The bike ride that wasn’t

Today’s plan was to do the now-familiar towpath circuit – from Caversham Bridge to the Kennet mouth, up the Kennet towpath to the Oracle, through west Reading’s quiet roads back to the start – and to finish it off with a nice lunch at the Riverside Restaurant. Tarkwin and I had arranged to meet by the bridge at 10:00, which would have timed it nicely.

As I was putting my shoes on and getting ready to head out the door, Tarkwin rang… to ask me to pick him up in my car with my bike rack attached. Turns out he’d bent his front wheel trying to get past a gate by Rivermead Leisure Centre. I got there to find a sheepish grin and a bike with a bent wheel – short of doing a wheelie all the way home, that bike wasn’t going anywhere fast.

So we loaded the bike onto the rack, dropped it off at his place and went to The Gorge Cafe, on the opposite corner of the roundabout from the restaurant, and had a nice fry-up instead. It’s a place I’ve wanted to visit for years, and I wasn’t disappointed – a proper English-style diner, but without the 1950s aluminium-and-lino decor and grime. Then went for a wander down to the waterfront and sat watching the world go by for an hour. It wasn’t as strenuous a morning as we’d planned, but it was a pleasant substitute.

Pleasant for me: I don’t have to fork out £50+ for a new wheel.

Lunchtime ride around town

Got a text last night from Tarkwin asking if I fancied meeting him for lunch at the Riverside Restaurant, a place I’ve wanted to visit for ages. We arranged to meet out in the back patio area, which has nothing but a low wall and the towpath between patrons and the water. Then plan was to then ride along the towpath to the Kennet mouth, up to AW Cycles, back into the Reading town centre to stop by Tarkwin’s office, and then whatever. In all a lovely way to spend the afternoon when we’re both on holiday.

Today day was humid, though the ride to the restaurant was fine, and there was a nearby bike rack so we could lock the bikes up without having to have them cluttering up the outdoor dining area. Sitting a couple of metres from the water, enjoying a club sandwich and orange juice while watching the world cycle, run or stroll past was very relaxing. After lunch had settled, we headed east along the towpath to the Kennet mouth and the footbridge.

As Tarkwin wanted to stop by his office and go to AW Cycles, we decided against riding along the Kennet towpath, so went back the way we came and crossed Reading Bridge, dodging the roadworks. We took the back roads through Lower Caversham, nicely avoiding all the traffic, and came out onto the Henley Road exactly opposite the bike shop. We spent 20-odd mins in there with Tarkwin pointing at things and cooing (“Ohh, shiny!” was a common theme). Though in the end it was only me who bought something: all-weather chain and bearing lube.

It was when we got out that I realised my Forerunner had been left running, but it could be worse. We waited for the rain to subside and then headed back the way we’d come and over Reading Bridge, then going up past Forbury Gardens and around to the eastern end of Friar Street. While Tarkwin was in his office picking up whatever it was he needed, I sat on a bench enjoying the scenery… there was plenty walking past.

Then we decided to call it a day, as Tarkwin was feeling worse for wear. Something about being an old man…? When we parted ways, I headed down to Forbury Road by the station, back under the railway bridge and onto the towpath to Caversham Bridge and home.

In all it was just over 9 miles of riding. The total time out was 3.5 hours, but the actual time in motion was 1 hour, which is not a bad average speed of 6.7 min/mile (or 9mph). Here’s the MotionBased data.

Today was my first ride with the new cycling shorts and handlebars. The shorts made a huge difference – the outer shorts were comfortable and looked nice, and the inner padded shorts made a huge difference on the saddle. It doesn’t feel like I’ve ridden at all – no chafing and no pain. Highly recommended.

Saturday gym & bike bits

Encouraged by Tarkwin last night, I decided to ride to the gym this morning. Except before leaving I got a text from him to tell me he wasn’t well. So I went out on the bike anyway, knowing now that it’s an easy ride and chose the waterfront promenade route that took me into the leisure centre by the back route. I just love spending time by the water. (Yes, you’ll hear me repeat that often now).

As I’d ridden the 2 miles to the leisure centre, I chose to remove the bike from my scheduled workout. No point in doubling up – especially when I still had to ride home. And 4 miles real riding trumps 9 minutes on a gym bike!

On this penultimate workout of my programme, some of the weights are becoming quite demanding and, in retrospect, this is probably something I should have rectified earlier on. Most of the circuit on this programme was too easy to manage – defeats the idea of the sets and reps, where you should find yourself almost unable to complete the final set (some say that for all sets).

