Go West 2017

Hi all!

So winter has been a bit long in the tooth with the rain this year, that and being really busy with...life...it's meant that I haven't really been out since last December or so.

So when the weather and the calendar cleared last weekend I jumped at the chance to go out. Lying in bed I considered my options. My commute isn't very long and I hadn't done any big rides in a while.

Should I attempt my nemesis and try and push North again? No. Too soon.
Should I attempt a new ride? No, I'm not sure what my fitness is after an extended Christmas and time off my bike.
Should I attempt an easy ride I know well? Not really. I don't want to disarm myself if my easy ride turns out to be tough.

So I chose "Go West", which is my route around the western part of the New Forest with the furthest part of my route going over Godshill.

This time though, I didn't have any snacks in the cupboard and this 40 mile loop isn't exactly known for it's stops, so I decided as it wasn't blazing hot I'd just go with some Juice and that's it. It was a bit foggy and a bit chilly < 10c when I left

But it after an hour or so it warmed up and I was treated to blue skies and great views.

I'm pleased that even after christmas, I didn't stop as long as last time, and my moving time was slighty faster too. I have to say I've missed being on my wheels.

Strava:



Thanks for reading!

Strava fever

Hi all,

A few weeks ago I made a decision. Not a big one, but one that helped my cycling immensely.

I used to record my every ride, every commute. But the constant disappointment of not getting a trophy for a top 3 ride when I thought I had done well started affecting how I was riding. I would push too hard. I wouldn't enjoy my ride, I just had to ride faster.

So I made the decision to stop recording everything. It's been a few weeks now and the pressure has been released. I can relax more. I can take my time. I don't look down at my garmin and push myself to get another km/h out of my legs, or try to get the average speed to click up a tenth.

That leads me onto today.

Haha!

So not having got any top 3 or PB's in a while on my commute, I thought I'd take my road bike, as normally I take my commuter Halfords Carrera Crossfire 1.

I feel like I cheated. There is no way my poor Carrera is going to match that. It's far too heavy. But it feels like I've cheated myself. Yes I did it, but it was cheeky.

Now I'm going to keep my Strava times for my adventures and big rides. Its just not worth the stress.

In the meantime, I'm going to celebrate my KOM and being disappointed I tried too hard on the Water Lane run so I was knackered for the sprint finish.


Thanks for reading