Training, Spin.

A little bit on my training for the trip that I thought may be of vague interest some of you.

Last year before Lands End -> John O'Groats I did just under 2,000 miles in training (and then 1,000 miles on the trip). This year so far around 1,800 miles, comprising a couple of 100 mile rides, a few 70 to 80 mile rides and then mainly 30 to 50 mile outings.

I was thinking over the weekend - I've been training since around April so 5 months now, most of the time feeling pretty tired, occasionally fatigued and even then if I take the 1,800 miles I've done so far, add onto it the 450 miles from the trip in France and I'll have done 2,300 miles in 5ish months, at an average trip speed of around 16 mph. Compare that with Tour riders who do the same 2,300 miles in just 3 weeks on the Tour de France, and they average 24 mph, 50% faster. And when they are done they have a few days off before going to the next country and doing the same there. HOW??? Very humbling.

My main reservations about the trip are:

i) The terrain - in the flatlands of Herefordshire you can find the odd 10% incline but at best they are a couple of hundred metres long. The climbs over Ventoux and Col de la Bonette are around 25 km long with a continual slope of between 6% and 12% so that will be interesting.

ii) Weather - late summer is the best times to cycle in southern France when hopefully the worst of the summer heat is over but before the cold / snow of winter. Nevertheless it is likely to still be pretty hot (it's 31 degree as I write) and I'm a little worried that this will be a real struggle, particularly as the summer here has been so crap and I'm not used to the heat this year. Get to the top however and it's a very different story - the height of the mountain alone means that it is on average 12 degrees cooler at the top than at the bottom. Also Ventoux means Windy and the highest wind speeds in France have been recorded at the top - and when combined with the temperature drop means you are often struggling with overheating at the bottom and then suffering from cold at the top. It seems really strange packing my thermal shirts and hat when the weather forecast is 31 degrees and sunny but I suspect they will be needed.

Generally speaking I feel significantly stronger than a year ago I think mainly because I've managed to carry a lot of last years fitness (from Lands End -> John O'Groats) through the winter. Normally in the winter I just potter about on my mountain bike which is good cardio but nowhere near enough to keep up muscle strength and stamina. This winter I got some stupid notion that I would have a go at doing the London marathon in May and started to do longer and longer training runs. I managed to work up to do a 1/2 marathon at the end of which I could barely walk and was wiped out for a week. Any concept of doing twice that distance went completely out the window. Amusingly today I just had a diary reminder (that I put in my diary back in the spring) pop up saying "sign up for 2008 marathon". Delete...

Having realized that I'm never going to be a marathon runner I stumbled upon Spin as a way of keeping the fitness up in the winter. I'd often seen Spin taking place in the studios whilst I was in the main gym on the cross trainer and naively had said to myself "pah, get on a proper bike and do some proper exercise". I'm not sure I remember what drew me into start doing Spin but one morning I went along, had a quick 5 minute instruction on how to set the bike up and off I went. The instructor said "take it easy the first couple of times until you get used to it" to which again I naively (or maybe arrogantly) thought "pah, I've just finished a 1,000 mile bike ride and this is only a 45 minute class, we'll see about taking it easy".

So I knew I was in trouble when after just the five minute warm up I was already sweating like a pig and out of breath. 10 minutes later with still 30 minutes to go I had pretty much given up, freewheeling my way to the end... Lesson learnt, humbleness gained. I am reading Tim Moores French Revolutions at the moment http://www.amazon.co.uk/French-Revolutions-Cycling-Tour-France/dp/0099433826 (well, it seemed appropriate...), he describes Spin as a "savage, vicious, out-of-the-saddle give no quarters competitive battle" and this seems to sum it up pretty nicely - at the end of the session there are normally large puddles of sweat on the floor underneath everyone and it's almost always silent for a minute or so, no-one able to muster up the breath to speak. Last week as I settled into a sprint I closed my eyes and rather than being dark everything went bright red. Hm, has Ben (the instructor) turned on the red neon light again I wondered, opening my eyes to check. Nope, the lights were still green. Closed my eyes again, once again everything went bright red. Not a good sign I suspect... So for anyone wanting ways to get fit I'd wholly encourage you to try Spin but as the instructor will tell you and as I learnt to my cost, take it easy the first couple of times. Total respect and special mention as well to Ben the instructor at LA Fitness in Cambridge, he's a really brilliant instructor and his enthusiasm and effervescence are boundless.