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Sportives: Tour de Broads 40

I’m so proud of Jill.  Not only did she get her first proper road bike last week, but she decided to christen it with a 40 mile ride around the Norfolk Broads (having never even covered that distance before).  This is what happened … Continue Reading

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Sportives: My debut century at RideLondon

Months of preparation and hundreds of training miles under my belt.  Pockets laden with energy gels, Jelly Babies and carbohydrate drink sachets.  Tyres pumped.  Garmin charged.  Time to go.

I set off for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park at 5:45am with a flutter in my stomach as I embarked on my début century and first Prudential RideLondon 100 adventure … Continue Reading

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RideLondon Training Week 3 – Gardening injury!

Week 3 is when the rides start to ramp up a bit and you spend a little more time on the bike. That is great in principle as it gives you a good chance to see how your legs are feeling over some longer distances, but can easily be kiboshed when you injure your back doing a simple thing like moving some compost in the garden . . .
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RideLondon Training – Week 2 Review

Much better weather last week so I was able to get out each day.  Week 2 is basically the same as week 1 – so 1 hour a day over 4 days, with rest days in between.

I’ve worked on quite a few routes that help keep the training interesting and varied, plus when it’s blowing a hoolie it means I can choose a route that involves an outward route into the wind, and a return leg with the wind on my back.
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How to: Cycle with Zwift (a basic guide)

Zwift is taking the cycling community by storm, giving riders an immersive cycling experience from the comfort of their own living room. OK, using an indoor turbo trainer can probably never be considered a comfortable experience, but I’ve found that using Zwift helps address the monotony of indoor cycling staring at a blank wall – plus unique experiences like waving at dolphins while cycling underwater.

This article tells you a bit about how I got started with Zwift, the kit you’ll need and some tips on how to get the most out of it over the first few weeks . . . Continue Reading

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RideLondon Training – Week 1 Review

Last week was really busy, what with a performance of our festival play at the Cambridge Drama Festival coupled with helping my better half prepare for her Brownie Pack Holiday – I had almost zero time to fit in any rides.  In addition, the weather was rubbish with another storm covering the UK for much of the week.

It didn’t make for a good start to my 12 week training plan for RideLondon, but I did manage to get in two indoor rides using Zwift . . .

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