Anyway, the workout went well – saw a number of faces I hadn’t seen for ages, including the Jennifer Garner look-alike, despite the gym being almost empty again. Perhaps it’s because of the weather, or perhaps everyone’s away on holiday this time of year. Either way, I don’t mind – it’s nice not to have to fight for a machine. The ride home was uneventful, though I am noticing it becoming easier, as one would expect.

Made a visit to AW Cycles in the afternoon, as it’s only a couple of miles from my place, and used that as an excuse to use my bike rack for the first time. I’d purchased a Saris Bones 3 bike rack not long after I bought my mountain bike, the idea was that my former girlfriend and I would go riding in interesting places, but for whatever reason that never happened. Have to say that it’s as solid as a rock on the back of the hatchback.

The reason for the visit to the bike shop was to get advice on the numb hands, lower back pain, aching neck and saddle chafing. I was fully expecting to need to buy kit to resolve most of these, and wasn’t disappointed. After chatting with a chap named Andy, he recommended an adjustable stem, swept MTB handlebars, a set of thick grips, and an extension bracket. The stem should allow me to adjust my height and reach, the bars should reduce the twisting required to hold on (as I had to do with the flat bars), the thick grips should make it easier to hold on (my hands are larger than averager), and the extension bracket will allow me to keep all 4 items on my handlbars: bell, bike computer, Polar/Forerunner mount and front light.

I also picked myself up a set of cycling shorts – not the lycra/spandex abominations you see on audax, track and road-racers, but knee-length baggy shorts that look just like your everyday outdoorsy shorts, but they have all sorts of tech in them: clip-in removable padded lycra shorts (removing the liner makes them plain old tech shorts), air vents, map pockets, plenty of other well-placed pockets, seamless inner thigh/crotch, cut to not impede cadence, etc, etc. Pretty great pair of shorts, all round. I know it’s only a pair of shorts, but I’m looking forward to being able to ride without chafing or feeling like my seat is trying to tear me a new one.

When I got home they needed to be fitted. Without delay, of course. It’s the rules. So an hour or so later 95% of the fitting was complete, with just some cable re-tying of bike computer wires to do, and possibly trim 1-2cm off the handlebar ends. I’ve leave the latter for a while as I need to make sure it’s needed and that I don’t remove too much – it’s easy to trim a bar end, but infinitely more difficult to extend one.

Wednesday evening bike ride

Got home a little later this evening, but still decided to get out for a ride. It’s summer… might as well make the most of the extended sunlight. I was keen to do the 6-7 mile route I had planned the other day, so headed off with the plan in my head, using the bike computer for cadence and the Garmin Forerunner for everything else (route mapping, speed, heartrate, distance, etc).

I stopped briefly by Reading bridge and somehow hit Stop on the Garmin. I didn’t realise this until I was well along the Kennet towpath and looked down and saw a resolute 1.75 miles staring back at me. While it’s no great drama, it does mean all the stats and mapping will be screwed up for that period, shortening the apparent ride time, etc. As can be seen on MotionBased.

The ride along both towpaths was lovely, and I’m very impressed with the waterside properties alongside the Kennet. It seems they’re the 1970s equivalent of the shiny apartment blocks being built elsewhere along the waterside towards the centre of town. Were I still a renter, I’d be tempted.

I screwed up as I got near the Oracle. The plan was to continue on the towpath/footpaths past the front of the Oracle and turn up Bridge St, but I ended up turning sooner and going through Minster St and St Marys Butts (such an odd name), then I was back on track up Castle St & Castle Hill. Then once on Tilehurst Rd I somehow missed the planned turn onto Prospect St, which would have taken me all the way to Great Knollys Street, out onto the footpathed part of the IDR, and an easy ride back.

By missing this turn and continuing to look for it, I extended my ride by almost 2.3 miles, almost a mile of which was along Oxford Rd, which is not known for its road friendly or sane drivers – even gone 8pm. It was an experience that I’m actually pleased to have done, as drivers in this country make me nervous (most are nutters, one way or another – sorry, but 7 years here shows me it’s true). Here’s the route in red and the missed turning in blue:

I suppose using the Garmin’s route feature might help with this in future. Might have to play with it properly some time – unlike my childhood, these days I often learn just what I need from a gadget and use it, discovering additional things later on. And I call myself a gadget geek…

I had two short breaks in all, both <2 miles from home. The main reason was numbness in my hands, which from what I’ve read in most likely caused by configuration problems (seat adjustment, handlebar adjustment, stem height, etc) rather than me being a lard arse. I’d adjusted the seat slightly before heading out – tilted the horn down so it was level – and it didn’t make a huge difference. I suspect the problem now is the stem height or the handlebars, as they’re a straight bar which makes my wrists twist to rest on them. I might pop into AW Cycles on Saturday for some advice – numb hands, sore neck and aching lower back aren’t normal.

