled out £15 on some steel cored levers from Raleigh; which turned out to be extremely strong but totally rubbish at removing tyres! Caught short of leverage I picked up a copy of Cycling Plus during a supermarket trip, purely on the basis that it came with some lime green levers free on the cover.

To my amazement these freebies have proved to be the answer to all my lever woes. Strong enough to be able to apply a decent leverage and nicely shaped making them a pleasure to use. Utterly brilliant these snot coloured plastic sticks have taken some of the stress out of swapping tyres and puncture repairs.

Great you're thinking, but I can't buy last months copy of Cycling Plus. True but I happened to notice the other day an advert for Pedro's tyre levers. Visually they seem absoutely identical, so pick up a pair for £4 and take a little bit of hassle out of a cycling chore.

What! No Brass Monkeys Race Report?

For the first time since 2009 I have skipped a round of the Brass Monkeys winter series. After such a long association with an event and a reasonable level of success, it wasn't an easy decision. Here are the reasons.

1. During the previous Sunday's ride I completely hit the wall in a way I never have before on a normal Sunday social. Heart racing and dizzy I even resorted to walking up one of the climbs, much to the bewilderment and concern of my friends. I'm not sure of the reasons why, but I think I was just completely knackered. So an endurance event the next weekend didn't seem sensible.

2. The weather on Saturday was horrific with torrential rain and strong winds. The idea of sliding around in the mud for over four hours didn't seem appealing.

3. The real nail in the coffin was the change of venue to Checkendon. After the recent Southern XC race I vowed never to return. It is not a course that suits me or that I enjoy. A flat, tedious and trecherous rooty maze is how I would describe it (I know others love the old school mtb venue). Also Checkendon is a nasty 2 hour dive to the other side or Reading, the original venue in Bordon is less than an hour.

So I felt bad, but I've avoided the race reports and looking at the results (so far). In a few days I'll decide if I'm going to attend either of the remaining rounds, but for now I am quite content with social base training rides at the weekend.

No  gulping down energy gels this week! Just a quiet coffee and milkshake with friends.

Altura Vapour Jacket Review

Let me start with an apology for the recent hiatus in blogging. I've been on holiday! I had hoped to have this jacket review lined up for while I was away, but despite owning the Vapour for 5-6 weeks there had been a surprising lack of rain to test its water resistant properties. Anyway I've been greeted by more traditional British weather upon my return, so here we go!

No that isn't a pond behind me - it's the road!

The dry weather in September did however give me the chance to test some of the other properties of this jacket. Several times having watched the weather forecast I set out on my hour commute wrapped up in the Vapor, prepared for the worst. As is frequently the case the weatherman was wrong and it remained dry all the way to work. What really impressed me about the Vapour was that when I arrived at the office the inside of the jacket was as dry as the outside. The breathablity of the material is excellent, I would normally have expected to slowly steam cook in a waterproof on a mild dry day. Not so with the Vapour. The strangely rubbery material doesn't feel clammy either, even with short sleeves underneath. 

On the ride home I folded the jacket up and stuffed it comfortably into my jersey pocket.

On another dry, but cold evening I picked up the jacket and it did a superb of job of blocking out the chilly breeze. 

Other details:

• The jacket has a useful zipped pocket on the back. It might not be as large as some, but I used it for transporting my phone, wallet and keys. A mini pump and spare tube also fit comfortably.
• I have the black version which features some nice reflective trim.
• The clue is in the name, the first thing everyone says when they pick up the jacket is "Wow, isn't this light!"

After a month I was loving this jacket, but still hadn't tested its most fundamental credential - its waterproofness! Well this week has seen to that! Today I splashed home for 90 minutes in torrential rain, along flooded roads. Dripping on the doorstep I took off the jacket and checked for signs of leaks. My base layer was totally dry, not even any sweaty marks despite the mild 15 degree temperature.

So in summary this is a fantastic jacket and I can highly recommend it to those looking for a lightweight, breathable waterproof. I bought mine with a considerable discount which perhaps suggests a new iteration is on the way,  but Altura got the recipe spot on with this jacket.