Velo Birmingham

Retired to bed 10pm and had the same night of none sleep as I did the night before Ride London... managed 2 hours continuous sleep with the rest being fleeting drifting in and out of consciousness, ah well if I can get around London I'll get around my own stomping ground OK!

It's the inaugural Velo Birmingham today... 15,000 cyclists riding 100 miles on completely closed roads... not expecting it to be a Ride London beater but after what appears to be a few cock-ups on the organisers part (including a large portion of the route completely changed a month prior to the event!) we shall see what occurs... 

Got up at 6 and rode 5.8 miles to Broad Street just after 7, arrived Broad Street at 7.45ish to find... no signs pointing to wave C1... not a great start and good job I know my home town...

Found Wave C1 and waited at the front of the wave where the C1 banner sign was... except it wasn't the front of the wave it was the rear of it hmmm... corrected my position and moved more towards the front...

We wait... tick follows tock follows tick follows tock... our 8.30 start time arrives... nothing happens... we wait more... tick follows tock follows tick follows tock... someone shouts out 20 minute delay... we wait more.... tick follows tock follows tick follows tock... at 8.50 I hear a faint "3, 2, 1, go!"... people start clicking into their pedals and off we go... I am so far unimpressed but at least we are moving... we roll down Broad Street, cross over the official start line and away we go...

So far all is has been quiet and atmosphere-less... around half hour into the ride we encounter the first real batch of supporters egging us all on, one guy is dancing in a bear suit - that's better! 😉

Summary

The route is very up and down most of the time with not many flat sections... at least the down sections are long, not as scenic as Ride London either but I didn't expect it to be. As the ride went on the support through the towns and villages was fantastic with people shouting encouragement plus I have never seen so many kids holding their hand out to be high fived - this is what put a smile on my face and made the ride enjoyable. I got fed up of the amount of hills in places plus the time constraint meant I wouldn't have any time to stop and chill for 15 mins, it's pretty much grab and go. At one point  a fellow rider commented to me that the hills were relentless and she wasn't going to do it again, I agreed and mentioned Ride London is much better... she revealed she had done London too and wholeheartedly agreed. 

I always take my own food just incase... THANK GOD I DID!!!

Severely disappointed in the feed stations... 

Feedstation no.1 was on a bottleneck with riders blocking the entire road... the feed area itself was too small for the amount of riders going in and out plus the only fuel available was packets of wine gums and gels. The only thing they got right was the amount of portaloos about, at least there was no queue for toilet! 

Feedstsation no.2 at mile 55, an important stop for anyone solely relying to be fed by the organisers. As I entered a geezer was shouting out 'No food!' it took an age to walk in and out, they were completely out of bottled water, I had to join a long queue to get water from a large water tank - there were two or three guys taking your bottle, dipping it into a water basin and handing your bottle back, not exactly hygienic, on top of that how was I supposed to refill the hydration bladder on my back???  Luckily as I exited the feedstation a guy was giving out small bottles of water so I grabbed two and refilled the bladder. Just after that feedstation I rode past a petrol station which was swamped with riders buying food... 

Suprisingly the 3rd feedstation (85 miles) I stopped at had food, chocolate cake, bananas and wine gums - the cake was good (missed my cuppa though 😃). Once more it was way too small an area for the amount of riders. Whilst there a geezer shouted out that we would all have to get a move on if we wanted to be back before the roads reopened at 6.

Shortly after the last feedstation there was what the organisers had billed the biggest climb of the ride... St Kennelms Pass - I knew had rode up it before but it had been at least 5 years so couldn't remember which hill it was... turned out it was very tame compared to other hills we had all rode up earlier - infact the undulations that immediately came after St Kennelms was far worse!

At 5.10 I rode over the last hill of the ride and descended towards Birmingham City Centre once more, the finish on Broad Street was rather good and I was rather chuffed (and relieved) I had completed a hilly 100 with legs still intact especially as I still had another 6 miles to ride home, my finish time was 6pm on the dot.

The real stars of the show was the locals supporting and cheering us us all on through the villages and towns, on top of that they were offering food and water to any riders that required it, heard of one guy was even offering free burgers! 😀 I'm sure they saved a lot of riders necks... 

Bewdley in particular had bunting out and had decorated the area with bike ornaments etc.

Verdict
For the first event of this type in Birmingham the organisers have loads to learn - they have publicly admitted they got it wrong too which is something, a fair few megaphones wouldn't have gone amiss so at least more people can hear what is happening. It would have been nice if each wave had a proper start too. A few speakers mounted throughout all of the waves with the DJ counting down each wave start would have been ace - as far as I can tell only the front wave got that... 

Not a patch on Ride London however... I shall likely be back next year and expect at least 90% of the negatives to be ironed out, if it wasn't for support of the locals through the towns and villages I wouldn't be back at all.