The home stretch was quiet and uneventful. When I got back I was totally knackered, though none of my rides so far have required the use of Ventolin – my asthma hasn’t featured at all. The total calorie burn – according to the Garmin that has the missing chunk of time – was 1,100 calories. Assuming that’s more like 1,300-1,400, I’m very impressed. That’s like a gym session and a 2 mile run rolled into one. Tired or not, I’m feeling very good about myself. The map below shows the hand-entered route.

Monday evening bike ride

Got home from work this evening, got changed and headed straight out the door for a bike ride without giving myself a chance to change my mind. Only this time I remembered my helmet and gloves – makes the handgrips much more comfortable. This gave me the chance to try out the new Supergel saddle and hybrid tyres I bought from Halfords yesterday afternoon. The ride was certainly a lot quieter and – even with the remnants of yesterday’s saddle-sore backside – it was a lot nicer all round.

This time when I got down to the Thames towpath, I turned west and kept going until the bike computer said 3 miles, then turned around and headed home again. I figure a 6 mile ride would be a good solo starting point as it was a gentle increase from yesterday’s bumble and I could get a measure of myself. It turned out to be very easy – hardly surprising as the lion’s share was along a river towpath, which aren’t noted for their hills and valleys – and was extremely relaxing. So I spent much of the ride getting used to suitable gears, finding the ideal cadence that I could maintain, and thinking about keeping my heart rate in the right zone.

Along the way I found numerous places that would make for excellent picnic, fishing, sitting on the bank and general relaxation. My favourite place in the world has always been on the bank of a fresh water source. I’m going to be spending a lot of time along that route.

The track varied from proper tarmac at the start, as it’s a riverfront promenade for 1/4 mile or more, then it turns into a gravel track of varying width, sometimes with brambles, stinging nettles and such up close on both sides, and other times a track through a big grassy open area, then back to a narrow track again. Shortly before the halfway mark I came to some buildings by the waterfront and tarmac covered carpark with a few businesses (boat repairs, engineering, etc), and then it was back to a narrow scrub-lined track.

View Interactive Map on MapMyRide.com

The track varied from proper tarmac at the start, as it’s a riverfront promenade for 1/4 mile or more, then it turns into a gravel track of varying width, sometimes with brambles, stinging nettles and such up close on both sides, and other times a track through a big grassy open area, then back to a narrow track again. Shortly before the halfway mark I came to some buildings by the waterfront and tarmac covered carpark with a few businesses (boat repairs, engineering, etc), and then it was back to a narrow scrub-lined track.

I only had to dismount a few times along the route. Once because I decided to stop and smell the roses (an opening onto the waterfront, so sat down on the bank and enjoyed the scenery, rowers, etc) and other times because of passing people on really narrow bits, and once (each way) for a stile near the waterfront business area.

That was a thoroughly enjoyable time spent on my bike. I’ve seen parts of Reading in the last two days that I was completely unaware of, and I’ve burned over 1,200 calories doing so (690 yesterday and 550 today, which was surprising, as today I averaged a greater speed for almost the same time on the bike as yesterday). I’d go again tomorrow if I could but I have a work do in the evening, so it will have to wait until Wednesday – if the weather behaves.

That kind of eagerness is a good sign, don’t you think?

Synchronised the Sunnyvale runs

For those who are interested, I’ve now synchronised the Forerunner, so the two runs I did in Sunnyvale are now visible on MotionBased here:

• Sunday run
• Tuesday run

Unfortunately MotionBased isn’t as flexible with its measurement settings as Garmin Trainer or SportTracks, so those links are all metric. (For the record: I’m a big metric fan, but it’s impractical when measuring like-for-like in the UK or US).

Moved blog to WordPress

I’d been having some problems with my previous blog host, and I wasn’t comfortable with having that much data all under one username and password, so I made the decision to move this blog here, to WordPress.

I was able to import the data seamlessly with just a few mouse clicks and a number of URL changes. Fantastic!

Tuesday run

Was at my usual starting point before 7am this morning, but this time without my iPod Nano and Nike+ – the Nano had been unplugged since Friday evening and had somehow discharged its entire battery. Seems in the 15 months I’ve owned it, it has become accustomed to being connected to the in-car adaptor. Looks like I need to recondition the battery – hopefully that’s something I can do with software.

