The sun was shining, my knee felt good and the temperature was the right side of zero, so I decided to head out into the real world yesterday and get some miles done on the road.
I wrapped myself up in my bib-tights (with some running leggings over the top), a thermal baselayer, woolie boolie socks, a cheap cycling jersey and my Gore Windstopper jacket, topped off with a polar buff. To complete "the look" I slipped on some neoprene overshoes and two layers of gloves!
I'm obviously getting better at judging what level of warmth to wear as I felt perfectly toasty all the way. Part of that is due to the Gore Windstopper jacket. It was recommended by so many people on the Bike Radar forums that I got one when it was on sale at Wiggle a few months ago. It makes such a difference having the windproofing over my torso and arms, but having such a breathable material meant I didn't feel like a "boil in the bag".
The first 10 miles felt good. They were mainly over the somerset levels and I was averaging about 17 mph, but my legs started to feel a bit of fatigue as I came off the plains and onto the more undulating second half of the ride. As I came over the Avonmouth bridge I met another roadie on a lovely looking carbon bike and we got chatting. He'd just moved down to Bristol from London a few weeks ago and was trying to learn some good routes and find his way to the Severn Bridge. As that was the way I was heading we rode together for a few miles and I discovered he was a cycling coach. He checked out my riding style and bike setup and told me that I should try raising my saddle, possibly by as much as an inch!
I never got his last name, so if you're reading this Marcus, great meeting you and thanks for the advice - i'll give it a go :-)
End result - 25 miles in 1h51 and a massive smile on my face :-D
After a hot bath when I got home and a relaxing afternoon, I decided to make use of my new gym membership and join my beautiful wife at the sunday evening yoga class.
It's been over 6 months since I last did yoga and I immediately could feel the stretching that my body will demand as I increase my cycling activity. Before I started yoga a couple of years ago I found it painful to even sit cross-legged for more than a minute - my flexibility was almost non-existent - and now I can just about last for half an hour when camping or eating picnics!
The surprise for me was how hard I found "plank" (like a push-up, but holding at the arms extended position). I don't remember that being such a struggle last time round
I'm sure it'll all get much easier as I lose weight - which brings me onto my final success for the week. I have lost 2lb, without really changing my diet at all, so it's all due to the increase in exercise :-)
I wrapped myself up in my bib-tights (with some running leggings over the top), a thermal baselayer, woolie boolie socks, a cheap cycling jersey and my Gore Windstopper jacket, topped off with a polar buff. To complete "the look" I slipped on some neoprene overshoes and two layers of gloves!
I'm obviously getting better at judging what level of warmth to wear as I felt perfectly toasty all the way. Part of that is due to the Gore Windstopper jacket. It was recommended by so many people on the Bike Radar forums that I got one when it was on sale at Wiggle a few months ago. It makes such a difference having the windproofing over my torso and arms, but having such a breathable material meant I didn't feel like a "boil in the bag".
The first 10 miles felt good. They were mainly over the somerset levels and I was averaging about 17 mph, but my legs started to feel a bit of fatigue as I came off the plains and onto the more undulating second half of the ride. As I came over the Avonmouth bridge I met another roadie on a lovely looking carbon bike and we got chatting. He'd just moved down to Bristol from London a few weeks ago and was trying to learn some good routes and find his way to the Severn Bridge. As that was the way I was heading we rode together for a few miles and I discovered he was a cycling coach. He checked out my riding style and bike setup and told me that I should try raising my saddle, possibly by as much as an inch!
I never got his last name, so if you're reading this Marcus, great meeting you and thanks for the advice - i'll give it a go :-)
End result - 25 miles in 1h51 and a massive smile on my face :-D
After a hot bath when I got home and a relaxing afternoon, I decided to make use of my new gym membership and join my beautiful wife at the sunday evening yoga class.
It's been over 6 months since I last did yoga and I immediately could feel the stretching that my body will demand as I increase my cycling activity. Before I started yoga a couple of years ago I found it painful to even sit cross-legged for more than a minute - my flexibility was almost non-existent - and now I can just about last for half an hour when camping or eating picnics!
The surprise for me was how hard I found "plank" (like a push-up, but holding at the arms extended position). I don't remember that being such a struggle last time round
I'm sure it'll all get much easier as I lose weight - which brings me onto my final success for the week. I have lost 2lb, without really changing my diet at all, so it's all due to the increase in exercise :-)
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