Highlights of the ride:

My name was displayed on my rider number on the front of my bike so had a lot of  'Come on Kay, you can do it!' shouted out at me, especially the 4 or 5 ladies egging me on at the begining of St Kennelms Pass. A lady on a pub balcony who shouted 'You go girl! You're awesome!' also put a big smile on my face. 😆

Todays' Fuel:

Special K, Oats and Golden Syrup (pre ride brekkie)
2 x Soreen mini toffee maltloaf

2 x SIS mini go bars

1 x Lemon curd sarnie on white bread (my rocket fuel - really wish I had made two rounds)

1 whole bag Sainsbury's Jelly Babies

6 approx Fig Rolls

2 x High 5 gels

2 slices chocolate cake

2 Litres SIS Go Electrolite mix

2.5 approx litres plain water (hydration pack)

Recovery food:

A big f'off pizza! 😆

Charlecote... and New Cafe Discovered!

The morning dawned decent, a chill in the air early morning but apart from that it was white cloud and bright, Met Bob & Paul at McDonalds at 10am and off we went...

As it's the 100 mile Velo Birmingham event next Sunday we decided to go down to Charlecote Garden Centre Cafe as it's a decent distance and fairly flat, on the way down I noticed a fair amount of cyclists zooming past - last bit of distance training for everyone no doubt, even a lady on horseback asked if there was an event going on as loads of cyclists had overtaken her..

Unfortunately we had very poor service at Charlecote Cafe, half of our order arrived and then we appeared to be forgotten about... after ten minutes Paul had to ask for the rest of it! My Cheese scone with jam and cream was good though.

On the way back, as we entered Stratford-upon-Avon we ended up riding in the middle of the annual Pashley Picnic ride, loads of riders dressed up in tweed, flat caps etc on old style bikes, was a lovely sight to see and having cars stopped while we all rode through the town centre was marvellous!

As we got to the end of wotsit road we noticed a new sign pointing to 'Buttercup Cafe' and decided it would be rude not to follow it, discovered it was only half a mile off our route and turned out to be a brilliant new cafe serving top notch cakes. Definately added to the ride list and loads better than the Cow Shed just up the road at Wooten Warwen.

As we got to Earlswood the heavens opened - it absolutely poured down on us, the rain was flowing into my eyes so I stopped to put my cap on to find... shock! horror! I hadn't packed it! Sheltered for 5 minutes for the rain to die down and then carried on, 2 minutes later I had to stop and seek shelter again, put my foot ankle deep into a puddle - however, it made no difference as I couldn't had gotten any wetter! 😃 

The rain stopped as we arrived back at McDonalds, we agreed we had an enjoyable and eventful day in the saddle.

63 miles covered

Today's Fuel:

Oats & Special K with golden syrup (pre ride brekkie)
Banana maltloaf (approx 1/2 of a loaf)
Cheese scone with strawberry jam & cream
Carrot, Ginger & Lemon cake (taste test = 10/10)
1 litre blackcurrant SIS Go Electrolite mix

Return to Rita's

Weather has been turbulent for the past week, appeared to abruptly turn from Summer to October weather all in the space of a week... a couple of days ago there was a storm overnight... rather disheartening. Hopefully one last gasp of some sunny t-shirt and shorts weather will return during next week or two before descending the slow downward spiral towards Winter.

It's not all bad though as I'm looking forward to the Autumn colours that lie ahead... just a shame it's not warm enough for t-shirt and shorts at the same time... damn you Mother Nature! 😒

Today was my first ride in tights in about 4 months!

A Chill in the air and had been raining overnight so also put on my lightweight windproof.

Had a nice ride down to Auntea Rita's, a little bit of drizzly rain at the beginning with the rest being quite bright with white cloud and blue sky.

Upon my arrival it was nice to see they had added an extra table with chairs outside, an improvement compared to my inaugural visit, still a little sparse though. As the sun was shining I decided to sit outside, had a very warm reception from the tea lady upon my entrance and there was a few more cakes to choose from compared to the last time. Decided upon a cherry scone with strawberry jam and butter. Sat outside and 5 minutes later my order arrived, this time the tea was hot however, they got my jam order wrong, they supplied blackcurrant instead of strawberry - wasn't that fussed anyway so let it go. All very nice and home baked 9/10.

About 5 miles in on the return leg it rained /chucked it down for about 15 minutes so I sped up to keep warm... and then it returned to being bright and ok again... aaand relaaax...

An enjoyable ride out with 49 miles covered, discovered maltloaf is an annoying fuel choice whilst cycling along at the same time, it's just too damn chewy! Will stick to fig rolls and Haribo in future 😊

Today's Fuel:
Oats & Special K with golden syrup (pre ride brekkie)
Banana maltloaf (approx 1/4 of a loaf)
Jam & butter scone
1 litre blackcurrant SIS Go Electrolite mix

Recovery Fuel
Banana SIS Rego & water mix
Egg and brown sauce toasty

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Cycles to Wedges!