The run was hard work from the beginning – my legs felt the entire distance, rather than being something I’m aware of in the last half mile or so. Having said that, my pace was fairly constant, there was no hint of the “please walk… just for a bit” small voice, I was able to do the last bit at a sprint, and I felt nowhere near as drained and breathless at the end as I had during last week’s runs. But the numbers are pretty much the same: 2.16 miles in 30:43 (14:13/mile).

It’s pleasing to see that I have, it appears, been able to regain the level of comfort and endurance that I had in January. Now to work on both consolidating it and improving my pace. The latter, above all else, is what’s grating me at the moment. And to do that I need to do interval training and eventually fartlek.

Sunday run

Was again on the doorstep and ready to run at 8:30 to a blustery, cool but dry morning. My right hamstring felt a little tight, so I was intrigued whether this would turn into something nasty or would go away. I wasn’t challenging myself for it to get injured, but rather I didn’t want to let physical misgivings or fear prevent me from doing what I can. After all, if I stopped running because of the potential problems (I am asthmatic, clinically obese, have had injuries over the years – and none of that considers other people on the roads and streets), then I’d never exercise. I’ve done enough of that already.

I got to my usual start point, hit start on the Forerunner and began walking into town, with the intention of walking for 5 mins as a warmup before beginning to run. The 5 min mark was parallel to the newsagent, which is a useful reference. Then I began a gentle jog with the intention being to run at least 1 mile. This meant I’d have to run past the high street, so kept going right down to the riverside.

Having read about fartlek running, as this is what last Wednesday’s running club exercise was, I thought I’d give it a go today. So after doing a recovery walk along the riverside for 2 mins, I ran at 3-4 min/mile faster than before until I couldn’t do it anymore and did a recovery walk, then I ran at my normal pace and recovered, and so on until I got back to the newsagents, where I walked the remainder as a cooldown. It’s worth noting that because of the exertion of running at a faster pace, my subsequent long slow runs were diminished – presumably because I’d winded myself.

I used the Forerunner’s Lap feature to mark where I changed pace (warmup, run, walk, and cooldown), and the resulting information was very useful. It showed that, in some cases, my walking was faster than my jogging. It’s not such a bad thing – a slow jog causes a higher heartrate and consumes more calories than a walk at the same pace. This run worked out to 2.88 miles in 40 mins (13:53/mile), excluding the warmup and cooldown. It’s faster than last time, but it still won’t be winning any races – except against myself, which is the whole point of this, really.

There was no indication of a hamstring problem during or after the run, so I suspect it was just one of those things you sometimes wake up with. The Sennheiser PMX70 headphones have proved, twice now, to be excellent. They stay in my ears, there’s no discomfort at all, they sound fantastic, I can turn my head without them pulling out, and the single cord means that they don’t get tangled up or caught on clothing. They’re missing a clip to allow you to affix the cord to your clothing, but other than that – they’re the best I’ve seen or experienced.

And the new shoes were fantastic. Money well spent.

The emperor’s new shoes…

Finally managed to get to Sportsfeet today to pick up the shoes I ordered a while ago. I headed there in my lunch break, and made good time considering the time of day. Alex wasn’t there, but one of his assistants was able to help me without problem.

He asked me to try on the shoes, a pair of New Balance 1061 (£85) – what a lovely, comfortable fit! Then he invited me to try them out on the treadmill so I could satisfy myself that they were right for me. After some walking and some running, I knew they certainly were. The chap then said that – providing I had only used them indoors – if they turned out to be unsuitable, I could return them for a replacement no questions asked. Can’t say fairer than that, can you?

I’m going to take them for a bit of a test run at the gym on Saturday morning and see how they go. I don’t have the slightest concern about them, though, as I’m told that the 1061 are the updated version of the 1022, which are the model I’ve been using so far. So now I have 2 pairs of excellent running shoes that will allow me to spread the wear across both pairs, and allow for one pair getting wet now that winter’s fast approaching.

Apparently the delay in getting my size are that there is a shortage of wide-fitting shoes in the UK at the moment, presumably due to them being an unusual size. One of the satisfying facts about New Balance products are that they are made in the Lake District (near Maryport, Cumbria), so they are one sportswear manufacturer who are not exploiting child labour in some godforsaken sweatshop somewhere in the name of 10,000% profit per item. So for that ethical satisfaction, I’m happy to wait for my shoes. Would you?