SKINS Challenge - Road Stage

Hampton Court - Aylesbury - Balham (London)

Deuan and myself started out at Hampton Court (10.25)

via Heathrow, Uxbridge, Beaconsfield

High Wycombe

motoring along

got to Aylesbury at 13.05 and nice lunch (baked potato & tuna)

we got adventurous cycling along the canal towards Marsworth

I dare you to jump over that canal

piece of cake

when you're on a canal boat, take a strong magnet and try some fishing for lock keys....hmmm

what shall I say...

some A road back to London (near Chalfont/ Amersham)

and to London (Southall)

to our final resting point (The Bedford Pub, Balham)

Overview:
- we did 97 miles today with the detour via the canal (going East from Aylesbury....who needs mountain bikes again?
- the route was definitely more on the flat side than going from London to Brighton
- weather was pretty nice, even though we got into half a dozen small showers

Total time: 6.05h

Average speed: 15.9452 mph (25.6613 kmh)

Route:

Tw12 3hx @ 10.25
Uxbridge
Beackonsfield
High wycombe
Princess Risborough
Aylesbury @ 13.05

Aylesbury @ 2.20
Aston Clinton
Holton
Amersham
Chelfont
Uxbridge
Southall
Hammersmith
Putney
Balham @ 5.45


Final Points:
- forgot my heart rate monitor at home that day - so no stats...
-couldn't find my SKINS shirt so took LEJOG baselayer and cycle shirt (good choice as it prevented sunburn.
- the SKINS cycle short has performed excellently on this challenge and I felt pretty comfy all the way through
- a great day of cycling, with many memorable moments along the canal and racing through London at the end to get to Balham...

SKINS Challenge - Hill Stage

Brixton to Brighton (detour)

This ride is part of 3 challenges to test SKINS C400 bib shorts, Cycle Pro Short Sleeve Jersey and C400 compression baselayer. Not that we wouldn't have done the rides anyway - we now had a perfect excuse to be doing rides every weekend ;)

...what a wonderful evening, Jorrin, Deuan and myself decided to go for a ride just after work. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and we were all excited to be doing this ride on a Friday evening rather than our usual early start Saturdays/ Sundays. I started my journey in Brixton after some nice pizza in the new pizzeria just in Brixton Village market, where I also fitted the heart rate monitor. A very unusual feeling to have this strap around the chest but also interesting seeing my heart rate go up and down. I also set my personal parameters to measure calorie burn.

A short while later, I met with Deuan, steady cycle companion and superb action film maker, at Fat Boys cafe in Croydon. We really wanted to go with Jorrin but after 20min waiting we decided to leave without him, knowing he's going to catch up little later. We got to Farthing Downs after battling through Friday's traffic, then came the call from Jorrin saying he is "3 minutes" away (thats Jorrin's way of saying I'll catch up with you in 15min or so). We used the opportunity to enjoy the view and take some pictures. At quarter to 6pm it was still really hot and the sun blasting. We continued our journey south...

We were met by Jorrin (15min after phone call), exchanged excuses for being late, marvelled at Jorrin's new wheels and pedalled through ever so stunning countryside, up and down the hills going to Brighton. We made a few stops at a petrol station and a pub to fill up on water, get some nuts 'n raisins and bananas. Luckily I had a few things in my backpack which were going to come in handy: extra pair of shorts/ shirt (from work), hair clippers, some cycle bottles, tools and unidentified stuff... things one takes on such trips...


The SKINS bib shorts amd cycle shirt are the most high-tech kit I've ever worn on and I was excited to see how it performs during the 75miles ride. I know that "good things aren't cheap and cheap things aren't good." For the LEJOG ride I invested in a good cycle short (Assos) and was already positively surprised with the enhanced riding comfort, compared to regular shorts (£50 or less...).



Zooming along the country lanes, overtaking one another, pushing it hard was fantastic. We really enjoyed being on our bikes. It was a very strange feeling to be riding into the evening rather than into the day. As it got darker we pedalled harder. Todays challenge was an extra 12 miles to take the total journey close to 75miles.

The SKINS C400 bib shorts surprised on the upside. Never did I have to adjust the shorts or padding (none of the usual pulling, lifting ;) The whole journey felt really pleasant being able to just sit in the saddle and ride, pushing ourselves harder than on last rides with fewer brakes.all solved with a pair of scissors though. My Assos bib shorts bought for the LEJOG ride were very good, especially at reduced price (from £120 to £75), but I still had to adjust the padding, and pulling them in place once ever so often. None of that stuff with the SKINS bib shorts. They stayed in place and were very comfortable throughout.