Today dawns a dull and rather miserable looking day... summer has definately buggered off for another year.

Forcast showed rain and showers so stayed close to home and did a local 51 mile route.

The route included a few local hills including Rose Hill - Strava showed this would only be my 3rd ride up it in over 6 years. There is a long climb up to it from Barnt Green before turning left at the roundabout and onto the aforementioned hill... slow and steady all the way.

There was a bit of drzzly rain on and off in places but nothing overly bad.

My route also included Wedges Bakery so decided to pop in and bring some goodies home.

Inside Wedges I surveyed the cake selection carefully... 😋

51 miles later I return home to a recovery ham sarnie and a Wedges iced finger roll... which tasted delish!

Today's Fuel:
Special K, Oats & Golden Syrup (Pre ride brekie)
1 x banana
1 x SIS Go Bar
1 ltr SIS Go Electrolite mix

Recovery nosh:
1 x Ham Sarnie
1 x Wedges finger roll

(No photo's today as I discovered I had left my phone in my car when I dropped my niece to work this morning d'oh!)

Broadway Tower

Bank Holiday weekend and it's summer weather... 26 degrees yippee!!

Embarked on an 80 mile journey to Broadway Tower and back with Bob and Paul.

The route is fairly flat apart from the big lump in the middle up to the tower, Snowshill to be exact. In previous years I have climbed it in a 26 cassette however, as I've been replacing parts on bit by bit on Klanker the 3rd this year I now have a 30 cassette on the back. Verdict still hard work but less huffing and puffing.

The cafe at the tower itself is expensive, just as well we only visit once or twice a year. The cake was really nice though and couldn't fault the hot drinks supplied.

Have always loved the descent down to Mickleton afterward... all downhill for a fair few miles coupled with smashing views of the countryside around.

We also treated ourselves to an ice cream stop at Wellford upon Avon, Magnums all round.

Another grand tour out, 82 miles covered!

Todays' Fuel:
Special K, Oats & Honey (Pre ride brekkie)
1.5 rounds of Lemon Curd Sarnies
1 x Banana on Tour
1 x Slice of Orange Drizzle Cake
5 x Fig Rolls
2 x SIS Go Bars
1 Litre SIS Go Electrolite Blackcurrant mix

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#BananaOnTour

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#BananaOnTour

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Arley Tea Rooms... with hills!

Lovely 60 mile ride out today with Bob & Paul to Arley Tea Rooms.

I didn't visit last year so made sure it was on my to do list for this year. 

Particularly like this place as their outside dining area sits overlooking the River Seven, a lovely spot to sit in the summer.

As we got closer to Arley the hills started appearing... long and steady but nothing too steep... 

I had a slice of Orange and Poppy seed cake which was a full 10/10 yum!

The local canoe hire (Canoe UK) appeared whilst we were there.. reminded me to look into their River Seven day trip - Paddling from Bridgnorth to Arley with a pub stop at half way and a return via steam train, sounds bloomin' marvelous!

Returned via Kinver Edge, more hills please!

Lost Bob & Paul half way back, they ended up ahead of me 😃

A bit of rush hour traffic for the last half hour but it wan't too bad.

Tired legs at the end - 60 miles with  4500+ ft elevation.

Todays Fuel:
Special K, Oats 7 Honey (pre ride brekkie)
1 x Sis bar
1 x SIS gel
1 x Lemon curd sarnie on white bread
1 x slice of orange & poppy seed cake (yum!)
1 litre Sis Go Electrolite blackcurrant mix
4 x fig rolls

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Wattbike Taster Session

This evening myself and Lorraine attended a free Wattbike taster session 😀

Was kinda expecting 40 minutes of talking and 20 minutes of biking.

It wasn't the case at all and was rather fun.

Us ladies in the session outnumbered the gents 4 - 3.

The instructor asked which of the ladies was fittest, Lorraine volunteered me so I was put onto a Pro Wattbike, the difference between pro and normal is the gearing, I have no idea how much difference there is though.

Once all the bells and whistles of displays on the bikes were explained the instructor got us to keep a cadence of between 80 and 90 rpm and every minute he told us to dial up the resistance until we were working in the next zone up, we went up to zone 5 and then back down again. Zone 5 was quite hard work, after a bit of recovery we did the same again but for 2 minutes in each zone, this time we went up to zone 6 and back down again, zone 6 got me sweating quite a bit!

I also found out my left leg is doing approx 55% of the work compared to my right leg most of the time.. ah well!

My legs were a bit wobbly when the session was over, must have worked harder than I thought.

A fun, interesting and informative session, they run 6 week courses for £66 and would be helpful over winter however £11 per sesh is kind of off-putting especially as they have Wattbikes at the local gym I tested out a few days ago, a gym membership works out more value for money as I would have access to Wattbikes at all times as well as other gym equipment and unlimited classes (including spin).

Part of me is tempted as their courses would be very useful for structured training.