So it looks like the training is starting to pay off. New PB today on the hill rep and with a slightly stronger head/cross wind. My overall average speed was up too. Just need to get some pounds off now.
Cycling
All that I have read about the coast to coast ride says that there is a lot of climbing. It has a total ascent of well over 8,000 feet. On the first day alone, I will climb around 1,400 feet. Now the thing I enjoy least, apart from cycling into a headwind, is climbing. Now and then I ask myself why I am doing the ride. And then quickly remind myself, ‘for the bucket list challenge of course’.
The best training for climbing is hill reps. “What’s that?” you ask. Quite simply, it’s just aimlessly cycling up a hill, going back down it and then turning around to ride back up it again! I’m starting this off easy and having selected a hill near to where I live, which is quite hard in Essex, I have started out doing 5 hill reps at a time and will then increase the number each time. I also plan to drive out to somewhere more challenging like North Hill in Little Baddow which climbs up nearly 300 feet with a couple of short ramps up to 9% gradient.
But I need to put in a lot more work before then. The hill I am using has an average gradient of 4.4% and a maximum of 8.7%.
The first training ride saw each of my reps being progressively slower than the one before it. And what was really depressing was that I was 12 seconds faster nine years ago. Still, I was younger then and can only improve right? Right!
Very close to the top of my bucket list is to complete the Coast to Coast, or Sea to Sea, bike ride. The C2C runs for nearly 140 miles across the northern edge of the Lake District from the scenic coast of northwest England through the Northern Lakes and over the Pennines before reaching its conclusion on the shores of the North Sea.
The C2C was developed by Sustrans and is part of the National Cycle Network (NCN) in partnership with various local authorities, Groundwork West Cumbria, North Pennines Tourism Partnership, Forest Enterprise and the Lake District National Park amongst others. The route was opened in 1994 running from Whitehaven on the west coast of Cumbria to the north-east coast at Sunderland.
The route I have chosen to do starts at Whitehaven in the east and finishes at Tynemouth in the east. I am doing the ride with CycleActive who have lots of good reviews so I am hoping all goes well.
The ride is over three days and self-guided. That is to say, we have to make our own way from each day’s start to finish point. CycleActive have booked all the accommodation and take our stuff from B&B to B&B each day and then take us back to where we started so we can pick up our cars. My ternary goes like this:
- Day 1: Travel to Penrith
- Day 2: The Lake District (50 Miles)
- Day 3: The Pennines (45 miles)
- Day 4: Descent to Newcastle (42 miles)
The ride goes through Keswick, Penrith and Alston before climbing onto the moorland of the North Pennines, known as the Roof of England (gulp), and then gently down to the coast.
From what I have read about it, there is quite a bit of climbing involved so I’ll need to get some hill rep training in pretty quickly!
C2C Route Profile
I’ve blogged before about forgetting about all the trappings that we love to surround ourselves with and just getting out on the bike and riding for the sheer joy of it. Today was one of those days. I had planned a ride out on the road bike but, because of strong winds, decided on an hour’s ride along the seafront on my Giant Roam. I had nothing planned and was just wearing shorts, t-shirt and shell jacket.
But you know how it is, after 5 minutes I had the great idea to photograph some of the places I would normally ride past. And what was going to be an hour’s ride along the seafront turned into nearly four hours and 43 miles. And that is what it is all about. Just getting out on the bike for the sheer joy of cycling.
And here’s a short video of the ride:
And finally, Garmin Connect: https://www.relive.cc/view/965928651
The headline for this article on the BBC news website is not quite correct as “The mayor’s office said that over the past two years HGVs were involved in 23% of pedestrian fatalities and 58% of cyclist deaths in London, despite accounting for just 4% of the miles driven in the city.”
It is very welcome nonetheless and will make my commute that bit safer.
Thousands of lorries could be banned from London to make the roads safer for cyclists, under plans proposed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
He wants a rating system from zero to five stars for heavy goods vehicles based on the driver’s level of vision from the cab.
The 35,000 zero star-rated HGVs currently operating in London would be banned by 2020 under the proposals.
The Road Haulage Association accused the mayor of “demonising lorries”.
More on this story and other news from London
Only those lorries with a rating of at least three stars would be allowed on London’s roads by 2024.
‘Further heartbreak’
Nine cyclists and 66 pedestrians were killed in the capital last year, according to Transport for London.The mayor’s office said that over the past two years HGVs were involved in 23% of pedestrian fatalities and 58% of cyclist deaths in London, despite accounting for just 4% of the miles driven in the city.
Mr Khan claimed the scheme would result in many lorries being upgraded before the ban comes into place.
He said: “I’m not prepared to stand by and let dangerous lorries continue to cause further heartbreak and tragedy on London’s roads.
“The evidence is clear – HGVs have been directly involved in over half of cycling fatalities over the last two years, and we must take bold action to make our roads safer for both cyclists and pedestrians.”
But the Road Haulage Association’s chief executive Richard Burnett said that the “imposition of unnecessary rules on haulage firms is unfair”.
He said: “Demonising lorries, which keep the economy and shops going, is unfair. Lorries, including construction vehicles, play a vital part in the economic life of London.
“Without them the capital’s businesses would grind to a standstill.”