The Cycle Pro Short Sleeve Jersey already had a few trial runs in the city and it really felt great - it actually felt like it wasn't there at all, keeping me dry and comfortable whilst the shirt got soaked. I only noticed it after a while, stopping/ starting at traffic lights because a little plastic patch, at the bottom by the zip, stuck out and poked me...


We got to Brighton just after 9pm, went to the beach front, had a quick drink and got back to London by train. We all agreed that this has to be repeated and that its a much better use of everyone's time that being in the pub on Friday - which is nice but it just doesn't give the same feeling of having cycled from London to Brighton....

STATS:

Ride distance: 115Km (72miles)
Time (incl. stops): 4:45 h:min
Av. Speed: 24km/h
Max speed: 65km/h
Av. heart rate: 145 BPM
Max heart rate (MHR): 192 BPM
BPM% MHR: 76
KCAL: 3100

(london to brighton - yes its generally a bit hilly...)

Please check out the Blog from fellow cyclist Quentin - "Leading The Tour" in 2010, cycling all stages of the Tour de France - just a week early ;)

click here to get to his Blog (or click on his pic)!!!


He's on an amazing journey and I am kind of envious that he's out there battling the elements and being able to cycle through France's stunning scenery, taking on huge mountains, passing Lavender fields, and just being on the road....

SKINS Challenge - Time Trial

This ride is part of 3 challenges to test SKINS C400 bib shorts, Cycle Pro Short Sleeve Jersey and C400 compression baselayer. Not that we wouldn't have done the rides anyway - we now had a perfect excuse to be doing rides every weekend ;)

Time Trial Sunday...

and here we go! got up fairly relaxed at 8pm (Sunday morning), had a coffee (or two?), a slice of bread and smoked salmon, nothing too heavy, partly because I was still full from the bbq the day before.

I left around 9am to drive to Jorrin and go with him to some location in Surrey where we hoped to find a suitable road without too many interruptions, traffic lights, roundabouts and so on to do our TT (15Km/ 10miles). We went along the M3, got off at Exit 3 and went to Lightwater.


Now, I've never done a TT and I was really excited to be racing against myself for this relatively short distance. We took Jorrin's racing bike rather than my 'cruiser' and in borrowed shoes I set off. My heart rate was already at close to 80BPM before getting on the bike which is partly due to the warm-up (stretches really) and partly because I was a little nervous. Should have really done a few miles before even getting on the bike for the actual TT - next time...

On the bike, fiddling with the clip-ins, setting the stop watch on the Shimano flight deck and on the heart rate monitor - 3 2 1 GO

I quickly got to speeds of over 40Km/h zooming along this pretty straight road, hit a few roundabouts but kept on pushing hard. My top speed went down to 35Km/h where I could sustain it... The first couple of kilometres went by pretty quickly and were it not for some stupid motorists I would have been even faster. At various roundabouts without a chance to overtake, those guys slowed down pretty heavily to then turn without indicating, I almost crashed into one as I was trying to overtake...

With 10Km done, I was feeling exhausted already because some of the smaller hills kicked in and got me to stand-up and push on. Another useless roundabout where I had to clip out of the pedal leaving me to struggle for another km to get back in (its just not the same if you're used to your own shoes/ pedals).

13.5, 14, 14,7 arrghhh 15Km. STOP the watch.

STATS:

Ride distance: 15.06Km (10miles)

Time (incl. stops): 00:26:28 h:min:sec

Av. Speed: 34.1 km/h

Max speed: 48.6km/h

Av. heart rate: 123 BPM

BPM% MHR: 64

KCAL: 160

Useful calculator (time, distance, speed)
http://www.machinehead-software.co.uk/bike/speed_distance_time_calc.html


The Numbers:

the above numbers don't really mean anything unless they're put in a context. I've checked a few websites and a few different courses and found the Richmond TT results. Provided that the course is different from the one we chose I would have ranked 15th out of 75 people. The fastest person was at 00:23:36 for the distance... Now, that means something!!!

First, do the Richmond TT 10.4 and check actual performance
Second, practice more and warm up before another run
Third, read the TT instructions before attempting another TT

Overall I felt more relaxed doing the 15Km and I knew that I was going to be comfortable in my SKINS shorts and shirt. Again, they performed excellently and I did sweat but felt comfortably dry and well comfy even on an unusually formed seat...

To be repeated and improved upon!!!!!