The Training Progresses
21st March 2018Guest Reviews
8th August 2018
I’ve reached the end of April and am beginning to get the hang of this cycling thing.
I’ve ridden up hills and down, inside and out, quickly and slowly, and achieved my first official col on schedule to complete my self-imposed challenge. I’ve also discovered a few things along the way…
Exhausted after Col 1 of the challenge!
How to drink whilst riding: This first one may seem obvious to most people and most probably something you wouldn’t even consider before embarking on a bike ride but when you factor into the equation me, a lack of balance and coordination at the best of times and a general propensity for disaster whenever the two are combined, then you have a problem! For the first few rides I quite happily used the need to drink as an excuse to take a short break at the side of the road but as I became fitter and faster and the weather warmed up, I realised I would need to actually drink whilst moving! Cue a long, quiet, straight stretch of road and lots of looking straight ahead whilst reaching down to grab the bidon, failing miserably and wobbling all over the road – check out these tips for drinking on the bike!
Clipping in: My red shoes that I wrote about last month have arrived and I have been using them whenever I train inside, but I’ve not yet plucked up the courage to try them outside because (see no 1) I have no balance, no coordination and would most likely fall off the bike every time I had to stop!
Calorie intake: Cycling 30+ miles after only a grapefruit for breakfast does not end well! Likewise, café stops for a beer make it difficult to find the motivation to get back on the bike!
Cafe stops can cause a failure of motivation...
No one mentions how much time cycling takes up.
Firstly, you have to find everything, then make sure it’s all charged, clean, etc etc, then you have to prepare the bike, (something I’ll come back to shortly), and all of that before you even set off! Inside training may not be as much fun, but at least it’s easier when you have a bike already set up and can just jump on. My interval training is progressing well thanks to 80s rock music which, with it’s long instrumentals is proving great for really pushing yourself to the limits.
Aside from the actual cycling, there’s real life to fit in.
We’ve been on a massive spring clean at the
Allons-Y-Pyrenees site, sorting the three houses, gardens and pool ready for peak season to start, waiting for deliveries of new stock, sun loungers for the sun terrace, a new beer fridge for guests, a bike trailer… and these things never arrive when scheduled! We’ve built the pizza oven shelter, are in the process of upgrading the pool chill out area, planted (and already eaten some) of our own salad and vegetables to serve to our guests, painted, scrubbed and cleaned!
But by far the most exciting development this month is the return of Jaffa the dog who visited in March with a cycling party and who has come to stay with us for three months whilst her owners travel and complete Ironman competitions before coming back to AYP for another
week’s cycling holiday.
Looking ahead to May.
We’ve got some big cycling groups booked in and are looking forward to their stay, and I would like to start to get to grips with the mechanics of bike maintenance, so if anyone knows a bike mechanic who fancies a cycling holiday and teaching me the essentials, then ask them to drop me a line at
rachel@ayp.holiday
#cyclingmotivation #getonabike #allonsypyrenees #rewardyourbike #pyrenees #colnumberone