A blog about skating and cycling, or vice versa

On the other hand ...#

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 13:00:00 +0000

I know that sounds incredibly negative, and it really doesn't reflect the full picture. "Mixed feelings" is usually a lazy way of saying you have bad feelings about something, but in this case I really do have mixed feelings about the whole thing, and the upside is that what we did as a team was pretty cool and I'm proud to have been a part of it.

I just wish it was a better part, is all ... ah, vanity

In other news, Gav has a new blog in which he plans to describe his experience at Euros. It's brand-new and a bit empty right now, but worth keeping an eye on.

If life gives you Le Mans ...#

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 13:00:00 +0000

So. Got tent, passport, train tickets, skates, lid, spare set wheels, toilet roll, skinsuit (2x), zipped legwarmers for staying warm between laps at night, sleeping bag. Two water bottle (plain water + energy drinks), variety of "performance" powders to mix with same, zinc oxide tape, topical ibuprofen gel, plasters. Already forgotten: towel. Still need to buy: food & water, Compeed. 8am tomorrow I'll be at Waterloo and by some time in the afternoon at Le Mans.

But if a 24 relay race as part of a team of ten seems like a big deal (or even if it doesn't), spare a thought (and some cash) for our clubmate Hans, who's doing it solo - 24 hours of skating 4.2km laps continuously, interrupted only by toilet and food breaks. And he's raising money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer in the process, so go and stick a few quid their way. Message ends. PS: new boots still great :-)

Whee'l of life#

Fri, 21 Jul 2006 13:00:00 +0000

I'm not still sulking. It's just that every time I've tried to post something saying so, Blogger has been too incredibly slow to let me.

Normal service resumed on or around Saturday last, with a route check for the Sunday Stroll, after or during which I decided that skting is actually quite fun again, and got up early on Sunday to do (a) sprints (10x500m, 1m30 recovery); (b) another route check for the Stroll; (c) the Sunday Stroll itself. Browsing the photos there should enlighten anyone wondering about the coy references to bicycles in previous entries: first outing for the finished LFNS bicycle sound system (which badly needs a decent name). We have put some incredible amount of time into getting this ready (although, aside from riding it back from Brixton when we collected it - something of an experience when it changed gear on its own every time we went over a bump - and then doing various things to the transmission to stop it doing that again, a lot of my personal involvement there was actually to drink beer and eat pizza), so seeing - and hearing - it out on the street for the first time was one of those disturbingly soppy events.

Since then, Tuesday evening saw a route check and a half for Friday (had to be there, really, as I'm leading on Friday) and then the LondonSkate on Wednesday. Tonight it's back to the bicycle fettling, though.

Tatem/Tasting#

Tue, 25 Jul 2006 13:00:00 +0000

Ingested after training at Tatem today:

All surprisingly edible, though the texture of the Maxim bar was a bit weird (it was yogurt-coated, apparently). As my session was cut short by an unscheduled interaction with the ground (relay push gone wrong, again - grrr) it's by no means certain I needed that much carb, but I was still hungry after the first two, so ate the third anyway

Training was: warmup, then three sets of ten minutes at a nominal 85% with five minutes recovery. First set OK, second set my back was killing me, third set OK again after Hans pointed out that the reason my back hurt was simply that I was not sitting far back enough. So, thanks Hans. If I focus more on rounding the back whenever I start to feel it, that seems to do the trick nicely. Then there would have been some 227m (approx) relays, had I remained upright for them.

Good Work at Goodwood#

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 13:00:00 +0000

Been slack about updating this diary lately; sorry. Goodwood Roller Marathon was the usual mixture of speed and recreational skaters - many doing it for charity. The former category was dominated quite heavily by LSST people, to the extent in fact that the lead pack was mostly a team pack with a few other people who we gradually shook off one by one. Was fun.

Last year Goodwood was my first ever marathon: I don't think there's anthing actually meaningful about comparing my performance between last year and this, but the thought that I've gone from 2:01 to 1:25 (and fourth place) gives me some sense of satisfaction that I've got something right this year. I don't need to count my own laps any more :-)

Goodwood this year was organised by the Camberley Skaters for the first time: despite including such must-have features as chip timing and online registration that previous years didn't have, the event still had the same relaxed and informal air about it as last year's. I'd still recommend it to anyone as a first UK marathon or social marathon. Very impressed.

Able was I, ere I'd sore elbow#

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 13:00:00 +0000

Additionally other sore elbow, and sore knees, and a shoulder that's slightly painful when arm raised above head height, and a sore back.

First elbow and shoulder was from Tatem, as mentioned previously. Other elbow and both knees acquired road rash from meeting diesel while attempting a rather tight snowplough stop on a downhill during the LFNS the other day. The remainder is just general muscle soreness after the Goodwood Roller Marathon - at least some of which is probably from doing Goodwood while still aching from Tatem, at least some of which is from doing Tatem before recovering from all that Brox pedalling last weekend. It's a bugger on the uphills, especially when it slips gears (it should have a SRAM 1:1 derailleur, but nobody seems to have them - so with its present cheap Shimano the gear indexing is basically way off). Anyway, it's basically (long past) time I took a few days off and let all this stuff grow back, whch is what I'm doing now and I hope to be well rested for the LIM this weekend. I should buy shares in Johnson & Johnson, the amount of Compeed I'm getting through.

I've entered (at least, I think I've entered - I've not had an email confirmation yet) the St Gallen 111, two weeks after the LIM. Which means I will probably not be going Wedel, as that's on the weekend between them.

Oh, if you're in (or can get to London) there's champagne on offer in our competition to name the bike (you have to get here to pick it up, cos we're not delivering). It's all a cunning ploy to get people to sign up to our mailing list, really.

⟪Jun 2006 Aug 2006⟫