Pretty in pink?

Target rides - 1 x 15, 1 x 25, 1 x 35, 1 x 45

Actual rides - 1 x 24 (hilly)
                       1 x 40
                       1 x 22 (hilly)
                       1 x 46 (with David)
                       1 x 29 (with Debbie)

I've had a few folk volunteering to come out with me on rides this week - must be the warmer weather! On Saturday, David came along. He's just starting training for his own long ride in June, so he was happy to get out (at first!). I chose a really hilly route to Keswick and back along part of the End-to-End route I'll be doing in May. It was a real killer! 46 miles and All uphill (or it felt like it!). Just made me realise that I'm not yet ready.....! (and I don't think David will be volunteering to come out again anytime soon!) Sunday morning, I went out with Debbie - mostly 'undulating', but just lovely to chat in the sunshine along the back roads.  A great weeks training!

My charity, the Watchtree Wheelers , kindly offered to help towards any bits of kit I still needed for my trip. Recently I've been either too hot or too cold, so I needed a breathable windproof jacket. I've never been a 'pink' person, but I have always been thrifty, and this pink version was £25 cheaper than the other colours! It's now got their logo printed on the back, so I'm quite recognisable! If you see a vision in pink pedalling somewhere between Lands End and John O'Groats, give me a wave of encouragement! Better still, visit www.justgiving.com/JanesBigTrip and donate - there's no better motivation than sponsorship!!

Pretty in pink?

David at a snack stop, after the first few hills - I was more tired after this ride than I've been through all my training!

Setting off with Debbie on Mother's Day - I blame her for getting me into all this in the first place!  She bullied me into doing the coast-to-coast last year.

The Route

Target rides - 1 x 25, 1 x 35, 1 x 40

Actual rides - 1 x 25
                       1 x 40
                       1 x 35
                       1 x 31 (with Ed and William and a good few hills!)

Hours on trainer - 1.75

Mother Nature seemed to be against my training this week.  I know I have to get used to cycling in all weathers, but 60mph winds and sleet/snow are a bit scary! I've still put in the miles, but all but one of my rides have been low and sheltered - hills next week hopefully!

With 7 weeks to go, I've received the full itinerary, kit list and daily route maps for my trip. This includes a profile of each days ride - the ups and downs - and the first 2 days are going to be challenging to say the least! The longest day is 82 miles and the shortest is just 57 miles!  Getting really excited now, but I do need to get more hills into my training!

www.justgiving.com/JanesBigTrip 

Day 1 Route Profile - very scary!!!

Ed and William - waiting patiently for me at the top of the hills!!

Riding Solo

Target Rides - 1 x 20, 1 x 30, 1 x 35

Actual Rides - 1 x 16 (but very hilly!)
                         1 x 23.5
                         1 x 34
                         1 x 35 (very flat to stay out of the wind!)

Hours on Trainer - 1

We treated ourselves to a mini-break in Budapest this week.  Stunning city with amazing history, and fantastic food and wine!  Four whole days off my bike, and didn't my legs know it when I got back on!  Stupid to start with a mega-hilly route......!

Couldn't persuade anyone to join me for a ride this weekend - something to do with the vicious bitterly cold wind, I suspect!  So all my rides have been solo this week.  It's strange what goes through your mind on a 3 hour ride.  A few weeks ago I mostly thought about me - how tired my legs are/how much further do I really need to go/how much more my lungs can take without actually bursting etc.  But now I'm a little fitter, my mind wanders through the weirdest places.  Yesterday I spent much of my ride singing tunes from Les Mis (can't get it out of my head after a recent school concert!) and today the topics ranged from solving the crisis in Crimea (our daughter is still studying in Russia), to making a plan to have a 'sort-out' in the loft this afternoon.  I didn't get round to the last bit.....!

www.justgiving.com/JanesBigTrip

Beautiful Budapest!

A Minor Setback

Target rides - 1 x 20, 1 x 25, 1 x 30

Actual rides - 1 x 31.5 (with Ian - a lovely morning, and the miles flew by!)
                        1 x 24 (cut this one short - see below!)
                        1 x 25

Hours on Rower - 1
Hours on Trainer - 0.5

Whilst I was out riding early in the week, a strange noise appeared, almost like a grinding noise (and it wasn't coming from me!).  I headed home and popped the bike on the trainer, so that I could let Bob hear it, in the hope that he knew how to fix it.  Apparently, it was my bottom bracket (!) and a bit beyond his toolkit, so we had to take it in to Scotby Cycles to be replaced - parts under warranty.  Thankfully, it didn't take them too long, so it only set me back 2 or 3 days - good job it wasn't later on in my training schedule!

www.justgiving.com/JanesBigTrip

Bob - chief mechanic, nutritionist and soon-to-be cycling widower!

A Good Week!

Target rides - 1 x 20, 1 x 25

Actual rides - 1 x 23
                       1 x 40 (but pretty flat)
                       1 x 23 (but pretty hilly - see below!)

Hours on trainer - 3

The first week of my official training programme has been a good week!  A mixture of a quiet time at work and a few sunny afternoons has meant I've put in some good miles.  I'm conscious that there'll be some weeks where I can't fit in all the rides I need to, so I'm chuffed I've been able to do more than planned this week.

www.justgiving.com/JanesBigTrip

Fellside.  It's much steeper than it looks on this photo!  It's the hill that brought on my Cycling Tourettes last year.  I managed to make it up there today without swearing once - mostly because I couldn't breathe!

Training Programme

When I booked this trip last summer, Peak Tours sent me a suggested training programme which is designed to take someone from being pretty bike rusty, to being ready for the trip in 10 weeks.  I've based my training programme on this, but adapted it to reflect that I'm not so rusty, and can begin at higher mileage rides.  The plan is to start with distances of around 25 miles, and build up to 70 miles in a day, starting with 2 or 3 rides a week, and increasing to 5 a week.  I'm told that getting out on consecutive days is the best training too, as there will be no rest days on the trip.  So, allowing for a week off just before I leave, this 10-week programme starts tomorrow!  It will be good to have a schedule now, not just a case of getting out when I can.

Training this week:

Miles Cycled - 52 (1 x 27, 1 x 25)
Hours on Trainer - 4

Some good company on this morning's ride.  Thanks Martin and Gill for letting me tag along!

www.justgiving.com/JanesBigTrip 

A Weekend Away

I knew that we were planning a weekend away this week, so I expected not to fit in a lot of training.  However, thanks to a quiet week at work, and an understanding husband, I've not done too badly!

Miles cycled - 54 (2 x 27)
Hours on the trainer - 4
Hours on the rower - 0.5

We headed south to visit friends en route to Heathrow, where we waved off our eldest.  She was heading to Russia to study for 4 months, so it was a mixture of nerves and excitement at the airport - for all of us!  Then we paid a visit to our son (studying in Cardiff), to take him for Sunday lunch, fill his fridge with 'real' food, and take him some of his favourite local beers.  Back on the bike on Monday.....

www.justgiving.com/JanesBigTrip

A fond farewell

A happy reunion!